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Election 2008

Are You on the Edge of Your Seat?

AlterNet. Posted November 3, 2008.


The big day is tomorrow, and everything points to a surprising victory for Obama and the Dems.
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As the big day approaches, there's a glut of information out there on the election. What follows is a round up of some of the most important and fascinating news from the 2008 race:

Latest polling shows Obama upswing

Gallup/USA Today Poll released on Nov. 2: Obama: 53% McCain: 42%

And CBS released another poll showing similar numbers: 54 percent to 41 percent.

Hope Reborn from DailyKos writes of the Gallup/USA Today results:

"When Gallup allocates undecided voters … Obama's share climbs to 55%, giving him an 11-point spread over McCain's 44%. These are blowout numbers. By comparison, in 1988 (the last time one of the two major parties posted a decisive win, without a significant third-party candidate in the race) George Bush Sr. won 53.4% to Michael Dukakis's 45.7%.

"In other words, if Gallup's final poll is roughly right, John McCain may very well end upunderperforming Mike Dukakis. And how effective have McCain's slimeball attacks on Obama been? One more historic tidbit from the survey: Obama's favorable rating is 62% -- the highest that any presidential candidate has registered in Gallup's final pre-election polls going back to 1992."

Sarah Palin Is Still at It

Palin suggests the U.S. is at war with Iran: Speaking to Fox News' Greta van Susteren this weekend, Palin said, "We realize that more and more Americans are starting to see the light there and understand the contrast. And we talk a lot about, OK, we're confident that we're going to win on Tuesday, so from there, the first 100 days, how are we going to kick in the plan that will get this economy back on the right track and really shore up the strategies that we need over in Iraq and Iran to win these wars?"

Sarah Palin thinks her 1st amendment rights are being attacked if the press calls her comments 'negative': ABC News' Steven Portnoy reports, "In a conservative radio interview that aired in Washington, D.C. Friday morning, Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin said she fears her First Amendment rights may be threatened by 'attacks' from reporters who suggest she is engaging in a negative campaign against Barack Obama."

Thinking about the possibility of a stolen election

Things might go smoothly in the election, but many doubt that it will. There have already been tens of thousands voter complaints from all over the country.

If voter suppression spreads, machines break down, lines last for many hours, and aggressive legal tactics are employed and together they appear to put the election in jeopardy, it will be vital that tens of thousands of people are mobilized as quickly as possible.

AlterNet will supply readers with instant, accurate information if the vote has to be protected.

But to be serious about fighting back against an election at risk requires an election challenge process in concert with the campaign. It can not function as a PR exercise. Candidates shouldn't concede prematurely.

Citizen assemblies would have to be generated immediately so people can testify as to where the system broke down on election day. And people who report problems actually need to leave very detailed contact information, so they too can be contacted by attorneys. In Ohio in 04, Kerry asked the OH Dem Party if they could pull together evidence in 24 hours to show how the vote was stolen and they replied no. He then conceded.

As AlterNet's Steve Rosenfeld writes, "1-866-OUR-VOTE (administered by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) and 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota (administered by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund). These hotlines have legal staff that will answer questions in real time and give advice, regardless of political affiliation. They have 10,000 volunteer lawyers who will answer questions, log problems and take legal action if necessary."

Polls and analysis point to Obama victory -- but election system is far from perfect

While hundreds of polls point to a strong Obama victory, and while even top GOP analysts concede they can't see a path for McCain to win, there are still many unresolved issues relating to the election process itself: it is hard to assess what the enormous turnout and huge numbers of mail-in ballots are going to do to the voting and counting process. Recent elections show that there are never enough voting machines in lower income neighborhoods, no matter what the circumstances. Read about the Advancement Project's report identifying the cities and precincts in swing states that may face long lines, poll worker shortages and voting delays in 2008.

Early voting results put Obama ahead in key states:

Political scientist Michael McDonald of George Mason has a comprehensive website displaying the most current information on the status of early voting. More than 25 million early votes have been cast so far, according to McDonald's site, and the numbers clearly favor Obama, writes brownsox of DailyKos:

Florida: Early-voting Democrats are outnumbering Republicans at those sites by more than 20 percentage points, and a WSVN-Suffolk University poll has Barack Obama leading over John McCain 60% to 40% among early voters. Georgia: Two million people, a record, cast early ballots in Georgia. That's 60% of the total 2004 vote. Blacks comprise 35% of Georgia early voters, and women 56%, suggesting that as of right now, Barack Obama and Jim Martin are winning big. Nevada: With more than 600,000 Nevadans already having voted according to the AP, "The early voting in advance of Election Day has been so heavy that Secretary of State Ross Miller increased his total turnout prediction from about 1 million to 1.1 million voters." That lowers the early-absentee balloting percentage -- but it's still at 56 percent of the revised total of expected voters. In Clark County, Democratic early voting outstrips Republican by 52% to 31%, while in traditionally Republican Washoe County (where just a couple of weeks ago, Democratic registration topped Republicans for the first time since 1978), 47% of early voters are Democrats to 35% Republicans."

McCain-Palin's focus on Pennsylvania reveals cynical hopes about appeal to racism:

The Mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania said this weekend: "There is no other reason for John McCain and Sarah Palin to be in the state based on what the polls say, except that they're counting on us to be bigots." The past five Pennsylvania presidential polls show Obama with a 6-8 point lead. Said VP candidate Joe Biden on Saturday, "I don't think it will be that close in Pennsylvania. I feel very good about Pennsylvania," he said. "Maybe because I know the state so well. I'm not overconfident about it, but I feel real good there."

If Arizona Gets as close as polling shows, it could take weeks to call

Themost recent poll from Arizona shows only a 1 point lead for McCain over Obama, and the latest news about voting there reveals it may take much longer than Nov. 4 to know for sure:

From the Arizona Republic:

[Maricopa County elections spokeswoman Yvonne] Reed said 827,380 County residents had requested absentee ballots or had voted early as of 2 p.m. Friday. The county has seen 566,656, or 68.4 percent, of those ballots returned. There are about 1.7 million registered voters in the county. Early ballots figure to create a significant delay in the compilation of final results. Officials expect that about 200,000 early ballots won't be marked or mailed early but instead will be walked into a polling place or will arrive via mail on Election Day. Those ballots won't be processed until two days after the election, Reed said, and Maricopa County hopes to have all of them compiled by Nov. 21.
Polling indicates huge landslide for Obama ... in Iowa:

Sen. Barack Obama is beating Sen. John McCain in Iowa by a huge 17 point margin, 54% to 37%, according to a new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll. Writes dean of Iowa political reporters David Yepsen: "If that kind of margin is reflected in what happens on Election Day, it would be the largest presidential margin in Iowa since Richard Nixon beat George McGovern by 17.1 percentage points in the state in 1972."

Montana could turn blue for Obama

From the Christian Science Monitor: "With less than 48 hours to go before Election Day, talk of the usually reliable red state of Montana going Obama is being seen as a real possibility. Both CNN and NBC have moved the Big Sky state from leaning McCain to toss-up."

Republicans scramble to save seats in Congress

From the NYT:

"With the election imminent, Senate Republicans threw their remaining resources into protecting endangered lawmakers in Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oregon, while House Republicans were forced to put money into what should be secure Republican territory in Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and Wyoming.

"Sensing an extraordinary opportunity to expand their numbers in both the House and Senate, Democrats were spending freely on television advertising across the campaign map. Senate Democrats were active in nine states where Republicans are running for re-election; House Democrats, meanwhile, bought advertising in 63 districts, twice the number of districts where Republicans bought advertisements and helped candidates."

McCain campaigning in Tennessee?

Another strange move for McCain: On his final day before the election, McCain is making a stop in Tennessee, where he is polling at an average of 15% higher than Obama. From the Huffington Post:

"On Monday, McCain will spend much of the day in the air while traveling to six states -- starting the day in Tampa, FL, he then heads to Blountville, TN and Moon Township, PA, Indianapolis, IN, Roswell, NM, Henderson, NV and ending the night with a midnight rally in Prescott, AZ. Palin continues in Ohio, starting in Lakewood before moving on to Jefferson City, MO and Dubuque, IA and Colorado Springs, CO before finishing in Reno and Elko, NV."

Huge discrepancy in cellphone polls vs. landline polls

Nate Silver of 538.com writes: "The cellphone polls have Obama ahead by an average of 9.4 points; the landline-only polls, 5.1 points."


Grey color indicates landline poll, yellow indicates cell phone.

Silver explains, "I [spoke to] Mark DeCamillo of California's vaunted Field Poll, which does include cellphones in their samples. He suggested to me that it was much easier to get the cooperation of cellphone users on the weekend than during the week. How come? Because most cellphone plans include free weekend minutes. Conversely, one might expect that young people are particularly difficult to reach on their landlines over the weekend, since they tend to be away from home more (especially on a weekend when some nontrivial number of them are out volunteering for Obama). So, while I haven't tried to verify this, it wouldn't surprise me if the 'cellphone gap' expands over the weekend, and contracts during the week."

Shadowy campaign by racist abortion activist to hurt Obama's Latino vote:

Will Evans, Center for Investigative Reporting via TruthDig writes:

"In a last-ditch attempt to derail Latino support for Obama, an anti-abortion crusader and anti-illegal immigration activist have teamed up to blast out Gracida's message by email to nearly three million Latino voters and reaching even more people by radio.

"Randall Terry, the aggressive anti-abortion organizer who founded Operation Rescue, says it was his idea. He enlisted Gracida, who made national headlines in 1990 by excommunicating three Catholics for assisting with abortions. In 2004, Gracida gave a special benediction for the Republican National Convention." He told us the emails went to "2.9 million Hispanic voters" as well as "100,000 whites." He corrected that to "100,000 Americans," then quickly said that didn't sound quite right either."

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Voting for non-republicans and non-democrats in states that are not riskily close.
Posted by: aouie01 on Nov 3, 2008 1:08 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Given the uncertainty in the number of those who may be voting against Barack Obama in the privacy of the voting booths contrary to what they indicated in polls, it would be risky to vote for someone other than Barack (if you believe Barack is better off than John).

But, if you do not think Barack (or John if that is your preference) losing is a likely factor in your state, then consider voicing support for someone who is more in line with your beliefs, whether it is on the peace issues, trillion plus dollar give aways, supporting non-cross-gendered marriages (the hypocritical stance that Barack takes on Prop 8 in CA does not count), etc. Voting for Barack or John in these states is more of a wasted vote than one for parties other than Democrats or Republicans, as voting for the others can make a valuable statement.

It may lead to a a nicer world if Barack wins the electoral vote but loses the popular vote due to hypocritical stances, and is hence pressured to cater to the views of the others who cut into the expected votes for Barack.

Sincerely,
Aouie

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» worst idea ever... Posted by: Eat Politicians
» RE: worst idea ever... Posted by: rayne
» RE: worst idea ever... Posted by: PopRox80
» Third Parties Posted by: ProgressiveManiac
» LONG LIVE OBAMA!! Posted by: yellow
» RE: LONG LIVE OBAMA!! Posted by: rajuncajun1960
» RE: LONG LIVE OBAMA!! Posted by: peacefullaim
» Does America Deserve Obama Posted by: Peter Boyd
I can't believe we're at the end
Posted by: Fishbone Soldier on Nov 3, 2008 2:05 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This sure has been a time, huh? Wow. I don't think any of us are going to forget the way this all went down. Anyway, here's just one more way to look back at all that's transpired and hopefully a little fun.

GOBAMA!!!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Vote Mickey! Posted by: starvinmarvy
» That's beacuse it's not the end. Posted by: CosmoViking
this is why i love alternet!
Posted by: rayne on Nov 3, 2008 3:18 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
i logged on this morning with a nervous energy coursing through my veins, and what's the front story? this one! :) YES, i'm on the edge of my seat, and i'm not alone. i have a good (if cautious) feeling about this, and i hope to god the repugnicans don't do something sneaky & dirty to undermine the momentum barack's got going. wait, what am i saying? that's practically the title of their playbook- "sneaky & dirty tricks to win an election, version 3.1" but seriously, i can't imagine anything they could do right now to throw the election, even catching bin laden. i hope someone DOES, but not in order to beat out obama in the eleventh hour. let's keep this high energy and positive vibe going and win this thing!

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The end is AFTER the innauguration.
Posted by: warrior woman on Nov 3, 2008 3:23 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The end is AFTER the innauguration. So much can happen in between.

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» The Beginning is AFTER the innauguration. Posted by: ProgressiveManiac
I encourage you to read this article
Posted by: Blink on Nov 3, 2008 4:05 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It will give you an idea of what Nov 5 and beyond will likely be like.

http://www.americanthinker.com/
2008/11/say_goodbye_to_america.html

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from my frontseat in ohio...
Posted by: ellie on Nov 3, 2008 4:27 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
there are more mcpain yard signs then Obama, but realitor for sale signs top the list... in the same yard!!!

overall, fewer yard signs either way then in the past...

3-6 hour lines for early voting over this weekend... no one wants provisional votes so folks are making the effort to stay in line no matter what... having a good time together too!!!

both parties have lawyered up already with the biggest names in lawyerdom... this from the inside of one of the biggest and baddest firms in this area...

tv ads have almost all the ad time, mcpain in the lead... just make the mcpain ads go away PLEASE!!!

more later... back to coffee...

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» ps... Posted by: ellie
» RE: ps... Posted by: oregoncharles
» McMansions and big empty lots Posted by: thistleblower
Will the World celebrate with US or Cry in despair?
Posted by: Purple Girl on Nov 3, 2008 4:45 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The SOB's who've been screwing US and the rest of the World love to say that all the radical extremeist will be 'Dancing in the Streets if Obama Wins'.....Does that mean over half of Americans are Radical Extremeist Too?
Of course there will be dancing in the streets, We will all have finally suvived the tyranny of 40 yrs of a corrupt Regime!!!
Out with the Oil Mongers who have caused World strife just to make a buck; Out with the Money mongers who could careless about our Future;Out goes the Religious fanatics who've Dreamed of Armegeddon and the the discrimintory 'Rapture';Out Goes the Feudalistic economic system called Trickle Down; Out goes the destructive Rapist of our 'Eden'; OUT goes the 20th Century and In Comes the New Millenia!!!
In comes a new Dawn with new possiblities ; In comes the potential for World Peace; In comes the return of a Free market System; In comes the Reniessance of Human liberation from Decades of Prejudice and Fear;In comes the reclaimation of the American Dream and Our promise to the World.
Will the Middle East be dancing in the Streets...I hope so, because We will too and perhaps with all this dancing we will realize we are all one and that we Are All FREE At Last!!!!
"Everybody around the World is Dancing in the Streets"
Martha Your song may finally come to fruition!

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Vote for Obama
Posted by: robchapman on Nov 3, 2008 4:46 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
McCain ran like Bush governed: every man for himself and redistribute the hard work of the rank and file into a windfall for the politician.

President Obama is going to need our support in the months and years ahead. We have been in opposition to a ghastly war, to the redistribution of income from those who earned it to unscrupulous money men, to a broken health care system, to cronyism in government and to the privatization of social security.

Now it is time to show that we have the guts to take responsibility and govern.

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» RE: Vote for Obama Posted by: chorton
Counterirritant for "Edge of Seat" Syndrome
Posted by: Lilly on Nov 3, 2008 4:48 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I simply can't stand it any more, so have purposefully engaged the carpet cleaners to come this morning knowing that I would be too busy to think---as much---about what is happening today and tomorrow as I will be moving furniture etc. And if I hear one more TV person say "We don't really KNOW Barack Obama (tacit subtext, That Spooky Big Black Boogeyman) very well" I may throw my TV out the window.

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» sick of all that money Posted by: jon B
Pre poll security
Posted by: phindrup on Nov 3, 2008 5:03 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How has the pre poll security of ballots been handled? Seems to me that the pre polls are what might have been targeted by those (if anyone) has had an interest in manipulating the results.
Could a lead of 8 - 11 points be nobbled? Why not? It is only a question of numbers.

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» RE: Pre poll security Posted by: LOVELYT.
TODAY IS GREAT DAY TO START. IF YOU HAVEN'T....
Posted by: LOVELYT. on Nov 3, 2008 5:15 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
participated in GOTV=GET OUT THE VOTE. Why not start today. I have been calling state to state and going door to door for the past 4 months. It is the best feeling in the world. 96% of the more then 30000 people I met on my journey committed and/or voted for Obama. That's an even better feeling. Want to try it?
Go here;
http://my.barackobama.com/calls

They give you a script to work with and all. There are some many folks participating. And to my surprise. Some very pleasant people on the other end of the phone. I never felt more united in my life. To hear others with the same, similar or even more problems with the present state of the world as I have. People of all races, creeds, and ethnicities. We are one and this election season taught me HOPE. It taught me that more of us on the same then different. THANKS TO THE BARACK/BIDEN CAMPAIGN FOR MY RENEWED HOPE IN MY WORLD.
Thank You Barack for giving my 14 yr old new pride. He's on a mission now to show his friends something totally different. It's beautiful to witness.

Thank you Joe Biden for showing me that single parents can do and overcome anything when they love their children and simply JUST want to be their PARENT above all else.

This has been a life changing election for me and my family. I just wanted to share that with my alternet family!
LOVE YOU GUYS TOO. NOW GO VOTE! HAHA

OBAMA/BIDEN 2008!
Please allow the good times continue!

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185-3
Posted by: reinaldok on Nov 3, 2008 5:34 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
With all the election furor of the past week, one important bit of news went almost unnoticed. Last Wednesday the United Nations General Assembly voted 185-3 to "URGE" the United States to put an end to the almost half century absurd embargo/blockade of Cuba. Every single so called friend or ally of the USA, from every continent joined in condemning the USA policy and many voiced very strong anti-USA statements. The Bush-Republican reaction, of course was to be expected. The USA has truly become the world's "odd man out" - or as McCain likes to spout "the maverick". The new Obama administration will certainly have its work cut out in order to get the USA to rejoin the world's community of nations.

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» RE: 185-3 Posted by: VZEQICVA
» RE: 185-3 Posted by: jon B
» RE: 185-3 Posted by: reinaldok
Why I won't be voting tomorrow.
Posted by: PJAW on Nov 3, 2008 5:42 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You shouldn't either. If you're able to vote today, that is. I voted two weeks ago and will be transporting people to the polls who could not otherwise get there. If you can join those of us who are already participating in this way, please do.

If you are unable to get to the polls on your own, call for a ride. The Obama campaign has organized drivers to help you. There are also non-partisan groups at work, but my sentiments are solidly with Obama tomorrow.

About 40 hours from right now, we'll know who the next president is going to be. Assuming there isn't another fraudulent election being fostered off on us, in which case I believe there will be a serious, well-prepared response from Obama and the Democrats. (if there's fraud, we all know it will come from the Republicans -- again)

One way or another, whether you vote today, tomorrow or voted already, let's get this freakin' nightmare over and get back to building the America described in our Constitution.

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Vote Like There's No Tomorrow
Posted by: Tom Degan on Nov 3, 2008 5:50 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hey folks,
when you're finished reading all the great articles and opinions on AlterNet, have a look at what I wrote this morning on this very subject.

Here's a link.

Cheers!

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

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» TOM, great posts- Posted by: bobtr900
» Hey, Bob! Posted by: Tom Degan
The Very Real and Duplicitous Function of the Democratic Party
Posted by: chlamor on Nov 3, 2008 5:53 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Let's examine The Very Real and Duplicitous Function of the Democratic Party in the American Political System:

The Democratic Party plays an indispensable role in society's political machinery. This doesn't mean it has any power, in terms of controlling the state or setting policy. It means that without the existence of the Dem Party, the US could no longer maintain the pretense that it's a "democracy." If the Dem Party disintegrated, the US would be revealed for what it really is -- a one-party state ruled by a narrow alliance of business interests.

The party's true function is thus largely theatrical. It doesn't exist to fight for change, but only to pose as a force which one fine distant day might possibly bestir itself to fight for change. Thus the whole magic of the Dem Party -- the essential service it renders to the US power structure -- lies not in what it does, but in its mere existence: by simply existing, and doing nothing, it pretends to be something it's not; and this is enough to relieve despair & to let the system portray itself as a "democracy."

As long as the Dem Party exists, most Americans will believe we have a "democracy" and a "choice" in how we are ruled. They will not despair, and will not revolt, as long as they have this hope for "change within the system." From the system's point of view, this mechanism serves as the ultimate safety valve -- it insures against a despairing populace, thus eliminates the threat of rebellion; yet guarantees that no serious change to the system will be mounted, because the Dems weren't designed to play that role in the first place.

The Democrats are not the "lesser evil;" they are an auxiliary subdivision of the same evil. To understand the political system, one must step back and regard its operation as an integrated whole. The system can't be properly understood if one's study of it begins with an uncritical acceptance of the 2-party system, and the conventional characterizations of the two parties.

Many people have this naive belief that Democrats are not imperialists, that US imperialist policies, such as those pursued by the Bush administration, are just a recent deviation or limited to Republican administrations. In fact, the Democratic Party has a long and bloody history of imperialism. Democrats are imperialists and mass murderers.

The death toll of the democrats is quite large:

Greek Civil War: 160,000 (Truman)
Korean War: 3 million (Truman)
Assault on Indochina: 5 million (started under Truman, accelerated under Kennedy & LBJ)
Coup in Indonesia: 1 million (LBJ)
East Timor: 100,000 (Carter)
Kwangju Massacre: 2000 (Carter)
Argentine Dirty War: 30,000 (mostly Carter)
Iraq sanctions: 1.5 million (mostly Clinton)
Turkish Kurdistan: 40,000 (mostly Clinton)

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» RE: Or, of course, Posted by: oregoncharles
» This is Messianic Lunacy Posted by: grindermonkey
» RE: The point is... Posted by: oregoncharles
» RE: Hmmmm. Posted by: Longdream
Let's hold the excitement and have a reality check
Posted by: chlamor on Nov 3, 2008 5:57 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Let's review:

- Pro-Nafta.

- Expand the military by 92,000.

- Escalate in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

- Calls Venezuela a "rogue nation".

- Supports for-profit health "insurance" and calls single-payer "extremist".

- Proposes a Reaganite tax structure, except with over 25% lower taxes on capital gains than Reagan.

- Selects as economic advisers: Rubin, Summers, Goolsbee (Chief Economist for the DLC), Furman, Cutler, Friedman (selected for his "expertise" on Social Security, which includes books and dozens of articles on the "benefits" of privatizing SS), Wolf (Gramm's boss at UBS)...hardcore neolibs all the way, who pushed for repeal of Glass-Steagall and any other laws and regs that inhibited casino capitalism, ultra-leverage, and fictitious capital.

- Maintain 50k-plus "non-combat" troops in Iraq indefinitely for "security", "anti-terrorist", and "training" (Special Forces).

- Supported the extension and expansion of the PATRIOT Act.

- Supported legalizing CheneyBush and telecom crimes, and expanding and extending Carter's secret-evidence Star Chamber FISA.

- Says he has "absolute belief" in the phony CheneyBush "War on Terror".

- Says Republicans have "good ideas" on regulation and deregulation.

- Pushed for the $700b giveaway to his Wall Street donors.

Calling this pro-war, anti-Bill of Rights, expand-executive-power, neoliberal imperial Wall Street shill "progressive"...amazing.

Of course, the DLC calls its think tank "the Progressive (sic) Policy Institute". I suppose if one thinks the DLC is "progressive", it would be easy to think of this child of the Daley machine as "progressive", too.

Talk about Orwellian...

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» RE: Maybe You're Doing Nothing Posted by: oregoncharles
» RE: Maybe You're Doing Nothing Posted by: Longdream
» RE: Cynthia McKinney Posted by: oregoncharles
» Didn't Emma Goldman say, Posted by: GuitarBill
Favoritism in the media
Posted by: disfasia on Nov 3, 2008 6:00 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I happily voted a week ago for Nader. Frankly the idea of either McCain or Obama is quite frightening to me. However, in the past few months I have noticed a media bias towards the Democrat ticket--an extreme bias. The amount of sexism and ageism has been offensive and widely exercised. Even here the comments reflect this. To use terms like "McPain" as an old, dying man or referring to Palin as a "bimbo" are purely unacceptable forms of political critique. Sure, four years ago the tables were turned and we saw undue criticism of Kerry. But the response to this should not be to mimic such immature behavior. There ought to be a more intelligent discussion of the issues (which I don't see at all here) and less of a defamation of the Republican candidates' persons.

I am frankly disgusted that the Democrats are playing the game of mud slinging which only demonstrates how informed many here are. Palin is no idiot, and McCain, even if he were dying (which he is not) has the very same right to run for president as Obama. Obama could die as well--these are facts beyond our control.

Now where are the discussions regarding the facts of this election. The fact that both McCain and Obama have in our future perpetual war planned--McCain in Iraq mainly and Obama in Afghanistan primarily. Both men differ so little in any of their plans that I am surprised to see so many people hooting about how lovely Obama is when what he is going to put into place when president will very only so slightly from what we currently have under Bush.

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» RE: Facts Posted by: oregoncharles
» RE: Facts Posted by: Von
» RE: Dysphasia? Posted by: Longdream
» just rats jumping a sinking ship Posted by: thistleblower
Oh yeah
Posted by: RedFoxOne on Nov 3, 2008 6:07 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm sitting on the edge of my seat alright. God help us all if McBush pulls it off as we are all screwed!

Jiff
Ultimate Anonymity

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Are there laws against being line surrogates?
Posted by: Beck on Nov 3, 2008 6:20 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I've never thought of this before, but why can't we show up to precincts where lines are long and take the places of people in line for awhile? Let people leave, eat, even work, go to the bathroom? Has anyone heard of this; is it possibly illegal? I'm sure there are Republicans who will claim it is.

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XPolygamistWife
Posted by: X-POLYGAMIST WIFE on Nov 3, 2008 6:39 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm BANKING ON HEAVEN that Obama will liberate 10,000 FLDS polygamists in Colorado City, Arizona who have been stripped of their democratic and human rights.

John McCain can't even stop the Taliban in his own backyard.

http://www.bankingonheaven.com

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» More Messianic lunacy Posted by: grindermonkey
» RE: XPolygamistWife and more. Posted by: symcokid
» RE: XPolygamistWife and more. Posted by: astudent
» RE: XPolygamistWife and more. Posted by: symcokid
» RE: XPolygamistWife and more. Posted by: astudent
No...
Posted by: Wacre on Nov 3, 2008 7:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
because I expect Obama to win the Popular vote by a significant margin.

And where the Popular vote goes, there follows the Electoral College.

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» RE: No... Posted by: oregoncharles
To quote the great Hawkeye Pearce:
Posted by: willie.horton on Nov 3, 2008 7:23 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
My belly button has been puckering and un-puckering all day.

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The only people on the edge
Posted by: grindermonkey on Nov 3, 2008 7:24 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
of their seats are those who have a place to put their seat, the seat itself and an ass to place in the seat. I had to pawn my seat to make a gas payment so I'm sitting on the edge of the curb in an abandoned shopping center parking lot.

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I FEEL LIKE A RED SOX FAN
Posted by: VZEQICVA on Nov 3, 2008 7:33 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A few years ago when the Boston Red Sox won the world series after 86 years, I heard an excited fan interviewd and he said that in Boston they really weren't sure what to do. They weren't conditioned for winning. Unlike New York where everyone just shows up in Times Square or Wall & Broad and 2 million people celebrate spontaneously. In Boston they weren't sure but he thought they would come up with something, and so they did. After I get over the shock, triple check the numbers start to feel normal, I would like to go out into my Republican town and act very smug and superior. Maybe I'll make a bumper sticker that says "DEAL WITH IT". It's all very unnerving. I'm not at all prepared to lose. Thanks, ANNA

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RE: No, most people...
Posted by: oregoncharles on Nov 3, 2008 9:02 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
did NOT experience this supposed "boom," which consisted almost entirely of the housing bubbles.

The very rich sure did, though. Time to raise their taxes. As someone (Jesse Jackson?) said:

Those that HAD the party, should PAY for the party.

Now that it's over, thanks to "deregulation." Which means, "Let the fat cats steal all they want."

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Bush's internal policies remain awful.
Posted by: Beck on Nov 4, 2008 5:42 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Especially the environment, and he's gutting it further this week, while he thinks we're not looking.

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Ohio?
Posted by: KDelphi5950 on Nov 3, 2008 8:26 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am in Ohio, and I am seeing Obama ads all day long!

I am not on the edge of my seat (I am doing vote trading), because ...well, we wil see. I guess.

I am on the edge of my seat to see Dubya go, and to have this election over!! If you werent TOTALLY backing one of the duopoly candidates,this election has been NO fun at all!People can be downright cruel!

I hear Obama in the background tv, saying it wil be the end of divisivenses--I dont want that! I want the GOP war criminals punished! How can you have true change withotu justice?

I guess being in the minority never is...i hope this wil lead to the opening of the duopoly into many other parties!

I hope almost everyone in Congress loses!

And i hope that I am wrong about Obama..you have heard all the arguments. He seems to be scaring the crap out of neo-cons. I hope they are right. If the Dems get all three branches, and stil do nothing--will you still support them? I suspect that you will.

Alot of you only know of Dubya and Clinton, so any Dem looks better. I just cannot imagine supporting the duopoly when I was young and idealistic.

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Follow-through begins now!
Posted by: chorton on Nov 3, 2008 8:34 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It is looking as though a great Obama/Democratic sweep is shaping up for Tuesday but we can take nothing for granted. Thinking beyond Tuesday, we need to see this election as a transition to a new phase of the struggle for change. This is not easy; the campaign-based structure of politics of this country makes it the norm for the campaigners - despite their resolutions to carry on - to let go of the process after the election, go home and leave the power to the winners and to the "permanent government" in Washington and the state capitals.

In politics, as in any sport, a winning stroke requires follow-through. The next few days are a special moment for organizing that follow-through, for talking to the people around us and tapping into their desire to keep this struggle going, a time to talk with them about organizing into grass-roots "Democracy Clubs". These would be to advocate for our agenda for change, support and guide the people we elect when they hold to their promises, and bring "people pressure" to bear on them when they start slipping.

In my opinion PDA (Progressive Democrats of America) is the best framework for building these Democracy Clubs, but depending on your location and who you've been working with it could also be through DFA (Democracy For America), your Democratic Party club or perhaps your union or MoveOn.org. A Green Party club can also serve this function. The main thing is to use the networks we've built in this campaign to build an on-going grass roots movement! Later we can work on coordinating them. Obama has told us that the election is just the start of the struggle for change, and he is right. We need to take him at his word and hold him to it, and this is how.

However we must not lose sight of the possibility that Tuesday Night could bring grim news. We need to be prepared to take that in stride and carry on.

At this point Obama has clearly won the right to be our President, and if he isn't declared the winner it will almost certainly be because of foul play! Some Obama activists I've spoken to are so convinced that we will win decisively - and so hyped about it - that they could have a hard time re-grouping. However the "fair election" people are very alarmed by what they are seeing around the country.

In many places the struggle over the next few days will be as much about protecting the vote and countering and documenting abuses as about turning the voters out. (MyFairElection.com among others is doing great things with coordinating this effort!) Everyone needs to be reminded of the possibility of another election theft, so that they don't go into shock or rage if one should occur and can act to keep hope alive.

If the worst should happen, we should be prepared to morph the campaign quickly into a great Democracy Movement to take our country back!

The best place for the campaign to reverse an election theft to begin would be with a refusal by Obama to concede! A petition to Obama calling on him not to concede is being circulated, to be submitted to him tomorrow night if a theft appears to be in the offing. See http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/donotconcede to get a copy and start circulating it!

In either case, the follow-through begins now, not after the election results are announced!

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It's better then being on the floor!
Posted by: zooeyhall on Nov 3, 2008 8:36 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You bet I'm on the edge of my seat! We're gonna see HISTORY made tomorrow!

Better then being in the state that the froth-at-the-mouth right wingers are now. They're on the floor in a dead faint!

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Not Nervous--Cynical
Posted by: dayahka on Nov 3, 2008 8:53 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
For me, cynical is the more appropriate term. Polls don't mean a thing as people often tell pollsters one thing and do another. And after what happened in 2000 when we had to wait weeks--or was it months?--just to have one right wind loony on the supreme court select the president, I'm not holding my breath. A great many dimwits could suddenly swing to McCain for any number of reasons and we'll wake up to the SOS--the rich richer and the poor poorer--that we've had for the past 8 years.

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My concern, once again, is voter suppression and theft of an election
Posted by: NYCartist on Nov 3, 2008 8:55 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Here we go again. Why are l/4th of citizens voting on electronic machines that can't have verified voting,or recounts? Why do we tolerate this mess? How much blame goes to "state's rights"? We need some national rules that HAVA only made a worse mess, not good rules and voter protection as well as vote protection.

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NEVER FORGET! FOR EVERY CREDIBILITY GAP - THERE IS A GULLIBILITY FILL.
Posted by: Gisele on Nov 3, 2008 8:56 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...and pollsters don't usually notice it.

Wishing you well American.

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Just to pick a nit...
Posted by: Chickensh*tEagle on Nov 3, 2008 9:05 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...If "everything points" to it, how can it be "surprising"?

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» RE: Just to pick a nit... Posted by: LeeAnnG
Be very, very careful!
Posted by: LeeAnnG on Nov 3, 2008 9:14 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I live in West Virginia, where some people have reported that their votes for Obama sometimes switch to McCain on the touch-screen voting machines. This has apparently happened in Charleston and in Jackson County.

Four years ago, a family member who lives in Maryland was told by an acquaintance that this same thing was happening in that state. He wanted her to make sure to check her screen and ensure her vote was correct because his vote switched from Kerry to Bush at least twice before it finally was recorded for Kerry.

Funny how all the instances of vote switching seem to go from Democrats to Republicans, but not the other way around.

So, a note of caution to everyone: make absolutely certain to verify your vote before taking the final step - whatever that is on your voting machine. If you can't make it stick, get assistance from one of the attendants.

The regressives will do whatever they can to steal this election, from voter intimidation to robocalls to rigging the voting machines. As has been reported here and other places, students are told they will be in trouble for various reasons if they try to vote, minorities are told they will be arrested if they have previous legal violations, and rumors are spread that, due to long lines, Republicans vote on Tuesday while Democrats vote on Wednesday. Don't believe anything that might interfere with your right to vote, spread the word about voting machines, and be vigilant!

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» Great suggestions! Posted by: LeeAnnG
» As if... Posted by: Cathyc
"Surprising" victory?
Posted by: rcox on Nov 3, 2008 9:59 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Why should anyone be surprised if the Dems sweep tomorrow? The only real surprise is that there still are significant pockets of this country that will vote for the party that wrecked America.

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The Rope
Posted by: walmarter on Nov 3, 2008 10:49 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Tomorrow (and by a landslide), the People will give Obama and the democratic congress everything they need to do their job of fixing our s**t-bag of a government.

The big question is: Will they use The Rope given to them by the citizens, to pull the nation up from disaster, or will they instead, simply hang themselves--again?

The ball will be fully in their court, and the whole world will be watching.

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I'm very nervous.... very nervous.
Posted by: Quannah on Nov 3, 2008 11:08 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Republics will do everything they can to STEAL THIS ELECTION! I won't rest easy until, as a poster said above, after January 20th. Bush and his Junta can still do horrible damage between now and then.

We all have our work cut out for us. Voting is the first step. We have to hold everyone accountable and put their feet to the fire in order to force them to DO THE RIGHT THING by us.

IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED EARLY, BE SURE AND VOTE TOMORROW!!!!

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Here's the cold reality. CALL NUSH AND TELL THEM NOT TO STEAL THE ELECTION
Posted by: cori on Nov 3, 2008 12:10 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
202 456 1111
That's the nightmare. Here's the cold reality.

Swing state Colorado. Before this election, two Republican secretaries of state purged 19.4 percent of the entire voter roll. One in five voters. Pfft!

Swing state New Mexico. One in nine voters in this year's Democratic caucus found their names missing from the state-provided voter registries. And not just any voters. County by county, the number of voters disappeared was in direct proportion to the nonwhite population. Gore won the state by 366 votes; Kerry lost it by only 5,900. Despite reassurances that all has been fixed for Tuesday, Democrats lost from the list in February told me they're still "disappeared" from the lists this week.

Swing state Indiana. In this year's primary, ten nuns were turned away from the polls because of the state's new voter ID law. They had drivers' licenses, but being in their 80s and 90s, they'd let their licenses expire. Cute. But what isn't cute is this: 566,000 registered voters in that state don't have the ID required to vote. Most are racial minorities, the very elderly and first-time voters; that is, Obama voters. Twenty-three other states have new, vote-snatching ID requirements.

Swing state Florida. Despite a lawsuit battle waged by the Brennan Center for Justice, the state's Republican apparatchiks are attempting to block the votes of 85,000 new registrants, forcing them to pass through a new "verification" process. Funny thing: verification applies only to those who signed up in voter drives (mostly black), but not to voters registering at motor vehicle offices (mostly white).



Here's an ugly little secret about American democracy: We don't count all the votes. In 2004, based on the data from the US Elections Assistance Commission, 3,006,080 votes were not counted: "spoiled," unreadable and blank ballots; "provisional" ballots rejected; mail-in ballots disqualified.

This Tuesday, it will be worse. Much worse.

That's what I found while traveling the nation over the last year for BBC Television and Rolling Stone Magazine, working with voting rights attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This we guarantee: there will be far more votes disappeared by Tuesday night than the three million lost in 2004. A six-million vote swipe, quite likely, shifts 4 percent of the ballots, within the margin of error of the tightest polls.

Begin with this harsh statistic: since the last election, more than ten million voters have been purged from the nation's vote registries. And that's just the start of the steal.

If the noncount were random, it wouldn't matter. But it's not random. A US Civil Rights Commission analysis shows that the chance a black voter's ballot will "spoil" or be blank is 900 percent higher than a white voter's.

Does that mean the election's stolen and you should forget voting and just go back to bed for four years? Hell, no. It means you vote and vote smart, learn how to pry their filthy little hands off your ballot (there's a link at the end).

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What difference does it make who gets -----
Posted by: symcokid on Nov 3, 2008 12:31 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
elected anyway, nothing will change. The agenda has been set years ago and all these puppet figure heads do is make sure the plan is followed up on. Obama or McCain, it matters little and besides the Electoral College with the block vote does as it wishes with our votes and compromising with big business.

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We teach our children
Posted by: rajuncajun1960 on Nov 3, 2008 12:49 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is my 18 year old daughter's first time to vote. I have been hesitant on asking her who she was going to vote for. She is very independent and is not yet out of that stage where her parents can still be annoying.

She finally came to me yesterday, and asked me who I was going to vote for. I told her that this year was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made, since my first vote was cast for president back in 1980. It is difficult not because I am so torn between the two candidates, but because I am so disappointed in our choices this time around. You would think that a country as great and diverse as ours is, could produce a better choice.

I conveyed my feelings to her, and said that since a "none of the above" choice would be to not vote, that I was going to very reluctantly vote for McCain. She breathed a sigh of relief and told me that was her choice also.

Her reasoning floored me. She said it was my fault. I asked her what she meant, and she relayed an incident that had happened when she was 8 years old. We were members of a church that had just brought on a new preacher. I have to admit that when I met him, I was very impressed, but just 5 Sundays into his time at that church, he presented a sermon that railed against all other denominations. It was filled with venom and anger. Three quarters of the way through the tirade, I gathered up my family and escorted us all out of that church, and never went back. His divisive, mean spirited words were not going to influence my children, nor me. She said that if I could do that publicly, Omama could have done it privately years ago. He just chose not to, or worse yet, agreed with what the preacher was saying. Either way, she said she couldn't vote for him for that reason.

That was one 18 year old that wasn't fooled by a politician.

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» RE: We teach our children Posted by: peacefullaim
» RE: We teach our children Posted by: jwverez
The 2 parties are really just a mechanism of social control
Posted by: chlamor on Nov 3, 2008 1:16 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
There is zero chance that our system can be fixed through the officially-approved mechanisms. Whether overtly recognized or not, there’s a war going on — the US ruling class against all the rest of us. It’s essentially a class war. The rulers want you to remain a Democrat, because the D’s are a ruling-class institution, whose job is guiding the Dem half of the populace in paths that are safe for the rulers. To remain a Dem voter, and to swallow whatever slop the party dishes up, is to passively assent to this arrangement.

Therefore, your primary focus should be on resisting & criticizing the system, not on adapting yourself to it. You should be talking with your friends & family about the very real things that are wrong. You should be trying to make whatever contribution you can to elevating political consciousness. Accepting the slop of the Dem Party is the opposite of all that: it deadens political consciousness, & only makes your enemies stronger.

Voting for candidates only works when there are decent candidates — but that’s not our situation. We betray ourselves if we fail to recognize that.

Well, looking at it historically, the “solution” has to be a break from the officially-approved mechanisms. It must have the form of a broad movement based on the interests of the bottom 80-90% of the population, rather than on the interests of the top 1%. It has to be what they call “radical” politics — something that big business and the media are definitely not going to like, any more than they like Kucinich or antiwar protestors.

The 2 parties are really just a mechanism of social control. They’re not a way for “the people” to express their will; they’re a way for rulers to control the people — partly by making them believe that they (the peeps) have some say (which they don’t). Building a movement to oppose this takes time. But its sine qua non is political consciousness — the type that socialists understand & try to cultivate; and that the big-business parties & media try to suppress & eradicate.

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Obama is a company man
Posted by: chlamor on Nov 3, 2008 1:19 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Obama is a company man. He knows the language, the subtle and overt signals, and emits them like a beacon. Ruling circles have gotten the message, and that is why corporate media have made him a contender, and corporate billfolds have financed him. The "skinny kid" made his bones at the Democratic National Convention, in August, 2004, while he was still an Illinois senatorial candidate - a shoo-in against the hopeless and deranged Black Republican Alan Keyes. Obama put all white fears to rest: "There is no white America. There is no black America. There is no Latino America. There is no Asian America. There is only the United States of America." Hallelujah!

The scam of this still-new century enthralls and envelopes the nation, a narrowly-packaged farce in which political twins pretend they are not joined at the hip on every public policy issue that has been allowed to enter the corporate media-vetted discourse: health care, Iraq, trade. Even these points of (non)contention disappear in the din of purely commercial marketing mantras with infinitely malleable meanings: "Change," "Hope," "Reform."

When no real change is offered - when both front runners are wedded to a lingering presence in Iraq and to reestablishing U.S. hegemony in the world; when insurance and drug companies are left virtually untouched by duos' tepid forays into broadening health care coverage; and when neither offers a whisper of an idea on halting the corporate-engineered global Race to the Bottom, then it is certain that, although "change" may come, it will be at the direction of the rich who have brought the nation and planet to the very brink of catastrophe.

But then, Obama would never have risen so quickly and remarkably to his current position of dominant media favor and national prominence if he was anything like the egalitarian and democratic “progressive” that some liberals and leftists imagine. In the corporate-crafted and money-dominated swamp that passes for “representative democracy” in the U.S., concentrated economic and imperial power open and close doors in ways that preemptively suffocate populist potential. Big money is not in the business of promoting genuine social justice or democracy activists (so-called “gadflies” like Wellstone, to use Obama’s description).

Understanding public policy as a mechanism for the upward distribution of wealth, it promotes empire and inequality by underwriting the smothering K Street culture and the revolving door that feeds it—not just lobbyists themselves but the entire interconnected world of campaign consultants, public relations agencies, pollsters, and media strategists—without whose favor and assistance serious presidential bids are next to unthinkable.

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» When the Wind Blows Posted by: Cathyc
866-OUR-VOTE/888-VE-Y-VOTE h
Posted by: cori on Nov 3, 2008 1:42 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
866-OUR-VOTE/888-VE-Y-VOTE h
Mon, 11/03/2008 - 21:05 — Anonymous (not verified)
866-OUR-VOTE/888-VE-Y-VOTE http://www.866ourvote.com Please publicize this number - volunteers are standing by there to give information, help clarify election laws and empower voters to vindicate their rights, and in some cases, to send mobile field units directly to the polls or to contact election officials to address problems.

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Meet the new boss, same as the old boss - only a hundred times smarter
Posted by: blogoffanddie on Nov 3, 2008 2:26 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Though I agree that a President Obama is infinitely preferable to a President McCain, do we really know what an Obama presidency will bring?

During his campaign, Obama promised to escalate US military intervention in Afghanistan; publicly declared he will continue the war on terrorism including, if necessary, large-scale ground and air attacks on Pakistan.
Obama opposed withdrawing the troops from Iraq, as they are essential to pursuing his policies in the Middle East - which include military confrontations with Iran and Syria. Obama has also promised to attack Iran if it continues to process uranium for its nuclear power programs.
Obama has declared unconditional support for the pro-Israel Lobby and the continued expansion of Israel into the West Bank (Palestinian land). Why would anyone support anything unconditionally?
Obama endorsed the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street – which is an attempt to bailout the wealthy on Wall Street not the US economy (have any of you had your mortgage rates reduced). Obama also proposed additional transfers of government funds to mismanaged financial institutions. It might be more prudent and economically stimulating to use US tax dollars in more broad ranged public programs such as repairing America’s crumbling infrastructure - programs which generate lots of jobs.
Obama is also for private sector health plans, run and controlled by big insurance, conservative medical/hospital associations and big pharmaceutical corporations. He has publicly rejected a universal national health program.
Obama advocates continuing the embargo on Cuba and hostile confrontation with Venezuela’s populist (and democratically elected) President Hugo Chavez and any other Latin American reformers – promoting protectionism at home but free market access to Latin America.
After years of bombardment from mainstream media, the American populace has been dumbed-down and programmed to ignore the substance, realities and the issues that affect their lives and the world around them, and instead focus on the peripheral, pointless and more often than not, irrelevant sideshows created by a news media, government and economic system full of hucksters, political toadies and greedy corporations.

The Orwellian nightmare has arrived. We have become a circus and a nation of voyeurs and peeping Toms. We have become that mindless freak show that millions of simpletons watch every night on their TV's. As a result, we as a people are too distracted, confused or lazy to look up from our TV sets to see or do anything about the destruction that is taking place in our name.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

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WHEN PEOPLE SAID GORE WAS THE SAME AS BUSH, DO YOU THINK THEY WERE RIGHT?
Posted by: cori on Nov 3, 2008 4:49 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
There is ample cause for general alarm and for the measures we've recommended, in what has emerged from the ongoing court action in Ohio. If evidence of electronic-voting manipulation follows the election tomorrow, it must be pursued regardless of who wins. And if the campaigns involved do not challenge the results where this evidence emerges, or if local and state authorities do not cooperate to resolve these questions, it is certain that a tidal wave of protest will develop. Nonviolent resistance was used successfully by African-Americans to win their civil rights in the 1960s, and earlier by American women to win the right to vote. Millions would not hesitate to use it again, if there is evidence of a stolen presidential election. The first Democratic president, Thomas Jefferson, said that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." The failure of the Bush administration to permit systematic reform of this nation's elections infrastructure so as to make it impossible for these manipulations to occur is bad enough. Even worse would be to refuse to take seriously the possibility that these abuses could alter or adulterate the results of what may well be the most important presidential election of our lifetimes. gO TO THRUTHOUT.ORG FOR MORE INFO

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Remember, remember, the Fifth of November!
Posted by: Cathyc on Nov 3, 2008 5:04 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Wikipedia:-

The Gunpowder Conspiracy of 1605, or the Powder Treason or Gunpowder Plot, as it was known at the time,[1] was a failed assassination attempt by a group of provincial English Catholics against King James I of England and VI of Scotland. The plot intended to kill the king, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy in a single attack by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening on 5 November 1605...

History does have an uncanny knack of repeating itself....

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THERE IS SOMETHING ROTTEN IN DENMARK
Posted by: cori on Nov 3, 2008 5:08 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The current legal action will obviously not be resolved in time to determine the possible extent of any effort to manipulate electronic voting in 2008. But poll workers, campaign activists and local supporters of Senator Obama can do a number of practical things in order to identify and compile evidence of anomalies which may signal digital manipulation of election returns:

1. Local activists and lawyers in any state where the vote appears close should demand that county voting officials where electronic voting systems are used should, if possible, unplug their servers from the Internet and phone in their results, and otherwise never permit external IT consultants to have unsupervised physical access to hard drives after vote counting commences.

2. Screen captures of all television-reported exit poll numbers on all networks should be obtained for every state for which they are reported, to later compare them to actual vote tallies when they are reported - and the networks should assign a staff person to perform such checks. Any significant deviations from statewide exit polls in counties that don't have demographic factors to account for such differences should be flagged for later investigation.

3. Vote totals for presidential and down-ballot candidates should be compared, precinct-by-precinct and county-by-county, to see if there are strange disparities. In 2004, a Democratic candidate for a judgeship in Ohio mysteriously received tens of thousands more votes than John Kerry (even though many voters never bother to vote for down-ballot candidates). This was a statistical improbability of enormous magnitude (no disrespect meant to the judge).

4. Vote totals in safe Republican counties should be compared to the past two election cycles, to see whether any sky-high turnout is historically unprecedented and therefore cause for suspicion. That is what happened in several Republican-dominated counties in Florida in 2004. Election monitors should also watch the traffic at the polling places in Republican precincts, and maintain careful records, as a way to gauge the honesty of later claims about the turnout there.

These steps are necessary to facilitate the discovery of any circumstantial or direct evidence of possible manipulation of electronic-voting returns, which would be sufficient to enable immediate legal action to prevent certification of election results. In turn, that would permit time for a full forensic investigation. Additionally, many citizens' groups are preparing calls to action should legal remedies to any attempted vote interference falter or be obstructed.

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STAND UP FOR YOUR VOTE,
Posted by: cori on Nov 3, 2008 5:30 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Here we are on the doorstep of another US Presidential Election. If John McCain is declared the winner, everyone who voted should hit the streets and protest. It's that simple. The vote will have been manipulated because all polling up to now suggests Obama will win. And evidence exists already of vote flipping by the electronic machines. Vote flipping, voter intimidation, excessive challenges, voter purging, insufficient equipment (foreshadowed by the MSM TODAY!), secret certifications, inaccurate polling site location information. All these violations have been documented in the past 4 years and there's no reason to believe they won't be an issue this very week. STAND UP FOR YOUR VOTE, PEOPLE. And may God help us.

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AM A 60 YEAR OLD MOTHER OF 2 AND I WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS
Posted by: cori on Nov 3, 2008 5:46 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
1 AM A 60 YEAR OLD MOTHER OF 2 AND I PROMISE I WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS IF THEY STEAL THIS ELECTION. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THEIR DIRTY TRICKS.

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I am
Posted by: Jeanne on Nov 3, 2008 6:22 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
on the edge of my seat anticipating the theft of the third presidential election in a row. I have little faith that the voters will turn out in sufficient numbers to defeat the embedded cheating on the voting machines. Couple that with the discouragingly long lines many voters will face, along with challenges to their legitimacy as voters, I am expecting a "surprising" "narrow" victory for John McCain. What logic says that after stealing two, the Republicans won't have this down to a fine art?

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if we don't have the power to vote, we're as good as slaves.
Posted by: cori on Nov 3, 2008 6:31 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is what we call election fraud. This means using the computerized voting systems which we now have in place in at least 80% of the country. Precisely because it is so technical and it's so opaque and it's all run by private companies, private companies that have close ties to the Republican Party, the use of this kind of voting apparatus is extremely worrisome and something that we should be watching very carefully.

We're talking here about a fundamental right, no, about the fundamental right. This is the right on which all our other rights depend, as Tom Paine said. Nothing is more important than this right. This is the right for which millions of our forebears have shed their blood, have died. This is what keeps us free. Only this. If we lose the right to pick our representatives and to get rid of the government when we don't like it anymore, if we don't have that right, if we don't have that power, we're as good as slaves.
MARK CRISPIN MILLER: is a Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University.

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I sent this to a friend over in US,
Posted by: Squarehead on Nov 4, 2008 4:04 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I sent this to a friend over in US, then decided to post here, as a response to some of the negative comments above. Good Luck, America

"And good to hear from you, C**

I suggest that the 'self control' you see in Barack Obama, is simply an essential component of the man, and is what has made him electable.

For white Americans to vote for a Black man is a very big step for some, and would not be achievable, even with his obvious intellectual quality, but for the levelness, a sort of cultural 'whiteness'. Imagine if he talked like Jesse Jackson, or like some hip-hop cool kid. The campaign would have sunk without trace.

So, yes, I have a great admiration for the man. I believe that the campaign has been of such outstanding quality, as a piece of technical politics, as to inspire confidence in ability. Motivating unrepresented Americans, the un-enfranchised because of their relative cultural and economic poverty, to get off their ass and register and then vote.

So, I believe he will probably win in a landslide. That is what 80% of the rest of the world fervently hopes for. We need somebody that smart, given the absolute balls-up that the GOP and the Right in general have made of things. I am aware of Diebold shenanigans, but think they will be unable to do that this time, though crucial counties will probably have some of that activity. (On the part of GOP activists)

Of course, by European standards, Obama is not very 'Left'. He fits in a kind of 'Moderate Centre' position, Rightist on some issues, Social-Democratic on others.

As a thinker and a manager, the guy has shown signs of greatness. I am not therefore naive enough to expect a total change in USA's relationship to the rest of the planet in any short timescale. But it seems that he is the person to manage transition, from superpower status, now thrown away by the hubris of the Bush-Cheney GOP & corporate America cabal, towards a sustainable role for a still very wealthy country.

So I hope you can agree with some of the foregoing."

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Today is THE day!!
Posted by: mchllecat on Nov 4, 2008 6:07 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The wait is driving me CRAZY!! the election will finally end and hopefully Obama will be our next POTUS,I have been putting off volunteering at the local Dem. office But 4 days ago I started volunteering thinking why bother ar first because it probably wont have much impact,I did some canvassing in our really small town that happens to be the reddest area of my state,But I did it and felt really good most people are nice regardless of all the odd and extra fear mongering going around this election08,and I truely feel we are ready for some real change,some more commen sense added to the government and less lobbiest and special interests makeing our laws and rules.

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Well, I gotta admit. My wife and I gave up Nader and let Obama have our votes. Here's why.
Posted by: maxpayne on Nov 4, 2008 6:55 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
First, I realize that the system is stacked against 3rd party candidates in general and even more so if they're liberal and/or progressive. That said, we need to start local and move it on up and put in place more people who share most of Nader's philosphy in influential positions be it teachers, sheriffs, judges, mayors, or even local/regional legislators. From there, local areas can get others to follow suit and then unite and defeat the corporate/religious/military monied elites. Yeah, those monied elites will be watching closely and fighting against us but if we the people increase turnout on the local levels and force them to spend all their money, then we the people can and will win by putting them on the defensive. In time, we may very well get someone ala a President Nader.

Second, I admit that since I voted since 1988 Democrat that despite the worst of Obama, the race guilt feeling still shackles me. After all, my vote for Dukakis, Clinton, Gore, and Kerry and all of a sudden Nader would still keep that haunted race guilt feeling in me for at least the next 4 years if not longer. Well, since Obama is likely to win, if by 2012 Obama gags and keeps shooting his base down, then there is no way a lot of us will be shackled to the race guilt mentality that time around.

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» DEMO-THUGS OUT IN FORCE Posted by: reelman
» RE: BLACK PANTHERS???? Posted by: Longdream
America, you done good.
Posted by: Squarehead on Nov 5, 2008 12:49 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
America, you done good.

The rest of us can breathe a sigh of relief, today.

Tomorrow, the work continues

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