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March 4, 2008 MEMORANDUM TO: Interested Parties FROM: Lyn Utrecht Campaign Counsel RE: Caucus Irregularities The campaign legal hotline has been flooded with calls containing specific accusations of irregularities and voter intimidation against the Obama campaign. This activity is undemocratic, probably illegal, and reflects a wanton disregard for the caucus process.

The Russian bear is awake from its hibernation. Russia's response to the conflift between Georgia and South Ossetia was typically Russian - "disproportionate" - in the words of the Bush administration. The conflict, killing thousands and dsplacing tens of thousands in just a weekend's short time, has serious implications for the United States, its newer friends among the former Soviet republics and older friends around the world: Sure the Georgians got themselves into this conflict by launching a bid to recapture South Ossetia. But it wasn’t unprovoked — the Russians have been building up the government and armed forces of...

MEGVREKISI, Georgia, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Georgia pounded the capital of its breakaway South Ossetia province with heavy weapons on Thursday after a ceasefire broke down within hours and separatists said they were under siege. "Georgian troops are storming Tskhinvali (the capital). They are bombing the city," South Ossetia's separatist leader, Eduard Kokoity, told Russian news agencies. A Reuters reporter saw intense fire from heavy weapons at different locations skirting Tskhinvali. The reporter heard heavy fighting coming from the direction of the city. The night sky was lit up blue and red by explosions and Georgian forces appeared to be...

Some 50 delegates were reportedly poised to unite behind Barack Obama if he had won by even 1 point in Texas. He lost the popular vote by 100,000 ballots, and now we learn that 100,000 Republicans voted for Hillary Clinton, probably not because of some change in party allegiance but because they thought she would be the easier candidate to beat. This kind of strategic voting often backfires (think Ralph Nader). The Texas crossovers are winners. By helping to prolong the Democratic race, they can claim credit for weakening the eventual nominee, whoever it turns out to be. Obama has...

The Democratic Party is choking. Facing nothing but open field ahead, the team can’t get the ball in the end zone. The incumbent Republican president’s unpopularity is historically high. The country is opposed to the Iraq war and worried about the recession. Gas prices are heading toward $4 a gallon. John McCain, the Republican nominee, is the oldest presidential nominee in history. But the Democrats can’t score. They’re not even on the field yet. They’re still stuck in the locker room of the primaries, bickering. The veteran offensive line, the Clintonistas, won’t block for the young players at the skill...

Read all about it at the link, details to follow....

Many commentators have called for an elimination of caucuses. I beg to differ and in fact argue that we should give primaries the axe. The arguments for primaries can be best summarized as follows: Caucus rules are hard to understand. Caucuses disenfranchise voters. Caucuses may not necessarily be representative of the people of the state. Are Primaries Necessary to Democracy? Many advocates of primaries will point to the system as far more democratic than the "antiquated" caucuses with their idiosyncratic rules. Primaries allow a large pool of voters to go out and cast votes for the candidate of their choice....

Two House caucuses, two members under indictment -- and both give two very different responses. John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, publicly demanded Rick Renzi's resignation from the House after his indictment on 35 charges of fraud, extortion, and other sundry corruption: House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is urging indicted Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) to resign. “I have made it clear that I will hold our members to the highest standards of ethical conduct,” Boehner said in a statement Friday. “The charges contained in this indictment are completely unacceptable for a member of Congress, and I strongly urge Rep....

Caucuses are about to start in Colorado. Our precinct caucus in in our home. We are trying to fit more than 50 Republicans in our home. This is four times the previous largest turnout for this precinct!

Louisiana was thought to be a battle between Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney. Romney has the support of two congressmen and announced teams in every district. It is winner take all by congressional district and majority receives at-large delegates. It's the only Southern caucus, so conservative conservatives will probablt(sic) turn out. This is Romney's to lose... Another gold medal... albeit in the state equivalent of Olympic curling, but still...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Nevada caucuses Saturday, powering past Barack Obama in a hard-fought race marred by last-minute charges of dirty politics. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney easily won the Republican contest. The victory marked a second-straight campaign triumph for the former first lady, who gained an upset victory over Obama in last week's New Hampshire primary. Early returns showed the former first lady gaining roughly half the vote in a three-way Democratic race, with Obama at about 45 percent and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards placing a distant third.

Republican Mitt Romney won Nevada's caucuses Saturday while John McCain and Mike Huckabee dueled in the South Carolina primary, a campaign doubleheader likely to winnow the crowded field of presidential rivals. Democrats shared the stage in Nevada, where Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama vied for a caucus victory and the campaign momentum that goes with it. Romney's western victory marked two straight successes, coming after a win in the Michigan primary earlier in the week that revived his campaign. Alone among the Republican contenders, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas aired television ads in Nevada, and the libertarian-leaning Texan looked...

ust minutes ago, District Court Judge James Mahan rejected the lawsuit that contested the nine at-large Strip caucus sites. He cited case law that “recognizes the parties have the right to determine how to apportion delegates.” Attorney Mark Ferrario for the state teachers’ union and five party activists who brought the lawsuit said he didn’t know whether they would appeal, but “probably not.”

A moment of reflection with da SlickMeister in Vegas.

WASHINGTON -- The Republican presidential race is so unsettled that some party officials are openly talking of a scenario that seemed almost unthinkable until now: the first contested GOP convention in 60 years. Even if Republicans choose a nominee before they convene in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sept. 1, there's a good possibility he will emerge weeks or even months after the Democratic nominee is chosen, giving Democrats an advantage in fundraising, organizing and campaigning. Congressional Republicans particularly wanted an early nominee to draw voters' attention from President Bush, whose low approval ratings could hurt the entire party in the fall....

Former President Bill Clinton got positively riled -- as in steely-eyed -- today when pressed by a local TV reporter on the issue of lawsuits filed by Sen. Hillary Clinton's Nevada supporters to challenge the Jan. 19 Democratic "at large'' caucus locations that will serve workers on the Las Vegas strip. Many of those workers are members of the 60,000-strong Culinary Workers Union -- which has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama. Clinton was in Oakland to talk up the home mortgage crisis on behalf of his wife's presidential campaign. ... But it got fiery indeed when San Francisco's ABC 7 News...

Barack Obama is the tipping-point man, the meme of the moment, the miracle cure for that chronic American malady: feelin' bad about things. Obama may be "all that," as they say, but let's be clear: Americans are in thrall not with Obama, but with the idea of Obama. His supporters have endowed him with near-mystical powers, not unlike the old Hollywood stereotype of the wise and mystical black person who materializes as a deus ex machina to save the white protagonist. Think Bagger Vance. As one who swooned early over Obama -- the handsome bi-man of unity -- and wrote...

Record turnout expected as interest builds. Colorado is bracing for possible record turnouts in the Feb. 5 presidential caucuses, as state voters get swept up in the country's election fever. Republican Mort Marks, 83, plans to hold a caucus at his house. He said he has received calls from a lot of people he hasn't heard from before, and he has noticed larger turnout at recent Republican events. "There is a hell of a lot more interest than I've seen in many, many years," said Marks, who hasn't decided which GOP candidate he will support... GOP and Democratic Party officials...

*** It looks like Iowans pegged Sen. Hillary "I've worked 35 years for women and children" Clinton as a phony baloney Ossining *** So Clinton thinks that Iowa was a great night for Democrats. If Clinton really thinks this, then she was inhaling, even if her husband wasn't. Belleville *** Clinton took the long-overdue, well-deserved slap in the face that she has had coming to her. The secret is out, and Clinton has been exposed for what she really is. Jackson Heights *** Watch how soon the Clinton cabal's filthy McNasties get working on Obama and Edwards. The politics of...

Sorry, Rudy: If an immigration reform bill allows illegal aliens to stay in the country and become citizens, it's amnesty, even if they have to pay a financial penalty. Fred Thompson spells it out in last night's WMUR-Facebook-ABC debate: (Here's a transcript of the ABC Democrat debate. Here's a transcript of the ABC Republican debate.) Earlier today on NBC's Today Show, Thompson responded to yet another stupid "when ya gonna drop out" question by refocusing on his key issues -- addressing the threat of terrorism and the looming entitlement crisis. When reporter Lester Holt pressed, Thompson took a shot at...

Welcome to the Wyoming Republican Party Calendar. This page is maintained to the best of our ability, however the WYGOP does not guarantee the information contained herein has not changed. Please use the contact information on events to verify times, dates and places. Event: Weston County Convention Day: Saturday, January 05, 2008 Time: 8:30 AM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Event: Albany County Convention Day: Saturday, January 05, 2008 Time: 8:00 AM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Event: Goshen County Convention Day: Saturday, January 05, 2008 Time: 9:00 AM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Event: Crook County Convention Day: Saturday, January 05, 2008 Time: 2:00 PM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Event: Campbell County Convention Day:...

CHEYENNE - Wyoming Republicans gather today at county conventions to help select their party's presidential nominee. Will anybody care? While Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee generated lots of attention from victories at Thursday's Iowa caucuses, the same is not likely to happen for the winner in Wyoming. Wyoming has barely cracked the consciousness of national news reporters and pundits who have talked ceaselessly about Iowa and already are focused on Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Mitt Romney, who finished second in Iowa as a Republican, briefly mentioned Wyoming on cable TV Friday morning. Some national newspapers, including the Washington...

A companion piece to “How Iowa Might Even Matter.” Unfortunately, Iowa mattered. The Huckabee win in Iowa will force the GOP left on economics and foreign policy as a result and the world may well become a more dangerous and poorer place because of it. I offered the following possible scenario as a possible Iowa outcome that matters.10 point Huckabee Win - The GOP candidates now are forced to the left on economics and foreign policy and to the right on social issues. See my earlier comment about Howard Dean and his post New Year’s libations. Stick a big, fat...

A companion piece to “How Iowa Might Even Matter.” Unfortunately, Iowa mattered. The Huckabee win in Iowa will force the GOP left on economics and foreign policy as a result and the world may well become a more dangerous and poorer place because of it. I offered the following possible scenario as a possible Iowa outcome that matters.10 point Huckabee Win - The GOP candidates now are forced to the left on economics and foreign policy and to the right on social issues. See my earlier comment about Howard Dean and his post New Year’s libations. Stick a big, fat...

<p>I thought the time was right to start up a live thread for results and comments about tonight, so here we are!</p>

...As the presidential candidates tell them every single day, Iowans deserve to be the nation’s kingmakers because they are exceptional citizens who take their responsibilities very, very seriously. So tonight, even though it’s very cold — even though it’s Hokies vs. Jayhawks in the Orange Bowl — the sturdy Iowa voters will pull on their parkas and go out to fulfill their historic destiny. Perhaps as many as 15 percent of them! “Money will become irrelevant once somebody wins the Iowa caucus,” said John (I Currently Have No Money) Edwards. “The winner of the Iowa caucus is going to have...

Ok, yeah I have small children. But that’s beside the point. I think Fred Thompson has a strong shot at 2nd place in Iowa. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high because it is more likely that he will finish 3rd. But if, as I am getting from the news coverage, this McCain, Huckabee, Romney food fight on the airwaves in Iowa is souring voters to those candidates, Fred Thompson could be the beneficiary of that sentiment. Going negative in Iowa has always carried risks and Iowa is the place where dark horses rise to the top....

Mitt Romney said last year that it would be “akin to a nightmare” to have to fund his presidential campaign out of his personal fortune. But I can think of worse things. One would be spending $20 million of your money . . . and then losing. Forget “akin to” - that would be the politician’s ultimate nightmare. So now Mitt Romney is about to find out how much it costs to buy - or fail to buy - an election in 2008. A lot more than the $6 million it cost him to buy the Massachusetts governorship in 2002,...

Remember the guy who asked Fred Thompson, at a campaign stop, if he really wanted to be President? He contacted Jim Geraghty with his opinion of the answer and, it seems, he was pretty darned happy with it. Here’s an excerpt: It was a great answer. At points during the answer I was ashamed I had asked the question. I knew the answer. Do I really want to support a candidate who lives to be President? Is that type of candidate really interested in serving the nation or serving his own self-interest? Sen. Thompson positioned himself as willing to serve,...

DES MOINES, IOWA — With no clear front-runner in either party, this week's Iowa presidential caucuses are shaping up to be a genuine cliffhanger, with few willing to venture predictions. "The old rule of thumb is that there is always a surprise," said Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University. "But this year the surprise could be that there's no surprise." Iowans on Thursday render judgment on a presidential campaign that already feels long but is really just beginning. The uncertainty of the caucus results is intensifying the race here in the final days, with the candidates barely stopping...

The campaigns are in the final stretch. The Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary are but days away. In just over a month, the presidential nominees for both major parties will be effectively set, and a nine-month contest for the leadership of our nation and the power to choose between starkly different directions for our republic will ensue. The Democrat nominee will advocate higher taxes and more government involvement in Americans’ everyday lives. The Republican nominee should advocate lower taxes with greater fiscal accountability, limited government intrusion, and tough law enforcement. Any of the Democrat candidates can advocate their...

Wondering about the early response to Fred Thompson’s closing argument to the people of Iowa, I just spent a moment skimming the comments on YouTube. About a fifth of the several hundred posts seem unimpressed, but the rest are positive—many simply glowing. A sampling: If you call yourself a conservative, you need to vote for this man! Wow. Watch the whole thing; it's a little long. I had to wipe a tear from my eye at the end. THIS should be our next President. I know who I am voting for now. Ladies and Gentlemen: The President of the United...

If Fred Thompson is nothing else he’s honest, or at least as honest as politics will allow one man to be. Presidential candidates through necessity are forced to make promises they know they can’t keep. Occasionally a candidate will say something in an unguarded moment being totally frank with his or her audience they wish later they hadn’t. At a town hall meeting in Burlington Iowa Fred Thompson was explaining becoming president wasn’t an obsession of his. He had a life before he decided to run and he’ll have a life if he isn’t the voter’s choice. The media’s reporting...

David Yepsen has a horrifically bad column in the Sunday Des Moines Register. In it, he distills each candidate down to the usual cliches of the leftist/"centrist" newspaper agenda: Mike Huckabee The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister has soared in the GOP race following his second-place finish in the Iowa Republican straw poll in August. He has rallied party social and religious conservatives as well as supporters of a big national sales tax to replace the income tax. He's a witty speaker and an affable politician whose criticisms of the nation's economic policies sound a lot like the populist...

Fred, in his own words to Iowa voters, makes the case for why he’s the best man to be America’s next Commander in Chief: Video: Fred’s Message to Iowa Voters

TNR’s Noam Scheiber had an interesting item the other day, gaming out possible post-Iowa-caucus scenarios, and describing the various “paths” Democratic candidates have to the nomination. First, the three easy scenarios: 1.) Hillary wins by more than a point or two, in which case the race is basically over. 2.) Obama wins convincingly (five points or more), in which case it starts looking pretty good for him and Edwards is done. 3.) Edwards wins convincingly and Obama is third, in which case Obama is probably done and Hillary and Edwards duke it out (with Hillary enjoying a near-prohibitive financial advantage)....

<p>DES MOINES, Iowa — John Edwards has clawed his way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength even as rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have lost ground, according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll.</p>

The Christmas ads that showed up in Iowa and New Hampshire — and here, on the Internet — are mostly just more ads, but with a new and disturbing twist. There is Barack Obama, being sensitive by letting his wife, Michelle, speak first; Rudy Giuliani, softening his image by joking with Santa, and Ron Paul grinning in the midst of family pandemonium. John McCain reminds us he was a prisoner of war, Fred Thompson offers heart-warming snapshots of the troops and John Edwards promises not to forget the poor. The hullabaloo has come over the ad for Mike Huckabee. He...

Fred Thompson has picked up endorsements from three state representatives - Kraig Paulsen of Cedar Rapids, Jeff Kaufmann of Wilton and Jamie Van Fossen of Davenport -- bringing his total to six. Mitt Romney still has a prohibitive lead with 16, followed by John McCain with eight. (Table at link)

Please post any information that Fred Thompson supporters would like to know here...

Cannot post due to copyright issues.

In Iowa for the Christmas holidays, IÂ’ve posted the following as a three part series on the impending Iowa Caucuses and observations on the process from the ground level. On Saturday, December 22nd, I was on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. From Sunday, December 23 until Christmas Day, I was in the tiny farming town of Dunlap, Iowa in western Iowa. Saturday, December 22nd Heavy fog hung over the plains of eastern Iowa today, posing a significant impediment to seeing much of anything beyond a 1000 feet away. Nonetheless, even a passive observer wouldnÂ’t...

'Twas the week before Caucus, and all through the state, Not a creature was stirring, the blizzard won't wait. But conservatives were troubled by scary dreams, That some of the players weren't who they seemed. The candidate's finish seemed to be set, But the events of '03 some seemed to forget. With Kerry in the polls at just four percent, But out of Iowa with a victory he went. "Fred's not got a chance," the pundits did chatter, "If you think that he does, you're mad as a hatter." These are the "experts" who got it all wrong, When four...

Not even three million people live in the U.S. state of Iowa. But on Jan. 3, voters there will determine the fate of those seeking to become America’s next president. The battle has begun in earnest. The United States is a country that likes to explain democracy to other nations. It is also a country that starts wars to bring democracy to the world. It allows the candidates for its highest office, the presidency, to spend a year and a half campaigning, leaving no stone unturned as it delves into their past. Its political mood is gauged on a daily...

I'll admit it. I underestimated Tom Tancredo. I underestimated the impact he could make as a presidential candidate, particularly as a candidate who was polling, as many of us had predicted, around 2 percent. And yet, I had no idea he could take one issue and, with it, help make the Republican presidential race - and the country itself - an uglier, nastier and more mean-spirited place to be. He didn't do it by himself, of course. He wasn't even the lead player. You have to give that role to Lou Dobbs and the huge audience on his team. Still,...

Air America radio host Randi Rhodes unleashed a torrent of what's being called "liberal racism" and accused Oprah Winfrey of "acting" when she stumped for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. On her show last week, Rhodes discussed Oprah's appearances on Obama's behalf, and told listeners: "She was blacker than Obama yesterday . . . Let me tell you something. Everyone who watches Oprah are the whitest people in the world . . . Even the black men who watch Oprah are white women while they watch Oprah . . . "She's like so unbelievably white . . . Why is...

A third of the way through Thursday's final presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson made a plaintive plea to moderator Carolyn Washburn: Can't we please talk about the Iraq war? "Thank you," Washburn replied primly. "I want to take on a new issue." She then led the candidates into a discussion about flex fuels and the corporate carbon tax. Washburn, the earnest and schoolmarmish editor of the Des Moines Register, stunned the political world when she announced, at the beginning of the Republican debate on Wednesday, that she did not want to talk about Iraq...

WATERLOO -- Black Hawk County Republicans could receive some national attention during their 6 p.m. Jan. 3 precinct caucuses. That's because for the first time in 20 years when a GOP presidential nomination has been contested, all precinct caucuses will be conducted under one roof, making the Black Hawk County a convenient and prime target for national candidates as well as media coverage. The event will be at Central Middle School. Black Hawk County is believed to be one of the few, if not the only, urban county in Iowa where all Republican caucuses will be held under one roof,...

There is, in fact, a dime's worth of difference between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. Why, on immigration, the difference can get into real money. The Democratic candidates were sitting around a big table in a radio studio the other day participating in an altogether civil and restrained debate on National Public Radio. There were no rallying supporters in the room to rile partisan passions and agitate competitive energy. The long-form format by which only three topics were discussed, those being Iran, China and immigration, served thoughtfulness over rancor. The moderator asked the hopefuls if they believed they should...

From the day in June when I interviewed the man until this very morning, Fred Thompson has caused me to scratch my head in puzzlement and disappointment. On the one hand, Thompson displays energy, intiative, and principle in all matters of policy. He has forthrightly and uapologetically opposed Roe, arguing that abortion law should be returned to the states. He’s solid on health care. Has has displayed more courage and honesty in addressing the need for entitlement reform than all the other Republican candidates combined. In his insistence on the need to achieve victory in Iraq and prevent Iran from...