Tuesday’s primaries represented a mighty sting for Bernie Sanders, whose campaign has steadily diminished to a mere flicker of its former self. His marginalized and bellicose constituents have struggled to rally enough support to derail the Clinton Machine, and this week’s results most likely ended any hope he had of getting to the White House. Thus, Sanders announced a decision Tuesday to lay off “hundreds of staff members” in states where contests have concluded.

Said Sanders: “We want to win as many delegates as we can, so we do not need workers now in states around the country. We don’t need people right now in Connecticut. That election is over. We don’t need them in Maryland. So what we are going to do is allocate our resources to the 14 contests that remain, and that means that we are going to be cutting back on staff.”

California’s primary is on June 7, and Sanders will use the next six weeks attempting to rally his base in the off chance he can swing the state his way. But as The New York Times notes, Sanders knows his presidential aspirations are nearing an end, and all he can do now is plant seeds: “[P]olitical experts say the layoffs signal Mr. Sanders is beginning to accept that he will not be the Democratic nominee and is now focused on pulling the party toward a more progressive agenda.”

Sanders’ slow, steady descent into the abyss is a rich example of how his idea of a Socialist utopia would fare in America. To gullible voters, his policies appear heavenly. But the truth is that America would end up like his campaign — underwater. Of course, if he really wants to salvage his chances, he could always demand that we redistribute the vote.