Day: August 21, 2007

Poll: 41% of CA Dems Favor GOP’s Electoral College ‘Reform’ Scheme

Jon Ponder

Republicans know they can never win California on the merits so they are trying a Tom Delay-esque rigging of the vote next year that would give the GOP presidential candidate one electoral college vote for each of the state’s 55 House districts he wins. Had the system been in place in 2004, Bush-Cheney would have gained 22 electoral votes.

When told that it would most likely give Republicans more electoral votes, GOP support jumped to 70 percent, while Democratic support remained the same at 41 percent, though opposition jumped from 42 percent to 53 percent.

That the GOP would make such a naked grab for power is not surprising. What is unsettling is the number of California Democrats who are apparently happy to hand the presidency to the Republicans again. In a new Field Poll, 49 percent of all California voters — and 41 percent of California Democrats — favor the GOP scheme:

In the first survey on the issue since the Presidential Election Reform Act initiative was filed two weeks ago for the June 3 ballot, 49 percent said they’d support changing the current winner-take-all system to a district-by-district method, while 42 percent are opposed.

And that’s after voters are told that scrapping the current winner-take-all system would give Republicans an advantage in the presidential race, with a potential 22 of California’s 55 electoral votes going to the Republican nominee. The GOP currently holds 19 congressional districts…

In the Field Poll, voters were first asked if they would support dividing votes by district. Voters favored it, 47 percent to 35 percent, with 57 percent of Republicans favoring it and 28 percent opposing it. Among Democrats, 41 percent supported it and 42 percent were opposed.

When told that it would most likely give Republicans more electoral votes, GOP support jumped to 70 percent, while Democratic support remained the same at 41 percent, though opposition jumped from 42 percent to 53 percent.

A glimmer of good news. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both of whom are popular with California Democrats, are leading the opposition to the measure.

Press One for English? Not in Central Florida!

Trish

Poor Adam Putnam. The third highest-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives has a constituency that is inflamed.

What are the residents of Lakeland and Central Florida so upset about? Is it the grinding violence in the occupation of Iraq? The lack of access to health care, causing middle class families to lose their savings? The impending housing market and mortgage lending collapse, which threatens the entire economy?

No, it’s much bigger than any of those things.

Their most frequent complaint is dialing a business and getting “Press one for English and two for Spanish,” he said.

That’s right. They are sick and tired of having a foreign language offered them by automated phone systems. Enough already! Someone needs to pass a law! Hey Adam Putnam!

“It is hotter than Iraq, hotter than abortion. I have never had an issue that so overwhelmingly overshadows everything else,” the Bartow Republican said. “I would say it is ahead of every other issue by 4 to 1.”

…The almost absolute opposition to immigration has a lot to do with a cultural concern as well as other issues of border security and a feeling of fairness to those who immigrated legally.

“What I am hearing from them is that we are losing our cultural identity. Instead of being the traditional melting pot, we are becoming factions,” he said. “Now all of these things are not necessarily government’s responsibility, but there is a growing concern that there is no assimilation anymore as there has been throughout our history.”

Something’s wrong here. Either Putman’s staff is throwing away the emails and letters from residents concerned about real — as opposed to Rovian manufactured — issues, or Central Florida is in big trouble. I tend to believe that Putnam, who continued to peddle the “Nancy Pelosi wants a bigger plane” story even after it was exposed as false, is ignoring the real issues in favor of the ones that appeal to the base.

Putnam is chair of the House Republican conference committee, which coordinates the party messages and manages media relations for House Republicans. It’s his job to make the Democratic House leadership look as bad as possible. If automated phone systems are the best he can do, like I said, poor Adam Putnam.

Mark Foley Doing Pretty Good in Fake Election

Trish

A poll being conducted by the Stuart (FL) News has some participants seeking career opportunities with the paper, since it is obvious employees are encouraged to drink on the job.

The question asked is, if an election were held today, would you vote for former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Ephebophile) or Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Palm Beach)? Although at one time disgraced page molester Foley led, the results are currently:

Mark Foley — 30% (83 votes)
Tim Mahoney — 69% (185 votes)
268 total votes

Who is that 30 percent? No doubt it’s the same 30 percent who would support George Bush, no matter what, even if he too were caught instant messaging teenage boys about what turns them on. And it’s that same 30 percent who think Bush is doing a helluva job, no matter how bad things are.

Some of the comments reflect this conclusion.

“Amazingly, the vote is split. This has to be either a haven for pedophiles or die-hard Republicans or both!”

“Is the 44% up there now for Foley voted by peodphiles? Do we have that many in our area?”

“No, they’re not pedophiles, they’re just dyed-in-the-wool Republicans. These are the same people who will vote for Rudy Giuliani. They’ll swallow their objections to his stands on abortion, gay rights etc. just because they think he is the only Republican who can beat Hillary Clinton. Hypocrites! All of them!”

There’s more. Take a moment and vote yourself, or just read the comments.