The Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet Saturday, May 31st in Washington DC in an effort to decide what to do about Michigan and Florida. The entire meeting will be broadcast on CSPAN. Most believe that the DNC will seat half the delegates of each state. If the DNC decides to seat all of Florida and Michigan’s delegates as is, Sen. Clinton would make a dent in Obama’s lead. This result is unlikely however given the following statement by Nancy Pelosi after speaking at meeting in front of the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board in California. In expressing the neccesity for exacting some sort of penalty to Florida and Michigan, Pelosi said “[i]f you have no order and no discipline in terms of party rules, people will be having their primary in the year before the presidential election,” she said. “So there has to be some penalty.”
In addition, Pelosi and Harry Reid released a statement Thursday night to the New York times pressing superdelegates to make their decision known by next week. Reid and Pelosi made clear that they do not want this RBC meeting on Saturday to extend this protracted primary race any further by way of appeals, etc. The two top congressional democrats plan to urge uncommitted superdelegates to make their decision known by the middle of next week to be exact. Reid went further by saying that the nominee will be known by Wednesday of next week. Because superdelegates are members or aspiring members of Congress, word from Reid and Pelosi add a new kind of pressure to the superdelegates. This is bad news for the Clinton Campaign who have been making utterances about taking this to the Credentials Committee at the August convention.
As for the RBC meeting this Saturday, Clinton supporters are expected to protest. The Obama campaign however has opted to go a different route. Campaign Obama has asked its supporters not to protest but to take this opportunity to register voters within their community. The campaign has organized a mass voter registration drive and request that Obama supporters go to www.barackobama.com to find their local registration drive location. The following statement was released by the Obama campaign.
On Saturday, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee will meet in Washington D.C. to determine whether Florida and Michigan delegates should be allowed to participate at the Democratic convention in August. We look forward to the meeting proceeding smoothly—and we’re asking that our supporters not demonstrate or disrupt the proceedings in any way.
The following is a list of members, who are also superdelegates, of the Rules and Bylaws Committee and which candidate each member supports.
Co-Chairs - no endorsement
Alexis Herman (co-chair, Washington , D.C. )
James Roosevelt, Jr. (co-chair, Massachusetts )
Members - Clinton supporters (13) Hartina Flournay (DC)
Donald Fowler (SC) Harold Ickes, Jr. (DC) Jaime Gonzalez, Jr. (TX) Alice Huffman (CA) Ben Johnson (DC) Elaine Kamarck (MA) Eric Kleinfeld (DC) Mona Pasquil (CA) Mame Reiley (VA) Gary Shay (CA) Elizabeth Smith (DC) Michael Steed (MD) Members - Obama supporters (8) Martha Fuller Clark (NH) Carol Khare Fowler (SC)
Janice Griffin (MD) Thomas Hynes (IL) Allan Katz (FL) Sharon Stroschein (SD) Sarah Swisher (IA) Everett Ward (NC) Members - no known endorsement (7)
Donna Brazille (DC)
Mark Brewer (MI)
Ralph Dawson (NY) Yvonne Gates ( NV) Alice Germond (DC) - DNC Secretary David McDonald (WA) Jerome Wiley Segovia (VA)
There has been significant punditry and widespread rumouring that Sen. Jim Webb would be a great VP for Barack Obama. I disagree. Sen. Webb has not endorsed Obama or any democratic candidate for that matter. Webb continues to say that he has not felt the urge to endorse any of the candidates. Webb also said that he would strongly discourage either of the democratic candidates from asking him to be their VP. Okay, in my opinion this gives Obama an easy out. Webb has quite a bit of baggage with respect to women’s issues and political decisions. Webb’s track record would definitely take away from Obama’s message. When I hear Webb speak I sense an awkward uneasiness with respect to the democratic platform. Perhaps because he is only newly democrat. Also, While Web may be a good politician, word on the street is that he is not very good at the campaigning/running aspect of the the political game. Rumors are also circulating regarding former Virginia governor Mark Warner.
No person with a McCain Campaign title or position may participate in a 527 or other independent entity that makes public communications that support or oppose any presidential candidate.
Yet two top McCain Surrogates Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. Lindsay Graham are on the Board of Advisors of the anti-Obama 527 group Veterans For Freedom. Not only that, but Sen. Graham is using and allegedly helping to frame the messages of the group. Is McCain and his campaign coordinating with this group in developing its anti-Obama messages in violation of not only McCain’s stated policy but also campaign finance laws? See time line below.
This is the Vets for Freedom anti-Obama attack ad released on 5/22
Sen. Lindsay Graham Suggestion on 5/25 and Sen. Durban’s response.
To all our veterans and servicemen who continue to fight for the freedom that all Americans hold so dear….Thank you. Thank you for your bravery, dedication, and love of country. We especially want to thank on this solemn day those who have fallen and their families for their tremendous sacrifice in the name of duty and service. We have no words to adequately express our gratitude. Nor do we have words of comfort that are sufficient to express our sorrow for the tremendous lost that you have suffered. What we do have is a tremendous amount of love and respect for all of you who continue to risk your lives and those we have lost. Thank you.
While speaking in front of the Argus Editorial Board in South Dakota, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was asked why are some people asking her to drop out of the race, responding Clinton actually said the following;
“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it,” she said, dismissing calls to drop out.
Officially, the most selfish, irresponsible, indefensible comment that a candidate for President of the United States can ever make!!! Sen. Clinton it is really time for you to bow out of this race because you have officially crossed the line!!! The United States has a history of violence related to politics and racial oppression, and to even put this out there is repugnant, reprehensible, and absolutely unforgivable. What exactly is going on in your head Sen. Clinton??? When Sen. Clinton allegedly apologizes, she does not apologize to Sen. Obama for insinuating his demise as a way for to win the nomination, but express “regrets” only to the Kennedy family who are owed an actual apology. Superdelegates need to make their decision known and end this woman’s reign of destruction. Sen. Clinton, you are officially UNFIT to lead this country!!!
Pastor John Hagee says that the Holocaust was Hitler’s way of doing God’s will. After seeking out and pursuing Hagee’s endorsement for a year, John McCain has repeatedly said that he is happy to have the Pastor’s endorsement. It has been discovered that Pastor Hagee has a few more skeletons in his closet. See excerpt from sermon below courtesy of Sam Stein.. What does this say about McCain’s judgment?
”‘And they the hunters should hunt them,’ that will be the Jews. ‘From every mountain and from every hill and from out of the holes of the rocks.’ If that doesn’t describe what Hitler did in the holocaust you can’t see that…..Theodor Herzl is the father of Zionism. He was a Jew who at the turn of the 19th century said, this land is our land, God wants us to live there. So he went to the Jews of Europe and said ‘I want you to come and join me in the land of Israel.’ So few went that Herzl went into depression. Those who came founded Israel; those who did not went through the hell of the holocaust….Then god sent a hunter. A hunter is someone with a gun and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter. And the Bible says — Jeremiah writing — ‘They shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and from the holes of the rocks,’ meaning there’s no place to hide. And that might be offensive to some people but don’t let your heart be offended. I didn’t write it, Jeremiah wrote it. It was the truth and it is the truth. How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.”
Sen. Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The the 76-year-old Massachusetts Senator has been diagnosed with a malignant glioma in his left parietal lobe, “a brain region that governs sensation but also plays some role in movement and language.” This cancer strikes 9,000 Americans each year. Survival rates range from one to five years. Physicians are running additional test to determine the best course of treatment. Though this appears to be an uphill battle to most, Sen. Kennedy has fought many uphill battles and if anyone can beat the odds he can. There are many who have beat those odds. We believe that the Sen. Kennedy will be one of those people. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Sen. Kennedy as you face this challenge and we know that you will come through it using the same fight that you have used throughout your 45 years in office. That cancer does not know who it is dealing with. Godspeed Sir.
Too early to get a final margin because Oregon is a mail-in vote and the votes are still being counted. With 88% of the vote in, the margin is Obama 58%, Clinton 42%. This win marks a significant milestone for Sen. Barack Obama. The Illinois senator now has won the majority of pledge delegates. What does that mean? Clinton needs 104.17% of the remaining delegates to beat the majority that Obama has secured. Obtaining such a majority is mathematically impossible. There are only 86 pledge delegates left to be won in the remaining states. There are three primaries left, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Montana. In his speech in Iowa last night, Obama told his supporters that the “nomination is within reach.”
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won Kentucky by a significant margin. With 100% of the vote in, Clinton won Kentucky 65% to 30%. The fact that Clinton was able to garner such a significant amount of support when it is being reported that her campaign is on its last legs is a testament to her skill and tenacity. The Kentucky win also increased Clinton’s popular vote count by 250,000. The Clinton campaign also reported that she raised 22 million in the month of April. Unfortunately, it will not make a difference in this primary process. Most have concluded unoficially that Barack Obama is the democratic nominee. During Obama’s speech he recognized Clinton for her contribution, formidability, and history making campaign. The Ilinois senator said this about his rival, “Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and yours will come of age.” I agree with this comment wholeheartedly. Congratulations Sen. Clinton for a race worthy of a significant moment in history.
The drug-thinner Heparin has been linked to over 80 deaths in the United States. However, the Federal Drug Administration is withholding the names of the Chinese companies who supplied the drugs to U.S. drug companies. 7,000 Americans die each year due to medication errors. The heparin situation was brought to light recently due to the the actor Dennis Quaid’s testimony in front of Congress when his twins were administered 1,000 times the normal dose of the drug. The Quaid situation was due to alleged faulty labeling of the drug containers. However, there was also contamination of the blood thinner. The Food and Drug Administration sent out heparin alerts to hundreds of hospitals, medical societies and pharmaceutical organizations after discovering that the blood thinner was tainted. It is alleged that due to an effort to decrease production cost, Chinese companies may have used lower quality ingredients which resulted in the contamination. Congress is in the process of conducting a full scale investigation but is being stonewalled by the FDA when it requests the names of the Chinese companies that supplied the contaminated medication. Rep. FDA’s top drug safety official, Janet Woodcock, and her deputyof Michigan and the person who runs the investigations panel of the House Commerce Committee recently sent a letter to FDA chief, Andrew von Eschenbach, urging him towards including subpoena power in a bill pending in the House regarding drug importation. The FDA has not requested such power and in the past has relied on the Justice Department as its enforcement tool. However, in a recent hearing before the House on the Heparin crisis, Stupak asked FDA’s top drug safety official, Janet Woodcock, and her deputy if they would like subpoena power? Both officials agreed that subpoena power would be “very useful.” Giving the FDA subpoena power would allow the FDA to demand certain documents from regulated companies. Therefore, it would not have to consider such alleged encumbrances as confidentiality agreements. There has been no response from the FDA. Further, an aide revealed that von Eschenbach plans to drag this issue out for the remainder of the year. I don’t know about you but the reason that the FDA exists is to protect American consumers and if it is not accomplishing its primary purpose what is the point of its existence?
Today are two of the last pivotal races in this protracted democratic primary. There are approximately 103 delegates up for grabs in Oregon and Kentucky. Both states are closed primaries with 52 delegates at stake in Oregon and 51 delegates at stake in Kentucky. Oregon is a mail-in primary where the votes begin the counting today and should have a pretty good indication as to who won the state by around 8pm at which time half the ballots will have been counted. In Kentucky the polls close at 7pm EST and Oregonians can drop ballots off at designated locations until 11pm EST tonight. Though the increase in voter registration has not been nearly as significant as in earlier states, the excitement about Oregon and Kentucky has not been muffled. This is demonstrated by the 75,000 strong crowd that showed up to hear Barack Obama speak in Oregon last weekend. Though Obama will not officially declare his victory, he will unofficially receive his coronation as the democratic nominee. Clinton is expected to win an easy victory in Kentucky, but not in any way close to the victory margin that she received in West Virginia. Yesterday on the campaign trail, Clinton offered as a boost to her legitimacy as the more electable candidate, that Karl Rove endorsed her as the more electable candidate. Yes she really gave Karl Rove as her personal endorser! Times are rough as the primary season ends when you as a democrat sight Karl Rove as support for your candidacy. And you accept such support knowing that it is only given because Karl Rove believes that you are in fact the weaker candidate and therefore would be a better opponent against John McCain. Back to today’s races, Obama is expected to win Oregon and get the remaining 16 pledged delegates needed to obtain a guaranteed pledge delegate majority. A candidate needs a total of 1627 to win a absolute majority of the pledged delegates. As of today Obama has 1612 pledge delegates. After tonight’s primary results he should easily capture the remaining 16 delegates needed to clinch the pledge delegate majority. Another interesting fact is that if Obama gets 52 delegates total out of both states tonight, he will obtain the majority pledge delegates even if you count Florida and Michigan as is. This will end Clinton’s argument that of if you count Michigan and Florida she wins. However, this writer is sure that the Clinton campaign will come up with yet a new metric of Clinton spin. The current delegate count, including pledge and superdelegates, is Obama 1913 to Clinton’s 1719.
Barack Obama attracted the largest crowd of this primary in Portland Oregon this past weekend. The record drawing crowd was at least 75,000 strong with spectators watching from the lawn of the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The park could not hold the enormous crowd so Oregonians watched from boats, outside the park, and any other place that would allow them access to the Illinois senator. Portland is the state’s largest urban area and has been monikered by its residents as “the whitest major city in the United States.” The state of Oregon is also a breeding ground for anti-war activism and sentiment, so Obama’s opposition the the Iraq war contributed to him being an early favorite in the state. Tomorrow, residents of Oregon and Kentucky will have their say at the ballot box. Though Obama has virtually conceded Kentucky to Clinton, the Illinois senator is expected to pull out a decisive victory in Oregon. Obama is not expected to declare victory tomorrow for fear of appearing presumptuous. However, the Windy City senator will have won the most pledge delegates and a win in Oregon will make it officially impossible for Clinton, in the remaining primaries, to overtake his pledge delegate lead. Obama will have to pull out a decent victory in Oregon and decrease Clinton’s margin of victory in Kentucky. If the feedback from the Obama call banks are anything to go by, Clinton’s margin of victory will not be as large in the Bluegrass State as it was in West Virginia. Kentucky is a culturally conservative state that does not care for Wall Street but there is a growing populous discontent in the state. Republicans are polling poorly in the state and this may offer an opportunity for Sen. Obama to take advantage. Having said all that, even though Obama will essentially win the nomination tomorrow, declaring victory may antagonize Clinton supporters thereby making it more difficult to unify the party after the primary season is completed. That does not change the reality however that this race is over. Nor does it take away from the fact that the Obama camp have solid and legitimate reasons for optimism. One being the fact that not a single superdelegate, uncommitted or undeclared, can be found to say that he/she would be willing, despite Obama’s pledge delegate lead, to overturn the result and make Clinton the nominee. Therefore, Obama is on solid footing in his belief that he will become the official democratic nominee on Tuesday night. Sen. Obama has chosen to spend Tuesday, not in Kentucky or Oregon, but in Iowa. The place where his imminent rise in contention and legitimacy began. Obama spent eight months in Iowa prior to its primary. Eight months well spent by most calculations.
John McCain was all for talking with Hamas two years ago before he started running for president. Now the Arizona senator has flip flopped on the double-talk express. A pattern is developing here. This was written in response to McCain’s outrageous statement yesterday in support of President Bush’s outrageous and unprecedented comments regarding “appeasement” that Bush made about Sen. Obama on the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence. Bush also violated 60 years of uninterrupted american foreign policy in that you do not criticize american foreign policy on foreign soil. See interview with James Rubin:
RUBIN: “Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?”
McCAIN: “They’re the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it’s a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that.”
According to thestate.com is reporting that six of John Edwards’ eight South Carolina delegates are backing Barack Obama for president.
The head of John Edwards South Carolina presidential campaign told CNN that at least six of the eight delegates Edwards won in S.C. are ready to vote for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama at the Democratic presidential convention.
Columbia attorney John Moylan appeared on the cable news channel this morning.
Edwards endorsed the campaign of his former rival last night.
Edwards’ delegates are free to vote for whichever candidate they choose, but delegate Robert Groce said he would choose Obama.
“I was elected to represent John Edwards. I will honor his request,” said Groce, 40 and a Summerville resident. “I’m very comfortable that either one (Obama or U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton) could assume the office and do a good job. The party has really benefitted from having so many good candidates.”
Edwards’ S.C. delegates plan to release a statement later today
I really cannot write an introduction to this post because Buchanan’s words actually speak for themselves:
America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.
Pat Buchanan also spewed additional rubbish last night. He said that “if Barack Obama had not been an African-American he would have been beaten by John Edwards.” Huh….what about the fact that Barack Obama has run a masterful campaign? What about the fact that he raised more money than any presidential candidate in history through a grassroots movement also never before done by any candidate in history. Why does MSNBC keep this person on their airwaves. See video below
After John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama last night, one of his delegates did not wast any time in rallying behind the Illinois senator. Joshua Denton, a New Hampshire Democratic Party delegate and Iraq war veteran said that he will support Barack Obama now that Edwards has endorsed Obama. See his statement below.
A New Hampshire Democratic Party delegate who had supported John Edwards says he will support Barack Obama, now that Edwards has endorsed his former political rival for the party’s presidential nominee.
more stories like this
Joshua Denton of Portsmouth, 26, an Iraq war veteran, says he thinks that both Obama and Hillary Clinton would be a better president than Republican nominee John McCain. He thinks that Obama is the change the country needs, along with having the best chance of beating McCain in the general election.
“My fear with Hillary was just because she is who she is — for better or worse — she would sink, not just lose the presidency,” but Democrats in Congress, Denton said Wednesday. - Boston Globe
Hours before bitter-gate at a speaking engagement just before the comments about guns and “bitter” were made, Obama revealed his true feelings about guns. Obama made the following statement, “[w]e need sensible gun laws,” said the Senator. “I just got back from Montana where just about everyone has guns. In that culture, fathers and sons bond over hunting. You can’t take that away from rural America. But the inner city is different, and we should tighten the laws on gun purchases and close the loopholes in gun show sales to unscrupulous buyers. The gun control people and the right to bear arms people are talking past each other about disconnected topics.” Obama said this just a few hours before the meeting in San Francisco where “bitter-gate” happened. It’s unfortunate that the main stream media did not pick up this story but instead spun bitter-gate beyond recognition.
The rumor mill is a buzz with a rumor that former presidential candidate John Edwards will endorse Barack Obama this evening at a rally in Michigan. Rumor confirmed. AP is reporting that Edwards has endorsed Barack Obama. The Obama campaign also announced that there will be a “major national endorsement” tonight at 7pm. Further, Edwards said a couple of days ago that he would be endorsing the person that he voted for in his North Carolina primary very soon. Edwards has also been dropping other hints in the last few days by criticising Clinton for her comments about the “white vote.” Edwards also said that he cannot figure out how Clinton could ever win. I guess now would be as good a time as any seeing that Obama is about to clinch the nomination next week. My question is will Edwards ask his his pledge delegates to vote for Obama at the convention? I believe that he may still have between 8 and 13 pledged delegates. Edwards actually won 18 pledged delegates some of which have already been reallocated. Edwards can strongly urge his pledged delegates to support Obama but the delegates can now vote for whomever they please.
The state of the race at this point is as follows. Sen. Hillary Clinton needs 171 of the remaining 189 pledge delegates to overtake Obama’s lead. That means that Clinton will need 91% of the remaining pledged delegates to secure victory. Broken down even further, Clinton will need to win 91% of the vote in every remaining state including Puerto Rico. Side point about Puerto Rico: it cannot vote in the general election so it does not help Clinton’s argument that she is more electable in the general election even if she wins it in the primary. Back to the facts. Given that Obama has a significant lead in Oregon right now of an average 52% to Clinton’s 35%, he will at least net 26 delegates of the 52 delegates being allotted. Currently Obama enjoys a 153 pledged delegate lead over Sen. Clinton. Obama only needs 19 delegates to win the insurmountable majority of the pledged delegates. Because the majority of superdelegates agree that overturning the collected will of the people would be disastrous for the party, Obama basically clinches the nomination on May 20th, the night of the Kentucky and Oregon primaries. Looks like that is all she wrote.
Rep. Pete Visclosky (IN) has endorsed Barack Obama, as well as Christine Schon Marques. Marques is the chair of the Democrats Abroad and is assigned .5 votes at the Democratic convention. College Democrat Chairs Awais Khaleel (WI) and Lauren Wolfe (MI) endorsed Obama late last night. Not sure how much of the Michigan vote of confidence by Lauren Wolfe will be counted. Obama is also receiving the endorsements of 3 fomer SEC chairmen today, one of which worked for President Bush. William Donaldson, who was SEC chairman for about 2½ years from early 2003, along with Clinton and Reagan appointees Arthur Levitt and David Ruder.
Clinton also picked up 1 superdelegate, Vicky Harwell, president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women.
A total of 330,714 people voted in Virginia yesterday, 76,000 of which voted in early voting. Clinton pulled out a substantial win of 67% to Obama’s 26%. Given the fact that Obama did not campaign in West Virginia, such a wide margin was expected. A total of 28 delegates will be awarded. Pundits are asking why did West Virginians vote for Clinton knowing that most have proclaimed the race over and Obama as the nominee? To that question I have a different question, why did 7% of West Virginians vote for John Edwards even though he has been out of the race since January? A notable percentage of West Virginians appear to be saying we don’t like the woman or the black guy. This bolsters an argument that I make later in this article. The exit polls revealed that 20% of West Virginia voters thought race an important factor in their decision. That is a pretty high number to overcome. However, it is not insurmountable with a few more visits to the state. Many of the pundits are punditing that Obama may have an issue in the general if he is unable to connect with the type of working class voters that make up West Virginia. My question is, are the pundits overstating the importance of carrying the white vote? Why is it only republican stategist and pundits like Pat Buchannan, Joe Scaborough, Tucker Carlson, and Lou Dobbs that insist that Obama has a problem because he is not winning every single identity group? Also, why is it only the republican strategists and pundits who continue to promote the idea of a “Dream Ticket?” It seems to me that if the conservative right cannot get Clinton on the top of the ticket, they will accept her in the VP spot just to get her on the ticket. As I’ve mentioned before, nothing rallies the conservative base like the potential of the Clintons back in the White House. Just as background, West Virginia voted for Bush twice and traditionally is a very conservative state. My guess is that if Clinton expects to hold such voters in a general election, she is miscaculating. Pundits say that Clinton has been able to connect with working class voters in West Virginia, I say that the connection is fleeting when John “maverick” McCain enters the picture. A Quinnipiac national poll released today makes my point. McCain is leading Obama among white voters 47% to 40% but McCain is also leading Clinton 48% to 41% among white voters. This really undercuts Clinton’s argument that she appeals more to whit voters. If there was no Obama on the ticket in Westy Virginia, chances are that such voters would not be supporting Clinton in the numbers that they did yesterday. Simply because of the Clinton’s history and identity-politics. One problem evidenced by the West Virginia exit polls is that 50% of West Virginians believe that Obama shares Rev. Wright’s views. This is clearly a result of not campaigning in the state, something that can be remedied in the general election. Obama won neighboring Virginia by 29 percentage points so it is very probable that he will bring West Virginians into the fold. Finally, a bit of historical perspective. The last democrat that carried the white vote in a presidential election was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Bob Dole carried the white vote in his presidential bid against Bill Clinton in 1996 and as most of you know, Dole lost. It seems to be more important to build a coalition that is a cross-section of all of America. What does the West Virginia win mean….it does not change the race in any way but does give the pundits something to talk about for the next week until the Kentucky and Oregon primaries on May 20th.
As one of her last messages to West Virginia, Sen Clinton tells West Virginia to “send them a message.” I am not sure if this is simply a coincidence but “send them a message” was the battle cry of George Wallace in the sixties during the height of racial tensions in this country. Bob Herbert of the New York Times seems to think that it was a little too convenient for Sen. Clinton to include such statement in her final appeal to West Virginia voters. The slogan was originally used by Wallace in an effort to get voters to send Washington, and those in support of civil rights, a message by voting for him and his segregationist platform. Wallace was staunchly against the civil rights movement and built his political career on segregation. I wonder if West Virginians are familiar with the history behind the final plea. Apparently Bob Herbert is very aware and said as much today. In addition, and before Clinton’s “send them a message” comment, Bob Herbert wrote the following piece regarding Clinton’s southern strategy:
There was a name for it when the Republicans were using that kind of lousy rhetoric to good effect: it was called the Southern strategy, although it was hardly limited to the South. Now the Clintons, in their desperation to find some way — any way — back to the White House, have leapt aboard that sorry train.
He can’t win! Don’t you understand? He’s black! He’s black!
The Clintons have been trying to embed that gruesomely destructive message in the brains of white voters and superdelegates for the longest time. It’s a grotesque insult to African-Americans, who have given so much support to both Bill and Hillary over the years….
But it’s an insult to white voters as well, including white working-class voters. It’s true that there are some whites who will not vote for a black candidate under any circumstance. But the United States is in a much better place now than it was when people like Richard Nixon, George Wallace and many others could make political hay by appealing to the very worst in people, using the kind of poisonous rhetoric that Senator Clinton is using now….
But it’s one thing to lack class and a sense of grace, quite another to deliberately try and wreck the presidential prospects of your party’s likely nominee — and to do it in a way that has the potential to undermine the substantial racial progress that has been made in this country over many years.The Clintons should be ashamed of themselves. But they long ago proved to the world that they have no shame.
Today West Virginia holds its democratic presidential primary. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama take their contest to the Appalachian state. There are 28 delegates at stake in West Virginia and Sen. Hillary Clinton is expected to win the state by at least 30 percentage points.
The polls are open from 6:30am to 7:30pm. Voter Hotline: 1-866-SOS-VOTE (1-866-767-8683)
Voters may enter their precinct any time duing those hours to cast their vote. Independents may vote in the democratic primary simply request a democratic ballot. Here are a few more tips to help with the process.
Bring identification if you did not submit proof of your residency when you actually registered to vote or if this is your first time voting. Just to be on the safe side bring ID. Acceptable forms of identification are drivers license, pay stubs, bank statements, utility bills, or other government issued documents.
Be prepared to sign your name in the poll book as proof of your identity.
Vote via “touch screen device” or paper ballot. If you are using a paper ballot, make sure to mark your ballot in ink. After completing your ballot, return the ballot with secrecy envelope, poll slip, and other material to the poll worker at which time it will be placed in the ballot box.
Voters may receive assistance if they have a disability, are elderly, or possess an inability to read or write.
Curbside voting is available from an automobile outside your precinct in the presence of an election commissioner from each political party if: 1) the polling place is not handicap accessible, and 2) no voters are voting or waiting to vote inside the polling place.
Provisional Ballots. You may be required to vote provisionally if:
Your name is not in the poll book
Your signature does not match the signature in teh poll book
It is noted in the poll book that you already voted during the early absentee voting period
You received assisatnce while voting, and it appeared to teh poll worker that you did not require such assistance.
After receiving over 1000 entries and over 5 million votes from its members, Moveon.org finally decided on a winner for its contest soliciting its members to come up with an ad for Barack Obama, the presidential candidate recently endorsed by the organization.
