Clinton/Reid end run the Nevada caucus (Rory Reid, Harry's son)

[Reno.Muse]

I called this over 8 months ago. This is why I hate Nevada. Corruption on all sides of the political spectrum. Be sure to read the comments posted below the blog story:

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Clinton the face of the Nevada Caucus?

Of course it's the job of campaign spokesters to boast about the strength of their candidate and their organization. But in a conference call with Nevada reporters this afternoon Clinton campaign chairman Rory Reid bordered on the edge of hyperbole.

The Clinton campaign today launched what they describe as a massive voter education effort on the caucus. They've set up a Web site, will be establishing a caucus hotline and are holding dozens of educational meetings across the state. The education effort is "ecumenical" as Reid put it. In other words, all voters, regardless of who they support, are free to attend and learn about the caucus.

Asked whether the voter education effort is more the job of the Democratic Party than the campaigns', Reid described the Clinton campaign as "formidable" and the "most prominent organization in the state right now."

"Many voters see Hillary Clinton as the face of the caucus," he said. "So I think it's natural for us to want to provide people that look at our organization with the additional information so they are comfortable" with the caucus process.

The face of the Nevada caucus? The other campaigns, as well as, the Democratic Party, had some quick responses.

"The face of the Nevada caucus is the thousands of voters who represent Hispanics, labor workers, youth, veterans and Westerners-- as well as the people who support each of the presidential candidates," said Kirsten Searer, spokeswoman for the Nevada Democratic Party. "Those are the faces of the Nevada caucus."

more...

http://www.rgj.com/blogs/inside-nevada-politics/2007/11/clinton-face-of-nevada-caucus.html

Democrats in Nevada have to do what the Reid clans tells us to do. I'm not buying having this woman shoved down my throat at a bogus caucus.

[Ytzak]

1. Any Caucaus is bogus.

They all seem to be won by the candidate that can pay enough people to come and vote for them. I don't trust any of them to be honest.

[Debi]

14. I've never been paid to caucus, I doubt any Iowan has been paid to caucus

I don't think you can back that statement up at all.

[Counciltucky]

17. I sure haven't been paid.

If someone was, that news wouldn't remain silent for long. Iowans talk.

[Debi]

18. I think the word is gossip Counciltucky

:blush:

Hey, did you see rurallib's post? JE in IC!!

(I'm going to see him in my town on Monday).

[Counciltucky]

29. Yeah I did.

HOpefully he comes to Council Bluffs in a couple weeks when I'm back in CB for the holidays.

[Ytzak]

30. There have been a number of stories about how the Caucus works.

In many cases the different campaigns pay for their supporters to bus in. This has been reported on MSNBC and CNN. If those reports were true, that certainly amounts to stacking the deck. Whoever gets the most supporters wins.

In Nevada, my mother and sister are registered as Democrats and can get free passage to the caucaus, something they couldn't afford to do otherwise.

The Caucaus seems designed to reduce the number of voters.

For instance, in 2004:Iowa's population of 2.9 million includes 1.8 million active registered voters of which 526,207 are Democrats...Fewer than one in five of the registered Iowa Democrats will likely turn out on caucus.

So here we have a system that encourages less than 20% of registered voters to determine who the Pesident is. When I check to see how the thing works, "How stuff works"

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 1,993 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:
***SNIP***
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.

So, if as reported on MSNBC and CNN, that the parties can pay for busses to ship voters in. If they feed them when they get there, and if as "How it Works" describes a system where less than 20% of the voters get to choose participants that may not even vote the way the people want, in what way is that not bogus.

I am more than willing to have my mind changed, but it seems to be a system designed to be rigged. How is it any more or less rigged than the Nevada system?

[progressoid]

37. "Bus in"

I know in the last few elections we (volunteers) spent a lot of time (and our own gas) driving the elderly, the blind, the car-less, etc to the polls. And a lot more time making sure other people could get absentee ballots or knew where their polling place was. I think you're right. We should just say, "fuck 'em. If they can't figure out how to get there or how to abstentee vote, they don't deserve to vote".

Besides, everybody know the best way to bribe a voter is with a free ride and luke warm coffee in a styrofoam cup.

[Debi]

43. You forgot the snacks! Kerry's people brought SNACKS and he won!

Pure bribery I tell ya :rofl: Bunch of damn cheaters!

[Debi]

42. Since a person has to live in the precinct they caucus in it's pretty hard to 'rig' one

but if you've already decided how much you dislike the caucuses, far be it from me to try and change your mind. Why discuss an already closed issue with an already closed mind?

On edit:

Just for reference:

Caucasus - A region between the Black and Caspian seas that includes southwest Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, and that forms part of the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia. Inhabited before 2000 b.c., it was the scene of countless invasions over the millennia. Conquered by Russia during the 18th and 19th centuries, the region has vast oil resources, which were a major German objective in World War II. Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the region became the site of various secessionist movements.

Caucuses- A meeting of the local members of a political party especially to select delegates to a convention or register preferences for candidates running for office.

[IowaGuy]

53. Excuse me, you're kind of makin' an idiot out of yourself...

Caucuses are held in each precinct...most people live within a few blocks of their caucus and could walk (if it weren't so damn cold)....gettin bussed...what a joke...who would wait outside in sub freezing weather for a bus to get them a couple of blocks...
You have to provide proof of living in that precinct and be a registered Dem....when you get into a caucus room, pretty much everybody knows most of the people in the room anyway, or has at least seen them in the heighborhood....assuming a bus load of stranger could be buused in and provided w/ phony documentation of their residence and party affiliation, they would stick out like a sore thumb.

Each candidate usually has what is called a precinct captain that organizes their supporter for that precinct. This person has usually spent a couple of months going door to door throughout the neighborhood and has met and talked with nearly everybody...it would be virtually impossible to get a ringer into that environment without being called on it by your fellow neighbors.

As far as the so called arcane complex proces...it is really nothing more than choosing delegates to go to County convention on the basis proportional representation for that precint. It isn't to complex for most people that have actually passed grade school level math.

Sorry about the harsh idiot comment...but you are really speaking from an obviously ignorant, unexperienced and ill-informed perspective.

[youthere]

38. Wait...they're PAYING us now? When the hell did that start?

[Debi]

40. Well, they're paying YOU in Jell-o shots...

The rest of us are holding out for cash :beer:

[youthere]

44. So does that make me cheap....

or easy?

[Debi]

45. The answer is

YES :bounce:

[progressoid]

22. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

That's a joke right?

[rurallib]

28. I'll admit I have had potato chips and pop.

[IA_Seth]

32. F that!

First of all, you don't even spell caucus correctly. When you are off looking up how they actually work, jot down the spelling.

Secondly, the caucus process is one of the MOST transparent nominating processes that there could be. You can't "bus support in", the supporters have to actually live in the precincts where they caucus.

I could go on, but you've proven you'd rather sling false accusations prior to doing any sort of real research first.

[Bluzmann57]

39. Try two things

First of all, try attending a caucus and secondly, learn to spell caucus. Until then, shut up. And I echo many others in here when I say, why hasn't anyone paid me?

[Debi]

46. Is it because you live so close to the border that there is question of your

Iowanness???? :shrug:

[dflprincess]

41. I've never been paid to attend my caucus

A caucus is won by the candidate who gets the most supporters to show up - and that takes a lot of grassroots work and a lot of convincing because the candidate's supporters have to be willing to invest a fair amount of time. In Minnesota it's not just showing up at the caucus where delegates are selected to the district conventions - it's getting those supporters to the district and from there onto the Congressional District and State Conventions where the national delegates are elected.

It's not like a primary state where the candidate with the slickest ad campaign wins.

[Debi]

47. Amen princess! And when the support is broken down even futher to have to be

precinct by precinct there is no room for 'foolery'. :hi: hello from Iowa

[Blue Gardener]

52. Another Iowan checking in

To verify that I have never been paid to caucus for any candidate.

[ClarkUSA]

2. Is Harry's son Rory Reid channelling Gov. Vilsack?

"Many voters see Hillary Clinton as the face of the caucus"

Gee, that CNN debate in Las Vegas was not a complete pro-Clinton set-up by the NV/Reid Democratic Party, was it? :eyes:

[Reno.Muse]

3. yes it was a set up. Reid was involved in trying to get the FAux/ Dem

debates with the former State Dem party chair in Nevada. Remember those? Rory Reid was sitting right in the middle of the front row of the recent Dem debates almost directly in line facing Hillary.

These bastards know that people who work in the gold mines in Nevada can't get off work from their 12 hour shifts to caucus, They also know that casino shift workers can't do it. This Nevada caucus was a bogus deal for Hillary from day one.

[ClarkUSA]

4. Of course it was. Reid's Clinton plants were obvious to all but the blind and deaf.

Thanks for the insight. What do you think will happen if an Hillary alternative wins Iowa, NH, and SC. Do you think the Reid family's precinct
captain plants will still make sure Clinton wins NV?

Or do I even have to ask? :argh:

[Reno.Muse]

5. I know Obama's people and Edward's people are building up their own

caucus support. If you have time, go to the link above and read the comments. Hillary's support is really among the wealthier folk and those aren't the grass root people who go door to door or make calls to people.

I think the whole issue for Nevada even being a brand new "caucus" state was about Hillary all along. This state has so much desert and sagebrush for miles and miles in between towns that it's a hard place to unit as a whole. The Reid family knew how to work before the caucus was approved. Hillary's campaign is all about "perception". They create the perception that there is something real going on.

So, basically, Reid comes out with a story last week that 100,000 Dems will caucus in Nevada. Polls then come out and say less than one-third of Dems will even show up. so it won't be much of a caucus but if Hillary wins it with her robots, they get to pretend like they really won something big in Nevada. Perception.

Like when Reid caved in to Bill Clinton a few months ago and allowed the whiny Bill Clinton to get to be the key note speaker for the 10th Anniversary Lake Tahoe clarity summit when Al Gore was slated to be the note. From the beginning, Gore told Reid and his staff that he would only commit to the event he was part of starting 10 years ago if Bill Clinton was not included. Hmmmmmm. http://www.ourtahoe.org/addnotebook.php?url=1071

So, Gore commits and Bill browbeats Reid's staff in Nevada and Reid caves in. Gore withdrew. Bill got his way. Hillary got to attend. Name recognition. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20070818/ai_n19471822

Several hours later, Bill holds a fundraiser in Reno for the state Dem Party. http://www.rgj.com/blogs/inside-nevada-politics/2007/08/bill-clinton-to-bring-in-some-cash-for.html


Now you connect the dots.

I can't stand these people. They are so damn power hungry and self serving.

[ClarkUSA]

7. Thanks for the information. I can't say I'm surprised but it's still disgusts me.

Rory Reid sounds like an asshole. The fruit didn't fall far from the tree.

Harry Reid was behind Obama's missing the Kyl-Lieberman vote, in order to undermine Obama's anti-war credibility. I detest Reid and all
the Clinton party machine thugs who are trying to beg, borrow and steal the nomination for Hillary.

And I will read your link comments. Say, how do you think the Obama and Edwards caucus teams will fare against Clinton's? Is there a 15%
threshold as in Iowa? I hope that the results in Iowa, NH and SC will derail Clinton and thus affect NV's outcome.

[Reno.Muse]

9. I don't know how they will do. Remember, it is an 8-hr drive to get to LV

from Reno so our two cities don't know each other that well. Let's hope the momentum keeps going for the others and we can say it will be fair at the end of the day.

Rory Reid is a Clark County Commissioner and I think he is still their Chairman. He pushed the big rural water grab through that his daddy so kindly pushed through Congress for Clark County. Remember also that it behooves Reid to keep someone like the Clintons in power so his family members keep their lobbying jobs.

I finally met a Hillary supporter at work the other day. A gay man who said he couldn't vote for Barack Obama because he sounds like a scary "black minister" when he talks. I almost fell over.

It's obvious to me that the log cabin Repugs had their way with the outrage against Barack over that anti-gay singer dude and the liberal gay Dems fell for it clear over here in Nevada.

This same person says Hillary gets his vote because she is experienced at foreign relations.

[asdjrocky]

8. I can say this Muse,

I spent two days in Reno, working with you guys. The Reno staff, and the Reno volunteers, do not stop. It does seem a bit, David -v- Goliath, but I'd want the Reno crew in my corner any day.


600 + Reno Town Hall Nov 18, 07

[Reno.Muse]

10. Hey, I was there! Standing up in the back taking my own photos!

Were you in Reno when Edwards announced his run for President almost a year ago? Over a 1,000 showed up.

[asdjrocky]

11. Man, I wish.

I got to the party a little late.

But I got here!

JRE 08

[asdjrocky]

6. k

[RichGirl]

12. Anyone who has worked on a campaign...

...knows that it's a game...a contest. It's like arm-wrestling for a job. I want someone who plays to win. Especially after seeing that bunch of losers on the republican debate last night. The tactics you are criticizing in the primaries are the ones you will want in the general. We need muscle to win, someone who will pull out every trick in the republican play book. They can save the warm and fuzzies for their inauguration speech.

[asdjrocky]

13. While I see what you mean,

And I even agree to a certain point. However, playing tough is one thing, here's an example:

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, John Edwards for President communications director Chris Kofinis released the following statement in response to the attack on Senator Edwards in tonight's GOP debate by Governor Mitt Romney:

"In the debate tonight, Governor Romney was caught being deceptive about his own record. He is also being deceptive about whether there are two Americas – one for the most powerful and one for everyone else. News flash, Governor: The 98% of Americans who were not born to great wealth or who have not been given special privilege in our country struggle every day to make ends meet and provide opportunities for their families. No small part of their struggle is because the game has been rigged to protect those on top. It is not surprising Governor Romney proposes additional policies to assist the crowd on Easy Street. Unfortunately for him, the millions of Americans who live and work on Main Street know much more about the reality of where we are as a country."

That came out minutes after the debate was over. That's playing the game tough. That's hitting back fast and knocking Mitts dick in the dirt.

What the Clinton's are doing is dirty, money tainted, inside politics. As an American, I'm sick of their act.

Hear the peoples voice.

We welcome you to DU!

[Debi]

15. I don't see it, aren't Obama and Edwards also holding caucus trainings?

all this is - is a newspaper article. Here in Iowa the party holds caucus training, but so do the candidates Clinton/Obama/Edwards are all holding trainings. I don't see those trainings as an attempt to hi-jack the caucuses.

It seems a misspeak by Reid, other than than much ado about nothing.

[asdjrocky]

16. I've been working pretty hard in and around Reno.

I talk to the Reno headquarters on almost a daily basis. I'll ask them about 'training", but I've heard nothing so far.

[Debi]

19. Is the Clinton camp the only campaign holding trainings? n/t

[asdjrocky]

20. I honestly don't know Debi,

I've just made a phone call, and sent off an e-mail to find out.

When I know, you guys will know.:hi:

[Debi]

23. Cool, thanks n/t

[asdjrocky]

51. Hey Debi

What I've found out, and this is an quote. "The Democratic party is doing the training." But with that there is a note of favoritism in Nevada for Clinton, but that is, after all, a perception, not necessarily a reality. The quotes from the post are all true. I sense a disinformation campaign. The thing is, in Nevada I understand it, it seems in Iowa it's aimed at the youth vote.

What do you think?

[IA_Seth]

33. I'd push harder..

Here in Iowa all of the major candidates hold caucus trainings for their supporters. Hell, Obama has a requirement of either caucus training or 4 hours volunteer work in order to receive priority tickets to the Oprah-Obama event.

All this OP does is paint a poor picture of the caucus system.

[Egnever]

21. Well I just went to the caucus chair training

last week or so here in Las Vegas. The turnout was amazing! there were 4 or 5 sessions scheduled over two days I was at the first one and it was packed. Not sure how the others went. There wasn't a whisper of hillary bias at all there.

I think you are ascribing way too much power to the hillary camp. Sure they are doing caucus training but thats just smart politics all campaigns should be doing it if they want to have effective caucus goers.

I will say the last go around the caucus was a farce here. They seem to have a much better handle on it this time though. We will see. I will be looking for bias but from what I have seen so far it appears to be on the up and up despite what a hillary campaign spokesperson says.

I cant speak for everyone but I sure as hell wont be using my chairmanship to try to force people into the hillary camp, in fact I will be doing my best to keep myself from doing the exact opposite.

I would think the fact that the democratic party itself came out immediately against the statement should put some of those fears to rest I would think.

Not that the dem party here doesn't need some work but it has come a long way in the last four years from my vantage point and its a hell of a lot better today.

[Cameron27]

31. Thanks Egnever.

I know you're not supporting Clinton, and you've been more than fair with your updates of the ground war.

[AtomicKitten]

24. it's the entrenchment of olde tyme party politics

time for some new blood

[asdjrocky]

25. Yes, yes we do.

JER 08

[AtomicKitten]

26. *

:spank:

May the best man win. Cheers.

[asdjrocky]

27. I'm with ya!

And for the record, I think they are both pretty damned good!

[wyldwolf]

34. HOW DARE HILLARY RUN AN EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN! HOW DARE SHE!!

[IA_Seth]

35. The next thing you know they'll be seeking endorsements!

Oh wait.

Boy I can't wait til mid february.

[wyldwolf]

36. that li'l woman is gettin' a little to uppity!

[Debi]

50. Keep your nose out of Nevada politics...

Oh wait, what am I doing here???? :P

[illinoisprogressive]

48. Reno, go back to the article and read the comments

Comments on articles are much more telling than the article itself. Seems many voters are like you and are not buying what Hillary is trying to sell.
she may have the insiders and establishment - who want things from money to favors that Hillary is willing to promise but, the average voter, nah. they are not supporting her and do not think much of her organization in nevada.

[illinoisprogressive]

49. From the Comments it seems Edwards is the big thing in nevada