By Tim Wheeler
PHILADELPHIA— With polls showing the gap between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama narrowing to single digits, the rival Democratic presidential candidates barnstormed across the state and volunteers went door-to-door to turn out voters in the crucial April 22 primary.
Obama fired up 38,000 supporters during an April 18 rally at Independence Mall in downtown Philadelphia. Thousands in the crowd wore the purple T shirts of the Service Employees International Union or waved “Teamsters for Obama” signs. “This election is our chance to declare our independence from the broken politics of Washington,” Obama told the cheering crowd. “No matter who we are supporting in this primary campaign, the one thing we know for sure is that the change the country needs will not come from a third George W. Bush term. And that is exactly what John McCain is offering…four more years of a war with no exit strategy, no end in sight, that’s sending our troops on their third, fourth, and fifth tours of duty….four more years of tax cuts for CEOs and corporations...”
So far this year, he added, 8,300 Pennsylvanians and 232,000 others have lost their jobs, millions are losing their homes in foreclosure and millions more are without health insurance or pensions. “I don’t think we can afford four more years of George Bush and John McCain’s ideas of economic progress. Its time to turn the page.”
Clinton is a politician who openly boasts that she can wheel and deal with the corporate lobbyists in Washington, Obama said. “I’m not running to be the president who plays the same old Washington games,” he thundered. “I’m running to end the game playing in Washington…I don’t believe we can take on the lobbyists if we keep taking their money….It will take a movement like we’ve built in this campaign…to change this country.”
Hundreds of Obama volunteers worked from a network of regional offices across the state. Connecticut volunteers worked the mostly Polish-American neighborhood of Port Richmond in Philadelphia. “We ran into a group of Hillary Clinton’s volunteers, members of the Communications Workers of America,” one New Haven volunteer told the PWW. “We had a wonderful talk with them. We refused to argue with each other and put our focus on the need to defeat McCain in November,” she said.
This reporter tagged along with a bus load of volunteers from Baltimore who fanned out east and west of Broad Street near Temple University. “You are in Obama territory,” said Gabe Gonzales. He urged those fluent in Spanish to step forward to work in Latino neighborhoods. “Philadelphia is fired up. This is a movement not just an election campaign.”
Gonzales decried Clinton’s attempt to exploit Obama’s use of the word “bitter,” to describe the anger of workers hit by plant closings. “I’m from Gary, I’ve lived through the plant shutdowns. I saw what it did to workers in my town. Bitter doesn’t begin to express how we feel. I’m pissed.”
At the other end of the state, Obama and Clinton spoke separately to an April 14 meeting of 2,000 steelworkers in Pittsburgh jointly sponsored by the United Steelworkers and a number of steel corporations. Obama got a standing ovation when he announced that if elected he will sign the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) making it easier for workers to join unions. He stressed the role of organized labor in providing higher wages and benefits in helping pull the nation out of recession.
While she did not mention it in her speech, Clinton, too, has endorsed the EFCA. She focused on “green jobs” to restore manufacturing. But when she dredged up Obama’s “bitter” comment the crowd booed. One woman worker shouted, “Your damn right. They took everything.”
Carl Davidson who lives near Aliquippa, PA. among the hardest hit by the shutdown of steel mills in Western PA. is active in Progressives For Obama, an offshoot of Progressive Democrats of America. “Obama has a very good shot at defeating McCain in November,” Davidson told the World in a phone interview. “If we can get a large number of voters under the age of forty to the polls, that will be critical to his victory.” He blasted Bill and Hillary Clinton for “playing the race card” and negative campaigning. “The racebaiting and redbaiting is really vicious. Hillary is really getting down to the bottom of the barrel.”
The negative campaigning has not produced any swing to her among Democratic superdelegates. Even with a narrow win here, Obama still holds an insurmountable lead in delegates.
Democratic Party National Chairman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others are calling on superdelegates to announce their preferance by the end of June. Donna Brazile, an uncommitted superdelegate told the Wall Street Journal, “There’s a group around (Sen. Clinton) that really wants to take the fight to the convention. They don’t care about the Party. It scares me and that’s what scares a lot of superdelegates.”
The opinions, views, thoughts, and ramblings of editors of PoliticalAffairs.net – and other stuff worth reading or viewing.
Showing posts with label primary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label primary. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Mississippi Magic
By Joel Wendland
"Beat her," said Clinton campaign adviser and Democratic firebrand James Carville on CNN's Larry King Live Monday night (March 10) in regard to criticisms of Clinton's divisive campaign tactics. "If you want her out just beat her."
Carville's comments must infuriate Barack Obama supporters who are saying, "How many times do we have to win?"
After tonight's impressive victory in Mississippi, Barack Obama has won 28 contests of 42.
According to exit polling data, a majority of Democratic voters said Obama is qualified to be commander-in-chief. Most appeared not to believe Clinton campaign claims to the contrary, preferring Obama over Clinton. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (Clinton campaign chair in his state) appeared to break with the campaign's narrative about Obama's qualifications with a comment yesterday that an Obama-Clinton ticket, with Obama as Pres., would work for him.
"We need to come together," he said. Perhaps his feelings are shared by a growing number of voters who support the Democratic Party worried about the possibility that internecine strife could harm the needed unity to win in November.
More than two-in-three Mississippi Democratic voters described Obama as inspiring, while less than half ascribed this characteristic to Clinton.
Seven-in-ten voters see Obama as honest and trustworthy, while only half said the same of Clinton.
By almost 2-to-1, Mississippi Dems said Obama was more likely to defeat McCain in the November election.
On CNN's live TV coverage, Carville predictably downplayed the Mississippi primary results by saying Obama was expected to win, so it doesn't change things. Carville's logic begs the question of why Clinton's expected victories in each of the states she has won – she led in the polls in each of the states she won since she stepped into the race – makes a case for her being a stronger candidate?
Supporters of Barack Obama argue that any Democrat would win states like California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, but the battlegrounds will be in states that Obama carried: Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington, Iowa, and Colorado.
Carville did make a strong point that the diversity of people who vote for Democrats sharply contrasts with the lily whiteness of the Republican Party's leading figures.
In their coverage, CNN reporters and pundits discussed the racial identity of voters quite a bit. CNN anchor Soledad O'Brian said, "Race will be the dominate theme in this race," referring to Mississippi. But the entire subtext of media coverage was that Mississippi matters little in the race for the nomination because more than half of its Democratic voters are Black.
This easy dismissal just doesn't explain his landslide victory in Wyoming last Saturday, or Wisconsin, or Minnesota, or Virginia, etc.
Only Donna Brazile seemed to challenge this narrative by arguing that it is a good thing that Black voters are turning out to the polls in huge numbers and are excited by the possibility of selecting not just an African American but someone who can beat John McCain in November and bring real change to the country. That is good for the Democratic Party, she opined.
It is a great thing.
"Beat her," said Clinton campaign adviser and Democratic firebrand James Carville on CNN's Larry King Live Monday night (March 10) in regard to criticisms of Clinton's divisive campaign tactics. "If you want her out just beat her."
Carville's comments must infuriate Barack Obama supporters who are saying, "How many times do we have to win?"
After tonight's impressive victory in Mississippi, Barack Obama has won 28 contests of 42.
According to exit polling data, a majority of Democratic voters said Obama is qualified to be commander-in-chief. Most appeared not to believe Clinton campaign claims to the contrary, preferring Obama over Clinton. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (Clinton campaign chair in his state) appeared to break with the campaign's narrative about Obama's qualifications with a comment yesterday that an Obama-Clinton ticket, with Obama as Pres., would work for him.
"We need to come together," he said. Perhaps his feelings are shared by a growing number of voters who support the Democratic Party worried about the possibility that internecine strife could harm the needed unity to win in November.
More than two-in-three Mississippi Democratic voters described Obama as inspiring, while less than half ascribed this characteristic to Clinton.
Seven-in-ten voters see Obama as honest and trustworthy, while only half said the same of Clinton.
By almost 2-to-1, Mississippi Dems said Obama was more likely to defeat McCain in the November election.
On CNN's live TV coverage, Carville predictably downplayed the Mississippi primary results by saying Obama was expected to win, so it doesn't change things. Carville's logic begs the question of why Clinton's expected victories in each of the states she has won – she led in the polls in each of the states she won since she stepped into the race – makes a case for her being a stronger candidate?
Supporters of Barack Obama argue that any Democrat would win states like California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, but the battlegrounds will be in states that Obama carried: Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington, Iowa, and Colorado.
Carville did make a strong point that the diversity of people who vote for Democrats sharply contrasts with the lily whiteness of the Republican Party's leading figures.
In their coverage, CNN reporters and pundits discussed the racial identity of voters quite a bit. CNN anchor Soledad O'Brian said, "Race will be the dominate theme in this race," referring to Mississippi. But the entire subtext of media coverage was that Mississippi matters little in the race for the nomination because more than half of its Democratic voters are Black.
This easy dismissal just doesn't explain his landslide victory in Wyoming last Saturday, or Wisconsin, or Minnesota, or Virginia, etc.
Only Donna Brazile seemed to challenge this narrative by arguing that it is a good thing that Black voters are turning out to the polls in huge numbers and are excited by the possibility of selecting not just an African American but someone who can beat John McCain in November and bring real change to the country. That is good for the Democratic Party, she opined.
It is a great thing.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Ultra right defeated in Houston
By Paul Hill
HOUSTON – Any way you look at it, the ultra-right suffered a resounding defeat in Harris County in the 2008 Texas primaries. In spite of Rush Limbaugh’s admonitions to his constituency to cross over and vote for Sen. Clinton, she was defeated 56.15% to 43.30% in Harris County according to the Texas Office of the Secretary of State website. The victor, Sen. Obama, received 227,886 votes as compared with 87,426 votes for Sen. McCain in the Republican primary. In other words, there were 2.6 times as many votes for Obama as McCain in Harris County in the primary election. If you add Sen. Clinton’s and Sen. Obama’s votes there were a total of 403,610 votes or 4.6 times as many votes for the two Democratic candidates as for McCain. Radical libertarian Ron Paul received 9,138 votes for his anti-war stance among Republicans. This means that the vote for anti-war candidates was 4.8 times as many as for McCain in Harris County which has been portrayed by the mainstream media as a stronghold for Bush supporters.
It is instructive to take a look at 2004 when Bush was riding high in Harris County. At that time, the total vote in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary was 73,747 and in the Republican primary the vote was 78,898. This means that in the 2008 Texas primaries, 5.1 times as many people voted in the Democratic primary as did Republicans in the 2004 primary in Harris County.
Labor endorsed candidates fared well in Harris County with some exceptions. Rick Noriega, a labor endorsed candidate, won in Harris County with 56.53% of the vote and will face anti-labor Sen. John Cornyn in November. Labor backed Carol Alvarado won 69.3% of the vote for State Representative, District 145. All of the labor backed candidates for Texas Supreme Court won as did candidates for the Courts of Criminal Appeals. Labor backed Rep. Kevin Bailey was resoundingly defeated by Armando Walle 57.4% to 42.6%. Bailey was seen as an ally to ultra-right iron-fisted Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick. Labor backed candidate David Mincberg for County Judge won easily as did Labor endorsed C.O. Bradford for District Attorney.
Democrats are very positive about the candidates selected in the primary. They are hoping to emulate the sweep of Judicial seats seen in Dallas county in 2006. Many people are outraged by the heavy handed tactics of the Bush picked right wing judges in Harris county and are looking forward to more fairness in the courts and criminal justice system after the election.
HOUSTON – Any way you look at it, the ultra-right suffered a resounding defeat in Harris County in the 2008 Texas primaries. In spite of Rush Limbaugh’s admonitions to his constituency to cross over and vote for Sen. Clinton, she was defeated 56.15% to 43.30% in Harris County according to the Texas Office of the Secretary of State website. The victor, Sen. Obama, received 227,886 votes as compared with 87,426 votes for Sen. McCain in the Republican primary. In other words, there were 2.6 times as many votes for Obama as McCain in Harris County in the primary election. If you add Sen. Clinton’s and Sen. Obama’s votes there were a total of 403,610 votes or 4.6 times as many votes for the two Democratic candidates as for McCain. Radical libertarian Ron Paul received 9,138 votes for his anti-war stance among Republicans. This means that the vote for anti-war candidates was 4.8 times as many as for McCain in Harris County which has been portrayed by the mainstream media as a stronghold for Bush supporters.
It is instructive to take a look at 2004 when Bush was riding high in Harris County. At that time, the total vote in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary was 73,747 and in the Republican primary the vote was 78,898. This means that in the 2008 Texas primaries, 5.1 times as many people voted in the Democratic primary as did Republicans in the 2004 primary in Harris County.
Labor endorsed candidates fared well in Harris County with some exceptions. Rick Noriega, a labor endorsed candidate, won in Harris County with 56.53% of the vote and will face anti-labor Sen. John Cornyn in November. Labor backed Carol Alvarado won 69.3% of the vote for State Representative, District 145. All of the labor backed candidates for Texas Supreme Court won as did candidates for the Courts of Criminal Appeals. Labor backed Rep. Kevin Bailey was resoundingly defeated by Armando Walle 57.4% to 42.6%. Bailey was seen as an ally to ultra-right iron-fisted Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick. Labor backed candidate David Mincberg for County Judge won easily as did Labor endorsed C.O. Bradford for District Attorney.
Democrats are very positive about the candidates selected in the primary. They are hoping to emulate the sweep of Judicial seats seen in Dallas county in 2006. Many people are outraged by the heavy handed tactics of the Bush picked right wing judges in Harris county and are looking forward to more fairness in the courts and criminal justice system after the election.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Sun Rises on Dallas Voters
By Jim Lane
DALLAS – It was snowing when we went out scrambling to find Obama literature last night, the night before primary election day. The “campaign offices” are in people’s houses and all sorts of oddball places. We found most of what we were looking for at a florist’s. They didn’t have any yard signs, but a few conventional signs and some handout literature. I had trouble sleeping, but it wasn’t a bad night.
The morning paper had the final totals for Dallas County early voting. The Republicans had quadrupled their vote since 2004, 8,433 to 33,787. Democrats went from 13,058 to 123,021 – an increase of 940%!
This morning, we were at the polls a half hour before they opened. The snow had stopped and didn’t stick on the ground, but the radio said bridges were iced over. That will hurt voter turnout. North Texans are afraid of ice. Snow tires and chains are unknown here. People who move in from the South are lost on ice, and people who move here from the North say we’re all incompetent drivers. Ice storms, once or twice a year, usually create hundreds of fenderbenders and a few serious wrecks. This wasn’t an ice storm, but just a report of ice will keep some people from coming out early.
Sure enough, we didn’t see hundreds of people at the polls, just a decent turnout somewhat higher than other times that we’ve stood outside that same station. My partner put up Obama signs and distributed Obama literature, while I did push cards for our high profile gay female sheriff. I didn’t wear both gloves because it’s hard to separate the little push cards from the stack, so I had one hand and both ears freezing.
About half of the first voters were probably from our growing gay community. Stonewall Democrats is a real force in Dallas politics. They seemed very positive about the sheriff, but didn’t comment on Obama. There were a few grim Republicans who wouldn’t even look at us, but almost everybody was very pleasant and cooperative. We felt good about the push cards, because so many of the voters didn’t seem sure of what they were going to do on down-ballot candidates.
As they came out of the polls, it was really easy to tell who was who, because the Democratic Precinct Chair was in there giving out “I voted” stickers. People wore them proudly, along with big bright smiles. The sun finally peeped up over the trees and created a hopeful illusion of warmth. As the world continued to brighten, we noticed a big elm tree with new leaves budding. The redbud and whitebud trees are in full magnificent bloom. In Dallas, we’re turning the corner away from icy winter and the Bush years.
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DALLAS – It was snowing when we went out scrambling to find Obama literature last night, the night before primary election day. The “campaign offices” are in people’s houses and all sorts of oddball places. We found most of what we were looking for at a florist’s. They didn’t have any yard signs, but a few conventional signs and some handout literature. I had trouble sleeping, but it wasn’t a bad night.
The morning paper had the final totals for Dallas County early voting. The Republicans had quadrupled their vote since 2004, 8,433 to 33,787. Democrats went from 13,058 to 123,021 – an increase of 940%!
This morning, we were at the polls a half hour before they opened. The snow had stopped and didn’t stick on the ground, but the radio said bridges were iced over. That will hurt voter turnout. North Texans are afraid of ice. Snow tires and chains are unknown here. People who move in from the South are lost on ice, and people who move here from the North say we’re all incompetent drivers. Ice storms, once or twice a year, usually create hundreds of fenderbenders and a few serious wrecks. This wasn’t an ice storm, but just a report of ice will keep some people from coming out early.
Sure enough, we didn’t see hundreds of people at the polls, just a decent turnout somewhat higher than other times that we’ve stood outside that same station. My partner put up Obama signs and distributed Obama literature, while I did push cards for our high profile gay female sheriff. I didn’t wear both gloves because it’s hard to separate the little push cards from the stack, so I had one hand and both ears freezing.
About half of the first voters were probably from our growing gay community. Stonewall Democrats is a real force in Dallas politics. They seemed very positive about the sheriff, but didn’t comment on Obama. There were a few grim Republicans who wouldn’t even look at us, but almost everybody was very pleasant and cooperative. We felt good about the push cards, because so many of the voters didn’t seem sure of what they were going to do on down-ballot candidates.
As they came out of the polls, it was really easy to tell who was who, because the Democratic Precinct Chair was in there giving out “I voted” stickers. People wore them proudly, along with big bright smiles. The sun finally peeped up over the trees and created a hopeful illusion of warmth. As the world continued to brighten, we noticed a big elm tree with new leaves budding. The redbud and whitebud trees are in full magnificent bloom. In Dallas, we’re turning the corner away from icy winter and the Bush years.
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Time to shower and vote
COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 4, 7:00 a.m. Running behind, but I will still make it to the polls this morning. The talk on most of the news outlets is a recent flap over NAFTA between Clinton and Obama. Here in Columbus, Ohio, NAFTA doesn't have a big impact. This is a university and a service industry town, the manufacturing and trade crisis has not hit as hard here. Most people I've talked to are expressing concern over the war and the economy in general. Gas prices and the resulting increase in food prices, the high cost of child care and the increase in cost and decrease in service of health care are the some of the most pressing issues among my colleagues at work. Among my African-American friends, Obama seems to be the top choice, while Clinton has the occasional fan. If signage were a true polling indicator, then Obama would have it all wrapped up- his signs adorn yards all over my blue-collar and racially-mixed neighborhood. Time to shower, dress and go vote.
--Ty
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--Ty
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Clinton, Obama: Who Wins, Who Loses?
By Joe Sims
This has been such an incredible election, a delightfully rich laboratory of the dialectics of real life. It has caused everyone, politicians, pundits, pollsters, political pros, (and not a few pompous prudes) to look again and again at everything in a new light. Once you think you figured it out, something goes boom! And it’s changed again causing consternation in some, palpitations in others, and among many much delight.
Well folks, it’s changed again. A few weeks ago, the spin on the Democratic campaign was that even if Senator Obama of Illinois wins, he loses. This, due to the mainstream press’s attempt to paint him as the "Black" candidate. Near universal African American support, it was argued (and hoped) would narrow his support, warding off the growing coalescence of a multi-class, multi-racial anti-right wing coalition. Obama’s winning of the South Carolina campaign in particular, would precipitate his losing elsewhere. Well, the opposite happened. Due to the ugly hard ball politics and the injection of hate into the campaign beginning in New Hampshire, voter disgust with such tactics turned everything on its head and groundswell of support buoyed the hopes of the Illinois freshman with 11 straight victories.
Now on the morning of the March 4th primaries, things have changed so much that the Obama campaign is able to argue that even if he loses, he still wins. A campaign memo issued yesterday, suggested that Senator Obama’s lead in delegates is so great that his New York rival, Senator Clinton unless she wins a landslide victory in Texas and Ohio, cannot possibly catch up. The Obama camp is now contending there is no credible path for the Clinton campaign to clinch the nomination.
The Clinton’s however, may not be interested in a "credible path" given the renewed negative tactics utilized by their camp in the last two weeks. Judging by the headlines in this morning’s papers, the ruling class mass media, may not be interested in credible path either. A week ago the conventional wisdom was that Mrs. Clinton needed big victories in Ohio and Texas to sustain her campaign. However, in the small hours, something shifted. Now, a number of papers are arguing that a victory, even a small one, in either Ohio or Texas will "lift " her campaign to new heights. Momentum, according to other headlines is now hers.
Can you imagine such a scenario occurring if Obama has lost 11 straight times by margins of 20 percent or more?
No matter. Today’s election is in the hands of the working class and people of Ohio, Texas, New Hampshire and Vermont. By the way, they are Black, Brown, Asian and white (All that "blue collar white voter" nonsense in the press is driving me crazy. In all of these states, high turnouts bode well for a continuation of the recent weeks trends.
ps
In Ohio, from where I stopped for a few days over the weekend, the election began last week with huge crowds voting early. In Youngstown, campaign committees from both the peace movement and Obama campaigns knocked twice on the door to insure that early voting occurred. Senator Clinton effort consisted in one robo-call that prevented one from hanging up until the message was finished. The Youngstown Vindicator’s (a conservative rag) Sunday front page headline rang: "Working C lass will Determine Victory." The Vindicator? Things sure are changing in America.
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This has been such an incredible election, a delightfully rich laboratory of the dialectics of real life. It has caused everyone, politicians, pundits, pollsters, political pros, (and not a few pompous prudes) to look again and again at everything in a new light. Once you think you figured it out, something goes boom! And it’s changed again causing consternation in some, palpitations in others, and among many much delight.
Well folks, it’s changed again. A few weeks ago, the spin on the Democratic campaign was that even if Senator Obama of Illinois wins, he loses. This, due to the mainstream press’s attempt to paint him as the "Black" candidate. Near universal African American support, it was argued (and hoped) would narrow his support, warding off the growing coalescence of a multi-class, multi-racial anti-right wing coalition. Obama’s winning of the South Carolina campaign in particular, would precipitate his losing elsewhere. Well, the opposite happened. Due to the ugly hard ball politics and the injection of hate into the campaign beginning in New Hampshire, voter disgust with such tactics turned everything on its head and groundswell of support buoyed the hopes of the Illinois freshman with 11 straight victories.
Now on the morning of the March 4th primaries, things have changed so much that the Obama campaign is able to argue that even if he loses, he still wins. A campaign memo issued yesterday, suggested that Senator Obama’s lead in delegates is so great that his New York rival, Senator Clinton unless she wins a landslide victory in Texas and Ohio, cannot possibly catch up. The Obama camp is now contending there is no credible path for the Clinton campaign to clinch the nomination.
The Clinton’s however, may not be interested in a "credible path" given the renewed negative tactics utilized by their camp in the last two weeks. Judging by the headlines in this morning’s papers, the ruling class mass media, may not be interested in credible path either. A week ago the conventional wisdom was that Mrs. Clinton needed big victories in Ohio and Texas to sustain her campaign. However, in the small hours, something shifted. Now, a number of papers are arguing that a victory, even a small one, in either Ohio or Texas will "lift " her campaign to new heights. Momentum, according to other headlines is now hers.
Can you imagine such a scenario occurring if Obama has lost 11 straight times by margins of 20 percent or more?
No matter. Today’s election is in the hands of the working class and people of Ohio, Texas, New Hampshire and Vermont. By the way, they are Black, Brown, Asian and white (All that "blue collar white voter" nonsense in the press is driving me crazy. In all of these states, high turnouts bode well for a continuation of the recent weeks trends.
ps
In Ohio, from where I stopped for a few days over the weekend, the election began last week with huge crowds voting early. In Youngstown, campaign committees from both the peace movement and Obama campaigns knocked twice on the door to insure that early voting occurred. Senator Clinton effort consisted in one robo-call that prevented one from hanging up until the message was finished. The Youngstown Vindicator’s (a conservative rag) Sunday front page headline rang: "Working C lass will Determine Victory." The Vindicator? Things sure are changing in America.
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Sunday, March 2, 2008
In Houston-area early voting, Dems beat Repubs 3 to 1
By Paul Hill
On the right, students from Spelman college and Morehouse college gather in Houston to blockwalk for Obama. [Photo by Paul Hill (c)]
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HOUSTON – Early voting totals are in and 170,032 voted in the Democratic primary while 51,199 voted in the Republican primary according to the Harris County Clerk's office. That means 3 times as many Democrats voted as Republicans in the country's third largest county which is reputed to be a Republican stronghold.
The all time record early vote for a primary in Harris County was 165,958 in 2000 for the Republicans. In that year, 56,168 Democrats early voted in the primary. The numbers this year have flipped as compared with 2000.
What could account for this dramatic change in voter turnout?
When I attended an election school, the Republican officials talked about the fact that Sen. Barack Obama's campaign organizers were actively registering new people to vote. A friend told me that an African American neighborhood civic association meeting was focused on getting out the vote. Everywhere I go people are talking about change and how they are sick of low wages, no health care benefits and the devastating effects of the Iraq war.
It seems that although his popularity is soaring on Wall Street, George Bush's popularity among working people in his home state and his parent's home city is plummeting.
Both Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama have impressive grass roots organizations in Houston. I have received many calls from both campaigns. Marches and rallies are ongoing at this point to support both candidates.
One amazing thing is that people are also talking about unity. A coworker today praised Obama's ability to unify people but also agreed that when the candidate is selected it will be important for people to unite and fight the ultra-right.
Most people here view McCain and his acolytes as crackpots whose policies would just further the destruction heaped upon the people of the world by Bush. Conversations I have had with union members indicate about 50/50 support for Clinton and Obama. No union member has told me they support McCain or any of the other Republicans.
Although Houston is hallowed ground among right-wingers, it should be recalled that one third of our population is Latino, one third African American and one third Anglo. It also has a large number of working people and a high rate of poverty.
The dynamics in this city were radically changed post-Katrina. The numbers of working and poor people increased when Katrina survivors arrived here after the storm. No one is talking at this point about how this will effect the 2008 elections, however it appears the change will be profound.
No one is talking at this time about how the victims of the sub-prime lending fiasco will effect the 2008 election, however it appears the change will be profound.
On my way to work this morning, I dropped by Obama's headquarters. There was a lot of activity and it was difficult to get a parking place. I approached a young man and he told me that 50 students from Morehouse College and Spellman College in Atlanta had come by bus to Houston to support Obama. They were about to leave to block walk in various neighborhoods to educate voters on the issues and support their candidate.
Brandon Avery, "class of 2010", Morehouse College, told me that "as a fellow Chicagoan I support his views. He is young enough not to be tainted by the dirty politics of Washington." Avery said he felt the critical issue for him was the "rising cost of education. Sen. Obama's plan for $4,000 to be allocated to students inspires me."
He commented about the war in Iraq, "I have a few friends who have served in Iraq…one of my friend's vehicle was attacked by a roadside bomb. It is a battle that can't be won with bullets, it has to be won with politics and reasoning."
On the right, students from Spelman college and Morehouse college gather in Houston to blockwalk for Obama. [Photo by Paul Hill (c)]
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Knocking on a million doors in Ohio
By John Bachtell
CINCINNATI -- Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty fired up the crowd of hundreds of volunteers here ready to go door-knocking in southern Ohio for Senator Barack Obama. Fenty said the campaign will "knock on a million doors" in Ohio.
"It's 43 hours until the polls open," Fenty said. "We've been waiting a long time for this moment. Maybe some have never seen this kind of thing in their lifetime. And it's riding on the good people of Ohio."
Fenty said no matter what your race, religion or region of the country is "to solve the toughest problems people have to work together." And that's what the Obama campaign is about, he said.
Current polls have it as a dead heat in Ohio. Obama has whittled down a commanding lead by Sen. Hillary Clinton. Clinton, too has volunteers pouring into the state.
Fenty said many people are asking, "How will an Obama administration run the country?" So he answers that change is made by the people and the people will have a big impact on how country will be run, the people and their organizations.
Some 110 people filled two buses organized by Chicago's 46th Ward Democrats to be part of the volunteer effort. Hundreds of other volunteers from Chicago had gone by bus and car to other parts of Ohio to canvass as well.
The buses were filled by canvassers from the 46th Ward and from across the city. Groups came from the Black Nurses Association, high school students with the civics group Mikva Challenge and their teachers from the Westside neighborhood of North Lawndale and students from suburban Naperville North High School, to activists from the Evanston Democratic Party organization.
One African American activist said this was the first campaign she had been in since the election of Mayor Harold Washington. "This is the first time I have been inspired in the same way by a candidate," she said.
Leading the canvassing were State Senator Heather Steans and State Rep. Julie Hamos. They have been working closely with Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Alderman Joe Moore to organize canvassing for Obama in other states like Iowa and Wisconsin. Moore had led a group to Cleveland.
There are signs everywhere for Obama in this Cincinnati neighborhood that is predominantly African American. There are 11 or 12 staging areas for volunteers throughout the city. A few days ago there was a big rally of 13,000 people.
This neighborhood is made up of single-family homes with apartment buildings scattered throughout. Economically, the neighborhood seems like it's been pretty hard hit with a number of vacant homes. Our staging area was in a mall that seemed like it was mostly shutdown.
People want change. And the change they want seems to be in the message given by the Illinois senator, shared prosperity, opportunity, unity and hope.
Altogether canvassers knocked on 10,000 doors throughout the hilly neighborhoods and returned to Chicago feeling like they had helped to make history. As the bus made its way home from the staging area on Reading Road, it passed blocks of Obama sign wavers encouraging people to get out and vote. A chorus of honks from passing motorists responded enthusiastically to them.
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CINCINNATI -- Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty fired up the crowd of hundreds of volunteers here ready to go door-knocking in southern Ohio for Senator Barack Obama. Fenty said the campaign will "knock on a million doors" in Ohio.
"It's 43 hours until the polls open," Fenty said. "We've been waiting a long time for this moment. Maybe some have never seen this kind of thing in their lifetime. And it's riding on the good people of Ohio."
Fenty said no matter what your race, religion or region of the country is "to solve the toughest problems people have to work together." And that's what the Obama campaign is about, he said.
Current polls have it as a dead heat in Ohio. Obama has whittled down a commanding lead by Sen. Hillary Clinton. Clinton, too has volunteers pouring into the state.
Fenty said many people are asking, "How will an Obama administration run the country?" So he answers that change is made by the people and the people will have a big impact on how country will be run, the people and their organizations.
Some 110 people filled two buses organized by Chicago's 46th Ward Democrats to be part of the volunteer effort. Hundreds of other volunteers from Chicago had gone by bus and car to other parts of Ohio to canvass as well.
The buses were filled by canvassers from the 46th Ward and from across the city. Groups came from the Black Nurses Association, high school students with the civics group Mikva Challenge and their teachers from the Westside neighborhood of North Lawndale and students from suburban Naperville North High School, to activists from the Evanston Democratic Party organization.
One African American activist said this was the first campaign she had been in since the election of Mayor Harold Washington. "This is the first time I have been inspired in the same way by a candidate," she said.
Leading the canvassing were State Senator Heather Steans and State Rep. Julie Hamos. They have been working closely with Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Alderman Joe Moore to organize canvassing for Obama in other states like Iowa and Wisconsin. Moore had led a group to Cleveland.
There are signs everywhere for Obama in this Cincinnati neighborhood that is predominantly African American. There are 11 or 12 staging areas for volunteers throughout the city. A few days ago there was a big rally of 13,000 people.
This neighborhood is made up of single-family homes with apartment buildings scattered throughout. Economically, the neighborhood seems like it's been pretty hard hit with a number of vacant homes. Our staging area was in a mall that seemed like it was mostly shutdown.
People want change. And the change they want seems to be in the message given by the Illinois senator, shared prosperity, opportunity, unity and hope.
Altogether canvassers knocked on 10,000 doors throughout the hilly neighborhoods and returned to Chicago feeling like they had helped to make history. As the bus made its way home from the staging area on Reading Road, it passed blocks of Obama sign wavers encouraging people to get out and vote. A chorus of honks from passing motorists responded enthusiastically to them.
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Winds of Change Blow Strong in a Rustbelt City
By Tim Wheeler
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio—Wade through a foot of snow to a voter’s door here and it doesn’t take long for the subject to turn to NAFTA’s carpet-bomb destruction of jobs in the Mahonning Valley.
The 30-year plague of plant closings is issue number one on voters’ minds as we plod from door to door getting out the vote for the March 4 Ohio primary. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have brought busloads of canvassers to go door to door here and both are facing those searching questions.
“I think NAFTA is horrible,” said Dorinda Anderson, who lost her union job at Delphi Packard that manufactures components for GM cars including the nearby Lordstown plant.
Delphi is still open, she said, but with only about 600 workers after a downsizing in which she lost her job. She had been a Clinton supporter until she heard Barack Obama speak at an overflow rally at Youngstown State University a few days ago. She was an instant convert to his message of hope and change.
She was working as a volunteer receptionist at Obama headquarters, the Greater Mill Creek Community Center when I spoke with her. “NAFTA is the reason we have lost so many jobs here in Ohio,” Anderson continued. “The steel mills have closed down. Everything is leaving, jobs are leaving, people are leaving. They don’t even give us any advance notice. Just recently we lost another 3,000 jobs at Delphi. Now its down to about 500 or 600 workers.”
If John McCain is elected in November, “we will have a third term of George W. Bush. It will be more of the same. I thought it was horrible that Bush was asked about $4 a gallon gas and he answered, ‘What! Nobody told me.’ Bush is a lame duck living in a bubble.”
To be accurate, the economic crisis here predates NAFTA enacted in 1994. Youngstown Sheet & Tube closed down it’s Campbell Steel works in 1978 destroying thousands of jobs.
But NAFTA, sold by President Bill Clinton as an antidote that would create millions of new jobs in fact destroyed three million manufacturing jobs. Hillary Clinton has a heavy burden to explain Bill Clinton’s role in signing NAFTA even if she now criticizes it, Anderson said.
The shutdowns and layoffs continue at a dizzying pace and the ruination is obvious in the thousands of empty and abandoned homes we plod past as we go door to door. Youngstown once had a population of 160,000. Now it is 60,000.
Willy Williams, a former Lordstown auto worker who likewise lost his job in a GM downsizing, is also campaigning for Obama. An active United Auto Worker retiree, he scoffed at Bush’s claim that the U.S. is going through a temporary “slow down,” not a recession.
“Its been a recession here for a long, long time,” Williams said. “But if we do the right thing, get the right President in there, I think we can bring it together, bring us out of the economic crisis we are in. Obama is the man.”
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) warmed up the crowd of volunteers at Obama headquarters. “Ohio is going to go Obama, March 4,” Conyers said. “He is the ‘come-from-behind’ candidate. He has a ground operation all over the state of volunteers like you. We can change America and move in a new direction.”
That night, an Obama rally turned into a “Town Meeting” at New Bethel Baptist Church. It was sponsored by the Change to Win labor federation. Attendance was swelled by Teamster union members, and SEIU hospital workers. A busload of volunteers traveled from Baltimore and a delegation of 75 Penn State students.
Two young white students from Michigan State University in Lansing spoke. “Its spring break at Lansing and many of our classmates are down in Florida,” one of the MSU students said. “I have no regrets that I decided to stay here and not go to Florida. We found nothing but Obama supporters out there.” The crowd roared.
Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, said that he, like Obama, is from Chicago’s south side and faced questions about his “funny name,” Some said “it is not your turn” to be governor, he said. “We are saying it is his TIME,” Patrick said. “We are going to decide who is electable.” The crowd cheered.
During an open-mike, Guy Djoken, president of the Frederick County, Maryland, NAACP hailed the grassroots movement that has sprung up for Obama. “What are we going to do with this movement after we get him to the White House?” Djoken asked.
Patrick said a November victory is just the first stage. A new stage “will start the day he gets to the White House,” Patrick said. “Its hard to govern with the grassroots. Its new to America.” But without that grassroots power, there will be no change, he said.
SEIU President Andy Stern likened Obama to a sailing ship skipper. “He can have all the navigational skills in the world but without wind in wind in the sails, the ship will just go in circles,” Stern said. “We are the winds of change in those sails, for equal rights, equal pay.”
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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio—Wade through a foot of snow to a voter’s door here and it doesn’t take long for the subject to turn to NAFTA’s carpet-bomb destruction of jobs in the Mahonning Valley.
The 30-year plague of plant closings is issue number one on voters’ minds as we plod from door to door getting out the vote for the March 4 Ohio primary. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have brought busloads of canvassers to go door to door here and both are facing those searching questions.
“I think NAFTA is horrible,” said Dorinda Anderson, who lost her union job at Delphi Packard that manufactures components for GM cars including the nearby Lordstown plant.
Delphi is still open, she said, but with only about 600 workers after a downsizing in which she lost her job. She had been a Clinton supporter until she heard Barack Obama speak at an overflow rally at Youngstown State University a few days ago. She was an instant convert to his message of hope and change.
She was working as a volunteer receptionist at Obama headquarters, the Greater Mill Creek Community Center when I spoke with her. “NAFTA is the reason we have lost so many jobs here in Ohio,” Anderson continued. “The steel mills have closed down. Everything is leaving, jobs are leaving, people are leaving. They don’t even give us any advance notice. Just recently we lost another 3,000 jobs at Delphi. Now its down to about 500 or 600 workers.”
If John McCain is elected in November, “we will have a third term of George W. Bush. It will be more of the same. I thought it was horrible that Bush was asked about $4 a gallon gas and he answered, ‘What! Nobody told me.’ Bush is a lame duck living in a bubble.”
To be accurate, the economic crisis here predates NAFTA enacted in 1994. Youngstown Sheet & Tube closed down it’s Campbell Steel works in 1978 destroying thousands of jobs.
But NAFTA, sold by President Bill Clinton as an antidote that would create millions of new jobs in fact destroyed three million manufacturing jobs. Hillary Clinton has a heavy burden to explain Bill Clinton’s role in signing NAFTA even if she now criticizes it, Anderson said.
The shutdowns and layoffs continue at a dizzying pace and the ruination is obvious in the thousands of empty and abandoned homes we plod past as we go door to door. Youngstown once had a population of 160,000. Now it is 60,000.
Willy Williams, a former Lordstown auto worker who likewise lost his job in a GM downsizing, is also campaigning for Obama. An active United Auto Worker retiree, he scoffed at Bush’s claim that the U.S. is going through a temporary “slow down,” not a recession.
“Its been a recession here for a long, long time,” Williams said. “But if we do the right thing, get the right President in there, I think we can bring it together, bring us out of the economic crisis we are in. Obama is the man.”
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) warmed up the crowd of volunteers at Obama headquarters. “Ohio is going to go Obama, March 4,” Conyers said. “He is the ‘come-from-behind’ candidate. He has a ground operation all over the state of volunteers like you. We can change America and move in a new direction.”
That night, an Obama rally turned into a “Town Meeting” at New Bethel Baptist Church. It was sponsored by the Change to Win labor federation. Attendance was swelled by Teamster union members, and SEIU hospital workers. A busload of volunteers traveled from Baltimore and a delegation of 75 Penn State students.
Two young white students from Michigan State University in Lansing spoke. “Its spring break at Lansing and many of our classmates are down in Florida,” one of the MSU students said. “I have no regrets that I decided to stay here and not go to Florida. We found nothing but Obama supporters out there.” The crowd roared.
Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, said that he, like Obama, is from Chicago’s south side and faced questions about his “funny name,” Some said “it is not your turn” to be governor, he said. “We are saying it is his TIME,” Patrick said. “We are going to decide who is electable.” The crowd cheered.
During an open-mike, Guy Djoken, president of the Frederick County, Maryland, NAACP hailed the grassroots movement that has sprung up for Obama. “What are we going to do with this movement after we get him to the White House?” Djoken asked.
Patrick said a November victory is just the first stage. A new stage “will start the day he gets to the White House,” Patrick said. “Its hard to govern with the grassroots. Its new to America.” But without that grassroots power, there will be no change, he said.
SEIU President Andy Stern likened Obama to a sailing ship skipper. “He can have all the navigational skills in the world but without wind in wind in the sails, the ship will just go in circles,” Stern said. “We are the winds of change in those sails, for equal rights, equal pay.”
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Saturday, March 1, 2008
Rhode Island's Role
By Sue Webb
Residents here in the tiny state of Rhode Island are somewhat surprised that they could help determine the Democratic presidential nominee, with 21 delegates at stake here on Tuesday. Turnout is expected to be extremely heavy. It's been considered a Clinton stronghold as she has long-standing political connections here and has the backing of most, though not all, of the state's Democratic officialdom in this very Democratic, heavily blue collar, somewhat insular state - seems like lots of people you meet have lived here all their life, and not ventured too far away. She is still ahead in the polls by 8-10 points, but the race has been tightening. One Latino leader said last week the state's Latino communities (about 6 percent of eligible voters) are divided. Clinton and her family have campaigned heavily here, which indicates she is concerned about the race. Hillary was here last week, drawing a crowd of about 2,000, substantial for this little state, similar to the numbers drawn by Michelle Obama a couple weeks ago. This week Bill was here, and then Chelsea. But today Obama drew at least 10,000 to a rally organized in just a couple of days, with at least 5,000 jammed inside and another 5,000 outside under umbrellas in the rain. One blog commenter said it tied for the largest rally ever in RI (don't know what the largest was...). On the evening news, a local NBC reporter said he'd "never seen anything like it before.
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Residents here in the tiny state of Rhode Island are somewhat surprised that they could help determine the Democratic presidential nominee, with 21 delegates at stake here on Tuesday. Turnout is expected to be extremely heavy. It's been considered a Clinton stronghold as she has long-standing political connections here and has the backing of most, though not all, of the state's Democratic officialdom in this very Democratic, heavily blue collar, somewhat insular state - seems like lots of people you meet have lived here all their life, and not ventured too far away. She is still ahead in the polls by 8-10 points, but the race has been tightening. One Latino leader said last week the state's Latino communities (about 6 percent of eligible voters) are divided. Clinton and her family have campaigned heavily here, which indicates she is concerned about the race. Hillary was here last week, drawing a crowd of about 2,000, substantial for this little state, similar to the numbers drawn by Michelle Obama a couple weeks ago. This week Bill was here, and then Chelsea. But today Obama drew at least 10,000 to a rally organized in just a couple of days, with at least 5,000 jammed inside and another 5,000 outside under umbrellas in the rain. One blog commenter said it tied for the largest rally ever in RI (don't know what the largest was...). On the evening news, a local NBC reporter said he'd "never seen anything like it before.
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Texas voter history shows Southern shift
By Jim Lane
DALLAS -- From 1872, when Texans began voting for Democrats and Republicans in national elections, the state went with the "Solid South" and racist Democratic Party. Even the nationally popular general Ulysses Grant couldn't win in Texas, despite the fact that federal troops occupied the state under Republican Reconstruction Laws.
By 1952, though, change was evident in Texas presidential races. Even though virtually every office holder in the state claimed to be a Democrat, they began voted Republican in the presidential races. Republican presidential candidates continued strong showings even through the period dominated by Texan Lyndon Johnson. In 1972, Nixon overwhelmingly won Texas. Texans barely gave Jimmy Carter the edge over Gerald Ford in 1976, but the Republican trend dominated from then to now.
The most racist and reactionary section of Texas voters, previously strong for the Democratic Party of civil-war days, had shifted to the new coalition of transnational corporations, racists, and right-wing crazies gathered in the Republican party. Democratic progressives, who were evident as a force since the days of the "Dirty Thirty" in the Texas Legislature during the early 1970s, saw their party lose the national elections, then the state and most of the local elections. Office holders who had been lifelong Democrats, like the right-wing Senator Phil Gramm, switched parties brazenly, and continued to win as Republicans.
During the 1980s, it was evident that the progressives had taken control of the Democratic Party that the reactionaries had abandoned. But what they took over was largely a hollow shell. They could pass resolutions, but they couldn't win elections. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush buried John F Kerry 4.5 million to 2.8 million in Texas.
By 2006, Texans in some areas showed that they had enough, and elections began to swing back to the now-progressive Democratic candidates. Dallas County, the second most populous in the state, went almost completely Democratic. Houston union leaders began to point to dramatic election victories, such as putting Democrat Nick Lampson into the seat formerly held by one of the worst of the Republican reactionaries, Tom DeLay. In Fort Worth and Austin, Democrats won surprise upset victories in legislative races. Republicans like State Legislator Kirk England of Dallas began switching parties in anticipation of a Democratic rout in 2008.
In March of 2008, the "eyes of Texas," and many others, are upon us!
DALLAS -- From 1872, when Texans began voting for Democrats and Republicans in national elections, the state went with the "Solid South" and racist Democratic Party. Even the nationally popular general Ulysses Grant couldn't win in Texas, despite the fact that federal troops occupied the state under Republican Reconstruction Laws.
By 1952, though, change was evident in Texas presidential races. Even though virtually every office holder in the state claimed to be a Democrat, they began voted Republican in the presidential races. Republican presidential candidates continued strong showings even through the period dominated by Texan Lyndon Johnson. In 1972, Nixon overwhelmingly won Texas. Texans barely gave Jimmy Carter the edge over Gerald Ford in 1976, but the Republican trend dominated from then to now.
The most racist and reactionary section of Texas voters, previously strong for the Democratic Party of civil-war days, had shifted to the new coalition of transnational corporations, racists, and right-wing crazies gathered in the Republican party. Democratic progressives, who were evident as a force since the days of the "Dirty Thirty" in the Texas Legislature during the early 1970s, saw their party lose the national elections, then the state and most of the local elections. Office holders who had been lifelong Democrats, like the right-wing Senator Phil Gramm, switched parties brazenly, and continued to win as Republicans.
During the 1980s, it was evident that the progressives had taken control of the Democratic Party that the reactionaries had abandoned. But what they took over was largely a hollow shell. They could pass resolutions, but they couldn't win elections. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush buried John F Kerry 4.5 million to 2.8 million in Texas.
By 2006, Texans in some areas showed that they had enough, and elections began to swing back to the now-progressive Democratic candidates. Dallas County, the second most populous in the state, went almost completely Democratic. Houston union leaders began to point to dramatic election victories, such as putting Democrat Nick Lampson into the seat formerly held by one of the worst of the Republican reactionaries, Tom DeLay. In Fort Worth and Austin, Democrats won surprise upset victories in legislative races. Republicans like State Legislator Kirk England of Dallas began switching parties in anticipation of a Democratic rout in 2008.
In March of 2008, the "eyes of Texas," and many others, are upon us!
Statistics from the Texas Secretary of State,
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/historical/presidential.shtml
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Definitive Blog on Primary Election
by John Wojcik
This post considers only the narrow issue of who is going to get the Democratic nomination. It does not pretend to be balanced. It is, however, absolutely certain, scientific, factual and free of any wishful or subjective thinking whatsoever!
Wisconsin was Hillary Clinton’s Waterloo, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Barack Obama is the frontrunner, unequivocally.
He is only ONE MORE VICTORY AWAY from clinching the deal.
A victory in EITHER Ohio or Texas will more likely than not force Clinton out of the race.
A victory in both will absolutely force her out.
These conclusions are supported by the following facts:
Obama is on an incredible winning streak, as we know – ten to nothing since Super Tuesday. All of the victories were huge blow outs.
The Wisconsin victory by 17 points was actually his poorest showing since Super Tuesday. With poor showings like that, who needs strong ones?
He’s gone from a narrow pledged delegate lead and overall delegate deficit on Feb. 6 to what is unarguably an insurmountable 150 plus pledged delegate lead.
If you factor in the superdelegates, he’s still ahead by 80.
All signs point to the superdelegate gap closing perhaps as early as the end of next week. By March 4 he is likely to gain 25 or more superdelegates. (This is a reasonable, conservative estimate.)
We can expect that Clinton will pick up almost no super delegates between now and March 4 and that some of the ones she now has may also switch to Obama.
The only thing that could propel Clinton to the nomination is if Obama makes a bunch of mistakes or some huge mistake that makes him unelectable. While this is theoretically possible it is scientifically unlikely.
A sustained negative campaign by Clinton is a possibility but will not amount to a winning strategy for Clinton. Clinton cannot damage Obama to the extent that she would have to without damaging herself politically, in the Senate and for the future. She is not suicidal.
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This post considers only the narrow issue of who is going to get the Democratic nomination. It does not pretend to be balanced. It is, however, absolutely certain, scientific, factual and free of any wishful or subjective thinking whatsoever!
Wisconsin was Hillary Clinton’s Waterloo, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Barack Obama is the frontrunner, unequivocally.
He is only ONE MORE VICTORY AWAY from clinching the deal.
A victory in EITHER Ohio or Texas will more likely than not force Clinton out of the race.
A victory in both will absolutely force her out.
These conclusions are supported by the following facts:
Obama is on an incredible winning streak, as we know – ten to nothing since Super Tuesday. All of the victories were huge blow outs.
The Wisconsin victory by 17 points was actually his poorest showing since Super Tuesday. With poor showings like that, who needs strong ones?
He’s gone from a narrow pledged delegate lead and overall delegate deficit on Feb. 6 to what is unarguably an insurmountable 150 plus pledged delegate lead.
If you factor in the superdelegates, he’s still ahead by 80.
All signs point to the superdelegate gap closing perhaps as early as the end of next week. By March 4 he is likely to gain 25 or more superdelegates. (This is a reasonable, conservative estimate.)
We can expect that Clinton will pick up almost no super delegates between now and March 4 and that some of the ones she now has may also switch to Obama.
The only thing that could propel Clinton to the nomination is if Obama makes a bunch of mistakes or some huge mistake that makes him unelectable. While this is theoretically possible it is scientifically unlikely.
A sustained negative campaign by Clinton is a possibility but will not amount to a winning strategy for Clinton. Clinton cannot damage Obama to the extent that she would have to without damaging herself politically, in the Senate and for the future. She is not suicidal.
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Ohio union members say it's about jobs
By John Wojcik
In Toledo, Ohio, a 100-year-old plant that makes plumbing fixtures is closing. Two hundred men and women who make $19 an hour at the American Standard plant will be out on the streets.
In the same city, Johnson Controls, which made seats for the vehicles at the Jeep plant, lost its contract to a company in India.
The Ford stamping plant in Toledo’s suburbs, where workers make fenders and dash panels, will close soon.
It is much the same throughout Ohio, which has lost over 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. “Manufacturing is getting its head handed to us around here,” said Thomas Joseph, business manger of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50, which represents workers all over northwest Ohio.
The two Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have promised a fight to change this and organized labor in unionized Ohio has jumped into the 2008 elections to push for that change.
Some unions support Obama and others back Clinton. Signs are, however, that labor’s unity on issues will pull all unions together behind the eventual Democratic nominee and that many outside of organized labor will join in.
Infrastructure investment supported by the AFL-CIO could create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Many in Ohio see their state, with a huge reserve of skilled workers, as the perfect place to build an economy based on renewable energy technology.
Toledo itself is a historic center for the glass industry, which could benefit from government-backed efforts to increase the use of solar energy.
The 6-million-member Change to Win federation has endorsed Obama because he says he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Unions see NAFTA, with its lack of decent labor and environmental standards, as responsible for the loss of millions of U.S.
jobs.
The 10-million-member AFL-CIO has not made an endorsement. Some AFL-CIO unions, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers and the Machinists, are backing Clinton.
Unions have jumped into the Obama and Clinton campaigns because each has called for significant infrastructure investment, development of alternative energy and other green collar jobs and strengthening labor standards for both existing and any future trade agreements.
The AFL-CIO has called for repeal of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, extension of tax cuts to working people and tax credits to help working families pay for college.
Obama and Clinton both support these positions and say government has a responsibility to protect workers who are struggling.
All the unions in Ohio are concerned about the mortgage crisis. In the Toledo area home prices average $100,000, yet the city is in the top 20 in the nation in number of foreclosures.
Obama calls for $10 billion in bonds to help workers avoid foreclosure. He would also give a tax credit to struggling homeowners to cover 10 percent of the interest on their mortgages each year. Clinton would temporarily freeze foreclosures and interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages
John Anklam, 39, is a recently laid off autoworker enrolled in a Teamster-endorsed truck driver training program in Toledo.
“His stand against NAFTA and his inspiring style is why I’m for Obama,” he said. “We need a fair shake and we can’t get it if they can dump us for cheaper labor somewhere else.”
Asked what he would do if Clinton becomes the nominee, Anklam said, “McCain would be a disaster. I’ll support her if that happens. She may not be as exciting but she’s got brains and she’d fight for the jobs.”
Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO political department director, said, “Labor will be united for the election of a pro-worker president in November. The unions will be mobilized on the issues that unite most Americans: an economy that works for all, universal health care, support for the Employee Free Choice Act so that everyone can exercise their right to form a union, and an end to the war in Iraq so that money will be available to rebuild our country.”
At its executive council meeting in San Diego, March 4–6, the federation’s leaders are expected to authorize $54 million for grassroots organizing around the elections. Total spending on 528 races, including presidential, senatorial, congressional and state legislative races and ballot initiatives, is expected to reach $200 million, according to Ackerman.
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In Toledo, Ohio, a 100-year-old plant that makes plumbing fixtures is closing. Two hundred men and women who make $19 an hour at the American Standard plant will be out on the streets.
In the same city, Johnson Controls, which made seats for the vehicles at the Jeep plant, lost its contract to a company in India.
The Ford stamping plant in Toledo’s suburbs, where workers make fenders and dash panels, will close soon.
It is much the same throughout Ohio, which has lost over 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. “Manufacturing is getting its head handed to us around here,” said Thomas Joseph, business manger of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50, which represents workers all over northwest Ohio.
The two Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have promised a fight to change this and organized labor in unionized Ohio has jumped into the 2008 elections to push for that change.
Some unions support Obama and others back Clinton. Signs are, however, that labor’s unity on issues will pull all unions together behind the eventual Democratic nominee and that many outside of organized labor will join in.
Infrastructure investment supported by the AFL-CIO could create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Many in Ohio see their state, with a huge reserve of skilled workers, as the perfect place to build an economy based on renewable energy technology.
Toledo itself is a historic center for the glass industry, which could benefit from government-backed efforts to increase the use of solar energy.
The 6-million-member Change to Win federation has endorsed Obama because he says he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Unions see NAFTA, with its lack of decent labor and environmental standards, as responsible for the loss of millions of U.S.
jobs.
The 10-million-member AFL-CIO has not made an endorsement. Some AFL-CIO unions, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers and the Machinists, are backing Clinton.
Unions have jumped into the Obama and Clinton campaigns because each has called for significant infrastructure investment, development of alternative energy and other green collar jobs and strengthening labor standards for both existing and any future trade agreements.
The AFL-CIO has called for repeal of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, extension of tax cuts to working people and tax credits to help working families pay for college.
Obama and Clinton both support these positions and say government has a responsibility to protect workers who are struggling.
All the unions in Ohio are concerned about the mortgage crisis. In the Toledo area home prices average $100,000, yet the city is in the top 20 in the nation in number of foreclosures.
Obama calls for $10 billion in bonds to help workers avoid foreclosure. He would also give a tax credit to struggling homeowners to cover 10 percent of the interest on their mortgages each year. Clinton would temporarily freeze foreclosures and interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages
John Anklam, 39, is a recently laid off autoworker enrolled in a Teamster-endorsed truck driver training program in Toledo.
“His stand against NAFTA and his inspiring style is why I’m for Obama,” he said. “We need a fair shake and we can’t get it if they can dump us for cheaper labor somewhere else.”
Asked what he would do if Clinton becomes the nominee, Anklam said, “McCain would be a disaster. I’ll support her if that happens. She may not be as exciting but she’s got brains and she’d fight for the jobs.”
Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO political department director, said, “Labor will be united for the election of a pro-worker president in November. The unions will be mobilized on the issues that unite most Americans: an economy that works for all, universal health care, support for the Employee Free Choice Act so that everyone can exercise their right to form a union, and an end to the war in Iraq so that money will be available to rebuild our country.”
At its executive council meeting in San Diego, March 4–6, the federation’s leaders are expected to authorize $54 million for grassroots organizing around the elections. Total spending on 528 races, including presidential, senatorial, congressional and state legislative races and ballot initiatives, is expected to reach $200 million, according to Ackerman.
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Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Wojcik’s guide for Republican primary watchers
By John Wojcik, labor editor, People's Weekly World
Times listed are Central Time:
11:30 a.m. West Va. caucus ended. Romney was supposed to win this because he was the only one with an organization there and it was a crummy little caucus. A defeat was said to mean he was in big trouble, and he was indeed defeated. Huckabee won, so Romney is probably going to have a disastrous night.
6 p.m. Georgia. Very close 3-way race. If McCain wins it should be with 34 – 39 percent. If he wins, it will be because Huckabee split the so called right wing vote!
7 p.m. Conn., Ill., Del. And New Jersey all close. They should go to McCain. If any don't, then Romney might have a glimmer of hope. If any of Missouri, Oklahoma or Tennessee went to McCain, he has the lock for the night. Mass. A must for Romney, but not bad for McCain if he loses.
7:30 p.m. Arkansas closes, a Huckabee shoe in. If not, he should sell his soul, if he hasn't already.
8:00 p.m. Minnesota, Montana and N.D. close. They are caucus states, and Romney must win them if he is to have a chance. He's probably dead already, however. Arizona and New York close, and they will be big for McCain.
9:00 p.m. Utah closes, and if Romney doesn't win there he's likely to get trapped in the next paper bag someone puts over his head. Colorado closes, Romney must win.
At 10 p.m. comes Calif. where Romney needs a huge win to stay alive.
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Times listed are Central Time:
11:30 a.m. West Va. caucus ended. Romney was supposed to win this because he was the only one with an organization there and it was a crummy little caucus. A defeat was said to mean he was in big trouble, and he was indeed defeated. Huckabee won, so Romney is probably going to have a disastrous night.
6 p.m. Georgia. Very close 3-way race. If McCain wins it should be with 34 – 39 percent. If he wins, it will be because Huckabee split the so called right wing vote!
7 p.m. Conn., Ill., Del. And New Jersey all close. They should go to McCain. If any don't, then Romney might have a glimmer of hope. If any of Missouri, Oklahoma or Tennessee went to McCain, he has the lock for the night. Mass. A must for Romney, but not bad for McCain if he loses.
7:30 p.m. Arkansas closes, a Huckabee shoe in. If not, he should sell his soul, if he hasn't already.
8:00 p.m. Minnesota, Montana and N.D. close. They are caucus states, and Romney must win them if he is to have a chance. He's probably dead already, however. Arizona and New York close, and they will be big for McCain.
9:00 p.m. Utah closes, and if Romney doesn't win there he's likely to get trapped in the next paper bag someone puts over his head. Colorado closes, Romney must win.
At 10 p.m. comes Calif. where Romney needs a huge win to stay alive.
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Another not so scientific poll and "scientific evidence" of media bias for the GOP
by Norman Markowitz
First I spoke with a retired professor who is 88 years old, needs a walker to get around, and has nursing care. But he voted, and he voted for Obama.
He is an old socialist who voted when he was a young man for Norman Thomas. His view is that both Clinton and Obama are acceptable, but he considers Obama the better, more hopeful candidate. He is someone by the way who taught briefly in a Southern historically Black college shortly after WWII.
Meanwhile, there was an interesting story in the New York Time which mentions that John McCain is getting more coverage than either Clinton or Obama over the last week, even though they are among the two most interesting candidates in presidential history, in terms of media values (the first women and the first African American candidate who have serious chances to win a major presidential nomination and the presidency).
McCain over the last week received 37% of all news coverage on the Republican side of the election as against 34% and 32% for Obama and Clinton respectively. This from a scientific study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which has used traditional content analysis survey research methodologies to study dominant news stories since the beginning of 2007.
The study also showed that Rudy Giuliani, running as a candidate with many powerful supporters and very few voters, campaigning on the myth of his "leadership" during the September 11th attacks, got much more coverage in his withdrawal than John Edwards, a former Vice President running on a progressive anti-corporate, anti-poverty and pro labor program.
This should tell all those who don't already know that the rightwing's attack on the "liberal" media is as phony as the media fantasy that John McCain's candidacy is opposed by "conservatives."
The press and TV, especially Cable TV, are owned by the corporations and are as separate from the corporations and the rich as the Catholic and Orthodox Churches were from feudal Lords in the Middle Ages.
I guess they would say that they are being "objective" in giving McCain so much coverage, whereas they would also say that they were being "objective" in denying coverage to Kucinich, Edwards, Gravel, and others because of their low vote totals.
I would suggest that readers who are interested in looking at news analysis which comes from an honest and open pro labor and progressive perspective should read the People's Weekly World and Political Affairs, in print (important, because the publications need the subscriptions) and online. While this might sound and sort of is a commercial, it is a commercial for a press which is represents different class interests, not the press that Marc Blitzstein captured in his social realist opera, "The Cradle Will Rock," in the song that went "The Press, The Press, Freedom of the Press/for the One Who Pays the Best."
[Subscribe to the People's Weekly World]
First I spoke with a retired professor who is 88 years old, needs a walker to get around, and has nursing care. But he voted, and he voted for Obama.
He is an old socialist who voted when he was a young man for Norman Thomas. His view is that both Clinton and Obama are acceptable, but he considers Obama the better, more hopeful candidate. He is someone by the way who taught briefly in a Southern historically Black college shortly after WWII.
Meanwhile, there was an interesting story in the New York Time which mentions that John McCain is getting more coverage than either Clinton or Obama over the last week, even though they are among the two most interesting candidates in presidential history, in terms of media values (the first women and the first African American candidate who have serious chances to win a major presidential nomination and the presidency).
McCain over the last week received 37% of all news coverage on the Republican side of the election as against 34% and 32% for Obama and Clinton respectively. This from a scientific study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which has used traditional content analysis survey research methodologies to study dominant news stories since the beginning of 2007.
The study also showed that Rudy Giuliani, running as a candidate with many powerful supporters and very few voters, campaigning on the myth of his "leadership" during the September 11th attacks, got much more coverage in his withdrawal than John Edwards, a former Vice President running on a progressive anti-corporate, anti-poverty and pro labor program.
This should tell all those who don't already know that the rightwing's attack on the "liberal" media is as phony as the media fantasy that John McCain's candidacy is opposed by "conservatives."
The press and TV, especially Cable TV, are owned by the corporations and are as separate from the corporations and the rich as the Catholic and Orthodox Churches were from feudal Lords in the Middle Ages.
I guess they would say that they are being "objective" in giving McCain so much coverage, whereas they would also say that they were being "objective" in denying coverage to Kucinich, Edwards, Gravel, and others because of their low vote totals.
I would suggest that readers who are interested in looking at news analysis which comes from an honest and open pro labor and progressive perspective should read the People's Weekly World and Political Affairs, in print (important, because the publications need the subscriptions) and online. While this might sound and sort of is a commercial, it is a commercial for a press which is represents different class interests, not the press that Marc Blitzstein captured in his social realist opera, "The Cradle Will Rock," in the song that went "The Press, The Press, Freedom of the Press/for the One Who Pays the Best."
[Subscribe to the People's Weekly World]
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Obama Wins Big in the State of Strom Thurmond
by Norman Markowitz
As I write this, Senator Obama has a 28 point lead over Senator Hillary Clinton with John Edwards receiving 18 percent of the vote in the South Carolina Democratic primary. And in his victory speech, Senator Obama continued to call for unity and action against those who believe that he is on mission impossible.
As I write this, Senator Obama has a 28 point lead over Senator Hillary Clinton with John Edwards receiving 18 percent of the vote in the South Carolina Democratic primary. And in his victory speech, Senator Obama continued to call for unity and action against those who believe that he is on mission impossible.
There is still a long way to go, Clinton still has more of the money and much more of the organization, John Edwards is still better on the key domestic issues, and Dennis Kucinich is far and away the best of all of the candidates across the board (if we were living in a color blind world, which of course we are not). But this is a remarkable victory for the whole people that Senator Obama continues to appeal to in his campaign.
First a little history, because that is my profession. South Carolina gave us John C. Calhoun, the "philosopher" of the slave power before the Civil War, who saw even the racist exclusionary democracy associated with his fellow slaveholder and political enemy, Andrew Jackson as a threat to the slaveholder class. He advocated instead giving the slave states a permanent veto over democratic majorities that would threaten them, the doctrine of a "concurrent majority," and began to call for secession decades before it took place.
By end of the nineteenth century, South Carolina was represented by the racist pseudo populist politician, "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman. Its African American population, which had once constituted a majority and had elected many representatives at both the state and federal level, had lost its citizenship rights. In the 20th century, Pitchfork Ben's successors, "Cotton Ed" Smith and then, of course, Strom Thurmond, a young segregationist who began his political career by winning a local council election in 1929, the year of the stock market crash made their political living by defending Jim Crow brutality.
Over the next 70 years, Strom, was a Democratic Congressman and Governor, a segregationist third party presidential candidate in 1948, a segregationist Democratic leader in the Senate, setting personal time records for filibusters in the 1950s and 1960s, a Republican Senator from 1964 to his retirement at the beginning of the 21st century. In 1968 Strom supported Richard Nixon in the hope that Nixon as president would let the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which gave African Americans in South Carolina the right to vote for the first time since Reconstruction, die.
But it didn't die and tonight the African American voters who Thurmond and his predecessors sought to segregate and disenfranchise for nearly a century after the Civil War, were apparently the key to this huge victory. As was once written about another reactionary politician who died before history completely buried him I wish that Strom Thurmond was alive to see this night: he would have died all over again.
Thurmond as was revealed after his death, had a child with an African American servant women in the 1920s, and continued to see his daughter over the decades while he made his name as a segregationist politician. That is also an example of what is so tangled a history in the U.S., where poor white males were appealed to by politicians like Thurmond who portrayed Blacks as threats to white women while they used their power to do what they wanted with Black women.
Earlier today I had planned to write an article making fun of a New York Times article about the international interest in the U.S. presidential race and the very naive contention that Obama and Clinton may be re-invigorating "democracy" though the world.
The U.S. political system is, at best a second division political democracy by global standards and people throughout the world are always interested in the American presidency, because, as a Pakistani-born friend of mine and Marxist once told me, the President of the United States is the unelected President of much of the world, having more power over peoples lives than their own elected or unelected leaders.
But the fact that an African American and a woman are leading candidates for the presidential nomination is a big story. While sexism is sadly global, color racism in the U.S., rooted in a history of slavery and segregation which goes back to the 17th century, as people throughout the world know and have long known, is an "exceptional" characteristic of U.S. society, one that has been at the center of the deformation of political, economic, and social democracy throughout American history. That makes Senator Obama's victory tonight all the more important, and, in my opinion (and many, including some who read this, will probably disagree) more important than the victory of Hillary Clinton as a women for the presidential nomination would be.
The race for the nomination still has a long way to go but the possibility that the process will produce significant change and energize millions to participate in the political process and defeat the right Republicans is getting better.
On the Trail with Obama Supporters in South Carolina
By Tim Wheeler, national political correspondent, People's Weekly World
Columbia, S.C.- When we arrived at the Performing Arts Center here for a Barack Obama rally, a line stretching two blocks was waiting to go through security to get inside.
It was a perfect snapshot of the multiracial movement that has sprung up to elect Obama, African American, Latino, white, young and old, men and women. There were vast numbers of South Carolinians but also thousands who have come from across the nation to work as volunteers. Conspicuous was the large numbers of young people waiting in the chill darkness.
I interviewed many. Emily Aho, a student at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, was waiting with several of her classmates. She is from Marietta, Georgia, a freshman business major. "I'm going to listen to what he says," she told me. "I haven't made up my mind who I am going to vote for. I think it is a good thing that we have a Black person and a woman running for president," she said.
Marie Triche, a second year law student at the University of Florida drove up in a van from Gainesville with five other members of the Black Law Students Association. "This is the first time I have heard Barack Obama speak," she said."I think this night is just overwhelming, for us to be part of such a grand occasion. Obama is a young leader in contrast to all the other candidates. He is bringing out new ideas. He is getting strong youth support."
Curt Anderson, a member of the Maryland General Assembly was one of three Maryland legislators who chartered a bus, bringing 40 volunteers to work in the Obama campaign. (I was one of them). He too was waiting with other Maryland volunteers outside the hall. "Look at this line. It lasts forever and its cold out here," he quipped. "We spent the day campaigning for Obama and this is our reward. I think Maryland will go for Obama in our Feb. 12 primary. Our organization is getting stronger." He listed many elected officials who have endorsed Obama including Rep. Elijah Cummings, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, the Attorney General and Comptroller. "The grassroots is where his greatest strength is," Anderson added.
I asked why Obama's message resonates so strongly with people. Vic D'Amato, a former Maryland legislator standing nearby interjected, "People are starving for change," he said. "We have not had inspirational leadership in this country at the national level in our memory."
Brian Smith drove down from Cincinnati over a week ago to work as a volunteer. He was one of many young white people waiting in the line. "I think he is such an inspirational speaker," he told me. "He has the ability to unite a country that is pretty divided. I think Bill Clinton's comments have been disappointing. It has the potential to fracture the Democratic Party. I think the people don't want to see a negative campaign. There has been a record turnout so far in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. If this negativity continues, it has the potential of affecting that turnout."
The fact that an African American is running for president and winning, he said, "Shows that our country has come a long way. But the polling in South Carolina shows there is a continued racial divide that we must overcome. I do think that everyone here is part of that historic moment. This is a multiracial crowd."
We finally made it into the hall. It was packed with a crowd that greeted Obama with chants of "O-BA-MA!" and "Yes We Can!" and "Ready for change." Obama delivered a powerful stemwinder that drew thunderous cheers.
I'll report on his speech in the next blog...
Columbia, S.C.- When we arrived at the Performing Arts Center here for a Barack Obama rally, a line stretching two blocks was waiting to go through security to get inside.
It was a perfect snapshot of the multiracial movement that has sprung up to elect Obama, African American, Latino, white, young and old, men and women. There were vast numbers of South Carolinians but also thousands who have come from across the nation to work as volunteers. Conspicuous was the large numbers of young people waiting in the chill darkness.
I interviewed many. Emily Aho, a student at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, was waiting with several of her classmates. She is from Marietta, Georgia, a freshman business major. "I'm going to listen to what he says," she told me. "I haven't made up my mind who I am going to vote for. I think it is a good thing that we have a Black person and a woman running for president," she said.
Marie Triche, a second year law student at the University of Florida drove up in a van from Gainesville with five other members of the Black Law Students Association. "This is the first time I have heard Barack Obama speak," she said."I think this night is just overwhelming, for us to be part of such a grand occasion. Obama is a young leader in contrast to all the other candidates. He is bringing out new ideas. He is getting strong youth support."
Curt Anderson, a member of the Maryland General Assembly was one of three Maryland legislators who chartered a bus, bringing 40 volunteers to work in the Obama campaign. (I was one of them). He too was waiting with other Maryland volunteers outside the hall. "Look at this line. It lasts forever and its cold out here," he quipped. "We spent the day campaigning for Obama and this is our reward. I think Maryland will go for Obama in our Feb. 12 primary. Our organization is getting stronger." He listed many elected officials who have endorsed Obama including Rep. Elijah Cummings, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, the Attorney General and Comptroller. "The grassroots is where his greatest strength is," Anderson added.
I asked why Obama's message resonates so strongly with people. Vic D'Amato, a former Maryland legislator standing nearby interjected, "People are starving for change," he said. "We have not had inspirational leadership in this country at the national level in our memory."
Brian Smith drove down from Cincinnati over a week ago to work as a volunteer. He was one of many young white people waiting in the line. "I think he is such an inspirational speaker," he told me. "He has the ability to unite a country that is pretty divided. I think Bill Clinton's comments have been disappointing. It has the potential to fracture the Democratic Party. I think the people don't want to see a negative campaign. There has been a record turnout so far in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. If this negativity continues, it has the potential of affecting that turnout."
The fact that an African American is running for president and winning, he said, "Shows that our country has come a long way. But the polling in South Carolina shows there is a continued racial divide that we must overcome. I do think that everyone here is part of that historic moment. This is a multiracial crowd."
We finally made it into the hall. It was packed with a crowd that greeted Obama with chants of "O-BA-MA!" and "Yes We Can!" and "Ready for change." Obama delivered a powerful stemwinder that drew thunderous cheers.
I'll report on his speech in the next blog...
Live Blogging from South Carolina
By Tim Wheeler, national political correspondent, People's Weekly World
Columbia, S.C.- Its primary election day here in South Carolina and the army of volunteers who have flooded into the state to campaign for Barack Obama have already left the YMCA and fanned out to polling places across this city.
It is chilly and threatening rain but the media is predicting a record voter turnout of people fired up by Obama's message of hope. I rode down from Baltimore on a bus with 40 other volunteers. It was chartered by three members of the Maryland General Assembly who have kept us working diligently since we arrived. Nights we sleep on the gymnasium floor of the Y, strewn with mostly youthful volunteers from as far away as California. Early this morning two more busloads arrived from Washington, D.C.
I have been canvassing with a friend, Rev. Pierre Williams, a United Methodist minister in Baltimore. We got a vivid feel for just how deeply Obama's message is resonating here going door-to-door in a working class neighborhood yesterday.
Sherman Stewart, employed as a maintenance worker at the Governor's Mansion here in the state capital told us, "I've been listening to all the candidates and I feel that Barack Obama is the one who can turn this country around.Everyone is feeling the insecurity from the way the economy is going. Veterans of the Iraq war are coming home and finding out their credit is all messed up, their health care is messed up. We're spending billions upon billions over there in Iraq, preaching democracy to the world, and we have millions of children here who are hungry and without health care.I'm getting ready to retire and there are so many people losing their pensions, or can't afford their medicine."
Richard Edwards came walking by. He is a student at Midlands Technical College and a U.S. Navy veteran. He deplored former President Bill Clinton's divisive statements here in South Carolina such as his dismissive statement that Obama's message of hope is a "fairy tale," implying that the Illinois Senator is too young and inexperienced to be president.
"I think Clinton's statement really affected Black voters," he told the World. "It put the Black community in a negative light. Obama is trying to unite people of all races and backgrounds, young and old, men and women. Clinton's statement has divided South Carolina. We don't need that here. I believe Barack is going to win but by a narrower margin. I hope Barack sticks to his message, positive change, hope, bringing us together, Black, white independent, even Republicans."
Columbia, S.C.- Its primary election day here in South Carolina and the army of volunteers who have flooded into the state to campaign for Barack Obama have already left the YMCA and fanned out to polling places across this city.
It is chilly and threatening rain but the media is predicting a record voter turnout of people fired up by Obama's message of hope. I rode down from Baltimore on a bus with 40 other volunteers. It was chartered by three members of the Maryland General Assembly who have kept us working diligently since we arrived. Nights we sleep on the gymnasium floor of the Y, strewn with mostly youthful volunteers from as far away as California. Early this morning two more busloads arrived from Washington, D.C.
I have been canvassing with a friend, Rev. Pierre Williams, a United Methodist minister in Baltimore. We got a vivid feel for just how deeply Obama's message is resonating here going door-to-door in a working class neighborhood yesterday.
Sherman Stewart, employed as a maintenance worker at the Governor's Mansion here in the state capital told us, "I've been listening to all the candidates and I feel that Barack Obama is the one who can turn this country around.Everyone is feeling the insecurity from the way the economy is going. Veterans of the Iraq war are coming home and finding out their credit is all messed up, their health care is messed up. We're spending billions upon billions over there in Iraq, preaching democracy to the world, and we have millions of children here who are hungry and without health care.I'm getting ready to retire and there are so many people losing their pensions, or can't afford their medicine."
Richard Edwards came walking by. He is a student at Midlands Technical College and a U.S. Navy veteran. He deplored former President Bill Clinton's divisive statements here in South Carolina such as his dismissive statement that Obama's message of hope is a "fairy tale," implying that the Illinois Senator is too young and inexperienced to be president.
"I think Clinton's statement really affected Black voters," he told the World. "It put the Black community in a negative light. Obama is trying to unite people of all races and backgrounds, young and old, men and women. Clinton's statement has divided South Carolina. We don't need that here. I believe Barack is going to win but by a narrower margin. I hope Barack sticks to his message, positive change, hope, bringing us together, Black, white independent, even Republicans."
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