Hillary Clinton Wins in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia

With the results in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Colorado still out, Hillary Clinton has racked up decisive wins in a number of states making the path to the nomination far more difficult for Bernie Sanders.  In Virginia, Clinton's victory was by 29 percentage points.  Her wins in some states in the Deep South were even more striking.  Only in his home state of Vermont did Sanders turn in a landslide result.  Politico looks at the results so far.  Here are excerpts:

This is the day Hillary Clinton has longed for.  The former secretary of state, who's struggled in two presidential elections to coalesce the Democratic Party behind her, notched decisive wins across the South Tuesday night on her way to a potentially prohibitive lead in the primary contest against Bernie Sanders. Clinton was announced the winner in Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas as soon as polls closed. Sanders won Oklahoma and his home state of Vermont.

A cheerful Clinton made clear she's already eyeing a general election match up against Donald Trump, who was posting a similarly dominant night on the Republican side.

"We know we’ve got work to do. But that work, that work is not to make American great again," she said to an audience of supporters in Florida, invoking Trump's famous slogan. "We have to make America whole. We have to fill in — fill in what’s been hollowed out."

"The stakes of this election have never been higher. And the rhetoric we’re hearing on the other side has never been lower," she continued.

Sanders delivered a rally-the-troops speech after clinching his home state of Vermont. Saying he stood to rack up hundreds of delegates during the night, he urged his backers to ignore the impending string of statewide defeats and pledged to remain in the race into June.

Clinton's wins in the South were powered by overwhelming support from African-Americans, who helped her deliver a similar drubbing in South Carolina last week. Sanders' inability to make inroads with the black community could ultimately sink his underdog campaign.

Even as polls were closing, Democrats began envisioning Sanders' role in the race after Clinton cuts off his path to the nomination. "He didn’t start off, in my view, thinking he was going to be the Democratic nominee," David Axelrod, a former aide to President Barack Obama, said on CNN. 

Axelrod said Sanders was likely to remain in the race to drive issues he staked his candidacy on, like economic inequality. "He has done that and he will continue to do that."

Sanders' goal was to emerge from Super Tuesday with a viable comeback path. But it's unclear how he envisions proceeding from here. His team has sketched a strategy that involves running up margins in the predominantly white states that have responded better to his message. He's hoping to rattle off wins in the weeks ahead in friendlier territory — Nebraska, Kansas and Maine, which are next on the calendar.

There are signs that Clinton has already turned her attention toward the general election and a potential matchup with Trump, who's poised to have a similarly dominant day on the Republican side. In a potential preview of a campaign against him, Clinton focused her victory speech in South Carolina on countering Trump's message, saying "America has never stopped being great" and that the country could use "more love and kindness."

Whether Clinton gets to maintain her focus on Trump will largely depend on whether she can notch a solid enough delegate lead to put Sanders in the rear view mirror. Though all of the Democratic contests award delegates proportionally — ensuring Sanders won't come away empty-handed — big wins by Clinton would put him in a deep hole in the battle to secure 2,383 delegates and the nomination.

Bernie's South Carolina Problem

One take away from the Nevada caucuses yesterday is that Bernie Sanders to date has not been able to win the support of black voters.  As the Democrat primaries move into South Carolina and then on to other states, this failing could fatal to Sanders' claim to be viable nationwide.  A piece in Politico looks at Sanders' problem and speculation as to how Sanders will do or not do in the upcoming primaries.  Here in Virginia (our primaries are on March 1, 2016), we are already beginning to see Clinton ads on television.  Here are excerpts from the Politico piece:

For Bernie Sanders, who took a drubbing from African-American voters in Nevada Saturday, it only gets worse from here.

On the heels of losing the black vote by a blowout margin of 76 percent to 22 percent, according to entrance polls, the Vermont senator now must look ahead to South Carolina next Saturday, where African-Americans will cast a dramatically larger share of the vote than in Nevada.

In the first-in-the-West caucuses, African-Americans cast just 13 percent of the vote. In the upcoming first-in-the-South primary, they’re expected to cast nearly 60 percent of the Democratic primary vote. Then, several days later, comes a burst of Super Tuesday primaries where Sanders must run in nine states with higher black populations than Nevada.

Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster, laid out Sanders' quandary in direct terms.  "This is Bernie Sanders' problem: If you cannot compete for the black vote, you cannot be the Democratic nominee for president," Belcher said.

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison said . . . . When you're going into states like Georgia and North Carolina and Louisiana and Mississippi that have a significant African American population which will make up a large component if not the majority of the Democratic primary in those states you need to be able to win significantly enough so that you can pull out a victory in those states," Harrison said.

Both neutral Democrats and Clinton campaign observers concede that Sanders is making some progress among black voters in South Carolina, but contend that it's not enough to cut the deep roots the Clinton name has among black voters in the state.

"It's a wall," said Rick Wade, President Barack Obama's 2008 African American outreach director, correcting himself after first saying Clinton had a "firewall" of African American support. "And I'm confident that she will win South Carolina, The question is by what margin."

The Clinton campaign is determined not to give Sanders the opportunity to gain ground. Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond, a Clinton surrogate, offered a sharp critique of Sanders' college plan during the senator’s tour of black colleges in the South.  Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge and former Bill Clinton administration Labor Secretary Alexis Herman making stops at churches and black sororities. Fudge and a handful of other prominent African-American members of Congress also made stops at black churches across South Carolina in support of Clinton.

Some of my friends will likely have a fit with me, but tomorrow I think I will put a Hillary bumper sticker on my car.

Perry, Gingrich and Others Fail to Get on Virginia Ballot

In a commonsense ruling, a federal judge has rejected the efforts of Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum and Jon Huntsman to get themselves added to the Virginia Primary ballot after failing to comply with the long standing requirements to be placed on a statewide ballot. The rules have been around for about four decades, so the requirement should not have been surprise to anyone. In effect, the would be candidates were asking the court to excuse them for their own incompetence or the incompetence of their staff members. As a result, only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will be on the ballot for the Republican Party of Virginia's March primary. No doubt the Christofascists at The Family Foundation will have their panties in a know now that they can't vote for the most virulent of the anti-gay candidates. Here are highlights from the Washington Post:

A federal judge denied a request Friday by four presidential candidates to add their names to Virginia’s Republican primary ballot. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.), former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr. failed to qualify for the ballot and sued the State Board of Elections and the state GOP.

U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. said the candidates should have challenged the qualification rules months ago when they realized that Virginia forbids out-of-state residents to collect signatures. “Had the plaintiffs filed a timely suit, the court would likely have granted preliminary relief,” Gibney wrote in his ruling. “In essence, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair.’’

Gibney said he thought a provision requiring the candidates to use only state residents was unconstitutional, but none of the candidates had managed to collect the required 10,000 signatures. Only former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) qualified for the Virginia ballot.

Virginia’s ballot-access rules, in place for four decades, are considered the toughest in the nation. Candidates must collect 10,000 signatures, with at least 400 from each of the congressional districts, while some other states only require candidates to pay fees or sign forms.

Perry’s campaign told state election officials that it had submitted 11,911 signatures, but the lawsuit says 6,000 were submitted. Officials testified that an employee of the Utah firm hired to collect signatures went into a diabetic coma and was unable to either collect all the signatures or turn them in.

Gingrich’s campaign said it submitted 11,050 signatures. But the Virginia firm hired to collect signatures included 1,500 signatures that appeared to be signed by one person.

The Democratic Party of Virginia certified President Obama’s signatures. He was the only Democrat to qualify for the ballot, so the state will cancel the party’s primary.

Cuccinelli Wants to Intervene in Virginia Primary Ballot Dispute

Speaking of delusional Republicans, here in Virginia it often seems to be a race for who can be the most crazy and most supportive of theocracy. Two of the main contenders are current attorney general Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli and Del. Bob Marshall, the later having introduced a "personhood" bill for the coming General Assembly session. Apparently, not wanting to be over looked, Kookinelli is looking to jump into the GOP primary ballot dispute which is poised to keep Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich off the ballot since they failed to get their respective acts together and get sufficient signatures to be placed on the ballot. Kookinelli always wants to be in the limelight, so it's a good guess that he doesn't give a rat's ass about Perry or Gingrich but sees the dispute as a way to keep his name in the press and on the lips of the increasingly untethered from reality stalwarts of the Republican Party of Virginia. The Virginian Pilot looks at Kookinelli's efforts at self-promotion. Here are highlights:

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Saturday that he favors emergency legislation to allow more Republican presidential candidates on Virginia’s primary ballot. “Hundreds of thousands of Virginians who ought to be able to have their choice among the full field of presidential primary contenders now only have a choice among two,” he said. “Virginia owes her citizens a better process.”

Virginia’s ballot-access requirements have come under scrutiny after state GOP officials recently determined former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry failed to submit petitions bearing 10,000 valid voter signatures, disqualifying them from the primary.

Fox News Channel reported that his proposal would allow candidates who fell short of the signature requirement onto the ballot if the Virginia State Board of Elections certifies that they are qualified to receive federal matching funds – public money offered to candidates who meet certain requirements demonstrating broad public support. The change would allow all the major presidential candidates onto the ballot.

Later Saturday, Cuccinelli said, “Any proposal is still in flux. Some sort of requirement for ballot access – such as candidates being eligible to receive presidential election campaign federal matching funds – is still needed, whether for 2012 or beyond.”

The General Assembly would need to hold a special session this week to pass the legislation in time for the printing of primary ballots, . . . Emergency legislation must gather a supermajority of four-fifths votes from the House of Delegates and the Senate, according to the state constitution.

McDonnell is open to last-minute efforts to reform the state’s primary ballot requirements, his spokesman Tucker Martin said Saturday. But Martin questioned why most of the GOP presidential candidates failed to meet the state’s long-standing ballot requirements.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Romney supporter, said changing the ballot requirements now would be unfair to the candidates who gathered enough signatures. Bolling, who will be running against Cuccinelli for the Republican nomination for governor in 2013, said any changes to the ballot rules should wait until future elections. “You can’t change the rules in the middle of the game just because you don’t like the result,” Bolling said.

Perry filed a lawsuit to have his name added to the ballot, but a U.S. District Court judge scheduled a hearing in that case for Jan. 13, four days after the ballots are to be printed.

Perry’s campaign applauded Cuccinelli in a statement Saturday: “Virginia’s onerous and restrictive ballot access rules do create serious constitutional problems and undermine the rights of citizens and candidates.”

Also Saturday, lawyers for Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum joined Perry in asking the Board of Elections and the Republican Party of Virginia to be added to the presidential ballot.

Virginia's requirements have been around for many years. Hence, one has to wonder why so many candidates - or their campaigns - were so incompetent as to not get the required signatures. If they cannot even handle getting on a ballot, do we want them in the White House?

Perry and Gingrich Fail to Qualify for Virginia Primary

UPDATED: I noted this morning that Newt Gingrich - who is as always engaged in a tempestuous love affair with himself - failed to qualify for the GOP primary in Virginia. Now, the hubris fulled blowhard is ranting that his failure to be on the Virginia ballot is the equivalent of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Here are some highlights from Think Progress on this ridiculous diarrhea of the mouth:

Reeling from their own ineptness, the Gingrich campaign quickly announced that it would “pursue an aggressive write-in campaign.” But as we noted yesterday, Virginia laws prohibit such a write-in campaign.

The New York Times assessed that Gingrich’s failure could “shake the confidence of voters.” The National Review called both Gingrich and Rick Perry “idiotic.” On Fox, Karl Rove said flatly, “This is a problem — if you’re the front runner and you can’t organize your campaign so you can meet those filing deadlines. It’s elemental. It’s the fundamental thing you do.”

[Gingrich] Campaign director Michael Krull . . . . agreed that the analogy is December 1941: We have experienced an unexpected set-back, but we will re-group and re-focus with increased determination, commitment and positive action.

Gingrich, who fashions himself as an historian, frequently employs Peal Harbor analogies and anecdotes. In fact, he has co-authored an historical fiction book about Pearl Harbor, which literary critics blasted for its shoddy quality.

I can just imagine the vile ads that will run in advance of the Virginia Republican primary. Fortunately, two candidates will not be on the ballot, not that we won't hear lots of their batshitery nonetheless. The Virginian Pilot reports that both thrice married serial adulterer Newt Gingrich and Texas Christianist Rick Perry have failed to garner the 10,000 signatures required to be placed on the primary ballot. Gingrich is having a childish tantrum and blaming Virginia's ballot requirements rather than face the fact that he and his campaign staff failed to get their act together. Here are some story highlights:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich issued a scathing critique of Virginia's nomination process after he and Texas Gov. Rick Perry failed to qualify for the March 6 Republican primary in the commonwealth.

The Republican Party of Virginia announced the developments Friday and early Saturday, saying that the two have failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot, considered setbacks in their bids for the Republican presidential nomination.

That Gingrich and Perry failed to get on the ballot in this state that votes on Super Tuesday underscored the difficulty that first-time national candidates - many with smaller campaign operations and less money - have in preparing for the long haul of the campaign. The Gingrich campaign today said Virginia has a "failed system."

It also illustrates the advantage held by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He's essentially been running for president for five years, and his team, smaller than in 2008 but larger than most of his 2012 opponents, has paid close attention to filing requirements in each state. He will appear on the Virginia ballot, along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who also has run a national campaign before.

"After verification, RPV has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the Republican Party of Virginia announced early Saturday on its Twitter website.

Failing to get on the ballot will be a major setback for Gingrich, who has tried to use his recent upsurge in popularity to make up for a late organizing start. Ironically, Gingrich had a slight lead over Romney, with others farther back, in a Quinnipiac poll of Virginia Republicans released earlier in the week. The load of catching up on organizing work and a lack of advertising money to counter an onslaught of negative ads from his rivals have been major disadvantages.

Meanwhile, Virginia's Democrats said President Barack Obama's re-election campaign gathered enough signatures to get him on the state's primary ballot though he was the only candidate who qualified.

Rick Perry Southern Baptist Convention Ally Calls Mormanism a "Cult"

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!! Robert Jeffress, Southern Baptist Convention ("SBC") leader, announced at the Christianist "Value Voters Summit" that he was throwing his support behind Rick Perry because "it was critical for a pastor to tell other Christians why it is imperative to vote for a Christian rather than a non-Christian.” Jeffress went on to say "“Quite frankly, part of my hesitancy in supporting Governor Romney is I do not want to give credibility to a cult like Mormonism." For those haven't done so in the past, I suggest a perusal of the SBC's website and a monitoring of it's positions on a host of issues will quickly disclose that if Mormonism is a cult, then so is the Southern Baptist Convention. And the SBC cult's main hallmarks are hatred of others, politics of division, and an eventual overthrow of parts or all of the U.S. Constitution, especially in terms of wiping out the constitutional rights on non-Kool-Aid drinking citizens. Michelle Goldberg at The Daily Beast looks at this blatant display of religious based bigotry - and Perry's refusal to distance himself from it. Here are some highlights:

Robert Jeffress, Southern Baptist Convention leader and pastor of the 10,000-member First Baptist Church of Dallas, has never endorsed a political candidate, but at the Values Voters Summit on Friday, he announced that he was throwing his support behind Rick Perry. “I don’t think Michele Bachmann is going to win the nomination. I don’t believe that Herman Cain is going to win the nomination. I think it’s going to come down to a Perry-Romney fight,” he told me shortly before taking the stage to introduce Perry to the crowd. “And I felt like at this time, it was critical for a pastor to tell other Christians why it is imperative to vote for a Christian rather than a non-Christian.”

In other words, Jeffress, one of the first major religious right figures to choose sides in the GOP primary, wants to make sure that the Republican Party doesn’t nominate a Mormon. Romney’s religion, he says, “is going to play a huge role. It’s a role that many people are unwilling to speak about.” He, however, is more than willing. “Quite frankly, part of my hesitancy in supporting Governor Romney is I do not want to give credibility to a cult like Mormonism, which I believe having a Mormon president would do,” he says.

This creates a challenge for the Texas governor, but it also gives him an opportunity to capitalize on some evangelicals’ antipathy to the Church of Latter-day Saints. By Friday afternoon, Perry was coming under pressure to distance himself from Jeffress. His campaign insisted he didn’t share Jeffress’s view, and that the organizers of the Values Voters Summit, not the Perry camp, had invited the preacher to introduce to the candidate. Nevertheless, Perry didn’t renounce Jeffress, which means he’s likely to continue fielding questions about Mormonism.

The belief that Mormonism is a cult is the official position of the Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest Protestant denomination. In a June Pew Poll, 34 percent of white evangelicals said they’d be less likely to support a presidential candidate if he or she were Mormon.

[A]mong conservative Christians, Jeffress is an important figure. His television show, Pathway to Victory, reaches 1,200 stations. In January, he has a new book about the apocalypse coming out, jauntily titled Twilight’s Last Gleaming: How America’s Last Days Can Be Your Best Days.

Given his [Perry's] lackluster performance in the Republican debates and conservative discomfort over his record on immigration, he needs help reinvigorating the base that once had such high hopes for him. Indeed, that’s partly why Jeffress decided to get involved.

The fact that an open bigot and far right religious extremist like Jeffress is backing Perry ought to be a clarion call to rational voters of both political parties (assuming anyone rational is left in the GOP) that Perry is bad news and needs to be defeated. With not likely Democrat primary in Virginia, candidly, I will vote in the GOP primary just to vote against Perry if he's still a player.

Obama Opens a Norfolk Office

For any local readers who are interested, Barack Obama has opened a Norfolk campaign office in advance of Virginia's February 12th primary. Here is the pertinent information:

Where: 549 Brambleton Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia

The e-mail address is va@barackobama.com


I intend to start volunteering time this Saturday and work to make a difference.