Thursday’s Mini-Report

October 26, 2006

Today’s edition of quick hits. (It’s a little bit longer than usual, but there’s a lot of good stuff in the news — and in my inbox — today.)

* In light of recent speculation, it was only a matter of time before we saw our first national poll gauging Barack Obama’s presidential prospects. Fox News is out first: McCain 41, Obama 38, undecided 21. Not bad for a Fox News poll, right?

* My friend Cliff Schecter has a great new article in In These Times with some valuable populist advice for the Democratic Party. It’s well worth reading, especially for you DNC staffers.

* Reader M.M. alerted me to a new commercial labeled the “Nasty Ad Of The Day” by National Journal. Maybe I have a weird sense of humor, but I found it more hilarious than nasty, particularly the all-caps on “50,000 volts.”

* I have to say, I am rather amazed to see how thoroughly House Speaker Dennis Hastert is falling apart before our very eyes. C’mon, the guy hasn’t heard of going out with a little dignity? It’s hard to believe he wants to go out on a note like this one.

* VoteVets.org caused quite a stir with its last round of advertising, but its new ad may be even more powerful. In a new spot hitting airwaves today, VoteVets.org is targeting vulnerable Reps. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.), John Sweeney (R-N.Y.), John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Jon Porter (R-Nev.). The issue is health care benefits for veterans. There are four ever-so-slightly different versions for each district (1, 2, 3, 4). Take a look.

* The number of high-profile Republican office holders calling for Rumsfeld’s ouster continues to grow. Remember, they’re all “defeatocrats,” every one of them.

* We’re already hearing about how the Dems won’t have a mandate, no matter how well they do (or don’t do) in 12 days, but the latest USA Today/Gallup poll suggests the Dems’ agenda already enjoys broad approval.

* The RNC’s Ken Mehlman claims the now-infamous and racially-charged “Playboy” ad in Tennessee is gone, but the truth is, the spot remains on the air.

* As part of my ongoing fascination with the scandals of Nevada Republican gubernatorial hopeful Jim Gibbons, I thought I should mention that the woman he alleged accosted in a Las Vegas parking lot recently now insists she was offered money to recant allegations.

* I know things look bleak for the Republicans in Ohio, but have they really stooped to doctoring photos and fabricating quotes of Al Franken? I mean, really. Forget integrity; don’t Republicans have any pride?

* How’s Bush’s Department of Homeland Security doing? Put it this way — Stephen E. Flynn, a senior fellow for National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and one of the nation’s preeminent experts in the field, has issued a report card on the cabinet agenda. They’re “not grades you’d want to bring home to your mother.”

* At least someone is making money in this economy.

* We haven’t mentioned Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) in a while. The WaPo ran a front-page piece today detailing all of the senator’s racism problems. There isn’t a lot of new information here, but it’s handy to have a very detailed telling of the problem in one place.

* The Oregonian, Oregon’s only major daily newspaper, was poised to endorse a gubernatorial candidate. The editorial board held a vote and a majority wanted to endorse incumbent Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D). The editorial page editor Bob Caldwell overruled them and the paper endorsed the Republican challenger, Ron Saxton. Let’s all say it together, “What liberal media?” (Thanks to R.M. for the tip.)

* The fine folks at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has published a handy guide for the online community about how to investigate and uncover inside stories about government agencies. “The guide walks bloggers through making a FOIA request — addressing what to ask for, which government offices must comply, and what you can and cannot obtain through FOIA. It also explains how to put requests on the fast track and get processing fees waived.” Good stuff.

* And finally, several readers sent me emails today about this stunning piece titled, “How to steal an election by hacking the vote.” The author makes clear that he is “not in any way encouraging anyone to actually go out and steal an election. This article is intended solely as a guide to the kinds of information and techniques that election thieves already have available, and not as an incitement to or an aid for committing crimes.” It’s a startling article, to be sure.

If none of these particular items are of interest, consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

I know things look bleak for the Republicans in Ohio, but have they really stooped to doctoring photos and fabricating quotes of Al Franken? I mean, really. Forget integrity; don’t Republicans have any pride?

Sorry, but I thought the photo was pretty funny in an over-the-top sort of way. That’s some first-class Photoshop work there.

Did the model know Franken’s head was going to be attached to his body, or are these the kind of photos Republicans just have laying around?

  • The new VoteVets ad: Once again – KABOOM. Remember all of the “You hate the soldiers,” crap that came out of the ReThug’s mouths? Bet it tastes a bit like a foot with a soupcon of crow now.
    But the count down begins. How long it will take for Flush Limpbag to flap his lips about this one? Tick tock! Tick tock!

    They’re “not grades you’d want to bring home to your mother.”

    But they’re still better than the grades little Shrubby often brought home to Iron Babs. Some day people will have to explain where all the damn money went.

    re: Al Franken – Zeitgeist! Paging Zeitgeist! Goat ads needed in Ohio, STAT!

  • I agree with brainiac … the photo was funny, and a damn fine Photoshop job to boot (and as someone who is Photoshop deficient, I can admire a job well done).

    However, what I want to know is to whom the release was sent — just the internal GOP folks? Voters? Media outlets?

  • Why did they put Franken’s head in Santorum’s picture? (OK OK, stolen from a commenter at Thinkprogress).

  • I think Exxon announcing its $10.5 Billion quarterly profit this close to an election is the counterpoint of the NJ Sup Ct. The Dems should simply promote this simple number, with enough money to be sure every voter sees it.

    “In the past three months, Exxon, one of the nation’s largest suppliers of gasoline, posted the second largest profit any company has ever recorded, $10.5 billion. George Bush and Dick Cheney came from the oil and gas industry. [Insert local rethug candidate name] has taken $____ from the oil and gas industry. Profits for Exxon, money for negative ads from [candidate name] – every time you fill up your tank. Isn’t it time your government worked for you, not for Exxon? Vote Democratic Nov. 7”

  • Just for tAiO, at the end of the day:

    It is not surprising that Mike DeWine is enlisting the “help” of a goat, who like him, is so far out of the mainstream of Ohio values. What is troubling is that DeWine would solicit support (and who knows just what else?) from such a brazen billy goat, who once rammed a Nun, a schoolgirl, and a grandmother, and who went through the fence behind the barn to chew on numerous stalks of marijuana.

  • Append a CB quote time:

    “The RNC’s Ken Mehlman claims the now-infamous and racially-charged “Playboy” ad in Tennessee is gone, but the truth is…. we live in a country where the truth doesn’t matter anymore.“

    [Aside: No, these guys haven’t turned lying into an artform,– rather, they’ve turned our country into a garbage dump.]

  • The number of high-profile Republican office holders calling for Rumsfeld’s ouster continues to grow. Remember, they’re all “defeatocrats,” every one of them.

    Don’t you meant that they’re Retreaticans.

    or

    Republican’ts. Can’t win the war they started.

  • Those poll numbers look pretty good to us progressives, but I don’t recall any Dems so much as hinting that we should cut back on our efforts to fight terrorism (unless you believe that torture and illegal wiretaps are essential tools in the WOT). Why are USAToday/Gallup are even asking that question? Are they entering the push-polling business?

  • “Fox News is out first: McCain 41, Obama 38, undecided 21. Not bad for a Fox News poll, right?”

    I’d say that was proof they think they can best beat Barack in 2008 and are scared to death of Hillary.

    Just an opinion.

    “We’re already hearing about how the Dems won’t have a mandate, no matter how well they do (or don’t do) in 12 days, but the latest USA Today/Gallup poll suggests the Dems’ agenda already enjoys broad approval.”

    Yah, I don’t buy that load of crap either.

  • Republican’ts. Can’t win the war they started.

    Comment by Gridlock — 10/26/2006 @ 6:31 pm

    “Republican’ts” !!!! That’s brilliant! I love it!

  • Ken Mehlmen was at Santorum headquarters in Pittsburgh today. He made a few noteworthy comments. Compare this remark,

    “I’m predicting that Lynn Swann is in a very strong place,” said Mehlman. “I think he is in the place to have an upset. He is a strong candidate, and I think that anybody who writes him off is making a big mistake.

    ”

    to what CB reported last Thursday,

    We can just about close the book on Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race. A new Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell (D) well ahead of retired football player Lynn Swann (R), 57% to 40%. Both candidates have largely wrapped support from their parties, but Rendell enjoys a big lead among unaffiliated voters, 64% to 35%.

    We can conclude from this that Melhman’s delusions extend beyond Iraq.

    Speaking of Iraq-that’s a segue I learned from CB-Melhman also admitted that BushCo.’s has been saying one thing and doing another in Iraq and oddly he thinks this is a good thing.

    Mehlman also defends President Bush’s conduct of the war in the Iraq.

    “The fact is that the stay the course rhetoric may have been said at some points, but the policy has never been stay the course,” said Mehlman. “That may have been rhetoric that people used. It may have been rhetoric the president used, but that’s not been the policy from the beginning. He has constantly evolved, and the policy will continue to evolve.”

  • I think Exxon announcing its $10.5 Billion quarterly profit this close to an election is the counterpoint of the NJ Sup Ct. The Dems should simply promote this simple number, with enough money to be sure every voter sees it. — Zeitgeist, @5

    Tin-foil hat on…
    It is my firm belief that Exxon’s “profit as usual or better” is due to the Govt paying the difference on the artificially lowered gas prices between the Labor Day and Thanksgiving. The Govt *always* pays more than market-price, when something’s “worth it”, politically. Once the elections are over and gas prices re-stabilise, the profits will be less, because we will be footing the bill *directly* (at the pump), not through the taxes.
    Tin-foil hat off…

  • “He has constantly evolved, and the policy [in Iraq] will continue to evolve.” – Ken Mehlman

    There is another word for this, which is the American Military under Boy George II, Dick Cheney and Rummy are desperately trying to keep up with the strategy changes of the terrorists, insurgents, militias and death squads in Iraq. And we are not doing it.

    At no point in the history of the last three years have we been ahead in Iraq. Not since the day we realized we could not stop the looting of the Iraqi National Museam (or whatever it’s called).

  • Thanks for the link “How to steal an election by hacking the vote.” Now we know what should have been done to secure and promote democracy properly, instead of squandering billions preaching it in the Middle East.

    Remember Schrub on the plane: “You know, we are going to win Florida — mark my words, you can write it down.” ?

    Now he’s saying: “We’ll do just fine … and we’ll win.”

    Is it because this is the mother of all nightmares that it is consigned to a Mini-Report?

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