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PrintEarly voting trickle quickly becoming a torrent
Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:22 AM EDT
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Serenaded by their world famous marching band, almost a thousand students, faculty and administrators marched off the campus of Florida A&M University on Monday. It was not a protest march — at the head of the line was the university’s president, James Ammons.
Forty-five minutes later, they decamped on the lawn of the Leon County Courthouse in Tallahassee. And they voted.
“I feel today is a very important day in history,” said Robert Jones of Orlando, a student at the historically black college. “Hope to elect the first black president of the United States.”
Election Day isn’t until next month, but these Rattlers of FAMU have already cast their ballots in the presidential election. That’s because Florida opens it polling places and allows registered voters to do their civic duty well before Election Day.
Shortly after the FAMU contingent showed up, a second wave of student voters from Florida State University arrived en masse at the courthouse, a turnout that Ion Sancho, Leon County’s supervisor of elections, said was emblematic of overwhelming enthusiasm for early voting this year.
“Early voting is really going to set all-time records here in Leon County,” Sancho said. “I would probably say across the state, they’re going to set records, as well.”
In fact, election experts predict that up to 40 percent of the electorate will vote early in Florida, one of 31 states that let registered voters show up early and vote without restriction. Three other states and the District of Columbia allow voters to cast their ballots in person ahead of time if they have an approved excuse for not being able to make it on Election Day.
Millions of votes in the bank
Thanks to aggressive voter registration efforts by both parties and fueled by younger voters’ enthusiasm for Sen.
Barack Obama, D-Ill., election experts predict that a third of the electorate will already have voted by Nov. 4, up from 15 percent in 2000 and 20 percent in 2004.
The relatively recent phenomenon of early voting — often categorized as “in-person absentee voting,” as opposed to mail-in absentee balloting — presents both opportunities and challenges for candidates and voters. And it means the familiar problems of faulty machines and frustrated voters are played out over weeks instead of hours.
By getting voters to the polls early, the campaigns of Obama and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., can bank millions of votes and focus their energies on other segments of the electorate.
Obama, in particular, has made early voting a cornerstone of his strategy, holding giant “Early Vote for Change” rallies urging Democrats to show up in advance. He has also blanketed Democrats and pastors in minority communities with “vote early” e-mail messages and placed ads in the backgrounds of more than a dozen popular video games.
McCain, by contrast, is relying on his firm supporters to make it to the polls on Nov. 4, Rich Beeson, political director for the Republican National Committee, told The Associated Press. Republicans are focusing their early voting efforts on first-time and swing voters, who might be discouraged by long lines on Election Day.
Partly as a result, election officials report a disproportionally high turnout among registered Democrats in early voting so far, especially in urban centers like Atlanta, Las Vegas and Houston.
Through Monday in Las Vegas, for example, early ballots were cast by 31,875 registered Democrats and 13,371 registered Republicans, the Clark County registrar said, while in Ohio, Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans by 2-to-1 on Monday. Democratic advantages were also reported in Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and New Mexico.
How those voters actually voted will not be known until Election Day, but Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said such numbers revealed an “enthusiasm gap,” with “Obama voters more enthusiastic than a lot of McCain supporters.”
But Abramowitz and other experts cautioned against reading too much into those numbers, because an early vote is still just one vote — the same as one cast on Election Day. They noted that Republicans were more likely to vote through the traditional absentee ballot, potentially evening out the imbalance.
In Florida, for example, the secretary of state’s office reported that Democratic voters outnumbered Republican voters by 2-to-1 on Monday, the first day of early voting. At the same time, it noted that Republicans held a 17 percentage point lead in traditional absentee ballot requests.
“The more important question is whether (early Democratic voting) will translate into higher turnout” than usual among Democrats overall, Abramowitz said.
‘Such a historic election’
Early voting was adopted in many states after the disputed 2000 election, and this year it has put down deep roots. Across the country, election officials report record-shattering early turnout.
“There is so much passion coming from both sides. This is such a historic election in so many different ways,” said Lynn Bailey, director of the Board of Elections in Richmond County, Ga.
Nearly 700,000 Georgians and 500,000 North Carolinians had already voted by Wednesday, with nearly two weeks to go, while Bruce Sherbet, elections administrator in Dallas County, Texas, predicted that early voting numbers from 2008 would swamp those of 2004.
“If it sustains and continues through the 12-day period like this, there’s not going to be anything close to compare it to,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Houston and the rest of Harris County, Texas, the turnout on Monday, the first day of early voting, was 83 percent higher that it was on the same day four years ago.
“There are many factors — from the first woman potential vice president to an African-American running for president,” Harris County Clerk Beverly B. Kaufman said. “No one will ever say that 2008 in Houston was ho hum.”
But while welcoming the show of civic interest, some election experts cautioned that early voting has potential downsides.
The problem for the candidates is that banking millions of votes in advance means those votes are locked in and cannot be swayed. That puts pressure on the campaigns to burn through their cash weeks ahead of the election, before too many votes are set in stone.
“You can’t hold your big guns right to the end,” said Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Portland, Ore. “When up to 25 or 30 percent of the electorate has already cast a ballot, it might not be wise to wait until the last minute” to try a game-changing play.
Voting early also means a voter is stuck with his or her decision, no matter what happens in the final days of the campaign.
“Once you cast that vote, there’s still two weeks or a month to go, and what happens if something eventful happens with a campaign or a candidate during that period and you change your mind?” said Craig Wilson, a political science professor at the University of Montana.
Still a few bugs in the system
Early balloting also means more opportunities for something to go wrong. In many states, long lines have led to long waits — two hours in parts of Florida, 90 minutes in Houston and Chicago and an hour in Charlotte, N.C.
And familiar problems of the past keep springing up:
Meek, who said excessive waits could disenfranchise voters, compared Monday — the first day of early voting — to a churning hurricane. “Let’s consider this a Category 1 today,” he said. “By November 4, it will be a Category 5, if not 6.”
“Here we are, the first day, again not being prepared,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
Election officials in all of the troubled jurisdictions chalked up the difficulties to first-day glitches. They promised that the problems would quickly be fixed and urged voters not to be discouraged.
West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland said the state’s touch screens were overly sensitive and needed to be recalibrated from time to time. She said voters concerned about their machines should ask poll workers to move them to another machine.
Lester Sola, elections supervisor in Miami-Dade County, Fla., said officials “recognize that there is a concern, and we will be looking to address those concerns either with more personnel, more goodwill ambassadors and offering our voters the opportunity to cast an absentee ballot.”
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 | Early voting a boost for Dems - USATODAY.com | USA Today | Wed Oct 22 | 1 |
| Early voting 'boosts Democrats' | BBC News | Thu Oct 23 | 17 |
| Democrats Outpace Republicans in Early Voting | ABC News Blogs | Wed Oct 22 | 1 |
| Voters Allege E-voting Machines Switching Votes | PC World | Wed Oct 22 | 0 |
 | Black turnout is strong in early voting in South | Associated Press | Sun Oct 19 | 8 |
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{"commentId":3647913,"authorDomain":"bobw111"}
What if all the reporting on early voting backfires?
If 10% of the population votes early for Obama and it is heavily reported then the remaining Obama voters might think it is "in the bag" and not bother to vote.
Would it still be considered voter "Fraud" if McCain then wins as a result of media meddling?
The talking heads have had, and will continue to have, a very negative impact on the election process.
{"commentId":3647913,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"bobw111"}
#51 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:25 AM EDT{"commentId":3647919,"authorDomain":"donna-millar"}
This article incorrectly depicts South Carolina as not allowing early, in person voting. You CAN vote early, in person, in South Carolina, up until the day before the election, for approved reasons. These include being on vacation, being over 65, having health problems, etc. This needs to be corrected! Correct information is at this website:
{"commentId":3647919,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"donna-millar"}
#52 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:25 AM EDT{"commentId":3647964,"authorDomain":"DLab"}
The map that accompanies this article has an error in it. Both Oregon and Washington allow early voting, through vote-by-mail. Oregon has used vote-by-mail since 1981, and has used it as the exclusive means of voting since 1998. Oregon has consistently had one of the highest voter turnouts in the nation, 86% in 2004 and 70% in 2006. For a brief history see I love the convenience of being able to vote at my dining room table, sipping a cup of coffee, perusing the voter's pamphlet and doing research on the internet. I think it's an option other states should seriously consider.
{"commentId":3647964,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"DLab"}
#53 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:28 AM EDT{"commentId":3647983,"authorDomain":"venus8found"}
Some have said they think early voting should be banned... HELLO... there are people who cannot, no matter what, make it on election day or to their local court house to vote absentee. I commute to my job an hour away and by the time I get home the polls will be close for the day. I have every right to vote. I work an hour away and am in the process of moving soon, but I still have to vote locally. I have to leave earlier than the polls open and don't get back until after they are closed, so have an early place to vote on a Saturday, is very convenient for me and many others. If you don't want to vote early, then don't, but don't take my right away to vote by saying early voting should be banned. OH btw, I cannot afford to take time off from work to vote.
{"commentId":3647983,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"venus8found"}
#54 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:30 AM EDT{"commentId":3648689,"authorDomain":"jrl-281852"}
There are many legitimate reasons for not being able to vote on Election Day and we have to allow for that. Your situation seems to be one of those valid reasons. I do wonder what happened that you found the time to vote early but didn’t have the time to get an absentee ballet. Maybe we have to look at fixing the system; 24 hours to vote and/or vote on Sunday.
{"commentId":3648689,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"jrl-281852"}
{"commentId":3647988,"authorDomain":"andjusticeforall83"}
Mailed in my vote today from Japan.
+1 Obama/Biden
{"commentId":3647988,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"andjusticeforall83"}
- 1 vote
#55 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:30 AM EDT{"commentId":3648009,"authorDomain":"baintvl"}
Watch, now all these early voters will jump in ACORN vans, paid for by the Obama Campaign, and head for other states to vote as Mickey Mouse or other dead people. How good it is to live in a democratic country where anyone with the media and millionaires behind them can buy an election.
{"commentId":3648009,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"baintvl"}
#56 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:32 AM EDT{"commentId":3648685,"authorDomain":"elizabethgoldmeer-1"}
Gee Bob, I take offence to those comments.
I cannot think of a single person who would stoop to such unlawful efforts from where I'm from.
I believe most Americans are honest.
{"commentId":3648685,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"elizabethgoldmeer-1"}
{"commentId":3648014,"authorDomain":"greg-23"}
I'm with BobW. Get rid of an ineffectual congress. And thank goodness Sarah Palin will be running the Senate as Vice President. Just ask her. She believes she's going to be able to "get in there with the Senators" and get all mavericky. News Flash: They won't even let you into the room, Sarah, unless there's a rare vote that needs a tie-breaker. Read your constitution, sweetheart, then you can pass high school civics and maybe be elected to national office one day.
{"commentId":3648014,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"greg-23"}
- 1 vote
#57 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:32 AM EDT{"commentId":3648117,"authorDomain":"fw201a"}
You need to read the constitution the vice president IS the president of the senate and SHOULD be there every time it meets
{"commentId":3648117,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"fw201a"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":3649140,"authorDomain":"rcmoyer47"}
Frank, maybe YOU should try reading the constitution. Article I, Section 3 states, in part:
"
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall , in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States."
Other than a tie-breaking vote, the Vice President has no legislative authority or responsibility. The President pro tempore presides (ceremonially) over the Senate day-to-day but the Majority and Minority Leaders actually run the Senate.
{"commentId":3649140,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"rcmoyer47"}
{"commentId":3649154,"authorDomain":"rcmoyer47"}
Frank, maybe YOU should try reading the constitution. Article I, Section 3 states, in part:
"
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall , in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States."
Other than a tie-breaking vote, the Vice President has no legislative authority or responsibility. The President pro tempore presides (ceremonially) over the Senate day-to-day but the Majority and Minority Leaders actually run the Senate.
{"commentId":3649154,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"rcmoyer47"}
{"commentId":3651030,"authorDomain":"rodfather39"}
Frank, we all know that bush and cheney used the Constitution of The United States of America as toilet paper. We need to get back to the duty of preserving it.
Vote Obama/Biden '08
{"commentId":3651030,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"rodfather39"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":3648057,"authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
Everyone should remember that it doesn't matter who wins this election. There will not be significant movement in either direction unless Congress is changed from the inside out.
Remember - the President's only real power lies in his ability to appoint judges. By legislating from the bench, the Supreme Court and the Appelate Courts decide the direction of this country. Although this is not what our forefather intended when they drafted the Constitutuion, this is exactly what the Courts do. In my opinion, the courts should be interpretting the law not creating it!
The only difference bewtween Obama and McCain is that one will put more liberal judges on the bench than the other - and I don't really know which one that is!
{"commentId":3648057,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
#58 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:35 AM EDT{"commentId":3648091,"authorDomain":"wroch654"}
IT DOSENT MATTER ANY MORE , THE FRAUD IN THE SYSTEM IS SO OUTRAGEOUS WHY SHOULD WE BOTHER . CROOKED POLITICANS EVERYWHERE WE TURN , WE JUST NEED TO VOTE OUT ANYONE WHOS BEEN IN A TERM ALREADY. THE CROOKS LIKE BARNEY FRANK AND HIS COHARTS HAVE RUINT THE AMERICAN DREAM , NAMES YOU CAN ADD TO THAT LIST, LOUIS FARTCAN , JESSE WANNABE JACKSON, AND THE B---- NANCY P. RUN THEM ALL OUT OF CONGRESS. ITS TIME TO STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS OF THE REAL AMERICANS.
{"commentId":3648091,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"wroch654"}
#59 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:37 AM EDT{"commentId":3648176,"authorDomain":"dpignatell"}
I had no idea that Louis Farrakahn and Jesse Jackson were in congress. Where have I been?
{"commentId":3648176,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"dpignatell"}
{"commentId":3650945,"authorDomain":"greg-warren"}
LOL me neither, and to think, people this stupid vote. God help us all, lol
{"commentId":3650945,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"greg-warren"}
{"commentId":3652446,"authorDomain":"klbaetz"}
I think it is a great idea, but the only thing is.. there are two more waiting in line right behind them to take their places. It's really scary.
{"commentId":3652446,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"klbaetz"}
{"commentId":3648125,"authorDomain":"agoldsborough"}
This article mistakenly shows Oregon as a state that does not permit early voting and that is not true. I received my ballot over a week ago. In Oregon we have mail in ballots for everyone not just absentee voters and they are mailed out a few weeks before election day.
{"commentId":3648125,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"agoldsborough"}
#60 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:38 AM EDT{"commentId":3648196,"authorDomain":"agoldsborough"}
This artclie mistakenly shows Oregon as a state that does not permit early voting and that is not true. Oregon has a long history of mail in ballots for all voters not just absentee voters and those ballots are mailed out a few weeks before election day. I received mine a week ago and already voted.
{"commentId":3648196,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"agoldsborough"}
#61 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:42 AM EDT{"commentId":3648219,"authorDomain":"dewaynewhittle1979"}
If all you obama voters are so excited over early voting, then why is obama still campaigning? Just remember Nov. 4 08 is not here yet and a whole hell of a lot of people haven't cast their vote yet plus obama os losing ground because of tax issues. Which would cost you @!$%#s your jobs in the in the not so far near further.
{"commentId":3648219,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"dewaynewhittle1979"}
#62 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:44 AM EDT{"commentId":3648808,"authorDomain":"elizabethgoldmeer-1"}
Why would you think nobody voted early for McCain?
What a dumb think to say.
It sounds like you are calling the kettle black, so to speak.
{"commentId":3648808,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"elizabethgoldmeer-1"}
{"commentId":3651221,"authorDomain":"greg-23"}
Why still campaigning? Because he can. $150 million in small amounts from people of all races and social classes who are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Oh, and he's actually got something to say about the future instead of only tearing down the other guy.
{"commentId":3651221,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"greg-23"}
{"commentId":3648231,"authorDomain":"giamilton"}
Oregon is listed as having no early voting, which is kind of misleading. We have vote by mail, the ballots are already out, now we just have till Nov 4th at 8pm to drop them off or mail them. How is this not considered "early"? I'm filling mine out as I write this, so even though I am voting before Nov 4 it's not early huh? wierd. Oregon has one of the highest voter turnouts in the whole US, that's because it's easy to vote, no lines, no needing time off work, no unexpected suprises to keep you from the polls like a sick kid or whatnot. The other great thing is it's paper ballots, they leave a paper trail very useful in a recount. I urge everyone to write their state legislators and urge them to copy Oregons voting model.
{"commentId":3648231,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"giamilton"}
#63 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:44 AM EDT{"commentId":3648242,"authorDomain":"twheeler17"}
The map is wrong about Missouri. You can vote early in person or absentee by mail with an acceptable excuse for being absent on election day. I voted earlier this week at my county courthouse because my daughter is having a baby any day now and I'm heading for Kansas to help her out for a week or so after the baby comes. It was a thrill to vote for Barack Obama and my new grandson's future.
{"commentId":3648242,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"twheeler17"}
#64 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:45 AM EDT{"commentId":3648298,"authorDomain":"dewaynewhittle1979"}
I do agree MSNBC is very liberal site for obama.
{"commentId":3648298,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"dewaynewhittle1979"}
#65 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:48 AM EDT{"commentId":3648439,"authorDomain":"baja-bandito"}
{"commentId":3648516,"authorDomain":"schmidtface"}
The Vast Right-Wing
Media Manipulation Scam
As everybody is now well aware, the Far Right, including the Bush administration, engages in relentless arm-twisting, bribery, and other nefarious means to get the various media outlets to act like lapdogs. And when you do it that much, you get caught. Their efforts are laughably blatant, which proves another point: the Far Right attracts idiots. So let's examine some of the Right's more egregious attempts at winning, through utter subterfuge, hearts and minds, including sending a gay hooker to the White House as a reporter. Bush himself is part of the propaganda. His so-called "town meetings" only allow in folks who sign loyalty pledges, and audience plants commonly ask softball questions. Oct 2005, he held an "unrehearsed" video Q&A session with soldiers stationed in Iraq. But the live satellite feed sent out the rehearsal ahead of time. The questions & answers were completely, hilariously choreographed.Commentators | Swift Boat Liars | Fake stories | Fake reporters | Paid-off reporters | Taxpayer-funded PR
Sinclair Media | FOX | Other fake news orgs | Right Wing Media Terms | White House bull@!$%#
Military Media Mangling | B.S. on the WWW | Bill Kristol | Ann Coulter | Michelle Malkin | O'REILLY| Novak
Disney imitates Fox | What's that about Barack Obama? | Glenn Beck
Dispelling of the myth of the Liberal Media: http://www.webpan.com/dsinclair/myths.html
Here's a great book on right wing media propaganda.
Conservative commentators and other liars
Just think, James: if you were a conservative, you could beat your wife
Mary Matalin, a typical knee-jerk conservative, is married (somehow) to Democratic adviser James Carville. He must sleep in the part of the house without the gas leak. He needs to give her a sound spanking. November 2007, on Joe Scarborough's morning show, she proved that she doesn't read newspapers. Joe was asking her about the surge. First off, she said there would be no "flag-waving on a ship" to signify "a victory day." Too late, Bush did that with the infamous flight suit landing on the aircraft carrier with the "Mission Accomplished" banner that the White House later claimed they hadn't supplied and which somebody later admitted they DID.
Then Mary disputed Joe's assertion (in which he merely quoted many, many, many military minds) that more troops early on, as Colin Powell wanted, would have made the Iraq invasion a success. She replied that it wasn't the number of troops, but the kinds of things they were doing that was making the surge "successful." Really? Then WHY did we send all those troops?
The funny thing is, Mary rendered this opinion shortly after stating that she was only a plitical communications adviser, not a military mind. Maybe this is the problem with Bush's entire administration. People who aren't qualified to run @!$%#, but then they do it anyway.
Mary then went on to say how much she liked Fred Thompson, and how informed and sharp he was. Holy @!$%#, has she seen this guy mumble his way through non-committal answers on just about everything? Maybe Fred reads as little as Mary does.
Rush Limbaugh only knows one thing: his side is always right. No matter what ridiculous carp they say, they're always right, and the other side is always wrong. He also ran afoul of schoolchildren with a bizarre rant against multicultural education. He was seen as a racist for his bizarre comments about Eagles QB Donovan McNabb.
April 2007: This empty-headed bucket of lard said that the VA Tech shooter must have been "a liberal." Holy @!$%#!
March 2007: Limbaugh says "conservatism is the best way to serve the people. Raising the minimum wage is not improving people's lives." Typical bull@!$%# from this arrogant, rich, pill-popping, doctor-shopping @!$%#.
October 2006: Limbaugh says just about the dumbest thing ever!!!!! Actor Michael J. Fox taped a pro-stem cell research campaign ad for a candidate in Missouri. As he often does, he was quite shaky in front of the camera. Limbaugh says he's never seen Fox show Parkinson's symptoms before, so Fox either hadn't taken his medication or was faking it. WHAT A PIG!!!! Limbaugh is SO self-important, he figures if HE hasn't seen Fox like that before, he must be faking. But having seen Fox on TV many times since he became ill, I've seen him even worse, as have millions of others.
He's a single-minded, close-minded fat bozo. His partner in intellectual crime is Sean Hannity, who once had as a guest on his show one Jeff Guckert, the gay hooker who somehow got White House press passes so he could toss softball questions at the president and his staff.
Amusingly enough, in April 2005 Rush lost his appeal to keep his medical records private, in an attempt to fight charges that, while a pill-popper, he shopped for doctors who would gie him whatever drugs he wanted. Even more amusing is that the ability to dive into people's private info is exactly the approach embraced by his favorite president and favorite attorney general. April 2006, he was finally arrested for fraud, for copping prescription drugs he'd gotten his fat ass addicted to. Yeah, this is somebody we all ought to listen to.
Limbaugh has long ripped on drug addicts, but then was discovered to BE one. He shopped for doctors who would give him copious amounts of medication. While on probation, he got caught with a bottle of Viagra that was in somebody else's name.
When the whole mideast went to hell in July 2006, after Israel went after Hezbollah, Limbaugh tried echoing what Bush was pushing, that this was a wonderful period of opportunity. He said there was a "new paradigm going on." Uh, no, just death and destruction. The reason Bush was pushing that notion is because he has no influence, no ability to affect a damn thing, no ideas on how to fix the situation. And Limbaugh's just a huge ass-kisser. And whaddaya know, nothing good came out of the whole mess.
Bill "phone sex" O'Reilly, of that GOP propaganda wing known as "Fox News," got caught talking dirty to a subordinate and had to settle for millions of dollars, to keep it out of an embarrassing court case that pretty much would have destroyed his career. Meantime, he spouts ridiculous right-wing propaganda, with an arrogance that belies his lack of grasp of the facts. After San Francisco schools voted to keep military recruiters off campus, O'Reilly essentially wished on the air for terrorists to strike the city, even mentioning a specific building. Instead of doing the RIGHT thing by admitting he screwed up, he went on the attack. An American wished for foreign terrorists to strike an American city. The moral of this story: O'Reilly is no guardian of either morals OR patriotism. He's just a scumbag. THEN this flaming hypocrite has the nerve to suggest that news media running stories on CIA planes landing in allied countries invites terrorists to strike those countries, after HE invited terrorists to strike his OWN country.
January 2007: O'Reilly now claims that his opponents' BODY LANGUAGE reveals how liberal they are. He has started nightly body language alerts. At this point, he's completely f___d in the head.
Bulletin .... O'Reilly is on the Al Qaeda "death list" !!!!!!! At least according to him. O'Reilly claims (Sept 2006) that the FBI visited Fox studios to tell the lying vermin there that they were on a "death list." But other members of the Fox coven say there was no such visit, and there was no such warning. This clown has no idea how damn dumb he sounds, apparently. He may not be on Al Qaeda's death list, but he's on the official Whizbang Brain-death list.
September 2006: O'Reilly laughs off a woman who has spoken with various intelligence officials who admit that data gathered under torture is often useless. O'Reilly says he knows better, because he's spoken to Guantanamo interrogators. What a f****g fool! Of COURSE the interrogators aren't going to say that what they do is for nothing.
June 2006: O'Reilly says the left-wingers are responsible for the torture-deaths of two US soldiers. He says the New York Times and others are keeping George Bush from fighting the war properly. Wants more troops, wants the USA to "take the gloves off," wants the Iraqis to impose "martial law." HUH? They kinda have martial law already, but if t hey wanna do more, they need more of an Iraqi army. It's the Bushies who dissolved the Iraqi army inthe first place, remember that, Bill? And it was Bush disciples Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz who railroaded General Shinseki when he said before the invasion that more troops would be needed. Instead of the LEFT wing being to blame, I'd say it was the RIGHT wing.
May 2005: On the ridiculously-named Fox News, O'Reilly blathers on about some irrelevant fundraising thing involving Hillary Clinton, something nobody else has picked up on, in their futile attempt to distract the rest of the world from Tom DeLay's endless ethical lapses. The next day, they're interviewing some guy who's written a book ripping on Alan Greenspan. Why? Because Greenspan doesn't agree with Bush's Social Security ideas, or gigantic deficits.
O'Reilly has also sucked up to the utter scumbags at USA Next, in their war against old people.
O'Reilly got his panties in a knot over France not backing up the USA in the Iraq war. He called for a boycott of France. In fact, American imports from France went up. O'Reilly claimed on the air that the boycott (which nobody seemed to notice) was working, saying that France had lost "billions of dollars," according to the "Paris Business Review." This Review of which he spoke doesn't exist. Of course, O'Reilly has long made up statistics, or cited erroneous data, and when he's been called on it, he attacks the people who've done their homework. He claimed that his show reached 5 million viewers nightly. The Wall Street Journal reported Nielsen estimates that state the number is less than half what O'Reilly claimed. He attacked the Journal, calling their article "a lie." Well, no, it was actually on the money, Billy-boy.
O'Reilly went on the Letterman show in January '06, and got spanked. In a ridiculous example of SPIN (that thing he claims not to do), he printed in his online column a partial transcript of the appearance. In this transcript, it appears that he got all the laughs and the applause. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Un-fricking-believable.
February 2006, O'Reilly accuses NBC News of cheap shots at Fox. In the various next statement, he makes fun of their ratings, and hints at other things that are wrong with the place. Apparently he doesn't recognize his OWN cheap shots. He constantly talks about ratings, and who's got them, and who doesn't, and he drops all kinds of nasty labels on the competition.
Of course, O'Reilly is a scumbag for more than just phone sex. After schools in San Francisco opted not to let military recruiters on campus, O'Reilly went nuts on the town, actually inviting terrorists to blow up the city, even citing a particular target, the Coit Tower. God help this dumb @!$%# if somebody ever does hit that particualr building, because the citizens of San Fran will be lining up to kick his ass. How unAmerican can you get than to suggest terrorists strike your fellow citizens because of their political views. Of course, Glenn Beck does the same thing.
O'Reilly and the rest of the nitwits at Fox "News" claim there's a cultural war going on against Christmas. Like Bush, he conveniently forgets that little thing in the Constitution about separation of Church and State. But what really bugs him is the stores that use the word "holiday" over the word "Christmas." Well, if I go to the store to buy Christmas presents, I don't really give a rat's ass if they're labeled Holiday stuff. I'll call it whatever I want, once I get home. If the store calls it something else, oh gee whiz. O'Reilly really is very thin-skinned. But here's irony at its best: O'Reilly sells his own line of merchandise online, and on the Fox News site they were selling O'Reilly HOLIDAY ornaments. Not CHRISTMAS ornaments. Oops.
Arrogantly enough, O'Reilly compares every slight he faces in the media (and he gets plenty, because he's full of @!$%# and himself, which are the same thing) with a slap in the face to America itself. Considering he's an enemy of free speech, he's on the opposite end of what America truly stands for. Also arrogantly enough, O'Reilly takes credit for lowering gas prices. He says he personally scared the oil company execs.
December 2005: O'Reilly comments on the story of a Catholic pre-school teacher who lost her job when she got pregnant while unmarried. The Tampa Tribune (whose editors O'Reilly viciously attacked in a very personal diatribe) pointed out that Jesus' own mother found herself pregnant and unmarried. O'Reilly, who apparently skipped both Sunday school AND biology class, said that the Tampa Trib twisted Christian theology to make their point, since Jesus was the result of immaculate conception. See here, phone-sex-boy, conception, whether immaculate or the old-fashioned kind, results in PREGNANCY.
EVERYBODY who says anything in the media that disagrees with the Fox mentality is instantly labeled "far left" by O'Reilly. Phone-Sex-Boy even said that Howard Dean works "hand in hand with far-left bomb throwers," and that he "releases their propaganda under the DNC banner." Never mind that O'Reilly and his cohorts release the White House's propaganda under the Fox "News" banner.
O'Reilly says that new press sec Tony Snow will "confront irresponsibility on the part of the White House press corps." But what about irresponsibility on the part of the press sec? Why was Jeff Guckert/Gannon allowed into the briefing room under a false name, to toss softball questions at McLellan?
{"commentId":3648516,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"schmidtface"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":3648824,"authorDomain":"baja-bandito"}
{"commentId":3648900,"authorDomain":"schmidtface"}
semperfi, facts are facts. It the TRUTH hurts don't watch MSNBC, keep watching Faux news.
{"commentId":3648900,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"schmidtface"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":3648942,"authorDomain":"baja-bandito"}
{"commentId":3649092,"authorDomain":"jamesparsons74"}
I think your right but the GOP has the Fox news network. In fact, they have gotten Fox news to tell absolute lies in the build up to the Iraq war. I think both networks have found their niche market but I feel NO news network does a really great job of investigative reporting.
{"commentId":3649092,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"jamesparsons74"}
{"commentId":3649127,"authorDomain":"jrl-281852"}
South Paw,
I suspect you are a very nice person when not on a political subject but your logic escapes me.
When you bring up Mary Matalin and James Carville; two people, by all accounts deeply in love, and suggest that he must sleep in a different part of the house. Are you insinuating that his thought process is impared? If so, does that mean anything he says in suspect? If so, any democrat that agrees with him is deranged? Is that what you mean?
Intelegent people can look at the same facts and come to different conclusions by looking through their own rose colored glasses. If someone disagrees with you after a thoughtful introspection, than we must agree to disagree.
Both canidates have "distorted" facts in this campaing but in the end, reguardless of who is elected, the other will do what ever they can to help move this country forward.
Your tirade against ORielly has truth to it, but I don’t watch him the same way I wont watch Olberman, both are so biased that they should not be called journalist but rather entertainers.
{"commentId":3649127,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"jrl-281852"}
{"commentId":3649358,"authorDomain":"schmidtface"}
jrl, thank you.Have you ever listened to Mary Matalin? She grinds on the left as hard as anybody and James Carville does the same to the right. You're right, they must truly love one another.I agree with you that Olberman is "the lefts" ORielly, but no one throws harder BS than ORielly, Rush, Savage, and Beck( to a lesser degree). Olberman is the left's ace, I think he tells it like it is. I'm sure you feel the same about the aforementioned righties.
{"commentId":3649358,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"schmidtface"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":3671420,"authorDomain":"jrl-281852"}
Southpaw,
I have listened to both, and feel both are attack dogs for their side. One reason I do like listening to them is they are generaly on at the same time and it gives me a chance to get some type of balance.
As for for the Limbaughs and Olberman's, they make no attempt to provide balance. I think they are both nessesary evils in our system. Both propogate half truths. If the right and the left could stomach watching each, with an open mind, we might find some middle ground that we can live with.
Besides this, if Sen. Obama wins and I ever have a chance to meet him, I will be thrilled. He would be our President and we should be proud that power passes on to the new executive in such a wonderfull way. I suspect you would feel the same way should Sen McCain win.
Good luck
{"commentId":3671420,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"jrl-281852"}
{"commentId":3648334,"authorDomain":"dewaynewhittle1979"}
McCain/Palin 08
{"commentId":3648334,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"dewaynewhittle1979"}
#66 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:51 AM EDT{"commentId":3651075,"authorDomain":"greg-warren"}
McCain/ Caribou Barbie 08
{"commentId":3651075,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"greg-warren"}
{"commentId":3648398,"authorDomain":"christopherhynes"}
McCain / Blockhead '08.
{"commentId":3648398,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"christopherhynes"}
- 1 vote
#67 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:55 AM EDT{"commentId":3648402,"authorDomain":"baja-bandito"}
{"commentId":3648440,"authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
The fact of the tax matter is this: Obama is going increase your taxes. He says he will cut taxes for 95% of Americans (an improbable percentage). What he doesn't say very loudly is that he will let all of the Bush tax cuts expire. So while we may see a tax cut here and there, overall we will pay more in taxes over the years of his term.
{"commentId":3648440,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
#69 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:57 AM EDT{"commentId":3648895,"authorDomain":"jamesparsons74"}
Either that or deficit spending forever. Look at what the Bush tax cuts have done. They are killing the middle class. We may not all agree on the proper size of government but I think most all would agree it needs to raise the money it spends, not just spend it. Overall there is NO WAY either president cannot raise taxes slowly over time. We have to listen to Ross Perot on this one. Deficit spending is killing us. And besides, low taxes have not translated into economic success in this country. If you are a liberterian in will let this comment slide, but if you are a conservative republican than you should be more financially responsible.
{"commentId":3648895,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"jamesparsons74"}
{"commentId":3648445,"authorDomain":"runs4health-1"}
Communism is not far off. Voting is no longer a right, it is a "must". University President's forcing the Marching band to vote ? You say, of course, no one was forced. Well, how many of those kids would have the courage to tell the President, I'm not going to vote today because I haven't yet decided, or I'm not informed as much as I should be yet. NONE. This reminds me of the "leading the sheep to slaughter" phrase. We are a nation of people, but we are also individuals with individual rights.
Get informed and Vote your conscience.
{"commentId":3648445,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"runs4health-1"}
#70 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:57 AM EDT{"commentId":3648474,"authorDomain":"allendietz"}
Interesting that the map in this article is incorrect for at least two states. Oregon and Washington are both listed as not allowing early voting. I live in Washington State, and my county is 100% vote-by-mail. I received my ballot last weekend and have already mailed it in. I consider that early voting! Vote-by-mail is an option in every Washington county. Oregon, as far as I know, is a 100% vote-by-mail state.
{"commentId":3648474,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"allendietz"}
#71 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:59 AM EDT{"commentId":3648475,"authorDomain":"venus8found"}
If we do indeed pay taxes or the administration under Obama is spending, at least we know, well those of us who have been struggling the past 2 terms, that it will be spent on much better things for our country and society.
{"commentId":3648475,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"venus8found"}
#72 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:59 AM EDT{"commentId":3648814,"authorDomain":"jasonpam"}
Over 30% of my income goes to cover taxes and FICA, I live on less than 20 thousand a year because of it.....as far as I can tell, the Republican administration hasn't cared that I am just barely making it.
However, I think I should pay taxes, but I think my sacrifice should go to things like roads, and bridges, and schools. No one lives rent free unless they live with their parents, and even then.....
I would be very interested to know what percentage of income tax is paid by wealthy CEO execs.....the way I figure it, if a person makes 60 million, is that person paying 20 million in taxes? If they aren't, then the is a problem, and we need to fix it.
{"commentId":3648814,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"jasonpam"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":3648482,"authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
Good job, Semper-Fi
{"commentId":3648482,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
#73 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:00 AM EDT{"commentId":3648853,"authorDomain":"baja-bandito"}
{"commentId":3648550,"authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
So Venus, you're OK with the feds taking MORE of your money?! I think they get enough of my check already! If you really don't want all of the money that you make, please send some to me. I can put it to better use than either Obama or McCain!!!
{"commentId":3648550,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"sandog0325"}
#74 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:03 AM EDT{"commentId":3648577,"authorDomain":"DLab"}
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The map that accompanies this article has an error in it. Both Oregon and Washington allow early voting, through vote-by-mail. Oregon has used vote-by-mail since 1981, and has used it as the exclusive means of voting since 1998. Oregon has consistently had one of the highest voter turnouts in the nation, 86% in 2004 and 70% in 2006. For a brief history see I love the convenience of being able to vote at my dining room table, sipping a cup of coffee, perusing the voter's pamphlet and doing research on the internet. I think it's an option other states should seriously consider.
{"commentId":3648577,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"DLab"}
#75 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:04 AM EDT{"commentId":3648600,"authorDomain":"edb10856"}
Thanks Mike the Red and Mark just above. I am in Oregon, too. I was going to point that out as well. However, technically, we don't have "early" voting, just voting over a longer period of time. Everyone gets their ballots just about the same time. It's just earlier than November 4. OK, splitting hairs. All that said, I'm a huge fan of this, and some of the nasty comments above about vote by mail leading to fraud are simply ignorant. You may know, as apparently many on this newsvine do not, that everytime Oregon audits the vote by mail system, it comes up with no statistical difference in bad ballots than a polling system. It is also a myth that vote by mail favors Democrats. Percentages of both parties who vote are about the same here as nationally.
{"commentId":3648600,"threadId":"396949","contentId":"2030953","authorDomain":"edb10856"}
#76 - Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:05 AM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"396949","isPrivate":false}
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