Original Post: Examiner
Video
On November 6, 2012, the New Black Panthers (NBP) were photographed outside an Ohio polling place intimidating voters. K. Williams posted a photo via Twitter of the New Black Panthers standing outside an Ohio polling location. These New Black Panthers were out in full force during Election Day across the nation to ensure Barack Obama got his share of popular votes.
One cannot prove if the NBP had an affect on enough voters to make a difference in the outcome of the election, but one thing you can be sure enabling any group to get away with such offenses will only result in more intimidation throughout the legal and political system.
Veterans stood unknown amongst the crowds in known polling areas where voter intimidation took place in the 2008 elections. Some former Army Rangers, Navy Seals, Delta Force, Green Berets and other ex-military volunteered to allow every American their right to vote.
As reported by Philymag.com, U.S. Navy Seal, Ben Brink told Fox News he is reaching out to former special operations veterans to help monitor the polls, especially in known area where there has been voter intimidation. Ben Brink said on the Larry Mendte Show, “The nation saw the video of members of the Black Panthers in Philadelphia intimidating people trying to vote in 2008. We are going to try and make certain that nothing like that happens this year.”
Brink claims to have over a hundred former Army Rangers, Navy Seal, Delta Force, Green Berets and others who have volunteered for duty. The idea of Navy Seals and Black Panthers getting into it at a Philly polling site gives a whole new incentive for casting a ballot. “Our guys aren't easily intimidated,” Brink added.
The intimidating New Black Panthers are a comparison to the Ku Klux Klan of the 60's and American veterans are a comparison to Special Ops of retired military personnel that still stand for freedom. Real winners never have to cheat.
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Our pick for president: Romney
Original Post: Orlando Sentinel
Two days after his lackluster first debate performance, President Barack Obama's re-election hopes got a timely boost. The government's monthly jobless report for September showed the nation's unemployment rate fell below 8 percent for the first time since he took office.
If that were the only metric that mattered, the president might credibly argue that the U.S. economy was finally on the right track. Unfortunately for him, and for the American people, he can't.
Economic growth, three years into the recovery, is anemic. Family incomes are down, poverty is up. Obama's Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, highlighted these and other hard truths in this week's second debate.
Even the September jobless numbers deserve an asterisk, because more than 4 million Americans have given up looking for work since January 2009.
And while the nation's economy is still sputtering nearly four years after Obama took office, the federal government is more than $5 trillion deeper in debt. It just racked up its fourth straight 13-figure shortfall.
We have little confidence that Obama would be more successful managing the economy and the budget in the next four years. For that reason, though we endorsed him in 2008, we are recommending Romney in this race.
Obama's defenders would argue that he inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression, and would have made more progress if not for obstruction from Republicans in Congress. But Democrats held strong majorities in the House and Senate during his first two years.
Other presidents have succeeded even with the other party controlling Capitol Hill. Democrat Bill Clinton presided over an economic boom and balanced the budget working with Republicans. Leaders find a way.
With Obama in charge, the federal government came perilously close to a default last year. Now it's lurching toward another crisis with the impending arrival of massive tax hikes and spending cuts on Jan. 1.
The next president is likely to be dealing with a Congress where at least one, if not both, chambers are controlled by Republicans. It verges on magical thinking to expect Obama to get different results in the next four years.
Two years ago, a bipartisan panel the president appointed recommended a 10-year, $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan. Rather than embrace it and sell it to the American people, Obama took his own, less ambitious plan to Congress, where it was largely ignored by both parties.
Now the president and his supporters are attacking Romney because his long-term budget blueprint calls for money-saving reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, three of the biggest drivers of deficit spending. Obama would be more credible in critiquing the proposal if he had a serious alternative for bringing entitlement spending under control. He doesn't.
Romney is not our ideal candidate for president. We've been turned off by his appeals to social conservatives and immigration extremists. Like most presidential hopefuls, including Obama four years ago, Romney faces a steep learning curve on foreign policy.
But the core of Romney's campaign platform, his five-point plan, at least shows he understands that reviving the economy and repairing the government's balance sheet are imperative — now, not four years in the future.
Romney has a strong record of leadership to run on. He built a successful business. He rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics from scandal and mismanagement. As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with a Democrat-dominated legislature to close a $3billion budget deficit without borrowing or raising taxes, and pass the health plan that became a national model.
This is Romney's time to lead, again. If he doesn't produce results — even with a hostile Senate — we'll be ready in 2016 to get behind someone else who will.
We reject the innuendo that some critics have heaped on the president. We don't think he's a business-hating socialist. We don't think he's intent on weakening the American military. We don't think he's unpatriotic. And, no, we don't think he was born outside the United States.
But after reflecting on his four years in the White House, we also don't think that he's the best qualified candidate in this race.
We endorse Mitt Romney for president.
Two days after his lackluster first debate performance, President Barack Obama's re-election hopes got a timely boost. The government's monthly jobless report for September showed the nation's unemployment rate fell below 8 percent for the first time since he took office.
If that were the only metric that mattered, the president might credibly argue that the U.S. economy was finally on the right track. Unfortunately for him, and for the American people, he can't.
Economic growth, three years into the recovery, is anemic. Family incomes are down, poverty is up. Obama's Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, highlighted these and other hard truths in this week's second debate.
Even the September jobless numbers deserve an asterisk, because more than 4 million Americans have given up looking for work since January 2009.
And while the nation's economy is still sputtering nearly four years after Obama took office, the federal government is more than $5 trillion deeper in debt. It just racked up its fourth straight 13-figure shortfall.
We have little confidence that Obama would be more successful managing the economy and the budget in the next four years. For that reason, though we endorsed him in 2008, we are recommending Romney in this race.
Obama's defenders would argue that he inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression, and would have made more progress if not for obstruction from Republicans in Congress. But Democrats held strong majorities in the House and Senate during his first two years.
Other presidents have succeeded even with the other party controlling Capitol Hill. Democrat Bill Clinton presided over an economic boom and balanced the budget working with Republicans. Leaders find a way.
With Obama in charge, the federal government came perilously close to a default last year. Now it's lurching toward another crisis with the impending arrival of massive tax hikes and spending cuts on Jan. 1.
The next president is likely to be dealing with a Congress where at least one, if not both, chambers are controlled by Republicans. It verges on magical thinking to expect Obama to get different results in the next four years.
Two years ago, a bipartisan panel the president appointed recommended a 10-year, $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan. Rather than embrace it and sell it to the American people, Obama took his own, less ambitious plan to Congress, where it was largely ignored by both parties.
Now the president and his supporters are attacking Romney because his long-term budget blueprint calls for money-saving reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, three of the biggest drivers of deficit spending. Obama would be more credible in critiquing the proposal if he had a serious alternative for bringing entitlement spending under control. He doesn't.
Romney is not our ideal candidate for president. We've been turned off by his appeals to social conservatives and immigration extremists. Like most presidential hopefuls, including Obama four years ago, Romney faces a steep learning curve on foreign policy.
But the core of Romney's campaign platform, his five-point plan, at least shows he understands that reviving the economy and repairing the government's balance sheet are imperative — now, not four years in the future.
Romney has a strong record of leadership to run on. He built a successful business. He rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics from scandal and mismanagement. As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with a Democrat-dominated legislature to close a $3billion budget deficit without borrowing or raising taxes, and pass the health plan that became a national model.
This is Romney's time to lead, again. If he doesn't produce results — even with a hostile Senate — we'll be ready in 2016 to get behind someone else who will.
We reject the innuendo that some critics have heaped on the president. We don't think he's a business-hating socialist. We don't think he's intent on weakening the American military. We don't think he's unpatriotic. And, no, we don't think he was born outside the United States.
But after reflecting on his four years in the White House, we also don't think that he's the best qualified candidate in this race.
We endorse Mitt Romney for president.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Voting Machines Force Voters to Vote for Obama
Guilford Co. voters say ballot cast for Romney came up Obama on machine
Original Post:Fox 8
by Scott Gustin, Brandon Jones and Charlie Glancy
GREENSBORO, N.C. –The presidential election is just around the corner and voting issues have already become a problem in Guilford County.
On Monday, several voters complained that their electronic ballot machine cast the wrong vote. All the complaints were made by people who voted at the Bur-Mil Park polling location.
One of the voters, Sher Coromalis, says she cast her ballot for Governor Mitt Romney, but every time she entered her vote the machine defaulted to President Obama. “I was so upset that this could happen,” said Coromalis.
Guilford County Board of Elections Director George Gilbert says the problem arises every election. It can be resolved after the machine is re-calibrated by poll workers. “It’s not a conspiracy it’s just a machine that needs to be corrected,” Gilbert said. After the third try, Coromalis says she was able to get her vote counted for Gov. Romney but was still annoyed.
“I should have just mailed it in,” Coromalis said. Marie Haydock, who also voted at the Bur-Mil Park polling location, had the same problem.
“The frustration is… every vote counts,” said Haydock. Elections officials say the machines have been fixed as of Tuesday, and no problems have been reported since.
Early voting ends November 3.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Steve Wynn Says Business Is ‘Frightened’ of Obama
Original Post:Yahoo
Steve Wynn says the Obama administration's policies have directly resulted in American business leaders sitting on their bankrolls rather than investing in projects that would create jobs. Wynn, the founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts (WYNN), told Nevada television host Jon Ralston yesterday that he passed on a $2 billion project that could have created as many as 35,000 jobs because he's "afraid of the President," adding that every business guy Wynn knows is "frightened of Barack Obama and the way he thinks."
Breakout asked Hugh Johnson, chairman and CIO of Hugh Johnson Advisors and a job creator in his own right, if Wynn is onto something or just grinding an ax. Wynn Is "Right on the Mark"
In the attached video Johnson says Wynn is dead right. The rub for Johnson is the proposed tax hike for those making over $250,000 a year. It's not a matter of fair share but of bad business. Many of those people are owners and operators of small businesses. Tax small business people at a higher rate and they'll have less money to hire.
As the owner of a small business himself, Johnson says he would see his taxes rise as a result of the proposed hikes. "I would be affected by an increase in taxes, and that's obviously going to do something to my appetite to hire some new people; it's going to reduce it."
Johnson rejects the notion that the wealthy are opposed to higher taxes because of outsized greed and a lack of compassion. Obama's "creeping policy" against small business in favor of those in need paradoxically limits the beneficiaries' chances of getting a job. Taking money out of the hands of employers is "not how you put the U.S. economy on the road to recovery," as Johnson sees it. Rising Uncertainty on the Election
Even with the sense that the deck is increasingly stacked against him and his fellow business owners, Johnson doesn't think policy is the main culprit behind the economy recovering without as many jobs as would be expected. A far bigger concern is a lack of certainty on what the tax rates will ultimately be. It's impossible to know whether or not hiring makes economic sense when you don't know what your rates are going to be. Romney's comeback in the polls doesn't help — at least for now.
"I want to see who's going to win this election, and I really want to see what the tax and spending policies are going to be for the next four years," says Johnson. "I don't know that right now, so I'm putting things on hold now and waiting for the outcome of this election."
Even if Romney wins the White House come February, there's no guarantee his policies will actually be put in place. But that's a problem for another day. For now guys like Steve Wynn and Hugh Johnson would be happy just to feel like they aren't the scapegoats for a recovery that continues to feel like a recession.
Steve Wynn says the Obama administration's policies have directly resulted in American business leaders sitting on their bankrolls rather than investing in projects that would create jobs. Wynn, the founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts (WYNN), told Nevada television host Jon Ralston yesterday that he passed on a $2 billion project that could have created as many as 35,000 jobs because he's "afraid of the President," adding that every business guy Wynn knows is "frightened of Barack Obama and the way he thinks."
Breakout asked Hugh Johnson, chairman and CIO of Hugh Johnson Advisors and a job creator in his own right, if Wynn is onto something or just grinding an ax. Wynn Is "Right on the Mark"
In the attached video Johnson says Wynn is dead right. The rub for Johnson is the proposed tax hike for those making over $250,000 a year. It's not a matter of fair share but of bad business. Many of those people are owners and operators of small businesses. Tax small business people at a higher rate and they'll have less money to hire.
As the owner of a small business himself, Johnson says he would see his taxes rise as a result of the proposed hikes. "I would be affected by an increase in taxes, and that's obviously going to do something to my appetite to hire some new people; it's going to reduce it."
Johnson rejects the notion that the wealthy are opposed to higher taxes because of outsized greed and a lack of compassion. Obama's "creeping policy" against small business in favor of those in need paradoxically limits the beneficiaries' chances of getting a job. Taking money out of the hands of employers is "not how you put the U.S. economy on the road to recovery," as Johnson sees it. Rising Uncertainty on the Election
Even with the sense that the deck is increasingly stacked against him and his fellow business owners, Johnson doesn't think policy is the main culprit behind the economy recovering without as many jobs as would be expected. A far bigger concern is a lack of certainty on what the tax rates will ultimately be. It's impossible to know whether or not hiring makes economic sense when you don't know what your rates are going to be. Romney's comeback in the polls doesn't help — at least for now.
"I want to see who's going to win this election, and I really want to see what the tax and spending policies are going to be for the next four years," says Johnson. "I don't know that right now, so I'm putting things on hold now and waiting for the outcome of this election."
Even if Romney wins the White House come February, there's no guarantee his policies will actually be put in place. But that's a problem for another day. For now guys like Steve Wynn and Hugh Johnson would be happy just to feel like they aren't the scapegoats for a recovery that continues to feel like a recession.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Obama campaign staffer caught helping activist vote twice
Original Post:Newstalk 1130
Videographer James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas caught an official for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign helping who she thought was an Obama supporter set herself up to vote more than once in November. Stephanie Caballero is the regional field director for Obama’s Organizing For America in Houston, Texas. Federal Election Commission documents show, according to Project Veritas, that Caballero is a “salaried employee of the DNC [Democratic National Committee].” Caballero is caught on camera helping the young woman try to vote in Florida and Texas in the upcoming election.
“So I spent some time in Florida, and I got my voter registration card for Florida. So and I know that we have you know it’s a battleground state there,” the Project Veritas reporter said to Caballero.
“Keep it, keep it… so you’re going to vote by ballot?” Caballero responded. “I’m going to vote by ballot and then I have mine here too,” the videographer answered, adding that: “it just really concerns me that if we don’t do everything we can we’re not going to win.”
Caballero then advises: “okay, so you have to make sure because after 60 days you can send in your application to vote by mail ballot.”
“So I can print that out for you. On Wednesday I’ll print it out. You just have to mail it or fax,” she added.
“Okay, or fax it back in so that I can do,” the videographer responded. “So they’ll send you a mail ballot,” Caballero then said. “A mail ballot, and so, and there’s no way that they would be able to cross reference that?” the videographer then asked.
“If you voted twice?” Caballero asked, seeking to clarify, adding, “I don’t know with you. I might just do Florida because in Texas it really doesn’t [count].” Later in the conversation, referencing the voter fraud, the videographer said to Caballero: “And let me know about that. I mean I don’t want to do anything wrong. But if no one’s going to know, like…”
“I’ll definitely look into [it]. I don’t want you to get in trouble at all,” Caballero promised.
The videographer responded: “Yeah, I don’t want to get in trouble. But like I said, if no one’s going to know I don’t have a problem with it, yeah. So anyway, but…” Caballero then said: “Oh, my God. This is so funny. It’s cool though.” O’Keefe then said “a few weeks later,” his videographer went back to the office to follow up. Caballero gave her a Florida absentee ballot application to “help her vote twice.”
After Caballero sets the videographer up to vote in Florida, she asked the Project Veritas investigator: “Are you going to do what I think you’re going do?” The videographer responded: “Well, I mean, if no one’s gonna know…” Caballero audibly laughed, then said: “You’re so hilarious!”
Videographer James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas caught an official for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign helping who she thought was an Obama supporter set herself up to vote more than once in November. Stephanie Caballero is the regional field director for Obama’s Organizing For America in Houston, Texas. Federal Election Commission documents show, according to Project Veritas, that Caballero is a “salaried employee of the DNC [Democratic National Committee].” Caballero is caught on camera helping the young woman try to vote in Florida and Texas in the upcoming election.
“So I spent some time in Florida, and I got my voter registration card for Florida. So and I know that we have you know it’s a battleground state there,” the Project Veritas reporter said to Caballero.
“Keep it, keep it… so you’re going to vote by ballot?” Caballero responded. “I’m going to vote by ballot and then I have mine here too,” the videographer answered, adding that: “it just really concerns me that if we don’t do everything we can we’re not going to win.”
Caballero then advises: “okay, so you have to make sure because after 60 days you can send in your application to vote by mail ballot.”
“So I can print that out for you. On Wednesday I’ll print it out. You just have to mail it or fax,” she added.
“Okay, or fax it back in so that I can do,” the videographer responded. “So they’ll send you a mail ballot,” Caballero then said. “A mail ballot, and so, and there’s no way that they would be able to cross reference that?” the videographer then asked.
“If you voted twice?” Caballero asked, seeking to clarify, adding, “I don’t know with you. I might just do Florida because in Texas it really doesn’t [count].” Later in the conversation, referencing the voter fraud, the videographer said to Caballero: “And let me know about that. I mean I don’t want to do anything wrong. But if no one’s going to know, like…”
“I’ll definitely look into [it]. I don’t want you to get in trouble at all,” Caballero promised.
The videographer responded: “Yeah, I don’t want to get in trouble. But like I said, if no one’s going to know I don’t have a problem with it, yeah. So anyway, but…” Caballero then said: “Oh, my God. This is so funny. It’s cool though.” O’Keefe then said “a few weeks later,” his videographer went back to the office to follow up. Caballero gave her a Florida absentee ballot application to “help her vote twice.”
After Caballero sets the videographer up to vote in Florida, she asked the Project Veritas investigator: “Are you going to do what I think you’re going do?” The videographer responded: “Well, I mean, if no one’s gonna know…” Caballero audibly laughed, then said: “You’re so hilarious!”
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Editorial: Dallas Morning News endorses Mitt Romney for president
Original Post: Dallas News
Barack Obama will forever be a historic, as well as historical, figure in American life. The 44th U.S. president, yes, but more noteworthy, he will forever be the first African-American to lead a nation riven through centuries by racial and ethnic division.
His election in November 2008 inspired. Even those who may not have supported him could not deny the significance.
With it came an optimism that the ideals he stressed as a candidate, like a post-partisan Washington where Democrats and Republicans worked together, were within reach. He took office amid great turmoil, a crashing economy and two wars atop his priorities.
Candidate Obama, an orator of great skill and cadence, might have overcome everything and put the U.S. on a brighter path. President Obama, unfortunately, fell short of the challenge. The wars have largely faded from headlines, but the economic struggles remain, along with an attendant worry about future federal spending, deficits and debt.
Obama’s Democratic supporters would argue that no one could have succeeded in what he inherited, that the nation’s problems were far more severe than anyone could handle in four years.
We respectfully disagree. On the central issue that will define his presidency — a stalled U.S. economy weighed down by crushing annual deficits and accumulated debt — Obama showed himself to be less leader than follower. While he expended his political capital on new government programs, unemployment stayed at debilitating heights. For that reason, this newspaper recommends Republican challenger Mitt Romney for president.
We see evidence of Obama’s shortcomings in his re-election campaign, a relentlessly negative push to disqualify his opponent instead of standing on his accomplishments. His campaign has worn voters’ patience thin by constantly blaming predecessor George W. Bush for “the mess he left behind.”
Cleaning up that mess, however large, was what Americans trusted to Obama. Romney had to survive a fractious primary by steering too far right on some issues. At his core, however, we see him as a “Chamber of Commerce Republican,” more attuned to business interests than the tea party/social conservatism that defines today’s GOP.
Importantly, Romney speaks the language of industry. His tenure leading Bain Capital, for instance, has come under sharp criticism for years, but it also reveals a man who understands capital formation and how that, extrapolated through an economy, can lift the U.S. from its stalled state. Even some of Obama’s Democratic allies — notably rising star Cory Booker, former adviser Steven Rattner and former Rep. Harold Ford — were quick to criticize the campaign’s Bain-centric attacks on profit.
Unlike many in his party, Romney understands that government has a place in the economy and in American life, just not as much of a place as Obama would afford it. Obama has cited, with some justification, recalcitrance from congressional Republicans for thwarting him. But in his first two years, when Democrats had a wide margin in the House and filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, Obama’s wounds were self-inflicted. He put his chips on a necessary but ill-conceived stimulus program and a massive health care overhaul. Left to languish were a broad-based energy bill, comprehensive immigration reform, entitlement reform and, most ominously, effective job-creation programs.
Obama’s people warned of unemployment rates as high as 8 percent without the stimulus spending, only to see rates exceed 8 percent, anyway, for 43 consecutive months — and counting. Real household income has fallen in consecutive years. Food stamp enrollment has hit record highs; the percentage of adults in the workforce approaches record lows.
Annual deficits for every year of the Obama presidency will top $1 trillion, pushing the federal debt past an astounding $16 trillion.
Obama’s Affordable Care Act was his signature domestic achievement. Its many laudable features included the individual mandate, but one was not its financing, which led this newspaper to oppose it. Obama left the details to Congress, and what emerged had no realistic funding stream and did too little to contain future costs.
Of most concern, Obama was not unaware of the fiscal problem. He put together a bipartisan panel to help forge a solution but then abandoned it. Left to languish, the Simpson-Bowles group could not achieve the votes to force congressional action. The proposal, which included a roughly 3-to-1 package of spending cuts to revenue increases, was the kind of compromise candidate Obama had advocated. As president, he chose not to act.
Romney has shown an ability to lead, from turning around the deficit-ridden 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics to his term as Massachusetts governor. His plans for tax and entitlement reform are encouraging, shifting the focus from government first to freeing the private sector to innovate. Voters should demand more specifics, but at the heart of his plans — especially on reforming a teetering Medicare system — is an instinct to rely on competition over regulation to drive growth.
Yet Romney does give us pause. His famed flip-flops on issues from immigration to health care, always pushing further right, are worrisome. His difficulty in speaking precisely and inoffensively on such issues as London’s Olympic preparedness, Israeli Palestinian issues and U.S. embassy assaults paint him, at best, as a foreign policy neophyte.
And his secretly recorded comments at a Boca Raton, Fla., fundraiser drew an unreasonably sharp line between those who pay income taxes and “the 47 percent” of Americans who only take and would never support him, anyway. These ill-advised statements offended many and played directly into the Obama campaign’s picture of an excessively wealthy candidate out of touch with the common man.
Not his finest moment, nor was it the lone defining one for Romney. What we’ve seen of him over many years — from business success to running a state to impeccable personal and family attributes — convinces this newspaper that the time is right for someone with his broad skill set.
Obama himself once said that if he didn’t repair the economy “in three years, this would be a one-term proposition.” The facts show it’s time for a principled, pragmatic leader who can get Washington working again.
Barack Obama will forever be a historic, as well as historical, figure in American life. The 44th U.S. president, yes, but more noteworthy, he will forever be the first African-American to lead a nation riven through centuries by racial and ethnic division.
His election in November 2008 inspired. Even those who may not have supported him could not deny the significance.
With it came an optimism that the ideals he stressed as a candidate, like a post-partisan Washington where Democrats and Republicans worked together, were within reach. He took office amid great turmoil, a crashing economy and two wars atop his priorities.
Candidate Obama, an orator of great skill and cadence, might have overcome everything and put the U.S. on a brighter path. President Obama, unfortunately, fell short of the challenge. The wars have largely faded from headlines, but the economic struggles remain, along with an attendant worry about future federal spending, deficits and debt.
Obama’s Democratic supporters would argue that no one could have succeeded in what he inherited, that the nation’s problems were far more severe than anyone could handle in four years.
We respectfully disagree. On the central issue that will define his presidency — a stalled U.S. economy weighed down by crushing annual deficits and accumulated debt — Obama showed himself to be less leader than follower. While he expended his political capital on new government programs, unemployment stayed at debilitating heights. For that reason, this newspaper recommends Republican challenger Mitt Romney for president.
We see evidence of Obama’s shortcomings in his re-election campaign, a relentlessly negative push to disqualify his opponent instead of standing on his accomplishments. His campaign has worn voters’ patience thin by constantly blaming predecessor George W. Bush for “the mess he left behind.”
Cleaning up that mess, however large, was what Americans trusted to Obama. Romney had to survive a fractious primary by steering too far right on some issues. At his core, however, we see him as a “Chamber of Commerce Republican,” more attuned to business interests than the tea party/social conservatism that defines today’s GOP.
Importantly, Romney speaks the language of industry. His tenure leading Bain Capital, for instance, has come under sharp criticism for years, but it also reveals a man who understands capital formation and how that, extrapolated through an economy, can lift the U.S. from its stalled state. Even some of Obama’s Democratic allies — notably rising star Cory Booker, former adviser Steven Rattner and former Rep. Harold Ford — were quick to criticize the campaign’s Bain-centric attacks on profit.
Unlike many in his party, Romney understands that government has a place in the economy and in American life, just not as much of a place as Obama would afford it. Obama has cited, with some justification, recalcitrance from congressional Republicans for thwarting him. But in his first two years, when Democrats had a wide margin in the House and filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, Obama’s wounds were self-inflicted. He put his chips on a necessary but ill-conceived stimulus program and a massive health care overhaul. Left to languish were a broad-based energy bill, comprehensive immigration reform, entitlement reform and, most ominously, effective job-creation programs.
Obama’s people warned of unemployment rates as high as 8 percent without the stimulus spending, only to see rates exceed 8 percent, anyway, for 43 consecutive months — and counting. Real household income has fallen in consecutive years. Food stamp enrollment has hit record highs; the percentage of adults in the workforce approaches record lows.
Annual deficits for every year of the Obama presidency will top $1 trillion, pushing the federal debt past an astounding $16 trillion.
Obama’s Affordable Care Act was his signature domestic achievement. Its many laudable features included the individual mandate, but one was not its financing, which led this newspaper to oppose it. Obama left the details to Congress, and what emerged had no realistic funding stream and did too little to contain future costs.
Of most concern, Obama was not unaware of the fiscal problem. He put together a bipartisan panel to help forge a solution but then abandoned it. Left to languish, the Simpson-Bowles group could not achieve the votes to force congressional action. The proposal, which included a roughly 3-to-1 package of spending cuts to revenue increases, was the kind of compromise candidate Obama had advocated. As president, he chose not to act.
Romney has shown an ability to lead, from turning around the deficit-ridden 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics to his term as Massachusetts governor. His plans for tax and entitlement reform are encouraging, shifting the focus from government first to freeing the private sector to innovate. Voters should demand more specifics, but at the heart of his plans — especially on reforming a teetering Medicare system — is an instinct to rely on competition over regulation to drive growth.
Yet Romney does give us pause. His famed flip-flops on issues from immigration to health care, always pushing further right, are worrisome. His difficulty in speaking precisely and inoffensively on such issues as London’s Olympic preparedness, Israeli Palestinian issues and U.S. embassy assaults paint him, at best, as a foreign policy neophyte.
And his secretly recorded comments at a Boca Raton, Fla., fundraiser drew an unreasonably sharp line between those who pay income taxes and “the 47 percent” of Americans who only take and would never support him, anyway. These ill-advised statements offended many and played directly into the Obama campaign’s picture of an excessively wealthy candidate out of touch with the common man.
Not his finest moment, nor was it the lone defining one for Romney. What we’ve seen of him over many years — from business success to running a state to impeccable personal and family attributes — convinces this newspaper that the time is right for someone with his broad skill set.
Obama himself once said that if he didn’t repair the economy “in three years, this would be a one-term proposition.” The facts show it’s time for a principled, pragmatic leader who can get Washington working again.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Stupid Obama voters
Four years later.
It troubles me that one of those people's votes will cancel out mine.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Union activists illegally voting in Wisconsin
Original Post: Media Trackers
By Collin Roth
After discovering that Occupy Milwaukee protester and left-wing activist Austin Lee Thompson used a Glendale hotel to register and vote, Media Trackers has discovered that at least two more out-of-state activists employed by the SEIU registered to vote from the Glendale Residence Inn hotel for the April 5, 2011 spring election.
SEIU organizer Todd E. Stoner from Freehold, New Jersey, used same-day registration to cast a ballot in the April 5, 2011 spring election in Wisconsin. Stoner, like Thompson, still has an active voter registration in New Jersey. According to Stoner’s Wisconsin voter registration form, he simply listed “Residence Inn Marriott and N.J. ID” as his proof of residence. Stoner used another state’s ID as part of his proof of residence to vote in Wisconsin.
Clarence Haynes also registered to vote using the Residence Inn in Glendale. According to 2010 SEIU documents, Haynes was a “Senior Organizer in Training” in 2010. The area code on his cell phone is from the Tampa area and Haynes was previously registered as an SEIU officer in Palm Beach County. Haynes broke GAB protocol on his voter registration form by not listing a previous address and his proof of residence was a “military ID and Residence Inn paperwork.”
Austin Lee Thompson, Todd Stoner, and Clarence Haynes all travelled from different states to take part in the Madison protests and subsequent campaigns in Wisconsin. It is no coincidence that all three registered to vote at the same Residence Inn in Glendale, begging the question who was paying for the hotel rooms?
Circumstantial evidence points to the SEIU, to which all three have a connection. Stoner and Haynes are SEIU organizers and Thompson was employed by Wisconsin Jobs Now!, an organization created by the SEIU and Citizen Action Wisconsin.
How long have left-wing organizations and labor unions taken advantage of Wisconsin’s lax voting laws by registering out-of-state political activists at hotel addresses? The Milwaukee Police Department’s investigation of the 2004 General Election warned of a “new class of Wisconsin voter, the ’10-day resident,’” based on the 10 day residency requirement for voting.
Pursuing election integrity crimes must be a priority for Wisconsin law enforcement not just in word, but in deed. It is time for law enforcement, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to step up and investigate whether there is a pervasive use of hotel addresses for voter registration. How many professional activists used hotels around the state to register to vote in the Supreme Court race? or the Summer Recalls? How many will use these methods for the Walker recall?
UNCOVERED: Three Out-of-State SEIU Activists Registered To Vote From Hotel
By Collin Roth
After discovering that Occupy Milwaukee protester and left-wing activist Austin Lee Thompson used a Glendale hotel to register and vote, Media Trackers has discovered that at least two more out-of-state activists employed by the SEIU registered to vote from the Glendale Residence Inn hotel for the April 5, 2011 spring election.
SEIU organizer Todd E. Stoner from Freehold, New Jersey, used same-day registration to cast a ballot in the April 5, 2011 spring election in Wisconsin. Stoner, like Thompson, still has an active voter registration in New Jersey. According to Stoner’s Wisconsin voter registration form, he simply listed “Residence Inn Marriott and N.J. ID” as his proof of residence. Stoner used another state’s ID as part of his proof of residence to vote in Wisconsin.
Clarence Haynes also registered to vote using the Residence Inn in Glendale. According to 2010 SEIU documents, Haynes was a “Senior Organizer in Training” in 2010. The area code on his cell phone is from the Tampa area and Haynes was previously registered as an SEIU officer in Palm Beach County. Haynes broke GAB protocol on his voter registration form by not listing a previous address and his proof of residence was a “military ID and Residence Inn paperwork.”
Austin Lee Thompson, Todd Stoner, and Clarence Haynes all travelled from different states to take part in the Madison protests and subsequent campaigns in Wisconsin. It is no coincidence that all three registered to vote at the same Residence Inn in Glendale, begging the question who was paying for the hotel rooms?
Circumstantial evidence points to the SEIU, to which all three have a connection. Stoner and Haynes are SEIU organizers and Thompson was employed by Wisconsin Jobs Now!, an organization created by the SEIU and Citizen Action Wisconsin.
How long have left-wing organizations and labor unions taken advantage of Wisconsin’s lax voting laws by registering out-of-state political activists at hotel addresses? The Milwaukee Police Department’s investigation of the 2004 General Election warned of a “new class of Wisconsin voter, the ’10-day resident,’” based on the 10 day residency requirement for voting.
Pursuing election integrity crimes must be a priority for Wisconsin law enforcement not just in word, but in deed. It is time for law enforcement, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to step up and investigate whether there is a pervasive use of hotel addresses for voter registration. How many professional activists used hotels around the state to register to vote in the Supreme Court race? or the Summer Recalls? How many will use these methods for the Walker recall?
Friday, September 30, 2011
Democrat Govenor calls for suspention of elections
Original Post: USA News
With Washington more unpopular than ever, suggesting we cancel the 2012 congressional elections is not an idea voters will embrace. Yet that's exact what Gov. Bev Perdue did when addressing the Rotary Club of Cary, N.C., this week.
"I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that."
The words spread like wildfire, leading the Drudge Report and receiving significant airplay on both the Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh radio programs.
Predictably, this lead to the "just kidding" defense.
"Governor Perdue was obviously using hyperbole to highlight what we can all agree is a serious problem: Washington politicians who focus on their own election instead of what's best for the people they serve," said a Perdue spokesperson, hoping to reassure anyone who had not actually heard the comments.
The audio, however, gives no impression that Perdue was joking, or, as Perdue herself later claimed, "sarcastic." As the Charlotte Observer noted, "her tone was level and she asked others to support her on the idea." One neither hears laughter, nor applause (voters tend to take their constitutionally-protected right to hold politicians accountable at the ballot box rather seriously).
Were this a one-off comment, the Perdue team could chalk it up to an errant comment with no real political impact.
This isn't the first time Perdue has forced her team to make bizarre explanations. In mid-April, when the state was hit with massive storms that necessitated the declaration of a state of emergency, the governor went missing. Perdue, her staff explained, was out of town for a "family obligation." The next day, however, the story changed. Perdue, her staff then claimed, was in Kentucky to visit Gov. Steve Beshear and attend the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, a popular thoroughbred horse race—only to deny the following day that Perdue had attended the race.
Confused? So were North Carolina voters and the media.
"Perdue's spokespeople still don't agree on where Governor was Saturday during storm," headlined a WWAY-TV story asking, "why the governor's communications staff seemed so unorganized Saturday when most of the state knew these deadly storms were headed our way at least two days in advance." (While the governor's office feels it has moved on from the controversy, North Carolina Republicans believe there may be another horse-shoe to drop.)
And if there have been problems for what Perdue (and staff) has said, so, too, has Perdue found herself in hot water for things she hasn't said.
Perdue has refused to state a position on an amendment to the state constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage and civil unions, despite her involvement in moving the vote from the November elections to the May primaries.
And despite the aggressive efforts of a revitalized North Carolina Republican Party, Perdue refuses to weigh in on the National Labor Relations Board blocking Boeing Co. from shifting jobs to a nonunion plant in South Carolina, an important issue regionally and one that former North Carolina Democratic Party Chair David Young declared in the Charlotte Observer, "Yes, NLRB-Boeing Hurts N.C."
With labor unions already riled over the 2012 Democratic National Convention being held in the right-to-work state, perhaps Perdue does not want to anger them further. But Perdue's record on jobs may-be what most threatens hers.
Since she took office in January, 2009, unemployment in North Carolina has increased from 9.2 percent to 10.4 percent last month—a loss of more than 137,000 jobs in the state.
Voter reaction has been harsh. A High Point University poll released this week shows Governor Perdue with 37 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval—effectively wiping out the small bump she received from her response to Hurricane Irene—despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans, as of Wednesday, by 775,459 registered voters.
As the poll shows, voter dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama, who narrowly carried the Tar Heel State in 2008, is at critical mass with 53 percent of respondents disapproving of his job performance. In other words, Perdue, who doesn't have much to run on herself, can't depend on long coattails.
Traditionally, state elections have favored Democrats; North Carolina Republicans have not elected a governor since 1988. But with voter anger—and unemployment—mounting, unforced errors such as the constantly changing Kentucky alibi and this week's comments only cement Perdue's position as the most endangered incumbent governor in the nation.
Perhaps, then, it's no wonder Perdue suggested suspending elections—and what should surprise us is that Perdue wasn't talking about her own.
Why North Carolina's Perdue Is the Most Endangered Governor
With Washington more unpopular than ever, suggesting we cancel the 2012 congressional elections is not an idea voters will embrace. Yet that's exact what Gov. Bev Perdue did when addressing the Rotary Club of Cary, N.C., this week.
"I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that."
The words spread like wildfire, leading the Drudge Report and receiving significant airplay on both the Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh radio programs.
Predictably, this lead to the "just kidding" defense.
"Governor Perdue was obviously using hyperbole to highlight what we can all agree is a serious problem: Washington politicians who focus on their own election instead of what's best for the people they serve," said a Perdue spokesperson, hoping to reassure anyone who had not actually heard the comments.
The audio, however, gives no impression that Perdue was joking, or, as Perdue herself later claimed, "sarcastic." As the Charlotte Observer noted, "her tone was level and she asked others to support her on the idea." One neither hears laughter, nor applause (voters tend to take their constitutionally-protected right to hold politicians accountable at the ballot box rather seriously).
Were this a one-off comment, the Perdue team could chalk it up to an errant comment with no real political impact.
This isn't the first time Perdue has forced her team to make bizarre explanations. In mid-April, when the state was hit with massive storms that necessitated the declaration of a state of emergency, the governor went missing. Perdue, her staff explained, was out of town for a "family obligation." The next day, however, the story changed. Perdue, her staff then claimed, was in Kentucky to visit Gov. Steve Beshear and attend the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, a popular thoroughbred horse race—only to deny the following day that Perdue had attended the race.
Confused? So were North Carolina voters and the media.
"Perdue's spokespeople still don't agree on where Governor was Saturday during storm," headlined a WWAY-TV story asking, "why the governor's communications staff seemed so unorganized Saturday when most of the state knew these deadly storms were headed our way at least two days in advance." (While the governor's office feels it has moved on from the controversy, North Carolina Republicans believe there may be another horse-shoe to drop.)
And if there have been problems for what Perdue (and staff) has said, so, too, has Perdue found herself in hot water for things she hasn't said.
Perdue has refused to state a position on an amendment to the state constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage and civil unions, despite her involvement in moving the vote from the November elections to the May primaries.
And despite the aggressive efforts of a revitalized North Carolina Republican Party, Perdue refuses to weigh in on the National Labor Relations Board blocking Boeing Co. from shifting jobs to a nonunion plant in South Carolina, an important issue regionally and one that former North Carolina Democratic Party Chair David Young declared in the Charlotte Observer, "Yes, NLRB-Boeing Hurts N.C."
With labor unions already riled over the 2012 Democratic National Convention being held in the right-to-work state, perhaps Perdue does not want to anger them further. But Perdue's record on jobs may-be what most threatens hers.
Since she took office in January, 2009, unemployment in North Carolina has increased from 9.2 percent to 10.4 percent last month—a loss of more than 137,000 jobs in the state.
Voter reaction has been harsh. A High Point University poll released this week shows Governor Perdue with 37 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval—effectively wiping out the small bump she received from her response to Hurricane Irene—despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans, as of Wednesday, by 775,459 registered voters.
As the poll shows, voter dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama, who narrowly carried the Tar Heel State in 2008, is at critical mass with 53 percent of respondents disapproving of his job performance. In other words, Perdue, who doesn't have much to run on herself, can't depend on long coattails.
Traditionally, state elections have favored Democrats; North Carolina Republicans have not elected a governor since 1988. But with voter anger—and unemployment—mounting, unforced errors such as the constantly changing Kentucky alibi and this week's comments only cement Perdue's position as the most endangered incumbent governor in the nation.
Perhaps, then, it's no wonder Perdue suggested suspending elections—and what should surprise us is that Perdue wasn't talking about her own.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
E-mails Raise Questions About Truthfulness of Pasch Denial
Original Post: Media Trackers
By: Brian Sikma
UPDATE: This article was updated at 10:09 AM on August 3, 2011 to include more emails between Rep. Sandy Pasch and Citizen Action of Wisconsin.
As the barbecue for votes scandal involving Wisconsin Jobs Now! draws significant media attention, Rep. Sandy Pasch has spent the early days of this week attempting to distance herself from the organization. Pasch serves on the board of directors of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a liberal umbrella group that is the parent organization of Wisconsin Jobs Now! Interestingly, WJN is only operating within the 8th Senate District, where Pasch is attempting to unseat Sen. Alberta Darling in a recall election next Tuesday.
After Media Trackers brought to light Pasch’s connection with Citizen Action and WJN, questions were raised about whether or not Pasch and her campaign have coordinated with the liberal non-profit groups. Such coordination would be a violation of state election law. Speaking to the Milwaukee Press Club on Monday, Pasch denied having any involvement with the political activities of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, even though she serves on the group’s board.
The Journal-Sentinel reported that that Pasch “said she has had no contact with anyone at Citizen Action regarding any political activities.” A local reporter for the Foxpoint Patch news website quoted Pasch as saying:
“I have not had no [sic] contact with them about any political activities or any political plans that they’ve been making. I cut off contact with them.”
This theme was reiterated by Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Democratic Party of Wisconsin officials.
The truthfulness of Rep. Pasch’s statements are brought into question as a result of e-mails obtained by Media Trackers through an open records request on Rep. Pasch’s office. A number of the more than 1,500 e-mails obtained were from Robert Kraig, the executive director of Citizen Action, to his board members. Kraig used Pasch’s official e-mail address quite frequently when updating her on what Citizen Action of Wisconsin was doing, and what actions the board of directors needed to take.
One particularly fascinating exchange took place from June 1 through June 5 between a Citizen Action staffer, Jennifer Epps, and Pasch’s aide, Fred Ludwig. Citizen Action was looking to film promotional statements by liberal lawmakers opposed to Gov. Walker’s proposed reform to the Wisconsin Shares program. The exchange includes both sides working to nail down a time for Pasch to record the video statement, and also finds the Citizen Action staffer offering some helpful insight into a way Pasch could get on a radio show at WMCS to promote the issue.
Sandy Pasch announced her campaign to unseat Alberta Darling on May 6. The exchange about a promotional video and potential radio show appearance between Pasch’s office and Citizen Action of Wisconsin came nearly a month into the election. Clearly some measure of coordination was taking place, and it must be assumed that Citizen Action of Wisconsin was aware of the political value that Pasch could have put on having a video filmed by Citizen Action of Wisconsin shown to supporters.
Other e-mails discovered include talking points sent to Pasch’s office by Citizen Action of Wisconsin on February 12 outlining what Citizen Action believed to be effective ways of opposing the Budget Repair Bill. That e-mail also included a note that Citizen Action would be helping to lead the way on the massive protests that engulfed Madison in the following weeks.
Several e-mails were quick reminders about upcoming Citizen Action board meetings, including one hosted by WEAC. It also appears that the SEIU will be hosting a Citizen Action board meeting on December 9 at 260 E. Highland Avenue in Milwaukee.
One final e-mail of note was sent on March 18 to Rep. Pasch’s official e-mail address asking her to reply with her completed ballot regarding candidates that Citizen Action of Wisconsin should endorse in the Spring election. Robert Kraig reminded the board that, “You as the Board of Directors make the final decision on all endorsements.” Members were asked to include Matt Brusky, the treasurer of the dubious Wisconsin Jobs Now! group and political director for Citizen Action, on their reply.
Clearly the truth is not exactly as Rep. Sandy Pasch would have the public believe. Her statements to the press about her involvement with Citizen Action of Wisconsin would appear to be at best misspoken, at worst misleading. The e-mails obtained show a history of coordination between her official office and Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and they show the extent of the political duties involved in serving as a board member for Citizen Action.
The e-mails obtained by Media Trackers are only the tip of the iceberg. They only reveal a tremendous amount of communication between Rep. Pasch’s office and Citizen Action of Wisconsin. There is no way to judge, outside of a legal subpoena, how many e-mails are exchanged between Pasch, her treasurer Jackie Boynton, Matt Brusky, and Robert Kraig via personal or campaign e-mail addresses. Judging from the publicly available e-mails, it would appear to be incredible to believe that all of these parties have failed to communicate and coordinate on political activities.
PaschCitizenActionBoardPoliticalActions
E-mailPaschCitizenActionVideoCoordination
Citizen Action Board Meeting On May 13
Citizen Action Talking Points On Budget Repair Bill
By: Brian Sikma
UPDATE: This article was updated at 10:09 AM on August 3, 2011 to include more emails between Rep. Sandy Pasch and Citizen Action of Wisconsin.
As the barbecue for votes scandal involving Wisconsin Jobs Now! draws significant media attention, Rep. Sandy Pasch has spent the early days of this week attempting to distance herself from the organization. Pasch serves on the board of directors of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a liberal umbrella group that is the parent organization of Wisconsin Jobs Now! Interestingly, WJN is only operating within the 8th Senate District, where Pasch is attempting to unseat Sen. Alberta Darling in a recall election next Tuesday.
After Media Trackers brought to light Pasch’s connection with Citizen Action and WJN, questions were raised about whether or not Pasch and her campaign have coordinated with the liberal non-profit groups. Such coordination would be a violation of state election law. Speaking to the Milwaukee Press Club on Monday, Pasch denied having any involvement with the political activities of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, even though she serves on the group’s board.
The Journal-Sentinel reported that that Pasch “said she has had no contact with anyone at Citizen Action regarding any political activities.” A local reporter for the Foxpoint Patch news website quoted Pasch as saying:
“I have not had no [sic] contact with them about any political activities or any political plans that they’ve been making. I cut off contact with them.”
This theme was reiterated by Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Democratic Party of Wisconsin officials.
The truthfulness of Rep. Pasch’s statements are brought into question as a result of e-mails obtained by Media Trackers through an open records request on Rep. Pasch’s office. A number of the more than 1,500 e-mails obtained were from Robert Kraig, the executive director of Citizen Action, to his board members. Kraig used Pasch’s official e-mail address quite frequently when updating her on what Citizen Action of Wisconsin was doing, and what actions the board of directors needed to take.
One particularly fascinating exchange took place from June 1 through June 5 between a Citizen Action staffer, Jennifer Epps, and Pasch’s aide, Fred Ludwig. Citizen Action was looking to film promotional statements by liberal lawmakers opposed to Gov. Walker’s proposed reform to the Wisconsin Shares program. The exchange includes both sides working to nail down a time for Pasch to record the video statement, and also finds the Citizen Action staffer offering some helpful insight into a way Pasch could get on a radio show at WMCS to promote the issue.
Sandy Pasch announced her campaign to unseat Alberta Darling on May 6. The exchange about a promotional video and potential radio show appearance between Pasch’s office and Citizen Action of Wisconsin came nearly a month into the election. Clearly some measure of coordination was taking place, and it must be assumed that Citizen Action of Wisconsin was aware of the political value that Pasch could have put on having a video filmed by Citizen Action of Wisconsin shown to supporters.
Other e-mails discovered include talking points sent to Pasch’s office by Citizen Action of Wisconsin on February 12 outlining what Citizen Action believed to be effective ways of opposing the Budget Repair Bill. That e-mail also included a note that Citizen Action would be helping to lead the way on the massive protests that engulfed Madison in the following weeks.
Several e-mails were quick reminders about upcoming Citizen Action board meetings, including one hosted by WEAC. It also appears that the SEIU will be hosting a Citizen Action board meeting on December 9 at 260 E. Highland Avenue in Milwaukee.
One final e-mail of note was sent on March 18 to Rep. Pasch’s official e-mail address asking her to reply with her completed ballot regarding candidates that Citizen Action of Wisconsin should endorse in the Spring election. Robert Kraig reminded the board that, “You as the Board of Directors make the final decision on all endorsements.” Members were asked to include Matt Brusky, the treasurer of the dubious Wisconsin Jobs Now! group and political director for Citizen Action, on their reply.
Clearly the truth is not exactly as Rep. Sandy Pasch would have the public believe. Her statements to the press about her involvement with Citizen Action of Wisconsin would appear to be at best misspoken, at worst misleading. The e-mails obtained show a history of coordination between her official office and Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and they show the extent of the political duties involved in serving as a board member for Citizen Action.
The e-mails obtained by Media Trackers are only the tip of the iceberg. They only reveal a tremendous amount of communication between Rep. Pasch’s office and Citizen Action of Wisconsin. There is no way to judge, outside of a legal subpoena, how many e-mails are exchanged between Pasch, her treasurer Jackie Boynton, Matt Brusky, and Robert Kraig via personal or campaign e-mail addresses. Judging from the publicly available e-mails, it would appear to be incredible to believe that all of these parties have failed to communicate and coordinate on political activities.
PaschCitizenActionBoardPoliticalActions
E-mailPaschCitizenActionVideoCoordination
Citizen Action Board Meeting On May 13
Citizen Action Talking Points On Budget Repair Bill
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Election Panel puts hold only on Democrat recalls
Original Post: Big Government
by Brett Healy
If someone wrote this as fiction, they’d be laughed at. As the liberal special interests adjust noisily to being out of power in Wisconsin, events have now gone beyond parody. The latest from the “You can’t make this stuff up” file:
The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has delayed action regarding the potential recalls of three Democrat State Senators. Since the GAB moved swiftly to certify the recalls of six Republican State Senators, some are reasonably raising the claim that the GAB is showing partisan favoritism.
They had publicly stated a desire to hold all the recall elections on the same day, however, because of the lack of action on the part of the GAB, the Republican Senators are scheduled to face the voters on July 12th. The earliest the Democratic Senators would be on the ballot would be July 19th, if at all.
As it stands now, none of the fleeing 14 are facing a recall. Six Republicans who did their jobs, albeit in a manner not to the liking of Big Labor, are on the ballot next month.
by Brett Healy
If someone wrote this as fiction, they’d be laughed at. As the liberal special interests adjust noisily to being out of power in Wisconsin, events have now gone beyond parody. The latest from the “You can’t make this stuff up” file:
The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has delayed action regarding the potential recalls of three Democrat State Senators. Since the GAB moved swiftly to certify the recalls of six Republican State Senators, some are reasonably raising the claim that the GAB is showing partisan favoritism.
They had publicly stated a desire to hold all the recall elections on the same day, however, because of the lack of action on the part of the GAB, the Republican Senators are scheduled to face the voters on July 12th. The earliest the Democratic Senators would be on the ballot would be July 19th, if at all.
As it stands now, none of the fleeing 14 are facing a recall. Six Republicans who did their jobs, albeit in a manner not to the liking of Big Labor, are on the ballot next month.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Some Liberals can learn. An open letter to Rush.
Original Post: Hillbuzz
Dear Rush,
It’s my great hope that some of your listeners find a way to get this letter to you, or that it makes it to “Snerdley” and finds its way into your hands. I don’t think even you understand just how much damage Obama has done to the Democrat Party — to the point where formerly lifelong Democrats like myself, and everyone here at HillBuzz.org, are actively working to expose the party and literally burn it to the ground for the good of the country.
None of this is being reported in the media, but a Civil War in the Democrat ranks has been raging since May 31st, 2008…a date every Hillary Clinton supporter knows well, because that was the date of the Democrat Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting where Howard Dean (then-DNC Chair), Donna Brazile, and scores of other Kool-Aid slurping Obama flunkies took off their masks and revealed the full extent of the Leftist coup that had taken over the party. This was the day when the DNC took delegates Hillary Clinton won in Michigan away from her and handed them to Obama (despite the fact he wasn’t even on the primary ballot in that state, because he removed his name when his campaign realized he’d come in third in that race).
May 31st, 2008 was a day when Hillary “babes” (as you call us sometimes) like us flew to Washington in large numbers to stand outside the Marriott near the National Zoo, where this Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting was held, to shout for the DNC to count all the votes and operate the nominating process fairly — but they refused. The anger over that day has never abated. In fact, it’s grown considerably since then.
This was the determining factor in millions of us leaving the Democrat Party for good. This was the day when the P.U.M.A. movement began — in response to Donna Brazile’s calls for “party unity” following the Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting, we “Hillary babes” said “Party Unity My A$$” (or People United Means Action, depending on how you want to phrase it). Exit polls showed 8 million PUMA voted Republican for the first time in our lives in the fall of 2008…casting ballots for McCain/Palin (and in truth, mainly for Palin, whom we support, and not to a small degree because she receives many of the same attacks lobbed at Hillary Clinton all these years).
You seem to know most of all this, so I’ll end the history lesson by noting the people alienated by the Democrat Party during the primaries in 2008 — where it was clear the party and the media colluded at great lengths to push Obama while hammering Hillary Clinton into the ground — never came back to the Democrat Party.
This is also when most of us stopped using the term “Democratic Party”, since there’s nothing “democratic” about these people. They are the “Democrat Party”, and even that is hard to acknowledge because they really and truly have proved themselves to be enemies of real democracy.
I’m still registered as a Democrat here in Chicago (because the Cocktail Party GOP establishment so disgusts me I can’t will myself to party-ID Republican, and there’s no Independent option here in Illinois) but I can’t imagine ever voting for another Democrat again, as long as I live. To Hell with Democrats. This was solidified for me on Christmas Eve of last year, when Democrats rushed Obamacare through the Senate in the dead of night, through various secret channels, and every single Democrat voted for its passage (even supposed moderates like Evan Bayh in Indiana, who quickly realized his vote would cost him re-election…so the coward retired rather then face angry voters over what he did). I just don’t believe Democrats should be given elected office by voters because they cannot be trusted to even read bills before they vote on them, not even when said bills seek to permanently alter the entire American economy. This is reckless and reprehensible to the point of treason.
I was a Democrat for 32 years before the heavy-handed push for Obama alienated me from the party…and I borrow what Hillary Clinton said about Republicans once, back when she was a Goldwater Girl, and will paraphrase by saying that I didn’t leave the Democrat Party, the Democrat Party left me.
After it beat me to a pulp, called me a racist, berated and insulted me, and used Alinsky Rules to hit me with everything it had. Not just me, but all Hillary supporters.
This is the part I don’t think you understand because I don’t know if you and your listeners paid much attention to what the Obama campaign and DNC did to malign and assault Hillary Clinton’s supporters during the 2008 campaign. None of this has been forgotten by any of us.
If you have not seen it already, Rush, you need to watch Gigi Gaston’s documentary “We Will Not Be Silenced 2008″. I’m featured in a segment on the voter fraud that was committed in the Iowa Caucus back in January of 2008. While I was always aware Democrats use unions and other means to cheat in elections, I never knew the Democrat Party was capable of the large-scale, aggressive, unapologetic fraud it committed on Obama’s behalf all through 2008. In Iowa, I watched Obama’s ACORN and SEIU goons push and shove old people, bully them, and intimidate them when they wanted to vote for Hillary Clinton. I saw scores of Illinois license plates fill the parking lots outside caucus locations, with Chicagoland Obama supporters illegally entering the Caucus sites to vote for Obama and game Iowa for him. Having planned ahead, Obama supporters actually RAN those caucus sites, and held the doors open for all these fraudulent voters to walk right in, without being asked for IDs, where they then took control of the caucuses and bullied the Iowa residents into supporting Obama — lest they be called RAAACISTS! out in the open in front of their friends and neighbors in those open-air caucuses.
The media has never talked about this. I don’t remember ever hearing you talk about it. But one of the biggest reasons the Democrats are in the trouble they’re in right now is because of how frequently the Left and the media (one and the same, really) called anyone who opposed Obama a RAAACIST. If you supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries instead of Obama, you were called a RAAACIST. If you were someone like me who fundraised for Hillary, who hosted events for her, who put yourself out there and wrote columns advocating her or did media spots talking up her candidacy, you were aggressively targeted by the Obama campaign and his supporters…relentlessly attacked as a RAAACIST! and assaulted with the Alinksy Rules for Radicals in hopes of breaking your spirit, terrorizing you, and making you abandon Clinton for fear of having these people destroy your life, ruin your business, and make you an absolute pariah in your community.
This is what the Obama campaign, the media, and the DNC did to DEMOCRATS.
For almost a year, the Obama zealots and the Left waged all-out-war not just on Hillary Clinton, but on lifelong, loyal, dyed-in-the-wool Democrat voters like me. This came straight from the top, from Obama himself. Both he and his wife Michelle called the Clintons racists. Obama’s surrogates like James Clyburne, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, and others called Geraldine Ferraro, Madeline Albright, and others racists. The Obamas toxified the South Carolina primary, in particular, with foul race-baiting and turned North Carolina and Indiana into racial powder kegs by ramping up accusations that anyone not supporting Obama was a vile racist that needed to be pounded into the ground.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, my former Congresswoman back home in Cleveland, was a black Hillary Clinton supporter to the very end — and she was called a “race-traitor”, an “Aunt Jane”, and all manner of worse names as she was bullied, berated, and verbally assaulted by the Obama team…because she was black and dared to stand with her friend Hillary Clinton, the person Tubbs Jones knew would make a better president than “The One”. To her dying day in August of 2008, Tubbs Jones was threatened by the Obama campaign and told she’d be primaried in 2010 and kicked to the curb for being a “race-traitor”. She died of a brain aneurysm while driving her car, and Obama supporters filled Daily Kos, DemocratUnderground, and other George Soros-supported sites with lies about her drunk driving, doing drugs, and other slurs because even after she died these people wouldn’t stop hating her for daring to be an outspoken black woman who would never abandon Hillary for Obama.
This is similar to the grief that I’ve received here in Chicago for being a gay Hillary former Democrat in Boystown who never drank any Kool-Aid, never stopped speaking out against Obama, and who recently fully came out as a conservative — in the face of the same kind of Alinsky-grade, identity-based, “traitor” hectoring that Tubbs Jones got for being a black woman who didn’t kneel before the Obama altar.
Well, Rush, let me just tell you, from personal experience, that the tens of millions of people relentlessly abused and hounded by Obama supporters (remember that back in 2008 he urged his followers to “get in their faces” and “confront their neighbors” if they weren’t drinking his unicorn-pumped sparkly Kool-Aid ) will NEVER EVER FORGET what the Obama campaign directed at them, in terms of all this Alinsky bullying.
To quote Jeremiah Wright, the man Obama spent twenty years eagerly listening to at Trinity United Church of Christ: somebody’s chickens have now come back to roost.
During the campaign, Donna Brazile famously said that the Democrat Party no longer needed the people Obama once described as “bitter, religion-and-guns-clinging, Midwesterners”. Brazile took this further and said, outright, that the Democrat party did not need blue-collar white voters, the Jacksonian voters, the Hillary voters, because the party was “Obamafied” and would win elections for generations with the Obama coalition of blacks, Leftist elites, Hispanics, low information gay voters, and self-hating Jews.
This is all the Democrats have left, Rush.
Speaking from personal experience, as someone who has worked in fundraising for over 10 years and who has been a part of every presidential campaign since 1992, the Democrats have permanently alienated tens of millions of people who normally turned out reliably every year not just to vote Democrat, but also to write checks and otherwise participate in campaigns.
No more. Never again.
Here in Chicago, just about everyone who was part of Team Hillary efforts with me on the ground has completely divorced themselves from the Democrat Party. Being called a racist repeatedly and hearing from Donna Brazile that we are not needed will do that to a person.
But in a bigger sense, Democrats, by being so shameless and aggressive with the voter fraud in 2008 have opened too many eyes for us to ever go back to pretending that fraud and corrupt practices aren’t the hallmark of the Democrat Party.
There was a show on ABC a few years ago called Alias starring Jennifer Garner in which she played a woman working for a company called Credit Dauphine…which she was told was a front for a CIA organization called SD6. Garner’s character, Sidney Bristow, carried out her missions for SD6, overlooking different things the organization did that she might not have liked, because she thought she was doing what was best for the country. And then, one day, Sidney learned SD6 was actually an enemy of America…that it’s real mission was to destroy the country…that everything Sidney was told about SD6 was a lie. The mask came off SD6, and Sidney Bristow realized she had to work aggressively to take the whole enterprise down.
Rush (and his listeners), please hear me on this because you will not read this in the media — but just about every one of us from the Hillary 2008 campaign is a Sidney Bristow today.
Those of us who worked Democrat campaigns in the past put up with union associations and the other unsavory aspects of being a Democrat because we were told this was the only way Democrats could win…with union muscle. But, in 2008 the Democrats revealed themselves to be an SD6 conglomeration of every force in this country that wants to bring America down, tank our economy, usurp our Constitution, and lay waste to the American way of life.
Democrats took off the mask. The DNC reveled in being fully Leftist-controlled. Crazy people unapologetic in their Communist admiration took over positions of great influence not just in the DNC, but in our state and federal governments as well.
I’m horrified by that.
Hillary supporters are horrified by that.
And we have not sat back quietly to allow this to happen without a fight.
I know for a fact that people I worked with on the Hillary 2008 campaign have been actively working against every single Democrat who supported Obama’s nomination. Everyone who backstabbed Hillary Clinton is being undermined and sabotaged by people who might still be registered as Democrats but have no more loyalty to the party. Sometimes, conservative sites try to make this into a “sour grapes” sort of “Hillary’s revenge” meme — and there might be a taste of this in what’s going on — but the real driving force is that we former Democrats saw just how insane these people really are and we are now doing everything we can, behind the scenes, to use everything we know about the Democrat Party to collapse it from within.
If you think about it logically, there is not enough energy to sustain a years-long drive to remove Obama supporters from office just because people are still upset Hillary Clinton was not the 2008 nominee and is not president today. Sometimes, I think even you believe this is what this is all about. Your “Reverse Operation Chaos” initiative seems predicated on this, but that belief is apocryphal in that it misses a few big marks.
This is and it isn’t about Hillary.
What it’s really about is what the Democrat Party did to Hillary that alienated tens of millions of Jacksonian/Clintonian/middleclass Americans from the party permanently — and this includes what the party and Obama campaign did to Hillary’s supporters themselves (ie, calling them racists, telling them they weren’t wanted, calling them bitter clingers, etc.).
For the first time in our lives, so many of us former Democrats were given an Alinsky taste of what the Democrat Party really stand for…what it really believes…and how it really feels about America, our Constitution, our economy, and our way of life.
Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama took the mask off the Democrat Party…and the Leftist gorgon that lurked beneath is something America-loving, middleclass, Jacksonian/Clintonian Democrats want nothing to do with.
As part of your “Reverse Operation Chaos”, you really need to emphasize something the media just won’t talk about — and that’s the simple fact that even if you called yourself a Democrat for 32 years, the way I did, because everyone you grew up with and everyone in your family was a Democrat, that in 2010 it’s time to ask yourselves what that really means.
Do you want to be in a party that calls people racists for stepping out of line and voicing opposition to the socialist lurch of the current administration?
Do you condone voter fraud and the shameless, undemocratic tactics employed by Democrats?
Do you wish to associate with the likes of ACORN, the SEIU, the Black Panthers, and all the other thugs, goons, and degenerates the Obama campaign and White House employ as the DNC’s muscle on the ground?
It is crystal clear that being a patriotic American who loves this country is intellectually incompatible with being a Democrat. If you love America and want it to prosper, the Democrat Party is at absolute odds with everything we need for a thriving, successful economy.
Hillary supporters realize this.
We received a heaping helping of Alinsky assaults to wake us up to this reality.
The reason so many of us support Governor Palin is not just because we see the same Alinksy assaults being waged upon her…but the woman is pitch-perfect in outlining exactly why Obama and the Left are wrong, and why Democrats under Obama are dangerous to have in elected office.
I know you talk about a “Hillary 2012″ but Rush, as much as I love Hillary Clinton, and as much as I worked my heart out for her in 2008, there’s no way that even she can repair the damage Obama has done to the party. Certainly not by 2012. MAYBE the Clintons and their supporters can purge the Obama lunatics from the party by 2016…but I doubt even that will happen. Just like with the Leftists Carter infected the Democrat Party with, Obama legacy hires will be in the DNC for a generation to come…and it might not be until the 2030s before the Democrats can remove the taint Obama and his Leftist agenda have put on the party.
Democrats have made themselves synonymous with anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-democracy. Obama and his acolytes decidedly upped the ante when it came to their aggressive push towards socialism…and this Center-Right nation is resisting it in what I am certain will be an epic refudiation (to borrow the Governor’s term) next week.
On November 3rd, no one I know will be resting on any laurels. November 3rd starts the 2012 campaign…and not just the presidential race (where we’ll back Governor Palin) but the drive to knock people like Claire McCaskill out of office, continuing our work to take down every last one of the Obama supporters who backstabbed Hillary Clinton and helped install this socialist into the White House back in 2008. When you hear talk of a Hillary “enemies’ list”, or just “The List” as we call it in HRC supporter circles, this is very much real…and we are truly committed to making sure the Claire McCaskills out there get everything that is coming to them for all their service to Obama and his agenda.
Hear that, Ben Nelson…voters will be coming for you.
You and everyone like you.
Every last one of you.
If you voted for Obamacare, you are politically dead but may not know it…and it is your own fault. Being intensely stupid is no defense. If you were a YES vote on anything related to Obamacare you are going to be defeated…if not in 2010, then in the primaries in 2012. If you survive those, you will be taken down in the 2012 general election. Your political career is over…dummy.
Hope your time on the Obama Kool-Aid bandwagon was worth ruining your life over.
We will not forget those Obamacare votes. We will not forgive being called a racist because we don’t support this terrible man and his awful agenda. We will not be silenced.
We will not give up.
It’s going to be years, if ever, before the lamestream media ever catches up to any of this, and realizes that a large swath of people who used to be Democrat loyalists are now doing everything they can to destroy the party. Some of them are out and open, like me and my friends here at HillBuzz, but many are doing their part quietly. They just stop writing checks. Or maybe now they write checks to Democrat opponents. They might continue to attend events and fundraisers, but now they call up Republican sites and give them all the dirt on what they heard in those meetings. The Democrat Party alienated so many people who are now working to bring it down that I could go on for pages and pages more on this topic.
It’s very Sidney Bristow, Rush. And if you watched that show Alias, you’d know she not only won in the end, but looked damn good kicking ass while doing it.
THAT, El Rushbo, is what your “Hillary babes” are up to.
Here in Boystown, and in every town, because the Civil War Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama started on May 31st, 2008 is raging without end until the Democrat Party is no more.
Tell your listeners to count on that.
Kevin DuJan
Editor-in-Chief, HillBuzz.org
Hillary “Babe” in Buzzquarters, Boystown
Dear Rush,
It’s my great hope that some of your listeners find a way to get this letter to you, or that it makes it to “Snerdley” and finds its way into your hands. I don’t think even you understand just how much damage Obama has done to the Democrat Party — to the point where formerly lifelong Democrats like myself, and everyone here at HillBuzz.org, are actively working to expose the party and literally burn it to the ground for the good of the country.
None of this is being reported in the media, but a Civil War in the Democrat ranks has been raging since May 31st, 2008…a date every Hillary Clinton supporter knows well, because that was the date of the Democrat Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting where Howard Dean (then-DNC Chair), Donna Brazile, and scores of other Kool-Aid slurping Obama flunkies took off their masks and revealed the full extent of the Leftist coup that had taken over the party. This was the day when the DNC took delegates Hillary Clinton won in Michigan away from her and handed them to Obama (despite the fact he wasn’t even on the primary ballot in that state, because he removed his name when his campaign realized he’d come in third in that race).
May 31st, 2008 was a day when Hillary “babes” (as you call us sometimes) like us flew to Washington in large numbers to stand outside the Marriott near the National Zoo, where this Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting was held, to shout for the DNC to count all the votes and operate the nominating process fairly — but they refused. The anger over that day has never abated. In fact, it’s grown considerably since then.
This was the determining factor in millions of us leaving the Democrat Party for good. This was the day when the P.U.M.A. movement began — in response to Donna Brazile’s calls for “party unity” following the Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting, we “Hillary babes” said “Party Unity My A$$” (or People United Means Action, depending on how you want to phrase it). Exit polls showed 8 million PUMA voted Republican for the first time in our lives in the fall of 2008…casting ballots for McCain/Palin (and in truth, mainly for Palin, whom we support, and not to a small degree because she receives many of the same attacks lobbed at Hillary Clinton all these years).
You seem to know most of all this, so I’ll end the history lesson by noting the people alienated by the Democrat Party during the primaries in 2008 — where it was clear the party and the media colluded at great lengths to push Obama while hammering Hillary Clinton into the ground — never came back to the Democrat Party.
This is also when most of us stopped using the term “Democratic Party”, since there’s nothing “democratic” about these people. They are the “Democrat Party”, and even that is hard to acknowledge because they really and truly have proved themselves to be enemies of real democracy.
I’m still registered as a Democrat here in Chicago (because the Cocktail Party GOP establishment so disgusts me I can’t will myself to party-ID Republican, and there’s no Independent option here in Illinois) but I can’t imagine ever voting for another Democrat again, as long as I live. To Hell with Democrats. This was solidified for me on Christmas Eve of last year, when Democrats rushed Obamacare through the Senate in the dead of night, through various secret channels, and every single Democrat voted for its passage (even supposed moderates like Evan Bayh in Indiana, who quickly realized his vote would cost him re-election…so the coward retired rather then face angry voters over what he did). I just don’t believe Democrats should be given elected office by voters because they cannot be trusted to even read bills before they vote on them, not even when said bills seek to permanently alter the entire American economy. This is reckless and reprehensible to the point of treason.
I was a Democrat for 32 years before the heavy-handed push for Obama alienated me from the party…and I borrow what Hillary Clinton said about Republicans once, back when she was a Goldwater Girl, and will paraphrase by saying that I didn’t leave the Democrat Party, the Democrat Party left me.
After it beat me to a pulp, called me a racist, berated and insulted me, and used Alinsky Rules to hit me with everything it had. Not just me, but all Hillary supporters.
This is the part I don’t think you understand because I don’t know if you and your listeners paid much attention to what the Obama campaign and DNC did to malign and assault Hillary Clinton’s supporters during the 2008 campaign. None of this has been forgotten by any of us.
If you have not seen it already, Rush, you need to watch Gigi Gaston’s documentary “We Will Not Be Silenced 2008″. I’m featured in a segment on the voter fraud that was committed in the Iowa Caucus back in January of 2008. While I was always aware Democrats use unions and other means to cheat in elections, I never knew the Democrat Party was capable of the large-scale, aggressive, unapologetic fraud it committed on Obama’s behalf all through 2008. In Iowa, I watched Obama’s ACORN and SEIU goons push and shove old people, bully them, and intimidate them when they wanted to vote for Hillary Clinton. I saw scores of Illinois license plates fill the parking lots outside caucus locations, with Chicagoland Obama supporters illegally entering the Caucus sites to vote for Obama and game Iowa for him. Having planned ahead, Obama supporters actually RAN those caucus sites, and held the doors open for all these fraudulent voters to walk right in, without being asked for IDs, where they then took control of the caucuses and bullied the Iowa residents into supporting Obama — lest they be called RAAACISTS! out in the open in front of their friends and neighbors in those open-air caucuses.
The media has never talked about this. I don’t remember ever hearing you talk about it. But one of the biggest reasons the Democrats are in the trouble they’re in right now is because of how frequently the Left and the media (one and the same, really) called anyone who opposed Obama a RAAACIST. If you supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries instead of Obama, you were called a RAAACIST. If you were someone like me who fundraised for Hillary, who hosted events for her, who put yourself out there and wrote columns advocating her or did media spots talking up her candidacy, you were aggressively targeted by the Obama campaign and his supporters…relentlessly attacked as a RAAACIST! and assaulted with the Alinksy Rules for Radicals in hopes of breaking your spirit, terrorizing you, and making you abandon Clinton for fear of having these people destroy your life, ruin your business, and make you an absolute pariah in your community.
This is what the Obama campaign, the media, and the DNC did to DEMOCRATS.
For almost a year, the Obama zealots and the Left waged all-out-war not just on Hillary Clinton, but on lifelong, loyal, dyed-in-the-wool Democrat voters like me. This came straight from the top, from Obama himself. Both he and his wife Michelle called the Clintons racists. Obama’s surrogates like James Clyburne, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, and others called Geraldine Ferraro, Madeline Albright, and others racists. The Obamas toxified the South Carolina primary, in particular, with foul race-baiting and turned North Carolina and Indiana into racial powder kegs by ramping up accusations that anyone not supporting Obama was a vile racist that needed to be pounded into the ground.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, my former Congresswoman back home in Cleveland, was a black Hillary Clinton supporter to the very end — and she was called a “race-traitor”, an “Aunt Jane”, and all manner of worse names as she was bullied, berated, and verbally assaulted by the Obama team…because she was black and dared to stand with her friend Hillary Clinton, the person Tubbs Jones knew would make a better president than “The One”. To her dying day in August of 2008, Tubbs Jones was threatened by the Obama campaign and told she’d be primaried in 2010 and kicked to the curb for being a “race-traitor”. She died of a brain aneurysm while driving her car, and Obama supporters filled Daily Kos, DemocratUnderground, and other George Soros-supported sites with lies about her drunk driving, doing drugs, and other slurs because even after she died these people wouldn’t stop hating her for daring to be an outspoken black woman who would never abandon Hillary for Obama.
This is similar to the grief that I’ve received here in Chicago for being a gay Hillary former Democrat in Boystown who never drank any Kool-Aid, never stopped speaking out against Obama, and who recently fully came out as a conservative — in the face of the same kind of Alinsky-grade, identity-based, “traitor” hectoring that Tubbs Jones got for being a black woman who didn’t kneel before the Obama altar.
Well, Rush, let me just tell you, from personal experience, that the tens of millions of people relentlessly abused and hounded by Obama supporters (remember that back in 2008 he urged his followers to “get in their faces” and “confront their neighbors” if they weren’t drinking his unicorn-pumped sparkly Kool-Aid ) will NEVER EVER FORGET what the Obama campaign directed at them, in terms of all this Alinsky bullying.
To quote Jeremiah Wright, the man Obama spent twenty years eagerly listening to at Trinity United Church of Christ: somebody’s chickens have now come back to roost.
During the campaign, Donna Brazile famously said that the Democrat Party no longer needed the people Obama once described as “bitter, religion-and-guns-clinging, Midwesterners”. Brazile took this further and said, outright, that the Democrat party did not need blue-collar white voters, the Jacksonian voters, the Hillary voters, because the party was “Obamafied” and would win elections for generations with the Obama coalition of blacks, Leftist elites, Hispanics, low information gay voters, and self-hating Jews.
This is all the Democrats have left, Rush.
Speaking from personal experience, as someone who has worked in fundraising for over 10 years and who has been a part of every presidential campaign since 1992, the Democrats have permanently alienated tens of millions of people who normally turned out reliably every year not just to vote Democrat, but also to write checks and otherwise participate in campaigns.
No more. Never again.
Here in Chicago, just about everyone who was part of Team Hillary efforts with me on the ground has completely divorced themselves from the Democrat Party. Being called a racist repeatedly and hearing from Donna Brazile that we are not needed will do that to a person.
But in a bigger sense, Democrats, by being so shameless and aggressive with the voter fraud in 2008 have opened too many eyes for us to ever go back to pretending that fraud and corrupt practices aren’t the hallmark of the Democrat Party.
There was a show on ABC a few years ago called Alias starring Jennifer Garner in which she played a woman working for a company called Credit Dauphine…which she was told was a front for a CIA organization called SD6. Garner’s character, Sidney Bristow, carried out her missions for SD6, overlooking different things the organization did that she might not have liked, because she thought she was doing what was best for the country. And then, one day, Sidney learned SD6 was actually an enemy of America…that it’s real mission was to destroy the country…that everything Sidney was told about SD6 was a lie. The mask came off SD6, and Sidney Bristow realized she had to work aggressively to take the whole enterprise down.
Rush (and his listeners), please hear me on this because you will not read this in the media — but just about every one of us from the Hillary 2008 campaign is a Sidney Bristow today.
Those of us who worked Democrat campaigns in the past put up with union associations and the other unsavory aspects of being a Democrat because we were told this was the only way Democrats could win…with union muscle. But, in 2008 the Democrats revealed themselves to be an SD6 conglomeration of every force in this country that wants to bring America down, tank our economy, usurp our Constitution, and lay waste to the American way of life.
Democrats took off the mask. The DNC reveled in being fully Leftist-controlled. Crazy people unapologetic in their Communist admiration took over positions of great influence not just in the DNC, but in our state and federal governments as well.
I’m horrified by that.
Hillary supporters are horrified by that.
And we have not sat back quietly to allow this to happen without a fight.
I know for a fact that people I worked with on the Hillary 2008 campaign have been actively working against every single Democrat who supported Obama’s nomination. Everyone who backstabbed Hillary Clinton is being undermined and sabotaged by people who might still be registered as Democrats but have no more loyalty to the party. Sometimes, conservative sites try to make this into a “sour grapes” sort of “Hillary’s revenge” meme — and there might be a taste of this in what’s going on — but the real driving force is that we former Democrats saw just how insane these people really are and we are now doing everything we can, behind the scenes, to use everything we know about the Democrat Party to collapse it from within.
If you think about it logically, there is not enough energy to sustain a years-long drive to remove Obama supporters from office just because people are still upset Hillary Clinton was not the 2008 nominee and is not president today. Sometimes, I think even you believe this is what this is all about. Your “Reverse Operation Chaos” initiative seems predicated on this, but that belief is apocryphal in that it misses a few big marks.
This is and it isn’t about Hillary.
What it’s really about is what the Democrat Party did to Hillary that alienated tens of millions of Jacksonian/Clintonian/middleclass Americans from the party permanently — and this includes what the party and Obama campaign did to Hillary’s supporters themselves (ie, calling them racists, telling them they weren’t wanted, calling them bitter clingers, etc.).
For the first time in our lives, so many of us former Democrats were given an Alinsky taste of what the Democrat Party really stand for…what it really believes…and how it really feels about America, our Constitution, our economy, and our way of life.
Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama took the mask off the Democrat Party…and the Leftist gorgon that lurked beneath is something America-loving, middleclass, Jacksonian/Clintonian Democrats want nothing to do with.
As part of your “Reverse Operation Chaos”, you really need to emphasize something the media just won’t talk about — and that’s the simple fact that even if you called yourself a Democrat for 32 years, the way I did, because everyone you grew up with and everyone in your family was a Democrat, that in 2010 it’s time to ask yourselves what that really means.
Do you want to be in a party that calls people racists for stepping out of line and voicing opposition to the socialist lurch of the current administration?
Do you condone voter fraud and the shameless, undemocratic tactics employed by Democrats?
Do you wish to associate with the likes of ACORN, the SEIU, the Black Panthers, and all the other thugs, goons, and degenerates the Obama campaign and White House employ as the DNC’s muscle on the ground?
It is crystal clear that being a patriotic American who loves this country is intellectually incompatible with being a Democrat. If you love America and want it to prosper, the Democrat Party is at absolute odds with everything we need for a thriving, successful economy.
Hillary supporters realize this.
We received a heaping helping of Alinsky assaults to wake us up to this reality.
The reason so many of us support Governor Palin is not just because we see the same Alinksy assaults being waged upon her…but the woman is pitch-perfect in outlining exactly why Obama and the Left are wrong, and why Democrats under Obama are dangerous to have in elected office.
I know you talk about a “Hillary 2012″ but Rush, as much as I love Hillary Clinton, and as much as I worked my heart out for her in 2008, there’s no way that even she can repair the damage Obama has done to the party. Certainly not by 2012. MAYBE the Clintons and their supporters can purge the Obama lunatics from the party by 2016…but I doubt even that will happen. Just like with the Leftists Carter infected the Democrat Party with, Obama legacy hires will be in the DNC for a generation to come…and it might not be until the 2030s before the Democrats can remove the taint Obama and his Leftist agenda have put on the party.
Democrats have made themselves synonymous with anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-democracy. Obama and his acolytes decidedly upped the ante when it came to their aggressive push towards socialism…and this Center-Right nation is resisting it in what I am certain will be an epic refudiation (to borrow the Governor’s term) next week.
On November 3rd, no one I know will be resting on any laurels. November 3rd starts the 2012 campaign…and not just the presidential race (where we’ll back Governor Palin) but the drive to knock people like Claire McCaskill out of office, continuing our work to take down every last one of the Obama supporters who backstabbed Hillary Clinton and helped install this socialist into the White House back in 2008. When you hear talk of a Hillary “enemies’ list”, or just “The List” as we call it in HRC supporter circles, this is very much real…and we are truly committed to making sure the Claire McCaskills out there get everything that is coming to them for all their service to Obama and his agenda.
Hear that, Ben Nelson…voters will be coming for you.
You and everyone like you.
Every last one of you.
If you voted for Obamacare, you are politically dead but may not know it…and it is your own fault. Being intensely stupid is no defense. If you were a YES vote on anything related to Obamacare you are going to be defeated…if not in 2010, then in the primaries in 2012. If you survive those, you will be taken down in the 2012 general election. Your political career is over…dummy.
Hope your time on the Obama Kool-Aid bandwagon was worth ruining your life over.
We will not forget those Obamacare votes. We will not forgive being called a racist because we don’t support this terrible man and his awful agenda. We will not be silenced.
We will not give up.
It’s going to be years, if ever, before the lamestream media ever catches up to any of this, and realizes that a large swath of people who used to be Democrat loyalists are now doing everything they can to destroy the party. Some of them are out and open, like me and my friends here at HillBuzz, but many are doing their part quietly. They just stop writing checks. Or maybe now they write checks to Democrat opponents. They might continue to attend events and fundraisers, but now they call up Republican sites and give them all the dirt on what they heard in those meetings. The Democrat Party alienated so many people who are now working to bring it down that I could go on for pages and pages more on this topic.
It’s very Sidney Bristow, Rush. And if you watched that show Alias, you’d know she not only won in the end, but looked damn good kicking ass while doing it.
THAT, El Rushbo, is what your “Hillary babes” are up to.
Here in Boystown, and in every town, because the Civil War Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama started on May 31st, 2008 is raging without end until the Democrat Party is no more.
Tell your listeners to count on that.
Kevin DuJan
Editor-in-Chief, HillBuzz.org
Hillary “Babe” in Buzzquarters, Boystown
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Nevada voting machines automatically checking Harry Reid's name; voting machine technicians are SEIU members
Original Post: Washington Examiner
My comments: I want you liberals to keep telling me there is no voter fraud and keep complaining about President Bush's election.
By: Mark Hemingway
Commentary Staff Writer
10/26/10 6:12 PM EDT
Clark County is where three quarters of Nevada's residents and live and where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's son Rory is a county commissioner. Rory is also a Democratic candidate for governor.
Since early voting started, there have been credible reports that voting machines in Clark County, Nevada are automatically checking Harry Reid's name on the ballot:
Voter Joyce Ferrara said when they went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, her Democratic opponent, Sen. Harry Reid's name was already checked.
Ferrara said she wasn't alone in her voting experience. She said her husband and several others voting at the same time all had the same thing happen.
"Something's not right," Ferrara said. "One person that's a fluke. Two, that's strange. But several within a five minute period of time -- that's wrong."
Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said there is no voter fraud, although the issues do come up because the touch-screens are sensitive. For that reason, a person may not want to have their fingers linger too long on the screen after they make a selection at any time.
Now there's absolutely no independently verified evidence of chicanery with the voting machines (yet), but it is worth noting that the voting machine technicians in Clark County are members of the Service Employees International Union. The SEIU spent $63 million in elections in 2008 and is planning on spending $44 million more this election cycle -- nearly all of that on Democrats. White House political director Patrick Gaspard is formerly the SEIU's top lobbyist, and former SEIU president Andy Stern was the most frequent visitor to the White House last year.
Just in Nevada, the SEIU has given a lot to groups that are heavily vested in the state -- in just one prominent example, the SEIU gave $500,000 to the Patriot Majority PAC, which has spent $1.3 million against Reid's opponent Sharron Angle. They've and have dropped large sums directly on candidates:
NV-3
Joe Heck (R)
Oppose
$140,000.00
NV-3
Dina Titus (D)
Support
$344,984.00
NV-Senate
Sharron E. Angle (R)
Oppose
$225,000.00
Now the county voting technicians aren't unique here -- many of Clark County's employees are also represented by the SEIU. But it is worth mentioning, the SEIU is hyperpoliticized and has seen its fair share of corruption. (It certainly seems more questionable than Diebold, the voting machine manufacturer with Republican ties that was at the center of many conspiracy theories on the left during the Bush administration.)
Unions increasingly have a major financial stake in election outcomes, both as a matter of their own election expenditures, and as a function of what they stand to gain if their legislative agenda is enacted. Should they really be responsible for tabulating the votes? That's certainly something voters ought to think long and hard about.
My comments: I want you liberals to keep telling me there is no voter fraud and keep complaining about President Bush's election.
By: Mark Hemingway
Commentary Staff Writer
10/26/10 6:12 PM EDT
Clark County is where three quarters of Nevada's residents and live and where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's son Rory is a county commissioner. Rory is also a Democratic candidate for governor.
Since early voting started, there have been credible reports that voting machines in Clark County, Nevada are automatically checking Harry Reid's name on the ballot:
Voter Joyce Ferrara said when they went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, her Democratic opponent, Sen. Harry Reid's name was already checked.
Ferrara said she wasn't alone in her voting experience. She said her husband and several others voting at the same time all had the same thing happen.
"Something's not right," Ferrara said. "One person that's a fluke. Two, that's strange. But several within a five minute period of time -- that's wrong."
Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said there is no voter fraud, although the issues do come up because the touch-screens are sensitive. For that reason, a person may not want to have their fingers linger too long on the screen after they make a selection at any time.
Now there's absolutely no independently verified evidence of chicanery with the voting machines (yet), but it is worth noting that the voting machine technicians in Clark County are members of the Service Employees International Union. The SEIU spent $63 million in elections in 2008 and is planning on spending $44 million more this election cycle -- nearly all of that on Democrats. White House political director Patrick Gaspard is formerly the SEIU's top lobbyist, and former SEIU president Andy Stern was the most frequent visitor to the White House last year.
Just in Nevada, the SEIU has given a lot to groups that are heavily vested in the state -- in just one prominent example, the SEIU gave $500,000 to the Patriot Majority PAC, which has spent $1.3 million against Reid's opponent Sharron Angle. They've and have dropped large sums directly on candidates:
NV-3
Joe Heck (R)
Oppose
$140,000.00
NV-3
Dina Titus (D)
Support
$344,984.00
NV-Senate
Sharron E. Angle (R)
Oppose
$225,000.00
Now the county voting technicians aren't unique here -- many of Clark County's employees are also represented by the SEIU. But it is worth mentioning, the SEIU is hyperpoliticized and has seen its fair share of corruption. (It certainly seems more questionable than Diebold, the voting machine manufacturer with Republican ties that was at the center of many conspiracy theories on the left during the Bush administration.)
Unions increasingly have a major financial stake in election outcomes, both as a matter of their own election expenditures, and as a function of what they stand to gain if their legislative agenda is enacted. Should they really be responsible for tabulating the votes? That's certainly something voters ought to think long and hard about.
Voting security
Last Friday I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with my friends, ordered some wings and a beer. I was carded when I ordered the beer.
Why is this significant you ask? Good question astute reader.
It's significant because a handful of hours earlier I early voted. When I early voted THEY DIDN'T EVEN ASK MY NAME.
Buffalo Wild Wings has tighter security on their beers that our government has on the election of our leaders which is a travesty.
Why is this significant you ask? Good question astute reader.
It's significant because a handful of hours earlier I early voted. When I early voted THEY DIDN'T EVEN ASK MY NAME.
Buffalo Wild Wings has tighter security on their beers that our government has on the election of our leaders which is a travesty.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Vote Fraud Cases Progress in Milwaukee
Original Post: Maciver Institute
MNS – The prosecution of five cases of alleged vote fraud in Wisconsin brought forth by a joint state, city and county task force, will continue.
Herbert Gunka, Suzanne Gunka, Maria Miles, Kevin Clancy, and Michael Henderson are each charged with election fraud arising out of the November 4, 2008 Presidential Election. They made their initial appearances before Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Grace Flynn Tuesday.
The charges were brought forth by the Election Fraud Task Force, a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office and the Milwaukee Police Department.
“Elections fraud is unfortunate and very real,” said Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. “Through our partnerships and the task force we seek to hold those accountable who degrade and diminish the lawful votes of others. Elections fraud undermines our democracy.”
According to a release issued by the Wisconsin Department of Justice:
Miles and Clancy served as Special Registration Deputies (“SRD”) for the City of Milwaukee in advance of the 2008 Presidential Election. Each worked for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (“ACORN”). Miles and Clancy are each charged with the felony offense of Falsely Procuring Voter Registration as Party to a Crime. The complaint alleges that Miles and Clancy submitted multiple voter registration applications for the same individuals, and also were part of a scheme in which they and other SRDs registered each other to vote multiple times in order to meet voter registration quotas imposed by ACORN.Henderson is charged with one count of Voting by a Disqualified Person and one count of Providing False Information to Election Officials, both felonies. His complaint alleges that Henderson registered to vote at the polls on November 4, 2008, thereby certifying that he was a qualified elector. It also alleges that he then cast a ballot. At that time, Henderson was on an active period of probation for felony convictions from Rock County. A felon on an active period of supervision for a felony offense is prohibited by state law from voting in any election.
Herbert and Suzanne Gunka are each charged with the felony offense of Double Voting. Their complaint alleges that they each voted in the November 2008 election by casting absentee ballots before the election. The complaint also alleges that after casting absentee ballots, they each voted in person at their polling place on election day.
Commissioner Flynn found that each of the complaints supported probable cause and the defendants were ordered to appear for preliminary hearings on May 6, 2010, at 8:30 a.m.
Each individual charge against the defendants carries a potential penalty of up to 3 1/2 years imprisonment and as much as $10,000 in fines.
MNS – The prosecution of five cases of alleged vote fraud in Wisconsin brought forth by a joint state, city and county task force, will continue.
Herbert Gunka, Suzanne Gunka, Maria Miles, Kevin Clancy, and Michael Henderson are each charged with election fraud arising out of the November 4, 2008 Presidential Election. They made their initial appearances before Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Grace Flynn Tuesday.
The charges were brought forth by the Election Fraud Task Force, a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office and the Milwaukee Police Department.
“Elections fraud is unfortunate and very real,” said Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. “Through our partnerships and the task force we seek to hold those accountable who degrade and diminish the lawful votes of others. Elections fraud undermines our democracy.”
According to a release issued by the Wisconsin Department of Justice:
Miles and Clancy served as Special Registration Deputies (“SRD”) for the City of Milwaukee in advance of the 2008 Presidential Election. Each worked for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (“ACORN”). Miles and Clancy are each charged with the felony offense of Falsely Procuring Voter Registration as Party to a Crime. The complaint alleges that Miles and Clancy submitted multiple voter registration applications for the same individuals, and also were part of a scheme in which they and other SRDs registered each other to vote multiple times in order to meet voter registration quotas imposed by ACORN.Henderson is charged with one count of Voting by a Disqualified Person and one count of Providing False Information to Election Officials, both felonies. His complaint alleges that Henderson registered to vote at the polls on November 4, 2008, thereby certifying that he was a qualified elector. It also alleges that he then cast a ballot. At that time, Henderson was on an active period of probation for felony convictions from Rock County. A felon on an active period of supervision for a felony offense is prohibited by state law from voting in any election.
Herbert and Suzanne Gunka are each charged with the felony offense of Double Voting. Their complaint alleges that they each voted in the November 2008 election by casting absentee ballots before the election. The complaint also alleges that after casting absentee ballots, they each voted in person at their polling place on election day.
Commissioner Flynn found that each of the complaints supported probable cause and the defendants were ordered to appear for preliminary hearings on May 6, 2010, at 8:30 a.m.
Each individual charge against the defendants carries a potential penalty of up to 3 1/2 years imprisonment and as much as $10,000 in fines.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
More than 3 Million Registered Voters are Dead, 12 Million More Ineligible, Analysis Finds
Original Post: cns news
By: Fred Lucas
CNSNews.com) – Regardless of how lively an election season might be, a new study shows that more 3.3 million voters on current registration rolls across the country are dead.
Another 12.9 million remain on voter registration lists in an area where they no longer live.
The analysis was conducted by the Aristotle International Inc., a technology company
specializing in political campaigns, developing software and databases for politicians.
In total that means about 8.9 percent of all registered voters fall under the category of “deadwood” voters on the rolls, the term for voters who should no longer be eligible to vote in a precinct.
Not only does this raise concerns about potential voter fraud, but from the interest of campaign consultants, ineligible or expired voters could lead to a waste of resources, said John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle.
“Some states have bigger problems than others,” Phillips said. “With deadwood exceeding one in seven votes in some counties, candidates might as well spend a day a week campaigning in the cemetery.”
Among the findings, the study showed that states with the most “deadwood” voters were Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Nationally, 1.87 percent of registered voters are dead, while 7.2 percent of voters do not live where they are registered.
“Deadwood on voters rolls complicates the electoral process and can cause problems like fraud and vote miscounts,” Phillips said. “It always creates a perception of low voter turnout. It gets down to this: by depressing turnout, dead voters make the rest of us look bad.”
By: Fred Lucas
CNSNews.com) – Regardless of how lively an election season might be, a new study shows that more 3.3 million voters on current registration rolls across the country are dead.
Another 12.9 million remain on voter registration lists in an area where they no longer live.
The analysis was conducted by the Aristotle International Inc., a technology company
specializing in political campaigns, developing software and databases for politicians.
In total that means about 8.9 percent of all registered voters fall under the category of “deadwood” voters on the rolls, the term for voters who should no longer be eligible to vote in a precinct.
Not only does this raise concerns about potential voter fraud, but from the interest of campaign consultants, ineligible or expired voters could lead to a waste of resources, said John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle.
“Some states have bigger problems than others,” Phillips said. “With deadwood exceeding one in seven votes in some counties, candidates might as well spend a day a week campaigning in the cemetery.”
Among the findings, the study showed that states with the most “deadwood” voters were Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
- In Massachusetts, 116,483 registered voters are dead, 3.38 percent of the state’s total of registered voters. Another 538,567, or 15.6 percent, had moved to an area outside of where they are registered to vote.
- In New Hampshire, there are 18,816 dead people on the voter registration rolls, or 2.5 percent of the total registered voters. There are 105,472 voters that have moved outside of the area where they are registered to vote.
- The analysis showed that Washington State had 27,267 dead voters who were still registered, just 0.7 percent of the total number of registered voters. Another 332,510 had moved out of the area they are registered to vote in, or 8.73 percent of the total registered voters.
- West Virginia had 72,717 dead voters on the registration rolls, or 6.74 percent of the total registered voters in the state. Another 141,352 voters had moved, or 13 percent.
- In Wyoming, 7,723 registered voters (3.68 percent) are dead, while 45,547 (21.69 percent) had moved.
- The state with the fewest problems percentage wise is North Carolina. There, 3.5 percent of registered voters are dead – 216,036. Meanwhile, 30,888 had moved out of the designated voting area, or about 0.5 percent.
Nationally, 1.87 percent of registered voters are dead, while 7.2 percent of voters do not live where they are registered.
“Deadwood on voters rolls complicates the electoral process and can cause problems like fraud and vote miscounts,” Phillips said. “It always creates a perception of low voter turnout. It gets down to this: by depressing turnout, dead voters make the rest of us look bad.”
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Funny Business in Minnesota
Original Post: wsj online
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AP
Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.
APMr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies.
Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes.
This disenfranchises Minnesotans whose vote counted only once. And one Canvassing Board member, State Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson, has acknowledged that "very likely there was a double counting." Yet the board insists that it lacks the authority to question local officials and it is merely adding the inflated numbers to the totals.
In other cases, the board has been flagrantly inconsistent. Last month, Mr. Franken's campaign charged that one Hennepin County (Minneapolis) precinct had "lost" 133 votes, since the hand recount showed fewer ballots than machine votes recorded on Election Night. Though there is no proof to this missing vote charge -- officials may have accidentally run the ballots through the machine twice on Election Night -- the Canvassing Board chose to go with the Election Night total, rather than the actual number of ballots in the recount. That decision gave Mr. Franken a gain of 46 votes.
Meanwhile, a Ramsey County precinct ended up with 177 more ballots than there were recorded votes on Election Night. In that case, the board decided to go with the extra ballots, rather than the Election Night total, even though the county is now showing more ballots than voters in the precinct. This gave Mr. Franken a net gain of 37 votes, which means he's benefited both ways from the board's inconsistency.
And then there are the absentee ballots. The Franken campaign initially howled that some absentee votes had been erroneously rejected by local officials. Counties were supposed to review their absentees and create a list of those they believed were mistakenly rejected. Many Franken-leaning counties did so, submitting 1,350 ballots to include in the results. But many Coleman-leaning counties have yet to complete a re-examination. Despite this lack of uniformity, and though the state Supreme Court has yet to rule on a Coleman request to standardize this absentee review, Mr. Ritchie's office nonetheless plowed through the incomplete pile of 1,350 absentees this weekend, padding Mr. Franken's edge by a further 176 votes.
Both campaigns have also suggested that Mr. Ritchie's office made mistakes in tabulating votes that had been challenged by either of the campaigns. And the Canvassing Board appears to have applied inconsistent standards in how it decided some of these challenged votes -- in ways that, again on net, have favored Mr. Franken.
The question is how the board can certify a fair and accurate election result given these multiple recount problems. Yet that is precisely what the five members seem prepared to do when they meet today. Some members seem to have concluded that because one of the candidates will challenge the result in any event, why not get on with it and leave it to the courts? Mr. Coleman will certainly have grounds to contest the result in court, but he'll be at a disadvantage given that courts are understandably reluctant to overrule a certified outcome.
Meanwhile, Minnesota's other Senator, Amy Klobuchar, is already saying her fellow Democrats should seat Mr. Franken when the 111th Congress begins this week if the Canvassing Board certifies him as the winner. This contradicts Minnesota law, which says the state cannot award a certificate of election if one party contests the results. Ms. Klobuchar is trying to create the public perception of a fait accompli, all the better to make Mr. Coleman look like a sore loser and build pressure on him to drop his legal challenge despite the funny recount business.
Minnesotans like to think that their state isn't like New Jersey or Louisiana, and typically it isn't. But we can't recall a similar recount involving optical scanning machines that has changed so many votes, and in which nearly every crucial decision worked to the advantage of the same candidate. The Coleman campaign clearly misjudged the politics here, and the apparent willingness of a partisan like Mr. Ritchie to help his preferred candidate, Mr. Franken. If the Canvassing Board certifies Mr. Franken as the winner based on the current count, it will be anointing a tainted and undeserving Senator.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Genius voters
I think this is very telling, I'm not going to entirely lay the blame on the voters interviewed (although I will lay a lot on them) but most on the media. If you'll notice they all knew who's party had spent a lot of money on clothing and had a teenage daughter, but none of then attributed the Democrat flaws to their respective Democrats. In fact, they assume the foolish things said were said by Palin or McCain respectively.
Omaha's one vote draws Obama's attention
Original Post: msnbc
OMAHA, Neb. - Reliably Republican, Nebraska has been giving the GOP all its electoral votes in every presidential election since 1964. Democratic candidate Barack Obama is trying to take just one of its five votes this year by focusing on Omaha, the state's biggest, most diverse city.
"If the major competitive states are split, we could be talking about a situation where one electoral vote matters," said Randall Adkins, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Only Nebraska and Maine divide their electoral votes, though the votes have never actually been split. Obama has opened a campaign office in Omaha to make a play for the electoral vote decided by results in the 2nd Congressional District, which would be essential to victory if the election ended in a 269-269 electoral tie, neither candidate reaching the mandatory 270 electoral votes.
Such a tie could happen, say Nebraska Democrats, if Obama and Republican John McCain were to take most of the states they're expected to win and if Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico were to switch from Republican to Democrat. Instead of a tie, they say, Obama would win 270-268 if he won the 2nd District.
The Obama campaign started canvassing Omaha neighborhoods last month. John Berge, hired as director of Obama's Nebraska campaign, said that while some resources will go into the rest of the state, they'll be focused on the 2nd District.
Omaha, with about 400,000 people, lies in a congressional district of nearly 600,000. The city and suburbs have most of the state's black population and much of its population of Hispanics and other minorities, groups that national polls show favoring Obama.
The 2nd District gives Obama a small geographic area to target. Television ads aimed at Council Bluffs, Iowa, just across the river, already spill over onto Omaha networks.
Adkins isn't convinced that Obama can actually win Omaha's electoral vote. Republicans have a 15,000-voter advantage in the district — much less than in other parts of the state, but still formidable.
So far, McCain's effort in Nebraska is largely volunteer.
The Nebraska Republican Party is canvassing on his behalf, said executive director Matt Miltenberger. Volunteers are hitting thousands of households with information about McCain and state candidates, including 5,000 homes in the 2nd District, Miltenberger said.
"There will definitely be a McCain presence here," Miltenberger said.
Loree Bykerk, chair of the political science department at UNO, said some of the attention for Nebraska might be more a result of Obama "having more money that he knows what to do with."
However, Bykerk added, "if they're going through the trouble of setting up campaign offices in Nebraska, Alaska, Wyoming, maybe it is going to be close."
OMAHA, Neb. - Reliably Republican, Nebraska has been giving the GOP all its electoral votes in every presidential election since 1964. Democratic candidate Barack Obama is trying to take just one of its five votes this year by focusing on Omaha, the state's biggest, most diverse city.
"If the major competitive states are split, we could be talking about a situation where one electoral vote matters," said Randall Adkins, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Only Nebraska and Maine divide their electoral votes, though the votes have never actually been split. Obama has opened a campaign office in Omaha to make a play for the electoral vote decided by results in the 2nd Congressional District, which would be essential to victory if the election ended in a 269-269 electoral tie, neither candidate reaching the mandatory 270 electoral votes.
Such a tie could happen, say Nebraska Democrats, if Obama and Republican John McCain were to take most of the states they're expected to win and if Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico were to switch from Republican to Democrat. Instead of a tie, they say, Obama would win 270-268 if he won the 2nd District.
The Obama campaign started canvassing Omaha neighborhoods last month. John Berge, hired as director of Obama's Nebraska campaign, said that while some resources will go into the rest of the state, they'll be focused on the 2nd District.
Omaha, with about 400,000 people, lies in a congressional district of nearly 600,000. The city and suburbs have most of the state's black population and much of its population of Hispanics and other minorities, groups that national polls show favoring Obama.
The 2nd District gives Obama a small geographic area to target. Television ads aimed at Council Bluffs, Iowa, just across the river, already spill over onto Omaha networks.
Adkins isn't convinced that Obama can actually win Omaha's electoral vote. Republicans have a 15,000-voter advantage in the district — much less than in other parts of the state, but still formidable.
So far, McCain's effort in Nebraska is largely volunteer.
The Nebraska Republican Party is canvassing on his behalf, said executive director Matt Miltenberger. Volunteers are hitting thousands of households with information about McCain and state candidates, including 5,000 homes in the 2nd District, Miltenberger said.
"There will definitely be a McCain presence here," Miltenberger said.
Loree Bykerk, chair of the political science department at UNO, said some of the attention for Nebraska might be more a result of Obama "having more money that he knows what to do with."
However, Bykerk added, "if they're going through the trouble of setting up campaign offices in Nebraska, Alaska, Wyoming, maybe it is going to be close."
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