[Sugarberry]

Originally Posted by Nabisco007

their reasons for supporting Hilary...

supporting isnt that much different from supporting Obama...and its very likely that those two will come together on the same ticket. The only real difference is one is a woman and one is a man.

[jinnzaman]

Originally Posted by Sugarberry

I dont believe that.

but I still cant give up on the voting process....its like giving up on Hope.

I'm not giving up on hope. I never said stop challenging hegemony. I'm just saying that you can't challenge hegemony by the system that it advocates. The system that hegemony advocates to address it is obviously never going to undermine it. It will always end up reinforcing it. Until we understand how hegemony operates, its strengths and its weaknesses, then we'll never understand how to overthrow it.

Vote, by all means, vote. But recognize the limitations of voting in general and recognize the limitations of a religious group that makes less than 1% of the population and is extremely hated by the host group.

Real change, the kind that breaks down the Berlin wall, that ends colonialism, that brings resources to poor nations, that brings justice to the oppressed, will always come from outside of the system of hegemony. You have to think outside of the system and explore alternatives and thats what I am doing and thats what I would advise others to do.

[shadha]

GOT5: radicalism is your feminazi beliefs.
and being opposed to naming your kids european names, is not radicalism.


One would think that your hands would be too tired from your daily solo games to post such crap all the time.

sugar: remember those muslims that supported bush....biggest bunch of kiss-assesss if i ever did see.

I really wonder how they feel now, seeing the outcome of it all.


shadha-

[Variable]

Super Tuesday!

[MoonStar]

So I wasn't allowed to vote today.

It turns out when I first registered to vote years ago, I didn't pick a party. So last month I filled out the forms to change to Democrat, but they said it takes a full year for them to change it. They said I can vote in November but not today. My brother can't vote either for the same reason.

[Purple_alien]

Okay, so I happily skipped into my little sister's former school with the intention to place my vote. I go, sign my name, still happy and gay. Give the lady my little ticket and proceed into the booth. The Democratic candidates came up, and I was like um, no. I stepped out and told them I wasn't like that and it was a BIG thing. People staring and everything. I mean, I, a Black person in a Black Democratic town announced I was a Republican. Apparently, they have me down as a Democrat. They once told me I was a democrat because I voted for Kerry, but then, I was young and dumb. Well, they were like, either vote democratic or don't vote. So I voted for a Democrat It hurt my heart. I immediately called my mom and complained and she was like, good for you. (She thinks my political affiliation is crazy) I got home and called the Republican offices in my county and the guy said he would send me a form to change my affilation. He also told me they probably shouldn't have assumed I was a democrat when I voted in a primary a few years back. I mean, I didn't care who I was voting for, just did it to seem important. InshaAllah, THIS won't happen again.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

well here in IL we have an open primary. you can choose to vote either dem or repug by just telling them. they ask you which party, and then they give you a ballot.

we also had a choice between paper ballots and electronic ballots. because of the diebold scandals, and i just dont trust bill clinton in trying to fix the election, i went with a paper ballot. it wasnt a punch hole ballot either. it was a really big and looong paper ballot and you take a marker and strike a line next to the name of the candidate. i went with the democrats and voted for obama, because the mayor of chicago was saying it was important for the delagates. in fact, since it is just a party election, you can even split your ticket in voting for the number of delegates that a candidate can get. you can vote for upto 8 delegates. i voted all 8 for obama, because very simply i dont think that hillary can win in november.

in fact, one reporter was on tv saying that say for example, one candidate gets 60% and another gets 40% of the popular vote, the number of delegates gets split evenly between the two. ron paul sounds great and all, but i believe so strongly that the repugs cannot win in november, that the only important issue right now is to pick a democratic candidate who can beat the repugs in november, and that sure as hell aint hillary, its obama.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

but even though i voted in the democratic primary, it wasnt a total loss for me. here in chicago the real election is the democratic primary. whoever wins the primary election is all but garunteed to win in the november election. you can thank the precint captains and party ward bosses for that. there's a guy running for county state's attorney who got a big endorsement by jessie jackson jr, even appearing in his campaign commericals, promising to investigate police misconduct. and living in such a crooked and corrupt city and county like i do, especially in their harrassments of minorities (like myself) that's very important to me. and to make things even better, i got to vote for my congressman, danny davis of chicago's west side. this guy is really great, and does a great job for muslim's and muslim issues, palestine, iraq, pakistan, etc. he even campaigns at our mosques and even used to campaign on eid namaz, after they stopped inviting all those politicians.

Obama Red-State Strength May Answer Clinton Lead in Strongholds

Julianna Goldman
Tue Feb 5, 12:06 AM ET

To contact the reporter on this story: Julianna Goldman in Lawrence, Kansas, at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Kansas hasn't backed a Democrat for U.S. president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Governor Kathleen Sebelius says Barack Obama may break that streak.

``People are clearly willing to vote outside their party lines if they believe in the vision and in the person,'' Sebelius, who endorsed Obama last week, said in an interview. Obama brings in voters from all parties and is encouraging young people to ``come to the table as Democrats,'' she said.

As Democratic voters in 22 states go to the polls today, Obama's support in Republican-leaning ``Red States'' will give him more ammunition to challenge Senator Hillary Clinton for a majority of the 1,681 delegates at stake, experts say. Obama, 46, of Illinois, who last week was rated the Senate's most liberal member by National Journal magazine, is favored to win most of the five Republican strongholds -- Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Colorado and Kansas -- holding caucuses.

In recent weeks, Obama has snared endorsements from numerous Red State Democratic officeholders. In addition to Sebelius, 59, he's backed by Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Tim Johnson of South Dakota, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.

`Fertile Ground'

The response to Obama's campaign in the Republican-leaning states reflects the enthusiasm the candidate has sparked as much as any nuts-and-bolts effort to get out the vote.

Last week, with the temperature at 18 below zero, 180 students at the University of North Dakota ignored warnings about setting foot outside on the coldest night of the year and packed into a coffee shop for an Obama event with actor Dule Hill.

Obama's campaign has invested time and money in caucus states like Kansas, Alaska and North Dakota in an effort to bring new people into the process from across demographic and party lines, his aides say. Clinton, 60, of New York and other recent Democratic presidential hopefuls haven't.

``It's very fertile ground for us,'' Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy campaign manager, said of states holding caucuses, where some 13 percent of delegates will be chosen today.

Obama last week visited three of the five Republican- dominated states, underscoring the attention his campaign has paid to those caucuses since last fall. When all eyes were on Iowa, which held the first-in-the-nation contest that he won on Jan. 3, his aides were also deployed in Kansas, Minnesota, Idaho, Alaska, North Dakota and Colorado trying to persuade people to attend the caucuses.

All About Organization

While voters in primary elections choose candidates in private, caucus-goers usually meet, sometimes for hours, to publicly voice their support for a candidate.

``A caucus campaign by necessity requires a longer period of organization,'' said John Norris, a campaign adviser. Among the groups being targeted are young voters and students. In Kansas, the campaign is also drawing crowds of Native Americans -- who make up just 1 percent of the state's population.

``Whether or not you participate will show how strong Indian country can be in making a difference in this election,'' Daschle told 150 students and teachers at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence last week.

Clinton a `Liability'

Some Red State lawmakers are backing Obama for pragmatic reasons -- they're concerned that having Clinton at the top of the ticket may polarize the electorate and cause state and local Democratic candidates to lose their own jobs, said Melvin Kahn, a member of the Central Kansas Democratic Committee. ``Clinton is a liability,'' Kahn said.

Clinton aides scoff at the notion that she isn't competitive in the contests, noting her live Webcast town-hall meeting last night with 21 of the states holding elections today.

Notably absent from the states where she's advertising are some of those holding caucuses, such as Kansas and North Dakota.

``You have to make choices,'' said adviser Doug Hattaway.

In North Dakota, Dan Hannaher, a former Democratic Party chairman, hasn't received mail from her campaign in the last month.

In Alaska, where 13 delegates are in play, the caucus sites more than doubled to 35 in the last month. Obama has the most paid staff members of any campaign, according to Mike Coumbe, executive director of the state's Democratic Party who isn't endorsing either candidate. Obama's campaign accepted an offer to rent space in party headquarters in Anchorage; Clinton and former Senator John Edwards declined, Coumbe said.

Calls Every Day

Democratic Party chairmen in counties throughout Kansas, where Obama's mother was from, say they're getting dozens of calls a day from Republicans and independents asking how to register as Democrats.

``I've had some Republicans that for the first time are interested in voting for a Democratic president because of Barack,'' said Glenn Staab, Democratic chairman of Ellis County.

Staab, an Obama supporter, receives almost nightly calls from the campaign and said he hasn't gotten a single one from Clinton's people.

``I've actually had Democrats call me and say, `Can you tell them I'm going to vote for Obama, and tell them to quit calling?'''

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Huckabee wins all 18 W.Va. delegates

24 minutes ago

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Mike Huckabee won the first contest declared on Super Tuesday, picking up all 18 national delegates awarded at West Virginia's state GOP convention. Huckabee bested Mitt Romney, who entered the Mountain State event with the largest bloc of pledged convention-goers.

Both men and Ron Paul made in-person appeals to the more than 1,100 convention delegates attending Tuesday's convention. But the former Arkansas governor beat his Massachusetts counterpart after delegates for John McCain defected to his side.

The first round of voting at the state convention produced no winner, but eliminated Paul after his fourth-place finish.

The results are the first from the 21 states with GOP primaries or caucuses Tuesday.

Arizona Sen. John McCain challenged his remaining rivals for control of the Republican presidential race Tuesday in primaries and caucuses from Connecticut to California. Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vied for delegates in a grueling campaign with no end in sight.

After an early series of low-delegate, single-state contests, Super Tuesday was anything but — primaries and caucuses spread across nearly half the country in the most wide-open presidential campaign in memory.

McCain was the Republican front-runner, all but unchallenged in winner-take-all primaries in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and his home state of Arizona.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, struggling to sustain his candidacy, concentrated on Missouri and California as well as several caucuses states.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee concentrated in a swath of Southern and border states. Texas Rep. Ron Paul had the fourth spot on the ballot.

In the first contest decided Tuesday, Huckabee won all 18 delegates at the West Virginia GOP convention. Romney had hoped to claim victory there, but with McCain trailing, his backers switched their support to Huckabee to deprive Romney of the win.

Addressing the convention beforehand, Romney asked voters, "Are we going to put a true conservative in the house that Ronald Reagan built or are we going to take a left turn?"

Earlier, on NBC's "Today" show, McCain said he had to convince voters that he is the conservative candidate. "I've got the record, and I can lead this nation in the struggle against radical Islamic extremism," he said.

Obama and Clinton conceded in advance that neither was likely to emerge from the busiest day in primary history with anything more than a relatively narrow edge in Democratic convention delegates.

"Senator Clinton, I think, has to be the prohibitive favorite going in given her name recognition, but we've been steadily chipping away," said Obama, seeking to downplay expectations.

As she voted in Chappaqua, N.Y., Clinton acknowledged, "The stakes are huge."

Already, both campaigns were looking ahead to Feb. 9 contests in Louisiana, Kansas, Nebraska and Washington state and Feb. 12 primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. And increasingly, it looked like the Democrats' historic race between a woman and a black man would go into early spring, possibly longer.

In a conference call Tuesday with reporters, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson and senior strategist Mark Penn said that while they believe Clinton will emerge from Super Tuesday voting with more delegates overall than Barack Obama, the Illinois senator may well win more delegates in Tuesday's contests.

They also acknowledged that Obama is well positioned to win several of the contests between now and March 4, when Ohio and Texas vote. But Penn said Clinton was polling strongly in Ohio and Texas and in Pennsylvania, whose primary is April 22.

Wolfson said the campaign would seek four debates with Obama between now and March 4. It was not clear whether Obama has agreed to the proposal, and a spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Democrats had 1,681 Super Tuesday delegates to allocate in primaries in 15 states and caucuses in seven more plus American Samoa.

Clinton led Obama in the delegate chase as the polls opened, 261 to 196, on the strength of so-called superdelegates. They are members of Congress and other party leaders, not chosen by primary or caucus-goers.

Republicans had 1,023 delegates at stake in 15 primaries, six caucuses and one state convention.

The evening began with McCain holding 102 delegates, to 93 for Romney, 43 for Huckabee and four for Paul. It takes 1,191 to win up the nomination.

The de facto national primary was the culmination of a relentless campaign that moved into overdrive during Christmas week.

After a brief rest for the holiday, the candidates flew back to Iowa on Dec. 26 for a final stretch of campaigning before the state's caucuses offered the first test of the election year. New Hampshire's traditional first-in-the-nation primary followed a few days later, then a seemingly endless series of campaign days interspersed by debates and a handful of primaries and caucuses.

Along the way, the poorest performers dropped out: Democratic Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio; and Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo, and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson.

Former Sen. John Edwards pulled out of the Democratic race last week, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani left the Republican field.

Edwards offered no endorsement as he exited, instead leaving Obama and Clinton to vie for help from his fundraisers and supporters.

But Obama benefited from an endorsement by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who made a series of campaign appearances in California as well as his home state of Massachusetts.

Giuliani quit the race and backed McCain in the same breath, clearing the way for the Westerner in New York and New Jersey.

Giuliani's departure also made it possible for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to back McCain. He said he would not have done so as long as the former mayor was in the race.

Obama and Clinton spent an estimated $20 million combined to advertise on television in the Feb 5 states.

Obama spent $11 million, running ads in 18 of the 22 states with democratic contests. Clinton ran ads in 17, for a total of $9 million.

Neither advertised in Illinois, Obama's home state.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Early votes go smoothly in most states

By DEBORAH HASTINGS, AP National Writer
1 hour, 19 minutes ago

(This version CORRECTS that Gov. Jon Corzine's vote was delayed because of machine problems; a spokesman says that was not the case.)

Scattered voting problems, including machine glitches and long lines, were reported early in some states in the biggest Super Tuesday ever held in America. But overall, voting appeared to go smoothly.

A record turnout was expected as an unprecedented 24 states held primaries and caucuses to narrow the field for the Democratic and Republican nominees for president.

Eight precincts in Chicago had minor problems and a ninth was expected to stay open for several extra hours after misplaced voting equipment caused a nearly two-hour delay in opening the polls.

At a Chicago hot dog joint doubling as a polling place, a technical glitch left only one touch-screen machine in use, making the line to vote much longer than the queue at U Lucky Dawg's counter, where the specials of the day included a Flying Mario Burrito for $3.09.

In Georgia, where voters are now required to present photo identification, wait times in some areas were as long as 90 minutes because for the first time in a major election, poll workers had to compare IDs against computerized registration records.

A spokeswoman for Democratic hopeful Barack Obama said the campaign was asking Georgia officials to keep at least one Atlanta precinct open late because it didn't open on time. Heavy turnout and sporadic computer problems may prompt additional requests for extended poll hours, said Obama spokeswoman Adora Andy.

"That (comparison) process with the computer terminals is very slow and that can create some long lines," said Clare Schexnyder of Election Protection, a national election monitoring group. "We're finally figuring out that it's not that there are not enough voting machines, it's the check-in process."

By its nature, electronic voting is prone to both man-made and technical glitches.

"Voting machines are always going to have issues. That's inevitable," said Tova Wang of The Century Foundation think tank. "They're machines that are operated by human beings. The question is whether the poll workers are trained and have everything they need. If the machines malfunction, do they have paper ballots and do they have enough of them?"

Weather was a concern in some cold-weather states. Snow or rain fell in Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas and Massachusetts, and elections officials worried that might discourage some voters. In Tennessee, where temperatures were forecast to reach the 70s, a storm front threatened to bring hail and tornadoes.

In the lead-up to Super Tuesday, voting advocates worried that long lines, high turnouts and record numbers of mail-in ballots in states such as California could drag out the counting process for days. Across the country, election officials have estimated that mail-in ballots may account for as much as 50 percent of the vote in some areas.

More than 5 million people have requested mail-in ballots in California, where there are 15.7 million registered voters. Election officials in the most populated and delegate-rich state in the country have said results may not be available until Wednesday or later.

As much as 25 percent of the overall vote may go uncounted Tuesday night, officials said. A major cause of expected delays is late-arriving mail-in ballots, which will be counted only after precinct votes are tallied. Polls close at 8 p.m. PST.

Another element is the state's recent switch from electronic voting machines to paper ballots. Four of California's most populous counties — Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Santa Clara — must count votes at centralized locations because there aren't enough optical scanners for every precinct. Los Angeles and Sacramento will also haul their paper ballots to a single location, where they will be tallied electronically.

"We're working as late as we can to get all of them counted," said San Bernardino registrar Kathi Payne.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Dobson to boycott election if McCain nominated

By Christa Marshall
The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 02/05/2008 12:52:26 PM MST

Sen. John McCain is "not a conservative," Dr. James Dobson proclaimed today he would refrain from voting in the 2008 election if the Arizona senator is the Republican nominee.

"Should John McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life,"

Dobson said through a prepared statement read on "The Laura Ingraham Show."

Read the rest of this story at PoliticsWest.com.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2006 Congressional Candidates

Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2006 Congressional Candidates

[GOTFIVEONIT]

A total of 4,049 delegates are chosen with the winning candidate needing a simple majority, or 2,025. If no candidate receives the required majority, the nominee will be determined by a brokered convention.

Upcoming States & RealClearPolitics Averages

State
California 02/05
Delegates 441
Clinton 42.8%
Obama 44.0%

New York 02/05
Delegates 281
Clinton 53.5%
Obama 36.3%

Illinois 02/05
Delegates 185
Clinton 25.0%
Obama 58.0%

New Jersey 02/05
Delegates 127
Clinton 48.3%
Obama 40.6%

Massachusetts 02/05
Delegates 121
Clinton 47.7%
Obama 40.7%

Georgia 02/05
Delegates 103
Clinton 32.3%
Obama 50.3%

Minnesota 02/05 88
Delegates -
Clinton -
Obama -

Missouri 02/05
Delegates 88
Clinton 47.5%
Obama 41.8%

Tennessee 02/05
Delegates 85
Clinton 46.7%
Obama 33.7%

Arizona 02/05
Delegates 67
Clinton 41.7%
Obama 35.7%

Alabama 02/05
Delegates 60
Clinton 46.0%
Obama 44.8%

Connecticut 02/05
Delegates 60
Clinton 42.3%
Obama 38.3%