Too Progressive

Checkout this email I got earlier today from the Clinton campaign claiming victory in Florida. Notice also how they fail to mention that Florida was stripped of it’s delegates by the DNC for violating party rules and moving it’s primary up. Also, no mention of the fact that all of the Democratic contenders pledged not to do any sort of campaigning in Florida during the primary season. HAHA!

Subject: Victory in Florida
From: Hillary Clinton
Date: Wed, Jan 30, 2008 8:38 am

Dear Terry,

I know I told you our campaign journey would be filled with high-stakes twists and turns. But I never knew it would be quite as dramatic as this. And last night we celebrated another big moment in this campaign with our resounding victory in Florida.

Now we face the biggest day of the campaign on Tuesday, with 22 races across the country. And no one can predict the outcome.

In a race this close, whatever you and I do now can make the difference. Every campaign stop, every voter we talk to, and every dollar you give can be the difference on Tuesday. Only our online supporters like you can act decisively enough to make sure the excitement and energy of this victory carries through on February 5.

Congratulations to John Edwards, who today received more TV air time than in all of his 29 previous presidential bids combined. Let’s take a look at who’s more desperate for his endorsement!

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is set to give the Democratic rebuttal to Bush’s final State of the Union address. Let’s liveblog this too!

10:14pm - Sebelius is supposedly set to endorse Barack Obama for President. HA HA, it would be funny if she did it during her speech tonight.
10:16pm - You’re an American! I’m an American! Everyone watching tonight is American!
10:16pm - We’re all rolling our eyes at Larry King and Wolf Blitzer.
10:18pm - This will be a non-partisan rebuttal.
10:20pm - Will you join us, Mr. President? Will you join us?
10:23pm - There is uncertainty throughout the land!
10:25pm - If she ask George Bush to join us one more time…
10:26pm - Oh hey there, take tonight off, we’ll just get to work tomorrow.
10:26pm - Aaaaand she’s done! Who the hell wrote that speech? They are so fired. I’ll have the video up shortly (maybe).

[Earlier: LIVEBLOG: George Bush's final State of the Union speech & LIVEBLOG SURGE PART 2: George Bush's final State of the Union speech]

[Earlier: LIVEBLOG: George Bush's final State of the Union speech]

9:36pm - He’s reminding us what happened on September 11, 2001. Rudy Giuliani (the mayor and owner of 9/11) is soooo happy right now!
9:38pm - We’re going to have a SURGE in Afghanistan now!
9:40pm - SURGE SURGE SURGE!
9:41pm - SURGE! The Iraqi’s launched some sort of grassroots SURGE (WTF?) IN Iraq! American SURGE!
9:42pm - Hey look there’s the oldest man (538 years old) in the world John Warner again!
9:47pm - Progress! Surge! Progress! Surge!
9:49pm - Forces of extremism in “the holy land.”
9:50pm - Condi Rice looks like a dragon! She also looks stoned..
9:53pm - Oh hey there, did you know the terrorists still want to kill us!
9:55pm - To protect you from terrorist we have to listen in on your phone calls, read your emails, and oh hey.. install cameras in public bathrooms too!
10:00pm - Hooray! Now we’re going to get a history lesson on how the Constitution was drafted.
10:01pm - HE SAID IT! HE SAID IT! The state of our union will remain strong! HAHAAHAH!
10:02pm - GOD BLESS AMERICA! It’s finally over!!
10:03pm - CNN reports that Hillary and Obama still haven’t spoken to each other. As I said in part one of the liveblog, they were only sitting about 10 feet from each other!
10:10pm - The NPR FactWatch blog calls Bush a lying liar!

And now, lets liveblog the Democratic rebuttal!

8:43pm - Ha ha, John McCain won’t be there!
9:00pm - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne isn’t invited to the party!
9:01pm - The Bush twins are there (and probably drunk?). This is the first time they’ve attended Bush’s SOTU speech.
9:03pm - CNN just reported that Hillary Clinton is seated about 10 feet from Barack Obama and Ted Kennedy. When she walked over towards them Ted Kennedy reached across Obama to shake her hand, while Obama just looked away. BURRRRRN!
9:09pm - Bush calls for debate on the economy and foreign policy. Yeah because he’s been so open to debate over the past seven years.
9:10pm - Republicans and Democrats can cooperate! Wow……. Really…..?
9:11pm - “Our economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty…”
9:13pm - You’re all screwed in the short run.
9:13pm - Bush calls on Americans to send the IRS checks AND money orders!!
9:15pm - Bush threatens a surplus in 2012 (but only because we’ll have a Democrat in office).
9:15pm - We’re going to veto EVERY bill over the next year!
9:16pm - Something is apparently funny.
9:18pm - Oh man Hillary looks THRILLED to be there!
9:18pm - Obama too!!
9:19pm - Let’s help the rich people some more!
9:20pm - NO ONE can deny No Child Left Behind has been nothing but a big.. fat.. disaster!
9:20pm - No Child Left Behind is bi-partisan because….. uhm…. Joe Lieberman (?) supports it?
9:24pm - Colombia is our new BFF!
9:25pm - Hey look there’s 49 term Senator John Warner of Virginia. Oh John Warner, I thought you were dead already. You know, since you’re like 538 years old and all.
9:27pm - All this talk about cleaner and more energy efficient technology would be great and all, you know, if Bush would actually act on it.
9:27pm - Stop murdering stem cells!
9:29pm - All life should be treated with dignity. Except in Iraq. Except for the death penalty. Hell, except for anyone who isn’t a white wealthy Christian male.
9:30pm - The Federal government is supporting religion. Wait, isn’t that sort of, ya know, a violation of the Constitution?
9:32pm - Massive deficits!
9:34pm - Stirring moments in “the history of liberal.” LOLZ!
9:36pm - Juvenile Iraqi’s voted? Wait, I don’t think that’s legal OR a correct statement.

Let’s start a part two!

It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these, but tonight I’ll be here liveblogging George Bush’s final State of the Union speech beginning at 9pm ET.

Also, here’s a look back at Jim Webb’s rebuttal to Bush’s State of the Union speech last year:

Senator Ted Kennedy officially endorsed Barack Obama at a rally this morning at American University here in Washington, DC (videos below). Lowell has some great pictures from the rally posted over at Raising Kaine as well.

Caroline Kennedy endorses Barack Obama:

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy endorses Barack Obama:

And finally, Obama accepts the nomination:

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy is set to endorse Barack Obama tomorrow at American University in Washington, DC. The endorsement from Senator Kennedy will come just one day after his niece, Caroline Kennedy, endorsed Barack Obama in an op/ed piece in today’s New York Times.

This is good news for Obama. However, I personally never let endorsements influence my decision on who to vote for. People should do their homework and look at the issues and the candidates stance and decide for themselves who they feel is the best candidate, instead of blindly following another politician, union, media outlet, or other entity that makes an endorsement of political candidates.

Kennedy’s decision came after weeks of mounting frustration with the Clintons over their campaign tactics, particularly those with racial overtones. Kennedy expressed those frustrations directly to the campaign but was reportedly infuriated when Bill Clinton yesterday compared Obama’s South Carolina victory to Jesse Jackson winning the state’s much smaller caucuses in 1984 and 1988.

If you haven’t yet seen it, here’s a video of Bill Clinton’s remarks regarding Obama’s win in South Carolina yesterday:

A bit of Sunday morning humor courtesy of our bumbling-idiot-in-chief:

[Earlier: Obama wins South Carolina & More from South Carolina]

Another great speech from Obama!

UPDATE: With 99% of the precincts in South Carolina reporting Barack Obama currently has 295,091 votes (55%), Hillary currently stands at 141,128 (27%), and John Edwards in a distant third with 93,552 (18%). The total number of Democrats voting in today’s primary currently stands at 532,227 (and again we are still waiting on the last of the precincts to report). As I mentioned earlier tonight, the Republican turn out was far less than the Democrats at only 489,237.

Of South Carolina’s 54 total delegates 45 are tied to the January 26 primary results while the remaining nine are super delegates. From the 45 delegates tied to the results of the primary results Obama will receive 25, Hillary will receive 12 and the remaining 8 will go to Edwards.

[Earlier: Obama wins South Carolina]

Turn out in today’s South Carolina primary was phenomenal! When Republicans went to the polls on January 19 in South Carolina 443,203 votes were cast. By comparison, 489,237 Democratic votes have already been counted (93% of precincts reporting) proving once again that Democrats are far more energized for the November elections than Republicans.

UPDATE: Caroline Kennedy has endorsed Barack Obama in an op/ed piece titled “A President Like My Father” to appear in tomorrow’s edition of the New York Times.

OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

UPDATE II: Barack Obama just finished addressing a huge crowd of fired up supporters in South Carolina while Hillary is getting ready to speak to supporters in South Carolina Tennessee. John Edwards is expected to address supporters in South Carolina shortly.

UPDATE III: HA HA, John Edwards started his speech by saying “I want to join Hillary, as well as Bill Clinton in congratulating Barack Obama on his victory in South Carolina today.”

UPDATE IV: John Edwards just told Wolf Blitzer he is “very encouraged” about today’s primary results in South Carolina. Yeah okay, we all know he’s toast. Also, there are rumors swirling around the blogosphere that the Edwards campaign has approached the Obama campaign seeking some sort of “deal” were Edwards to drop out. The Obama campaign (supposedly) turned them down.

UPDATE V: More exit polling:
Voters by gender:
Female voters - 61%
Male voters - 39%

Voters by age:
18-29 - 14%
30-44 - 26%
45-59 - 34%
60+ - 26%

Who they voted for:
Black voters:
Obama - 81%
Clinton - 18%
Edwards - 1%

White voters:
Edwards - 39%

Hillary - 36%
Obama - 24%

Black men:
Obama - 80%
Clinton - 17%
Edwards - 3%

Black women:

Obama - 82%
Clinton - 17%
Edwards - <1%

White men:
Edwards - 44%
Clinton - 28%
Obama - 27%

White women:
Clinton - 42%
Edwards - 35%
Obama - 22%

Developing…

The polls closed less than a minute ago and CNN is already projecting, based on exit polls, that Barack Obama will emerge as a “strong winner” in South Carolina.

UPDATE: CNN is now reporting that 81% of black voters voted for Obama according to exit polls.

UPDATE II: MSNBC calls it for Obama as well.

NBC News declared Sen. Barack Obama as the projected winner in South Carolina’s Democratic primary.

Obama won South Carolina by a substantial margin, with Hillary Rodham Clinton running second and John Edwards third, NBC reported.

Obama reached out for victory over Clinton in a racially charged primary, a prelude to the Feb. 5 coast-to-coast competition for more than 1,600 national convention delegates.

UPDATE III: The Associated Press calls it a “rout” for Obama over Clinton.

Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the racially-charged South Carolina primary Saturday night, regaining campaign momentum in the prelude to a Feb. 5 coast-to-coast competition for more than 1,600 Democratic National Convention delegates.

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was running third, a sharp setback in the state where he was born and scored a primary victory in his first presidential campaign four years ago.

The Associated Press made its call based on surveys of voters as they left the polls.

About half the voters were black, according to polling place interviews, and four out of five of them supported Obama. Black women turned out in particularly large numbers. Obama, the first-term Illinois senator, got a quarter of the white vote while Clinton and Edwards split the rest.

UPDATE IV: CNN projecting Hillary Clinton will come in second in South Carolina.
Developing…

Bill Clinton, that is. Some Thursday morning humor for the masses:

After spending two months accompanying his wife, Hillary, on the campaign trail, former president Bill Clinton announced Monday that he is joining the 2008 presidential race, saying he “could no longer resist the urge.”

“My fellow Americans, I am sick and tired of not being president,” said Clinton, introducing his wife at a “Hillary ‘08″ rally. “For seven agonizing years, I have sat idly by as others experienced the joys of campaigning, debating, and interacting with the people of this great nation, and I simply cannot take it anymore. I have to be president again. I have to.”

Clinton also noted that, if elected, the timing would be perfect for his family, as his wife has recently expressed a desire to move back to the D.C. area.

Watch Mitt Romney dance around the fact that he does, despite his denial, in fact have lobbyists working for his campaign by saying that the staffer is “only an advisor and friend.” Seriously. Also, if you listen carefully you can hear another reporter ask “well who does have lobbyists working for their campaign by that definition?” Which Romney chooses to totally (and conveniently!) ignore.

But wait! It gets better! At the end of the video a campaign staffer tells the reporter he was unprofessional and rude. Right, because it’s sooo professional for the reporter to just let the candidate sit there and tell a bold-faced lie to voters, isn’t it?

And even better yet! You can hear an ignorant bystander (equipped with one of those annoying southern accents) call the reporter “rude and ugly.” HA HA. So standing up for the truth makes you “rude and ugly” by southern Republican voter standards. How nice! Now we all know why they continue to vote for a party that constantly screws them and the rest of the country over. But mostly just them, because the rest of us are at least smart enough to keep the party that continuously gets it right in office at the local levels.

Well this certainly is news I’m having a hard time forming an opinion on. Being a resident of Arlington county, I, along with virtually everyone else familiar with the project favor the underground option as opposed to the above ground rail. However, the fact that the FTA is threatening to reject it because they are “reluctant to promote large scale transit projects” kind of makes me sick.

Officials on Capitol Hill, in Richmond and at the airports authority’s headquarters have speculated in recent days about what the problem might be. Some say the FTA has long been skeptical of expensive rail projects; in recent years, it has more often championed bus rapid transit projects.

Others point to a long-standing desire in the Transportation Department to move away from public investments in infrastructure. Peters, the transportation secretary, for example, refused to endorse a report published Tuesday by a bipartisan national commission on the future of the nation’s transportation system. She instead issued a dissent decrying wasteful spending and the federal government’s large share of the investment. She said she favored private investment and more tolling to control congestion.

I would hardly call a “bus” rapid transit, first of all. Second of all, isn’t it great how we’re spending trillions in Iraq to “build” (destroy) their infrastructure but projects like this within our own country remain in limbo decades after they are needed.

Also, what the hell is the woman behind him doing?

Former Republican Congressman Mark D. Siljander of Michigan has been indicted for his involvement in a terrorist fundraising ring which raised money for Al-Qaeda.

Developing…

UPDATE: Via CNN/AP:

A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al Qaeda and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Missouri, accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying — money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Siljander, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was appointed by President Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.

Also, let’s not forget that this isn’t the first time Republicans have been linked to terrorist in the past year.

I’m all for counting votes accurately, and I like Dennis Kucinich, but seriously, WTF!

CONCORD, N.H. — The state on Wednesday began the process of recounting the Democratic ballots cast in last week’s primary.

Shortly before 8 a.m., the ballots that had been stored in Manchester were loaded onto hand trucks to begin the journey to Concord. The recount was requested by candidate Dennis Kucinich, who paid $27,000 to the secretary of state to begin the recount.

“The big thing, I think, is to determine if the paper ballot count, the hand count, matches the machine totals,” said Emmanuel Krasner, and observer for the Kucinich campaign.

First of all, WHY? Less than two percent of the vote and, I’ll “boldly” predict right now that this recount won’t shift the balance more than a couple hundred votes (if that, because after all, this isn’t Florida or Ohio). Second of all, I’d be interested to see how much cash the Kucinich campaign has on hand. They’re not running advertisements, they’re not really doing anything to get his message (which is one I actually like) out. Why not spend this money towards ads instead of trying to gain a couple of votes in New Hampshire?

And who could blame them!?

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has reached a 30-year agreement with the Atlanta Braves that will send Richmond’s professional baseball team of 42 years to the suburban Atlanta county.

Last year, the Braves signed a short-term lease with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, the regional body that owns The Diamond, to keep the ball club here at least one year and up to three. The team can opt out of the contract after each season but must give notice to the authority by Oct. 1 of each year if it plans to leave.

However, negotiations stalled over a long-term lease for the Braves to occupy a new or renovated stadium, despite reported concessions by the team to greatly increase the rent it would pay.

In October, Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder’s administration hired a national real estate consultant, The Staubach Co., to fashion a plan for The Diamond and roughly 60 acres the city owns around it.

Late last month, Plant told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the Braves were working with the city and its consultant, even though he would have preferred a faster timetable.

Uhm, ya think? Wilder has seemingly been determined to drive the team from the city since he took office following the 2004 elections.