Posted on 04/17/2004 4:32:09 PM PDT by areafiftyone
Although Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has already clinched the Democratic nomination, half the Tar Heel caucus-goers voted for Edwards, the favorite son who dropped out of the presidential race last month. Some Democrats said their vote was meant to be a political telegram to Kerry's Boston headquarters: Choose Edwards to be your vice presidential running mate. "I want to send a message to the rest of the party that we need Edwards on the ticket," said Micky Mills, 42, of Apex, who works for a cleaning company. "That North Carolina is strongly behind John Edwards. If we put him on the ticket we might be able to carry North Carolina in the race." Added Irene Galloway, a retired social worker from Cary: "I think the rest of the country ought to know that we got somebody here who has national possibilities -- if not now, later." In a caucus with a microscopic 1 percent turnout, Edwards led with 50 percent of the vote with unofficial returns from 87 of 100 counties counted. Kerry was second with 27 percent, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich had 13 percent, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean had 6 percent and the Rev. Al Sharpton with 3 percent. Edwards walked a political tightrope, declining to comment on how he thought Tar Heel Democrats should vote, although some of his backers urged a pro-Edwards vote.
After the balloting, Edwards, who did not return to North Carolina to vote, issued a statement saying: "I am grateful that Democrats in my home state responded positively to my campaign to change America. I urge all North Carolina Democrats to do everything in our power to elect John Kerry to the White House. John Kerry shares our goals and values, and we must do everything we can to support him to provide the change that voters across the country want and deserve." Today's results gave Edwards a sweep of the Carolinas, although he finished a strong seconds in Iowa, Wisconsin and Oklahoma before suspending his campaign. Edwards is scheduled to campaign with Kerry later this week in Florida. Ed Gillespie, the Republican national chairman, said he did not think having Edwards on the ticket would be an asset for the Democrats. "John Edwards won't even help win North Carolina," Gillespie said in a teleconference with Southern reporters Friday. Gillespie compared Edwards to Sen. Albert Gore, the Democratic nominee in 2000, who did not carry his home state of Tennessee. "I don't think he [Edwards] would have an impact on any of these states that I am talking with today." Kucinich won Orange County, where earlier this month Carrboro proclaimed Dennis Kucinich Day during a campaign appearance. He also won Buncombe County, where participants in an antiwar rally went directly from the rally to the caucus voting place. "He took the most liberal positions," said Lynda Hambourger, 54, an N.C. State University administrator from Raleigh who voted for Kucinich. "I was especially worried about trade and trade policies that disadvantage workers." Sharpton won Granville County. The presidential caucus was a first for North Carolina -- and it was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. Democratic Party leaders said they hope never to see it again.
Instead of 2,800 polling places across the state, there were just 127 caucus sites. Instead of voting machines, there were paper ballots counted by hand. Instead of secret ballots, the votes were public declarations. And instead of taxpayers shelling out more than $3 million to put on a primary, the Democratic Party paid for the event with $50,000 out of its own kitty. In some ways, the vote had the feel of an old Soviet-style election because everyone knew their vote was virtually meaningless, because Kerry has already clinched the Democratic nomination. The last Democratic presidential primary attracted 544,000 voters. Party officials printed up 220,000 ballots, but they estimated late this afternoon based on incomplete returns that 20,000 Democrats voted. In tiny Camden County, 17 people voted. In an effort to prime the turnout, the Democratic Party ran radio commercials in recent days. Backers of Kucinich and Dean sent out e-mails to their networks. Edwards supporters had their own informal networks. Working the polls at the Method Community Center in Raleigh was Ruth Merkle, an Edwards campaign volunteer, wearing an Edwards for President T-shirt and carrying an Edwards sign. The 50-year old chiropractic assistant from Cary said she was called by others in the Edwards network and asked to work the polls and also make telephone calls to get other Edwards supporters out. Wake, which had the heaviest turnout in the state, gave 61 percent for Edwards, a former Raleigh lawyer. In Durham, Edwards edged out Kerry by one vote with Kucinch finishing a strong third. Johnston and Franklin Counties also went for Edwards. Among the Kerry voters was Lynnie Sullivan, a 50-year old land surveyor from Holly Springs. "At this point we need to show uniformity," Sullivan said. "I don't think Edwards has really followed through on his representation of us as a state." The Democrats were forced to turn to the caucus because the primary was delayed from May 4 until July 20 as a result of a court battle over legislative redistricting.
The Democrats need to elect delegates before the Democratic National Convention opens in Boston on July 26. Today's balloting will determine how North Carolina's 108 delegates to the convention will be allocated. There will be 58 delegates awarded based on how candidates did in each congressional district and 34 based on the statewide results. The remaining 16 are so-called super delegates -- mainly elected officials and party leaders -- who aren't bound by the caucus results. The formal delegate allocation will be announced Friday.
All seriousness aside, I have believed all along that Edwards was the only real chance for the Dems in 2004. He's not been a professional pol long enough to have stepped on his tongue and he cuts a fine profile. American Soccer Mommies would love to think that he married beneath his station and that they could properly attend to him.
He'd have owned a few states in the south and a couple more in the Marlboro states. But done is done. He's history. If Kerry was smart, he'd offer him the job as #2. Kerry isn't smart and he's more than a wee bit insecure.
Yes, Kerry would look more unhealthy by contrast, and Edwards would get too much ink. I expect Kerry to choose someone like Lieberman---more boring and homely than Kerry himself, plus a proven bender-over (compromised himself to run with Gore), plus a relative hawk to appeal to patriots (who are mostly voting for Pres. Bush no matter what).
Actually I think Lieberman is the most likely choice.
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