As the U.S. Democratic race heats up, a storyline has arisen out of Nevada.
The race between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama for the support of Nevada got very interesting this week. A lawsuit claiming “at large” caucuses spread amongst nine different Las Vegas casinos would give the workers an unfair advantage over other voters, such as those whose work will conflict. This system might benefit Obama.
Today, Judge James C. Mahan shot down the lawsuit, which was made by teachers from Nevada. Their claim was that this caucus plan would favor some party members more than others. Interestingly enough, the teacher’s union has been rumored to support Clinton, while the Nevada Culinary Worker’s Union has endorsed Obama. Many conspiracy theories and accusations have been shot back and forth as the Nevada State Education Association, which has 28,000 members; believe that the sites of the caucus are unfair. The Culinary Worker’s Union, which has 60,000 members, has stood by the fairness of the sites. Several members have spoken out in support of this, stating that it will properly gauge the public’s thoughts. Also, Hilary’s husband, former President Bill Clinton has spoke out, alleging that the casino caucus votes will be worth five times as much as regular votes.
The caucuses will be held Saturday, and are extremely important as Obama won the Iowa primary, and Clinton won the New Hampshire primary. It is believed that winning supprt in Nevada will give a sizable boost heading into the South Carolina primary. One could speculate that as a poker player, we should be cheering for Barack Obama in the coming weeks. Though he has made no formal statements regarding online poker, he is a poker player himself, and perhaps will be supportive of our cause.
Stay tuned as the Democratic election moves along.