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Huge Super Delegate Pickup By Clinton

Video of endorsement.

In case you're wondering what this means on the wider front, it signals that some are starting to really believe Obama cannot close the deal.

"It's an incredibly strong endorsement because Easley is popular among the blue collar 'Bubba' voters who are Democrats," said David "Mudcat" Saunders, a Democratic consultant who advised former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner on winning rural voters.

Easley had endorsed Edwards for president, but again became a heavily sought superdelegate once Edwards bowed out of the race.

"He's clean in the culture. Easley's wrecked the Charlotte Motor Speedway doing 150 miles per hour, and Bubba likes that," said Saunders, referring to NASCAR fan Easley's 2003 race car crash. "He's a hunter. He's a strong Second Amendment guy. He gives her great cultural validation in the state of North Carolina." ... ..

New Clinton supporter is a potent symbol

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Florida Voter Protection Laws in a Nutshell

FLORIDA VOTER PROTECTION LAWS IN A NUTSHELL

Available now on Advancement Project's website is the revised 2008 "Florida Voter Protection Laws in a Nutshell" publication. Advancement Project produces these publications as a way to distill complex election law for lawyers, advocates, voter registration campaigns and "Get Out the Vote" campaigns. They combine state election law with state regulations, rules, attorney general opinions, and other election materials to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the law and practices that impact elections. While these publications do not cover every provision of state election law, they highlight those provisions which, in our experience, have most impacted the voting rights of minority voters.

Advancement Project publishes these nutshells with local law firms and lawyers as part of our Voter Protection Program. We encourage our partners to use these legal guides in support of local, on the ground voter protection efforts in advance of Election Day.

View the 2008 "Florida Voter Protection Laws in a Nutshell"

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Former Obama friend supports Clinton

One bonus for Barack Obama (D-IL) as he campaigns in Indiana is that so many friends from his home state can just drive across the state line to help him out.

Then again, it's also a short trip for the occasional hometown pol who has been crossed by Obama, such as one featured guest doing the Hoosier tour today.

Joining Chelsea Clinton and other women leaders to campaign for Hillary Clinton today is Alice Palmer, the former state senator who picked Obama to be her successor back in the mid-90s. When she tried to reclaim her spot, though, Obama got her booted from the ballot.

The day of campaigning culminates tonight with a "Women for Hillary" rally in New Albany. The women plan to talk about Clinton's plans for the economy, job creation and the middle class.

Palmer's story is more familiar in our town it is in Indiana, even in the northwest section of Hoosierland that consumes so much of the Chicago news media. Still, the national press has shown an interest in the early account of Obama playing hardball, and Palmer's presence may remind some of them of the story.

Posted from The Swamp

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Janet Reno to headline Adriane Reesey Fundraiser

Adriane Reesey

Democratic Candidate

for

Broward County Supervisor of Elections invites you

to a

Fundraiser

Saturday May 17, 2008

At the Long Key Nature Center

Davie, Florida

Special guest VIP

Janet Reno

Former US Attorney General

VIP Social - $250 4:00pm - 4:30pm

price includes Reception

Reception only- $100

4:30pm – 6:30pm

Dessert and Coffee

RSVP's Only

954-594-3363

www.votereesey2008.com

Live performance by Ellen Buckstel, "They lost my vote."

Catering by "Two Ugly Sisters – Ala Cart Catering"

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Adriane Reesey, Democrat for Broward County Supervisor of Elections

The purchase of a ticket for the campaign fundraiser is a contribution to the campaign of Adriane Reesey

DNC to hear Florida Democrats appeals on May 31

TO: DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Members

FROM: Alexis Herman & Jim Roosevelt, Jr., Co-Chairs

DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC)

SUBJECT: Meeting Announcement–May 31, 2008

DATE: April 25, 2008

Realizing that members have very busy schedules, we wanted to notify you as soon as possible that the RBC will meet on Saturday, May 31, 2008 in Washington, D.C. We are asking members to arrive on Friday, May 30, 2008 in time for a private informal dinner with us. While we expect the RBC meeting to last most of the day on Saturday, we are asking members not to make their departure plans until Sunday.

The main item of business on the Committee's agenda will be the consideration of two pending challenges.

We hope you are able to attend this very important RBC meeting. Further information, including meeting agenda and meeting logistics, will be forwarded to you in the near future.

Please note that this is an official meeting of the RBC. Therefore, we would like to remind members of the attendance requirement established in the Bylaws (Article Two, Section 10.(g)). Members who miss three consecutive RBC meetings are deemed to have resigned from the Committee. Registering a proxy, while important for establishing a quorum and assuring your vote is represented, does not count for the purpose of attendance at a meeting.

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DailyKos: Off The Mark

Markos: Obama has a higher ceiling, he wins states like Minnesota (and Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and so on) more easily than Clinton. If "electability" is the measure by which the supers should decide, the numbers are fairly clear. Having better numbers in Florida does Clinton little good if McCain threatens to take away Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Those three states have 37 EVs, to Florida's 27.

First of all, Markos seems to have put Michigan in the Obama column. On the basis of what? His strength in labor households? Working people? Catholics?

Secondly, yes, those three states have more than Florida's 27, but that's cherry-pickin' your states. Why doesn't Markos discuss Ohio, where Clinton leads McCain by 5 percentage points and Obama trails by 3? Or Pennsylvania, where Clinton leads by 6 and Obama by 2?

Obama probably wins Colorado where Hillary doesn't, and possibly Virginia as well. Stack that up against Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio--or, while we're at it, Massachusetts, where Hillary leads by 16 and Obama by 2, or a slew of smaller states like West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri where Hillary is at least competitive and Obama is not.

HOUSE GOP ALONE IN THEIR PUSH FOR HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN

Republican Governor Charlie Crist voices opposition of House Health Insurance Plan

"Crist was particularly critical of the House's plan to create Florida Health Choices Inc., a public-private corporation that would administer scaled-down health plans for small businesses." [Palm Beach Post, 4/18/08]

"The House approach, opposed by Crist, would create a so-called "farmers' marketplace" of insurance options -- with the industry setting coverage limits -- that would be available to uninsured workers only through their employers." [Orlando Sentinel Blog, 4/17/08]

Senate unanimously passes Gov. Crist's Cover Florida Plan

"It [SB 2548] passed the Senate unanimously but has been blocked by the more-conservative

House, which is advancing a more insurance-industry- friendly proposal." [Orlando Sentinel, 4/21/08]

"Crist said the corporation, which would be similar to the state's HealthyKids Corp., could add 'another layer in between the people getting the opportunity to get health coverage as soon as possible." [Palm Beach Post, 4/18/08]

"A unanimous nod from the Florida Senate on Wednesday brought Gov. Charlie Crist closer to his goal of offering health insurance to uninsured Floridians." [St. Petersburg Times, 4/17/08]

"At a news conference with medical experts, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday emphasized the need for the House to follow the Senate's lead and pass his plan for a "market-driven" approach to finding affordable health coverage for the uninsured." [St. Petersburg Times Blog, 4/17/08]

House Democrats join Senate in supporting Governor Crist's Cover Florida Plan

"Crist's champions were not his fellow Republicans but Democrats, chiefly Reps. Loranne

Ausley and Jack Seiler." [St. Petersburg Times Blog, 4/17/08]

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Evolution bill passes Senate

Sen. Ronda Storms evolution-questioning bill just passed the Florida Senate by a tight 21-17 margin. The perenially absent Fort Lauderdale Democratic Sen. Mandy Dawson was, well, absent. But so was the punctilious future Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, who was on the floor right before the vote.

Sen. Gary Siplin of Orlando was the only D vote in favor, while a handful of Republicans voted against it. Check out the vote here

Why Obama Should Drop Out Now

The PA primary demonstrates that the Jeremiah Wright controversy badly hurt Obama. Contrary to the finger wagging New York Times editorial, "The Low Road to Victory," blaming Hillary for daring to wage a winning campaign in Pennsylvania, Obama was undercut mainly by his own severe problems, especially his 20 year relationship with Wright.

We now know that Obama's Philadelphia speech on race in which he refused to disown Wright was not as the media touted a fabulous success but instead a crashing disaster.

Obama's Wright relationship has permanently alienated white working class voters, Catholics and Jews, among others. And the Republicans know it and are preparing for it.

A new 30 second video produced by a shadowy Republican group, which only contains factual footage, no commentary at all, is headed like a torpedo toward the Democratic Party is it nominates Obama. Every superdelegate should watch this video and explain why they would want every Democrat to bear this burden.

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Florida Demands Representation

Florida Demands Representation is circulating petitions to have the Florida Primary counted. You can download petitions to sign and mail in for Florida and a National petition for other states. These petitions will be presented to the DNC in June.

Pass it on!

http://www.floridad emandsrepresenta tion.org/ PETITIONS. html

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

DOWNLOAD THE PETITIONS

Simply click on the links below to open and
download the petitions.
Print, sign and mail! It's that easy.

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If Only This Was Obama

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Olbermann’s Interview of Hillary

Read the rest

Superdelegates: Time To Pick a Winner

The superdelegates are going to pick the next Democratic nominee. Winning the General Election against John McCain should be their primary concern.

Let's assume Hillary wins tomorrow in Pennsylvania. Regardless of her margin of victory, superdelegates are still tasked with picking the Democratic nominee. A post by Jeralyn on TalkLeft argues convincingly that Obama would face almost insurmountable odds against McCain. Jeralyn uses William Arnone's analysis of the electoral landscape. Jeralyn says:

First, we need to figure out which of the 20 states are vulnerable to McCain and decide whether Hillary or Obama has a better chance of carrying them. Mr. Arnone says those states are: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wisconsin, which have a total of 68 electoral votes.

Kerry won Pennsylvania by only 2% in 2004. Obama's inability to carry large states besides his home state does not bode well for his candidacy.

Read the rest

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Obama Predicts Close Finish In Pennsylvania

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How Hillary won Pennsylvania

Delegates to Dean: Uh! NO

Howard Dean was on Wolf Blitzer's show Friday, and Drudge picked up his admonition to the superdelegates with the splashy headline: "Dean To Delegates: Decide Now." In the interview, Dean says that he wants the superdelegates to begin "voting" now. "We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time," he said. "We've got to know who our nominee is."

Unfortunately for the party, Dean is in no position to tell the superdelegates when to decide. The reason? The chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee carries with it very little political power - certainly not enough to sway superdelegates.

If you listen to Dean's interview, he says that some superdelegates have already "voted," and that he wants the rest to "vote" soon. This is not how the superdelegate system works. Dean knows that, The fact is that the superdelegates have only endorsed candidates so far. They vote in Denver. Not before. What they say today does not necessarily constrain their votes in Denver. So, we should expect that, if the race remains close through the summer, both Obama and Clinton will work to "flip" superdelegates

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The Obama Campaign: Consent of, or Contempt for, the People

Expert guest post by Joseph C. Wilson
originally published on Huffington Post

Senator Obama's ill-conceived remarks likening small town Americans to embittered guns-and-God bigots have triggered a justifiable furor. Not only are the remarks insulting, but also factually incorrect.

As it happens, at the same event in San Francisco, Senator Obama made other remarks, equally startling, insulting our Foreign Service, Intelligence Officers, members of Congress who provide oversight, and friendly governments. Like his comments about small town Americans, Obama demonstrated a cavalier disregard for Americans who every day get up determined to make this a better country, whether running the general store in a small town, or representing our national security interests in a foreign country.

This is what Obama said:

Experience in Washington in not knowledge of the world. This I know. When Senator Clinton brags, 'I've met leaders from 80 countries,' I know what those trips are like. I've been on them. You go from the airport to the embassy. There's a group of children who do a native dance. You meet with the C.I.A. station chief and the embassy and they give you a briefing. You go take a tour of a plant that with the assistance of USAID has started something. And then you go.

Obama's arrogance and contempt for career professionals in the national security community is palpable. His contempt reminds me of something Bill Kristol, the editor of the right wing war mongering Weekly Standard, said in a debate with me shortly after the launching of the Iraq War in 2003. We were in Midland, Texas, Laura Bush's home town, and Kristol was asked if he had ever spent time in the Middle East region, to which he responded "I've always believed on the ground experience is highly overrated." That callous disregard for professional expertise and experience is, of course, one of the reasons we so badly miscalculated the consequences of our actions in Iraq. That arrogance is no less offensive coming from Senator Obama. And it is no less wrongheaded.

Foreign Service Officers, Intelligence operatives, and USAID development experts carry out the mandate of our government to represent the interests of the United States, to understand the dynamics in a foreign society so as to better advise our own government on policies to be pursued, and work to improve relations between the United States and the country in question. The world is a dangerous and precarious place, and there are serious issues that constantly need to be engaged with foreign governments. It requires hard work and diligence. We ignore or denigrate that work at our peril.

Senator Obama should know better. After all, in his professional capacity as Chairman of the Senate subcommittee responsible for Europe and NATO, he was in charge of ensuring Congressional oversight of the administration's efforts to generate greater NATO support for operations in Afghanistan. The fact that, by his own admission, he was too busy running for president to convene a single meeting of that subcommittee, should not absolve him of responsibility for acquiring at least some understanding of and respect for the work of career professionals who dedicate their lives to the service of their country.

I was one of those public servants for twenty-three years. My colleagues and I, whether in the Foreign Service, the Military or the Central Intelligence Agency, were and are motivated by a commitment to serve the values that have made this country free and secure, values that are enshrined in our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In exercising our responsibilities, we were careful to ensure that members of Congress were kept abreast and made partners in our efforts to keep America safe. When they visited our posts, we went out of our way to provide substantive briefings, meetings with senior host government officials, trips to USAID projects so elected representatives could see for themselves what the United States was doing to assist citizens of the recipient country improve their lot in life. And yes, there were cultural events, to broaden the perspectives of the visitors and to show respect for the indigenous culture they were being introduced to. Our goal in this was to ensure that those who represent the American people in Congress better understood what we were doing because more knowledge leads to better decisions. Judgment is not intuitive, as Senator Obama asserts; from my hard-won experience as a Foreign Service Officer, that judgment is learned.

Obama has made plain that he is not bothered in the slightest about belittling the work of Foreign Service and CIA Officers serving overseas, often in dangerous circumstances, any more than he is about denigrating Americans from small towns or blaming democrats in Congress, and especially Hillary Clinton, for George W. Bush's war in Iraq. It was not ironic that he made both comments at the same fundraiser in San Francisco. The contempt is consistent.

Trashing Congress, small town Americans, and career national security professionals, while befriending Jeremiah Wright and Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers may be a winning electoral strategy. Who knows? Time will tell. But I suspect that many small town Americans are as offended as my professional colleagues and I by this display of contempt from one who seeks our consent to govern.

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The Media On The Debate

Hillary dominates Philadelphia focus group. "NYDIA HAN: The real take away is this. We now know who won the debate according to our focus group. Take a look. Senator Clinton is the debate winner, at least according to our focus group. 23% believe Senator Obama won while 50% believed Senator Clinton won." [WPVI Post-Debate Analysis, 4/16/08]

ABC News' Rick Klein – 'Clinton is back to the strong presence we saw early in the cycle.' [ABC News Political Radar, 4/16/08]

NBC News' Chuck Todd – Obama 'did not have a good night.' [MSNBC Post-Debate Analysis, 4/16/08]

NBC News' Chuck Todd—Obama's answer on Ayers and the flag 'were simply weak.' "His answer on Ayers and the flag question were simply weak; He seemed unprepared for them; Kinda surprising because he normally has a decent rant against "old politics" and yet "old politics" questions seemed to stump him." [NBC First Read, 4/16/08]

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder – [T]here's no way Obama could fared worse. [The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder, 4/16/08]

Washington Post' Chris Cillizza — Obama 'struggled quite a bit' when asked about Rev. Wright. "…He struggled quite a bit more when asked to answer for Wright, his former pastor." [Washington Post, The Fix, 4/16/08]

New York Times' Katharine Seeyle: Hillary's 'in her element as she goes into details.' "She's becoming expansive, seemingly in her element as she goes into details; Mr. Obama does not look as thrilled to be still standing there." [New York Times, The Caucus, 4/16/08]

Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall – Hillary 'certainly seems more self-assured.' "She certainly seems more self-assured on the Iran question than Obama did. The question of extending an American security umbrella to Israel is very dicey. And he could clearly see he was on delicate territory." [Talking Points Memo, 4/16/08]

Philadelphia Inquirer blog – 'Obama is again less certain, and rambles a bit.' "Obama is again less certain, and rambles a bit when asked about the Washington D.C. gun ban. Gibson asks him to deny that he has ever advocated a complete ban on hand guns in 1996. Obama says no. But whatever the truth, no other answer is possible." [Philadelphia Inquirer Blog, 4/16/08]

NBC News' Matthew Berger – Obama 'tried to have it both ways' with Israel. "Obama's answer on an Iranian attack on Israel tried to seem to have it both ways: highlight his support for Israel but not lock him into treating an attack on Israel like an attack on the U.S. But it may have looked more like a no because it wasn't a firm yes. Clinton's answer seemed more direct." [NBC First Read, 4/16/08]

Surprising, for over a year they have been giving Obama a FREE ride.

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Klein Introduces Bill Ending Blank Checks to Iraq

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Ron Klein (FL-22) today introduced legislation expressing the Sense of House of Representatives that all future funding provided by the United States to the government of Iraq for reconstruction, training for security forces and fuel be provided as a loan, rather than a grant. The legislation also requires the Iraqi government to utilize its own budget surplus for reconstruction projects before reconstruction aid from the United States is spent.

"Whether you support the Iraq war strategy or not, we can all agree that when it comes to the $600 billion in American taxpayer dollars that we have spent over the last five years, enough is enough," Klein said. "The Iraqi government is sitting on the second-largest oil reserve in the world and expecting a multi-billion dollar budget windfall this year, yet the United States continues to finance their reconstruction. This defies common sense. American taxpayers – myself included – are not willing to foot the bill any longer."

Klein's legislation is the House companion to a bipartisan Sense of the Senate resolution introduced last week by Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, Maine Senator Susan Collins and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation is a common-sense proposal to require the Iraqi government to take responsibility for investing in the reconstruction of their own country.

"The United States is spending $339 million a day in Iraq, a figure that should stagger the sensibilities of every American," Klein said. "My colleagues and I are standing up to say that we can no longer continue to pour billions into Iraq at the expense of critical priorities here at home. The amount of money we spend in Iraq each day could house 48,000 homeless veterans, hire over 2,000 new Border Patrol guards for a year or give 2.6 million uninsured Americans access to health care. It is time for real fiscal responsibility, and that means ending the blank checks to Iraq."

In addition, the United States spends $153 million every month on fuel in Iraq, at a cost of approximately $3.23 per gallon; Iraqis pay just $1.30 per gallon for fuel. With the price of oil per barrel continuing to rise, the Iraqi government is expecting a budget windfall this year of up to $60 billion, while at the same time, America is facing growing debt and record deficits. If the Iraqi people and Iraqi government want the U.S. military and the American people to continue to support a stabilization effort, they must stand up and pay for it.

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