Primary Watch Party June 3 @ Mulligan's in Lakeway

by: hillsforobama

Sat May 31, 2008 at 14:24:08 PM CDT

Join us at western Travis County  Obama supporters favorite gathering place - Mulligan's for a Primary Watch Party. We will meet in the TV room as we usually do.

We will go over the schedule for the convention & review what documents you need to bring to the convention to make sure you get your credentials.

Mostly we will gather and cheer on the primary results and pump ourselves up for the historic Texas State Democratic Convention.

Our votes at the convention will help Barack Obama reach the magic number!

I will be handing out red, white and blue goodies you can wear to the convention.

Let's gather to celebrate and prepare for the state convention.

Please RSVP @
http://my.barackobama.com/page...

Election Day Woes and Mischief

by: Aimlessness

Fri Mar 07, 2008 at 09:35:53 AM CST

Yep!  We get to vote twice.  If you are a delegate all the way to state, then you get to vote 4 times.  You can change your vote every time, too.

Here is what I know about election rigging:

In the city of Denton where Obama is strong due to two universities, caucus chairs were not given voter rolls to verify voters that didn't have their voter cards stamped or have caucus cards.  

You are supposed to be able to show your driver's license and have it looked up on the roles.  No rolls.  Many poll workers weren't stamping cards and weren't giving the receipt cards.  We were told that it would be okay because we would have the rolls just as we did in years past.  

It more likely that minority and young voters would be less likely to know to ask for a caucus card when using their drivers license to vote or would know that their cards are supposed to be stamped.  So to tell the folks running the caucuses that they should only allow those that have a stamped card or a caucus card seems to me to be a way to throw the caucus toward Clinton by keeping out the Obama supporters.  It also seems like a Civil Rights Violations.

Also in Denton in the area where minorities were voting, the street was torn up all the way around the polling location.  The name of the polling location? Martin Luther King Recreation Center.  But I'm sure that was just a coincidence...just because they tore it up the night before the election we shouldn't draw any conclusions...

The Clinton people were insisting that caucus goers must have either a stamped voter id card or a caucus card.  Gee, I wonder who was forgetting to stamp cards unless directly asked?

I am going to bet that it was Obama's young supporters and African-American voters 2 to 1 without stamps on their cards.

Another problem...they changed all of the precincts in Denton County.  Precincts were combined, split given totally new numbers.  The precinct numbers reflected in the TexasVan (online voter files) showed the old precincts, not the new ones.  

When I tried to call in our precinct, the recording said that our precinct was allotted 20 delegates, but I did the math and came up with 31.  The number on the packet for the caucus said 31.  Because of this, I was unable to call in my precinct.

In years past, 5 to 10 people would show up for a precinct convention/caucus.  Most folks didn't even know about them until this year when the candidates were promoting it at every stop.  In 2006 and 2004, my precinct caucus had only 3 people in attendence.  This year there were 180, and I think that some left without signing in for a candidate. Others had as much as 287 attendees.

None of the polling sites were adequate to handle this kind of turn out.  It was pandamonium.

The Clintons who along with their staffers helped to create this mess that we have in Texas, are now contesting the caucuses!?!

That is some serious nerve!

Day After Primary Blues

by: frankhaustin

Wed Mar 05, 2008 at 14:33:08 PM CST

All of us Obama supporters applaud the manner in which the Obama campaign has been managed, a 'clean campaign' if you will, but the Obama camp needs to start attacking Hillary on her weaknesses which many believe to be lack of character and integrity.  

Simply laughing off the Clinton attacks as Barack has done in interviews and debates or simply correcting her false and misleading statements has proven not to be sufficient.

I'm not trying to be profound or bring forward any new ideas with this post but we need to start talking or responding aggressively to her false and misleading attacks by highlighting the lack of character and integrity that her attacks display.    

If you've read or listened to Lawrence Lessig's Obama video you will see that I have used his thoughts and ideas in this post.  If you have not I encourage you to read his blog http://www.lessig.org/blog/ and see the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

What do you think Texas?  
Thanks, Frank Hayes - Eva Street, Austin

Alternate Site: Texas Two Step Basics

by: Lisa Losasso

Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 14:39:03 PM CST

www.voteandshowup.com

Spread the word to every supporter you know.  Barack it Out, TEXAS! Every delegate counts!

How To Caucus in Texas

by: kath25

Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 11:04:41 AM CST

So. If you're wondering about how to caucus in Texas, this diary is for you.

Prepare Yourself

Obama Election Hotline: If you see something strange, call the hotline. Polls not open at 7 a.m.? Caucus doors close before 7:15 p.m.? Call the hotline. Put the number in your phones now. 877-48-OBAMA or 877-486-2262 or 512-476-2008.

Download a Caucus Fact Sheet in English OR Spanish from the Resource Center.

Also read up on the Texas Caucus Bill of Rights.

More info below the fold...

Help Obama with GLBT outreach in Austin

by: ndhapple

Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 16:12:57 PM CST

Many of you may know that I was an Edwards supporter at one time. I am now volunteering with the Obama campaign in Austin doing LGBT outreach. As all of you in Texas know, there are no stickers, signs, buttons, or much of anything to go around.

Last Saturday several volunteers with the campaign went down to clubs on 4th street and distributed more than 2300 rainbow stickers in about 2.5 hours. We would like to do it again but can't do it without your help!

Details after the fold.

There is No Such Thing as the Texas Primary Part II: Delegate Projections

by: MattTX

Mon Feb 11, 2008 at 02:08:49 AM CST

Previously we examined delegate allocation and the caucus process in Texas. The short version is that:

1. Texas has 193 pledged delegates, as well as 35 unpledged delegates
2. The Statewide Primary vote, by itself, determines no delegates and is merely a "beauty contest," except insofar as it translates into delegates elected in State Senate Districts, or through caucuses (in order to participate in caucuses, one must also have voted in the primary). It is very much possible that whoever wins the sum of the Senatorial District Primaries will not win the majority of Texas' delegates.
3. 126 pledged delegates will be allocated proportionally in 31 separate primary elections conducted in each of Texas' State Senate Districts.
4. 67 pledged delegates will be allocated through Texas' caucus system, the first round of which will be held in precincts across Texas at 7:15 PM on March 4th. 42 of these will be rank and file "at large" delegates, and will ultimately come from ordinary people who participate at their precinct caucuses, while 25 will be party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs).

Click the link below read the rest:

Newspaper Articles on the Texas Primary/Caucus Hybrid System

by: MattTX

Sun Feb 10, 2008 at 10:44:22 AM CST

There is no such thing as the Texas Primary, Part I

by: MattTX

Fri Feb 08, 2008 at 16:21:06 PM CST

Over the next month or so, you will hear many people talk about the "Texas Primary," to be held on March 4. I am here to let you in on a little secret - there is no such thing as the Texas Primary.

On the night of March 4, CNN and MSNBC will announce to the world that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton has won the Texas Primary, on the basis of the statewide popular vote.

What There Isn't

There is no Statewide primary. Absolutely no delegates will be awarded on the basis of the statewide vote. That is 0 delegates. None.

Barack Obama could "win Texas" by 10%, by racking up large margins in Dallas, Houston, and Austin, by maintaining his strong margins among African American voters, and by holding Clinton to the ~20% victories among Hispanics that she won in New Mexico and Arizona, as opposed to the ~33% victory she won among Hispanics in California.

Hillary Clinton could also "win Texas" by 10%, by taking California sized support among Hispanics, by limiting Obama's margins in Texas' multiple large cities, and with the help of rural and small town voters in East and West Texas.

What There Is

On March 4, 32 seperate elections will be held in Texas. There will be:

• 1) 31 State Senate District Primaries
• 2) The Texas Caucuses

How does the Texas Democratic Primary work?

by: audreyjoymaker

Fri Feb 08, 2008 at 13:22:18 PM CST

How Does the Texas Primary Work?
Texas will send a total of 228 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. 126 delegates will be assigned based on primary results in 31 State Senate Districts (instead of allocating delegates by its 32 Congressional Districts like many states). The number of delegates in each Senate district varies based on previous Democratic turnout in the last two general elections. The delegates from each Senate District are assigned to candidates proportionally based on the percentages they receive on primary day.

Much Much More below the fold...

Looking more and more like Texas will matter...

by: mariochampion

Thu Jan 24, 2008 at 10:29:06 AM CST

A not-so-super Tuesday?

With so many states voting on Feb. 5, the old "Super Tuesday" moniker has somehow seemed insufficient. Maybe it's Woozy Tuesday, or Super-Duper Tuesday, or Tsunami Tuesday.

Or maybe it's just another day on the election calendar.

As the Associated Press reports, the delegate counts are so close in both the Republican and the Democratic presidential races that it's mathematically impossible for anyone to lock up either nomination on the Date Formerly Known as Super.

OK, but won't we have clear, all-over-but-the-shouting front-runners by the time all the votes are in on Feb. 5? Maybe, but maybe not.

On the Democratic side, the delegate count could still be close after Feb. 5 even if one candidate sweeps, say, California, New York and Illinois. Because the Democrats award delegates proportionally in those states, a running-the-table winner might still walk away with only a few more delegates than a three-state loser.

This is an important, if still unknowable, possibility. Look for emails and training meetups on precinct organizing for both early vote and e-date GOTV and how to win BOTH the caucus (e.g. how to add more delegates to Obama's total) and the primary in Texas. Don't forget, we have both!  

Obama is now officially on the Texas ballot

by: News

Wed Dec 19, 2007 at 13:29:52 PM CST

Obama formally enters Texas primary
Associated Press

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama have added his name to the March 4 Texas primary lineup.

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk and others who back Obama presented the senator's candidacy paperwork Wednesday at the Texas Democratic Party headquarters.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards also have entered Texas' Democratic primary. The Texas election comes late in the primary season, and party nominations may be decided by then.

But Kirk said if the race is competitive in March, Obama's supporters in Texas will be ready.

"The beauty and joy of the political process is it just changes so quickly," he said.

Volunteer in an Early State: IA, NH, NV & SC

by: nhudson35

Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 00:06:58 AM CST

No previous campaign experience is necessary.

You are responsible for all travel and living expenses.

Sign up now at:  http://my.barackobam...
You will be contacted by a campaign staffer after signing up.

Past the primary, it seems Obama has a Republican advantage

by: mariochampion

Fri Aug 24, 2007 at 10:19:04 AM CDT

One interesting paragraph, among many:

Perhaps abetted by this decline in enthusiasm, Obama has been able to attract people like Joe Rowe, 63, a retired pharmacist in Raleigh, N.C., who describes himself as a lifelong Republican in favor of tort reform and privatizing Social Security. Though he says he has always voted for Republican presidents in the past, he now makes monthly contributions to the Obama campaign. "You have to make a stand sometime, and there is so much partisanship, and I would love to see someone who can be a reconciler," Rowe explained this week in a phone interview. "I think we can get a lot done with his approach."