The final GOTV rallies in VA: Allen has 250; Webb has 6,000

Talk about momentum. Saw this reported earlier tonight on CNN and it sure tells the story:

You know, George Allen is very much on the defensive, particularly over Iraq. He had a rally a short time ago here in Richmond, only 250 people.

Meanwhile, his Democratic opponent, James Webb, had a rally with former President Bill Clinton on the other end of the state. Police officials say there were five to six thousand people at that rally. The enthusiasm for Webb, in part on the issue of Iraq. He's a Vietnam veteran. He wears combat boots on the campaign trail, combat boots of his son, who's currently serving in Iraq. He's been calling for a new course in Iraq, and now George Allen in recent weeks has started doing that as well, no longer saying stay the course, saying mistakes have been made, saying, as well, that not enough progress has been made in Iraq.

In fact, George Allen tonight, taking the extraordinary step of buying two minutes of TV time all across this commonwealth to talk to the voters directly on the ever of this election, saying look, mistakes were made in Iraq, but give me another six years to try to help fix this.

Read More......

Good late polling news

Via Talking Points Memo, the latest Survey USA poll in Missouri gives Claire McCaskill the lead: 50 - 44. This race has been so close for so long. Looks like it could be breaking for Claire at the right time.

Political Wire has the latest Survey USA polls from Maryland which show the Dems. holding on to their leads. O'Malley is up 50% - 47%; Cardin leads Steele 49% - 46%.

Also, I got an e-mail from Maine with latest private polling in the Governor's race. The poll was conducted by Tom Kiley, who has over 20 years of experience polling in Maine. I always feel more comfortable with polls conducted by experts who really know a given state:

On the governor's race, we also have positive news: Baldacci (D) 41, Woodcock (R) 24, Merrill (I) 14, and LaMarche (G) 12. The two female candidates are certainly holding up their end, and Woodcock's unfavorables rating is at 51%!! Even if Woodcock gets all of the undecided vote, and he'll probably get most of it(conservative, non-Democrats), the Governor looks like he can hold on here.

That one hasn't been easy in Maine, but it's personal. John Baldacci was a real trooper last year when the theocrats tried unsuccessfully to overturn the law that added sexual orientation to Maine's anti-discrimination law. He got a lot of grief, but never backed down. Read More......

NY Times reports on the GOP harassing robo-calls

The GOP's dirty tricks are capturing the attention of the media. Tomorrow's Times runs a piece on the annoying and probably illegal robo-calls:

Complaints about the recent Republican calls first surfaced about a week ago in a smattering of states. Rozanne Ronen, who lives in a Chicago suburb, said she had gotten more than 20 of the calls, all relating to the same House race. “To me, it’s just harassment,” she said.

New York Democratic Party officials complained Monday that the calls also had been made on Sunday and Monday to voters in four hotly contested House districts.

The Democrats say that a few calls have been made in the early morning or middle of night, and that some voters received several calls minutes apart. Republican officials said that would have happened only if there was a computer glitch.

Others, like Ms. Hollis, the Villanova professor, say they have filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission. Its rules on automated calls require that callers state their identity at the beginning of the message. These calls end with a disclaimer that they were paid for by the Republican committee; no identification is made at the start of the message.

The Republicans cheat to win even if it means breaking the law. There have to be consequences for this behavior. There has to be punishment. There have to be prosecutions. And, if the existing laws don't cover this, there need to be new laws. They are undermining democracy because they have nothing to run on. Nothing. Read More......

Senior Dem House members call for federal investigation into GOP robo-call election fraud

From the House Dems:

Reps. Conyers and Dingell Challenge GOP Robo-Calls

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. and John Dingell released a letter today challenging abusive "Robo-Calls" by the National Republican Campaign Committee which appeared designed to stir up anger against Democratic Candidates who had nothing to do with the calls. The letter was written to the Justice Department, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Election Commission.

The text of the letter follows:

"We write to demand an immediate investigation concerning allegations of unethical and possibly illegal prerecorded phone calls designed to confuse voters in Tuesday's election. These misleading calls are made late in the evening, or during the night, in an effort to generate anger at the Democratic candidate, who is in no way associated with this harassment. In fact, the calls are being funded by the National Republican Campaign Committee, which has reportedly provided $600,000 to fund this deception.

There have been numerous media reports about these calls, which appear to be occurring in dozens of districts. It is also our understanding that the Republican Party has been forced to stop the calls in New Hampshire.

According to the Associated Press, one individual "received three prerecorded messages in four hours. Each began, 'Hello, I'm calling with information about [Democratic candidate] Lois Murphy [in the Philadelphia area].'" The Philadelphia Daily News reported that "[t]he calls, which begin by offering 'important information about Lois Murphy,' are designed to mislead voters into thinking the message is from her."

The New Hampshire Union Leader reported that a "national Republican group yesterday scuttled a pre-recorded phone call effort the state Attorney General's Office said may have violated New Hampshire law by contacting residents listed on the federal Do Not Call registry."

In Illinois, The Barrington Courier-Review reported that a resident received the following phone call - "Hi. I'm calling with information about [Democratic Candidate] Melissa Bean." She received the same call a total of 21 times since October 24." Others reported receiving the same calls, none of which were paid for by Ms. Bean or any Democratic group.

If true, these allegations could violate a number of federal laws and legal requirements. Among other things, 47 CFR 1200 (b)(1) provides that prerecorded telephone messages must "[a]t the beginning of the message, state clearly the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call." Section 441h of the Federal Election Campaign Act provides that no agent of a federal candidate shall "fraudulently misrepresent himself or any committee or organization under his control as speaking or otherwise writing or acting for or behalf of any other candidate or political party." Section 441d(d)(2) specifies that communications must provide a statement as to the party responsible for it, and the campaign finance laws generally prohibit fraudulent and deceptive activities. A number of state laws also appear to be applicable, such as New Hampshire's which prohibits calls to individuals on the federal Do Not Call registry.

Given the magnitude and seriousness of these charges, we ask that you immediately investigate and take action to protect the integrity of our electoral process and hold the culpable parties responsible."

Read More......

Florida GOP governor candidate, facing allegations of homosexuality, suddenly flip-flops on gay civil union question

It's one thing to be pro or anti gay. It's quite another to flip-flop on the eve of your election because you're trying to prove to the electorate that you're really not gay. Read More......

Indiana GOP fires fake robo-call firm for breaking Indiana law

UPDATE: Dem lawyer tells Republicans to "cease and desist" illegal robo-calls.

One down, 49 states to go to shut down this totally unethical and illegal Republican operation to defraud voters. Read More......

What signs to look for, early election night, to get a sense of the final outcome

From the International Herald Tribune:

Early returns in Tuesday's elections should offer hints of what is to come, the first whiff of whether Democrats can seize the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate.

Most of the heavily contested, down-to-the-wire races are east of the Mississippi River, in states with relatively early poll closing times. If a Democratic rout is going to happen, it will be clear from the first votes.

Showdown contests in Virginia, Rhode Island and New Jersey should be harbingers of trends in the Senate. House races in Indiana, Kentucky and Florida will provide election-watchers initial clues as to which party will control that chamber.

Read More......

Rothenberg: Dems gain 4-7 seats in Senate; 30-36 in House

Stuart Rothenberg, a big inside-the-beltway prognosticator who is known to be rather conservative with his estimates.

US House predictions.

US Senate predictions. Read More......

Cook Political Report makes final predictions - dismisses notion that there has been a significant tightening of national polls

I'll take this for election-eve. The non-partisan Cook team thinks the Dems. can pick up 20-35 seats in the House, 4-6 in the Senate and from 6-8 governors.

Cook also examines the latest spin that the polls are supposedly tightening, and that the GOP is supposedly experiencing a last-minute surge. Just ain't true, Cook says.

All Monday there was considerable talk that the national picture had suddenly changed and that there was a significant tightening in the election. This was based in part on two national polls that showed the generic congressional ballot test having tightened to four (Pew) and six (ABC/Wash Post) points.

Seven national polls have been conducted since Wednesday, November 1. They give Democrats an average lead of 11.6 percentage points, larger than any party has had going into an Election Day in memory. Even if you knock five points off of it, it's 6.6 percentage points, bigger than the advantage that Republicans had going into 1994.

Furthermore, there is no evidence of a trend in the generic ballot test. In chronological order of interviewing (using the midpoint of field dates), the margins were: 15 points (Time 11/1-3), 6 points (ABC/Wash Post), 4 points (Pew), 7 points (Gallup), 16 points (Newsweek), 20 points (CNN) and 13 points (Fox).

In individual races, some Republican pollsters see some movement, voters "coming home," in their direction, and/or some increase in intensity among GOP voters. All seem to think that it was too little, too late to significantly change the outcome. However, it might be enough to save a few candidates. None think it is a major change in the dynamics of races, and most remain somewhere between fairly and extremely pessimistic about tomorrow's outcome.

Read More......

Rove attacks GOP gubernatorial candidate in Florida for blowing off Bush today

Here's another GOP cat fight. Seriously, you know things are tough for the GOP when the day before the elections Karl Rove is bad-mouthing a top Republican candidate:

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove expressed frustration Monday over Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist's decision not to appear with President Bush at a rally in Pensacola.

"Let's see how many people show up in Palm Beach on 24 hrs notice versus 8 or 9,000 people in Pensacola," Rove told CNN referring to a Crist rally quickly organized by the campaign after the GOP gubernatorial candidate canceled his appearance with the President.

Roves (sic) comments came even as even as other Senior White House administration officials tried to downplay the cancellation, noting Crist is campaigning in more moderate regions of the state as he tries to pick up independent voters on the final day of his campaign.

"We were invited by Crist and had been working with them on this, but his campaign made a late decision that they had opportunities in more contested areas of the state," a Senior White House official told CNN Monday."

Let's review. In Florida, the GOP's candidate for Governor, Charlie Crist, invited the leader of the nation and his party, George Bush, to campaign for him. Bush said yes. The entire machinery of moving the President of the United States, no small undertaking, made all the necessary plans to get the President and his massive entourage to Florida for the event. Then Crist threw a hissy fit, said never mind, and blew off the President like some kind of cheap date.

No wonder Rove is pissed. Here's a question: Who is paying for the trip? Better not be the taxpayers.

(Hat Tip Think Progress) Read More......

Larry Sabato: Dems win Senate and House

Sabato, one of the top political scientists/pundits in the land, is making the following updated predictions:

SENATE: Dems pick up 6 seats, take majority.
AZ: GOP Kyl
CT: Ind Lieberman
MD: Dem Cardin
MI: Dem Stabenow
MN: Dem Klobuchar
MO: Dem McCaskill
MT: Dem Tester
NE: Dem Nelson
NJ: Dem Menendez
OH: Dem Brown
PA: Dem Casey
RI: Dem Whitehouse
TN: Rep Corker
VA: Dem Webb
WA: Dem Cantwell

HOUSE: Dems gain 29 seats (need 15 for majority)
Too many races to detail, check out the page for yourself. Read More......

GOP "robo-call" scandal grows, now hitting Washington state as well

UPDATE: Add New Jersey to the growing list of states where the Republican party is trying to defraud voters with fake phone calls.

UPDATE: Fraudulent calls hitting Virginia voters too. In Virginia, Democratic voters are getting phone calls telling them they'll be arrested (Markos has the audio via the link above).

The fraudulent GOP voter-intimidation scam has now hit Washington state. Other states being targeted by the GOP calls, that we know of so far, include Pennsylvania, Kansas, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York.

We are the point of needing an FBI investigation because this is now clearly happening across the country in a clearly coordinated way (across interstate lines, mind you).

The Republican party is engaging in a campaign to defraud the voters and Democratic congressional campaigns by making phone calls to voters, often late at night and repeated, and making the voters think that the calls are coming from the Democratic campaigns when in fact they're coming from the Republicans.

This is fraud. It an effort to steal the vote. It violates a number of consumer telemarketing laws, and more.

We already knew the GOP had decided to run racist and anti-semitic ads in the South and out West, which have they have done. But no one had any idea that the Republicans were willing to defraud voters in order to trick them out of their votes. If there isn't a felony here, there should be.

It's sad that the Republicans so don't want to talk about the issues, the war, the economy, health care, gas prices, and more, that they will do anything to stop you from voting. It's sick, and pathetic, and is a sign of how corrupt the Republican party has become in America. At the same time they've killed nearly 3,000 American troops in Iraq fighting for, we're told, "democracy," the Republican party slowly destroys that very same democracy at home.

This has turned into a national story. Read More......

GOP civil war: New York

It's like CSI - there are spin-offs in every city.

NYT

Anticipating historic political losses in New York tomorrow, state Republican leaders are lashing out at the national party in Washington, saying it has exploited New York donors and blown opportunities against a prime target, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The depth of frustration is hard to overstate. The national Republican Party and its candidates from outside New York have raised tens of millions of dollars here this year, party officials say. But they have spent little money helping the nominees for governor and Senate, John Faso and John Spencer, respectively, and there have been no morale-and-money-boosting visits on their behalf by leaders like President Bush or Senator John McCain.

Despite pleas for help, New York Republicans say they have been consistently rebuffed or ignored in Washington.

Read More......

Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. And the elections.

Even a few months ago, there were people who thought this election would come down to the Republican culture of corruption, or the Medicare hole, or even simply "the economy". Ironically, the two groups most strongly resisting these narratives were activists/netroots and foreign policy types. Having one foot firmly planted in each group, it was both surprising and gratifying to hear the "crazy left" and the "sell-out centrists" unite over the most important political issue of this election, and perhaps of this generation: Iraq.

Iraq is a killer. It's killing our economy, which is ravaged by overspending and horrendous prioritization. It's killing our ability to work with countries across the world. It's killing our efforts against violent extremism. It's slowly killing our shared understanding of what it means to be American, which used to include opposition to torture, adherence to the Bill of Rights, and a force for hope and optimism at home and abroad. Most of all, it's killing our fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons, daughters, and friends.

Tomorrow, we get to say, ENOUGH. Enough stay the course, enough arrogance, and enough of a rubber-stamp Congress that has failed in its Constitutional duties and focused more on political survival than the will and needs of Americans.

No one will ever take responsibility for Iraq, now commonly described as the greatest strategic blunder in American history. Liberal hawks have long disowned the war, principled convervatives weren't far behind, and now even neoconservatives are frantically jumping into the lifeboat of repudiation from this Titanic effort. Who will be left holding the bag? You will. I will. We all will.

Democrats in the political process are united as I've never seen before. After the election, some will of course spar who takes the credit for accomplishments and who takes the blame for where we fell short, but for now, in these last hours of hard-fought campaigns across the country, it has been an incredible push.

Let's tell our representatives that we know what's important. Let's tell them that current policies are unacceptable. Let's send a message that if Congress doesn't persuade President Bush to change the course in Iraq, and in so many other failed policies, we'll ensure that the elections in 2008 make 2006 look like a Republican cakewalk. Let's go vote. Read More......

NH makes GOP stop misleading election-oriented robo-calls

Gee, the rule of law still applies somewhere in America. Read More......

Novak: Republicans blaming Bush who "should have disappeared"

These Republicans are a bitchy lot when they're losing. They're intolerable when they win. But losing is tough. The GOPers are turning on their leader. And, Bob Novak is documenting it for us:

A prominent Republican who asked me not to use his name said the last effective play by the White House came at the end of the summer when it defended its war policy. Then, in all seriousness, he proposed this course of action should have been taken by Bush: "The president should go on a 2 1/2 -week vacation, and when he gets back, go right into the hospital for minor surgery. In other words, he should have disappeared."

The fact that Bush did not disappear but took to the campaign trail should not be blamed for rapid deterioration in the past week. House districts that previously had been thought safe for Republican incumbents were under assault. Jim Ryun, the old four-minute miler, was trailing in Kansas. A safe Republican seat in Nebraska was imperiled. Moderate Sue Kelly in New York was challenged, and conservative J.D. Hayworth in Arizona was in trouble. That has led to Republican fears of not only losing the House but losing it by a large margin.

There is not much the president could do at this late hour to turn back this spread of Democratic danger. Republican incumbents, accustomed to a friendlier atmosphere, have failed to clearly identify themselves and their opponents to the public.

The GOP worshipped at Bush's altar for six years. They backed his war. They never questioned him. Bush's failure is their failure. Now, they can all pay the price.

But this blame game is a lot of fun to watch. Read More......

Signorile interviews fallen-evangelical-leader Ted Haggard's male hooker

Signorile will be playing the interview on his show at 2pm Eastern - here are some excerpts:

The Preacher's Gay Hustler: The Signorile Interview

The revelations about Ted Haggard -- the influential evangelical leader who has now admitted to "sexually immoral conduct" and stunningly proclaimed he is a "deceiver and a liar" --- have rocked the Christian right and the Republican party on the eve of mid-term elections. Now, Michael Jones, the gay hustler who brought Haggard to his knees, sits down with Michelangelo Signorile for his first gay media interview.

Jones reveals for the first time how he was actually going to wire himself and use hidden cameras - as well as collect DNA - working with the local television news team, to get more evidence to "out" Haggard until the preacher seemed to get scared away. Jones responds to those who've called him a "hero" (and those who've called him some less flattering names), talks about Haggard's sexual fantasies and crystal meth habit, and issues a call to arms to other gay escorts, urging them to "out" clients who might be antigay hypocrites - particularly to those in Washington DC, whose clients are among members of Congress. Are we on the edge of a new gay revolution led by $200-per-hour call boys?

Excerpts from the interview, to be broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ, America's gay radio station, on Monday, November 6, 2006 on The Michelangelo Signorile Show, which airs from 2-6 p.m. EST.

Michelangelo Signorile: I'm here with Michael Jones, the man who of course is at the center of enormous controversy. We're in New York City, at the Waldorf-Astoria. He came to New York do the Today show.

What was that like flying in just to do the Today show about all of this, and then flying out?

Michael Jones: Well, in the last three days I've had three hours of sleep, so I'm exhausted. The whole process has been highly educational for me, but it's grueling.

MS: Tell me a bit about how you first met Ted Haggard.

MJ: It was approximately three years ago. Got a call from a gentleman who said his name was Art. He wanted to see if we could hook up. At the time I was advertising as an escort in gay publications. I only advertised in gay publications. So if someone was looking for me, they were looking in a gay publication. He said he was from Kansas City and he wanted to hook up. We hooked up at my place. Always at my place. I had never been to a hotel with him.

MS: Did he use the term "hook up?" I mean, what did he actually say he wanted to do?

MJ: He said he wanted an appointment with me. He came to my apartment. And the clothes came right off. The first time it was pretty much mutual masturbation, then in time oral sex. He was really pretty vanilla. Only once in three years did we try anal sex.

MS: Was he a top or bottom? What was he interested in?

MJ: When I was on the radio show in Denver, the question was asked: Did you practice safe sex? I said, 'We used a condom once." The talk show host goes, "You mean he wore the condom once?" I said, "Uh, no, I did."

MS: What about with oral sex. Was he the passive partner or the active partner?

MJ: You know, it kind of went back and forth --- and I can't say he was very good at it.

MS: Did he seem like he'd done this before?

MJ: I don't know. He didn't appear nervous to me. He was very quiet. Didn't talk much. Liked the lights low. He never was with me for more than an hour. Sometimes it was just 15 or 20 minutes.

MS: Did he want companionship or was it all sex?

MJ: It was pretty much in and out. Sex, no speaking. Do the thing, and then he left. I could see the street from where I live and I could see he would park a block away and when he would call me he would block the calls, at least in that in the first year. After that first year he started calling me from pay phones and I noticed the area code was Colorado Springs.

***

MS: And you'd had people who came from Colorado Springs, which is of course the center of evangelical movement, who were involved with the churches?

MJ: I can't tell you how many ministers, pastors, priests I've had. It didn't bother me, nothing surprised me. And when I saw that his calls were coming from Colorado Springs I figured he was involved with the church. But I was shocked that this guy, how huge he was, and taking such a risk.

MS: You felt that you had to do something before November 7th, if it was going to impact Amendment 43 and the elections.

MJ: And I don't know if it's going to change votes at all. I don't know what the outcome will be, it coming out before the election but I Had to point out the hypocrisy, that here is a gentleman enjoying all the benefits of marriage, all the rights and doesn't want two other people of the same sex who love each other to have those same rights and yet he can cheat on his wife.

MS: How did you go about reaching out to media?

MJ: Two months before it actually came out, I went to this reporter in Denver [at the NBC affiliate, Channel 9] who I respected, and investigative reporter who was well known. I went to her and immediately the station congregated around me. They go, "This is huge, we want this story!" But they go, "We need just a little bit more proof." They actually wanted to see film of him and me together somehow. They wanted some video of some type. And I was prepared to do that. I had video cameras lined up. I was going to hide them in my apartment. But Ted wasn't calling me after that last get together in August. My gut feeling was, with the Foley thing happening, and the election happening, he wanted to lay low.

MS: Did he always have an orgasm when he was with you?

MJ: Yes.

MS: And I guess if you were going to pursue this, to get more evidence, you were going to collect some of that DNA evidence. Was that part of the plan?

MJ: Boy, you hit it right on the head.

MS: But he all of a sudden wasn't calling you, out of the blue? You would meet once per month, but how often did he call?

MJ: Once per month, when he wanted to meet.

MS: So August was the last time he called. You would of course need the opportunity in September or October to film him and have more evidence before the election.

MJ: Right, and it wasn't happening. So I was listening to Peter Boyles, our big talk show host in Denver. And the subject was gay marriage. And I was hearing all the right wingers calling in and I was getting pissed. I knew I was sitting on this story - it was eating at me. I sent Peter an email and said, if you want a big story I have a big story for you. Well, two days later, they said, "Can you be on the radio at 6 a.m. tomorrow?"

I didn't reveal Ted Haggard's name. I wasn't ready to reveal the name. All the callers were calling in and saying I just wanted publicity. Well, when channel 9 heard me on the radio, they wanted the story so bad, they went down to Colorado Springs and they confronted Haggard, and then ran the story. That's how it really broke.

MS: So they really are the ones who outed him, after you spoke on the radio about "a preacher."

MJ: That's right.

***
MS: Tell me about this: You're having sexual encounters with him once a month. After about a year he just asks you about crystal meth?

MJ: He just goes, "Hey Mike, I have a question. What do you know about crystal meth?" I was a little bit surprised. I said, "I don't care for it. I've tried it but I don't care for it. But I have friends who do it and they think it enhances their sexual pleasure." He goes, "Do you think you can get me some?" I told him I'll see what I can do.

MS: And you hooked him up with somebody who could get him this drug. Then what? He would do it in your presence when he had sex with you?

MJ: Yes, he agreed it enhanced his pleasure and said that he used it when he had sex with his wife too.

MS: What did he get like after he took the crystal? How did it impact him?

MJ: I can't get into his mind or his body. He didn't act any differently. He seemed to be enjoying it. Definitely had a smile on his face.

MS: He said he was taking this when he had sex with his wife. Did he indicate he had trouble having sex with his wife? Did it allow him to have heterosexual sex more easily? Is he gay, bisexual, any ideas on that?

MJ: I really don't know. I really think he is a gay man. When you're in that business, you've got to put up a good front. I think he has enormously strong homosexual tendencies but he just told me the drug enhanced his pleasure with his wife. I don't know if he even really was having sex with his wife, or just said that. I think part it too is that he was a very busy man, traveling all over the country and the world. I think he enjoyed the drug too because it kept him going.


***
MS: You spoke about a fantasy he told you, his sexual fantasy. Tell me about that?

MJ: This was the only time he ever spoke about something sexual other than being with me. He goes, "Mike do you know any young college guys" I said, "Well, I know a few, why? "He said, "I would love to get about 4 to 6 young college guys, about 18 to 22, I'd love to have group sex with them.' I said, "Let me check around and see what I can do and see if I can organize that for you." I never pursued it.

MS: What have you been hearing from people in response to what you've done?

MJ: Well, I've had hundreds and hundreds of phone calls coming in. Deluged, saying, "Thank you Mike. God you got balls!" A lot of thank yous. I have had one threatening phone call - "You're going to be so sorry for what you did. You're going to get it."

MS: Some people see you as a hero, others say, "He's not a hero, he's a prostitute." What's your reaction?

MJ: I don't feel like a hero. I wasn't trying to be a hero. I'm at the age of 49. I saw a lot of my friends going through hell in years past, where one of the partners would die and the other family would come in and say get out of the way, and just rape the house, and there was a lot of crying. I felt like this was a responsibility to my fellow gay brothers to do this. I've had some people say "You're an immoral whore, bitch, fag." But I've been called all those names all my life. So it's not new. But I will tell you, when it finally broke, when he resigned, I have to be honest with you, I just broke down. I had so much emotion for so long.

MS: Do you feel other hustlers, like those in Washington DC, whose clients have been rightwing antigay politicians, should look to you like a role model and do the same thing?

MJ: I don't think I should be a role model, but if I saw some politician out there bashing gays, yes, I think they should say something. But I would say, after going through this experience, I would say to them, just make sure you are able to prove it! {laughs]

Read More......

Jim Webb has the BIG MO in Virginia

Latest Senate poll from Virginia shows Jim Webb has the momentum heading toward election day:

Democrat Jim Webb has surged ahead of Republican George Allen in the last poll of the campaign, conducted for News-7 by SurveyUSA.

The survey shows Webb with 52% of the likely voters, with 44% going to Allen.

This is the most up-to-date poll on this race -- conducted from November 3 - 5. The Gallup poll that showed up last night where Allen had a 3 point lead concluded on November 3rd. Looks like Webb is moving ahead at the end, just like Tim Kaine did last year.

The Dems. still need to get out every single vote in Virginia.

George Allen is going to lose. Read More......

We've just added a chat feature to the site

Gang, in the left-hand column you'll see our new "Election Chat" feature. A number of you have been asking for chat, especially for election night, and since our previous election chats went so well, we thought we'd try again. And if folks like it, we could even leave the chat up as a permanent feature of the blog. It's quite simple to use: Just type in a pseudonym (or your real name), click, and you're in the chat. Then you can chat live with everyone else, or just lurk in the background. It'll be a fun test - it might not work, but it might be interesting. Either way, let's find out. Enjoy, JOHN Read More......

Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 11/03/06

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

Well here we are on the precipice of GOP disaster. With the Republicans looking as out of sorts as a viciously anti-gay preacher caught keeping the company of a gay hooker and Rush Limbaugh Rx caught in his teeth.

I know. How ever do I come up with such far-fetched metaphors?

I will keep this piece short, as I have an 18-day old baby on my lap. But as I look down at this little adorable guy who needs to be fed, changed and pretty much looks to adults for any and all guidance as he experiences the varied sensations of this new-fangled world, it makes me think:

So that’s what it was like when George W. Bush got to the White House.

Except my kid has a heart. And some motor skills. And more of a clue of how to prevent “the enemy” from getting “nuculer” weapons. (Though my kid and the president do both crap their pants an awful lot.)

But I guess by putting instructions for how to build an A-bomb online George Bush was making sure we’d have them make nuclear arsenals over there so they don’t do it over here. It makes sense if you think about it.

If you are a gay man-whore cradling, budget-vomiting, conglomerate-fingering, My-Pet-Goat-reading-level Republican. Because it takes that level of dumb to believe a president who is chock-full-of imbecile and has fought the War on Terror like he rides bikes can actually protect us.

But as always I digress.

As I look down at this little guy, I can only think one thing: Three weeks and one day. That is the limit for how long I want him to live under the unified control of this group of moral pyranhas who commit crimes with the frequency that Katherine Harris takes Lithium or Lynne Cheney goes through menopause on television.

We all really do have the power. Vote. Poll-watch. Knock on doors. Convince wavering friends.

Let’s give the Republicans the kind of slap on November 7th that they usually save for their wives, mistresses or random women in parking lots.

Let’s take our country back. My little boy is counting on it. As is something a bit older.

The U.S. Constitution.


Self Plugs (Not the Haggard Kind):

My Huffington Post piece on The Paranoid Right and its attacks on Moveon.org

And go check out the always fun new site cliffschecter.com! Read More......

Evangelicals in crisis

And it's a very welcome crisis, I think - not in the "I hate the religious right, let them suffer" kind of way, but rather, in the "the religious right has gotten away from Jesus" kind of way. They no longer represent Jesus' teachings, they now represent Ceasar's.

The religious right has "gone too far," says Hamilton. "They've lost their focus on the spirit of Jesus and have separated the world into black and white, when the world is much more gray." He adds: "I can't see Jesus standing with signs at an anti-gay rally. It's hard to picture that."

James Dobson, the Family Research Council, Lou Sheldon, and the men at the Concerned Women for America are angry people. They do not talk like the kind of Christians I grew up with on the south side of Chicago in the 1960s. They talk more like Ken Mehlman. And Karl Rove.

Whatever happened to love thy neighbor? Whatever happened to feeding the poor and the hungry? Whatever happened to being good stewards of the earth? All of that flew out the window when the religious right tricked its evangelical flock to focus more on gay marriages than their own. To focus more on unborn children than the world's one billion children in need who are already alive and in dire need of help.

Evangelicals in America are in crisis, and as much as it must pain them, I believe it's a good and healthy crisis. Their churches and their leaders have gotten too big, too rich, and too political. They've become beholdened to one political party - and to money and riches and power - and now that political party, and that desire for wealth and influence, controls them. And when you start doing the work of politicians, or the almighty dollar, you stop doing the work of the Almighty.

It's time evangelicals had their own Republican revolution. And it's not just a revolution to overthrow their overlords in the Republican party, but it's also a revolution to overthrow their overlords at the largest "family values" organizations and churches who care more about who they hate than who they love. Read More......

No political bump for Bush from political timing of Saddam's verdict

CNN's Bill Schneider just reported that there was no impact from the Saddam verdict. That's got to be a stunner for the White House, which choreographed the timing of that announcement. In CNN's most recent poll, conducted from Friday through Sunday, they asked respondents if they thought that it was worth going to war in Iraq. On Friday and Saturday, 38% of respondents said it was. On Sunday, after the Saddam verdict was publicized, only 36% of respondents said the Iraq war was worth it.

Bush's last ditch effort to milk Iraq for political gain failed. Bush's approval rating in that same CNN poll is a measly 35%. Americans saw through this latest political ploy.

UPDATE: Talking Points Memo reports via NBC that the verdict wasn't even finished....it won't be done til Thursday. But that didn't stop them from reading the death sentence anyway. Two days before the election. Read More......

Dick Cheney to spend election day with lesbian

How fitting. Bush is bashing gays all week, trying to con the homophobic-wing of evangelical Christianity into believing that he really does give a damn about the gay issues (note to self: he doesn't), while Dick Cheney decides to spend election day hunting with his openly-lesbian gay-activist daughter.

And the religious right wonders why the Republicans have passed next to none of their agenda? Suckers. Read More......

Just in time for election day, Bush approval drops to 35%

Bush is the biggest get out the vote motivator on our side. And, he's really doing the job:

President Bush's popularity has dipped to 35 percent, according to a new CNN poll, with 41 percent of likely voters saying their disapproval of his performance will affect their vote in Tuesday's elections for control of Congress.

The poll was conducted from Friday through yesterday. Read More......

House Republicans already fighting and blaming each other for losing power

The House GOPers have already begun the blame game. They know they're going to lose tomorrow and they're looking for scapegoats:

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's future is in doubt even if the Republicans retain control of the House because of unease among GOP lawmakers about his handling of the Foley page scandal and what a House ethics committee investigation might conclude about him, according to several Republican aides.

House Chief Deputy Whip Eric I. Cantor (R-Va.) said last week that the House Republican leadership elections scheduled for Nov. 15 should be postponed until the ethics committee delivers its final report. House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) confirmed yesterday on "Fox News Sunday" that he and Hastert have discussed that possibility. "We'll see how Tuesday goes and then we'll make some decisions."

Now, if they really want a scapegoat, the Hill Republicans really just need to look down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Their unquestioned fealty to Bush -- and failure to ever challenge him -- is one reason for their demise. They need to factor in their own incompetence and corruption, too.

But, clearly, the Republicans on the Hill are sharpening the knives. It's going to get ugly. Can't wait to watch. Read More......

God wanted Ted Haggard evangelical sex/drugs scandal revealed right before the election

This is from the leader of a big evangelical church:

Other speakers urged the congregation not to look for political conspiracies. If the timing of the disclosures affects the nation, or the election on Tuesday, then that is God’s will, the speakers said. Mr. Haggard was a prominent supporter of conservative causes, including a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

“God does things when he thinks they’re appropriate,” said Larry Stockstill, the pastor of the Bethany World Prayer Center in Louisiana, from which the New Life Church began in 1985 as an outreach mission.

“What’s going to happen in the nation?” Mr. Stockstill said. “You know what — I don’t think that’s your concern or mine. He chose this incredibly important time for this sin to be revealed and I actually think it’s a good thing — I believe America needs a shaking, spiritually.”

So God thought the evangelicals and their anti-gay obsessed leadership needed to be taken down a peg just in time to influence the election. Wow. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

One more day.

It's wild out there. The GOP is up to their usual dirty tricks. Fake robo-calls. It's all they have. What would you expect from the people who brought us the great failures of Iraq and Katrina? They can't run on their records.

16 US troops have been killed in Iraq so far this month.

The President is supposed to be campaigning only in states where people like him. But he's getting dissed big time by Charlie Crist in Florida. Last week, Crist invited Bush to come campaign. Despite that, Crist won't appear with Bush today. What a drama queen that Mr. Crist is.

CNN's latest generic poll has a 20-point lead for Democrats among likely voters: 58% - 38%. This poll was conducted November 3 - 5. But, 20 points. At this point, generic polls become less relevant. It's about the individual races.

Okay, one more day. Read More......

The Poodle plays the anti-immigrant card

No pun intended. Just like his friends in the Republican party, Blair is trying to take Labour down the path of "let's hate the immigrants for political gain." I guess Tony is still working on building those bonds with the American right wing crazies for his post-PM tour of America. It's just nice to see that Blair is not using immigrants to push through more of his Soviet-style police state where everything and everyone is monitored. What confidence in democracy he has, just like the GOP in the US. Read More......

Bush to finish campaign trail in non-competitive states

A little nervous? Why isn't Bush in some of those battleground states to help out? Are times really so tough that he has to visit GOP locations instead of assisting candidates in tough races? He liked talking about Iraq so much with Kerry the other day, so why not hit the stump in battleground states and pitch the war? Or isn't he confident enough in his war? Doesn't he like to be a straight shooter and tell the truth or is he a wimp, like his daddy? Read More......

Bush and dead bodies in Billings

Wash Post's Froomkin quoting the NYT:

Jim Rutenberg writes in the New York Times: "If there is one thing the White House can usually count on when President Bush campaigns in small, Republican-leaning cities like this one, it is friendly wall-to-wall news coverage of his arrival. And his visit here on Thursday did make the front page of The Billings Gazette.

"But news of his impending arrival took second billing in the paper. It ran below the fold and under a package of articles about the return of a local sailor's body from Iraq, accompanied by a photograph of the flag-draped coffin at Billings Logan International Airport."

Read More......

Gallup Senate poll is up

Here. Read More......