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Nothing like waking up to headlines like these to get your day started off well:
-- Poll Shows Strong Shift of Support for Democrats (WaPo)
-- GOP Officials Brace For Loss of Seven to 30 House Seats (WaPo)
-- A Political Limbo: How Low Can Republicans Go? (Newsweek)
-- Time Poll: The Foley Scandal Has Hurt the GOP (Time)
-- Foley & The Polls: Americans Taking Aim At GOP Sex-Chat Scandal (NYDailyNews)
But don't get too giddy, yet. Chris Bowers breaks down all the numbers and the news at MyDD:
Democrats look to be headed for control of the House, but these polls cannot give us a reliable estimate of how many seats Democrats will win next month. It could still be very narrow control. Further, with this much time left, there is still an opportunity for Republicans to recover and maintain narrow control. I wanted to write this lest people start discussing Democratic landslides that approach 50-60 seats, which are the sort of expectations that can only produce huge letdowns and bad post-election media narratives. Perhaps even more worrisome, over-reaching expectations can cause voter and activist retrenchment if Republicans start to close the gap in the final few weeks, and our unrealistic hopes no longer seem achievable.Unless something truly remarkable happens in individual district polling, I will never forecast a Democratic gain anywhere near 50 seats. No one should. However, even with all of the caveats I listed above, polls like these do suggest that it is now likely that not only will Democrats win Congress, but that they could very well do so with a majority surpassing anything Republicans have put together since 1994. To pull that off, Democrats would need a 30-seat gain, making their total number of seats 233. Once we pass 218, hitting 233 seems like a pretty darn good target to me. Anything after 233 is just, well, kind of hard to believe. A thirty-seat gain would be our largest in thirty-two years, so that is already shooting pretty high. Let's not get our hopes up beyond that, because I don't see either what good it would do us, or how it is all that probable.
All of this -- every single bit of it -- is dependent on a few factors:
(1) Getting out our vote, from absentee ballots to early voting through to the election. This has to be the number one priority -- period.
(2) Republicans continuing to be their own worst nightmares in terms of the drip, drip, drip of the Foley mess to the continuing mess that is Iraq and Afghanistan to any number of other factors from the economy to whatever else may be driving voters this year. And a lot of that news is out of our control -- as is the public's interpretation of it.
(3) This may be the most important factor of all -- the ability of individual Democratic candidates to catch the eye of folks in their district, and convince them that not only are they better than the Republican opponent, but that they will be better for the individual voter -- giving someone a reason not only to vote against the GOP, but to vote FOR people we'd rather see in all of those seats.
It's still a toss-up, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's awfully nice to at least feel like we have some momentum on our side, isn't it? The best way to keep that going? Volunteer for a local progressive candidate, and help them send out voting reminder postcards and make calls and do some neighborhood canvassing. Tip O'Neill was absolutely correct that "all politics is local" -- and you can make an enormous difference for your community by getting involved in a local campaign.
Have you registered to vote? (If you live in Virginia, for example, today is the last day for voter registration in that state and a number of others. Check with your county clerk -- or whomever is responsible for registration in your area -- to be certain you are registered.) Are your friends and family registered to vote -- now would be a good time to ask. Make plans to bring someone to the polls with you -- for early voting or on election day.
Have you considered volunteering as a poll worker? Please think about it -- we could use you! So many ways to help out -- but not a lot of time left. Please take some time today to get up, get involved, and keep this Democratic momentum going all the way to November.
Had enough? I know I sure as hell have. And at the moment, anyway, it looks like a whole lot of America feels the same way.
(I found this photo on a tuxedo rental website from Indiana, and I couldn't resist it. Adorable.)
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Fitz! Christy! Morning!
FITZ!
Zero! Whoa!
fitz!!!
Wonderful photo, Christy. Now for coffee, crispy toast and Christy-post.
#2: terms instead of terems.
#3: better that the Republican opponent (should be “better than”)
Sorry. I’m a compulsive proof reader.
Just ‘cuz we’re up big at the moment doesn’t mean anything. Just ask Michigan State.
Redd!
now, what did I do with my coffee?
Want some Community Coffee, OC?
Christy, thank you for this post. A little hope in the morning goes a long way.
fill ‘er up, LindyH…
I’m starting to feel that glimmer these days - could we be seeing the end of this nightmare?
Morning all — I love this picture. :) It pretty much sums up my mood this morning — and I’ve only had a cup and a half of coffee.
LindyH at 6 — thanks — that’s what I get for not doing one last spelling sweep before posting. LOL Hate it when I get in a hurry and miss stuff. Much appreciated!
Feeling optimistic. Now I want to see polls with Ned gaining ground. THAT would make my day, week, month, year . . . . etc.
this made me laugh… Pombo, who won’t debate McNerney, has offered to have voters call him at home…. complete with his home phone number… I’m guessing he is getting some interesting calls..
Today is the last day for voter registration in Indiana. Do it at the county courthouse to make sure your registration “takes” !
Christy and firepups -
Here’s a recap of Montana Sen debate last night.
http://www.greatfallstribune.c.....1/61009008
I just happened to catch this part via CSPAN:
The crowd was not impressed, to say the least. Tumult; could’t tell if it was laughter or booing. But negative, without question.
But, as pointed out by many, Yogi Berra is right: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
FireDogLake — Nitpickers R Us !
OldCoastie at 11 — here’s hoping — I started feeling a little glimmer while my in-laws were here. My father-in-law has tended toward the wingnut/Faux News POV the last few years, and he was fed up with the GOP in a lot of ways without me even having to bring it up. Which, frankly, was incredibly unusual — I tend to stay away from political discussion with him in the interests of family harmony, but he initiated discussion a few times about specific problems that he and his other older vets gang were having with the Bush Administration and the GOP-controlled Congress. Methinks the kool-aid doesn’t taste so good this year.
time to get up and get moving - have an entertaining day, ‘pups!
Redd - I had that feeling the night KO did his special commentary on shrub being such a big lying liar… felt like a corner was turned to hear the words being spoken out loud.
Regardless of the polls and the sentiment of the voters, the Republicans don’t intend to lose this election.
Exit polls will show that the Democrats won. What will the vote count show?
Between now and election day, what can we do to keep the count honest?
RevDeb at 14 — agreed. I think polls have been showing Ned gaining — which is a very good thing in terms of heading into the vote in November — but it needs to be a much bigger gain for my comfort level. I know Ned has an advantage in terms of his GOTV efforts versus Joe’s, just due to Ned being the Democratic candidate and Joe, as an outside challenger, having none of the state party apparatus behind him. I’m counting on the Lieberman foot-in-mouth idiocy continuing — here’s hoping, anyway, because he is his own worst enemy lately. (Schadenfreude hotline…)
1-800-SCH-ADEN ?
Busted at 22 — one really good way is to have volunteers working every single polling place as election monitors. Not just as party volunteers outside the polling place, but as poll workers inside to ensure that each and every polling place has a live body monitoring events every step of the way. This is so critical — if anyone can volunteer in their community, this is a GREAT way to make a huge difference in terms of ensuring some level of accountability.
Beyond that, there are a lot of other efforts underway in a lot of states — Ohio, for example, has some great grassroots efforts ongoing at the moment to ensure voter fairness. You can check with the state Democratic party in your state to see what else is going on that you can help with there.
Looking for Lieberman is an awful lot like spelunking …
Lieberman - the Mohole of politics !
And to follow-up on my 25 — I meant to mention that my local Democratic women’s group has been doing this for years here in my area. In WV, they require that someone from both parties be at the polls along with a third worker to ensure that there is no hanky panky from either side. Our Dem men’s and women’s groups here always sign up to be Dem workers — and they make certain that they are familiar with election regs going into the day. It can be very, very helpful to have someone on site to deal with problems right there, rather than having to defer to a provisional ballot — which often ends up being discarded. That’s just one example.
Hi all and thank you for the happy post, Christy– I coulda sworn those were Monty Python gents kicking up their heels!
GO Webb! Allen was sheer smarm and scuttle and no substance at all last nite in the debate.
I heard on cspan that Denny is having a presser at 11…
Atrios:
Anyone seen any polling on Denny’s CD lately?
I am hopeful about Ned’s chances. I am seeing lawn signs pop up and the houses with the Repug signs are not showing Joe’s signs. The only places I see Joe’s sign, is on the sides of streets, obviously stuck there by his people.
Christy: I’d like to order the guy in the “MIRAGE” style tux on that tuxedo website…
Absentee voting is upon us already. Out here, the GOP has been pushing that hard, jump-starting their GOTV efforts in a big way. The one and only televised governor’s debate was in that (snark) prime Saturday evening time slot (/snark), and they tried to get out in front of it in case Ahnold said or did something to screw up his lead.
GOTV has begun - time’s a wastin’!
1,299 dayz and the killin’ goez on and on and…
Firepups:
Can anyone give me a score on the Webb-Grand Dragon debate last night…was it a decision er a clean knockout?
KEEP THE FAITH AND DON’T LET ‘EM CLOSE TA YER KIDS!!!
RevDeb at 30 — I’ve heard there is a poll in the field now — there hadn’t been any up until now that had any big sampling in that CD. The mystery on the poll in the field at the moment is who is doing it — Hastert’s organization, the GOP or a media group — no one is certain as yet. Interesting, no?
cfeddy at 31 — great news — thanks so much for sharing it! As we saw in the primary there as well, Ned’s supporters are enthusiastic FOR Ned — which translates as people who are motivated to go vote. That Joe is not enjoying that same motivation from his “supporters” is a very good sign, indeed. :)
Today is also the last day to register to vote in Illinois. If you’re not registered today, though, you can register at your local board of elections in-person and vote early in-person October 11-24.
More info at Illinois State Board of Elections
For those of you who might live in NJ, where, if you hadn’t noticed, there’s kind of a close Senate race going on, any and all voter registration forms must be RECEIVED in your county’s B of E by 10/17 (if you pick up the forms online), or there will be evening registration all over the state on that day. Need more info? go here: http://www.state.nj.us/oag/elections/vote_doe.html
Christy Hardin Smith @ 35
Interesting, yes.
I liked John when we met him at YKos. Up until this REPUBLICAN scandal he was hardly a footnote in all of the polling and forecasts. It is really exciting to see that he now may have a good chance of pulling it off. He’s kind of a “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” type if you ask me.
Norske– You have to have a brain to know that it was a TKO by Webb. I am afraid some brainless Murkans still exist and believe in the Grand Dragon’s smarm and racism and voting with boosh all the time…
Allen kept on hearkening back to his days as guvner and harping on Hillary and Kerry.
Webb nailed him, but one has to be paying attention in order to know this.
Wow — here’s something I never thought that I would see: Newsmax — the wingnutty Christian news organization — reporting on the depoliticization of evangelical voters away from the GOP. This election cycle is so oddly volatile, in so many unexpected places, it’s really tough to keep up from day to day with all of the threads being pulled out this year. Veddy interesting…
Today is the last day to register in Pennsylvania. Call your local election board to make sure your reg is current :-) Motor-voter is notoriously bad for forwarding completed registrations.
angie @ 29
Wasn’t he, though? You could just see the talking points oozing off of him — “I’m going to mention Hillary Clinton now even though it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.”
And I loved how he answered the question about secrecy with “Boy, aren’t them Internets great! Did you know there’s government stuff on them?”
Or as somebody said when comparing Dems to Repukes campaign money advantage on the Sunday talk shows: “Tell that to the Yankees.”
Christy Hardin Smith @ 41
It’s about frikin’ time!
Slow learners.
After the Democrat victory in a few weeks, we might want to focus our gaze upon who would be the best nominee for the next Democratic president, slated to take office in 2008. A necessary condition, at least for me, is to select the candidate who will diffuse the potential for more war, AND who will bring our troops home from Iraq. The Middle East situation, like settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, should be at the top of the selected candidate’s agenda. It is unacceptable to have a Democratic candidate who merely continues the Bush/neo-con policies in the Middle East particularly, and the world generally.
Senator Lamont. Soon.
Good Morning Firepups,
can’t believe I missed the Late Nite Joedown - oh well
a little good news ? yesss Mam !
what do ya think this means - Raw Story
“FBI pulled files on Specter after USA Today story: Soon..”
bbuster @ 44
I think that quote was from George Will.
Raw Story:
How beautiful is that?
Hopefully in CT too!
My feeling is…each race must be run as if he were 10 points behind. Now’s the time to work harder, give more and gin up even more brilliant and audacious strategies.
ooops…should be “we” not “he” at 50. Sorry! Where’s mah coffee?
Mornin’, Christy!
Hey immanentize — thanks for the shout-out last thread.
MICHIGAN FIREPUPS: Deadline for registration is 5:00 pm today; double-check with your local county clerk’s office, and then start asking every single person you run into whether they are registered.
WooHoo! Go Dems!
Re Comments #22, 25, & 28: I’m sure most of us are familiar with Blackbox Voting’s website. I just got a reminder at a local Progressive Dem Caucus meeting about Blackbox’s “Citizen’s toolkit” that gives good practical ideas about actions that individuals can take to help protect the integrity of elections this November: Blackbox Voting Citizen’s Toolkit
OT, I saw TRex’s post about helping Joementum’s campaign come up with a slogan for letting voters know that Joe’s name will be last on the ballot in CT. How about: “Joe Lie-berman: Last to denounce War, Last in Peace, Last in the hearts and on the Ballots of his Countrymen”… (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Just remember: “A vote is an emotion looking for a reason.”
We’ve got revulsion and despair on the right, revulsion toward those on the right, and still some looking-for-a-reason by those in the middle, when they look toward the left.
Progressives need to give the middle a reason. You can bet Rove and friends will be looking to do the same.
Oh, and FWIW, last I looked it appears the Torture Bill is coming up for a signing Wed 10/17. The House has manipulated “sending” the bill to the Preznit, such that the 10 days in the Constitution* did not start. Had it started about the time the final votes were taken, that time would have expired yesterday. Yet another rules-twisting by the Admin….
- - -
* for him to sign it or, by not signing it when Congress is out of session, pocket veto it.
North Korean nucs couldn’t knock the foley follies off the front page
what will the repuglicritters try next ???
anything but accountability
That George Will quote, in addition to the fact that he and Cokie! for criyi are now way off the reservation just made my heart so light. ‘Cuz it’s true financial advantage begins to dissolve once they’re out on the field. (Or we’re out in the field)
NorskeFlamethrower @ 34
I thought Webb did well, but it wasn’t a knockout. Allen certainly didn’t score any major points, and he’s the one who needed it more at this point.
Webb has certainly gotten better as a speaker, but I thought his inexperience as a candidate was still showing a bit. He talked in a bit too much detail about campaign ads and other ongoing stuff, which only really made sense to people who’ve been paying close attention (and those people are likely to be committed one way or the other already.) I hope that for non-political junkies that all came off as sincere “everyman” (which it is) vs. Allen’s slick insider.
On the other hand, he did a good job of calling Allen on his BS, and got in some good digs about military service. (Allen likes to talk about what he’s “advocated for,” because he doesn’t have much in the way of real accomplisments.) And I was very glad to see Allen asked “what do you mean when you say ‘victory’ in Iraq?” and I hope his BS-ing for lack of a real answer was obvious to everyone.
Mod, sorry I didn’t get that last piece I just forwarded cleaned up very well. Delete at will.
it aint over till its over…I dont trust the predictionn that evangies will abondon the GOP. nor that national numbers translate to 435 districts/.
Christy #41 — I am going to revel in each report from traditionally rightist organizations, but at the same time I’m going to discount them and then some when it comes to action on the ground.
Many of these outlets maybe more open about the reversal of fortunes as a ploy to get Dems/progressives to relax their efforts. If it only takes 1% of the vote to swing in some races, it only takes a few comments like those from Newsmax to encourage progressive voters that might not vote regularly to stay home.
Today’s Action, coincidentally, is Get Out The Vote — check your neighbors, check your local registration requirements, encourage absentee voting where possible.
Peterboy at 59 — hence the GOTV push and the need to keep running flat out to the finish line.
Redshift @ 57
This election will really determine if Virginia is a red or blue state. If it goes blue, it will be because they turned out the vote in No. Va.
I hope they’re ready with their ground game.
Don’t forget to find a local screening of
IRAQ FOR SALE
this week. Bring your friends and neighbors.
Another way to motivate voters
Rayne at 60 — The only thing that counts in my mind is who shows up to vote, and getting all those votes tallied properly and recorded. Everything else is spin, fluff, and conjecture at this point — but it’s useful to see what direction it is all taking in terms of the “conventional wisdom” MO in the media — it has the tendency to cement in the public interpretation and, for once, the CW isn’t being projected as good for the GOP. And, frankly, it’s about damn time.
Maryland deadline to register is 9:00 pm on October 17.
Last day to submit an Absentee Ballot Application: 10/31.
Interesting side note: Bob Ehrlich, GOP candidate for governor of MD, has sent a mailing to all registered Republicans urging them to vote on an Absentee Ballot.
He’s also being looked at for a recent campaign mailing that included a $1 bill, with a request that recipient send it back with more money to help get him elected.
The single most important impact of the Foley scandal is it has shifted peoples attention to their local representatives and gave Dems a powerful issue to hammer the Repigs where it really hurts in their home districts ! Foley made “All politics are local” a Democratice Value.
Peterr — here’s more on the CA absentee ballot push that you talked about earlier, from the SFChron.
love that pic!! and as far as elections… the goal is simple…. restore balance , checks and balances to DC- I think I forsee success because many many southern die hard republicans are very fed up now……
Is all this a set up for something far worse? How can we be assured??
cbl @
47
Me too but I caught up on it some early this morning. Funniest thread in the history of the world. I have never laughed so hard in my life. Place was en fuego.
Raw Story says:
Hastert to speak on Foley scandal at 11 AM EST…
Busted @
22
I just got here and was reading the thread when this one caught my eye.
Not to be confused with me.
OT, but could use some FDL spotlight/investigation talents.
From YellowDogSammy Ohio
http://ohio2006elections.blogs.....heney.html
a bit more there - story developing. If anyone has any relevant dirt on this - let YDS know.
Brunner is doing well - but every little bit…
Who is in the Iraq Study Group, aisde from Baker?
Harry @ 73
I know Lee Hamilton is, cause Baker said so on Sunday…
Exactly, Christy! We’ve already voted absentee, lobbying all our MN friends to get active for Wetterling and the other Dem candidates.
Saw on the Nightly News interviews with evangelical women and they have been drinking the kool-aid of “it was just a single congressman…” The more that argument can be torn down with revelations of the Republican leadership’s coverup, knowledge, incompetence, the weaker that kool-aid will get. They likely won’t ever vote Dem–a pinkie nail-sized bit of cells means more to them than molested or sick or uneducated children, soldiers without limbs, an economy mortgaged to China. But maybe they just won’t vote, won’t do GOTV.
To those who said watch the evangelical women to see whether they work and you’ll know the election. And to the commenter here or in the msm that the Dems must close the sale. And back full circle to Christy…Get out our vote. Exactly. Period.
here Harry:
http://www.usip.org/isg/members.html
argh.
Harry @
73
Formed last March.
I refuse to be optimistic. Nope. Will donate all remaining money to Patty Wetterling now that the DCCC has pulled back.
But just recently I overheard a conversation in the Dairy Queen between the 2 clerks about reading the Bible and the coming rapture and that America is in the final stages. Of What I thought? Then yesterday talked to a woman who attended a seminar over the weekend at the North Heights Church in Arden Hills, MN, one of the worst megachurches here in this area.
The seminar was about the coming ‘end of times’ and the jihad the terrorists are going to do against us. FEAR, FEAR (and vote repub) is their message. What was worse, she talked about how much fun she had and she smiled while talking about the ‘end of times.’
How timely they are.
Christy @ 41 cites to a Newsmax article. The end of this article caught my attention. Specifically, the claim that Webb is getting the support of only 61% of the African American community and, even worse, the Democratic candidates in both Missouri and Ohio have the support of LESS THAN 50% of the African American community. Can this possibly be true?
I heartily second RevDeb’s idea of using Iraq for Sale as a GOTV tool. When you see that film, you are filled with an overwhelming urge to RUN, RUN, RUN to the nearest voting booth.
GrandmaJ @
78
My parents attend Eaglebrook MegaChurch in White Bear Lake. Same song and dance (I hear).
Patty now in a statistical dead heat with Cruella DeBachmann!
Dems are going to have to decide where to spend their money from here on out and prioritize.
They need to pull spending on races that they are unlikely to win- and on races that they are all but certain to win- and spend like hell on those that are very close and winnable.
Hard to prioritize in the house- but most spending should go into 25 races or so.
In the senate, there are less than ten races that should attract cash. They appear to have Pennsylvania locked- so they can back off of that one- they still need to spend like crazy in Missouri and New Jersey- as well as Tennessee. Time to focus on high priority targets- goopers will be doin the same.
Anybody have a guess as to why Vernon Jordan is on the Iraq Study Group? Other than FOB, what does he bring to the table?
Grandma J,
(slap to head) look what song is playin in my brain as I read your DQ comment:
Why in the world are we here
Surely not to live in pain and fear
I sing that one a lot these days
Prarie Sunshine -
that was me paraphrasing Gilliard about the fundie women - positing that if they go out for GOTV, Dobson, Perkins, et al have indeed worked their magic - I’m sure not seeing that, fundie women here are in still firmly in the Cokie camp - will see what this week brings
RevDeb: I’m going tomorrow night with a couple of friends to see the movie in Lakeland. Tickets still available.
Ack! Patty Wetterling’s website has a banned object on it.
www.pattywetterling.com
Anyone know her well enough to remove the stamp?
Mostly joking, but geez…
meta @
83
I believe that he has some reputation as a fixer, and Baker expects him to be pliable.
Gotta go teach my class on Job. Will check in later for more fun and games.
And while we are girding our loins (or whatever it is that we do these days) to do battle in the precints, as we must, let’s spend a little time laughing at the Republican spin, not only being outraged at it.
Tom Tomorrow has a great cartoon at Salon.
It captures the same thought that I have been having. The spin has been that the Republicans can win if the talk is about terrorism. But if the Democrats are more respected than the Republicans by the American public now to handle terrorism, are we so sure that talk of terrorism helps the GOP?
It seems to me that we need to take the issues that are supposedly their strength and push them, when an issue is close to the tipping point on a blue versus red oriengation.
Brian– Some of the “blame” for the lack of African American support for Webb is due to Benjamin J. Lambert’s (a Democrat and a black legislator from Richmond!) support of him and this:
http://www.styleweekly.com/art.....icle=13101
go figure…
Christy #64 — oh, definitely, I’m enjoying the media coverage on the black hole that once was the Republican Party.
Delighting in the schadenfreude pie, so to say.
But nonetheless feeling like a bit battered; still expect that every bashing of a Repug will be immediately followed by a “Dems are far worse” for balance. Press too often meeting that expectation.
Gads, we really do need to have a plan in hand for revamping media ownership and restoring balance over publicly-owned airwaves.
Balrog - I just looked at Patty’s website and I did not see anything that could be considered ‘bannable’ (I love making up words), but you said you were kinda kidding. I know someone who is working on Patty’s campaign here in our area (western suburbs - Buffalo to be exact) that I could call if you were serious about a problem with her website.
Buffalo - the heart of the reddest district in Minnesota. The only other area in the 6th that is diehard red is Stillwater.
Christy Hardin Smith @
67
Thanks, Christy. I hadn’t seen this yet - I was just going by all the mailers coming out from the Republicans saying things like “Sign up now, and don’t wait to vote” or “Vote now, and don’t worry about bridge traffic on election day” (bridge traffic is always an every day issue for commuters, but if you get slowed down on the bridge coming home on election day and don’t make it before the polls close . . .)
What I haven’t seen are Democratic mailers urging Dems to vote early. That worries me.
From the Chronicle piece:
Altered some campaign spending plans, but not too many from what I’ve seen so far. Maybe the Dems were not focusing on getting new absentee/early voters signed up, but will push to get those already signed up to vote before Nov 7.
Things are changing in the world of GOTV - it’s not just about election day - and we better be on top of it, or we’re going to be disappointed come November.
Prof @ 89
precincts
angie #90 — I have to wonder if they’ve been bought off.
I’m going to be very blunt about that, too. The Republicans in Michigan, specifically Dick DeVos, are rumored to have been offering LARGE donations to African-American churches if they do not turn out the vote. I’ve heard figures as high as a million or more dollars in play in the Detroit area, and I’ve heard this from highly reliable sources within the African-American community.
The numbers in the Webb-Allen race don’t match the national polling across African-Amercans; national polls show 90-10 ratio of Dem to Repug in the African-American community.
It’s time to be blunt about this; are African-American pastors being persuaded to passively suppress their own votes, because they are so very dependent on donations from any source? Are they being approached by groups that front as anti-abortion, but are in actuality Repug mouthpieces?
The challenge is getting African-American pastors to be open about the money and open about their positions. There are a lot of local community politics bound up in African-American churches, and it’s hard to pry them apart without looking suspect.
Grandma J: I think Balrog was referring to the rubber stamp…
Rayne @ 95
don’t forget all that Defense of Marriage money out there
Peterboy @ 59
They won’t abandon the GOP in the sense of voting for Democratic candidates. They have to know the GOP is the only outfit with any hope of both winning and pandering to the fundiegenda. (I discount kooks like the Constitution Party, who no doubt mainly receive the “Who the hell is that?” response.) What they’re more likely to do is just stay home in disillusionment that Bush hasn’t really given them any quid pro quo for their previously undying loyalty.
GrandmaJ @ 92
It’s the rubber stamp that startled me.
GrandmaJ @ 92
Yes, Stillwater and Dellwood. I’m 3 miles from both communities.
Expect more of these “Republicans (anonymous, of course)expect to lose a million seats” stories - they’re trying to inoculate themselves and then if, say, they lose five seats in the House they can say “we expected to lose as many as 50 seats, this isn’t really bad,” blah blah blah
Rayne @ 95