Upset! Bernie defeats Hillary in Michigan

It was close, but that's kind of the point. It wasn't supposed to be close at all. Here in Michigan, the Democratic Party is a well-oiled machine with lots of union money and lots of very experienced politicians who've been at this a long time. So when the party establishment gets behind a candidate like they're behind Hillary Clinton, it's not supposed to matter that some upstart wild-eyed socialist challenges the inevitable coronation of the queen. But I can tell you there's a chasm between Michigan's political class, which is foresquare behind Hillary, and what union types would call the rank-and-file, otherwise known as normal people. Here is my city of Royal Oak, which is heavily Democratic, you see Bernie signs everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Where do you see any Hillary signs? Well, when you see the first one, let me know. There is simply no enthusiasm for her at all. There were liberal friends of mine - officeholders, party leadership types and so forth - over at Pronto! restaurant at Sixth and Washington the other day posing for pictures with Bill Clinton, but that did not translate to any widespread enthusiasm for Hillary's candidacy.

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And last night, the Results proved it:

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont scored a shocking win Tuesday night in Michigan’s Democratic primary, narrowly defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and reasserting himself as a threat to her nomination. With 99 percent of precincts reporting as of midnight, Sanders had captured 50 percent of the vote compared with 48.1 percent for Clinton. Sanders upended public opinion polls and conventional wisdom in Michigan, where he packed college arenas and other venues in the past week while touting his message of change and promise of “political revolution.” Speaking shortly before 11 p.m. while the race remained too close to call, Sanders said the night had already been an “enormous success” because he was bound to at least capture a sizable share of the 130 Michigan delegated that were up for grabs. "This is a critically important night. We came from 30 points down in Michigan and we’re seeing the same kind of come-from-behind momentum all across America," he said a statement after the race was called. “Not only is Michigan the gateway to the rest of the industrial Midwest, the results there show that we are a national campaign." Clinton had considered Michigan a stronghold because of her consistent strength with African-American voters. She first highlighted the issue of Flint’s lead-contaminated water about two months before the primary and visited the city a month ago as a way of promoting her concern for the black-majority city.

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Another accomplishment gone wanting for the most un-accomplished woman in America

That whole thing about Hillary counting on the black pastors get out the vote for her is typical of old-time Democratic Party thinking in Michigan. The template is supposed to be that black inner-city voters basically do what they're told to do, and that the pastors of black churches are adjuncts of the party who will not only invite candidates to their pulpits but will make it clear to their congregations what's expected of them at the ballot box. This is was the system that helped keep Coleman Young in power for 20 years as he presided over the decimation of Detroit. But those voters are not the sheep the Democrats assume them to be, certainly not after what's happened to Detroit and Flint, and they're not about to just take anyone's orders to back a candidate that anyone can see is exceedingly flawed, completely untrustworthy and wholly motivated by her own personal ambition. Hillary tried to win support in Michigan by touting her support for the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, and by beating up Republican Gov. Rick Snyder over the Flint water situation. But no matter what she says, people can see who she is, and they know she'll say anything to get votes. Last night, the things she said weren't able to get her enough of those votes. This doesn't mean she won't win the nomination. The delegate deck is still stacked against Bernie Sanders in a way that it's hard to see how he'll overcome it. But what it does mean is that there is clearly no enthusiasm among Democrat voters for a Hillary presidency, and the party is not having any success trying to drum it up. Anyone can see she is a terrible candidate who would make a terrible president. Even very liberal voters are doing everything they can to tell their party leaders that. This is a state Hillary was supposed to win big, but she couldn't pull it off. Another accomplishment gone wanting for the most un-accomplished woman in America.

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