Politics: Where we struggle to kneel in the muck.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by taxwonk
He couldn't have done as badly as he did if he had any help from the sidelines.

Being a total chick about my clothing, I know exactly what that "bump" is... A well tailored suit (Bush buys Oxxford) hugs the shoulders snugly. When you lean over, the fabric in exactly the area where the "bump" is located will become taut and form that "bump". The light on Bush from above creates a shadow below the tightened fabric, thus creating the appearance of a bulge.

I'm not at all surprised the sort of consipracy theorists who post this stuff would be unfamiliar with how a suit drapes.

God, did I just write that?

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
And if the DNC had it's shit together enough to send out talking points . . .

Does sending out tens of millions of e-mails prior to the debates asking everyone to write letters after, and giving the specific points to be made in those letters, count?

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Not Bob
Touche. I have no idear. The dude won despite the rumor, and wasn't later arrested, so I assume so.

He was heavily involved in several children's shelters and other programs, and so there were a number of pics circulating of him holding hands with some boys.

No, he wasn't.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by bilmore
Does sending out tens of millions of e-mails prior to the debates asking everyone to write letters after, and giving the specific points to be made in those letters, count?

I know that there are lefties doing that, but I wasn't aware that the DNC had anything to do with it. I thought other people had moved to fill the gap left by McAuliffe's crack organization, which was clearly focused on other things. Apparently they can't get yard signs distributed this year, either.

What do I know? I'm not getting that kind of spam.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Being a total chick . . .

You'all outed Not Me while I was gone?

Damn. This one I wouldn't have guessed.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Being a total chick about my clothing, I know exactly what that "bump" is... A well tailored suit (Bush buys Oxxford) hugs the shoulders snugly. When you lean over, the fabric in exactly the area where the "bump" is located will become taut and form that "bump". The light on Bush from above creates a shadow below the tightened fabric, thus creating the appearance of a bulge.

I'm not at all surprised the sort of consipracy theorists who post this stuff would be unfamiliar with how a suit drapes.

God, did I just write that?

No wonder you are so angry all the time. You're "talents" are not truly appreciated in backward ass PA.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I know that there are lefties doing that, but I wasn't aware that the DNC had anything to do with it. I thought other people had moved to fill the gap left by McAuliffe's crack organization, which was clearly focused on other things. Apparently they can't get yard signs distributed this year, either.

What do I know? I'm not getting that kind of spam.

I got several myself. They came directly from McA. It was the righty story of the debate night.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by bilmore
I got several myself. They came directly from McA. It was the righty story of the debate night.

The idea that the campaigns are distributing talking points is not a story.* Nothing wrong with that. The idea that putatively independent journalists are regurgitating them is a story. The people who repeated the RNC's talking points are hacks. I would be curious to hear who repeated the DNC's stuff.

* Except to the extent that it suggests that McAuliffe hired someone with a pulse.

[Say_hello_for_me]

Originally posted by The Larry Davis Experience
Like it or not, there definitely has been an increased homeland security presence around voter registration efforts focused at latinos, and thus a corresponding chorus of protest from those people affected (who, out here, are Dems, despite the admin's immigration proposals). I've seen several stories on this theme. You should probably take that with a grain of salt, since I do live in crackpot lefty central, but on the other hand this wasn't the gratuitous race-bait out of left field you make it out to be.

The funny thing is that one of these articles used a similar anecdote from Florida, but as we saw during the most recent felon list controversy Florida's hispanics actually vote republican by a wide margin.

The quote was: 'The Right will scream "voter fraud" everytime a Hispanic person votes, and the Left will be screaming about voter intimidation and voting machines.'

How does the governments focus on electoral groups for homeland security issues have anything to do with a suggestion that the Right will later scream something everytime a Hispanic person votes. Sorry, but that is just a shrill and absolutely repulsive charge to level without support. Either people should explain what they are talking about (even you haven't explained what he might be talking about to the point that I or anyone would understand it), or they should keep these comments to themselves. Its no wonder someone in Texas would get a pit in their stomach reading it.

That said, what homeland security efforts are you talking about? What are they doing?

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
The idea that the campaigns are distributing talking points is not a story.*

Sorry. I was only responding to your query re: did we do that?

Nothing wrong with that. The idea that putatively independent journalists are regurgitating them is a story. The people who repeated the RNC's talking points are hacks. I would be curious to hear who repeated the DNC's stuff.

Seems I saw all of those points, in nearly the same language, in most of the big-city papers the next day or two.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I know that there are lefties doing that, but I wasn't aware that the DNC had anything to do with it. I thought other people had moved to fill the gap left by McAuliffe's crack organization, which was clearly focused on other things. Apparently they can't get yard signs distributed this year, either.

What do I know? I'm not getting that kind of spam.

I am. But it's generally telling me to write to my newspaper and participate in on-line polls. It's not telling me specifically what to say. I should have cut and pasted the one from after the VP debate.

Here's the letter from McAuliffe sent earlier today:

Dear [Replaced Texan],

You watched John Kerry win the first presidential debate against George Bush with a commanding performance that showed Americans they can expect strong and principled leadership from him as President. But it was your efforts that kept the Republicans from spinning their way to victory. And after the vice presidential debate between John Edwards and Dick Cheney, when the Republican Party sought to mimic your efforts, you again kept the Republicans from claiming a victory that never existed.

It's time to rally again. Tonight, John Kerry and George Bush will face off in the second presidential debate. The President will look to make personal attacks on John Kerry rather than answer questions about his record, and the Republican spin machine will be spinning like there's no tomorrow. After failing for two debates, they're desperate. Once again, we need you to take action the moment they leave the stage.

There are four critical things you can do to help beat the Republican spin machine.

Forward this email to family, coworkers, and friends.
Vote in online polls.
Write a letter to the editor.
Call radio and television stations.

Your activism following the debates has made the difference -- and it will again tonight.

Vote in Online Polls
National and local news organizations will be conducting online polls during and after the debate asking for readers' opinions. Look for online polls at these news websites, and make sure to vote in every one of them:

CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/
Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/
MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/
Akron Beacon-Journal: http://www.ohio.com/
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: http://www.ajc.com/
Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/
Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/
Orlando Sentinel: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Philadelphia Inquirer: http://www.philly.com/
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/

And be sure to check the websites of your local newspapers and TV stations for online polls. It is crucial that you do this in the minutes immediately following the debate.

Make sure swing voters know why you support John Kerry by sharing your thoughts on message boards in target states. Visit our 2004 Debate Center after the debate for a list of message boards where you can fight the Republican spin. If you visit chat rooms on AOL, MSN, Yahoo, or other websites, be sure to let people know what you thought of the debate.

Write a Letter to the Editor
Immediately after the debate, go online and write a letter to the editor of your local paper. If you feel John Kerry laid out a plan to make America stronger put it in your letter. If you feel George Bush failed to defend his four years of failure, put it in your letter.

Writing a letter is easier than you think. It takes just a few minutes and just a few clicks using our online media center:

http://www.democrats.org/media/

Call Radio and TV Stations
TV and radio coverage immediately following the debate is where much of the spin is cemented. Make sure you call radio and TV stations to tell them what you thought.

Find shows in your area on our media website:

http://www.democrats.org/media/find.html

Also...
Don't forget to visit our 2004 Debate Center before, during, and after the debate for important information and more ways to take action.

http://www.democrats.org/debates/

Thank you,

[Terry's .jpg signature]

[Gattigap]

Please, please, PLEASE someone raise this in tonight's debate.

When Bush took office in January 2001, the government was forecasting a $5.6 trillion budget surplus between then and 2011. Instead, it is now expecting to accumulate an extra $3 trillion in debt -- including a record $415 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The government has to borrow an average of more than $1.1 billion a day to pay its bills, and it spends more on interest payments on the federal debt each year -- about $159 billion -- than it does on education, homeland security, justice and law enforcement, veterans, international aid, and space exploration combined.

Without doubt, the fiscal turnaround started with the bursting of the stock market bubble and was pushed forward by recession, terrorist attacks and corporate scandals not of the president's making. But conservative and liberal budget analysts agree that deficits were increased by the administration's policy choices: tax cuts amid swelling red ink and the costly invasion of Iraq.

The consequences are just coming into view. The White House has ordered draft budgets for 2006 that would cut spending on homeland security, veterans affairs and education, according to White House documents. Some economists -- although by no means most -- see a reckoning on the horizon, when foreign lenders reject U.S. debt, interest rates rise, and the value of the dollar crashes.

WaPo

Holy shit. Bush is contemplating cutting Homeland Security, veterans affairs and education??

Read the rest of the article, too. It's pretty damning stuff as a recounting of how GWB set his fiscal policy, and how we'll be royally fucked if foreigners decide to stop lending us money.

Enjoy the debate, all.

[The Larry Davis Experience]

Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
The quote was: 'The Right will scream "voter fraud" everytime a Hispanic person votes, and the Left will be screaming about voter intimidation and voting machines.'

How does the governments focus on electoral groups for homeland security issues have anything to do with a suggestion that the Right will later scream something everytime a Hispanic person votes. Sorry, but that is just a shrill and absolutely repulsive charge to level without support. Either people should explain what they are talking about (even you haven't explained what he might be talking about to the point that I or anyone would understand it), or they should keep these comments to themselves. Its no wonder someone in Texas would get a pit in their stomach reading it.

That said, what homeland security efforts are you talking about? What are they doing?

I honestly don't know exactly what Atrios is talking about, and since he's far to my left I'm not sure I'd be able to explain it to the likes of the Right.

What I did a poor job of describing is that I have read a few articles that homeland security types are hassling voter registration in Hispanic neighborhoods and outside of naturalization ceremonies for new Hispanic citizens. In other words, not cracking down on Hispanics in general (this is not a profiling issue) but rather voter registration. Here's an article from the WaPo, although it is not the one that i read at the time.

Those protesting asked the good question of why would voter registration be a target for homeland security law enforcement activities. Some (including Atrios, I would suppose) think it's setting the stage for such a voter fraud charge, as in "the huge number of illegals we found by staking out the voter registration table indicate that there was more widespread fraud."

I agree the charge is shrill, and even based on the above is probably excessive. I was just observing that it wasn't necessarily the gratuitous "Bush is a Nazi"-type insult you see on the lefty blogosphere, and probably had a place in a blog post predicting a protracted partisan fight after the election.

[Gattigap]

Lyyne Cheney orders destruction of Dept. of Education booklets. Nice.

The Education Department this summer destroyed more than 300,000 copies of a booklet designed for parents to help their children learn history after the office of Vice President Dick Cheney's wife complained that it mentioned the National Standards for History, which she has long opposed.

In June, during a routine update, the Education Department began distributing a new edition of a 10-year-old how-to guide called "Helping Your Child Learn History." Aimed at parents of children from preschool through fifth grade, the 73-page booklet presented an assortment of advice, including taking children to museums and visiting historical sites.

***

At the time, Lynne Cheney, the wife of now-Vice President Cheney, led a vociferous campaign complaining that the standards were not positive enough about America's achievements and paid too little attention to figures such as Gen. Robert E. Lee, Paul Revere and Thomas Edison.

Rumour has it that the books were "destroyed" on the front lawn of the Naval Observatory in DC, with kerosene and a match. The Vice President was also reported to be in attendance, although the shadows cast by the flickering light of the bonfire, and the obscuring of his features by the tall upward collar of his black robe, caused reports on the sighting to differ.

Seriously, I wonder what the reaction would be if something like this were to have occurred at any time during the Clinton Administration.

[SlaveNoMore]

Gattigap
Holy shit. Bush is contemplating cutting Homeland Security, veterans affairs and education??

I'd like to see the actual numbers since - as you are well aware - "cut spending" has become shorthand for "reduce increases in spending"