Thursday, May 08, 2008

Ellsworth Waffles On Superdelegate Vote

U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth really didn't really mean what he said when he pledged to vote the wishes of the 8th District voters as a superdelegate to the Democratic presidential convention. What he really meant is that he will vote for whoever will be the nominee. Here are his actual words:

Ellsworth said in a statement that "if it comes down to the convention, I will cast my vote for the candidate 8th District voters chose unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise."

Ellsworth said, "A compelling reason in my mind is if something significant should arise that Hoosier voters were not aware of when they cast their ballots."

Can I say the word, "weasel"? Clinton also carried U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly's 2nd District, but he hasn't made up his mind as is the case with U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky in the Indiana's 1st District. According to the Groppe's story in the Star, Obama carried the first district. I would like to see those actual numbers. Yes, Obama carried Lake County with about 56% of the vote, but Clinton carried the balance of the district, including Porter, Jasper, Newton and Benton Counties.

4 comments:

Doug said...

Re: the First District - I don't have the numbers, but consider the populations
Lake - 485,000
Jasper - 30,000
Newton - 14,500
Benton - 9,000
Porter - 147,000

Jasper, Newton, and Benton counties in particular are probably inconsequential in terms of the vote totals, both because of their population and the fact that there are comparatively few Democrats in those areas.

Sir Hailstone said...

Doug - in a normal primary yes. But Operation Chaos made this a non-normal primary.

Chris Worden said...

If Clinton were indicted between now and the convention, would Ellsworth be appreciated for following the popular will? I think that is what he means when he says something compelling. You would be right if it turns out that "the something compelling" were some kind of offer to sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom from Obama or new polling data showing Obama as the stronger candidate against McCain. Then I'd say he sold out his district. Until then, I think he's just making room for the possibility that any candidate can have a major meltdown.

artfuggins said...

I think operation chaos was a very small factor in Indiana....most repubs who crossed over did so because they truly like Obama