Flashback: It’s Your Duty to Vote
This rant from Craig Ferguson is as relevant now as it was in 2008 (unfortunately).
Tag: Elections
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Union Plans to Turn Out Latin Vote
Despite being urged not to vote by a group with ties to the Bush White House and financing from GOP and pro-life leaders, Latinos will vote this year. So says Hector Figueroa, an officer with the Service Employees International Union-32BJ (SEIU), who claims most American Latinos are eager to cast their ballots.
Figueroa…says that almost 60 percent of Latino voters now say they are “very enthusiastic” about voting, up from 41 percent on September 6, according to the latest Latino Decisions tracking poll.
“There is a strong sentiment that those behind the Arizona law have been able to place candidates in strategic elections, and their election would be quite detrimental to our community. So in some ways it has galvanized attention. And Latinos want to be there at the polls and be counted.”
They want to be counted in spite of shameful ads like this one, run by the shadowy Latinos 4 Reform:
And if watching the ad itself doesn’t inspire Latino outrage at those who would cynically keep them out of the democratic process, SEIU volunteers will be working the phones on election day to turn out the Latino vote.
Vote, Even If It’s for Moderates. Hell, Especially If It’s for Moderates!
Here’s a great video produced by Progress Florida, but worth watching even if you live elsewhere. Remember folks, they are turning out the base this election. As Democrats and progressives, we can’t prove that the only way to get us to vote is to also appeal to our most extreme views. If you’re not enthusiastic about supporting moderate or even conservative Democrats, then you can’t complain when Republicans and tea baggers continue to trot out their most extreme candidates, the ones least likely to get anything helpful done in Washington or state capitals. Now go vote.
Verbatim
It doesn’t bother him that maintaining tax cuts for the top 2 percent of income earners would increase the deficit by $700 billion. In his world, deficit spending is bad if it saves middle class jobs but good if it covers tax cuts for the wealthy.
— St. Petersburg Times editorial titled, “Rubio’s Rigid Ideology,” which ends, “Rubio embraces an inflexible ideology, not practical solutions. The Republican leaves no room for compromise or consensus — and that is what is wrong with Washington.”
Somebody Needs to Drop Out
It’s time for Kendrick Meek to drop out of the U.S. Senate race in Florida.
A new Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times poll shows Marco Rubio now leading, with 41 percent. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has the support of 26 percent of those queried, while Meek has 20 percent.
Meek can look forward to a lifetime of having earned the nickname “Kendrick Nader”
Why should Meek be the one to drop out? Two reasons. First, his numbers have been no better than they are right now from the beginning. Meek has consistently failed to sway large numbers of voters and there is no reason to expect that to change in the next nine days.
Second, were Crist to back out, Meek would stand virtually no chance of pulling Republican support. Crist backers who are registered “R” will vote “R.” On the other hand, many Democrats are willing to vote for the no party affiliated Crist if it means denying Rubio a victory.
The poll had a margin of error of 4.1 percent, so if Rubio stayed at 41 percent and Crist picked up Meek’s supporters (which he would very likely do), he would garner 46 percent.
Sadly, since early voting has already started, it might be too late even if Meek does decide to do the right thing and step away. Florida appears to be headed toward having a Sen. Rubio in its future. It’s a grim prospect, and Meek can look forward to a lifetime of having earned the nickname “Kendrick Nader” if he makes it happen.
Voters Have to Hunt for Charlie Crist’s Name on Florida Ballots
With polls showing Florida Gov. Charlie Crist at about 30 percent in his race for U.S. Senate against Tea Party Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek, the newly independent candidate is already swimming upstream.
I just got my sample ballot, and not only is Crist not listed third, he’s at number nine, ahead only of one other guy and the space to write someone in.
Blame it, along with many of his other campaign woes, on Charlie’s decision to go no party affiliation (NPA) rather than face Rubio in a Republican primary.
Here’s how ballot order works in Florida.
Florida Statutes, 101.151(2)(b):
The last time ten names were listed for one office on a Florida ballot was in 2000. And you know how that turned out.“The names of the candidates of the party that received the highest number of votes for Governor in the last election in which a Governor was elected shall be placed first under the heading for each office on the general election ballot, together with an appropriate abbreviation of party name; the names of the candidates of the party that received the second highest vote for Governor shall be second under the heading for each office, together with an appropriate abbreviation of the party name.”
So that explains why Rubio jumped to first and Meek is second, but why is Charlie second from last?
Rubio Leads! — In Number of Citations for Fundraising Violations
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Number of “flags” issued by the Federal Election Commission to the Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate from Florida campaign for taking contributions in excess of federal limits. Since the notices were issued, starting last year, 24 have gone out, with half going to three candidates: Rubio; Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Id.), who also got four; and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), with three. The other 13 notices have gone to candidates who only got one each.
Will Florida’s Three-Way Senate Race Revert to a Two-Way?
Rumors are flying in Florida after this week’s debate among the three candidates for the U.S. Senate. One scenario, put forth by the Wall St. Journal, says Democrats might be pressuring U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) to drop out of the race, leaving only Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio to duke it out.
Should Meek give his concession speech now, or wait until after the election?
With Meek’s poll numbers showing no bump after the debate, and with groups like the Florida Sierra Club offering dual endorsements of both him and Crist, Meek really has two choices: quit and lose now, or stay in and lose later.
The candidate himself, though, seems still in fighting mode. After the Sierra Club’s odd move, Meek upped the oddness quotient by refusing the endorsement. He also made it clear he’s tired of people forgetting that Charlie Crist is neither a Democrat nor a true environmentalist.
Verbatim
Joe, please explain how this endorsement stuff works, is it to be completely one sided. Sarah spent all morning working on a Face book post for Joe, she won’t use it, not now…Put yourself in her shoe’s Joe for one day.
— Todd Palin, in a righteously indignant (and grammatically disastrous) email to Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller. Palin came to his wife’s defense after Miller refused to say whether Sarah was qualified to be president, and after Sarah endorsed Miller over yet another Palin enemy, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R).
Rubio’s Credit Card Bills Show He’s No Fiscal Conservative. They Might Show More.
A new ad from U.S. Senate candidate Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.-NPA) spotlights the questionable spending practices of self-proclaimed fiscal conservative Tea Party Republican opponent Marco Rubio. The ad focuses on Rubio’s credit card problems, which should be leading Florida news but, since the talking points aren’t matching up to Rubio’s golden boy image, seem so far to be non-issues.
We’d like some answers about Rubio’s spending habits, and in particular, to find out if the reason he fought so hard to keep his full credit card records from becoming public is because of all the travel they show for his legislative aide, healthcare lobbyist Amber Stoner. Stoner, as has been noted, had a habit while Rubio served in the Florida House of either accompanying him or arriving in the same cities and resorts as he did within a day. We’d also like to see if Rubio’s wife, former cheerleader Jeanette C. Dousdebes-Rubio, joined the pair on those trips.
