The GOP dirty tricks campaign has begun.  It started with Florida’s “No Match, No Vote” law requiring that a voter’s identification match up exactly with the state or federal database in order to vote.  If the voters identification does not match with the voter rolls on Election Day, the voter is given a provisional ballot and two days to prove his/her identity for their vote to count.  The law disproportionately excludes Latino and African American voters.  Republican Secretary of State, Kurt Browning, sent notice to the state’s 67 supervisors of elections that the law would take effect on September 8th.  This means that if your name is “Robert” and the federal/State database says “Bob,” that is not an exact match and you need to correct it or you will be disenfranchised.  If your identification indicates that you are a Jr. or Sr. and it does not match the federal/state database, or vice versa, it is not a match.  Better safe than sorry, correct your information by the voter registration deadline in your state.   In Florida, the voter registration deadline is October 6th.  Make sure that you are registered in Florida and properly identified here.

The Republican party is planning to used foreclosure list in Michigan to block African-Americans from voting on November 4th.  They will use the lists to challenge voters at the polls in predominate African-American communities.  Michigan Republican party Chairman said “[w]e will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses[.]”  Michigan allows election challengers to challenge any voter who they “have reason to believe” is not a “true resident of the city or township” on election day.  The Michigan GOP plans to use foreclosure lists to attempt to challenge voters as not being “true residents.” If you have recently been foreclosed on and no longer reside in your forclosed home, please change your address here and you will be assigned to the proper precinct on Election Day.  Again, be safe rather than sorry correct your address by the voter registration deadline.  In Michigan, the voter registration deadline is Oct 6th.  Check your address and registration in Michigan here.  

Registered voters are being illegally purged from the voter rolls and being disenfranchised in several battleground states.  Many states are not following federal law which mandates procedures for voter registrant removal from the voter rolls.  “The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) limits the circumstances in which a state may cancel a voter’s registration,” the Fair Elections Legal Network, a Washington-based voting rights consortium.  We have cited examples of alleged/actual illegal activity in Michigan, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, and Ohio.  It is that time in this political race were the dirty tricks begin to manifest in various forms of dress but the goal is clear…….disenfranchise voters.  It is important to be ultra vigilant with respect to your registration, the registration of your family members, etc.  Go to your states Secretary of State or Board of Elections website to verify/confirm that you are registered to vote. If you have moved you may have to reregister with your new address/change your address.  Check your states rules with respect to changing your address.  Also, check your voter status online if possible. See the articles here and here and here.  Please send us an email at progress@progresspolitics.com if there are any irregularities in your state or more specifically with your voter registration.

Thus far we have heard of Michigan:

In Michigan, the issues are more complex. Advancement Project’s Heard said there has been an overall lack of “transparency” regarding several aspects of the state’s voter purge process. In 2006, he said, Michigan election officials did a statewide mailing to all voters that did not mention the mailing would be used to verify voter registration information. Still, Heard said the returned postcards were used to remove 230,000 registered voters from voter rolls within 90 days of that year’s general election, which also violates the NVRA, he said.  

In MICHIGAN, voters can check status here

For VIRGINIA, check voter status online here.  

Colorado:

In swing-state Colorado, the Republican Secretary of State conducted the biggest purge of voters in history, dumping a fifth of all registrations. Guess their color.

In COLORADO, voters can check status  here     

Florida:

In swing-state Florida, the state is refusing to accept about 85,000 new registrations from voter drives – overwhelming Black voters.

In FLORIDA, voters can check status here 

New Mexico:

In swing state New Mexico, HALF of the Democrats of Mora, a dirt poor and overwhelmingly Hispanic county, found their registrations disappeared this year, courtesy of a Republican voting contractor. 

Nevada and Ohio:

In swing states Ohio and Nevada, new federal law is knocking out tens of thousands of voters who lost their homes to foreclosure.

In OHIO, voters can check status online here 

In NEVADA, voters can check status online here

Obama is doing very well right in red states typically won by republicans in recent past elections.

• Montana: Bush won by 11 points in 2004, Obama leading McCain by 5 points
• Colorado: Bush +4, Obama +5
• Virginia: Bush +8, Obama +2
• New Mexico: Bush +1, Obama +3
• Florida: Bush +5, Obama +2
• Indiana: Bush +20, Obama +1
• Georgia: Bush +16, McCain +1
• Mississippi: Bush +20, McCain +4
• Alaska: Bush +26, McCain +4
• North Carolina: Bush +13, McCain +4

What is really interesting is that McCain is only leading by one percentage point in Georgia when Bush won the state by 16 points.  Also, McCain is leading by a mere four points in Mississippi, Alaska, and North Carolina, all states that Bush won by landslides in 2004.  I guess we all understand more why McCain has put Bush’s point person in charge of the day to day operations of his campaign.

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)

MI Caucus Likely, Says DNC Rules Committee Member

A member of the DNC’s Rules And Bylaws Committee–the committee that stripped Florida and Michigan of its delegates for moving their primaries before February 5th–told me that Michigan plans to get out of its uncounted delegate problem by announcing a new caucus in the next few days.“They want to play. They know how to do caucuses,” the DNC source said. “That was their plan all along, before they got cute with the primary.” Michigan Democrats had originally planned on caucuses after the legally permissible Feb. 5 date, but then went along with top elected Democrats, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who pushed for an early primary.

Hillary Clinton won that Jan. 15 primary, but was the only major candidate on the ballot. Barack Obama and John Edwards had removed their names, see story

Well here we are……Michigan and Florida as states of confusion within the Democratic Party.  The Clinton campaign, Michigan governor and Clinton supporter Jennifer Granholm, republican governor of Florida who is a staunch supporter of John McCain and serious contender for the VP spot on the McCain ticket,  Bill Crist,  and Clinton supporter Bill Nelson, are all pushing for Florida and Michigan to be seated at the convention in Denver.  As mentioned in earlier writing, a decision as to how to deal with this issue should have been released long ago.  Further, there is no way that Michigan and Florida can be seated without it being patently unfair not only to the Obama campaign but to all the voters of other states that worked within the rules of the DNC.  Regarding Michigan, Clinton’s name was the only one on the ballot and there is no way that anyone can legitimately argue that it was a fair race, end of story.  As for Florida, millions of voters did not vote and thereby will be disenfranchised because they were informed by the DNC, and the state government, that their vote will not count.  Therefore, the Florida result does not represent the will of all the citizens of Florida.  To seat Florida according to the primary that was held in January would be patently unfair to citizens who did not vote based on incorrect information.  How can anyone argue that it would be fair?  How is that the democratic process?  This is not a situation were voters made an informed decision and decided not to vote. If Florida is seated, the voters of Florida were essentially lied to, the voters relied on that lie when they did not show up at the polls and will be severely damaged as a result.  Last I heard we are suppose to trust that our government will not punish us for listening to the rules and making decisions based on such rules.  Howard Dean said yesterday that the rules will not be changed in the middle of the game.  The DNC Chairman went on to say that to change the rules in the middle of the game would not be fair to either candidate.  Further, Dean said that the candidates agreed to or were aware of the rules with respect to Michigan and Florida before each of them began their run for the presidency. Dean concluded by saying that if Michigan and Florida wants to be seated at the convention in Denver, both states will have to work within the rules that were in place at the beginning of the 2008 presidential campaign.  What that means is that the states will either have to host another primary or appeal to the credentials committee at the Denver  Convention.   Dean also said that there is no way that Florida and Michigan can break the rules and then be rewarded by being given the power to decide this election.  I agree.  All the other states were aware of the rules and worked within them.  The official statement from DNC Chairman Howard Dean went as follows:

The rules, which were agreed to by the full DNC including representatives from Florida and Michigan over 18 months ago, allow for two options. First, either state can choose to resubmit a plan and run a process to select delegates to the convention [another primary or caucus]; second, they can wait until this summer and appeal to the Convention Credentials Committee, which determines and resolves any outstanding questions about the seating of delegates. We look forward to receiving their proposals should they decide to submit new delegate selection plans and will review those plans at that time. The Democratic Nominee will be determined in accordance with party rules, and out of respect for the presidential campaigns and the states that did not violate party rules, we are not going to change the rules in the middle of the game.  “Through all the speculation, we should also remember the overwhelming enthusiasm and turnout that we have already seen, and respect the voters of the twelve states and territories who have yet to have their say. 

Most are estimating that the cost of hosting another primary will be $25 million dollars for each state.  The Florida and Michigan governors are pushing for the DNC to pay for new primaries.  So the republican governor, and John McCain supporter, Bill Crist would like the DNC to go into it’s war chest for the general election and fix a problem that such governor and the republican controlled legislature created.  I am quite sure that the Republican Party of Florida is an a back room chuckling hysterically at the pickle that they have put the democratic party in.  Whatever money the democratic party throws at the Florida and Michigan situation is money that cannot be used in the general election race against John McCain.  Because Florida and Michigan violated the rules, each state should be financially responsible for for hosting a re-do in its respective states.  I am sure that all the voters who have donated funds to the DNC from all over the “United States” are not interested in encouraging the temper-tantrum bad behavior of Michigan and Florida by financing a do-over. 

There is a question that should be answered with respect to recent results in the Ohio and Texas primaries.  Rush Limbaugh who broadcasts to a national audience urged his listeners in Ohio and Texas to influence the democratic primaries on March 4th by voting for Hillary Clinton.  Limbaugh’s motivation?  To drag out the democratic race and get Obama all “bloodied” up from Clinton attacks for the general election against John McCain.  Apparently, the Clinton campaign doesn’t care how it wins because Bill Clinton went on the Rush Limbaugh show (Bill Clinton on Rush Limbaugh?????) the day of the primaries in an effort to, what can only be interpreted as, encourage such strategy.  A little back story for those who have lived in Siberia during and since the Clinton administration.  Rush Limbaugh hates Bill and Hillary Clinton.  Limbaugh has done nothing but insult, rail, disparage, and spew vitriolic attacks against the Clintons since Bill Clinton was elected in 1992.  So the fact that Bill Clinton went on the radio show of his most vehement public enemy tells me that he endorses this republican manipulation. In Texas, it turns out that Obama did win the republican vote 53-46, however, of the conservative republicans who voted, Clinton won them 52-45 for the first time since Super Tuesday.  Republican turnout in the Texas and Ohio primaries was up overall by 3-5 points from previous open democratic primaries.  Not to mention that conservative republicans voting in the democratic primary was up by at least 7% from previous contests.  Side note: the conservative wing of the republican party sole mission is to keep the Clintons out of the White House, the Senate, and any other public office.  However, Clinton won an additional 16% of the conservative republicans voting in the Texas democratic primary who said that Obama is the most electable candidate.  Coinkydink? probably not.  One can conclude from such a contradiction that the 16% are voting for who would be the weakest candidate in the general election so that their candidate, John McCain, has the best chance of winning.  Considering that the Texas primary was won by Clinton with only a 2.8% margin, and republican turnout in the Texas primary was up from previous state contests by at least 3% and in some states as much as 5%, chances are that such tainted votes played a significant part in Clinton’s win in Texas, and to a lesser extent, Ohio.  I have said this before, the longer the democrats drag this out, the increased likelihood of mischief by the Republican Party thereby allowing the conservative right wing of that party to choose the democratic nominee rather than the choice being made by true affiliates of the party.   As mentioned in an earlier post, even republican governor and staunch John McCain supporter,  Bill Crist is trying to influence the choice of democratic nominee.  Those who think that a long drawn out fight is good for the Democratic Party should respond to the points in this post.  This is not the way to get more voters involved in the process especially if such process is ripe for and can so easily be manipulated thereby making all the voter enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment, moot.

Looks like the Governor of Florida is offering his support for a repeat democratic primary.  Because taxpayers pay for primaries in Florida, this would help with the financing portion of the repeat.  How kind of the the Governor to help out the democrats…(sarcasm intended).  Newsflash: if the REPUBLICAN Governor of Florida, who endorses his party’s nominee for his governing state’s primary, offers assistance to the opposing party……beware of true motives.  I’ll just point out the obvious.  It is in Crist’s interest to drag out the democratic primary with the two democratic candidates slinging as much mud as possible so that his party has ample necessary opposition research.  Democrats can be sure that all the negatives asserted between the two democratic candidates during this primary will show up in the general election in the form of republican ammunition.  I know that the media wants to drag this out because it translates into millions of advertising dollars, but it is really time for the democrats to UNITE behind a single nominee or face a serious risk of losing the general election in the fall.  We also now have conservative republican talk radio hosts encouraging their listeners to vote for Clinton because McCain has pretty much locked down the republican nomination.  The shock jocks are asking their listeners to use their vote in Ohio and Texas to sabotage the democrats for the general election by way of voting for the candidate that they have railed against for the last 20 years.  The longer this is drawn out the more susceptibility to mischief by the opposing party.  Democrats, its time to choose a candidate and make a decision before you shoot yourself in the foot.  Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who has not endorsed either democratic candidate, has also said whomever is ahead in delegates on Wednesday Oct 5th, should be the nominee and the other candidate should drop out of the race.  This should be about who can best lead and unite the democratic party as a whole, as well as who can beat the opposing party in November.  This should be less about supporting an entitlement theory.  Those who are backing the theory that Clinton should wait it out in hopes of Obama making a mistake is based on an underlying false premise that somehow Clinton is entitled to the nomination.  Or, there is some sort of financial gain involved for the person/industry supporting the strategy.  I have heard a couple of pundits pushing this approach.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  Democrats need to be DECISIVE on March 4th and start preparing  for the general election uphill battle in November.

Dear Democratic Party Leaders,

What an exciting race?  I have never experienced such an adrenalin rush from a political campaign.  As an outsider looking in, the democratic race is like being at the horse races at the final stretch.   Even with all the exciting contests, debates, and back and forth between the two candidates, I find myself wondering…is all this for naught?  Are we going to wake up one day before the convention and hear that, despite all our efforts and all the newly generated excitement, the Democratic Party establishment has decided the nominee for us?  Are we going to hear that some backroom deal was brokered in the middle of the night by Washington insiders?  Please say it isn’t so.  Now that you have our keen interest, awakened our spirit, motivated us toward change, inspired us to be more politically involved than any electorate in history, I hope that you do not now steal our spirit by meeting behind closed doors in a smoke filled room to make a decision that will affect the American people for decades, and maybe centuries to come.  If such an outcome were to occur, I believe that there would be a backlash toward the election system and the democratic party of epic proportions.  The last thing that we need as voters is to feel that going out to polls and casting our vote does not really matter.  Many people felt this way after the Bush-Gore election.  To have this confirmed inside the Democratic party would be completely demoralizing for the “electorate.” The idea that a few people within the Democratic Party have the power to override the will of the general population seems contrary to what the Democratic Party stands for.  Not to mention, pompous and arrogant.  The whole Superdelegates system does not necessarily instill in voters the confidence that our will will prevail in the end. The archaic system was developed at a time when the electorate did not have the technology and improved communication available to us today.  Because of such improvements, we are much more informed about the issues facing our country and our everyday lives.  The Superdelegates idea is based on the erroneous premise that politicians have better judgment than their constituents as to who should be our President.  But don’t we elect the politicians?  Well, it’s a new day, and voters of the 2008 election are more informed about the issues affecting their political decisions than voters have been in the last thirty years.  So I ask…..is such a system needed in this incredibly technologically advanced climate?  I think not.  I suggest that after the 2008 election the antiquated system be scrapped.  As for this election, my suggestion is that you make some process decisions as to how the worst case scenario can be resolved and you make them quick.  Read the rest of this entry »

Hillary Clinton has won the beauty contest in Florida.  Unfortunately for the Clinton campaign, Florida has been stripped of all its delegates.  After Obama’s momentous win in South Carolina, the Clinton campaign decided that Florida is hugely important. Most report that the sudden interest in Florida by the Clinton campaign is an attempt to eclipse or break Obama’s momentum going into Super Tuesday.  Because we recognize the obviousness of this campaign strategy, I ask…can you be a bit less obvious?  News flash to the candidates…we are a pretty bright electorate once we decide to engage.   This Clinton win has been reported as based purely on name recognition.  All of the democratic candidates, including Clinton, signed a pledge to boycott the Florida primary after Florida moved up its primary date in violation of Democratic National Committee rules.  However, the Clintons have been in national politics for twenty years.  Therefore, and by default, when voters go to the polls and they have not had a chance to get to know the two other candidates, they are more likely to choose what is familiar, i.e., Hillary Clinton.  Therefore, because the Clintons have a built-in advantage in that they are more famous and have been on the national political scene a lot longer than the other two candidates, any win in Florida does not represent a true decision or endorsement by Floridians.  All the candidates agreed not to campaign in Florida, and Edwards and Obama specifically, were prohibited from familiarizing Florida voters with their policy agenda.  Because none of the candidates were able to explain why each would be the best candidate to represent Floridian interests in the general election, the Clinton win is disingenuous and hallow and does not represent a true victory in an informed voter or substantive sense.  Note:  The majority of voters who voted a month ago, and before Iowa or South Carolina, overwhelmingly voted for Hillary.  However, the majority of voters who voted after Iowa and South Carolina went overwhelmingly for Obama.

John McCain takes Florida and is awarded a whopping 57 delegates!  This has been a pivotal race for all of the republican candidates due to the significant amount of delegates at stake.  Before the Florida primary, the total delegates for each candidate were: Romney 59, Huckabee 40, McCain 36, Paul 4, and Giuliani 1.  With the Florida win, McCain now has a total of 97 delegates. This is also a big win for McCain for other reasons.  Because McCain’s campaign is reported to be running on fumes, this win will provide enormous fundraising potential for the candidate.  Now that McCain has demonstrated that he can win a closed republican primary, as opposed to an open primary where republicans and independents are permitted to vote, republicans are a bit more convinced about his candidacy.  This will provide a much needed boost for McCain into Super Tuesday.  However, the republican race is far from over.  Because it was such a close race, Romney will most likely continue through Super Tuesday.  Both candidates are preparing for the California debate, which is the final debate before Super Tuesday.

The republicans are battling for delegates in Florida.  McCain and Romney are currently neck and neck in the polls.  Currently McCain is polling at about 33%, Romney at 31%, Giuliani at 14%, and Huckabee at 13%.  A million people in Florida have already voted.  Voter turnout is expected to be about 2 million. Whichever candidate wins the Florida primary will receive a huge boost of momentum going into the Feb 5th primaries, i.e. Super Duper Tuesday.  Most are speculating that whomever wins Florida will most likely win the nomination.  In terms of delegates, unlike in the Democratic primaries, in the Republican primaries, the winner takes all.  This is a huge deal for the Republican candidates and the two front-runners, McCain and Romney, are not holding any punches.  Both  candidates have accused each other of being the “L word,”  that would be liberal.  Both McCain and Romney are laying it all the line for what is turning out to be a crucial win.