Obama Won Texas - You Just Don't Know It Yet
Posted 26 weeks 3 days ago byThe irony of my having been in Texas working for the Obama campaign is that, I knew nothing about the Texas primary process before I got there, either. But it still kills me that the major media outlets have so misrepresented what actually happened this week. I understand that it's a complicated process - trust me, I've been trying to explain it to voters for a week now! But talk about not doing your research and missing the story. . .
For those of you similarly unfamiliar (and I was, too), here's your 10-second primer on the stupidest Democratic nominating system in the country: it's an open primary from 7 AM to 7 PM, followed immediately by a closed caucus at 7:15 PM. "Closed" means that only those who voted in the primary can vote in the caucus that night. Two-thirds of the delegates are awarded according to the primary votes, and the remaining third are awarded during the caucus process. Which means: Hillary did not win Texas . The caucus votes don't even have to be submitted until tomorrow, and they won't be fully counted for several weeks - but internal numbers indicate that Obama won big in the caucus. Considering Hillary only came out ahead by a few delagates in the primary, that's not a sustainable lead. She's already lost the biggest state in the Union. But what is the media reporting? A "primary" win which, though true, is completely beside the point. Plus, it disenfranchises the over a million people who honored the "Texas Two-Step" process and voted both times. It's tantamount to telling voters that their caucus doesn't count.
Yes, it's a stupid system. It makes it harder to vote if you're disabled, elderly, or have young children, because you have to come twice, and the caucus did take all evening in many cases. But having been on the ground, I can tell you that the caucus was the best thing about democracy in Texas that night. There were no shortage of families in the parking lot where I watched seven caucuses being run simulaneously. There were plenty of older voters. It turns out, if you really have something to believe in, you're not going to let a demographic stop you! The caucuses were almost entirely citizen-run in my precincts (read: the Democratic party was NOT in attendance). People debated, challenged eachother, demanded that voter rolls be checked and that every use of power have a counter-balance. This is the way things are supposed to be fought for - with the intelligence of the people their only weapon, the stamina and drive of supporters a candidate's best asset, and no money to sully the system. You can't imagine how thrilling it was to see people step up, as Chairs and Secretaries of their respective precincts, and knowing nothing more than what the Party had left them in their "instruction packets," run orderly, fair, and balanced contests. If you wanted to speak, you were heard - even if it took all night. That is what elections are all about.














Thoughts
Keep Spinning That Defeat!
Submitted on March 8th, 2008 by Chuck_JohnsonHillary had a big win across the board. Nothing the Obama people say will convince me -- or the American electorate -- that they aren't shaking in their boots.
Caucuses aren't democratic. We should be able to cast our ballots secretly and not be harassed. Causes are a development of the New Left and like all other developments of the New Left, they need to be quickly disbanded.
Chuck Johnson is a student at Claremont McKenna College. Feel free to contact him.
As one of your hapless
Submitted on March 6th, 2008 by CivilianAs one of your hapless precinct captains, I can attest to the uninhibited enthusiasm displayed by the caucus attendees. While their exuberance didn’t do much to ease the chaos and confusion that accompanied that night, it certainly made for a lively and inspirational evening. Seeing people from all walks of life huddled together in a cold, dark parking lot in order to cast their votes for their respective candidate really reminded me what grass roots politics is all about. As for the medias coverage and subsequent misrepresentation of the election results, I believe that's to be expected. It’s much easier, and beneficial as far as ratings go, for the media outlets to declare an Ohio/Texas victory (the mighty one-two punch that Hillary supposedly needed to say in the race), then to explain the complicated caucus process and its affect on the overall outcome. Basically, “Hillary wins Texas and Ohio!”, and hell they might throw in Rhode Island for good measure, is a much better story/headline. Oh I also want to point out that I really enjoyed the riot that nearly broke out when the Little Elm police tried to bar people from entering the polling place 5 minutes before the 7pm cutoff. There’s nothing quite like hearing hundreds of angry, furrow browed caucus goers chanting, “let them vote! let them vote!”. The roar that erupted after they were finally admitted was deafening. It was bliss.