The Clinton Myth - The Dem Primary is Over

It has been for a while now...

The Politico hits the reality nail on the head with this:

Story behind the story: The Clinton myth

One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.

Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency.

Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.

People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet.

Clinton's likely reaction to being told this truth... Well? A picture is worth a thousand words:


Even the more ardent Hillary Clinton supporters are being forced to face this reality:

Pretty Much

As Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen argue in this piece in The Politico, the press has been largely complicit in maintaining the fiction that the Democratic nomination race is not for all intents and purposes over. The obstacles in the way of Hillary Clinton are virtually insurmountable. And her now-sizable deficit among pledged voters is only one of them. Everyone in the press, probably including us, should be much more candid about that.

--Josh Marshall

No doubt about it. I will give Marshall props for showing a more reasonable amount of reality than the media ever did over the last month as he has slowly moved closer to this truth, but never quite outright stated it. So when you hear one of the most incompetent Dem political campaign gurus ever say stuff like this concerning Bill Richardson's endorsement of Obama:

“The time that he could have been effective has long since passed,” he continued, “I don’t think it is a significant endorsement in this environment.”

-Democratic campaign dingleberry Mark Penn

Mark Penn may have inadvertently got something half-right for a change! Remember that there truly is no longer any significant endorsement in this environment because...

The Democratic primary is already over.

And that is pretty much a fact...

What do the Soldiers think about Bush's failed war?

Well? What do they really think?

Yesterday, the Center for Responsive Politics reported that members of the military donated the most not to McCain, but to two anti-war candidates:

Individuals in the Army, Navy and Air Force made those branches of the armed services among the top contributors in the 4th Quarter, ranking No. 13, No. 18 and No. 21, respectively. In 2007, Republican Ron Paul, who opposes U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, was the top recipient of money from donors in the military, collecting at least $212,000 from them. Barack Obama, another war opponent, was second with about $94,000.

These donations reflect the military’s disapproval with the Iraq war and President Bush’s handling of it. A recent Military Times poll found that just 46 percent of U.S. troops now believe that the country should have invaded Iraq, and only 40 percent approve of Bush’s handling of the war.

Money talks and bushit walks... And it is important to note that CGG's ActBlue (I am sure she has taken over the place now! lol jk) is becoming a real force to be reckoned with:

The biggest "contributor" of all after one year of fundraising remains the progressive group ActBlue, which facilitates individual donors pooling their money to finance Democratic candidates. In donations exceeding $200, ActBlue has directed more than $2.2 million to the presidential candidates, but nearly all of it went to dropouts John Edwards and Bill Richardson. ActBlue's fundraising is far greater than campaign finance reports would suggest, however, since donations below $200 are not itemized on candidates' reports and, therefore, cannot be tracked or totaled.

That money may not have pushed those candidates on to the top of the ticket, but it did help push Edwards and Richardson's pro-sanity positions on war, poverty and other issues to the forefront of the presidential debate. Sometimes winning is as simple as effecting the agenda of a primary or election. Never mind the large amounts ActBlue sends other candidates into what would normally be underfunded primary and election races.

ActBlue has raised over
$36,000,000.00
for their prefered candidates since 2004...

DFA Dem Presidential Candidate Poll

Via Democracy For America:

Total Votes: 135268 as of Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:37:45 -0500

Candidate	Votes	%
Dennis Kucinich	41941	31.01%
Al Gore (write in)	36590	27.05%
Barack Obama	19586	14.48%
John Edwards	18090	13.37%
Bill Richardson	6010	4.44%
Hillary Clinton	5355	3.96%
Other	2951	2.18%
Christopher Dodd	2370	1.75%
Joe Biden	1307	0.97%
Mike Gravel	1068	0.79%

VOTING IS STILL OPEN!! Polls close at midnight on November 5th, 2007. Cast your vote now at http://www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/PulsePoll

Vote Now - Time Is Almost Up

The final DFA Presidential Pulse Poll ends tonight at midnight Eastern Standard Time. That means you only have a few hours left to vote and make sure your voice is heard.

Today is a big day. With over 130,000 votes cast, the poll is already the largest presidential poll of progressive activists this year. Yet this isn't even close to over. Traditionally, tens of thousands of votes come in on the last day.

That means the winner is still very much up for grabs.

It is pretty obvious that my Blog (Drinking Liberally in New Milford) likes Dennis Kucinich because he is really the only liberal on that list, and a moderate liberal like myself, but you might be surprised that my second choice as a candidate would be Christopher Dodd because of the many strong stances he has taken on pet issues of mine. As a Senator, I have very little to quibble about concerning his votes. As a presidential candidate he has been responsive to the people's (and the Bloggers') serious concerns about the path this country has followed under the disastrous policies of the criminal bush administration.

I am not a Democratic party member, nor a huge supporter of that party overall either (much to the chagrin of some progressive Bloggers... heh), because there is no way in hell that they can afford to keep throwing conservative candidates on to their ballot (the ones that play the triangulation-faux-centrist games) and ever hope to fix what is wrong with this country. But that is only the Democratic party problem side of it.

Fixing it really starts by kicking every single GOP candidate out of office. The corrupt ones. The ones that hate the Constitution. The ones that trample on the Bill of Rights. The ones that have desecrated the principles of this country with torture, illegal invasions, lies and illegally spied on Americans. The ones that have been the embodiment of hatred, racism and done everything they can to divide this country in any way they can.

We, all of We the People, need to unite against these GOP atrocities.

I have said my little piece on this subject... But now it is your tun to go there, vote, and try to make a difference, because even little polls like this make a difference in shaping America's perception (sadly, this is true) of what the heart beat of America is drumming on about.

The MSM is the Lunatic Fringe

What is the problem with the MSM?

"Sometime Monday afternoon, after Congressman Kucinich took a commanding lead in ABC's own online 'Who won the Democratic debate' survey, the survey was dropped from prominence on the website."

But reduced prominence apparently wasn't sufficient. By Monday afternoon Kucinich was winning handily, so ABC replaced the original survey with a second one, perhaps hoping the candidates the network is hawking would be more successful.

For a time, they were - U.S. Senator Barack Obama took the lead in early voting Monday afternoon and evening - but by late Monday / early Tuesday, Kucinich regained the lead by a large margin in this second survey.

Both Ron Kaul and Denis Kucinich can't get a fair shake in this game for the simple reason that the establishment media and their favourite candidates in both the Democratic party and the Republican won't allow them.

'George, I've been standing here for the last 45 minutes, praying to God you were going to call on me," joked Rep. Dennis Kucinich, in answer to a question on prayer.

The crowd, and the moderator, erupted with laughter.

"You have a direct pipeline, Congressman,' joked Stephanopoulos.

Unfortunately for America the media is the biggest joke in American politics...

There is a very simple reason that the corporate owned and controlled media won't give guys like Kucinich a shot:

Many of us are familiar with the Political Compass. Some at MLN even had their compass score in their signatures for a while, and even took the time to chart some of their own personal scores in March. But do you know where the 2008 Presidential Candidates sit on this political chart?

You should:

My kingdom for a real progressive candidate!

Perhaps you've heard of the Political Compass website, where you can take a test that places you on a grid based on the degree to which you are "left" or "right" on the economic scale as well as how socially libertarian or authoritarian you are.

I'm damn near as moonbatty as it gets: -6.50, -6.67, which puts me in, for lack of a better term, the "deep Southwest" of the grid.

Anyway, thanks to a recent article on London's TimesOnline, we can see how the 2008 U.S. presidential candidates fit on the grid.

This should worry those on the left, and I know that many at MLN scored even further left than I did (I am a Liberal, but I am a moderate Liberal), as they watch the next candidate chosen for the Democratic party who is nothing less than a conservative. That is, if they chose anyone other than Kucinich or Gravel. And right now they aren't even counted in the top 3 contenders.

This is where the Democratic party is failing miserably. They are not really providing any different ideology than the GOP, just a moderate version of it, if they choose any of those conservative candidates on that chart.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden... They are all conservatives, as moderate as some of them may be, they are conservatives nonetheless.

Welcome to America! Where the government is considered a tool for corporations to rob the citizens of the world for the benefit of the few in the establishment.

How Does Your Candidate Measure Up?

Many of us are familiar with the Political Compass. Some at MLN even had their compass score in their signatures for a while, and even took the time to chart some of their own personal scores in March. But do you know where the 2008 Presidential Candidates sit on this political chart?

You should:

My kingdom for a real progressive candidate!

Perhaps you've heard of the Political Compass website, where you can take a test that places you on a grid based on the degree to which you are "left" or "right" on the economic scale as well as how socially libertarian or authoritarian you are.

I'm damn near as moonbatty as it gets: -6.50, -6.67, which puts me in, for lack of a better term, the "deep Southwest" of the grid.

Anyway, thanks to a recent article on London's TimesOnline, we can see how the 2008 U.S. presidential candidates fit on the grid.

This should worry those on the left, and I know that many at MLN scored even further left than I did (I am a Liberal, but I am a moderate Liberal), as they watch the next candidate chosen for the Democratic party who is nothing less than a conservative. That is, if they chose anyone other than Kucinich or Gravel. And right now they aren't even counted in the top 3 contenders.

This is where the Democratic party is failing miserably. They are not really providing any different ideology than the GOP, just a moderate version of it, if they choose any of those conservative candidates on that chart.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden... They are all conservatives, as moderate as some of them may be, they are conservatives nonetheless.

Democratic Myths on Ending the War

Video and comments via David Sirota:

Watch Democratic presidential candidates pass the buck and pretend they have no power to end the Iraq War.

If you are not part of the solution,
then you are part of the problem.

New Richardson Ad HILARIOUS!

I opened up Crooks & Liars (After starting my day at MLN) as per usual and saw this...

Governor Bill Richardson's new ad just hit the airwaves, and it's freaking great. Informative, original and hysterical.

It is a great ad and WAY TOO FUNNY!

Larson Joins the Chorus To Neuter Bush

Via Matt Browner Hamlin at MLN:

Just in my email box from Rep. John Larson (CT-01):

"I am pleased that my colleagues in the Senate have raised the issue of revoking President Bush's authority to wage war. The President callously and carelessly entered this war. Clearly, things have gotten worse and not better. We cannot afford to have a President that continues to abuse his authority and not listen to the Congress or the will of the American people. Taking this action would be another important step to keep the pressure on the President. Congress also needs to look to address the Congressional War Powers Act to ensure that this kind of an abuse of power never occurs again. In March, I introduced similar legislation in the House and hope that we can work together to take this critical step that can aid in ending this war."

Obviously I'm happy to see Larson take this opportunity to renew his pressure on President Bush for ending the war in Iraq.

Yesterday I posted on Gov. Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton joining the calls to strip bush of war powers:

De-Authorize the War Now, No Residual Troops

There would be no need to negotiate the withdrawal with the President, and he could not veto the resolution.

The time has has come for Congress to stand up to this President who refuses to recognize that his war is bleeding our military and weakening our country. He believes mere stubbornness is a foreign policy and that he can just ignore the will of the American people. In the interest of our national security, he must be stopped.

Congress has the ability to end this war under the War Powers Act -- let's not wait or waver while more people die. And de-authorizing the war should mean removing all our troops. Every last one.

Hillary Clinton has joined Robert Byrd in calls for the same:

Via the NY Times:

Mrs. Clinton’s proposal brings her full circle on Iraq — she supported the war measure five years ago — and it sharpens her own political positioning at a time when Democrats are vying to confront the White House.

“It is time to reverse the failed policies of President Bush and to end this war as soon as possible,” Mrs. Clinton said as she joined Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, in calling for a vote to end the authority as of Oct. 11, the fifth anniversary of the original vote.

Her stance emerged just as Congressional leaders and the White House opened delicate negotiations over a new war-financing measure to replace the one that Mr. Bush vetoed Tuesday.

In spin that only a right wingnut could choke down the NY Times also says that it is not clear if Congress has the power to withdraw the power that only they can empower upon the little brat...

Even if Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Byrd succeed in their effort, it is not clear whether President Bush would have to withdraw troops, or if he could resist by claiming that Congress cannot withdraw its earlier authorization but instead has to deny money for the war to achieve that result.

Sure... bush can claim it, but that does not make it credible in any way, shape, or form.

Can you say IMPEACH?



Yep...
No More Kings!

If you are unclear on the many reasons why the little brat needs to be impeached here is one of them:

“The Bush administration is urging Congress to pass a law that would halt dozens of lawsuits charging phone companies with invading ordinary citizens’ privacy through a post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance program.”

Richardson: "De-Authorize the War Now"

Gov. Bill Richardson joins the calls to strip bush of war powers:

De-Authorize the War Now, No Residual Troops

There would be no need to negotiate the withdrawal with the President, and he could not veto the resolution.

The time has has come for Congress to stand up to this President who refuses to recognize that his war is bleeding our military and weakening our country. He believes mere stubbornness is a foreign policy and that he can just ignore the will of the American people. In the interest of our national security, he must be stopped.

Congress has the ability to end this war under the War Powers Act -- let's not wait or waver while more people die. And de-authorizing the war should mean removing all our troops. Every last one.

Hillary Clinton has joined Robert Byrd in calls for the same:

Via the NY Times:

Mrs. Clinton’s proposal brings her full circle on Iraq — she supported the war measure five years ago — and it sharpens her own political positioning at a time when Democrats are vying to confront the White House.

“It is time to reverse the failed policies of President Bush and to end this war as soon as possible,” Mrs. Clinton said as she joined Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, in calling for a vote to end the authority as of Oct. 11, the fifth anniversary of the original vote.

Her stance emerged just as Congressional leaders and the White House opened delicate negotiations over a new war-financing measure to replace the one that Mr. Bush vetoed Tuesday.

In spin that only a right wingnut could choke down the NY Times also says that it is not clear if Congress has the power to withdraw the power that only they can empower upon the little brat...

Even if Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Byrd succeed in their effort, it is not clear whether President Bush would have to withdraw troops, or if he could resist by claiming that Congress cannot withdraw its earlier authorization but instead has to deny money for the war to achieve that result.

Sure... bush can claim it, but that does not make it credible in any way, shape, or form.

Can you say IMPEACH?



Yep...
No More Kings!

If you are unclear on the many reasons why the little brat needs to be impeached here is one of them:

“The Bush administration is urging Congress to pass a law that would halt dozens of lawsuits charging phone companies with invading ordinary citizens’ privacy through a post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance program.”

Virtual Trip to Vegas... Good for Your HEALTHcare

Some Emails are well worth Passing on:

Dear Stephen,

We hope you're ready for tomorrow's presidential candidates forum on health care. We're making last minute arrangements now and excitement is building.

Sign up for an email reminder and we'll let you know when the event's about to start.

Saturday, March 24, 2007
12:15 p.m. EST (9:15 a.m. PST)

If you'd like to watch the live webcast and submit a question online, visit ThinkProgress.org tomorrow at 12:00 pm EST (9:00 am PST).

Here's how it will work:

1. During the forum, ThinkProgress.org will offer you the chance to submit questions to the candidates in real time.

2. Submissions will be reviewed immediately by a panel of health care experts who will select the best entries.

3. Karen Tumulty, the forum's moderator, could ask your question live on the air!

The webcast and live blogging start promptly at 12:15 pm EST (9:15 am PST). Don't forget to sign up for a reminder!

Thanks and enjoy the forum,

Faiz Shakir
Research Director, ThinkProgress.org
Center for American Progress Action Fund

Sounds like a great opportunity to flood the candidates with demands for TRUE Universal Healthcare... You know? The single payer kind that they never seem to be talking about when they abuse the words "Universal Healthcare".

Enough with "reforming" the broken "for profit" system. We need single payer, government funded, true Universal Healthcare.

As a side note: Thinkprogress said in a seperate Email that they invited all of the Preidential candidates to participate in this...

The Progress Report is traveling to Las Vegas today to participate in Saturday's New Leadership on Health Care presidential forum, featuring Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), Sen. Mike Gravel (D-AK), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), and Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM). (All the presidential candidates were invited to attend.) The Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are co-hosting the forum. Karen Tumulty, National Political Correspondent for Time magazine, will moderate the forum and ask the candidates about their plans to address our nation's health care crisis. If you happen to be in Las Vegas this weekend and would like to attend the presidential forum in person, we have some seats for you. RSVP here.

I wonder if that invitation included the republican neocon-wet-set? heh