C/O/M/R/HDS Free Zone

Posting is going to be light for a few more days, simply because of various goings-on in my personal life (new job, new hours, new digs, etc.). I'm not going to post extensively on the primaries, although I may try to put a few thoughts together in a short post a little later.

What I do want to say, though, is that I'm generally optimistic about the process in general. That is, I think it's working the way it's supposed to. Not that I'm thrilled about the choices on either the Republican or the Democratic side (for the record, I'm a registered Republican, for four years now), but I'm glad the nominations are not a foregone conclusion. The fact that there's an element of suspense looks like a healthy sign to me. Also I think it's healthy that there's a vigorous debate on both sides - even if some people (who shall remain nameless) get a little carried away sometimes. That's part of the deal, too.

The process of choosing an American President is arane, byzantine, and not purely democratic. There is a lot of room for improvement. But it is a form of democracy in action, and I like it.

EDIT: As a footnote to the foregoing rosy thoughts, however, I am compelled to add the following item (via Cinnamon Stillwell):

Massive Republican Voter Suppression in Southern Calilfornia!
News Talk Radio | 02-06-08 | PsyOp

Posted on 02/06/2008 9:01:01 AM PST by PsyOp

Reports are rolling into talk radio stations in San Diego about massive Republican vote suppression.

Thousands of Republican voters in San Diego and as far north as Los Angeles showed up to vote on Tuesday only to be told that they were registered "Non-Partisan". This meant that they could not vote for the Republican Primary candidates.

Non-Partisan (independent) voters in California can vote for Candidates in any other party, including the Democrat party, but are prohibited from voting in the Republican Primary unless they are registered as a Republican.

Rick Roberts [http://www.760kfmb.com] is currently reporting on this and has had hundreds of calls and thousands of e-mails from people who showed up to vote only to be told they were not registered as Republcans. Reports began rolling into the Roger Hedgecock show yesterday.

Several people have called in saying they witnessed this happening at polling place they worked at as volunteers. One gentleman stated that he believed at least 20% of the Republicans that showed up to vote were denied a Republican primary form because the roster showed them as "Non-Partisan".

The Republican Party in California has begun investigating this issue, but the mainstream media continues to report that Californias election "went smoothly".

It seems clear that someone or some group managed to tamper with the voter registration rolls. Either by direct access to the Registrars computer system, or by gaining access to voter information and then sending in registration cards in their name. ...

Read the rest at the link.