by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The Ventura County Clerk and Recorder today confirmed that Democrats in Ventura County have surpassed the Republicans in total voters registered for the first time in more than 20 years. And this year, with record Democratic turnout anticipated statewide in November, it won't be long before more of California's 58 counties shift into the Democratic camp.

Here's former Senator Art Torres, chair of the California Democratic Party:

"In 2006 a Democratic wave swept the country. This week we learned that wave is ready to sweep its way back across the nation this November and it’s starting in Ventura County, which is now officially a 'blue' county.
 
The Republican Party has held a registration advantage in Ventura County for more than two decades, maintaining a 16,000 person edge just four years ago. Now, as a result of the hard work and dedication of local party activists as well as the vision articulated by state and national Democrats, Ventura County Democrats now hold a lead in registration by 439 voters -- a lead that will certainly widen.
 
This is great news for Ventura County Democrats and for the California Democratic Party, and a very encouraging sign for the Democratic Party’s prospects this November."

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Here's a few fun facts and observations culled from the various websites looking at the Iowa Caucus:

• Some 212,000 Democrats turned out -- a 70 percent jump from 2004. Only 90,000 Republicans turned out. For you math majors, Democratic turnout was 145.6 percent higher than Republican turnout. Given that both caucuses were tight contests, this is very, very good news for Democrats. Enthusiasm is there for change from the Bush White House.
• Some 56 percent of those participating in the Democratic Caucuses were first timers.
• The youth vote was amazing -- fully 20 percent of the Caucus participants. That's up from 17 percent from 2004. More good news for democracy.

There's more...

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The right-wingers behind the initiative to split California's electoral votes threw in the towel on the June ballot today. But it's not dead yet. There's a chance it may live to see the light of day in November. The atmospherics will be against it (general election with heavy Democratic turnout), but it's still worth keeping your eye on.
 
Here's the Statement from Chris Lehane, spokesman for effort against the initiative:

"The continued and repeated attempts by Republicans, especially the Rudy Giuliani forces, to pursue an effort to rig the presidential election makes clear that the Republicans will stop at nothing when it comes to holding onto power; they recognize that they will be a minority party if they lose the White House and will do everything they can to hold on to power, including lying, cheating, stealing, gouging and kicking below the belt. We have said it before and we will say it again -- this is the Freddie Kruger, Dracula and Rasputin of initiatives and that
so long as some Republicans believe that they cannot win the popular vote fair and sqaure this will never completely die until and unless we put in place a true reform such as a national popular vote."