Remaining Republican Primary Schedule

The remaining Republican primary/caucus schedule (number of delegates) is:

Feb. 9: Louisiana (47), Kansas (39), and Washington (21)*
Feb. 12: Maryland** (37), Virginia (63), and District of Columbia (19)
Feb. 16: Guam (9)
Feb. 19: Washington (19)* and Wisconsin (40)
Feb. 23: American Samoa (9)
Mar. 4: Rhode Island (20), Texas*** (140), Vermont (17), and Ohio (88)
March 11: Mississippi*** (39)
April 22: Pennsylvania (74)
May 6: Indiana (57) and North Carolina (69)
May 17: Hawaii (20)
May 20: Kentucky (45) and Oregon (30)
May 27: Idaho (32)
June 3: New Mexico (32) and South Dakota (27)
July 12: Nebraska (33)

*Washington splits its delegates between the caucuses on Feb. 9 and a primary on Feb. 19.

**States in BOLD are winner-take-all primaries. That means the winner takes all the delegates. Other states distribute their delegates in proportion to the votes for each candidate.

***Two states, Mississippi and Texas are winner-take-all only if one candidate gets a majority of the votes; otherwise, they use proportional counting.

Media Ignores Mike Huckabee

The bias against Mike Huckabee is becoming more evident. After Mitt Romney bowed out of the Republican race, the media anointed John McCain as the presumptive winner of the party's nomination. They have ignored the fact that there are still two running, Huckabee and Ron Paul. Both are vowing to continue.

It takes 1,191 delegates to win the Republican nomination. Now, I can count as well as anyone, and it would be hard for Huckabee and impossible for Paul to overcome McCain's lead. However, this whole primary season has been one of surprises and reversals. According to the Green Papers website (http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/R-HS.phtml), the current delegate count is as of Friday, Feb. 8:

McCain: 683 pledged and 16 unpledged = 699
Huckabee: 156 pledged and 23 unpledged = 179
Romney: 118 pledged and 57 unpledged = 175
Paul: 5 pledged and 16 unpledged = 21

In the Super Tuesday vote, the conservative vote was split. "Twenty-eight percent of Republican voters said they were 'very conservative.' Of them, 45% voted for Mr. Romney and 30% for Mr. Huckabee. Mr. McCain took just 19% of these votes" (The Wall Street Journal, 02/07/08). McCain has not won that conservative base in any of the primaries thus far.

McCain has many issues that make conservative Republicans nervous and Senate votes to explain. Democrats will be able to accuse him of Kerry-style flip-flopping on the Bush tax cuts, judicial nominations, and immigration reform. McCain opposed Bush's tax cuts but now says he wants them made permanent. He says he will appoint only strict constructionist judges, yet McCain is one of the "Gang of 14" that denied several conservative judges floor votes on their appointments. McCain claims to be pro-life, but he opposes a constitutional amendment to quarantee the right to life to the unborn. Similarly, he opposes a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Most recently, McCain's support of comprehensive immigration reform with its amnesty provisions has turned many conservatives against him.

In his exit, Romney did not endorse McCain. Most of those Romney delegates will be up for grabs by the three remaining candidates. It is far more likely that a majority will be inclined to vote for Huckabee over either McCain or Paul. There are many states that have not held their primaries or caucuses, yet. As Huckabee keeps saying, "It's not over until it's over." David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, said: "If either Romney or Huckabee wins more than their share [in coming states], McCain could end up in trouble." He cautioned, "You wouldn't want to mortgage your house and bet on that happening."

The South Rose Again and the Yankee Is Out

Mitt Romney is out of the race for the Republican nominee for President. This former Yankee, now proud-to-be-Southerner is glad. The Southern states whose primaries were on Super Tuesday united and gave the boot to the Yankee carpetbagger. Together, we showed our displeasure to any politician who disses our flag.

Romney, during his campaign, made several statements regarding the Confederate battleflag. He said it should not be shown and made it clear he wanted nothing to do with it. In contrast, Huckabee colorfully described what Southern states should do to Yanks who try to dictate the flags Southerners should fly.

Political pundits in the media expected Huckabee to have his clock cleaned for his support of the right of Southerners to fly any Confederate flag. Instead, Southern voters cleaned Romney's clock. It left the leftwing media in a state of shock. No one expected Huckabee to do as well as he did on Super Tuesday. Instead, they were all agreeing with Romney that Huckabee should quit. What a difference a day makes. The South rose again on Super Tuesday and the Yankee is out of the race.

Mardi Gras or "Fat Tuesday"

Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday” in French, is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. Purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.

The first Mardi Gras held in New Orleans was on March 3, 1699. Brought to America by the French, Mardi Gras has been celebrated since the Middle Ages. The Spanish banned the practice when they controlled New Orleans. Mardi Gras returned to New Orleans in 1827 after the Louisiana Purchase by the United States. The first parade was in 1837. The city has celebrated Mardi Gras ever since except for wartime interruptions during the War between the States, World War I, and World War II.

Mardi Gras is the last day of Carnival, which begins on the Feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day (January 6th). Carnival comes from the Latin “carne vale” or “farewell to the flesh.” Carnival season is celebrated in Europe and throughout Latin America. Nice in France, Cologne in Germany, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil all have elaborate Carnival festivities.

“Fat Tuesday” refers to the tradition of feasting on a fattened calf on the last day before Lent when, for many centuries, no meat was allowed. It is also called Shrove Tuesday from “to shrive” or hear confessions. Pancakes are another food tradition on Mardi Gras as a way to use up butter, eggs, and milk that were prohibited during Lent in the past.