*UPDATE*: Obama, Edwards, Dodd, Richardson, Biden AND HILLARY pledge to avoid Michigan primary

by: David Boyle

Sat Sep 01, 2007 at 14:06:35 PM EDT

  See, e.g., Daily Kos, Breaking: John Edwards signs Four State Pledge. It reveals that Obama, Edwards, Dodd, Richardson, and Biden have all done the right thing and pledged to stick with the four states Howard Dean and the DNC are happy with keeping first: a geographically diverse array of early primary/caucus states, Iowa (Midwest), New Hampshire (Northeast), South Carolina (South, and considerable African-American representation), and Nevada (West, and considerable Latina/o representation).

  I could write a long thing about this, but...does the Granholm/Brewer/Dingell early primary idea look like a

  GOOD IDEA

now?
  Maybe not, huh.

Granholm's hilarious letter to presidential candidates re 1/15/08 primary

by: David Boyle

Fri Aug 31, 2007 at 02:14:00 AM EDT

  And here's one fresh and fragrant nugget:

  "I understand that Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina are circulating a letter to presidential candidates that asks them to sign a pledge not to campaign in any state that gives its voters a real voice in the nominating process by moving its primary into the month of January."

  So Michigan and many other states are *REALLY VOICELESS* if they have a primary/caucus after midnight on Jan. 31. Excuuuse me, I never knew. Gallons of tears are rolling down my cheeks right now.

  There's also,

  "I hope you will recognize that these issues facing the people of Michigan are far more important than the politics of the parties' respective nominating contests."

  True. Which is why Granholm is...playing politics with her party's respective nominating contest. (rim shot)

  One could get nasty and comment on the possibilities that the super-early primary could function to, say, put both Granholm and one of the Dingells into Hillary's presidential cabinet (out of..."gratitude" to supporters of the early primary and of Hillary, maybe), and gratify another Dingell by extorting the Dem presidential candidates into axing the CAFE standards (to mollify Michigan special interests) and letting Detroit melt the globe instead of getting its act together as it should. But those are only hypotheticals, likely as they might be.

  At this point, I'd trade away Granholm as our governor in favor of Howard Dean as our governor, in a microsecond. Too bad we don't have that option. I guess Vermont got the good luck.

Dean, DNC deck Florida for early primary

by: David Boyle

Sat Aug 25, 2007 at 15:09:31 PM EDT

  "The Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to strip Florida of all its delegates to the 2008 democratic National Convention, acording to The Politico. http://www.politico.... ...

Some background may be found here, in a good article from this morning's Washington Post.  http://www.washingto...

Update 1:  It appears that the vote to impose sanctions was nearly unanimous; only one clear dissenting (voice) vote was heard.  The move here is clearly a shot across the bow of Michigan, which is considering legislation to set a January 15 primary that would force New Hampshire up to January 8.  I'm somewhat surprised by the near unanimity here, which is a clear sign of strength for Chairman Dean, who has been a vocal critic of states jumping the gun. ..."

  Well.
  Let's see whether Granholm and others get the message or not. . .

Granholm wrong to coddle Repubs on 1/15/08 primary

by: David Boyle

Thu Aug 23, 2007 at 15:53:46 PM EDT

  But when Jennifer Granholm can defy Michigan Democrats and Howard Dean's DNC, and side with Michigan Repubs, to do something unnecessary like moving the primary way up to January 15, she does that. Huh???

  ...See, e.g., NYT, on some of the Michigan early-primary monkeyshines, here. Our other pal Carl Levin, instead of spending more time on Iraq etc., is wasting his time on moving Michigan's primary too early and messing things up. Doesn't the man have better things to do? And why is he agreeing with Michigan Repubs here?

  Feel free to contact your representatives and "stop the madness". Unless you're into madness, of course.

YearlyKos 2007 Photo Essay (UPDATE: Nirmal Lives!)

by: Brainwrap

Mon Aug 06, 2007 at 18:25:22 PM EDT

I went, I saw, I returned. I'm not one of the more prominent or prolific Kossacks, and I didn't have any idea what to expect or what (if anything) I might be able to contribute. Even so, the closeness of the venue this year (I'm in a suburb of Detroit) combined with the realization that I haven't been on an overnight trip by myself (ie, no family) in a whopping 7 years made it a no-brainer to attend.

The first thing I'll say is that I should've paid more attention to the schedule--for some reason I was under the impression that Dean's keynote address on Thursday evening was the first event; sadly, this meant that my Thursday afternoon arrival (followed by having to check in, find my hotel room, etc) resulted in my missing several sessions earlier that day. Worse yet, the timing of my *return* trip meant that I missed all of the closing stuff on Sunday. Live and learn; lesson for next year: if you want the full experience, show up the day before and don't leave until the evening of the last day.

Joe Trippi joins Edwards Campaign

by: Zack from DetroitWonk.com

Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 16:03:19 PM EDT

The John Edwards for President campaign announced today that Joe Trippi will be joining the campaign as a key member of the media team and senior advisor.

Campaign Manager David Bonior said, "We couldn't be more excited to have Joe join our team. He's creative, passionate, committed and shares John Edwards' vision of an America that works for all of us."

Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince said, "Joe is a true believer who has never been the kind of guy who sits around and waits for somebody else to bring about the change he believes we need. And that's what our campaign is about. That's the challenge John and Elizabeth have laid before all of us. I'm glad Joe Trippi is one of those who's ready to take it up."

To read Trippi's blog post about joining the campaign, go to: http://blog.johnedwa...