Lets caucus like we did last summer

Please note the over complicated way democrates elect delegates to their state convention. It is obvious the democrates want to mico manage the voter. The same way a democrate will micro manage the american citizen if a liberal democrate gets elected because of media fluff. I just saw the campaign coordinator for obama on tv and she said the country was ready for cool. I guess she means "cool" is enough to run for president and be elected to do what, be cool? If I were voting cool would not be one of the qualities I would be looking for. Cool plus empty suit equals empty suit plus cool. All I have seen is fake politicans lieing through their teeth. The only person who has any credibility is Fred Thompson, but he is not a true conservative. Slim pickins at the caucus. Lets caucus and find a real candidate who is not a fake and a real leader. One like Ronald Reagan. Is this possible? I can't think of anyone who fits this bill. If we caucus long enough maybe we could come up with someone. Its a nice thought.



The Iowa Caucus

In Iowa, the caucuses themselves are local party precinct meetings where registered Republicans and Democrats gather, discuss the candidates and vote for their candidate of choice for their party's nomination (Iowa caucuses actually occur every two years - in non-presidential-election years, participants generally discuss party platform issues). In both parties, the purpose of the caucus vote is to select delegates to attend a county convention -- each caucus sends a certain number of delegates, based on the population it represents. The delegates at the county convention in turn select delegates to go to the congressional district state convention, and those delegates choose the delegates that go to the national convention.

The Republican caucus voting system in Iowa is relatively straightforward: You come in, you vote, typically through secret ballot, and the percentages of the group supporting each candidate decides what delegates will go on to the county convention.

The Democrats have a more complex system -- in fact, it's one of the most complex pieces of the entire presidential election. In a typical caucus, registered democrats gather at the precinct meeting places (there are close to 2,000 precincts statewide), supporters for each candidate have a chance to make their case, and then the participants gather into groups supporting particular candidates (undecided voters also cluster into a group). In order for a particular group to be viable, they must have a certain percentage of the all the caucus participants. If they don't have enough people, the group disbands, and its members go to another group. The percentage cut-off is determined by the number of delegates assigned to the precinct. It breaks down like this:

* If the precinct has only one delegate, the group with the most people wins the delegate vote, and that's it.
* If the precinct has only two delegates, each group needs 25 percent to be viable.
* If the precinct has only three delegates, each group needs one-sixth of the caucus participants.
* If the precinct has four or more delegates, each group needs at least 15 percent of the caucus participants.

Once the groups are settled, the next order of business is to figure out how many of that precinct's delegates each group (and by extension, each candidate) should win. Here's the formula:

(Number of people in the group * number of delegates)/ number of caucus participants­

­ For example, say a precinct has four delegates, 200 caucus participants, and 100 people support John Doe. To figure out how many delegates you assign to John Doe, you would multiply 100 by four, to get 400. You divide 400 by 200 and get 2. So John Doe gets two of the four delegates.

The media reports the "winner," based on the percentage of delegates going to each candidate. This isn't exactly accurate, since it's actually the state convention that decides what delegates go to the national convention, but more often than not, there's a clear statewide winner after the caucuses.

The convoluted caucus system dates back to 1796, when American political parties emerged, and it hasn't changed a whole lot since then. Most states eventually replaced this system, because as political parties became more centralized and sophisticated in the early twentieth century, party leaders or "bosses" were perceived as exerting too much control over choosing a nominee. To give individual voters more influence over the nomination process, party leaders created the presidential primary system. Florida held the first primary in 1901 marking the beginning of the presidential primary we know today.

Dramatic caucus reforms and rules that the Democratic Party instituted at the state level in the 1970s changed the system significantly. Designed to improve and open up caucuses to all party members, the requirements actually made caucuses more difficult to manage and inadvertently led to the rise of primaries. To help states coordinate the election days of both parties, the Republicans also changed their system.

You can learn more about the United States democratic process by reading the links on the next page.

Huckabee The Huckster

huck·ster One who uses aggressive, showy, and sometimes devious methods to promote or sell a product. To promote or attempt to sell (a commercial product, for example) in an overaggressive or showy manner.

Devious is the key word here. This guy has a potential,"it depends on what is, is type" of twisting in a devious way the facts while trying to act in a moral way. It would have been ok to run the ad on romney's flip flop's but to explain he is not going to be negative by running the ad and then displaying it for all to see at is news conference is very devious. Even the reporters laughed out loud when he explained his point! I don't believe this guy can be trusted nor do I believe he is honest. It seems most of the republican candidates are not worth voting for because they are not real conservatives just liberal or moderates repackaged as are most of the democraps candiates. I don't see any of them that I would vote for. What a mess of crap the voter has to walk through. This time around at the election not only must the voter hold his nose and vote but also bend over and grab their ankles. It seems to be all media hype with no real candidates. No real choice so here comes another ross perot to give the election to someone like ms hillery. It doesn't look good.

Huckabee pulls negative ad, vows to go positive
By Sam Youngman | Posted: 12/31/07 2:58 PM [ET]
December 31, 2007

DES MOINES – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) told reporters Monday that he was pulling a negative ad designed to target his chief rival in Iowa, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).

Then he showed the ad to a room packed wall to wall with reporters.

When asked if it is hypocritical to make an announcement about not running negative ads, and then show a negative advertisement to dozens of members of the national and local media, Huckabee said he had to show the ad to prove its existence.

“I want to show you that we were fully prepared,” Huckabee said.

The former governor said the ad, which hits Romney on the issues of taxes and abortion, was set to start running in Iowa Monday at noon.

He said he made the decision earlier in the morning that he does not want to run a negative campaign. As a result, he said he will not run any ads going after Romney or other Republican rivals.

Perhaps because voters in other states do not respond as adversely to negative campaigning, Huckabee refused to rule out running similar ads in other states. For now, he said he wants to see how Iowans react to his strategy.

Huckabee said the ad cost about $30,000 to make, and the original purpose of the press conference was to introduce the spot to the media.

But the former governor said he had a change of heart shortly before the media assembled. Easels outlining the attacks on Romney were still standing in the room, and Huckabee stood in front of a banner that read “Enough is Enough.”

“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” he said.

In the ad, Huckabee says that Romney’s healthcare plan in Massachusetts allowed for $50 co-pays for abortions.

At the end of the ad, Huckabee again makes the point that Romney’s attacks on him have been “desperate and dishonest.”

“If a man’s dishonest to obtain a job, he’ll be dishonest on the job,” Huckabee says in the ad.

Huckabee acknowledged that his decision not to run counter ads to Romney’s is “a huge gamble,” and he conceded that Romney’s ads targeting him had hurt him.

But, he said, “if you gain the whole world and lose your soul, what does it profit you?”

The Romney campaign responded by again going after Huckabee’s record as governor, and in one email, the campaign described Huckabee’s ploy to announce he is not running the ad then following that up by showing it to reporters as a “meltdown.”

“We’re proud that Governor Romney has run a campaign about the issues that are important to voters,” Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said in a statement. “Governor Romney has worked hard to talk about the vision and experience he has when it comes to keeping taxes low, cutting wasteful spending and securing our borders. He’s worked hard to make his case to voters about leading a Republican Party that will strengthen the American family.”

Madden continued: “Mike Huckabee’s troubling record of higher taxes and spending binges is clearly not holding up well under scrutiny. Mike Huckabee has turned from nice to very hot-tempered and volatile now that his record has been examined by voters.

“It’s Mike Huckabee's record. It’s definitely a tough record for him to defend, but it’s still a record that belongs to Mike Huckabee.”

Huckabee is quoting gospel but acting in a manner that questions his motives and honesty! He says that Romneys ads are not truthful, yet they accurately display his record. This means huckabee is lying. He says his is not going to run negative ads yet he displays one at a news conference. Again this is a bold lie. He is actually doing and saying the opposite of what he says his is doing. This is just what ms hillary and other democrates do. As soon as they open their mouth they change their position or lie about what they just said. How crazy is this!

Cheese Herion (black tar herion mixed with tylenol pm)

Drug dealers peddling new kid-friendly mixes. This is something I was not aware of but thought it should be published for your information. This sicko stuff comes straight from mexico via illegal aliens.

Meth, heroin laced with candy and strawberry flavoring to appeal to youth.
'Cheese' heroin is shown wrapped in school notebook paper. Cheese heroin is a mixture of black tar heroin, a less refined form of the drug, and ground up Tylenol PM.

In their quest to lure new, younger clientele, drug dealers are mixing their wares with over-the-counter pain remedies and other familiar products — even candy — and peddling them under non-threatening names.

One such concoction, a blend of black tar heroin and Tylenol PM that goes by the name “cheese,” has been linked to the deaths of 19 teenagers in Dallas, including two 15-year-olds.

“If you’re a drug dealer you have to target a new audience all the time,” said Garrison Courtney, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman. “It’s Marketing 101 for drug dealers.”

Examples of the drug-mixing strategy also include candy laced with marijuana and, in several states, flavored methamphetamine. In Arkansas recently, a mix of meth and strawberry-flavored powder normally used to create a children’s milk drink turned up under the name “Strawberry Quick.”

“They’re calling it ‘cheese,’ they’re not calling it ‘heroin,”’ said Dr. Collin Goto, a toxicologist at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. “It becomes much more appealing to younger kids because it doesn’t have the stigma, they’re not as afraid to get started.”

Dallas school district police first became aware of the heroin-mixing trend in 2005, and its become a disturbing local phenomenon since.

“Cheese is just a different makeup for mixing with heroin, but it’s still heroin,” said Dr. Jeffrey Barnard, chief medical examiner for Dallas County. “It’s the heroin that’s the problem.”

Cheap and needle-free

Beyond the innocuous name, several other factors appear to be driving the popularity of cheese. Kids often buy the drug from other kids. It’s affordable, selling for about $2 a dosage. And it is snorted rather than injected.

During the 2005-2006 school year, the Dallas school district police arrested 90 students for possession of the heroin-Tylenol PM mixture. The number has soared during the current school year. Through February, 122 have been arrested. The average age of those arrested: 14.


The latest meth cut, known as "Strawberry Quick," uses a powdered drink mix to give the drug a pink coloring. The sweetness of the powder can make meth more palatable and partially masks its harsh chemical taste.

“The resurgence of heroin in society in 11- to 16-year-olds — that’s unprecedented,” said Julian Bernal, deputy chief of narcotics for the Dallas police, who makes six to 12 arrests a month for possession of cheese heroin.

“Hopefully we can try to contain it,” said Dr. Sing-Yi Feng, another toxicologist at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. “The concern is that the stuff is pretty cheap. It’s easy to use.”

Experts say cheese usually has about 2 percent to 8 percent heroin mixed with the Tylenol PM — which contains acetaminophen and diphenhydramine — or similar over-the-counter drugs.

‘Cheese’ arrests rising

Gary Hodges, deputy chief of the Dallas school district police, said cheese arrests in the district have nearly equaled those for marijuana, still the leading substance involved in drug arrests.

Authorities say they are just now beginning to understand how widespread the mixture has become and the toll it is taking on Dallas area youth. Even the exact number of cheese heroin-related deaths was not known until The Dallas Morning News analyzed medical examiner records and published the results last month.

“Basically, it flew under the radar screen,” said Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services and a member of the Dallas County task force on cheese.

Most of the victims are male, and involve nearly equal numbers of white and Hispanic youth.

Dave Cannata’s 16-year-old son, Nick, died in June 2005, with heroin and diphenhydramine in his system. Nick Cannata, who had been in rehab for a drug problem the summer before, was found dead in his bed in Coppell, just outside of Dallas.

He had spent the day building a deck with his father before going to a friend’s house. Dave Cannata said he knew something was wrong when his son returned home that night, but he decided to delay a confrontation.

“If I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call 911,” said Cannata. “It’s alarming the epidemic proportion of kids that are messing with this stuff.”

Olga Sanchez agrees. She thought her 15-year-old son had stopped using the mixture. But this spring, Oscar Gutierrez’s brother found the eighth-grader at a Dallas middle school dead in bed.

“He was very purple. He was very cold, cold,” said Sanchez, who had been attending drug counseling with her son since discovering his cheese habit last fall.

“I would like for kids to realize that lots of other kids have died, that they should look for help, that they could lose their life,” she said.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18557266/wid/11915773/