Arkansas

FIRED UP! READY TO GO! UNCOMMITTED! Obama Badly Embarrassed In Arkansas & Kentucky Dem Primaries

Published on May 23, 2012 by ColoradoPeakPolitics

The One is apparently no longer the favorite of a solid chunk of Democrats down South. Yesterday, President Obama was badly embarrassed in two Democratic primaries in Kentucky and Arkansas, where no name opponents, including "Uncommitted" in Kentucky, were able to rack up over 40% of the vote among Democrats.

Per Politico:

President Barack Obama continued to have trouble on Tuesday performing in Democratic primaries in traditionally conservative states, barely eking out wins in Kentucky and Arkansas.

The president didn’t even have an opponent in Kentucky, but with 99 percent of the vote counted, Obama took just 57.9 percent of the vote, with the remaining more than 42 percent of ballots cast for “uncommitted.”

In Arkansas, with 70 percent of the vote tallied, Obama nabbed just 59 percent of the vote. His opponent there, John Wolfe, was able to take 41 percent of the vote at that point, according to The Associated Press.

Wolfe, an attorney from Tennessee whose platform includes repealing “Obamacare,” was able to win several counties.

The RNC is already out with buttons mocking Obama's embarrassing embarrassment of a performance that invoke the previously spirited Democrat rank-and-file: "Fired Up! Ready to Go! Uncommitted!"

As we said yesterday, Kentucky and Arkansas are not battleground states in the general election. But Obama's performance in the primaries is more than just a one day shaming. The counties he performed worst in Kentucky were the ones that neighbor important swing states like Virginia and Ohio. The distaste Democrats have for Obama in those regions likely trickles over into those key battleground states.

With two-fifths of Democrats in Kentucky and Arkansas voting Anyone But Obama, it seems safe to say Team Hopenchange has got some cleaning up to do. And that's just with Democrats.

(Photo via Buzzfeed)

ARKANSAS PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY: Can Obama Hold Off The Latest Lone Wolfe Challenger?

Published on May 22, 2012 by ColoradoPeakPolitics

After seeing a federal inmate receive 41% of the Democratic primary vote in West Virginia, the nation looks to Arkansas today for another potential embarrassing run for President Obama.

This time the not-Obama candidate is John Wolfe, a Tennesee lawyer.

Reports The Washington Post:

That’s because only Obama and John Wolfe, a Tennessee lawyer, are on the Democratic presidential primary ballot in the Razorback State. (Wolfe took 12 percent — and nearly 18,000 votes — in a four-way fight in the Louisiana Democratic presidential primary in late March.) And a recent independent poll showed Obama running just seven points ahead of Wolfe in the southern Arkansas 4th district, which covers one-quarter of the state.

All of this takes place on a backdrop that is decidedly less than friendly for Obama. Even while he was sweeping to a national victory (and 365 electoral votes) in 2008, Obama received just 39 percent in Arkansas — six points worse than Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry did four years earlier.

“Arkansas voters are informed voters and are fully aware that John Wolfe will not make it out of the primary,” said one well-connected Arkansas Democrat. “However, if John Wolfe has a strong showing tomorrow, it’s a sign that Democratic voters in Arkansas are frustrated with the administration’s policies and further reiteration that Southern Democrats simply cannot identify with President Obama.”

And, if the press coverage of Keith Judd’s surprisingly strong showing two weeks ago in West Virginia is any indication, you can expect Wolfe to draw significant attention in the immediate aftermath of today’s vote. [Peak emphasis]

West Virginia and Arkansas were never going to be winnable states for Obama in the general election, but it's still incredibly shocking that he could potentially lose a Democratic primary. Can you imagine if Bush almost lost to a federal inmate in 2004? The media would have lost its collective mind.

What's particularly interesting about the stiff challenges to Obama in West Virginia and Arkansas is they don't appear to have any serious campaign behind them at all. There are no Super PACs dropping millions, or coordinated Republican efforts at sabotaging Obama through backing his opponents. It is just good, old-fashioned disdain for Obama.

With top surrogates like Cory Booker trashing the Obama campaign's main message, and Democrat voters preferring convicts to the incumbent, that old Washington saying must ring especially true for Obama these days: if you want a friend in DC, get a dog.

Then again, for the sake of the dog, maybe Obama shouldn't.