ELECTION ‘08: Super Tuesday a la Marzo March 4, 2008
Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont and Texas are on the line.
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- McCain won Texas and RI, so he’s the presumptive GOP nominee. I danced a dance of utter blissfulness that Mike Huckabee has dropped out of the race.
- Obama was called to win Vermont
- Clinton was called to win Rhode Island
- Obama is leading in Texas and the Clinton’s campaign is whining about caucuses. Again.
- Clinton is leading in Ohio and the networks say it’s too close to call.
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The Clinton campaign has moved the firewall back, as I said they would. So now it’s not TX and OH that’ll mark the end of the game, Terry Macauliffe was on TV talking about Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Wyoming. Despite the fact that there’s no mathematical way for her to catch up to Obama in the delegates.
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On MSNBC, Noron (that’s Norah O’Donnell) said that Democratic voters in Ohio said that race did play a role in their votes. 81% of them voted for Clinton.
Wait, she said that 81% of people in Ohio who said that race was important voted for Clinton, seriously? And on a scale of importance, how important was it? And were all of these people in Van Wert, Greene and similar freaking counties?
BTW, my mom didn’t vote today. She has never missed an election, for as long as I’ve been alive. But this was the first time there was an ice storm and she just couldn’t do it. They expect the schools back home to be closed tomorrow. I have no idea how mom is getting to work in the morning.
Yep. 8 out of 10 people who said that race was a factor in their vote, voted for Clinton.
I’m sorry your mom missed voting. I’ve only missed one election in my life (a June primary, because of freakin’ YearlyKos) and it still hurts. YK was so not worth me missing a vote. HA!
This is shaping up to be a very frustrating night. I’ve sat and watched Obama’s Texas lead dwindle down to practically nothing.
Word is she’s winning the rural areas, but Obama is winning the cities.
It’s unclear which places have yet to show their results. Talk is that Obama might get a boost if some of the urban areas are late in their returns.
Ohio doesn’t look good right now. If he looses, I hope he at least gets it down to single digits.
Let’s all HOPE that Obama holds on to win Texas. It will save everyone a ton of headaches.
It’s frayed nerves all around. I wish there was some movement in TX and OH, it would make me feel better.
Things are dicey here in the Lone Star State. Quick update on my precinct caucus–Hillary got 6 delegates and Obama 5. That’s delegates to the county convention, and the county convention elects delegates to the state convention, and that’s where the final national delegates are elected.
Anyway, I heard on NPR that the exit poll numbers indicated that approximately 30% of the Dem turnout was Hispanic, and that’s not good news for Obama.
I’ve lit several candles and am praying for a good outcome in Texas.
I anticipated this on my blog: http://reachblack.blogspot.com/2008/03/remember-what-about-math.html
If you find yourself in a debate with a Clinton supporter. If you find yourself disoriented because of all of the Clinton spin. Just stop . . . take a deep breath . . . and ask . . .
WHAT ABOUT THE MATH?
It’s as simple as that folks. Ask that question and DEMAND that they give you a plausible game plan wherein Hillary can comeback and take the delegate lead without:
1. Seating the MI and FL delegates after the DNC specifically said that they would not count; and
2. Using super delegates to reverse the will of the people.
If they can’t do that, then DEMAND that they tell you EXACTLY why Hillary Clinton should stay in the race knowing that every attack she makes from here forward will do no more than add ammunition for the Republican party.
Beware! You will be called a “hater.” You will be called arrogant. Don’t be swayed. At the end of the theatrics and philosophical talk about “swing states,” and “big states,” just ask, “WHAT ABOUT THE MATH?”
And if someone should create some outlandish (although mathematically possible) scenario. Get it in writing. Send it to everyone news outlet you know. And DEMAND that the media hold her to that standard!
Stop moving the goal posts!
B-Serious, I will regroup, but right now I am disgusted and depressed over the Texas vote. Just when I thought my fellow Texans could see through Hillary’s blatant bullshit, I find out that many Democrats here are suffering from the deficiencies that afflicted all those those voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004.
Okay, here’s what I really don’t get, do voters understand that when you let negative ads win (3am calls, WTF?) you set the narrative for the fall. Doesn’t matter if it’s Clinton or Obama (better be Obama), the reality is that the Right-Wing sound machine is going to use the same tactics because, apparently, they worked in the primary!!
I just can’t believe this.
Bendygirl, I totally agree with you, but what you say goes a step further. These kinds of tactics do more than set the narrative for the fall–they set the narrative for a possible Hillary administration. On my personal ranting space (aka my blog), I have been saying for months that Hillary is no different than George W. Bush. She has been using the same tactics and techniques in this campaign. And what Bush did in his campaigns is exactly how he has done things throughout his administration. What Hillary has done in this campaign shows her true nature and how she will do things if elected, and it amazes me that so many people either do not see or refuse to see that.
I’ve always wondered why negative ads work. I wonder this because when you see say an alka seltzer commercial, they try to make you think that it’s going to make you feel better. When Pepsi tries to get you to buy their new diet drink it’s because it’s going to make you feel good about you. So, why would the pack of wolves or 3am phone call make you want to vote for someone? It seems counter intuitive, but for some reason it works. Are we simply wired differently?
The other thing I don’t get is…was Texas a closed primary state the way Ohio is? She seems to do best when they are closed primaries. In Ohio, you can’t even change party affiliation at the polls.
Today, I’m just so unhappy with my homestate. So, very unhappy.
Texas is not a truly closed primary state. A person can vote in either primary, but can only vote in one primary. In other words, a person can show up at the polling place and choose whether to vote in either primary. I don’t know any Republicans who “crossed over” to vote in the Dem primary, and my guess is that very few did so across the state.
So, independents could have voted? They can’t in Ohio. And when I lived there, i’s had to register as a D or R 30 days out to be able to vote in a primary for a given party.
“So, independents could have voted?”
Yes. The exit polls show that 25% of those voting in the Dem primary were independents, and Obama got 49% of their votes while Hillary got 48%.
Also, Republicans constituted 9% of the total. Obama edged out Hillary among Republicans 53%-46%.
So, for Hillary supporters who want to argue that Hillary could win Texas in November, the numbers indicate that Obama would do better among independents and Republicans.
And another thing to consider about the Republican votes for Hillary…Rush Limbaugh was urging Republicans in Texas to vote for Hillary. And today as I was eating lunch in a restaurant, I overheard some Republicans talking about that, and while none of them did that, one of them said he knew some Republicans who did–just because Rush said to.
Hillary won Texas because of the Latino vote. Latinos were 32% of the total, and Hillary got 66% of the Latino vote.