How Sanders and Nevada went crazy for each other
SAN DIEGO -- Things went loco in Nevada. Nothing that happened in the recent Democratic caucuses in the Silver State makes sense.
Starting with this: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders beat the house and got 46.8% of caucus delegates, far outdistancing former Vice President Joe Biden, who came in second with just 20.2%.
The closer you follow politics -- and the more inclined you are to hold elected officials accountable for their records -- the more likely it is that your head is spinning right about now.
Oh, I get that Nevada is a maverick state whose residents stubbornly do their own thing and couldn't care less what talking heads in the Beltway say or think. When analyzing anything that goes on in the state, that's baked in.
That being the case, the fact that the liberal media and the Democratic Party are panicked about the possibility that Sanders could become the nominee was never likely to factor into the calculus of most Nevada voters.
Still, even by the state's wacky standards, things got weird.
A recent visit to Las Vegas reminded me that -- in addition to being friendly to both business and labor -- Nevada also has a deep libertarian streak; a lot of people there describe themselves as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. They don't think in terms of party labels, or blue states and red states. They just look for people who can get things done.
Fine. So why would any fiscal conservative in Nevada who wants to get things done show love to a self-described "democratic socialist" who has accomplished nothing in Washington and now wants to give the government control of the nation's health care system?
Sanders owes much of his victory to Latinos, who make up 30% of the population and about a fifth of eligible voters. According to entrance polls, the Vermont senator raked in 51% of the Latino vote and won over a whopping 72% of Latinos under 30.
The vast majority of Latinos in the state -- almost 70% -- are Mexican or Mexican American, who generally favor less restrictive immigration policies and support giving the undocumented a pathway to earned legal status. That population is also famous for worshiping at the altar of youth when deciding for whom to vote. They have shown a preference for presidential candidates in their 40s, including John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
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