Another Round: Primary & Cartoons

Romney is a droppout

Republican Mitt Romney has dropped out of the Presidential Race. Even before giving the speech in Boston, the news outlets were buzzing about what would happen to Romney's 280 or so (depending on who you go by) delegates. There are state rules and party rules. Does one half go to John McCain and another half go Mike Huckabee? Are they proportional to the amount that those other candidates also managed to win in those primaries?

Say, if McCain won 22% in Minnesota, Romney won 44% in Minnesota with Huckabee taking 20% and Paul taking the remaining 13%. (This is hypothetical. I'll check the numbers later). if this is the case then McCain gets all of Romney's 44% in addition to his own? Or does he get all? Well, the GOP primaries are for the most part WTA (Winner-take-all), but there of course exceptions such as California which went in favor of McCain but didn't give him all its delegates. One would have to assume that the delegates themselves would need to make that decision. As yet, many of these delegates have yet to be chosen. We keep pandeying about this word delegate but there aren't any delegates yet. Hmm....

All this could be for not. In Minnesota, a caucus state, the people could still choose to support Romney despite the end of his campaign. Delegates could switch to Huckabee making these delegates spoilers so to speak. The RNC could be a riot just like the DNC. I'm really hoping it isn't. I live in Minnesota.

The articles about the speech were void of actual quotes from Romney. It seems in their hurry to get an article out with a grinning McCain, they decided not to even listen to the former Governor from Massachusetts. i mean, he's still an important figure in American Politics!!! Give him his due, people! They even referred to him as a droppout. Thats a little crass , if you ask me. It's like he decided to stop going to high school to smoke weed and bad mouth his country.

Update: MSNBC updated their article to give a couple of quotes... well, I guess someone listened.

CNN, which counts Romney having 286 delegates, says that it puts McCain at a margin of 78 for getting the nomination. Aren't they jumping the gun a little? We still don't know if that is where the delegates will go. By Romney releasing his delegates, there are allowed to decide their own destiny, even if they don't know who they are yet. Only in America could we have this kind of kerfluffel.

This headline made me pause. I thought it said rape. My mistake.

I had to peek at the numbers for Minnesota where I knew Romney had won. I wasn't off by much at all! I provided the link for verification.

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
Mitt Romney	25,702	41.93%	36
John McCain	13,552	22.11%	0
Mike Huckabee	12,322	20.10%	0
Ron Paul	9,717	15.85%	0
Rudy Giuliani	0	0%	0
Total	61,293	100%	36

Funny Pictures

And just because its funny..... Howard Dean.... alone......

McCain wins big; Dems split vote

So, Super Tuesday has happened.

Mike Huckabee was definitely the surprising force of the night. He started out winning West Virginia which had a convention. This began Mitt Romney's cry that there was some backroom deal between McCain and Huckabee. Here's why: the WV convention is basically run as two rounds of voting. After the first round, when the McCain supporters realized there was no way they could win, moved their support to Huckabee.

I will address this on two fronts. First, there has been some suspicion that McCain has bee n making deals ala Survivor to gain the nomination of the Republican Party. It has been suggested that he asked Thompson, who stood no legitimate chance of winning, to stay in through South Carolina to run interference for McCain. The same thing is believed to have occurred with Rudy Guiliani in Florida. Guiliani and McCain are known to be friends as Thompson is as well. McCain tends to appeal the center and has political friends who are centrists. I'll even throw Colin Powell in there though I've never read that they were friends but I can definitely see the two of them getting along. Hell, Joe Lieberman is running around with McCain!!! Maybe that bothers the conservatives: a liberal Connecticut Orthodox Jew is supporting a Republican.

Second, that's politics!!!! Anyone knows that those things happen. Its the nature of the game. Even though Romney outspent both his opponents by millions, it was all for not. And he cried foul after that West Virginia convention which was the first contest called of the day. What a whiny, little pussy!

Though I will grant this: McCain is winning for some unexplainable reason. He didn't win the conservative vote. The southern Cons went for Huckabee and the Northern cons went for Romney. He won amongst moderate Republicans who are anti-war (which he is not) and those in favor of aboritionrights (which I won't try to qualify him on. He is pro-life but has also been on record saying the alternative would be worse). I like him because he is pragmatic. I like someone who is more concerned with being practical and making sense than satisfying idealogues who want someone to do their bidding. McCain has been rebellious since about the age of 8 and is unapologetically so. I want a president who thinks for himself. The alternative is a government run by committee.

Radio blowhards are just attacking him. Conservative Talk Radio is just plain babble. These village idiots with their radio soapboxes are ranting about how they cannot stand the other side. Rush Limbaugh vilifies McCain for reaching across the aisle to work with the other party. All Limbaugh is doing is proofing the rest of the country right: Conservatives are smug, hateful and cold people who would rather hate their fellow American than learn to live with them.

And I hate (not really, but it sure sounds good) to break it to Conservative Republicans but he is the last hope for your broken down, mean little party. This is the party that gave us Abraham Lincoln who felt that after the Civil War, the north should reach out to help the South and not grind the Confederate states under the northern boot. Somehow, I feel that empathy is missing.

Americans are tired of the "My way or the highway" approach to politics. It is fracturing this country and is leading us down the path of destruction. People are fed up with neo-conservatism. True conservatism, which is what McCain is closer to, is preferable compared to the shit that Bush, Limbaugh and all their ilk keep shoveling down our throats. I think they're poor sports and bad losers just like Romney.

On the Democratic side there isn't really much to talk about. Hillary lost her voice in the days leading up to the primaries. She was fighting a cold. She cried at one point on Monday. When all was said and done, she had won the more populous states whilst Obama had taken the less populous ones but more of them.

The races coming up on Saturday: Louisiana, the caucus in Washington, Democrats in Nebraska, Republicans in Kansas and as well as the Democratic primary in the Virgin Islands which like American Samoa, can vote in primary but has no voice in the general election. On Sunday, Maine holds its Democratic primary in Maine. There will be a Potomac primary is next Tuesday. This is a primary that I am more interested in. It is the states of Virginia and Maryland and Washington, D.C. Look for LOTS of press on that day. it won't be near the juggernaut that last night was but it will be important.

Tidbits: Clinton saying "missourah". She's from Illinois. She should be saying Misery.