Biden Has A Great Night - Extends His Delegate Lead

Bernie Sanders needed a big night in the March 10th primaries. He didn't get it. The big night went to Joe Biden.

Biden started the night with wins in Mississippi, Missouri, and Michigan -- all by large margins. These states helped Biden to significantly increase his lead in delegates.

As I write this, Biden is also leading in Idaho, and trailing in North Dakota. In Washington, Biden and Sanders are nearly dead even. Regardless of who finally wins these three states, neither candidate will show a significant lead in delegates from them.

There are still about half of the states that have not yet held their primaries, but things are getting critical for Sanders. Another 500 or so delegates will be up for grabs on March 17th. If Sanders doesn't cut down Biden's delegate lead than, it will be hard to see a path for him to win the nomination.

Democratic Delegates Chosen In Arizona, Utah, And Idaho

(This graphic image is from the New York Times.)

Last night, three more states made their presidential choice known in the Democratic race. They are Arizona (primary), Utah (caucus), and Idaho (caucus). Arizona had 75 delegates up for grabs, while Utah had 33 and Idaho had 23. Hillary Clinton went into the night with 1630 delegates, and Bernie Sanders had 870 delegates.

Here is how the voting went in those states:

ARIZONA

Clinton...............57.9%
Sanders...............39.6%

UTAH

Clinton...............25.1%
Sanders...............74.1%

IDAHO

Clinton...............21.2%
Sanders...............78.0%

Sanders has won two out of the three states, but it's only another moral victory -- since that didn't help him to close the huge delegate gap. Clinton's big win in Arizona helped her maintain her delegate lead.

Arizona, Idaho, And Utah Democrats Vote On March 22

Next Tuesday (March 22nd), Democrats will go to the polls in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. But this will not be another "super Tuesday", since there are a lot of delegates up for grabs in those states. Voters will choose 75 delegates in Arizona, 23 delegates in Idaho, and 33 delegates in Utah -- for a three-state total of 131 delegates.

There is a new poll out for Arizona (which has the most delegates). It is the Merrill Poll -- done between March 7th and 11th of a random sample of 300 likely Arizona Democratic voters, and has a margin of error of 5.4 points. That poll shows Clinton with a 26 point lead over Sanders, but a whopping 26% say they are still undecided.

No polls have been issued, at least so far, for Idaho and Utah.

9th Circuit Tosses Marriage Bans And Cruz Panders To Right By Promising Amendment To Guarantee Inequality

(The photo at left was found of the Facebook page of the inimitable Juanita Jean -- owner of the world's most dangerous beauty salon.)

A couple of days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear 5 cases appealed from three Circuit Courts of Appeal -- letting stand the rulings from those courts that a state ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. After seeing that, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals saw no reason for more delay or discussion, and yesterday they issued a ruling that the state bans on same-sex marriage in Idaho and Nevada were unconstitutional. The court said:

“We hold that the Idaho and Nevada laws at issue violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because they deny lesbians and gays who wish to marry persons of the same sex a right they afford to individuals who wish to marry persons of the opposite sex, and do not satisfy the heightened scrutiny standard we adopted in SmithKline.” 

In addition to Nevada and Idaho, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also covers Alaska, Arizona, Montana, California, Oregon, and Washington. Alaska, Arizona, and Montana still have same-sex marriage bans -- but I expect they will soon be declared unconstitutional by a U.S. District Judge now that the appeals court and the Supreme Court have made their positions clear.

There are still cases pending in some other Circuit Courts of Appeal, but I expect they will now be disposed on pretty soon. It looks like we may be finally nearing the end of the arguments over this equal rights issue.

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 Meanwhile, the Senate embarrassment from Texas, Ted Cruz, saw a political opportunity in the Supreme Court's refusal to hear those cases (and uphold the marriage bans). He promised to introduce a constitutional amendment in Congress that would guarantee the LGBT community could continue to be treated unequally in the United States. He said:

“The Supreme Court’s decision to let rulings by lower court judges stand that redefine marriage is both tragic and indefensible...When Congress returns to session, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment to prevent the federal government or the courts from attacking or striking down state marriage laws. Traditional marriage is an institution whose integrity and vitality are critical to the health of any society. We should remain faithful to our moral heritage and never hesitate to defend it.”

Of course, Cruz's silly amendment has absolutely no chance of actually becoming a part of our Constitution. It would have to get a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House, and then be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states -- and it has less chance of clearing any of those hurdles than a snowball does of surviving in the Mojave Desert at the height of Summer.

But Cruz knows that. He is just playing politics. He wants to run for president in 2016, so he is pandering to the teabagger/evangelicals in his party -- because he knows they will have the biggest say in who the Republicans nominate in 2016. There is no depth to which Cruz will not stoop to feather his own political nest.

(The caricature of Ted Cruz above is by DonkeyHotey.)

Another State Falls In The March Toward Marriage Equality

It's like a logjam has broken, and now there is a torrent of federal judges willing to recognize that the Fourteenth Amendment means what it says -- that all American citizens have equal rights under the law (even if that upsets politicians and religious bigots). On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale struck down Idaho's constitutional amendment (passed in 2006) denying same-sex couples the right to marry. Judge dale wrote:

 “This case asks a basic and enduring question about the essence of American government: Whether the will of the majority, based as it often is on sincere beliefs and democratic consensus, may trump the rights of a minority... Idaho’s marriage laws deny same-sex couples the economic, practical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of marriage, relegating each couple to a stigmatized, second-class status. Plaintiffs suffer these injuries not because they are unqualified to marry, start a family, or grow old together, but because of who they are and whom they love."

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/05/13/3183291/judge-rules-idaho-gay-marriage.html?sp=%2F99%2F1687%2F&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

Of course, Idaho's governor and Attorney General both said they would ask for a stay to keep the ruling from going into effect on Friday, and said they would appeal the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This means there will now be at least four different Circuit Courts of Appeal that have cases before them. States have already appealed similar decisions to the 6th, 10th, and 5th Circuit Courts of Appeal.

It is becoming ever more likely that the United States Supreme Court may finally be forced to make a decision regarding the constitutionality of same-sex marriages -- a decision they have been avoiding for several years now. We can be sure that the losing side in all of those appeals court decisions will try to take their case to the Supreme Court -- and if any two of those courts disagree, then the Supreme Court will be forced to take the case up and finally make a decision.

Another Republican Hypocrite

The picture above is the police mug shot of Mike Crapo. Mr. Crapo is a Republican United States Senator from the state of Idaho and is currently serving his third term in the Senate. He is also a mormon, and has told the voters in his state that he is does not drink alcohol. But that last part is a lie.

Early Sunday morning in Alexandria (Virginia), Mr. Crapo was stopped by police for running a red light. He seemed to be intoxicated so they gave him several field sobriety tests, which he failed. He was then arrested for DUI, and a blood test showed he had alcohol in his system above the legal limit for driving a vehicle (testing .110 when the legal limit is .08). Crapo issued the following apology:

“I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance. I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter."


I'm not sure the Crapo understands the most serious aspect of this incident. He has apologized for his drinking and driving, but the drinking is not the worst thing he has done (although I would prefer he not endanger his fellow citizens by driving after he does it). There are lots of Americans who drink, including U.S. senators -- and that is their right (as long as they do it responsibly).

But Crapo is not just a drinker. He is a liar and a hypocrite, because he has told the voters of his state that he does not drink. To me, that means he is willing to say whatever he thinks the voters want to hear (whether it is true or not). And it makes me wonder what else he has lied about. Can he be trusted on policy issues, if he is willing to lie about his own religious and moral convictions?

Super Tuesday Is A Mixed Bag

The results from Super Tuesday show that a lot of Republican voters still have doubts about Willard Mitt Romney (aka Wall Street Willie). Here are the numbers:

VIRGINIA (99% reporting)
Mitt Romney...............156,765  (59.44%)
Ron Paul...............106,992  (40.56%)
TOTAL VOTES...............263,757

GEORGIA (97% reporting)
Newt Gingrich...............414,896  (47.46%)
Mitt Romney...............224,361  (25.66%)
Rick Santorum...............171,346  (19.60%)
Ron Paul...............56,823  (6.50%)
Others...............6,839  (0.78%)
TOTAL VOTES...............874,265

MASSACHUSETTS (98% reporting)
Mitt Romney...............260,509  (72.09%)
Rick Santorum...............43,614  (12.07%)
Ron Paul...............34,575  (9.57%)
Newt Gingrich...............16,756  (4.64%)
Others...............5,927  (1.64%)
TOTAL VOTES...............361,381

OKLAHOMA (99% reporting)
Rick Santorum...............95,478  (33.77%)
Mitt Romney...............79,327  (28.06%)
Newt Gingrich...............77,770  (27.51%)
Ron Paul...............27,199  (9.62%)
Others...............2,944  (1.04%)
TOTAL VOTES...............282,718

NORTH DAKOTA (100% reporting)
Rick Santorum...............4,339  (39.99%)
Ron Paul...............2,938  (27.08%)
Mitt Romney...............2,639  (24.32%)
Newt Gingrich...............933  (8.60%)
TOTAL VOTES...............10,849

TENNESSEE (99% reporting)
Rick Santorum...............202,198  (37.30%)
Mitt Romney...............150,511  (27.77%)
Newt Gingrich...............130,689  (24.11%)
Ron Paul...............49,299  (9.10%)
Others...............9,325  (1.72%)
TOTAL VOTES...............542,022

OHIO (99% reporting)
Mitt Romney...............453,430  (37.99%)
Rick Santorum...............441,501  (36.99%)
Newt Gingrich...............174,456  (14.61%)
Ron Paul...............110,516  (9.26%)
Others...............13,780  (1.15%)
TOTAL VOTES...............1,193,683

VERMONT (93% reporting)
Mitt Romney...............22,632  (39.78%)
Ron Paul...............14,488  (25.46%)
Rick Santorum...............13,466  (23.67%)
Newt Gingrich...............4,636  (8.15%)
Others...............1,676  (2.95%)
TOTAL VOTES...............56,898

IDAHO (91% reporting)
Mitt Romney...............27,301  (63.74%)
Ron Paul...............7,675  (17.92%)
Rick Santorum...............6,920  (16.16%)
Newt Gingrich...............916  (2.14%)
Others...............17  (0.03%)
TOTAL VOTES...............42,829

ALASKA (95% reporting)
Mitt Romney...............4,167  (32.73%)
Rick Santorum...............3,704  (29.09%)
Ron Paul...............3,033  (23.82%)
Newt Gingrich...............1,798  (14.12%)
Others...............31  (0.24%)
TOTAL VOTES...............12,733

COMBINED SUPER TUESDAY VOTES
Mitt Romney...............1,381,642  (37.95%)
Rick Santorum...............982,566  (26.99%)
Newt Gingrich...............822,850  (22.60%)
Ron Paul...............413,538  (11.36%)
Others...............40,539  (1.11%)
TOTAL VOTES...............3,641,135

Mitt Romney came out of Super Tuesday winning more states and more delegates than the other candidates, but once again his weakness is apparent. He wasn't even able to get 40% of the Super Tuesday votes, which means over 60% of the people who voted yesterday preferred someone else -- even if that someone else is Santorum, Gingrich, or Paul. Romney still hasn't won over the teabaggers and evangelicals.