This is a brief outline of what happened in the United States during a global election cycle that was driven by a pent-up demand for profound political change.

Bernie Sanders did not have a complete plan when he announced his run for the Presidency in 2015. Along the way, he set in motion many disparate things that were already struggling to take form. As they coalesced, the election gameboard changed. Thus, the strategies changed, and for Bernie, the goals changed, as well.

As an arms-length observer, I've collected the narratives, beliefs, deductions, and assumptions held by the people and pundits — both spoken and unspoken — during the Democratic election cycle. These are arranged into an election timeline.

Given the unexpected outcome, it is only natural that the principles involved will certainly strive to explain and revise the history leading up to the unfortunate election. What the people actually knew or assumed at the times they were compelled to vote may differ significantly.

1. There was an discussion between Bernie and the Democrats before he entered the race. It is more likely that Bernie was initially approached by Democrats, proposing that he run for president on the Democratic ticket to help them win a third term in the White House. Bernie was a senator much admired by the Left. If he ran for president with his populist message for ordinary Americans, he could gather and consolidate the disaffected Left. As Hillary reached her inevitable win in the Primaries, Bernie could ask his supporters to join him in supporting Hillary. The Democratic Party would again appear united in a show of strength and solidarity as Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee for the first female President. "Unity" would become the theme of the historic Democratic National Convention. The conditions were settled, a switch was thrown, and Bernie was no longer an Independent. He was a Democratic senator who was a Presidential contender.

2. Bernie's own motive for entering the Presidential campaign adventure was to deliver his message, based on an enduring vision he had for the country. He delivered the same message, in many parts, during his long tenure in the US Senate. His expectations were the same as always: To influence the thinking and the outcome. To help set the course for the future.

3. On the Internet, Hillary's presence was solid "rock." Promotional monuments were erected atop well-traveled venues, acting as both landmarks for travelers and broadcast towers to viralize messages on the fly. Bernie's Internet presence was "water." It flowed around the rocks, filling every crevice and building up in the hollows, overflowing and eroding, making waves for travelers to ride.

4. Hillary's ground game was the official Democratic Party. It was Ubiquitous. Bernie's ground game was strangely self-organized for someone who had never been a national candidate and was clearly an "also ran." It seemed to rise up spontaneously, with large numbers and extraordinary efficiency. It looked odd to a public long prepared for a coronation of the "one." But that "oddness" signaled that there might be a "choice" and acted as a powerful magnet.

5. Bernie lost the innocence of his expectations fairly early in the process. As part of the agreed upon strategy, Bernie avoided the early Southern primary states, where Hillary swept the board. These wins allowed her to demonstrate the support of her featured demographic. Even with his later start, Bernie's performance in the next primary wave that included New Hampshire was an unexpected surprise to everyone involved, including Bernie. He had momentum, but his empowering message of social justice reflected their dreams of his supporters. But the message struck a disruptive note to the neoliberal philosophy of the Party Elite. The size of Bernie's rallies grew ever larger as people flocked to hear him. They were transformed by his message, and Bernie could finally see its power.

6. There was an identifiable tipping point or watershed moment that occurred during the campaign when the gameboard abruptly transformed. The Democratic campaign strategy Bernie was participating in was a scripted construct that would unite his supporters under Hillary when he stepped out of the race. No one expected this "narrative" to gain sentience and change the game. But it did. The implied covenant between Bernie and the supporters funding him gave rise to a sense of obligation toward them. [A common hazard in privately funded elections.] His audience was now exponentially larger than any he ever had. He was their leader and they were committed stakeholders in a future that would be based on his words and actions in the present. This trusting and amazed audience, most of them new to politics, re-defined who Bernie Sanders was.

7. Subtle at first, the tone of the debates changed abruptly changed, kicked off by Chelsea Clinton. She gave a speech about Bernie Sanders campaign message using disinformation, propaganda, and deliberate ignorance to smear his intent. She was a potent, untouchable medium for such a message, and it left Bernie's supporters reeling and breathless from a betrayal based on lies rather than opposing opinion or facts. It was war. Bernie's deference to Hillary soon ebbed. Both candidates went off script, introducing novel issues, petty accusations, and preemptive arguments.

8. Hillary's unchallenged sweep of the Southern state primaries had consolidated the returns on her demographic investment. It was also, as planned, the opening move in the Primary end game. This was the offramp that Bernie would use to gracefully exit from the race. But Bernie seemed to gain popularity in each new wave; he seemed in striking distance. The media began adding the presumed SuperDelegate numbers to Hillary's score in their news reports, confusing the public.

9. Coming into the next wave of primaries, his already sparse coverage by Broadcast media was edited out. This blackout would continue for the duration of the Party Primaries. When primary results were periodically televised, many viewers never fully understood why there were so many votes for Bernie Sanders, a candidate they had never seen or heard.

10. At the end of the Primaries, as if driven by a different and demanding god, Bernie focused solely on a speaking and rally schedule that was superhuman in effort. The ground campaign now centered on his speaking appearances and massive audiences, which were covered by citizen journalists. It was his primary interface to speak to the Real World. This would continue across the nation until the last Primary vote was cast, as he had promised his supporters he would early on.

11. Between the end of the Primaries and the start of the Democratic National Convention, the battle for the nation's future, and for the hearts and minds of Americans, moved to the Internet. The Internet is an arena so vast that only parts of it could be viewed at once. It was there and then that the Democratic Party was shattered forever into separate parts. Democrats who were denizens of the real world, exclusively, would never understand what had happened to foment their loss in the Presidential election. All indicators up until election day signaled that they were the certain winners.

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There is a concurrent timeline for the GOP. The Republican Party was also shattered, although earlier in the race. This led to a final assumption:

12. Across the United States, public displays of campaign preferences went underground. For the first time in recent US history, there were no bumper stickers in traffic or yard signs in American neighborhoods. The unspoken truth is that the people feared they would become victims of persecution or violence at the hands of fellow citizens. In an unorganized show of defiance, individuals who answered calls from pollsters deliberately lied to them about the candidates and policies they supported. This turned the art of polling upside down for many years to come. Concurrently, the Democrats had used blacks as unwitting pawns in both the Primary and General election, igniting and unleashing a seething racism into the political process. Donald Trump, like the loud crowing Macaw he is, mimicked it in the General election. He handily swooped down and snatched the Presidency out of the ensuing chaos.

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The damage done by the Clinton family to the American people, and particularly to people of color, is incalculable and unprecedented in recent American history.

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