"Big Tent" Re-Opens: Obama Campaign Reverses CA Delegate Purge
Twenty-four hours after the Obama campaign cut 900 delegate candidates across California, the campaign reversed itself and reinstated all candidates. In an email sent to all Californians running to be Obama delegates at this summer's Democratic National Convention, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe wrote:
There has been an extraordinary outpouring of grassroots support for Senator Obama among Democrats and Independents in all 53 California Congressional districts.In recognition of this tremendous enthusiasm, our campaign has asked the California Democratic Party to allow all persons who have filed to be a district delegate candidate for Senator Obama at the Democratic National Convention to participate in the caucuses this Sunday, April 13, 2008.
We are confident that delegates elected from this pool will reflect the Senator's commitment to a diverse and unified delegation at the National Convention.
An overwhelming number of supporters have signed up to run for delegate, so there will likely be lines and tight space at the caucus locations. We ask for everyone's patience and cooperation.
Most of all, please enjoy this opportunity to meet other Obama supporters and elect delegate candidates to the Convention in Denver.
Thanks for your interest and active participation in Barack's campaign to change politics and change America.
On a personal note, it's gratifying to know that the campaign made the decision to restore the candidacies of hundreds of volunteers and supporters. The campaign didn't have to and could have weathered out the mini-storm until Sunday. After telling my story yesterday, I spoke to many Obama supporters and other delegate candidates (those who were cut and those who weren't). All were flummoxed by why the campaign would choose to exclude so many supporters, including volunteers who have traveled to multiple states and given up nights and weekends in order to help Senator Obama win state after state.
There are some important unanswered questions that remain in the wake of the candidate purge. For instance, of the 17 candidates who remained in my district (CD30) after the cuts, three had given more than $1,000 each to Senator Clinton's campaign (two of those had also given to Obama, but one had given only $250 and made the Clinton donation more recently). If the Obama campaign was intent on removing candidates with potential loyalty problems, why would those candidates remain on the list? Even if the goal was to streamline the process, why would those candidates remain on the list?
Would I like to represent my district in Denver and cast my vote for Senator Obama at the Convention? Absolutely. But was preserving my chance to do so the most important thing to come out of the campaign's reversal? No. Rather, it was the recognition that the campaign should embrace, rather than turn away, many of those volunteers who have worked so diligently to bring new voters into the Obama tent and who are proud of where Senator Obama stands today, on the verge of becoming the Democratic nominee. See you on Sunday.
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My nation is over whelmed.
There is a new kind of despair. It sets in because these republicans are so bad, so terrible, the world they create so horrifying, one becomes numb.
They need that. It is part of their game now. Low turnouts; missing ballots; chellenging minority voters - how many crimes are already being committed in this next election? That is what we should be investigating!
Look at what we now take for granted.
We discuss the efficacies of torture!
We adjudicate stolen elections.
We profit on war crimes.
We disgrace our veterans, wounded or not, who we first disgraced by forcing them into this immoral war.
How do we tell our society, that we have the blood of perhaps a million innocent people on our hands, most of them slain, and so many, many other lives destroyed, for no good reason whatsoever?
One only puts oneself "above the law" so as to break the law.
My nation is in trouble. This could be our last free election.
The criminal fascists have returned, my friends. And they are about to seize the heart and soul of my nation.
This is the most trying time of the age, when the people will either retrieve or lose control of their destiny.
My generation has ruined this nation. It is time for my nation to move on.
I feel that way sometimes too, but we must have hope and keep doing what tiny bit we can to make things better. I am very optimistic about our future. I just know we are going to turn things around. Keep the faith, AbstractImp!
I haven't read Orwell's 1984 in a very long time, but I keep thinking about it more and more - we don't get "news", we get readings from "the ministry of truth".
We are told only big brother can protect us because we're in war that can never end...
Donin - since the broadcast news readers all belong to the entertainment depts of their networks, ministry of truth is, of course, the upshot. It has not been news or information for a very long time - it is ratings for the wealthy leftists.
I agree with you. Many oldsters havent learned when nor how to hold or fold them. It appears that they want to dwell on the same ole same old quest regardless who becomes Pres. We need to turn the page and move one. This way we can bring those slowly drained out Troops home instead of stretching them to threads and those bags used to bring them home in. We who can see through this rose colored Bush glass need dare to say NO to Clintons Bushes and McCain. A vote for either of them will mean continuation of the Bush legacy, we will go deeper into recession, a longer war, and the issues on Healh Care, Global Warming, etc will be shoved into a Rove Heaven. Let's stop this drama and do the right thing for the poor people and other have and have not people, and make this world a page for the future . We all are hoping for better than we have and that is still being shoved at us.
Bravo Nathaniel. I read your post yesterday and felt sad for you and all the others who have given so much energy and time to the Obama Campaign. I believe all the new voters and enthusiasm you are bringing to the process will help Obama win in November. I am glad you spoke out. The story spread to cable news. I am not sure whether obama was aware of the situation before your alert; but clearly The Obama Campaign reacted corectly by turning around the elitist politics as usual in California. This stunning turn around renews my faith that TOGETHER - YES WE CAN! Good Luck Sunday! I hope you make it to to the convention as a delegate. I enjoy reading your posts and look forward to reading them live from the convention floor in Denver.
Dear Nathan,
You responded quite childishly to this whole thing. Childish in that Obama had every right to weed down the delegates to make the process more smooth and efficient. You have made it clear that this is all about you. If it wasn't you'd be perfectly happy with any delegate that helps elect Obama. I will be the first one in line condemning you if you write a post about how the convention turned into chaos or whine about not getting selected. You've made your bed, now sleep in it. You are obviously looking for gain that is specifically personal to you for all your donations and volunteer time.
I hope you realize that because of this, if I were voting in the convention, I would not vote for you.
Here's a hint - your one minute speech better have more then how much time and money you've given.
I agree. Who wants a delegate who disses the candidate he's supposed to represent?
babar77,
I would remind you that you don't seem to really have any point of referrence here.
Unless you HAVE been a delegate candidate or successfully elected delegate.
You of course have the right to toot your own horn but it doesn't mean you know what
you are talking about.
I do and so does the author!
Hey, babar: I agree that each campaign should have the freedom and wisdom to weed out and insure that only the most loyal delegates proceed to the convention. But, I think the uproar was over the WAY the elimination process was conducted. If I had worked my butt off for a candidate and got scratched, I could understand that. However, I believe who ever culled the lists should have at least done a better job of communicating when and how the procedure would be conducted. Maybe they did, and that part of the story wasn't included. Most of the blogs I read from outraged delegate candidates seemed to be clueless as to why so many were cut hundreds at a time, and what credentials were used/ required for final selection.
I half-applied to run to be a delegate but after reading the disorganized chaos that was the Texas caucuses, I refused to finish the second part of my application. I'm dedicated to voting for my candidate, but these caucuses really are a test of Job....
To those who are still confused about why delegate lists were culled, some people were a little too easily swayed to change their votes once they reached the caucus. Obviously, no candidate wants a weak delegate to slip through.
Money, the great corrupter. Dave Eggers wrote a nice piece about the influence of money on campaigns posted here: http://www
I'm running as a Vernacular Delegate for CA-33. In that, I'm of, from and for the people. As Delegate, I promise NEVER to ask for Money.. That is your private choice. I just ask you to participate, not only now, but after the election. It's the only way to ensure our President will have the political capital to effect the changes we desire. To that end, it seems that I'm the only candidate to publicly affirm what everyone believes privately - B.R.I.B.E.
http://www
The Youth are the Answer!
Check out this video entitled "Mom, Please Vote for Senator Obama"
http://you
Sure shm259, youth is the answer - but make sure it is the pliable, follow the leader grunge set youth who have no religion, that have no morals and have no educational skills. You know, the kind of people Leftists always claim are Christians - har har har!
This shows that the so-called "vetting" process in the Obama campaign was flawed. If you leave in Hillary donors and local politicians who could be swayed by promises of appointments in a Clinton Administration, how can you call this "vetting"?
Read: Ooops, you caught us. Better re-spin this one.
It wasn't an issue of catching them. Their original decision was a very reasonable and cautious way of insuring that voters in CA got what they wanted in terms of Obama delegates. In other words, it was the better decision, at least from a "make sure you win" perspective. Hence why the author notes that the Obama camp would have ultimately "weathered out the mini-storm
This followup decision, which is certainly not the "safer" self-interested option, shows that they are willing to prioritize their volunteers and supporters over potentially losing a delegate or two. They made a very conscious choice---one that I think is relatively refreshing in our "harball" political environment. So I don't see what spin has to do with it... it simply is what it is.
No it's evidence that he listens. Personally I think weeding down the delegates was a reasonable thing to do and this author responded quite childishly to it. But if enough people make a stink about it and they are willing to pay the price of allowing 900 candidates give speeches and the utter chaos that will cause, fine. They've spoken, and now I hope this author knows he has forfeited any rights to complain about how busy the whole thing becomes - and he also forfeits the right to use this blog as his personal whining post if he doesn't make the cut.
This shows the overwhelming support Obama has, his campaign staffers get overwhelmed sometimes and will make some errors in effectively dealing with their supporters.
I agree that the Obama camp should go with the "ground floor" supporters. Nothign can be left to chance when you have HRC spewing that there's a "chance" delegates do not have keep their allegiance.
This bit about Clinton donors confuses me though.
I really hope that there isn't someone sabotage the delegate selection process in CA who intentionally vet out real supporters by keeping someone who will vote for Hillary at the convention. Kind of alarming to me.
It's not HRC "spewing" anything. The party rules are very clear that delegates can vote for whomever they want. Whether they will or will not is certainly up for debate - but chance is not involved, delegates absolutely do not HAVE to keep their allegiances.
Have a strong feeling some of those Clinton delegates will be switching! The California primary occurred long before her "sniper fire" lies, Colombia, etc. She could be sorry that she spoke out about delegates being able to switch sides.
The party rules and tradition are equally clear. Traditionally, pledged delegates vote for the candidate whom the voters sent them to represent on the first ballot. Senator Clinton is calling for a drastic break from tradition. It won't work, though. Senator Clinton tried this in Iowa and lost a delegate. She tried this in Washington and lost two. Try another argument for the candidate you prefer -- how about telling us what qualities would make her a good President. Please don't tell me she is a fighter. Senator Clinton was a fighter in the 1990's and we got HMO's. I don't think I could take much more of that kind of solution.
The amusing thing to me is that HRC and her supporters do not seem to realize that based on THEIR reasoning, delegates for Clinton are equally able to change their votes from her to Obama, as vice versa. Somehow, they always seem to ASSUME that any vote changing would automatically go her way. I don't think so. They might want to rethink that "delegates are free to vote for whomever they want" strategy. It just might backfire on her. LOL
That's correct CRGirl30. Hillary released all of her pledged delegates last week with that . I'm a delegate to Denver, pledged to Hillary. But she's not going to get my vote! And she's the one who said it was alright for me to do it!
The old saying "Watch out what you beg for, you just might get it", comes to mind....
Wow, I was unaware of the fact that the ones who survived the initial cut had given to Clinton -- that's weird, really. The message implies that the CA Dem Party had final authority in this matter... is that relevant?
Obama’s Dubious Affiliations
There is no way a white man with the same background and credentials as Obama could ever be elected to any significant office.
Look at Obama’s affiliations:
- Mr. Rezko is Obama’s long time friend and a major mob figure.
- Mr. Auchi is a billionaire and major financial sponsor for Obama’s rise to power throughout the past years.
While working with Saddam Hussein, Auchi made his money through the sell of arms in Iraq and by stealing money from the Oil for Food program (no wonder Obama voted against invading Iraq)
- Mr. Wright is a racist who hates America and whites and is reminiscent of Hitler and has been Mr. Obama’s teacher for over 20 years.
- Senator Meeks who openly hates whites and gays and is one of listed on Obama’s campaign website as a major supporter and is one of Obama;s super-delegate. Mr. Meeks has been integral in helping Mr. Obama succeed in politics.
- Mr. Ayers of the Weather Underground, a group that killed police and tried to bomb the US Capitol served with Obama on the board of the leftist foundation called the Woods Fund.
- Mr. McPeaks is Obama’s military adviser and national campaign co-chairman who claims that American Jews are the "problem." and “Christian Zionists were driving America's policy in Iraq to benefit Israel.”
- Michelle Obama trumpets Obama as “the second coming of the messiah,” and states that she “has never been proud to be an AMERICAN in
Hey olandug, Do you have a skill other than cutting and pasting this post all over internet message boards. Ask your masters Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh for new thoughts.
Bro. Please, for the love of God and country, stop singing the same old tired song. Your attempt to disparage his image does not work with anyone exorcising their common sense. Your hysteria and fear are apparent. Just calm down, . . . you should find comfort in Sen. Obama's candidacy. Think positive.
Why is your comment relevant to this blog? You have got to be a Bosnia Chick supporter out there making trouble. I think it is the job of all Obama delegates to be vigilant, always on the look out for Bosnia Chick supporters. After all you guys have make such a racket for being cut from the list. So......
dude, please troll somewhere else.
Dude.
Thanks for the laugh. I needed it.
Maybe someone working undercover in Obama CA camp doing business for Hillary? Hate to go there.
I think the folks on the ground in CA got a big overwhelmed and made a bad call in cutting down the lists. I'm glad the national campaign fixed the problem right away.
I hope the delegates who gave to Clinton do not win.
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