One week to go where most Americans will vote their future. In Colorado out of an estimated 4 Million voters who are besieged with the knowledge that our State is in play and could be a "decider", up to 1.6 Million votes are estimated to be cast before Tuesday morning. That is 40% of the vote and a dynamic that most of the media/press does not really have what it could mean. Well in one obvious thought is with each passing day a late October Surprise will have a corresponding lessening potential impact on the outcome. Another thought is that traditional voter manipulation and corruption tactics are reduced where causing long lines due to nefarious partisan efforts like running out of ballots or not having enough resources in targeted precincts have less impact.
Mail In Ballots are the new rage, where in El Paso County an estimated 150,000 or more will be distributed, (145,000 by October 21st). The Democratic Party increased their requests by 100% moving up to almost 43% of their base. The Republican Party increased their request from 38% to 42% county wide, while Unaffiliated's moved up to 30% from the low 20's. El Paso County now has 380,000 registered voters where the GOP hold 43% (down almost 2 percentage points), while Unaffiliated's 31.5% of the registered electorate and the Democratic Party possessing 22.5%. Subtly the Democrats used to be below 2-1 ratio with the GOP but now they are just above the 2-1 ratio.
Furthermore it is estimated that 30,000 to 35,000 Early Voters will try to make their will known with suspect electronic voting machines. Princeton U did a case study where they showed how to break into the machines, change the memory cards and close up in less than 7 minutes where they could pre-determine the vote even fooling the print outs. If anyone asks today is the last day to request a MIB and receive a paper ballot in early voting. Just a thought. Overall what this means is over 180,000 in El Paso County will have voted before November 1st when the campaigns go on a 96-hour marathon effort in what is known as GOTV. Meaning 200,000 potential votes are available on Tuesday, 53% which the turnout is far less than MIB results that are estimated to be over 90% turnout.
If a total 80% turnout is expected or 304,000 votes in total, than it is estimated 134,000 of the remaining 200,000 votes will be cast on Tuesday. El Paso County has said they have 170,000 available paper ballots for Tuesday. So if 100% turned than again 30,000 would be forced to use those suspect machines. But let us go back to reality. 134,000 voters means lines will be long and longer. This will be interesting and I think if any of you went to the caucuses, county conventions or even the State Conventions you will experience similar chaos, frustration and fatique.
Now the ground game. Where is the McCain volunteers. Our volunteers have not seen them in any neighborhoods well they must be calling and not canvassing. The Obama campaign has an extraordinary organization. They have broken the region into 11 subgroups, where each have over 30 staging location offices directly tied to their neighborhood precincts. Some of those offices will have 30-50 canvassers and phone bankers but some like ours will have over 150 voluntteers canvassing and phoning and a full volunteer lead staff of a dozen individuals. The impact of this organization cannot be underestimated. Internally polling has demonstrated that 60% of those previously contacted (voters not considered Obama or Democratic Party bases) supported Obama because of the direct volunteer contact. Now that the Obama GOTV is focused on the Democratic Base and previously identified Obama supporters this ratio is expected to exceed 9 to 1.
So here are my current predictions: Obama will exceed 47% in El Paso County and possibly put the county in competitive play meaning that Colorado will go Obama in larger numbers than predicted. The impact that it will have on the Democratic Party ticket will be significant. Mark Udall will benefit and probably win by numbers mirroring Governor Ritter's numbers, while Hal Bidlack might have a genuine chance at a close race victory in CD 5. Bottom line in the Congressional race is that Bidlack with far less money than Fawcett will probably exceed 44% and depending on the depressed turnout in the GOP Faith-Base could move that bar close to 50%.
The biggest upset will be Pete Lee who will secure Senate District 12 with numbers mirroring John Morse's 2006 victory where heavy local GOP and Unaffiliated crossover votes will put two Democratic Senators from once Crimson Red El Paso County. Looking at the map, districts hugging the actual Front Range running from the Air Force Base down to Ft Carson along I-25 will have Democratic representation. The other silent possiblility will be Anna Lord's campaign in House District 21 and Dennis Aupen's bid in House District 17 where both could surprise the once solid Crimson El Paso County.
All this could make for a big party at the Antler's Hilton in downtown Colorado Springs on Election Night. Which by the way Genie Blume is seeking donations so that volunteers and staff who have toiled for over a year can have celebration party. One local victory would often bring about the revelers, but with Mike Merrilfield winning his 4th bid for Representative, and possibly two to four local candidates securing local wins the smiles will be uncontained.
Now don't look for much more contribution to this blog here on out. Vote and vote early. Volunteer and get your neighbors and friends to the polls and understand this is a change election brought on by a movement.
10/28/08
10/21/08
Neighborhood team member in the news, McCain reportedly conceding Colorado and the final push
Yesterday I was told that canvass superstar, Jon Wuerth one of TEAM 3 in House District 21 in Colorado Springs was profiled in a Washington Post video report. Jon was once the recipient of a volunteer award to meet with Obama by knocking on over 300 doors in a weekend. I have come to know Jon as a member of our volunteer team and he has been instrumental in moving Colorado Springs towards Obama one knock and one voter registration at a time. When you watch the report notice Jon running from door to door.
Today, on CNN, John King their chief political reporter broke with the news that the McCain campaign is down to its final [fatal] strategy to win the electoral college by conceding Colorado along with New Mexico and Iowa. These are three states that Bush won in 2004 with his narrow re-election win. But conceding Colorado. Ironically this is directly in conflict with Washington Post's Dan Balz's report on Face the Nation Sunday when he stated that the Obama campaign has a multiple 3-2-1 strategy win the Electoral College. What is interesting is that this comes on the heals of McCain has vacating Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin both considered battleground states which have fallen recently to the Obama camp. Now McCain is vacating New Mexico, Iowa and COLORADO!
King's report states that McCain's final two weeks will concentrate on the following six states; Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Virginia and also foregoing any idea of a popular vote win. (This is a Helm's Deep mentality). Contrast this with the Obama 3-2-1 strategy where they hold the following: (1) Win one-state of either Florida and/or Ohio and they win. (2) Win two states of Virginia and either New Mexico or Iowa and they win. (3) Win three states of New Mexico, Iowa and Colorado and they win.
Here is McCain's head wind to turn this around:
But...but McCain is now conceding the the three states...what is their vision....sweeping the six above that includes Pennsylvania? For this to happen the McCain campaign will have to employ the full measure of the race card and Reverand Wright believing that Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Nevada and Pennsylvania will buy it. The final scorched earth politics is at hand. Be prepared, and it will not work either....
Finally the Colorado Springs ground game. We are now fully focused on GOTV (Get Out To Vote) activities involving direct contact to Mail In Ballot (MIB) voters, assembling Early Vote efforts and finally the the push to get Obama voters to the polls on Election Day. The final weekend we will assemble and deploy literally a couple thousand volunteers into El Paso County knocking on doors and phoning the remaining voters. It will be an experience of a lifetime and may I invite everyone, those who have volunteered alread and those who have not to get involved. Please call the Obama campaign office 719-328-1517 or email me.
Today, on CNN, John King their chief political reporter broke with the news that the McCain campaign is down to its final [fatal] strategy to win the electoral college by conceding Colorado along with New Mexico and Iowa. These are three states that Bush won in 2004 with his narrow re-election win. But conceding Colorado. Ironically this is directly in conflict with Washington Post's Dan Balz's report on Face the Nation Sunday when he stated that the Obama campaign has a multiple 3-2-1 strategy win the Electoral College. What is interesting is that this comes on the heals of McCain has vacating Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin both considered battleground states which have fallen recently to the Obama camp. Now McCain is vacating New Mexico, Iowa and COLORADO!
King's report states that McCain's final two weeks will concentrate on the following six states; Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Virginia and also foregoing any idea of a popular vote win. (This is a Helm's Deep mentality). Contrast this with the Obama 3-2-1 strategy where they hold the following: (1) Win one-state of either Florida and/or Ohio and they win. (2) Win two states of Virginia and either New Mexico or Iowa and they win. (3) Win three states of New Mexico, Iowa and Colorado and they win.
Here is McCain's head wind to turn this around:
- Ohio---Real Clear Politics composite: Obama up 2.8
- Pennsylvania---Real Clear Politics composite: Obama up 11.0
- Florida----Real Clear Politics composite: Obama up 2.0
- Virginia---Real Clear Politics composite: Obama up 8.0
- North Carolina---Real Clear Politics composite: Obama up 2.3
- Nevada---Real Clear Politics composite: Obama up 4.2
But...but McCain is now conceding the the three states...what is their vision....sweeping the six above that includes Pennsylvania? For this to happen the McCain campaign will have to employ the full measure of the race card and Reverand Wright believing that Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Nevada and Pennsylvania will buy it. The final scorched earth politics is at hand. Be prepared, and it will not work either....
Finally the Colorado Springs ground game. We are now fully focused on GOTV (Get Out To Vote) activities involving direct contact to Mail In Ballot (MIB) voters, assembling Early Vote efforts and finally the the push to get Obama voters to the polls on Election Day. The final weekend we will assemble and deploy literally a couple thousand volunteers into El Paso County knocking on doors and phoning the remaining voters. It will be an experience of a lifetime and may I invite everyone, those who have volunteered alread and those who have not to get involved. Please call the Obama campaign office 719-328-1517 or email me.
10/17/08
Colorado Springs embarrassingly full of Voter Registration Quirks & Mistakes
Yesterday the Colorado Springs Independent published an article outlining some of the strange things appearing daily. Ironically my lovely wife Sue was one of the profiled examples to these happenings.
On the heals of this is the Independent's publisher, John Weiss who has convened another of his appeasing Town Hall Meetings.
Others are coming to share similar fears as questions build about errors, misinformation and appearances of partisanship coming out of County Clerk Bob Balink's office.
Sue Nemanich requested a mail-in ballot in August. When it arrived in early October, her last name was spelled with an extra "a" at the end. Bob Nemanich, Sue's husband and an active local Democrat, started making calls to figure out what to do. He says he received repeated assurances she would have no problem casting the ballot with the misspelling — until Liz Olson, the county election manager, told him the ballot was "spoiled," and that a new one would be sent.
The new ballot arrived with "DEM" showing through the envelope. Nemanich says his initial fears about contradictory and misleading information were gradually overtaken by amazement.
"Anybody who sees this can see this is a Democratic Party ballot," he says. "It invites easy manipulation."
Now think about it. It is believed that up to 1.2M to 1.5M Mail In Ballots will be distributed in Colorado this election and how many will end up spoiled? One percent to possibly five percent, that is 12,000-15,000 up to 60,000 to 75,000 not having a secret ballot. That in of itself could effect the election if those ballots suddenly don't end up being counted because someone assumed which way a voter cast their ballot because of party affiliation.Pat Waak, the Colorado Democratic Party Chair, says Tuesday afternoon she's "very troubled" by reports she'd heard from El Paso and Weld counties of mail-in ballots with party affiliation on address labels.
"It concerns me that it might lead to selecting out certain ballots," Waak says.
Later in the afternoon, Balink and Olson explain that a voter's party affiliation only shows up on replacement mail-in ballots. The labels are generated automatically, Olson explains, by the state's voter registration database. Balink rejects the suggestion that the markings on mail-in ballots represent a "glitch."
On the heals of this is the Independent's publisher, John Weiss who has convened another of his appeasing Town Hall Meetings.
Speaking of Senator John Morris, he held a (link to live video) press conference in Colorado SpringsDear Clerk Balink:
Thank you for agreeing to participate and/or to have your associate Liz Olson participate in this important town hall meeting that will take place on Monday, October 27 from 2-3:30 PM at the Penrose Library in downtown Colorado Springs. The focus of this gathering will be to provide local citizens with a forum to air their concerns – and hopefully have their questions answered......El Paso County Commission Chair Dennis Hisey, Colorado Springs City Councilor Jan Martin and State Senator John Morse have all agreed to help promote this Town Hall as well as participate in this meeting, if their schedules permit...The Independent, The Gazette and KRCC-FM have agreed to help promote and co-sponsor this event. In addition, three non-partisan civic organizations have agreed to help co-sponsor and help promote this event: Common Cause of the Pikes Peak Region, League of Woman Voters of the Pikes Peak Region and Citizens Project. We also anticipate that a local station will televise this session.
So here is the bottom line. If you have received a Mail In Ballot in Colorado, carefully review all the information regarding your ID. If there is one iota of a mistake, you must get a replacement. When you do, please do not mail it, it will show your party affiliation but hand deliver it back to the County Clerk's Office. Report all irregularities to the press and the Obama campaign.The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder is under scrutiny again. The Democratic Party claims Bob Balink isn't being fair with the election process.
This all started about a month ago when allegations surfaced that Colorado College students were given the wrong voter registration requirements. Clerk and Recorder Balink has since apologized for giving the students the wrong information.
But now, the Democrats said they question his competency to run a fair and clean election. This, Democrats said, after glitches continue to come out of Balink’s office.
The most recent incident happened over the weekend when voter registration information on a completed absentee ballot request form was apparently faxed from the clerk's office to several media outlets including KKTV. The voter’s personal information was on the form, including his social security number, birth date and address.
"When asked why this got faxed, he (Balink) said, he had no clue. I suggest we get a county clerk who has a clue. Regardless of the mistake, who was he faxing this to anyway?" questioned State Senator John Morse.
Balink wasn't available for an on-camera interview, but he told 11 News he didn't know how the information got out.
"He's working on a strategy to suppress votes. He’s not working to make sure everyone gets to vote," said Sen. Morse.
10/16/08
How effective is a ground game?
Campaigns can spend oodles of cash on advertising where it gets much attention from media insiders but as time goes on psychologically most people tune out the bull sh$t. This morning my literal, attentive son was absolutely inattentive as I asked if one of the few McCain ads on the morning cable talk show lineup whether the McCain ad was negative? He said, "Dad I haven't paid attention to any ads for at the last couple of weeks, except Bidlack's because it has so many people from our church in them." In fact whenever the program we watch is on we scramble for the remote whenever a friggin TV commercial comes on and either depress the mute button or flash to another channel to avoid any and all commercials during this time.
So the waste of money spent must be enormous. That said I was told an interesting statistic regarding the ground game effect this weekend. The Obama campaign in Colorado holds that every voter they have contacted has expressed support for Obama at a 59% clip. Now this is not a small sample where the campaign has fanned out to make personal contact not with regular voting Democrats or even moderately regular voting Democrats but targeted sporadic voting Democrats, all unaffiliated voters (Independents) and specific targeted Republicans. This is neither a small universe nor an easy one which by all accounts is traditionally a Republican/conservative leaning voting universe in Colorado.
Therefore the political science claim that a traditional effective ground game political organization---meaning phone bank volunteers, walking canvass volunteers and voter registration volunteers, usually moves the voting bar 3-5%. But in this case it appears to be exceeding the high mark of 5% when you begin to figure in the persuasion universe contact rate of 59% support. This is not an easy task but the Obama campaign not only has done it well, it has done where they identified almost a thousand volunteer leads in just 20 precincts in Colorado Springs. These are individuals who expressed an initial willingness to volunteer from a contact with another Obama volunteer, either on the phone, at the door or attending an event like a house party. Now most contacts even though they might express support for Obama, they do not express a willingness to volunteer.
This is why yesterday I published the high probability the vote in El Paso County is far closer than anyone has imagined. This huge swing of Independent voters, touched the army of Obama volunteer, plus lazy voting Dems and cross over Republicans are piling up while the motivation and turnout in the McCain camp is atrophying. Thus this is why I think the ground game here Colorado will move the bar from 5% to 9% depending on locale.
In many ways what we have found is a reverse motion on enthusiasm for volunteer support in neighborhoods. Traditional Democratic leaning areas like Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, Fountain, Security, Hillside and Nob Hill neighborhoods have had inconsistent or sporadic volunteer attendance and activities. While in contested areas like Colorado Springs upper and lower west sides, Old North Ends, Central City and even some East Side Neighborhoods volunteerism is robust and consistent. In areas considered almost uniform Republican like Briargate, Black Forest, Broodmoor, and even Monument has seen highly motivated small teams providing a huge impact where previous presence was never seen.
Now the ground game is migrating away from persuasion activities to early GOTV activities chasing Mail In ballot recipients and still moving registered voters to MIB status. At the same time they are organizing and preparing their entire volunteer force to take on the Election Day where they intend to contact every targeted voter that weekend and motivate and facilitate them to vote. It is not glamorous, nor is it reported on the Cable News channels but it is more effective than another crummy television commercial.
So the waste of money spent must be enormous. That said I was told an interesting statistic regarding the ground game effect this weekend. The Obama campaign in Colorado holds that every voter they have contacted has expressed support for Obama at a 59% clip. Now this is not a small sample where the campaign has fanned out to make personal contact not with regular voting Democrats or even moderately regular voting Democrats but targeted sporadic voting Democrats, all unaffiliated voters (Independents) and specific targeted Republicans. This is neither a small universe nor an easy one which by all accounts is traditionally a Republican/conservative leaning voting universe in Colorado.
Therefore the political science claim that a traditional effective ground game political organization---meaning phone bank volunteers, walking canvass volunteers and voter registration volunteers, usually moves the voting bar 3-5%. But in this case it appears to be exceeding the high mark of 5% when you begin to figure in the persuasion universe contact rate of 59% support. This is not an easy task but the Obama campaign not only has done it well, it has done where they identified almost a thousand volunteer leads in just 20 precincts in Colorado Springs. These are individuals who expressed an initial willingness to volunteer from a contact with another Obama volunteer, either on the phone, at the door or attending an event like a house party. Now most contacts even though they might express support for Obama, they do not express a willingness to volunteer.
This is why yesterday I published the high probability the vote in El Paso County is far closer than anyone has imagined. This huge swing of Independent voters, touched the army of Obama volunteer, plus lazy voting Dems and cross over Republicans are piling up while the motivation and turnout in the McCain camp is atrophying. Thus this is why I think the ground game here Colorado will move the bar from 5% to 9% depending on locale.
In many ways what we have found is a reverse motion on enthusiasm for volunteer support in neighborhoods. Traditional Democratic leaning areas like Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, Fountain, Security, Hillside and Nob Hill neighborhoods have had inconsistent or sporadic volunteer attendance and activities. While in contested areas like Colorado Springs upper and lower west sides, Old North Ends, Central City and even some East Side Neighborhoods volunteerism is robust and consistent. In areas considered almost uniform Republican like Briargate, Black Forest, Broodmoor, and even Monument has seen highly motivated small teams providing a huge impact where previous presence was never seen.
Now the ground game is migrating away from persuasion activities to early GOTV activities chasing Mail In ballot recipients and still moving registered voters to MIB status. At the same time they are organizing and preparing their entire volunteer force to take on the Election Day where they intend to contact every targeted voter that weekend and motivate and facilitate them to vote. It is not glamorous, nor is it reported on the Cable News channels but it is more effective than another crummy television commercial.
10/15/08
Today's early prediction for El Paso County
Essentially the campaign in El Paso County began back in late March 2007 when a few idealistic and disgruntled middle class persons congregated in the Obama social network created for such a purpose. Here I met Barbara, Vinai, Andy, Kathy, Lynn, Terry, Jason, Renee among many others who led this effort. What is appearing is something beyond our collective imaginations.
Hold your hats, hitch up your belt and sit down for what I am going to tell you is amazing. If the election were held today I think Obama will be within a couple of percentage points of carrying this RedZone of RedZones, we know as El Paso County, home of Focus on the Family and the New Life Church. The place where Doug Bruce resides, the birthplace of the Libertarian Party and all that is reactionary right-wing. If the election were held I think the numbers would reflect that McCain would squeek by with a 50.5% to Obama 47.3% (Barr and others would get the rest). Last last week I thumbnailed a prediction of 44-47% but then when I drilled baby drilled into the data and found variances with new voter and previous voter statistics the percentage actually increased.
How am I coming to this conclusion? Well let us start to break this down.
Republicans are locally less motivated to due to local events (New Life Church scandal where it now is non political no phone banks), Focus on the Family (lay offs and McCain), Lamborn campaign unfunded and the continuing Wall Street Market Crash. Historical numbers hold that they voted at 73% in '04 and will probably vote at 63% (local GOP statement). New registrants will vote at 80% levels. Bleed in the ranks where Libertarian Party will get 5-7% of total vote because of protest vote within pool voting.
Independents, new registrants will follow FiveThirtyEight model and vote at 80% due to two factors locally, MIB registration effort and Obama factor. They are projected to vote 80/20 Obama to McCain see FiveThirtyEight.com. Existing or previous Independent voter will have a 70% (some depressed of about 5% due to long lines at the end of the day) countered by Obama ground game of idenifying Obama supporter and leaners getting them higher MIB levels. Existing voters will be split 47% 47% (McCain Obama) with remaining going to Libertarian (5%)
Democrats, new registrants will vote at 85% levels because of MIB effort and Obama effect and vote at 95% for Obama. Existing Democrats will vote at 80% turnout and 90% for Obama.
Projected McCain vote = 125,000 (+/-)
New Voters(R): 7680 (+) New Voters(I) 2200 (+) New Voters(D) 1000 = 11,000
Prev voters(R) 77,300 (+) Prev Voters(I) 32,100 (+) Prev Voter(D) 4350 = 113,750
Projected Obama vote = 117,700 (+/-)
New Voters(R) 1440 (+) New Voters(I) 7950 (+) New Voters(D) 12,300 = 21,700
Prev Voters(R) 14,500 (+) Prev Voters(I) 32,000 Prev Voters (D) 49,500= 96,000
Libertarian Party and other votes amass 6000 votes (+/-)
All told El Paso County has a turnout of 67% (some of it because of long lines at the end of the day).
This has huge implications for the down ticket going forward with the top of the ticket bringing in record numbers. In 2004 Salazar polled 81,000 votes. In 2006 Ritter polled 69,000 votes but got 39.7%, an increase of 5% from Salazar, where then Ritter won by a 5% larger margin than what Salazar defeated Coors. This is now being called the El Paso factor. If Obama carries 45% or more in El Paso County it could imply that he might win by a landslide of 58-59% statewide. All this correlates with the science of the ground game where political observers note a strong volunteer organization moves the bar 5-7% points from the old standard. This would fall into that line of reasoning.
There are still three weeks left and with the Stock Market tanking further day-by-day and McCain's campaign imploding due to a rudderless strategy and narrative could Obama actually close up 6 or 7000 more votes? Well two things would have to happen.
Hold your hats, hitch up your belt and sit down for what I am going to tell you is amazing. If the election were held today I think Obama will be within a couple of percentage points of carrying this RedZone of RedZones, we know as El Paso County, home of Focus on the Family and the New Life Church. The place where Doug Bruce resides, the birthplace of the Libertarian Party and all that is reactionary right-wing. If the election were held I think the numbers would reflect that McCain would squeek by with a 50.5% to Obama 47.3% (Barr and others would get the rest). Last last week I thumbnailed a prediction of 44-47% but then when I drilled baby drilled into the data and found variances with new voter and previous voter statistics the percentage actually increased.
How am I coming to this conclusion? Well let us start to break this down.
- Republicans registered 165,500 (12,000 new)
- Independents registered 120,850 (12,400 new)
- Democrats registered 84,800 (16,200 new)
Republicans are locally less motivated to due to local events (New Life Church scandal where it now is non political no phone banks), Focus on the Family (lay offs and McCain), Lamborn campaign unfunded and the continuing Wall Street Market Crash. Historical numbers hold that they voted at 73% in '04 and will probably vote at 63% (local GOP statement). New registrants will vote at 80% levels. Bleed in the ranks where Libertarian Party will get 5-7% of total vote because of protest vote within pool voting.
Independents, new registrants will follow FiveThirtyEight model and vote at 80% due to two factors locally, MIB registration effort and Obama factor. They are projected to vote 80/20 Obama to McCain see FiveThirtyEight.com. Existing or previous Independent voter will have a 70% (some depressed of about 5% due to long lines at the end of the day) countered by Obama ground game of idenifying Obama supporter and leaners getting them higher MIB levels. Existing voters will be split 47% 47% (McCain Obama) with remaining going to Libertarian (5%)
Democrats, new registrants will vote at 85% levels because of MIB effort and Obama effect and vote at 95% for Obama. Existing Democrats will vote at 80% turnout and 90% for Obama.
Projected McCain vote = 125,000 (+/-)
New Voters(R): 7680 (+) New Voters(I) 2200 (+) New Voters(D) 1000 = 11,000
Prev voters(R) 77,300 (+) Prev Voters(I) 32,100 (+) Prev Voter(D) 4350 = 113,750
Projected Obama vote = 117,700 (+/-)
New Voters(R) 1440 (+) New Voters(I) 7950 (+) New Voters(D) 12,300 = 21,700
Prev Voters(R) 14,500 (+) Prev Voters(I) 32,000 Prev Voters (D) 49,500= 96,000
Libertarian Party and other votes amass 6000 votes (+/-)
All told El Paso County has a turnout of 67% (some of it because of long lines at the end of the day).
This has huge implications for the down ticket going forward with the top of the ticket bringing in record numbers. In 2004 Salazar polled 81,000 votes. In 2006 Ritter polled 69,000 votes but got 39.7%, an increase of 5% from Salazar, where then Ritter won by a 5% larger margin than what Salazar defeated Coors. This is now being called the El Paso factor. If Obama carries 45% or more in El Paso County it could imply that he might win by a landslide of 58-59% statewide. All this correlates with the science of the ground game where political observers note a strong volunteer organization moves the bar 5-7% points from the old standard. This would fall into that line of reasoning.
There are still three weeks left and with the Stock Market tanking further day-by-day and McCain's campaign imploding due to a rudderless strategy and narrative could Obama actually close up 6 or 7000 more votes? Well two things would have to happen.
- One, the turnout for Republicans falls even more than 63% for previous voters. This could happen if the volunteer core in the GOP are lax in getting them MIB's and they find themselves having to wait in a line for two to four hours to vote for candidates that are likely going to lose. That would not please Lamborn, but again the RNC has given him no money!
- Two, the financial markets go into a total nose dive with more economic news depressing the electorate even more.
Voter problems rising
It has been busy the last couple of days as the campaign is simultaneously organizing for this final push known as GOTV (Get Out The Vote) effort is under with early voting culminating in the final weekend. The plan the Obama campaign is simply extraordinary for the few of us who have toiled in previous election days when we ran around like a Chinese Fire Drill in a silent movie. That said Colorado appears to be headed for the dubious distinction that has befallen Florida & Ohio as a corrupted voter environment. The reason is we have highly partisan and vested Republicans in control of the Secretary of State's office with partners like Bob Balink here in El Paso County who are unabashed in trying to make tactical nefarious efforts in suppressing opposition votes.
Also I am not going to provide a lot of regurgetation from the news pertaining to the polls or campaign he said---they said. You all can find that stuff on your own, and instead my own personal news and analysis centered upon El Paso County Colorado. So let me start, El Paso County's Clerk's office has become a daily stop for the Democratic Party Voter Protection Legal Team---are any of you surprised? Yesterday they participated with Deputy Secretary of State, William Hobbs with Bob Balink to find out that Balink's office is non compliant in processing Mail In Ballot (MIB's) requests that are coming in greater than 2000 per day. Balink is trying to brag that his office sent out over 110,000 MIB's on October 3rd and subsequently another 10,00o or so since but the process is getting backed up compared to other counties. This on the heals of State Senator John Morse's blistering statement to the press that outlined twelve (12) points of incompetence and shenanigans. Morse said:
Also I am not going to provide a lot of regurgetation from the news pertaining to the polls or campaign he said---they said. You all can find that stuff on your own, and instead my own personal news and analysis centered upon El Paso County Colorado. So let me start, El Paso County's Clerk's office has become a daily stop for the Democratic Party Voter Protection Legal Team---are any of you surprised? Yesterday they participated with Deputy Secretary of State, William Hobbs with Bob Balink to find out that Balink's office is non compliant in processing Mail In Ballot (MIB's) requests that are coming in greater than 2000 per day. Balink is trying to brag that his office sent out over 110,000 MIB's on October 3rd and subsequently another 10,00o or so since but the process is getting backed up compared to other counties. This on the heals of State Senator John Morse's blistering statement to the press that outlined twelve (12) points of incompetence and shenanigans. Morse said:
But recent performances by the clerk and recorder — a delegate last month to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul — has left Morse peeling the gloves off.
Yes, Morse, a Democrat who represents much of south-central Colorado Springs in El Paso County, is fuming over recent snafus which, in his mind, constitute an emerging and consistent pattern. Morse does not mince words as he rattles off what he calls Balink’s 12-point strategy to disenfranchise voters. Without further ado:El Paso County is Colorado’s most-populated county. It’s also, undeniably, a GOP stronghold with a rich legacy of political hijinks and shenanigans — usually inspired by Republicans. And that leaves plenty of progressives leery that, come Election Day, Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink will do everything he can to make it difficult, or at least unpleasant, for non-Republicans to vote.
Which leads us to Democrat state Sen. John Morse’s claims of Balink’s 12-point strategy to suppress the vote.
But on Monday an even more foreboding discovery was made regarding what is known as Replacement MIB from spoiled original ballots. You see, my wife received a MIB that possessed what is becoming a common thing, a data entry error in the spelling of her last name when she updated her registration this summer. It was corrected in the database but not in time to be caught by the Secretary of States printing of the original batch of MIB forms. After talking with Balink's Election office staff who were uninformed as to what to actually do with a non matching name until we reached Liz Olson the Election Department Manager where upon Olson cancelled my wife's original ballot and sent out a new one. That sounded pretty simple until we got the replacement ballot on Monday.
There we found that on address label which possesses the voter's ID her PARTY AFFILIATION was on it---PTY DEM. WTF! How can she now have a secret ballot when her party affiliation is as plain as day on the return envelope. Every mail handler from the carrier to the processor to the mail room clerk in the partisan County Clerk's office can see that this ballot is from a Democratic Party voter! Well I told the press, the voter protection legal team and talked directly to Olson and Balink. Alarms went off all over the place---this shouldn't happen it is wrong everyone said. By the end of the day we found out that the Secretary of State's SCORE (voter database) has a glitch when it comes to replacement ballot requests---it is hard coded to display party affiliation---why no one is admitting or seems to know. But here is the problem, everyone is trying to get voters to use the MIB process to stem the potential lines on election day.
The ballot you see takes at least an hour to navigate with all the (idiotic) voter initiatives written as if they are a crossword puzzle exercise so basically each precinct will only be able to handle about 10-15 voters per hour. Come on precincts have between 500 and 1000 voters and if the turnout is 80% they can only handle 180 voters in the 12 hours allotted on election day. You do the math, polls conceivably should be open for 3 days at that rate. S
So now the powers that be are trying to get well over a million voters to use the MIB option---except if one or two percent develop a spoiled ballot their replacement will have their party affiliation on it and they will lose the other sanctinity of our system---a secret ballot. Good job Coffman.
Tomorrow the Colorado Spring Independent will carry that other stories about El Paso County voter troubles so stay tuned.
10/11/08
October's Surprise: McCain scolds supporters
Yesterday at a Town Hall gathering in Minnesota, John McCain came face-to-face (You Tube video here) with the hyperbole, prejudice, hatred and the danger of whipping up the fear of his political base towards his political opponent. McCain then caved in, but why? After all we've seen this crap for months, and to think this was some new found moral revival would be utterly naive, as naive as those who believe that Obama is an Arab or Muslim Manchurian Candidate, or worse an outright terrorist as questioner attempted to make the case for in Minnesota. The bottom line is that it became apparent to McCain that these personal attacks where politically backfiring. Perhaps that might be too ungenerous, afterall I too am partisan.
But to think anything else requires a serious and record 'leap of faith', where my judgment is not grounded in the body of evidence over this past year of McCain's behavior. Their aim was absolutely transparent attempting to extort America's eye on the subject of Obama's relationship to William Ayers as the focal point of the campaign narrative, while the global' financial markets crash at historic levels, thrusting the nation's economy into total uncertainty. The reality was that McCain's attacks, its apparent recklessness and ferocity BLEWBACK in even greater force even within his own party making him a caricature instead of potential leader of the free world.
If nothing else McCain's narrative could be construed as possibly inciting a mob riot, examples throughout the national press, and more so locally. Furthermore through this period many prominent Republicans including the usual pundits came out and either openly denounced or chided McCain and his campaign stating that it bordered on being Un-American. Naturally these public criticisms are only the tip of the iceberg especially among regular Republicans, be it here in Colorado or other places of various of local conservative renown.
In detail these telling moments might define the entire campaign, where America comes face to face with itself, seeing the brutal remnants of the 20th Century still alive in its political spectrum, still as ugly as it ever was, faced off with the hope and forward diverse looking profile of the 21st Century. Here in Minnesota a man rises in the crowd and publicly addresses John McCain, staring that "he is scared of any Obama presidency". McCain responds to the contrary what most in the audience were thinking, (actually hoping that McCain will confirm their political emotions and distorted worldview) as it boos, where he continues to declares for the world to know: that Obama "is a decent person and a person you do not have to be scared [of] as President of the United States."
But more important was the non verbal language, this spoke volumes for both the assembled and those who have watched in news clips. McCain's facial expression was one of serious contrition, as if McCain was being compelled to apologize, the non verbal statement of "I am very sorry". McCain was ashamed for being a part of this ugliness, this social transgression expressing nothing other than political hate.
Then without provocation an even grittier moment came later, when a woman with a hair doo that obviously came from hours of neglect and bedrest---the ultimate senior bedhead. McCain was standing up close with the bedheaded woman who then held in all belief, that "she had read alot about Obama and that she couldn't trust Obama", then her sentence jumped, blurting out that "it's because he's an Arab and a Terrorist!".
But if that was something you wanted to ignore, take some time to review this video from a news team that worked the lines before a Palin Rally in Pennsylvania. (Here is the link to the video). It is haunting and riveting in that so many seeminly good American souls are caught up in the cultural hate wars that are being fanned by Palin and McCain's campaign. This is how people--some people---actually think. I like the blithering well dressed male IDIOT BRAIN who maintains that the current economic meltdown is Obama's fault because he is winning in the polls. It is the pure US versus THEM....the tribal instinct gone weird and dangerous.
But to think anything else requires a serious and record 'leap of faith', where my judgment is not grounded in the body of evidence over this past year of McCain's behavior. Their aim was absolutely transparent attempting to extort America's eye on the subject of Obama's relationship to William Ayers as the focal point of the campaign narrative, while the global' financial markets crash at historic levels, thrusting the nation's economy into total uncertainty. The reality was that McCain's attacks, its apparent recklessness and ferocity BLEWBACK in even greater force even within his own party making him a caricature instead of potential leader of the free world.
If nothing else McCain's narrative could be construed as possibly inciting a mob riot, examples throughout the national press, and more so locally. Furthermore through this period many prominent Republicans including the usual pundits came out and either openly denounced or chided McCain and his campaign stating that it bordered on being Un-American. Naturally these public criticisms are only the tip of the iceberg especially among regular Republicans, be it here in Colorado or other places of various of local conservative renown.
In detail these telling moments might define the entire campaign, where America comes face to face with itself, seeing the brutal remnants of the 20th Century still alive in its political spectrum, still as ugly as it ever was, faced off with the hope and forward diverse looking profile of the 21st Century. Here in Minnesota a man rises in the crowd and publicly addresses John McCain, staring that "he is scared of any Obama presidency". McCain responds to the contrary what most in the audience were thinking, (actually hoping that McCain will confirm their political emotions and distorted worldview) as it boos, where he continues to declares for the world to know: that Obama "is a decent person and a person you do not have to be scared [of] as President of the United States."
But more important was the non verbal language, this spoke volumes for both the assembled and those who have watched in news clips. McCain's facial expression was one of serious contrition, as if McCain was being compelled to apologize, the non verbal statement of "I am very sorry". McCain was ashamed for being a part of this ugliness, this social transgression expressing nothing other than political hate.
Then without provocation an even grittier moment came later, when a woman with a hair doo that obviously came from hours of neglect and bedrest---the ultimate senior bedhead. McCain was standing up close with the bedheaded woman who then held in all belief, that "she had read alot about Obama and that she couldn't trust Obama", then her sentence jumped, blurting out that "it's because he's an Arab and a Terrorist!".
McCain resonantly shook his head in disagreement whereby in absolute authority snatched the microphone from the blithering woman continuing to shake his head negatively, his eyes down in resignation and disgust, "No, Ma'am. No, Ma'am. He's a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues."
What has McCain gotten himself embroiled into? Obviously he is frustrated, angry and not in control with his own image and his own campaign? Who is? What is? and yet he has sown or it has been sown into something of a cartoon cut out. The problem still exists that McCain continues to spend millions on campaign ads saying that Obama is dangerous, how else are people going to react but take him literally and connect the viral Internet lies to his narratives?
It could be that McCain and his minions are simply over the heads, with both the narrative, the campaign management. Think of it this way, McCain's campaign is singularly premised on the idea that America should be scared of an Obama presidency---period. Remove the fear of an Obama Presidency and there is no rational reason NOT to vote for Obama, in that McCain has already conceded every other policy initiative and platform idea to Obama, by holding to this total negative smear campaign. What else has there been? Voters from the beginning have said WE WANT A CHANGE. Stoking this fear of Obama, both the man and his mission, is all that McCain had left, and now he apparently has seen that too is self-destructive to him and so he now has a conscience?
What could possibly be the new attack? Bernardine Dohrn, who is Ayers' wife and also a former Weatherman, went to work at the pretigious Chicago-based national law firm of Sidley & Austin, back in 1984 where then 3 years following so did, Michelle. This is a mega firm where even my late personal friend the former Federal Jurist Prentice Marshall did pro-bono work out of. Weird and nonsensical as it may seem in that there are 500 lawyers working all over the place in those office.
That said the attack came today in a McCain conference call with reporters featuring John Murtagh, where he noted that Dohrn and Michelle Obama had both worked at the firm starting in the late 1980s. Murtagh never alleged that Michelle or Dohrn even knew each other, instead suggested that they simply could have! If so, he said, "the Obamas have known the two longer than suspected". McCarthyism at its neo-grandest! Remember this is not some schlep surrogate or pundit talking on FOX News it was on a call organized by the McCain organization and he was reading a prepared statement--which means it went through the McCain vetting process. ---WOW--- So now what are we to believe? What a long strange trip its been.But if that was something you wanted to ignore, take some time to review this video from a news team that worked the lines before a Palin Rally in Pennsylvania. (Here is the link to the video). It is haunting and riveting in that so many seeminly good American souls are caught up in the cultural hate wars that are being fanned by Palin and McCain's campaign. This is how people--some people---actually think. I like the blithering well dressed male IDIOT BRAIN who maintains that the current economic meltdown is Obama's fault because he is winning in the polls. It is the pure US versus THEM....the tribal instinct gone weird and dangerous.
10/10/08
Colorado Springs becoming focus on Voter Reg, our anecdotal experience
As the campaign continues to heat up on whether we should have "Hope" or "Fear", who will be elected and how they will govern, we still find ourselves back to the question of whether the U.S. can actually conduct honest elections? Let me ask whether Colorado can and in that venue, can we trust El Paso County?
The Colorado Springs Independent yesterday published a riveting article about El Paso County and its consistent bad behavior of "Bob Balink", the County Clerk.
The Colorado Springs Independent yesterday published a riveting article about El Paso County and its consistent bad behavior of "Bob Balink", the County Clerk.
Of course, making the voting process easy is not a top goal for Bob Balink, El Paso County's clerk and recorder. The outspoken Republican has long called for requiring photo identification at polling places and other measures he says are needed to stop fraud.
Recently, Balink made noise about fraudulent voter registrations after employees found about 10 applications with apparent errors. He also triggered an outcry by releasing information to Colorado College asserting that students from other states are ineligible to vote. (Though Balink later retracted that information, a statement currently posted on the clerk and recorder's Web site warns students about risks of registering to vote in Colorado and suggests they could be victims of exploitation.)
But he and four others who registered as Democrats still could not find proof that their registrations went through. Wildenstein just needed his address changed, but he says it wasn't processed until he visited the clerk's office on Oct. 2."They didn't know what happened to mine," he says.
Liz Olson, the county's election manager, indicates that since Aug. 1, a total of 6,157 residents have registered Republican, 6,145 have registered Democratic and 8,588 have declared no party. This represents something of a Democratic surge, given that current registration numbers in the county have Republicans at a 2-to-1 advantage. (Through Oct. 7, El Paso County had 372,359 registered voters, with 164,844 Republicans, 83,737 Democrats, 121,912 unaffiliated and 1,866 with other parties.)
State Sen. John Morse, a local Democrat who has expressed concern that registrations from his own party have been disproportionately rejected or ignored, is skeptical after hearing the latest numbers.
"Something seems wrong there," he says, suggesting there should be more registered Democrats. "With all the work [by] the Obama campaign, it doesn't make sense."...
Others who register Monday have greater cause for irritation. Susan Powell (relative of Indy sales staffer P.K. Powell) was already a registered voter when she tried signing up online for a mail ballot this summer. After starting to fill out the form, she changed her mind and closed the window.
She didn't think about her registration again until she searched the secretary of state's Web site over the weekend. She was alarmed to find her entire registration had somehow been deleted.
"If I hadn't checked ..." she says in a tone of dread.
Now here is our story: My wife filled out an address change registration back in August that included a permanent MIB request. I checked the Secretary of State's on line registration info link often and until mid September when my daughter's new Voter ID arrived. She had turned her registration change in 3 weeks after my wife! Upon calling the El Paso Clerk's office I found that they had mistakenly misspelled her last name, placing another letter at the end of our surname. They corrected it in the computer and consequently she received her Voter ID with the correct information.
Then over the last weekend we received our Mail In Ballots and her name was misspelled with the extra letter! My wife who will be an election judge and someone who is a former banker and stickler for exact information said I don't think I can use this ballot. Well I checked and calling the infamous El Paso County Clerk's Office I inquired:
Me: What are we supposed to do?
Jennifer: (staffer who answered the phone), "Here is the process, the computer will read the bar code and it will see that your wife is properly registered and match her signature and there will probably not be a problem".
ME: "Probably? How can I be assured period?"
Jennifer: Silence, "well I don't know".
Me:"Should I bring the ballot in and get a replacement?"
Jennifer: "I don't know the laws, let me check".
Skytel: (Supervisor) "Sir, I don't think there will be a problem", (repeat of the process),
Me: I cut her off, "Think"? What specifically should we do to assure that her vote will not be challenged?
Skytel: "You can bring it down here."
Me: Can? "Should I or not? My wife is an elections judge and she said she would challenge it, why wouldn't another judge challenge it?"
Skytel: "Let me transfer you to Bob Balink's secretary".
Mary Lynn (Balink's Admin Asst.) She basically got me to leave my name and phone number.
About an hour later Liz Olsen, the Elections Manager called and we conversed.
Liz: "Mr. Nemanich, if you like we can send out a new ballot with the updated and correct name on the ballot and either you can destroy or bring in the spoiled ballot and we will destroy it."
Me: "I am happy you cleared this up even though my wife and I knew the answer beforehand, I wanted to see how your office reacted to the inquiry. Now you need to have your staff knowledable to inform all citizens what are their options, not what could happen or it probably will not be a problem."
Liz: "I will and thank you."
Now this is followed up with an amazing letter Governor Ritter sent to Secretary of State Coffman's office. Please not the claims of disinformation and specifically the paragraphs outlining Balink's office here in Colorado Springs.
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
136 State Capitol Building
Denver, Colorado 80203
(303) 866 -2471
(303) 866 - 2003 faxBill Ritter, Jr.
Governor
October 9.2008
Secretary of State Mike Coffman
Colorado Department of State
1700 Broadway
Denver, CO 80290
Dear Secretary Coffman:
I am certain that you share my view that the opportunity to vote in our elections is a fundamental right that, as public officials, we must make every effort to protect. I believe that you also share my commitment to ensuring that all Coloradans who are qualified and wish to exercise this right have every opportunity to do so in November's election. The purpose of this letter is to urge you to take more aggressive steps to correct an error made by your office regarding the deadline for remedying an incomplete voter registration application. A letter prepared by your office and mailed by a number of county clerks incorrectly told over 4,000 registrants with incomplete applications that any deficiencies had to be rectified by October 6, 2008. As you know, under state statute and your own rules, these registrants may correct or supplement their applications at anytime prior to voting. See C.R.S. § 1-2-509(3); Election Rule 2.6.3. Your dissemination of
inaccurate information may disenfranchise hundreds or thousands of Coloradans, an outcome that is unacceptable.
Since Monday my Office has been contacted directly by scores of constituents who are concerned that they and others who thought they registered to vote will be disenfranchised come election day. Members of my staff have been in contact with members of your staff, and I am aware that your office learned last Friday that your initial instruction to county clerks was inaccurate. Further, I understand that your office
is preparing a letter to go to the applicants who were provided inaccurate information, but that this letter will not be completed until Friday of this week at the earliest. or as late as next week. In my view this letter alone is too little, too late. I urge you, as the chief election official in this State, to direct all county election officials to make personal contact by telephone with each potential voter who may have been misled or confused by the earlier communications. I urge you to direct county election officials to include these people on the polling books statewide and to provide these individuals with the opportunity to remedy this technical deficiency at the polls on election day. Finally, I urge you to contact media outlets statewide to ensure that corrected information is communicated as broadly as possible. In short, please ensure that these individuals are notified that they will be afforded every opportunity to remedy any deficiencies in their applications with minimal burden through election day.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time this season that county election officials have issued erroneous communications that have the potential to disenfranchise qualified voters. Last month, EI Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink publicly acknowledged that he had misinterpreted Colorado law when he sent an erroneous message to Colorado College indicating that students whose parents live in another state and claim them as dependents for tax purposes are not eligible to register to vote in Colorado. Even after correcting his error, Mr. Balink posted on his office's website a caution to college students warning them of potential negative ramifications of registering to vote in Colorado. These actions were, in the first case, wrong and in the other, beyond the scope of his duties as Clerk. His actions are unacceptable and should
be carefully scrutinized by your office.
It is critical that public officials charged with carrying out the law provide the public with accurate information. It is all the more critical when, as here, the wrong information has the impact of discouraging citizens from exercising a fundamental right. Providing the wrong information is inexcusable for many reasons: it disenfranchises
voters; it makes citizens skeptical (especially when the chief election official is on the ballot); and it exposes the State to litigation risk. But most importantly, it risks impacting the outcome of the election.
Our focus as public officials should be on ensuring that every qualified elector in this State is able to exercise his or her right to vote in the upcoming election. This includes encouraging the use of mail-in ballots, as well as expanding access to early voting opportunities. To that end, I ask that you join me in requesting that every county across our State open its polls on weekends during the early voting period, as feasible.
Providing additional access to early voting opportunities across the State, at times most convenient for the working men and women of Colorado, is all the more critical in this year's election when we can expect record turnout and a longer than usual ballot. In addition, I ask that you join me in requesting that those voters who have the flexibility in their schedules to permit them to vote between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on election day, when lines will be shortest, do so. It is steps like these that will help ensure that all Coloradans who are registered and wish to vote will be able to exercise this fundamental right.
Thank you for your prompt attention to these issues.
Sincerely,
.
Bill Ritter,Jr.Governor
So what gives? The situation is becoming pretty basic even the Governor see's what is going on, disinformation, manipulation, questionable recording, incompetence and outright suppression.
Lastly, I have accessed the most up-to-date registration totals for El Paso County. They still are receiving applications by mail and updating the file.
Democrats: 84,042----Republicans 164, 738---Unaffiliated 120,350 total 369,130
01/28/08: D-68,689-------Rep's 153,532----Unaffiliated 108,406--total 330,627
--------+15,353--------- + 11,206-------------- +11,944------- +38, 503
---------22% up---------- 7% up----------------- 11% up
Or think of it this way; 18% of Dem voters have been registrated this year, while 6% of GOP voters have been registered, and just under 10% of unaffiliated voters. FiveThirtyEight.com holds to this projection. 80% of new Dem & Unaffiliated voters intend to vote for Obama at a 75% turnout or a pool of 27, 292, or 20, 473 voting and 16,378 Obama votes to 4094 to McCain or a net 12, 300. If this is accomplished I think Obama is going to surpass 45% for El Paso County and possibly a couple of ticks higher---more on that later.
10/9/08
CNBC today 3:45 PM "Do I dare say 'is this a CRASH'"---YES
If you haven't heard already Wall Street fell on its face today falling 678.91 points---worst percentage drop this year. Here are some pictures for you as they always speak a thousand words.
This might explain the reason why the Panic. the above graph of the DOW current average (2003-2008) is super-imposed over the graph of the graph from 1925 to 1931.
If you want to cry through your tears I have a cartoon for you.
This might explain the reason why the Panic. the above graph of the DOW current average (2003-2008) is super-imposed over the graph of the graph from 1925 to 1931.If you want to cry through your tears I have a cartoon for you.
"In my face"; plus reports: ground game, COLO Springs, and MORE
In the bald face effort to change the tenor, tone and narrative of the ra
ce that by all accounts---including the Republican pundits---McCain is losing, Obama has responded in kind: "He can't say it to my face". On ABC NEWS last night with Charlie Gibson: Obama, last night, effectively dared McCain, (link to video) to bring up Ayers to his face!
In short O
bama suggested that [the all powerful Maverick] McCain is a basically a coward, It appears Obama now is willing to invite a direct confrontation over Ayers since it would give him a chance to directly hit McCain with the charge that he's trying to distract from the economy with frivolous attacks. Further more it would on the national stage clearly expose the ultimate hypocricy where the Chicago Annenberg Challenge which Obama and Ayres served on the board is the same Anneberg family that just endorsed McCain as longtime Pennsylvania Republicans. Huffington Post reports that:
k the real metaphor is that Obama has stuffed McCain's craziness in avoiding what probably is the worst economic climate since when my father was wearing cloth diapers is stuffing McCain/Palin's shot in the face!
The Huffington Post also gives a detailed report of the revolutionary strategy and implementation of Obama's ground game building the largest and most powerful volunteer organization in modern politics. It is a powerful read for all of us to know we are involved in something more than merely a political campaign but revolution of sorts that will define the next generation of the 21st Century.
Unfortunately all is not good news for Colorado as the NY Times has a news piece that includes our state in unlawfully purging voter rolls. This is beyond the reported declaration that 35,000 new registrants were deemed incomplete and ineligible, this includes sytematic purging of roles beyond death or moving rates.
I am going to finish on a high note where Politico.com pens a revealing piece stating that the upcoming election is actually a result of an "economic tsunami" worse than 1992 or 1980 and in my book mirrors 1932 where the nation was subjected to similar Republican orchastrated laissez faire speculation policies.
ce that by all accounts---including the Republican pundits---McCain is losing, Obama has responded in kind: "He can't say it to my face". On ABC NEWS last night with Charlie Gibson: Obama, last night, effectively dared McCain, (link to video) to bring up Ayers to his face!In short O
bama suggested that [the all powerful Maverick] McCain is a basically a coward, It appears Obama now is willing to invite a direct confrontation over Ayers since it would give him a chance to directly hit McCain with the charge that he's trying to distract from the economy with frivolous attacks. Further more it would on the national stage clearly expose the ultimate hypocricy where the Chicago Annenberg Challenge which Obama and Ayres served on the board is the same Anneberg family that just endorsed McCain as longtime Pennsylvania Republicans. Huffington Post reports that:I thinOn Wednesday morning, John McCain's campaign released a list
of 100 former ambassadors endorsing the GOP presidential nominee.
Second on the list, though her name is misspelled, is Leonore Annenberg, currently the president and chairman of the of the Annenberg Foundation...the name of the Chicago education board where Barack Obama and William Ayers sat in the room six times together...where As a former Republican representative in Illinois told NPR on Monday, smearing Obama for his board association with Ayers is "nonsensical."
k the real metaphor is that Obama has stuffed McCain's craziness in avoiding what probably is the worst economic climate since when my father was wearing cloth diapers is stuffing McCain/Palin's shot in the face!The Huffington Post also gives a detailed report of the revolutionary strategy and implementation of Obama's ground game building the largest and most powerful volunteer organization in modern politics. It is a powerful read for all of us to know we are involved in something more than merely a political campaign but revolution of sorts that will define the next generation of the 21st Century.
That was followed up by a New Times OP ED Report about the strange and changing political scene here in the Red Zone others call Colorado Springs, CO.Inside the Obama campaign, almost without anyone noti
cing, an insurgent generation of organizers has built the Progressive movement a brand new and potentially durable people's organization, in a dozen states, rooted at the neighborhood level.
The "New Organizers" have succeeded in building what many netroots-oriented campaigners have been dreaming about for a decade. Other recent attempts have failed because they were either so "top-down" and/or poorly-managed that they choked volunteer leadership and enthusiasm; or because they were so dogmatically fixated on pure peer-to-peer or "bottom-up" organizing that they rejected basic management, accountability and planning. The architects and builders of the Obama field campaign, on the other hand, have undogmatically mixed timeless traditions and discipline of good organizing with new technologies of decentralization and self-organization.
Win or lose, "The New Organizers" have already transformed thousands of communities—and revolutionized the way organizing itself will be understood and practiced for at least the next generation....
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — I didn't hook up people to electronic monitoring devices, nothing to measure leg trickles and blood-sugar spikes in response to off-key talking points.
I had no magic maps, no demographic weighting formulas. I simply went to the heart of one of the fastest-growing, most Republican counties in the land — as red as rib-eye steak on the e-coli side of raw — and wandered aimlessly, like John McCain in Tuesday's debate.
Here in Colorado Springs — the Vatican of evangelical political power, home to the Air Force Academy and a community where optimism usually matches the sunrise glow at the base of Pikes Peak – you can see what will happen in less than a month.
My friends: it's not good for Senator McCain.
"As a small business owner, it's very hard to watch a lifetime of hard work and savings just wither away in the last two weeks," said Jan Martin,
a native of this more-than-mile-high city, and a lifelong Republican. "The debate on Tuesday night has, if anything, bolstered my opinion."
So Jan Martin, who also serves on the city council, will cross party lines in less than a month and vote Barack Obama for president, she said. She's not leaving the Republican party – she's deserting the nominee.
Unfortunately all is not good news for Colorado as the NY Times has a news piece that includes our state in unlawfully purging voter rolls. This is beyond the reported declaration that 35,000 new registrants were deemed incomplete and ineligible, this includes sytematic purging of roles beyond death or moving rates.
Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times...Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party’s supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states: Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina--could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day: people who have been removed from the rolls are likely to show up only to be challenged by political party officials or election workers, resulting in confusion, long lines and heated tempers....
The six swing states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways. Michigan and Colorado are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote....In three states — Colorado, Louisiana and Michigan — the number of people purged from the election rolls since Aug. 1 far exceeds the number who may have died or relocated during that period.
States may be improperly removing voters who have moved within the state, election experts said, or who are considered inactive because they have failed to vote in two consecutive federal elections. For example, major voter registration drives have been held this year in Colorado, which has also had a significant population increase since the last presidential election, but the state has recorded a net loss of nearly 100,000 voters from its rolls since 2004...In Colorado, some 37,000 people were removed from the rolls in the three weeks after July 21. During that time, about 5,100 people moved out of the state and about 2,400 died, according to postal data and death records.
I am going to finish on a high note where Politico.com pens a revealing piece stating that the upcoming election is actually a result of an "economic tsunami" worse than 1992 or 1980 and in my book mirrors 1932 where the nation was subjected to similar Republican orchastrated laissez faire speculation policies.
Three weeks of historic economic upheaval has done more than just tilt a handful of once-reliably Republican states in Barack Obama’s direction. Democratic strategists are now optimistic that the ongoing crisis could lead to a landslide Obama victory.
Four large states McCain once seemed well-positioned to win—Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida—have in recent weeks shifted toward Obama. If Obama were to win those four states—a scenario that would represent a remarkable turn of events—he would likely surpass 350 electoral votes.
Under almost any feasible scenario, McCain cannot win the presidency if he loses any of those four states. And if Obama actually captured all four states, it would almost certainly signal a strong electoral tide that would likely sweep the Southwestern swing states—Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada—not to mention battlegrounds from New Hampshire to Iowa to Missouri....“Now it’s a whole different world,” Maslin said. “The economy is way beyond 1992. In 1980, it was Iran hostage crisis and the economy. I’ve never seen an issue take this kind of prominence.”
Gallup finds that 69 percent of Americans believe the economy is the most important issue facing the nation. The second most cited issue, the war in Iraq, is named by only 11 percent of voters.
Bill Clinton’s former pollster Doug Schoen calls this the “economic tsunami.”
And it’s this tsunami that has altered the electoral map in a way that Obama himself could not.
“The Obama campaign did a lot of important foundation work to expand the Democratic map. And I give them credit for that,” Maslin said. “But the real expansion of the map is coming from an outside event, namely the economy, and not the tactics of the Obama campaign.
“Obama has not changed the map,” Schoen said. The map has changed because, in light of the economic turmoil, “McCain has become an almost unacceptable alternative” to President Bush.
Only one in four Americans have a positive view of the president, according to Gallup, the lowest rating of Bush’s presidency. That is only one point above Richard Nixon’s floor, 24 percent—which he registered when disgrace forced the first presidential resignation—and just three points higher than the lowest public approval ever, which was notched by Harry Truman in 1952 during the Korean War.
Only 9 percent of Americans are “satisfied” with the direction of the United States, the lowest level since the question was first asked by the Gallup Poll in the late 1970s.
10/8/08
"Mr Friends"...I'LL say it again..."My Friends" did McCain essentially capitulate last night?
"My Friends", we heard in practically every sentence that McCain expressed last night in what was billed his "last great hope" to knock out Obama. In fact across America's college campuses there is a new binge drinking game that uses the debates as their gaming compass...repeated words or phrases---both used by the Republicans. In Palin's case it is of course the word "Maverick" and in McCain's case, it is "My Friends". The trouble is that by the time the debate reaches 1/2 hour into its 90 minute set, most of those college participates are stone drunk, but of course that is the purpose of the binge drinking game.
The thing is McCain's front-loaded expectations were that he was going to prosecute Obama in person and yet he acted like the Lion in the "Wizard of Oz" when first confronting the mythical Wizard--- running away---"My Friends". McCain didn't bring any of his smears and accusations recently used in his campaign narrative into last night's debate. My reaction after the fact was that he was unwilling or UNABLE to actually speak them to Obama's face. Why? Because he and all of us intuitively knew he couldn't get away with it in front of a serious and non partisan audience like he could with a KOOL-AID drinking political rally.
Actually what really happened: Remember actions speak louder than words and in a political campaign words of candidates are actions. McCain basically CONCEDED the election last night---by his action of not speaking smears to Obama's face. McCain failed to accuse Obama of all that his VP choice now has done on the campaign stump referencing Ayers, Wright and Rezko. Basically McCain couldn't bring himself to do what his Sarahcuda can. His jabs were half-hearted repeats of his basic stump speech---My Friends but there was not haymaker blow on national national TV n prime time so in short he capitulated. So in short he is going to play the good cop/bad cop with his attack pit-bull with lipstick letting her destroy her national political reputation while he licks his old wounds. But don't take my word for this observation look at the Right wing press's reaction.
The thing is McCain's front-loaded expectations were that he was going to prosecute Obama in person and yet he acted like the Lion in the "Wizard of Oz" when first confronting the mythical Wizard--- running away---"My Friends". McCain didn't bring any of his smears and accusations recently used in his campaign narrative into last night's debate. My reaction after the fact was that he was unwilling or UNABLE to actually speak them to Obama's face. Why? Because he and all of us intuitively knew he couldn't get away with it in front of a serious and non partisan audience like he could with a KOOL-AID drinking political rally.
Actually what really happened: Remember actions speak louder than words and in a political campaign words of candidates are actions. McCain basically CONCEDED the election last night---by his action of not speaking smears to Obama's face. McCain failed to accuse Obama of all that his VP choice now has done on the campaign stump referencing Ayers, Wright and Rezko. Basically McCain couldn't bring himself to do what his Sarahcuda can. His jabs were half-hearted repeats of his basic stump speech---My Friends but there was not haymaker blow on national national TV n prime time so in short he capitulated. So in short he is going to play the good cop/bad cop with his attack pit-bull with lipstick letting her destroy her national political reputation while he licks his old wounds. But don't take my word for this observation look at the Right wing press's reaction.
- Weekly Standard: "John McCain had a very strong debate tonight. It's too bad for him that it came on a night when Barack Obama was nearly flawless."
- Slate: "Foreign policy didn't come up much in tonight's presidential debate; but when it did, Sen. John McCain--whose strengths lie in this realm--seemed surprisingly unsteady while Sen. Barack Obama came off as more sure-footed than he did in the first contest."
[T] the key point in the debate when McCain repeatedly tried to point himself forward as the 'cool hand' at the tiller, appearing either oblivious or indifferent to the fact that the last three weeks have made 'steady' one of the last words a lot of people associates with John McCain. As I wrote in the live blog, "Is McCain suddenly running against himself?". (See the video here.) Let's pick it up from Noam ...So as the nation's drinking game was coming to a close with the final "My Friends, McCain's campaign narrative was on the floor receiving a ten-count joining many college students in fraternities, sororities and dorms across America who were already so incoherent to hear on their collective floors.More importantly, I thought the Pakistan exchange was the moment when son overtook father in the Oedipal drama that's been a subtext of this campaign. After Obama gave his initial response, McCain pressed the absurd line that his opponent didn't understand talking softly while carrying a big stick--that he was, in other words, erratic.Coming from a candidate whose name has been synonymous with "erratic" these last several weeks, it left McCain dangerously exposed, and Obama didn't miss with his counterpunch. "This is the guy who sang, 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,' who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don't think is an example of 'speaking softly,'" he said. "This is the person who, after we had--we hadn't even finished Afghanistan, where he said, 'Next up, Baghdad.'" As if to add insult to injury, Obama nearly straight-armed McCain when he tried to interrupt, underscoring not only his intellectual advantages but also his physical ones.
10/7/08
Box out beginning....growing thuggery politics and Naomi's warning
The "Long Strange Trip", I am now using a a metaphor to describe this bloodless "Campaign for Change" that includes the Movement to elect Barack Obama, President is now down to the lynch pin point---OHIO---OHIO---OHIO. Over the weekend the NBC/WSJ Poll in Ohio is now showing that Obama has developed a 51% to 45% where Independents are rushing to Obama's side. This is confirmed by concurrent poll conducted by CNN in Ohio, Obama 51% to 48%.
Essentially both CNN and MSNBC have projected that Obama has 264 electoral votes in the bank with lock and leaning states that are outside the margin of error c
onsistently where the toss up states are now down to eight (8): NV, CO, MO, IN, OH, FL VA, & NC. Nevada is the wild card since it possesses five (5) electoral votes and brings the Obama total to 269 and would move the election to the House of Representatives. This is why Palin visited Nebraska as that state like Maine elects Electoral College elcctors by Congressional District and not statewide. In CD 2 (Omaha) the race remains relatively close where McCain holds a 5 point lead without any ground game but with a strong Obama ground organization working under the radar. Winning Nevada and the one electoral vote in Nebraska brings him to 270.But th
at is not the winning formula, that is commando raid. A major political campaign is much like a military campaign. Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia and Nevada are actually flanking moves. In that context, Colorado Springs is on the edge of the flanking move as we are actually playing offense cutting into the base of the opposition and forcing them to use resources here that are needed in pressure points they need to win like Ohio and Florida. Except now McCain can't lose Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina (which were strong Bush states) either. But back to Ohio and Florida. That is their center line and it is about to break.Now actions speak louder than words and words are the actions in a political campaign. It is not a coincidence that suddenly over the weekend as the US is embroiled in a economic meltdown or PANIC, that McCain wants to not talk about it. What they want to talk about is character and cultural issues they believe is Obama's weakness in Ohio, but also Pennsylvania, Florida and possibly Colorado, Missouri, Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia. Except the nation is not buying it or didn't when Hillary tried to use. Of course the Republicans are sleazier at it than the Clinton's. What makes it dangerous is how the fringe on that part of society.
INCITING MOB RULE?
Yesterday near my parents home in Florida, Palin held a "hate rally" that started to show an ugliness or mob mentality that mirrors the disease that Milisovec unleashed in the former Yugoslavia. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post made this report, (read the whole thing here):
Yesterday as gathered outside Centennial Hall to cast our ballots an individual walking by shouted at us that "Obama is going to die". This is not an abstract issue. By the way you can view our casting on KRDO in their video stories.Not only has Palin discovered the New York Times, she was even able to extract a few small misleading facts from an article. Citing her source like a fifth grader giving her first book report, she told the audience that Bil Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground and that Barack Obama knew him forty years later. Her audience responded with the conditioned Booos required to recieve more winks and nuggets of hate. But they went a bit further than that:
Worse, Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media." At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, "Sit down, boy."
Rabid hate of the media by extreme right wing voters isn't new, of course. But I think racist insults hurled at a sound man is a new low for them. Then it got worse:
The reception had been better in Clearwater, where Palin, speaking to a sea of "Palin Power" and "Sarahcuda" T-shirts, tried to link Obama to the 1960s Weather Underground. "One of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," she said. ("Boooo!" said the crowd.) "And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,' " she continued. ("Boooo!" the crowd repeated.)
"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.
Yeah. That's where this Palin thing is going. Sure, these were just a few voices. But they evidently felt comfortable enough at a Palin rally to openly advocate assassination. McCain-Palin seems ready to associate with the lowest of the low (and if you read the article, they are promising to get even uglier in the future).
HOW CLOSE ARE WE?
Now place all of this in the context that Naomi Wolf an author who has written that this nation is close to outright fascism and a potential coup where even if Obama is voted in the election will be vacated. Here is here riveting You Tube interview of here new book GIVE ME LIBERTY.
10/6/08
Obama yard signs are in mass in the Colorado Springs HQ
4000 Obama Yards signs are in the Colorado Office for those who want to spend $5.00.
218 So. Limit St.
No more moaning or complaining
218 So. Limit St.
No more moaning or complaining
Voted Today and of course some controversy, other voter reg news, polls and counterpunches
This morning seventeen Obama supporters showed up before 8:00 AM at the El Paso Co
unty Clerk's office and in the presence of KRDO's Channel 13 camera's cast their ballots. Naturally there was some controversy in that we all were dressed and decked out in Obama garb and the Elections Department Supervisor took issue and said we needed to cover them up or take them off. Of course there were no 100 foot signs BECAUSE THERE IS NO POLLING GOING ON, MERELY the receiving of ballots being hand delivered. But that does not mean that Balink and his incompentent staff got another legal instruction incorrect. Maday and I informed the Obama team to contact the lawyers who will be meeting with Mr. Balink today. KRDO's story quoted Mike:
VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Other news regarding voter registration is that any currently registered voter who needs to update (address change or name change in case you got married or legally changed your name or want to declare a new party affiliation), any update you have until October 28th to submit that form, the same for requesting a MAIL-In Ballot. If you did already submit a new registration but think it was done incorrectly due to a clerical error, you should contact the Obama Campaign Office---all is not lost.
POLLS
Today the USA TODAY released a stunning poll that insinuates a fundamental shift in the electorate where young voters are registering in record numbers and supporting Obama almost 2-to-1.
You bring up the BS of Ayres connection and Obama counters with the real Keating 5 and a 15 minute online documentary. Here is the link to keatingeconomics.com. Talking Points Memo describe the McCain campaign theme as total slime and sleeze.
unty Clerk's office and in the presence of KRDO's Channel 13 camera's cast their ballots. Naturally there was some controversy in that we all were dressed and decked out in Obama garb and the Elections Department Supervisor took issue and said we needed to cover them up or take them off. Of course there were no 100 foot signs BECAUSE THERE IS NO POLLING GOING ON, MERELY the receiving of ballots being hand delivered. But that does not mean that Balink and his incompentent staff got another legal instruction incorrect. Maday and I informed the Obama team to contact the lawyers who will be meeting with Mr. Balink today. KRDO's story quoted Mike:The first El Paso County votes have been cast in this election. A group of eager voters got their ballots over the weekend, filled them out and shA piece of information for Mr. "Bob" Balink, you are on the national spotlight for any and all voter suppression, voter intimidation or voter misinformation. No more game Mr. Balink.owed up early at Centennial Hall Monday to turn them in. "It's exciting, and I think we're part of history," says Mike Maday who cast his ballot Monday, "this election is going to make history and it's great to be one of the first people to cast a ballot."
More than 120,000 mail-in ballots are already in the hands of El Paso County residents. More people than ever are choosing to mail in. "Every ballot will have at least 42 items," says El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink, "it'll take a voter longer than ever to vote this ballot."
"With the initiatives on the ballot, it takes a lot of time, maybe 45 minutes, to vote your ballot," says Maday, "we wanted to get it done early, we wanted to hand it in early so we don't have to worry about that." Now, the Clerk and Recorder's Office is busy processing the final voter registrations and the mail-in requests that will continue coming in until the end of the month.
VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Other news regarding voter registration is that any currently registered voter who needs to update (address change or name change in case you got married or legally changed your name or want to declare a new party affiliation), any update you have until October 28th to submit that form, the same for requesting a MAIL-In Ballot. If you did already submit a new registration but think it was done incorrectly due to a clerical error, you should contact the Obama Campaign Office---all is not lost.
POLLS
Today the USA TODAY released a stunning poll that insinuates a fundamental shift in the electorate where young voters are registering in record numbers and supporting Obama almost 2-to-1.
USA TODAY/MTV/Gallup Poll of registered voters 18 to 29 years oAlso MSNBC First Read are holding that Obama how has 264 electoral votes banked and the entire map is moving in his direction.ld shows Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain by 61%-32%, the most lopsided contest within an age group in any presidential election in modern times. Obama's margin is overwhelming across four groups of younger voters, divided by their engagement in the election, thei
r optimism about the future and other factors.
Some Republicans fear that whatever the outcome Nov. 4, movement of this generation to Obama could set political views through their lifetimes, reverberating in future elections.
"This is the equivalent of the Reagan brigades, where a whole class of people identify with a politician," says Dan Bartlett, a veteran of the Bush White House, calling it "a real wake-up call" for the GOP. Bartlett, 37, grew up during Reagan's presidency, which begat a generation of young conservatives.
Obama at 264: A week after Obama's poll numbers spiked in battleground states and after McCain's campaign announced it was retreating from Michigan, Obama has opened up a nearly 100-point electoral-vote lead, according to NBC’s new map. Obama now has a 264-174 advantage over McCain, up from his 212-174 edge last week. The changes are all in Obama’s direction: We’ve moved Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from Toss-up to Lean Obama. Also, every single Toss-up state is now a red state, and we are close to moving another red state -- Missouri -- to the Toss-up column. But let's remember: This is where the RACE IS RIGHT NOW, not where we expect the race to be in a month. And we move a state into lean when we believe there's significant evidence based on our reporting and a few of the public polls (we trust) that a candidate has a lead of five points or more.
- Likely Obama: CA, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NY, RI, VT (157 electoral votes)
- Lean Obama: IA, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NM, OR, PA, WA, WI (107 votes)
- Toss-up: CO, FL, IN, NV, NC, OH, VA (100 votes)
- Lean McCain: MO, MT (14 votes)
- Likely McCain: AL, AK, AZ, AR, GA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MS, NE, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WY (160 votes)
- Virginia Survey USA Obama 53% McCain 43%
- Virginia Suffolk Obama 51% McCain 39%
- New Hampshire Survey USA Obama 53% McCain 40%
You bring up the BS of Ayres connection and Obama counters with the real Keating 5 and a 15 minute online documentary. Here is the link to keatingeconomics.com. Talking Points Memo describe the McCain campaign theme as total slime and sleeze.
McCain rallies start in referring to Obama as Barack Hussein Obama.
Late Update: We're here at TPM World HQ listening to McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds be interviewed by Andrea Mitchell. And the subtext of even Mitchell's questions seem to be that McCain is pretty much wall-to-wall sleaze at this point. One interesting thing to consider is that we may be on the verge of seeing McCain not only lose the presidency but his entire reputation as well. He'll lose everything but the houses and the fancy lifestyle. Joe Klein has a run-down on all McCain's latest sleaze.And this little tidbit fell out of the drawer in the McCain Campaign---CUTTING MEDICARE AND MEDICAID! McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin tells the Wall St. Journal that McCain would pay for the tax credits in his health plan with deep cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.
John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.I told my mother this on the phone today and she went silent.
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