Republicans Are In Huge Trouble

Back in 2004, over 60% of the folks in this district voted for Bush. Republicans have held this seat since 1995. This year, a Democrat not only won, but won by 8%. AP (05.14.08):

"It's becoming a disturbing trend for Republicans: losing traditional GOP strongholds to Democrats in some hard-fought congressional races.

It happened again Tuesday, as Travis Childers beat Greg Davis in a special election to replace Republican Roger Wicker, who served in the House since 1994 and was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott.

Miss. Democrat wins House seat in special election

How much trouble? "Earlier this year, Democrats captured the Illinois district long represented by former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, who resigned from Congress. This month, Democrats claimed a seat in Louisiana that Republican Rep. Richard Baker vacated and that the GOP had held since 1974."

Big-assed trouble.

Choices

Steve has a question. The Left Coaster (10.26.07):

"If you had a choice in 2008 of:

a) Having a Democrat win the White House but maintain only a shaky hold in Congress; or
b) Losing the White House but adding another 20 in the House and 10 in the Senate;

Which would you choose?"

Which One?

We think we know his answer. "After the last nine months of seeing the Harry and Nancy show, and from what I suspect Hillary will do to the GOP with what Dick Cheney has unwittingly given her, I know which alternative I am hoping for."

Gee, Steve. You really think Hillary might be looking to take a few of 'em hard into the boards?

You Can't Have It Here

Even though you can get it somewhere else. AP (10.25.07):

"State officials have decided not to publicize their list of polling places in Pennsylvania, citing concerns that terrorists could disrupt elections in the commonwealth.

The Department of State was influenced by the terrorist bombings that struck just days before Spain's national elections in 2004, spokeswoman Leslie Amoros said."

Pa. Won't Release List of Polling Places

What makes this ludicrous is that "(i)nformation on individual polling places remains available on the state voter services Web site or by calling the state or county elections bureaus."

Vote For Us

And we'll vote for you. Promise. Colbert's kicking some butt. Rasmussen (10.24.07), via AmericaBlog:

"A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that [Comedy Central host Stephen] Colbert is preferred by 13% of voters as an independent candidate challenging Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani [45-34-13]. The survey was conducted shortly after Colbert’s surprise announcement that he is lusting for the Oval Office.

The result is similar when Fred Thompson is the Republican in the three-way race. With Thompson as the GOP candidate, Colbert earns 12% of the vote [46-34-12]."

Comedian Colbert Reaches Double Digits As Third-Party Candidate

Humor aside, what's interesting is Hillary's advantage over Rudy and Uncle Fred.

Anyway, here's some other stuff (link in original). "An earlier survey found that only 8% of Americans say they would definitely vote for comedian Jon Stewart if he was on the ballot in 2008."

Ahhh, but Stewart's unfavorables are great. "Just 38% say they would definitely vote against Stewart." And Katie Couric? Well that's another matter. Turns out that "62% of American voters would definitely vote against (her)."

They also definitely aren't watching her on the evening news.

California, Here We Come

Get used to it, gringo. LATimes (07.10.07):

"Over the next half-century, California's population will explode by nearly 75%, and Riverside will surpass its bigger neighbors to become the second most populous county after Los Angeles, according to state Department of Finance projections released Monday.

California will near the 60-million mark in 2050, the study found, raising questions about how the state will look and function and where all the people and their cars will go."

60 million Californians by mid-century

"But whether sprawl or skyscrapers win the day, the Golden State will probably be a far different and more complex place than it is today, as people live longer and Latinos become the dominant ethnic group, eclipsing all others combined."

And that, friends, will work out to a helluva lot of seats in the House as well as electoral college votes. Considering how well the Republicans have done with immigration, Latinos nationwide will be voting overwhelmingly Democratic for say, the next hundred years or so.

No Me Gusta Jorge

LATimes (06.16.07):

"As a Cuban who fled Fidel Castro's communist rule for a new life in the U.S., Julio Izquierdo would seem a natural Republican voter — a sure bet to adopt the same political lineage that has long guided most of his countrymen who resettled in South Florida.

But moments after taking his oath this week to become a U.S. citizen and registering to vote, the grocery store employee said he felt no such allegiances."

New mood from new citizens

"'I don't know whether Bush is a Democrat or a Republican, but whatever he is, I'm voting the other way,' Izquierdo, 20, said Thursday as he waited for a taxi after a mass naturalization ceremony at the Miami Beach Convention Center."

Julio said he didn't care for George's war and "was miffed at politicians, most of them Republican, who seem to dislike immigrants."

Seem to?

"That sentiment, expressed by several of the 6,000 new citizens who took their oaths Thursday in group ceremonies that take place regularly in immigrant-heavy cities nationwide, underscored the troubled environment facing the GOP in the buildup to next year's presidential election."

"Surveys show that among Latino voters — a bloc Bush had hoped to woo into the Republican camp — negative views about the party are growing amid a bitter debate over immigration policy."

Now a few folks do not a voting bloc make. But if they are representative of the general Latino sentiment, the GOP is in for a heap o' hurting in 2008.

Vote For Me And I'll Vote For You

McClatchy comes in with a bowtie pitch. (03.23.07):

"Under President Bush, the Justice Department has backed laws that narrow minority voting rights and pressed U.S. attorneys to investigate voter fraud - policies that critics say have been intended to suppress Democratic votes.

Bush, his deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove, and other Republican political advisers have highlighted voting rights issues and what Rove has called the 'growing problem' of election fraud by Democrats since Bush took power in the tumultuous election of 2000, a race ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court."

New U.S. attorneys seem to have partisan records

"Since 2005, McClatchy Newspapers has found, Bush has appointed at least three U.S. attorneys who had worked in the Justice Department's civil rights division when it was rolling back longstanding voting-rights policies aimed at protecting predominantly poor, minority voters."

"Another newly installed U.S. attorney, Tim Griffin in Little Rock, Ark., was accused of participating in efforts to suppress Democratic votes in Florida during the 2004 presidential election while he was a research director for the Republican National Committee. He's denied any wrongdoing."

Ha! Hey, anyone who doesn't think Karl and his minions were engaged in a deliberate strategy to suppress legitimate Democratic votes is a chump. Hell, they're still at it.

And a bowtie pitch? That's a high, tight, inside fastball. Right under the batter's chin. Shows you mean business.

Giuliani/Lieberman In 2008?

The question: what would a Giuliani/Lieberman ticket in 2008 mean for the GOP? Jonathan Chait at The New Republic has one answer (02.12.07):

"Marty asks whether I think the Republicans would be smart to nominate a Giuliani-Lieberman ticket. As a purely descriptive matter, which is how he is asking the question, I think the answer is yes."

What A Giuliani-Lieberman Ticket Would Mean

Daniel Gross has another (02.13.07):

"(H)ow about the first ticket ever *not* to carry either home state of the presidential or the vice presidential candidate."

A Historic First