High Pressure Sales, and a Cooling Off Period

The good-looking, smooth-talking stranger stood at your door, asking only a moment of your time. Later on, you stood there telling your Significant Other how you canceled a bunch of accounts, transferred a bunch of assets, and signed the both of you up for a Lifetime Subscription to … well … you’re not sure what it was, precisely, are you?

It’s unbelievable … totally NEW … this guy says it will help us sleep better … clean up our streets … lower the electric bill … keep the kids in college, and out of trouble … safeguard our retirement … listen, it’s an integrated, all-purpose, um … no, you can’t measure it by some old-fashioned yardstick … no, I can’t explain it any better, you’d have to hear that from HIM … he inspired me … REALLY … just look at these goosebumps … yeah, we have to move NOW … it’s a ground-floor opportunity … our Defining Moment … just talk to the neighbors, willya? … everybody‘s buying in!

Well, “everybody” isn’t buying in, but a lot of people who should know better bought in the heat of the moment. You might be one of them. It’s nothing to be ashamed of — statutory Cooling Off Periods apply to certain sales transactions for good reason.

On the calendar, Montana and South Dakota lie ahead (furnishing valuable Primary data points in the wide open spaces of Caucus country), as well as Puerto Rico (which pols and pundits ignore at their peril) … and then June, and July, and August before the nomination becomes irrevocable. Now is the time for convention delegates to breathe deep, slow down, cool off, and review the value proposition they either signed onto or are being pressured to sign.

Now, before we join the Esau Generation and trade our political birthrights for a mess of potshots at Washington DC and the Old Rules of Politics, I’ll suggest a few things to mull over while it still matters.

“But she PROMISED!”

I watched the video of Hillary’s speech in Florida from MSNBC and it is all coming back to me why I decided to only watch C-Span. At the very end of it, Contessa Brewer comes on and says something to the effect: “But what makes her think she can get the votes from Florida and Michigan when she *promised* not to campaign there?” You can see part of the speech and Contessa’s query here
(Sorry, it won’t embed)

The worst part of this is that so many people will not try to follow the logic or assume there is logic. There is not. Contessa’s whine about the candidates’ promise reminds me of some manipulative kid trying to get something over on their parents in a moment of weakness. “But you prommissed I could go to the sleepover. You prommissed!” It is so tempting to just give in to make the kid shut up.

But what is Contessa saying here? F^&( if I know. What does a promise to not campaign in the states have to do with championing the rights of the voters of those two states to have their votes counted? It was hardly the voters’ fault for getting caught in the middle of some political power play. And only a stupid politician would seriously believe you could exclude these two states from the final tally and expect to win them back in the general election. (Whoops! Sorry about that Donna) Only a person without scruples would deliberately take his name off the Michigan ballot in order to invalidate the votes for his opponent (and stupid too, like Donna).

But the fact that they proommmmmiissed not to campaign in these two states has nothing to do with the fact that the primaries were conducted fair and square and all they need now is a nod from the Rules and Bylaws committee. So, they didn’t campaign. (Ok, well *Clinton* didn’t campaign. Obama bought $1.4 Million dollars worth of cable ads) So what? It’s a complete non-sequitor with respect to honoring the votes.

No, Contessa, you can’t have your way this time. Somebody’s got to act like a grown up.

Clinton May Take Delegate Fight to Convention

In Boca Raton, FL today, Hillary Clinton said that she would take the fight for Michigan and Florida’s delegates to the convention if those states want her to.

“I believe the Democratic Party must count these votes,” Clinton said to a crowd of about 700 at the Century Village retirement community, to chants of “Count our votes.” “They should count them exactly as they were cast.”

“The rules clearly state that we can count all of these votes and seat all of these delegates, pledged and unpledged, should we so choose,” the former first lady added.

Wednesday: Numerology

Hillary won Kentucky last night by a whopping 65-30. Now, I know we Clintonistas are dumb and everything but I think that comes out to be, hold on, let me get my calculator, hmmm, it’s that straight line, right? 35 points! Let me get my male neighbor to check my work. Ok, maybe later. I think we’re just going to go with 35 for now.

Wow! That’s a pretty humiliating defeat for the presumptuous nominee but it really shouldn’t come as a surprise since he only outspent Hillary by several multiples (That is the correct term, isn’t it?). Now, what is this number trying to tell us? Well, as we noticed before, the exit polls in Kentucky showed something like 68% of those polled thought the primary should continue. That means that a.)they thought that everyone should get a chance to vote because that’s the American way or b.) no matter what the media and the Obama campaign is saying, they’re not accepting Obama as their nominee yet (if ever) or c.) both.

Anglachel also has a post where she looks at the numbers from Kentucky and Oregon and attempts to see into the future. In KY,what she found is that roughly half of Clinton’s supporters would defect to McCain or withhold their vote if Obama is the nominee. Half. The reverse is NOT true. Obama supporters seem to be fine with Clinton as the nominee to a large extent. Furthermore, those Kentucky Clinton voters don’t want him as a VP either. They just don’t want him. Period.

I know our Obama fans are going to jump to conclusions right away and think that these people are bigots. But let’s say most Kentuckians are like me. Let’s say they’ve heard his campaign and his supporters call them dumb old racists one too many times. Or stupid old women. Or uneducated working class. Let’s say they have seen the same clueless attitude as DHinMI’s at the Big Orange Cheeto who writes diaries with the following title: Appalachia’s Last Chance to Show It Doesn’t Have an Obama Problem (no, I’m not providing a link. We’re honoring the strike). How insulting can you possibly get to these voters? Appalacia has a problem? That’s not the way politics work. If a politician wants a person’s vote, it’s not up to the voter to adjust their attitudes or shed their personalities or agree to be invisible or unimportant. It is the politician’s job to get down on the ground and grovel and beg that person for their vote and speak about issues that are important to them and propose policies that will improve their lives and move them to think beyond themselves. But instead of reaching out to Appalacia, Obama is writing off the entire region.

But this is typical of Obama’s campaign. At times it seems like he deliberately goes out of his way to offend one constituency or another. And the DNC never takes him aside and says, “You know, Barry, ease up a bit on Appalachia. We might need WV or KY. And call off your dogs with the sexist crap or we won’t have anyone to make phone calls in October.” No, they never do this. Hillary is the only Dem who seems to be courting the voters and talking about what’s important to them. Some of those voters bought a lot of negative opposition research pumped out ad nauseum by Obama’s fan base online and in the media. They think we are the “old coalition”. Fine. But without *us*, there is no President Barry.

Madame President Hillary is starting to look a lot more probable according to the probability maps from our friends at Hominid Views. The latest simulations have Hillary beating McCain handily, again, by insurmountable numbers.

Obama beats him too but only by a mere 6 electoral college votes.

And when you’re that close to losing it all, Kentucky’s 8 electoral college votes start to look pretty damn tasty. These numbers were based on recent polling data and may look completely different in the fall after the media turns on Obama and his lovely wife. If I were a superdelegate who really wanted to win this fall, I’d keep these numbers in mind because it looks like if Obama is forced down our throats, we might just gag up a loss.

There are only 3 more primaries to go peeps and they are all going to cost money. Hillary is already footing the bill for a lot of this, but according to campaign finance rules, she only has a certain amount of time to pay herself back. I don’t feel the least bit embarrassed about bringing this up. It’s just a fact of life in electoral politics, campaigns cost a ton of money and can be unpredictable. Like, unpredictably LOOOOONNNNGG. So, if you have a few bucks and you can afford to, please send it Hillary’s way.

One more thing:

The executives at the Mighty Corrente building have exhausted their expense accounts and can’t pay the light bill. A terrible fate awaits them. They will soon be reduced to cheap costumes and grease paint in an attempt to pass themselves off as begging gypsies. You can help prevent this blogger’s nightmare by making a donation to their kibble fund.

Hillary Clinton Must be the Nominee!

Our girl did very well for herself and for us tonight. How Barack could stand up in front of that crowd in Iowa with a straight face and claim some kind of victory is a mystery to me. What has he won since March 5? Two states?