Monday, October 27, 2008
Quote of the Day
From the amazing series Life on Mars (the real one, by the BBC, not the new American remake):
"He's got fingers in more pies than a leper on a cookery course..." - Gene Hunt
Am I boring you yet?
Okay, in addition to the low-key excitement I feel in Alaska giving a senate seat to the Democrats, there are some other big senate races that I've been looking at lately. The most highly-contested elections all lean heavily toward the Dems taking more Republican seats.
In Georgia, Republicans have trounced the last two elections. But this year, the Dem candidate (Jim Martin) is only 2% behind incumbent Saxby Chambliss. Of course, seeing as how Georgia has gotten an early start in disrupting peoples' right to vote, that's a big 2%. There's also the obstacle of having to run against an opponent with such a cool name.
In Kentucky, 4-term Mitch McConnell won his last re-election (in 2002) 65-35%. Somehow, his lead over the latest Dem challenger (Bruce Lunsford) has shrunk down below 4%! I'd be amazed if the seat changed hands. The polls vary widely for this one though... last week, one had him at +7%, and another had them at dead even.
In Minnesota, of course, there's Al Franken. He's split the polls with incumbent Norm Coleman. Actually, most polls put Franken ahead, but a couple lopsided ones for Coleman average them out.
When Franken first got his show on Air America Radio, I called in and spoke with him, once, in mid-2004. He was of the belief that somehow the voter suppression bullshit that plagued the 2000 election would no longer be a factor. He actually said - seriously - that congress would fix the system. I called him naive, though I used nicer words. I wonder how he feels about it these days... more importantly, I wonder how he'll feel about it if he loses this election.
Mega-Republican voting Mississippi is somehow a contest. The guy that picked up the pieces of Trent Lott's seat in the senate is named Roger Wicker, and he's got barely a lead over some guy named Ronnie Musgrave. Lott used to win his elections by 30%+. His feller senator from Mississippi is Thad Cochran, and he's had his position for 30 years now... I looked him up when I was reading about Wicker v. Musgrave, and saw that he won his last re-election in 2002, by a score of 85-15%. Christ.
In New Hampshire, ex-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen looks set to rid congress of the vile presence of John Sununu. They went up against each other in 2002, and she lost by 4%; now she's up by 8%.
In New Mexico, it seems a done deal that a Democrat is taking Republican Sen. Pete Domenici's seat. He didn't run for re-election, and Tom Udall is whipping Republican Steve Pearce in the polls. The other senator from NM is Democrat Jeff Bingaman, who has been wicked popular for 25 years now.
The Dems could also possibly take North Carolina, which sounds unreal. A current state senator, Kay Hagan, is actually up a point or two over Elizabeth Dole, hoping for a second term after she took over from Asshole "Jesse" Helms. Taking her out would be huge. Of course John Edwards quit the other seat in 2004, and the current guy is a Republican... I guess that seat has bobbled back and forth between parties for 30 years now.
In Oregon, Gordon Smith, Republican, has held down his chair for about 10 years. Now he's being beat by State House Speaker Jeff Merkley, but only by a little. The other seat is held by a Democrat, who also took it from a Republican 10 years ago.
Lastly, in Virginia, their big-shot 5-term Republican Senator John Warner didn't re-up again, basically handing the seat to wicked popular ex-Gov. Mark Warner, who's up by like 30%... over a Republican, in a supposedly red state. The Republican was actually Warner's predecessor in the governor's mansion, and isn't leprous or anything, but is getting so trounced. Of course, Warner's winning because of that fake, north Virginia.
There, reading I done did for my own demented enjoyment is now yours. It's heartening to see how many seats might well change hands, particularly because next to none of them involve the possibility of a Republican taking a Democrat's existing seat.
In Georgia, Republicans have trounced the last two elections. But this year, the Dem candidate (Jim Martin) is only 2% behind incumbent Saxby Chambliss. Of course, seeing as how Georgia has gotten an early start in disrupting peoples' right to vote, that's a big 2%. There's also the obstacle of having to run against an opponent with such a cool name.
In Kentucky, 4-term Mitch McConnell won his last re-election (in 2002) 65-35%. Somehow, his lead over the latest Dem challenger (Bruce Lunsford) has shrunk down below 4%! I'd be amazed if the seat changed hands. The polls vary widely for this one though... last week, one had him at +7%, and another had them at dead even.
In Minnesota, of course, there's Al Franken. He's split the polls with incumbent Norm Coleman. Actually, most polls put Franken ahead, but a couple lopsided ones for Coleman average them out.
When Franken first got his show on Air America Radio, I called in and spoke with him, once, in mid-2004. He was of the belief that somehow the voter suppression bullshit that plagued the 2000 election would no longer be a factor. He actually said - seriously - that congress would fix the system. I called him naive, though I used nicer words. I wonder how he feels about it these days... more importantly, I wonder how he'll feel about it if he loses this election.
Mega-Republican voting Mississippi is somehow a contest. The guy that picked up the pieces of Trent Lott's seat in the senate is named Roger Wicker, and he's got barely a lead over some guy named Ronnie Musgrave. Lott used to win his elections by 30%+. His feller senator from Mississippi is Thad Cochran, and he's had his position for 30 years now... I looked him up when I was reading about Wicker v. Musgrave, and saw that he won his last re-election in 2002, by a score of 85-15%. Christ.
In New Hampshire, ex-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen looks set to rid congress of the vile presence of John Sununu. They went up against each other in 2002, and she lost by 4%; now she's up by 8%.
In New Mexico, it seems a done deal that a Democrat is taking Republican Sen. Pete Domenici's seat. He didn't run for re-election, and Tom Udall is whipping Republican Steve Pearce in the polls. The other senator from NM is Democrat Jeff Bingaman, who has been wicked popular for 25 years now.
The Dems could also possibly take North Carolina, which sounds unreal. A current state senator, Kay Hagan, is actually up a point or two over Elizabeth Dole, hoping for a second term after she took over from Asshole "Jesse" Helms. Taking her out would be huge. Of course John Edwards quit the other seat in 2004, and the current guy is a Republican... I guess that seat has bobbled back and forth between parties for 30 years now.
In Oregon, Gordon Smith, Republican, has held down his chair for about 10 years. Now he's being beat by State House Speaker Jeff Merkley, but only by a little. The other seat is held by a Democrat, who also took it from a Republican 10 years ago.
Lastly, in Virginia, their big-shot 5-term Republican Senator John Warner didn't re-up again, basically handing the seat to wicked popular ex-Gov. Mark Warner, who's up by like 30%... over a Republican, in a supposedly red state. The Republican was actually Warner's predecessor in the governor's mansion, and isn't leprous or anything, but is getting so trounced. Of course, Warner's winning because of that fake, north Virginia.
There, reading I done did for my own demented enjoyment is now yours. It's heartening to see how many seats might well change hands, particularly because next to none of them involve the possibility of a Republican taking a Democrat's existing seat.
Ch-ching....
Late-breaking news: Sen. Ted Stevens vows to fight his conviction on federal corruption charges and says he remains a candidate for re-election.
The first senators for Alaska were Democrats, beginning at the time of initial statehood (1959). Sen. Ernest Gruening was replaced by another Democrat, Mike Gravel, at the start of 1969; while the other first senator, Bob Bartlett, was replaced by Republican Ted Stevens at the same time.
Republican Frank Murkowski - later replaced by his daughter Lisa - have held onto Gravel's seat since 1981, but for Stevens, his reign is about to end, after 38 years. He and Democrat Mark Begich (mayor of Anchorage) have been in a dead tie in the polls for his re-election, whereas Stevens had previously been re-elected by wide margins, time after time.
So, long story short: the Dems just picked up a seat in the senate, in the state that's home to the opposing party's candidate for VP, no less.
An interesting part of this story, though, is of the incoming Senator Mark Begich: his father, Nick Begich, was a representative in congress from 1970-1972, at the end of which he disappeared in a plane crash, the remains of which have never been discovered. But the Republican that he beat for his seat in congress back in 1970 was... Frank Murkowski, who as mentioned above, ended up making it as a senator in 1981.
Murkowski held his seat in the senate until he gave it to his daughter Lisa in 2002, as he had won governorship of Alaska. Which he then lost to some zero-experience wretch from his own party, named Sarah Palin. Now all that's left for Mark Begich is to steal the governorship from Palin in 2010. And uh, hand off his senate seat to someone in his family.
How the fuck is it allowed for an elected official to just pass on their job to a family member? It happens all the time, though I've no idea how or why. I guess I have more reading to do.
The first senators for Alaska were Democrats, beginning at the time of initial statehood (1959). Sen. Ernest Gruening was replaced by another Democrat, Mike Gravel, at the start of 1969; while the other first senator, Bob Bartlett, was replaced by Republican Ted Stevens at the same time.
Republican Frank Murkowski - later replaced by his daughter Lisa - have held onto Gravel's seat since 1981, but for Stevens, his reign is about to end, after 38 years. He and Democrat Mark Begich (mayor of Anchorage) have been in a dead tie in the polls for his re-election, whereas Stevens had previously been re-elected by wide margins, time after time.
So, long story short: the Dems just picked up a seat in the senate, in the state that's home to the opposing party's candidate for VP, no less.
An interesting part of this story, though, is of the incoming Senator Mark Begich: his father, Nick Begich, was a representative in congress from 1970-1972, at the end of which he disappeared in a plane crash, the remains of which have never been discovered. But the Republican that he beat for his seat in congress back in 1970 was... Frank Murkowski, who as mentioned above, ended up making it as a senator in 1981.
Murkowski held his seat in the senate until he gave it to his daughter Lisa in 2002, as he had won governorship of Alaska. Which he then lost to some zero-experience wretch from his own party, named Sarah Palin. Now all that's left for Mark Begich is to steal the governorship from Palin in 2010. And uh, hand off his senate seat to someone in his family.
How the fuck is it allowed for an elected official to just pass on their job to a family member? It happens all the time, though I've no idea how or why. I guess I have more reading to do.
Lots of fucking election shit.
Well, fuck. I've been thinking of venting out my near-violent frustrations over many aspects of our electoral process lately, but didn't get around to it until now. It's about 3 AM, and I've read the news bit linked just below, and it triggered it for me... now I can't stop myself from ranting about all of this.
Okay: On CNN there's the first - of I'm sure to be many - stories regarding voter suppression. This isn't the first article on the issue during this election season, but this is the first major incident they're reporting (to my knowledge): 50,000 Georgians have been purged from the voter rolls.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/voter.suppression/index.html
Besides my pet project essay on the electoral college process, the many other ways in which we mis-manage our federal election just drives me fucking insane. How fucking hard is it? Fuck off with the need to verify someone's current address, whether it's the person's most recently registered address, whether the person lives in this or that state, city, whatever. One citizen, one social security number, one fucking vote. DONE. No pre-registration. What, we don't have the technology to make it this simple and straightforward?
One fucking ballot: we need the exact same design, same printing, same names listed, same method of checking off your choice, no matter who or where you are in the country. Not only should a federal election be conducted and orchestrated by the federal government, states simply shouldn't be able to make up their own ballots, using their own designs, and their own list of candidates, creating their own convoluted requirements for getting a name on the ballot, etc. It's a federal fucking election. The other elections to be made on Nov. 4th should be on a different ballot entirely. This has nothing to do with any individual fucking state.
Election Day: The idea that Nov. 4th isn't a national holiday is fucking moronic. People must be fully able to get to the polls, although the new passion for early voting is a great thing to help in this regard (assuming that these votes won't somehow get lost, which is an unsafe assumption). But if you're going to have national holidays, wouldn't it make sense to have one that celebrates democracy, and the actual act of voting, perfectly combining the two? If people want to feel patriotic, how can this not be the perfect fucking holiday? Not only should people have the time needed to vote, but they should have the time to get others to the polls as well; and how many more volunteers would we have helping out at our polling stations if people had the day off? Some polling stations are seriously understaffed, and all kinds of problems ensue (besides the ones that ensue from various voter suppression issues). And wouldn't such a patriotic holiday even help to guilt people into meeting their obligation to vote? Use it or lose it, you fucking fucks.
Not that I can really be that angry at people who don't vote. If you've read my bit on the electoral college and how intensely assinine it is that we still use it, then I needn't say more. But if we're talking about voter suppression, that's what the electoral college is; not just because of my detailed inequity of disproportionate voting power state by state, but because almost every state uses the "winner takes all" system. Using the direct election process, everyone's vote is worth the same (assuming it gets counted in the first place... again, unsafe assumption).
What fucking blows my mind even more, is that this isn't a partisan issue. There's no fucking "red vs. blue" or "us vs. them" for our nation of idiots to spaz over. It's all no-brainer shit, that any fucking fool can understand. And yet, we can't. We're the most mentally inept country on the planet, sometimes, on this and way too many other issues. All I can think of right now is the insanity depicted in Terry Gilliam's classic film, Brazil. Like Sam Lowery, I start to dream of escape from our crushing mediocrity.
And in the end, what makes me even more fucking nuts about all of this is that no matter how well Obama is doing in this election, it doesn't matter how many people want to vote for him. What matters is how many votes are successfully cast and counted. Not only does he have to overcome the loss of hundreds of thousands (or more) votes that the Republican party/operatives will steal or destroy (this is a simple, undeniable fact, that this is a blatant part of their campaign strategy for the last decade), but he - and many of his voters - are also going to be undercut by the hurdles that will be placed in their way on Election Day. Hiring off-duty cops to hang around outside urban polling centers. Greeting people with lists of names, telling them they can't vote, or that they'll even be breaking the law by voting. Telling naive (especially first-time) voters that voting for their district has been pushed back a day. If we thought the past two elections were bad, I think we ain't seen nothing yet. I would so love to be wrong.
Gah.
As for me, I'm not voting for Obama. I'm voting for Bob Barr, Libertarian candidate. I'm so far left of there it's surreal for me to vote for him, but... a third-party candidate that gets 5% or more of the direct election tally qualifies for federal election funding in the future. I figure, if the Libertarian party could actually get some funding, that will help to tear apart the Republican party even more than it has already. It's lame that I've ended up thinking this way, instead of just voting for my candidate of choice, but, hey, I'm in Massachusetts. Obama will win my state. McCain supporters in my state needn't bother ticking off a box for president, since our winner-takes-all system ends up making them worthless. I actually voted for Nader in 2000, for the federal funding issue, but at this point, since we're stuck in our two-party system (and will always be, until our country rips itself apart), I figure weakening the GOP of Bastards is the best we can do.
Lame (fucking lame).
Meh.
Okay: On CNN there's the first - of I'm sure to be many - stories regarding voter suppression. This isn't the first article on the issue during this election season, but this is the first major incident they're reporting (to my knowledge): 50,000 Georgians have been purged from the voter rolls.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/voter.suppression/index.html
Besides my pet project essay on the electoral college process, the many other ways in which we mis-manage our federal election just drives me fucking insane. How fucking hard is it? Fuck off with the need to verify someone's current address, whether it's the person's most recently registered address, whether the person lives in this or that state, city, whatever. One citizen, one social security number, one fucking vote. DONE. No pre-registration. What, we don't have the technology to make it this simple and straightforward?
One fucking ballot: we need the exact same design, same printing, same names listed, same method of checking off your choice, no matter who or where you are in the country. Not only should a federal election be conducted and orchestrated by the federal government, states simply shouldn't be able to make up their own ballots, using their own designs, and their own list of candidates, creating their own convoluted requirements for getting a name on the ballot, etc. It's a federal fucking election. The other elections to be made on Nov. 4th should be on a different ballot entirely. This has nothing to do with any individual fucking state.
Election Day: The idea that Nov. 4th isn't a national holiday is fucking moronic. People must be fully able to get to the polls, although the new passion for early voting is a great thing to help in this regard (assuming that these votes won't somehow get lost, which is an unsafe assumption). But if you're going to have national holidays, wouldn't it make sense to have one that celebrates democracy, and the actual act of voting, perfectly combining the two? If people want to feel patriotic, how can this not be the perfect fucking holiday? Not only should people have the time needed to vote, but they should have the time to get others to the polls as well; and how many more volunteers would we have helping out at our polling stations if people had the day off? Some polling stations are seriously understaffed, and all kinds of problems ensue (besides the ones that ensue from various voter suppression issues). And wouldn't such a patriotic holiday even help to guilt people into meeting their obligation to vote? Use it or lose it, you fucking fucks.
Not that I can really be that angry at people who don't vote. If you've read my bit on the electoral college and how intensely assinine it is that we still use it, then I needn't say more. But if we're talking about voter suppression, that's what the electoral college is; not just because of my detailed inequity of disproportionate voting power state by state, but because almost every state uses the "winner takes all" system. Using the direct election process, everyone's vote is worth the same (assuming it gets counted in the first place... again, unsafe assumption).
What fucking blows my mind even more, is that this isn't a partisan issue. There's no fucking "red vs. blue" or "us vs. them" for our nation of idiots to spaz over. It's all no-brainer shit, that any fucking fool can understand. And yet, we can't. We're the most mentally inept country on the planet, sometimes, on this and way too many other issues. All I can think of right now is the insanity depicted in Terry Gilliam's classic film, Brazil. Like Sam Lowery, I start to dream of escape from our crushing mediocrity.
And in the end, what makes me even more fucking nuts about all of this is that no matter how well Obama is doing in this election, it doesn't matter how many people want to vote for him. What matters is how many votes are successfully cast and counted. Not only does he have to overcome the loss of hundreds of thousands (or more) votes that the Republican party/operatives will steal or destroy (this is a simple, undeniable fact, that this is a blatant part of their campaign strategy for the last decade), but he - and many of his voters - are also going to be undercut by the hurdles that will be placed in their way on Election Day. Hiring off-duty cops to hang around outside urban polling centers. Greeting people with lists of names, telling them they can't vote, or that they'll even be breaking the law by voting. Telling naive (especially first-time) voters that voting for their district has been pushed back a day. If we thought the past two elections were bad, I think we ain't seen nothing yet. I would so love to be wrong.
Gah.
As for me, I'm not voting for Obama. I'm voting for Bob Barr, Libertarian candidate. I'm so far left of there it's surreal for me to vote for him, but... a third-party candidate that gets 5% or more of the direct election tally qualifies for federal election funding in the future. I figure, if the Libertarian party could actually get some funding, that will help to tear apart the Republican party even more than it has already. It's lame that I've ended up thinking this way, instead of just voting for my candidate of choice, but, hey, I'm in Massachusetts. Obama will win my state. McCain supporters in my state needn't bother ticking off a box for president, since our winner-takes-all system ends up making them worthless. I actually voted for Nader in 2000, for the federal funding issue, but at this point, since we're stuck in our two-party system (and will always be, until our country rips itself apart), I figure weakening the GOP of Bastards is the best we can do.
Lame (fucking lame).
Meh.
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