My governor, Jon Corzine (D-NJ), he of the speedy car with no seatbelt accident (tsk, tsk, Jon), rephrases his “taken out of context” comments that he made on Squakbox from last week in a piece in the HuffingtonPost today. I’m glad he is clarifying his remarks because I don’t live that far from Drumthwacket and I was going to drive down there (seatbelts fastened) to give him a piece of my mind. In An Issue of Legitimacy and Democracy, Jon argues that MI and FL need revotes and then says:
Clearly, the cumulative delegate totals must be considered. Absolutely, the cumulative popular vote is important. And, a practical analysis of electability and the electoral map must be weighed.
For me, the most important of those factors is the popular vote since Democrats have rightfully and passionately long argued that every vote should be counted. Practically, that popular vote should include participation of the fourth and eighth largest states in the nation. Most Democrats agree that ignoring the voices of Florida and Michigan is a mistake and threatens to impact the outcome of the fall elections.
Like many, I fear that not considering the wishes of millions of Democratic voters in those states will taint the attitude of voters everywhere about our ultimate nominee. Early polling in Florida has already indicated as much…
I believe, as I think most Democrats do, that the popular vote is the most democratic way to select a candidate. In fact, I recently signed legislation in New Jersey that joins the state in a compact to choose a president by direct popular vote.
When we listen to all of the people in our party, we end up choosing the person the entire party can support.
Amen, Jon. Buckle up, buddy.
Update: RealClearPolitics has another take on the popular vote in No Really, Hillary Has a Decent Shot.
Filed under: Democratic Party, Denver Convention, Presidential Election 2008 | Tagged: Jon Corzine, New Jersey, popular vote, seat belts |
The Confluence 
Hey Riverdaughter,
Weren’t you saying you have so much work? Back to work, sister!!
Just kidding. Congratulations on your great blog. Really hoping for a double digit victory in PA. It’s tough, but it’s necessary, and keeping it very close in NC is also necessary.
I think a huge offensive regarding MI and FL is needed RIGHT NOW. Slogan: Howard, stand up to Obama: Count our VOTES or let us REVOTE.
My gov (and early Clinton endorser) is pushing the same:
“The twists and turns that still have to be made in the remaining states still have to be played out,” O’Malley said. “I heard Nancy Pelosi say the superdelegates should not reverse the popular vote, and I think that’s a very important consideration that will weigh heavily on all the superdelegates.”
Great article courtesy of leftcoaster and via rcp:
Hillary has a Decent Shot
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/04/no_really_hillary_has_a_decent.html
The best part about the article is the map of county vote returns and shows that Hillary’s best states could be coming up. For instance, I didn’t realize how important Kentucky and West Virginia will be to her popular vote count.
“(BTW, also note that calling for her to drop out before PA, PR, KY and WV vote would be akin to asking Obama to drop out because he was trailing with GA, AL, and MS yet to vote. It’s cutting her off before literally her best states vote).
UPDATE: I should also add that this isn’t a prediction, it is a scenario. Predictions are foolish at this point. But I think it is a plausbile scenario, and it is why she continues to fight.”
About Puerto Rico:
“That leaves Puerto Rico as the wild card. No one knows what will happen here. The Democratic and Republican parties don’t exist in the state. Hillary has the support of most of the politicians here; Obama had the Governor, but he was just indicted. Moreover, it is dicey using results from Mexican-Americans in TX and AZ here; Puerto Ricans are different culturally, linguistically, and even ethnically.
Then again, PR has a strong connection with NY, and she performed well in the PR community in her primary, as well as in Hudson county in New Jersey. I haven’t seen any indication that Obama has performed well with Puerto Ricans anywhere. And there’s the FALN pardons. So Cost’s 25% victory for Hillary sounds about right, maybe even conservative.
That leaves the question of turnout. This is the million dollar question. We have no way of knowing how many people will turn out. The island has 4M people. Cost put his default at 1M. I think it will almost certainly be higher. In 2004, turnout for the delegate to the Congress — a non-voting member — resulted in 2 million votes cast. FOR A NON-VOTING MEMBER. Imagine the excitement — in a state where American party labels mean nothing — to be able to pick a President.”
article snippets:
Riverdaughter,
Off topic, but may you kindly update the link to Hillary’s Bloggers? It’s now at
http://hillarysbloggers.soapblox.net/
And dear Confluencians, please drop by, register, comment, and help a new Hillary-friendly blog take root. Thanks.
Corzine says something that may be important: “When we listen to all of the people in our party, we end up choosing the person the entire party can support.
The last I checked, most reasonable estimates had Hillary winning the Dem vote. It’s those non-Dems that have given Obama the lead.
ghost2: Will do.
A shorter slogan:
Count the VOTES, or let’s REVOTE.
riverdaughter,
I’m glad you ended up not making today a light posting day. Did you hear it turned out that the story Hillary has been telling about a pregnant woman who was turned away from a local hospital and then died is true after all?
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/04/07/the-real-trina-bachtel-story/
And the dickless wonder, MB is posting defenses at Talkleft for the Obama blogs, the NYT, and ABC calling Hillary a liar.
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/4/7/155137/9457
Oooh! MB was shamed into updating the story at the big orange cheetos place!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4/7/164532/4960/454/491776
Sorry, I put three links in a comment and now it is awaiting moderation. It turns out the health care horror story that Clinton has been telling on the campaign trail is really true. Of course that won’t stop the NYT, ABC news, and the big blogger boyz from calling her a liar. The dickless one, MB, wrote it up at the cheetos place, but the commenters are still sure that Hillary is a liar and even if she didn’t quite lie, she’s evil evil evil.
An interesting read here:
http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2008/04/07/obama-memphis-does-it-matter/
rd, that update is pretty impressive all by itself. I could get lost in all that information.
Thanks for posting it.
Jake Tapper posted a link to the Ohio sheriff telling Hillary Clinton about the woman who died from compications of childbirth–and what was indeed sent away from the first hospital!
I’ll put the Tapper link below.
Old Video of Jennifer Granholm on the eve of Michigan Primary: “We are MAD as hell”.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/is-hillarys-muc.html?cid=109814178
Tapper link
This info didn’t stop the Hardball crowd from going over the story at least two times. And the guy from Politico, Roger somebody, was just beside himself that Hillary or her staff had not immediately vetter the sheriff’s story!!
Why, doesn’t Hillary know that they’re out to get her for lying? Why isn’t she having every single thing she says double and triple checked??
Grrrr.
I have no idea how often the Bosnia video was broadcast on the cablers and on evening news–think they’ll even a tenth that much of the Ohio sheriff video which shows not only did Hillary basically get the story spot on right, but it also shows was great listener she is.
Hillary was not my first choice, maybe not even my second. At one time I thought the country might do better with her as an unabashed liberal in the Senate (with a Dem prez, of course, but holding the prez’s feet to the fire of her energy and dedication to helping people).
Now, I think the nation truly does need her as president, setting the agenda, listening to those who have not been listened to….
Proofreading is a good thing:
will the big newsers show the Ohio sheriff video even a tenth of the number of times the Bosnia tape was shown….
Who thinks that the MCM (Mainstream Corporate Media) people will be tutting one another for not having fully investigated (vetted, babeeee!) the hospital’s story they dug up to discredit Hillary?
Crickets….
From the Washington Post. The aunt of the pregnant woman whose story Hillary has been telling confirms the facts of the tale.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/04/07/clinton_told_true_tale_of_woe.html
Casto said her niece, who suffered from preeclampsia during her pregnancy, did not seek care at the first hospital she when she fell ill because she knew she did not have the $100 out-of-pocket she believed she would need to be seen. Instead, she went to O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, where her baby was stillborn. Bechtel was later flown to Columbus and died there. She was 35.
Casto said she has been stunned by the amount of negative attention her niece’s story generated, and that she was sorry it had hurt the Clinton campaign. She was, and is, she said, a supporter. “Did I vote for Hillary?” she said. “You’d better bet I did.”
The media and the blogger boyz keep trying to beat Hillary down, but she’s still standing. She is strong as steel and she won’t back down!
A comment at the WaPo article:
Let me get this straight:
Barack Obama can go around saying he was the “first black president” of the Harvard Law Review – indeed, be approached to write a book as a result of it – while for years he has conveniently neglected to point out that he was NOT the first black man to head the Harvard Law Review.
The Harvard Law Review changed the historic term “editor” to the term “president” only one year before Barack’s election to the post. This was done to reflect the fact that the position was no longer held by the student with the highest grades (a feat achieved by the PREVIOUS black scholar but not by Obama), but rather by popular election.
In light of this, it amazes me that anyone could possibly criticize Clinton for either repeating an anecdote in the form in which it was told to her by a law enforcement offical, or for failing to “vet” it.
If vetting is the new standard, perhaps the Obama campaign should start vetting everything their candidate has represented about his life and accomplishments. The liberties he’s taken make “A Thousand Little Pieces” look trustworthy.
Posted by: GPM | April 7, 2008 9:17 PM
Anyone have citation or link for this info?
If this is accurate, the sneaky little candidate! Well, indeed, it is “true,” but hardly accurate.
How very lawyerly!
CORRECTION TO ABOVE COMMENT–Cannot verify:
Based on googling, I cannot find proof for the commenter at the WaPo about Obama being the first elected president of the HLR, but not the first editory in chief.
What I found so far is that Charles Hamilton Houston was the first African American to be an editor of the HLR, in 1923. I coudn’t find the organization chart.
So, please ignore the above comment as I cannot vouch for its accuracy–and therefore it’s unfair to have it bruited about. Please ignore! Thanks.
Riverdaughter,
This is off topic but very important…..please post for your readers. Thanks! (FromTaylor Marsh)
Clinton Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin
By Anne E. Kornblut
The aunt of a young pregnant woman who died after a hospital told her she needed to pay $100 up front for care said in an interview on Monday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been telling the story accurately on the campaign trail — following claims by a different Ohio hospital that it did not turn the patient away.
When can we expect retractions and apologies from the Obama News Network? Oh by the way, from the Obama blogs? what a disgraceful episode.
Hi Sarah, Thanks! I posted the story.
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