Do Votes Really Matter to the Democrats?

by PunditGuy | May 22, 2008 | 2008 Election | 0 comments

Hillary Clinton was quoted yesterday saying that it’s wrong when people go through the motions of an election only to have their vote discarded and disregarded. Of course, she was speaking of voters in Michigan and Florida whose primary votes are not being included in the tally of votes needed to secure the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. (Funny thing is, Hillary didn’t care much about Florida and Michigan back in the fall when she didn’t think she’d need them to win).

All this talk of counting every vote has got me thinking about the state of the Democratic party nomination as it stands today. Both Hillary and Barack Obama are very close to one another in terms of popular vote. Obama leads Clinton by over a hundred pledged delegates. Depending on who you listen to, Obama either needs to reach 2025 to secure the nomination, or 2209 by Clinton’s mathematics. Her path to the nomination is virtually impossible by anyone’s math. Still, Hillary is out there right now, screaming and pounding the table about how important each and every vote is.

Yet, the ironic thing is all of the votes and all of the pledged delegates really don’t matter.

For all their talk about how important “one man one vote” is to our Democracy, the Democrats are going to nominate a presidential candidate, not by the will of the voters, but by the will of the superdelegates. These individuals don’t have to vote according to the popular vote. They don’t have to vote according to pledged delegates. They don’t have to vote based on a majority of their constituents. They don’t have to vote the same way their home state voted. Nope, they can vote their conscience. Those are the rules of the Democratic Party.

So, you wonder why Hillary is still campaigning today to win the nomination when she’s behind in popular vote and pledged delegates? You wonder why she’s screaming for every vote to be counted? It’s not because it’s the actual vote that will bring her a win. The votes don’t matter. It’s the conscience of the superdelegates that matters.

So much for the will of the people.

Technorati Tags:
Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Vote, Superdelegates, DNC

Say Goodbye to Freedom

by PunditGuy | May 18, 2008 | 2008 Election | 6 comments

If we elect Barack Obama in November, start getting used to seeing little bits and pieces of your freedom disappear.

Believe it.

Pitching his message to Oregon’s environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to “lead by example” on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.

“That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.

And don’t think the guy won’t try to pull this off. Of course, he won’t succeed, but still – to think that someone who is running for president can suggest that Americans give up their freedom to spend what they want to purchase what they want; to eat what we want and to keep our houses heated to whatever level of comfort we want…it’s…Un-American.

Say “NO” to Obama, or get used to the government sleeping in your bed.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Democrats, Liberalism, Freedom, Communism

A Peek Under the Clinton Covers

by PunditGuy | May 16, 2008 | 2008 Election | 0 comments

I just love this kind of stuff.

The New Republic asked supporters, staffers, and others concerned with Hillary Clinton’s campaign to share what they think went wrong in her quest for the nomination. On condition of anonymity, they open up, and the reasons they give for cause of all the turmoil are delicious.

Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton,Election,President,Democrats,Campaign

And There Were Three

by PunditGuy | May 12, 2008 | 2008 Election | 0 comments

Former Republican Bob Barr has announced his intention to run as a Libertarian against McCain and Obama.

Expected to win the nomination of the Libertarian Party when it holds its convention in Denver over the Memorial Day weekend, Barr, 59, criticized Republican John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, for not being a true conservative.

“There’s not a great deal of substance there in terms of a commitment to cutting the size of government,” Barr said He said no one who had authored the McCain-Feingold campaign reforms that cap individual donations could call himself a conservative, “at least with a straight face.”

Barr also lashed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for saying that if Iran threatens Israel’s existence, the United States should “obliterate Iran.” Calling the New York senator’s statement “tremendously dire,” Barr called the possibility of Iran possessing nuclear weapons “remote” and said he has seen “no evidence that indicates that is an imminent likelihood.”

Saying both the Republican and Democratic Parties have “bought into a system of running a charity called the United States of America,” Barr blasted programs that use public funds to educate the children of illegal immigrants and maintain foreign military bases “that have no more efficacy in the 21st century.”

Contrary to the pundicracy who have already put forth a number of plausible scenarios for Barr’s success, his run is dead on arrival for one simple reason.

The media.

Barr won’t get any face time. He won’t garner the attention of the drive-by media. In short, no one but Barr and his inner circle will know he’s running.

Bob Barr is no Ross Perot. The media will decide if a third party has a real shot at the presidency. It won’t happen in 2008.

Technorati Tags: Bob Barr,John McCain,Barack Obama,President,Libertarian