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Dueling for the NRA Vote
Evan Derkacz writes for Alternet that the pro-gun vote doesn't necessarily belong to George Bush. He writes: "Although Kerry seems to have learned from Gore's mistakes and Bush has lost favor among much of the vigilant Second Amendment crowd, conventional wisdom grants NRA endorsement—a lock for Bush—a great deal of political weight. The NRA has been heavily involved in politics since at least 1980, when it endorsed Ronald Reagan for president. Since then, it has become the bogeyman of many a political campaign, wielding clout beyond its numbers, and is largely responsible for what many consider to be some of the world's most reckless gun control policies. But does it deserve the mythic make-or-break reputation this time around?"
Minor: Miss. GOP Lying About ‘Highest-Taxed State'
Columnist Bill Minor writes this week: "Bad enough that the chief propagandist for the Mississippi Republican Party is a turncoat Democrat, but worse that he lies to make taxpayers believe they can't afford health care for 65,000 of the state's neediest. State GOP chairman Jim Herring on Mississippi Public Broadcasting's 'Statewide Live' the other night kept repeating the fallacious party line that Mississippi is 'the highest taxed state in the nation.' Absolute hogwash. The facts are that Mississippians are among the nation's most lightly taxed.
Molly Ivins Calls the Election for Kerry, the ‘Uniter'
Molly Ivins this week:
Without fear of contradiction, I can say that George W. Bush has turned out to be a divider, not a uniter, for the past four years. Sheesh, if we get any madder at each other there will be fisticuffs, brethren, I say fisticuffs.
Rock the Vote Poll: Youth Want Obama; No Palin Effect
Michael Connery is blogging about the new Rock the Vote poll results of young voters at futuremajority.com:
NY Times Examines Barbour Role in Energy Policy
In a long piece Sunday, The New York Times examined Haley Barbour's role in Bush energy/environmental policies: "Just six weeks into the Bush administration, Haley Barbour, a former Republican party chairman who was a lobbyist for electric power companies, sent a memorandum to Vice President Dick Cheney laying down a challenge. 'The question is whether environmental policy still prevails over energy policy with Bush-Cheney, as it did with Clinton-Gore,' Mr. Barbour wrote, and called for measures to show that environmental concerns would no longer 'trump good energy policy.'"
Who's the Better Dancer: Barack or Michelle?
Watch a very fun clip from the Ellen show; hat/tip Folo:
The Poop on the Oxford Debate
To keep up with specifics (and find out about ticket and media info, event schedules and the like), check out the Ole Miss Presidential Debate Site. The main UM debate site is here, and the Commission for Presidential Debates is here.
Palin-McCain Camp Disses Penn State President
So much for reaching across the aisle, eh? The Chronicle of Higher Education reports:
‘Dean Goes Bust'
Josh Benson writes in Salon: "Can Dean recover? Maybe. Even without Trippi, he has a core of supporters that will never abandon him. And while the other campaigns will be fighting each other all over the country in the Feb. 3 states, the Dean camp will hope to rebound by focusing on and winning delegate-rich states like Michigan and Washington on Feb. 7. As John Kerry can attest, comebacks have been built on less."
Former Gov. Kirk Fordice Dead at 70
Here is a statement from his family, following by a statement from Gov. Haley Barbour: "It is with a sad heart that our family announces the death of Daniel Kirkwood Fordice. Our beloved father lost his battle with leukemia earlier today at University Medical Center in Jackson. Over the last several weeks as news of his illness spread, our father was buoyed by the supportive calls, letters, visits and prayers he received from Mississippians across the state. The people he served while in office served to lift his spirits during his final days. We would like to express our gratitude to all of those who have been so kind to our father and to our entire family over the years. "
YOU Can Help Protect 2004 Election Integrity
Election Protection Volunteer Training Schedule
The Mississippi Center for Justice announces the following training sessions for folks interesting in helping to protect this year's elections. Note that Jackson's program is THURSDAY, Oct. 7, so hurry!
Sex and the Single Voter
"Single women are the hot, must-have demo for the 2004 presidential race. But will they put out this November?" Rebecca Traister explores this burning question in Salon.
Giuliani Blames Troops
Nothing like supporting our troops. Salon reports:
Obama ‘Pulling Away'; Leads Men, Women, Every Age Group, Even Over-65
Newsweek's new numbers are in, and show why the McCain campaign is acting so erratic and desperate:
Planet Weekly: Blogging the Mayor
Alan Lange's mayoral Web site is written up in the Planet Weekly this week. It's interesting that quite a bit of time is spent trying to show that Lange is not part of anyone's campaign staff:
Veep Debate: Possible Pitfalls for Both Sides
Interesting preview on the New York Times' Caucus blog. In part:
John Edwards: Friend of Business?
The Washington Post today: "Business associations in Washington were uniformly hostile yesterday to John Kerry's choice of Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) as his running mate, promising that a trial lawyer on the ticket will energize them and their members to defeat the Democrats in November."
Reagan Chief of Staff Endorses Obama
The Obamacans keep coming. Per CNN:
Clark Announces Voting Machine Contract
June 29, 2005/press release/verbatim from Secretary of State Eric Clark:
Secretary of State Eric Clark today introduced new touch-screen voting machines that most Mississippians will use to cast ballots beginning in 2006. "These voting machines will greatly improve the accuracy and integrity of every election in Mississippi," Clark said. "They are easy to use and are secure. Of all the machines we studied, they were the most 'user-friendly' and came at the lowest price. This purchase is another major step in making historic improvements to the elections process in our state."
ABC Poll: Voters say U.S. on ‘Wrong Track'; Kerry Ahead
ABC News is reporting: "Skepticism about the nation's direction is boosting John Kerry's campaign for president: Fifty-five percent of likely voters say the country is on the wrong track, and their discontent is fueling Kerry to an even race against President Bush. Overall, 49 percent of likely voters now support Kerry, 48 percent Bush, 1 percent Ralph Nader. Given polling tolerances that's essentially a tie, but it is the first time since Aug. 1 that Kerry's held a numerical advantage, however slight, in ABC News polls. A weekend advance did it: Saturday and Sunday were two of Kerry's three best individual days since this daily tracking poll began Oct. 1. Today's results are based on Thursday-Sunday interviews. Discontent is the necessary element in removing an incumbent from office, and Kerry clearly has harnessed much of it: Among likely voters who say the country's on the wrong track, 84 percent support him."