C.I.: Tuesday night, Texas held its primary. Dallas was among the community members participating in that primary as well as caucus because, after voting ends in Texas, the Democrats then have a caucus. Tuesday night, Dallas phoned from his caucus to give a report which was posted here. Hillary won the primary vote in Texas. Dallas voted for her. The caucus presented some problems as outlined in Friday's gina & krista round-robin with members from across that state writing up their report. Dallas?
Dallas: Before I read the round-robin Friday, I thought it was just my city, Dallas. The caucus was billed as a gathering that would take place like other caucuses states hold; however, that didn't happen. At first, I thought it was just my precinct, 1234, that didn't follow the rules, then I spoke to people at work and found that their precincts didn't either. By Friday, reading the round-robin, I saw it was a problem around the state. A caucus is supposed to go through at least one round and we went through none. Everyone I've spoken to and the stories community members shared indicate that we all had the same experience which was we arrived at the caucus, we waited and waited for voting to finish and, when it had, we waited several minutes more when someone would step to the front of the area and declare that we were all going to sign one of two sheets. If you were a Hillary supporter you signed one, a Barack supporter, you signed another. We were told that this was how the delegate count would be determined. But that's not a caucus, that's an attendance sheet.
C.I.: And the people just appeared. Who was it at your precinct?
Dallas: I didn't know him and no one sitting on my row or the one behind or the one in front did. He had been on the phone in the halls prior to the caucus stating that he felt Obama had it cinched. He had blonde hair, wore a suit and tie and was a man probably in his mid to late twenties.
C.I.: You were where?
Dallas: I voted election day, after 6:30 p.m. We have early voting but I was afraid I'd be too tired and skip the caucus if I voted early. So since the voting and the caucus that would follow for my precinct were both at North Dallas High School, I waited until 6:30 to vote. If you'll hold on, I'll check my outgoing text messages and tell you when I arrived at the caucus. Okay, my first text message sent after I was in the school's cafeteria is 6:53 pm. That's where the caucus would take place. The earliest it could start would be 7:00 pm because if voting ended on time, it would end at 7:00 pm. 8:12 pm is when the blonde steps to the front of our section of the cafeteria to speak. He makes the announcement about the sign in sheets. And the thing is, why is he announcing anything? Who is he? We're supposed to vote for someone to be in charge and for someone to be a secretary and this guy just shows up, with sign-in sheets and declares how it's going to be. We're not going to debate, speak in favor of our candidates. This is just how it's going to be. That's not how the rules are written and, again, that happened all over the state.
C.I.: This is guessing, but would speaking have made any difference?
Dallas: I think it would have. We had an idiot, from my area, who is for Barack Obama, has a sign in his yard, and never knows his fact. He was all prepared to explain why Obama should be supported and, had he spoken, he would have most likely sent a few, maybe more, over to Hillary's side because he was basing his support on the disproven assertion that Barack is Muslim. He repeats that and was repeating that to people sitting near him. When someone attempted to correct him politely, he would tell them they needed to learn their facts. This and other details, also false, that he planned to share and the fact that he's known as a kook period might have led people to switch sides.
C.I.: I know the other falsehoods he believed in and I know Dallas doesn't want to go into those but I will note the man also supported Obama for a court battle, not Tony Rezko, that will probably never see the light of the day but a person did file a complaint and the man Dallas is referring to also believes the complaints in that filing are true. Dallas wrote of this in the round-robin which is a more private forum but didn't want to bring that up here because most assume the man filing the charges is unbalanced. We're moving on. Were people shocked by this decision to just sign in.
Dallas: Yeah, we'd all been sitting on these fold out benches at these tables, packed in and were there for the duration. Instead, we're told we can sign in and then go home.
C.I.: And no one had been elected as chair of the caucus or as secretary?
Dallas: No. It's caused a lot of outrage. A friend in another precinct was voted a delegate. He went to Saturday morning's meet-up for that, at ten in the morning, and found that to be even more disorganized. He's also concerned about the issue of delegates because there was talk among some, Obama supporters, that they could pressure state delegates sent to Colorado in August to change their votes. I wasn't sure about that but we were at Kroger, one of the grocery stores in the area, and a guy walks by and my friend pulls him over and asks what he was saying at the meeting about delegates switching over to Obama to give him more support in Colorado. The guy starts piping off about how the delegates aren't "bound" and they can do whatever they want. I'm seriously concerned about that and think the entire caucus system in Texas Tuesday night was a joke.
C.I.: So what do you think needs to happen?
Dallas: The rules were not followed. I think the delegates need to be appointed by the votes in the primary because the caucus didn't follow the rules and now you've got one camp, the Obama camp, actively and I'd say publicly, we were at the customer service desk in Kroger, stating that they intend to attempt to flip Hillary delegates over to Barack. Since all the delegates selected will not go to Colorado, there's a long process determining which ones will go, I'm seriously concerned about how the ones picked to go to Colorado will be selected. The field will be narrowed and since nothing else about the Texas caucus has been done according to the rules, I doubt that they'll start following them now.
C.I.: To repeat, you think that the process was violated, that rules were disregarded and you fear that this will continue to take place so your opinion is that the caucus results should be tossed aside and delegates allotted based on the percentage of the popular vote in the primary?
Dallas: Correct.
Jim: Does anyone have a question for Dallas?
Betty: I do. Was this blonde guy who just appointed himself in charge the one I saw the three photos of in the round-robin, the one kissing his girlfriend in three different photos as she stood in the Barack sign-up line?
Dallas: That would be him. And that line got details from him. We didn't. He kept walking over and talking to them and, every time he would, he would stop to kiss his girlfriend. I took a photo every time except once when a pole was blocking the angle.
Mike: You wrote in the round-robin about how there were two series of tables, more than one table, for each side to sign the sheets and how people didn't want to go to one of the Hillary tables, Hillary supporters. Could you talk about that?
Dallas: Who these people were, these ones 'working' for Blondie, I have no idea. But it bothered a lot of people that one table, for Hillary supporters to sign in, was being run by a young White woman in a Barack Obama shirt. A lot of people refused to sign in at that table and the man in front of me was basically ordered to sign in at that table and he refused stating he didn't think someone in a Barack t-shirt should be in charge of gathering the Hillary signatures.
Jim: Okay. So thank you --
C.I.: Wait! I'm sorry because there's an important detail that's not being stressed about the sign up. Dallas, you had your voter registration on you?
Dallas: Yes.
C.I.: You went with a neighbor, she did as well?
Dallas: No. She just had her driver's license and the slip of paper she got from the officials over voting to prove she'd voted in the election.
C.I.: And when she signed in, what happened?
Dallas: Oh, yeah, they wrote "VERIFY" next to her name.
C.I.: The point is no one knows the process because the rules weren't followed. "VERIFY" requires that someone is going through the sheets and checking to make sure that those present both belong in the precinct and that they voted. You could participate in the primary and the caucus. You could just do the primary. But you could not participate in the caucus if you didn't vote in the primary. A concern about the sign-in sheets and who is in charge of them would also go to who is responsible for verifying them. With no instructions given, it would be reasonable to assume that the person in charge of the sign-in sheet was also in charge of the verification process and if someone in charge of a Hillary sign-in sheet is wearing a Barack t-shirt, that is a potential problem. It would be very easy, for instance, to say, I'll use Wally, "Uh, there's no Wally on the address he gave according to the voting record. There's a Wallace, but he signed Wally, so I can't verify this person." And that's taking place out of sight and that goes to why they should have had a caucus. The slip of paper that Dallas is referring to was proof that the person had voted, the same as a voter registration card that would have been stamped if the person had their card with them. Did they ask your neighbor for her slip?
Dallas: She showed it to them but they weren't interested and just wrote "VERIFY" next to her name.
C.I.: Again, that slip of paper was proof of voting. There is no "verification" needed. The paper is stamped and signed. That is proof. So there are some serious concerns being raised about the results of the caucus. Before Jim closes this off, for those who didn't read the round-robin, explain the turnout.
Dallas: There were more Hillary supporters. Not a ton of them, but probably 20-plus or even thirty. That's based upon the photos I took on my cell phone of the lines when we lined up. One more thing, had the caucus started on time, that number would be even greater. Had we started before eight p.m. to line up, it would have been greater for Hillary. While still at the table, there were two people calling people and telling them to get up there because it hadn't started. A woman in a jacket, I've got a photo of her walking in after we've lined up, she's wearing a Barack Obama jacket and carrying a Barack Obama yard sign -- with the stick still attached -- was among the many Obama supporters who showed up after what I would consider the start of the caucus since we'd had the announcement and since we'd all lined up. There was no 'ending point'. We were at the back of the Hillary line and when we were finally half-way to the front, a woman walked in with a baby and got into the Obama line. The whole thing was a joke, there were no rules followed.
Jim: Okay, thank you for that report, Dallas. I'm honestly comfortable stopping the roundtable there but we'll continue. Elaine's about had it with CounterPunch and I'm going to toss to her because we've had a number of complaints in e-mails about the fact that we continue to have CounterPunch on our links to the side.
Elaine: I'm the big fan of CounterPunch. Community member Mia and I are the biggest fans, but I'm the biggest fan in the community with a site. I understand everyone's objection and I'm trying to get a cooling off space to decide whether to pull it at my site or not.
Mike: C.I. noted at The Common Ills that if Elaine pulls it, it's pulled from The Common Ills. I noted at my site that Elaine's my girlfriend so if she pulls it, I pull it. I think anyone in the community who has it on their blog roll will pull it if Elaine decides "Enough!"
Elaine: For those complaining, I do understand your complaints. It's one-sided. It's not 'independent.' Cockburn and St. Clair have hated the Clintons for years. I'm not surprised by that hatred. I am surprised by the fact that they repeatedly make excuses for Obama. Their whole bit at CounterPunch is supposed to be exposing the hypocrisy and they're supposedly about how corporatist the Democrats are but they pull punches repeatedly with Obama, they repeatedly run articles slamming Hillary. It's ridiculous. If they have any standards they should apply to them to both. Instead, they appear to be, by their coverage, endorsing Obama. If I could go on just a bit longer, I'll be quiet the rest of the roundtable. But Joann Wypijewski has an article that I would hope wasn't intended to be insulting but it reads as very insulting and as making fun of the poor. It's dripping with a higher-than-thou attitude and that, more than the other nonsense, has enraged me. I need a cooling off period because if I make a decision right now, it's pulled. Her nonsense was embarrassing.
Ruth: I read the piece that Elaine's referring to and I also found it insulting. It read like "Look at these stupid poor people." It was offensive regardless of how it was intended to be. If Panhandle Media now exists to mock the poor, well even they have reached a new low.
Rebecca: I'd agree with that, both the new low and also that the article was blatantly offensive. But as C.I. noted, of Barack supporter Frances Fox Piven, they like to talk about the poor in this country, they just don't like listening to them. That attitude is all over Wypijewski's article. It's offensive.
Cedric: I know C.I.'s knows the woman but I'm about to unleash.
C.I.: Go ahead, I'm not stopping you.
Cedric: First off, let me explain to independent media some basic realities from Christians. I realize that a number in independent media have no belief in a god so they may miss the point on Obama and the accusations of being Muslim that have gained traction. The reason for it is that Christians raised in this country generally were born into their beliefs. They may change demoninations but the bulk come families that believe in God. So what Freak Ass Media is missing on the religion issue is that the questions aren't racist, aren't anti-Muslim so much as going to the fact that Barack keeps repeating "I'm a Christian, I'm a Christian!" That's not helping him. The average Christian was raised that way by parents or grandparents who were. It's a family issue. It's very well known that Barack's mother did not believe in any god. It's less well known what his maternal grandparents believed. What is know is that his father was a Muslim -- I believe Jo-Jo has her facts wrong on the order, according to one of the women who married Barack's grandfather, his father switched to the Muslim religion, not the other way around as Jo-Jo maintains -- and that's where the issue's coming from.
Betty: Cedric's exactly right. Your father was a Muslim, whenever he was one. You're a Christian. You can't stop shouting that. Well Christians who usually make such a public-to-do about their faith, especially those who come to the faith late in audlt life, generally have a conversion story. Barack's happy to say, "I'm a Christian!" But the issue continues for some Christians not because they think he's a Muslim or dislike Muslims but -- pay attention non-God believers in Panhandle Media -- when you're a Christian, you generally have a story. Barack's never supplied that story. Until he does, this will dog him. He's a Christian. He says. But in terms of Christians, where's the conversion story? If you're happy to offer that you're a Christian, why is it you can't also offer the story of how you came to the faith. His book doesn't clear that up -- and indicates he was never baptized. On the latter, he may have been and just didn't see it as important. If so, that's only an example of how little he grasps the messages he is sending. Sticking with just Black America, were he a Muslim, which he's not, the issue would still come up. It wouldn't be because of hatred towards Muslims. Black America has and has had many wonderful Muslims making huge contributions. But regardless of whether he was Muslim or Christian, he would have the same problem he's got now with Black America because we expect the conversion story, we expect to hear the testifying. He's not offering that. And Cedric's correct that Panhandle Media just doesn't grasp that reality.
Ty: To keep this a Black thing, I'm joking, I'll jump in. Everything Cedric and Betty are saying is correct. Regardless of your religion, in Black America, if you're religious, you've generally got a story and you generally share it. He's never shared it, he's just insisted, "I'm a Christian! I'm a Christian!" which really doesn't play well because, in our community, when we hear that it's generally when someone's caught in a scandal. His speech should have been, at any point and he could still save himself today, "I'm a Christian because . . ." That would be, to steal from Kat's review that's not posted yet, the follow-up. And it is expected among Christians. If you weren't born into the faith but came to it, people expect to hear why. Not to provide it is what's created his problem.
Kat: I'll jump in, though White, and back up Cedric's point here on follow-up. I live in California and have my entire life. If I move to Ohio next year and I'm going around saying, "I live in Ohio! I live in Ohio!" people expect me to explain why I moved from California to Ohio. Especially those living in Ohio -- as opposed to those visiting. They're presumably proud of their state and my sharing my reasons for moving to Ohio create a bond between this. Barack's offered no follow-up, just insisting that he's a Christian. People expect the follow-up. His campaign's grabbed a few things from this site and they're welcome to grab that because this nonsense is really get old and is insulting to Muslims. Provide the follow-up, not just the introductory story, or accept the fact that you are the source of the problem.
Ruth: I would agree with the point being made. My sister is a late-life diabetic. She's asked about that and she provides the story. If she didn't, people would wonder how it came about and it wouldn't be out of hatred towards diabetics but because she wasn't always diabetic, now is and people are curious.
Marcia: For the record, I'm opposed to this discussion because I'm opposed to helping Bambi out of his own mess. That said, Ruth and Kat have added to Betty, Ty and Cedric's examples in a way that everyone should be able to comprehend. Panhandle Media doesn't understand the basics on anything -- whether it's Amy Goodman or Jo-Jo or John Nichols or whomever. You convert to Christ late in life, you've got a story to tell. Tell the story. Testify. When you don't, you yourself create the disconnect and Panhandle Media can rush in screaming "Racism!" or "Anti-Muslim-ism!" or any other crap they want to offer, but the reality is the problem is Barack Obama who wants to say, "I'm a Christian," without delivering how he became one when that's what any Christian expects to follow that statement.
Jim: Okay. I'm tossing to Wally for Florida's do-over. Florida is where Wally lives. After that, we'll address a topic with Marcia and any who want to particiapte and then we're closing the roundtable.
Wally: I don't see why we need to spend more money -- whether it's billed to Florida or whether we take in donations -- for a primary. We voted in January and we achieved a record turn-out in our Democratic primary. No one was disenfranchised. We could learn about the candidates the same way many states usually have to, by watching broadcasts and reading up. Barack Obama aired constant commercials, I know I saw them, and that was against the rules. He gamed the system and he still lost. Equally true is that we voted with a wide slate of candidates and picked our choice. Our state doesn't need a do-over, it needs to have its delegates seated and there are a lot of people complaining about that, the elderly and students, in my area, that we're going to have to do the vote over. It's not being seen as a gift because we believe we already expressed our intent and it's also being noted that the residents of Palm Beach deserved a do-over in the 2000 general election and never got one. It's pissing people off.
Jim: In terms of the possibility that instead of a primary Florida might have a caucus?
Wally: We do primaries, we do not do caucuses. That has the elderly especially pissed off in my area. They don't want to spend a day trying to vote. Students aren't thrilled with the prospect but don't believe a caucus can be forced off on us. Obama may be hoping he's going to pick up people who were supporting candidates who have since dropped off but since Obama has been the victor in most caucuses and since we don't do caucuses, any attempt to force my state to do a caucus will be seen as another attempt to game the system by Barack Obama. We made our choice clear. 50% of us voted for Hillary Clinton. I won't weigh in on Michigan because I don't live there. But this is a topic on my campus, this is a topic at the rec center my grandfather hangs out at, it's becoming a topic everywhere. I'm not seeing support for a do-over and allegedly an Air America Radio host is telling us that's what we need to do. She's in the can for Bambi and no one considers her a Florida resident anymore. I'll be kind and not say the loud mouth's name but her likeability has plummeted in Florida.
Jim: Okay. Marcia, last week, you wrote "Melissa Harris-Lacewell doesn't speak for me!" and
"Pt. 2 of MH-L" about Melissa Harris-Lacewell threatening a Black-Out if Barack Obama wasn't given the nomination by the super delegates. The Bambi groupies e-mailed this site repeatedly.
A few called you a sexist and I'm letting you respond to that nonsense. We can't quote the e-mails because every sentence contained a curse word; however, you stated that your mother's feeling was Harris-Lacewell has a young daughter, already works for Princeton, and needs to stop traveling all over the country to get Obama elected and spend some time with her child since she is, as she has stated, a single-mother.
Ava: If I can jump in before Marcia replies. Marcia had one point wrong. She noted she wasn't sure about the age of Harris-Lacewell's daughter. In January, the child was five-years-old. So just to give an exact age, C.I. and I planned to jump in on that. If need be, we're willing to come in on the topic but we support Marcia's posts.
Marcia: Thank you Ava and C.I. If someone's all bent out of shape that my mother stated Harris-Lacewell needed to stop campaigning for a man across the nation and spend some time with her daughter, my first question would be what race are you? I'm African-American. Harris-Lacewell presented herself as the voice of Black America on The Charlie Rose Show. I noted she wasn't the voice and that in my community, in Black America, we're already suffering from the prison rates of many of our males, of all ages. African-American women are carrying their load and then some. If someone wants to say it's sexist that Black America would feel a single-mother of a young child -- a five-year-old one it turns out -- needs to stop traveling the country to elect a man, than say it. I noted very clearly that if this was Harris-Lacewell running for office, it would be one thing and people would be more leniant. But she's not running for office, she's already a professor at Princeton which presumably requires some work. She is a single-mother and, I'm sorry, the attitude in the Black community is not, "Go do your own thing, girl!" The attitude is our children are our future and single-parents, male or female, responsible for raising children need to do their job.
Betty: I'll jump in on this. As everyone knows, I've got three kids. I'm also Black which drive-bys may not know. When I revealed that I wasn't dating until my kids were older, a lot of e-mails came in and no one griped at me, but a few people, White people, thought I was doing something great but wondered about my own sacrifice? I'm not making a sacrifice. And when I revealed that decision already in place, my daughter was five-years-old. My two sons are older. It's not just a Black thing, community member Maria talked about doing that with her own kids, not dating, because they were so young and she too is a single mother. But in my community, no one thinks that my decision is 'strange' or that I've made some huge 'sacrifice.' I'm the mother of young children. I work, as does Melissa Harris-Lacewell, to put food on the table. I love Hillary to death but if she called me tomorrow and said, "Girl, I've got your travel all paid for and you're going to have a blast!" I would tell her that I'm sure I would have a blast but I also have three children and I can't go all over the country, hold down a job and be a mother to young children when they already have no father in their life. Feminism did not foster the myth of "The Superwoman" who can do it all. That was sold to us by Madison Avenue and the mainstream media. Melissa Harris-Lacewell seems to think she can have it all. She's a mother, a single mother and a working mother, adding Barack Obama campaigner flying to California, to New Hampshire and doing non-stop media appearances is adding too much to the plate and I don't know any woman in Atlanta who wouldn't feel that Melissa Harris-Lacewell needs to be watching her child more than her schedule allows. That's not sexism, that has to do with being a parent, a single parent. I will allow that her daughter, when she accompanies her which I would assume is the bulk and maybe all of the time to states, probably has many experiences that will be life enriching but I'll also note that her daughter is also sharing what should be parent-time with a huge amount of people and at five-years-old, as the child of a single-parent, I'd argue her daughter's being short changed. Whether you agree with me or not isn't really the point, the point is that it's a common attitude in the Black community and Marcia didd nothing sexist by noting her mother's opinion and her mother did nothing sexist by voicing it. Black America is under attack every day. All parents need to be there for their children but especially single-parents and especially single, Black parents. There is no safety net, it's been ripped apart, there is only us and if we're not taking care of our jobs as parents, we're not doing our jobs and no one's going to respect a single-parent who already teaches at a univeristy and presumably makes enough to live on from that job, who is also flying around the country for some man's campaign and also rushing back and forth to NYC for this media appearance and that one. I know Ava and C.I. intend to note Melissa Harris-Lacewell's attack on Tavis Smiley and how she pouted so much she announced she wouldn't be following his State of Black Union coverage. That's a real sorrow but a further indication of how out of touch with the community she is. And for the record, yes, this Black woman voted for Hillary Clinton but I don't know anyone in my area who's threatening to stay home on election day in November if Barack Obama's not given the nomination by the super delegates. I doubt very seriously the 'expert' on Urban Radio from New Jersey hears Black radio out of Atlanta to begin with but her threat is unrealistic and, frankly offensive. Ty had wanted to talk about that.
Ty: I know we're short on time but to echo Betty, here in California, I've heard no African-American backing Bambi say they're bolting. That's Melissa Harris-Lacewell and her nutty crew trying to create another 'movement' that the press will run with without checking out their facts. That woman is a professional liar. She has no right to go on Charlie Rose and float a Black-Out and I want to be clear that Melissa Harris-Lacewell did that because I know how offended so many African-Americans who caught her little stunt are and I want to be sure that any just learning of it know who pulled the stunt. Sadly, but equally true, if she wants to play the race card, Black America, and Marcia noted this as well, does not out number Latinos so Harris-Lacewell's threat was stupid for that reason as well. If Democratic super delegates have to start making a choice based on groupings, smart ones would say,'There are more Latinos, they support Hillary and this is our chance to nail down Latino support for future elections.'
Cedric: I have to jump in here, sorry. Ty's exactly right. Melissa Harris-Lacewell lives in alternate universe where Sister Souljah moments never take place. The Democratic Party has taken great strides before to reassure that African-Americans, feminists and labor were not controlling the party. Forced to make a decision, the smart move for super delegates would be to embrace Hillary for the Latino vote. First off, I haven't heard any threats of a Brown-Out. Second off, they're a large group that's only expected to become an ever higher percentage of the population. Third off, despite liars in Panhandle Media stating otherwise, they vote. African-American males, for a number of reasons, have one of the worst turn-out rates on voting date of any voter. Melissa Harris-Lacewell's threat is not only empty, it's begging the DNC to send a show of support to Latinos who do vote and are a larger grouping. Yet again, to advance her candidate, she hurts her own race. That's been her pattern throughout this campaign. She does not speak for Black America. My grandmother read Marcia's posts, she reads everything Marcia writes, and agreed strongly with Marcia stating, "She really does need to be taking care of her baby and not running all over the country for Baracka." That's what my grandmother calls Barack. She's not making fun of him. She calls Usher "Ursher" and Oprah's "Ofrah." The only people who see Melissa Harris-Lacewell as any kind of an authority on Black America are White Media and the other Black elites they've allowed into the system. We rank-and-file don't like her. My girlfriend was griping her out for the rude manner she was treating Connic Schultz in on Charlie Rose. Griping her out by talking back to the TV. And that was before she snarled up her lips and started shaking her head over and over while Schultz was speaking.
Jim: And on that note, we're going to wrap up. Illustration, when it's added, is done by Betty's oldest son.