Monday, June 30, 2008

texblog pac endorses sherrie matula

On Friday, TexBlog PAC endorsed Sherrie Matula (D-Houston), who is running against State Rep. John Davis (R-Clear Lake). The endorsement came with a $5,000 check to Matula's campaign made up of donations made mostly by Netroots activists and blog readers.

Matula's race represents one of those races that a lot of folks in the "bricks and mortar political establishment" may have underestimated in the early part of this year. However, this district is ripe for a flip. Matula laid the groundwork for this year's campaign with a respectable general election showing in 2006 and her "Apple Corps" team of volunteers and on-the-ground activists has worked very hard this year to register new voters, identify Democratic voters in the district, and conducting GOTV.

This race, however, is one where the Netroots have consistently seen the potential for defeating incumbent John Davis (a legislator who Texas Monthly appropriately deemed "furniture") and the value in Matula's traditional and online campaign operations.

Sherrie Matula is a longtime public school educator and science education consultant who served two terms on the Board of Trustees of Clear Creek Independent School District. She's served on the board of the Texas State Teachers Association, and has a very impressive resume. She will bring to the Texas House of Representatives a wide array of knowledge and experience, especially on education issues.

Too, Matula is running against arguably one of the most pathetic, ineffective, corrupt, pieces of GOP furniture to hold a seat in the Texas Legislature. State Rep. John Davis is a prime target for progressives this cycle, and the Netroots has long had its eye on him. Why? Here is a small sampling:

Ethically Challenged. John Davis is one of the state's more ethically-challenged State Reps. Remember when he spent campaign cash on a pair of $1,500 boots? Or when he failed to itemize over $48,000 in American Express card purchases (and got hammered by the Texas Ethics Commission for failing to do so)?

Against Schools, Children & Education. John Davis has cast a lot of votes against schools, children, and Education. For starters, he voted for tuition deregulation and then had the audacity to say that 44% increases in college tuition costs are "not unreasonable". As a result of Davis' vote (combined with the votes of many other Republicans), it has become very difficult for middle class families to afford to send their kids to college because tuition costs are skyrocketing. Davis voted to slash funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, and help create the "permanent wall" that kept kids off CHIP. Of course, after Sherrie Matula held Davis accountable for this vote in 2006, he quickly changed his tune and became "for" CHIP after he was "against" CHIP. Of course, by then it was too late and thousands of Texas children had suffered as a result of his vote. Davis has also voted time and time again against everything from teachers, teacher retirement, childhood immunization programs, and anti-discrimination measures to help school children. John Davis even put the interests of one of his big financial supporters, Houston Home builder Bob Perry, above middle class students who want a college education when it came time to cast votes on the Appropriations Bill on the House floor!

Anti-Environment. For a State Representative that actually has to breathe the air in Houston, Davis is solidly against clean air. He's time and again voted against improving the air quality in his own district. Here is some of what Davis actually has to say about this topic:

“It’s much cleaner than it was 20-30 years ago. I believe we are on the right track. I don’t want to choke off industry.

You can also watch a YouTube of Davis actually making that statement here.

Pay To Play. Even in the pay-to-play culture of the Texas House's Republican Caucus, Davis stands out as among the worst offenders in terms of taking money from corporate PACs and lobbyists and then giving them the keys to the legislative candy store. Davis has taken money from Center Point Energy, Reliant Energy, and TXU--all the while never casting a vote to give Texans meaningful relief from out-of-control utility bills.

He took money from a lobbyist for Accenture, and then voted for legislation that allowed Accenture to take over and operate health and human services call centers. It led to the worst social services disaster in Texas history.

Who else has Davis taken money from? Dow Chemical, Blue Cross Blue Shield, AT&T, Cigna, Aetna, Chevron, Marathon, and Merck--just to name a few.

Davis has even taken money from H.B. Zachry construction's PAC--and voted for bills that promoted the Trans-Texas Corridor.

There is no one that Davis won't take money from.

It's time for a change in HD 129. Sherrie Matula is the change we need in the Texas House. Help her campaign today, and help TexBlog PAC support more candidates like Sherrie.

Texas Blog Roundup: June 30, 2008

It's Monday, and that means it is time for yet another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog round-up. Posts included in the round up are submitted each week by Alliance member blogs. This week's round-up is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

Maybe PDiddie at Brains and Eggs was wrong about Obama and Texas. Decide for yourself.

Off the Kuff has one last belated interview from the state Dem convention, with CD32 candidate Eric Roberson.

There is a new email scandal in Harris County. XicanoPwr writes about the offensive emails discovered at the Harris County Sheriff's Office by a local media undercover investigation. One email has Osama bin Laden urging folks to vote Democratic. In another email, a top commander suggested that alligators should be put in the Rio Grande to cut down on illegal immigration.

Big Drunk at McBlogger points out, again, the flaws in the R's "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" strategy. Which really isn't hard to do since the R's don't exactly excel at critical thinking, are in love with fantasy and are (to a large extent) willfully ignorant.

refinish69 of Doing My Part For The Left is delighted to announce that the Texas Medical Association Rescinds their endorsement of Box Turtle and shares Rick Noriega's response to Big Bad John.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the cracks forming in the Texas GOP in A Cooling Off Period For The Texas GOP.

Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas Supreme Court's recent opinion declaring, essentially, that if you are injured by a church, you are screwed, which stems from the case of--get this--an exorcism gone horribly wrong.

North Texas Liberal reports on the charge that John McCain and his wife Cindy have defaulted on four years of back taxes for their La Jolla, Calif. residence.

The Texas Cloverleaf helps expose the fact that oil companies are not drilling on 3/4 of the land they already lease, because it will cost them too much. Corporate greed, anyone?

Over at Texas Kaos, it is Kenneth Foster all over again, as it looks like Texas' law of parties is fixing to execute another man, Jeff Wood, who didn't kill anyone.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes John McCain shows his true colors by choosing Phil 'Enron' Gramm as a close associate.

NyTexan at BlueBloggin tell us how the Bush administration has hit the pinnacle of security chaos. We can rest easy now, knowing that we have outsourced the outsource; Department of Homeland Security Outsources National Security

Bay Area Houston writes about State Senator Kim Brimer keeping campaign cash for himself.

little boxes on the hillside

Driving down FM 407, the busy road that separates Highland Village and Flower Mound, one can't help but notice the development.

What once were fields are now shops, restaurants, fitness centers, a movie theater.

The area was once a quiet cluster of North Texas suburbs, a stone's throw from the airport and equally close to Dallas and Ft. Worth.

Now, Flower Mound and Highland Village are on the path to becoming carbon copies of Plano and Southlake.

Plano and Southlake are beautiful communities, but it seems a tad zealous for developers to try and piggy-back on their successes by creating similar communities around the Metroplex. After all, Plano's big enough that if Flower Mound residents were unhappy, they could move there.

A big complaint I hear from visitors that aren't from the Dallas area is that they can't tell when one town ends and the next begins. They see a road with an endless stream of Starbucks stores and retail shops and it all looks just the same.

You can still drive out in west Flower Mound and see horses grazing in endless fields, but according to area real estate professionals that scene won't exist for very much longer, either.

Now this isn't necessarily a complaint or a rant, but just an observation. We all frequent the new businesses in the area, praising them for their proximity rather than cursing their existence. Nobody's upset at the newfound ability to grab a smoothie at Jamba Juice or sit down to a nice meal at Patrizio's. And isn't it nice that we don't have to travel to buy a new pair of chinos or a cocktail dress, when we can simply go to Banana Republic or White House Black Market?

Most people only moan about the new traffic flow, especially with construction as FM 407 is expanded to accommodate the increased number of drivers.

But why don't we back up to 2006? We seem to remember an uproar as these shops were approved, especially about the inclusion of Wal-Mart as an anchor store. I personally remember hearing a host of residents vow never to shop at the new development.

So why is it we can never find a parking spot?

Sunday, June 29, 2008

default! (john mccain doesn't pay taxes)

Huffington Post has the scoop on a Newsweek story claiming that John McCain has defaulted on his taxes for a La Jolla, Calif. residence for the past four years.

Newsweek is set to publish a highly embarrassing report on Sen. John McCain, revealing that the McCains have failed to pay taxes on their beach-front condo in La Jolla, California, for the last four years and are currently in default, The Huffington Post has learned.

Under California law, once a residential property is in default for five years, it can be sold at a tax sale to recover the unpaid taxes for the taxpayers.

The McCains own at least seven homes through a variety of trusts and corporations controlled by Cindy McCain.

According to the Newsweek article, the McCains have frantically tried to pay the back taxes this weekend.
Shortly after NEWSWEEK inquired about the matter, the McCain aide e-mailed a receipt dated Friday, June 27, confirming payment by the trust to San Diego County in the amount of $6,744.42. County officials say the trust still owes an additional $1,742 for this year, an amount that is overdue and will go into default July 1. Told of the outstanding $1,742, the aide said: "The trust has paid all bills shown owing as of today and will pay all other bills due."
We could make a witty comment about fiscal conservatism, but we think this story speaks for itself.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

"the most respected political figure in america"


Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had nothing but kind words for Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday as the former presidential candidate returned to Congress.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Clinton “the most respected political figure in America” after her White House run, saying “because of her campaign, the Democratic party is much more energized, much more prepared to win in November and much better prepared to govern in January.”

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

obama surpasses one million facebook supporters



Many have remarked on Barack Obama's ability to excite young voters and bring them to the polls for the first time.

College students across the country are wearing their support for Obama like a badge of honor on their Facebook profiles.

Facebook is a social networking site intended primarily for college students, but has recently opened up to high school students and people of all ages.

Throughout the campaign season, students have shown their support for everyone from Hillary Clinton to Ron Paul, but none has surpassed the amount of supporters that Obama has garnered on the website.

Barack Obama has over 1 million supporters on Facebook. Now that's something to talk about.

supreme court reserves death penalty for murder

The Supreme Court ruled today that the death penalty is not allowed for child rape cases, meaning that the only crime left that is subject to capital punishment is murder.

As we predicted over two years ago, Anthony Kennedy has become the new swing vote on the court and he decided this 5-4 case.

Is the death penalty on the way out?
Well, I think it's a tough call because support for the death penalty nationwide in the past 10 years has actually been going down. But child rape is such a horrendous crime and all of us have such a natural revulsion towards it that you're never going to get a lot of support for any sort of reduction in sentence.

But I think, given the fact that this is a Supreme Court that said no death penalty for murderers under 18, no death penalty for the mentally retarded, this decision is consistent with a certain restriction on the death penalty, which is reflected in the court but also in a kind of national change that's going on.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Vote for Noriega in "Choose a Challenger"

Texan Rick Noriega currently is leading Barbara Boxer's PAC for Change contest. The contest is open until midnight tonight, and other senate campaigns will be calling on their supporters for a last minute rush. Let's make sure Noriega stays out front. Vote today!


In the race for the Texas Senate seat, incumbent John Cornyn leads in fundraising by a wide margin. Winning the Challenger PAC will mean thousands of dollars for Noriega's senate campaign, and national recognition. Vote today!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Senator Cornyn: One Tough Hombre

Burnt Orange Report brings us the ad Senator Cornyn aired at the GOP convention. It's set to the tune of Big Bad John. It's hysterical.

The Austin-American Statesman claims Cornyn was in on the joke.

"My staff convinced me it was a good idea,” Cornyn said. “Maybe I need a new staff."

Maybe someone forgot to remind Cornyn's staff that in the Jimmy Dean version of the song, John was buried in the bottom of a worthless pit. It seems an apt metaphor for someone who will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Texas needs a senator who doesn't need Hollywood production values to show he's tough. Texas needs Rick Noriega.



Sunday, June 15, 2008

Patterson Attacks Obama at GOP Convention

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson thinks one of the most insulting things he can do to the Democratic presidential candidate is repeat his name.

[Patterson] was introduced most aptly by the Tom Petty song "I Won't Back Down." Patterson applied that description to Texas Republicans, maintaining "We will not be voting for Barack Hussein Obama."

Wow, take that Democrats!

According to the Dallas Morning News, Patterson also attacked Obama for his previous association with the controversial Rev. Wright.

Of course, Patterson, who has been known to utter a few injudicious comments himself, left out McCain's association with Rev. John "Catholicism is the Great Whore" Hagee.

And even as Patterson was making his comments at the GOP convention, John McCain was backing out of a fundraiser hosted by Texas oilman William Clayton after someone remembered that Clayton once said a few impolitic comments about women during a campaign for governor against Ann Richards.

Clayton Williams, who ran unsuccessfully against the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards (D), sparked controversy nearly two decades ago when he joked women should give in while being raped. "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it," the oilman remarked at the time.

That comment and others were certainly a factor in Williams' defeat.

At the time, Mr. Williams, a Republican who was running against Ann Richards, made a joke about rape and said he would campaign against Ms. Richards, a Democrat, as he would deal with a cow on his ranch: “head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt.” He later apologized for the remarks.

The campaign canceled the fund-raiser on Friday after it faced questions from ABC News and The Washington Post.

“These were obviously incredibly offensive remarks that the campaign was unaware of at the time it was scheduled,” said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign. “It’s positive that he did apologize at the time, but the comments are nonetheless offensive.”

Of course, no one offered to give back the money.

Several stories on the fundraiser have noted that the timing is bad, as McCain was reaching out to disaffected Clinton supporters. But as one blogger put it:
If John McCain wanted to win over the votes of Hillary Clinton's supporters, he shouldn't have left his long-suffering first wife for a beautiful young rodeo-queen heiress with blonde hair.
And as to Patterson's reference to Obama's full name, as long as he henceforth refers to the GOP candidate as John Sidney McCain III, I've got no problem with it.

Friday, June 13, 2008

unity rally tomorrow!

Listen up, North Texas Democrats! It's time to get together and present a united front as we head into November's general election against John McCain. We've had a long, hard-fought primary battle and Barack Obama is our nominee. Let's get behind him and elect a Democratic president.

What: Democratic Unity Rally - Denton County Democratic Party
(Food, Live Music, Speakers, Meet Candidates, Register to Vote)
When: Saturday, June 14, 2008 - 11 AM to 3 PM
Where: Vista Ridge Amphitheater
3049 Lake Vista Drive; Lewisville, TX (15 miles north of Dallas)
Who: All Democrats and people who may vote Democratic
Cost: FREE admission. Food and beverages available for sale. Limited number of Unity T-shirts are available for a small donation.
Kids: Bring them with you. There will be activities.
Parking: FREE ample parking.

Sponsored by the Denton County Democratic Party. Join us, volunteer, and support the campaign for change!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

katie couric on sexism in the primary



Katie Couric hosts a "Notebook" segment on the CBS Evening News in which she decries the way sexism affected Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.

fight the smears

It's no longer online, but during the primary season, Hillary Clinton's campaign launched a website called the Fact Hub, which cleared up rumors and false statements made about her character and her campaign for the nomination.

In order to fight back against similar accusations, Barack Obama's campaign today launched FightTheSmears.com, a website that plans to debunk the many rumors and innuendos that are swirling about the candidate's past, religion, and patriotism.

The website will be a good tool for Obama's supporters to read. Trust us, this campaign is only getting started, and while Obama is against playing dirty, we all know that the GOP isn't. So read up, friends, and save it in your bookmarks for further reading as new rumors are debunked.

revolving doors

Brand new Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson is already sick of his job and is quitting, according to The Texas Cloverleaf. Wilson's resignation is effective July 6, after only one year in the post.

No word on his replacement. Do you think we'll get a keeper next time?

i got dumped for obama

wendy davis interviewed at state convention

Be sure to check out Off the Kuff's interview with State Senate (SD 10) candidate Wendy Davis here at the Texas Democratic Convention this past weekend in Austin.

Kuff asks Davis about her qualifications, her personal history, and her candidacy. Listen to the interview and get to know the Democrat that wants to represent the Fort Worth area in the Texas Senate.

Also, you can hear Kuff's interviews with Rep. Dan Barrett, Robert Mikos, and Chris Turner.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

chelsea clinton at the texas democratic convention

"i'm voting republican"

el paso and the rio grande valley, listen up!

The following is from Capitol Annex:
Believe it or not, more than 40 blogs--exclusive of "mainstream media" blogs were credentialed to cover this weekend's Texas Democratic Party convention. From Amarillo to Pittsburg and from Houston to Waco, the TDP convention was covered from every direction by a wide range of blogs ranging from old standards like Off the Kuff, BOR, Brains and Eggs, Texas Kaos, and Capitol Annex to blogs with national scopes like MOMocrats and the Asian American Action Fund Blog. Plus, we were joined by blogs new to many of us like Mean Rachel and So Sioux Me. We even had a record-number of Panhandle bloggers including Job's Anger and Panhandle Truth Squad.

But, one thing was missing: bloggers from the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso.

We, as Texas bloggers, know there are progressive bloggers in El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley.

What we'd like to do, however, is connect with progressive political bloggers in these two areas.

If you are a Democratic or Progressive blogging about politics in El Paso or the Rio Grande Valley, please email me at vince.leibowitz@gmail.com or leave a comment in this post. We'd like to identify as many Progressive bloggers across Texas as we can.

Even if you aren't a progressive blogger from El Paso or the Valley, we'd like to know about your blog (Waco, Lubbock, Marshall, Tyler, wherever!). Email us, drop us a comment--something--so we can continue to increase our inventory of Texas progressive bloggers.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

thank you


Dear Hillary,

Tonight you thanked your supporters, but really we should be thanking you.

Thank you for thirty-five years of service to this great country. Thank you for putting the needs of the American people first. Thank you for sacrificing over a year of your life to make your case for your presidency and your gracious offer to serve as president of our United States.

You said tonight that you wanted the eighteen million people that voted for you to be respected. You deserve nothing but respect in this moment.

You've worked harder than anyone I've ever met. You stood up and fought for those that have had no voice, who have had no seat at the table. I know that I am not invisible to you.

By running for president, you broke the glass ceiling. Your autobiography is called Living History; you have changed history forever. You have shown what women can do. In this primary season, you won states like California, New York, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Millions of people voted for you... millions of people voted for a woman to be president. Your groundbreaking campaign is now and forever etched into history, and you have made it possible for those that will follow you to achieve their dreams. You have shown every little girl, every mother, every woman that was born before women could vote in America that she can be anything that she wants to be.

I am so proud that you stayed the course. I am so proud of you for fighting day in and day out, fighting for what we so strongly believe in. I've never been prouder of myself than I am for what we embarked on together, and the real change that we have created for so many people.

Whatever you should choose to do, whichever way life takes you next, I'll be there and so will millions of others that you have touched. You stood up for us, and we'll stand up for you.

It's been a long, hard-fought battle, and it's time for unity. It's time to do whatever it takes to elect a Democrat in November. I know you are extremely committed to the ideals of the Democratic Party, and I look forward to watching your next move.

Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

the nominee


"This was the moment, this was the time when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves and our highest ideals."
Barack Obama

Draft David Van Os Campaign Gains Momentum

We have it from good sources that progressives within the TDP are urging David Van Os to challenge Boyd Richie for chair of the Texas Democratic Party.

Van Os is an attorney who ran for Texas Attorney General in 2006 with the campaign slogan "Fight 'Em on the Ice." As a populist, Van Os has a strong and loyal following among Texas progressives.

Van Os' Whistle Stop campaign targeted every county in Texas in 2006. Boyd Richie, who has been criticized by many activists within his party for targeting races, was elected in 2006 after beating a strong challenger in Glen Maxey. Maxey ran on the need to build organizational strength in every county.

One Van Os supporter noted that the practice of targeting races was one of the key failings of the Clinton campaign, and the strategy in Texas has led to the diminished strength of Democrats in areas outside of traditionally Democratic-leaning counties.

Richie recently surprised many Texas Democrats by going public with his support for Barack Obama. Richie responds to his critics and touts his successes in a recent Burnt Orange Report interview.

The question for both Van Os and Richie is, given the fact that the Democratic "old guard" is not well represented among the attendees to the state convention this year, how will a group of delegates not terribly familiar with the recent history of the state party chairman's race react to either candidate?

the grand finale


This could be it.

Today, the final states have their say in this primary season when voters in South Dakota and Montana go to the polls. Thirty-one delegates are at stake in tomorrow's contests, with over 200 superdelegates still undeclared.

Rumor has it that several superdelegates are set to declare for Sen. Barack Obama tomorrow night, hoping to help him clinch the nomination.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to suspend her campaign soon. Tonight, she gathers with supporters and major fundraisers in New York City for her speech following the election results.

Like it or not, we may have our Democratic nominee tomorrow night. Clinton and Obama are both strongly committed to electing a Democratic ticket in November, and so are we. It's time to present a united front for the Democrats and face Sen. John McCain together.

Monday, June 02, 2008

46


Things may have been looking up for Sen. Hillary Clinton with a convincing win in Sunday's primary in Puerto Rico, but this morning the best news is reserved for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign.

Heading in to Tuesday's primaries in South Dakota and Montana, Obama only needs 46 more delegates to clinch his party's nomination.

Thirty-one delegates are up for grabs in tomorrow's contests, which are the final primaries of the season, and just over 200 superdelegates are undeclared. The presumptive Democratic nominee must have 2,118 delegates at the convention.

According to CNN, Obama has 2,070 delegates and Clinton 1,915.

Texas Blog Roundup: June 2, 2008

It's Monday, and that means it is time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog round-up--the pre-Convention edition. Don't forget about the Third Biennial Texas Blogger's Caucus set for this Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at the Cedar Door in Austin. Joe Jaworski, Sherrie Matula, Melissa Noriega, and more will be joining us!

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on A Texas Myth: The Citizen Legislator.

BossKitty at BlueBloggin points out that Bush has been successful in preventing accountability and that Bush is at Center of an Intelligence Leak in The Leaky Bush - Probable Cause For Treason.

Captain Kroc declares that McBlogger now has a patron saint. That means we're protected so don't mess with us or we'll have our BFF, God, gut punch you.

PDiddie at Brains and Eggs had some questions for Boyd Richie.

Vince from Capitol Annex reviews the Texas Legislative Study Group's excellent recommendations concerning what the Texas Legislature needs to do to improve higher education.

North Texas Liberal thanks Michelle Malkin for letting us know why we should boycott Rachael Ray, the terrorist scarf-wearing daytime chef.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme crowns Victoria DA Steve Tyler the new DA Hissy Fit after the grand jury indicts the Victoria Police Chief and former City Attorney. Both may have used the Victoria Advocate newspaper to prod the child rape investigation of Tyler's chief of staff.

WhosPlayin? takes a humorous look at how Rep Michael Burgess (R, TX-26) missed the mark again with recent comments, showing how out of touch he is with his middle-class constituents.

The burning question at Doing My Part For The Left is will Republicans return Rev. Hagee's hate money.

Off the Kuff completes his early tour of the Harris County races with a peek at the race for Harris County Department of Education Trustee, which in a normal year would be a pretty low-profile affair. Of course, as we know, this is anything but a normal year.

The Texas Cloverleaf tells us how Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples wants to support the communist Cuban regime.

Texas Kaos gets into the nuts and bolts of coming events. If you're headed to Austin for the Texas Democratic State Convention this week, check out this Netroots Nation convention in Austin we're preparing for a great service event, Netroots for the Troops to prepare care packages for those who are putting themselves into harms way as our nation has asked them to do.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

hillary wins big in puerto rico

CNN reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton is going to win big in today's Democratic primary in Puerto Rico.

The territory does not vote in the general election, but the Republican and Democratic parties allow it to participate in primary elections.

Clinton's campaign is hoping for a large turnout, because her win today combined with votes from Tuesday's primaries in Montana and South Dakota, could possibly put her ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in the popular vote by the time every state has voted.

hillary clinton on gay pride month

June is Gay Pride Month, and you can read a statement from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton below.
As we begin Gay Pride Month, I join the LGBT community in celebrating an historic year in which our country continues to make progress towards the fair and equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Still, we have so much work to do. I look forward to working with the LGBT community to make sure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits and that nothing stands in the way of loving couples who want to adopt children in need. We need to expand our federal hate crimes legislation and pass a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And finally, we need to put an end to the failed policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice – the traits that define our men and women in uniform – have nothing to do with sexual orientation.

To each and every LGBT American, I say this: You have done so much to help this country understand your lives by simply being open and honest about who you are and living your lives with dignity. Thank you for your courage. It is time that we recognize your hard work. I know that this country is ready for changes in the law that reflect the evolution in our hearts. You deserve a government that treats you with the respect you deserve.

America deserves a President who appeals to the best in each of us, not the worst; a President who values and respects all Americans and treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love. That is truly the promise of America.