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Dobson and the "pro family" right may sit this one out!
According to the Denver Post, James Dobson may sit this election out, if McCain is nominated by the Republicans. This could be very good news for Democrats. Dobson and his "Focus on the Family" organization have enormous influence with thousands of religious conservatives. If they "boycott" the election, the Republicans are in serious trouble.
Still, I believe that Democrats should go on the offensive and redifine "pro-family;" the right end of the Republicans are, after all, the most anti-family of political groups. How can I say this? Simple. Trouble in the family is not caused by the gay couple next door (who are more likely to stay together longer than a straight couples); it is caused by financial pressures and lack of time to spend together as a family.
Many of those financial pressures are exacerbated—and we all know this—by health care costs. Yet, the Republicans have repeatedly cut federal health care funds, and have steadfastly opposed national healthcare insurance. National healthcare, more than anything else the Federal Government could possible do, would be truly pro-family! We Democrats should go on the offensive with this.
Time together as a family? Americans work more hours than other industrialized nation’s workforce, and we have this amazingly American institution: the 24 hour retail store. We have less vacation time, and the family wage has disappeared to support enormous profits for corporations and a ridiculous wealth gap in America. Now, to support a family, both parents have to work. So to answer James Dobson’s own question: Where’s Daddy (the name of a Focus on the Family film)—He’s at work, and so is mom, because management has cut into workers lives in unprecedented ways without commensurate compensations. Democrats should go on the offensive in favor of rights of workers, better wages and benefits, and actual time away from work to spend with one’s family, rather than lining the pockets of the already superrich.
Of course, mom and dad may not be at work. Not if they worked for one of the corporations now out of business because American corporate giants took their Bush tax breaks and invested them overseas. That really helped the American family, too.
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floridagal .
Tue, 02/05/08
These are not nice people.
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Good news I think Obama might win Missouri. Within 2,000 votes.
Isn't it nice to listen to someone that can actually handle the English language?
Without notes
Obama has the only good speach for the night.
Just got back from caucasing here in AK. First time I have ever caucased, I was very nervous. But it was simple. After I filled out the paper stating who I was caucasing for, I went and stood with all the other Obama people. This is the good part. There were 53 people there. All 53 were for Obama.
Podcast Obama's speeches:
record on your IPOD
and spread the word.
Evangelize, folks.
Evangelize folks.
OMG rae hart that is fantastic!!
Yay Alaska!!
This is the good part. There were 53 people there. All 53 were for Obama.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
wOOt!!!!
Missouri within 3,800.
Only place left that votes are outstanding is St. Louis (a few left in St. Louis County). It looks like Obama will pick up about 4,000 in St. Louis City.
Is Montana in Charles? California isn't a very good test they have been voting so long and will have misrepresented Obama's late move, understates it.
Just got in from the caucus in Estes Park. 570 people attended. There are usually about 100. 489 went for Obama, the rest for Clinton. Unbelievable enthusiasm for Obama. Our precinct went 36 for Obama, 2 for Clinton, which didn't make the threshold.
Will get back to you. What a night! People are energized: determined to do something to take our country back. Yearrrgh, my Howard Dean yell.
Open Left was reporting that MSNBC called MO for Clinton.
I'M SO SORRY folks. I'll stick to the tee vee and not the blogs. ;-)
rea hart wrote, " I went and stood with all the other Obama people. This is the good part. There were 53 people there. All 53 were for Obama. "
WOOT!
Good going, Pat in Co. Our friends in CO caucused for Barack in Evergreen.
Barack's speech was awesome. He was playing to a national audience for sure.
Obama will need to win by more than the margin of Michigan and Florida in the states to come.
He's pulled ahead in MO. What a bloody nail biter. My husband keeps asking about Missouri and if our guy is going to win there.
The CSPAN site called it for Hillary in MO - I hope they're wrong. 96% in.
Primary vs. Caucus
seems tonight one can sense the value of a caucus,
because we can directly influence the vote in a caucus environment.
Sigh - MSNBC just projected CA for Hillary
Looking good in AK rae - he has a good lead!
Missouri looks solid. I missed that only 27% of the county that the University of Missouri sits.
Maine, Nebraska, Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, Washington you all get to decide for the nation in the weeks to come it might come down to super delegates but Ohio best lock up the machines right now.
Missouri splits the delegates evenly.
Exit polls showed Obama winning California today, so in those next states Obama needs to crank up the early voting machine, Clinton will and did.
NBC calling CA for Clinton but 'they' switched MO to Obama I heard? I think CA will change. Just bein' optimistic.
Folks, be well. Thanks for being here. Thanks for Dean and his 50 state strategy. Thank you Barack and Hillary. All the best. Night.
1219pm EST (fix the blog)
Polls were still open in California when the first challenges were raised Tuesday to ballots and voting procedures that progressive advocates - and the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama - suggested Tuesday were designed to discourage and confuse millions of decline to state voters.
"This is definitely a Florida," said Rick Jacobs, who heads the Courage Campaign, the California-based progressive grassroots 527 group whose partners include Common Cause and MoveOn.org.
Jacobs said that his group, which held a conference call with the Obama campaign Tuesday, has moved to mount a legal challenge to the Los Angeles County voting system, charging that confusing procedures in that major urban area could disenfranchise the estimated 776,000 "decline to state" voters there.
The Los Angeles system requires that decline-to-state voters not only ask specifically for a Democratic ballot - but also fill in a special bubble on the ballot specifically indicating their desire to vote on the Democratic presidential ticket. Failure to fill in the bubble voids their presidential ballot.
The battle over the decline to state, or independent, voters, could determine the outcome of the Democratic election in the nation's most populous state, where both Obama and Clinton are locked in a dead heat battle.
http://www.sfgate.com/flat/archive/2008/...
Obama speeche amazing. Wish that we had one week more before today. Come on. YES WE CAN!!!
Polls in Alameda county, CA across the bay, are open until 10pm as some precincts ran out of ballots!
I say if Obama doesn't win the dem party line. Go independant!!!
cnn has obama ahead 49 to 48 in MO but hasn't called it -- ap hasn't called it either. Think I will try to go to bed -- I will send good Obama vibes to CA in my sleep. Goodnight all.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primari...
Ed Schultz is calling this a huge win for Barack. Only Tweety and David Gregory are saying it's with hillary. Hillary is stagnant. That's my new tag line.
rae hart - They all went for Barack in large part because of you.
Did New Mexico fall asleep?
14 states out of 22 is a bloody good win!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To heck with Calif.
From the Santa Fe New Mexican
llinois Sen. Barack Obama apparently carried Santa Fe County in Tuesday's presidential caucus, winning about 60 percent of the votes cast by Democrats.
Party officials were still receiving paper ballots from various voting sites, where initial tallies were made.
However, statewide totals were still not available nearly three hours after voting ended in what party leaders said was heavier-than-expected turnout.
Obama did well at polling places on the east, north and west sides of Santa Fe, as well as in communities southeast of Santa Fe, including sites in Eldorado and the Hondo fire station.
Comprehensive delegate backgrounder.
http://tinyurl.com/36afe3
Obama won't take CA--he did very well, overall. Billary's waaaaaaaay ahead now in superdelegates. Non-binding--can't change any of that.
NBC Calls MO for Obama While Interviewing McCaskill.
oh mainefem, That is so sad. just fyi I voted for some of your dfa grass roots, cause I trusted your oppinion. I hope it is wrong now.
Another apparent blowout in Alaska. Obama 70 something, Clinton 30 something.
Another apparent blowout in Alaska. Obama 70 something, Clinton 30 something.
He won Alaska, too rae!
Missouri and Rae - he won Alaska thanks in part to you!!!!!
exit polls show Obama up by 4 in New Mexico. This from Poblano over at Kos. Don't know what to make of that. Where are you Stat Man?
Of course the headlines are all about Clinton's HUGE CA victory. Hopefully, that will change tomorrow. Did you see those caucus victories for Barack?????
mary vb
Wed, 02/06/08
Same numbers I computed off CNN. Not sure I understand but it seems like states with large Hispanic populations (California and Arizona) did better for Billary than the exit polls suggest. Not sure I understand but it concerns me with New Mexico.
MSNBC just went through all the numbers and Obama clearly won this day. He got more states, and more delegates And as the underdog he won the psych war. It was also pointed out that he'll keep steamrolling Hillary in contributions since his donors aren't maxed out.
CNN is changing California Exit Polls. When the polls closed it looked Clinton+6 but now it is 14%. Latino vote killed Obama......Billary race baiting in SC probably helped them with Latino vote.
mainefem,
Superdelegates change their vote depending on which way the political wind is blowing.
It looks like Barack is predicted to win more binding delegates than her tonight, and that is counting CA.
HRC wants Obama to have a debate a week until convention. Word is she is running out of funds, and wants to use this as free press time.
I surely hope the Obama campaign tells her to take a flying leap.
Thank you, Chris.
Chellie Pingree came in 4th on the DFA A-List thingy.
She's running against 5 men in ME CD#1 in her June primary ("librul" population base in So. Maine). On a map, it's tiny.
Maine's never sent a female Democrat to D.C.--let alone, a progressive feminist. This would be historical.
It's presently Rep. Tom Allen's seat (running against blood-stained moronic idiot, Susan Collins).
joementum's "girlfriend," & McCain's fundraising Co-Chair for Maine (he lost the Rethug straw poll "caucus" this weekend...they have no clout w/their nutjob base).
Their "caucus" votes are non-binding; their attendees have to travel to larger county caucuses; and they don't allow absentee balloting (the Dems. have an inclement weather date for Feb. 17th).
The ME Dem. party has already processed 4,100 absentee ballots (as of last Fri.)--nearly as many as Rethugs who bothered to caucus over two days, statewide.
Tomorrow's the cut-off for folks to send in their absentee ballots to state HQ.
I predict Obama to win; as the folks who will show up are primarily former Edwards or Kucinich voters (and are like me--will vote strictly A.B.H.).
Over 10K Dems. have unenrolled since the '04 caucuses--we're *that* pissed off.
Maine is the "whitest" state in the nation, so I can't wait for the irony.
State legislative candidates will be asking for $5.00 "Clean Election" donations; and for their nomination petitions to be signed.
Chellie was integral in getting the Maine Clean Elections Act passed, BTW (when she was in the ME Senate). As well as the Maine RxPlus program (discounted re-imported meds for elderly folks, from thim pesky Canadian "ferriners").
She termed out; and went to Common Cause, as President.
Chellie will be fine, once she wins that June primary--her Rethug opponent has zilch money, or name rec. No problemo.
I'd be shocked if the 17 yr. olds attend in vast numbers; but I did blast a helluva email out on U/Maine's intranet; and over 400 people have read it thus far.
It takes dynamite to get them out to vote (faculty, classified employees, administration, and all students have access to the intranet).
They aren't interested in party politics, per se--but will cast their vote, at least. Seriously pissed off at the top>down "machine."
www.tomallen.org
Most of Maine is CD#2 (sq. mileage)...largest CD East of the Mississippi River.
Not bad at all. Many of Chellie's online ME supporters are not tech-savvy. Might not have wanted to give personal info to DFA, too.
www.pingreeforcongress.com
Hillary's embarrassing press release touting a Missouri win. Oops as Kos says.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/6/0...
tee hee
I too hope Obama tells Hillary to pack sand with the debates.
Poblano over at Kos is saying Barack is up by six in NM. I sure hope that holds because it didn't in CA.
Latinos and African Americans have (historically) never gotten along...fighting over the same crappy jobs non-union).
They'll need to come out in vast numbers; and Obama needs to seriously talk about working poor and poverty issues, vs. this "Yes, We Can" rah-rah stuff.
Blue-collar and working class folks are shilling for Clinton, which is wacky. They aren't typically critical thinker/academic-types, either.
Don't have time to be, for starters.
Obama needs to trot out women on the stump (as he did this past weekend) ALL THE TIME.
Stick the men in the back row, for Christsakes....
sKerry and Howard made the same mistake w/women--too busy attempting to appear "strong on defense" crap.
No Dem. will win w/o the so-called "gender" vote.
It's that simple.
They'll both be shilling hard for union support next.
He'll need to firm up his ground operation...in a huge way.
Nuts-n-bolts, re: "how to" stuff.
Billary has shitty ActBlue/netroots support, vs. Obama (Edwards was previously on top).
Go read their stats, re: small donors and recurring contribution potentiality.
Get your own ActBlue accounts, folks.
I too hope Obama tells Hillary to pack sand with the debates.
More likely he'll tell Hillary to have her people call his people and negotiate it to death. But since she's never beaten him in a debate yet, he may say "sure." It would make him an even stronger candidate
Hi Folks,
Thanks for the running updates and commentaries. This was quite a night.
People were so enthusiastic, so empowered as they lined up at tables in the cafteria at the Estes Park High School. They were fierce in the sense that this is our country, and the corruption, the taking away of civil liberties, the violations of the Constitution are real causes for engagement now. A quagmire of a war that has caused so many deaths and maimings and dislocation of the Iraqi people that has drained our treasury is a reason to get involved and elect leaders who will serve us well.
There were so many people( one woman was 90 years old; some were newbies, in their early 20s) my husband and I were losing our voices trying to shout out instructions. (We are co-precinct captains), and there were people of all ages there. Many had never come to a caucus before.
There's no doubt that caucuses are more work than priimaries, more chaotic, but there's something really important and wonderful about seeing your neighbors and talking to them. That great American independence, pride in our freedoms and rule of law, pride in our communities and how we've contributed to them was all evident. The atmosphere was charged.
In an odd sense, as we've grown so imperiled under the corrupt leadership of the Bush Administration, we may have been roused to reclaim this country.
And the feeling was overwhelming for Obama, an extraordinary person who can lead us to be our best selves.
I think tonight was a triumph for Obama in the sense that he held his own, gained enormously in the past few weeks, and we have a fighting chance to see that he is our nominee for president.
Night friends.
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By floridagal . on Feb 5, 2008 11:35 PM ESTI am concerned about something the Hillary campaign said in a phone conference and reported by Chris Bowers. He posted today he was surprised it go so much attention. I am not surprised. Essentially they said that their rules for choosing a nominee were not the DNC rules. How does one figure that?
Hillary campaign says DNC delegates rules are not the rules of her campaign.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1811
Here is one paragraph, but means more in context.
"The rules the party has put in place to choose its nominee are not the rules of the Clinton campaign and, just like the Obama campaign, we are doing what we can under those rules to secure the requisite number of delegates for the nomination. One way to avoid the situation described above is to figure out some way to honor the votes of Michigan and Florida, where there was record turnout. Counting the delegates in Florida and Michigan is a civil rights issue, and a solution needs to be figured out before the convention."
Maybe we should tell them Bill Nelson lost his lawsuit based on the civil rights issue. She should not be doing this.