CNN Re-Publicizes Account of Obama Disqualifying All His Opponents from his First Primary Race

On May 30, CNN Newsroom did a televised story, lasting approximately two minutes, about how Barack Obama challenged the petitions of all his opponents in his first primary election, for State Senate in Illinois’ 13th district. Four Democrats turned in petitions, but only Obama appeared on the March 19, 1996 primary ballot, because Obama successfully challenged the petitions of all his opponents. CNN also posted the story on its webpage; see here.

The broadcast included an interview with one of Obama’s opponents, Gha-is Askia, who said each candidate needed 757 valid signatures. Askia said he submitted 1,999, but after the challenge, he was 69 signatures short. Another candidate in that primary, the incumbent, Alice Palmer, chose not to be interviewed.

In the general election, Obama had two opponents. The November vote was Obama 48,592 votes; David Whitehead, Harold Washington Party, 7,461 votes; Rosette Peyton, Republican, 3,091 votes. Both the Harold Washington Party and the Republican Party had no candidates in their primaries for the State Senate seat, and each party later nominated a candidate by party meeting, which Illinois law permits for qualified parties. Therefore, Whitehead and Peyton never needed a petition in order to run in November. Thanks to Scott West for the story. The press had previously covered this story, and it was revived in connection with the day’s news about the Democratic Rules Committee meeting on Florida and Michigan delegates.


Comments

CNN Re-Publicizes Account of Obama Disqualifying All His Opponents from his First Primary Race — 10 Comments

  1. HILLARY WAS ROBBED !!!!!!!!

    BUT, I GUESS ITS OK…..SHE’S NOT THE PERFECT,GOD, FLAWLESS MESSIAH, THAT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA – IS TO THE MEDIA & THE WORLD…SHE’S NO FAKE PROFET, SHE’S NOT A
    BLACK, MUSLIM, OR HAS BELONG TO A RACIST CHURCH HER ENTIRE LIFE !!!!!!

    SHE’S HILLARY R. CLINTON….A WHITE INTELLIGENT WOMEN, WITH EXCELLENT EXPERIENCES IN POLITICS & DIPLOMACY.
    SHE’S A FORMER- FIRST LADY, WHO SHOULD BE TREADED LIKE A NATIONAL TREASURE. BUT,INSTEAD SHE IS TREADED WITH DISRESPECT,
    & HATEFUL REMARKS BY THE ENTIRE PRESS & MEDIA.

    ITS 2008. I GUESS THINGS HAVE NOT ADVANCE
    AT ALL WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A WHITE, SMART, SUCCESSFUL, WOMEN !!!!! THOSE ATTRIBUTES = TO BE HATED BY THE WORLD.

    BUT BEING BLACK, DUM , MUSLIM, & RACIST = THE
    NEW COMING MESSIAH????? WOW!!!!!
    WHAT A SAD WORLD WE LEAVE IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Um…geeze….um…

    OK…”robbed” is a hard word to apply to a woman with close to 100 MILLION in her bank account…

    And…Obama is not a Muslim. Never was.

    I have no idea if Clinton goes to a racist church or not. Jimmy Carter apparently thought he belonged to a bigoted church, and left. Obama has done the same. I think Obama did it for political reasons, but shoot…he’s a politician! What, are we to expect him to behave like a butcher or bus driver?

    I do think Clinton has been subjected to more than a little bit of sexism, but again, that 100 MILLION dollar cushion should help a little bit.

    I also agree that the press, especially Chris Matthews, has behaved like…well, it’s hard to think of a word. They have behaved like the Male Chauvinist Pigs who’s White Entitlement Mentality makes them think they have the sole right to choose the president, and no one gets to decide that but them.

    And I don’t care for Obama, and would vote for myself before him…and I *know* that I am not qualified!

  3. Can someone please explain how this nomination was stolen from her?

    He ran a better campaign. He won more states, more delegates, more votes and more superdelegates. Period.

    MI and FL broke the rules. Obama wasn’t on the ballot in MI… and yet… she wants all the delegates from that state? THAT would be robbery, wouldn’t it?

  4. Maybe its Clinton’s supporters that were robbed, since she’s raised $ 100 Million for absolutely nothing.

    In days of yore, the convention would argue and vote on the party platform. There’s been increasingly less of that since 1972.

    The hollowness of internal democracy in the two major parties is never more apparent than at the conventions.

  5. MEDIA ALERTS
    Jun 01:

    Interview: America’s Election HQ
    Fox News
    1:45pm Edt

    Jun 04:
    The Colbert Report
    Comedy Central
    11:30 pm Edt.

    Jun 04:
    The Glenn Beck Program
    CNN Headline News Channel
    7:00 pm Edt.

    SPREAD THE WORD ! LET FREEDOM GROW !

  6. Adding to Gregg and Robbie: How intelligent can a person be to blame another [known Room Temperature IQ: Bush Quacked] for a ‘sheeple’ like politically motivated United States Senate vote to invade another country as a bigotted fascist imperial global empire? How intelligent can a person be about repeating the need less lie of dodging snipers bullets when tape shows you and your daughter saundering out of the air craft?

    Many [and my current GF and reformist (small R) activist is Pro Hill] potential voters consider Mrs. Hillary Rodam Clinton —–whom WAS NOT named for the New Zealand mountain climber, as she claims, as a cold blooded non mammal, a political reptile!

    So much of Hill’s support erosion is a self inflicted wound, with help from Bill!

  7. CNN really is the “Clinton News Network”. I can’t imagine them ever digging up any dirt on the Clintons, just their opponents.

  8. Karen B. (and Donald Lake):

    If this website offered grammar and spell check, would you utilize it?

  9. Alice Palmer gathered 1580 signatures in two weeks, and then hundreds of signatures were challenged and she pulled out before any official verdict.

    Ewell got 1286 sigs, and got knocked down to 671.

    But the Askia effort of having 2/3rds of his sigs eliminated was a rather lousy signature effort.

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