By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

This Ras poll of Mississippi, which holds a primary on Tuesday, is startling and sobering:

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

So we are celebrating "democracy" in Wyoming today. The "will of the people?" Not hardly. Another travesty of the Democratic Party.

Do you know that if 8,000 voters come out in Wyoming today to select their 13 delegates that means that 615 Wyomingians will be selecting a delegate to our national convention (8000 divided by 13.) By contrast, when 4.4 million Californians voted in their primary, they selected 370 delegates, which is to say 1 delegate for every 11,892 Californian who voted.

The will of the people? Please never mention that phrase again when discussing the pledged delegate count.

By Big Tent Democrat

Here is the transcript of the Carville (a Clinton supporter) v. Wilhelm (an Obama supporter) discussion of funding and holding redo primaries in Michigan and Florida. As you can see, Wilhelm is utterly on the defensive and Carville is relishing the role of urging counting the votes. This dynamic will dominate this issue. The key parts of the transcript on the flip:

As expected, President Bush today vetoed the bill banning water boarding.

"This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe," the president said.

beating, electrocuting, burning, using dogs... stripping detainees [or] forcing them to perform or mimic sexual acts

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

Via Jerome Armstrong, Donna Brazile is at it again, this time arguing against do-over primaries AND seating the Michigan delegation in a March 7 column:

With two-thirds of the primary contests already completed, the DNC cannot allow the Florida and Michigan delegates to decide the nomination. It would be wrong. And it would be dangerous.

. . . I suggest that these two states avoid any "do-over" contests. The voters have spoken. While Obama may not like the results in Michigan, where his name didn't appear on the ballot, I have a hard time ignoring the Florida results, where his name did. More important, a do-over would send a terrible message to states already thinking about moving their primary or caucus forward in 2012 or, heaven forbid, 2011. After all, the reason the party came down hard last year was to avoid a primary being held before the winter holidays.

The Democratic state party chair in Michigan says the Barack Obama campaign has rejected the idea of a "firehouse primary." The proposal would have included:

Polls would be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and any eligible voter who hadn't voted in the state's Jan. 15 Republican primary could participate. The voter must be a citizen who turns 18 by the November election and declares himself or herself a Democrat for the day.

On Obama's rejection:

Obama's campaign doesn't like the idea, said Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer. "That's what I've been told by his campaign, but it's not my place to inquire about motivations," said Brewer, who said he thinks a do-over primary has serious financial and logistical problems.

Update [2008-3-8 11:48:12 by Big Tent Democrat]: Just as significant is the fact that Carville announces that Clinton camp will raise 15MM for new primaries and challenges Obama camp to do same:

By Big Tent Democrat

Nah. But first what he said and why it does not mean he will not be a VP candidate. From ABC:

Q: Could you ever see yourself on the same ticket as Senator Clinton?

A: Well, you know, I think it’s premature. You won’t see me as a vice presidential candidate -- you know, I’m running for president. . . [W]hat I’m really focused on right now, because all that stuff is premature, is winning this nomination and changing the country. . . .

What is Obama doing here? Pushing back on Hillary Clinton's broad hints that she will pick Obama as her VP. Why is Clinton doing that? To give the impression you can get Obama and still vote for her. That is aimed not only at voters but, and I think much more importantly, also at Super Delegates. Obama needs to push back against this idea as it hurts him in his pursuit of the nomination. This has a danger for Obama though, it might make it seem he cares more about himself than the Democratic Party.

I am fine with what he is doing, but he needs a more ambiguous answer. Suggestion for Obama - "I do not see myself running for VP."

Update [2008-3-8 11:38:20 by Big Tent Democrat]:Media does not bite:

By Big Tent Democrat

Because most of the Left blogs are too busy bemoaning the fact that Samantha Power had to leave the Obama campaign for making, to them, the not unreasonable statement that Hillary Clinton is a monster (no they have not gone off the deep end have they?), you are not likely to see much reporting on the fact that Canada Only Got A NAFTA Briefing From An Obama Advisor:

[Canadian] PMO: Officials only got briefing from Obama campaign

OTTAWA — Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton never gave Canada any secret assurances about the future of NAFTA such as those allegedly offered by Barack Obama's campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office said Friday.

. . . After being asked whether Canadian officials asked for — or received — any briefings from a Clinton campaign representative outlining her plans on NAFTA, a spokeswoman for the prime minister offered a response Friday.

"The answer is no, they did not," said Harper spokeswoman Sandra Buckler.

After a few days of great interest, conspiracy theories and excitement, most Left blogs have to remember to forget this story again. It hurts Obama again, so it must be forgotten.

By Big Tent Democrat

"I just have to mention this because I don't want anybody here to be confused," Mr. Obama said. "I was opposed to this war in 2002. If it had been up to me we would have never been in this war. It was because of George Bush with an assist from Hillary Clinton and John McCain that we entered into this war." Under Mr. Obama's rules, the attack does not violate his pledge to wage a new type of politics because it revolves around a specific issue, like Iraq.

NYTimes

I want to be clear on this - I understand that pols have to engage in "negative" attacks. Because they work. Pols do what they do. But I can not stand the false conceit that any pol, including Obama, is going to usher in an era of "new politics." They can't. He can't. He is just mendacious about this. Heck, how about this from the same article: [More...]

By Big Tent Democrat

Jay Cost of Real Clear Politics has a learned piece on what is wrong with the Democratic nomination system. It provides a strong basis for questioning the new CW that the pledged delegate lead is the designed be all and end all for choosing the nominee. My earlier take is here. As for Cost's piece, I will skip the social science, and get to what I deem the heart of the argument:

The problem for the Democrats might seem small at first. Obama has won about 53% of the delegates, and about 51% of the popular vote. That is a pretty small difference. The problem is that the difference is systemic. The nominating system seems to contain several biases that favor Obama.

. . . Voters in larger states are not as well represented as voters in smaller states. Thus, the states form a band that move from the bottom-left to the top-right. Look carefully at it, and you'll notice a curiosity. States at the top of the band are almost always strong Kerry states, while the states at the bottom are almost always strong Bush states. This implies that Bush states are better represented at the convention than Kerry states, independent of population.

MORE . . .

With eyes on Wyoming -- Cheney country -- tomorrow, this seemed appropriate. Especially since "Unqualified support for the 2nd Amendment is the second item" of the Wyoming Democratic party's platform.

Wyoming caucuses convene tomorrow morning. 12 delegates are at stake. Hillary, Bill, Chelsea and Barack Obama all have campaigned there this week, with Hillary and Obama each making two appearances today.

Denver's Rocky Mountain News had reporters live-blogging the appearances all day and evening.

They drew large crowds and while Obama is expected to win the caucus vote, Hillary should make a decent showing.

One joke Obama didn't tell today: the one about Cheney being his cousin. A story about Hillary that did come out through one of those introducing her: Hillary has eaten reindeer.

Wyoming is pure Cheney country. The chances of the Dems taking it in November are nil. But, it's exciting to see both Hillary, Obama, Bill and Chelsea in western mode.

Update: The reindeer story below: