The 'anointment' of Hillary Clinton: Bernie begs the press not to call the race on Tuesday for his opponent before California polls close

Bernie Sanders made an impassioned plea on Saturday to superdeledates and the media not to write him off on Tuesday before the polls close in California.

Blasting what he called an 'anointment process,' Sanders said he has a chance to win California, possibly by a large margin, but turnout could be depressed if the media calls the race for Clinton when the polls close on the East Coast.

With superdelegate support, she'll cross the threshold to become the Democratic nominee after New Jersey is called, three hours before the deadline for Californians to cast their ballots.

'It is extremely unlikely,' as Sanders argued today, that Clinton will have enough pledged delegate support to win the nomination at that time. Yet, she's likely to declare victory, and the national media can be counted on to follow suit.

Bernie Sanders made an impassioned plea on Saturday to superdeledates and the media not to write him off on Tuesday before the polls close in California

The media will declare, 'It's all over,' he said. 'That simply is not accurate.'

Sanders said Clinton would need to win two-thirds of the pledged delegates available on Tuesday to win the nomination, he said.

'Frankly unless I am very, very mistaken, that is not going to happen.'

Clinton will need the support of the superdelegates to win, and they don't vote until the convention in Philadelphia. 

It is a fact that it will be a contested convention, he said, reaffirming his plans to stay in the race until Clinton is formally award the nomination by party officials.

The superdelegates could still change their minds about supporting him, Sanders contended. 

He pointed to a statement from the Democratic National Committee's communications director stating that the superdelegate count should not be used when determining the nominee on primary and caucus nights because their support is not firm.

'He is exactly right,' Sanders said. So for the media 'or anyone else' to declare her the Democratic nominee on Tuesday night would be 'inaccurate.' 

The come-from-behind senator clashing with the Clinton operation, which has already produced one president and is on its way to winning the White House again, said, 'I understand the battle that I am waging, is a very, very steep climb.'

'We have come a very, very long way, and steep climbs and challenges are not something that this campaign shies away from,' he stated. 

The current process for determining the Democratic nominee, which comes down to the votes of 712 party officials across the country, is 'absurd,' he emphasized.

'I don't use the word rigged, because I knew what I was getting into,' he explained. 

But the process does work against candidates like himself, who haven't spent decades courting the party elites, he said.

'I will do everything I can to change it,' he said. 

That Clinton won over 400 of them last summer, before any votes were cast, 'That is called an anointment process.'

The Democratic establishment essentially said it does't matter who is running against her, that is our candidate, as soon as the race began, he opined.

'Whether I like it or not, those are the rules,' Sanders acknowledged, and so he must make his case to the superdelegates that he's the better choice.

The come-from-behind senator clashing with the Clinton operation, which has already produced one president and is on its way to winning the White House again, said, 'I understand the battle that I am waging, is a very, very steep climb'

Sanders spoke to supporters at a Get-Out-the-Vote event this afternoon in Hollywood after his news confeence

His campaign has the energy and enthusiasm needed to beat Donald Trump, Sanders said, and that is clear not just from polling, but by their turnout at his rallies. 

Both Trump and Clinton have 'very, very high' negative rating with voters, he said. 

And while Clinton may be able to beat the Republican nominee in November, he's offering 'a choice not just to vote against somebody, but to vote for a vision.'

Sanders teared up during the media avail as he talked about the poor and working class Americans his campaign is affecting. So many of his donors are impoverished and still they give because they believe in his vision for the country.

The proud independent senator has been critical of the Democratic Party's reliance on Wall Street and other wealthy individuals to finance national campaigns.

'The Democratic Party has got to be a party that's more than candidates going to wealthy people's homes to raise outrageous sums of money,' he said at a rally in Santa Cruz on Tuesday.

He hit on the topic again today, after NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell made reference to a DNC fundraiser Friday in Florida where President Barack Obama was the guest of honor.

Sanders was about to bash the party for its reliance on big donors when a gentleman sitting in the first row who had earlier asked him why he didn't run a Libertarian or Green Party candidate interrupted him.

'So leave it,' he declared, interrupting Sanders.

The senator warned that he'd be asked to leave if he had another outburst, and moved on.