In Honor of Election Day 2008!

From the Miami Herald:



Bush: "Golly Dick, as our time in office comes to a close, I reflect on all we both accomplished..."
Cheney: "We didn't get impeached."

Now get out there and Vote!

Joe the Plumber's Saga Continues

Something just occured to me. If news of Joe Wurzelbacher's status as an unregistered voter was mistakenly reported because his name was misspelled on Ohio voter rolls, that would seem to support Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's claims that purging voters based on mismatched database queries risks disenfranchising thousands of eligible voters!

In case you missed my earlier post, Alliance for Justice wrote on its Justice Watch blog that Ms. Brunner is appealing a Sixth Circuit decision demanding that she hand over voter rolls to the Ohio Republican Party. She is concerned that "allowing local parties to challenge voter eligibility so close to the election (they were already given two years to do so) might mean the disqualification of thousands of perfectly legitimate votes."

And it appears her fears may very well be correct! I suppose we should thank Sen. McCain for this revelation. Of course, I don't expect him to acknowledge this point any time soon -- not while he's busy trying to convince the country that ACORN is perpetrating such rampant voter fraud as to threaten the very fabric of our democracy.

McCain's Appeal to Women Needs Some Work

Posted by Dhalia Lithwick on Slate:

Whole New Ways to Not Get It...

Color me baffled. In response to a question about Sarah Palin’s qualification to be president, John McCain talked first about her credentials as a reformer and then moved swiftly to explain that Palin “understands special-needs families. She understands that autism is on the rise, that we've got to find out what's causing it, and we've got to reach out to these families and help them, and give them the help they need as they raise these very special-needs children. She understands that better than almost any American that I know. I'm proud of her.”

Later on, he added—again regarding autism—that “Sarah Palin knows about that better than most.” Now, we know Palin has a special-needs child: Her infant son, Trig, has Down Syndrome. So it’s fair to suggest that she understands special-needs families and that—even though it’s not clear what she’s ever done or even proposed doing for them—she might one day be an advocate for them.

But I can’t figure out why McCain was coupling Palin with autism, rather than Down Syndrome. Yes, his comment started as a testimonial to her concern for those with special needs, but it came off sounding like he just didn’t know that autism and Down Syndrome are very different. A quick Web search reveals that the main connection between Palin and autism appears to be that, like McCain, parents of autistic kids are blogging hopefully that she will have some special sensitivity to their situation. (Also, it seems Palin has an autistic nephew.)

As panders go, I am finding this autism gambit baffling. Did McCain just get confused about the fact that Trig has Down Syndrome? Or was he trying for some kind of broad-brush special-needs appeal, only to end up awkwardly implying that all special-needs families are the same? So much so that you can swap out diagnoses and nobody will notice? That same broad brush was slapping around later when, in discussing abortion, he started sneering about the trickiness of allowing exceptions for the mother's health. No nuance here. Just the bold implication that all health exceptions represent some kind of female trickery. Last time I checked, women thought their health was sort of important.

Toss in his eye-crossing claim that anyone who supports abortion rights is, by necessity, not going to be qualified to sit on the Supreme Court, and it was time to kiss women voters goodbye. How can a man who can see all the complexity and subtlety in foreign policy and health care reform talk to and about women and families in terms that persistently read like cave drawings?

McCain really proved tonight that his brand of feminism is frozen in 1960—an artless pander to the mommies tacked onto the claim that he is “proud” of his vice president. It's all reminiscent of the ad men on Mad Men, chivalrous but wrong.

Another Congressional Sex Scandal

For those of you who haven’t heard, Florida Democratic Representative Tim Mahoney has gotten himself into a bit of trouble. It seems that he had an extramarital affair with a staffer, paid her $121,000 not to say anything and then fired her. Shockingly, his constituents are not thrilled. Interestingly enough, Rep. Mahoney, who happens to represent my home town of Port St. Lucie, only won his seat following revelations that former Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) sent sexually explicit emails to underage pages. Hmmm…

It’s so amazing to me that public figures still think they can get away with having this stuff. I mean, come on guys! Apparently, their memories are the first to go when their blood starts flowing south. I’m sorry to disappoint, but the days of oval-office rendezvous with Hollywood starlets is over. Heck, even Clinton got caught, and Lewinsky was no Marilyn Monroe! Keep it your pants guys!

Who's Afraid of Voter Fraud?!

From Alliance for Justice's Justice Watch Blog:

In a year where the election will no doubt shape the future of our judiciary, it seems our courts will be shaping the election. As was the case in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, election officials might very well challenge voter eligibility in the courts. But this year, the Ohio Republican Party (ORP) appears to be getting an early start. When you’re running behind in the polls, disqualifying new voters must seem like a brilliant strategy. Of course, pesky legal issues always seem to get in the way.

Earlier this month, the ORP, alarmed by massive registration of new Democratic voters, filed a suit in federal district court demanding a list of these new voters so that ORP could challenge their validity. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner objected, concerned that allowing local parties to challenge voter eligibility so close to the election (they were already given two years to do so) might mean the disqualification of thousands of perfectly legitimate votes. The district court sided with the ORP, but Ms. Brunner appealed to the Sixth Circuit. This is where the story gets interesting.

The original three-judge panel that heard the case sided with Ms. Brunner, arguing that interference in state election matters would risk voter suppression. They also questioned whether local parties like ORP were even eligible to bring these kinds of suits. But, the Sixth Circuit's conservative majority, dissatisfied with the panel’s decision, granted an en banc hearing in which they reversed the panel decision and supported the ORP’s claim. As we noted yesterday, the majority of the judges sitting on this court were appointed by Republican presidents (ten of the 16 to be exact) and one of the judges actually has a spouse running for reelection on the Republican ticket.

But it seems Ms. Brunner has no intention of giving up so easily. News broke today that Ohio’s attorney general has filed a motion in the Supreme Court on behalf of Ms. Brunner asking the Court to reconsider the Sixth Circuit’s decision. According to reports, Justice John Paul Stevens, who handles cases from the Sixth Circuit, is considering the case. We certainly hope the Court agrees to hear it, but are far from confident about the outcome, particularly considering President Bush’s appointees, Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who have already shown their willingness to decide cases on partisan ideology. And, of course, we all remember what the rest of the conservative justices did in a little case from 2000.

“Joe the Plumber” Makes News Again

Those of you who watched the debate last night between John McCain and Barack Obama heard quite a bit about Joe Wurzelbacher (aka, Joe the Plumber) who was catapulted to fame last night by Sen. McCain’s frequent invocations of his struggle. While Sen. McCain’s incessant references to the Ohio plumber may have been a tad off-putting, no one can say it didn’t make good TV. But the Politico’s Ben Smith is reporting that Mr. Wurzelbacher, will have little influence on next month’s election. According to Ohio’s voter files, Joe the Plumber isn’t even registered to vote!

Good job McCain! Maybe next time you should make sure those undecideds you pander to are actually registered before you wink to them on national television!

UPDATE: Ben Smith has corrected his earlier report, saying that "The Ohio press reports that [Mr. Wurzelbacher] is registered to vote, under a slighlty misspell[ed] name."

Oh, the Absurdity!

From Alliance for Justice's Justice Watch Blog:

Well, as we mentioned before, the 17 Uighurs (Chinese Muslims) awaiting release from Guantanamo continue to be caught in the middle of the Bush administration’s constant power grabs.

Last Tuesday, District Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the administration to release the Uighurs into the United States. His reasoning: the government had cleared the men for release years earlier, but could not find a country willing to accept them. The United States’ insistence (later disproved) that the Uighurs were terrorists made these nations skittish about opening their borders to them. As a result, the U.S. must be willing to accept them in place of no other alternative.

Following Judge Urbina’s order however, the Bush administration filed an emergency appeal to the more conservative DC Circuit, claiming that the precedent of ordering the release of potentially dangerous detainees into the United States was too dangerous. The problem with this theory however, is that it creates an obscenely perilous (as we put it earlier) catch-22. This administration detained citizens abroad, often based on flimsy evidence of terrorist ties, and placed them in a system with no safeguards to protect the innocent. As a result, there are no procedures in place to ensure the quick release of any detainee deemed innocent.

Well, the DC Circuit didn’t seem particularly moved by this fact and ordered a stay on the Uighurs’ release so that they could consider the administration’s appeal. Meanwhile, President Bush continued to push the State Department to find another country willing to take the prisoners. Now we come to the latest contradiction. According to the New York Times, the State Department has complained that the administration has made it almost impossible for them to convince any other nation to accept the Uighurs by fighting so hard to keep them out of the United States.

It seems that the Bush administration’s refusal to accept any oversight in the perpetration of its War on Terror has created a legal black hole larger than anyone had previously imagined. And its refusal to admit its mistakes now means that 17 innocent men are stuck in legal limbo.

Connecticut Marriage Decision Refocuses Debate

The decision by Connecticut’s Supreme Court Friday requiring that the state recognize gay marriage has been hailed by supporters of LGBT marriage rights. At the same time however, it has renewed fears in the community that backlash from these decisions might push through state amendments banning gay marriage in states like California.

The battle to stop Proposition 8, California’s gay marriage ban has been making headlines lately, particularly in light of a huge fundraising gap between the amendment’s supporters and Equality California, which has spearheaded opposition. Last week, Equality California blasted members, warning that they were $10 million behind ProtectMarriage.com in fundraising efforts. As a result, according to San Jose Mercury News, almost $4 million has been thrown into the fight to defeat Proposition 8, with another $4 million promised.

While this is all great news, I have to admit I’ve been a little disappointed in the lack of attention being paid to ballot measures elsewhere with consequences just as dire. My home state of Florida for example, has an amendment on the ballot (No. 2) which would also ban gay marriage. While I understand the unique nature of the fight against Proposition 8, who’s to say that opposing No. 2 isn’t just as important? Florida has the fourth largest population of any state in the Union and the amendment language is so broad that it would threaten domestic partnership benefits in the same way Michigan’s did. Surely, stakes that high require a little national attention.

I’m especially surprised that more attention hasn’t been paid to Governor Charlie Crist’s support of No. 2. If nothing else, this at least provides some comedic relief to ever-rising election-year tensions. Remember how Governor Crist announced his engagement over Fourth of July weekend? Those of us with a more cynical view argued that he was only doing this to make himself more appealing to Sen. McCain – for month’s his name had been thrown around as a potential running mate. Gay rumors had plagued Crist for years. And as far as I’m aware, he still hasn’t gotten married, despite reports that his wedding was planned for early September.

A gay Republican governor supporting a marriage ban in Florida, site of such gay meccas as Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Key West? Come on! That’s news!

ACORN Under Attack

As many of you may have heard, conservatives are throwing a fit over allegations that ACORN has been filing invalid voter registration forms. This controversy is so important to the GOP that John McCain actually mentioned it last night during the debate. Actually, he framed the issue in such apocalyptic terms, saying that ACORN threatened the very fabric of our democracy that I couldn’t help but laugh!

Just so everyone is clear, the allegations ACORN is facing don’t actually constitute “voter fraud.” No fraudulent votes have been cast! These are applications for voters to register with election officials. That’s all. The only thing that happened here was that a few clever college students realized that they could scam a bigger pay check by turning in registration cards for people that didn’t actually exist. Easy money! Until the federal government starts knocking on your door that is!

The truth of the matter is that Republicans are terrified that they will lose this year. And what do you do when you’re running behind in the polls? You try to disqualify some of those votes for your opponent! Republicans hate ACORN for the same reason that they love voter-ID laws: because the people that are disenfranchised tend to vote Democratic!

Oh, and I love how the McCain campaign has called on the Justice Department to investigate these so-called instances of “voter fraud” – not least because as I already mentioned, no fraudulent votes have actually been cast. But I particularly enjoy the irony in calling on the Justice Department, that has faced all kinds of controversy for firing U.S. attorneys who didn’t “investigate” accusations of voter fraud aggressively enough for the Bush administration’s, would be called on to ensure the “sanctity” of our election. Ha! Good on McCain.