Bernie is surging and, hounded by legal troubles, Clinton is fading. Wisconsin sets up well for Sanders and the Wisconsin momentum is going to carry him through New York and Pennsylvania. That is enough to wipe out Clinton’s meager 230 delegate lead by the end of March.
But beyond the polls, Sanders has (and Clinton is desperately lacking in) an essential ingredient. LIKABILITY.
Dismiss it as misogyny if you like, but you can’t get around the fact that Democratic voters are not rallying to Clinton. She has yet to ignite any support that registers at any temperature above luke-warm (outside of Wall Street). I’m willing to allow that her lack of momentum is a mix of queasy feelings about her investigation clouded candidacy, and her campaign theme of “radical centrism.” Democratic primary voters have no stomach for either one.
As a party, we seem to have realized (at long last) that our political system is fucked, and more of the same isn’t going to fix it. Over the past 8 years, we’ve see what happens when the Democratic Party starts every political debate so close to the magical “center.”
Democrats “win” the Sunday talking heads, but lose everywhere else.
Critics of this early pronouncement will point to Wisconsin polls that show Secretary Clinton in front. To them I say, look at Michigan. The pollsters still aren’t calling cell phone only households. They’ll say “New York is her home state” and I’ll say.. it is proportional. Politics is all about momentum. Bernie has it, and he is going to keep having it.
