I'm pumped. I have SIRIUS satellite radio on, I have druge, dailykos, and mydd up, not to mention the AD chat. I don't want to miss a moment when Hillary will go 0-15.

Looks like a tap dance in Vermont:



Oooooh, that's going to leave a mark!

That would be funny for her to go 0-15 but I don't think its likely, she is favored to win in Iowa *Ohio* but it is very close, as for Texas thats even closer and certainly far too close to know yet, but she has been gaining in points over the last two weeks in both states. Im not exactly sure why that is but it is what I'm hearing. Vermont is Obama's, as for Rhode Island thats another race thats too close too call.

Drudge has it:

Texas

Obama-58%

Clinton-41%

Yea it appears some of the polls in Texas closed before the rest, it is still early though that readout you gave only represents the first 1% of the states votes. Same goes with Ohio in that only 1% of the votes are in. She has a lead there though. News reporters are saying its going to be a long night. The bulk of polls close in Texas a few minutes. Then later the caucuses will take place, they get to vote twice.

They just made the McCain nomination official, he got it, no surprise there.

Well to update this Hillary is now the projected winner in Rhode Island, and she has 57% of the vote in Ohio to Obamas 41%. That gap appears to be widening. As for Texas she is closing the gap with 50% going to Obama as of now, and 48% to Hillary. Compared to the numbers you gave above it appears Obama is losing his lead. So the Good news for the Hillary supporters is that she will probably win at least 2 of the 4 states up for grabs tonight, possibly 3 out of 4 if she gets Texas. Although even if that happens she will not close the delegate gap much. It looks like she will benifet most from Ohio, her lead there is substantial as of now.

Que?

I'm getting 51-48 Clinton in Texas from CNN.

Oops, I didn't see the "Drudge" part.. I get it

CP

Well, when I went to my local Republican convention the line for the Democratic Primary was still about 100 people deep. There was also another 100-150 waiting for the caucus. And this was about 8:00, an hour after the polls closed, after the eight Republicans found each other and all signed up to be delegates for the precinct.

I wanted to stay to watch the bloodbath when the Democrats fought for delegates but the taunting we received was pretty rough. I can't imagine what they did to each other. Funny thing though I think with the exception of one person and the acting district chaiman were mostly anti-bush & anti-war. The only people who bothered to show were people who supported Huckabee and Paul.

Ooops! 3 out of 4 for Hillary.


(Is it possible to put the cork back into a champagne bottle?


Aquilla

CNN just* projected that Hillary Clinton has won the Texas primary, reportedly at 51% to 48%. She is also the projected winner in Ohio, and she has won Rhode Island.

It's funny how the media has been trying to say that Senator Clinton was on the ropes and all that stuff--as a matter of fact, I find it downright amusing when the pundits are proven wrong once again.

As a disenfranchised Michigan Democrat, there is nothing I can do to influence the nomination. I am just glad that we have two good candidates.

But for Hill's sake, "You go, Girl!"

*Well, at least I "just" heard it on CNN, CP!

I'd still like to see the two Democratic front runners working together as Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. I suppose that's a pipe dream.

Yea and take a look here, this is something I'm wondering about. Many people are saying, that she will not get the majority of the delegates in Texas. However her lead is still widening, and look at the number of counties she has carried in comparison to Obama......

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#TX

She is leading in about 9 out of 10 of all the counties in Texas according to that, and while he is carrying the counties with the major cities and more delegates, that map is just overwhelmingly in favor of Clinton. I think its likely she will be within 10 delegates more or less of Obama. I would think more.

Im faced with a bit of a catch 22 on what democrat I want to get the nomination. I would rather see Obama be president than Hillary, however a large part of me wants her to get the nomination. I wont be voting for either of these candidates, but I believe Hillary will begin to divide the Democratic party to some extent, and will be the easier candidate to defeat for McCain. The catch 22 is the prospect of her getting the nomination then beating John McCain, that would tick me off because I never really liked her.

I could never see Clinton playing second fiddle to Obama, and the reverse intuitively seems just as unlikely.

But besides that, it would be quite a ticket.

Of course, we have yet to learn who will actually be the winner in Texas based on primaries vs. caucuses. Curmudgeon is telling me that CNN is not dealing with portion of the Texas story yet.

Politics is the art of the possible, so such a match-up is not beyond the realm of possibility, but after some of the nastiness of this campaign, I can't imagine Obama and Clinton ever trusting each other enough to forge a "unity ticket."

Whomever Hillary picks as her running mate is condemned to playing Vice-President-Twice-Removed. Bill would be the de facto veep.

After the way Hillary has heaped withering scorn, contempt and swift kicks to the crotch on Obama, there's not a snowball's chance he'd offer her ANY route to the Oval Office. It's said the main job of the vice-president is to check if the president has a cold. Hillary might hock up a loogie in Barack's coffee.

Besides, how would they ever decide who's gonna do the lead vocals while the other is reduced to singing backup?

I'll grant you that things have gotten unpleasant from time to time in Clinton's efforts to distinguish herself from Obama, but I don't think she'd "hock up a loogie" in Barack's coffee (unless he decided to assign her the task of getting coffee for him, that is ).

But, lo and behold! Didn't we see McCain hugging George W. Bush just a few years after he was brutalized by the Bush campaign in South Carolina? The cliche' states that politics make for strange bedfellows, and as far as Clinton goes, Hillary will probably assign Bill to "serve the country" far, far, away from her Oval Office.

On one level this is deadly serious, earnest battling for the nomination. On another level, it is a game that the politicians relish and, hopefully, they are able to have a sense of perspective and humor to cope with the ceremonial bloodletting.

My daughter watched some of he election coverage with me last night and asked me at one point, "Daddy, is it going to be Hillary or Obama?"

I told her, "We don't know yet, they're kinda tied."

She says, "Well, that's why I'm a Republican. Those Democrats can never make up their mind!"



Out of the mouths of babes.......


Aquilla

lol, thats funny. Smart kid.

That's real cute, guys. I suppose, however, it is better to mull over your choice rather than the steel trap mindset that our GOP brethren seem to suffer from every four years. The difference being that OUR lemmings (the Democratic ones) might want a change of scenery before they decide to plunge off the cliff en masse.

Many people say we need change, both democrats and republicans for the most part both agree that changes need to be made. Of course many democrats label themselves the change advocates while republicans are supposedly the representatives of status quo. Personally I think its nonsense, the only difference I see is that the right is less likely to change their fundamentals. They may want change in policy, but are less likely to shift their entire belief system every 3 years on any given issue. For example the War in Iraq most republicans still support it but want major change in policy, or at the very least new leadership. 4 years ago close to half of Democrats supported it now like 15 % of them do. In any case Most Americans whether they be lefties, moderates, or right wingers for the most part are smart and rational Americans, as much as I differ from the left Ive always believed that. Although there are certainly exceptions on both sides to that, lol.

I bet you're one of those people I see at the grocery store spending 15 minutes deciding between JIff or Skippy. It's just fricking peanut butter for crying out loud! Well, that's what y'all have. Peanut Butter. 1970's big time liberalism with two different labels. One is white and female, the other black and male, but there's no real difference between them when it comes down to the issues.

So, take your pick, JIff or Skippy.


Aquilla

...and what's John McSame supposed to be? Your great-great grandpa that would sit in his easy chair with his pants hiked up over his belly and grumbling, "Kids today. When I was your age we made peanut butter the old-fashioned way: buy a big ol' bag, crack 'em out of the shell, and stomp on 'em till they got soft enough and then sprinkle the pieces over some bread. Ummm...Good eatin.'"

Jiff or Skippy? I bought some Peter Pan peanut butter on sale last week. Anything is better than that cheap store brand peanut butter which can also be used as an adhesive.

I'll take 1970's big time liberalism over 1950's hula hoops, Davy Crockett hats and Father Knows Best, any day, "my friends."

Peter Pan? That explains it. Wasn't he the one who used to sing "I'll never grow up"? I wonder if he ever did....



Aquilla

I bet you'd be singing a different tune if Katie Couric was running for president.




That's a very kind thing to say about your fellow Americans. However, I would put them (meaning me, as well) into the category of "I don't care enough about politics to truly get informed." Pop culture rules America. Politics takes a back seat for most. It takes time to read up on the issues and to educate oneself about candidates and so forth. Most people don't want to be bothered and they just don't care enough, and/or they are disillusioned by the inherent corruption in our government at every level.

Has anyone else become a delegate? This is going to be my first time and could probably use some tips.

Actually, no. I've chosen Jif Creamy peanut butter for years now, and I'm happy with it. But I also think that an informed consumer reads the label, even if it's "fricking peanut butter"! And I'll tell you what--the Presidential election is, at least, a little bit more important than selecting peanut butter at the grocery store.

Having bread for that peanut butter is also important, especially to people who have found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet under our current "compassionate conservative" leadership. There is a reason why the nation is coming out and voting for Democrats in the primaries. Things aren't that great, or haven't you noticed?

Social Security was a big time liberal idea; so was Medicare. And, whether you like it or not, it is helping to keep my husband and me alive. I thank God for big time liberalism!

Just because you GOP folks didn't have two decent candidates from whom to choose your nominee, you really shouldn't begrudge us Democrats for taking our time to decide from two of the decent candidates we have! What's the big hurry, Aquilla? It's no skin off your nose.

I eat a peanut butter sandwich almost every night when I am at work. (What else is a very easy brown bag meal for a vegetarian to pack?) Over the years, I have come to be very picky about my peanut butter. The only kind I will eat is Arrowhead Mills Organic Unsalted Crunchy 100% Roasted Valencia Peanut Butter. All peanuts, with no other ingredients. (Why would I add sugar or oil or salt to something which tastes so good all by itself?)

Anybody who says that all peanut butters are alike doesn't know very much about peanut butter. Heck, such a person probably doesn't even like peanut butter. (Horrors!)

Let me stretch the analogy to the breaking point. Peanut butter is liberalism. Wholesome, nutritious, as American as apple pie. There are many varieties of it, some better than others. My preference for the "natural" stuff puts me outside the mainstream, I suppose. That doesn't mean I hate the "adulterated" forms of the stuff. Sometimes one has to select the best from a series of limited choices.

But I'd much rather have something halfway decent than something which I dislike very much.

As a vegetarian, I can only say that conservatism holds as little attraction for me as the same old baloney.

Rev, That's awesome that you are going to be a delegate. You'll have to keep us up to speed on the inside doings of the Convention!!

Congrats Rev! I had a friend on another board that went to the GOP convention once and he had a really good time.


Aquilla




As a vegetarian, and a selective one at that, I assume that you don't care when it comes down to the "meaty" issues. You know, stuff like taxes, crazy-spending on earmarks and new entitlement programs designed to enslave the American worker. "Where's the beef?". You don't care. Instead, as a liberal, you choose to attempt to smooth over the American people with nothing but a glob of pureed legumes over a piece of bread. No meat there, but as a liberal, you don't care. Just give me my sandwich and I'm a happy camper. That how it works?


Aquilla

Attacking someone over their choice of peanut butter? Tsk, tsk. How gauche.

Just calling it how I see it my friend.

Aquilla

For the record, I thought Aquilla's response was quite nicely done. Touche!

Well today was the county convention of Harris County. Since Harris County is so large it was divided up into Senatorial Districts and I was SD7. The previous night I meet with some Ron Paul activists so I would know what was going on. For those of you who have never done this before let me tell you what happens after election night.

First thing the Republican chairman appoints people to head up different committees after the election, maybe prior. Of them Rules, Resolutions, and Nominations committees are your most important. These are "advertised" on the GOP website. You need to volunteer to be on these committees. Some RP supporters attended these committees as well.

Before you go to the convention, you MUST review Roberts Rules of Order. It basically explains the procedure on how to object, amend, and other parliamentary procedures.

To set the mood, picture 600 Christian Conservative Republicans, 150 Ron Paul Republicans, and 2 Ron Paul Republicans who happen to be Hindu. All of us, along with a few more SDs were in a large Christian Mega Church.

Now to the convention. The good news. I managed to get a State delegate spot, with help from my brother, from a life long Republican. When I say lifer he set a record in 2004 as being the youngest person to ever attend a National Political Party Convention in 2004. He was also the sergeant at arms of SD7 convention. So to say he was a little upset is a major understatement, but probably not as upset as I was after the following events.

After ther delegates to state were selected we waited on the "Permanent" resolutions committee, which was the same ones we had earlier, the resolution came to the floor to be discussed. The RP delegates were outnumbered, and even lied to by the Resolution Committee chair. She said that new resolutions could be added at the floor, but when they tried to do that the Republican chair said we couldn't and there was nothing we could do without suspending the rules from the Rules committee. Needless to say most people wanted to go home and we did not have the voter’s strength. Now then the bad part. One of the resolutions that was passed was one stating that Judeo Christians would be allowed to use school property to hold meetings for this group. A Ron Paul supporter tried to amend this resolution by striking the word "Judeo Christians" and add the words "all Religious groups" and also tried "Judeo Christian and other Religious" groups. Me and my twin brothers jaws hit the ground, the rules committee only allowed 3 arguments per side before calling for a vote and by the time me and my brother came up with something that did not contain curse words the line was well past three. My brother was going to even going propose to add the lines "Because we are intolerant of other peoples religious beliefs" with a second from myself just so we could state that if the Republican party was going to be racist they should at least be up front with it. We could not because once the first amendment was shot down someone jump in front of a mic and moved to stop debate and accept all resolutions as is.

I cannot express how truly upset I am at the Republican Party. I have NEVER pulled a race card, and when confronted by racism just let it slide. The thing that hurts the most is that my Republican Congressman who I pay through taxes to represent me could be so intolerant of me. And if you think that is bad here is what my brother wrote on another forum:



Right now I feel the same way, and really no longer want to attend the Texas Republican Party convention because I feel it will say that I support their intolerance. The sole reason why I will attend is because I can now truely relate to how Ron Paul must have felt all those decades that he sat in congress to protect my rights despite him being criticized for his veiws. If I must bite my tongue for three more days to help with Ron Pauls Legacy, I will do it with a smile!

Edited to add: if this is inappropriate to add to a dead thread feel free to lock and delete. I just need somewhere to vent for right now.