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Oct
17
Will the real anti-Americans please stand up?
Filed Under Elections, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 7 Comments
We must not define who is and is not American by virtue of how much any one of us holds opinions that are different from anyone else’s in this country. That was given a name in the middle of the last century: McCarthyism, and unless people are interested in updating it for the 21st Century, I suggest we end this sick slide we’re seeing and hearing and reading about. You want to talk about what must not be tolerated?
[ACORN spokesperson Brian] Kettenring said that a senior ACORN staffer in Cleveland, after appearing on television this week, got an e-mail that said she “is going to have her life ended.”
A female staffer in Providence, R.I., got a threatening call from someone who said words to the effect of “We know you get off work at 9,” then uttered racial epithets, he said.
McClatchy is withholding the women’s names because of the threats.
Separately, vandals broke into the group’s Boston and Seattle offices and stole computers, Kettenring said.
A Republican women’s club in San Bernardino County sent out a recent newsletter with a photo of Barack Obama surrounded by fried chicken, watermelon and ribs, sparking widespread outrage and rebuke from GOP leaders and Democrats.
The illustration shows the Democratic presidential candidate’s head atop a donkey’s body on a bogus $10 bill referred to as “Obama Bucks.” Inscribed on the money are the words “United States Food Stamps” surrounded by stereotypical African American food.
…
“My daughter who is 16 was standing over my shoulder when I opened the e-mail, and her mouth dropped wide open,” [club member and African-American, Acquanetta] Warren said. “I actually turned the screen away and sent her to her room so she wouldn’t see. I don’t want to talk to anyone; I want a written apology so the public knows that this is not right and this is not representative of the way Republicans think.”
From another article about the same incident:
An African American member of the group told the newspaper that she cried when she saw the artwork:“This is what keeps African-Americans from joining the Republican Party,” [Sheila Raines] said. “I’m really hurt. I cried for 45 minutes.”
People want to say that they don’t like people who are different from them? Then for God’s sake just say that, own it and structure your own life to fulfill that unrealistic and homogenous life you want. But don’t you try to define for me what is and isn’t American and then tell me that I’m anti-American because I seek to understand, get to know, empathize, engage with and argue for people who aren’t like me. This country is diverse and populated by multitudes of people with no single, unentangled history, pure unto itself. Including people who don’t like what our government does and speak out about it.
If there’s one sin I’ve known since I was a young child, it’s xenophobia – because it’s in the Jewish prayer books for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. And it’s as big a sin as they come. And if it’s in my book of prayers, don’t even try to convince me that it’s not in the prayer books of an awful lot of people who follow organized religion.
I got news for you, Michele Bachmann: Americans elected all those people you want investigated as possibly anti-American, in fact, more Americans voted for all those Americans than voted for you. You want to define who is an American? I suggest you check with those voters first, because I’m guessing few of them have an interest in your conclusory definition of who is and isn’t anti-American.
I could spit bullets I’m so angry and disgusted.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:38 pm October 17th, 2008 in Elections, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 7 Comments
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Oct
17
Fairfield, OH resident displays Obama hanging in effigy, admits racism
Filed Under Barack Obama, Race, Social Issues, WH2008 | 17 Comments
I’m sorry, Kevin DeWine, but here’s more evidence (with a video too) that there are racists in Ohio who will not vote for someone because they are black. I know – you just don’t want to believe it. I wish I was wrong and you were right.
Mike Lunsford hung the ghost in his yard. He spoke to us off-camera, saying his views could hurt his employers business … but he says make no mistake: He doesn’t want an African American running the country.
Lunsford says he believes Barack Obama is not a “full blooded American.” And he says the United States is a white, Christian nation – and only with white Christians should be in power.
And the neighbors’ opinion?
Vickie Crowe lives next door. She’s an Obama supporter.
“What did you think when you first saw that?” Vickie Crowe/neighbor: “Well actually my 5 year old son says Obama’s hanging upside down. He’s what? He’s hanging upside down. It’s the neighbor’s ghost. I took it as a little bit of a racist statement because my grandson’s mixed and it hurt a little bit.”
What would you do? What can you do? What can we do?
Hattip Electronic Village.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:09 pm October 17th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Race, Social Issues, WH2008 | 17 Comments
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Oct
17
Reason #20 and 21 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Endorsements, Joe Biden, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 3 Comments
#21: Washington Post endorsment – notable because its the paper of record in our nation’s capital.
#20: Chicago Tribune endorsement – first time EVER for a Democrat. In addition to the laudatory accolades becoming familiar to readers of Obama endorsements, the Tribune provides more specifics than some other editorials as to why not McCain, and in there, includes, again, the running mate decision:
We might have counted on John McCain to correct his party’s course. We like McCain. We endorsed him in the Republican primary in Illinois. In part because of his persuasion and resolve, the U.S. stands to win an unconditional victory in Iraq.
It is, though, hard to figure John McCain these days. He argued that President Bush’s tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, but he now supports them. He promises a balanced budget by the end of his first term, but his tax cut plan would add an estimated $4.2 trillion in debt over 10 years. He has responded to the economic crisis with an angry, populist message and a misguided, $300 billion proposal to buy up bad mortgages.
McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate–but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin’s exposure to the public. But it’s clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment’s notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country.
Update: Please read this post by The Moderate Voice contributor Elrod regarding the Trib’s endorsement. It offers good context.
My list of reasons continues to go untapped at this point because these endorsements, unlike in previous years, do carry weight because of the unique nature of the race and in particular because six of the nine I’ve highlighted come from papers that endorsed George W. Bush in 2004.
On November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.
Here are the previous reasons: Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:48 pm October 17th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Endorsements, Joe Biden, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 3 Comments
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Oct
17
McCain campaign responds re: Ohio GOP loss to SOS Brunner
Filed Under Courts, Elections, Jennifer Brunner, John McCain, Law, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | Comments Off
From the Ohio Republican Party website:
“Today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court does not address violations of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Rather, the Court ruled that Congress had likely not authorized private individuals or political parties to bring suit under the section of HAVA requiring voter registration verification through data-matching. It remains our belief that American citizens should be guaranteed that their legitimate votes are not wiped away by illegally cast ballots. What is no longer in question is the partisan nature of Jennifer Brunner’s efforts to minimize the level of fairness and transparency in this election.”
Again, just to clarify: the ORP/McCain campaign is trying to sell the theory that:
-if the information for 200,000 voter registration mismatches (to database information on social security numbers and/or driver’s licenses)
-isn’t given to and made available from the 88 county boards of elections to the Ohio Republican Party for their potential public records requests, so that the ORP can then challenge every single one of those mismatches and cause each of those voters to cast a provisional ballot, which will only be verified and counted in a close election,
-then the possibility that potentially 200,000 votes (not provisional) that might be cast on 11/4/08 will be votes cast by people who are in fact ineligible to be Ohio voters is so great that properly matched Ohio voters should fear that their own eligible vote could be “wiped away by illegally cast ballots.”
Again, the U.S. Supreme Court decision didn’t rule on whether Brunner has in fact violated anything in HAVA. It ruled that the Ohio Republican Party is not likely to prevail in a federal action on the question of whether it’s a viable complainant.
However, as the New York Times article states, as do other articles over time, a very large percentage of mismatches are due to government official and database error, not attempts to cast votes by otherwise ineligible voters.
Again, Joe the Plumber and Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted, both individuals who have voted Republican, would be subject to challenges based on voter mismatch (as would Ohio Democratic Party chair, Chris Redfern) and be forced to cast provisional ballots if the ORP’s position were to be extended.
Joe and John (and Chris) may be a lot of things, but I do feel confident that they all are eligible Ohio voters. I think.
For more coverage: Ohio Daily Blog and Plunderbund.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:19 pm October 17th, 2008 in Courts, Elections, Jennifer Brunner, John McCain, Law, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | Comments Off
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Oct
17
[audio] WLST on the BBC, 10/17/08
Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, Jill Miller Zimon, Joe Biden, John McCain, Media, Ohio, Voting, WH2008 | 3 Comments
Who is Joe the Plumber, does Ohio set the country’s course for the next ten years, who do I think will win the presidential race?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:49 pm October 17th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, Jill Miller Zimon, Joe Biden, John McCain, Media, Ohio, Voting, WH2008 | 3 Comments
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Oct
17
NYT clarifies Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party further
Filed Under Courts, Elections, Jennifer Brunner, Law, Ohio, Politics, Republicans, Voting, WH2008 | 1 Comment
This New York Times article, dated tomorrow in its URL, further clarifies today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that will allow Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to let the 88 county boards of elections proceed unimpeded by public record requests from the Ohio Republican Party in its effort to hunt down and challenge any voter who may have mismatched information between their registration and their driver’s license or social security number:
A 2002 federal law, the Help America Vote Act, or HAVA, requires states to check voter registration applications against government databases like those for driver’s license records. Names that do not match are flagged. Ohio Republicans sought to require Ms. Brunner to provide information about mismatches to local officials.
Those officials could use information to require voters to cast provisional ballots rather than regular ones. They could also allow partisan poll workers to challenge people on the lists. Given Democratic success in registering new voters this year, those actions would probably affect that party’s supporters disproportionately.
Again, ironically, Joe the Plumber ends up being a better standard-bearer for this problem than he does for Barack Obama’s or John McCain’s economic and tax plans.
Legal experts mentioned in the article applaud the decision by SCOTUS:
Edward B. Foley, a law professor at Ohio State, said the Supreme Court’s action in letting state authorities handle matters in the face of a late challenge was consistent with a general premise of election law. “Federal court intervention is a last resort, even if it’s not at the last minute,” Professor Foley said.
…
Voting experts and state election officials added that many voters were likely to be flagged erroneously because the databases used to check voter registrations were prone to errors. Most non-matches are the result of typographical errors by government officials, computer errors, use of nicknames or middle initials, not voter ineligibility, they said.
In one audit of match failures in 2004 by New York City election officials, more than 80 percent of the failures were found to have resulted from errors by government officials; most of the remaining failures were because of immaterial discrepancies between the two records. [my emphasis]
Eighty percent of failures were from government officials’ errors. The remaining were immaterial discrepancies. And yet the Ohio Republican Party wanted to get information on all 200,000 mismatches from each of the 88 boards of elections and then use that information to challenge every single one that might vote for a Democrat.
Why are these machinations so extreme and important to Ohio and Ohioans? Because, as the NYT article reminds us:
In 2004, President George W. Bush won Ohio by a margin of about 118,000 votes. During that race, litigation over Republican plans to challenge about 35,000 voters went to Justice John Paul Stevens on the eve of the election. Justice Stevens said it was too close to the election to intervene, but he added that he expected both sides to act in good faith. The Republicans dropped plans for their challenges.
Existential conversation for another day: how is it that the notion of “patriotism” does not apply across the board in terms of making sure that as many legal votes as possible are permitted and counted but rather gets wielded by legal complainants in a way that completely violates the purpose of public records, public office and voter protection laws?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:20 pm October 17th, 2008 in Courts, Elections, Jennifer Brunner, Law, Ohio, Politics, Republicans, Voting, WH2008 | 1 Comment
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Oct
17
Fave analyst Lyle Denniston on Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party
Filed Under Courts, Elections, Law, Ohio, Politics, Republicans, Voting, WH2008 | 5 Comments
I’ve read the very brief per curiam opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court in Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party and definitely appreciate this explanation of it from Lyle Denniston who writes and reports at SCOTUSblog.
On the definitive nature of the decision:
The Supreme Court, acting on the case after the Circuit Justice, Justice John Paul Stevens referred the matter to the full bench, not only granted the secretary of state’s plea to stay the federal judge’s temporary restraining order, but actually vacated it, thus removing any legal obligation spelled out in that order.
On the challenge itself:
The state GOP had complained that the Ohio Secretary of State had violated her duty, under federal election procedures law, to share with county election boards the lists of voters whose names in a voter registration database do not match data in the state’s drivers’ license files. The GOP argued that the secretary of state had put a stop to required efforts to pass along the non-matching data so that local election officials could deal with it. Lack of matches could be the basis for challenges.
The Supreme Court said it was not expressing any opinion on whether the state official had violated any duty under federal law. But, it said, it was not persuaded that the federal law gives a private party — like the state GOP — a right to go to court to enforce those provisions in the Help America Vote Act.
Also, from Election Law Blog:
In other words, it looks like individuals cannot sue for violations of this aspect of HAVA; it would fall to the DOJ to bring such suit.
What is the upshot of this ruling? It means that the Secretary need not provide the “no match” data to the county boards, and therefore the ORP won’t be able to make its public information requests to get the data to raise voter challenges at the polls.
I haven’t thought enough about the private right of action question but I do think the Court reached the right result for a different reason. As I’ve long maintained, courts need to be aggressively asserting laches in election cases. If cases reasonably could have been brought earlier, but are brought just before the election, courts should be wary of entertaining such claims to interfere with the upcoming election.
That bold part? Also known as: voter intimidation and voter suppression tactics.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:14 pm October 17th, 2008 in Courts, Elections, Law, Ohio, Politics, Republicans, Voting, WH2008 | 5 Comments
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Oct
17
Ohio Sec’y of State Brunner on SCOTUS voter matching decision
Filed Under Elections, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments
From the Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner:
The United States Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner was correct in protecting an estimated 200,000 Ohioans from being disenfranchised in this historic election.
Because of the Ohio Republican Party lawsuit, eligible Ohio voters could have been forced to use provisional ballots if a lower court’s divided decision stands. Provisional ballots are not counted until 10 days after Election Day and are subject to partisan wrangling and legal fights.
“Our nation’s highest court has protected the voting rights of all Ohioans, allowing our bipartisan elections officials to continue preparing for a successful November election. We filed this appeal to protect all Ohio voters from illegal challenges and barriers that unfairly silence the votes of some to the advantage of others,” Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said.
As Secretary Brunner noted on Thursday, she appealed a lower court ruling to the US Supreme Court because no eligible Ohio voter should be forced to use a provisional ballot, which is subject to partisan attacks and legal wrangling after Election Day. Ohioans who have followed the law and simply want to exercise their right to vote should not be penalized because of federal government red tape, database matching errors and computer glitches,” according to the Secretary.
Nothing in the inbox yet from the Ohio Republican Party, but, again, with the face of mismatching voter records that lead to provisional ballots being Joe the Plumber and Ohio House Speaker and Republican Jon Husted, I look forward to reading their response.
“Now that the nation’s highest court has ruled in favor of Ohio voters, I encourage everyone to support the bipartisan system of elections administration in our state. I ask all involved to stop the legal maneuvers that unnecessarily shake public confidence. We will continue to work with our local election officials to successfully prepare for an unprecedented turnout and a fair election process,” Secretary Brunner commented.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:53 pm October 17th, 2008 in Elections, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments
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Oct
17
BREAKING: US Supreme Court sides w/Ohio Sec’y of State Brunner
Filed Under Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments
BREAKING (and updated) From the Plain Dealer:
The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on verification procedures for hundreds of thousands of new voter registrations. Read the full opinion.
The decision is the latest in a string of back-and-forth rulings through the court system as Republicans challenged Brunner, a Democrat, over how identities are checked. On Oct. 9, a federal judge ordered the secretary of state to check the names against databases such as driver records and Social Security lists. Then a federal appeals court sided with Brunner. The full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals swung back to the GOP side. Brunner said she would abide by the ruling — but then appealed to the top court.
I’ll take time to read the opinion, as you can too with the link above. Thanks to the PD for posting.
I originally posted/quoted from the AP story.
Hattip to tweet which came from someone I follow who saw the announcement on MSNBC as breaking, but MSNBC online doesn’t have anything posted yet about it.
More commentary & analysis as it becomes available.
SCOTUS Blog and Fox News.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:01 pm October 17th, 2008 in Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments
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Oct
17
Journalist reporting @Palin rally gets kicked
Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | Comments Off
After the speech was over I was walking around getting peoples’ reactions to it when I wandered into several clusters of sign waving Obama supporters outside the stadium area. They were surrounded by McCain-Palin folks and both sides were yelling at each other.
I sidled up to one of the Obama supporters and asked why they were there, what they were trying to accomplish.
As he was telling me a large, bearded man in full McCain-Palin campaign regalia got in his face to yell at him.
“Hey, hey,” I said. “I’m trying to interview him. Just a minute, okay?”
The man began to say something about how of course I was interviewing the Obama people when suddenly, from behind us, the sound of a pro-Obama rap song came blaring out of the windows of a dorm building. We all turned our heads to see Obama signs in the windows.
This was met with curses, screams and chants of “U.S.A” by McCain-Palin folks who crowded under the windows trying to drown it out and yell at the person playing the stereo.
It was a moment of levity in an otherwise very tense situation and so I let out a gentle chuckle and shook my head.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?!” the large bearded man said. His face was turning red. “Yeah, that’s real funny…” he said.
And then he kicked the back of my leg, buckling my right knee and sending me sprawling onto the ground.
From my position there I saw the bottoms of a number of feet almost accidentally stomping me to death as the two political camps screamed back and forth, the music continued to blare and some of the Obama crowd moved the large bearded man and his friends away. When I was helped to my feet the bearded man was walking away quickly.
I recommend reading the full entry.
Here’s the story Killian filed on the rally itself and here’s Mark Binker of the News-Record with the backstory of the rally, the concerns and the incident with Killian.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:49 am October 17th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | Comments Off
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Oct
17
What if this was the McCain who’d been campaigning 24/7?
Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, Joe Biden, John McCain, Politics, Sarah Palin, Vice President, WH2008 | 7 Comments
John McCain lauded Barack Obama last night:
I don’t want it getting out of this room, but my opponent is an impressive fellow in many ways,” McCain said. “Political opponents can have a little trouble seeing the best in each other. But I’ve had a few glimpses of this man at his best and I admire his great skill, energy and determination. It’s not for nothing, but he’s inspired many folks in his own party and beyond. Senator Obama talks about making history and he’s made quite a bit of it already. There was a time when the mere invitation of an African-American citizen to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage and an insult. Today is a world away from the cruelty and prideful bigotry of that time – and good riddance.
What if McCain’s behavior for all these months of campaigning mirrored, reflected and embodied that exact sense and tone, even in the toughest disagreements? If his advisors and spokesmen did too? If his campaign ads did too?
I voted for Hillary Clinton, albeit reluctantly. I adore Joe Biden, but it’s taken a lot to say I’m a real supporter of Barack Obama, even for all my reasons. If John McCain’s behavior supported the feelings he expressed last night, how might things be different now – especially for all the independents and moderates? Replace the image that so many have called, “McNasty” with the one from last night.
The Washington Post endorsement pins the problem on McCain’s choice of running mate, not once, but twice:
The choice is made easy in part by Mr. McCain’s disappointing campaign, above all his irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president.
…
But the stress of a campaign can reveal some essential truths, and the picture of Mr. McCain that emerged this year is far from reassuring. To pass his party’s tax-cut litmus test, he jettisoned his commitment to balanced budgets. He hasn’t come up with a coherent agenda, and at times he has seemed rash and impulsive. And we find no way to square his professed passion for America’s national security with his choice of a running mate who, no matter what her other strengths, is not prepared to be commander in chief.
But I would say it’s more because of the venom and shallowness that the running mate has injected into the campaign.
If I were a campaign advisor, I would have advised McCain to express, reflect and embody, all along, the beliefs and sentiments he stated at the Alfred Smith Memorial Dinner last night (see the video here) – and then fight. That’s more or less what Obama has done, and look where it’s gotten him.
Bonus addition: This AP story underscores all the points just made:
Since September, McCain has lost ground on nearly every quality tested in the [AP-Yahoo News] poll, including lower scores for being likable, decisive, honest, competent, intelligent and inspiring.
He’s also lost ground for understanding ordinary people’s problems, caring about “people like you” and improving America’s international standing….
I know what they mean.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:27 am October 17th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Joe Biden, John McCain, Politics, Sarah Palin, Vice President, WH2008 | 7 Comments
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