The Friday Presidential Race ‘BushWhack’ing

Week’s wrap-up of the week that was in the 2008 presidential race that started about 5 years ago… at least that’s what it feels like…

• Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama held another debate last night in Texas. Most pundits said that Clinton needed to knock it out of the park to have any hope for the March 4th primaries… she didn’t.
• Sen. McCain had a bad week after the NY Times ran a story (which he claims is a smear campaign) claiming he had a romantic (eww) relationship with a female lobbyist…
• Obama’s good luck continued as he won, with 65% of the vote, the Democrat’s Abroad primary in which Democrats living in other countries vote… he also lengthened his lead by winning Hawaii and Wisconsin and now seems to be chipping away at Clinton’s supporters… (the time for Ms. Clinton to step down seems to be looming large, and the knockout she needed at last night’s debate never materialized… so expect her campaign to get even more desperate… if that’s even possible…)
• McCain won Wisconsin and Hawaii on the gop side but some conservatives are still leery of him.
• Gov. Huckabee vowed to NOT drop out the race even though some members of his own party are urging him to do so
• Ron Paul is still nuttier than a squirrel’s cheeks in October…
• Sen. Obama met with former candidate John Edwards last Sunday… and Sen. Clinton said this morning that she’s had more conversations with the former senator as well as both fight to pick up his endorsement. As I wrote earlier this week, it’s time for Edwards to make his pick and get off the stage…
• McCain got a key endorsement this past week as Dubya’s father President George H.W. Bush gave him his endorsement (which was met with an unenthusiastic ‘meh’). More the story is the fact that Bush 41 also said that the conservative on conservative attacks on McCain’s records were “absurd.” (Uh-huh. Bush 41’s stock rose with his and President Clinton’s work for the Tsunami victims, but one truly has to wonder if his defense of McCain is being met with anything but disinterest. And Mr. Bush should remember that his son attacked McCain for not being conservative enough back during the 2000 primary season...)
• The FEC said that Sen. McCain can't drop out of the primary election's public financing system until he answers questions about a loan he obtained months ago to kick-start his campaign that was, at the time, struggling mightil (what this also means is that McCain can’t lord it over Clinton and Obama, which puts him at a huge strategic disadvantage…)
• Clinton and Obama are still “neck and neck” in some key battleground states…
• Sen. Clinton now has a swift-boating 527 in her corner, something I wrote about yesterday…
• Obama not only won the endorsement of the Teamsters, but also SEIU and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union… (all three unions were coveted by Clinton and should help Obama in the months to come…)
• And have we mentioned? That the battle over super-delegates shows no signs of waning? In a week that saw one of the super-delegates that was being schmoozed by Chelsea Clinton announcing he is now backing Obama (ouch, that’s gotta hoit. Now, some Democratic voters are still nervous about their choice not getting the nod because of super-delegates. And as we’ve mentioned here before, if that happens, the DNC can and should expect a HUGE backlash… and the changing of the super-delegate rules…)

Crossing a Line

For the last several days I’ve been posting about how Sen. Clinton’s presidential campaign is getting desperate…from pushing for states whose delegates weren’t supposed to be counted, Florida and Michigan, to BE counted… to smacking some states in the face by saying their primary results didn’t matter…

Now we get something that reeks of desperation… something that would have been done the last time someone was so obsessed with winning the presidency they were willing to, essentially, sell their soul…. Mr. Nixon, I’m looking at you.

After suffering a debilitating, and somewhat mortifying, 10-state loss to Sen. Obama, Sen. Clinton is set to swiftboat her Democratic rival with the formation of a well-financed 527 organization called the American Leadership Project (ALP).

Stay classy Hillary…

(Sidebar: A 527 group, named after the section of the Internal Revenue code that “regulates” them, is an organization whose purpose is to influence federal elections. As such, donations to 527 groups are limited to $5,000, but it is that cap that gets circumvented as the argument of those who do so is that the language of the law applies only to their activities in federal political races. Because there are no contribution limits for work by 527s in state and local political campaigns, they argue that these organizations can establish “nonfederal accounts” which can accept unrestricted “soft money.”)

According to The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, ALP is “canvassing Clinton donors for pledges of up to $100,000 in the hope of raising at least $10M by the end of next week” so the group could then unearth negative information about Obama and strike at him with TV, mail and phone banking in the upcoming primary race states of Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania.

Already the group has developed three ads, called “If speeches could solve problems” that are aimed at pushing the idea that Obama is a talker and not a doer while drawing contrasts between the two on vital middle-class issues like healthcare and the economy.

Then consider this from Adam B at Daily Kos:

“Let's be clear: when a 527 forms for the express purpose of electing or defeating a particular federal candidate, and engages in public advocacy towards such ends -- as opposed to discussing issues -- it is breaking the law. Period. The Media Fund, Swift Boaters and other 527s have paid six-figure fines for acting like a political action committee -- i.e., engaging in express advocacy and soliciting its donors with the major purpose of helping identifiable federal candidates -- but without abiding by any of the individual contribution limits or disclosure requirements attaching to PACs.”

Apparently losing 10 contests in a row makes a person think differently… naturally though the Clinton campaign is spinning the news; “I certainly can't imagine that Sen. Obama is in any position to make an issue of this, given the fact that there was a 527 organization -- I believe it was called Vote Hope -- that spent millions of dollars on his behalf in California.” Yes… but they weren’t swiftboating a member of their own Democratic party like Clinton’s 527 is aiming to do…

If this is true, and she’s planning on doing this to someone within her own party in a year where the Democrats have an outstanding possibility to win back the White House, she should be grouped into the same category as Joe Lieberman and ex-communicated from the Democratic Party.

Also, there is a HUGE probability of this backfiring on Clinton, and if that happens, it’s unlikely that she would be able to recover.

But that’s just my opinion…

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

• An article in the New York Times suggested that gop presidential candidate Sen. John McCain was involved, romantically (shudder) and professionally with a female lobbyist… this morning, with his wife by his side, McCain denied the accusations, though WaPo suggests that his aides have always been worried about the relationship. I read the other day that one of the few things that could derail his campaign would be a sex scandal…
• McCain needs money…
• Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Obama and Clinton debate again tonight… this time in Texas, one of the sites of the next primary. Expect Clinton to come out with both barrels as she desperately needs to win Texas to keep her hopes alive.
• Clinton’s task of catching up to Obama seemingly got a little harder last night as Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters.
• “President” Bush is still in Africa and said Wednesday that rumored US plans to install military bases in places like Ghana are “baloney.” (That’s our Bush… speaking with reporters and foreign dignitaries and using the word ‘baloney’… he really is just an overgrown Frat boy. What would be the point of military bases Ghana??? Honestly, what are the strategic benefits? Anyone? Helloooooooo?)
• The Great Delegate Battle wages on...
• Iraq war architect and all-star conservative tool Richard Perle is at it again. In an article published in The American Interest, the putz wrote that the Iraq war is “far from over” but at the same time says “we have already won in Iraq” because “Saddam will not be sharing WMD with anyone.” (Uh-huh… hard to share something that never existed... but what do I know)
• And have we mentioned? That Brent Wilkes has been sentenced to twelve years in jail? It’s true… the man who “extracted” favors from republican congressman Duke Cunningham (r-CA) in exchange for “money, prostitutes and other bribes” was sentenced earlier this week... couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person… well, maybe Jack Abramoff, but his ties to Bush will keep him from doing any serious time

An Open Letter to Sen. John Edwards

Dear Sen. Edwards:

It’s time...

Before you dropped out of the race I was leaning towards you as my choice for the Democratic nominee… and after you graciously dropped out, I threw my support to Sen. Obama.

Over the last weeks you’ve met with both candidates, Sen. Obama (who is expected to get the Teamsters endoresement soon) and Sen. Clinton… and now it’s time to do your thing… either endorse one of them, or get completely off the stage.

So Mr. Edwards… what do you want to do?

I believe that you will have an important role in the next administration, regardless if Obama or Clinton wins… but it’s time to cede your moment in the spotlight and let your intentions be known.

You can offer no endorsement… which is a fair and reasonable thing to do, especially if you don’t think either candidate is viable or better than the other.

You can endorse Sen. Clinton… though some might view that, given the things you said about her during the campaign, as hypocritical. And would an endorsement for her really help her campaign right now?

Or, you can endorse Sen. Obama.

Some people believe that your endorsement would seal the deal for Obama… I don’t think that… as I don’t put much weight into endorsements. But it COULD propel him further, especially with some super-delegates that are still beholden and loyal to you.

And perhaps… just perhaps, it would spark something inside Ms. Clinton and she would, after she loses at least 2 more states on March 4th, drop out of the race. It’s farfetched, but a man can dream can’t he?

Whatever you choose to do Mr. Edwards, I pray that you do it soon as Sen. McCain is now gearing up for the general election rather than worry about the primaries and caucuses… Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee notwithstanding.

Thanks for listening…

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Hump day… day after another round of primaries and caucuesses… I mean caucuessssseas… I mean cawcusas… sigh… a caucus…

• Speaking of primaries and caucuses (yay!), as expected Sen. Obama lengthened his lead by winning Hawaii and Wisconsin while Sen. Clinton won . the bigger story could be that Obama seems to be chipping away at Clinton’s supporters… the time may be coming for Ms. Clinton to step down… but stay tuned.
• Next up: Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island
• On the gop side… McCain won but is still having trouble with some conservatives, Huckabee vows to NOT drop out, and Paul is still as nutty as a squirrel’s cheeks in October…
• The Brookings Institution released a new report that warns of “widening gaps in higher education between rich and poor, whites and minorities.” The report continued by showing those gaps could soon lead to a “downturn in opportunities for the poorest families.” (This is not entirely surprising. The administration’s failure in education – on all levels – has created this and it probably won’t even START to get better until January 21, 2009…)
• FEMA is in hot water… again. According to a report by the DHS Inspector General, the agency “misspent millions of dollars it received from selling used travel trailers” and rather than buy more trailers, FEMA paid for “sport utility vehicles, travel expenses and purchase card accounts.” ( The agency has become a punch-line and an embarrassment and is one department – out of many – that has to be thoroughly cleaned out and started anew when a new administration comes in, Democrat or republican as you don’t want the agency that represents your administration after a disaster to be inept and a joke… and that’s all FEMA is anymore)
• And have we mentioned? That the Florida Board of Education voted 4-3 this week to change standards for teaching science in Florida’s public schools? That’s right, evolution – which Florida science standards has earlier referred to as “biological changes over time” will now be taught clearly and explicitly in Florida classrooms as the Scientific Theory of Evolution.” (Is this progress? Hard to say… but at least it’s being discussed and taught…)

It's the economy stupid

Once again our fearless commander in chief is acting like we’re the idiots when, clearly, it’s him…

Appearing on NBC’s Today Show, this morning, “President” Bush denied that the there’s any link between the current recession and the Iraq war; he even went as far as to claim that the war is actually helping the economy.

That’s right, you heard me…

He said the war, the $10 billion were spending each month for the war, is helping the US economy… here’s the exchange between him and Ann Curry;

CURRY: You don’t agree with that? It has nothing do with the economy, the war — spending on the war? BUSH: I don’t think so. I think actually the spending in the war might help with jobs…because we’re buying equipment, and people are working. I think this economy is down because we built too many houses and the economy’s adjusting.

Too. Many. Houses? Seriously… that’s your reasoning Mr. Bush?

… it’s people like Bush that make me feel ashamed to have a MBA…

Sure, the war has created jobs for some companies (cough cough; Halliburton..,. cough cough Blackwater)… but over the five years since we invaded Iraq, unemployment has risen, with an increase of 13.6%.

That’s not even taking into consideration the fact that 68% of the American public believes that redeployment from Iraq would help fix the country’s economic woes.

Bush will never admit it because republicans are supposed to be about fiscal discipline, but he and his administration are anything BUT disciplined… in fact, they’re not only undisciplined but disruptive as well.

1/20/2009 can NOT come soon enough…

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

• FidelCastro has resigned as "President" of Cuba... I’ll have two Cuban cigars tonight to celebrate. Um, I mean I would have 2 Cuban cigars tonight to celebrate if, you know, I could purchase Cuban cigars here in the US... which I can’t because it’s illegal... and to have them would be against the law... um... uh... wow, look over there! Now, since this announcement came from state-run Cuban media, I would not be surprised that this news that he's retiring as president is a precursor to an announcement that he's died...so stay tuned.
• MoreDemocratic primaries today in Wisconsin and Hawaii…
• According to a survey conducted by Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for a New American Security, 9 out of 10 current and former military officers say the Iraq war has stretched the military “dangerously thin while 60% of the 3,400 officers polled also said that the US military is weaker today than five years ago… but we already knew that… and yet the administration continues to ignore it…
• Bush 41 not only endorsed McCain this week (which was met with an unenthusiastic ‘meh’), but he’s also saying that the attacks on McCain’s records from fellow conservatives were “absurd.” (Uh-huh. Bush 41’s stock rose with his and President Clinton’s work for the Tsunami victims, but one truly has to wonder if his defense of McCain is being met with anything but disinterest…
• The Clinton/Obama SuperDelegate Battle is waging…
• The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge brought forth by the ACLU to the Bush(whacked) Administration’s domestic spying program. In their rejection, the court gave “no comment explaining why they turned down the appeal.” (Well, what do you know… looks as though those two justices that Bush nominated to the court that were approved by a knock-over Congress with Democrats that had no balls just paid off. Hope all the Dems that voted to confirm the two feel good… they just handed the administration a victory. Way to go…)
• And have we mentioned? That former AG Alberto Gonzales has apparently lost his grip on reality? In advance of a speech he will give today at Washington University he answered a few questions from the school’s student paper, saying; “I take comfort in the fact that I have always told the truth, worked hard as my father did, stayed true to my values by doing my best, and having stepped into the arena, I have served my country.” (Uh-huh… so tell me, what color is the sky in your world Alberto? Rose-colored? Gonzales was one of the most dishonest, distrustful AG’s to ever hold the position – which is quite a feat considering who he replaced – and for him to even have the audacity to claim he always told the truth when it’s clear that he rarely told the truth is an insult to every citizen in this country… and I hope he gets his comeuppance soon…)

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

Another day, another start of a week, another week (of many, many more) of presidential campaigning…

• Super-delegates are still the hot topic between the campaigns of Sens. Obama and Clinton. Obama said of them this past weekend; “'Superdelegates' doesn't mean that they should leap over the will of the people in a single bound,” while Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson told CBS that those approximately 800 delegates “are supposed to vote their conscience.” (This is becoming more and more of a clusterfuck, and if it continues to the convention, look for a serious backlash against the Democratic party from Democratic voters)
• Obama met with former candidate John Edwards over the weekend… I still like the idea of an Obama/Edwards ticket (though honestly I think an Edwards/Obama ticket would have been stronger)
• “President” Bush and First Lady Laura Bush are in Africa where they were focusing on a low-tech way to protect children… giving pregnant women at the clinic vouchers that they can trade for mosquito nets to protect their newborns from malaria… (There’s a joke in there somewhere about Bush and low-tech, but it IS a good idea and should help ebb the spread of malaria in newborns. So I won’t snark on it now)
• Before Bush handed out the mosquito netting, he decided to do a little fear-mongering and said Friday that the United States is in “more danger of attack” because Congress failed to extend legislation on domestic wiretapping laws… (again, I want proof that this has worked. Not one person being caught who was a suspected terrorist, but a situation where the wiretapping actually stopped a terrorist act from being carried out. Show us that, and maybe we Liberals would be a little more in-favor of having parts of our Constitution destroyed. But until we see proof, stop the damn fear-mongering – it’s not helping ANYONE)
• The republican party is pressuring Mike Huckabee to abandon his campaign… but he won’t hear of it.
• Another example of some crack reporting by CNN: “Life on the stump is a grind for candidates” (Wait, let me get this straight… being away from home and family, flying/driving from city to city and state to state while barely sleeping and eating on the run is ‘a grind’? How about that, I never would have suspected that… oh wait, what I meant to say was; well duhhhhhhhhh)
• And have we mentioned? That “President” Bush is not only a conservative tool but also a rather un-emotional stump… or ‘shrub’ if you will? During a recent interview with the BBC, Bush was asked if he would “applaud” Steven Speilberg’s recent decision to withdraw as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics because China is not doing enough to pressure Sudan to end the genocide in Darfur. Said Bush; “That’s up to him. […] I’m going to the Olympics. I view the Olympics as a sporting event.” (Okay… there’s a measure of truth in that, though we as a nation boycotted the Olympics in 1980 when they were in the USSR, would Bush have still sent our athletes to THAT ‘sporting event’… I doubt it.) But Bush wasn’t done being a putz, as he continued and said; “I mean, you got the Dalai Lama crowd. You’ve got global warming folks. You’ve got, you know, Darfur. I am not gonna you know, go and use the Olympics as an opportunity to express my opinions to the Chinese people in a public way.” (Yeah… cuz that would take conviction and a brain…January 20, 2009 can NOT come soon enough…)

The Weekly Rewind

After setting up a new home network at my finacee's house I am able to access the world wide web and sum up some of the things that are going on in this country and maybe one or two things that affect the world.



Applaud: to keeping things clean on our side of the fence. In response to a campaign mailer from the Clinton camp, Senator and Obama backer Ted Kennedy spoke out against the ad saying that the tactics are ones of "distortion, misrepresentation," and "fear-mongering." The Senator further stated that this type of ad is divisive and "I think it does a great disservice to all of us who are interested in universal comprehensive healthcare." Thank you Senator! The Democrats can and should point out differences in the others platforms, however those differences nust not be used as openings for the right side of the aisle to distort for political advantage come November.



Heckle: to changing the rules mid stream. As everyone knows the DNC stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates as punishment for moving up their primaries. Now, in an act of desperation the Clinton campaign is trying to rally support behind their call to include those states delegates at the nominating convention. Whaaa, Whaaa, whats that sound? Yeah the Clinton staffers crying like babies.

Heckle: to speaking out of both sides of your mouth. For as much as Bill Clinton states that he wants to take a back seat in a Hillary Clinton campaign and administration, he sure keeps popping up and grabbing headlines. As a huge supporter of the former President, it pains me to say this...Mr. President it would be better for everyone if you took one or two steps back from your wifes campaign.

Heckle: to continuing distortion. In resposne to ad's criticizing the Obama camp for not agreeing to a Wisconsin debate, the Obama camp let loose with a new ad critical of Hillary Clinton for essentially being part of the machine politics that the Senator Obama is trying to change. After 18 debates, that's right....18 debates do we really need more? What is there left to say? Senator Clinton you need to focus on some real issues......

Heckle: to the Big Easy still being big time messed up. It's been roughly 2 1/2 years since Katrina ripped through New Orleans and the surrounding areas. So why is the lower ninth ward still one of the most depressing areas we can think of?? Because the Bush administration cannot follow through on promises. Once again, January 20, 2009 cannot come soon enough.

Heckle: to 100 years. In defending his statement on having a 100 year troop presence in Iraq, Senator John McCain clarified by stating that it would be no different than our bases in Japan, Germany and South Korea. I'm sorry the big difference is that we had real reasons for being in those countries in the first place.

Heckle: to yet more trouble for Hillary. In a sign of the closeness and varied feelings of this primary race, some super-delegates that were previously committed to Senator Clinton are reevaluating their support. Rep. Davis Scott has already switched his support to Senator Obama and Rep. John Lewis is considering switching. as are others. As we have said before, this is far from over and will continue to be a roller coaster.

Applaud: to winning hearts, minds, and union endorsements. Senator Obama this week picked up the endorsement of the United Food and Commerical Workers Union and the Service Employees InternationalUnion. Two very large and influential unions.

Okay folks that is it for me this week. My esteemed collegue has done an amazing job of gathering and summarizing most issues in his daily posts. I will have to be on my game next time.

Be good, stay informed.....later.

TBWA's Choice: Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)

As the race for the Democratic nomination for president gets further along (even though we still have 8 months left of this), and with Sen. Clinton’s continued misfires and inane campaign strategies (Mark Penn is a putz), Scott and I have decided to officially disclose our choice for the nomination and the presidency; Sen. Barack Obama.

Yes, Obama may not have the eons of experience as Clinton, but that’s part of the attraction to his candidacy.

After 8 years of Bush and his cronies, the US is in a sad state… loathed around the world… citizens dying for an unjust war… the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attacks against us still free… the economy circling the drain… and the Constitution in peril of being destroyed, we need someone who will strike a chord with the nation while striving to put the US back into balance.

Sen. Obama fits that description… Sen. Clinton does NOT.

Obama has opposed the Iraq war from the start and would start to bring one or two combat brigades home per month until all troops are out of Iraq within 16 months.

He wants to create a new national health plan that would allow individuals without access to affordable insurance coverage to buy coverage similar to that available to members of Congress.

He wants to increase the number of working parents eligible for Earned Income Tax Credits while increasing the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments.

He supports implementing an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the level recommended by top scientists.

He supports abortion rights and urges efforts to reduce teen pregnancy.

He wants to use $75 billion in tax cuts and direct spending to stimulate the economy while providing an immediate $250 tax cut to workers and their families, along with an immediate, temporary $250 bonus to seniors in their Social Security checks.

He would encourage, but not require, universal Pre-Kindergarten while rewarding teachers with higher salaries that wouldn’t be tied to standardized test scores.

Ms. Clinton and her campaign on the other hand, over the last few days, has shown her desperation with acts of…well, desperation.

You have her campaign laying out a plan to use super delegates to subvert the will of the Democratic Party electorate… show in a span of days her campaign has gone from saying certain states don’t matter… to saying certain voters don’t matter… to saying the electorate of the Democratic party doesn’t matter and only super-delegates matter… screw the American people.

Good luck Sen. Obama… we’re behind you.

www.barackobama.com

The Friday Presidential Race ‘BushWhack’ing

TGIFF…

• Sen. Obama increased his lead in Tuesday’s Potomac Primaries and now leads Sen. Clinton in total delegates.
• The New Mexico caucus has finally been decided, and Sen. Clinton has won it…
• The Clinton camp is showing their desperation as one of her chief strategists, Mark Penn, said earlier this week; “Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn't won any of the significant states -- outside of Illinois? That raises some serious questions about Sen. Obama.” (Interesting strategy to get people to vote for you – insult their states by implying they don’t matter… I think you’re doing it wrong Mr. Penn…)
• Sen. McCain got the endorsement of last week’s CTOTW Mitt Romney… which was met with much dis-interest… just like Romney’s campaign was.
• Rumors are also swirling that McCain will get the endorsement of the first President Bush… uh-huh…
• “McCain refuses to Pander”…. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
• McCain voted against the banning of waterboarding. What was that about not pandering?
• McCain also saw himself quickly backpedaling from his statement about the US staying in Iraq for 100 years…
• CNN is trying to rile the pot by suggesting the Democratic nomination could come down to Michigan and Florida… 2 states Clinton won. Problem is the DNC stripped their delegate status after they moved their primaries up against the DNC’s wishes… so why CNN is reporting it is anyone’s guess.
• And have we mentioned? That the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll for yesterday shows Barack Obama opening a double-digit lead over Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination? It’s true, as the results from yesterday’s poll, taken daily, show Obama earning support from 49% of likely Democratic voters while Clinton attracts 37%. Obama has also opened up a strong lead among women – thought to be Clinton’s bread and butter - 46% to 41%. (It's still too early to usher Clinton off the stage, but it's becoming clear that the orchestra has started playing and her time may be limited. Stay tuned...)

A Delegate Primer

If you are like the plethora of people confused about the delegate process for Democrats, find solace that you are not alone…

So, like I did before Super Fat Tuesday, I thought I would create a Democratic Delegate primer for all of you that are confused and flummoxed by the process.

First, you should understand that there are two kinds of delegates; pledged delegates and the so-called super, or un-pledged, delegates.

Pledged delegates are those who are, oddly enough, pledged to a candidate based on the candidate's performance in a state's nomination contest… have I confused you now? Remember, most states and territories have a primary, but some have caucuses, and even fewer have either a hybrid system or a state convention. Seventy-five percent (75%) of a state's pledged delegates are allocated by Congressional district with the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) allocated in proportion to statewide results… but only if the state has more than one Congressional district…

God, I’m confusing myself now…

Let’s start with the basics… and you can’t get much more basic than republicans… republicans award delegates on a winner-take-all basis, usually by the entire state, although some places award delegates based upon winners of Congressional districts.

Democrats, however, award pledged delegates in proportion to their share of the vote; for example, if a candidate receives at least 15% of the vote in either a congressional district or statewide, he or she will receive at least one delegate from that jurisdiction. Because delegates are parceled out mostly by Congressional district, it is possible, and not rare, for a candidate who finishes second statewide to actually get more delegates than the candidate who won the state, so what matters isn't just the number of votes, but also how they are distributed.

Staying with me so far?

Okay… each state party has a process for determining the actual individuals who will serve as pledged delegates at the Democratic Convention, but individuals can submit their names to the state party and declare which candidate they would like to represent at the convention… these names are then vetted with the campaign so they can determine that these individuals are in fact supporters of their candidate, which is relatively important as there is nothing that binds the individuals to vote for the candidate to whom they originally pledged their support once they’re at the convention.

But that’s why those people are vetted, in an attempt to prevent that from happening. And truth be told, it’s exceptionally rare for someone to not vote for the candidate to whom they originally pledged their support.

Weeks after the state's primary, or caucus, the state party holds a meeting of the leadership and votes on the individual delegates which must have an equal balance of men and women, and must also represent the state's racial make-up.

Now we arrive at the other type of delegates, the un-pledged or “super-delegates” who are not obligated to pledge support for anyone in advance of their arriving at the convention. Furthermore, even if one of these delegated publicly declares their support for one particular candidate nothing officially binds them to stick with that endorsement.

This means that anyone who now declares support for Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama could show up at the convention, change their mind, and throw the nominating process into chaos.

It should also me mentioned that most un-pledged delegates are elected officials, in fact, all Democratic members of Congress and the Senate are un-pledged delegates (except Joe Lieberman, whose had his super-delegate status yanked away because someone in the DNC finally realized the putz is a republican in Independent clothing…). Additionally, all Democratic governors are “super-delegates” as are most members of the DNC. Add to that that a small number of “party elders” are also “super-delegates”… and this group can range from former Democratic presidents (Carter & Clinton) to vice-presidents (Gore) to former presidential nominees (Kerry) and former House Speakers to past DNC chairs.

The delegate battle at this summer’s convention will determine our party’s nominee, and the contest is already gotten fierce and will not be decided for quite some time… so, as I like to say, stay tuned.

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

Today is Valentine's Day and... well... that's pretty much it...

• Here’s a message for the DNC… if the super-delegates choose the opposite candidate that the voters did, expect a BIG backlash in November. You can count on it… and I will help lead the charge.
• Sen. Obama still leads Sen. Clinton in the delegate count…
• The economic stimulus package is official after “President” Bush signed the bill yesterday. You can expect to receive the checks in May. And since NOTHING from the White House is mentioning this, allow me. These checks WILL be advances on next year’s returns… repeat, these checks WILL be advances on next year’s returns
• Sen. McCain needs money…
• The Senate Ethics Committee, in a letter released yesterday, has “publicly admonished” Sen. Larry Craig for “attempting to use his public office to get out of his arrest last summer in a Minneapolis airport restroom sting” while also criticizing him for attempting to withdraw his guilty plea…. (But don’t ask what they’re going to do about it… I think the letter was it…)
• Isn’t it ironic that a former POW would vote against banning waterboarding? Let the McCain-pandering begin! Unless of course you’re the Washington Times who proclaimed in a headline today; “McCain refuses to pander” (Um… the editors at the Times have a dictionary right… or is it possible that they don’t know the meaning of the word pander. Allow me to help – voting against banning a torture technique when you were once a POW who was tortured is pandering)
• In case you forgot; the economic stimulus checks WILL be advances on next year’s returns… tell your friends.
• Mike Huckabee is vowing to stay in the presidential race… insert own smart-ass question asking why HERE…
• And have we mentioned? That the fight for FISA just won’t die? It’s true as it seems more and more Democrats are growing a pair and are refusing to go along with the Senate-approved bill which would have given immunity to telecom companies. (It seems this fight may be far from over… stay tuned)

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Hump day… ‘nuff said.

• More primaries yesterday… and like his clean sweep on Saturday – Sen. Obama has shown his chops once again by sweeping all three contests yesterday, which also put him ahead in the delegate count… stay tuned.
• Oh yeah, and Sen. McCain swept the gop primaries yesterday… meh.
• On the heels of Sen. Clinton firing her first campaign manager, her deputy campaign manager resigned yesterday... (Clinton’s campaign seems to be imploding before our eyes… six contests in under seven days and her performance in all has been, shall we say, less than stellar. It’s hard to see how her campaign can get back on track at all, but her staff is having her focus on Texas’ primary. If she has another poor outing, expect some people in the Democratic party to push for her to step aside so Obama can focus on the republicans… stay tuned.)
• Having solved all other problems, Roger Clemens is in front of the House talking about steroids… I understand that steroids are bad and need to be stopped, but I fail to see how this, or for that matter SpyGate on the NFL side, are a problem for Congress… shouldn’t they be focusing on more important things like, I don’t know… FISA… terrorism… the US economy…
• Seeing how the Senate folded like origami on telecom immunity, “President” Bush is urging the House to follow suit… which is HIGHLY unlikely.
• House Democratic leaders are planning to force a vote this week looking to hold Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress since they refused to comply with earlier subpoenas stemming from the U.S. attorneys probe. (they’ve flirted with this before, only to either chicken out or – conveniently – run out of time. So I’m gonna wait and see what happens before I start tossing out accolades…)
• And have we mentioned? That Karl Rove is blaming the sad state of the economy on the media? Seems he was interviewed by Bill “want to see my microphone?” O’Reilly on Fox “News” and said; “I think the economy — the media has been beating the drum for years and years and years that the economy stinks. And after a while, that begins to color people’s attitudes.” (Yeah… it’s the media’s fault and has nothing to do with Iraq, or oil or Bush… give me a fucking break Karl, you truly need to take off the rose-colored glasses and stop drinking the kool-aid and see the world for what it is. The media is to blame for a lot in our society, but the recession is something that can NOT be pinned on them. It’s your boy, his policies, and his administration – you included – that did this to us… so STFU Karl and get a life. BTW, he also blamed Bush’s crappy approval ratings on the media… uh-huh)

Another player about to jump in?

Just when you thought that the presidential race couldn’t get more confusing, someone has to open their mouth about something that’s a political hot button and instantly create speculation about their running for president…

This time it’s the current mayor of New York City (certainly not to be confused with the previous mayor whose presidential aspirations crashed and burned faster than his marriages) who is stirring up the pot.

During a speech to the United Nations yesterday, Michael Bloomberg emphasized the threat of global warming while also calling on America to enact a tax on carbon emissions. Said Bloomberg;

“Terrorists kill people. Weapons of mass destruction have the potential to kill an enormous amount of people. […] …but “global warming in the long term has the potential to kill everybody.”

Stirring stuff isn’t it… sounds as though Bloomberg is trying to make a…splash, of some kind.

Bloomberg wasn’t done, continuing on and saying that global warming “has all of the same potentials of destroying the planet that we live on. No scientist knows for sure what’s going to happen, but you don’t want to wait to find out."

Keep in mind that this is pure speculation, but if Bloomberg isn’t floating a test balloon, then he certainly is faking it well… if he is, the question has to be which side he hurts more; the Democrats or the republicans?

While the Democrats have a spoiler already with Ralph “I screwed up 2000” Nader contemplating a run, Bloomberg – who technically is a registered republican - definitely leans more Liberal with many of his policies and a presidential run by him could hurt either side…

As always, stay tuned…