By Britt Nelson

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

For now, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has two speeds – hot and sizzlin’ hot. Voters say they are starting to get “Bernie fever.”

On Saturday, Sanders – in his quest to win the Democratic nomination for president — scored three impressive victories during caucus votes in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. Three solid wins all with more than 70 percent of the vote as his supporters chanted repeatedly “Go Bernie Go” during rallies, on TV news and on the streets of America.

In contrast, Democratic candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was literally left in the dust on that day. During her political rallies lately, she seems to emulate other historical women in politics such as the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (1969 to 1974) and the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1979 to 1990), both the first woman to lead their respective countries. Clinton attempts to compare herself to these great leaders, but she repeatedly comes up short and without depth in her attempts to win over voters who want to elect the first woman President of the United States.

The all-important delegate race is off to the Kentucky Derby with Clinton ahead of Sanders 1,712 to 1,024 with 2,382 needed to win the Democratic nomination in Philadelphia, PA, July 25-28, one week after the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

The next voter showdown is April 5 in Wisconsin. Polling averages show a tightening race between all the candidates on both sides of the horse stalls. Clinton leads Sanders 46.5 percent to 44 percent. She leads Sanders by only 2.5 percent with more than a week to go before the Wisconsin vote. Clinton is feeling the “Bern.”

For Republicans, New York billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have drifted off into the void of tabloid stories about their wives and tales of unfaithfulness as each denies everything leaving a bad taste for voters across the spectrum to digest. Come on boys, it’s time to act like presidential candidates and turn off the soap opera.

In Wisconsin, poll averages show Trump ahead of Cruz 32 percent to 30 percent. There again, a small spread leaving Oho Gov. John Kasich a distant third with 16 percent. Clearly, Kasich remains in the presidential race only to drain whatever delegates he can away from Trump to possibly earn a reward from establishment Republicans down the road, who dislike Trump and Cruz.

Wisconsin delegates — to be won — include 86 for Democrats and 42 for Republicans.

Trump leads the Republican delegate count with 739 to Cruz’s 465, while Kasich trails with 143. Some 1,237 are needed to win the Republican nomination.

The best political coup of the week came last Friday in Portland, Oregon, during a Sanders indoor rally when a small bird landed on Sanders’ speaking podium next to the microphone and his cup of water. It just stood there and looked at him seemingly uninterested in the thunderous applause of the audience seizing the opportunity to celebrate this tiny bird with Sanders. That little bird wasn’t scarred of Bernie — a 74-year-old Jewish Democratic Socialist who advocates for free college tuition and free health care for all. The symbolism was apparent to everyone who saw it. A million dollars would not have bought that moment in political time. It was simply jaw-dropping priceless.

That bird flew away with a “Go Bernie Go” banner flying behind it seen all across America and beyond.

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.