Personally I think Erik did a pretty good job of proving you wrong, but (as a voter in MI) I'll give my personal observations. In my family, there are six voting aged adults that I've spoken to about this. 3 support Obama and did not vote, 1 supported Edwards and voted "uncommitted", and 2 support Clinton and only one actually went to the polls and voted.

So out of the six of us, only one person actually voted that day.

Also, as an FYI, the Obama and Edwards supporters stayed home in hopes of creating a low turnout to further de-legitimize the farce that MI called a primary.

Posted at May 31, 2008 8:20 AM in response to Do Florida And Michigan Primaries Really Reflect The Will Of The People? Nope.

You can stereotype what it is you believe is the typical Obama-bot all you want, but I've been a democrat for coming on 20 years now.

I'm a huge Obama supporter.

I've contributed, on a small scale, to previous candidates, but not to the level that I've contributed to Obama.

I've never been moved to actively campaign for a candidate before.

I'm also convinced that the Clinton's have had their time in the White House. We've seen what dynasties get us and it's ugly.

It's time to move on.

Posted at May 29, 2008 9:55 PM in response to I Promise to Stop Being Angry at Hillary...

What info do you feel Greg has gotten from the Clinton campaign that wasn't widely dispersed to every news outlet that would listen?

Posted at May 28, 2008 5:14 PM in response to Poblano Rips Lanny Davis (and Greg Sargent) Apart!

Perhaps "praise" was too strong a word, but by repeatedly calling it a "compromise solution" instead of the partisan hack job that it is he gives the argument credibility.

To say that he didn't "eviscerate it as thoroughly" is a complete understatement. The harshest thing Greg said about it was that it was a "tough sell".

He then finished his post by hitting the Obama campaign for not supporting seating the delegations in full when Greg should know full well that the DNC is going to sanction MI and FL in some fashion. There is no way that those two states are going to come out of this with full participation at the convention, it would neuter the DNC to prevent other states from doing the same thing in 2012.

Posted at May 28, 2008 9:29 AM in response to Poblano Rips Lanny Davis (and Greg Sargent) Apart!

How much do you want to bet that Carl Levin was a major part of each and every one of these fiasco's?

Posted at May 28, 2008 12:11 AM in response to Poblano Rips Lanny Davis (and Greg Sargent) Apart!

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/05/adventures-in-lannyland.html

Linking works great!

Posted at May 27, 2008 7:03 PM in response to Poblano Rips Lanny Davis (and Greg Sargent) Apart!

You make a very passionate argument, but I'm not sure why.

I've read and re-read what I wrote several times and I just don't see where I ever suggested that political parties were not subject to judicial review.

Posted at May 23, 2008 3:23 PM in response to There Is No "Right" To Vote In Primaries!

You mistook what I wrote just slightly by taking the word distraction in a negative way.

I don't consider the topics discussed at the Cafe to be unimportant at all. The information shared and the discussions people are having contain insight as to how people are feeling about the politics of the moment.

Also, your repeated suggestion for "more editorial oversight" sounds like a Bush administration term for censorship. You want TPM to remove posts that you find trivial or unworthy.

It would surprise me a lot to find out that Josh intended to censor the site in such a way.

Posted at May 23, 2008 3:09 PM in response to TPM Café: Now Part of the Problem

Dan, I had a nice long post written in which I was going to describe to you why, if you're going to be the one bitching about the Cafe, then you should be the one trying hardes to "fix" it.

Then I had to step away from my computer before it was completed and I had a change of heart.

Instead of "shooting the messenger" I'm going to simply explain why I'm here.

All of the issues you brought up are front and center in any number of media outlets that I see on a constant basis throughout the day.

I own and run a consulting company and confront several of the issues you brought up on a daily basis in real life. My gas costs blew my budget last year by 36%. My health insurance never stops going up. I don't feel I can raise my rates because the economy is hitting my customers just as hard as it's hitting me and I'm afraid they'll shop around.

The Cafe is someplace I can come and be distracted from all of that. The campaign lasting this long has become, just that, a fabulous distraction for millions of people. Instead of delving further into how much trouble our country and our economy is in, I can come out here and discuss the minutae of the days politics without the burden of everything else.

I had a customer about 7 years ago who was in his mid 40's and very successful. He was straight laced and kind of a tightwad. He also loved Heavy Metal music, the harder the better. It was way out of character for him, but it was his thing. After running my business for almost 8 years now, I get it. The music pounded just hard enough to get the thoughts of his business and his family out of his head for just a little while. He just needed a little sanity break and that's what gave it to him.

The Cafe does that for me and I think for a lot of other people as well.

Posted at May 23, 2008 10:20 AM in response to TPM Café: Now Part of the Problem

You miss the point of the post.

THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO HOLD A SINGLE PRIMARY!

If they decided that they were going to take an internet poll and choose their nominee, then that person would be their nominee.

If they decided that they were goint to draw straws and the short straw got to be the nominee, then that person would be the nominee.

As long as they get their committees to change the rules, then those are the new rules by which they select a nominee.

I'm certain that you are correct that IF they hold primaries (or caucuses) then they must abide by the laws of the United States regarding discrimination and the like, but that's no different than owning a bar that's open to the public.

Posted at May 23, 2008 12:36 AM in response to There Is No "Right" To Vote In Primaries!