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Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 13:54:26 PM EDT
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Lots of good stuff in this Austin Statesman article; it's mostly watch and wait for Hillary supporters, as memories of dishonorable Obamazoid primary tactics linger and metastasize.
...an uncounted swath of Clinton backers, including voters who see Clinton as a groundbreaker mistreated by the media and national party, is taking a hard line in step with a national Web-driven effort dubbed PUMA (Party Unity My Ass).
Some say they will never cotton to the first-term senator from Illinois. Some fume at the way Texas delegates were chosen via the March 4 primary election and primary-night caucuses. Clinton won the primary, but Obama took more delegates because of caucus turnouts.
Well, that's understandable if they were there for the caucuses, and saw the widespread fraud with misappropriation of the sign-in packets and PIN numbers by Obama supporters. Isn't it amazing how all those Obama organizers across the state had the same idea and tactics? It's as if...
The story also contains good anecdotal evidence of specific reasons why Hillary's supporters aren't buying the Obaloney.
For some activists, at least for now, Obama suspicions simmer like summer.
Frances Morey of Austin, a Clinton delegate to the party's June state convention, noted that Obama lacks the 2,118 delegates needed to seal the nomination. (Projections put him over the threshold based on surveys of superdelegates - party dignitaries and members of Congress who don't have to commit until the convention.)
"So why is he prancing around in Europe like he's the president-elect?" Morey said this week. "I cannot vote for him. I cannot bring myself to vote for this poseur."
Morey said she'll likely skip the presidential election on her fall ballot.
Houston lawyer Abraham Levit described himself as a Clinton supporter who intends to vote for McCain unless the Arizona senator makes a foolish choice of a running mate.
"I just can't see myself voting for Obama," Levit said, listing as factors Obama's relative inexperience, what Levit views as the "ruled-by-mob" style of the primary-night caucuses, and news reports that the candidate has shifted to the right on some issues. |
| campskunk :: Trouble in Texas - Unity Pony Escapes, Rejoins Wild Herd |
And Howie's very first tormenter on his "bus trip from hell" was quoted. Poor Howie got traumatized by PUMAs from Crawford to Charlotte. (UPDATE: masslib's got a link to Howie getting PUMA-pummeled in Atlanta in the comments). I hope he's off that bus and can get some rest now ;-)
Guila Jackson of Waxahachie confronted Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, on July 17 when he brought a voter registration drive to Crawford, near President Bush's ranch. She wanted to know how the party plans to treat Clinton at the convention. Jackson is among Clinton backers who fear the party will deter Clinton from having her name placed in nomination.
After his encounter with Jackson, Dean said: "Hillary has an absolute right to speak at the convention, has an absolute right to be nominated, and it's completely up to her how she wants to do it."
Howie, it's not just Hillary that would benefit from a Democratic Party process that looks, well, democratic. The PARTY would benefit. You know, so people can tell it apart from those parties which only exist to promote one candidate, like... ah, never mind.
Howie also repeats his "PUMAs are just Republicans" paranoia, as he does every time he's asked. Luckily, the paper checked with Will Bower before they went to press, so Will gets a word in.
Most Democrats, he said, will go for Obama much as people who supported Dean for president in 2004 finally backed the nominee, Sen. John Kerry. (um, Howie, Kerry lost. Remember? The unity pony didn't quite carry the day.)
Dean said some of PUMA's push has been inspired by McCain. Will Bower, a Washington-based spokesman for PUMA, said McCain supporters are welcome, but PUMA started with Democrats.
And here's the part I like best... the Obama campaign outreach to Hillary supporters in a nutshell. Tell, it, Sue Berkel!
Sue Berkel of Austin, a Clinton delegate to the national convention, said she called Obama's campaign to urge him to choose Clinton for vice president. A campaign worker hung up on her, Berkel said.
"That's probably not a way to reach out," said Berkel, who intends to support the ultimate nominee, but wants a floor vote on all nominees.
It's probably all for naught in Texas, anyway - nobody expects ANY Democrat to take the state in November - but the Obama supporter/Hillary supporter dynamics are the same throughout the country.
We also get a look at the superdelegates' "we'll support Obama, knowing he's gonna lose, because we'll get his money and the benefit of his voter registration drive" strategy. Like good little Obamazoids, they're sitting on their hands, waiting for instructions from Oborg Headquarters in Chicago.
Obama activists here are waiting for his Chicago-based campaign to settle on staff members and money in Texas, which could happen as early as next week - not that everyone expects Obama to win the state.
Cisneros said: "I wouldn't argue that Texas is in play" for Obama.
But Obama supporters say the campaign can help Texas Democrats by registering and turning out voters. Democrats seek to recapture a majority in the Texas House by 2011 to have a meaningful foothold when lawmakers redraw legislative and congressional districts after the 2010 U.S. census. |
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"Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you?re knocked down, get right back up. And NEVER listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on."
Hillary Clinton - June 7, 2008
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