Democrats outnumber Republicans in Pinellas County

From the St. Petersburg Times, it appears the county I grew up in has changing politics.

Pinellas County has turned blue, at least when it comes to voter registration in this GOP stronghold.

For the first time in more than two decades, figures from the Supervisor of Elections Office Friday showed registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans, 233,240 to 233,181.

The last time Democrats had the edge, according to records from the supervisor’s office, was in 1984. A decade ago, Republicans enjoyed a 30,000-voter advantage.

When my mom and dad moved there in 1963, they could only register as Democrats.

The reasons?

• National discontent with the GOP.
• Pinellas is becoming younger and more diverse

But what do voter registrations really tell us?

[R]egistration figures only tell part of the story. There are more Democrats in Florida than Republicans, yet the GOP controls nearly all levers [sic] of state government.

I guess we’ll see what happens. In Florida and nationwide.

Will they split the difference?

From My Way News - Top Michigan Democrats suggest splitting delegates

Michigan Democrats working to get the state’s delegates seated at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday suggested splitting them 69-59 between presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Clinton has argued that she should get 73 delegates based on the results of the Jan. 15 primary, which she won - 18 more than Obama.

Obama, who removed his name from the ballot, wants the 128 pledged delegates split evenly, 64-64.

The compromise, suggested Tuesday in a letter to Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer, fell halfway between the two proposals.

Obama would be well served to take this deal, as would Clinton. Clinton gets the win she can brag on, Obama doesn’t lose that much ground and delegates get seated, thus avoiding a charge of disenfranchisement.

More Florida primary news

St. Petersburg Times poll: Fla. Democrats say count our primary

According to a new St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 statewide poll, the Democratic presidential contenders’ boycott of Florida had little effect on Democratic voters’ choices here, and an overwhelming plurality want the officially meaningless Jan. 29 results to count.

Lots of charts at the link. Seventy seven percent think its important that Florida delegates count and 24% are less likely to vote for the party’s nominee if the delegates are not counted. If they did revote 46% would vote for Clinton and 37% for Obama.

And who’s to blame? Twenty-eight percent blamed the Republican leaders of the Florida legislature, 25% blamed Howard Dean, 20% blamed the Florida Democratic Party, and the rest were divided between the candidates, no one, everyone and 14% didn’t know or refused to answer the question.

Barack Obama rally

I have my e-ticket in hand and I’m off to the Midwest Airlines Center for the Barack Obama rally. More when I return.

Fact checking Obama and Clinton ads

If you haven’t seen them yet here in Wisconsin, you most likely soon will. FactCheck.org takes a look at them.

# Obama is being misleading when he says his proposal would “cover everyone.” It would make coverage available to all, but experts we consulted estimate that 15 million to 26 million wouldn’t take it up unless required to do so.

# Clinton stretches things a bit, too. Even her plan – which, unlike Obama’s, includes a mandate for individuals to get insurance – would leave out a million people or perhaps more, depending on how severe the penalties would be for those who don’t comply. She won’t say how her mandate would be enforced, but has said that she was open to the possibility of garnishing wages.

# Experts also are skeptical of both candidates’ claims that their plans will reduce the cost of insurance for the typical family by $2,000 or more. ” I know zero credible evidence to support that conclusion,” says M.I.T’s Jonathan Gruber.

The Shepherd Express interviews Mayor Nelson

My old friend (?) Dennis Shook, interviews Mayor Larry Nelson in A Democrat in Waukesha County.

I’ve not covered the area as long as Mr. Shook, yet I wonder if he reads the city correctly in an early paragraph,

Proof that the city is an island of moderate thinking in the midst of the conservative suburbs came in 2006, when the city elected Democrat Larry Nelson as mayor. Nelson defeated state Rep. Ann Nischke, a Waukesha Republican and former head of the local chamber of commerce.

Since Nischke’s Assembly district included most of the city of Waukesha, one would conclude that the defeat had more than Waukesha being “an island of moderate thinking,” a mistake the mayor himself seems to make in the first question asked.

People don’t realize that the city of Waukesha is quite a bit different than Waukesha County as a whole. It is the most diverse place politically, ethnically, religiously. But people who don’t live out here tend to lump all the communities together. Waukesha, I think, tends to have more in common with the city of Milwaukee than most of the rest of Waukesha County.

Oh, yeah, we have a lot in common with Milwaukee.

Interesting interview, but folks won’t learn anything new.

They can hope all they want …

GOP Hopes Voter Anger Cuts Both Way (from Breitbart.com)

Republican strategists hope a volatile electorate will save the party from congressional losses in 2008 that appear possible due to a string of setbacks.

Democrats hold clear edges in raising money, limiting retirements and deflecting public anger.

In the latest sign, the party’s House campaign committee said Wednesday it has about $25 million to spend on targeted races next year; its Republican counterpart is in debt.

Facing such news, the GOP’s top House strategist summoned reporters to his campaign headquarters to put the best possible light on matters.

In short, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., people are angry at lawmakers and the Democratic-controlled Congress in general, and massive fundraising will not save Democratic incumbents from voters’ wrath.

Wow. Am I the only one getting dizzy here?

And the Democrats are so good at diplomacy

Turkish general warns U.S. ties on ice

Turkey’s top general warned that ties with the U.S., already strained by attacks from rebels hiding in Iraq, will be irreversibly damaged if Congress passes a resolution that labels the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.

“If this resolution passed in the committee passes the House as well, our military ties with the U.S. will never be the same again,” Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told the daily Milliyet newspaper.