Sarah McBride To Speak From DNC Convention Stage!

I'm hoping that the 2016 trans DNC contingent during their time in Philadelphia will actually see more trans history made with one of our people actually making a speech to the convention attendees and hopefully the nation from the convention stage. 
-TransGriot  July 24, 2016

Wow, talking about speaking something into existence.  I mused about having a trans speaker in a 2012 DNC post along with literally posting several hours ago my expressed hopes that the upcoming #DNCinPhilly event would witness one of the out members of our community speak from the DNC convention stage for the first time.

I'm happy to announce that Sarah McBride will get to make that history on Thursday as the first out trans person to speak from the Democratic National Committee stage in Philadelphia.

She said in a statement to The Hill that she is honored to have the opportunity to do so.

“People must understand that even as we face daily harassment, tragic violence, and an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ political attacks across the country, we are real people merely seeking to be treated with the dignity and respect every person deserves," she said in a statement. 

"I'm so proud to stand with the LGBT Caucus and speak out in support of Hillary Clinton, because we know she stands with us.”

What an honor for Sarah, and what an amazing and apropos step forward for the American trans community in a year in which we will send a record 28 trans people to the Democratic National Convention.   
That's a huge evolutionary step from Jane Fee being the lone trans delegate in Los Angeles in 2000.  Since then we have had six trans DNC delegates in Boston in 2004, eight in 2008 in Denver and the then record 13 in Charlotte.

I am happy and proud that Sarah will be the person on that DNC Wells Fargo Arena stage, and frankly it's not surprising me that she's the one being tapped for it.

Ever since I met her as a White House intern back when I was attending a 2012 National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) OUT on the Hill White House briefing, she struck me as someone who was going to do some wonderful groundbreaking things for our community, and over the last four years I have been proven correct in my assessment of her.    

The only question I have is will Sarah's DNC speech be in prime time on Thursday or sometime during the convention day?   If it's during the convention day, I'll have to watch the C-SPAN DNC feed to be able to see it without the network pundits and commentators chattering over it. 

Congrats Sarah, this is one amazing accomplishment, and I'll be along with Trans America and our allies eagerly awaiting your historic speech.

2016 DNC Pre-Convention Trans Delegate Musing

One of the things I'd like to see in that 2016 DNC transgender delegate contingent besides more people and continued ethnic diversity is that trans DNC delegation in 2016 and beyond include trans people who are elected to public office.  That would be in addition to the trans people already diligently working inside the various levels of the Democratic Party to ensure we have a voice in it at the policy formation tables.
TransGriot, September 6, 2012

When the 2016 Democratic National Convention is gaveled into order for its first session at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, we will have a record 28 trans folks in the house and taking part at this historic convention which will  see Hillary Clinton officially become the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.

The Green Party and Jill Stein doesn't count as a major political party and she doesn't have a credible chance of taking the oath of office on January 20, so stop hatin' fauxgressives and deal with that dose of political reality.

We've come a long way in Trans World from the 2000 days in which Minnesota's Jane Fee became the first out trans person the attend a DNC convention and was the lone trans delegate in Los Angeles.

Trans representation at the DNC convention has grown exponentially to the point that we had our most diverse delegation ever in Charlotte with 14 people in 2012,   One of the 14 people in attendance in Charlotte was a superdelegate in New Jersey's Barbra Casbar Siperstein.

Babs has been blazing the trail and active in New Jersey and national Democratic Party politics for years, and will be one of the superdelegates in attendance in Philadelphia, the other super being Laura Calvo of Oregon.  
I'm hoping that the 2016 trans DNC contingent during their time in Philadelphia will actually see more trans history made with one of our people actually making a speech to the convention attendees and hopefully the nation from the convention stage.

It's even more vital the American people see that in the wake of the Republicans putting together a virulently anti-trans and LGB platform.  We need to make it clear as a party that we are proud of the most pro-trans platform in Democratic Party history, and putting a trans Democrat on stage would put an exclamation point on our values of treating trans people with dignity and respect.

We already know the Texas DNC delegation will have its first ever out trans masculine representative in Lou Weaver, and Montana will be sending its first ever out trans delegate in Anita Green.  Monica DePaul will be the first ever out trans delegate from Florida.

There will also be just as in 2014, two African American trans representatives in Merrick Moses from Maryland and Sharron Cooks representing the host delegation from Pennsylvania

While I'm proud of the record numbers of trans people headed to Philadelphia, many for the first time, we do have room for improvement in terms of the diversity of our trans DNC delegates.   It's been a dream of mine to one day be a DNC delegate, and I hope I can make that happen someday.

I would also like to see more trans people of all ethnic backgrounds showing up at future DNC's as elected representatives, and hope the 2016 election cycle is the first step toward that becoming a reality.

Speaking of reality, will be nice to not only see a political convention that's grounded in reality, but looks like America at the same time.

Trans Candidates Notch Historic Wins In US Senate And US House Primaries!

The cool thing about being a trans person in this amazing moment in time is that if every day you wake up and simply do your best to be the best person you can be and live your life, you may find yourself making history as a result.

I've been asking in the wake of Geraldine Roman's historic win in the Philippines as their first trans congress member when we were going to see it happen in the United States?  

Well, the answer to my question is it may be as soon as November 8.

On that day, trans voters in Utah and neighboring Colorado will have candidates like us in Misty K. Snow and Misty Plowright on their ballots in this critical national election for the US House and the US Senate.

Last night in a historic upset, 30 year old Utah native Misty K. Snow made some trans political history by handily beating her heavily favored Democratic opponent Jonathan Swinton 59.5%-40.5%.

Snow jumped into the race just before the deadline, wishing to offer an alternative to the center-right leaning Swinton.  At the Utah Democratic Convention Swinton had earned 55% of the delegates votes to Snow's 45%, but she got enough support at the convention to force the runoff, then built on that by aggressively campaigning throughout the Beehive State by touting her working class background and being an unabashed progressive Democrat.

It wasn't close.  Snow garnered in unofficial returns 26,668 votes to just 18,182 for Swinton with all counties reporting..

"Today we have scored a major victory, We have shown that voters will turn out in numbers to support progressive candidates that take strong stands on issues," said Snow in a press release.

"I want to thank all the wonderful people of Utah who supported me in the Democratic primary; without your support none of this would be possible," she added..  

The upset win made Snow the first ever out trans person to earn a major party nomination for the US Senate, and earned her a shot against her as she called him 'loathsome' incumbent Republican senator Mike Lee.    Lee is one of the most conservative senators in the nation and was unopposed in the Utah Republican primary for his second six year term.

As of right now, she's trailing 51%-37% to Lee, but she feels she's in a great starting position seeing that most voters don't know her yet and she has time to introduce herself to the Beehive State's electorate.  If Snow's campaign catches fire, there's the possibility that the DSCC will kick some funds to her if she gets within striking distance of knocking him off in a year in a presidential election year in which bright red leaning Utah might be in play.

Next door in Colorado, more trans political history was being made in another Democratic primary race, this time for a US House seat.   In the 5th Congressional District Democratic primary, 33 year old  Misty Plowright won her primary race to face off in the fall against Rep. Doug Lamborn (R), who is running for his sixth term in Congress.

Rep. Lamborn was forced into a runoff against Calandra Vargas, who beat him at the Republican assembly.  Lamborn flipped the results to beat her 68.3%-31.7% in the primary.

Plowright's primary race wasn't close either.  With one county (El Paso) still out according to the Colorado Secretary of State website, she was beating Donald Martinez by 16 points, 58%-42% in her historic primary win,  Plowright garnered 13.373 votes to Martinez's 9,639 and local media is calling the race for her.

Plowright also faces an uphill challenge because her central Colorado district south of Denver is considered one of the most conservative in the state.  It encompasses the city of Colorado Springs and its suburbs, Cimarron Hills and Fort Carson.  Since its creation in 1973, the district has never been represented by a Democrat, although El Paso County's increasingly diversifying population gives Democrats hope they can change that dismal electoral history.

The city of Colorado Springs is the county seat of El Paso County and the home of the anti-TBLG organization Focus on the Family and hate pastor James Dobson.  It would be oh so sweet if she upset Lamborn and give Dobson a coronary if she ended up representing the 5th Congressional District

We'll see what happens in November.  If the Mistys both shock the political world once again and make it to Washington DC to get inaugurated on January 3, 2017 for the start of the 115th US Congress, they will have earned those seats.

In the meantime, you may want to chip in some t-bills to help both Misty's campaigns get to the House and Senate.

TransGriot Note.  Plowright is not the first out trans person to get a major party nomination in a US House race.  That distinction goes to the late Karen Kerin, who in 2000 ran and lost as a Republican in Vermont to Bernie Sanders.

Plowright still made history as the first in the Democratic Party, and the first in Colorado. 

Lou Weaver Makes Texas Trans History

Still discovering who was elected to become delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia July 25-28 and congrats to all of those who were elected to represent our state.  In case you're wondering, it's one of the things I would like to do someday.

While perusing Facebook, I discovered a little trans history was made during the just concluded Texas Democratic convention in San Antonio.

So far have discovered that we have two trans Texans headed to Philadelphia for this years Democratic National Convention.   One of the delegates representing our state is Danielle Pellet, who is pledged to Bernie Sanders, the other is Houston's own Lou Weaver, who was elected as an at-large delegate pledged to Hillary Clinton.

With that selection, Lou made Texas trans history as the first ever out trans masculine Texan to accomplish that feat.  We have had three out trans feminine Texans represent our state at previous national DNC conventions in Vanessa Edwards Foster (2004,2008), Christina Ocasio (2004) and Meghan Stabler (2012).

Danielle Pellet will also be joining him in Philadelphia as a trans delegate for the Lone Star State pledged to Sanders.

And Texas trans bragging time, Texas is so far the only state (2004) to have had at least two trans delegates attend the same national DNC convention and we've now accomplished that feat for the second time. Foster so far is the only trans Texan to have gone to the DNC national convention twice.

And we trans Texans since 2004 have now sent at least one trans delegate to the national DNC convention for now four straight conventions.

The 2012 DNC national convention in Charlotte had a record 14 trans delegates.   We already know that two from the Lone Star State will be repping our community and I hope that nationally we'll shatter that 14 trans delegates number.

Congratulation to Lou Weaver for not only making it to Philly, but making a little history along the way as he gets to witness what is sure to be a historic Democratic convention next month.

Looking forward to hearing about it the next time we cross paths.  


 TransGriot note:  Photo of Lou by Eric Edward Schell photography

2016 Texas Democratic Convention Happening In San Antonio

For the first time in 50 years, the Texas Democratic Party is holding their state convention in San Antonio from June 16-18 at the Alamodome.  

The Castro brothers probably had a lot to do with why it's being hosted in the Alamo City, and fittingly, US Rep. Joaquin Castro and HUD Secretary and his twin brother, former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro are the featured speakers.

It's also fun to note that Sec. Castro is returning to San Antonio as rumors continue to fly that he is being vetted as a possible vice presidential pick for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

I have more than a few friends in the Houston activist community who are in San Antonio as I compose this for the event.  Some of them are trying to make the jump to being elected as the delegates to the national Democratic convention in Philadelphia and I wish them the best of luck in doing so.  One of the things that is also happening for them is that they are repping H-town while connecting with Texas Democrats from across the state.

It's probably a safe bet to state that the Texas Democratic Party convention will reflect the diversity of the state of Texas, unlike the recently held GOP one in Dallas.

One thing I can also say with confidence is that unlike the GOP event in Dallas, the Democratic party platform once it is compiled and released won't be a monument to anti-trans and anti-gay hate, and we won't be hearing Democratic Party officials spouting anti-trans and anti-gay rhetoric during their speeches while they are there..

Y'all handle your business and have fun in San Antonio.

Why The Superdelegates Aren't Going To Switch To Bernie

There is this persistent fantasy being pushed in Bernie World that Sanders will get the superdelegates to massively switch to him and give him the nomination because 'it happened to Hillary in 2008'. .

Yeah right.  That has as much chance of happening as moi walking the runway of the next Victoria's Secret runway show.

Let's approach this logically shall we?

First, let's talk about exactly who the superdelegates are.  438 of them are Democratic National Committee members with 434 votes.  They also include the chairs and vice chairs of all 50 state Democratic parties.

20 are distinguished party leaders (DPL).  That means current and former presidents and vice presidents, former congressional leaders and former DNC chairs.   That DPL list of supers includes President Obama, Vice President Biden, former president Jimmy Carter, and former vice president Al Gore for example.  

The 193 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives (including DC and the US territories like the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico American Samoa and Guam)

The 47 US Senate Democrats and the two DC shadow Senators, and the 21 Democratic governors.

Now that we know who the supers are, let's start breaking down why Sanders attempt to get superdelegates to switch will ultimately fail.

This is 2016, not 2008.  Just as wars are not fought with the same tactics you used in a previous one, neither are political campaigns.  The events that happened in presidential campaign 2008 while instructive and you can learn lessons from them, are not guaranteed to repeat themselves in the next campaign.

Let's get it out there the first dirty secret of the Sanders campaign.  Bernie only joined the Democratic Party last year and admitted he did so only to go after the Democratic nomination and stated it would be harder for him to run for president as an independent. . He is not a Democrat, he is a DINO.

Bernie also has a long history of demonizing the Democratic party going back to 1985. He also called for the primary challenge of President Obama, which means he is not going to be successful in getting President Obama's superdelegate vote, much less many Black superdelegates who haven't forgotted Sanders dissing southern Black Democratic voters.   They also haven't forgotten many of you Berners racistly dissed Rep John Lewis (a superdelegate BTW) and Black voters consistently rejected Bernie at at 86-14% clip. .

Bernie does slightly better with Latinos, being rejected by them by a 75-25% clip. They have issues with Bernie as well, which means he won't be getting many Latino superdelegates to switch either, especially after he accused the Puerto Rico Democratic Party of 'fraud' and the Berners dissing of Latina civil rights icon Dolores Huerta early in the campaign.. And like Black voters, a majority of Latinx voters aren't feeling the Bern either as was demonstrated on Sunday in Puerto Rico. 

And note that out of all his senate colleagues who are superdelegates, only Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon supports him. That speaks volumes 
Sanders acting like a vanillacentric privileged spoiled brat and blaming everyone but himself for his various primary losses is also not endearing him to the superdelegates.

Contrary to what the Sanders campaign is telling you, Sanders is not the better candidate against Trump. He wasn't really vetted and his dirty laundry wasn't given a proper airing. The Repblicans are praying we'll be stupid enough to nominate a candidate they desperately want to run against and paint his 'Democratic Socialist' behind as the second coming of Marx and Lenin.  Trump would spank that behind once they unleash all the unvetted hell on him that Hillary didn't do. 
Then there's the fact that Hillary has 40 years of Democratic Party history, was the First Lady in her husband Bill's administration, elected twice as the US senator from New York and the former secretary of state serving under President Obama .  Being she was on the losing end of a tighter presidential race in 2008 and hadled it with dignity and clas , female Democratic leaders, and especially seasoned Democratic female leaders see this as the best chance of their lifetime to make their presidential dream come true and they aren't throwing away this opportunity for a DINO.   .

Attacking Sen. Barbara Boxer (another superdelegate) in addition to the sexist and nasty commentary that has been aimed at Hillary Clinton in this campaign, in addition to stating you will continue to attack her will only ossify their support for Clinton.

In 1984, Gary Hart tried the same tactic that Bernie Sanders is about o attempt in flipping superdelegates that committed to Walter Mondale before the convention and failed miserably.

We know the stakes of the election this November and see the big picture.  Many of the Bernie or bust people tragically don't.

So good luck with that quixotic doomed to failure attempt to flip the superdelegates.
 

Democratic Omega Primary Today

The AP and NBC News has determined that Sec. Hillary Clinton has made some long awaiting history.and become the first woman to successfully win the nomination of a major political party

However, the Sanders folks don't see it that way, but math and reality are irrefutable. After sweeping the Caribbean contests in the Virgin Islands caucus and Puerto Rico, in blowout fashion, the Clinton team is focused on building on the Caribbean momentum in the six upcoming races today, consolidating their case the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination is theirs, and shift to party unification and vigorously opposing  Republican nominee Donald Trump in the fall.

Superdelegates matter Bernie supporters. The fact that Clinton has two million more voter that Sanders explain why she has built that insurmountable lead that has led to her busting through that electoral glass ceiling.

As I mentioned, six states will hold primaries and caucus on this June 7 date with the big prize of the what's being billed as the Omega Primary being New Jersey (148 delegates) and California (548 delegates).

Montana (27 delegates) , New Mexico (43 delegates) and South Dakota (25 delegates) will have primary elections while North Dakota will have a caucus (23 delegates)

We'll find out in a few hours what happens, but in the meantime, if you live in any of these Omega primary states, handle your business because there are other candidates in races besides the presidential primary who are counting on your votes. .

Clinton Sweeps Caribbean Democratic Contests

Break out the broom, because Sec. Hillary Clinton had a great weekend in the Caribbean without riding on a cruise ship or going on vacation..

This weekend there were two Democratic presidential nomination contests in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico worth a combined 79 delegates, and Sec. Clinton has taken both of them.

She overwhelmingly took the Virgin Islands caucus on Saturday, and in the Puerto Rico primary went on to another overwhelming win there.

With the 36 delegates as of this writing she picked up during her Caribbean sweep, she is now poised to clinch the nomination in 24 hours when the Democratic Omega Primaries kick off.

It also proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Black and Latino voters matter when it comes to Democratic primary races.

Looks like I hear an opera singer warming up and singing the 'It's Over' aria.

 But then again that was obvious to anyone grounded in political reality.  She's no less than 30 delegates away from clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, and how apropos for it to happen on the day that she conceded the race to President Obama back in 2008.

Tuesday will be a historic day for this country and Sec. Hillary Clinton despite Bernie Sanders and his followers unwillingness to deal with it.  But it's past time for this contest to be over so that we can focus as a party on beating Donald Trump in the fall.

One Down, One To Go In Puerto Rico

The Caribbean primary weekend is almost over, and Sec. Hillary Clinton moves even closer to clinching the Democratic Nomination and the Omega Primaries on Tuesday.

But first up was  the Virgin Islands caucuses, and it wasn't even close.  Clinton on an overwhelming victory, getting 1306 votes to Bernie Sanders 190.

That gives her a little momentum going into the Puerto Rico primary today, and the Omega Tuesday primaries in which  California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota all have nominating contests, with the huge delegate prizes being California and New Jersey.  

One down, one to go until we can say 'Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton'.

Tamron Hall Calls Out The Berner NV Bad Behavior

One of the many reasons I love my Texas homegirl Tamron Hall is because she's a no BS journalist who doesn't let peeps on either side of the political spectrum weasel out of tough questions.

Here's the recent interview in which she asks some tough question of Sanders surrogate Nina Turner in the wake of the Green Tea Partiers showed their nekulturny selves during last weekend's Nevada Democratic meeting

Watch as Tamron doesn't allow Turner to spin her way out of the mess the Benrers made in Nevada.

Enjoy.

 

Clinton Wins The 2016 Guam Democratic Caucus

Who said that Sec. Hillary Clinton couldn't win a caucus?

The Guam Democratic Caucus was held Saturday, with 12 total delegates up for grabs.   And surprise surprise, Clinton took that caucus by a healthy 59.5-40.5% margin.

That was good news with the West Virginia Primary coming up tomorrow and the Kentucky and Oregon primaries looking on May 17.

Clinton still has a 300 pledged delegate lead, and is on the verge of getting the 2383 pledged delegates and superdelegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nominations, and not a whole lot of contests remaining on the calendar.



 

Clinton Gets 4 Out Of 5 Northeastern States

The race for the Democratic party nomination may not be officially over until June 14, but Sec. Hillary Clinton took four out of five northeastern states to get another step closer to clinching the nomination. .

Sanders only win was in Rhode Island, which was a semi closed primary state that he won  55%-43%.   The other states were closed primaries with predictable results.   Clinton narrowly won Connecticut by six points, , Delaware and the big prizes of Maryland (118 delegates) and Pennsylvania (210).

Three states she won by blowout, which is bad news once again for a Sanders campaign desperately trying to cut into her large delegate lead   She won Maryland, with its large African-American population by 30 points, Delaware by 20 points and Pennsylvania by 12 points

The obese opera singer may not be singing the 'It's Over" aria, but is definitely doing sound checks.

Next up is the Indiana primary on May 3 in which 92 delegates will be up for grabs.

Hillary's In A Winning New York State Of Mind

I'm in such a good mood tonight I feel like singing.

Start spreading the news,
We voted today
Hillary Clinton beat Bernie's azz in New York, New York

Okay, I'll spare you Sanders folks the rest of the song I was gleefully writing, but did I not tell y'all last month that Bernie Sanders failure to connect with Black voters would cost him the nomination?

Once again. Moni knows a little something something about a lot of subjects, and especially politics.

Sanders outspent the Clinton campaign in New York, had all those YUGE rallies, the Brooklyn debate with Spike Lee mugging for the cameras, and went negative, but the result was predictably the same with Clinton cleaned his clock in another diverse state with a large delegate cache available.

Slanders Sanders also made some unforced errors in New York with the sliming of Clinton as 'unqualified', the disastrous New York Daily News interview that revealed he hasn't thought about how he will achieve what he is proposing in his standard stump speeches, and his surrogates engaging in more unsolicited misogyny by making references to 'corporate whores' and throwing dollar bills at Clinton.

With 98% of the votes counted, Clinton won by 16 points, garnered over a million votes and won in addition to New York City, Long Island and the affluent collar counties, Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester

Far from the predicted Sanders win, it was a convincing Clinton blowout victory that gets her the lionesses share of the 291 delegates available.  It sets her up nicely for the five upcoming closed primary contests on April 26 in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania that could be the knockout punch for the Sanders campaign fading hopes of hijacking the Democratic presidential nomination.

A gleeful Clinton touted her successes during her victory speech.  "In this campaign, we've won in every region of the country, from the North to the South to the East to the West.  But this one's personal. New Yorkers, you've always had my back, and I've always tried to have yours." she said. "This campaign is the only campaign, Democrat or Republican, to win more than ten million votes."

And in more bad news for the Sanders campaign, in addition to Clinton padding her already large delegate lead and getting another YUGE step closer to securing the Democratic nomination, in the five April 26 contests. Maryland and Pennsylvania not only have large delegate hauls, but also have large African-American populations, with African-Americans making up 30% of the population in MD.

#BlackVotersMatter in our party Bernie, and once again that message got sent loud and clear in this closed New York primary.

Looks like we'll have to send it again next Tuesday.

New York Primary Election Today

After nine days of hard fought campaigning, New York state goes to the polls for their primary elections on the Democratic and Republican sides in a few hours.

It's the state in which Hillary Clinton has resided in since 2001, was elected twice to represent in the US Senate, and if the polling holds up (and the last poll showed Hillary Clinton maintaining a double digit lead), she will once again continue the pattern of blowout wins in the big delegate haul states that look like the Democratic Party.

How many delegates are at stake?  291 delegates total are up for grabs, and in more cascading bad news for the Sanders campaign, it's a closed primary state, which means only registered Democrats can participate.  

It's also a state with an 18% Black population.   #BlackVotersMatter, but then again, we've been sending that message since Nevada.

So we'll find out in a few hours who will take New York and get the momentum leading up to April 26 and the five Northeastern states that will be having primaries on that date.  

Three Western Caucuses Today

There will be three more Democratic caucuses in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington in which the Bernie Sanders folks feel confident they will win all three.  Alaska is worth 20 delegates, Hawaii is worth 35 delegates with Washington being the big prize of 118 delegates. .

Probably will since all three states have a Black population of 3% of less, and the whiter the electorate, the better Bernie does, especially in caucus states..

Even if he sweeps all three states, Hillary Clinton will still carry a big delegate lead into the month of April and the Wisconsin primary on April 5.

Clinton Wins AZ In A Blowout

Three Western states were on the election agenda in last night's Democratic Party presidential primary contest slates in Arizona, Idaho and Utah.    Idaho has 27 delegates available and Utah offers 37 delegates in its caucuses while the big prize of Arizona was a primary election state with 85 delegates available..  

Both sides spent a lot of time and money in the Grand Canyon State courting voters, and when the votes were counted, while Sanders continued his pattern of winning states with overwhelmingly white populations like Utah and Idaho, but failing in a more diverse population state like Arizona.

And once again, the big diverse state prize eluded them as Hillary Clinton won Arizona in a blowout, thus negating the two Sanders caucus wins in Idaho and Utah and and once again to their frustration, not even making a dent in Clinton's 300+ delegate lead be`cause of the YUGE win in Arizona that offsets Sanders twin caucus wins..

Next up on Saturday are three caucuses in Alaska (20 delegates) Hawaii (35 delegates) and Washington with 118 delegates before the primary calendar flips to April and the critical April 5 primary in Wisconsin

But Sec.Clinton to the chagrin of Sanders supporters is getting closer to securing the Democratic nomination that eluded her in 2008, and is doing unto Sanders what was done to her by now President Obama...      

Three More 2016 Dem Primary Contests Today

After a Clinton sweep of five primary contests that included blowout wins in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio and narrow wins in her home state of Illinois and Missouri, the 2016 Democratic nomination contest head to the western part of the country with caucuses in Idaho and Utah and a primary election in Arizona.

As a result of that five state sweep last week, the Clinton delegate lead swelled to a 300+ one not factoring in the superdelegates that are still overwhelmingly supporting Sec. Clinton over Sen. Sanders and keeps picking up endorsements like Oregon Governor Kate Brown.

But back to today's primary contest news.

The Utah caucus has 37 delegates up for grabs and Idaho offers up another 27 delegates with the big prize tonight being Arizona with 85 delegates.

bad news for you Sanders folks in that it not only is a closed primary, but also in terms of the demographics of the state that skew more toward seniors and more Latino.  It's also an early voting state, and there have been over 300,000 ballots cast in advance of Election Day.

The attention of both campaigns have been focused in the Grand Canyon State in the runup to today.  And yes, may I remind you it's proportional splitting of those available delegates.

The Sanders folks are confident they will do well out there, but we heard that last week, too..All I have to say is the only poll that counts is the one at the ballot box.

We'll see what happens when the polls start closing at 8 PM CDT.  But if you live in those states, hope you vote today and make your voice heard.

BernieBros, You Aren't The Democratic Base, Black Voters Are

Been amused by the Bernie Bros getting their draws in knots about the fact their Democratic socialist candidate who is trying to hijack the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination is so far getting his political azz whipped by Sec. Hillary Clinton.

They are shocked this is happening, and are lashing out in nekulturny ways at everyone who doesn't share their love of St. Bernard of Sanders, the progressive lord and political savior of all and sole arbiter of who is or isn't progressive enough in his eyes who will lead us to the promised land of free college, universal single payer healthcare and a grand era of American unity and harmonious race relations.

With Clinton having a 300+ delegate lead, they are bristling at calls for Bernie to drop out of the race by claiming they are the base and they haven't spoken yet, California primary is coming, and all the other spin line they say to themselves and online to keep hope alive.

That 84-16% gap among Black voters is the reality check smacking them in the face why Bernie is losing. He realized too late along with his team that #BlackVotersMatter, and because he has failed to make his case to the unacknowledged and far too often ignored base of the Democratic Party in Black voters.

Clinton rolled through the South like Sherman and Grant piling up blowout wins because of a relationship she and her husband have cultivated with Black Democrats since 1972, and it is that history as a Democrat that has her on the path to the Democratic presidential nomination..

That Black voter advantage is a major reason why she pulled out narrow wins in her home state of Illinois last week and in Missouri in addition to winning 11 Southern states and Ohio in blowout margins . Black voters matter, especially in Democratic primaries because they are the base of the Democratic party.  

Let me repeat that for you once again, and follow the bouncing Hillary logo.  Black voters are the base of the Democratic Party

Black voters have been the most loyal constituent group of the party since the modern era 1964 shift of Black voters becoming unapologetic Democratic Party members and massive bloc voters for Democratic candidates at ll level of government.

It is also our population clustered in critical presidential battleground states like Florida, Virginia and Ohio just to name a few is why we have political clout beyond the 13% of the US population we make up.

While some of you Bernie Bros were voting third party and railing about how much you hate the two party system, we Black voters were getting busy for five decades not only voting in long lines for Democratic Party candidates without fail, but working from the precinct to the DNC level to sustain and grow the party and elect the viable Democratic party candidates that would advance our political and economic interests.

The fact that Bernie has disparaged the party and called for the highly popular President Obama to be primary challenged in 2011 is a major reason why he is getting the collective thumbs down from a clear majority of African-American voters.  Bernie Bros disrespecting Rep. John Lewis and racistly commenting as Sen. Sanders was getting trounced in the South also didn't help.

And when you Bernie Bros or your candidate disses the diverse Democratic Party we helped build with our decades of effort, votes and sweat equity, it is an indirect slap at the Black voters who want a Democrat to get the Democratic presidential nomination, and not some johnny come lately who admitted he only joined because he thought it would give him a better chance to win the presidency.

With America becoming a more diverse place, it has been Black voters fueling Democratic presidential wins, and especially Black women. Our share of the vote has been in creasing, not decreasing, which is why the Republicans have been hellbent on passing voter suppression laws in a desperate attempt to squash Black voter turnout. ..

So no Bernie Bros, you aren't the base of the Democratic Party, Black voters are, and it's time you you and America to recognize that fact.

Secretary Clinton Breaks Out the Victory Broom

The voters in five states spread out from the South to the Midwest went to the polls yesterday for Democratic presidential primary elections.  There were 793 delegates at stake with the big symbolic prizes being Florida (246 delegates at stake), Sec. Clinton's home state of Illinois (182 delegates) and Ohio with 160 delegates.   North Carolina  had 121 delegates at stake and Missouri with 84.

Within minutes of polls closing in Florida and North Carolina came the first indication it would be a YUGE night for Secretary Clinton.   The network calls of Clinton wins in Florida and North Carolina came swiftly, with the call for Ohio coming an hour later.

The Ohio win for Clinton was a disappointment for Sanders, who had predicted he would win the state after the shocking upset win in Michigan last week.

Illinois and Missouri took longer to decide, with Clinton taking her home state of Illinois and eked out a narrow win in the Show Me State late thanks to the voters in Kansas City and St Louis.

#BlackVotersMatter  

Told you Bernie supporters that losing the Black vote would cost him the nomination. Clinton's massive 84-16% support with African-American voters was critical to fueling her sweep of all five primary states.

Thanks to the sweep, Sec. Clinton has opened up a 300+ delegate lead on Sanders and effectively ended the talking point among Sanders supporters that Clinton could only win in Southern states.

Next up are caucuses in Utah and Idaho and the primary election in Arizona on March 22.  Arizona is the big prize with 85 total delegates..

While Sec. Clinton is not the 2016 presumptive Democratic nominee yet, she took another huge step toward making history as the first woman to win a major party presidential nomination.

The obese opera singer may not be singing yet in this Democratic contest, but is definitely beginning to warm up to sing the aria.

Five More States Vote Today

Five more Democratic primary elections happen today in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.  They are all delegate rich, which Florida being the big prize of the night with 246 delegates

Illinois has 182 available, Missouri 84, North Carolina 121 and Ohio will also be another critical state with 160 delegates and Sec. Clinton is favored in all five states.

And bad news Sanders supporters, two more Southern states with large Black populations are voting today

We'll see what transpires later tonight after the votes are cast and the polls close. .