The Simpsons take on the Iraq war

Hysterical.

Read More......

GOP candidate for Governor in Florida blows off Bush who is going to Florida to campaign for him

This race has gotten very tight. The latest poll has the Republican up by only two points: 49% - 47%. Now, the GOP candidate is blowing off George Bush when he comes to Florida tomorrow:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist decided Sunday to skip an appearance with President Bush in favor of crisscrossing the state in the final hours before Election Day.

Crist, the state attorney general, is in a close race with Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Davis to replace the president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, who can't seek re-election because of term limits.

What makes this worse for the GOP is that Bush was going to Florida specifically for Crist:

The White House, however, said this week that the president was heading to Florida specifically to help Mr. Crist, who, according to Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, invited Mr. Bush in the first place.

Bush is toxic in Florida. Read More......

Republican "fake phone call" scandal spreads - now in Philly too

This is turning into a big story. They're doing it across the country - Kansas, NH, and now PA. This is the Republican October Surprise, launched in November. It's to cheat, pretend that they are Democrats calling voters and then piss the voters off so much that they don't vote for the Democrats.

That's called lying and cheating in order to suppress the vote, and it's illegal. And the Republican party admits they're doing it.

States in which GOP fake calls are happening so far:

• Philly
• Kansas
• NH
• CT
• NY

Read More......

BREAKING: More states hit by GOP effort to suppress vote with fake phone calls pretending to be Dem candidates

As Nancy Boyda (D-KS) says right on her campaign site, below: Nothing will change until WE change Congress.



This is turning into a major story as numerous instances of Republican phone fraud are popping up around the country in the final days before the election. And it's being funded by the Republican party here in Washington, DC.

The Republicans appear to have a nationwide program of making fake phone calls appearing to be from local Democratic candidates in order to harass people in their homes. The result? The persona harassed by repeated calls from the supposed Dem candidate (apparently they keep calling you over and over again all night long) no longer wants to vote for the Dem candidate who is harassing them at home. Of course, the public doesn't know that it's really the Republican party pretending to be a Democrat.

Enough of this crap. The Republicans are trying to steal the election with more of their corruption. Every single Republican candidate should be called on to repudiate these tactics and demand they cease immediately. And when the Democrats take over Congress on Tuesday, we need to pass legislation stopping everyone from doing these kind of sleazy efforts to nullify the legitimate votes of Americans. Regardless of the party, there needs to be a sufficient penalty that this never happens again.

(Hat tip, Talking Points Memo.) Read More......

ABC pundits: Dems win the House

On THIS WEEK this morning on ABC (remember, Dems need 15 House seats to take the majority, and 6 Senate seats):

ABC host George Stephanopoulos
House: Dems pick up 25 seats in the House
Senate: Dems pick up 5 seats in the Senate

Conservative Republican writer George Will
House: Dems will take House, have a majority of ten seats
Senate: Dems get maybe a tie in the Senate

Democratic consultant Donna Brazile
House: 23 seat Dem pick-up in House
Senate: Dems will get 5 in Senate, maybe 6

ABC Pollster Mark Halperin
House: Minimum Dem pick up 21, max 40
Senate: Dems pick up 3 to 6 Read More......

The Republicans admit they are breaking to law to stop people from voting

The Republicans are up to their dirty tricks, and honestly, someone should throw these people in jail - on either side of the aisle, if you do things like this.

Talking Points Memo has been gathering evidence that Republicans are using robo-phone-calls to annoy voters in Connecticut and New York - i.e., the calls make voters think it's the Democratic candidate harrassing them, so they won't vote for him or her.

The messages start like they are going are from the Democratic candidate "I have a message from...." but then turn in to a negative call. However, callers are only hearing the first part of the message, thinking that it is the Democrat. If callers hang up, they're called back again, and again, and again. End result? The Democratic callers are so ticked off at the Democrat harassing them that they don't vote, or vote for the Republican - without realizing they've just been tricked.

The National Republican Campaign Committee admitted they're making the calls in an Associated Press article reported on TPM Muckraker last Wednesday:

NRCC spokesman Ed Patru denied any illegal intent.

"All of our political calls are in compliance with the law," Patru said.

Not so, said the Democrats.

"They are violating the regulations that were set up," said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who said the DCCC employed one robocall this cycle and paid $500 for it.

Breaking the law to win. It's the only way the GOP knows how to play. And honestly, I've had enough. Whatever the penalty, we should triple it under the new congress. I have simply had it with people trying to steal the vote in our country. This is wrong, regardless of the political party trying it. Read More......

Congressman Hoekstra (R-MI), who demanded that the White House release classifed info. on how to build an atomic bomb, now blames Bush White House

This is rich. The Republicans really are in a battle with each other. When was the last time you saw a Republican member of Congress criticize the Bush team for anything? The funny thing is that it was actually Congressman Peter Hoekstra who demanded that the White House release the sensitive data from Iraq according to the conservative Weekly Standard. Now, Hoekstra is blaming Bush for doing it:

House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra criticized the Bush administration on Sunday for its handling of a trove of once-secret documents from Saddam Hussein's covert nuclear program disclosed on a federal Web site.

Hoekstra, R-Mich., complained the U.S. intelligence community hadn't properly declassified the documents.

"Well, you know, we have a process in place. It looks like they screwed up," he said on CNN's "Late Edition."

They screwed up all right. Of course, Hoekstra was one of the Republicans on the Hill who demanded that the White House release the documents. It's fratricide time. Read More......

The DCCC smacks Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)

Marilyn wasn't expecting this:



The GOP has thrown everything they could at Musgrave's Democratic opponent Angie Paccione. But Angie not only withstood the attacks, she's gotten stronger. Musgrave is one of the most extreme members of Congress. She is totally obsessed with gays. Unusually obsessed, to the exclusion of every other issue our country and her district is facing. I can't wait to watch her concede. Read More......

It's all-out civil war in the GOP

From The American Conservative, a magazine founded by Pat Buchanan. I can't believe I agree with this editorial. But it's rather brilliant.

GOP MUST GO

....It should surprise few readers that we think a vote that is seen—in America and the world at large—as a decisive “No” vote on the Bush presidency is the best outcome....

Faced on Sept. 11, 2001 with a great challenge, President Bush made little effort to understand who had attacked us and why—thus ignoring the prerequisite for crafting an effective response. He seemingly did not want to find out, and he had staffed his national-security team with people who either did not want to know or were committed to a prefabricated answer.

As a consequence, he rushed America into a war against Iraq, a war we are now losing and cannot win, one that has done far more to strengthen Islamist terrorists than anything they could possibly have done for themselves. Bush’s decision to seize Iraq will almost surely leave behind a broken state divided into warring ethnic enclaves, with hundreds of thousands killed and maimed and thousands more thirsting for revenge against the country that crossed the ocean to attack them. The invasion failed at every level...

The war will continue as long as Bush is in office, for no other reason than the feckless president can’t face the embarrassment of admitting defeat. The chain of events is not complete: Bush, having learned little from his mistakes, may yet seek to embroil America in new wars against Iran and Syria.

Meanwhile, America’s image in the world, its capacity to persuade others that its interests are common interests, is lower than it has been in memory. All over the world people look at Bush and yearn for this country—which once symbolized hope and justice—to be humbled....

There may be little Americans can do to atone for this presidency, which will stain our country’s reputation for a long time. But the process of recovering our good name must begin somewhere, and the logical place is in the voting booth this Nov. 7. If we are fortunate, we can produce a result that is seen—in Washington, in Peoria, and in world capitals from Prague to Kuala Lumpur—as a repudiation of George W. Bush and the war of aggression he launched against Iraq....

On Nov. 7, the world will be watching as we go to the polls, seeking to ascertain whether the American people have the wisdom to try to correct a disastrous course. Posterity will note too if their collective decision is one that captured the attention of historians—that of a people voting, again and again, to endorse a leader taking a country in a catastrophic direction. The choice is in our hands.

Read More......

A Democratic sweep in Ohio

Amazing. The Democrats are poised to win all the top state wide offices. In addition to Governor and Senator, they will pick up Attorney General with Marc Dann -- who was the leading and most outspoken critic after the rare coin scandal involving top GOP fundraiser Tom Noe broke in April of 2005. Democrats are also poised to win the Secretary of State (key for '08 to prevent cheating), State Auditor and State Treasurer.

Loved following that rare coin scandal last year. Here's our first post from April 9, 2005. That scandal started to burst the GOP dam in Ohio. You can't make that kind of stuff up.

The Dems. will pick up a couple U.S. House seats in Ohio, too. (Update: CQ Politics has changed the ratings for the 1st CD (Chabot v. Cranley) and the 2nd CD (Schmidt v. Wuslin) from leans Republican to No Clear Favorite.)

And, I hear from the most authorative sources that the minimum wage increase is definitely going to pass. Read More......

Haggard admits to "sexual immorality"

The Haggard scandal gives more insight into why the right wing theocrats -- and their Republican friends -- are so obsessed with gay sex:

In a letter that was read to the congregation of the New Life Church by another clergyman, Haggard apologized for his acts and requested forgiveness.

"I am so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment for all of you," he said, adding that he had confused the situation by giving inconsistent remarks to reporters denying the scandal.

"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," he said.

There's a reason they're so obsessed with homos. Think about that next time you hear a politician or religious leader obsessing about gays. Read More......

Some advice for Ted Haggard's New Life Church

And I'm not being catty. I'm simply tired of the upper echelons of the gay-hating religious right being filled with obviously gay men. One lead religious right group has a penchant for hiring flaming men as its leader, two of the top religious right anti-gay spokesmen are equally flaming, and then there's Haggard's New Life Church. Check out the top staff of the church and try to find the guy who looks straight.

I'm serious. I've had it with the religious right homophobes and their clearly gay leaders. Somebody at New Life Church needs to find out if Haggard was involved in hiring the senior staff, because I've got news for you, I'd be very surprised if many of them were straight. Read More......

Vote Republican, for the comics

Read More......

Time poll finds the GOP base is cracking

That much vaunted RNC 72-hour get out the vote effort works best if the base is engaged and motivated. According to Time Magazine's new poll, the GOP base in not motivated -- and it's shrinking:

With just three days left until the midterm elections, a new poll commissioned by TIME shows that Republicans may be approaching voting day without one of the big advantages they enjoyed in November 2004 — their ability to motivate supporters to go out and vote. Among registered Democrats polled, 52% say they're more enthusiastic about voting than usual, compared with just 39% of Republicans. Thirty-seven percent of Republican respondents are less enthusiastic than usual, while only 29% of Democrats feel that way.

Another challenge facing the GOP is a stark dropoff in support among what is usually a core constituency: white evangelical Christians. According to TIME's poll, only 54% of people in this group favor Republican candidates, with 5% undecided. Thirty-eight percent of white evangelicals polled say they'll support Democrats. In 2004, exit polls indicated that 78% of this constituency voted for Bush. While the GOP won out in the poll by seven points (42-35) as the party perceived as best equipped to protect moral values, a matter especially important to this group, the party's standing among evangelicals may have been hurt by recent Congressional scandals, which have tarnished the GOP especially. Forty one percent of registered voters said Congressional scandals were extremely or very important as voting issues this campaign.

Two other key findings. Men are slightly favoring Dems. over Republicans (47%-43%). That's new. Women favor Dems. by a wide margin.

And, Iraq is the most important issue for voters. That Saddam verdict today is a stark reminder of the war. We've lost thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of troops are wounded and disabled. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead and the US has spent hundreds of billions on the war. For what??? Read More......

All Republicans in Congress (including the so-called moderates) have enabled Bush's incompetence --and they must pay the price

Blistering editorial in today's NY Times. They endorsed no Republicans for the House or Senate this year. The Congressional Republicans have failed to hold Bush accountable while they've all been corrupt and incompetent. Bush and the Hill Republicans have been a toxic combination for America.

The only way to change the course is to change the Congress:

This election is indeed about George W. Bush — and the Congressional majority’s insistence on protecting him from the consequences of his mistakes and misdeeds. Mr. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and proceeded to govern as if he had an enormous mandate. After he actually beat his opponent in 2004, he announced he now had real political capital and intended to spend it. We have seen the results. It is frightening to contemplate the new excesses he could concoct if he woke up next Wednesday and found that his party had maintained its hold on the House and Senate.

The national progressive organizations should learn something from today's Times editorial. Here's a hint: You can't get your agenda enacted when the first vote cast by the Republican candidates you endorse is for the hard-core right wing leadership. Read More......

Cheney: We're staying the course and moving "full speed ahead" with Iraq war

Cheney gives the Democratic message on This Week: it's about Iraq. Iraq's a disaster, but the Bush team is staying the course (even if they don't say stay the course, they mean stay the course):



The Washington Post writes about this as well. Bush and Cheney plan to move "full speed ahead" in Iraq after the elections. They're delusional. Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

All politics. That includes the Saddam verdict, the timing of which makes it another political stunt by the Bush team.

The Meet the Press match-up between the heads of the House and Senate campaign committees isn't really a fair fight. The Dems. are ruthless while the Republicans are hapless:

ABC's "This Week" -- Vice President Dick Cheney; Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

CBS' "Face the Nation" -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

NBC's "Meet the Press" -- Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee; Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the House Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; and Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

CNN's "Late Edition" -- White House press secretary Tony Snow; Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Iraqi deputy prime minister Barham Salih; Reps. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga.

"Fox News Sunday" -- House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio; Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill; Maryland Republican Senate candidate Michael Steele.

If Boehner was on a real network instead of GOP TV, he'd have to explain why he dissed the soldiers in Iraq last week -- choosing to support Rumsfeld over them. Read More......

MSNBC's latest round of Senate polls

UPDATE: A new Rasmussen poll will show the Tennessee race has tightened dramatically and is once again a Toss-up....

The last round of Senate polls from MSNBC conducted by Mason-Dixon basically confirms what John posted last night from Charlie Cook's final predictions for Political Wire. The Dems. make some major gains in the Senate, even take it. But, the Senate races have tightened in Montana and Rhode Island:

In all, these key Senate races show the following:

* Two Republican incumbents in serious trouble: Santorum and DeWine. Democrats could gain two seats.
* Four Republican incumbents essentially tied with their challengers: Allen, Burns, Chafee and Talent. Four toss-ups that could turn into Democratic gains.
* Three Democratic incumbents with leads: Cantwell, Menendez, and Stabenow.
* One Republican incumbent ahead of his challenger: Kyl.
* One Republican open seat with the Republican leading, Tennessee.
* One open Democratic seat virtually tied: Maryland.

The numbers:

In Rhode Island, Chafee 46% - Whitehouse 45%.

In Montana, 47% even.

In Virginia, Webb 46% - Allen 45%.

In Missouri, McCaskill 46% - Talent 45%.

In Maryland, Cardin 47% - Steele 44%.

Disgusting, but it looks like Ken Mehlman's race-baiting campaign in Tennessee seems to have worked. Corker is moved ahead 50% - 38%.

In all these races, it's a ground game now. Getting out the vote is what matters. Read More......

Saddam to get death penalty

CNN breaking news: death by hanging for crimes against humanity. Read More......

"In Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum is gone"

I've been waiting 12 years to write that. Political Wire got the very esteemed Washington seer Charlie Cook to give his 72 hour prognosis. It includes:

THE HOUSE: We win.

THE SENATE

• Santorum in PA is toast.
• It's hard to imagine that Republican Dewine in OH survives.
• Burns in MT and Chafee in RI are even with their Dem opponents, and appear to have some momentum.
• Allen in VA and Talent in MO are even with their Dem opponents as well, but appear to have no momentum, which is seriously bad for them.
• In TN, he'd be surprised to see Republican Corker lose to Dem Harold Ford.
  

Read the rest over there. Read More......