Normalizing Hillary: Connect the Vote Dots

Besides PUMAs, Just Say No Deal Coalition members, and those who have been paying close attention to the 2008 primary process, everyone in the US and some people abroad think that: Obama won the Democratic Primary; therefore, he secured the nomination; and he is being gracious by allowing Clinton’s name to be placed in nomination at the Democratic Convention.

In fact, the Obama and Clinton campaigns issued a joint statement on August 14, 2008 about it, and we have achieved a small victory. Or as Heidi Li Feldman puts it, we’re where we were in the first place. (Oh, forgive me: as Barbra WaWa might say: Were where we whah in the furst pwace.) The MSM is all over the story, asking if we disgruntled old ladies, gays, and republicrats are satisfied now? They claim that we’re just sore losers, and that we want Clinton’s name on the ballot because of her historic win as a woman. They’re touting it as symbolic. It’s not symbolic; it’s normal!

In fact, we are sore winners! Neither candidate won the requisite number of pledged delegates. Instead (rolling eyes, PUMAs repeating themselves, ad infinitum), Nancy Nine Percent Pelosi and Harry Reticent Reed pressured the Democratic Superdelegates to endorse a candidate prior to Denver. This act in turn defies their true purpose: to nominate the candidate who can win POTUS in November. In 2008, there are 855 Superdelegates with FL and MI according to Connect-the-Dots. CNN says it’s 825. Over 200 are uncommitted. Any SD can change their vote through the first ballot in Denver, no matter who they or their state or district endorsed.

Didn’t Hillary run on the assertion that she was the only Democratic candidate who could win the Electoral College in November? The virtual Nobama/McCain dead heat in the polls proves that she wasn’t lyin’, despite Obamamoneys-raised, European jaunts, and a vacay away from the barely investigative, mostly fawning MSM spotlight.

The Obama/DNC presumption is that it’s all a done deal. To dispel any doubts, Invesco Field/Mile High Stadium was booked as the site for what our movement, (and back in the day, Jesse Jackson) calls a coronation. Let’s be clear:

From CNN’s count, we see that neither candidate had the requisite 2,118 pledged delegates as of June 3 to clinch the nomination. Obama had 1763, Clinton had 1640, a 123 delegate lead for BO. It is difficult to find an accurate vote count that shows Hillary Clinton won the most popular votes of any primary candidate in history. Why? Real Clear Politics has Clinton at 18,046,007, Obama at 17,869,542, including MI and FL, with estimates for IA, NV, ME, and WA. There, Clinton nets +176,465 votes.

1. Why does popular vote matter when everyone keeps hammering on the delegate totals? Delegate counts are inconsistent, uneven reflections of the will of the voters, because they include caucuses. Caucuses represent far fewer voters than primaries, yet delegates selected in that process carry more weight.

Worse yet is the impact on the delegate count. While [as of 5/31/08] 2549 delegates earned in the primaries represent an average of 12,225 voters, in the caucuses each of the 515 delegates elected represents a mere 2,110 votes. Each caucus vote, then, is weighted 5.8 times greater than each primary vote when it comes to allocating delegates.

2. Why don’t PUMAs admit that Obama won more caucuses, which is why he won and Hillary lost, and stop changing the rules? In 2008, there are substantiated reports of caucus fraud. Please read Dr. Lynette Long’s research who concludes: “the Obama campaign willfully and intentionally defrauded the American public by systematically undermining the caucus process.”

3. If Obama now has enough delegates when SDs are included, why isn’t he simply the nominee? Superdelegates are party officials — both elected and un-elected. They can vote for whomever they wish at their Convention, regardless of their states’ vote, to make sure the most-electable Democrat becomes the nominee.

4. Why am I still writing about this, when Obama and Clinton agreed on 8/14/08 that Hillary’s name will be placed on the Convention ballot and up for a roll call vote? Because, it should have been automatic, as in every election since 1884. None of the other candidates came anywhere near Clinton, yet it’s a “negotiation”? Look at all these guys who were nominated, without even coming close to their opponents in delegate count. Courtesy of EdgeOfForever:

1972: Ted Kennedy – 12 votes on first ballot
Kennedy had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.

1976: Ted Kennedy – 1 vote on first ballot
Kennedy had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.

1980: Jimmy Carter – 1981 delegates
Ted Kennedy – 1225 delegates
Uncommitted – 122
Kennedy had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.

1984: Jesse Jackson – 465 votes
Jackson had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.

1988: Jesse Jackson – 1218 votes
Jackson had no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.

2004: John Kerry: 2192.5 Pledged delegates
Howard Dean: 114.5 Pledged delegates
Dean had already dropped out, with no chance of winning, but his name was placed in nomination.

2008: Barack Obama: 1766.5 Pledged delegates
Hillary Clinton: 1639.5 Pledged delegates

5. Who are the delegates, and why shouldn’t they just go along with the DNC’s choice, Barack Obama? Delegates are elected by their grassroots supporters to go to the Democratic convention as representatives of the total votes cast in their state’s districts. Although they each may represent thousands of HRC voters, they can just change their votes as if we, the US voters, are not even in the picture! According to CNN,

Pledged delegates are not actually bound to vote for the candidate. Consequently, candidates are allowed on a state-by-state basis to review lists of delegates who have pledged their support and can delete anyone whose support they consider unreliable.

Surprise you? This could account for the DNC’s treatment of Clinton delegate, Sacha Millstone, or even what happened in Florida right after June 3, when Obama’s campaign began replacing his elected delegates with their own. I’m still not getting how someone who represents your, or my, or anyone’s vote could be intimidated into changing it and have that be part of the deal. Our deal. You know, the one we get as citizens. The deal, the one true thing we’ve got in this country that our guys and all those Iraqis are supposedly dying for and about. That democracy one person one vote representative thing.

6. How can the DNC represent the will of the people, if the delegates are pressured to support Obama as if he is the nominee, and they are afraid to publicly declare otherwise? How can there be “unity” if Hillary Clinton is allowed to be booed unchecked at even one of his events? DNC chairs and party officials, and delegates are being intimidated and threatened to not cast THEIR votes for Hillary Clinton. These are not THEIR votes. These votes are OURS. The delegates are merely our proxies. If not us, who DO they represent? How is this representative government?

Whether you agree or disagree, please learn about the process. Watch this three-part series, Democrats ’08: CONNECT-THE-DOTS, with Host Leslie Stevens. The program is sponsored by The Educational Foundation for the Integrity of the Democratic Process, Asheville, North Carolina. Bloggers, please post it! Readers, email it to friends and family.

[Connect-the-Dots Part 1]

[Connect-the-Dots Part 2]

[Connect-the-Dots Part 3]

Have you connected the dots? That’s why we’re not satisfied. It’s about the process being fair and reflecting the will of the voters. And, you can help!!! Call or email your delegates or any that you know. Ask them to sign the 300 delegate petition to ensure that Hillary’s name is placed in nomination. This petition was created by and for delegates. Email: hrc300delegates@yahoo.com.

Still, we’re not ready to make nice. . . .

[160 Years and Still Waiting — Rise Hillary Rise by DemocracyDame]

h/t to DemocracyDame for “Connect-the-Dots” lead and her video above.

Let Hillary Hear From You Now!

“What does Hillary want? What does she want?” she asked us last night. She wants to know if and how we will support her.

What do you, one of 18 million who voted for her, want her to do? Write to Hillary! Right now! Tell Senator Clinton how much you appreciate what she has already accomplished, and let her know what you think she should do going forward. Oh, and please add to the collection plate while you’re at it.

And what will you do? Will you continue to support her? Should she take it to the Convention? Should she concede? Should she contest at the Credentials Committee the DNC RBC’s decision to rob her of votes? Should she be VP? (See Lanny Davis’ campaign: http://www.womenforfairpolitics.com.) Should she start a third party? Should she suspend her campaign and reserve her delegates? Should there be a vote on the Convention floor? Should she end her campaign now, this week? Should there be investigations of alleged improprieties reportedly pushed on voters by Obama supporters and operatives at caucuses and polling places? Should the Superdelegates put their endorsements to the side and see what happens between now and the Convention? Should she endorse Obama? Will she wait to see what falls out of Obama’s closet between now and Denver? Is the Electorate College electable?

And just last week, in light of Scott McClelland’s new Bush bashing book, the MSM gave two seconds of regret that they did not do their jobs leading up to the war. Yet again, they have seriously failed in their vetting of Obama, and given a pass to an untested candidate in crucial and dangerous times. In an election year when “we” Dems were a shoe-in to win. McCain, Karl Rove, and Fox News are just beginning to ramp it up, and I can feel the tidal wave of what’s approaching. The Repubs DO NOT WANT TO RUN AGAINST HILLARY. Again, and I’ll keep repeating it, Superdelegates can change their minds anytime up to the Convention.

Hillary has often told the electorate that she didn’t envy our decision as voters. What decisions she must face as she weighs her options within a party whose members have mostly turned their backs on her, refusing to defend her in light of unprecedented sexist, misogynist, race-baiting attacks from all corners. How they have blocked her at every turn, all the while stealing her votes, her thunder, and her record. How we all mourned when Al Gore wimped out in Y2K and didn’t take the strong stand we needed so desperately at the time. But when the Party got an experienced fighter and uniter, they conspired to take her down. And if she stayed and fought for the 18 million of us, would the MSM and Party babies cry out and magnify to the rest of the world, including the villages of Kenya, that “an entitled white woman” has stolen the election that in truth was stolen from her by an “historic black candidate” in a fancy table cloth trick?

I can only imagine the pressure she’s feeling from Pelosi and Reid et al, as their must decide immediately letter circulates through our hollowed halls of government. How many of them no longer exist for me? And yet, what can Hillary do without them in the reality of corporate power schemes? Oh, right, she vowed to investigate corporate power. Hmmm. New politics, my foot.

For all that she has stood up to, I’m fine with her taking her sweet time to weigh her options, considering the position she is in. I’m even finer seeing her make the MSM and Democrats squirm in their seats, crap and all. Hillary Clinton has won the big states, the swing states, and garnered the most popular votes of any US Presidential Primary candidate in history. Hold strong, Hillary! We’ve got your back.

INFO RE: Count Every Vote Rally, May 31, 2008

Click the banner above and scroll down page to sign up.

Rally Info from Count Every Vote

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When: May 31st – We will meet at 7 am and rally until around 4 pm.

Where: Outside the Marriott-Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Rd, NW in Washington D.C.

Download the info below, plus subway map dnc-rbc-rally (Word doc)

Download PDF rally-site-maps

DNC RBC Rally Schedule
Saturday May 31, 2008
7:00 a.m. Arrive at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
6:30 a.m. Set up of the stage and sound system begins (should be done by 7:30 a.m.)
9:15 a.m. People move to the park space
9:45 a.m. The speakers start and speak until the RBC meeting is over at which point we will move back in front of the hotel

There will be a few breaks in here. Rally may not last as long as meeting—meeting could go later. Some speakers will speak again at noon when the RBC breaks for lunch

Important Information
Please READ and CIRCULATE to your travelers

Where and When to Meet:

• 7:00 a.m. May 31, 2008

• In front of the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel
2660 Woodley Road, NW
Washington, District Of Columbia 20008 USA

The Closest Subway Stop: Woodley Park- Zoo/ Adams Morgan (this is on the red line)

What to Wear:

• RED, WHITE and BLUE
• Please do NOT wear Hillary gear.
• Bring rain gear: umbrellas and jackets.
• Bring bottled water – its going to be a long day!
• Dress Cool—it’s going to be hot! Wear hats.

Where will the speeches be held?

In the park space indicated on the maps (download above).

Talking Points
• We believe that the DNC must honor our core democratic principles and enfranchise the people of MI and FL and their respective delegations.
• We believe that Hillary Clinton is best for our party, most likely to win in November and best for our country.
• We believe the contest for the democratic nomination must not end before all of the votes from each State and US Territory have been cast and counted and that nominating conventions, not candidates (or the media), declare the nominee.
• We believe that the media and DNC have underestimated the passion, strength, intensity and determination of women voters and the power of the women’s vote.

Rules:
• We are not going to be disruptive; we are not going to break any rules or laws.
• If approached by the press, we are optimistic and are rallying in support of the founding principle of the right to vote. We are not protesting or demonstrating. We have a deep and abiding love of our country and are looking to create unity. Please always maintain an optimistic and energetic tone.
• No one is allowed to go on hotel property unless you have a room in the hotel or credentials to the meeting. If you step onto the hotel property and neither of these criteria apply to you, you will be asked to leave.
• Watch out of rough behavior and please ignore it if possible. If you see someone acting rough or violent, please ask a nearby police officer to remove that individual.
• Any Count Every Vote rally-goer who is perceived to be acting or speaking violently will be asked to leave.
• We are peaceful, law-abiding folk who love our country and its democratic values.

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Recommended Slogans for Sign Making

“Bring DEMOCRACY back to the DEMOCRAtic Party!!”

“Count Every Vote”

“Count Florida NOW”

“Count Michigan NOW”

“Women Count”

“50-48=NO YOU CAN’T”

“Every Vote Must Count”

“Um, we’re copying the GOP?”

“Penalize Date Movers, NOT VOTERS”

“I’m mad at my teacher. He taught me there were 50 states.”

Rove’s Just Getting Started

May 29, 2008–Karl Rove’s op-ed piece, Obama’s Revisionist History, in today’s Wall Street Journal is a mini-appetizer, a teeny, tiny fraction of the vast “kitchen sink” that Republicans will throw at Barack Obama if he is the Democratic Presidential nominee. He covers Rev. Wright (that flap’s obviously not over), Obama’s backpedaling on his foreign policy gaffes about meetings he’d have unconditionally with rogue leaders, and his ever-changing family history.

By October, Mr. Obama was backpedaling, talking about needing “some progress or some indication of good faith,” and by April, “sufficient preparation.” It got so bad his foreign policy advisers were (falsely) denying he’d ever said he’d meet with Mr. Ahmadinejad – even as he still defended his original pledge to have meetings without precondition.

The list goes on. Mr. Obama’s problem is a campaign that’s personality-driven rather than idea-driven. Thus incidents calling into question his persona and character can have especially devastating consequences.

Stripped of his mystique as a different kind of office seeker, he could become just another liberal politician – only one who parses, evades, dissembles and condescends. That narrative is beginning to take hold. If those impressions harden into firm judgments, Mr. Obama will have a very difficult time in November.

Oy vey! It’s a very sad day in Boomerville when a (former?) lifelong Dem could agree with Karl Rove (or FOX News), but I’ll say it anyway: What he said. . . And more, but we know that’s coming.

Isn’t it clear that Democrats should choose (well, over 17 million already have) the “idea-driven” candidate?

Why Even Have A Convention?

By Jay S. Jacobs, Nassau County, NY, Democratic Chairman, Pledged Hillary Delegate

I finally get it. After more than 33 million votes cast in 51 primaries and caucuses over five months of intense campaigning and media scrutiny, with 3167 delegates having been elected, apparently, no one ever intended for there to be a “nominating” convention. Not the politicians, not the pundits, not the press. Just the people – they thought that they were getting a nominating convention.

I always figured that the nominating convention was to actually nominate the candidate who garnered the most support among Democrats. A bonus would be if that candidate was, as well, able to get elected in the general election. Well, while we can argue about whether or not Hillary or Barack have the most popular votes (depending upon which states you chose to include or exclude), there is no question but that Hillary has garnered more Democratic votes. The exit polling in states with open primaries demonstrates that. But that is not what this contest has ever been about. From the beginning, at least with many in the press and politics, it’s been all about getting rid of Hillary Clinton – any way possible – as quickly as possible. Maximize and emphasize her short comings, minimize her assets and attributes. Overplay her failures, downplay her successes.

The reality has been getting clearer with each passing day but really crystallized with Hillary’s universally criticized reference to Robert Kennedy’s assassination in June of 1968. Hillary was using an example for historical reference, among others, in response to critics who want her to drop out (“this thing has been going on for way too long”). She pointed out that there were many examples of contested races continuing into the summer. The condemnation was loud and swift and, typical for this year’s primary season, equally ridiculous.

Hillary broke the cardinal rule of today’s politics. Even utter a phrase that can be remotely connected to something offensive and, presto, the press finds it offensive (with a little help from your opponent). While Hillary’s reference was merely historical, the anti-Clinton press and Obama campaign became hysterical. How dare she reference such a tragedy? The press and Obama campaign emphasized how offensive this was in light of the legitimate concerns over Obama’s safety, as if referencing an historical fact somehow increases that threat. How crass can they become in trying to run someone out of this race?

For months there has been a constant drum beat to get Hillary out of the race. It started after Iowa. It gets louder and then quieter depending upon the outcome of ongoing contests. When Hillary loses or doesn’t exceed the pundit’s expectations, the calls are deafening. When Hillary wins or exceeds expectations (oops, that has never happened) the “political experts” pipe down for a bit finding clever ways to minimize the success. “It’s too little, too late”, we’re constantly told. “There’s no clear path to victory” for her. “It’s a mathematical improbability.”

After Hillary won Indiana (by too small a margin) and Obama won North Carolina (“convincingly”) Tim Russert and others anointed Obama the “presumptive” nominee. With neither having obtained the requisite majority of total delegates, with hundreds of delegates yet to be elected or having not declared their intentions, with hundreds of other “Super Delegates” having chosen but free to reverse their choice, the pundits are telling the public that it was over. Yet, we had to wait until 1:15 AM for the Mayor of Gary, Indiana to release Lake County’s votes in order to be sure, unlikely, though it was, that those votes would not overturn what looked like a Clinton victory before CNN and others would “declare” Indiana for her. On that remote possibility we had to wait – but on the off chance that the remaining contests and remaining “Super Delegates” would turn smart pundits into not so smart pundits – for that there is a mad rush to end this thing and avoid that uncomfortable inconvenience.

Let’s not overlook Hillary’s 41 point landslide a week later in West Virginia followed the next week by a 36 point “thumping” in Kentucky. Oh, yes, of course, that’s just Appalachia – that shouldn’t really count, after all.

So, I would like to know from the real “deciders” if now is not the right circumstance to take a contest to a convention, under just what scenario is it the right circumstance? When you have two excellent candidates, divided by just a hundred thousand votes or so after 33 million have voted, with 150 delegates between them, more than 3600 having been decided, neither having attained the requisite number to declare a win, isn’t that what a convention is supposed to be for? And, if the answer is “no” than I’d like to hear when the answer would be “yes.”

And, if the answer is that there really isn’t ever a time that we would want to take a contest to a convention, might I suggest that we just dispense with the whole thing and save everybody a lot of time and money. If it’s a coronation we want, why not just plan a huge rally, say, on the waterfront on a hot day in Portand, Oregon. Maybe we can bring in a few rock bands – let’s get Bon Jovi and Springsteen and a couple of local bands to warm up the act. Even better, in keeping with the sophistication and spirit of how it seems we’re conducting our elections these days, why not ask Howard Dean to step aside for that event in favor of Ryan Seacrest?

Posted by permission of the author.