To continue the title, ...mostly a Three-Letter Acronym project?

Think about it. If you take a step back from economic ideologies that really go nowhere in comparison to the more pressing matters facing 2016+, Bernie and Trump actually have quite similar political views, despite appearing to be the polar opposite. This is especially true if you factor Shillary into the mix.

If Bernie spins his campaign off into, say, the Green, or Libertarian parties, he may god damned well have a serious shot at promoting a tertiary party into the eyes of the General Public. Despite him being just a hair behind the two frontrunners, he has a gigantic following.

This would be mondo bad news bears for the status quo, especially on Clinton's side, as she CANNOT afford to lose any Democrats. Period. This would also hurt Trump tremendously, as there are a sizeable amount of swing voters on his side, as well.

You are a project head for a TLA. How do you make sure your people don't "vote" for a such a game-changer, much less, a pseudosocialist? Majority of his supporters are young'uns, right? The 18-24 crowd is a rowdy bunch, with their MTV and their Russ Freeman and The Rippingtons, so it would be believable that the youth might cause a violent stir in the name of his holiness, Bernie Sanderino. The person this hurts the most is Bernie, no matter what, despite the fact that his legacy, unlike any other third-placer for the past several presidential races, will be one that carries for a very long time. I predict an end to bipartisanship very soon, but progress towards that goal will be hindered by this uprising of hoodlums and ne'er-do-wells.

Just a poorly-articulated thought.