Back in the “good old days”, a lot of states had “literacy tests” for voters. If you didn’t pass them, you couldn’t vote. Of course, it was a scam: the real reason for the testing was to eliminate black voters, and the fight to remove the laws was part of the civil rights movement to [...]

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In a previous post, I joked that if the Governor of Wisconsin wanted to fire all his teachers, he could hire a lot of qualified Filipino teachers to replace them. Yet this is not quite a joke: The cut backs in US medical training have resulted in the active importation of foreign medical graduates to [...]

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An Open Letter to Rush Limbaugh: Rush, since I can never get through and have no time to sit and dial, redial, etc. This will have to suffice.  Slim chance that you’ll ever read it but maybe some caring person will forward it to you.    They do you an extreme disservice if they do not. [...]

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Chris Gacek of the Family Research Council gave the GOP a stern warning via his October ’07 essay in Politico –  “Lou Dobbs Voters Will Decide ‘08”.  Of course, the arrogant GOP Hierarchy paid little-to-no attention.  Hence, they were punished severely on 11/4/08 by this massive block of former/traditional GOP voters now estimated by Rasmussen [...]

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Well Conservatives have been waiting around patiently for a leader to rise to the surface of the Republican Party.   Someone that would speak out boldly and radically in defense of our Nation, the Constitution and Conservatism.  Yes we need impetuous radicals in the Republican Party, too,  to counter the multitude of progressive radicals in the [...]

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a timely rant…..by Darvin Dowdy Do you hear it?  A resounding Death Knell  ( link1 ) for the Republican Party?  Has the cloaked Grim Reaper  ( link2 ) cast its shadow  of doom over the Conservative Movement?   The slow cadence of the funeral dirge has already begun as the procession  moves toward the two gravesites.  But [...]

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In these stressful times you might find yourself having trouble dropping off to sleep.  So many things to worry about, you know?  Well if you are in need of a good sedative tonight but are wanting to avoid heavy medication, may I recommend, hot off the presses, the “Republican Road to Recovery”.   Gingerly presented, courtesy [...]

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The esteemed British medical journal, the Lancet, has gotten a black eye in the news lately for articles that were poorly screened and were biased for political/personal reasons. The first one is the 1998 study linking MMR vaccine with Autism. This study has had devastating effects on three fronts: One, the terrible guilt by parents [...]

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Subtitle: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century Although American Theocracy is Kevin Phillips’ thirteenth book, it is the first one I have read. In fact, I had never even heard of Mr. Phillips until I saw him on Charlie Rose a few years ago. That interview [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders Here are five “Monday Morning Quarterback” observations about the 2008 campaign: 1. In the end, consider the key to the 2008 presidential election not President-elect Barack Obama’s lofty inspirational rhetoric, nor the inadequacies of the message-challenged McCain campaign, nor the drag of the GOP’s unprepared vice presidential nominee, but something much more [...]

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There is a cluenessless about God as part of one’s life and worldview  can be seens in this article, where pro abortion politicians have plainly decided to receive communion from the Pope in a public forum.The press will undoubtably report this as a political issue, but here is the key clue that the politicians don’t [...]

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Holy Week is a time for the world’s Christians to pause and ponder the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Reuters news agency is reporting today that Benedict XVI is part of a conspiracy on the part of the European Union to antagonize and publicly undermine Islamic interests throughout the Moslem world, [...]

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I’ve written before about the problems with the “Body Count” article published just before the US 2006 Congressional elections in Lancet. LINK LINK2 BizzyBlog has a summary if you aren’t familiar with the story: that right before the US Congressional elections, the Lancet published an article claiming a large number of deaths since the US [...]

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It was touted as a major massacre, where innocent civilians were killed in cold blood by trigger happy soldiers. The “massacre” was widely publicized, with news reports and pictures inflaming the public. Indeed, the news reports and pictures were deliberately manipulated by some as a way to influence public opinion against the regime that the [...]

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A big thanks to Townhall commentator Matt Lewis for his 9/13 spotlight article on Texas Gov. Rick Perry.   Illuminating what we Texans have known for almost a year as the  governors true ambitions.  After Gov. “Good Hair” managed to squeak by and pull off a victory with  less than 39% of the over all vote, [...]

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In America Hillary Clinton decides what is and what is not printed about her campaign. Early this summer, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign for president learned that the men’s magazine GQ was working on a story about alleged infighting within her campaign. Hillary offered GQ a stark choice: Kill the piece, or lose access to [...]

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A Rasmussen Reports poll of 800 likely voters released on Wednesday found that those surveyed have a much different opinion of the role of lobbyists and their ability to influence politicians than the current 2008 Democratic frontrunner.

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By Jefferson Flanders So Senator Hillary Clinton has asked the public to choose her 2008 presidential campaign song by voting at her website on a selection of nine songs It’s a clever idea, mixing pop culture, Web interactivity, and a faux election; the Clinton staff has been careful to screen the songs so that they [...]

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More proof that Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, the former Democrat and the one responsible for making all Republicans look like racists — with help from the MSM — is at it again. Lott is making noise that he would like to compromise with the Democrat Party over the safety of our troops and listen to [...]

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A few sources, not the least of which is Michael Barone, are reporting that the Democrats are ignoring important Iraq briefings conducted by General David Petraeus in an apparent effort to stymie efforts in Iraq. It is well known that they are not supportive of the troops in Iraq and the president’s “surge” plan they [...]

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Senator Hillary Clinton has promised to introduce in the Senate a constitutional amendment to abolish the electoral college.

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Prelude: I’d like to say a word about the following op ed before it begins as a way of warning the reader that I, a Conservative, am going to take issue with Jonah Goldberg, another Conservative. I think Mr. Goldberg is wrong on his main point in his op ed from Tuesday that I am [...]

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In a letter to its members on Friday, the nation’s largest firefighters union accused Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani of committing “egregious acts” against firefighters who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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Dana Milbank is mad at Democrats for somehow letting Former Iraq Chief Paul Bremer off the hook today in the Washington Post’s ”Rusty Democrats Unable to Pin Anything on Bremer”. I guess to show he is a real meterosexual, Milbank starts his piece off with an observation on Bremer’s choice of footwear and draws the [...]

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Last month I wrote an op ed about how this one last move by the Illinois Republican Party drove me from the state’s Party as a self-proclaimed member. (Why I left the Illinois Republican Party) I warned that their announcement that only THEY were allowed to say who is allowed to proclaim themselves to be [...]

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The Democrats really disappointed voters today, with a non response to the Bush speech last night. All the positioning before the election, all the threats, the promises of change in the war before the election, and…….. as was reported elsewhere on this Network “Pelosi Bans smoking in the Capital”. Yes that’s about it. They drag out [...]

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The AP isn’t the only one going ga-ga over the ascension of Nancy Pelosi to become the “first Female Speaker of the House”. We are seeing the fawning on just about every news outlet out there. And it is, indeed, quite an historic change from the long line of gentlemen that have taken the Speaker’s [...]

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Cochise County, Arizona’s, 2006 election

1. In the November 2006 election, the hottest issue in Cochise County, Arizona, was Smith Ranch, a proposed bedroom suburb for Tucson. Smith Ranch would have held about 12,000 people — about 10% of the county’s entire population, in about 1/40 of 1% of the county’s area.

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by Craig Dimitri On December 12, House Democrats capped their victories in the 2006 cycle by defeating Rep. Henry Bonilla (R., Texas) in a runoff; former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D., Texas) will return to the House after defeating Bonilla on Tuesday, in a huge district that spans part of the border between Texas and Mexico.   Thus, in the [...]

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Proving that Time Magazine never understood a single thing about John McCain, Time writer, Karen Tumulty, is all worried about the "cost" of McCain’s purported run for the 2008 GOP nomination for the presidency. The head and sub-head lines alone are so filled with misconstructions, assumptions and laments that one doesn’t have to read the [...]

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If you were to ask Christine Jennings — and a lot of voters in Sarasota County — the answer is “no.” Does it make sense that 18,000 voters in Sarasota County, Florida – most of whom used a computer to vote – would go to the polls and fail to pick a candidate for the [...]

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A lot of people have rushed to analyze the political effects of Tim Johnson’s health problems. If he passes away or is otherwise unable to serve (his condition is critical but stable), a Republican governor will appoint his successor. A Republican appointment would return the Senate to a 50-50 party split. Johnson suffered bleeding in [...]

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A pair of Detroit Free Press articles begs the question: What in the world was the Michigan GOP thinking when they chose Dick Devos as their gubernatorial candidate? On the one hand, we have a state whose largest city is so devoid of decent, utilitarian retail that Detroiters are absolutely thrilled to see a Staples [...]

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New Orleans Congressman William Jefferson has won re – election despite the bribery scandal that he is embroiled in. It seems voters in the area are not concerned enough about the situation to remove him from office. It is disappointing, but not surprising, in an area that put Mayor Ray Nagin back in office. Nagin was [...]

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The Illinois Republican Party has finally lost me as an “official” member. One final act has pushed me out the door. As of this month, the Illinois GOP has decided, in its benevolent omnipotence, that Party honchos … and only they … may decide who may use the appellation “Republican” in this great state of [...]

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My Blogger News Network colleague Warner Todd Huston has some great comments on a recent Washington Post op-ed. He rightly points out the writer is South-o-phobic and bigoted, defining “Dixie” political attitudes as “knee-jerk militaristic, anti-scientific, dogmatically religious, and culturally, sexually and racially phobic.” Even if Southerners are disproportionately those things, painting with a broad [...]

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It is amusing to me that the South was always considered by Democrats as "the people", the salt of the Earth, and the so-called rank and file in the "solid South" when the they had a lock on their votes from 1820 all the way until 1980. The South was the all-American region and the [...]

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Two newsworthy things have happened in Washington over the past 48 hours. The first is the Iraq Study Group report analyzing the strategy in Iraq. Surprise! It’s not going well. The second is that House Majority Leader Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D, MA) has made it clear that he expects congressmen to put in a [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders With apologies to newspaper legend Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me, but… U.S. SENATOR-ELECT JAMES WEBB (D, VA.) ERRED BADLY in his ill-tempered response to President Bush’s question about the well-being of Webb’s son (who is serving as a Marine in Iraq) at a White House reception for newly elected members of Congress. [...]

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Less than a month has passed since the Midterm Elections that swept the Democrats back into power for the 110th Congress, and already much of the leadership due to take the helm in January is shifting to a conciliatory tone in talking about policies that they railed against right up until election night: [QUOTE] [T]he [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer Remember, just before the elections, all the newspaper and television news about how electronic voting machines can be “rigged” to change votes and there would be no paper trail to prove it happened? Well the election is over and the Democrats definitely won but, with all those electronic [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Sunday, Senator John McCain appeared on ABC’s “This Week” news program, stating it was vital for the U.S. to increase its troop commitment in order to stabilize Iraq in particular and the Middle East in general. He also stated that the failure of such stabilization efforts would threaten U.S. homeland security [...]

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by Craig Dimitri There was finally some good news for House Republicans, after the catastrophic losses suffered on November 7. Over the past three days, the Republicans are now assured of at least 200 members in their caucus.  Two experienced incumbents, Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico and Rep. Robin Hayes of North Carolina, were able [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In a bright spot for Republicans, Rep. Heather Wilson (R) has been officially re-elected to a fifth full term in New Mexico’s 1st CD.  On Friday, the last county in the CD to recount – Bernalillo County – completed its tally.  Madrid gained what I estimate to be about 285 votes in that county, [...]

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This article makes a few interesting suggestions. For one, it states the obvious fact that Republicans will be attacking the new House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, a lot in the coming years. The questionable assertion is that, in doing so, the right will be aiming for Hillary. It’s questionable not in that the right wants this [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The recount in the most bizarre post-Election Night 2006 congressional campaign came to an end on Friday – and in a rare genuine display of bipartisanship, the House permitted both Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings to appear in the official photos, for their respective parties’ freshmen – and both are attending [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes (R) has apparently eked out a victory in his bid for a fifth term, in the N.C./8th CD, by a mere 339 votes, over challenger Larry Kissell (D) – in a district in which over 121,000 ballots were cast. The district, which sprawls across southern North Carolina near the [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Saturday, November 18, the showdown between traditional archrivals Ohio State and Michigan, will be overshadowed by the passing of legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler.  The fans of both schools, while mourning his passing, will nonetheless enjoy an afternoon of high-stakes football, taking place over approximately three hours, and with a conclusive [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Two Ohio Republicans may have survived the Democratic storm surge that flooded the state on November 7, when Democratic gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates crushed their GOP opponents.  One is quasi-freshman Rep. Jean Schmidt, the other is long-time Rep. Deborah Pryce.  Let’s talk about Schmidt, first… Schmidt currently enjoys a solid (but by no [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Heading into the election, one of the Republicans perceived to be vulnerable, was Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico.  But she always wins; after replacing a deceased Republican in 1998, she has won four terms in her own right.  In 2002 and 2004, she easily defeated her Democratic challengers, winning by nearly [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Friday, November 17 – ten days after the election that propelled Democrats to take control of both houses of Congress – there were still six Republican-held districts, where the GOP is poised to retain control: five incumbents and the Republican candidate in a Florida open seat. Of the 435 House seats, 428 now have certified winners, after Rep. [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Freshman Rep. John Barrow (D) has escaped the possibility of being the only Democratic House or Senate incumbent to be defeated, in the watershed Democratic year of 2006.  On Wednesday, November 15, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office certified him as the winner over the Republican he unseated two years ago, former Rep. Max [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The nation’s closest House race (of the 435 at stake on November 7) has finally been concluded.  On Wednesday, Nov. 15, three-term Rep. Rob Simmons (R) formally – and with great dignity and class – conceded defeat to Rep.-Elect Joe Courtney (D).  The Democratic challenger has been certified by the state of [...]

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Having campaigned and won the recent mid-term elections in large part by condemning the “culture of corruption” as practiced by elements of the Republican Party, it is affording me no end of sour amusement watching Democratic Party leadership turn on a dime. Yep, way to go, Nancy P., appearing to favor a loyal but somewhat [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The clock has finally struck midnight, for the re-election hopes of three-term Rep. Rob Simmons (R) in the Conn./2nd CD. But perhaps fittingly, nobody can agree on the exact margin, as the AP and both parties all disagree as to the number. After a week-long recount, in which Democratic challenger Joe Courtney‘s [...]

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Representative J.D. Hayworth conceded what everyone else has been saying since election night. He lost to challenger Harry Mitchell and is out of a job come Janurary. Pundits point to his close relationship with convicted influence peddler Jack Abramoff and the racial slurs offered by surrogates sent to address members of a Jewish synagogue on [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The nation’s closest House contest might be resolved by the end of the evening, Tuesday.  The ConnecticutLocalPolitics blog, run by “Genghis Conn”, reported around 8 PM Tuesday, that challenger Joe Courtney (D) has an 89-vote lead with only four towns left to recount in the Conn./2nd CD.  Courtney had an election-night lead of 167 [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The recount chaos in Connecticut’s 2nd CD continued on Tuesday, when Rep. Rob Simmons (R) moved 31 votes closer to victory, after a recount in the town of Waterford demonstrated that the town had erroneously given his Democratic challenger, Joe Courtney, that number of additional ballots.  That would appear to close the gap between [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Electoral chaos, in the nation’s closest result of the 435 House races, continued on Monday, November 13.  In the afternoon, Rep. Rob Simmons (R) had zoomed from 166 votes down to just 66, due to an error. But Monday night, a second error, this time in Lyme, turned out to have provided Simmons with an [...]

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If ever there were two subjects that Germans know a lot about, world peace and war crimes have to top the list (though not necessarily in that order). And that is why it is immer wieder (always as in again and again) refreshing (not) to hear their latest viewpoints on how various international figures rank [...]

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by Craig Dimitri   One of the final pieces of Election 2006 fell into place in the Pacific Northwest, late Monday night.  As of the weekend, several U.S. House campaigns were still not officially resolved, but the Wash. St/8th CD, in suburban Seattle, is no longer one of them.  The AP has officially declared freshman incumbent Rep. Dave Reichert (R) the [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Election Night, the unofficial tally showed a 167-vote margin (less than 4/100ths of 1%) held by challenger Joe Courtney (D) over Rep. Rob Simmons (R) in the Conn./2nd CD.  Over the weekend, Simmons’ hopes dwindled, as a legally-mandated recount garnered him only a single vote, shaving the lead to 166.  But on [...]

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As George Bush put it, the Republicans took a “thumpin’” on November 7th. By the time the counting and recounting is finished, the balance of power in the House of Representatives will have essentially flip-flopped, giving the Democrats approximately the same numerical strength that the Republicans had prior to the election. In the Senate, they [...]

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As George Bush put it, the Republicans took a “thumpin’” on November 7th.  By the time the counting and recounting is finished, the balance of power in the House of Representatives will have essentially flip-flopped, giving the Democrats approximately the same numerical strength that the Republicans had prior to the election.  In the Senate, they [...]

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Shortly before the elections I took a look at Rove’s prediction that the GOP would hold both houses of Congress. I argued it was at least possible that even Rove didn’t believe the numbers — he was trying to create the impression of a winnable battle. This would bouy the spirits of Republican activists and [...]

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Harry Mitchell’s lead over Rep. J.D. Hayworth remains some 6,000 votes as counting extends into fifth day. Mitchell heads to Washington for orientation sessions. The Democratic challenger has made no claim of victory, but appointed a former congressman to help prepare for transition if he wins. Hayworth, who has 75,163 votes to Mitchell’s 80,820 by [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders Borrowing Jimmy Cannon’s signature opening, nobody asked me, but… THE 2006 MID-TERM ELECTIONS, in which the Democrats regained control of both the House and the Senate, will be long remembered for the message American voters sent about President Bush’s troubled policies in Iraq and their judgment that Republican would-be reformers had been [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer It appears, according to many post-election news sources, that evangelicals (defined as Christian-conservatives with ‘attitude’) played a big part in the rebirth of the almost forgotten term: “Democratic majority.” Some evangelicals apparently couldn’t find it in their hearts to forgive Republican legislators who were involved in scandals, corruption [...]

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Arizona Representative J.D. Hayworth -R- is expressing hope a statistical miracle will yet return him to congress even as the apparent winner begins assembling a staff and transition advisor for the move to Washington. While it is with in the purely abstract statistical realm of possibility that Representative Hayworth could still win the election and [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The election in the Conn./2nd CD is still unresolved, with Joe Courtney (D) holding a 167-vote advantage over Rep. Rob Simmons (R).  But 2006 is a relative landslide, compared to 1994.  That year, Ed Munster (R) failed to unseat Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D) – by 21 votes. In 2000, the political fates [...]

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I was a member of the NRA for about three years (just expired a few months ago), and I’ve written about gun issues from a very pro-rights perspective. I still hold those views. But I was quite angry — indeed,  it cinched my decision not to re-join — when I learned they strongly endorsed  George [...]

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Democrats will lead us “forward” into a better future, says Nancy Pelosi and her band of revelers in the aftermath of their takeover of Congress? Democrats have “new” ideas, they claim?

Not if this report is any indication of that “forward” looking…

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by Ted Lipien FreeMediaOnline.org Free Media Online, Dublin, CA, November 9, 2006 — Rather than scoring flamboyant propaganda points, state-controlled media in countries considered strident enemies of President Bush’s policies reacted slowly and cautiously to Republican defeats in U.S. midterm elections. Slow media response in countries like Cuba, Iran, and North Korea can be explained [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Rep. Katharine Harris (R) – most famous for her role in the 2000 Florida recount, which determined the presidential election – was defeated in her bid for the U.S. Senate.  But proving that the political gods have a sense of humor, the U.S. House seat which Harris vacated, is now subject to [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The heated battle in the Conn.-2nd CD was deemed too close to call, heading into Election Night.   And even on Thursday evening, two days after the polls closed, it’s still too close to call.  Challenger Joe Courtney (D) is clinging to a slim lead of 167 votes (out of over 242,000 cast), [...]

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On election night my roommate kept remarking how useless exit polls were, and how he didn’t even see why TV stations bothered to report them. I still stand by my counterargument on the CNN/MSNBC/etc. front, which is that exit polls are something to report. Not perfect, but better than nothing. But I was a little [...]

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America’s nuclear suppliers are embarking on a love affair with India! Reminds me of the days shortly after Union Carbide’s plant at Bhopal spew tonnes of poisonous gas on the city killing tens of thousands. Carpetbaggers from America descended in hordes seeking power of attorney from the victims in an American court in return for [...]

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This news is sure to gin up a few conspiracy theories. According to a Jewish Web site, the proportion of Jews in the legislature has risen. Now 13 Jews are in the Senate, up from 11. In the House the numbers are 30 and 24. The rise in Democrats explains most of the difference, however, [...]

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You’ve got to love the promise of bipartisanship. There’s something all warm and fuzzy about different people coming together to “get stuff done.” It happened in 2000, and it’s happening again. Bush and Pelosi are expected to meet soon. I hate to say something so stupidly obvious, but it doesn’t seem anyone else grasps it. [...]

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The media is so biased it’s not even funny. For evidence, check out this AP story, with the thesis that Tuesday’s ballot initiatives struck a huge blow against right-wingers everywhere. That’s funny, because most serious analysts noticed how the election seemed to be anti-Republican but pro-conservative. Even the Democrats who won took on some right-wing [...]

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I hate to say it, but the judge in this case is right. He blocked enforcement of a popular ballot initiative keeping sex offenders at least 2,000 feet from parks. Now, I’m all for frying every sex offender on the planet.* I think it’s nauseating that we don’t do more to punish rapists and child [...]

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By Gina Burgess   Well, the votes are in and there’s no dangling chads or dimpled cards.  The Democrats have the House and the Senate.  Okay, so what’s next?  Do they have a plan?  Haven’t heard one.   Rumsfeld is a sacrifice to appease the ravening lions of the left.  So, the guy’s resignation is [...]

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Around 1pm Eastern the day after the election, while Democrats were still celebrating their victories, Bush made a sudden announcement of the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. To many, this was icing on the cake of a good election. Many missed the larger picture. Democrats largely did not campaign on any issues. [...]

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In analyzing the Virginia election — still too close to call, though Democrat Webb is coming out ahead in the first count — people often stressed the state’s regional tensions. DC suburban Virginia is more liberal than the North Carolina-bordering southern part. On MSNBC yesterday, announcers made a big deal that a then-uncounted precinct was [...]

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by Craig Dimitri After the catastrophic losses sustained by the GOP on Tuesday, highly unpopular Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned his post on Wednesday afternoon.  Rumsfeld’s conduct of the war in Iraq had made him an extremely polarizing figure, and he becomes the first important Bush Administration figure to step down as a result of the fiasco. This [...]

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Bush answered America’s call for change by accepting the resignation of Secretary of State, Donald Rumsfeld, in a press conference held in the East Room of the White House.  Starting his speech by saying “Why all the glum faces?”, Bush went on to congratulate the Democratic Party on it’s many victories November 7th.  He even [...]

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Joe Lieberman may have made history last night. Lieberman, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, defeated his opponents to regain his seat — after losing the primary election. Lieberman garnered 50 percent of the vote with Ned Lamont, who beat Lieberman in the primary, receiving 40 percent. Republican Alan Schlesinger trailed with only 10 percent of [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer “. . . the GOP deserved to lose its majority. Less clear is that Democrats deserved to win.” That is the considered opinion of a Washington Post editorial this morning and I can’t say I disagree. The Democrats did not “win” this election as much as the Republican’s [...]

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Democrats and Republicans found themselves at odds with each other on Tuesday as they mutually hurled allegations of fraud and intimidation to discourage voters from going to the polls. Each demanded for criminal investigations based on the charges. Republican candidate Tom Kean accused incumbent Democratic Robert Menendez of “Election Day dirty tricks” in New Jersey’s [...]

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Same-sex marriage bans called in SC, TN, VA, WI, leads in others, trails in AZ. Eight states were voting on measures that would ban same-sex marriage. CNN.com has South Carolina, Tennesssee, Virginia and Wisconsin passing the same-sex marriage ban. The issue is too close to call in Arizona, but is trailing there with 48% voting to ban [...]

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I would say that right now the only clear loser in the voting process is Diebold. They have assured us for months that their Accuvote electronic voting equipment was high quality, very reliable, and suitable to use in the election process. For some considerable time there has been rumblings and grumblings about the move to [...]

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For the next 13… 14 months or so… Cartoon from Sid in the City  

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According to this transcription of an interview with Karl Rove, the strategist thinks the Republicans will keep both houses of Congress. What popped into my mind was: Is this an honest prediction, or a shrewd political move? It’s not outlandish as an honest opinion, as most people seem to say the Republicans will keep the [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer The Navajo Nation is a nearly-soverign nation within our Nation that covers 27,000 square miles and extends into Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The Navajo Nation, originally established by treaty in 1868, now has a population of over a quarter million and a central government that oversees the [...]

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India is watching with bated breath as pollsters predict a close contest in the race to the US Senate. After years of cheering the Democrats, the Indian establishment is quietly rooting for the Republicans. And it has much to do with the nuclear deal President George Bush signed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this [...]

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Over at Human Events, Sean Rushton reports on rumors that Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens could retire due to health problems. Stevens is widely regarded as a left-wing jurist — living Constitution, voted to uphold Roe, etc. — and retirement before Bush leaves would give the president a chance to give the court a solid [...]

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I’ve voted for many years now, and the plethora of interesting buildings where I’ve cast my votes run from the 1960′s elementary school to the City Hall of a small town to an old age home and now to my current polling place, the gym of a community housing apartment building for the disabled. So [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In the New Mexico-1st CD, it appears that eight-year incumbent Rep. Heather Wilson is in a pitched battle, to hold onto her Albuquerque-area seat.  She trails her Democratic challenger, NM Attorney General Patricia Madrid, according to independent polling. Since she entered Congress in 1998, to replace deceased Rep. Steven Schiff (R), Wilson has managed to win [...]

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Received this update from House Republican Security Notes… Foiled Terror Plot Was Worse Than First Known, But Democrat Record is Still as Bad as It Has Always Been   November 2, 2006 According to an article in today’s Washington Post, the terror plot to blow up several American passenger planes that was foiled last August [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer On this eve of the 2006 mid-term elections the predictions on one side of a Democratic landslide and the predictions from the other side of some Republican losses are still just that . . . predictions. Either way you look at it, it says much more about the [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer Ever since Massachusetts Senator Joe Lieberman was forced to make the decision to either be a ‘good Democrat’ and toe the party line or run for reelection to the Senate as an Independent he has become a valuable commodity for the Republicans. The Republican party is helping Lieberman [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders With a tip of the cap to New York columnist Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me, but… MIKE LUCKOVICH’S CARTOON OF DICK CHENEY subjecting a youthful Halloween trick-or-treater to forcible apple-bobbing (“Confess!”) captures the absurdity of Cheney’s endorsement of “dunking” suspected terrorists (“a no-brainer”) and the subsequent White House denial that Cheney wasn’t [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Over the weekend, challenger Patrick Murphy (D) was surrounded by a bevy of Democratic heavyweights - and so on Sunday, incumbent Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick brought in one of his own party’s marquee names: Senator John McCain (R-Ariz).  Moreover, McCain is very popular among Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans – in other words, precisely the [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Monday, November 6 – the final full day of campaigning prior to Tuesday’s election, challenger Patrick Murphy (D) will be up before dawn, in his bid to unseat freshman Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R) in Pennsylvania’s 8th CD, comprised primarily of Bucks County. Independent polls have indicated that this contest has no [...]

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By David Schussler    The more I watch the candidates debate on television, the more I wonder, “Who are these people that we’ve put in positions of power?” TV Faces that I’ve seen for years are suddenly saying some pretty dumb things that I never heard them say before. Maybe I wasn’t always paying enough [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Challenger Joe Sestak (D) is apparently undaunted by the formidable Republican organization in Delaware County, where most of the Pa.-7th CD is situated.   In Friday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, Sestak asserted that he had signed up “1,835 volunteers”, and would contact “134,000 voters” ranging the political spectrum.  According to the article, Sestak’s 134,000 targets [...]

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  David Schussler   Saddam’s conviction today would not be possible were it not for The commitment of the people of the United States to make this world a safer place to live. The current election frenzy tends to obscure what was, for Americans, a national purpose just a few short years ago. That was, to [...]

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In late May, I did a post about the Jefferson scandal – where money was discovered in a freezer – that was allegedly “earmarked” for the Vice President of Nigeria, Abubakar Atiku. At the time, Vice President Atiku stated “that Jefferson was name dropping and obviously committing a 419 (Nigerian Penal Code for Advance Fee) [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Rep. Curt Weldon (R) may be trailing Democrat Joe Sestak in the polls.  But the Republican leaders in Delaware County, remain optimistic that the GOP’s stellar get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operation in the county, will be able to save Weldon and return him to Washington for an 11th term.  According to the Delaware County [...]

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Democrats love to exploit fear and pain as a general rule and Jimmah Carter’s little boy in Nevada is no exception t that rule. Democrats also like to shift blame to others, and Jimmah’s ‘lil boy shines in that category, as well.

It seems a Jack Carter “campaign aide” tried to enlist the mother of an Iraqi war veteran killed in service to his country to the service of bashing the war and the military her son so proudly served.

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by Craig Dimitri Along with the 8th CD (see separate story, below), blue Washington State could provide some early-Wednesday-AM solace to DC Republicans.  Two freshman Republicans could pull out their races.  Rep. Cathy McMorris – in former Democratic Speaker Tom Foley‘s seat – even has a statistically significant, albeit narrow, lead over her challenger, Peter Goldmark [...]

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by Craig Dimitri   In light of the national political environment, and metropolitan Seattle’s Democratic leanings, it’s amazing that freshman Rep. Dave Reichert (R) has a fighting chance of quenching the challenge from former Microsoft executive Darcy Burner (D).  Reichert was elected in 2004 with just 51.5% of the vote, in a district carried narrowly by John [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In an ominous sign for the campaign of incumbent Rep. Curt Weldon (R), the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Sat., Nov. 4, that the embattled Weldon was substantially scaling back his own campaign’s TV advertising on Philadelphia-area stations, in his bid to retain his seat in the suburbs, a district primarily situated in Delaware County. Weldon [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Bad news for beleaguered ten-term incumbent Rep. Curt Weldon, on Wednesday this week.  On Nov. 1, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that apparently the national GOP has decided to attempt political ”triage”, so to speak.  The Republicans have the money to saturate Philadelphia TV through the election, and conspicuously, left their entire original ad buy in Philadelphia, [...]

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This story has a number of implications. Barack Obama is endorsing the white Cardin (D) over the black Steele (R) and telling black voters to vote on issues, not race. The first important aspect is that Obama finally broke and played the race card: “Listen, I think it’s great that the Republican Party has discovered [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Democrats continue to advance upon previously safe GOP seats: the IL-10th CD is a quintessential example.  Three-term Rep. Mark Kirk won his first re-election in 2002 with 69%, and his second re-election in 2004 with 64%, even while John F. Kerry was carrying the district with 53% of the vote.  But now, [...]

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We are seeing it all over the news over the last 24 hour news cycle, the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.4%. This is a five and one half year low.

In fact, Bush had an even better year in 2001 when the rate was 4.3%.

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I thought the Washington post story on the President bashing Dem’s during his Missouri visit underscores despite what every pundit warns will not work this time. The President is staying the course in respect to political  strategy when it comes to the midterms.  The President simply must feel the polls this time are just plain [...]

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by Craig Dimitri There hasn’t been a lot going right for the Illinois GOP.  But they have a golden opportunity to redeem themselves, after their long series of disasters.  Namely, a chance to do the unthinkable in the expected Democratic tidal wave of 2006: unseat a Democratic House incumbent, Melissa Bean, in the northern suburbs of Chicago.  [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The once reliably-Republican Chicago suburbs, no longer are.  The IL-6th CD, represented for decades by Rep. Henry Hyde (R), is now vacant, with both parties’ candidates in a virtual tie in the race to replace him, according to most polls. Tammy Duckworth (D), an Iraq war veteran who suffered grievous injuries to three [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The Va.-2 CD is yet another red-state district, that ought to be solidly in the GOP column.  But the freshman Republican representing Va.-2 CD will face an anxious Tuesday.  Rep. Thelma Drake is running for re-election for the first time, and is facing challenger Phil Kellam (D), a Virginia Beach Commissioner.  By any standard, [...]

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This Election Day, voters in eight states will go to the polls and decide whether or not to give the traditional definition of marriage, the union of one man and one woman, the protection of an amendment to their state constitutions.  Amendments that are designed to protect traditional marriage from being redefined by radical state [...]

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By Shaun Moore As the president and other Republican candidates scour the country for one final weekend before the midterm elections, one of their key talking points is that  Democrats are weak on terror and have no plan for Iraq. This is from Bush’s speech yesterday in Nevada- “Oh, I’ve heard the Democrats. I’m sure [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Could control of the U.S. House be determined, by the third-party candidacy of a 31-year-old Harvard graduate, in the affluent Connecticut suburbs of New York City?  Probably not.  But none of us thought that the Presidency could turn on one candidate (George W. Bush) carrying one state (Florida) by less than one-hundredth of a single percentage [...]

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A few weeks ago I made fun of the New York Times when they ran a story about Mark Foley’s effect on the Evangelical vote. Their interviews showed that Evangelicals would still vote Republican, and my argument was, well, duh! A scandal involving one congressman will not flip the very core of the Republican base. [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Finally, some good news for the GOP in New York State.  U.S. Rep. Peter King (R) has managed to open up a 7% lead over his challenger, Dave Mejias (D), in a recent independent survey. That might not sound so great, for a seven-term incumbent.  But it does for the GOP, when one reads [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In New Hampshire, six-term incumbent Charlie Bass (R) is in a difficult race, against his 2004 opponent, Paul Hodes (D).  That in and of itself, would not be unusual for a Northeast Republican this year.  But what IS unusual, is that Bass crushed this same opponent – Hodes – by 20% (!) two [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R), one of the longest-serving members in the current Congress, is retiring.  State Sen. Ray Meier (R) and Oneida County District Attorney Peter Arcuri (D) are vying to replace him, in a GOP-leaning district.  The most recent independent poll was on Oct. 8-10, and that information might be too old [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Democrats have a shot to blast out of Congress, one of the most entrenched GOP incumbents in the nation – nine-term Rep. Jim Walsh, in Central New York.  In 2002, he won re-election with 72% of the vote.  And he improved upon those numbers in 2004.   Walsh defeated his hapless Democratic challenger in 2004, 91%-9%.  [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer The Democrats, with the help of the main-stream media, are laying the groundwork for a spate of charges that “traditionally Democratic voters” were denied access to the polls on November 7th because of new, tougher voter-ID laws in many states. That’s not exactly how this Washington Post article [...]

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Wonkette has a post here about how Katherine Harris’s campaign spent about $1,000 on Starbucks this fall. FEC data here. Hope no one reading this donated to the candidate. Wonkette (“politics for people with dirty minds”) took this up for amusement — Harris is notorious for her ultra-specific Starbucks order — but I think it [...]

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It is over for the Republicans. In the past weeks I’ve downplayed the scandals that have hurt the right, arguing they’d calm down by election day. On October 9 I gave this qualification: “unless the media manages to keep [the scandal] up.” Well, they have, and if this story is true, it’s not because of [...]

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by Craig Dimitri A campaign rally with Al Gore – at 8:00 AM.  Timing is everything in politics.  The Patrick Murphy campaign should stock up on plenty of coffee (and not decaf) for that event.  But aside from scheduling the party’s most notoriously slumber-inducing politician for an 8 AM rally, this event signals that the [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. John Sweeney (R) appeared to have as safe a seat as any Northeast Republican could have in the 21st century.  In 2004, he was re-elected with 66% of the vote; in 2002, he did even better, winning 73% of the vote.  George W. Bush won his district over John F. [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In the Garden State, there is only one House district in play.  And like most House races in blue states in 2006, it’s held by a Republican incumbent, trying to shake off a Democratic challenger.  U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson still can’t bank on defeating Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D), come Tuesday.  The latest independent [...]

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This is a bizarre story. The conservative site World Net Daily interviewed some terrorist leaders, who urged American voters to go Democrat. It’s a little surprising, because you’d think a few of them would try reverse psychology — a terrorist’s endorsement will hurt a candidate in the U.S. However, I don’t think it should come [...]

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by Craig Dimitri   Republicans badly, badly, badly need for six-term incumbent Rep. Sue Kelly (R) to survive in this affluent district in the Hudson River Valley.  It was one of the few NY districts to vote heavily for George W. Bush in 2004, and did so by 9%, 54%-45%.  But Kelly is in a battle with challenger [...]

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by Craig Dimitri It appears that a Republican incumbent is on the way out in the New York 29th CD, where freshman John “Randy” Kuhl trails his Democratic challenger, Eric Massa, by 11% down the stretch.  The most recent poll conducted by MajorityWatch shows Massa with a 53%-42% lead over the Republican.  This is a [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons (R) is seeking a fourth term in the House.  But Democratic challenger Joe Courtney – who lost to Simmons in 2002 – has battled Simmons all the way, and the race remains too close to call as we enter the final week.  Three independent polls have recently disagreed – one putting Simmons [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In what may be one of the closest House races in America, two high-prestige independent polls disagree as to who has a significant lead in Connecticut’s 4th CD.  Reuters/Zogby (using live phone calls) says Democratic challenger Diane Farrell leads Rep. Christopher Shays (R), by 51%-44%.  But MajorityWatch (using recorded phone calls) says precisely the [...]

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Republican Charlie Crist didn’t like it. Democrat Jim Davis didn’t like it. At times, it looked like moderator Chris Matthews didn’t like it, either. But thanks to a court decision, Reform Party candidate Max Linn participated in the second and final Florida gubernatorial debate held Oct. 30 in Tampa, and voters are better off as [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Another long-time incumbent Republican is in trouble.  Democrats have three GOP incumbents in Connecticut as targets – and they are well on their way to nailing one of them.  The independent MajorityWatch poll, in a recent survey, shows challenger Chris Murphy (D) with a sizable 8% lead over long-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R) in [...]

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News Item: Arizona ground zero for animal rights in 2006 campaign On the ballot in Arizona is Proposition 204, the Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act, a noble cause, to be sure.  Why Arizona?  You tell me.  Prop 204 targets two food-chain industries, veal farming and hog farming. There are no veal farms in Arizona, [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) may not be able to hold off challenger Lois Murphy (D) in this rematch from 2004.  The independent Reuters-Zogby poll released on Wednesday, Nov. 1, showed Murphy holding a 49%-44% lead over the two-term incumbent, just outside the 4.9% margin-of-error. Gerlach (www.jimgerlachforcongress.com) is trying to get re-elected in a [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Wednesday’s World News Tonight, ABC showed a banner made by U.S. military personnel, sharing their observation over the firestorm created by the remark of John F. Kerry on Halloween. The photo speaks volumes about the reaction to Kerry’s remark. Halloween was a fitting time for it to take place, because it brought [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The Kerry Chaos continues to wend its way into hotly contested House races, such as the Pa. 8th CD.  As could be anticipated, on Wednesday, challenger Patrick Murphy (D) defended John F. Kerry‘s controversial remark, delivered on Halloween.  In contrast, incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick (R) called for Kerry to apologize to U.S. military personnel. [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The Pa. 8th CD race continues its volatility.  On Monday, October 30, another independent poll (Muhlenberg College/Morning Call newspaper) showed freshman Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R) with a small 46%-40% lead over challenger Patrick Murphy (D).  This is in marked contrast to another recent independent poll – MajorityWatch.  On Monday, that poll had shown Murphy up [...]

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by Craig Dimitri After John F. Kerry’s gaffe this week, the rank-and-file Democrat could well be thinking, “You already cost us one election by windsurfing.  Now do you want to cost us the Senate, too?”   But the Democrats’ 2004 nominee has now fled the spotlight, to avoid hurting fellow Democrats…    Kerry has now cancelled public [...]

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“Who’s On First?” By David Schussler   “Who’s on first?” “I dunno”, “No!, I Dunno’s on second”. Remember seeing or hearing this old Abbot and Costello baseball routine? It’s been played for many years. If you haven’t seen or heard it, I recommend it. (Http://wwwphoenix5.org/humor/WhoOnFirstTEXT.html) The current political battles for congressional seats and other local [...]

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Kerry Draws Fire Is it cruel to say “Again?” The late Texas Governor Ann Richards once cracked that George Bush (senior) was born with a silver foot in his mouth, but one wonders today if it would be more appropriate to describe Senator John Kerry as so gifted. It used to be said, also, of [...]

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John Kerry is apparently in the news again.  I think he thought everybody might have forgotten about him, so he had to make a headline.  Speaking to students at Pasadena City College, Kerry first opened with a few good natured one-liners, then followed up with these words:  “You know, education, if you make the most of it, [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Arizona’s 8th CD is a microcosm of the nation’s political choices in 2006. It consists of the southeastern part of the state along the border with Mexico, it is held by a retiring, long-serving moderate Republican, and a young Democrat is poised to capture it.  Even the British have taken an interest in [...]

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The controversy surrounding Michael J. Fox’s political ad supporting Claire McCaskill in the Missouri Senate race—and conservative commentary Rush Limbaugh’s comments regarding it—have sparked a whirlwind of media attention. You can hear about it, read about it and see stories about it on a variety of media outlets. But what is the story, exactly? Is [...]

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I’m a strong proponent of the idea (even fact) that the media tilts left on a number of issues. But I’m still skeptical of this study that found (or at least is interpreted as having found) that the 2006 election has been covered in a biased manner. The evidence collected: “The study found that three [...]

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by Craig Dimitri With national Republicans struggling to maintain their power on Capitol Hill and throughout America, an ironic discovery has been made: elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors.  This is in marked contrast to Republicans, who would be profoundly pessimistic, if they looked in the GOP’s collective mirror, with just a week till Election Day… [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer Many Virginia citizens are dreading the day, just a week from now, when they have to choose a Senator to represent them for the next six years. According to the news media they really only have two choices: George Allen, the Republican and former Virginia Governor who has [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Still too close to call, in the Pa. 8th CD… An independent poll, Majority Watch, released a poll on Monday, Oct. 30, showing Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy leading GOP incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick by a 50%-47% margin, with a 3.1% margin of error. The MajorityWatch poll was conducted from October 24-26 by two [...]

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by Craig Dimitri We regularly use “red” and “blue” in political analysis nowadays.  And so perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising, that Transylvania County (population 29,626) is a blood-red county in a blood-red state, North Carolina.  But can vampires really vote there? A Blood-Red County In 2004, President George W. Bush easily captured the Count(y) in [...]

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by Craig Dimitri After the 2000 election, the parlance of “red” and “blue” states entered common usage.  But four states (three “blue”, and one in 2004, famously “red”) can be considered “orange states“.  Why?   Illinois produces about half a billion pounds of pumpkins a year.  And California, Pennsylvania, and Ohio each produce over 100 million pounds [...]

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In an article by the Washington Post, President Bush accuses Democrats of having no plan in Iraq. The Post reports Bush as saying, “If you listen carefully for a Democrat plan for success, they don’t have one. Iraq is the central front in the war on terror, yet they don’t have a plan for victory,”. [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Gov. Ed Rendell (D), who has a huge lead over GOP challenger Lynn Swann, will be appearing in Langhorne, Pa., on Monday afternoon, to endorse Patrick Murphy (D) in his hotly contested race against U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R). Obviously, it is not news (in any sense of the word) that the Democratic governor is [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Sunday, Carrie James, Communications Director for the campaign of Democrat Patrick Murphy, strongly challenged the validity of the Keystone Poll, which had asserted on Friday, that GOP incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick enjoyed a 48%-39% lead among likely voters, in the hotly contested race for Pa.’s 8th CD. James stated that the Keystone Poll lacked [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Still more bad news for one of the most beleaguered incumbent Republicans, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.  A high-prestige independent poll now shows Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr. has considerably widened his lead.  In September, the Temple U./Philadelphia Inquirer poll showed Casey with a 49%-39% lead.  On Sunday, October 29, the same poll [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In chilling news for Republicans nationally, Rep. Melissa Hart (R) is now in a statistical tie with her Democratic challenger, Jason Altmire, in Hart’s suburban/exurban Pittsburgh district.  An independent poll, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, shows Hart with a 46%-42% lead over Altmire.  That’s not good news for Hart, since the poll has a 4.9% margin of [...]

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by Craig Dimitri (Please scroll down to the bottom of the page, about halfway through, in order to continue reading; there is a large page break.) President George W. Bush shrugged off his increasingly frequent appearances in Democratic campaign commercials, during a campaign appearance in Indiana, on Saturday, October 28.  According to the AP article, here [...]

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by Craig Dimitri President George W. Bush shrugged off his increasingly frequent appearances in Democratic campaign commercials, during a campaign appearance in Indiana, on Saturday, October 28.  According to the AP article: “I’m not resentful, nor am I resentful that a lot of Democrats are using my picture,” Bush said. “All I ask is that they [...]

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Preface: I love america. I love smart ass comentators, even if I disagree. Confusion: The “Right” says: We can’t let the democrats get control because they have no vision and will raise taxes. The “Left” says: The “Right” must not stay in power because the war in Iraq is killing troops, killing innocent iraqi’s and [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders With a tip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me, but… WILL THE “72-HOUR CAMPAIGN,” the Republican’s much-heralded get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drive, save this 2006 mid-term election for the GOP? George Mason University professor Michael McDonald argues in the Washington Post that it won’t: “Republican get-out-the-vote efforts could make a difference [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell continues his expected cruise to re-election, as he enjoys a stunning 41% lead over GOP challenger Lynn Swann in Bucks County, in suburban Philadelphia.  In a poll taken for the Mike Fitzpatrick (R)/Patrick Murphy (D) U.S. House race, the results indicated that Rendell – a former mayor of Philadelphia – [...]

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by Craig Dimitri More bad news for incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.  In a poll taken for the Mike Fitzpatrick (R)/Patrick Murphy (D) U.S. House race, the results indicated that Santorum is in terrible danger in GOP-friendly Bucks County, which comprises nearly all of the 8th Congressional District. Voters in the 8th District, the [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In an increasingly rare bright spot for the House Republican majority, it appears that freshman Mike Fitzpatrick (R) is ahead of his Democratic challenger, Patrick Murphy, with less than two weeks until the November 7 election.  On Friday, October 27, an independent poll, the Keystone Poll from G. Terry Madonna at Franklin & [...]

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A woman, Sara Keiser, in Overland Park, KS was given a ticket earlier this week for having a bumper sticker on her car that was critical of the government. The bumper sticker read “Grand Oil Party” and was on her car when she arrived at the Metcalf South Mall to go to work. Unfortunately the [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Of the 33 seats up this cycle, there are only eight – the “Big Eight”, currently in significant likelihood of changing party control.  Six are incumbent Republicans, one is a currently GOP open-seat, one is an incumbent Democrat.   Democrats must make a net gain of six seats to take control, 51-49. It is [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Of the 33 seats up this cycle, there are only eight – the “Big Eight”, currently in significant likelihood of changing party control.  Six are incumbent Republicans, one is a currently GOP open-seat, one is an incumbent Democrat.   Democrats must make a net gain of six seats to take control, 51-49. One of [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Of the 33 seats up this cycle, there are only eight – the “Big Eight”, currently in significant likelihood of changing party control.  Six are incumbent Republicans, one is a currently GOP open-seat, one is an incumbent Democrat.   Democrats must make a net gain of six seats to take control, 51-49. Regarding the lone [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Friday afternoon, October 27, Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy released an internal campaign poll to the media, regarding his race against U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R).  Fitzpatrick is seeking re-election for the first time in Pennsylvania’s 8th District, which is comprised mainly of Bucks County, in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia. The poll, [...]

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The Sky is Falling so Get Out and Vote! By David Schussler   Many years ago it was predicted that the Earth’s waters would rise up, that the Earth would crack and change, that war, immorality, crime, sickness, and disease would someday plague our planet. Sound familiar? During the fifteen hundreds it was recorded that [...]

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WARNING: Links contain graphic descriptions of sexuality excerpted from Webb’s books. Post itself is safe for work. After suffering weeks of racism accusations, Virginia Republican has struck back at his opponent. (I commented on the racism allegations, and on the AP’s running with them, here.) The Drudge Report has the campaign’s press release here. Allen contends that [...]

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With the election less than two weeks away, the Republican party is pulling out all of the stops to maintain control of the House and the Senate. Most people remember how important the issue of gay marriage was in the 2004 Presidential election and the hope is that it will work this time too. George [...]

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The poll released today by the Public Policy Institute of California confrims what pretty much everyone already knew. Arnold Schwarzenegger will beat Phil Angelides in the November 7th election, probably by the widest margin in twenty years for a gubernatorial race in California. Many factors are responsible for turn-around in Schwarzenegger’s popularity, which plummeted to [...]

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Most Americans believe that the Democrats will take over the House and Senate in the up-coming November 7 elections. Along with a win, America expects big changes, both for the better and for the worse, to come along with a Democratic take-over. One of the biggest changes expected: Removal of troops from Iraq. In a [...]

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I’m not sure Google will ever wake up, but this article prods them in the right direction. Liberal activists are manipulating Google search data to make Republican names bring up negative articles. A little bit of background on the “Google bomb.” Google doesn’t simply match what you type in to a variety of Web pages. [...]

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A short time after the 2000 Presidential election, disputes over vote counts and the validity of ballots lead to a lawsuit between the candidates and ultimately a decision by the Supreme Court. Now, it appears as though the issue of vote validity and one person one vote will be tested by problems with the attempts [...]

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Bill O’Reilly is a “commentator” on FoxNews. One of his selling points is that his show is a “no-spin zone.” Any one who watches what O’Reilly’s show knows that he attempts to pass off his perspective as legitimate news and punditry. In reality, Mr. O’Reilly is part of the same spin machine that has produced [...]

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U.S. Rep. Melissa A. Hart (R., Pa.) is one of the GOP “firewall” seats.  Although Hart represents a district in a blue state, her seat was routinely considered safe, and with good reason.  In 2004, President George W. Bush carried Hart’s 4th District by a comfortable 54%-45% margin over Democratic challenger John F. Kerry.  And Hart did even [...]

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Not in their wildest dreams, as recently as the 2004 election, could Democrats have conceived that U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood (R., Pa.) could possibly be unseated.  Here’s why: in 2002 and 2004, no Democrat could be bothered to go to the trouble and expense of filing campaign papers for a hopeless race.  Sherwood, with no [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R., Pa.) is facing his first serious challenge, since he initially won the seat in 1986.  The 7th District, which is composed mainly of Delaware County in Philadelphia’s western suburbs, has voted for Democratic presidential candidates since 1992, but has consistently supported Weldon’s re-election by wide margins.  In [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.) is facing a rematch with his 2004 Democratic opponent, Lois Murphy, in a district which contains parts of Montgomery, Chester and Berks Counties in the western Philadelphia suburbs.  It also extends a bit beyond into the Pennsylvania countryside. Gerlach is one of a dozen House Republicans [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In Pennsylvania’s 8th District, which is largely comprised of Bucks County in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia, there is a critical battleground race, as Democrats seek to capture the 15 seats needed to retake control of the U.S. House. Conversely, the state and national GOP both view the retention of this seat, [...]

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There’s been a pretty big deal made of a campaign commercial against black Tennessee Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. The ad features a white woman talking, rather bimbo-ishly, about how she met Ford “at the Playboy party.” It ends with her wagging her hand, thumb and pinky extended, next to her cheek and saying “Harold, [...]

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Yesterday I criticized Rush Limbaugh for his comments about Michael J. Fox. The commentator accused the actor of exaggerating Parkinson’s for a Democratic campaign commercial, possibly by not taking his medicine. I argued that (A) some sources say the medication, not the disease, causes the awkward movements and (B) it’s fine to take issue with [...]

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Daily news and commentary by: Whymrhymer With the 2006 election only two weeks away, the news media has already predicted a winner: the Democratic Party. They base their predictions partly on polls results from professional polling organizations and partly on a burning desire to see President Bush loose control of the House and Senate . [...]

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I’ve backed Rush Limbaugh on a lot of things. I’ve argued against people who made a big deal of his painkiller addiction. And I maintain he was right when he said the media is biased in favor of black NFL quarterbacks. But he was wrong in going after Michael J. Fox’s campaign ad, at least [...]

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This story is a lesson for journalists and politicians alike. Hillary Clinton’s Republican challenger reportedly insulted the former first lady’s appearance, saying that she looks better than she used to and probably had plastic surgery. The Republican denies making the remarks. Americans are faced with a dilemma: Either a politician slipped up and lied to [...]

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Tony Snow, a White House press Secretary, says that the United States is changing its strategy on the War in Iraq and Bush will no longer be saying the phrase,‘Stay the course’. The US will not be issuing any ultimatums to Iraq and the shifts will not be dramatic. CNN.com reports Snow as sayig, “He [...]

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Mother Jones has an incredibly interesting post about “pay or waive” laws, on ballots in six states. These laws force the government to compensate property owners when regulations drive land values down. These laws, the magazine points out, stem from anger over Kelo v. New London, the Supreme Court decision that said governments can take [...]

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Mentioning sex in a blog post got me a whole bunch of Google hits yesterday, so let’s try it again. In a New York campaign, the GOP is alleging that Democrat Michael Arcuri called a phone sex (sex sex sex) line two years ago and stuck taxpayers with the bill. Well, the allegation is true. [...]

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I don’t think anyone would argue that Republicans haven’t faltered lately. The war in Iraq isn’t going as well as planned, spending still rages out of control, Social Security hasn’t been touched, etc. This is, therefore, a prime opportunity for Democrats to strike. But they haven’t been able to communicate a cohesive agenda that will [...]

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   Few Americans outside North Carolina have heard of Vernon Robinson.  And few North Carolinians HAVEN’T heard of him.  He’s the far-right candidate running a low-bucks congressional campaign that has incumbent Brad Miller (D-NC) on the ropes.    Robinson in theory has everything going against him.  He’s not only ultraconservative, he’s black in a Southern state.  [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders As Jimmy Cannon, city columnist extrordinaire, used to say, “Nobody asked me, but…” THE HUMAN IMPACT OF THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ rarely touches most of us, as relatively few Americans are connected with the volunteer military, (those who bear the brunt of the fighting and dying). Two passengers on the southbound Amtrak [...]

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Daily news and commentary by: Whymrhymer In 2004, the citizens of Arizona voted on and approved a state law that would require all Arizona voters to prove that they were U.S. citizens when they registered to vote and provide a photo-ID at the polls on election day. This law was part of Arizona Proposition 200; [...]

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Daily news and commentary by: Whymrhymer As we draw closer to the November elections, a look at the Republican party shows that it’s predicted loss of many Republican seats (predicted by the polls but not by any means a sure thing) is creating a public feud where there was previously a not-so-public animosity. The feud [...]

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     Salladay uses several terms that are constant sound bites in political reporting. For example, he talks about “special interests” and “business as usual”. The very clear inference is these are negatives. It is accepted as an article of faith that special interest groups are a political negative, that business as usual is as bad [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders In the words of New York’s “man-about-town” Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me, but… AFTER AN INTERVENTION, OF SORTS, BY THE DALAI LAMA, supermodel Elle Macpherson has dropped her lawsuit challenging rival Heidi Klum’s right to use the nickname “The Body.” Does this sharing of the nickname mean a global Zen-like harmonic convergence [...]

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      Ottawa County needs better proof-readers. On the other hand, most people would consider 5 out of 6 pretty good. A 92% is an A in most schools. And how many voters would really notice?       It says something about our society that such an obvious intent has to be changed. It is not an [...]

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Foley Dredges Up Scandal Problem for GOP Key phrase in the linked story: “Lobbyists have never been popular. But politicians are betting more than usual that ethical lapses on Capitol Hill have been so pronounced lately that voters will object to congressional candidates who appear to be too involved with professional favor seekers” The usual [...]

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   NASCAR is growing by leaps and bounds. Once the stereotype of a NASCAR fan was a guy driving a lifted 4×4 with a rifle rack, filthy baseball cap adorning his head, tobacco juice staining his cheeks, a hunting dog or twelve riding alongside him as he headed to the bar to get drunk.     [...]

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    Vote counting chicanery is an old tradition in the U.S. Though it is largely hidden in the history taught in most public schools including, but not limited to universities and colleges, there is a long chain of elections involving graft, cheating, miscounts, uncounted votes, double counted votes, and dead people voting.      Gus Russo [...]

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     When Marc Fisher examines how Allen turned aside questions about possible racist attitudes he largely takes him to task in a backhanded way.     Fisher is unquestionably correct in pointing out the Allen switch was more appearance than subject. He is also correct in pointing out that in today’s political climate…it doesn’t matter.     [...]

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We are being told this morning that “polls” show that the Republican Party is on the verge of losing a good number of seats in the upcoming November elections. This is not surprising news when you consider that the Republican’s are the majority party in both the Senate and the House and when you realize [...]

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When, oh when has there ever been a political sex scandal that had so little actual sex in it? Not that I am complaining, mind… at least I will not have to be explaining certain facts of life to a sharp eleven or twelve year old, while watching the TV news. Or worse yet, having [...]

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It’s not hard to believe that rather than start a scandal by publicly ‘opening the door’ to ex-Congressman Mark Foley’s ‘closet’ when he first realized that the man was a walking political time-bomb, Dennis Hastert chose to “handle the situation” privately. The problem is, he didn’t handle the situation by convincing Foley to resign for [...]

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   Much has been made of the fact that Schwarzenegger and Angelides will only have one debate. I think this might be the best news of the election campaign.     Voters tend to put far too much emphasis on performance in the debates. Debates emphasize rapid thinking, functioning off memory and speaking ability.     Which [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders With a tip of the fedora to the late, great New York newspaper columnist Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me, but… BOB WOODWARD, or his editors at Simon & Schuster, deserve credit for a clever book title—State of Denial—with its multiple meanings. The title suggests that President George Bush and his Administration exist [...]

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In a mea cupla worthy of Florida voting ballot designers, 300,000 Georgia voters received letter informing them about acceptable forms of identification. The letter, from the State Election Board, identified the recipients as registered voters who might not have an state driver’s license. The voters were requested to let the clerks at their county election [...]

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By Jefferson Flanders Robert Ariail of The State has caught the distressing reality of the upcoming November election in his editorial cartoon of a GOP elephant and Democratic donkey pointing at each other and trading insults: “Terrorist coddler,” the elephant says; “Teenage cuddler,” the donkey responds. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Democrats had [...]

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Hastert weathers criticism in House page scandal It’s kind of reminding me of Plamegate, in that after a lot of initial fuss and hyperventilating, the whole thing dissolves rather like a puff of smoke, and instead of bringing down…well whatever it was that people were hoping to bring down…. Everyone is standing around scratching their [...]

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News and commentary by: Whymrhymer It appears now that the pressure is getting to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and those who are standing up for him (“I’ve known Dennis Hastert for 20 years and I know he would never . . . etc, etc.”) are getting fewer and fewer. Now, with the revelation in   [...]

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US House Speaker Dennis Hastert will not resign his post amid the uproar over the former U.S. Representative Mark Foley scandal, despite pressure from Republicans who say he didn’t do enough to protect teenage congressional pages. Hastert instead has blamed Democrats for leaking sexually explicit instant messages sent by Foley to former pages.  Not only [...]

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by Ric Ottaiano   October 4, 2006 Rep. Foley should resign and crawl into the hole he climbed out of never to be seen or heard from again. If he did anything beyond send lurid, shocking and outrageous IMs to an underage page, he should be figuratively drawn and quartered by the judicial system (what should [...]

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