Obama regains ground in Texas caucuses

[RiverStone]

Source: The Seattle PI

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama regained lost ground in the fierce competition for Democratic convention delegates on Wednesday based on results from the Texas caucuses, partially negating the impact of Hillary Rodham Clinton's string of comeback primary victories.

Late returns showed Clinton emerged from Rhode Island, Vermont, Texas and Ohio with a gain of 12 delegates on her rival for the night, with another dozen yet to be awarded in The Associated Press' count.

That left Obama with an overall lead of 101 delegates, 1,562-1,461 as the rivals look ahead to the final dozen contests on the calendar. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.

The two presidential contenders made the rounds of the morning television news shows, agreeing on little - except that their historic struggle would continue at least until the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.



Read more: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1131ap_campaign_rdp.html

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:applause:

Obama is still in the delegate driver's seat; just keep that foot on the accelerator Barack!

[Horse with no Name]

1. Caucuses aren't over until the summer

A little early to start whooping and hollering.
I don't think the MSM even understands that this was just the first leg.
Next caucus March 29.
When the caucuses are over IN JUNE...the delegates will be awarded.
Until then, the numbers are in flux and no delegates awarded.

[Hawkeye-X]

2. No matter how much bullshit you spout. Hillary is sitll hitting bricks and can't move forward

Seriously.

[Horse with no Name]

6. I am spouting the truth about the caucuses

It is a very convoluted process that didn't end last night...it just started last night.
Lots can happen between now and then.
The delegates can change sides...arms can be twisted...etc.
It's not over til it's over.

[aquart]

7. You mean, in Texas????

There's MORE? Only Texas Dems could have dreamed this up. Wiley little coyotes.

[Horse with no Name]

11. Yeah. I personally think it was done this way

to muddy the water and make it easier for tampering with the popular vote.

[ooglymoogly]

16. wrong place

[Horse with no Name]

18. Give it a rest

There were NOT flocks of rushpublicans murking up our elections. Your talking point is moot.
Drag THAT back to your den and gnaw on it.

[SoCalDem]

15. It started in 1988 and Bill Clinton liked the system they have

in 1992 and 1996..

[Horse with no Name]

17. Bill Clinton doesn't live in Texas and, as far as I know, hasn't voted here either

AND regardless...he didn't have a serious challenger in each.
Do you have another point you would like to make or are you through?

[SoCalDem]

29. The fact that BC would not have a serious challenger when he was a primary

candidate in 1992, had NO bearing on the conception of the idea by TEXANS, in 1988...when they set up their primary system..

It's fluky..but it's the way THEY set it up..and it's the way THEY choose their delegates..and it's been that way for TWENTY years.. They did not decide to change it this time, so it would piss Hillary off..

[Divernan]

14. Here's a Texas lawyer's description of last night and the coming months

This is an email my cousin, a Texas lawyer, sent me when she got home at 1:30 a.m. this morning.
In short, the Clinton voters failed to stick around for the caucus, so Obama gains - at least for the two voting precincts my cousin observed.

"I went to my caucus tonight, and my precinct (just one small part of Collin County) went 60% to 40% for Obama. The other precinct having its caucus there went 3 to 1 for Obama! The interesting thing was that there was an Obama campaign guy there (he looked like Ron Howard from Happy Days - when he was about 20!), and as we were standing in line to vote in the school gym (after being outside for an hour to wait for the last of the voters to finish voting, which took until 8:00 p.m., because apparently there was a huge line of last-minute voters at 7:00 p.m.!), this guy went around asking everyone to stick around to make sure we would have enough delegates to the county convention.

So after we all signed and registered either for Obama or Clinton, a bunch of us stayed and chatted, and waited for the vote count. There were about 240 votes to count in our precinct, and about the same number in the other precinct, so it took a while. Once the numbers were announced, the Election Chair asked us to divide into two groups, and in our precinct, only 1 of the Clinton supporters was still there, but there were 27 Obama supporters still there (and everyone else from the other precinct who stayed seemed to be Obama people as well).

Our precinct gets 28 delegates to the Collin County Convention (then they pick delegates to go the State Convention in June, then the State delegates pick the National delegates), so with a 60/40 split, 17 of us had to sign up to be Obama delegates (with the same number allowed as alternates) and there were supposed to be 11 Clinton delegates (and 11 alternates). We had 17 people who readily agreed to be the Obama delegates, and the other 10 of us signed up as alternates (I signed last as alternate #10; it's 8 hours on March 30th, which is too long of a day for me as a single parent, although it would have been interesting!).

So my question is, since one of the websites said that the caucus system rewards the grassroots organizers (like the Obama guy at our caucus) who get the people to stay and agree to be delegates, does Clinton only get one delegate from our precinct, and none from the other precinct? That's what I'm guessing/hoping!

[RiverStone]

4. OK - educate me

There is another TX caucus on March 29th? Is that what your saying?

Thanks Horse :hi:

[Horse with no Name]

8. Yes. The delegates elected from lasts nights caucus will now go

to a regional caucus at the end of the month.
The final caucus will be in June at the State Convention and THAT is where the delegates will be awarded.

[yowzayowzayowza]

13. Correct.

Regional & state conventions follow. The caucus delegates will not be final until the state convention. Delegates are not bound, but based on my pct I wouldn't expect much play.

[Horse with no Name]

20. The system was DESIGNED in the old days

where the delegates could be paid off to change their votes.
I seriously doubt this will happen either...unless a huge scandal breaks between now and then with either candidate.
Everybody seems pretty entrenched with their choices.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

19. What we have ahead of us are our SD/County and State Conventions

The people elected by their precinct to represent their candidate still need to make it through the next round (Senatorial District/County convention) to see just who will go on to be the actual delegates at the State convention.

My SD currently has 2,175 delegates (I'm not sure if this includes the alternates or not) and that will have to be trimmed down to the 12 that will be going on to the State Convention. We get to vote on who we think is the most likely of the 2,175 to actually go on and be true to their support of the candidate they represent.

It is done in a way as to stay true to the percentages of each sides supporters. So the final numbers don't change in so much as the people representing the candidates do.

Does this make sense now?

If not you can look through these links and see if they can explain it a bit better than I can.

http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4877

http://www.lonestarproject.net/

http://txdemocrats.org/index_election

Edit to add: I left out the final stage at the State Convention. It works the same way as above.

Edited again to add: A) I'm a scatter brain today and B) This link to a PDF file that explains it all oh so much better than I can: http://www.lonestarproject.net/files/Texas_Delegate_Selection_Process.pdf

This covers the picking and distribution of the 67 pledged delegates perfectly.

[aquart]

5. NEXT caucus? Who's holding that one?

I love New York. We just vote and never have to talk to anybody. It's so...private.

[CaseyStorm]

9. Hillary's Strategy

Hillary's strategy is to stay in long enough (through Pennsylvania) to be able to claim that she won the big, must-win states (NY, CA, Texas, Ohio, NJ, etc.) and that those states are required to win a general election. She will try to convince the superdelegates to vote for her "in the interest of the party." The only solution to stop this party-splitting strategy will be for the superdelegates to commit to Obama ASAP. Then, watch Hillary try to take it to the Supreme Court. We are fu*&ed as far as I can tell because Hillary feels she is destined to be president and will do ANYTHING to get there, even if it means destroying the party.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

22. She is way too much like Bush.

He thought he was owed the right to finish Daddy's job. She seems to believe she is owed the right to finish the Clinton's jobs.

She probably figures if God has talked to Bush, surely it's time for her to get God's ear.

[Horse with no Name]

24. Many of us see bush in obama

and not the nice parts either.

[aquart]

3. Where are they getting their caucus numbers from?

Does anyone have their source? CNN still has only 37% reporting and it splits 52 Obama, 48 Clinton. Nobody else has called the caucuses, have they?

[ShockediSay]

10. How can we be so stupid to follow the direction of Rush

Lamebag, who urged Repugs to crossover and vote for Hillary in Texas, anyway.

She's the one person who can unite the Repugs!!!!!!!!!!!

HILLARY! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE REPUG MACHINE!!!!!!!

[ooglymoogly]

23. After what has happened the last 8 years I do not put anything

past the pugs nor do I ever give them the benefit of the doubt.

[question everything]

12. Jim Baker must smile to himself

Here he got to the Supreme Court in 2000 to determine that popular votes do not count.

And now, the Obama campaign is doing the same.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

21. Obama is doing the same thing as Baker? Are you that blind?

The Dems have some rules that are complicated. The Obama team is playing by them. And playing very well thank you. It's Hillary who wants to rewrite rules to try to regain her commanding lead before votes were ever cast and campaigning allowed voters to get to know other candidates than the former first lady. She is the candidate who is playing the Bush card in this contest by ignoring the rules of her own party:

"The DNC is refusing to back down from the tough sanctions it imposed on the two states, which held early contests in violation of party rules. They have been stripped of all their delegates to the national convention in August where either Clinton or rival Barack Obama will be nominated for president."

[Kittycat]

25. Note... Obama holds the lead in popular vote

:eyes:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_vote_count.html

[rcsl1998]

26. Texas - Where Voting Twice Is The ONLY Way To Go... (nt)

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[vinylsolution]

28. Hillary's run benefits Republicans

Hillary needs to end her campaign ASAP. She can't catch Obama in the remaining races, and the longer she's in there pampering her own ego, the more the corporate war machine likes it. Perhaps they're the only ones paying her to carry on....

And does anyone else think Limbaugh knew in advance what was going to happen yesterday? He clearly stated that Hillary needs to stay in the race so that Obama gets 'bloodied'.... Anything to strengthen Insane McCain's hand, huh Rush?

[Zhade]

30. In a nice bit of symmetry, republicans benefit her run every time they vote for her.

Seems fitting.