A few years ago, I inquired as to why a party that had nominated the ultimate establishment figure, Mitt Romney, in 2012 had opted for Trump in 2016. What changes on the ground had caused this seismic shift in opinion? The answer, of course, was nothing; Trump prevailed because he ran unopposed in his white nationalist lane, and the other lanes were too crowded. The shift in GOP opinion has occurred during his presidency, and as a result of it; it did not occur before the primaries.
Today, the Democrats are facing a similar situation. Notwithstanding all of the screaming about the party moving to the left, Sanders really only represents about 30 percent of the primary voters. He can get to a majority fairly quickly, however, if the remainder of the electorate thinks his victory is foreordained.
The frightening thing about Nevada is not the Sanders victory, but the margin. The inevitability factor may already be kicking in. If the center left wants to stop him, they need to pick a single candidate and force all of the others out of the race immediately after South Carolina. It can’t wait until Super Tuesday.