US Presidential Primaries, 2008

[turbo]

I did find this link from the Free Republic, urging Republicans to cross-over and vote for Clinton, but haven't yet found a reliable link to Dick Morris' views on the upcoming primaries.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1971534/posts

 

[chemisttree]

It's fascinating to watch and try and follow this process, but it's incredibly complicated for those of us that aren't used to it! I think I get the idea though: you vote for who you want to be the candidate for your party; the votes are then shared out amongst some delegates who then go to a conference and vote again. The winner of this is the presidential candidate.

I've got a few questions though: can you only vote in one primary, or can you vote in a republican and a democrat one? What happens at the final meeting with the delegates: do they have to carry the votes from the state or can they change their mind? Then, what happens about the vice president? Does the person second in the polls automatically run as vice president, or is there some other way to decide this?

Your guess is as good as anyone's. The rules vary from state to state and the delegates don't always vote the way of the popular vote in the primary. Add to that are 796 of these 'superdelegates' (unpledged party leader and elected official delegates) this year that can vote any way they feel. The primary used to pick the VP but nowadays the Candidate chooses a running mate.

 

[chemisttree]

I have spent a lot of time trying to dig up that link, but I don't remember where it came from and Google isn't helping.

Do you have a link for the Dick Morris/TX thing? It's interesting that he would be trying to suppress a Clinton candidacy. Morris knows what a good target she would be.

I saw that on Hannity and Colmes. Dick Morris' final words were to the effect that all GOP supporters in Texas have a duty to vote against Hillary in the March Democrat Primary. I can't find transcripts but I'll look some more. Others http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4655610".

He has written on the subject as well:

Texas and Ohio also permit Independents to vote in their Democratic primary. Texas even allows Republicans to do so. With the Republican nomination largely decided, there is little to draw these voters to the McCain-Huckabee battle and much to induce them to enter the Democratic primary to vote against the candidate so many of them love to hate. The Texas primary will assume the aspect of a general election so heavy will be the crossing over and nobody could expect Hillary Clinton to carry Texas in a general election.

http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/2008/02/15/even-in-texas-advantage-obama/#more-266

 

[Gokul43201]

From what I've read in a few places, many Reps have registered Dem to influence the Dem race. However, it seems there is no uniformity of strategy among them (good or bad). While a bunch have or will vote for Hillary so McCain will have an easier target, others loathe her so much that they prioritize getting Hillary out much higher than getting McCain in, and hence, have or will vote for Obama. I think there may be about as many Reps voting for Obama as there will be for Hillary, and the reason for both decisions is primarily that they hate Hillary.

Also, a few are afraid that Hillary has a bunch of dirt on McCain from his FBI files, which she likely dug into during her White House days (recall the unexplained appearance of nearly a thousand FBI files in the Clinton White House).

 

[chemisttree]

Also, a few are afraid that Hillary has a bunch of dirt on McCain from his FBI files, which she likely dug into during her White House days (recall the unexplained appearance of nearly a thousand FBI files in the Clinton White House).

Who needs dirt when the NY Times can slander him at will? The latest Times hit job on McCain is the sleaziest of sleazy. No sources, no proof... despicable.

 

[Gokul43201]

Today's front page article?

 

[turbo]

Obama has won the Democratic Global Primary, gathering about 65% of the vote. The delegation will be small, with 14 delegates apportioned by vote and 8 superdelegates. Still, it adds to his total.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080221/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_delegates;_ylt=AnHUz2Ub0uElGt4qOkjjG5Os0NUE
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0125/p06s01-woeu.html

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I usually vote republican, but in this race what is the point. McCain was going to win, why waste a vote when I can maybe help determine the democrat. So that is what I did, I voted for Obama when I usually vote Republican.

The key is that you vote for best candidate and not the worst. You are voting to make the system stronger, not weaker.

I was planning to vote for Ron Paul if the dems have it locked up. I know Paul can't win but I strongly support his allegiance to the Constitution, so my vote would be to support his position.

 

[turbo]

The key is that you vote for best candidate and not the worst. You are voting to make the system stronger, not weaker.

Maine allows voters to change party affiliations readily, even on primary day, if you want. I'm an Independent, but I have registered as a Democrat or a Republican to vote in the primaries in order to make sure that the strongest candidates (that most closely reflected my views) made it to the general election. I voted for George Mitchell (D) every time he was up for re-election, and did the same for Bill Cohen (R). When you've got a Congressman that keeps his nose clean and tries to fairly represent his constituency, they deserve your vote.

 

[chemisttree]

Today's front page article?

Yes, that's it.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The person who thinks Hillary is the anti-Christ complains about the NY Times?

Where did you pick up the 666 bit; Rush? Or did that come from one of those political nut groups that are masquerading as a church and loading the internet with nonsense and hate?

 

[turbo]

One more little wrinkle in the Democrats Abroad primary that I failed to mention is that along with the small number of delegates that will be seated at the convention, each delegate will have only 1/2 of a vote. This leaves Clinton and Obama with the very real possibility that each may end up with a whole number of votes, plus 1/2 a vote left over. Interesting.

 

[mheslep]

Who needs dirt when the NY Times can slander him at will? The latest Times hit job on McCain is the sleaziest of sleazy. No sources, no proof... despicable.

Its just the latest from 'hate media' in the grand tradition of Jason Blair, Miller, etc.

 

[chemisttree]

The person who thinks Hillary is the anti-Christ complains about the NY Times?

Where did you pick up the 666 bit; Rush? Or did that come from one of those political nut groups that are masquerading as a church and loading the internet with nonsense and hate?

It came to me in a dream... see, I was talkin' t'god th'other night...
Seriously Ivan, it was a joke. I'll bet you googled it...

And, for the record... I don't think Hillary is the antichrist. I just believe she is hastening his arrival.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I did have to laugh at Bill Clinton when he was working a crowd of supporters in Texas:

~ "If she wins in Texas and Ohio then I think she'll win the nomination. But if you don't come through for her, then I don't think she'll win."

So if she wins, SHE wins, but if she loses, THEY lost it for her.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I don't think Hillary is the antichrist. I just believe she is hastening his arrival.

So what does the wink mean? Are you serious or not.

I have dumped my oldest friend [over 30 years] over this business so excuse me if I fail to see the humor. I think this country is in deep trouble and there is no joking about it. The foundations of liberty and democracy are under attack and religous zealotry and terrorism are being used as motives/justifiers.

Soldiers swear to protect the Constitution with their life. I think it's time the rest of this country started taking it seriously and stop making a mockery of the democratic process. It should be cherished.

 

[BobG]

Not a stellar performance by Clinton last night. Her comment about "change you can Xerox" didn't seem to go over nearly as well as she thought it might.

I bet Rush Limbaugh won't be too proud to plagiarize her comment come Fall, though.

 

[Art]

Not a stellar performance by Clinton last night. Her comment about "change you can Xerox" didn't seem to go over nearly as well as she thought it might.

I bet Rush Limbaugh won't be too proud to plagiarize her comment come Fall, though.

It was ironic that her answer to the last question for which she won most plaudits was plagiarised almost verbatim from a speech 2 months ago by Edwards

 

[chemisttree]

It was ironic that her answer to the last question for which she won most plaudits was plagiarised almost verbatim from a speech 2 months ago by Edwards

Would you expect anything different from someone who plagiarized her husband's record/experience?

 

[chemisttree]

Kennedy sings in Laredo!


That's how we do it down here in Texas, y'all! I guess that's meant to enlist the hispanic vote in Texas which is currently leaning very heavily toward Hillary. (can you guess why?)

 

[turbo]

Would you expect anything different from someone who plagiarized her husband's record/experience?

You mean her much-vaunted "35 years of experience"? I'm getting sicker of that phrase with every passing day. 35 years of what? Of being a lawyer? Of being a Wal-Mart board member? Of being the brains behind Bill Clinton? I wish she'd get specific about how she was serving her country for those 35 years.

 

[Art]

Kennedy sings in Laredo!


That's how we do it down here in Texas, y'all! I guess that's meant to enlist the hispanic vote in Texas which is currently leaning very heavily toward Hillary. (can you guess why?)

I'm curious, why is the hispanic vote so much in favour of Hillary? Presumably immigration is a big issue with them but aren't both candidates policies on this pretty much identical?

 

[chemisttree]

Her roots in the state, as she never fails to remind voters, reach far back. One of her national co-chairs, Raul Yzaguirre, remembers meeting Clinton in 1972, when she went to south Texas to register Hispanic voters for George McGovern. "It was a bit of a culture clash," he says, recalling the blond, bespectacled young woman who asked him how to make tamales. When her husband was president, she visited repeatedly, and over the years she's become steeped in Tejano culture.

The border area holds the most promise for her, with its rich reservoir of Latino voters—a group that's been a base of support. Hidalgo County, home to McAllen, is 90 percent Mexican-American and a place where the old-timers used to place two photos on the mantel: one of the pope and one of JFK. "We're the bluest part of a Red State," says Jerry Polinard of the University of Texas-Pan American. "When we talk about building a fence down here, we talk about building one on the north to keep the Republicans out." But under the state's inscrutable delegate-allocation system, this heavily Hispanic area will have comparatively fewer delegates to award. So Clinton will have to compete for voters all over: liberals in Austin, old-line Democrats in the middle, blacks in Houston and Dallas, and rural traditionalists east and west.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/112777

She's been here before. She's baaack...

Maybe she'll be the first hispanic president!

 

[lisab]

Kennedy sings in Laredo!


That's how we do it down here in Texas, y'all! I guess that's meant to enlist the hispanic vote in Texas which is currently leaning very heavily toward Hillary. (can you guess why?)

Actually I really can't guess why...can you be so kind as to enlighten me?

 

[lisab]

chemistree, I just read your post - it came up before I finished mine.

Well I'll be darned, I didn't know she had a lot of contacts in Texas.

 

[Astronuc]

Well more primaries coming up including Vt, and 2 biggies, Tx and Oh.

So http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080228/us_time/doesexperiencematterinapresident;_ylt=An.xizFL6EjZhuevrl1lbx2s0NUE

Until one is elected president, it would seem one has no experience.

So what experience are they talking about?

 

[Art]

So what experience are they talking about?

It seems it used to mean being a blood relative of a former president but this is now being stretched to sleeping with one. In which case Monica Lewinsky has as much experience as Hillary, in fact given Hillary's hatchet face probably more

 

[russ_watters]

Well more primaries coming up including Vt, and 2 biggies, Tx and Oh.

So http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080228/us_time/doesexperiencematterinapresident;_ylt=An.xizFL6EjZhuevrl1lbx2s0NUE

Until one is elected president, it would seem one has no experience.

So what experience are they talking about?

Generally, the experience considered best as a prerequisite for being President is experience running the executive branch of a government. Ie, a governorship.

 

[turbo]

Generally, the experience considered best as a prerequisite for being President is experience running the executive branch of a government. Ie, a governorship.

If a person has governed a state successfully and has demonstrated good fiscal stewardship during times of of economic instability, such as the present time, it would make him or very much more electable in my eyes. States can't print money, and they are not allowed to run deficits, so governors have to balance income with expenditures, while staying within debt/borrowing limits established by the legislature.

 

[Astronuc]

Generally, the experience considered best as a prerequisite for being President is experience running the executive branch of a government. Ie, a governorship.

I was thinking of some executive position, e.g. corporate CEO/president or governor. However, being governor certainly didn't help Bush be more responsible or honest.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

While the "experienced" politicians fell for cheap tricks by Saddam intended to convince his neighbors that he had wmds, Obama saw through it all. So much for experience.

I say that not having one's head up their behind is more valuable than experience. And Obama has something else: Obama has vision - You know, that thing that Bush senior tried to get. ["gotta get that vision thing" - GHWB]

 

[Astronuc]

Mike Bloomberg - I’m Not Running for President, but ...

WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates — smart, all of them — must know better. They must know we can’t fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade. They must know that we can’t fix our immigration problems with border security alone. They must know that we can’t fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable for results. They must know that fighting global warming is not a costless challenge. And they must know that we can’t keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.

The vast majority of Americans know that all of this is true, but — politics being what it is — the candidates seem afraid to level with them.

Over the past year, I have been working to raise issues that are important to New Yorkers and all Americans — and to speak plainly about common sense solutions. Some of these solutions have traditionally been seen as Republican, while others have been seen as Democratic. As a businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers and, as mayor, I have seen just how true that is.

In every city I have visited — from Baltimore to New Orleans to Seattle — the message of an independent approach has resonated strongly, and so has the need for a new urban agenda. More than 65 percent of Americans now live in urban areas — our nation’s economic engines. But you would never know that listening to the presidential candidates. At a time when our national economy is sputtering, to say the least, what are we doing to fuel job growth in our cities, and to revive cities that have never fully recovered from the manufacturing losses of recent decades?

More of the same won’t do, on the economy or any other issue. We need innovative ideas, bold action and courageous leadership. That’s not just empty rhetoric, and the idea that we have the ability to solve our toughest problems isn’t some pie-in-the-sky dream. In New York, working with leaders from both parties and mayors and governors from across the country, we’ve demonstrated that an independent approach really can produce progress on the most critical issues, including the economy, education, the environment, energy, infrastructure and crime.

. . . .

Things to consider in moving forward.

Clearly the challenges ahead are enormous, even without repairing the damage that the Bush administration has inflicted upon the US and world.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Generally, the experience considered best as a prerequisite for being President is experience running the executive branch of a government. Ie, a governorship.

I can't speak to the 'best' adjective, but here is the American experience on experience.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_previous_executive_experience"
Looks like we're headed for the first President with no executive experience since Kennedy.

 

[Astronuc]

Being governor didn't help Clinton or Bush when it came to foreign policy. Clinton's policy was bad, and Bush's was worse.


The question then does McCain or Obama, or even Clinton, have a good grasp of current issue in foreign affairs?

Then how about domestic policy? How will the next president deal with the tremendous deficit spending?

Perhaps it's time to implement a program of austerity and stop living beyond the means of the economy. It's time to reduce Federal spending or increase taxes.

 

[NateTG]

Perhaps it's time to implement a program of austerity and stop living beyond the means of the economy. It's time to reduce Federal spending or increase taxes.

Hear hear!

Of course, there is little pressure on the government to do either of those compared to the forces for pork-barrel and tax reductions.