Voter Intimidation is Real -- Please Take ACTION

I mentioned it the other day, but now we need action. The Department of Justice MUST investigate voter intimidation in New Mexico.

The Problem:  Private investigators associated with GOP lawyers have been showing up at the doors of poor and Latino voters asking them intimidating questions and insinuating that they don't have the right to vote.

Who is Affected:  New Mexican voters in good standing who have every right to go vote on Election Day, but who may not show up at the polls if they have been frightened in their own homes.

The Solution:  

1.  E-mail Attorney General Mukasey -- the Department of Justice is charged with stopping voter suppression and protecting every American's right to vote. A spokesman for the DOJ's civil rights division has said that they are "looking into" this problem, but that's not good enough. We need a serious investigation worthy of these insidious tactics.

2.  Pass this message to every voter you know -- with only days left till the election, we need to make sure that as many New Mexico voters as possible are educated about this problem so that if intimidators show up at any home, they'll know the right thing to do: Shut the doors in their faces.

3.  Click here to send an email to the Department of Justice.

I just took action on this crucial issue -- I hope that you will too.

I Feel Good!

I FEEL GOOD

James Brown

Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now

I feel good, I knew that I would, now

So good, so good, I got you

Whoa! I feel nice, like sugar and spice

I feel nice, like sugar and spice

So nice, so nice, I got Obama

(sax, two licks to bridge)

This is a favorite song of mine -- always makes me feel up and energized. And that's how I feel about the campaign today. All indicators are GO!!

Val reminded me to check out fivethirtyeight.com and I love what Nate Silver shows with his awesome statistical analysis --

Electoral Vote --          Obama   348.2       McCain   189.8

Win Percentage --       Obama     96.2%     McCain   3.8%

Popular Vote --            Obama     52.1%     McCain   46.5%

Senate seats held --     Dems       57            Repos      41

Not quite the double digits that I'm still hoping for, but I'LL TAKE IT!

Mitchell Bard, a blogger for Huffington Post, said yesterday that "Obama Is Dominating in the Polls, but Four Things Keep Me Awake at Night." I guess I'm not the only one with anxiety issues! His four "hold-your-breath" potential problems are close races, voter fraud, an October or November surprise, and "More that Just the Bradley Effect" or straight out racism. I agree that any of these, and more than likely some of each, will effect the outcome, but hopefully a big lead will mitigate any of these effects. 

CNN reported just today that Barack Obama has made substantial gains in many key states, including Arizona!!

And aside from the numbers, on the human side, 30 to 40 call center workers in Indiana courageously walked off the job taking the ethical "high road" rather than read a McCain Script attacking Obama. The McCain campaign is using call centers in states that prohibit robo calls.

It's a great day to be a Democrat!!

Down, Again!

Well, all it took was a few minutes of TV this morning and checking out a few news articles and blogs to dash my hopes again and bring on the fear. The polls today show another narrowing of Obama's lead. Who are these people that respond to the polls? They never call me! Did you get a call? 

Then I checked my email and saw this message from MoveOn:  "Dear MoveOn member, I don't mean to ruin your day, but we can still lose ....." Well, that did it -- instant despondency! 

Then I checked the online news sources that I look at almost every day. The headline of the Zorn blog at chicagotribune.com caught my eye: "08 reasons Barack Obama might lose next Tuesday." I thought, "Oh, no! This is the guy who wrote "08 reasons Obama will run" in January 05 and "08 reasons Obama will win" in January 2007. Why is he losing faith now??" So I had to read this new article.

Zorn lists these 8 reasons Obama might lose:

1.  "Bittergate"

His reference here is to Obama's statement about small town Americans clinging to their guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them. While I happen to believe that statement is thoughtfully accurate, I guess gun-toting, evangelical religious racists didn't like it. Too bad.

2.  He's played too much defense.

Zorn's point here is a bit convoluted -- he says that Barack didn't attack McCain's (this is too funny -- I just accidentally typed then corrected this spelling of McCain's -- McCaint's!!!) character and judgment and had to answer the relentless attacks on his character and judgment by McCain.

3.  He was more dismissive than responsive to festering issues.

I think this has been a real Catch 22 in this campaign. It is a narrow path between "he doth protest too much" and "he's hiding something."

4.  He left points on the table.

Zorn regrets that Obama did not capitalize on McCain's association with Renzi and G.Gordon Liddy. Well, maybe he should have, but I like the idea that Obama did not stoop to McCain's level.

5.  Biden's blunder.

We all know that Joe sometimes engages his mouth before his brain. And we also know that his statement about an inevitable crisis test was taken out of context by the McCain campaign. But you got to love Joe and I think he redeemed himself in his interview with a local Florida TV station. Check it out --

6.  The economy now looks more like a chronic woe than an urgent crisis.

Zorn thinks this may give McCain an edge -- I don't think so...

7.  Smoke

With all the rumors, insinuations, guilt by association going around, some people may think "where there is smoke, there's fire." But I know if you ask any trained fire fighter, there can be lots of smoke without any flame.

8.  He's African-American

Duh..... so? I really think people should start changing how they phrase one's ancestry. For example, I'm not German-American. I'm an American of German descent. Barack Obama is not an African-American. He is an American of African descent. Isn't it about time we get it straight? That's Country First -- American first.

Anyway, Zorn left a cliff hanger when he said that on Thursday he will tell us 08 reasons why Obama will win anyway!

Whew, now I can go do the laundry.

HOPE

I received an email from Val after my last blog entry and lo and behold -- HOPE -- enjoy!

Lies, Intimidation, and Racism

A little over one week to go... and I'm fluctuating between unabashed optimism and abject depression almost on an hourly basis.  I want to be positive, and in my heart of hearts I really do believe, that Barack Obama will be our next President. But then I watch TV or read the news on the Internet, or receive an email and the worry sets in again. I know that this week will be filled with lies, intimidation and racism coming from the McCain / Palin campaign. Some cases in point --

LIES -- McCain continues to misrepresent (lie) and misspeak (lie) about Obama's tax plan. It is amazing to me that he continues to do so even though he was corrected in two debates and all the major fact-finding groups have determined that he is wrong about Obama's plan. In the meantime, McCain's plan is full of holes -- the same philosophy of economics that the Republicans have always espoused -- and it hasn't worked! 

My best guess is that we are going to continue hearing this for the next week and probably even bigger whoppers. My fear is that people will begin to actually believe this bullshit because they have heard it so often. My hope is that my fellow citizens aren't that stupid to fall for a bunch of lies.

INTIMIDATION -- Lest you think that voter intimidation only happens in struggling democracies (oh, maybe that is us!), be sure to follow some of the stories like the one reported in New Mexico this past week. A Republican attorney, Pat Rogers, claimed that 10 voters were fraudulent. Project Vote working with ACORN charged that the voters were eligible to vote and further charged that the visit to two of the voters  by a private investigator constituted voter intimidation. It seems that this Pat Rogers also filed claims of voter fraud in 2004 and 2006 and he was one of the New Mexico GOP activists (named in the report on the firing of U.S. attorneys) who complained to the Department of Justice about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. Pat Rogers also hired the private investigator, Al Romero, to pay visits to the voters. Here is what Romero told one of those he visited. "You have to realize we're just trying to protect the people, we just want to make sure that she's a legitimate voter and if she votes and she's not supposed to, then it's illegal." The granddaughter of another voter said, "He tried to tell me to tell her to be careful when she's voting. He was trying to tell me stuff to scare her from voting." It is interesting to note that the voters in question were both Hispanic and both over 65 years of age. 

My best guess is that we will see more of this type of intimidation before the election and all kinds of voter fraud accusations during and after the election. My fear is that voter fraud could be a reality that steals the election away and that voter intimidation will actually work to keep people away from the polls and voting. My hope is that people vote despite the intimidation and fear and that Obama wins by a landslide (I want double digits!) and people turn out in record numbers to vote for him.

RACISM -- This is a really tough one. Very few people will admit to being racist, but there is so much evidence to the contrary. Take for example the white woman on the NPR series about York, PA voters and racism who said she wasn't a racist but feared that if Obama were elected the blacks would get back at whites by making them move off the sidewalk to let Blacks pass and she was afraid that blacks would riot. She said this to a black NPR commentator in a room with 15 people -- black, white and Hispanic. But of course she discounted those in the room who were black and said it was "those out on the street." I had to listen to that twice to absorb it all! No wonder my friend Sue who lives in the city of York is scared about this election! I lived in the suburbs of York for nine years before moving to Washington state -- believe me when I say that racism is alive and flourishing in York, PA -- both in the city and the county named York. My daughter Michele told me about an election - racism piece on Chicago Public Radio's This American Life aired on Saturday, October 25th. I searched online for it, but noticed that they only post on Mondays. So I'll be adding some thoughts and that URL on the 27th or 28th. I talked to my brother Greg in Western PA yesterday and he is amazed at the role that race is playing in the election. He said there are many code words and phrases like "can't trust him," "not like us," and "he's different." But there are also the blatant comments like "I'm not convinced he isn't a Muslim." We have that same sort of talk here in Washington, too. 

My best guess is that we are far from moving beyond racism in this country despite all the hard work, education and soul searching and it will effect this election. We have already seen and heard the effects of the McCain/Palin rhetoric like "He doesn't see America the way we do." My worst fear is that McCain and Palin will ratchet up that rhetoric and whip the stupid side of the Republican Party into near hysteria with ideas of conspiracy, treason, violence and killing. My best hope is that we have made sufficient strides in the areas of tolerance, inclusiveness, and fairness to counter any racism residue.

So... my goal this next 8 or 9 days is to stay on the hopeful side and not give in to the fears and negative dialogue... But then that nagging little voice whispers, "what if he doesn't win?"

Top Ten Reasons I voted for Obama

I mailed my ballot in last week just 24 hours after it arrived in my mailbox. I just couldn't wait any longer to vote for Barack Obama. I've waited for almost two years to cast that ballot! Here are my Top 10 Reasons for Voting for Obama:

10.  He is a uniter; not a divider.

9.    He is intelligent, knowledgeable and a critical thinker; not a reactionary.

8.    He is a calm, cool and collected decision-maker; not prone to overreacting, anger and scattered attention.

7.    He is an excellent speaker capable of easily explaining the most complex concepts; not a talker who can't say what he means and just talks in pat phrases and platitudes.

6.    He is consistent in his philosophy, his approach and his policies; not one who tries to change his image and his message depending on the latest polls.

5.    He is a leader; not a panderer.

4.    He is patriotic, steadfast and loyal; not a maverick.

3.    His family values show by his actions; he doesn't just talk a good game.

2.    He is young, energetic and inspiring; not past his prime in both mental and physical health.

1.    He is hope, he is change we can believe in, and he is real; not the same old thing.

I voted for Barack Obama for my granddaughters and for their grandchildren because their future depends on this election. Please cast your ballot for Obama in order to guarantee a future life with liberty and the pursuit of happiness, with freedom, compassion and justice for all -- for all of our grandchildren!

Dear Red States

Not sure who originally wrote this, but obviously a liberal Californian.  I saw it forwarded to a Democratic discussion site by Sharon C. --

Dear Red States,

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.

We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue; you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U. S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech, and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U. S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red States believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,

Blue States