Obama says he's awakening sleeping Texas Democrats

[babylonsister]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/28551.html

Obama says he's awakening sleeping Texas Democrats
By Jay Root | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

* Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2008


AUSTIN, Texas -- Barack Obama said Saturday he is helping to spark an awakening among moribund Texas Democrats, who are now turning out to vote early in record numbers and could all but hand him his party's presidential nomination on March 4.

snip//

"This presidential primary is bringing a flow of turnout to our side like we've never seen before," said Democratic strategist Ed Martin, showing off a spreadsheet showing a five-fold of early vote turnout in the state's most populous counties since early voting for the March 4 primary began on Tuesday.

In reliably Republican Tarrant County, for example, Democratic turnout topped 18,000 in the first three days of early voting - compared with just 2,300 at the same point in 2004.

Clinton spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod said the former first lady, who has deep Texas ties, is generating her share of the interest. "Texans know that Senator Clinton will roll up her sleeves and work hard for them every day, which is why she's been attracted huge crowds at early vote rallies throughout the state, and record numbers of Texans are coming out to vote," Elrod said.

But Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said while both candidates are generating interest, "it's Obama that's really providing the jet fuel to this thing.''

"What Obama is offering is not more of the same,'' Jillson said. "He is offering a new style of politics.''

[yellowdogintexas]

1. whatever it is, it is making people come OUT TO VOTE!!!

friends, I remind you of Prairie View A & M....and I hear scuttlebutt from friends who are around young people who have never bothered to register and are now kicking themselves because they can't go vote for H or O

anyway I look forward to maybe having to stand in line on election day. (I seldom early vote, I LIKE my paper scanner ballot too much, and it 's sort of fun to be there on the DAY)

either one of these fine candidates will work hard for us every day.
Either one of them will be a vast improvement over anything else out there

I don't know when the choices have been so excellent no matter which way it goes. Two very smart, articulate, caring people left after a field of what was it eight at the beginning?.... equally smart articulate caring individuals...a real embarrassment of riches.

I think what we see here is some excitement over our primary actually counting for something at the national level, combined with interest generated by the first major woman candidate and the first major African American candidate squaring off against one another, combined with Obama's ability to captivate the young voters..people who haven't bothered to vote in years are now voting. And of course the general dismay with the last 8 years, particularly the last 2 years.

and of course the R's who are voting in our primary to swing the vote one way or another which is perfectly legal in our primaries.

I am also pleased with what this kind of turnout can do for the down ticket elections.

Tarrant Co has actual opposition to many R offices where the incumbents have run unopposed in the general election for YEARS. Excitement, we has it.

[crispini]

2. SNORF!

You SO need to make a screencap with that last line. :rofl:

Are you working on election day? Party's going to need every last one of us and then some.

[yellowdogintexas]

7. LOL, we read too much Icanhascheezburger in this house.

and no I can't work election day, because I do not have any vacation time available currently. Wish I could though.

Hoping to get in some phone bank time before end of primary season though

[TexasObserver]

3. It's real, and it's happening all over the state. We've been getting our butts kicked since '94.

Good to be BACK!!

And in record numbers. It's Obama. He's going to make us viable in places like Tarrant County (Ft. Worth).

[Ravy]

4. I can hear it now..."Keep Obama out of our bedrooms"... nt

[Cha]

31. I'm sure you

can.

[workinclasszero]

5. "This presidential primary is bringing a flow of turnout to our side like we've never seen before,"

Thats music to my ears baby!

Anyone care to guess who all these new voters are choosing??:)

GOBAMA!!

[babylonsister]

6. Big primary turnout could brighten future for Democrats

Big primary turnout could brighten future for Democrats
Monday, February 25, 2008


Even in the reddest counties in a deep red state, Texans are streaming to vote in the Democratic primary at double and sometimes triple the number voting in the Republican primary.

Early vote tallies compiled since Tuesday — the day early voting opened for the March 4 primary — show huge numbers of suburban voters turning up to vote Democrat. Texas suburbs have long been Republican strongholds, but the numbers indicate a huge shift.

You can probably chalk that up to the excitement generated by the Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama race for the Democratic presidential nomination. But if — capital "I," capital "F" — Texas Democrats hold onto those votes in November, they have the best chance in years to come back from the wilderness they've been mapping since the mid-'90s. It's IF because the party's organization has been in tatters, its bench isn't deep — and if the party has a clear, coherent message, I haven't heard it.

Big Democratic turnouts in Travis County are to be expected, but the early votes so far are record breaking — 23,132 as of Thursday — making any number of local races difficult to handicap because the big turnouts dilute the influence of the Democratic in crowd.

Where the Democratic surge is truly impressive is in the suburbs that were once the exclusive property of Republicans. In Collin County, at the heart of the Metroplex — a heavily Republican area — county officials recorded the Democratic turnout at 5,021 early voters as of Thursday. That represented an increase of 4,294 early votes in the 2006 Democratic primary.

A wow would be in order here.

more...

http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/02/0225garcia_edit.html

[snappyturtle]

12. I'm in Kerr County....very Republican but everyone we talk with

is going in Obama's direction. However, being new to the state I looked for our polling place. In this county, IF I understood correctly, there are only four polling places! Early voting at only one place...the county courthouse. This measure is to save $11,520! Fortunately our polling place is very close but for many, many,many the closest is MILES away. Of course, these residents could vote early if they happen to come into Kerrville, the county seat, or vote absentee. Another thing that I find appalling, having come here from MN, is that there is no election day registration.

When people vote early I suppose it's because they won't be here for election day or they're trying to avoid lines. But, can we count on these voters to caucus at the local conventions? This is a very cumbersome voting method here in Texas. I find it to be the dis-enfranchisement horse of a different color.

[Cal Carpenter]

8. Can anyone tell me what this means?

"This presidential primary is bringing a flow of turnout to our side like we've never seen before," said Democratic strategist Ed Martin, showing off a spreadsheet showing a five-fold of early vote turnout in the state's most populous counties since early voting for the March 4 primary began on Tuesday.

Is there a word missing in the bolded part? Is it supposed to say five-fold "increase" maybe?

Or does "five-fold" have a meaning I don't know about?

Thanks in advance from a newbie.

Regardless, it's looking pretty good for Obama in Texas if things keep moving in this direction.

[IndyOp]

9. Yes - I think it has to be 5-fold increase of early vote turnout -

The one county they give as an example - reliably Republican Tarrant County - is actually showing a 7-fold increase:

18,000 in the first three days of early voting - compared with just 2,300

:hi:

[Cal Carpenter]

11. Thanks

That's what I figured but there's a lot of unfamiliar jargon and lingo around here that I can never be sure

:hi:

[IndyOp]

13. I didn't notice your post count before - Welcome to DU, Cal! (n/t)

[Cal Carpenter]

20. Thanks IndyOp

Not sure this is the best time to be new here though - this place is intense!

[IndyOp]

28. I don't think this place is "intense" right now - I think it is downright NUTS!

I don't enjoy and don't participate in the mudslinging - I think it only demeans us all. After all, as George Washington Carver said, "You can't keep a man down without staying down with him."

People can't sling mud to keep Hillary or Obama down without staying down in the mud themselves.

Stick around or take a break and come back after the primaries are over -- things DO settle down dramatically after the primaries.

:hi:

[dansolo]

24. Or it may be 5X previous numbers

Which would actually be a four-fold increase.

[snappyturtle]

17. Welcome to DU! Since you can't receive private messages yet, I

just have to ask if you're from MN? We have a friend in MN...same name!

[Cal Carpenter]

18. Thanks for the welcome

I'm not from MN though. And my name is not really Cal but I'll try not to disparage your friend's name too much :)

[snappyturtle]

30. HA! Thanks for answering. n/t

[rug]

10. Arise.

[Cha]

32. rug, you are so

clever.

[rainbow4321]

14. Unprecedented number of college students in TX registering for primaries

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022408dnpolyouthvote.3beba9c.html

Armed with campaign posters, voter-registration cards and enough board games and buttered popcorn to make it through the night, dozens of students spent the 10 hours before early voting began outside their campus precinct, educating every bleary-eyed studier and after-hours straggler about the Texas primary.

<snip>

The UT College Democrats have registered close to 23,000 people to vote in the past five weeks – the large majority of them students. That's more than anyone on campus can remember registering for a primary, said Laura Hernandez, the organization's president.

"This is definitely unprecedented," said Ms. Hernandez, 22. "To get this many youth voters registered for a primary, it's really remarkable."

<snip>


Rock the Vote just launched a Texas texting program – they'll send 10,000 text-message reminders to young voters in the week before the primary. And thousands of volunteers are heading to college campuses in Texas with the sole purpose of educating students on how the state's primary works.

[JPZenger]

25. Great video of volunteers in Texas

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/24/12525/3291/596/463158

The above is a link to a great new video made by a Obama volunteer coordinator in Texas that shows volunteer efforts underway in Texas. It is entitled "What Started in Texas, Ends in Texas." The start in Texas is referencing King George.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. hahaha so that's his latest spin for the 1 time rethuglican crossover voters for him...this is rich

[babylonsister]

16. hahaha, who do you think might have the last laugh? nt

[LadyVT]

19. You bet. It'll all be revealed in the fall (November, I mean...)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

22. See my post below

You really don't know what you're talking about.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

21. Respectfully. This is being tossed about by people who don't understand voting in Texas

There's much, MUCH more on the ballot than just the presidential primary choice. There are two ballots. One with ALL the Republican races and one with all the Democratic ones.

It's a red state so MANY of the races are Republican against Republican. My ballot is half the size of the Republican one in my county.

There are several local and state races on the Republican ballot that I don't have on mine. Many of these are VERY important local races such as, sheriffs races, county attorneys, constables, district attorneys, etc. Then they also have some contested appeals judges to vote on not to mention they have a national senatorial challenge taking place. I don't know many Republicans who are worried about the national senatorial race to be honest, but the other races are important to them.

This year I don't get a say in who our new sheriff is going to be because only Republicans are running for that position. . It's been a bitter and heated race and I won't get a say in the outcome since it's not on my ballot. The same applies in the battle to unseat the current county attorney.

Historically in Texas you see more Democrats crossing over to vote because they want to vote in other local races that are important to them.

[babylonsister]

27. Thanks for explaining that, Lone_Star_Dem! Makes sense to me,

and does explain a lot of the cross-over voters. I also think they have no one viable to vote for for prez in their party, especially if they're anti-war, so what are thinking rethugs and inds. supposed to do? Should our big tent get smaller, or should it be enlarged? I say the latter.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

29. I'm a Texas Democrat. I'll take anyone I can get to vote out the Republicans

My tent has plenty of empty seats waiting to be filled. :)

I think a large part of the huge Democratic turnout are old Democrats and not crossover at all. I know so many people who consider themselves Democrats but don't usually bother to vote because no one they vote for ever gets elected. Then there's the fact that often they cross over to vote in the Republican election in primary years just to have a local voice.

This time their votes do matter to the Democratic party and they're casting them with a renewed passion. Even if only in this one primary election, it's doing my heart good to see Texas Democrats feel relevant.

[stillcool]

33. thank you....

Golly gee, but sometimes I really love this place. It's amazing how quickly b.s. posts can be shot down, and at the same time I learn a little something I never knew!! .:thumbsup:

[blogslut]

26. You have no idea what you're talking about

Too bad

[tammywammy]

23. w00t!

[Infinite Hope]

34. As I've said, Texas is a Democratic state.....

It's all about mobilizing those who don't normally vote. Only 15-20% of the "black" population votes regularly in Texas based on numbers I heard a few years ago while campaigning there. Poverty in general holds down would-be Democratic voters of all races.

[Freida5]

35. It is more like the RNC is waking Republicans to vote for Obama to stop Hillary.

Obama is a loser in the fall

[Lone_Star_Dem]

36. Not true

Whoever started this didn't know what they were talking about this election cycle.

see my post above: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4740760&mesg_id=4746877

Think about it, why would they waste their vote on important races to stop all the infighting among the Democrats? I've been told to my face by Republicans they hope Obama and Hillary tie the state and this goes on all the way to the convention. They're loving the infighting. Truthfully, if the shoe were on the other foot I'd be saying and feeling the same way.

[madfloridian]

37. No, that is not true.

There may be crossovers, there always are. But he can win in the fall.

[tammywammy]

39. Yea! Another poster NOT from Texas here to educated us all

:eyes:

You should try reading the whole thread and maybe learning a few things before spouting off.

[Scurrilous]

38. K & R

:thumbsup: