Clipmarks | BobbyRutan's 'elections' clips

Democrat tied to Obama wins special election in Mississippi

Wed, 14 May 2008 04:26:37 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: The special election was held to fill the seat of former Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who was appointed to serve out the remainder of Sen. Trent Lott’s term last December. Wicker had never faced a competitive race since first elected in 1994, and the district gave President Bush 62 percent of the vote in 2004.

The results amount to a rebuke of the Republican strategy of trying nationalize the race by tying Childers to Sen. Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Obama held low approval ratings in the district, but the nearly $2 million that GOP groups poured into northern Mississippi failed to make the race a referendum on the national political landscape.

A GOP House leadership aide told Politico last week that “if we don’t win in Mississippi, I think you are going to see a lot of people running around here looking for windows to jump out of.”

Clip Source: www.politico.com

Democrats picked up a northern Mississippi House seat in one of the most conservative-minded districts in the country Tuesday night -- an upset that will reverberate darkly through a House Republican caucus already reeling from losses in special elections in Illinois and Louisiana.

With all precincts reporting, the Democratic nominee, Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers, defeated Republican Greg Davis, 54 to 46 percent. Childers was able to expand his three-point margin of victory from the race's first round of balloting last month -- even as he faced an onslaught of Republican attacks.

Republicans dispatched a lineup of heavy hitters in the campaign’s final week, including a pre-election stop Monday by Vice President Dick Cheney. President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and First Lady Laura Bush recorded automated calls urging voters to support Davis.

"His victory has sent a political thunderbolt across America tonight," DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen said

Clip Source: www.sourcewatch.org

Clip Source: files.meetup.com

Tags: look out above, republicans jumping out of windows

Miss USA 2008 - is a Democrat "Ha Berlusconi Take that!"

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:26:32 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Italian opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi

Mr Berlusconi, the centre-right's candidate in elections this weekend, was quoted as telling local media that the left had "no taste" in women.

Clip Source: tv.yahoo.com

A 26-year-old entrepreneur from Texas was named Miss USA on Friday, besting 50 other beauty queens for the coveted crown

Crystle Stewart, of Missouri City, Texas, runs a party-planning and motivational speaking company, as well as modeling professionally. She says she wants to dedicate her life to international philanthropy

"I want to talk to people about how to set a goal and achieve it," she told The Associated Press after the show. "Because I just achieved my goal."

Stewart was headed for the publicity circuit. She said she was eager to travel and spread her message of self-improvement to young women. She noted she was one of only a handful of black woman crowned Miss USA in the pageant's 57-year history

"I think the United States is coming together," she said, citing the historic presidential candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. She declined to name her preference

"I don't know, we'll see. Fundamentally, I'm a Democrat," she said.

Clip Source: cache.daylife.com

Clip Source: www.ci.mocity.tx.us

Tags: democratic, women

Republicans See Storm Clouds Gathering

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:27:21 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: "It's no mystery," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). "You have a very unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand."

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain (Ariz.) helped Oberweis raise money, and the NRCC pumped more than $1.2 million into the district -- using more than 20 percent of its cash on hand -- to no avail.

"Even if it was mostly about Jim Oberweis, it's a terrible sign," Rothenberg said. "It adds to Democratic energy and further depresses the Republicans. And you can't dismiss the idea that there is an atmospheric advantage for the Democrats."

Barack Obama campaigned on behalf of Bill Foster, who took over Dennis Hastert's vacated seat.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Week of Bad News Highlights Difficult Challenges for GOP in Fall Elections

ast week, Republicans on Capitol Hill were suffering a run of bad news that could hold dire implications for the campaign season.

It started with the loss last weekend of the seat held for two decades by former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert

It got worse when Republicans lost potentially strong challengers to Democratic senators in South Dakota and New Jersey, and failed to field anyone to oppose the reelection bid of Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)

The latest blow came with the revelation that the former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his own bank accounts

If Republicans needed any more evidence of how difficult this fall may be, the past week had it all, analysts said

Clip Source: pinkdome.com

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

if you're a Republican strategist, you just want to go into the bomb shelter

Tags: can't get over the mccain-bush love fest

Pelosi's Delegate Stance Boosts Obama

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:15:39 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: "But what if one candidate has won the popular vote and the other candidate has won the delegates?" asked Stephanopoulos.

"But it's a delegate race," Pelosi replied. "The way the system works is that the delegates choose the nominee."

Clip Source: blogs.abcnews.com

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Friday that it would be "harmful" to Democrats if superdelegates were to give the party's presidential nomination to a candidate who is trailing in the delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses.

"If the votes of the superdelegates overturn what's happened in the elections," said Pelosi, "it would be harmful to the Democratic Party."

Although Pelosi offered her assessment without directly referencing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., her comments lend considerable support to the Illinois Democrat.

Obama leads Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in pledged delegates: 1,396 to 1,241. Because of the proportional system used by the Democratic Party to allocate delegates, Obama is widely expected to remain in front of Clinton in pledged delegates at the conclusion of the primary season.

Pelosi argued that superdelegates should follow the pledged-delegate, not the popular-vote, leader.

Tags: obama expected to prevail

Pakistani vote-riggng scheme obtained by CNN, CBS

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 03:48:44 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: The dossier also accuses Musharraf's regime of diverting US aid into political dirty tricks, charging that "ninety percent of the equipment that the USA gave the government of Pakistan to fight terrorism ... is being used to monitor and to keep a check on political opponents."

Pakistani Senator Latif Khosa told CBS, "The ISI has set up a mega-computer system which has the capacity to hack any of the computers in Pakistan, and it is connected with the Election Commission of Pakistan's computers and therefore they will overturn the results." Khosa also charged that computers are being used to change the voter rolls

Clip Source: rawstory.com

At the time she was assassinated, Pakistani opposition leader Benezir Bhutto was just hours away from meeting with two US lawmakers to hand them a dossier alleging that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) was plotting with its Election Commission to rig the upcoming elections

According to CBS News, which has obtained a copy of the report, it "alleges widespread plans to stuff ballot boxes, rig voting lists, and intimidate, even kill, opposition voters

CNN quotes the document more specifically as saying, "Where an opposing candidate is strong in an area, they have planned to create a conflict at the polling station, even killing people if necessary, to stop polls at least three to four hours

The report, titled "Another Stain on the Face of Democracy," was compiled from Bhutto's own sources within the police and intelligence

It was to be given to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)

Bhutto did not trust the Bush administration

Tags: bhutto, musharraf, pakistan, democracy

Ohio & Colorado: Electronic Voting Unfit for Elections

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 01:00:13 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: California, Ohio and Florida have chosen to use scanning machines that count paper ballots electronically

"I was surprised," Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman said Friday of the failures his office found. "It's an awful position to be put in, but I feel strongly it's important that this equipment be secure and accurately count a vote."

Clip Source: ap.google.com

Colorado and other states have found critical flaws in the accuracy and security of their electronic voting machines, forcing officials to scramble to return to the paper ballots they abandoned after the Florida debacle of 2000

In December alone, top election officials in Ohio and Colorado declared that widely used voting equipment is unfit for elections

"Every system that is out there, one state or another has found that they are no good," said John Gideon of the advocacy group Voters Unite

The swing states of California, Ohio and Florida have found that security on touch-screen voting machines is inadequate. Testers have been able to disable the systems and even change vote totals

researchers in Ohio and Colorado found that electronic voting systems could be corrupted with magnets or with Treos and other similar handheld devices

two kinds of Sequoia Voting Systems electronic voting machines

were decertified because of security weaknesses, including a lack of password protection

Tags: bush's illegitmate elections will always be under

Democratic Voters' Fervor Worries Republicans

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:46:15 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: So far, Iowans who have donated $200 or more to the presidential race have given Democrats a total of more than $503,000, compared with $376,000 to Republicans. That's a sharp reversal from 2000 when Iowa residents had given $205,000 in $200-or-more donations to Republican candidates and just $51,000 to Democrats.

Behind Republican's uneasiness are voters like Wes Von Schlotterback of Des Moines. Mr. Von Schlotterback served twice in past elections as a county chairman for Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes. But this time he says he plans to stay home the night of the caucuses for lack of any good choices. He says he sees the same lack of enthusiasm among many of his Republican friends.

"For the first time ever I'm thinking of voting for a Democrat -- for Obama," he says. He describes the Illinois senator as "genuine."

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

As presidential hopefuls from both parties rally support across Iowa ahead of Thursday's caucuses, Democratic voters are showing greater fervor for the race than their Republican counterparts, a difference that could have repercussions throughout the 2008 campaign.

At its simplest, there is a political energy gap.

Democrats appear to be more fired up about their party nominating contest than are Republicans. Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire have been turning out at rallies in greater numbers than Republicans and giving more money to candidates

In Iowa, polls indicate Democrats will be attending the Thursday night caucuses in record numbers

their fervor also reflects their general approval of the party's three front-runners

That suggests that their supporters would unite around the eventual nominee

By contrast the Republican field is deeply divided

Democrats have so far raised $223 million, compared with $152 million for Republican candidates

Tags: bush is a uniter afterall, he has united independents and democrats

Texan Republican faces stunning defeat: Democrats riding wave in GOP Gerrymandered State.

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:03:52 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: This election is a sign of the future. In less than 2 years, Texas Democrats have picked up 8 state house seats with rumors circulating that another may be on the way. Before the primaries are over, the gains made by the Republican's have been cut in half while we still compete on the same Republican favored, unconstitutional, Tom DeLay sponsored map. We sit on the edge of a Democratic House because we have won special elections, general elections, and the hearts and minds of voters across the state.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman, Boyd Richie stated simply:

Dan Barrett won in a district drawn by Republicans to elect a Republican, and his victory is a slap in the face to Speaker Tom Craddick and the failed Republican leadership in this state. Voters have sent a message that they are tired of "business as usual" in Austin and want leaders who will replace the pay-to-play politics of the Republican Party with a state government that works for all Texans."

Clip Source: www.burntorangereport.com

Dan Barrett's victory tonight has implications beyond better representation for Fort Worth residents

In 2001, Republican's drew a map they thought would elect 102 R's and 48 D's. They were wrong as only 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats were elected in 2002

Still, it was a striking blow

The result was the rise of the neo-conservative, uber Republican Tom Craddick who slashed the budget and cut social programs like CHIP and education funding. To this day that funding has never been restored even with surpluses in the state budget

In 2006, Democrats won 6 seats plus Donna Howard's special election. In 2007 we welcomed Kirk England to the Democratic Party and now we have Dan Barrett as member of our caucus as well. We've not even yet had a single vote cast the 2008 primaries, and there are now 71 Democrats in Texas House- a stunning and speedy reversal based on the same map that was drawn to have only 42 Democratic seats

District 97 was not drawn to be a Democratic seat

Barrett won with 52.2%

Tags: texans rejecting gop criminal tom delay's plans

Republicans Dirty Election Trick Delayed But Still Alive

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:18:22 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Of note is the manner in which they left the state to go ahead an allocate 2 electoral votes to the overall winner. One presumes that Republicans even crafted that in anticipation of a move towards this happening in every state.

This kind of voting is closer to popular vote but with each state giving its 2 electoral (senator) votes to the overall winner it favors the republicans. The republicans usually win a majority of states because they are supported in the rinky dink states like North Dakota and Wyoming.

Gotta love those Republicans. Want to give Iraq Democracy (laugh snort) but craft skewed elections in the U.S.A. Stinking Jerks.

Clip Source: www.sfgate.com

A California ballot measure that could give Republicans an edge in next year's presidential campaign by changing the way the state awards its electoral college votes won't make the June primary ballot and is now headed for November, backers said Thursday

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, opposes the idea because he says it would change the rules in the middle of the game. That made it harder to raise money for the initiative

California gives its largest-in-the-nation cache of 55 electoral votes to whoever wins statewide. Under the proposed measure, just two votes would be given to the statewide winner, with the rest allocated to the winner of each congressional district

If the measure qualified for the November ballot, it is still unclear whether it would apply to the presidential election vote to be held on the same day. One expert said it could, as long as proponents word their measure so it clearly states its effect on the 2008 race

Tags: if they can't win it they can always steal it agai

Australia's Leading Candidate would Exit Iraq and sign Kyoto Protocol

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 06:20:13 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan

Clip Source: www.csmonitor.com

Australia's prime minister John Howard is far behind in opinion polls heading into the Nov. 24 federal elections

Many voters yearn for a fresh face – and none comes fresher than 50-year-old Labor leader, Kevin Rudd whose squeaky clean image and boyish appearance has earned him the nickname "Harry Potter.

Mr. Rudd is vigorously pushing the line that the prime minister – 18 years his senior – is stale, tired, and out of ideas

"How could it be that we're one of the only two developed countries in the world to refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol?" he asked. "I don't understand, I just don't get it."

He would withdraw Australia's 580 combat troops from Iraq, a conflict he described as Canberra's biggest foreign-policy mistake since Vietnam, to which Australia also contributed forces.

Rudd was widely judged to have performed better in the debate, with a live audience of undecided voters on one commercial television network favoring him 65 to 35 percent.

Clip Source: www.theage.com.au

No stopping him: Kevin Rudd

Tags: australia, kevin rudd, elections, iraq, kyoto protocol, global warming

"Out of Iraq" Polish Party wins National Elections

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:26:45 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan

Clip Source: www.philly.com

A pro-business opposition party that wants Poland's troops out of Iraq ousted Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's government in parliamentary elections Sunday, as Poles opted for leadership offering a more cooperative approach to the European Union

Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party led with 41.1 percent of the vote after 11 percent of the ballots were counted early Monday, and exit polls for TVN24 private television showed the party projected to win 226 seats in the 460-seat Sejm lower house

"Today I am the happiest person in the world," a teary-eyed Tusk told supporters. "People in Poland voted today to chose their own fate

Both Tusk and Kaczynski favor good relations with the United States, but Tusk argues Poland has not gotten enough from its close ties with Washington and wants the country's 900-strong detachment in Iraq to come home. He also says Poland should drive a tough bargain in return for hosting a missile defense base.

Clip Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn

Donald Tusk

Tags: donald tusk, determining their own fate, poland, iraq, war, terror, lies, bush, conservatives

GOP / Bush - Divorce or Separation?

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:09:46 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Like a rock, only dumber.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

When it comes to looking for a presidential nominee, Republican voters may not want a full divorce, but they certainly want at least a trial separation from President Bush.

Clip Source: www.inthesetimes.com

President Bush and former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

In the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out Wednesday night, about half of all Republicans (48 percent) want a candidate who takes a “different approach” from that of the president,

Clip Source: postpolitical.com

(image

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

These results highlight the fine line Republican presidential candidates have tried to walk when it comes to Bush. They have been distancing themselves from the president

Clip Source: bloggernista.com

John McCain

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Giuliani is the candidate of choice for each of these groups, except those who believe moral issues are most important.

Clip Source: liberalcollegekid.com

<The best the Republicans can come up with…

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Thompson leads with that group 24 percent to 19 percent over McCain

Clip Source: www.libertyfilmfestival.com

Sen. Thompson with his wife.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

“A near majority of Republican primary voters are saying they want someone different from W.

Clip Source: satiricalpolitical.com

ID-IOT!”

Tags: can i get a restraining order?, bush, republicans paying the price, conservatives, politics, elections

Senator Domenici to Retire: New Mexico trending Democratic

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:23:21 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Sen. Pete Domenici is retiring after a generation as a dominant Republican voice on budget matters in Congress, deferring to health concerns after six terms in office.

The 75-year-old New Mexico senator scheduled a formal announcement in late afternoon Thursday in Albuquerque. In a draft statement, he said he has a progressive disease that can cause dysfunction in the parts of the brain important for organization, decision-making and control of mood and behavior.

Domenici spent Wednesday telling Senate colleagues that he has frontotemporal lobar degeneration, or FTLD, a type of dementia. Its name refers to the slow deterioration of affected sections of the brain, the front and lower sides — areas that control such things as language and behavior.

In political terms, Domenici's decision to retire represents yet another blow to Senate Republicans, who lost their majority in 2006 and face a hostile political environment little more than a year before the 2008 elections.

AP Photo:

Tags: republican, democrat, conservative, liberal, politics, election 2008, bush

Senator Craig's Efforts Stalled

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:04:58 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: I'm guiltocent of the charges.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

A Minnesota judge on Thursday refused to let Sen. Larry Craig take back the guilty plea he made after a sex sting arrest, raising the possibility the Idaho Republican will resign his Senate seat as planned.

Judge Charles Porter of the Hennepin County District Court ruled a week after Craig's lawyers contended at a hearing that he had panicked and had been rushed into pleading guilty after an undercover officer arrested him in an airport men's room.

Porter ruled Craig's guilty plea was "accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and ... supported by the evidence."

Craig has become a major embarrassment for Republicans, particularly since they promote their party as the one that stands for conservative family values.

prosecutor Christopher Renz told the hearing there was a "series of invasions" during the encounter, starting when Craig gazed for two minutes into the officer's stall.

Clip Source: theculturewarrior.com

Peek-a-boo.

Tags: family values republicans and conservatives, hypocrisy, liars, politics, elections, senate, congress

Under Bush, EPA pursuing fewer Polluters.

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:17:58 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: Critics of the agency say its flagging efforts have emboldened polluters to flout U.S. environmental laws, threatening progress in cleaning the air, protecting wildlife, eliminating hazardous materials, and countless other endeavors overseen by the EPA.

"You don't get cleanup, and you don't get deterrence,"

The actual number of investigators available at any time is even smaller, agents said, because they sometimes are diverted to other duties, such as service on EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson's eight-person security detail.

"Environmental crimes are simply not in the U.S. attorney top 10 priorities," said one senior EPA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the news media.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The Environmental Protection Agency's pursuit of criminal cases against polluters has dropped off sharply during the Bush administration, with the number of prosecutions, new investigations and total convictions all down by more than a third, according to Justice Department and EPA data

The number of civil lawsuits filed against defendants who refuse to settle environmental cases was down nearly 70 percent between fiscal years 2002 and 2006, compared with a four-year period in the late 1990s

Critics of the agency say its flagging efforts have emboldened polluters to flout U.S. environmental laws, threatening progress in cleaning the air, protecting wildlife, eliminating hazardous materials, and countless other endeavors overseen by the EPA

EPA now employs 172 investigators in its Criminal Investigation Division, below the minimum of 200 agents required by the 1990 Pollution Prosecution Act, signed by President George H.W. Bush

Tags: corporatism, the alimighty dollar, pollution, epa, bush, conservatives, liberals, republicans, democrats, elections