Ralston Reports: Team Clinton growing nervous about Nevada

[Nanjeanne]

It seems like yesterday.

The Hillary Clinton juggernaut arrived in Nevada last spring, making all the right moves. She hired Emmy Ruiz, a skilled operative who worked for Clinton and Barack Obama here in 2008 (Clinton won the popular vote but lost the delegate fight), to helm her effort. Ruiz brought a Nevada-centric team together, people who knew the state and its burgeoning Latino community, which made up 15 percent of the caucus universe eight years ago. And in May, Clinton held a memorable event, a roundtable with DREAMers, who just recently endorsed her for the nomination.

Nevada was Clinton Country, mostly because of her organizational strength designed to construct a firewall should Bernie Sanders do well in New Hampshire. Indeed, Sanders apparently couldn’t place Nevada on a map – he had no offices, no staff, no footprint at all.

Race? What race?

Now, one week before Nevada Democrats break the tie between Iowa and New Hampshire and decide if the Sanders Surge is real, yesterday has vanished and Hillary Clinton can’t stop thinking about tomorrow.

No, not the way the Clintons meant it in 1992, with optimism and hope. This campaign is filled with dread and fear; you can feel it.

In a poker game, they are what is known as “tells,” some giveaway to what cards a player holds, some sign of whether he has the flush or has a busted hand. As Team Clinton focuses on the state where gambling dominates, their tells are showing.

<snip>

But all of that stuff was asked after the initial horse race question, and even if the poll were somehow skewed, I’d guess the Sanders Surge is real, if only from the Clinton tells. Just last month, the Clinton campaign was touting a 25-point lead in Nevada.

You don’t need to be a pundit to discern this is not the behavior of a campaign with an insurmountable lead.

<snip>

You know that the Clintons will do everything they can in this last week to tilt the scales into their favor, including, I’d guess, trying to get the Culinary union to endorse. The union has stayed out of the fray so far, but I don’t know how long that can last. I’d guess some phone calls are coming into union HQ with 202 area codes.

Clinton was so remarkably facile, so seemingly empathetic with those DREAMers last May, so eager to get to the left of Obama on immigration (“I’ll take your executive order and raise you three more.”)

Yes, that seems like yesterday. But now, after Feb. 20, Team Clinton has to be worried there may be no tomorrow.

Read the whole article here: http://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/14/ralston-reports-team-clinton-growing-nervous-nevada/80330062/

I don't know nothing . . . but I do know that after watching live the Las Vegas Sanders Rally just a short while ago --- Las Vegas is Feeling The Bern!

[noretreatnosurrender]

1. There have been lots of "tells"

All of the comments from team Clinton that have had to be walked back are tells to me. The Bernie photo flap that blew up was another tell. The Sanders campaign probably won't win SC but even if he did he would be unlikely to win there in the general (although anything is possible). I'm more interested in seeing Bernie increasing his share of the African American vote and Latino vote as the contest goes on. I believe he will make dramatic gains.

[JRLeft]

2. I think she still wins Nevada and South Carolina, but you never know.

[Hydra]

3. The article points out how the Clinton campaign continues to hammer on the idea

That it's white people causing her to lose. PoCs, were are constantly assured, are in her pocket.

I think we need a whole warehouse of popcorn for when Clinton loses in a heavily minority state. After all that doubling down, how will they explain it when they can't deliver? That the people there are "too white" to vote for her?

[mhatrw]

4. Why is Hillary always supposed to be so tremendously popular with whichever demographic

has yet to have voted?

[AtomicKitten]

5. K&R

Thanks.

[WillyT]

6. K & R !!!

[geek tragedy]

7. She's a much weaker candidate than in 2008.

She's running a better campaign, but she's not inspiring anyone.