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Monday, November 15, 2004
Mehlman
I don't know if Ken Mehlman is gay, but I do know that the Washington Blade ran a rather bizarre article recently about a bunch of gay Republicans... and Ken Mehlman. One imagines they "knew" but didn't have enough for good journalism, so they just threw him out there.
And, spare me the crap about his private life. This isn't about who Ken Mehlman is or isn't screwing, it's about whether a gay man is going to head the "values" party.
Posted at 11:59 pm by blog swarm
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Did your Ohio provisional ballot count?
by Renee in Ohio
Mon Nov 15th, 2004 at 17:33:02 PST
Anyone who had to cast a provisional ballot on Election Day can now find out if his or her vote counted.
The Board of Elections said voters can call a toll-free number to check the status of their votes. The number is (866) OHIO-VOTES.
http://www.nbc4i.com/politics/3920365/detail.html
I bet I need to say some more stuff to keep the posting nanny bot from rejecting this as a one line diary. Okay, if you click the link above, you can also read this article: Will Long Lines Dominate Future Elections?
And there are slideshows of the lines at polling places, as well as voting stories submitted by readers.
Posted at 11:56 pm by blog swarm
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IN-09: Dems demand a recount
by kos
Mon Nov 15th, 2004 at 20:17:45 PST
Here's a place were election machine shenanigans may actually have miscalled an election. From the subscription-only Roll Call:
The Indiana Democratic Party on Friday requested a recount of votes cast in the 9th district, where Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) was narrowly defeated by Republican Mike Sodrel on Nov. 2.
The recount request was made after an election-equipment malfunction was discovered in Franklin County, which is not in the 9th district.
On Nov. 3, Hill conceded defeat to Sodrel, a trucking company owner, and the most recent vote tally available from the Indiana secretary of state?s office showed Hill trailing by 1,485 votes. As of midday Friday, Sodrel had 142,257 votes to Hill?s 140,772.
An emergency meeting of the state?s recount commission was held Friday afternoon and the machines, ballots and all other material relating to the election were ordered impounded. The commission will meet again on Tuesday to decide the next course of action and to hear cross petitions from Republicans.
"They want to hear from the other side as well," Kate Shepherd, a spokeswoman for the Indiana secretary of state?s office, said Friday.
Last week, Rock Island, Ill.-based election equipment vendor Fidlar Election Co. acknowledged that some of its vote-scanning machines counted straight Democratic ticket votes as Libertarian votes. Hill was the only Democrat incumbent outside of Texas to lose his election.
Posted at 11:55 pm by blog swarm
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avalanche of faxes, phone calls, emails, etc
DNC gossip
by kos
Mon Nov 15th, 2004 at 20:12:59 PST
Jerome writes:
[A]bout 3 months ago, I was told by someone close to Dean that Nancy Pelosi was backing Howard Dean for the DNC chair. I found it rather odd, but apparently, Pelosi reached out to Dean, perhaps thinking he would be the best alternative if Kerry were defeated. That would seem clear thinking to me. Remember the standing ovation that Dean received during the Convention in Boston from the Democratic congregation? Apparently, those in DC have forgotten.
Last week John Kerry met with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Kerry convinced the two Democratic leaders to go with backing Tom Vilsack for the DNC. Now, that's some pretty strong sway up in the Hill, de facto? Not quite.
Dean's got some backing too. Both Jesse Jackson Sr. and Jr. are backing Dean, as is Gov Bill Richardson of NM, Donna Brazille as well. People want to know what to do. Be patient -- there are people out there getting the list of 440 voters updated, with contact info, etc. Those guys are about to get flooded, so if you're a DNC member with a vote, get ready for an avalanche of faxes, phone calls, emails, etc. The pressure will be on -- either for the status quo, or for reform. There will be no middle ground.
The vote isn't until the first week of February, so still plenty of time for things to shake out. I'm leaving on my vacation Wednesday, but that's probably for the best since things are still somewhat unsettled right now. I'll be making lots of calls when I return at the end of the month to gauge sentiment, and we'll likely have a better picture of 1) the candidate field, and 2) who is lining up for which candidate. Jerome is also on the case.
Once we know how the battle lines have formed, we can plan strategy and we'll have a grand ol' tussle on our hands.
I am a Reform Democrat.
Posted at 11:53 pm by blog swarm
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by Jerome Armstrong
This is from a DC source on how the vote for the DNC Chair is breaking down right now. This will give you give you a sense of who is on the inside, and who is on right side.
But before that, about 3 months ago, I was told by someone close to Dean that Nancy Pelosi was backing Howard Dean for the DNC chair. I found it rather odd, but apparently, Pelosi reached out to Dean, perhaps thinking he would be the best alternative if Kerry were defeated. That would seem clear thinking to me. Remember the standing ovation that Dean received during the Convention in Boston from the Democratic congregation? Apparently, those in DC have forgotten.
Last week John Kerry met with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Kerry convinced the two Democratic leaders to go with backing Tom Vilsack for the DNC. Now, that's some pretty strong sway up in the Hill, de facto? Not quite.
Dean's got some backing too. Both Jesse Jackson Sr. and Jr. are backing Dean, as is Gov Bill Richardson of NM, Donna Brazille as well.
I've read of much post-election despair among the comments here and elsewhere, but listen, put that aside, join this effort. We've lost and lost and lost; it's time to win. There's 440 DNC members around the nation in every state. These people align with the partisan backbone of the Party. Our wing. Let the ones nearest you hear your asking them to vote Dean for DNC. They are waiting, willing, and just need to hear our collective voice for the new Democratic Party to begin.
Posted at 11:51 pm by blog swarm
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Part II: Credibility
And reform will not come without credibility.
This is what so few people seem to understand.
The Democratic Party has no credibility with voters. To be precise, it lacks credibility with the centrists.
So to assume that if we choose a Vilsack or whomever and reach out to those centrists - without reforming ourselves - that they will believe what we say is to not be aware of reality.
If we choose a Vilsack, engage in no effort to remake our voice or our language or our organization or our image, and instead assume that a moron who could not deliver his own state to Kerry can reach out to centrists, we will lose more seats in '06, and more seats in '08.
This is because many, many voters who share our values, share our ideals, mistrust the party. To them, Dems speak with a forked tongue.
That's why Rove ran the campaign he did - his whole goal was to remind enough voters that Kerry was some liberal elitist, and as such, he cannot be trusted.
It worked. Many people, who distrust the radical right, voted Bush out of fear of liberal elitist lying conniving deceitful Democrats.
How do we move beyond that? With more of the same?
No. We need a fresh start. We need new people at the helm - people who are committed to true reform. Not people who simply want to preserve the failed DLC centrism of the past. And certainly not someone whose only issue is making sure Iowa goes first.
If we rebuild our message, our outreach, but send up the same old people to sell it, it will be all for naught, because nobody will buy it.
Can Dean? Who knows. What we do know is that he is at least credible when he says he wants to rebuild the Democrats. People will believe that. And once that is achieved, we can nominate whomever we want in 2008.
Posted at 11:49 pm by blog swarm
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by Chris Bowers
It is becoming increasingly clear that John Kerry lost the popular vote because Democrats only focused on swing states, while Republicans fought a much more nationwide campaign. This was the conclusion of Robert David Sullivan, and it was also the tentative conclusion I reached last week. Now, even though the final counting is certainly not complete, I think have run some numbers that make this claim nearly indisputable. My source is the incomparable Dave Leip: Presidential Nominee, National Popular Vote (In Millions)
2000 2004 Change
DNC 51.00 57.30 +12.4%
RNC 50.46 60.70 +20.3%As everyone already knows, nationwide Bush managed a more significant increase in his popular vote total than Kerry managed to increase on Gore's total. However, if the twenty most closely fought swing states are compared to the other thirty states plus D.C., the relative increases are far more revealing: Presidential Nominee, Swing State Popular Vote (In Millions)
2000 2004 Change
DNC 21.67 25.82 +19.1%
RNC 22.16 27.08 +22.2%In the twenty swing-states the two campaigns spent the most time and money, Republicans and Democrats improved at almost exactly the same rate (the twenty swing states in these calculations are AZ, AR, CO, FL, IA, ME, MI, MN, MO, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, OR, PA, VA, WA, WV, and WI). Further, Kerry improved on Gore's total by at least 9.2% in all twenty of these states. However, now look at the "safe" states: Presidential Nominee, Safe State Popular Vote (In Millions)
2000 2004 Change
DNC 29.35 31.47 +7.2%
RNC 28.32 33.61 +18.7%In fifteen of these thirty-one "safe states," Kerry imporved on Gore's total by less than 9.2%. In 2004, Bush turned a safe state deficit of more than a million votes into a safe state victory of more than two million votes. The overall swing in the safe states, nearly 3.2 million votes, accounts for over 93% of Bush's current national vote margin. Had Kerry increased the Democratic vote total in the safe states at the same rate that Bush managed to increase his safe state vote total, Kerry would currently be down by less than 50,000 votes nationwide, and few, if any people, would find the recount efforts unjustified. Bush would be under 50%, Kerry would be over 49%, and there would be no talk of a mandate whatsoever.
Unfortunately, by ignoring the non-swing states, we sowed the seeds of our own illegitimacy when it came to Ohio. Starting in 2006, Democratic activism must permanently work toward a fifty-state strategy.
Posted at 06:54 pm by blog swarm
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 For more winning arguments check out: winningargument.blogspot.com
Why you're right:
1. Goss is dividing, not uniting, the CIA staff. Bush has continually promised to unite the nation, but his August appointment of Goss to the top spot at the CIA has divided the CIA. Goss put three of his Republican staffers to top CIA positions. These men are viewed as inexperienced and contemptuous of the career employees in the CIA, causing intra-agency turmoil and disagreement at a time when cooperation is needed for reform. (Knight-Ridder)
2. Goss is driving away experienced CIA members. Deputy Director John E. McLaughlin recently sent in his long-expected resignation, but warned Goss about alienating members of the agency. Stephen R. Kappes, chief of the clandestine service and behind the negotiations with Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi to give up weapons of mass destruction, is considering submitting his resignation after the latest in a series of clashes with Goss, saying he would rather resign than fire his deputy, Michael Sulick. Kappes was ordered to fire Sulick for challenging Pat Murray’s, Goss’s chief of staff and a former Hill staffer, authority. (Washington Post)
3. Goss is rejecting the advice of CIA leadership. Four former deputies of operations, from both Republican and Democratic administrations, requested a meeting with Goss because they "wanted to save him from going through" what two other directors, Stansfield Turner and John M. Deutch, had experienced when they tried to make personnel changes quickly. Goss has refused to meet with them. (Washington Post)
Why they’re wrong:
The intelligence community needs reform, but more than just personnel shake-up. Goss’s attempts at a quick fix are alienating members of the agency who are essential to moving forward. The agency needs to learn from its past mistakes, as the 9/11 commission pointed out, and rejecting advice from bipartisan veterans won’t help.
Posted at 06:53 pm by blog swarm
Political News Permalink
 Background
Comprising roughly half of Louisiana's Cajun County, the 3rd Congressional district includes parts of thirteen parishes in the southeast corner of the state. Republican Billy Tauzin’s retirement created a highly competitive open seat I this is Democratic-leaning district – Tauzin himself served fifteen years as a Democrat before switching parties. Both Senator Mary Landrieu in 2002 and Governor Kathleen Blanco in 2003 carried the 3rd.
Charlie Melancon (D) is a former State Rep., and the past President of the American Sugarcane League. Melancon’s family roots in the Louisiana sugar industry go back three generations where his great grandfather, grandfather and uncle were sugarcane farmers. A small businessman, Melancon owned and operated Melancon Insurance Agency and Baskin-Robbins franchise stores.
The Opponent:Billy Tauzin III, son of Rep. Billy Tauzin.
Departure Location(s) for this Road Trip
Democratic National Headquarters Location:Details for this trip will be posted after the November 2nd election. Once the Democratic candidate is chosen details for the December run off trip will be posted.
Depart Date/Time:
Details for this trip will be posted after the November 2nd election. Once the Democratic candidate is chosen details for the December run off trip will be posted.
Return Date/Time:
I will be driving my own vehicle Location:
Depart Date/Time:
Return Date/Time:
Posted at 06:51 pm by blog swarm
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Condi
I'd like to think she'll do less damage at State than she did as NSA, but that's a) setting the bar pretty low and b) overly optimistic...
While the first Bush administration was run by the "competent grownups" who turned out to be incompetent, the second one will be run by their not so bright teenage nieces and nephews... Condi will be the closest thing to a "grownup" there is...
...internet vets for the truth (who I know nothing about - found through google) was kind enough to post the video of Condi's greatest moment. I wonder if her dinner plan Gwen Ifill will play this during her confirmation hearing.
Posted at 06:35 pm by blog swarm
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