The Bridge

Late Night: What If?

by Pamela Leavey, The Democratic Daily

Here’s a little night night food for thought… What If Democrats Used Winner Take All?

Of course, it’s too late now to change the rules but:

If the Democrats were to allot their current state delegate totals in a winner-take-all format, Clinton would actually have a significant delegate advantage. Despite having won only 14 recognized contests to Obama’s 30, Clinton would currently have a 120 (1738 to 1618) total delegate lead and a remarkable 167 (1427 to 1260) pledged delegate lead. These numbers give Texas’ “prima-caucus” delegates to Clinton and do not include Florida, Michigan or the 693 total delegates and 566 pledged delegates still to be won in the next few months.

Like I said above it’s too late now to change the rules, but Rasmussen points out:

Obviously, the Clinton campaign cannot argue for changing the system this late in the game, especially since they agreed to the ground-rules of the process before the campaign started. Yet in a race that has become principally about winning the several hundred uncommitted super-delegates, this argument could be used to provide cover for electors currently unwilling to go against the race’s “clear leader”.

The Clinton campaign could contend that it is the proportional allocation system’s inherent “over-fairness” that is denying her the significant delegate gains that she justifiably deserves from winning states like Ohio, where Clinton’s 10 percent margin of victory only garnered her 9 more delegates than Obama. This may be an effective argument for Sen. Clinton to justify going forward in the race, especially if she is able to pull closer to even in the popular vote after the contests in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina.

--The Democratic Daily; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

MIKE CASSARO ON THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR’S DEATH

Prospect, KY). Today marks a somber anniversary in American history. It is the fortieth anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King died (April 4th, 1968, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis,TN) as the result of hateful violence.

Dr King’s crusade for positive change started in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, not with firearms but with the power of prayer and words. He preached love, forgiveness, and equality. Dr. King took this message of love and change to the mountaintop with his famous “I Got a Dream” speech in Washington in 1963.

Mike Cassaro states: “While Dr. King’s death was tragic, his life was a joyous celebration of God’s truth. Dr. King’s life showed Americans that those who love others have the moral authority over those who hate. His life taught us that love brings out the best in people and hate the worst. His life demonstrated that love unites people and hate divides.”

Dr King’s final battle on this planet was for economic justice. He went to Memphis in support of that city’s African-American sanitary public works employees who were represented by AFSCME Local 1733.

Dr. King’s life’s work is far from finished. Economic injustice, hate, and war still rage on. We must work together to make Dr. King’s dreams a reality.

As Mike Cassaro says: “United, we must be for all to prosper. We must unite against those who try to divide Americans against Americans. We must unite at the ballot box against those who show favoritism to one group of Americans over another. United, we will change the unguided economically unjust policies of the current administration in Washington.”

--Cassaro for U.S. Senate Campaign; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

Hillary Clinton Unveils Video Tribute to the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Remembrance of the 40th Anniversary of His Death

Senator Hillary Clinton released a video tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the civil rights leader’s untimely death.

"Dr. King challenged all of us to stay awake during the great civil rights revolution that was sweeping our country. Today, in 2008, there is still a need for us to remain awake, stay focused and work together to address the challenges we face," said Hillary.

The assassination of Dr. King is an unforgettable moment in the history of our country. It touched the lives of all of us and forever changed America’s path. Dr. King’s work did not end with his death and has instead continues to flourish in communities and neighborhoods across the country. It is possible to see Dr. King’s work and his legacy every day in our society.

Helping each other and giving back to our communities are the best ways to keep alive the legacy of Dr. King.

To view the video, click here: www.hillaryclinton.com/action/mlk

A full transcript of the video is below.

Americans all across our great country and people around the world have been inspired to achieve great things because of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - because of his teachings and because of his life. On April 4th, we observe the 40th anniversary of his death, and it is important that we take a moment to reflect on his legacy.

I remember so well the great privilege I had as a young girl to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak in Chicago. He called his sermon that evening 'Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.' Dr. King challenged all of us there, as he did throughout his life, to stay awake during the great civil rights revolution that was sweeping our country.

Today, in 2008, though the revolution may not be as obvious or vivid as it was when I was a young girl listening to Dr. King, there is still a powerful need for all of us to remain awake, to stay focused and work together to address the challenges we face.

We’re a nation at war, our economy is in crisis, while the government bails out Wall Street firms, millions of citizens are struggling - they might face the prospect of losing their homes, or be one of the tens of millions don’t even have health care that is affordable and available. Wages haven’t kept up with prices at the gas pump, and the war in Iraq continues to claim the lives of our brave men and women in uniform.

Well, I’m running for president because I still remember Dr. King’s challenge. He asked us what we would say when we appear before the throne of judgment and are asked, 'What did you do for others?' Dr. King said that no matter what our answer might be, God would say, 'Well, that is not enough.' There is always more to be done.

On this solemn occasion, my thoughts and prayers are with Dr. King’s family and of course I remember so well the loss of Coretta who was his partner in every way. And I also think of the families of so many other Americans that have given their lives in the pursuit of equality, freedom and justice.

I believe we can honor Dr. King and all Americans - including the women and men serving our country around the world - by remembering his timeless challenge: What did you do for others?

What does Dr. King’s legacy mean to you? I invite you to share your thoughts and experiences about Dr. King on my website at www.hillaryclinton.com.

Standing up for others has been my life’s work. I hope you will join me in honoring Dr. King¹s legacy and continuing his work to make our country a land of equality, justice and opportunity for all.

--Hillary Clinton for President Campaign; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

US Marks 40th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr Assassination

By Voice of America News

Friday marks the 40th anniversary of the assasination of U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Democratic contender Hillary Clinton will be in Memphis Friday, to mark the anniversary.

On Thursday, House of Representatives and Senate leaders, along with other top U.S. lawmakers, participated in a ceremony on Capitol Hill to honor King's legacy.

King led a non-violent campaign against segregation and discrimination against African Americans during the 1950's and 1960's. His efforts led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and at the age of 35, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

--Voice of America News; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

Greg Fischer for U.S. Senate Email Claims $1Million Raised

From: Greg Fischer for U.S. Senate
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 12:33 PM
Subject: Thanks a million and more!

It is with great pride and gratitude that I announce today we have exceeded our first quarter fundraising goal and will report an impressive amount to the FEC next week.
Dollar by dollar, support is coming in from across the state. Our backing has been strong and encouraging. We're confident that our campaign will have the resources necessary to defeat Bruce Lunsford on May 20 and we have set our sights on ditching Mitch in November.

Thirty percent of the contributions were received from folks like you who received an e-mail from a friend or the campaign and then went online to www.gregfischer.com to contribute. And, 44 percent of all contributions were for amounts of $200 or less. Every dollar counts.

Our support is multiplying each day. When people from Paducah to Covington learn about my candidacy, they realize I'm the contrast candidate with a clean record that has the best chance of defeating Mitch McConnell in the fall.

I am grateful for your encouragement and continued support.

Thank you,
Greg

--Fischer for U.S. Senator Campaign; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

Graham Claims McCain Has Done ‘Even More’ Than Al Gore On Global Warming

An online ABC News article on the “surrogate wars” of this year’s presidential election quoted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), an ardent supporter of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) candidacy, saying that McCain has “earned a reputation…of doing things that put the country ahead of party.” As an example, Graham cited McCain’s environmental record, claiming that it’s stronger that former Vice President Al Gore’s:

“He’s not going to run away from President Bush but at the end of the day, John McCain has earned a reputation, and has the scars to show it, of doing things that put the country ahead of party,” Graham said, noting McCain has differed with the party on immigration, his desire to close Guantanamo Bay, and enacting robust climate change policies.

“Climate change is the road less traveled but he’s traveled it even more than Al Gore,” Graham said. “Al Gore has talked about it and deserves great recognition but he was around here a long time and never introduced a bill.”

On its face, Graham’s claim is laughable. But digging deeper into the substance, it rings of pure absurdity. In fact, Gore held the first congressional hearings on climate change in the late 1970s, well before McCain was even elected to Congress.

In 1997, Gore helped broker the Kyoto Protocol which called for nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the passing of a Senate resolution stating that the U.S should not join Kyoto, Gore symbolically signed the protocol in November, 1998. While McCain voted for the resolution, he claims today that “we have an obligation” to cut greenhouse gases but still thinks the U.S. “did the right thing by not joining the Kyoto treaty.”

Moreover, the evidence shows that McCain is confused on environmental issues. He now supports ethanol despite previously criticizing it. McCain has talked tough on capping carbon emissions but failed to even vote on key Senate legislation addressing the issue. Furthermore, he doesn’t seem to understand his own position on cap-and-trade:

In the Republican debate in Florida, he denied that his cap-and-trade program included a mandatory cap on carbon. (One wonders what he thought that first word was doing in there.) He has said he won’t support a cap-and-trade bill unless it includes extra support for nuclear power (because nuclear power is low-carbon), not seeming to grok the fact that the whole point of a cap-and-trade program is to raise prices on carbon, offering a de facto subsidy to all low-carbon options.

While Gore was starring in the Oscar winning global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change, McCain has been trying to build an environmental record that is just strong enough to anger conservatives and fool the media into continuing to call him a “maverick.” But the reality is that McCain’s record falls well short of the leadership Gore has shown on the issue.

--Think Progress; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the 40th Anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassination

Forty years ago today, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis.

But the movement Dr. King led with unparalleled strength and commitment was much larger than any one man, as he well understood. Inspired by his words and example, that movement lives on, gaining more and more momentum, generation after generation, in the souls of millions of people who seek to make real his dream of social and economic justice.

We see it every time people join together to stand up to injustice, speak out for equality or sit down for fairness. We see it in those who demand a government that will make our economy work for all, not for the few. It's alive in all of us who insist that in America no one should go without health care. And we see it every time working men and women engage in the struggle to improve their lives by forming unions.

As Dr. King said in 1965, "The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old age pensions, government relief for the destitute, and above all new wage levels that meant not mere survival, but a tolerable life."

When Dr. King was assassinated 40 years ago, he was in Memphis to assist striking African American sanitation workers, trapped in poverty and deplorable working conditions, who demanded recognition of their union so they could win respect on the job and a better life. A few weeks before his death, he reminded the strikers, "…whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity, and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity, and it has worth. One day our society must come to see this. One day our society will come to respect the sanitation worker if it is to survive. For the person who picks up our garbage, in the final analysis, is as significant as the physician. All labor has worth."

Today, that statement of values is at the center of our national debate. Each of us has a responsibility—not just on this day, but every day—to honor Dr. King's legacy in our actions.

--AFL-CIO; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

Obama Casts Race Between Him, McCain

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Sen. Barack Obama is talking about the elephant in the room - Republican rival John McCain - and all but ignoring the Democratic donkey who stands between him and his party's presidential nomination.

Even though Hillary Rodham Clinton was campaigning just down the Northeast Extension in Philadelphia, Obama criticized the likely Republican nominee's policies on the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, trade and tax cuts. In his town-hall session Tuesday, and in other campaign appearances in recent days, Obama has sought to frame the race as a general election matchup between him and McCain.

Of course, there's the little matter of a Pennsylvania primary on April 22, and Clinton's double-digit lead in recent state polls.

The extended presidential nomination contest has resulted in an odd political triangle, with each candidate taking alternate turns criticizing one or both of their competitors.

"He's on a biography tour right now," Obama said of McCain. "Most of us know his biography, and it's worthy of our admiration. My argument with John McCain is not with his biography, it's with his policies."

Obama argued that McCain would merely be another four years of President Bush on economic and military policies. McCain has criticized Obama as being inexperienced on national security, and the Illinois senator answered back.

Go to Newsmax.com link for entire story: http://newsmax.com/politics/obama_mccain/2008/04/01/84635.html

--Newsmax.Com; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

Cheney swore off ‘moderate’ campaign promises a month after 2000 election.

In his new book, former Rhode Island Republican senator Lincoln Chafee reveals that even before President Bush was sworn into office after the 2000 elections, Cheney had rejected the “moderate course” laid out in their campaign:

The former Senator describes a December 2000 meeting of Republican moderates with Vice President-elect Cheney. Chafee listened as Cheney swore off the moderate course he and Bush had just finished championing in their campaign.

Hearing Cheney say “the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign,” Chafee writes, was “the most demoralizing moment of my seven-year tenure in the Senate.”

In his book, Chafee angrily adds about the incident, “Mr. Cheney tore our best campaign promises to shreds and the moderates acquiesced instead of pelting him with outrage.”

--Think Progress; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor

MIKE CASSARO SIGNS THE KENTUCKY DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S OATH OF HONORABLE CAMPAIGNING

(Prospect, KY). Mike Cassaro, Democratic United State Senate candidate, signed the Kentucky Democratic Party’s Oath of Honorable Campaigning. This oath requires the senatorial candidates to conduct the primary campaign honorably and to focus on the issues that will improve the lives of Kentuckians.

The candidates must refrain from negative personal attacks against fellow Democratic opponents.
Mike is proud to be among the candidates who signed the pledge. “Negative campaigning has no place in the Democratic Party or in the democratic process,” according to Mike.

Mike has also stated on several occasions: “I have refrained from negative campaigning because it detracts from my message concerning a prescription for positive change in Washington, which would improve the lives of Kentuckians.”

The Oath of Honorable Campaigning also requires candidate to support the Kentucky Party’s nominee for United States Senator. Mike wholeheartedly supports this stipulation.

“United we must be to beat Senator McConnell in the fall,” professes Mike. “I am looking forweard to working with all my primary opponents in the fall election. “

Mike does have few problems with the Oath of Honorable Campaigning, as written. This document fails to delineate the possible sanctions against a candidate who breaks this pledge. Mike has suggested that the Oath contain an enforcement clause. Mike wants “the candidate who breaks this pledge to be forced to withdraw or pay a stiff fine.”

The Oath, according to Mike, should also have a clause prohibiting candidates from publicly making negative comments or insinuations against any Kentucky or national Democrat. “Divisive actions do not have a place in the Democratic Party, observes Mike. “And, they do not advance our goal of retiring Mitch McConnell.”

--Mike Cassaro for U.S. Senator Campaign; courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Acting Editor