The Democratic Race: It's Closer Than One Thinks

There are those journalists and pundits who are continuing to urge Senator Clinton to withdraw on the basis that she is too far behind Senator Obama to catch up.  That is still their thought after what happened in Pennsylvania this past week.

 

USA Today published some facts in their newspaper dated April 25 as follows:  Popular Vote:  Obama 14,417,619 million, Clinton 13,917,009;   Popular Vote with Florida:  Obama 14,993,833 million, Clinton 14,787,995;   Popular vote with Florida and Michigan:  Obama 14,993,833 million, Clinton 15,116,304 million.

 

Electoral votes based on States won.   Clinton 284,   Obama 202.  Obama has won 17 primaries and Clinton has won 16.  Obama has won 13 Caucuses,  Clinton has won 2.  There are still several primaries and caucuses left in the Democratic process, so a rush to judgement is uncalled for.  The people's vote should be taken before any candidate drops out.  It should be noted just this week, Nancy Pelosi and Senator Reid said they would like to see the super delegates make up their minds by the end of June.  A far cry from their statements made a few weeks ago when both clearly implied that they wanted Clinton to withdraw.  Reality finally caught up to them.

 

Over the last month or so, journalists and pundits have also tried to brain wash the voters into believing that the Democratic campaign has been so negative that whom ever wins the nomination will lose the support of the other candidate and his or her voters.  That's a croc, because those voters will only be hurting themselves and what they say they stand for if they vote Republican.  

 

The upcoming primaries are going to be pivotal as to what is really on the voters mind.  The American people should be enjoying this race while they can because the general election will really show what negative campaigning is all about and it will be coming from the Republican Party and Senator McCain you can bet on that. 

So...This Is How Obama Wins...

Having some extra time on my hands, and still outraged at the Obama campaign's refusal to cooperate with revotes in Florida and Michigan, I began running the numbers to see just how Sen. Clinton would fair if Michigan and Florida were counted as per the January results.  What I found was pretty interesting:

Okay, by counting Florida and Michigan, you also count their superdelegates.  I estimate that Sen. Clinton would get a 40-50 superdelegate bounce by counting those two states.  Then you look at the pledged delegates.  I have to estimate she would get a net of about 50.  All together that would bring Sen. Clinton within about 20 delegates of Sen. Obama heading into the convention, just as things stand now.  Considering big enough wins in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia, and Clinton could potentially overtake Obama even in pledged delegates.

The problem still stands though.  That problem is Barack Obama.  I love how he claims that the people should decide, while at the same time having his lawyers stand in the way of millions of Americans voting.  Same thing with Pelosi.  She said, just today, that the will of the American people must be honored.  Well, how about applying that standard to Florida and Michigan.  They are, after all, people and Americans, aren't they?  So is this how Obama wins?  By silencing millions of voters?  Is this democracy?  Cause let's face the current outlook: the only way Obama ends with more popular votes, and potentially delegates, is if Florida and Michigan don't vote.  Sad, really, really sad.  

Pelosi and Reid Say "No More" To Bush

Finally, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are taking a firm stand against the Iraq War. Both Pelosi and Reid plan to present President Bush with a $50 billion measure for the Iraq War with the condition that the President begins to bring this disaster of a war to an end. This will be the toughest worded spending bill for the Iraq War since Democrats took control of Congress back last November. And if Bush goes against the wishes of the American people and vetoes the spending bill, he will not get his (and I emphasize "his") war funded for the rest of this year and possibly longer.

Even though I am enthralled that Democrats in Congress are finally taking strong, progressive steps to end the Iraq War debacle, I must admit that I wish it didn't come to this. I have stated in the past that it is the Republicans' responsibility to do what the American people want and bring this war to a safe end. Democrats have been fighting to end this war for years, but they simply do not have the numbers to overcome the Republicans. Pelosi and Reid do get unfairly blamed for not ending the war. Americans should not get angry at the Democrats for not ending the war, they should instead put pressure on the Republicans. It is the Republicans who keep the war going; not the Democrats.

With that being said, it is pretty clear that the Republicans weren't going to do the right thing. They refuse to break with their President and they continue to support a failed policy. So what were Pelosi and Reid going to do? I certainly do not think that funding should just be cut off all together. The troops, as Joe Biden has artfully pointed out, deserve to get the equipment that they need. Yet, at the same time, I feel we are doing them just as much harm by not ending this war. So what are we going to do?

Well, in Pelosi and Reid's proposal, I find a sort of "middle-ground." The Democrats are not cutting off funding for the troops; if anything, they are helping them. It is now on George Bush's hands to decide what course will be taken. Will he defy Congress and the American people yet again by continuing the war? Or will he finally recognize that the war is doing nothing but harming America in every way possible? If Bush does the former, he will be in essence cutting the funding off himself. It will then be the responsibility of the Republican's in Congress to override Bush's veto. If they don't, then they will be to blame for not supporting the troops. The Iraq War is no longer a partisan issue; Americans want it to end. And as usual, it is the Democrats who fight and who will continue to fight for the American people. I pray that the President and the GOP do the right thing and support this bill and begin to bring our brave men and women home...where they belong.

Democrats React

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a former Army Ranger, delivered the Democratic response to President Bush's address and had the following to say:

"Soldiers take a solemn oath to protect our nation, and we have a solemn responsibility to send them into battle only with clear and achievable missions. Tonight, the president provided neither. An endless and unlimited military presence in Iraq is not an option...Democrats and Republicans in Congress and throughout the nation cannot, and must not, stand idly by while our interests throughout the world are undermined and our armed forces are stretched toward the breaking point...We intend to exercise our constitutional duty and profoundly change our military's involvement in Iraq."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had this to say on the President's speech:

"The American people long ago lost faith in the president's leadership of the war in Iraq because his rhetoric has never matched the reality on the ground. The American people reject the president's call for an 'enduring relationship' with Iraq that is based on leaving our troops in the middle of a deadly civil war for at least 10 years. The choice is between a Democratic plan for responsible redeployment and the president's plan for an endless war."

Sen. Hillary Clinton responded to the President stating:

"What the president told the American people tonight is that one year from now, there will be the same number of troops in Iraq as there were one year ago. That is simply too little, too late and unacceptable to this Congress and the American people who have made clear their strong desire to bring our brave troops home."

Sen. Barack Obama reiterated something I said earlier, saying:

"What this is, is that we have run out of troops. We can't sustain the surge, and we are now going back to the same levels of troops that we had nine months ago."

The democrats are doing the right thing: standing up for America's safety and America's men and women in uniform. They are fighting for what the country wants, a safe end to the War in Iraq, and God bless them for that.

Cindy Sheehan: For Real?

In early July 2007, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan made a bold statement: either Nancy Pelosi will introduce articles of impeachment against Bush, or she would run against Speaker Pelosi in 2008 as an independent. After waiting a month to see if her ultimatum would be met, Cindy Sheehan announced that she is indeed running against Pelosi in 2008.

The question is, is Cindy Sheehan for real? Can she make a successful bid for the House of Representatives? All indications so far are no, that Pelosi's popularity in San Francisco will allow for another easy win. But don't be surprised if Sheehan does better than expected. San Francisco as a whole is utterly anti-war. If Sheehan can raise enough money, she could prove to be a bigger threat to Pelosi than some are saying. Not only will she get money from anti-war citizens in San Francisco, but also from anti-war activists around the country. In the end, Pelosi will prevail, but Sheehan is going to make her work harder then ever at keeping her job.

Now for my take on Cindy Sheehan. I feel so bad that she lost her son. She has a legitimate reason to be upset at the Bush administration, as we all do. But there is a point where you have to stop. At one point Sheehan said that she would rather live under Chavez than Bush. She has also made remarks hinting that 9/11 was an inside job. She should be continuing her anti-war activism, which helped bring attention to the war, instead of making foolish statements and saying anything to get in the press. There is no reason for her to blame Pelosi or the democrats when it comes to the war or impeachment. You can bet that this war would have been ended and both Bush and Cheney would have been impeached if it was possible. But with just the narrow led the democrats have in Congress, it is impossible for them to override a veto and it would be impossible for the Senate to impeach Bush. And Sheehan knows that. Cindy, blame the GOP, but support those who are fighting for what you too are fighting for. Thats the way to get things accomplished.