Since Senator Obama is still having issues with electability, he’s decided to try to go back to groups he threw under the bus and see if he can get enough votes to shove him to the 50% line.
First, there is this series of telling polls by Rasmussen Reports.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows the race for the White House is tied with Barack Obama and John McCain each attracting 44% of the vote. However, when “leaners” are included, it’s McCain 47% and Obama 46%.
It’s worth noting that there are far more uncommitted voters at this point in Election 2008 than there were four years ago. The Election 2004 Presidential Tracking Poll showed that 92% of voters were committed to either President Bush or Senator Kerry on July 24, 2004. Only 8% were uncommitted.
This year, 37% of the uncommitted voters plan to vote for a Democratic Congressional candidate while 22% say they’ll vote for the GOP. But, when asked which way they’re leaning in the race for the White House, 26% say McCain and 19% say Obama. Twenty percent (20%) say they still prefer a third-party candidate.
and this:
The first nationwide survey since Barack Obama returned from his highly publicized travels in Europe and the Middle East finds that the trip had little or no impact on the U.S. presidential race.
and this:
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the nation’s voters say they’ve seen news coverage of the McCain campaign commercial that includes images of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and suggests that Barack Obama is a celebrity just like them. Of those, just 22% say the ad was racist while 63% say it was not.
However, Obama’s comment that his Republican opponent will try to scare people because Obama does not look like all the other presidents on dollar bills was seen as racist by 53%. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree.
So, now we see another flip by the Obama campaign. I guess he’s decided that some of the voters he threw under the bus during the primary are necessary for an Obama win. He wants to seat the Florida and Michigan Delegation restored to one vote.
Obama Asks Panel to Restore Votes
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE AUG. 4, 2008
Senator Barack Obama has asked the credentials committee of the Democratic Party to give full voting rights to delegates from Florida and Michigan at the national convention in Denver.
The request is likely to be granted because it comes from Mr. Obama, the all-but-certain nominee, who now controls the party apparatus.
After Florida and Michigan held early primaries in violation of party rules, the party punished them by saying their delegations would not be seated at the convention. In May, the rules committee agreed to let the delegates have half a vote each.
Mr. Obama’s request is likely to cause consternation among party officials, who have struggled to maintain some authority over the primary calendar. Restoring full voting rights will essentially be giving a green light to other states to ignore the primary calendar next election.
The credentials committee is scheduled to meet Aug. 24, the day before the convention begins
I know I’m a cynic, but something tells me this move is not to restore the democratic party to its one man-one vote principle. They must have had time to restack the deck in these states and now feel secure enough to let them vote. Could this be part of the negotiations with Hillary? I would love to figure out what went in to this complete reversal. I’m sure he must feel secure in the nomination if he’s agreeing to this change at this point.
The bigger question, however, goes to Howard Dean and Donna Brazile and all those folks that were pushing the rules like they’d been handed down on stone tablets to Charlton Heston on movie set, how are you going to spin this?
I’ve spent the last day watching a hurricane develop south of me. If you look at the sky above my house you’ll see mostly blue sky. However there are some very low lying clouds with a hint of darkness spinning back towards the Southeast. These little spinning clouds are harbingers of something bigger picking up steam just out of sight of the little kathouse in the ninth ward. I’m wondering if folks in Colorado see something similar around Denver.
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One thing that I’ve learned about Pumas is that follow-up and follow through are obsessions. Nothing comes between a Puma and the Truth. Right after I saw SimoFish’s video, I posted it here then linked to No Quarter and Camille and Blues’ Bitterpolitcz. I picked up the youtube link at RiverDaughter’s The Confluence the moment SimoFish posted it. Isn’t it amazing how quickly inspiration and revolution can spread these days? SimoFish’s video with its two follow ups went viral shortly thereafter. Why? Because every PUMA took that video link and went on the prowl. I had no idea how widespread the Puma movement had become until this blog started getting pingbacks from all sorts of places. I tried to get the videos up as soon as I could because I knew exactly how starved we all were for some Hillary wonkyness after several weeks of Baracky vagueness. I immediately emailed Just Say No Deal (Nicely led by a PR Genius Princess Wears Prada) where it became a press release. Within a few moments, Gary Chapel Hill had posted the analysis and linked it to earlier work by Alegre. However, the best Puma growl was the creative and brave work of Guilda of Bitterpolitcz. She is one very bitter and brilliant Camillion. Most of us just dropped the video link where ever we could. Guilda did us all one better. She called Thom DeFrank and blogged it live for us. She later posted his response. I’ve reposted it all here because there’s nothing like networking and teamwork to see a plan through. I think the DNC and Senator Obama should be very afraid of the audacity of PUMAs everywhere!
My question of the day? What will the NY Daily Times say now?
I just got off the phone with Thom DeFrank. I started the conversation by asking him to retract his story. He told me that the news came from a person high up in the Clinton campaign, who talks with Hillary on a daily basis. I them told him about the video and he asked me to email it to him and I did.
He was very nice and said that if what I say is true about the video and this person doesn’t have a reasonable response as to why he told him this story, he will never trust that source again.
He said one or three things may have happened 1)Hillary changed her mind 2)Hillary knew he was going to tell Thom the story and she wanted to beat the story down(which I don’t believe for onwe minute!) and 3) The source lied to him. He’s going to watch the video and get back to me. When he does, I’ll let you know his response.
I also told him that I will never vote for Obama. He said, “so you’d rather have McCain as opposed to Obama?” I sad “Thom, I’d rather have four more years of BUSH, than one MONTH of Obama!” He was quite taken aback by that. He said, you know- that’s a very strong statement. I said, Thom- I do not trust him period. I don’t like the company he keeps and I don’t feel that he will make decisions that are good for this country and to keep Democracy in place. I also said that I truly believe he wants the “title”, but not the job.
He was so nice. And he tahnked me for being civil, because aparently, he’s gotten callers that have not been as nice as me.
He thinks part of why Hillary got the treatment in the press that she’d gotten, was because apparently, the Clinton’s were not very press friendly, so…some of it might have been payback. So I asked him if he truly feels that that statment justifies how she was treated and he said it doesn’t justify it, it just that probably came into play
I also told him that I was truly appaled at the news cycle this primamry season. I told him that I used to depend on newspapers like the Daily News, Wall St, Journal and the like to give me TRUE reports of what’s going on in the world, not just some bullshit that people tell them to write.
Then we got into what true journalism is and that’s how the stuff about the Clinton’s and the press came about.
He agreed that it was pretty brutal and he also said that the last 2 months of the primaries, that she was definitely the stonger candidate.
Everybody knows it…they all do…so why won’t people stand up?
I really enjoyed our chat and have now listened to the entire YouTube segment you sent me. Respectfully, all she says is that no decisions have been made. The paper’s story quotes a Clinton aide saying the same thing. That aide is several rungs down the ladder in the Clinton campaign. She would not know the state of play. In other words, my source is far better placed.
Senator Clinton saying no decisions have been made is hardly a definitive knockdown. I believe in the end she’ll have the best of both worlds: she won’t have her name placed in nomination – insulating her from charges that she’s either a sore loser or a spoiler. But she will have the satisfaction of seeing hundreds of her admirers vote for her anyway. Remember, delegates are free to vote for her even if her name isn’t placed in nomination. That formulation is the savvy way to go, and she’s nothing if not savvy.
Regardless, I hope you’ll call again. I always enjoy the dialogue, especially with callers as civil and passionate as you, which is not always the case.
Sincerely, Tom DeFrank
I still say she wants her name placed in nomination. I wonder what the hell they’re saying to her.
Amazing what a little creative networking by some really determined patriots will do! Can you imagine what Paul Revere might have done if he’d had access to the Internet? One IM if by day, TWO PINGS if by night.
UPDATE: SimoFish’s Video has hit the MSM: this is from 8/7 and ABC
Off topic — I saw Hillary yesterday !! LOVE HER. I feel so energized just from being with her and being with my East Bay Warrior Puma’s !!! I took video !! Here’s one of them — I grouped together 3 different pieces on Hillary and the ballot. I am also uploading Hillary’s comments on VP — Hillary on respecting her supporters – will publish once finished.
More from Puma-SF on the nature of the event yesterday:
Puma-SF on August 1st, 2008 at 2:00 am
Man, I have a ton of pictures and tomorrow SimoFish will publish the video she took while Hillary was speaking.
Originally it was labeled an event to help pay down her debt but some how it morphed into a unity event. Hell, there were about 10 Pumas that I know for sure but I’m sure there were more. Afterwards, we all stood around and told each other our pen names.
She said that she thinks it would help unify the party if her name was put into nomination and that she wants her supporters and delegates to be recognized and heard.
I shook her hand. I hugged her and I told her to sign the petition that she would win and that we had her back.
Update AGAIN: Three videos of Hillary at yesterday’s events have been posted now by SimoFish at Hillary Clinton Forum. Here are the other two:
UPDATE: The video’s gone on to the MSM: this links to its broadcast by ABC on 8/7
I’m the stereotypical PUMA. I came of age in the 70s and joined the UWAG (University Women’s Action Group) while at the University of Nebraska working on the first of several degrees. I remember fighting hard to get tougher rape laws in place including getting officers assigned to rape cases out of the Property Crimes Department and lobbying for laws that would let raped wives charge their husbands with rape. This was not possible at that time. We’ve made considerable progress on that front. We now don’t need two to three people to witness rapes in order to get rapists prosecuted. We also can charge our husbands with rape. Violet crimes against women are no longer consider property crimes.
I also worked hard for the ERA. That failed to pass although I travelled to both Missouri and Oklahoma to try to get the last few states to pass it. I also was trying to fight Nebraska’s attempt to take back it’s pro-ERA vote sponsored by my local state senator who was also a neighbor and father to two of the least popular guys in my high school. I always thought he’d sponsor the bill because neither of his sons had much luck getting dates back in the day. He was mad that women could actually support themselves and therefor not have to marry the first thing that comes along to survive their adult lives.
I’m now an economist, and perhaps Equal Pay for Equal Work is the subject that is nearest and dearest too me. We have another chance to right this problem. What amazes me is that the current pay gap faced by my young daughters today –one being 25 and in her last year of med school and the other 18 and heading to university–is the same pay gap I faced at their age. This is one legacy I’d rather not leave to them. Women still earn 77 cents to men’s $1 for the same job with the same qualifications. There is not one state in the country where women have gained traction on men’s pay. There is an act now in Congress seeking to right this wrong once in for all, it is called the Paycheck Fairness Act.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would “close loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay” and strengthen accountability in the workplace. The legislation increases penalties for sex discrimination in pay unless the company has a business-related reason for the inequality in wages. The PFA puts gender discrimination sanctions on equal footing with other forms of wage discrimination such as those based on race, disability, or age, allowing women to file lawsuits for compensatory and punitive damages. The bill also prohibits employers retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers. The legislation also strengthens opportunities for women. The Act requires that the Department of Labor “improve outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities” and “creates a new grant program to help strengthen the negotiation skills of girls and women.”
So think about which Senators would be most likely fighting for gender equality that would be the sponsors of the bill? Yup, it’s our Hillary again. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) put this bill into play
The Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that this wage disparity will cost women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages. An April Senate report found that in contrast to previous slowdowns, the current economic downturn “is hitting women harder than men. They are suffering more job losses and larger reductions in wages than the general population.”
I, like any parent, want to leave my children in a better position in life. Just by having daughters instead of sons, I know they will suffer the same paycheck inequality that I have endured throughout my adult life. This is yet another reason to thank Hillary and to write your Senators and Congress to support this Bill.
The senators that are sponsoring this bill:
The Paycheck Fairness Act is co-sponsored by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Bernard Sanders (I-VT).
Also, NOTICE who’s name is missing?
For more information please go to Senator Clintons site:
My friend Geeklove08 was approached by Dr. Lynette Long and Real Democrats USA to help expose the pay off of superdelegates by Obama’s Political Action Committee, the Hope Fund.
Other examples of Geeklove’s great work can be found here:
My suggestion is that you write the superdelegates in your state and tell them you know their price tag. I’d also suggest you write your local newspaper and let them know their price tag also.
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The Sky Dancing banner headline uses a snippet from a work by artist Tashi Mannox called 'Rainbow Study'. The work is described as a" study of typical Tibetan rainbow clouds, that feature in Thanka painting, temple decoration and silk brocades". dakinikat was immediately drawn to the image when trying to find stylized Tibetan Clouds to represent Sky Dancing. It is probably because Tashi's practice is similar to her own. His updated take on the clouds that fill the collection of traditional thankas is quite special.
You can find his work at his website by clicking on his logo below. He is also a calligraphy artist that uses important vajrayana syllables. We encourage you to visit his on line studio.
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7/31 Hillary Video by SimoFish: Must See
Posted: August 1, 2008 | Author: dakinikat | Filed under: Hillary Clinton: Her Campaign for All of Us, PUMA | Tags: Hillary Comments on VP, Hillary on Denver, Hillary on respecting her voters | 26 CommentsSimoFish just posted this comment and link on Riverdaughter’s Site: The Confluence. I consider it a must see.
UPDATE: GaryChapelHill has just written a thread on the Confluence: http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/sweet-little-lies/ explaining the importance of this tape. Axelrod has been spinning the tail that Hillary’s getting ready to release her delegates and it’s been taken up by the Daily News. Alegre was all over that this morning on her blog here: http://alegrescorner.soapblox.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=433.
More from Puma-SF on the nature of the event yesterday:
Update AGAIN: Three videos of Hillary at yesterday’s events have been posted now by SimoFish at Hillary Clinton Forum. Here are the other two:
UPDATE: The video’s gone on to the MSM: this links to its broadcast by ABC on 8/7
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5531475
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