West Virginia Primary Results and Ruminations

First, the Democrats:

1. 67.0% Clinton 239,062
2. 25.7% Obama 91,652
3. 07.3% Edwards 26,076

And, the GOP:

1. 76.0% McCain 89,683
2. 10.3% Huckster12,175
3. 05.0% Paul 5,914
4. 04.4% Romney 5,188
5. 02.4% Rudy 2,831
6. 01.2% Keyes 1,426
7. 00.6% Others 727

Source: New York Slimes

Observations

Edwards, the man who dropped out months ago, got nearly 1/3 the vote that Obama did, and nearly 75% of West Virginians voted against the presumptive Democratic nominee. What a protest vote, indeed!

On the other hand, 24% of Republicans voted against the GOP nominee. Not quite the showing the Democrats engaged in, to be sure. Also, there were two Republicans still on the ballot, and ordinarily one would expect the protest vote to coalesce around the minority candidate, however, this year that minority man is Ron Paul..an unacceptable man to the majority of right-thinking Republicans. He received a mere 5%, while the Huckster received more than twice his vote (10.3%) and another 9.6% also said no to Ron Paul, McCain, and the Huckster.

This has been one of the very few benefits to the Ron Paul Supporters (I call them Pauleroids) joining the GOP…it dampens any breakout power that they, or their candidate could have. They have been reduced to formulating resolutions, and planning temper tantrums that will further damage their standing in the party. Just imagine the damage a Ron Paul/Bob Barr ticket could have done to us in the General Election. By himself, Bob Barr is just sad humorless, sarcastic man. With Ron Paul, those two men could have been Ross Perot, redux. With a weak candidate like John McCain, we cannot afford that. God has already given us the gift of Obama, who is about the weakest candidate the Democrats could have put up. He hasn’t decided to give us over to the fire just yet…we have been given another go at it.

Gallup Poll Tracking 02-22-008

Here are the latest figures from Gallup:

Democrats:

1. 45% Hillary Clinton
2. 44% Barack Obama
3. 01% Mike Gravel

Here is a graphic to show the poll tracked over time:

Has Obama peaked? Is the Hilda Beast making a comeback? Or is this just statistical noise?

The Republicans:

1. 62% John McCain
2. 22% Mike Huckabee
3. 05% Ron Paul

Here is a graphic to show the poll tracked over time:

McCain and Huckabee are going in separate directions, McCain is up, and Huckabee is down, 2 out of 3 of Mitt’s Supporters going to McCain, and Ron Paul is in the weeds…below the radar on this graph. Instead of useless money bombs, poll-jacking and sign waves, the Ron Paul r3VOLution should have engaged in membership drives. They will probably never realize their childish behavior ran people away from Ron Paul. As an example, listen to this podcast: [1] [2]
I have been using that podcast locally as one of my tools to demonstrate the need for conservatives to become educated on the philosophical underpinnings of conservatism, and to get involved in politics on the precinct level.

Methodology: Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008. The results reported here are based on combined data from Feb. 18-20, 2008, including interviews with 1,006 Republican and Republican-leaning voters, and 1,218 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters. For results based on these samples, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Potomac Primaries Swept By Top Candidates

Both top candidates swept yesterday’s Potomac Primaries.

VIRGINIA

1. 64% Barack Obama 614,490
2. 35% Hillary Clinton 345,211

MARYLAND

1. 59% Barack Obama 439,979
2. 37% Hillary Clinton 273,828

DC

1. 75% Barack Obama 85,534
2. 24% Hillary Clinton 27,326

DEMOCRAT DELEGATE COUNTS

2,025 needed to win. 1624 Available.

1. 1223 (160 super delegates) Barack Obama 802 needed
2. 1198 (242 super delegates) Hillary Clinton 827 needed

VIRGINIA

1. 50% John McCain 242,804
2. 41% Mike Huckabee 197,905
3. 9% Other

MARYLAND

1. 55% John McCain 157,906
2. 29% Mike Huckabee 84,021
3. 6% Mitt Romney 17,993
4. 6% Ron Paul 17,242

Ha Ha Ha! Ron Paul couldn’t even place above a withdrawn candidate!

DC

1. 68% John McCain 3,929
2. 17% Mike Huckabee 961
3. 8% Ron Paul 471

GOP DELEGATE COUNTS

1,191 needed to win. 1,008 Available.

1. 821 (19 unpledged) McCain 370 needed
2. 288 ( 6 unpledged) Romney 903 needed
3. 241 ( 4 unpledged) Huckabee 950 needed
4. 16 (unknown) Paul 1,175 needed

[note–10.57 am– At this point, all GOP Candidates except McCain are essentially mathematically eliminated. The GOP Primary is over.]

One last thing I have noticed…Huckabee and Clinton seem to win in the same geographic regions, and Obama and McCain seem to win the same general geographic regions…to whit, these maps below:

Washington Post

Washington Post

Hillary and Huckabee take the western-most counties, and Obama and MCain take the eastern-most counties, setting up a rural vs. urban and suburban thing. Something to keep in mind for this fall.

Texas Communists For Obama and other Essential Morning Reads (updated with video)

This is gonna be fun:

Photo in an Obama Campaign office, with Communist Che Guevera adorning the wall on a Cuban flag, just showing how closely aligned American lefties are with Communism. At least McCain (or his supporters) won’t be likely to be lending support to Communists…like Fidel Castro. I just hope the rumor is true that he has said he would work to free Cuba of Communism. Read more on this at Redstate.

**update** 7.49am I have obtained an embeddable version of the video:

Why all the fuss about Che Guevera? Che Guevera was Fidel Castro’s chief executioner and a terrorist. I always find it deliciously ironic that the left…ostensibly against the death penalty, would hold a man who murdered in cold blood as a hero, adorning their clothing, walls, and vehicles. This should tell you all you need to know about progressives…they are harbingers of socialism, and would bring a new generation of murderers and executioners with them. It is also one of the things that set me against the Ron Paul Revolution, so many Idiot Ron Paul Supporters idolize Che Guevera, as indicated in this T-Shirt design.

For more information on the murderer Che Guevera, read The Real Cuba, a website devoted to exposing the Lies of the Left regarding Cuba, and check out the Che Guevera profile on Discover The Networks.

More people telling the truth about Cuba:

Babalu Blog, who has a team of bloggers focused on Cuba, and Latin America.

Kill Castro: A War Blog. Need I say more?

I’ll leave this discussion of this EVIL man with one of his quotes:

“To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary…These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution! And a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate. We must create the pedagogy of the The Wall! (El Paredón)” –Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

We confine our enemies in a luxurious prison in Club Gitmo to await a tribunal, while the Lefty Hero Che just lined up men, women, and children and shot them. Never forget that about lefties…they would do what they accuse everyone else of doing.

Now, on to a real hero, Norman Podhoretz:

Powerline gave an award to Norman Podhoretz for his new book, World War IV, which is drum I’ve been beating for a while now…that we are engaged in a Fourth World War. Gateway Pundit has the scoop, and links to more scoopy stuff related to the evening.

In Minnesota, of all places, citizens are standing up to their tyrannical government by…lighting up. Smoking has been barred in restaurants and bars. Unless it is as part of a theatrical production. In at least one location, people take part in the evenings entertainment, and Captain Ed has the program for the performance.

And, speaking of tyrannical government, if either Democrat gets elected to the office of President in November, we are likely to be forced to buy health care…even if we don’t want it. The bottom line of this whole exercise is to steal money from the healthy to pay for the insurance, and the votes, of the unhealthy. Those of us who have taken care of our God-given bodies will be forced to pay for other people’s laziness, and lack of foresight. Read more at The American Thinker.

And speaking of tyrannical behavior…the lefties at CNN are now joining the lefty boycott of Fox News by dissing one of the guys on their die at Fox – Geraldo Rivera – who has a new book coming out, “His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.” – was booked to appear on Nancy Grace’s CNN show on Feb. 28. But then he was disinvited and told CNN had “a blanket boycott” against anyone from Fox. ” ‘The Most Trusted Name in News’ just chickened out,” Rivera told Page Six. “This reveals a corporate insecurity.” Fox has had on as guests both Wolf Blitzer and Glenn Beck. A CNN rep denied any boycott and blamed a scheduling conflict. Newsbusters has the story.

At least Governor Mike Huckabee’s “Al Gore” moment has slipped away with the loss of the Washington vote count, what a silly boy he is, he doeasn’t even realize the race for the GOP nomination is over, and McCain can win in November!

The Democrat nomination is scrutinized by Patrick Ruffini, by way of spreadsheet.

So, that is a brief, brief snapshot of the American landscape as observed from the Pig Pen.

Republican Debate at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Here is the entire debate:

And you can read commentary over at You Decide 2008, where they have a forum to discuss the debate.

The Champs Elysees Republicans

The Financial Times joined the EUnuchs in celebrating current U.S. financial markets’ instability. The EUrocrats are, as usual, rejoicing in our problems, saying that we’d be so much better off if only we adopted their socialist economic theories. But Europe — and it’s projected 1.5-1.8% growth — is in worse shape than we, not better. Nevertheless, FT pompously passed along the call to “wake up, America!”

It is worth noting that this chortling occurred amid a meltdown of Europe’s own stock markets. They’ve got their priorities, though.

OK, so let’s pay attention to Europe.

Just the day before the FT article appeared, the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries pleaded with the European Commission to stop the hemorrhaging from their global warming carbon cap-and-trade rationing scheme. The reason is that this put their industry at a big competitive disadvantage compared to Chinese, Russian, Indian, U.S. and other producers.

This scheme that has sent European steelmaking jobs to Kentucky and Alabama, is also what Sens. John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Gov. Mike Huckabee are all advocating. It’s good to know the Europeans might be nice to them.

Just the day before that cry for help from lagging European industry, the European Roundtable of Industrialists similarly begged the Commission, saying this program could destroy the competitive position of European industry. The letter was signed by the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, a company which had all along pushed for the scheme, as far back as when Enron pioneered the (very Enron-esque) moneymaking deal here, before the, ah, unpleasantness.

This reminds me of the arrogance dogging U.S. industry lobbyists advocating imposition of this economic millstone here. Experience notwithstanding, they convince themselves that they can ride the back of the tiger of energy rationing policies and not end up in the tiger’s belly. Europe has proven that these schemes will not work as promised, and will get out of the control of the big businesses who push them as useful idiots of the environmentalist industry.

One reason we haven’t seen such legislation pass here — yet — is because thieves tend to fall out when it comes time to split up the loot, and industry and their political pals haven’t agreed on who gets to pick your pocket.

But Europe plans to treat us with more hectoring, Given the pain from just three years of a regulatory experiment to hide their inefficient energy tax they now promise a trade war.

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barosso, vowed to impose trade sanctions on countries that haven’t adopted Europe’s rationing scheme. (Never mind that I’ve documented that they’re cheating under it). This is a direct admission we that the scheme is doing precisely as we warned, and killing their economy.

Remember this when you hear ”cap and trade” sold domestically as creating “green collar jobs.” That’s nonsense. Though some brokerages have done well and utilities, some oil companies and others have been given windfall profits in the trillions, the real cost is the number of jobs high energy costs are chasing away. They have even driven steel jobs here, at the expense of EU economic growth.

Source: Human Events

Commentary

Carbon Cap & Trade is code for Communism seeking a go in the west at Wealth Transfer.
It treats carbon as currency…much like Enron [1] [2].

Governor Mike Huckabee’s support for a cap and trade system is unacceptable for a so-called “Conservative” [1] [2] [3].

Anon Robo Callers Against Barack "Hussein" Obama

Looks like either the HildaBeast or The Breck Girl have decided to capitalize on Obama’s middle name. Listen Here.

Source: Political Punch

My guess is that it was Edwards’ people, who is the most likely to imitate the Huckabee strategy of push-polling.

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

I found this little gem of absurdity on Crooks and Liars:

Part of being pro-choice is actually respecting choices that would not be the one that you personally would make. That said, and as a mother myself, I have to say that I HATE Crisis Pregnancy Center, who has a very prominent banner sign very close to my local high school. Bullying and lying to a teenager to get her to keep a pregnancy that she may not be emotionally, physically or financially able to handle is just child abuse in my opinion.

The blogger was noting a Huckabee visit to the Carolina Pregnancy Center.

So, according to the blogger, child abuse is worse than murder. Only from the mouth (or keyboard) from the anti-life would one hear that absurdity. They hate life so very much, they do not even want the young women to give their babies up for adoption, preferring to sacrifice them to their dark god(s).

At least Huckabee gets it right on the ongoing holocaust that is abortion.

New Rasmussen Poll for South Carolina, National Numbers Added

Crap! The McCain Surge has reached South Carolina…

1. John McCain……27%
2. Mike Huckabee..24%
3. Mitt Romney…..16%
4. Fred Thompson.12%
5. Rudy Giuliani……6%
6. Ron Paul…………5%

This telephone survey of 785 Likely Republican Primary Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports January 9, 2008. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

I’m guessing the bus loads of canvassers going to South Carolina from the local churches aren’t working to keep Schmuckerbie on top, unless the local American Legion has infiltrated the effort…now THAT would be funny!

**Update** 12.19pm The national numbers are in, and they aren’t pretty!

1. Huckabee….22% (22)
2. Romney……18% (19)
3. McCain……..18% (19)
4. Giuliani……..10% (9)
5. Thomspon…10% (12)
6. Ron Paul…….4% (no data reported)

Dems:

1. Clinton…34%
2. Obama…33%
3. Edwards..15%

Daily tracking results are collected via nightly telephone surveys and reported on a four-day rolling average basis. Roughly three-quarters of interviews for today’s update were conducted before results from New Hampshire were known. The next update is scheduled for Friday at 11:00 a.m. Each update includes approximately 750 Likely Democratic Primary Voters and 600 Likely Republican Primary Voters. Margin of sampling error for each is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

Transcript of Rush on Fox News

Rush Interviewed on Fox News Channel Iowa Caucus Coverage

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

SMITH: Rush, what I’m curious about is, we were talking about this in the commercial break, you’ve been very strong in your opinions on this and I wonder what does Rush Limbaugh do now? Does Rush Limbaugh back off? Does Rush Limbaugh — what is your thinking of what happened in the Republican Party, tonight?

LIMBAUGH: Actually, to me the big story is on the Democrat side. I don’t think this is unexpected on the Republican side.

SMITH: I want to talk about this first, if we can.

LIMBAUGH: Sure, Shep, whatever you want. I don’t think the Republican race is anywhere near over, as the Democrat race might be because of what happened tonight. But this, the Republican race has got a long, long, long way to go. Huckabee was perfectly positioned because of the makeup of the base in Iowa.

But, he’s not going to have that kind of base in New Hampshire, he’s got a strong McCain fight there and he’s not going to take on McCain. He was on the Tonight Show, the other night, he’s honored McCain, he’s not going to be critical of McCain at all and so it’s at least — what he said last night and the way he’s been handling himself about McCain up to now is any indication. But, I think the Republican race is long, long to be decided.

VAN SUSTEREN: Rush, it’s Greta. Which candidate do you like and why?

LIMBAUGH: I’ve stayed out this up until now. I haven’t chosen a candidate, haven’t picked one. You know, I’m a rock-ribbed conservative, as everybody knows, and I don’t think — everybody’s talking about Reagan this and they’re Reagan that, I saw you guys earlier tonight asking Governor Huckabee about — I think Laura asked him about his Reagan credentials, he doesn’t have Reagan credentials. Very few of the Republicans do. And so it’s sort of a circumstance where you’re not going to get everything you want here because very few of the candidates come close. There’s some that do, more so than others.

But this election, you know, I made a prediction a long time ago, by the way, and back on November 7, I asked my audience to stop and consider what happens if Huckabee wins Iowa, because the conventional wisdom was that Romney was going to win, I also said what happens if Hillary loses Iowa, the conventional wisdom that she was going to win.

And this election will not be about Iraq, it’s not going to be about the war, it’s going to be about the future of the country and if Obama is the nominee, it is going to be about issues which it absolutely should be. It’s not going to be about inevitability, it’s not going to be personalities, it’s not going to be about the Clinton’s being entitled or being inevitable, I think it’s shaping up to be exciting because I think a presidential elections ought to be about issues, they ought to be about ideas and the ideas are going to be clearly contrastable if Obama’s the nominee and whoever the Republican nominee is.

INGRAHAM: Rush, isn’t it true, though, that we — we, and I’m not putting myself in your category, believe me, I’m smarter than that, but that some people out there, and I think I’m of them, are missing the boat here about what people are feeling about Huckabee. I mean, I don’t think he’s a Reagan conservative on a lot of issues, I think he’s really effective and he’s an interest guy and he’s very smart, but I don’t think he’s a Reagan conservative.

But people are anxious about this economy and they like how he’s talking about the economy and they like what they’re hearing from him. And I think that is a cause of concern for Republicans and obviously it’s not over yet. But, that’s clearly a sentiment out there that I think a lot of people didn’t predict.

LIMBAUGH: Well, I don’t — I haven’t underestimated him at all, and again, I don’t want to be repetitive, but it was back in early November that I started detecting an uptick in his movement in the polls and I asked what if he gets the nomination? Now, you know, Governor Huckabee is — you know, talk about people underestimating him and the angst that exists in the country, there’s a PEW poll that came out on New Year’s Eve, 84 percent of the people, Laura, are immensely satisfied, a clear majority, greatly satisfied with their lives. What is this angst? I think — I think this angst is driven by media — made up.

ESTRICH: Can I ask you a question, Rush?

(CROSSTALK)

LIMBAUGH: I think there is some out there, but it’s not nearly as — if you’re trying to talk — my hearing — I don’t mean to be talking over you if you’re interrupting, but I just think that 70 percent of the same people say the country’s going in the wrong direction. Now, how you balance that? You have to balance it by what – there is a trend in the news media today, we can get a story that there has been a cure for cancer and it would have four experts saying it may be bad news. We can’t rely on the good news. Good news is simply not allowed in this country today, based on current media trends, FOX NEWS excluded, of course. And I don’t think that there is this much angst, individually.

I think a lot of people think a lot of other people are hurting, the subprime crisis and all this and these attitudes manifest themselves in the form of perception sometimes equaling reality, but if you get down to brass tacks and talk to people individually, they’re not hurting. Ninety-six percent of the American people are paying their mortgages, we’re not nearly as desolate, destitute.

Edwards made the country sound like 1920’s Louisiana, tonight.

ESTRICH: Rush, let me ask you…

LIMBAUGH: Now, Huckabee is — I think he’s tapping into a sentiment here that people just like a straight talker, or somebody who appears to be, who is from outside Washington, who is outside the beltway who’s not part of the political elites in Washington, or in New York, he’s making great hay with this New York-Washington axis comment, but this is all going to shake out. We’re going to have many fewer candidates in these next debates and that’s going to clear a lot of things out. This has a long way to go.

ESTRICH: Rush, I have a question it’s Susan. How are you?

LIMBAUGH: I’m fine. Is this Susan, did you say?

ESTRICH: Yes, it is.

LIMBAUGH: Susan, you look great. I have to tell you.

ESTRICH: Thank you, darling. What happens tomorrow when Mike Huckabee

calls and tries to make up with you? You’ve been critical of him in the past, you’ve been tough on him. If I were Mike Huckabee, tomorrow morning I would call Rush Limbaugh and try to make nice to you and your audience. What do you do when that happens?

LIMBAUGH: Well, um — it isn’t going to happen. This little thing that happened before Christmas with this blog that happened on the Atlantic Monthly with one of his advisors supposedly saying that, you know, I’m not an independent thinker, and I’m part of the D.C./New York actors, and so forth. He was asked about it and he said: Well, I would love for Rush to call me, I don’t have his number, I don’t know how to get hold of him.

And his campaign people in Arkansas know full well how to get hold of me. And he did, last Sunday, send me an e-mail, it said the last thing I want to do is pick a fight with you. But, he said something very interesting, I don’t know what was said and I don’t know who said it so I can’t respond to it.

Well, it was four days after what was said, he has to know what was said, and he could have responded to it anyway. I don’t think he will. I actually think that a portion of Huckabee campaign doesn’t mind the fact that some of us are opposing him. I think they think that it will help him with his base. I wouldn’t expect him try to make peace.

SMITH: Rush Limbaugh on the phone. Hey you know what? One thing I was going to ask the panel here, Rush, and maybe you can weigh in on this, as well. I guess, there are a couple of things when we talk about the Democrats, Obama’s message seems to be hope, Edwards’ message seems to be the middle class, what kind of message does Hillary Clinton the kind of enthusiasm that Obama seems to have around his campaign?

LIMBAUGH: I’m glad you asked that because I’m — this is what I originally wanted to say. I was watching all the networks tonight, channel surfing around, and I honestly, this is an historic night in this country, folks. For the first time a black American has been — has won a presidential primary going away by nine points. Now, I’m not going to mention the networks, but without exception, other than yours, it was Huckabee, Huckabee, Huckabee, Huckabee, they were doing their best to bury what was a devastating and humiliating loss for Hillary Clinton. This was the worst night of her life other than maybe some nights during the second term during the…

ESTRICH: Oh, I think, Rush, there were worse nights, don’t you?

LIMBAUGH: Well, look, you’re — she was the candidate of inevitability, Susan. She’s the candidate of entitlement. She was the candidate of coronation. Inevitable candidates do not lose, not especially when they take their whole national campaign team into the state…

VAN SUSTEREN: Rush, it’s Greta.

LIMBAUGH: Yeah?

VAN SUSTEREN: Here’s the thing that I’m — and I keep harping back to the 1988, the inevitable candidate, here in Iowa, you would think would have been George Bush, he’d been vice president of the United States, under President Reagan, who was loved by in many this country. He lost, I’m looking at the numbers right now, by almost 20 points, 20 percentage points to Bob Dole and he lost by six percentage points to Pat Robertson and ended up being the president of the United States. So, it’s while everyone is sort of harping on this one race, and it’s a huge win tonight for the two winners, it’s like, I just don’t see this as like such a, oh, no for the Hillary Clinton campaign. It’s more — it certainly is a wakeup call, like it was for George — President George Bush, then. So, I don’t feel the way that everyone else does on this.

LIMBAUGH: Well, I would draw a distinct in that I don’t think George H.W. Bush and his wife and their whole campaign team and their whole administration, prior to the Reagan administration, running around with this attitude of arrogant inevitability like the Clintons have been running around.

This is, I think this is a wakeup call for them. I also think that President Clinton hurt her. If you take a look in any number of campaigns prior to tonight when the president, the former president went out, endorsed candidate, the vast majority of them lost.

Her tailspin began when he got off the airplane in Iowa and started running around making three-hour speeches about himself rather than her. I think — I don’t think this is a good night for them. And you know, you like to go back to history and draw some parallels, if you want to do that, you should do he same thing about Huckabee and go talk about all the people that won Iowa who then faded later, but nobody is doing that about Huckabee, they’re anointing Huckabee tonight. And Susan knows exactly why. The Democrats are hoping and praying he’s the nominee for one reason.

ESTRICH: That’s right.

LIMBAUGH: I’ll tell you what it is, Susan, I know exactly what it is. The left-wing in this country is terribly fearful of Evangelicals, the Christian right. They would love to find a way to neutralize them. You nominate a guy who represents them and take him out, you take out the whole Christian right, once and for all and you don’t have to worry about them. And I know that’s why you want Huckabee.

SMITH: Got to go, Rush. Thanks for the call in, appreciate it.

LIMBAUGH: Thank you, Shep.

END TRANSCRIPT

Commentary

I hate to disagree with Maja Rushdie, but I disagree with him over Clinton being taken out last night. I think she was weakened, but she can survive. She can survive a loss in New Hampshire as well. If she loses in South Carolina, then I will start throwing in the shovels of dirt on her. Not until then.