Quickies

ha ha

RCP has AZ in the "Leaning McCain" column.  Wow.

Flip-Flop:  Republicans now for busing school kids!

Know Your Voting Rights

Voter Empowerment Cards are provided by the ACLU for every state in the US. Each state's card contains:

...information on registration, student voting, voting with a disability, early voting, felon enfranchisement, ACLU affiliate chapters, and state election officials.

Print out your state card and stash it in your glove box in case you run into a problem on November 4. Offer copies to friends, family, and co-workers who don't have internet access.

The Voter Empowerment Card for SC (PDF) can be downloaded here.

 
November 4, 2008: ZERO disenfranchised voters. Know your rights and stand up for yourself.

Your vote matters.

Disenfranchisement Express

TPM Muckraker says the GOP is sending thugs to knock on Hispanic voters' doors in NM and threaten them with immigration action if they try to vote. Nice.

HuffPo has a video of vote flipping in West VA.

In black neighborhoods of Philadelphia, fliers have been posted stating that anyone with unpaid parking tickets will be arrested if they try to vote.

November 4, 2008: ZERO disenfranchised voters. Don't let anyone steal your vote. Visit GoVote to find out when to vote, where to vote and what to bring. If you run into problems, visit 866OurVote.

SC Ballot on November 4

This is what will be on your statewide ballot on Election Day. You may also have local ballot measures (such as tax proposals to fund schools) so you'll want to check for those in advance. And of course your Representatives will vary by district. Here is a list of EveryFrickin'Body on the ballot in the entire state.

In the Senate, the incumbent is Lindsey Graham (R) and the challenger is Bob Conley (D). I blogged a summary of their debate here.

Amendment 1 is explained here:

Obsolete language in the South Carolina Constitution establishes an age of consent of 14 (!) for unmarried girls, giving South Carolina the lowest age of consent in the country. A new referendum would remove this language from the state constitution, essentially establishing 16 as the new age of consent.

If you vote YES on Amendment 1: The age of consent in SC for unmarried girls will be changed from 14 to (probably) 16. (Age of consent will be set by the state legislature which they generally set at 16.)

If you vote NO on Amendment 1: The age of consent in SC for unmarried girls will remain at 14.


Amendment 2 is asking if we want the state government to invest the money in pension plans of state employees in the stock market.

If you vote YES on Amendment 2: The state government will have authority to invest state retirees' pension funds in stocks.

If you vote NO on Amendment 2: The state government can not invest state retirees' pension funds in stocks.


Amendment 3 is asking if we want the state government to invest the money in pension plans of local government employees in the stock market.

If you vote YES on Amendment 3: The state government will have authority to invest local government retirees' pension funds in stocks.

If you vote NO on Amendment 3: The state government can not invest local government retirees' pension funds in stocks.

It's 10PM - Do You Know Where Your Donation Went?

Two Comments on Palin's $150,000 Clothing Allowance

heh

and

ha!

O Crap - McCain's on to Us

McCain on Palin:  

"She is a direct counterpoint to the liberal feminist agenda for America," he said.

Damn - I thought maybe I'd left my super-secret, for-liberal-feminist-eyes-only Liberal Feminist Agenda on a park bench or at an abortion clinic but apparently it fell into the hands of John McCain.  I am so going to get my liberal feminist ass kicked at our next meeting.

Are You Proud of These People McCain?

McCain-Palin supporter in Ohio:

Surprise, shock and some fear in a local neighborhood, after an anti-Obama display is hung from a tree. The display is at a home at Symmes and Hicks Road in Fairfield.

And the person who put it there says the message isn't political, it's racist. Shawn Ley spoke with the man who isn't shy about his views.

There it is, right above the "McCain-Palin" sign: a make-shift ghost, hanging from a noose. A Barack Obama sign attached upside down. Obama's middle name: "Hussein" spray painted and misspelled above.

Mike Lunsford hung the ghost in his yard.

[...]

Lunsford says he believes Barack Obama is not a "full blooded American." And he says the United States is a white, Christian nation - and only with white Christians should be in power.

Rightey-o wacko, but I won't be publishing the photo of your hate message here.

***

Republican newsletter in California:

A San Bernadino County Republican group apologized this week for distributing a newsletter that depicted Obama on a fake $10 food stamp along with images of a watermelon, ribs, and a bucket of fried chicken. The president of the group, a Republican women's organization that is not part of the state Republican Party, said she had never meant to link the Democratic presidential candidate with any racist stereotypes. "I never connected," Diane Fedele told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "It was just food to me. It didn't mean anything else."

Uh, BS alert! But I won't be printing the image of your racist stupidity here.

***

Also in California:

Earlier this week, a group of Republicans in Sacramento County stirred up controversy by posting a series of violent anti-Obama images on an official state GOP website. Obama was depicted in a turban and paired with images of Osama bin Laden, with a caption that read: "The only difference between Obama and Osama is BS." Below that were the words "Waterboard Barack Obama!" After briefly defending the image, the head of the Sacramento County Republican Party apologized.

O yes, you're sorry all right. I'll grant you that. But I won't be posting your fear mongering photos here.


What I will be posting:

McCain Surrogate Yells Commie in a Crowded Theater

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R- MN) went on MSNBC's Hardball tonight and, after running through the usual GOP Obama/terrorist talking points, dropped this bomb: "What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out,are they Pro-America or Anti-America?" Dude... what?

OK so presumably McCain will be repudiating these comments immediately. ::holds breath::

The Lessons of Joe The Plumber

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, the guy whose last name McCain botched in the debate last night and then referred to as "Joe The Plumber" about a jakillion more times, has been the subject of much discussion, speculation and amateur sleuthing on the blogs today. The MSM has joined in as well cos what the heck, how many loop tapes of McCain rolling his eyes and grimacing can we really get a belly laugh from?

ABC:

The Ohio plumber of 15 years came into the spotlight Sunday when he met Obama as the Democratic senator campaigned in Toledo, Ohio. Wurzelbacher questioned Obama about his plan to increase taxes for incomes of more than $250,000.

Wurzelbacher told Obama he was trying to buy a plumbing business that would put him in that tax bracket and wondered how much he would be taxed if he acquired it.

Joe Biden weighs in:

Joe Biden sounded skeptical of “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher’s working-class credentials Thursday.
[...]
“The Joe the plumbers in my neighborhood, the Joe the cops in my neighborhood, the Joe the grocery store owners in my neighborhood — they make, like 98 percent of the small businesses, less than $250,000 a year,” said the Democratic VP nominee. “And they’re going to do very well under us, and they’re going to be in real tough shape under John McCain.”

To ABC News, JTP:

...acknowledged that he wants to purchase the plumbing business for $250-280,000, not that he would net that much in profits.

He would make much less, he said.

Which would seem to indicate that he would be eligible for an Obama tax cut, not that he would be subject to the tax increase from 36% to 39% Obama would impose on those making more than $200,000 per person, or $250,000 per family.

Yeah that seems fishy to me too. The CNN post (from above) notes:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters in the United States in 2007 was $47,350.

The AP reports that JTP does not have a plumbing license because he's an apprentice for someone who does have a plumbing license. There is some dispute over that issue but regarding his business ownership plan, JTP told the AP that:

...he doesn't have a good plan put together on how he would buy Newell Plumbing and Heating.

[...]

"There's a lot I've got to learn," he said.

No kidding. For starters, if you're so worried about future taxes you might have to pay if you buy a plumbing business, you'll prolly wanna clear up the back taxes you owe first. Also, you might not want to piss off your state's AFL-CIO before you even buy your first business. (The OH AFL-CIO says JTP is "not a plumber he's a businessman.")

But at the end of the day, we go back to the beginning. (I saved the best for last.) When JTP met Barack Obama, he was a registered Republican and had voted in his state's primary in March of this year. Obama wasn't likely to get this man's vote. So Obama blew him off and moved on to someone who was swayable? Not at all. He spoke to JTP in a friendly and honest way, not because Obama thought he could get JTP's vote but because that's what a decent guy does. And that's why Barack Obama is my candidate. Spread the Wealth!

Update, 10-17-08:  I don't think I want to start another post about JTP :::yawn::: but I will toss out links as I come across them, in case anyone hasn't had their fill yet:

Racist remark?

Say it ain't so!  McCain is no longer palling around with JTP.

Stuff to Read and Sign

I'm not sure I can give a summary of this - it's too surreal - but you can read about a McCain-Palin rally in VA Beach here.

Color of Change is asking for signatures on an open letter to McCain-Palin, part of which reads:

Today, we're standing together as Americans of all political persuasions to express our deep concern that the decisions of your campaign are contributing to a dangerous atmosphere of paranoia, division, and hate that, as we have already seen, has the potential to seriously harm our country and its progress.

HuffPo reports that the lobbyist McCain hired to head his transition team used to lobby for Hussein - not the middle name Hussein - the actual dictator. I guess it's a good thing that transition team prolly isn't going to be needed.

Stuff to Read

The thrill of irony and the agony of shooting yourself in da feet:



(John McCain at a 2006 event sponsored by his BFF, ACORN)

Salon has a good piece up investigating Palin's ties to the radical Alaska Independence Party (Warning: Leave the lights on.)



Hillary "We so stole your chant thingy and made it better" Clinton: Jobs, Baby, Jobs - O yes she did.

SC Senate Debate Summary

Goodness me. We in SC are stuck between an 'Oh No' and an 'OMG!'

Last night was the debate between Senator Lindsey Graham (R- SC) and his Democratic challenger Robert Conley. Here is a summary of their talking points and some quotes to the best of my memory (I took notes!):

Robert Conley: mentioned "communist China" and illegal immigrants several times, the latter basically in a "They took our jobs" (a la South Park) kinda way. He is vehemently against any path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Global warming: Conley said it's the "arrogance of man" to think we're responsible for the climate change. (It's the sun's fault, in case you were wondering.)

Earmarks: He would not accept federal earmarks. Said Congress needs to be innoculated against trichinosis. ha ha.

Foreign policy: "If we continue to occupy Afghanistan, it's going to accelerate the demise of the United States." (Dude!)
Also thinks we shouldn't ask our military to be involved in nation building because that's not what they are meant for - "The purpose of our military is to kill people and break things." (Dude! redux)

When asked if there was any sitting Senator who was close to the "ideal Senator", he said no but that he anticipates working closely with Jon Tester (D - MT) and Tom Coburn (R - OK).

Closing statement: several "America first" statements as well as a "no more bailoffs (!) for Wall St."

__________________________________________________________________


Lindsey Graham: mentioned John McCain numerous times and said he hopes McCain becomes President for many reasons but mainly so he can appoint conservative judges.

Social Security: Graham said he makes $160,000 a year and in order to fix Social Security, he'd be willing to accept $10 less per month in his Social Security check so people who make less can get their checks too. (Wow, you sure you want to go that far Senator?) He said the retirement age must be raised also.

Earmarks: Yeah, he'll continue to take 'em but he wants transparency and no earmarks that people don't know about.

The Surge: Strategy.

Closing statement: The idea that by being in Afghanistan "we've made bin Laden mad at us" is "just a bunch of bull".


So there. Dang, where is Bachelor Number Three?

Racist Warmup

Our bigot friend who brought the "Obama" stuffed monkey to the Palin rally in PA yesterday - then shoved it off to some poor kid when CBS pointed their camera at him - was not so shy outside the rally, waiting to go in:

Stuff to Read and Look at

The Village Voice has a lengthy piece investigating the political career of Sarah Palin. It includes her extensive ties to Senator Ted Stevens (R - AK), lobbyists and big oil, as well as an interesting bit about the mystery "buddies" Todd Palin claims helped him build their house for free.


File under Just for Fun:

Is Barack Obama Muslin?

Yes We Can (Hold Babies)

Yes We Can Has


And lastly, file under Wingnuttery:

The Sweet Sight and Sound of Smackdown!

The Obama campaign squashes McCain-Palin's flimsy smear:

Troopergate Report Released - Palin Abused Power

Sarah Palin - You are guilty of abusing your power as Governor! What are you going to do now? Disneyland? Face a recall, as allowed by the Constitution of the state of Alaska?

Sec. 15.45.510. Grounds for recall.

The grounds for recall are (1) lack of fitness, (2) incompetence, (3) neglect of duties, or (4) corruption.

I'm thinking an ethics violation might fall under #4 but I'm not a lawyer. And I'm not going to Disneyland. I just wonder what, if anything, will result from the findings of this report. The legislature could censure the Governor but that seems unlikely (too).

The McCain-Palin campaign released a response to the report which basically says: See, we tole ya this whole thing was biased - except for the part about where she was found to have broken no laws in firing Monegan (that part was fair and balanced).

If you gots a lotsa paper (and ink), you can print out the pdf of the report or just read it at your computer, hopefully from a comfortable chair.

Troopergate Report: Does Size Matter?

Since Palin has already passed judgment on herself (she gave herself a sparkling review!) in the Troopergate scandal, I am curious as to what is contained in the official investigation's report which is described as being "263 pages long and has 800 pages or so of evidence". Alaskan state lawmakers have been reviewing the lengthy document all day and hopefully will make it public very soon. I'll be updating if/when that happens.

Stuff to Read While Waiting for the Troopergate Report

The Troopergate report is due out tomorrow.  In the meantime, Todd Palin submitted his written deposition to investigators yesterday and it was immediately leaked to the press.  Andrew Halcro goes over the deposition here.

HuffPo reports that Obama's got a solid team in place for transition should he win in November.  McCain - not so much.  Maybe he should suspend his campaign in order to get going on this task.

TPM's got a new Obama ad criticizing McCain's shiny new mortgage plan which went over like a lead balloon after he unveiled it during Tuesday night's debate.

Verify Your Voter Registration Today

The NY Times is reporting that "mistakes" have been made by election officials in at least six states resulting in the unlawful purging of voter registrations:

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.

[...]

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.

Verify your right to vote has not been mistakenly taken away from you now - don't wait to find out on November 4th. It only takes a minute. Help your friends, family members and senior citizen neighbors who might not know about the importance of verifying their voter registration in advance. Spread the word!

Everybody (in the Alaskan Independence Party) Secede Now!

What I'm Reading This Morning

On the VP debate, Politico says of Palin:

...she got out alive, though there were white-knuckle moments along the way: questions that were answered with painfully obvious talking points that betrayed scant knowledge of the issue at hand, and sometimes little relevance to the question that had been asked.

 

And of Biden:

Biden offered a fluent, self-assured performance of the sort that can not be especially hard for him after two presidential campaigns, 35 years in the Senate, countless appearances on Sunday morning programs. People impressed by references to legislation, or citations of his record in world hot spots from Bosnia to Darfur, got these in spades.

 

ABC reports that Palin's "That is not so..." quick answer was, in fact, so:

Sarah Palin got her facts wrong in Thursday's debate with Joe Biden when discussing where John McCain stands on new protections for homeowners facing foreclosures. 

The Alaska governor incorrectly made it sound like McCain supports giving bankruptcy judges the power to rewrite mortgage payment terms on first homes. 

He doesn't.

The latest on Troopergate:

Action Alert on dKos, (originating at MudFlats) regarding release of the upcoming Troopergate report and the McCain campaign's attempts to squash it.

O Thank God - Something to Laugh About

Vote!

Don't forget to VOTE. Deadline for voter registration for SC is October 4. The Obama campaign website has a handy-dandy tool that they say only takes about 3 minutes to use. That's less time than it takes to head out to your local gotcha-journalism hotspot (FKA a pizzeria) for dinner and a stump-the-candidate question.

Using this tool you can:

• 1. Register to vote.
• 2. Request to vote absentee.
• 3. Find your polling location.