A Political Strategy Of FUD: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt

Videos: Rachel Maddow talks about right wing rhetoric urging violence against Democrats and the resulting acts of violence it has promoted.

Last Friday, former militia leader Mike Vanderboegh called for violence against Democrats across the country to protest the health care bill.

Vanderboegh posted the call for action Friday on his blog, “Sipsey Street Irregulars.” Referring to the health care reform bill as “Nancy Pelosi’s Intolerable Act,” he told followers to send a message to Democrats. And, apparently in response, attacks were made on offices of Democrats in–at least–Wichita, KS, Tucson, AZ, Rochester, NY, Niagara Falls, NY.

“We can break their windows,” he said. “Break them NOW. And if we do a proper job, if we break the windows of hundreds, thousands, of Democrat party headquarters across this country, we might just wake up enough of them to make defending ourselves at the muzzle of a rifle unnecessary.”

Rep. John Boehner (R., Ohio), the House minority leader, is quoted in the National Review Online saying, “Take [Rep.] Steve Driehaus, [(D., Ohio)] for example, he may be a dead man. He can’t go home to the west side of Cincinnati.

The anti-reform advocacy group then published an ad in The Cincinnati Enquirer featuring a photo of Dreihaus with his children. A conservative blog published Driehaus' address--complete with directions--on the Internet so that conservatives can find his house for a planned Sunday protest at his house. [TPM]

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has also done her part to raise the rhetorical intensity toward violence, telling her Twitter followers, "Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America, to ‘reload’ and ‘aim for’ Democrats.

Of coarse, Palin's use of gun imagery in her rhetoric against Democrats is no more an intentional incitement to violence than equating Barack Obama with terrorism and portraying him as "not one of us" during the 2008 presidential election campaign was an intentional incitement to violence. None the less, Palin's 2008 rhetoric against Obama prompted people to call out, "Kill him!" and "Terrorist!" at her 2008 campaign rallies. [Death threats leveled at Democratic congressman and their families / House Democrats report increased threats]

Denying that their intense rhetoric has in any way pushed their constituencies to the edge of violence, conservative leaders in congress and on conservative radio and TV excuse this "Rage on the Right" by claiming the people have a "right to be angry." That the people are angry because President Obama and the Democrats controlling congress are passing laws opposed by the people through totalitarian parliamentary procedures. [Conservative View Host Justifies Tea Party Rage / RNC Chair Steele Defends Tea Partiers]

Forget the parliamentary procedures are exactly the same rules that Republicans used to enact their conservative legislative agenda when they controlled Congress and the White House for most years of the past decade.

Conservative legislation, passionately opposed by Democrats, that cut taxes while radically increasing spending, and legislation that eliminated regulatory oversight of the American financial system.

Conservative legislation that turned budget surpluses at the end of the Clinton administration into a $1.5 trillion deficit at the end of the Bush Administration. Conservative financial deregulation legislation that allowed the American financial system to run wild to near total collapse.

Forget the Tea Party speaks for only 13 percent of "the people" who say they are part of the Tea Party group; Four in five of who voted for John McCain in the 2008 presidential race and George W. Bush in 2004 and who strongly support Sarah Palin for President in 2012, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll.

Forget that Obama won the 2008 Presidential Election with 349 electoral college votes to McCain's 163 votes.

Forget that two-thirds of the House seats won by Democrats in November 2008 (170, 66 percent) were won in landslide fashion, decided by more than 30 points over their Republican challengers and that over 90 percent of Democratic seats were won by double-digits in 2008 (233 of 257 seats), with just 24 seats decided by less than 10 points which increased the number of house seats held by Democrats by 21 seats.

Forget that Democrats increased the number of Senate seats from 49 before the November 2008 election to current number of 59 seats. All these Democratic Party wins came on a platform of "change." Change from the Republican's conservative governance.

Forget that the Republican minority now seeks to nullify the 2008 election and the will of the majority of voters who elected Democrats to represent them in the White House, Senate and House.

Forget that during the Bush Administration years when Republicans controlled the House and Senate, conservatives would shout that Democrats in congress were "with the terrorists" when they opposed the policies of the Republican leadership. In fact, any negative criticism of the president whatsoever was considered unpatriotic "while troops were in harm's way." That was the line we heard almost daily throughout the previous decade: don't undermine the commander-in-chief while troops were deployed in battle.

IBM had great success with a marketing strategy coined Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) during the heyday of "Big Iron" computers in the 1980's and 1990's. The message to IT Directors was that a decision to buy computing equipment from any company other than IBM could result in sudden professional death. The marketing catch phrase tagged to this FUD campaign was, "No one ever got fired for going with IBM."

For a decade, or more, the GOP has increasingly relied on the FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) marketing strategy against Democrats to get Republicans elected. Increasingly, the GOP has adopted a message that Democrats are Godless, fascist, communist, socialist, totalitarian, satin worshiping, grandma killing, baby killing "evil-do'ers" determined to drag this country to the very depths of hell if they are not stopped by righteous conservatives.

The Republican National Committee plans to raise money in the 2010 election cycle through an aggressive campaign promise to "save the country" from Democrats. The 2010 GOP plan, as given in presentation given at an RNC meeting, is to promote and capitalize on “fear” of President Barack Obama and Democrats everywhere. It seems the only government policy idea the GOP will offer in 2010 is a visceral fear of Democrats. [Ben Smith has the story at Politico / An angry voter is an ignorant voter]

This is exactly the same type of FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) marketing strategy that GOP consultant Frank Luntz’s told Republicans to use to oppose Health Insurance reform in his May 2009 strategy memo on health care. And this is exactly the strategy that Republicans have executed for the last year. [Politico]

The Daily Beast's John Avlon writes on, a new Harris poll released on March 24 that is based on the book "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."The poll reveals Republican attitudes about Obama:

• 57 percent of Republicans (32 percent overall) believe that Obama is a Muslim
• 45 percent of Republicans (25 percent overall) agree with the Birthers in their belief that Obama was "not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president"
• 38 percent of Republicans (20 percent overall) say that Obama is "doing many of the things that Hitler did"
• 24 percent of Republicans (14 percent overall) say that Obama "may be the Antichrist."

These numbers demonstrate that the fear, uncertainty, doubt and hate political strategy has pumped up hyper-partisanship since Obama took office. This FUD strategy is what drove some Tea Party protesters gathered on Capitol Hill earlier this week to yell "n*gger" and "f*ggot" at Democratic members of Congress and what prompted others to threaten violence toward members of congress and even their children.

The Harris poll, which surveyed 2,230 people right at the height of the health-care reform debate, also clearly shows that education is a barrier to extremism. Respondents without a college education are vastly more likely to believe such claims, while Americans with college degrees or better are less easily duped. It's a reminder of what the 19th-century educator Horace Mann once too-loftily said: "Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up the vacancies of the soul that are unoccupied by the verities of knowledge."

[Harris poll finds Republicans believe GOP smears of Obama]

Thank You All!

I want to express my appreciation and a heartfelt thank you to Linda Magid - Convention Co-Chair and SD8 Representative, Deborah Angel-Smith - Convention Co-Chair, Dick Hildenbrand - Election Administrator and Jamie Ramirez - Deputy Election Administrator, who put in so many dedicated hours of hard work to support every Collin County Democratic Primary election worker and who prepare one of the best ever Democratic Conventions in Collin County.

And, thanks to all the Democrats who volunteered to help make Primary Election Day and the County Convention such a success this year.

Michael Handley
Managing Editor, The Democratic Blog of Collin County.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott To Block Health Insurance Reform

Ten US states plan to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the health insurance reform legislation as soon as President Barack Obama signs it into law.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Texas plans to join a multi-state lawsuit opposing the legislation immediately after President Barack Obama signs it into law. Abbott says the legislation violates the U.S. Constitution and "unconstitutionally infringes upon Texans' individual liberties." [Star-Telegram]

Florida's attorney general, conservative Republican Bill McCollum who is in Florida's gubernatorial race for the upcoming November mid-term elections, charges that a provision which requires most people to buy health insurance or else pay a fine is unconstitutional.

Virginia state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says,"Virgina will file suit against the federal government charging that the health-care reform legislation is unconstitutional." [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

Republican attorneys general of South Carolina, Nebraska, Florida, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia and Alabama have indicated they will also join the multi-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the reform legislation.

The governor of Idaho signed a bill last week blocking federal mandates requiring individuals in his state to purchase health insurance. Some 38 states have either filed or announced their intention to file similar legislation, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, which opposes the health insurance reform.

Here are some of the private health insurance industry reforms mandated in the legislation that Republicans have blocked for the past year and will continue to block though lawsuits:

• Health Insurers cannot deny children under age 19 health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. A ban on the discrimination in adults will take effect in 2014.
• Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees will get tax credits covering up to 50% of employee premiums for 2009 and 2010.
• Seniors will get a rebate to fill the so-called "donut hole" in Medicare drug coverage, which severely limits prescription medication coverage expenditures over $2,700. As of next year, 50 percent of the donut hole will be filled.
• The cut-off age for young adults to continue to be covered by their parents' health insurance rises to the age 27.
• Lifetime caps on the amount of insurance an individual can have will be banned. Annual caps will be limited, and banned in 2014.
• Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a temporary national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online. While these will not be cheap, they're still better than total exclusion and get some benefit from a wider pool of insured adults. Health insurance exchanges will eliminate the program in 2014.
• Free preventative care - New plans must cover checkups and other preventative care without co-pays. All plans will be affected by 2018.
• No more rescission. Effective immediately, insurance companies can no longer cut someone when he or she gets sick.
• Authorizes early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders' amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay.
• Insurers must now reveal how much money is spent on overhead - All insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments.
• Any new plan must now implement an appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.
• This tax will impose a ten percent tax on indoor tanning services. This tax, which replaced the proposed tax on cosmetic surgery, would be effective for services on or after July 1, 2010.
• New screening procedures will be implemented to help eliminate health insurance fraud and waste.
• Medicare payment protections will be extended to small rural hospitals and other health care facilities that have a small number of Medicare patients.
• Non-profit Blue Cross organizations will be required to maintain a medical loss ratio -- money spent on procedures over money incoming -- of 85 percent or higher to take advantage of IRS tax benefits.
• Chain restaurants will be required to provide a "nutrient content disclosure statement" alongside their items. Expect to see calories listed both on in-store and drive-through menus of fast-food restaurants sometime soon.
• The bill establishes a temporary program for companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55-64 in order to help reduce the often-expensive cost of that coverage.
• The Secretary of Health and Human Services will set up a new Web site to make it easy for Americans in any state to seek out affordable health insurance options The site will also include helpful information for small businesses.
• A two-year temporary credit (up to a maximum of $1 billion) is in the bill to encourage investment in new therapies for the prevention and treatment of diseases.

House Passes Health Care Legislation

President Obama appeared before cameras in the East Room of the White House just before midnight, with Vice President Biden at his side, to hail the historic health care vote in the House.

"This isn't radical reform, but it is major reform," Obama said in the late-night speech. "This isn't going to cure everything that ails our health care system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction. This is what changes looks like."

Obama is expected to sign the Senate health care bill Tuesday.

Message From President Barack Obama:

For the first time in our nation's history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we'll finally start reducing the cost of care -- creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief.

We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we've faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right -- and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,
President Barack Obama

Late Season Snow And Cold Prove No Global Warming

"It's cold. So there's no Climate Change" Facts From The National Snow And Ice Data Center

Get ready to hear climate change deniers point to the unusual late season late snow storm and cold weather as evidence that global warming isn’t really happening.

North Texas had one of the snowiest winter seasons on record. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth reported today that North Texas got 17.1 inches of snow this cold season, ranking it No. 2 behind the 1977-78 season which got 17.6 inches.

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport recorded 1.2 inches of snow on Saturday, which shattered the old record of 0.4 inches established on March 20, 1970. An additional 0.1 inches of snow earlier today brought the weekend total to 1.3 inches. The last time an inch or more fell on North Texas was March 29, 1937, when 2 inches fell.

Union of Concerned Scientists:

There is a significant difference between weather and climate. Weather is what we experience on any given day or even over a couple weeks. Climate describes a region’s prevailing conditions — including such things as temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity and atmospheric pressure — over long periods of time. Climate is a good indicator of what to expect. For example, in the Midwest, one would expect cold winters. Whereas, in a Mediterranean climate, one would expect a generally milder winter.

Climate change refers to shifts in prevailing conditions observed over decades. One such shift is a long-term rise in global average temperatures. The current cold spells are occurring against this backdrop.

Putting aside the difference between weather and climate, climate change projections show that a warming planet generates more precipitation in areas that typically experience rain or snow. Rising ocean surface temperatures already have increased the temperature and moisture content of the air passing over the United States, setting the stage for heavier snow and rain storms.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report found that global warming has increased the frequency of storms that dump heavy precipitation over most land regions that experience storms. Most deserts, conversely, are getting drier.

“Climate scientists aren’t at all surprised that there are more drenching rain or blizzards in certain parts of the country,” said Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “That’s consistent with well-documented climate change trends over the past several decades. Unless we take some dramatic steps to curb global warming, we likely will see a lot more regional precipitation over the next few decades.”

Precipitation in the Northeast has increased markedly over the last century, according to the Northeast Climate Impact Assessment, a collaboration between UCS and a team of more than 50 scientists and economists. Over the past few decades, winter precipitation in the Northeast has increased 0.15 inch per decade.

The Northeast is not alone. According to Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, released last year by 13 federal agencies, Great Lakes states are experiencing more precipitation because the lakes have less ice and more open water in the winter. The maximum seasonal coverage of Great Lakes ice decreased approximately 30 percent from 1973 through 2008. That means more lake water is likely to evaporate into the atmosphere, resulting in heavier snowstorms.

The current decade likely ranks as the hottest since temperature records began in the 1850s, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization announced in December 2009. On December 8th 2009, at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), reported that 2009 was likely to rank in the top 10 warmest years since 1850. He added that since 1980 every decade has been warmer than the previous one. He also stressed that greenhouse concentrations were highest now than at any time over the last 800,000 years.

While conservative Republican lawmaker continue to strongly deny all evidence of climate change, Military planners in the Pentagon have concluded that “global warming is now officially considered a threat to U.S. national security.” In its upcoming 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, Pentagon planners will report that climate change could result in food and water scarcity, pandemics, population displacement, and other destabilizing events that could create conflict.

“The American people expect the military to plan for the worst,” says retired Vice Adm. Lee Gunn, a 35-year Navy veteran now serving as president of the American Security Project. “It’s that sort of mindset, I think, that has convinced, in my view, the vast majority of military leaders that climate change is a real threat and that the military plays an important role in confronting it.”

Democratic Party of Collin County Convention

The Democratic Party of Collin County will convene its County Convention, the kick-off event for the general election season, on Saturday, March 20th, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Plano Centre, located at 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway in Plano, Tx. [map] All local Democrats are welcome to attend. For more information - click here.

* Must be elected as a Delegate to the County Convention by your Precinct Convention on March 2nd to vote.

Dems Lead In Poll, But GOP More Enthusiastic

In mid-term elections, enthusiasm matters and Democrats, particularly young Democrats, are not very enthusiastic about the 2010 mid-term election, according to Gallup's latest polling. The poll shows Democrats are ahead in the generic ballot preference, but Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters are much less likely to help get out the vote or vote themselves than their GOP counterparts in the November 2010 general election:

Democrats lead Republicans by a slight 47% to 44% margin when registered voters are asked which party's congressional candidate they would support in their district "if the elections for Congress were being held today." At the same time, Gallup's inaugural weekly tracking update on the 2010 elections shows Republicans with a distinct advantage over Democrats in terms of enthusiasm about voting this year.

(click on photo for larger image)

That enthusiasm gap, measured for the first time since the 2008 election in this Gallup poll, is a real problem for Democrats:

There are significant differences in enthusiasm by party, with an 18-point "very enthusiastic" gap between Republicans and Republican-leaning independents on the one hand, and Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents on the other.

Only 20% of voters age 18-29 are very enthusiastic. Obama received a blowout 66% of the vote among the 18-29 year old age group in 2008, compared to McCain's 33% of that vote. The youth also voted 63% for House Democrats in 2008 -- Young voters not only voted for Obama at the top of the ballot, they also voted down ballot or straight ticket for other Democratic candidates. In 2010 it's the young Republicans who are more likely to GOTV.

If you don't deliver for the base, the base isn't motivated to delver for you. The Democratic base is having a difficult time getting enthusiastic about Democrats, who were elected in 2006 and 2008 on a "change" platform, showing no fight for real transforming change.

Democratic leaders in the White House, U.S. House and particularly the U.S. Senate might want to think about giving their base voters something to get enthusiastic about. Maybe a health care reform signing ceremony in the Rose Garden, perhaps? It’s hard to picture these enthusiasm numbers getting worse for Dems, but imagine if reform failed!

Washington Post's Ezra Klein explains the reconciliation process, that Democrats now plan to use to pass health care reform, in the following March 8, 2010 video of The Colbert Report. "Americans don't want health care reform jammed down their throats - unless it's first battered and deep fat-fried," says Stephen Colbert.

2010 Primary Voter Turnout In Collin Co.

Updated March 3, 2010 at 1:48 A.M.
Former Houston Mayor Bill White defeated six other candidates Tuesday March 2, 2010 to become the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, giving the party its best hope in years at again putting a Democrat in the Texas Governor's Mansion.

2010 Primary Early Vote Totals Through Friday Feb. 26
County	Party	Cumulative In-Person Voters	Cumulative In-Person & Mail Voters
Collin	Rep	27,078	28,068
Collin	Dem	2,658	2,699

The 2010 Collin County Republican primary early voting totals exceeded that party's 2008 record early vote tally of 24,234 ballots cast. The total early and election day Republican primary vote tally in 2008 was 51,887 ballots cast.

Adding in the Election Day vote tally to early voting totals -- the Collin County Republican party topped its 2008 record turnout, albeit with a large number of Democrats crossing over to vote against Rick Perry. An additional 29,471 people turned out to vote in the Collin County Republican primary on election day to boost the final Republican primary total to 57,539 votes cast.

An additional 3,528 people turned out in Collin County for the Democratic Primary on election day bringing the final Democratic Party of Collin County vote tally to 6,227 votes cast. For chair of the Collin Co. Democratic Party incumbent Shawn Stevens received 3,880 (79.01%) votes and his opponent Yasin R. Ali received 1031 (20.99%) votes.

Governor - R
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Perry	757,461	51.09%
Hutchison	449,632	30.33%
Medina	275,604	18.59%
Governor - D
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
White	516,621	75.99%
Shami	87,268	12.84%
Alvarado	33,708	4.96%
Aguado	19,556	2.88%
Glenn	9,852	1.45%
Dear	6,574	0.97%
Locke	6,298	0.93%
Lt. Gov. - D
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Chavez- Thompson	314,725	53.15%
Earle	205,057	34.63%
Katz	72,367	12.22%
Land Comm. - D
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Uribe	292,486	51.72%
Burton	273,034	48.28%
Ag. Comm. - D
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Gilbert	310,762	52.32%
Friedman	283,249	47.68%
Railroad Comm. - R
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Porter	732,065	60.70%
Carrillo	474,067	39.30%
Supreme Court of Tx Pl. 9 - R
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Guzman	720,861	65.27%
Vela	383,642	34.73%
Supreme Court of Tx Pl. 3 - R
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Green	212,642	18.94%
Lehrmann	204,466	18.22%
Moseley	203,548	18.13%
Simmons	202,426	18.03%
Brown	187,639	16.72%
Strange	111,718	9.95%
State Board of Ed. Dist. 9 - R
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Ratliff	58,388	50.37%
McLeroy	57,528	49.63%
U.S. House Dist. 4 - R
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Ralph Hall	38,543	57.23%
Clark	20,091	29.83%
Cooper	3,616	5.37%
Hall	3,134	4.65%
Gigliotti	1,021	1.52%
Kowert	939	1.39%
Texas House Dist. 66 - R House Dist. 66: Runoff
Pcts - 100%	Votes	%Votes
Jackson	5,616	41.05%
Taylor	4,581	33.48%
Richard	3,485	25.47%

The table at right gives the full results for a few state wide and a couple of local high interest contested races. For full Democratic and Republican Primary election results reported by the Collin County elections office - click here.

Election results were delayed Tuesday night in Collin County, where officials reported extremely heavy voting county wide. People waited in line more than an hour to vote in the Republican Primary after the polls closed at 7 p.m., according to reports from election officials.

Voter turnout in Collin County’s primary elections Tuesday was twice what officials expected, leading to long lines, a slow count and frustration among voters and candidates. (More DMN)

When the 2010 Collin County primary voter turnout data is fully analyzed, we will likely find that one quarter to one third of the Republican primary votes will have been cast by voters with a Democratic Party voting history, as was the case in the first week of early voting in Travis County:

In the largest Republican counties, the GOP turnout through Sunday February 21 was more than 5,000 votes higher than in the 2008 presidential primary when the GOP set its record 1.3 million voter turnout. Turnout was up in Harris, Tarrant, Travis, Collin, Denton and Williamson counties, but down in Dallas, Bexar, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties from the 2008 vote.

Almost 28 percent of the voters in the Republican primary in Travis County during the first week of early voting also voted in the 2008 primary election between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to figures from Democratic pollster Jeff Smith of Opinion Analysts Inc. [Statesman.com]

Why did so many Democrats vote in the Republican Primary this year? The most common comment heard from Republican voting Democrats was that most believe Bill White had a lock on winning the Democratic Primary against Farouk Shami, so they decided to hedge their bet with a vote against Rick Perry. Most Democrats seem to have the idea that they could keep Perry off of the November 2010 General Election Ballot by helping KBH defeat Perry in the primary.

Democrats picked up this "defeat Perry now" narrative from many sources over the last few months. Here is an excerpt from a post in the The Prairie Fire Journal blog:

Texas Democrats have an opportunity to give Rick Perry an eight-month head start on his packing. If enough Democrats will crossover and vote in the Republican Primary on March 2, there's an excellent chance that Rick Perry will be knocked out of the 2010 governor's race before it even begins.

Democrats can do this. Knockout Perry at the get-go and that will dishearten his far-right base. If Hutchison wins the Republican Primary, the right won't be as enthusiastic about getting out the vote in November. By using this strategy, whether the Republicans win or the Democrats win the governorship, we will know for certain that Rick Perry will be gone.

[DBCC Editors note: Now that Perry has won the primary with 52% of the vote on the first round, after so many Democrats cross over to vote against him, will the right be more energized than ever and will Democrats be the ones feeling demoralized. No! -- I think Texas Democrats will be ready for a fight come November 2010.]

This blog originally started hearing this defeat Perry now narrative plant some time ago separately from Hutchison supporters and Shami supporters. The idea for Hutchison was that she could boost her numbers with Democratic votes without being seen to publicly court the Democratic vote. Overtly courting Democrats for their vote would have created problems for KBH as she tried to actively court conservative and tea bag voters. Shami also benefited from the cross over vote because Democrats who are more likely to cross over to vote in the Republican primary are the Democrats who are more likely to vote for Bill White. Suppressing the Bill White vote in the Democratic Primary improved Shami's chances to win against White -- although it seems not by very much.

The dubious defeat Perry now strategy has failed. Perry, Texas' longest-serving governor, had 51 percent of the vote compared to Hutchinson's 31 percent. GOP party activist Debra Medina, a favorite among many tea party voters, had about 18 percent. This is after Rasmussen polling had Perry pretty close to that 50% goal line just before election day.

A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Republican Primary voters found Perry leading Senate Kay Bailey Hutchison 48% to 27%, with Tea Party activist Debra Medina earning 16% of the vote. Nine percent (9%) of Texas GOP voters remain undecided.

The Rasmussen survey of likely voters also showed Rick Perry leading Bill White 47% to 41% in a head to head match up, while KBH led Bill White 47% to 38% in a gubernatorial match up. Three weeks ago, KBH had a 49% to 36% lead against White.

Everyone should remember that Perry and KBH have been campaigning for the governor's office for more than a year now. Bill White has only been running for the governor's office since early December 2009. White is well funded and he has put together one of the best statewide Democratic campaign organizations since Ann Richards ran for governor. White has an excellent chance to easily overtake Perry between now and November 2010.

White, who earned high marks for his city's response to the Hurricane Katrina evacuation, wisely spent the prime season listening to voter's real concerns about the future of Texas as the Republican Primary candidates chased each other to the extreme right. He used the time to air television ads introducing himself to a statewide audience and generally kept his campaign on a positive path. White has been running a well managed general election campaign since he announced for governor in early December.

Collin Co. Cumulative Early Vote Totals
Early Vote Day	Date	Daily Hours of Voting	Daily Rep Early Vote Total	Cumulative Rep Early Vote Total	Daily Dem Early Vote Total	Cumulative Dem Early Vote Total
Mon		0	0	0	0	0
Tue	2/16/2010	9	1,727	1,727	149	149
Wed	2/17/2010	9	1,581	3,308	187	336
Thu	2/18/2010	9	1,595	4,903	172	508
Fri	2/19/2010	9	1,927	6,830	187	695
Sat	2/20/2010	12	2,320	9,150	231	926
Sun	2/21/2010	5	781	9,931	99	1,025
Mon	2/22/2010	12	1,976	11,907	199	1,224
Tue	2/23/2010	12	2,269	14,176	214	1,438
Wed	2/24/2010	12	2,713	16,889	257	1,695
Thu	2/25/2010	12	3,547	20,436	374	2,069
Fri	2/26/2010	12	6,642	27,078	589	2,658
Total			27,078		2,658

Democratic Candidates On Nov. 2010 Collin Co. Election Ballots

To review the Democratic Candidates On Nov. 2010 Collin Co. Election Ballots - click here.

Are You An Election Worker For The March 2nd Primary?

If you are an Election Judge, Alternate Judge, or Clerk for either the Democratic Party Primary or Republican Party Primary it is mandatory by law that you attend an "Election Law" training class. It is also highly recommended that you attend a "Machine Training" class.

Machine Training will give you hands-on experience on the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) touch screen voting booth equipment and the ePollBook laptop computers being used for this election.
[Note: In addition to the DRE touch screen voting booth equipment used at every polling location, 50 polling locations will use ePollBook laptop computers, in place of the old-style printed paper Poll Book binders, to qualify and sign in voters. The remaining 15 polling locations will use the old-style printed paper Poll Book binders on March 2nd.]

Election Judges should contact each member of your polling place team and make sure they attend one of the schedule election training classes. Election Law and Machine Training dates and times are given below the fold click:

Election Law Training	Machine Training
Election Law Training offered by the Collin County Elections Office This is the preferred training, as some issues specific to Collin County are covered in this live class. Dates and times for these classes: Thursday, February 18th at 1:00pm Thursday, February 18th at 6:30pm Saturday, February 20th at 10:00am. Location for these classes: University Drive Courts Facility Central Jury Room 1800 North Graves Street McKinney, TX 75069 You must notify your Political Party's County Elections Administrator to confirm your training class attendance.	Machine Training Training offered by the Collin County Elections Office Dates and times for these classes: Saturday, February 13th at 2:00pm; Wednesday, February 17th at 2:00pm; Friday, February 19th at 9:00am; Saturday, February 20th at 2:00pm; Wednesday, February 24th at 2:00pm; Thursday, February 25th at 2:00pm; Friday, February 26th at 9:00am. Location for these classes: University Drive Courts Facility Central Jury Room 1800 North Graves Street McKinney, TX 75069
Online Election Law training available on the Texas Secretary of State website. This online Poll Worker Training provided by the Secretary of State can be accessed at www.texaspollworkertraining.com. To participate in the online training, just register yourself, create a password and begin the class. This training satisfies the legal Election Law training requirement for election workers. Once you have successfully completed the course and receive your online certificate of completion you must save or print your online certificate of completion and send a copy to your Political Party's County Elections Administrator either by mail or e-mail. The entire course takes about two hours to complete.
The Democratic Party of Collin County will also provide Election Law training during the last week of February, and we will announce the dates, times, and locations in the coming days. This training will also cover practical tips on setting up your polling location for optimal flow, and we will also try to make the practical tips available on the party's website at www.collindems.us.

Democratic Primary Election - March 2010

In the March 2010 primaries Texas voters will choose which candidates will represent their respective political party in the November general elections. Texas is somewhat unique in that the Democratic and Republican political party organizations in each county are in charge of running their own primary elections with funding from the Texas Secretary of State.

State of Texas residents vote in what is known as an open primary. This means that as long as a qualified Texas resident registers to vote at least 30 days prior to the date of the primary election day, that person will be allowed to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary election. The voter is then affiliated with the party they select for the primary and restricted from participating in events of other political parties for the remainder of the primary year.

• The March 2, 2010 Primary Election Voter Registration Deadline is Monday, February 1st. New voter registration applications must be postmarked by midnight of that date. Click here for the Texas Secretary of State's voter registration form web page.


• The March 2, 2010 Primary Election early voting days and times at the usual early voting polling places around Collin County will be as follows:
  
  • 8AM to 5PM Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010 through Friday Feb. 19, 2010
  • 7AM to 7PM Saturday Feb. 20, 2010
  • 1PM to 6PM Sunday Feb. 21, 2010
  • 7AM to 7PM Monday Feb. 22, 2010 through Friday Feb. 26, 2010
  • Click here for full details on dates, times and sample ballots
    


• Click here to see the Democratic Candidates that will appear on the Democratic Primary Ballot In Collin County.
  

Texas does not register by party, rather one becomes “affiliated” with a party by voting in the party’s primary election. That affiliation then lasts for that entire primary year. As an example, if a person voted in the March 2008 Democratic Primary or April 2008 Democratic Primary runoff, that person's affiliation with the Democratic party did not expire until December 31, 2008.

The affiliation means that the person may not vote in another party’s primary or primary runoff, or participate in another party’s precinct, county or state convention or sign a for another party's candidate if the candidate’s position appears on the primary ballot.

A person who votes in the 2010 Republican Primary is disqualified from participating in the Democratic party’s precinct, county and state conventions, and vice versa. The Republican affiliated voter is also restricted from participating in other local and state Democratic Party activities, including being nominated by the Democratic Party to serve as an Election Judge, Alternate Judge or Clerk.

Note: In the November General Election voters may vote for whomever they wish, regardless of how or whether they voted in the primary or runoff primary election. All candidates of all parties appear on the same November General Election ballot.

Democratic Precinct Convention


On the evening of the March 2nd Primary Election Day, after the last voter has voted and the polls close, Democratic primary voters throughout Texas will meet at their respective Election Day Neighborhood Precinct Polling Locations to hold a Precinct Convention to do the following:

1. Elect delegates and alternates to the Democratic Collin County Convention and from thence to the Democratic State Convention

   2010 Collin County Democratic Convention
   Saturday, March 20th, 10:30 a.m
   Plano Centre (Spring Creek Parkway & Jupiter Rd.)

2. Adopt resolutions that will be submitted to the Democratic Collin County Convention.

The precinct convention may seem complicated at first, but it is very easy and quick to conduct. Here are some links to find more information about the Democratic Precinct Convention:

• Conducting Your Democratic Pct Convention
• Steps To Conduct Your Precinct Convention
• Pct Convention Check List Summary
• Resolutions in the Democratic Pct Convention

If you did not receive a new Blue and White voter registration card during December 2009 or January 2010, it may indicate that you are no longer properly registered to vote. You should call the Registrar's office to ask why you did not receive your new Blue and White 2010-2011 voter registration card. (Check your registration status online here.)

VOTER REGISTRAR
800-687-8546 / 972-547-1990
2010 REDBUD BLVD., SUITE 102
MCKINNEY, TX 75069
www.collincountytx.gov/elections/

For more information on the new Blue and White 2010-2011 voter registration cards, click here.

Conducting Your March 2nd Democratic Precinct Convention

Primary voters throughout Collin County will go to their 2010 primary election day polling locations after the polls close on March 2, 2010 to hold precinct conventions to do the following:

1. Elect delegates and alternates to the 2010 Democratic Collin County Convention.
   
2. Adopt resolutions that will be submitted to the county convention.

Sign posted by Democratic Judge at polling location

The 2010 Collin County Democratic Convention Convenes on Saturday, March 20th, 10:30 a.m at the Plano Centre. (Spring Creek Parkway & Jupiter Rd.)

Collin County residents must have voted in the 2010 Democratic primary in order to sign into one of the 179 Democratic precinct conventions, which convene shortly after the polls close on March 2nd, at the 65 polling locations around Collin Co. Republican primary voters will also conduct their own precinct conventions at different locations within the same 2010 primary election day polling locations.

March 2nd polling locations will have one to several separately convened Republican and Democratic Party precinct conventions, in different locations around the polling places' gym, cafeteria, lobby and so forth. People must locate and attend their party's precinct convention for their home address voting precinct.

Each Primary Election Day Polling Place Democratic Election Judge will contact the Democratic chairs of precincts voting at his/her polling location before election day to coordinate the election evening precinct convention hand off. Otherwise, for any precinct without a chair, the Democratic Party of Collin County Primary Administrator will give a list of 2008 precinct convention delegates to the Democratic Election Judge to contact for election evening precinct convention hand off. The Precinct Chair typically serves as the temporary precinct convention chair to organize the precinct convention, but, in the absence of a Precinct Chair, anyone who votes in the party's 2010 primary may serve as temporary chair.

Anyone who wishes to help organize the election evening precinct convention for their home voting precinct should contact the Democratic Party of Collin County office at either 972-578-1483 or elections@collindems.us and ask for the Primary Administrator.

Precinct Conventions Are Quick And Easy

The precinct convention may seem complicated at first, but it is very easy and quick to conduct. Here are the two basic rules that you need to know:

1. Voters who VOTED in the Democratic primary (either early, or by mail, or on election day) can participate in the precinct convention for the precinct where they are registered to vote. You can find your precinct number on your Voter Registration Card in the box titled "Prec. No." You can see your Registration Card online by clicking here.
   


2. The Democratic Party Precinct Chair of your precinct has priority in terms of convening the precinct convention and is considered the temporary chair of the convention; however, any registered voter from the precinct who voted in the 2010 Democratic Primary can start the convention in the event the precinct chair does not attend the convention, or the precinct chair position is vacant.
   
   The precinct chair, or other person intending to serve as the temporary chair of the convention, inspects the polling location to determine a good location for the convention. A large sign is placed at the polling place telling exactly when and where the convention will be held. Each voter should also be provided the information verbally and given a hand-out reminder.
   
   The county party provides a convention packet with instructions, forms, and an easy to fill-in agenda/minutes. The packet is typically kept at the Primary Polling Place by the Election Judge for the election day polling location. The packets are handed off to the temporary chair at the time that the Election Judge declares the Election Day Polling Place closed or at 7:15 P.M., which ever is later.
   

Steps To Conduct Your Precinct Convention

The precinct convention may seem complicated at first, but it is very easy and quick to conduct. Here are the basic steps that you need to know:

Step 1: After the polls close and the last voter has voted, the precinct chair, who has the first right to serve as the convention's temporary chair, should obtain the precinct convention packet from the election judge. The 2010 Democratic precinct convention packet will includes the following items:

1. One letter from the State Party Chair
2. Convention Minutes Form
3. Convention Exhibit A Sign-in Form
4. Convention Exhibit G Delegate Form
5. Convention Exhibit H Alternate Form
6. Number of Delegates that may be elected
7. Texas Democratic Party Rules
8. Precinct Convention Instructions
9. Other forms and information

If the precinct chair does not claim the package within 15 minutes after the poll closes and the last voter in line has voted, any registered voter from the precinct who voted in the 2010 Democratic primary and is attending the precinct convention can serve as the temporary chair of the convention. The temporary chair, after obtaining the precinct convention packet from the election judge, convenes the convention for his/her precinct, and serve as the temporary chair to call for the election of the permanent convention chair. Most of the convention activity is set by state law, the Rules of the Texas Democratic Party, and Robert’s Rules of Order.

Step 2: The temporary chair asks people who enter the convention site:

1. If they are there to participate in the precinct convention,
2. Whether they voted in the 2010 Democratic Primary, and
3. In which precinct they are registered to vote.

If they did not vote in the Democratic primary, they are not eligible to participate in the convention, though they are welcome to attend and observe. If they did vote in the Democratic primary, direct them to the convention location for the precinct in which they are registered.

An effort will be made by the temporary precinct convention chair to confirm that each convention attendee voted in the Democratic primary and lives in the correct precinct by checking their stamped voter registration card, or primary voting verification receipt slip.

The blue 2010 voter registration card should be stamp "DEMOCRATIC" as show in the picture right. (click picture to enlarge)

• Note: not everyone who voted in the 2010 primary will have remembered to have their card stamped or request a voting verification receipt slip.

If the voter presents neither a “Democratic” stamped voter registration card nor a primary voting verification receipt slip, voting verification will be completed by checking the list of early voters for each election precinct provided to each Election Judge by the county election registrar, and the poll list of election day voters.

If people arriving for the convention do not have evidence that they voted in the 2010 primary, they must still be permitted to participate, so long as they state they did voted in the Democratic primary, though in this case, the County Convention Credentials Committee must later check and validate their eligibility status. This could change the results of delegate allocations, if individuals are later found ineligible to have voted in the precinct convention.

If the person voted in the Democratic primary and is in the correct precinct, their name, address, voter registration number and other information must be entered on the "exhibit A" sign in form.

In presidential election years, people must state their presidential preference when they sign in to participate in the precinct convention. Since 2010 is not a presidential year, convention participates will not state a presidential preference as they sign in to the convention.

Step 3: Once everyone is registered on the "Exhibit A" form, the temporary convention chair calls the convention to order and asks someone to serve as the temporary convention secretary, if a temporary secretary has not yet been appointed.

The first order of business called by the temporary convention chair is to elect a permanent precinct convention chair and a permanent precinct convention secretary. The temporary convention secretary must clearly print the minutes of this business on the official "Convention Minutes" carbon copy form. As soon the a permanent precinct convention chair and a permanent precinct convention secretary are elected they take over the convention and conduct business until the convention adjourns.

Step 4: The next orders of business called by the permanent precinct convention chair is for the nomination and election of delegates and alternates to the Collin County Convention.

The convention packet should include a form that gives the number of delegates that may be elected to represent the precinct at the county convention. Only people who are in attendance and entitled to participate in the convention, by having voted in the Democratic primary and signed in for the precinct convention.

Step 5: The precinct convention body, as a whole, will then ratify (vote for) the selection of delegates and alternates. The precinct convention as a whole will then elect a delegation chair for the Collin County convention. The convention chair then announces the delegation chair, the list of delegates and alternates, and the date, time and location of the county convention.

Step 6: The convention chair then ask for any proposed convention resolutions to be read aloud. Discuss each proposed convention resolutions and approve or discard them. After all resolutions have been dealt with, convention chair asks for if anyone would like to move and second the adjournment of the convention. If the a majority of the convention body votes for adjournment, the convention chair gavels the convention to close.

After the Convention:

1. The convention chair must complete the forms and have both the signatures of both the convention chair and the convention secretary sign them.
2. Deliver the Convention Minutes, Exhibit A sign-in sheets, and Exhibit G and H Delegate and Alternate forms to the Democratic Party of Collin County Office, 1:PM on Friday, March 5, 2010. If you mail them, they must be postmarked by Thursday, March 4. Actual delivery to the office as soon as possible, rather than mailing, is preferred. This is the official record for the county convention and delegate allocation

Precinct Convention Document (click image)

Letter

Minutes

Exhibit A

Exhibit G

Exhibit H

Delegates