From CNN -- Sen. Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for president, according to CNN estimates, making him the first African-American in U.S. history to lead a major-party ticket.

Obama picked up a slew of superdelegate endorsements on Tuesday. Those endorsements, combined with the delegates he's projected to receive from South Dakota's primary, will put him past the 2,118 threshold, according to CNN estimates.

This morning I cast my ballot for Barack Obama in Vermillion, South Dakota after sending a round of text messages to my friends reminding them to do the same, and after 2 hours of GOTV canvassing. I can say with pride that my vote pushed him over the threshold tonight. Such a poetic moment...

We all read the news. We all know that one of Obama's greatest constituencies are the "new voters" that he brings into the fold. These are people bolstering his numbers nationwide -- who are tuning into the political process because they are so inspired by Obama.

For me, these "new voters" have always been a figment of the media narrative about Obama... that is, until yesterday, when I received a surprising text message from my most politically apathetic friend, WP.

Update: I know this is the millionth diary about the debate today, but I was just compelled to write about it. I see the "complaint campaign" as important to the Democrats in the fall. Why? If we fight an issues-based campaign, it will benefit Democrats who definitely have the issues on their side. McSame will only win by distracting us with this patriotism bullshit. By creating a backlash now against frivolous debates now, we are adding a major negative to any decision by the moderators to ask such ridiculous questions in the fall.

There's tons of nightmare scenarios out there for tonight. Hillary loses and decides to stay in the race and continue slinging mud at Obama. Maybe you like Hillary and tonight is the night that Obama finishes her off. Maybe she'll even concede. Maybe Hillary will sweep all the states except Vermont and win in Ohio by 15 points, crushing your hopes of an Obama victory. No one knows whats going to happen.

So whatever happens tonight, let's add a little certainty and make sure we at least get wasted in the process.

One common value throughout the Democratic party is the high esteem we hold of the environment. There are many great reasons to value the environment-- nature is beautiful, other forms of life depend on a healthy environment, our own health depends on a healthy environment, and many facets of our economy depend on a stable environment. The government makes its own laws to protect the environment the best they can; but ultimately, it is our duty as citizens of the Earth to do make lifestyle choices that keep our planet safe and clean. My College Democrats chapter acted on this principle last spring when we promoted CFL lightbulbs, bike riding, and awareness about global warming. Lacking in our dialogue-- as well as other mainstream dialogue including An Inconvenient Truth -- is a call to adopt a vegetarian diet.

cross-posted at USD Dems

South Dakota is up to it again. A petition has been filed with the Secretary of State to put an iniative on the ballot next year to ban all abortions EXCEPT in instances of rape, incest, or the health of the mother... supposedly. I'm not sure if this news has been diaried already--but if it has it bears repeating!

cross posted at USD DemsUSD Dems

Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  Al Gore.  

One of the big South Dakota stories in the news right now is the Roger  Hunt anti-abortion donor story.  As well all know in 2006 South Dakota voted on a ballot issue-- Referendum 6-- that would ban all abortions in the state.  The controversy centers on an anonymous $750,000 donation funneled through Republican State Rep. Roger Hunt.  

cross posted at USD Dems

Here is another update on the South Dakota Senate race for the seat currently held by Tim Johnson (D-SD).  [You can find my last diary here].  Johnson suffered a brain hemorrhage last winter and has been recovering ever since.  The seat is important because the Democrats currently hold a razor-thin one-seat majority in the Senate.  Since Johnson won the last election by less than 1,000 votes this is considered one of the few pickup chances for the GOP in the next election.  Follow me below the fold for an update on how the race is shaping up.

Cross-Posted at USD Dems...

In response to a series of whiny diaries appearing on dailykos lamenting the complete and utter disregard of the netroots by the major presidential candidates, rumor has it that each candidate is going to spend 5 minutes of personal time with every blogger.

Every.  Single.  One.  

Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) suffered a brain hemorrhage in January and has been recovering at home since.  He has been out of the Senate (although he has been doing work from home) and rumors continue to circulate regarding whether he will run for re-election when his seat is up next year.  There has been a lot of news coming out about Tim Johnson and this entry is intended to catch everybody up on the senator's condition and his political status.

cross posted at USD Dems

Here's another diary on South Dakota's 2008 races.  This entry will focus mainly on Senator Johnson's fundraising and the on-going speculation about his health, when he will return to work in the Senate (he is currently working from home), and a couple of fundraising numbers from last quarter.  Join me on the flip side.

cross posted at USD Dems

Hello dailykos.  I live in South Dakota and am following the SD-Sen race this year.  I hope for this to be one of many diaries about the race.  Join me on the flip for a review of campaign news for the day.

cross-posted at usddems

Here are some updates on how the 2008 South Dakota Senate race is shaping up.  I plan on keeping dailykos updated on the important race because its from my homestate and I will be blogging about it as president of my local College Democrats chapter.  

Cross-posted at usddems.

My deepest gratitude to jonah in nyc for their diary "How to be an amateur blogger" which helped me to setup an RSS feed for South Dakota politics.  That diary can be found here.

There has been a lot of buzz about Al Gore and global warming with a couple of high profile diaries about his visit to Idaho the other day.  I was able to attend another speech by Gore that has received almost no attention on this site.  Last night Al Gore spoke at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to acceptthat college's annual Boe Award to a full-house of 4,000 people (tickets sold out within a couple of weeks).  

If you asked me 2 months ago whether or not the Supreme Court should strike down gay marriage I would have hesitated and said no for a few reasons.  The main reason is that "activist courts" and "pro-gay Democratic senators" piss off conservatives and it hurts us in elections.  As a heterosexual I would sacrifice gay rights for health care and sane policies in the Middle East. That was until I discovered that gay marriage rights are soundly rooted in the Counstitution; in fact, more soundly rooted than the status quo.

I have condensced the argumentation below in hopes that I can contribute something to the community other than trying to be the first to put up a hyperlink to a breaking story.  Hopefully you all will find this insightful and may help you educate or win arguments with your friends, colleagues, and family.

Outline:
1.  1st Amendment
2.  14th Amendment
       a.  Due Process Clause
        b.  Equal Protection Clause

The Title got your attention, and you probably think I'm a troll, but let me assure you I'm not.  Let me make clear right away that I'm not advocating the right-wing-nut-job Pro-Life definition which is "let's be crazy about embryos even if we don't care at all about foreigners and poor people."  I'm NOT advocating that.

I am advocating that the Pro-Life frame is a superior frame to Pro-Choice philosophically.  I think that all Pro-Choice positions can actually be incorporated under the Pro-Life frame, and should be.  I also want to share my view on abortion that it is not a black or white issue but it is very grey.

I'm actually going to avoid stating my stance on abortion (although if you dig through my comment history you can probably find it yourself).  Rather I just want to argue (what I see as) the truth about abortion.  Do I have your attention?  If so, join me down below.

Let's see here... Bush picks:

An illegal torture advocate as Attorney General...
Corporate sympathizers to lead the EPA...
Global Warming deniers to head posts at NASA...

Could he possibly screw up the government any more?  Apparently so.  

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, to the consternation of its critics, has picked the medical director of an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion to lead the office that oversees federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.

http://www.cnn.com/...