Recent Obama Developments

Since it is too early to know what is happening in the Democratic caucuses in Nevada (Romney won as expected for the GOP; bad weather and low voter turnout for the GOP primary in SC), I'm giving some other updates and comments on the Obama campaign.

• The Reagan remarks were only controversial because Clinton and, I hate to say it, Edwards made them so. They may have been ill-timed--better saved for a general election outreach. But, contrary to talking points by the Clinton campaign (including both Hillary and Bill), Obama did NOT say that the GOP had "good" or "better" ideas the past 15-20 ideas. He said they had been the "party of ideas in the sense of challenging conventional wisdom." He also specifically criticized many of those ideas and called them all "played out." Nor, Edwards to the contrary, did he call Reagan a positive change agent. All he said, and this is undeniably true, was that Reagan's election changed the direction of the nation for a generation: for the worse. Obama was only hoping to say that some elections can be more than incremental changes--they can usher in moments of sweeping change. But, again, the comparison might have been saved for the general election, because invoking Reagan in a Democratic primary season INVITES the kind of nasty distortions and reactions that he got.
• The Latino vote in the West will be a major factor--and is probably a major factor today in Nevada where 25% of the electorate is Latino/a. Clinton has had major Latino/a endorsements, especially in California which is a closed primary with a huge slate of delegates. But now, a number of California Latino/a leaders who had been backing Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), have, since Richardson's withdrawal post-NH, endorsed Obama.
• The most important of these recent Latino/a endorsements for Obama comes from Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA). Rep. Sanchez represents the 39th District of CA which includes parts of L.A., Long Beach, and other parts of L.A. County. She is the first Latina to serve on the House Judiciary Committee and serves on the Education, Labor, and Foreign Affairs committees. She is on her 3rd term in Congress, is hugely popular, and is co-founder of the Labor and Working Families Caucus in the House. Rep. Sanchez released the following statement today:

"After much consideration, I am excited to endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President. In a talented field, Barack Obama stands out as the best candidate to deliver the change that America desperately needs.”

"Since I began serving in Congress five years ago, I have seen the difficulty in bringing fresh ideas to Washington, DC, and to our country. Sadly, great talent and ideas are too often dismissed because those who possessed them were seen as too idealistic, too young, or too unwilling to submit to the same old Washington way of doing things. Senator Obama is the candidate who can change that culture by mobilizing a new generation to get involved in the civic life of our country. He is reinvigorating America by showing us that we all have a stake -- and a say -- in our democracy and our country's future.”

"America faces economic and foreign policy challenges so great that no single person or group of political insiders can solve them. We need to change that. Barack Obama has already shown he can deliver by bringing people together."

"Throughout my career, both before, and in, Congress, I have fought for working families like my own. Families who are working hard, yet still struggling to make ends meet, need a president who knows their struggle. I believe that with Barack Obama, they will have a president that doesn't just understand the difficulties they face, but will stand up and fight for them.”

"In the coming days and weeks, I will be talking with my fellow Californians about why I think it's important we vote for Barack Obama on February 5. Beyond that, I look forward to a future of working with President Obama to deliver the change America needs."

• Alas, recent polls suggest that Obama may be facing significant resistance among white Democrats in the South. I'm hoping these polls are misleading. They do not ask where Edwards' supporters will go if/when he drops out. My own support for Edwards, like many others, was not race based and Obama was my clear next choice after NH showed that Edwards could not win. But if racism still persists among white Southern Dems in a greater percentage than among the national population (sigh--it could easily be true), then the general election could be rocky and, if Obama is the nominee, he will need greater support in other regions. Still, I think the GOP vote will be low in the gen election because of dissatisfaction with their party--so, that could help the Democratic nominee win Southern states that might go Republican if they had stronger candidates--even if that nominee is seeking to be the first woman or first African-American president.
• In related news, at an award ceremony in Colorado, a man made a racist Obama joke that did NOT result in audience laughter. I hope it results in Coloradoans turning out for Obama on 05 Feb!
• From the irony department: After trying for 2 weeks to suppress the vote in Nevada, Bill Clinton is charging the Obama campaign with voter suppression today! You know, since the Clintons have been the victims of such incredible smear campaigns over the years, you'd think they would be the last to use such tactics. But this UGLY campaign has shown that they will do ANYTHING to get elected. Don't get me wrong: I think there are inherent inequalities in the caucus system. It lets only a small selection of people decide things that should be decided by secret ballot. It hurts people who have to work or, in this case, people whose religious obligations conflict. (Whose idea was it to have the caucuses on Sat. am, which is the Sabbath for Jews and Seventh Day Adventists--and Nevada has a fast growing Jewish population!) But, having agreed to the rules and all their problems months ago, it is clear that the Clintons ONLY raised objections (and lawsuits) after the Culinary Workers endorsed Obama. Had the endorsement gone for Hillary Clinton, as the Clintons expected, they would have said nothing--because they said nothing months ago when the rules were decided.
• In other news, Michigan's Democratic "primary" (which didn't count because Michigan was stripped of delegates for breaking party rules in scheduling) had exit polls which, if they hold up nationally, show problems for Clinton and promise for Obama.
• Nothing to do now, but sit back and wait for the caucus results in a few hours. Enjoy your weekend and, while you are thinking about politics, go to Andrew Horne's website and contribute some money for his valiant effort in helping us Ditch Mitch McConnell!