An Agenda For The Next Two Years: Undoubtably there will be a lot of issues that are going to come up in the next two years. But here the ones I'd to see us focus on...
- We've got to keep fighting and winning the war on terrorism. Hussein has got to go and then we have to turn up the heat on Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and the other random assorted trouble spots around the world. This may mean war or it may simply mean diplomatic and economic pressure depending on the situation. But winning the war on terrorism and protecting our country from terrorist attacks should be our #1 priority.
- Make the Bush tax cuts permanent and look for new tax cuts to push. This will help the economy significantly and it's our signature issue. It also puts the Democrats in the position of opposing tax cuts which will help us in 2004.
- Cracking down on illegal immigration is another major issue that we should tackle over the next two years. I'd even support putting the military on the border...as would Trent Lott apparently. This would be a very popular issue with everyone except left-wingers who aren't going to vote for us anyway, Libertarians, and possibly the Latino population.
But if we do it right, I don't see why we even have to alienate Latinos. While we push to force the illegals out of the US and keep our borders secure, we can try to set-up a work pass program to get people from Mexico who follow the rules into America to work. Moreover, this will give us an opportunity to come down hard on businessmen who are deliberately hiring illegals. This will help offset the stereotype that the Dems try to put out there about us being in the pocket of "big business." This is not only a law and order issue, it's a national security issue and I believe it will genuinely hurt the Dems to fight us on this.
- The Bush administration has been entirely too cavalier about controlling spending. With a Republican Congress and a Republican President there is absolutely no reason why we can't get the budget under control and actually cut some wasteful spending. Cutting pork is something the American people appreciate. Also, if I were the Democrats, I would HAMMER us on that very issue in 2004 if we don't get the job done.
- While President Bush did an excellent job of promoting candidates this year, he didn't spend nearly enough time using the bully pulpit to promote his ideas.
I'd really like to see GWB use his influence with the American people to push for school vouchers in areas with failing public schools. This is something we need to improve our schools, it will help us get a larger percentage of the black vote in 2002 (vouchers poll at 60%+ in the black community), and it would help us offset the advantage that the Dems tend to have over us on the education issue at election time.
The other issue I'd really like to see W. explain and promote to the American people is his idea about allowing younger workers to invest part of their Social Security. The average person DOES NOT understand that the Social Security trust fund is really an IOU. Explaining that to seniors and giving them a real way to extend the life of Social Security is not only good policy, it will help us in 2004 when the Dems inevitably try to scare old people into believing that we're going to take their Social Security so they'll have to live in cardboard boxes and eat Alpo to survive.
- There are lots of empty slots in the judiciary just waiting for Conservative judges who will strictly interpret the constitution. The sooner we fill all those slots the better.
If we focus on these issues for the next two years, I think can achieve a lot and we'll be in excellent shape for the 2004 elections.
Defending Condi & The Lightning Speed Of The Mainstream Media
Defending Condi & The Lightning Speed Of The Mainstream Media: On the 23rd of October, RWN and Newsmax both discussed a racist song parody about Condi Rice done by a Florida shock-jock named Neil Rogers.
Well FINALLY the mainstream media has joined the party with an article the echoes much of what RWN and Newsmax had to say about the situation. Here is a little bit of the article...
"Just weeks after singer Harry Belafonte slammed Secretary of State Colin Powell, likening the fellow Jamaican-American to a "house slave," Florida's Neil Rogers jumped on the bandwagon with comments about National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
"Is you their black-haired answer-mammy who be smart?" a song parody broadcast on Rogers' show says. "Does they like how you shine their shoes, Condoleezza? Or the way you wash and park the whitey's cars?"
The song is supposed to be funny, but many say the popular talk-show host has stepped over the line."
...Niger Innis, spokesperson (for) the Congress on Racial Equality, said he sees a double standard at play.
"If Rogers, instead of being a white liberal, were a white conservative like Rush Limbaugh using the type of language that Rogers was using, he'd be kicked off the air," Innis said.
"Guys like Rogers and (Harry) Belafonte are intellectually bankrupt," he said. "They have no ideas, or their ideas are outdated, they're archaic. And on the battlefield of ideas, they will lose. So the only thing they can do is throw stones and rhetorical, racist rhetoric."
Give 'em hell Niger! By the way, it's nice to finally have Fox News on board even if it is two weeks late =) Maybe someone from Fox News is actually reading RWN now since it seems like I've interviewed half the commentators on their website by now...
The Three Faces Of Bush: One of RWN's regular readers (Ben) posted this in the comments sections of one of today's posts...
"Before the 2000 election: "Bush is an idiot and hardly knows anything."
After 9/11: "Bush is a reckless cowboy who will endanger the world in an attempt on revenge. The enlightened Europeans are against action."
After 2002 elections: "Bush is a highly intelligent and skillful manipulator of the world. His conspirators are so intelligent and competent that they leave absolutely no evidence of their actions while stealing elections and subverting the system. I'm not sure why Europe and even Syria voted for the UN resolution, but you can't underestimate Bush, he's very crafty."
Yes, it's amazing how Bush has "grown" in office isn't it?
Victor Davis Hanson Hammers The Anti-War Left: Victor Davis Hanson's latest column on the hypocrisy of the anti-war left is the best editorial I've read in the last month. Here are the last two paragraphs...
"So we have at last arrived at Cloudcuckooland: A hierarchal United States military is more tolerant of liberals in its ranks than liberal universities are of their critics on campus. Republicans support dangerous interventions abroad to remove dictators and free oppressed peoples, as leftist dissidents agitate for hands-off mass murderers and medieval theocrats. A democratic Israel is slandered as imperialistic and fascistic while an authoritarian Palestinian regime is given a pass for theft, murder, and torture. And liberals, women, and homosexuals are saved in Afghanistan thanks to the work of Air Force pilots and special forces, as reactionary fundamentalists and thugs seek to hold onto their autocracy in part by finding solace with anti-American leftists. Who would have ever thought that democratic Iraqis would seek our military's help, while agents of Saddam Hussein would line up to find solidarity with those now marching?
Face it: Slobodan Milosevic, Mullah Omar, Yasser Arafat, and Saddam Hussein — not the ghosts of the thousands of their innocent dead — all prefer Ramsey Clark to George Bush. We are seeing nothing less than quite literally the end of an era — witnessed by the intellectual suicide of an entire generation, who in their last gasps are proving they have been not very moral people all along."
I've noticed the same thing that Hanson did here and I've been writing up an editorial about it that will be out next week. It even goes deeper than the foreign policy agenda. It's now the right-wing that champions a color blind world and the left that champions race based discrimination. It's the right that is pushing vouchers to improve schools in America and the left that is desperate to preserve the status-quo at the expense of our children's education. While the left claims they want to help poor, they're against every effort to put the criminals who prey primarily on the poorest among us in jail. All this is symptomatic of a deep, intellectual rot on the left and I doubt if it's going to get better anytime soon.
This Isn't A 'Fringe View' On The Left: The column from Wayne Madsen in today's Counterpunch seems to be fairly typical of what has started to become mainstream thinking on America's left 9/11. Here is how Wayne Madsen opens his latest column...
"For all those who, like me, feel that November 6, 2002 is much like December 13, 2000 (Gore's concession speech) and September 11, 2001, it's time to stop the hand wringing and get to serious work to save this nation from certain disaster. But first, some background on families and conspiracies to commit crimes."
What a shallow, unfeeling b@stard you must be to compare losing an election to 9/11. I seriously couldn't believe I was reading that and furthermore, I couldn't believe that even Counterpunch thought that was worth publishing.
I want to dig a little deeper into this Madsen column so you can look at what else a wildly popular (they claim to pull 7 million hits a month) left-wing website like Counterpunch thinks is worthy of publication.
Madsen tells us the real problem the GOP (and presumably the voters of Minnesota, Terry McAuliffe, Walter Mondale, and Wellstone's campaign manager) had with the Wellstone funeral was the "African American choruses." Certainly, there was no politics going on at that Wellstone "memorial service"...
"It wasn't Lutheran, Catholic, or otherwise staid enough for the Republicans in attendance. The African American choruses must have grated on the nerves of Trent Lott and company. So the GOP trashed the service as a campaign rally and demanded equal time on Minnesota television."
Madsen explains that the elections on Tuesday were rigged by the Bush family...
"Later, when he became President, H. W. Bush invaded Panama, arrested Noriega. He knew too much about Bush who was running for reelection. He had to be dealt with and he was. But that computerized vote counting tampering would come in handy for another Bush in the future. But more on that later."
Madsen misleads his readers about the voter turnout which went approximately 53-47 for the GOP according to UPI...
"Which brings us to the November 5 election. By all indications, a heavy voter turnout was to benefit the Democrats. And during the day, the reports came in that voter turnout was heavy in the key states that could determine who would control the Senate."
Madsen implies that the government was behind mailing out the anthrax letters...
"The involvement of government and government contractors in aerosolized anthrax development was widely reported abroad. But when one in managing perceptions, it is vitally important to have the media ignore the story domestically and shrug off international attention as being within the domain of conspiracy kooks. Plausible deniability."
Madsen suggests that Bush may very well set up concentration camps...
"If people are rounded up because of their religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs, we must restore the Underground Railroad of the pre-Civil War days. We would ask our Canadian and Mexican friends for help."
This sort of unhinged, paranoid, conspiracy mongering may not be the view of most liberals, but it's not a fringe left-wing view either. How many left-wingers do you ever hear challenging these sorts of views? Very, very, few. Is that because they don't like attacking their fellow travelers or because they secretly agree with them? I'm really starting to wonder if the latter isn't the case. If the left is going to keep buying into this sort of nonsense, then maybe they should the change the name of their party to something more appropriate so the voters will really know where they stand in 2004.
The Global Terrorist Network And Their Agenda: Al-Queda is back in the news and taking credit for murder across the planet. Here's the latest statement from Al-Queda's website as translated by CNN...
"By attempting to strike a U.S. plane in Saudi Arabia and by bombing a Jewish synagogue in Tunisia, destroying two ships in Yemen, attacking the Fialka base in Kuwait, and bombing nightclubs and whorehouses in Indonesia, al Qaeda has shown it has no qualms about attacking inside Arab and Islamic lands....This is provided that the target belongs to the Jewish-Crusader alliance."
Saudi Arabia is denying us use of their bases for an attack on Iraq, France has been holding us up at the UN, and Indonesia was doing nothing about terrorism before the Bali attack. But, as far as al-Queda is concerned those nations are part of the "Jewish-Crusader alliance" which presumably means that their women and children are fair game for slaughter.
But al-Queda isn't alone. They've got plenty of other willing allies. In another article on CNN today, it was revealed that...
"...that several top terrorist operatives met recently in the area -- where the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay intersect -- to plan attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets in the Western hemisphere.
...Sources said the meetings, which took place in and around Ciudad del Este, were attended by representatives of Hezbollah and other groups sympathetic to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.
...Other indications of the threat came from intelligence sources in the Middle East, who told CNN of a new terrorist effort aimed at U.S. and Israeli interests and coordinated by a man named Imad Mugniyeh.
...Argentine authorities have connected Mugniyeh to such groups as Hezbollah, Gamaa al Islamiya, and Islamic Jihad, all of which have been identified by the U.S. State Department as terrorist organizations."
Hizbollah has ties to Iran and generally operates out of Lebanon. Gamaa al Islamiya is a smaller terrorist group that operates out of Egypt (w/out the support of the gov't there). Islamic Jihad operates primarily out of the "disputed territories", but they are headquartered in Syria.
As some of us have been saying all along, al-Queda isn't the only group out there that we have to stop before they can murder the people they view as members of the "Jewish-Crusader alliance." Destroying al-Queda in and of itself won't get the job done. We've got to wipe out the entire global terrorist network and the regimes that continue to support them. Every one of them we kill makes the world safer for the rest of us.
Contest For Webmasters: Guess Who I Just Interviewed?
Contest For Webmasters: Guess Who I Just Interviewed?: After being inspired by Small Victory's Pro-War Jingle Contest, I decided to do a contest of my own.
I just did two interviews today, one of them via email and one of them via phone. The first interview will be up Monday and the second will go up Tuesday. Any webmaster who can guess one of the two people I've interviewed will get a link Tuesday morning in the main section of RWN. That way, the winners should get the full benefit of the traffic coming in from both interviews. I'm taking a wild guess here, but I'd say it's worth at least a couple hundred hits. The rules of this contest are as follows -- no one who've already told the name of either interviewee is eligible. No porn, idiotarian websites, and pages I I consider annoying are ineligible. Last but not least, each webmaster only gets two guesses.
Here are few vague hints to get you started.
1) Neither of the people I interviewed run blogs.
2) Both of them have written more than one book.
3) One of them will be very well known and popular among warbloggers and let's just say that other probably isn't very popular with the gun control crowd right now although that isn't his usual gig.
Webmasters post your guesses here in the comments section. The contest will be over at 8 PM EST on Sunday the 10th. Good luck...
More Members Of The VRWC: I've had a lot of people ask me how they can get their own VRWC (Vast Right Wing Conspiracy) membership cards like this one featuring the lovely Michele Catalano from A Small Victory or like this one featuring Rachel Lucas.
For those of you who don't feel up to photoshopping yourself onto the card, Michele has volunteered to make a card for you. Moreover, Ravenwood has decided to actually dedicate a page to displaying these membership cards.
Let me know if you get one of these cards made and post it on your website and I'll try to give you a link in the daily news section.
***Update***: Per a reader request, here's a blank card. The blank spot for the picture in the top left-hand corner is 86 pixels wide and 91 pixels high. Don't forget the signature at the bottom.
The Funny Quote Of The Week: Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka from Something Awful (SA is an offensive humor page with lots of bad language) explains what members of the Libertarian party stand for to his readers...
"Libertarian -- That means he takes the craziest ideas from the Conservatives, the craziest ideas from the Liberals, and then adds his own crazy ideas such as "mandatory hot air balloon races" and "every child in school must consume nine pounds of chalk per year."
***Update***:Mostly Wasted comments on Libertarian Pat Wright's pro-ferret agenda...
"Apparently Americans just aren't ready for a drugs, guns, and ferrets platform. Statistically most people do appear to favor the first two. However, it is the powerful and untested unification of the three that scares the bejesus out of voters. Pat Wright picked up less than 2% of the vote.
...The Democrats under Clinton and McAuliffe have lost touch with the one good thing Pat has going for him. Ideas. Granted, they are troubling ideas involving ferrets, guns, and drugs but the Democrats aren't passionate about anything except winning. They don't have an alternate plan for the war on terror, the economy, or even ferrets. They had nothing but scare tactics and the tragic death of one of their members as a foundation this year and it showed. "
The World Will Defeat The American Nazi-Ziionists: It's another post-election 2002 version of ACPOTI (anyone can post on the internet). The wackiness continues on the left. How could they possibly have lost yesterday? Of course, it had to be FRAUD! (Cont)
The guy with the trash-can on his head is Democratic strategist James Carville.
A jubilant Jeb Bush raises his hands in victory after crushing Bill McBride 56% to 43% despite the fact that Terry McAuliffe guaranteed his defeat last Sunday.
A Post-2002 Election Wrap-up: A few thoughts on the aftermath of last night's election...
- The Dems are going to eat each other after this last big loss. Wave goodbye to McAuliffe, Daschle, and Gephardt.
- At the very least, that grotesque Wellstone "memorial service" cost the Dems Minnesota. But, I also wonder if it helped motivate Republicans across the country to turn out. Something gave the GOP a lift at the end and it's possible that was what it was.
- I expected a lot of lawsuits after the elections were over, but in most races, the GOP won by such a large margin that there was no point in even bothering for the Dems.
- I wonder if Jim Jeffords regrets switching parties now?
- Here's the quote of election night 2002, "Three candidates will let us keep the Senate: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I'm looking for some positive spin, but I can't find any" -- James Carville
- Some people are saying this election was a "referendum on Bush." I don't think so. Very few Democrat candidates were attacking GWB, he's just too popular.
- The poll that was farthest off: Zogby had Colorado: Strickland (D) 53 vs. Allard (R) 44 right before the election. Final numbers: Allard (R) 51 vs. Stickland (D) 45.
- Controlling the Senate will allow to Bush to finally start getting some of his judges confirmed. It also gives W. at least a two year window to push though a conservative justice for the Supreme Court.
- Because the GOP already has 51 seats in the Senate, we don't have to worry about Lincoln Chafee changing sides.
- A lot of people are saying the Democrats lost because they didn't "stand for anything." While that may be at least partially true, the Democrats can't AFFORD to stand on the issues their constituents believe in. Are the Democrats really going to come out and support raising taxes, reparations, Affirmative Action, stopping animal testing, bigger government, cutting the military, gay marriages, banning handguns and all the other issues that are going to resonate with their base? The Democrats can't afford to really run on the issues.
The 2002 Post-Election Version ACPOTI: When I finally went to bed last night, I was thrilled because I KNEW the GOP was going to get the Senate back. But there were three things I was wondering about. Would Thune win in South Dakota (no), would Coleman beat Mondale in Minnesota (he did), and most importantly, what would the hardcore Dems at the Democratic Underground have to say about the beating their candidates had taken at the hands of the GOP? The bitter & paranoid rantings on the DU boards did not disappoint in the least. Read and enjoy the post-election version of ACPOTI (anyone can post on the internet).
Russians Plot To Blow Up The Moon?!?: As per usual, the Weekly World News has scooped everyone in the mainstream media just like they did with "Bat Boy." It seems that "Pooty Poot" has decided to blow up the moon...
"Russian officials have secretly embarked on a bizarre plan to banish their country's harsh winters forever - by blowing up the moon with nukes!
And chillingly, getting rid of the moon will have an opposite effect on U.S. weather - ushering in brutal temperatures that would ruin our agriculture, experts warn."
I see how it is. We want to take out Hussein and everyone screams "unilateralism." But, the Russians decide to blow up the moon and no one at the UN has anything to say. Isn't that just typical?
Election Radio Feed And Guest Spot: I will be listening to the Stop Democrats Live Internet Feed tonight along with checking Drudge and a few other sources. Expect more updates right here as the night goes along.
Stop Democrats has me tentatively scheduled to do Senate analysis tonight at 8:40 PM EST. Feel free to tune in to hear me and keep watching RWN tonight until Midnight if you want the latest coverage of the Senate races along with a few other key contests.
***Update***: Drudge has yanked the exit polling data he had up. Apparently, that's because the Voter News Service is now saying "it cannot guarantee the accuracy of the analysis." I wouldn't be surprised to see the mainstream media rip Drudge and the rest of the internet media for posting inaccurate results.
***Update #2***: Remember when the early polling data said Dole was behind and I told you not to buy it? I was right -- Dole wins. Jeb Bush wins early and by a big margin. That stings McAuliffe. Lautenburg won -- that's one seat the Dems managed to steal in the courts -- so far. Chambliss is up 8% w/ 23% of districts reporting which is good news -- too early to tell if it'll hold. Sununu up 6% with 44% reporting. That's another important one that's looking good so far.
StopDemocrats.com kept me on for 35 minutes and that wore me out. I think it went pretty well though. I had a good time doing show and thanks to Stopdemocrats.com for having me on.
***Update #3***: Landrieu is currently at 43% in Louisiana. That means a run-off if the trend continues. Chambliss up 12% with 34% in. Looks good but it's not over yet. According to the Corner, Shaheen concedes!!! If Chambliss and Sununu win I think we're getting the Senate back!! YES!!!! Mitt Romney is projected to win the Gov's race in Taxachustes. It's looking good and everything is trending Republican! It's not over til it's over but things are going great so far...
***Update 4***: Not only did Jeb Bush win, but Katherine Harris is going to the House. The Dems have to hate that. Allard and Thune are up at about 33% of ballots in. Pryor is up big Arkansas but everyone expected that. Johnson has a 1% lead on Thune with about 33% in. That one is still up for grabs. Cornyn just won another one for the GOP in Texas. Some people thought this one would be close -- not me. Ehrlich is up significantly up on Kennedy-Townsend in the Gov's race in Maryland with 96% of the votes in and MSNBC still hasn't called it for him -- the mainstream media must be hating it. Fox calls it for Chambliss in Georgia! Yee-ha!
***Update #5***: Talent up 5 with 46% reporting. Kennedy Townsend has conceded. Ehrlich Wins Gov. of Maryland. Pryor wins in Arkansas (that was expected). With 9% reporting in California Davis 47% - Simon 44%. Allard up 52% - 44% over Strickland with 46% reporting! This is the #2 most vulnerable seat for GOP. If Allard wins, the Senate is ours!
Carville on CNN: "Three candidates will let us keep the Senate: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I'm looking for some positive spin, but I can't find any."
***Update #6***: Talent up 5% with 51% of votes. Daschle "all but conceded" that he will not be majority leader after tonight according to MSNBC.
What's left of significance in the Senate?
Colorado: (GOP Seat) Allard (R) 53% vs. Strickland (D) 44% w/ 48% of the vote.
Louisiana: (Dem Seat) Landrieu (D) needs 50% to avoid a run-off. She's at 47% w/ 91% reporting. The 3 Republicans are combining for 50% of the vote.
Minnesota: (Dem Seat) Coleman (R) 52% vs. Mondale (D) 47% w/ 7% counted. This will be a slow vote count. We probably won't know until tomorrow.
South Dakota: (Dem Seat) Johnson (D) 50% vs. Thune (R) w/ 48% reporting.
***Update #7***: If everything continues as it's trending it'll be 51 (R) - 47 (D) - 1 (I) with LA. up for grabs in a December election. Allard wins! Coleman 54% - 43% Mondale w/ 12% reporting.
*******California Gov. Race: Simon (R) 46 - Davis (D) 45 w/ 16% counted*******
"Davis vs. Simon in California: Everyone has written off Simon in this race but late polling data suggests this one may still be in play. Internal Republican polls put Bill Simon IN THE LEAD by 3 points. Moreover, the numbers from the California Field Poll show this one isn't over yet..."
This would be a dagger to the heart if Simon pulls this out...
***Update #8***: Simon (R) 46% vs. Davis (D) 46% in the Cali Gov. race w/ 25% of the vote in.
Minnesota: (Dem Seat) Coleman (R) 53% vs. Mondale (D) 44% w/ 25% counted. This will be a slow vote count. We probably won't know until tomorrow. (Looks good for GOP.)
Missouri: (Dem Seat) Talent (R) 50% vs. Carnahan (D) 49% w/ 94% reporting. (Too close to call. Don't be surprised if there's lawsuit here tomorrow if Talent wins.)
South Dakota: (Dem Seat) Johnson (D) 50% vs. Thune (R) 49% w/ 67% reporting. (Too close to call. 4000 vote difference. Don't be surprised if there is a lawsuit if Thune pulls it out.)
Louisiana: (Dem Seat) Landrieu (D) needs 50% to avoid a run-off. She's at 46% w/ 98% reporting. The 3 Republicans are combining for 51% of the vote. (Run-off in Dec.)
***Update #9***: Last update until tomorrow when I'll post-election analysis...
Davis (D) 46% vs. Simon (R) 45% in the Cali Gov. race w/ 36% of the vote in.
Ramesh Ponnuru from the Corner had this to say, "Before people get too excited about Simon's appearing to be up, note that only 6 percent of San Francisco County is in and Simon's losing it by almost 50 points."
Minnesota: (Dem Seat) Coleman (R) 52% vs. Mondale (D) 45% w/ 31% counted. This will be a slow vote count. We probably won't know until tomorrow. (Looks good for GOP.)
Missouri: (Dem Seat) Talent (R) 50% vs. Carnahan (D) 49% w/ 95% reporting. (Too close to call. Don't be surprised if there's lawsuit here tomorrow if Talent wins.)
South Dakota: (Dem Seat) Thune (R) 50% vs. Johnson (D) 49% w/ 77% reporting. (Too close to call. 4000 vote difference. Don't be surprised if there is a lawsuit if Thune pulls it out.)
Current Governor Count via Town Hall: GOP 23, Dems 17, Undecided 10
Drudge Scoops The Networks W/ Exit Poll Data: I'm sure all the network guys are ripping their hair out because Drudge has already posted exit poll data and they're holding off on posting anything because they got thrashed after the 2000 election. Meanwhile, I'm betting that Drudge's servers are melting down because of all the traffic. Here's the info -- following will be a few quick comments...
"The DRUDGE REPORT can reveal morning and early afternoon exit polling results circulating in top media circles. The polls remain open in all locations. According to sources, Senate races:
Arkansas
Pryor (D) leads easily
Colorado
Strickland (D) leads easily
Georgia
Chambliss (R) +4
Louisiana
Landrieu (D) headed for runoff
Minnesota
Coleman [R] +3
Missouri
Talent (R) leads
New Jersey
Lautenberg [D] leads Forrester
North Carolina
Bowles (D) leads Dole [Dole was leading earlier in day]
South Dakota
Thune [R] +3
Texas
Cornyn (R) +8
[Based on early exit polls, GOP is set to win Georgia, Missouri, Minnesota and S Dakota ; DEMS set to win Arkansas, Colorado North Carolina and New Jersey. ]"
Comments: It's disappointing to see Allard nose-diving. While I picked Strickland, I though Allard at least had a shot to win. Chambliss winning would be a pleasant surprise. It looks like my contact at the Chambliss campaign wasn't steering me wrong. Louisiana may become the center of the universe next month if Landrieu can't win outright and the results stay as they are. I don't buy the Dole result in NC. I still think she'll pull it out although I could be proven wrong.
If these numbers hold, we'll be 49-49-1 with the runoff in Cajun country next month deciding who controls the Senate....
***Update***: Two interesting bits of news from the Corner.
"The early exit polling in Bowles-Dole is mixed, but don't read too much into it. State Republicans in 2000 and again in 2002 were more successful than Democrats in making use of the new early-voting system. Exit polls won’t capture this differential. Still, the last-minute Zogby trend in North Carolina — Dole up by 10 points — would seem unlikely to pan out."
"Sununu seems to be leading. I’m told that it isn’t exactly clear that Dole is losing—don’t ask me why."
That's another race most people are putting in the Democrat column. If Drudge's numbers were to hold other than for Dole and Sununu wins, the GOP would pick-up 2 seats. It's still early so don't get too excited yet, but this is at least a good start to the night...
***Update #2***: Two updates on the numbers from Drudge...
Arkansas
Pryor (D) leads 51-49
South Dakota
Thune [R] too Close to call
Drudge also says Jeb Bush is down to 51%. I don't buy that...
BREAKING NEWS -- 15 Year-Old Wins Write-In Campaign For Florida Governorship: Florida -- In the biggest upset in the history of American politics, 15 year-old Danny 'Digital' Larson has won a write-in campaign for governor of Florida. Political analysts were stunned. Dick Morris commented,
I've never seen anything like it. This kid is 15 years old, he lives in Maine, and the 'l33t h@x0r Party' that he belongs to was polling at 0% yesterday in Florida. Yet this kid already has a 32 million vote lead in Florida and the polls haven't even been open for 9 hours yet."
Larry King flew out to Maine this afternoon to get an exclusive interview with the new governor of Florida at a Cyber Cafe that Larson kept referring to as his "campaign headquarters." According to King, Larson attributed his surprise victory to,
"My mad skillz bizotch!! All the voters know I'm the man they want managing their oranges or whatever it is the governor of Florida does."
When asked why he wanted to be governor of Florida, Larson replied,
"Because those Bush daughters are fine! Hey Jenna and Barbara, if you're watching this and you want your dad to be governor again, I think we can work something out. Let's meet up at the governor's mansion and we'll discuss details. Wear something sexy."
King then alerted Larson to the fact that Jenna and Barbara were President Bush's daughters, Jeb's daughter is named Noelle. Larson was quite upset at the news,
"You have got to be kidding me! Jenna and Barbara are fine, but Noelle is a crack ho or something isn't she? I'm not putting up with all those old people for Noelle! I bet I couldn't even crank up my music in the governor's mansion without somebody's grandfather pounding on my door yelling, 'turn that racket down!.' I get enough of that from my aunt when she comes to visit."
At that point the scene erupted into chaos as Larson's mother burst into the cafe and yelled at Larson...
"Daniel Peter Larson, did you hack into those voting machines in Florida and make yourself governor? You know I don't like getting calls from the FBI at work young man! I've just about had it with your hacking. Just to teach you a lesson, we're switching to AOL. Explain that to those juvenile delinquents you hang out with on the internet..."
Larson's mother then grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away from the camera while Larson pleaded,
"Mom, I'm on CNN and there are girls watching and...wait, AOL? Noooooooooooooooo!"
Another Member Of The VRWC: First I brought Michele Catalano from A Small Victory into the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and now Rachel Lucas is going to be joining the club...
Rachel darling, you won't regret it! Soon we'll be by to pick you up in one of our black helicopters and we'll fly you to a scenic island we keep hidden from the rest of the world. You'll dine on marinated dodo bird and "panda on a stick" as we remove Elvis from his specially prepared cryogenic chamber for a private concert.
Then after dinner we'll all head to the game room where members of the VRWC control predator drones hunting terrorists across the world by remote control. We even put cameras on the ends of the Hellfire missiles so we could see the faces of the terrorists as we blow them up. After Ann Coulter killed Abu Ali yesterday, we must have watched the video a half-dozen times. You should have seen the look on his face -- it was priceless!
Last but not least, we'll cap off the evening by hunting the most dangerous prey of all -- al-Queda terrorists. We had 50 terrorists shipped down from Gitmo and we'll be hunting them all across the Eastern half of the island. They'll be running barefoot while trying to dodge quicksand and pits filled with pungi sticks. On the other hand, you'll be piloting the militaries latest secret weapon -- the Ronald "Maximus" Reagan M-Class Mech Warrior (we call it the RMR for short). Your RMR is capable of firing off 5000 rounds a minute if you're just playing around or you can switch to the laser cannon if you really mean business. Remember, you'll have to go all out to beat Newt Gingrich's 29 kill record.
But whether you beat Newt's record or not, welcome to club Rachel!
Election Day 2002: Today is the big day! I'd encourage everyone to go out and vote -- well except the liberals who read this page. This might be a good day for you guys to listen to your Steve Earle CDs all day or dig into Michael Moore's "Stupid White Men."
But for the rest of you, here are a few things to keep in mind and watch for...
* If everything goes perfectly for the Democrats they'll...
-- Add a few seats in the House
-- Add 2 or 3 seats in the Senate
-- Have the majority of governorships
* If everything goes perfectly for the GOP we'll...
-- Add a few seats in the House
-- Take control of the Senate
-- Hold on to the majority of governorships
* Most of the polls seem to be trending Republican -- except Zogby.
* Expect the Democrats to try to steal a lot of elections that are close in the courts this time around.
* If the Dems lose the Senate, expect them to turn on Daschle, Gephardt, and McAuliffe with a vengence. Traditionally in off-year elections, the party out of the White House cleans up. While the economy hasn't been bad, it has been soft which should have also helped the Democrats. The Dems SHOULD BE picking up 20-30 seats in the House and 3 or 4 seats in the Senate. If the GOP takes back the Senate when the Dems should be dominating, expect heads to roll.
* If the GOP picks up Minnesota, it'll be because of the Wellstone "Memorial Service."
* The two most interesting governor's races...
-- Bush vs. McBride in Florida: "Terry McAuliffe" said that his No. 1 goal in the Nov. 5 elections was to defeat Gov. Jeb Bush in Florida." But recent polls show that Bush is up in the high single digits (or 15 points if you buy into Zogby's latest polling data). The Democrats have their hopes up about this one and having Jeb pull out a victory would sting...
-- Davis vs. Simon in California: Everyone has written off Simon in this race but late polling data suggests this one may still be in play. Internal Republican polls put Bill Simon IN THE LEAD by 3 points. Moreover, the numbers from the California Field Poll show this one isn't over yet...
"But even such public surveys as the California Field Poll, completed on Thursday with an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, had Mr. Davis ahead by only seven points, with 25 percent undecided — highly unusual in the closing days of an election."
Davis still has the edge, but Simon still appears to be in the race. If Simon somehow manages to pull this one out, it would be HUGE.
Fark Takes On The Death Of Abu Ali: Terrorist Abu Ali, who was thought to be involved with the USS Cole bombing, was sent straight to hell today along with 5 other al-Queda terrorists in Yemen. An unmanned Predator drone blew up the car he was in with a Hellfire missile and the only way they were able to identify Ali was by his, "leg, which was blown off in the blast and found nearby." Of course, that is good news and lots of people on Fark had some entertaining things to say about it...
TurntableJedi:"I guess Al Qaeda desn't have a leg to stand on now...aha. HAHA! *ahem*"
VegasVinnie:"Glad to see we're getting a leg up on these terrorists....."
PlastiqueJeebus:"Obligatory subthreads: 1. It was staged
2. It was a car full of nuns
3. Sen. Wellstone and family were in the car, trying to escape to tell the world they weren't in that plane but kidnapped by Republican goons, had to be silenced"
Harryhausen:[Sarcastic Liberal Rant] OMG! We didn't get UN approval before doing this!!!!!! OMG! What if they were apirin salesmen going to deliver baby formula to ill nourished Bedouin tribesmen!!!!!!! OMG! We need to understand why they flew those planes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center, not kill them! OMG! They are people too! [/End Sarcastic Liberal Rant]
Paradoxflux :"finally some good robot justice, soon america's robot armies will fly above every nation on the earth. obey or suffer hellfire!"
Personally, I love the fact that we blew Ali up with a Hellfire missile. No Camp Gitmo, no trial, no muss, no fuss, just 6 dead terrorists in the desert. It's nice to see the CIA earning their pay...
Saddam Appreciates Useful Idiots In Anti-War Movement
Saddam Appreciates Useful Idiots In Anti-War Movement: Last week, I pointed out that the antiwar movement is giving motivation and encouragement to America's enemies. Here is some of what I said in that post...
"...I'm sure terrorist groups, Islamo-fascists, and dictators across the world now feel "invigorate(d)" too since they've learned how many "useful idiots" there are in the United States. It must be nice to know that even if you fly planes into the WTC, bomb a disco, storm a theater, destroy a pizza parlor, or gas your own people, there will always be leftist dupes in the US doing everything in their power to impede the people trying to stop you. Most of clowns at these anti-war rallies would have been out protesting on behalf of Japan and the Nazis if they were around back in WW2. I can just hear them now...
"I'm not saying Hitler is a great guy, but America is like an imperialist nation you know? Roosevelt just wants to extend our global hegemony across the whole world. This isn't about Pearl Harbor either man! It's all about getting cheap labor in Japan and quality German cars. America has to break the cycle of violence by negotiating with Hitler instead of listening to Roosevelt's business cronies who want war. Hey FDR, we don't want your filthy war! Give peace a chance!"
Murdering innocent women and children is grim and desperate work especially when the American military machine is trying to stop you. But a few words from Susan Sarandon, Gore Vidal, Jesse Jackson, or even some random protestor waving an Iraqi flag may very well give the terrorists and the regimes that support them that "extra" motivation they need to blow themselves up or a plant a bomb on a bus. Thanks a lot you antiwar protestors, thanks a lot...."
Today, Saddam Hussein proved me right when he said...
"Time is in our favor, and we have to buy more time hoping that the U.S.-British alliance might disintegrate because of ... the pressure of public opinion" in the United States and Britain, he said."
So there we go. If you're part of the anti-war movement that's out in the street protesting, you might be calling for peace, but more people are going to die because of YOU. Saddam is going to try to hold out longer, to murder more Americans, to get more Iraqi civilians killed, because he's hoping that the anti-war movement will break our will. This was entirely predictable if you know your history and followed what happened in the Vietnam war. Here's a quote from Bui Tin, Colonel in the North Vietnamese army, in an interview in the WSJ...
"Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9:00 a.m. to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement. Visits to Hanoi by people like Jane Fonda and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and ministers gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses. We were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, said at a press conference that she was ashamed of American actions in the war, and that she would struggle along with us."
It must be great for Saddam and al-Queda to know that they have so many "useful idiots" in the anti-war movement who are going to try to help them live to murder another day...
StopDemocrats.com & The Senate Breakdown: Tomorrow night I'm going to watching Fox News with the sound off and listening to election coverage via an internet feed at Stopdemocrats.com. As an added bonus, they're supposed to be doing a radio spot for RWN in return for my promotion of their election coverage. Tune in to Stopdemocrats.com and check out the coverage.
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Let me give you an idea of what to expect tomorrow night. The GOP will probably pick-up a few seats in the House and lose some governorships. But, the real action is going to be in Senate where it's a virtual dead-heat. Currently, it's 50-49-1 with a lot of tight races that could change the balance of power in the Senate. The polls are flying hot and heavy with sometimes contradictory results. Here's the current breakdown...
Dem Controlled Seats
Georgia: Chambliss (R) Vs. Cleland (D) -- Most polls I've seen give the incumbent Cleland a lead of between 3-5 points with very few voters undecided. A last minute stop by GWB still gives Chambliss hope, but Cleland has the edge. ***Update***: New polling data puts this race neck and neck and I received an email from an acquiantance on the Chambliss campaign who told me that he thinks they're going to pull it off. Race changed to a toss-up.
Louisiana: Cooksey (R) & Terrell (R) Vs. Landrieu (D) -- This is a weird situation. Three Republicans are splitting the vote right now while Landrieu is sitting at 45%. Landrieu will definitely win, but if she doesn't get 50% of the vote there will be a December run-off that control of the Senate may hinge on. However, Landrieu looks to have an excellent shot of getting 50% and retaining the Democratic seat. edge to Landrieu.
Minnesota: Coleman (R) Vs. Mondale (D) -- The Dems bungled this one with grotesque Wellstone memorial rally. The sickening campaigning at the memorial service will allow Coleman to turn it loose for the last few days and a Bush visit will help. This is a seat that currently belongs to the Dems and it is a toss-up. Ventura has pledged to appoint an independent to fill out Wellstone's term in the lame duck session so even if Mondale wins, it's possible that Ventura's appointee could vote with the Republicans and give them control of the Senate. If Mondale loses, expect a court challenge over the absentee ballots.
Missouri: Talent (R) Vs. Carnahan (D) -- Talent has pulled out to a small 4-5 point in the last two weeks but some polls show Carnahan closing. Talent has the edge in the race for this Democrat controlled seat. If Talent wins and there are no Dem dirty tricks after the election to keep him from being immediately confirmed (ha-ha), the Republicans would take control of the Senate for the lame duck session because Talent would IMMEDIATELY replace Carnahan.
South Dakota: Thune (R) Vs Johnson (D) -- This one has been a dogfight for months with neither candidate able to pull away. This state which is currently controlled by the Dems is a toss-up
GOP Controlled Seats
Arkansas: Hutchinson (R) Vs. Pryor (D) -- Pryor currently has at least a 5 point lead on incumbent Tim Hutchinson. Hutchinson could still pull it out but he is playing catch-up. The edge goes to Pryor.
Colorado: Allard (R) Vs. Strickland (D) -- This race is still a toss-up with the last 3 polls I've seen showing Allard ahead, behind, and tied with Strickland.
New Hampshire: Sununu (R) Vs. Shaheen (D) -- Latest poll shows Sununu up by two, but reports out of Colorado say Shaheen has the momentum in this race for a Republican held seat. This one is a toss-up.
If I absolutely HAD to make picks for all these races, even the ones that are too close to call, I'd guess that...
Coleman, Talent, and Thune pick up seats for the GOP & Pryor, Strickland, and Shaheen pick up seats for the Dems leaving the Senate at 50-49-1 (assuming Lincoln Chafee doesn't switch to the Dems). However, do keep in mind that calling these races is very hard to predict and conventional wisdom could be off...
USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll results & Zogby came up with some contradictory poll numbers in some of the races they covered. Take a look at these results...
USA Today/CNN/Gallup
Colorado: Allard 47, Strickland 45 Missouri: Talent 48, Carnahan 44 South Dakota: Thune 48, Johnson 45
Zogby
Colorado: Strickland 53, Allard 44 Missouri: Carnhan 49, Talent 48 South Dakota: Johnson 52, Thune 47
While I haven't written him off completely, I have started to question some of Zogby's numbers lately because he's such an outspoken advocate for the Palestinians. Anytime a supposedly impartial pollster starts very publicly taking sides on a divisive issue, any issue, I have to wonder if it'll start to show up in his work. If you buy into Zogby's numbers, you should be VERY optimistic about the Dems chances tomorrow. But, if a lot of these Democrat candidates that Zogby has polling higher than everyone else crash and burn on election day, I'm going to really start taking Zogby's polling data with a grain of salt from now on.
***Update***: My best guess before the election is that Coleman will have to win & Allard will have to retain or Chambliss will have to pull off the upset with all other races going as expected for the GOP to take the Senate. Here's a breakdown of how some people are calling those three races...
Colorado: Allard (R) - Strickland (D) - Strickland Wins - David Broder, Ronald Brownstein, Lisa Myers, Charlie Cook, Hawkins, Zogby Poll Allard Wins- Real Clear Politics, USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll
Georgia: Chambliss (R) - Cleland (D) Cleland Wins - David Broder, Ronald Brownstein, Charlie Cook, Hawkins Chambliss Wins - Lisa Myers, Real Clear Politics Even - Zogby Poll
Minnesota: Coleman (R) - Mondale (D) Coleman Wins - Real Clear Politics, Hawkins Mondale Wins - David Broder, Ronald Brownstein, Lisa Myers, Charlie Cook, Zogby Poll
Also, Stopdemocrats.com invited me to do a guest spot on tomorrow nights show and I agreed. They told me they're planning to talk to me between 8 - 9 PM but there's a possibility it could be pushed back until 11. Make sure to listen in for me tomorrow night.
It's Time To Roast The Pig -- Pork Barrel Spending By Our Federal Government
It's Time To Roast The Pig -- Pork Barrel Spending By Our Federal Government: CAUTION - You are about to become extremely angry - please try and control yourself as you read this article. Yelling, screaming, kicking, throwing objects, and jumping up and down will not help the current situation. Calling your Congressman might... Voting for good political candidates will!
Right now we've got enough pork (excessive spending) in the U.S. government to have a worldwide barbeque and still have some leftover! Spending, appropriated by Congress, has gotten completely out of control! As I write this, we have a national debt of $6,197,635,021,767 (yes, that's trillion) yet; Congress is spending our money as if it grows on trees - they obviously weren't told otherwise as children. I've done some research to see exactly where our money is going... here's what I found (Cont)
