Strategically, letting Breadline Bernie be the nominee and get slaughtered by Trump would be the wisest thing to do. They could then beat the hardcore commies over the head with it for at least a generation.
BUT
The balance of the Supreme Court for at least a generation is up for grabs in the next 4 years. You’ve got to figure Clarence Thomas will retire. When that happens, there will be a block of 4 strict constructionists who are the youngest justices on the court. Then there’s Ruth Buzzard....and the Wide Latina....and old man Breyer. If Trump gets to replace a couple of those which seems probable, he could leave the court with a block of 6 young Strict Constructionists who would be around for decades. All those unconstitutional gun grabs.....a lot of onerous environmental regs which hugely impair property values but which the government doesn’t have to compensate the land owners for and on and on. Blown away.
That’s a stiff price for them.
As in sports, sometimes you just have to ‘blow up the team.’
The courts... Good point, but I think their party is so fractured right now that finding the “unifying” candidate will be impossible. I’m not buying into the inevitability of Hillary being called in to rescue the day. She’s done as a presidential candidate. If the DNC and the powers that be try to make her or someone else the compromise candidate at a brokered convention, though Bernie has the most delegates, it’s going to be Chicago 1968 all over again!