Howard Dean is first and this blog is last for operating correctly.

Ted Kennedy is a super delegate, isn't he?  Wow, to have the Kennedy's for you is big stuff.

Billary need a good spanking.  The trouble is they probably would enjoy it.

OK, Joan in FL scored firsties, not me.  FIX THE DANG BLOG!!!

LOL Monica.

~~~~~~~~~~

Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.

Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.

I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

donna wrote "Ted Kennedy is a super delegate, isn't he?"

Yes, all the members of Congress are.

Here's a little bit about the planning for the DNC convention in Denver.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1782

For your entertainment or whatever, check up on the Edwards '08 blog and read the diary "What is Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg's Problem?" including the observation " Mrs. Schlossberg should be ashamed.  She didn't do her homework.  If she really believes Senator Obama is remotely like her father, she has rocks in her head.  (That's the most polite way I have to put it.)"

Here's an accompanying comment: "What is great about America is the fact people can back any candidate they want for president and make fools out of themselves. Caroline is no exception."

Here's another "All I can say is: Shame!  (But yes, she has the right to be stupid.)"

Ha ha. You too can join in the frivolity at this uplifting blogsite.

Two questions, what justification can Edwards now make to stay in the race. 2% in Nevada and third in his home state?  Second, how can anyonebeliev he is not drawing progressive votes FROM BO.  Look on this blog, your choice was BO or Edwards, HC was never a consideration.  Why do you not think that will hold true to other progressives.

Matt wrote "how can anyone believe he is not drawing progressive votes FROM BO.  Look on this blog, your choice was BO or Edwards, HC was never a consideration.  Why do you not think that will hold true to other progressives[?]"

This rather simple postulate has been my contention all along.

Ok, not that we don't already know we don't like vulture capitalists, but this article on Romney has a lot of good information.

As Bain slashed jobs, Romney stayed to side

By Robert Gavin

Globe Staff / January 27, 2008



In early 1995, as the Ampad paper plant in Marion, Ind., neared its shutdown following a bitter strike, Randy Johnson, a worker and union official, scrawled a personal letter to Mitt Romney, pouring out his disappointment that Romney, then chief executive of the investment firm that controlled Ampad, had not done enough to settle the strike and save some 200 jobs.



"We really thought you might help," Johnson said in the handwritten note, "but instead we heard excuses that were unacceptable from a man of your prominent position."



Romney, who had recently lost a Senate race in which the strike became a flashpoint, responded that he had "privately" urged a settlement, but was advised by lawyers not to intervene directly. His political interests, he explained, conflicted with his business responsibilities.

 

10.  Your mistake is in thinking in terms of the candidates doing things or being responsible for the voters' decisions.  In a nation of three hundred million, having three democratic candidates hardly seems exessive.  Indeed, on the NH ballot there were at least 15 and voters gave almost every one of them a vote AND WROTE IN SOME NAMES.

Monica wrote "Your mistake is in thinking in terms of the candidates doing things or being responsible for the voters' decisions.  In a nation of three hundred million, having three democratic candidates hardly seems exessive."

Thanks.  However, Obama will benefit more than Clinton from the support of past Edwards boosters once Edwards withdraws from the race.

ELECTIONS ARE ABOUT THE VOTERS

SOCIALIZE THE FUNDING--PRIVATIZE THE CARE

Yes, I know I was shouting.  These piece-meal health care proposals are a total waste of time.  In this case they are being put forward by people who don't understand that the function of government is NOT to tell people what to do, but to do what the people want and need.

One of the primary, if not sole, responsibilities of government is to prevent, if possible, or mitigate large and small natural and man-made disasters (in case you wonder, an infected toe is a small natural disaster, unless you get gangrene and they have to cut off your leg).  In other words, we organize government to deal with things we DON'T want.  What's the point of expecting people to pay for what they don't want when it happens anyway and it becomes obvious that the government they already paid for isn't prepared.

Katrina was a really big short term disaster that got stretched out into a mega long-term disaster because the government wasn't prepared.  The Bush Two people are all keen on pre-emption, acting on the basis of things that haven't happened, and totally inept when it comes to being prepared and doing what we expect.

13.  You still don't get it.  It's not about the candidates or what will benefit them.  It's about the voters.  Why should the voters in later states have fewer candidates to select from?

Now, four years later, there are some people bemoaning that Howard Dean withdrew after Wisconsin or NH or whenever.  I'm sorry that Biden and Dodd withdrew their names and now Kucinich.  I'm planning a forum for our senate candidates and realizing that we can't duplicate the fun we had when we had five candidates for the House because now we only have two--two others having been persuaded to withdraw because of the arrival of a "star"

Somebody on BH toted up that he'd gotten 42 glossy mailers from 4 candidates.  I'm sure I got as many but most went right into the trash until I started to save them and mailed off packets to Georgia where they weren't getting any.  Nobody needs that crap, most of which wasn't even printed in NH. 

So, now it's not jumping.  Maybe it's having a YouTube on the thread that messes it up.

The videos are fun, but they do take a long time to load and that may affect the transmission rate. 

Monica wrote  "You still don't get it.  It's not about the candidates or what will benefit them.  It's about the voters."

Okay.  Americans will benefit when instead of Clinton, Obama receives the support of past Edwards boosters once Edwards withdraws from the race.

Voters are showing up at Democratic primaries and caucuses in record numbers, doubling, tripling or even quadrupling the turnout totals recorded in the last fully contested two-party election in 2000. Overall, Democrats have so far outnumbered Republicans at primary polling places by a rate of almost two to one.

So far three states have held primaries or caucuses that both parties actively contested, and in each, Democratic turnout is outrunning participation by Republicans:

--In Iowa, some 239,000 Democrats turned out at the caucuses, almost twice the all-time record. Republicans doubled their turnout in Iowa, as well, but still only reached 114,000.

--In New Hampshire, some 287,000 Democrats turned out to vote, up from 156,862 in 2000, while Republican turnout decreased slightly to 238,000.

--In Nevada, more than 116,000 voters attended Democratic party caucuses in a state where, eight years ago, the gatherings attracted only about 1,000 votes. Republicans, too, broke turnout records. But their total of 44,315 votes was about a third the size of the Democrats.

In total, in the three states where there have been two-party contests - Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada - 642,000 Democrats have turned out to vote compared to 396,315 Republicans, a ratio of 8 to 5. As of now, the level of primary participation is nearing the levels seen in general elections.

At least four factors are driving turnout: wide open races for both party's nominations, the historic candidacies of both a black man and a woman, a general concern about the direction of the country and rising economic anxiety. Michael McDonald, a political scientist at George Mason University who studies voter participation, pointed in particular to Barack Obama, whose age and cross-party appeal has helped attract unusual numbers of independents and young people to Democratic contests. As of now, he says, independents are breaking for Democrats by a ratio of two to one. "One of the reasons why independents and young people are voting in a Democratic nomination process where they normally would not be involved is that there is an attractive candidate for them," said McDonald. He added that Obama's impact on turnout could be a cautionary tale for Democrats and Clinton. "I'm not sure if Clinton can replicate the same sort of magic that Obama has in mobilizing young voters and Independents to participate," said McDonald.

A spokesperson for the Clinton campaign, Isaac Baker, believes Clinton will be able to pull from those groups in the general election. "Hillary has the ability to inspire new voters to go to the polls and help her make history in November," said Baker.

As for why Republican turnout is lagging Democratic so far, most observers point to a general sense of fatigue in the conservative movement after seven years under President Bush. Not only has the war and a growth in government sapped the party of its enthusiasm, but the grassroots has reservations about each of the leading Republican candidates, from McCain and Romney to Giuliani and even Huckabee.

and that's it from me for today.  Got to unload that wood now.

btw, loved Caroline's remarks. 

Hope you all have a great Sunday.

Joan if FL, thanks for that comment re. the tech link for the blog. 

perfect timing by the Kennedys

good for caroline k. what a great woman.

Cheney's daughter to endorse Romney.

I am still mad at the voters of NH that let a little tear turn the tide or Dorothy would be back in Kansas already.  If they had just voted Obama think of the headlines now, he would have virtually swept to the nomination.  the Clintons are like the relatives that come for x mas and you get rid of them only to have them show up for New Year's Eve.  URGH!  What a pair these power hungry people make.  Lanny Davis back on MSNBC again.  AARGH.  If only for those oprah watchers in NH falling for the tearand feeling sorry for her,  We would be done and dusted right now.  Dang it

I don't believe HOward got Ted Kennedy's endorsement. Kind of makes you wonder.

how can anyone believe he is not drawing progressive votes FROM BO.

If the Clintons have to fight Edwards for 2nd place, that means he's serving a useful person. Let the WarDems annihilate each other. 

Fox if you weren't a Republican troll I might care about your (faux) support for Obama.

26.

the Clintons are like the relatives that come for x mas and you get rid of them only to have them show up for New Year's Eve.  URGH

Well spoken Fox:)

2:57 CST

2:58 CST

A source inside the Obama campaign says the candidate's web site has seen one of its best hours tonight, raising $525,000 in one hour. A senior aide inside the Obama campaign said the candidate's site saw its "highest peak" tonight in both online donations and traffic, "bigger than after Iowa, bigger than after New Hampshire."

The Obama campaign measures online donations every 15 minutes, and the source said that online money was pouring in at the rate of more than $500,000 per hour.

http://eatapyzch.blogspot.com/

Obama surrogates said all the intra-party hoopla is fine - as long as the other side gets its facts straight when referencing the record of their candidate. To that end the Obama campaign today officially established a "truth squad," composed of Obama supporters U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein and Edison Mayor Jun Choi.

"Last night’s victory was a resounding repudiation of the old school politics of division, which voters found unacceptable," said Rothman, echoing Obama’s South Carolina victory speech from last night. "If any lies are spread about Obama we will be there to speak about it." Greenstein said the Clinton campaign distorted Obama’s record on numerous occasions in South Carolina.

"He’s got a 100% pro choice rating," said the Assemblywoman. "There were phone calls to voters that attacked him on his pro-choice voting record, and NARAL called on Clinton to stop the ads. The Clinton campaign also suggested his healthcare plan wouldn’t cover as many people as their plan, and Robert Reich, former secretary of labor under Clinton, countered that Obama’s healthcare plan would in fact ensure more people than Hillary’s healthcare plan."

http://www.politickernj.com/clinton-s-machine-kicks-obama-team-dispatches-truth-squad-15830

Fox if you weren't a Republican troll I might care about your (faux) support for Obama

I di not realize I had addressed you.  But the logic of your argument was quite inspiring. 

More on the upcoming Kennedy endorsement from Mike Allen and Carrie Brown at Politico:

"Rejecting a personal entreaty from President Bill Clinton, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president in a joint appearance on Monday, Democratic sources said.

"The embrace provides a dramatic rocket for Obama to ride into the frantic, nationwide campaigning ahead of the spate of Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5, the biggest day for nominating contests in U.S. history. Caroline Kennedy, the senator's niece and the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, will also appear at the rally, the sources said.\

" . . .

"The announcement stunned Senate colleagues, who had expected Kennedy to remain neutral until the increasingly vitriolic nominating contest with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) settled out.

“'This is the biggest Democratic endorsement Obama could possibly get short of Bill Clinton,' said a high-level Democrat.

"The Clinton campaign launched a last-ditch effort over the last few days to stop Kennedy's move, orchestrating a flood of phone calls to Kennedy from sources ranging from union chiefs to his Massachusetts constituents.

"The former president also called Kennedy in a vain attempt to keep him out of the race, a source familiar with the conversation said.

" . . . .

"A tangle of longstanding political ties, friendships and gut feelings caused the Kennedys and those closely identified with them to scatter across the primary field.

"Old hands to President Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy came out for Obama, in part because he reminded them of the charismatic brothers. One of the former advisers, Harris Wofford, said Obama 'touches my soul.'

“'For me, no one has done that since John, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King,' Wofford said in December. 'I waited a long time to have that feeling.'"

I would propose that Edwards has been running for Presidnet for 6 years now and it is hard to give up and go get a job again.  Drafting pleadings and arguing with client's is not best work,trust me, so maybe that is why he won't leave.  It then becomes about him, rather than the cause.  How can he raise money?  It is time

fyi - new Front thread

I am still mad at the voters of NH that let a little tear turn the tide or Dorothy would be back in Kansas already.  If they had just voted Obama think of the headlines now, he would have virtually swept to the nomination.

It's good for the eventual nominee and the voters for the process to be carrying on as it is.

It's good for the candidates because it forces them to keep honing their messages and campaign skills. It also gets their staffs in good shape for the fall campaign. For one of them to wrap it up early encourages political  flabbiness and provides the GOP a target to prepare against and attack for a much longer period.

It's good for voters because many more of us get the chance to have a meaningful say (we should all vote at  the samr time in, say, May so that our votes would all be equal in every regard, but that's another discussion.)

If HC wants to win, she will have to get Bubba a playmate to get him out of the limelight.

The only way the delegates from Michigan and Florida should be seated at the convention is by making them all undecided delegates. I would like Howard to tell them to stay home because they deliberately violated the primary rules. However, a way to mitigate this and let both populous states participate in the process is make all the delegates free agents.

http://www.northeastdemocrats.org/news.p...

DE LEÓN CO-AUTHORS BILL TO REQUIRE HEALTH INSURERS TO PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR ANNUAL CANCER EXAMS FOR WOMEN

(Sacramento, CA) – Speaker pro Tempore Sally Lieber (D-San Jose) and Assistant Majority Leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) today introduced Assembly Bill 1774, which will require health insurers to provide expanded coverage for annual cancer exams for women.

“Requiring health plans to cover cancer screening in regular check ups will save,” said Assistant Majority Leader Kevin de León. “We should ensure that every woman in California has access to these potentially life-saving tests.”

Statistics show the stark reality: early diagnosis means dramatically increased survival rates. Only 19% of ovarian cancer is currently diagnosed in Stage 1, when there is a five-year survival rate of 92% for women who receive treatment. Instead, most women are only diagnosed when they have progressed to Stage 3 (24%, with a 42% five-year survival rate) or even worse, Stage 4 (25%, with only a 17% five-year survival rate).

In the United States there are more than 75,000 newly diagnosed cases of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer annually, the three most common gynecologic cancers. Each year, over 20,000 women will be told they have ovarian cancer, the most deadly of the three. But the common pap test does not detect ovarian or uterine cancer. Additional tests are readily available to diagnose them, but they are underutilized.

“California is on the cutting edge. Recently, Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature approved the toughest emissions standards in the nation to protect our environment. It's time for another bold move to protect the very place where life begins: the womb,” said Drescher. “The Cancer Schmancer Movement seeks to ensure Stage 1 diagnosis of all women's cancers. The women of California deserve access to the important medical tests that could save their lives. Remember, Stage 1 is the cure!”

The bill is sponsored by the Cancer Schmancer Movement, an organization founded by the actress, author and women’s health advocate Fran Drescher, herself a survivor of uterine cancer. Filing of the bill was announced today at a press conference attended by Ms. Drescher in the Capitol.

# # #

Alana Yañez
Field Representative
Assemblymember Kevin de León
45th Assembly District
(323) 258-0450 Phone
(323) 258-3807 Fax