More Election Shenanigans
Democrats took a pounding of historic proportions at the polls this month. Yet given the level of resistance to what they have been doing to our country, the beating should have been even worse. The reason it wasn’t: voter fraud.
From Minnesota, the state that sat obnoxious professional clown Al Franken in the Senate despite his having lost to Norm Coleman:
It would be naive not to expect Democrats to cheat. If you can embrace a moral creed of “If it feels good, do it; if a baby results, kill it,” you’re not going to have any qualms about canceling out legitimate votes.
Via Hot Air, on a tip from J.
Number of Vets in Congress goes up in 2010 Midterm election
There are a total of 535 legislators in Congress – 435 House members and 100 Senators.
Many of us here have talked about the absolute necessity of seeing veterans of military service among those who make our nation’s laws, for obvious reasons.
Well, take heart veterans – we’re better off today in that department than we were on November 1st.
Congressional Quarterly reports that the freshman class of the 112th Congress includes 25 military veterans, with three in the Senate and the rest in the U.S. House. All of the incoming House military vets are Republicans.
There are 120 military veterans in the current Congress, according to the Congressional Research Service. Their ranks include 25 senators and 95 House members (including one delegate).
I’m not sure if all the current incumbent vets kept their seats, however if they did, we’d have 142 veterans in the House and 28 in the Senate. With the plethora of caucuses in each chamber of Congress I’d love to see a Veteran’s caucus formed in both the House and Senate. They could become critical voting blocs in both the arena of defense and veteran’s affairs. And in both areas, that would be a good thing.
Burmese election monitored by North Korean diplomats
It’s not strictly accurate to say there was no international observation of Sunday’s Burmese election:
The newsreader said Myanmarese had voted "freely and happily," noting
the election had been witnessed by foreign diplomats, including some
from North Korea, Vietnam and China, as well as the "Foreign
Correspondents’ Club of Rangoon."
Compared to those three countries, all of which have elections in which only the ruling Communist party participates, Burma, which at least has multiple military-backed parties disagreeing on small points of policy, may actually be the most democratic. Perhaps they were ensuring that international standards for rigging and suppression were met.
Big 3 Nets’ Evening News Election and Pre-Election Week Audiences Down Nearly 20% From 2006
Along with the cheerful news that Fox News trounced its cable news competitors on Election Night (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), those longing for more fairness and balance in television news coverage can take some comfort in the fact that the Big Three Networks' evening news shows came in with audiences almost 20% lower during the week before and the week of the 2010 midterm elections compared to the same two weeks in 2006.
As seen below, NBC took the smallest hit of the three networks, losing an average of "only" 1.2 million viewers in the two comparative weeks involved. ABC got hit harder, while CBS lost nearly 3 in 10 viewers (Sources: MediaBistro — Nov. 1, 2010; Oct. 25, 2010; Nov. 6, 2006; Oct. 30, 2006):
NewsBusters.org – Exposing Liberal Media Bias
Big 3 Nets’ Evening News Election and Pre-Election Week Audiences Down Nearly 20% From 2006
Along with the cheerful news that Fox News trounced its cable news competitors on Election Night (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), those longing for more fairness and balance in television news coverage can take some comfort in the fact that the Big Three Networks' evening news shows came in with audiences almost 20% lower during the week before and the week of the 2010 midterm elections compared to the same two weeks in 2006.
As seen below, NBC took the smallest hit of the three networks, losing an average of "only" 1.2 million viewers in the two comparative weeks involved. ABC got hit harder, while CBS lost nearly 3 in 10 viewers (Sources: MediaBistro — Nov. 1, 2010; Oct. 25, 2010; Nov. 6, 2006; Oct. 30, 2006):
Maryland AG: ‘Relax’ Election Day Robocalls Violated Law
Maryland’s Attorney General filed a complaint in federal court this week alleging that the company and two individuals behind election day robocalls that told mostly Democratic voters to “relax” and not bother voting violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The court filing by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler also revealed that the phone calls, which began two hours before polls closed, went out to more than 100,000 Maryland residents, more than double the number originally reported.
Controversial Democratic operative Julius Henson has admitted that Rhonda Russell, an employee of his company Universal Elections, placed the order for the phone calls. Hensen was working for the campaign of the Republican nominee for governor, Bob Ehrlich.
The president of the company which placed the calls previously told TPMmuckraker that over 50,000 calls were placed.
There is no evidence that Ehrlich knew about the plan, Gansler said. He alleged the calls were designed to suppress the Democratic vote. The calls said that Gov. Martin O’Malley had been reelected. “We’re okay. Relax. Everything is fine. The only thing left is to watch on TV tonight,” the calls told voters.
Henson called that message was “counterintuitive” and that the calls were actually intended to motivate Ehrlich supporters. He said Ehrlich probably wasn’t aware of the phone calls, which the campaign has declined to comment on.
The majority of the phone calls were received by voters who “were registered Democrats residing in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County,” according to a press release from the Attorney General’s office.
TCPA penalties are $ 500 per violation, according to the Attorney General’s office. The complaint alleges that the Defendants committed more than 112,000 violations, and that the violations were knowing or willful. Because of that, the Attorney General is asking the court to triple the allowed penalties.
Forthcoming Broward GOP Election Could Send BREC Into The Abyss
by Javier Manjarres
Even though only one week has passed since the Richard Lee DeNapoli-Colleen Stolberg so-called “ticket” announced their candidacy for the upcoming Broward GOP elections, the ‘Great Divide’ within the local Republican party is on the verge of becoming a permanent impasse. The DeNapoli/Stolberg ticket has released a platform of sorts as to what they plan on doing to resurrect the local GOP from the hole it finds itself in today. The first bullet point outlined in the hand out calls for ‘GOP Unity”. Here is what it reads:
If elected as your Chair and Vice-Chair, we are committed to following principles and goals:
GOP Unity. By focusing on our shared conservative values and what unites us rather than on what divides us, we can build a better organization. Together, we can accomplish anything. This past Election Day, we won nationwide through unity.
This bold statement was immediately called into question last night at the monthly Davie-Cooper City GOP Club when Vice-Chair candidate Colleen Stolberg was questioned as to why she was running for the position and supporting R. Lee DeNapoli for the Chairman’s position. Stolberg first stated that we needed a Chairman that did not have an ulterior motive of running for a higher office when seeking he party’s Chairmanship position- Chip LaMarca, call your office. But Stolberg let the cat out of the bag as to why she was actually running, uneasily stating that, ” I am only doing this for Richard.”
” I am only doing this for Richard.” – Colleen Stolberg
Stolberg went on to say that she knew DeNapoli well, but didn’t know the other candidate in the race, Mayor Tom Truex-who happened to be at the meeting, sitting 4 feet in front of her. Her answer as to why she was running prompted another question asking her that if she were to win, and DeNapoli were to lose, would she support Mayor Truex, or any other candidate, if he were to win?
” No, I won’t support him if he wins, I can’t support him”- Colleen Stolberg
So the “GOP Unity” nonsense is out the window before it ever gets a chance to take a seat! These statements, taken together really call into question just why is she is declaring her candidacy in the first place. Several members of the BREC believe that DeNapoli- well known for his condescending manner of speaking to others and his ‘Wizard of Smart” attitude, have openly said that they would leave the BREC if DeNapoli were to become the new Chairman of the BREC.
This meeting was well attended by such notable Broward GOPers such as congressional candidate Karen Harrington, Jeff Rubinoff, President of the Davie-Cooper City Republican Club; Jay Narang, President SWBRO Republican Club, Former of Mayor Davie and candidate for BREC chair Tom Truex, and Felisha Anderson, treasurer of the Davie-Cooper City Republican Club.
So much for GOP Unity…
State GOP Asks For Gubernatorial Election Investigation By U.S. Attorney, New Secretary Of The State; Attorney Ross Garber Hired By State GOP To Investigate Election
State Republican chairman Chris Healy is asking for formal investigations of the gubernatorial election by the U.S. Attorney’s office, the chief state’s attorney’s office, and the new secretary of the state who will take office in January.
The state Republican Party has hired well-known attorney Ross Garber, who said in a letter to federal and state authorities that the GOP discovered evidence of ”significant deficiencies, irregularities and improprieties” in Bridgeport on election night.
In a radio interview Monday morning with commentator Jim Vicevich, Healy said that the election in Bridgeport was “a circus” that was “completely out of control.”
“I’ll make a little news here,” Healy said on the radio show on WTIC-AM. “We are going to formally ask for an investigation from the federal authorities – in writing. … We’re going to ask the U.S. Attorney to look into it. We’re going to ask the state to look into it. I’m going to ask the new secretary of the state to look into it.”
Healy also described the Bridgeport election as “a complete farce” that needs to be investigated.
“By any standard – or lack thereof – the voting that went on in Bridgeport, whether it was incompetence, negligence or outright, premeditated fraud, was a complete farce – and in fact, disenfranchised the very people that went there casting their ballots freely and openly,” Healy said. “There were no controls here on the issue of copying ballots. … The Democratic registrars were in charge of ordering ballots. They ordered 21,000 ballots.”
Election 2010: The Why Not Me Party Lands Historic Numbers of Freshman
I’ve been telling people to jump on this observation band wagon for a while now but here again, on the front page of the New York Times, “To Congress With Mantra, Why Not Me?” An excerpt:
The Tea Party movement, with its message of encouraging citizen-legislators, the broader anti-incumbent mood and the sheer amount of turnover — at least 60 House seats will change hands in January — combined to put into office doctors, small-business owners, a dentist, a pilot, a youth minister and a popular local pizza man, among others.
But my favorite most resonant graphs?
“This group will pose a real challenge to the leaders,” said Norman J. Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. “A lot of the members coming in believe what they’ve seen on television, that all you have to do is do the right thing and it will happen. And if it doesn’t, you bring the temple down around you. For them to accept the notion that you have to bite your tongue is going to be a challenge.”
…
However, at that time, Republicans had been out of power for decades, and there was little party structure or discipline to try to keep newcomers in line. Mr. Boehner, of Ohio, who was elected in 1990, became chairman of the House Republican Conference after the 1994 election, and saw firsthand how unruly newcomers and a lack of fealty to leadership can cause trouble. [emphasis added]
How many are there actually? According to the NYT, 35 in the House, four in the Senate and just one Democratamong those 39 (Terri Sewell of Alabama, the first African-American female elected to Congress).
Personally, I think this is great – I just don’t think our system such as it is is going to know what to do with such an influx and that’s a real problem – for both the system and the newcomers.
My advice to the newcomers? Never make a decision that will prevent you from sleeping well at night, i.e., might give your conscience some trouble. Because you are going to need the rest to face challenges another day.
Election Hangover Caption Contest Winners
The Election Hangover Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over.
✰ THE WINNERS ✰
First: Maggie Mama – “Survivor – Washington, D.C.” has Nancy Pelosi vs. a coalition of Tea Party irregulars.
Second: charles austin – If only voters were as well trained!
Third: FormerHostage – Having lost the leadership position, Nancy Pelosi has announced plans to retire from politics in order to appear in a recurring role in the series “Nip/Tuck.”
HONORABLE MENTION
Rock – Miss me yet? (yes, but our aim is improving – rodney)
ℛODNEY’S BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
The Piddle
Hell’s Bitchin’
Dance with the Czars
