By Britt Nelson

 

Sunday’s night Democratic debate held in water-scandal ridden Flint, Michigan between Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders had both candidates calling for the immediate resignation of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.

 

Lead poisoning in Flint’s water supply had been denied for 2 years, but tests showed children and others throughout the mostly black community had high levels of lead poisoning. When Flint moved its water supply to the Flint River in 2014, the improperly treated water stripped lead from pipes and it flowed into thousands of homes, according to news reports.

 

It is alleged that state and local officials did not tell the public about the lead poisoning until after it was too late and the damage spread to innocent children who will be monitored for the rest of their lives. The long-term legal — medical and civil damage — will be staggering.

 

In terms of who won Sunday’s debate, that’s a tough call because both candidates had their shining moments. In this debate there was no name calling, no cussing, no really bad behavior or penis talk in contrast to the recent Republican debate.

 

For former Secretary of State Clinton, her impassioned plea for additional gun control in light of hundreds of mass shootings across America killing men, women and children was impressive and believable. However, she came across as stern, cold and not all that likeable as she sniped at Sanders several times interrupting him in obvious disrespect.

 

For Vermont Sen. Sanders, his attacks on Wall Street banks and the powerful influence of money on the political process was eloquent and forceful. He came across as warm, grandfatherly, full of passion, trustworthy, a statesman and a leader.

 

From here on out to the end of political season 2016, the future is a sometimes confusing numbers game involving delegates and super delegates to the upcoming national political conventions of both Republicans and Democrats to be held in July.

 

Clinton commands a more than two to one delegate lead over Sanders — 1,130 for Clinton and 499 for Sanders, according to the most recent tabulation. These numbers change often as primary and caucus votes are held across the USA and US territories. For Democrats, some 2,382 delegates are needed to win the nomination for president.

 

Meanwhile, New York billionaire Trump has accumulated 391 delegates, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has 302, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has 147 while Ohio Gov. John Kasich comes in a distant fourth place with 37 delegates. For Republicans, some 1,237 delegates are needed to win the nomination for president.

 

Rubio on Sunday won the Puerto Rica primary with 70 percent of the vote and added 23 delegates to his total. He is of Cuban heritage and was expected to do well there.

 

Coming up on March 8 is the Michigan primary for Democrats and Republicans, in which the Flint water situation will certainly be reflected by the voting public.

 

In the most recent Michigan voter poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, Trump leads Republicans with 41 percent, Cruz 22 percent, Rubio 17 percent and Kasich with 13 percent. For Republicans, 59 delegates are at stake.

 

The same poll showed Clinton ahead of Sanders, 57 percent to 40 percent. For Democrats, 148 delegates are to be assigned.

 

Also on March 8 primaries will be held in Idaho and Mississippi for both Republicans and Democrats, while in Hawaii Republicans will conduct a caucus vote.

 

In a recent TV news interview former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former presidential candidate, said in relationship to the Trump phenomenon that what he is witnessing amounts to the attempted overthrow of the American government by the people in their support of Trump.

 

Establishment Republicans are throwing everything they can at Trump to discourage his followers and lead them to another candidate like Cruz. But it appears increasingly like Trump will be the Republican nominee no matter what the establishment Republicans do.

 

On March 15 five states – Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio – will hold winner-take-all primaries involving hundreds of delegates.

 

Whoever is left standing after March 15 will be the eventual nominees — most likely Clinton and Trump.

 

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.

About the author

Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.