I think if he wins California and the delegate count is within 200 or so, he's going to ask for a Superdelegate rule change, and when that's denied, that opens a whole bunch of doors for Republicans to talk about a "fixed" primary where the popular candidate didn't get a fair shake.
Now, Bernie isn't going to win the popular vote, but he's definitely got momentum, and there will be quite a number of Democrats and Bernie supports who will feel he didn't get a fair shake. If I'm Trump, I try to take advantage and keep some of those supporters home, if not trying to swing them.
I'm on "your side" in this election, but I think you're still sticking to your guns about Hillary's inevitability as the Democratic candidate a little too much in the face of some serious uncertainty. Add to that the fact that in some of the latest polls, Bernie actually polls better against Trump than Hillary does, and I think there's going to be some second guessing later this month. Not total anarchy, but definitely more than was expected.
It is not going to be smooth sailing for Hillary at the convention, I don't think.
I think he may ask for all sorts of concessions regardless of how California turns out. But I also think that Hillary will make sure that the more trouble he causes, the less prime time (if any) visibility he gets. I'm not saying that's great. If he decides to go sore loserville, that's obviously a negative for Clinton and the Democratic Party.
And there's no way he gets to 200. It's not mathematically possible. If we just count pledged delegates, she's up 270 right now.
Jun 4th
VI: 1 delegate difference either way, let's say she loses even though she's been winning these, she's at 269.
Jun 5th
Puerto Rico: She's up in the polls, let's say of the 60 she takes it 33-27, so now she's at 275.
Jun 7th:
Montana, ND, SD: She loses big time in all three. 59 total votes. But proportional voting means even big losses don't mean a big delegate gap, but let's give Bernie a 40-19 split here. Way too much I think, but let's be conservative. She's up 254.
NM: She probably wins this one like NV. Out of the 34 votes, she probably nets say 2 delegates. So now she's up 256.
NJ: 126 Delegates. She's up 12-15% in the polls. Let's assume a decent sized double digit win. So let's say she gets a 70-56 delegate gap, so add 14, and now she's at 270 (which is right where she started).
Cali: Polling shows her up 1-2% points, but early voting totals favor her (as they have all cycle). But let's assume either a tie, a 2% pt Bernie win or a 2% pt Hillary win...because all three effectively split the delegates. So let's be conservative and say she loses 20 delegates, and now she's at 250.
Jun 14: DC Heavy AA. She's going to blow this one out. 20 pledged delegates, so she's going to make back a big chunk of the 20 or so she lost in Cali worst case.
So, I think I've laid out a pretty fair/strong scenario for Bernie. He loses NJ, DC, NM, and Puerto Rico (which are all highly likely)...ties in VI, wins Cali, and wins by a land slide in the rest of the states.
and he ends up more or less right where he is now, with her up around 270ish delegates. To get to around 200...he would have to pretty much win every remaining state and territory, including DC and NJ.
Bernie "polls better" because no one is wasting time attacking him. The SDs are all seasoned pols...they know that. They know all of the crazy stuff he's said over the years, the completely unrealistic proposals he has would be fertile game for the right.