They came, they saw, they gathered support; they debated at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders wanted Brooklyn bad! Sanders rallied at the street he grew up on, Greenpoint, and Coney Island. Clinton visited Crown Heights, Sunset Park, and East New York. Both chose to site their campaign headquarters in Brooklyn. Then what was touted as a verbal “Thriller in Manilla” they scrapped it out at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The prize was to see who will win the New York Primary on April 19th.
Most polls had Clinton edging out Sanders. But leading up to the primary in North Brooklyn Bernie’s forces were more in evidence than Hillary’s. I passed two twenty-something’s handing out Bernie pamphlets the night of the debate. There was also no denying the zeal of Sanders supporters at the Greenpoint rally. They waited in unseasonable damp cold while a cloud cover threatened rain for over 2 hours before they saw the hallowed white hair of their hero. Overheard were over 50-year-olds commenting on how this is the first time they’ve been excited by a presidential race. Also the whines of four millennials as they vied to share one phone to each take their own selfie with Bernie in the background. This was not a good example of democratic socialism in action.
