HarperLee

Consortium News, Lisa Pease, 03/06/08

Editor’s Note: Hillary Clinton prevailed in the Texas primary, beating Barack Obama by a 51-to-48 margin and claiming 65 delegates to his 61. However, Texas has a two-step process for apportioning its delegates, meaning that Obama had a chance to reverse Clinton’s four-delegate net gain in the caucus phase.

Historian Lisa Pease examines how this curious twist in the march to the Democratic presidential nomination is turning out:
Tuesday night, as the polls closed, the media proclaimed Barack Obama the winner of Vermont and gave all the other state contests of the day -- Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas -- to Hillary Clinton.

But there was one big problem. A Texas-sized problem.

The election results from the Lone Star State’s caucuses had only just started coming in.

Texas is the only state in the union that allows people to legally vote twice: once in the primary, and once in their local caucus, or, as they are called in Texas, “precinct conventions.”

Roughly two-thirds of the pledged delegates (126) are determined by the outcome of the primary, and the remaining delegates (67) are determined by the results of the caucuses.

Only those who have already voted in the primary are allowed to vote in a caucus.

When the media proclaimed Clinton the victor in Texas, the caucus results were simply not part of the equation. But now that more than 24 hours have passed, something fascinating is happening.

Obama appears to be winning Texas.

-----------------------------------------------------

HarperLee

MSNBC just announced that the Texas caucus count so far has
Obama ahead 55-44, but that final results might not be announced
until March 29 (after two state conventions).

itsmeeeeeee

only about 40% of the caucus votes have been counted so far, and obama's leading 56% to 44%.

have you heard some of the stories?

one covered by CNN had a clinton caucus "captain" running off to submit hillary's votes and refusing to take the 27 pages of obama votes... resulting in a high speed chase, and the whole bunch ending up at the police station, and the cops calling in the DNC chairwoman to sort out what needed to be done.

most of the incidents i've found appear to involve clinton supporters attempting to restrict obama votes... by not letting obama supporters in - claiming there wasn't room, clinton supporters telling obama supporters that they could just sign in to the caucuses and then leave - when in FACT, the truth was they had to stay, etc, all resulting in obama's votes being suppressed.

there's only one i've found where an obama supporter from out east flew in and acted as a caucus captain, but that's the only one i've heard of so far that involves an obama supporter. naturally, the clinton camp is talking law suit.

__________________

HarperLee

I had not heard those stories.

I am not happy with the MSM, which is hell bent on perpetuating the
Obama/Clinton battle until Denver.

On MSNBC, less than half an hour before MSNBC declared Texas for
Clinton, Chuck Todd was explaining that 1/3 of the Texas vote came from the caucuses and that he would be lucky if he could report on that count by Saturday. Then -- voila -- suddenly Hillary has Texas, silencing all the Democrats who had said that if she did not
win Texas and Ohio by big margins, she should withdraw.

mudwhistle

He is only leading 1520 to 1424 and 2025 are needed to win.

Why should she drop out?

StillNoScript

I was watching that, too. And the press wouldn't say shit about it. It was just, "hillary wins Texas, Hillary wins Texas..". Then they'd show the caucus count, and Obama is winning. I don't know how Texas works. Does the caucus even count? If not, then what is the fucking point of it? And they say the press is favoring Obama...

At any rate, I just hope Obama sticks to what he is doing. Hillary's Karl Rove fear mongering is not going to get her far. It was Texas and Ohio, for crying out loud. I really think that strategy has already gotten her as far as it's going to get her. Texas and Ohio. That's it. Obama, stick to your positivity. We knew Hillary was going to win Texas and Ohio, and on some bullshit chickenhawk platform. The other states are not going to buy it. To them, Hillary is the same shrill, annoying, entitled person that she was before Tuesday.

__________________

HarperLee

If memory serves, Clinton was only 3 points ahead of Obama in Texas,
before one caucus vote was counted.

I am sure that I heard Chuck Todd and others say that the regular vote (in Texas) is 2/3 and the caucus vote is 1/3.

I don't understand why it is taking so long to count the caucus votes.

PursuitOfHappinessParty

Texas is insane, that's why. In order for our vote to be counted in either vote, you have to vote in both. At seperate times. The caucus vote was bottlenecked up as it came second, with short time allowed to be cast. Combined with a lack of understanding of the volume that showed up was the fact nobody in this State actually understand why it's so convoluted. My theory is that they don't want the poor and working class to be counted.

__________________
" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'

djack

Obama can't win the nomination without Penn, Mich, and Fla.
You mean Hillary Clinton who has won California, NY, Mass, Ohio and Texas should drop out. LOL. Obama should call his slum lord buddy. He's going to need a part time job this fall. She's only won the largest and most populated states. How can she go on?

__________________

DanS.

Didn't know the size of the state was more than the sum of the parts.....

But yeah...Cali that will go for any dem and texas that won't go to any dem....pretty important states comes Nov.