As I look to Tuesday's Democratic primary, I am reminded of two historical events. At the OK Corral, the Wyatt Earp and his brothers stood their ground against the outlaws that were coming to kill them. The Gunfight at the OK Corral represented the Earps' last chance to bring law to a lawless land. Over the years, the gunfight at the OK Corral has become the stuff of legend and a part of American mythology. The other historical event that sprung to mind occurred in Waterloo. It was at the famous battle of Waterloo that military genius Napoleon saw his forces defeated by the forces of Duke Wellington of Great Britain. The finality of the battle has come to represent a moment in which a sure victory became a stunning defeat. It is with these two events in mind that I come to take a look at Tuesday's Democratic primary in New York.
Trailing by 244 pledged delegates, Bernie Sanders rolls into New York on Tuesday with a true moment of truth. It is simple really, in order to have a chance at winning Bernie must do well in New York. New York represents 247 pledged delegates that will be divvied up based on how Tuesday's election goes. Beyond the numbers, New York represents so much more than just the chance to pick up some delegates.
In 2000 and 2006, Hillary Clinton won two elections in New York to serve as Senator. When she left the Senate to run for President in 2008, she won the state Democratic Primary over eventual President Barack Obama by 17 points. Most polls have her ahead in New York by double digits this time around as well. All of these are reasons enough to state that New York is vitally important to the Bernie Sanders campaign. There is another reason it weighs so heavily on the results of the campaign, though.
New York is important to the Hillary camp for two distinct reasons. First, it is a second home to her, the state that took her in and sent her to the Senate when her husband's presidential career was over. It is one of the big five states in the delegate count. It is also one of the biggest media centers in the world, a media that has backed Hillary in a big way ever since the election started. A victory for Bernie in New York would be so important because it would represent going into the teeth of her campaign and stealing a win, going into the heart of the media that has steadfastly refused to support him and secure a win that would show the nation that he is capable of winning this election.
This is why Tuesday is so important. It would signify that he has gone from an outsider making progress to a viable candidate with the ability to actually win. In a way, Tuesday's election would provide Sanders the ability to show that he has matured as a politician and has grown up into full fledged Presidential candidate. Finally, if New York is Bernie's OK Corral, a Bernie win could very well represent Hillary's Waterloo.
