why has Blanche Lincoln won the primary?

[shireen]

Is this an open primary where Republicans and/or independents can vote in a Dem. primary?


I'm so pissed.

:mad:

[Captain Hilts]

1. Democrats are conservative in Arkansas. It's that simple. nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

37. yes unfortunately

[RedRoses323]

38. Yes they are!

I'm not from here, but I live here. I'm pissed that Lincoln won.... :mad:

[treestar]

42. Yes and as someone said in another thread, Bill Clinton has a lot

of persuasive ability there. No surprise.

[karynnj]

47. She apparently constantly ran her Obama endorsement too

She also had Wesley Clark. The NYT did a hit piece on her opponent the day before - though I don't know whether that would be seen by many in AR (or if Lincoln's campaign found a way to use it).

It is hard to beat an incumbent.

[jenmito]

53. Did you notice that Obama wasn't mentioned at ALL in relation to Lincoln's win when

BEFORE the election, the talking heads were saying if she loses, this will be Obama's 5th loss in a row? Not ONE word about "breaking his losing streak" or anything! Yet when Obama was just as involved or NOT involved with the OTHER incumbent Dems. who LOST, there was constant discussion about how Obama is a loser. :eyes:

[karynnj]

54. Yep - I noticed that

I have no idea which of the two Presidents deserve the most "credit" for this win. It could even be the combination. Having these two top people both recommending Lincoln might have moved enough to stay with her. But you are right that had she lost - it would have been Obama's loss with no a word of Bill Clinton.

[tsuki]

56. Ignorant Regressives. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

2. One of her DLC lietenants kept dozens of polling places CLOSED.

In Halter friendly areas, naturally. :grr:

Or in other words, the DLC stole it.

[jefferson_dem]

8. Nah. Even those initiating the legal challenges do not believe this flipped the election.

Before you start... I deplore vote obstruction and am a Halter supporter.

[catgirl]

44. It was a safety net though

If the votes had been even closer, a squeaker, the difference could have been the hundreds of Halter supporters that didn't
vote because they couldn't get to their new voting location.

[Lost4words]

3. I am gonna be sick.........

[MrSlayer]

Halter's best districts had their polling places cut by up to 90%.

Where there were 20 in a certain county for primary day, today there were only two. It was like that all over the state.

[stevenleser]

31. Does anyone have links for this? I am interested in this story

Thanks!

[stevenleser]

33. Nevermind, I found my own links (and pics)

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/06/08/halter-complains-it-was-hard-to-vote-in-garland-co-ark/

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/08/voter-lawsuit-filed-in-arkansas-blanche-lincoln-bill-halter-se/

http://bluearkansasblog.com/?p=2973

[jefferson_dem]

4. This?

Well, it didn't hurt.

President Obama Endorses Senator Blanche Lincoln

"President Obama: Leading the Fight"

"This is President Barack Obama and I want to tell you why I support Senator Blanche Lincoln for re-election in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, May 18th. Blanche is leading the fight to hold Wall Street accountable and make sure that Arkansas taxpayers are never again asked to bailout Wall Street bankers. She is standing on the side of workers who've lost their jobs in this recession by extending unemployment insurance payments and health care while they try to get back on their feet. And she cast crucial votes to create new jobs in Arkansas and all across America. On health care, Blanche took on big insurance companies by voting to end discrimination against Arkansans with pre-existing conditions and fought for tax credits that will help thousands of local small businesses provide insurance to their employees. I urge you to join me in supporting Senator Blanche Lincoln for re-election on Tuesday, May 18th."

http://www.blancheforsenate.com/page?id=0014

[Imajika]

5. Very conservative state...

Not surprising she managed to eke out a victory.

[Hawkeye-X]

6. Because of an illegal move by Charles Tapp to close all but 2 poll sites in Garland County

where Halter is big in the district. And it's the 2nd largest one after Pulaski.

Hooten should proceed with the lawsuit and request an emergency order invalidating the election result and finally force a do-over in the entire state of Arkansas at Lincolns' expense (since this was her fault that she could not win without cheating)

[freddie mertz]

48. I hope the lawsuit proceeds, so we can find out the truth.

[POAS]

7. Speculation...GOP style dirty tricks! n/t

[OHdem10]

10. Now you know how the GOP hangs onto the South.

[totodeinhere]

26. But what's shameful is here we have Democrats doing it too. n/t

[AllentownJake]

9. Kitchen sink strategy

Thank two Presidents.

[depakid]

11. Just goes to show yet again NOT to place your trust in cheap polls

[RandomThoughts]

12. heh, Going to get much worse it seems.

Much Much worse.

Although I agree it should not be about money, it also should not be about vote manipulation.


:shrug:

People choose what they want to do.

Going to get worse, Towering Inferno.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsRnQQpklPM


Might as well go back to listening to this song, and not worry about things.

La Roux - In for the Kill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ1Mi77nogQ


Personal Note, I am not in the building. I see the building as a metaphor for the world.

[bigwillq]

13. Why? Because more people voted for her

Pretty simple.

[frazzled]

14. A few more possibilities

(1) Bill Clinton

(2) An adverse reaction to out-of-state money and support interfering in local politics. (No one talks about this, but it can happen, especially in states that have a lot of local identity. They really don't cotton to "outsiders" trying to meddle into their business.)

(3) Bill Clinton. She won in Little Rock 60-40.

[davidpdx]

20. I have to wonder if she would have won if Clinton had remained neutral

in the runoff (not that he would of, I mean he does what he wants to). Even Obama's support was lukewarm.

[Freddie Stubbs]

15. Because more Democrats voted for her than for Halter

[brentspeak]

16. Partly because Bill Clinton stank up the primary and the run-off by endorsing her

Elitist corporate shills stand up for one another.

[rury]

18. Cannot stand

Bill Clinton anymore!

[Jennicut]

17. Because if she lost, there would be loss of influence in the Senate?

People vote for weird reasons sometimes...plus Halter was never a true progressive to begin with. And Bill Clinton helped.

[DrToast]

19. Wanna know why?

Bill Clinton.

[4lbs]

21. Arkansas is the state of Wal-Mart. It's HQ is there.

Thus, labor unions aren't really welcome in Arkansas. Halter had huge support from labor unions, which were mainly outsiders, and were portrayed as such.

Furthermore, Bill Clinton still has a huge amount of 'street cred' in Arkansas. If he backs a candidate, that's worth an extra 15 points easily.

[polichick]

49. Corporate Clinton backed Corporate Lincoln - both of then deserve Wal-mart World. nt

[Drunken Irishman]

22. A bunch of reasons...

1. Bill Clinton. He's still very, very popular in Arkansas. His support of Lincoln probably helped sway a few who were on the fence.

2. Arkansas, like many southern states, is conservative. Even Democrats there are conservative. Sure, there are a great deal of moderate and liberal Democrats (it showed in how much Halter pulled in), but they're not a majority. So even with those upset about the healthcare debate (bragging about killing the PO), a good more probably liked her for doing that.

3. Incumbent who, up until recently, was fairly popular. She has name recognition and sometimes, in the end, it's always easier to vote for the devil you know than the devil you don't. I'm guessing that swayed many.

4. Halter's general election struggles. I think Halter faced a tough battle in the general. Maybe a good deal of Democrats panicked at the thought of Republicans winning the seat.

[me b zola]

23. She won the primary like bush* won either of his elections. n/t

[Codeine]

24. It's a conservative state.

Even the dems are pretty conservative by and large.

They also understand the role seniority plays in the Senate.

[donheld]

25. Because in the county Bill Halter did the best the last time

40 out of 42 polling places were closed to keep people from voting.

[donheld]

28. Garland County

[AtomicKitten]

27. I'd like to know about those polling places shut down in Halter's strongholds.

Maybe I'm just being pissy about Lincoln's win :puke: but I'd really like to know WTF was up with that.

[sweetloukillbot]

35. I'm not going to immediately dispute voter fraud...

I don't know what machine politics are like in Arkansas. But having less polling places open during an election that will draw less voters isn't uncommon at all. My normal polling place is across the street and a block away from my house, but during the recent Phoenix City Council election, I had to go to a polling place 1 1/2 miles away, and for the recent school tax proposition the polling place was over 2 miles away. Not to keep me from voting, just because they didn't need a polling place in every square mile because of low demand.

That doesn't necessarily explain a 40-place difference, grant you, just saying there may be other circumstances...

[AllentownJake]

36. In PA all polling places are open during every election

Basically, because these games have been played in the past and it is State Law.

[Awsi Dooger]

29. Halter flunked the 5 sentence test, identical to Lamont in 2006

I didn't know anything about Halter. The first time he showed up on Hardball I listened to 5 sentences and sensed he simply wasn't special. The guy sounded like a used car salesman.

It immediately reminded me of Lamont in 2006, a good guy but without political savvy or enough charisma. Lamont was more genuine than Halter, but to oust an incumbent you need very rare circumstances or a very rare candidate. If the netroots continues to push second tier, tight losses will be the high water mark.

[kjackson227]

45. This is what I was thinking, also. Voters weren't that gung-ho...

for Halter. Closing my polling place couldn't keep me from voting for a candidate that I REALLY wanted to vote for. On second thought, it wouldn't prevent me from voting at all.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

30. I don't understand it either Shireen

And I guarantee you that I'm equally as pissed as you

[cornermouse]

32. Lincoln's backers seem to have spent rather wildly themselves.

They were advertising on a Missouri tv station on a regular basis.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

34. She represents her state instead of her party.

Novel concept, I know.

[cornermouse]

39. Nonsense.

She's DLC and for the moment the DLC is running Washington. Missouri actually voted for anti-Bush policies. They got more Bush policies instead so they're getting mad. Put that in your novel concept and smoke it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

41. Arkansas Democrats get what they want.

If you're not from Arkansas, you can put that in your pipe and smoke it, because it's the last word.

[cornermouse]

55. I'll remind you of that in November.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

40. Bill Clinton?

[WI_DEM]

43. Clinton support and outside groups interferring message resonated.

[dionysus]

46. because arkansas is a conservative state. arkansas dems are not like NY dems.

[vaberella]

51. Ain't that the truth.

I know in Harlem it was so funny. They were like during the GE...we all know you're voting for Obama just do it. I'm like...nothing is scared at a majority Black polling spot. :D

[vaberella]

50. Clinton and some Dems in Arkansas are not liberal Dems. n/t

[KingFlorez]

52. Clinton helped her a lot

And she was once tagged the Nicest Senator around, so maybe her personality had something to do with it. Her record isn't all the great, but I've seen her speak and she comes off as someone that people would see as a regular person.