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.  

General Information for Indiana       

72 delegates at stake

Find your polling place in IndianaIndiana polls are open from 6am -6pm Tuesday, May 6th

VOTING BASICS

You have a right to vote in an Indiana election, if:

1.     You are both a U.S. citizen and a resident of Indiana; and

2.      You will be at least 18 years of age at the next General Election, November 4 2008; and

3.      You are not currently in prison after being convicted of a crime; and

4.      You have lived in the precinct where you vote for at least 30 days prior to the election; and

5.      You are registered to vote

6.      You provide government-issued photo ID. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Kantor: “Look at Indiana – 42-40. It doesn’t matter if we win; those people are shit.” The original video also alleges that Kantor said “How would you like to be a worthless white ni***r?” UPDATE:  Kantor and the director of the film dispute the video’s authenticity.   Kantor denies that he has ever used the N word. However, it does appear, at least in the documentary “The War Room,” that Kantor did refer to Indianans as “sh*t.”  Judge for yourself.

The Washington Post printed this story in 1993

“War Room” is shot in the nonscripted, cinema-verite style by D. A. Pennebaker (whose follow-around films on President Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey and Bob Dylan are documentary classics) and Chris Hegedus. Whether Carville and company are play-acting somewhat for the cameras becomes less important as the film progresses. One can only keep up an act for so long — especially in the throes of a campaign. Carville’s tearful farewell speech to his staff as they close up just before the election, Stephanopoulos’s frank talk with a potential blackmailer and a Mickey Kantor comment about the people of Indiana (when it looks as though Clinton’s ahead in Dan Quayle’s state) attest to this. Read the remainder of the story.

For the last six weeks and post Ohio we have heard the following question asked by the main stream media…….why can’t Obama get the white, low-income or blue-collar worker vote?  Why can’t Obama close the deal with these voters?   Recently I was listening to a pundit panel when a viewer asked…..why so much emphasis on the blue collar vote in the general election?  What about the fact that if Clinton, by some miracle, wins the nomination…wouldn’t she have a significant problem with the African-American vote?  Why no questions as to how will Clinton ever be able to regain the support of one of the most significant Democrat constituencies in any general election?  Joe Scarborough dismissed the concern as not important because African-Americans are going to vote Democrat because they have voted Democrat for the last hundred years.   

Okay…never mind the insult to African-Americans that they mindlessly and automatically check the Democrat box without any thought about the candidate.   But, if you think that there will be no backlash against the Democratic party if they deny the first credible African-American candidate the nomination after such candidate has played by the rules and won by the rules,….you are in a fantasy world.  The backlash will not just be from African-American voters but from voters of every race who believe in a fair contest. This is a primary without a precedent.  So for those who are using history to conclude inevitability as the AA vote, think about how your predictions have played out in this race so far.  Remember, Hillary Clinton was once the inevitable nominee.  This is by every measure, an historic election that has deviated from the norm so much that the the abnormal is considered the norm when it comes to this race. 

As for African-Americans specifically, they may not be shouting in the streets….oh wait… I forgot about Al Sharpton…..okay, most African-Americans will not be shouting in the streets, but I am willing to bet money that they will not be in any hurry to get to the ballot box in November.  Especially not for someone who is widely perceived within the African-American community to have used race-baiting and dirty tricks to steal the nomination from the first contending African-American candidate. 

A significant segment of the African-American community have really been turned off by the Clintons….period.  Because of the tactics employed by the Clinton campaign in this nomination contest, the Clinton name no longer carries the cache that it once did within the AA community.  South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn came out and said as much last Friday.  The statesman from South Carolina said that African-American leaders and many within the African-American community  perceive the Clintons as trying to destroy Barack Obama.  Though African-Americans will probably not come outright and cast a vote for Sen. McCain, they will certainly not be in any hurry to cast a vote for someone who they perceive to have stolen the nomination from their candidate. 

Most pundits use the exit polls to conclude that Clinton supporters are less likely to vote for Obama than Obama supporters for Clinton.  I’ll say this once…Obama supporters are happy to “say” that they will support Clinton because it is clear that Obama will be the nominee.  My prediction is that if there is a threat of Clinton getting the nomination after Obama has won by most metrics, the tide will shift significantly.  Obama supporters will not be so willing to support a party, let alone a nominee, that would let that happen.  Newsflash to Pundit Class:  politics as usual do not apply here. 

How does Hillary Clinton get elected without the African-American vote?  Given the fact that McCain will probably get many of those independents.  And, the very real and strong possibility that all those newly registered voters, who have been  motivated solely because of Obama’s candidacy, will probably stay home?  Perhaps a month or two ago, the party could have rallied such voters, even with a perceived unjust result.  Perhaps this could have happened by both candidates dawning the stage together in Denver and singing kum-ba-ya.  However, now voters are firmly entrenched in their preferences.  If Hillary truly believes that African-Americans are just going to fall in line with the democratic party just to get her elected…especially after denying an African-American this historic opportunity, she is truly living in a parallel universe.  Especially because she did so by marginalizing Obama among low-income white voters into the scary black man.  Good luck trying to explain that away.  Just stating the facts folks.  The Clintons have made this personal.  They have done so by quickly attempting to deminish Obama wins in states with significant African-American populations (South Carolina, Mississippi etc… ).   At “The State of the Black Union” Sen. Clinton offered as an apology for her husband’s words “you know his heart.” Actually, after witnessing the way he has conducted himself during this primary and his easy willingness to throw African-Americans under the bus when his viability is threatened, I do not think that any American knows either of the Clintons, let alone their hearts.   

Finally, Clinton continues to push the claim that the GOP will use the Rev. Wright issue in the general therefore making Obama unelectable.  However, does Clinton really believe that the GOP will not push the fact that Clinton stole the election from the one viable African-American candidate thereby incensing members of the African-American community even further.  Clinton probably thinks that most democrats will search out information on her policies and the policies of McCain  and come to the logical conclusion that she, as the democratic nominee, is the obvious choice.  This writer predicts that most voters will not be INSPIRED to do that however.  Voters are more likely to make their choice based on what they see in the 30 second spots put out during the general by both campaigns.  When the GOP starts running the “she unfairly stole the nomination from your candidate,” ads, I guarantee that they will have an effect.  Who is more unelectable Sen. Clinton? 

Given the current state of this nomination race, it is virtually impossible for the superdelegates to give this nomination to Hillary Clinton without it not looking unjust, unfair, disillusioning, and disheartening to new voters and the African-American community.

The voters of the Keystone State make their voices heard today.  Pennsylvania reports that 156,ooo new voters have registered as democrats.  Also, 150,000 republicans have switched party affiliations to vote in the democratic primary.  A grand total of 8,328,123 have registered to vote for the Pennsylvania primary today.  Because there is no early voting in Pennsylvania without a valid excuse, candidates do not benefit from wide leads held in Pennsylvania six weeks ago.  The polls close at 8pm est.

Potential problems and solutions Pennsylvania voters may face at the polls today:

1. Voters without proper ID.  Voters need to bring valid identification.  New voters are required to bring identification, but all voters should bring id just to be safe.  Such identification can be a Pennsylvania drivers license or a picture student or employee id.  Acceptable non-photo ID must have a name and address, such as a current utility bill or current paycheck. 
2. Another potential problem is voters names not appearing in the poll books. If a voter’s name doesn’t appear in the poll book, Common Cause advises voters to ask poll workers to check supplemental voting lists that are sometimes printed up after the main poll books are printed, and ask the poll workers to call the county board of elections. As a last resort he or she should ask to vote on a provisional ballot. 
3. Voters arriving at the wrong precinct.  If a Pensylvanian voter shows up at the wrong precinct “their vote can still count as long as they cast their vote anywhere in the correct county, even if they are at the wrong precinct in their county.  To have their vote count, they need to complete a provisional ballot and have the correct ID.”  
4. Voting machine malfunction.  If a voter is at a polling place where voting machines have broken down or failed to start up, he or she should request an emergency paper ballot to vote. 
5. Voters arriving at the polls near closing time.  Voters who arrive at the polls and are in line before 8pm must be allowed to vote according to Pennsylvania law.  Voters cannot be turned away if they are in line by 8pm.

Voters who experience problems at their polling location should call Pennsylvania’s voter hotline: 1-877-VOTES-PA (1-877-868-3772) and/or the Common Cause national election protection line: 1-866-OUR VOTE (1-866-687-8683)

Barack Obama wins a landslide victory in Mississippi.  Final count, Obama 61%, Clinton 37%.  Obama and Clinton battled it out in the Mississippi Delta and Obama inhaled the sweet smell of magnolias.  Mississippi voters came out for the Illinois senator big time.  The turnout in Mississippi was two and a half times what the Secretary of State predicted.  Over 400,000 people came out to vote in the Magnolia State.  More people turned out in this primary than in the 2004 general election.  The state will proportionally distribute 33 delegates to the candidates.  Exit polls further revealed that Mississippi voters think that Barack Obama is more qualified to be Commander and Chief, 54% to Clinton’s 43%.  Obama also won the 17-29 voting block 67% to Clinton’s 32%.  Clinton won the 65 and older voting block 56% to Obama’s 44%.  Clinton also won white voters 72% to Obama’s 28%.  However, Obama won African-American voters 91% to Clinton’s 9%.  Of voters who decided in the last 3 days, Clinton won 55% to Obama’s 45%.  Mississippi voters were also asked if they believe that Obama is honest and trustworthy, 70% said yes.  When asked whether they believe that Clinton is honest and trustworthy, only 48% said yes.  Obama also increased his popular vote lead over Clinton by 100,000 votes. One interesting fact that came from the exit polls is that a majority of Clinton voters in Mississippi have a favorable view of John McCain.  Therefore, it stands to reason that if Clinton’s voters have a favorable view of the GOP candidate, that they are more open to being persuaded to vote for McCain in the general election than Obama supporters.  A possible Clinton electability issue that should be explored further.  Both candidates campaigned heavily in Mississippi.  The state has an open primary were independents and republicans voted. What was most on the minds of Mississippi voters, Katrina recovery.  The state has been devastated Katrina and recovery is not coming soon enough for its citizens.  Voters looked to the candidates for commitments to make the recovery a priority. Healthcare and the economy were also big issues for Mississippi voters.  Breaking News Update:  CNN just reported that Barack Obama won the Texas caucus.  This fact gives Obama a higher delegate gain in Texas than Clinton.  Because Texas is a two-step process, logic dictates that the candidate who comes out ahead after combining the two steps is the winner of the Texas primacaucus.  Obama received a combined total of 99 delegates from Texas, Clinton received a combined total of 94 delegates.  Final tally, a net gain of 5 delegates for Obama.  Therefore, Obama won Texas!  Obama continues to lead in the delegate count 1608 to Clinton’s 1478. 

The Texas contest is somewhat complicated in that it is a mixture of a primary and caucus.  Voters in essence get to vote twice.  First voters vote during the day at the primary, which is an open primary where republicans and independents can vote.  Then right after the doors shut at 7pm on March 4th, the caucus begins and lasts until Texas’ democratic caucus on June 6th.  Voters can come back after 7pm in the evening on the same day and vote again during the caucus. There are 193 Texas delegates at stake on March 4th.  Of the 193, 126 of the delegates will be handed out from the primary portion.  And the 67 remainder delegates will handed out at the state convention in June.  Delegates are allocated based on how voters turned out in past elections.  The greater the turnout in the district the more delegates the district receives in the next election.  As for delegates relating to heavily african-american and hispanic districts in Texas, this year’s allocation favors the heavily african-american districts because such districts turned out in greater numbers in the last election than the heavily hispanic districts.   Therefore, african-american districts in Texas will receive more delegates than many of latino districts in Texas.  Early voting in Texas began on February 19th.  Primaries are also being held in Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island.  Both the democrats and republicans hosts primaries in all four states on March 4th, except Texas also hosts a caucus. The two most delegate rich states are Texas and Ohio.  For the democrats, 370 delegates at stake on Tuesday.  Texas distributes (126)193, Ohio distributes 141, Vermont distributes 15, and Rhode Island distributes 21 delegates.  Currently Obama is leading with 1192 delegates to Clinton’s 1036.  For the republicans, 256 delegates are at stake on Tuesday.  Ohio distributes 85, Rhode Island distributes 17, Texas distributes 137, and Vermont distributes 17.  Currently McCain has 930 delegates and only needs 261 more to clinch the nomination. 

Hillary Clinton has developed a different posture since her closing comments at the CNN debate last Thursday.  Most believed that Clinton’s final comments on Thursday were those of a conciliatory candidate.  This writer did not necessarily agree with such sentiment due to Clinton’s final statementswipe at Obama at the end of the debate.  What began as a congenial closing comment by Clinton, ended with her in essence saying that she hopes that the American people will survive if voters do not choose her as the nominee.  But that’s a side point.  Apparently, no one told Hillary that the race is over because she has ratcheted it up a few hundred notches since Thursday.  What ticked her off?   Allegedly, it was campaign mailers that the Obama campaign has been circulating, regarding Clinton’s position on NAFTA, for almost a month.   At a press conference this past weekend, Clinton accused Obama of Karl Rove (GOP operative accused by democrats of dirty tricks campaigning) tactics as well as attempted to scold Obama by saying ”shame on you Barack Obama.”  Senator Clinton also mocked Obama’s unity message this weekend in an effort to discredit the Illinois Senator with Texas and Ohio voters.  Many opined that Clinton sounds more schoolmarmish than presidential.  Besides the obvious point that this new tone will certainly not attract the white men that have migrated away from her candidacy in droves.  This different version of negative campaigning is also not positioning her as the candidate able to bring both parties together to move Washington beyond the party gridlock of the last eight years.  Instead, it seems to reinforce the polarities of her candidacy.  Is sarcasm the best weapon available in the Clinton arsenal?  If so, perhaps it is time to make a graceful exit.  Further, what is that saying about the supporters who have embraced Obama’s message, should they be mocked as well?  In which candidate playbook does it say that you gain votes by insulting voters? Nothing like the demonization of hope and unity that sends me running towards a candidate.  One last question, is Hillary Clinton the only person in the United States that is aware of the realities of Washington?  And, if Hillary is the only person, now would be a good time to apply some of that awareness to the strategies and management of the Clinton campaign.   In addition to the new tone, the Clinton campaign is being charged with attempting to smear Obama by circulating pictures of the Illinois Senator donning traditional Somali garb while visiting Africa.  This is something that most dignitaries do, including Hillary, while visiting other countries to show respect for the culture.  When asked why the Clinton campaign released the photos, the campaign did not deny circulating the photos but flipped the script and gave the nonresponsive “we will not be distracted” answer.  Many think that this calls into question the judgment of the Clinton campaign as to why they think this would be an effective campaign strategy.  I am at a lost as to why the Clinton campaign would push to circulate such photos.  Is this show and tell day and the Clinton’s are sharing how Obama spent his summer vacation?  Or, is there a more sinister karlrovian tactic at play here?  Clinton tells Obama “shame on you,” yet resorts to what most have described as the divisive, fear mongering, campaign tactics of the past.  So as a final go-for-broke strategy, Hillary Clinton has decided to go karlrovian, aggressively negative, with a big dose of sarcasm, and whatever else that sticks.   At this point, the schizophrenic nature of the Clinton campaign strategies are giving me whiplash.  However, the latest has sold me.  The New York Senator’s final posture taken this past weekend went something like this;  enough of the speeches….enough of the big rallies…enough of the popularity of his message…..enough with the optimism……just knock it off, “get real,” and vote for me unless you want a couple of knuckle swats with my ruler.  Hmmm………the corporal punishment strategy…..works for me!  Yes maam!  Sign me up IMMEDIATELY!                                                  Debate tonight on MSNBC @ 9pm ET

This guy makes you want to go read the encyclopedia or something.  AND, he’s speaking from HOLLYWOOD!!!!  This is a transformative election and WE Are Engaged. Progress

Barack Obama and John McCain has won all three contests within the Potomac primaries.  On the democratic side, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia gave Barack Obama significant victories over Hillary Clinton.  More specifically, Virginia was very significant.  Considered a sort of bellwether state, Obama won over voters that have previously voted for Clinton.  For example, Obama won the latino vote 53% to Clintons 37%.  In Virginia and Maryland, Obama won 59% of the women vote.  Obama split the Virginia overall white vote with Clinton by winning 48% of the total demographic.  Further, Obama also won heavily among white men in Virginia.  In addition, Obama won the catholic vote.  As for Obama’s across-the-isle appeal, republicans represented 8% of the vote in the Virginia democratic primary and Obama won 70% of their vote.  The Senator from Illinois has managed to broaden his coalition by reaching across the isle with a unifying message.  Both candidates were vying heavily for Virginia voters.  Clinton considered Virginia her best chance of a win within this group of contests.  However, Obama won a substantial victories over Clinton in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.  The final tally for Virginia is 64% to 35%, Maryland, 59% to 37% and the District of Columbia, 75% to 24%.  These wins will give Obama eight victories in a row thereby giving Obama a delegate lead over Clinton.  Before this contest, the Associated Press reported that Clinton lead with 1136 delegates to Obama’s 1108.  After the Potomac primaries, Obama takes the lead with 1210 delegates and Clinton falls slightly behind with 1188 delegates.  These AP totals includes Superdelegates.   Additionally, Obama has won a total of 21 states to Clinton’s 10.  The Clinton campaign has said that their focus is on the March 4th primaries of Ohio and Texas.  Clinton is already campaigning in the Lone Star State in hopes of building a firewall against the Obama momentum.  Though, continued wins by Obama could put a kink in Clinton’s strategy.  It will be difficult for the Clinton campaign to spin eight successive wins by Obama as insignificant.   As damage control, Clinton made telephone calls to several of her donors and supporters asking them to hang in there with her until Ohio and Texas.  However, if Obama’s momentum continues to build, Ohio and Texas may not be the result that the Clinton campaign expects. Obama has already hit the ground in Wisconsin campaigning for its primary on February 19th.  As for the Republicans, McCain also won all of the Potomac primaries.  It seems that McCain in winning over conservatives, at least he did so in Virginia and Maryland.  The final tallys were Virginia, McCain 50% and Huckabee 41%, in Maryland McCain 59% and Huckabee 29%. and the District of Columbia, McCain 68% and 35%.  Virginia is especially significant due the large amount of conservatives in that state.  The fact that McCain won Virginia may be an indication that the tide may be turning and the far right of the GOP has begun to rally around the Arizona senator.  Huckabee was hoping to win Virginia to legitimize his continued participation in the race.  However, the former Arkansas govenor is not dropping out and vows to stay in the race uintil McCain hits the magic number of 1191 delegates.   The McCain campaign has labeled the affable Arkansan an “irritant.” After McCain’s win of Virginia, most have concluded that he is the Republican nominee.  There isn’t a math calculation that adds up to Huckabee becoming the GOP nominee for the 2008 Presidential niomination.  As a side note:  Clinton’s deputy campaign manager, Mike Henry, resigns.

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 »

The Omentum seems to continue as Barack Obama adds another victory to his  sweep of victories this weekend.  This will be the fifth victory in a row for the Senator from Illinois.  The Maine caucus was one where the Clinton campaign thought that they would be able to pull out a win due to the positive numbers that they received in the state recently.  Clinton also hoped to win Maine in an effort to blunt Obama’s momentum going into the Feb 12th primaries.  Apparently, Maine voters had a different plan in mind.  Both campaigns saturated the state with radio and TV advertising.  The excitement about the caucus, even after the pinnacle of Super Tuesday, was not diminished.  There was tremendous anticipation and exhileration among voters showing up at the polls.  Not even the frigid temperatures could chill the enthusiasm of many of those who stood in long lines to make sure that their vote was cast.  Each of the candidates will receive a proportional share of the 24 delegates allotted.  As a side note:  Hillary Clinton replaced her campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle.  This new development took place on Sunday, right after Clinton lost four contests in a row to Obama.  The Clinton campaign has stated that Maggie Williams will be taking over as campaign manager beginning next week.