That’s it? That’s the change?

I was tipped by the Humboldt Democrats blog that the changes to the DNC Delegate Selection Plan had been hammered out by the Rules and Bylaws Committee, so I went looking for more information.  Nothing at the DNC web site. They’re still talking about the nomination of Elena Kagan and passage of the Health Care “Reform” bill. Not quite current. I found this press release, repeated in a couple of places.

July 10, 2010 – Over the past two days, the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee has worked to make significant progress towards finalizing the Party’s 2012 delegate selection rules.  As part of its efforts, the RBC has voted to recommend to DNC members a plan that would increase by approximately 700 the number of pledged delegates elected from the states, the District of Columbia and territories.  In doing so, the plan would increase the proportional influence of pledged delegates at the 2012 Democratic National Convention from approximately 80 percent in 2008 to approximately 85 percent in 2012. 

That’s it? Adding 700 pledged delegates? Bumping their influence from 80 to 85%? The number of superdelegates remains the same.

The rules included in the proposed plan would also provide for unpledged delegates declaring their Presidential preferences no later than a date certain – which will be shortly after the conclusion of the presidential nominating process in their respective states, territories and in the District of Columbia.

Unpledged delegates (that would be super delegates) must declare their presidential preference by the end of their respective state’s nominating process. That “end” is each state’s state convention, not the primary, as many people think.  For instance, in Nevada, our 2008 caucus was January 18, 2008, but then we had our county conventions in March, followed by our state convention in April. Iowa follows the same sort of plan. As far as declaring one’s Presidential Preference, uncommitted is a viable preference to declare, so I’m not sure how that changes much of anything for superdelegates. Further, superdelegates (as with regular delegates) may “pledge” to a candidate, but they are certainly free to change their minds and/or vote their conscience. Again. No real change here.

DemRulz has done the yeoman’s work on this, covering the RBC’s meetings. Please note, what follows are all just recommendations by the RBC and still need to be adopted by the full DNC in August. We’ll see how that goes.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right

Five years. In March 2003 I got out of my armchair and went to work supporting this former governor from Vermont, who had called the Democrats on their spinelessness. He didn’t get the nomination, but he asked us to get involved in our local Democratic parties and work to help elect John Kerry. And work I did. I jumped in with both feet in Lyon County and elsewhere in rural Nevada. I designed the Lyon County Dems web site, got elected Secretary and served in that position until June of this year. I probably created nearly every flyer that came out of the party. I wrote press releases, administered the email list,  tabled, phone-banked, walked, waved signs and opened my house to poll workers on Election Day. In 2004 I got elected chair of the Rural Nevada Democratic Caucus and as a group we canvassed in remote parts of rural Nevada on behalf of John Kerry, and Nevada Assembly candidates Marcia deBraga and Cathylee James. The Democratic Party was my passion. I believed in it.

After the election, I was approached by the former Northern Nevada Field Director to see if I’d be interested in replacing her. I was honored that she would consider me, and after many interviews with the PTB, I proudly came on board with the NSDP in April of 2005as the Rural Coordinator. In July 2005 I switched over to the DNC payroll as one of Governor Dean’s first hires in the 50-State Strategy. I spent the next two years working all over rural Nevada during an off-year election cycle. I’ve met and worked with some of the most incredible people you could ever hope to know. I put tens of thousands of miles on my car, attended every county central committee, state central committee meeting, conducted trainings, “cut turf” and conducted precinct walks, phone banks, organized GOTV efforts. I’ve been flipped off, booed and yelled at, and told I wasn’t an American by rightwing whackos who thought that Democrats were the spawn of Satan. All of it rolled off my back.   The Democratic Party was my passion. I believed in it.

After two years, I wanted to gain some semblance of normalcy to my life, and stepped down as paid staff and took a full time job in Reno in May 2007. Little did I know that my move just meant I had two full-time jobs. My day job and my work for the Democratic Party. I continued to volunteer and worked with Dems from all over Nevada, and was a key organizer for the January 2008 Nevada Democratic Caucus. We’d never done anything this big before and a lot of people worked long hard hours to pull it off. With no opportunity to catch our breath, as the Lyon County Democratic Convention Committee Chair I barely looked up for the five weeks between caucus and convention. At the same time I was working for the party, I also found time to support my candidate.

There wasn’t a weekend that didn’t go by that I didn’t have something “Democratic” to do. In the past five years, I have no idea of how much money I’ve put into Democratic work, and I don’t just mean candidate support. I mean paper, toner, food, pens, postage, etc, etc, etc. The house, the critters and the LOML were put all on the back burner. My husband understood. After all, we were the good guys. The Democratic Party was my passion. I believed in it.

More on the flip side.

Lyon County Caucus Results by Precinct

Precinct	Clinton		Edwards		Kucinich		Obama
Lyon 1	2	40%	1	20%	0	0%	2	40%
Lyon 2	1	20%	1	20%	0	0%	3	60%
Lyon 3	2	40%	0	0%	0	0%	3	60%
Lyon 4	1	25%	1	25%	0	0%	2	50%
Lyon 5	2	50%	0	0%	0	0%	2	50%
Lyon 6	1	25%	0	0%	0	0%	3	75%
Lyon 7	1	33.33%	0	0%	0	0%	2	66.67%
Lyon 8	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	1	100%
Lyon 9	1	25%	1	25%	0	0%	2	50%
Lyon 10	1	50%	0	0%	0	0%	1	50%
Lyon 11	2	40%	1	20%	0	0%	2	40%
Lyon 12	1	33.33%	1	33.33%	0	0%	1	33.33%
Lyon 13	1	50%	0	0%	0	0%	1	50%
Lyon 14	4	66.67%	0	0%	0	0%	2	33.33%
Lyon 15	3	50%	0	0%	0	0%	3	50%
Lyon 16	3	50%	1	16.67%	0	0%	2	33.33%
Lyon 17	2	40%	1	20%	0	0%	2	40%
Lyon 18	2	66.67%	0	0%	0	0%	1	33.33%
Lyon 19	1	33.33%	1	33.33%	0	0%	1	33.33%
Lyon 20	0	0%	0	0%	1	50%	1	50%
Lyon 21	4	57.14%	0	0%	0	0%	3	42.86%
Lyon 22	1	50%	0	0%	0	0%	1	50%
Lyon 23	3	50%	1	16.67%	0	0%	2	33.33%
Lyon 24	2	40%	2	40%	0	0%	1	20%
Lyon 25	2	40%	1	20%	0	0%	2	40%
Lyon 26	2	66.67%	0	0%	0	0%	1	33.33%
Lyon 27	2	50%	1	25%	0	0%	1	25%
Lyon 28	1	50%	0	0%	0	0%	1	50%
Lyon 29	1	33.33%	1	33.33%	0	0%	1	33.33%
Lyon 30	2	66.67%	0	0%	0	0%	1	33.33%
Lyon 31	1	25%	1	25%	0	0%	2	50%
Lyon 32	3	60%	0	0%	0	0%	2	40%
Lyon 33	4	66.67%	0	0%	0	0%	2	33.33%
Lyon 34	2	50%	1	25%	0	0%	1	25%
Lyon 35	1	50%	0	0%	0	0%	1	50%
Lyon 36	1	100%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Lyon 37	2	50%	0	0%	0	0%	2	50%
Lyon 38	2	50%	0	0%	0	0%	2	50%
Lyon 39	4	66.67%	0	0%	0	0%	2	33.33%
Lyon 40	3	60%	0	0%	0	0%	2	40%
Total	74	46.54%	17	10.69%	1	0.63%	67	42.14%

NY Times repeats Obama claim of winning NV national delegates

(Sigh) I sent a letter to the New York Times this morning asking them to correct their article regarding Hillary’s win in Nevada yesterday in which they state:

Mrs. Clinton scored a clear victory measured in the number of people attending the caucuses on her behalf. But Mr. Obama’s campaign was successful by another measure — in the allocation of delegates to the national nominating convention, a result of a complex formula that gave more weight to votes in some parts of the state.

I directed them to the Nevada Democratic Caucus web site and party chair Jill Derby’s statement regarding the allocation of national delegates:

“The Nevada Democratic Party and its officials have taken great effort to maintain our neutrality in the presidential campaign and the integrity of our process. Today, two out of three Nevadans who caucused chose a Democrat instead of a Republican for president. That is an overwhelming majority vote for a new direction. Just like in Iowa, what was awarded today were delegates to the County Convention, of which Senator Clinton won the majority. No national convention delegates were awarded. That said, if the delegate preferences remain unchanged between now and April 2008, the calculations of national convention delegates being circulated by the Associated Press are correct. We look forward to our county and state conventions where we will choose the delegates for the nominee that Nevadans support.”

I also pointed them to the Delegate Selection Plan and asked them to READ it (am I asking too much?)

I just don’t get it. The press swoons over Obama, but every victory Hillary chalks up somehow doesn’t really count. They’ve always got something to say to discount or minimize what she is doing across the country. Oh well, we’re used to it. We keep soldiering on.

On edit: John Edwards graciously congratulates Senator Clinton. Barack Obama does not and continues the lie.

It’s Caucus Day

Well, all the months of hard work are coming to fruition today with our Winning in the West Democratic Presidential Caucus. We’ve had some bumps along the road, and no doubt, we will today as well.

Some of us have worked diligently on the part of a campaign. Others have worked diligently on the part of our party. Some of us have done both. Many of us are running on fumes. And we are all a bit on the stressed side.

But let’s go into this day remembering one thing: We are the party of the people. We know that our candle doesn’t burn brighter if we blow someone else’s out. When push comes to shove, that’s what we are all about. We care about what happens to our neighbor, and we truly believe that we are our brother’s keeper.

You all have a good day out there.

Cross-posted at My Silver State and the Rural Nevada Democratic Caucus Blog

Why I Support Hillary Clinton

As I mentioned a few days ago, I met Sven of My Silver State and many other Nevada blogs at the Douglas County Dinner last Saturday. While there he took this video of me declaring why I support Hillary Clinton.

I’m off to do some last minute Temporary Chair training.

Okay, I look a bit goofy, but here goes!

Tomorrow’s the day! I’m so excited!

Obama channels Ronald Reagan and throws Bill Clinton under the bus

You have GOT to be kidding me. The man who fired 11,000 air traffic controllers? Ignored AIDS? Racked up an enormous deficit? Iran-Contra anyone?

Matt Stoller offers commentary:

Obama admires Reagan because he agrees with Reagan’s basic frame that the 1960s and 1970s were full of ‘excesses’ and that government had grown large and unaccountable.

Those excesses, of course, were feminism, the consumer rights movement, the civil rights movement, the environmental movement, and the antiwar movement. The libertarian anti-government ideology of an unaccountable large liberal government was designed by ideological conservatives to take advantage of the backlash against these ‘excesses’.

Democrat for a Day?

Wow. Just wow.

President Bill Clinton in Reno, Fallon and Minden today!

President Bill Clinton will be in northern Nevada today. Tickets are not being issued for these events, but if you want a good seat start lining up early. From the campaign press release:

President Bill Clinton returns to northern Nevada tomorrow, Sunday, January 13, on the heels of Hillary’s historic come-from-behind victory in the New Hampshire primary. President Clinton will launch a multi-day tour of the Silver State by hosting “Delivering Real Change” events in Reno, Fallon, and Minden, Nevada where he will share Hillary’s ability to deliver real change on the issues that matter to Nevadans like health care, education, Yucca Mountain, and the home mortgage crisis.

The “Delivering Real Change” tour will continue when President Clinton visits the Las Vegas area on Monday, January 14. Additional details to be announced. …

RENO
11:30 a.m. PST
James Eardley Student Center, Truckee Meadows Community College, 7000 Dandini Boulevard

FALLON
3:45 p.m. PST
Churchill County H.S. Gym, 1222 S. Taylor Street

MINDEN
6:45 p.m. PST
CVIC Hall, 1602 Esmeralda Avenue

All events are free and open to the public.

Cross-posted at My Silver State

This just in: Another endorsement for Hillary

I just received the following from my dear friend, Cathylee James. You will remember that she ran for the Nevada Assembly against Tom Grady in 2004 and 2006. Cathylee knows about fighting against all odds, not just on the political front, but in her own life as well. I will let her words speak for her:

Dear left electorate friends,

Some thoughts respectfully offered for contemplation in advance of our awesome work on the 19th…Like so many of you, I’ve weighed the candidates for months now, have met and shook hands with some, listened and watched all. We have such a fine spectrum of presidential hopefuls that it’s one of the toughest choices imaginable. That said, I am, as of this morning, heartily landing in Hillary Clinton’s camp. I am, finally, thoroughly convinced that this is the individual who can not only dig us out of the abyss Bush has created for us, but can also put our country back into the column of countries that care, that live in harmony with others, that live in harmony with the earth. I believe this for many reasons, though those reasons were in a jumble until last evening.

As I listened to the ‘reporters’ relating the New Hampshire returns, something struck me. Vaguely, at first. Then it took shape. As Wolf Blitzer and his colleagues watched the numbers mount for Clinton, contrary to their much-touted polls, they reluctantly reported that Clinton was leading, ‘but there are still precincts in college towns that can turn this around for Obama!’, they said, with unabashed hope. Faced with a steady six thousand vote lead that never dipped or dimmed, these ‘journalists’ refused to project a win for Clinton until finally forced to do so by inescapable reality. I love and follow many sports, and what I witnessed was exactly akin to biased sportscasters watching their team lose. It was repugnant, to put it mildly.

But it organized the candidate jumble in my mind. Edwards and Richardson and Kucinich and Obama are fine candidates and every one would get my vote if they won the nomination. But Bush and Co. have left us in desperate straits–at home, abroad, and at the core of our republic. What we need at this pivotal second in history is a seasoned fighter, one who can battle back against all odds, and one who never gives up in the face of merciless, often unwarranted, and unending opposition. This woman has taken it on the chin and in the gut for the last 15 years and there she was in New Hampshire–smiling, talking intelligently, keeping to the high road, graciously (and interminably) parrying the constant criticisms and attempts to knock her off course.

This is the tenacity, the determination, the diplomacy, the strength, the solicitude, and the humanity that I dearly hope to see in the presidency of a country that is teetering on a precipice.

That said, I wish you all courage in settling on your own personal choice to lead our country, and respect every one of your decisions. It’s a wonderful point in our political continuum when we cannot make a bad choice. The only mistake we can make is not to voice our choice, clearly and unequivocally.

With increasing hope for us all,

Cathylee

I know that Shelley Berkley endorsed Hillary today, but this one means so much more to me.