In what sounds like an introduction of Hubert Humphrey, Ronald Reagan rails against the Republicans back in 1948. It’s amazing to me how similar the problems of yesteryear sound like they could be incorporated into Obama or Hillary McClintons speeches today…if they could quit sniping at each other and address the real issues.

A tip of the space helmet to Snakebite.

They have been turning out in droves. Registrars in Pennsylvania and Oregon have their hands full. The Republicans are flocking to change their party affiliation before the primaries. They don’t have anything to lose but freedom and security so they are abandoning the “Grand Ole Party”. They seem to be waking up.

Maybe it’s because of their discontent with the way the government has been going. Maybe it’s because they see the path we are going down isn’t leading anywhere good and they know their parties candidate is going to be more of the same. Maybe they just feel that Clinton or Obama could do better than John would and they want something better than he can offer. Maybe they are just acting smart for a change.

In Virginia and Missouri Obama won big because of the Repube vote. Texas and Ohio Repube’s gave the Clinton and Obama campaigns a huge boost. Those places have shown that no one is satisfied with the things going on in Washington and are seeking to change it. And change seems to be the common goal.

They have been running a lot of McCain for president ads on teevee here in New Mexico. We are supposedly a “swing state”. It seems that the pundits are right about him. He seems, through this ad, to be comparing America now with America of Viet Nam times. The ad they are running this week has a lot of footage of him after he was brought to some hospital after his captivity in that war. It almost seems like he wants pity for the prison time he served. The message I get from it is that he seeks revenge on his captors so much he can’t tell the difference between the Vietnamese and the Iraqi’s.

His call for occupation of Iraq for 50 years has been overshadowed by his carefree quip about 100.

“Make it 100.” he said when questioned about his support for an extended occupation.

“We’ve been in South Korea … we’ve been in Japan for 60 years,” he continued. “We’ve been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, that’s fine with me. I hope that would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where Al Qaeda is training, recruiting and equipping and motivating people every single day.”

That is just disgusting. Americans ARE being injured, harmed or killed everyday in Iraq so there is no reasoning to this statement.

Maybe this one statement of doddering senility has gotten the Repube populace thinking. McSame is driving them away in a way Bush only dreams about. The thinking people see what disaster lies ahead with him running the great ship America. They are more interested in saving our country than some other place. They know we can’t save the world if we can’t save ourselves. They know the way things are going we are actually destroying ourselves. They want change.

In this race the Republicans can’t count on the conservative evangelical vote. This isn’t a race based on abortion or whatever one issue subject they choose to vote on. This race affects them the same way it does Democrats and “liberals”. Their kids are dying in Iraq the same way those on the left’s kids are. They are tired of being lied to by those they trusted 4 and 8 years ago. Their homes have also been foreclosed on. Their jobs have been shipped out of the country too.  Their phones and internet are at risk of being invaded just like the liberals. Their rights are being trampled along with everyone else’s. Only the hardcore are waiting for Bush and McCain to speed up their “rapture” and the end of the world.

I have become an Obama supporter over the last few weeks. I think Clinton brought some good things to the table but she also brought her bucket of mud and has been slinging it much to my dismay. Bill Richardson has endorsed Barack so there is my big turning point. Richardson is the experience and knowlege Obama needs to bring on board so thats my humble endorsement.

I won’t make this page a campaign for any candidate until after the Democratic National Convention and then I will only do what I can to defeat the Republicans and their drive to bring us back to the stone age. Until then I have to depend on the conservatives who are running frantically away from their own party. For whatever reason they are running.

The members of the Grateful Dead also endorsed him by playing a benefit for him so Thats an added bonus as far as I’m concerned.

I haven’t paid much attention to the news over the weekend. Just babbling about Huckabee dividing the nation and black people pushing for Obama. The race card has been played hard lately but Clinton has gotten hurt from whoever is voting for Barack. Bad enough that she felt the need to change campaign managers in the middle of the stream. Aging bald dudes seem to be working for the change Obama promises by the looks of things at the Rotus Ranch.

Clark, the head rancher over there also has a nice blog with music reviews. Go check it out at Clarks Picks.

Rotus has a somewhat different take on some issues and I try to read his stuff every day. I think you should too.

The street sweepers are washing the pavement in the alleys and streets of the French Quarter. New Orleans bar workers are mopping up the funk that comes from days of revelry while the bar owners are counting their riches. Catholic faithful are going to masses to have some ash smeared on their foreheads. Lent is here and in the next 40 days leading up to Easter the city will relax. Almost rest.

But Ash Wednesday in New Orleans is also the day of the Louisiana Primary. There will probably not be as big a cleanup as one might think. The election results from todays primaries and caucuses show McCain is the only candidate that cleaned up in the polls. The Democrats are still pretty much on the same level when it comes to their peoples support.

McCain’s overwhelming win of delegates is due to the “Huckabee Factor”. Mike has taken a lot of the “liberal” Republican vote from Mitt much to Romney’s chagrin. His whining today just alienated more of his would be supporters giving John McCain more of an advantage. That scares me.

With McCain the probable Republican candidate for president America is facing a strange future. His stance on the war in Iraq along with his hinting at future wars, Iran probably, could make or break him. Especially if his Democratic opposition remains weak on their demands to withdraw our troops from Iraq. If the Democrats can’t show strong we may be facing Johns proposed 100 years there.

New Orleans, and much of Louisiana, has a large black Democrat population. The strength of the black vote became clear in 1992 when Democrat Edwin Edwards, a known criminal and liar, was running against Republican racist David Duke for Governor. More black people registered and voted than any time in Louisiana history. The crook won in a landslide even though the Republican Duke got a huge turnout of white voters.

Obama and Clinton are running neck and neck. Clinton has only 100 more delegates then Obama. The primaries in the weeks to come can change that. There are more delegates yet to be chosen and Barak may overcome Hillary in the polls. With only 56 delegates at stake there Louisiana wont be a deciding factor in the final outcome but will probably bring the race closer. I think Obama will take the state today.

The really surprising state for Obama was Idaho. Such a huge amount of their votes going to him there shows me the race card is fading in this campaign. When I was a kid growing up in Idaho there was an underlying racism that welcomed many white supremacy groups  to build compounds and enclaves all over the state. I was pleased to see that the old days are going away and people are starting to think clearer.

So as the post Carnival cleanup continues in The Big Easy the cleanup in the polls wont come. The democratic candidates will have to really duke it out. Lets hope the mudslinging doesn’t start too bad. Thats a mess that may cause McCain to clean up in November.

We can’t have that.

With a reported 52% of the votes over McCains 21% in the caucuses in Main this weekend It seems the Republican voters are flip flopping from state to state. One bunch says that McCain would be better. Then Romney says some soothing crap and the next state overwhelmingly votes for him. Ron Paul did almost as well as John in Maine with 19%of the vote going his way. Even Thompson, who dropped out of the race last month, brought in 4% of the votes.

With Super Tuesday coming tomorrow analysts are busy making predictions. According to Time Magazine Saturday, Fred Thompson is expected to do well in Tennesse.

On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton is expected to do well in the southern states as well.  After all, the rednecks there see no value in a black man. How can an inferior being lead our country? At Denny’s the other morning a traveler from Alabama told me he would rather see a woman in there than a Negro. After living in the southland for so many years I know the “liberal” voters have those feelings and I think we will see that trend among the white voters there.

New Mexico, like Idaho and Kansas will hold Democrat only caucuses tomorrow.  Racism will be a big factor here as well I think. The Hispanic population in New Mexico is pretty conservative and on a large scale believe the idea of a black president is not as appealing as a woman. Besides if her husband watches the Super Bowl with our Hispanic governor I guess she can’t be all that bad. I think the race card will be a major factor in all of the states tomorrow.

With Republicans like Susan Eisenhower, Dwight’s granddaughter,  and (reportedly Republican) Bob Wier of the Grateful Dead joining the voice for Obama, conservative Democrats may actually be influenced. The stoner crowd may even get out to vote because the rest of the band endorses Barack. Maybe the racists will be outnumbered by those who choose to vote by other outside influences like endorsements.

I am not sure who I would vote for tomorrow if I could. (I’m not a registered Dem.)  I have very mixed feelings about both Hillary and Obama. With Richardson and Kucinich out I don’t have a favorite. They both have the same strong feelings about the war in Iraq. I have seen nothing but continuing support of the occupation (at least for the next 4 years) from both of the Democratic frontrunners.

This is a single issue race for me for the most part. My draft age son doesn’t believe in this war and I feel that if the conflict continues and escalates the draft is imminent. I don’t want my son to be among those who are fighting if he doesn’t believe in the cause. I don’t want anyones child to be forced into service for such flawed reasons as the ones that led us into this war and occupation. Or the war McCain wants to start with Iran.

If your state is holding Super Tuesday elections tomorrow please get out and vote. Your voice can make a difference this time.

You may even see a super hero at the polls.

Reports have it that The Boys are coming together Monday to play a show for Obama. Wish I could be in The City to see this historic event.

When Jerry was alive They never made any political endorsements. If they had endorsed Kerry last time maybe they could have convinced the Deadheads to get up off of their stoned asses and vote, making things verrrrry different.
Monkeyfister has the story.

Barely Political aired this report about the 2008 elections.

Special thanx to MAHAKALA

Tonight, President Bush will issue what will thankfully be his final State of the Union address; but, little of what he says can be trusted.

For the past seven years, we have watched as America has moved steadily backwards. We have become a nation that is less free and less fair. We have become a nation that no longer values the right to privacy and has tragically retreated from our cherished foundations.

Nothing George W. Bush says tonight will change the sad reality of the America he has given us:

- Our economy teeters on the edge of recession while property taxes spike and homeowners are losing their homes at record levels;

- Our educational system is broken and our teachers are abandoned;

- Our roads and bridges languish in disrepair, while our borders and ports remain under-inspected and insecure;

- Our most basic ideals about law and justice have been tossed out, as our President uses fear to pursue his reckless agenda; and

- We remain mired in Iraq – a war built on lies and manipulated intelligence.

Nowhere in American history - not even Watergate - have we been confronted with an Administration so ambivalent about the truth and established law. A recent nonpartisan study found that the Bush Administration lied over 900 times in the prelude to the Iraq war, misleading us on nearly every critical issue.

It is time that we reclaim this country and undue the damage wrought by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Democrats in Congress must stand up and lead – no matter the cost.

Dennis Kucinich is revoicing the call for impeachment today in the house. Maybe this time impeachment will be “Back On The Table”. Mike Gravel praised Kucinich in this report from Huffington Post.

While they rushed ballots to the polling places that were running out. While every news channel was predicting a double digit lead for Obama over everyone. While the pundits babbled insipidly about who would win if Bill Clinton were running. While everyone in the media were predicting a neck and neck between McCain and Romney, I slept.

Crying myself into a nap I knew how my life is going to be spent the next few months. Watching the chances of a positive campaign crumble while the sniping and backstabbing grows. Through the rain of mudballs being hurled by the candidates, and some of their spouses, we will have the problem of trying to see which one of them will really bring change and who would lead us down the road to hell we are speeding down so quickly already. Although the mud doesn’t seem to be sticking yet I am sure it will get thicker and nastier as the year runs on.

Hillary’s slim victory over Obama today in New Hampshire is being touted as a major victory. On the Democratic side both Edwards and Richardson have vowed to continue fighting. McCain and Romney have clinched the top 2 while Huckabee, the strong leader in Iowa was pushed down to the Ron Paul level. I was really refreshed to wake and see how lousy the numbers were for 9/11 Gulianni and Thompson. Paul fanatics will actually cause more damage to his cause than the good their money did so I’m not worrying much about his ultra right wing libertarian ass winning anything any more. Dodds poor showing will probably result in him withdrawing from the race along with the other candidates who polled less than 2% in todays primary.

My states governor has decided to concentrate on the western states where he is better known. While others are campaigning in S. Carolina Richardson will be wooing Nevadans and Californians. He still has strong support here in New Mexico because the people have benefitted  from his leadership. There are those he needs to court still but I think he will do better out west than he has in Iowa or N.H.. I’m really excited to see how people all over the nation whose states are being invaded by the big news agencies and herds of supporters will react to this circus tour.

It was good to see that no one got the “coronation” the media had been trying to put on Barack all week. I really think that those other Demo candidates need to get a lot more airtime in before the people are forced to go with the top runner. There are more choices than Obama and Clinton so they need to be heard.

I’m glad to see New Hampshire over with. I’m also glad it wasn’t the decider and we still have until November to choose who will be our next president.

If they actually let the people decide this time.