Election Reform and Related News: Sunday, August 10, 2008

[livvy]

Election Reform and Related News

Sunday, August 10, 2008




Everyone is welcome to participate. Feel free to:

:graybox: Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

:graybox: Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...

:graybox: Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

:graybox: Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.



Recommendations for the Greatest Page are always welcomed. It's the best way to share the news with members who don't frequent this forum. It's the link below.

[livvy]

1. OpEd, Blog, Opinion, etc. and a 'toon

[livvy]

2. Big Business Is Making Sure It Wins the Presidency

Big Business Is Making Sure It Wins the Presidency

By Matt Taibbi, RollingStone.com. Posted August 9, 2008.



It's the same old story: Money talks, and bullshit walks. And don't be surprised if we're the ones still walking after November.

Remember the total, hideous, inexcusable absence of oversight that has been the great hallmark of George Bush's America for almost eight years now? Well, now we're getting to see that same regulatory malfeasance applied to yet another cornerstone of our political system. The Federal Election Commission -- the body that supposedly enforces campaign-finance laws in this country -- has been out of business for more than six months. That's because Congress was dragging its feet over confirmation hearings for new FEC commissioners, leaving the agency without a quorum. The commission just started work again for the first time on July 10th under its new chairman, Donald McGahn, a classic Republican Party yahoo whose chief qualifications include representing Tom DeLay, the corrupt ex-speaker of the House, in matters of campaign finance.

Apart from the obvious absurdity of not having a functioning election-policing mechanism in an election year in the world's richest democracy, the late start by the FEC makes it almost impossible for the agency to do its job. The commission has a long-standing reluctance to take action in the last months before a vote, a policy designed to help prevent federal regulators from influencing election outcomes. Normally, the FEC tries to root out infractions and loopholes -- fining campaigns for incomplete reporting, or for taking shortcuts around spending limits -- in the early months of a campaign season. But that ship sailed way too long ago to take the stink off the 2008 race.

"The time for setting the ground rules was earlier," says Craig Holman, a lobbyist with the watchdog group Public Citizen. "There isn't time to do much now."

That's especially true given the magnitude of what we're dealing with here: the biggest pile of political contributions in the history of free elections, nearly a billion dollars given to presidential candidates in this season alone. Because the FEC has been dead in the water for so long, it's likely that we'll still be in the dark about a large chunk of this record manure pile of campaign contributions when we go to vote in November.

more...


http://www.alternet.org/democracy/94334/big_business_is_making_sure_it_wins_the_presidency/

[livvy]

6. The Youth Vote: A Matter of Access, Not Apathy

The Youth Vote: A Matter of Access, Not Apathy

By Michael Connery, The Nation. Posted August 6, 2008.



The biggest obstacle to young voters is not apathy, but removing barriers that complicate the process for new voters.

I've spent a lot of time here in the past two months busting myths about young voters. I've talked about rising youth turnout and the boom in youth infrastructure. I've talked about the proper use of celebrities in GOTV campaigns, and the roles of Obama and online tools in mobilizing youth. In all instances, my purpose was to highlight the incredible gains we've made since 2003 in engaging young voters. This election stands to be the first time since 18 year olds were granted the right to vote that youth turnout at the polls will increase for the third straight campaign cycle. We are now at the point in which the youth vote is increasingly competitive with, and at times surpasses, the over 65 vote. That's a good thing.

In response to my posts, I've seen comments expounding on the problem of "youth apathy" and claims that youth won't vote unless we reinstate the draft. Others threw their hands up in helplessness, stating that the youth vote will only turn out for charismatic candidates and so there's not much we can do to boost turnout. The implication is that current trends are nothing more than a statistical blip.

So here's the bad. I concede to these commenters that young voters still turn out (generally speaking) in fewer numbers than other segments of the electorate. However, this has nothing to do with voter apathy, the draft, candidate charisma, or any other reason that is part of the conventional wisdom about youth participation. Young voters participate at lower rates because the system is rigged to make it is hard as possible to participate.

Young voters face more barriers to participating in the political process than any other demographic in the electorate except perhaps ex-felons. Some of these factors are structural and can be attributed to lifestyle issues. Others are deliberate attempts to keep young voters from the polls. Here's a look at how our voting system disenfranchises our youngest citizens:

Photo ID:

Increasingly states are adopting stringent voter ID laws that require voters to show government issued photo ID. Often young people -- particularly students who attend school out of state -- do not have such drivers licenses or other valid ID from the state in which they attend school. Many other young voters in urban areas have no need of a car and don't bother to get a drivers license, the most common form of ID. A poll by Rock the Vote found that 19% of students lacked such proper ID. Absentee ballots are not the solution to this problem either. Many states require valid photo ID for first-time absentee voters. Again, students who want to vote absentee in their home state are often already at school and unable to provide ID at a polling place or at a board of elections office located hundreds of miles away.

more...


http://www.alternet.org/democracy/94040/the_youth_vote%3A_a_matter_of_access%2C_not_apathy/

[livvy]

16. 'I didn't know anything about them ...' To cut the little guy a break

I really cherry-picked this to include some of the comments from the people she interviewed. Go to the link to read the whole piece, if you're interested.

This piece could be titled "How Far Too Many American's Approach the Voting Process". Arrggggg :banghead:


Aug. 10, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ERIN NEFF: 'I didn't know anything about them ...' To cut the little guy a break

Given the number of judicial races on Tuesday's primary ballot, you'd think voters might have at least marked their sample ballots before heading to the early polls.

But when I talked to about 10 voters outside early voting locations in northwest Las Vegas last week, it became readily apparent most were just stopping by to keep their turnout record intact.

snip

Next she told me she voted for the incumbents in several local judicial races, including Jamie Kent and Bill Henderson.

I told her that while she's seen Henderson's name on the ballot plenty of times, he's never been elected before. I also let her know the real incumbent in the Family Court seat she referenced was Lisa Kent, not her opponent Jamie Kent.

"That's OK," she said, matter-of-factly. "They probably could use my support."

snip

The only thing this voter clammed up about was her identity. "I thought this was the primary for president," she said. "That's why I really came."

snip

"I went to vote against Shelley Berkley," the Republican voter said. "Only, I wasn't sure which one of the Republicans to support."

Simmons said he settled on Kenneth Wegner because he had seen a roadside sign of the candidate's that seemed to gel with his issues.

the rest....

http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/26582204.html

[livvy]

21. Something Can Be Done About Lines at the Polls

Sunday, August 10, 2008; Page SM02

Something Can Be Done About Lines at the Polls


"There's not a thing we can do to avoid the long lines on Election Day" . That's what we're hearing from Maryland election officials. And that's no surprise: These officials work for the state administrator, and it's her position that nothing can be done about the inevitable lines.

And why are they inevitable? Because voters don't go to the polls in equal numbers throughout the day. The heavy voting hours are 7 to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. until the polls close. Most people can vote only before or after their jobs. With an average of 10 or 12 voting machines per precinct, there are going to be times when those wanting to vote will be waiting in line for an hour or more.

So, across the state, hundreds or perhaps thousands of Maryland residents will be denied the right to vote in November because they can't wait one or more hours. They have jobs to go to, kids to take care of and dinners to fix.

What would happen if all of the machines in a precinct crashed? There's a procedure to meet that contingency. It's called emergency paper ballots. So why not say that when more than an hour's worth of voters are in line, that's an emergency, and we'll let them vote on paper ballots if they choose?

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/08/AR2008080803855.html

[livvy]

22. Exercising the Right to Vote Will Cost Them

Exercising the right to vote will cost them


Published: Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 6:50 p.m.
Estelle Geller is from New York City - Queens and Brooklyn -- and did some bill collection work there.


That may have nothing to do with it, but I noticed when we spoke on the phone that the Sarasota resident is no shrinking violet.

Geller, 82, wasn't shy as she complained -- in an energetic, upbeat, laugh-while-you-gripe way -- about how getting old is a pain.

"I'm a walker," she told me.

snip

She contacted me because they vote by mail now, and she was bothered by a purple slip of paper that came with their ballot forms.

"Return postage for your ballot is $1.00," it said.


more...

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080810/COLUMNIST/808100333/-1/newssitemap

[livvy]

3. States and a 'toon

[livvy]

4. Lack of ID and Permanent Addresses Baffle Voting Officials

Homeless Face Barriers With Registering to Vote

By Dan Seligson, electionline.org. Posted August 8, 2008.


Lack of ID and permanent addresses baffle voting officials.

Over breakfast in a church social hall in Washington, D.C., Roy Crabtree, a North Carolina native who currently has no fixed address, espoused strong and well-researched views about politicians' responsibilities, campaign promises, the price of oil and the war in Iraq.

When November rolls around, however, Crabtree, who has voted in almost every election in recent years, said he was unsure whether he would participate.

"It's up in the air," he said. "Registering to vote without a fixed address -- that is definitely a roadblock to our people."

Low-income and homeless citizens face some unique difficulties when registering to vote. Proof of identity, such as birth certificates or ID cards, can get lost, making it harder to fill out legal forms.

more...
http://www.alternet.org/democracy/94447/homeless_face_barriers_with_registering_to_vote/

[livvy]

5. MI: Humidity Causes Ballot Issues

Humidity causes ballot issues
Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Hot and humid weather caused headaches in some precincts countywide after it put a kink in counting ballots for the primary election.

Officials said Tuesday's humidity caused some ballots to expand, making it difficult to load them into the counting machines. The problem caused some delays in getting election results to the Jackson County Clerk's Office.

Blackman Township Clerk Mike Thomas said about 700 absentee ballots had to be re-marked by elections officials after they would not fit into machines. It also caused problems in Summit Township, where election workers spent about three hours trying to compile results.

``We had a frustrating day,'' township Clerk Robert DuBois said. ``The workers were just troupers. They didn't get all flustered, they just took it and said, `We'll do the best we can.'''

-- Holly Klaft


http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1218031514118690.xml&coll=3

[flashl]

10. OH: More on Those Voting Machines in Ohio

By Mary Pat Flaherty
The Trail

The voting machine wars in Ohio continue.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is assuring voters in the battleground state that November's tally will be accurate even as she asserts -- in court filings Wednesday -- that there is a problem with the touch screen machines that will be used in half of the state's 88 counties.

Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold, said in May that its machines had some problems tabulating votes. But the company has contended in court filings that it had fulfilled its contract to deliver an electronic system.

During the May primary, Brunner said officials in Butler County, north of Cincinnati, realized that 150 votes were dropped when they were being transferred from memory cards. When Brunner looked into it, she found that the software problem had come up in 11 counties. No vote was lost, she said, because local officials had caught the discrepancies.

Voters "should not be alarmed," Brunner said in an interview today, because the state will develop and pass on to counties ways to detect and resolve the problem.

[Wilms]

11. HI: Voting-machine deal in jeopardy

Voting-machine deal in jeopardy

Sunday, August 10, 2008

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

The state Office of Elections acted in bad faith when it awarded an expensive contract for new voting machines and the contract should be canceled after this year's elections, an administrative hearings officer has ruled.

Hart InterCivic was awarded what the state described as a $43.4 million contract for paper eScan and electronic eSlate voting machines through the 2016 elections, with an option to extend to 2018.

An administrative hearings officer, responding to a protest from Election Systems & Software — a rival company that bid $18.1 million for the contract — has found that the actual cost with the option was $52.8 million and "clearly unreasonable."

Craig Uyehara, an administrative hearings officer for the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, determined on Thursday that it was too late to cancel the Hart contract before the September primary and November general election but ruled that it should expire at the end of the year.

snip

The hearings officer, however, said Cronin — by his own admission — was unqualified to do the cost analysis and found that Cronin's conclusions were "incomplete, inaccurate, unreliable and misleading."

snip

Five Maui residents, meanwhile, have sued Cronin and the elections office for failing to adopt administrative rules for using the Hart machines to transmit votes from the Neighbor Islands over telephone lines.

The residents, who want the Neighbor Island results flown to Honolulu on election night, argue that the transmissions could be hacked and votes could be flipped without the public knowing. The lawsuit is before a Circuit Court judge on Maui.

snip

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080810/NEWS01/808100378/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT

[livvy]

14. SC: Gibson Wants Voting Machine Backup

Gibson wants voting machine backup
By Ben Szobody • STAFF WRITER • August 10, 2008

County Councilwoman Lottie Gibson said that voting machine errors ate into her Democratic primary victory margin in June, a charge Greenville County election officials say they have fully investigated and found no evidence to support.

Gibson, a council stalwart used to 90 percent winning totals, narrowly beat challenger Ralph Sweeney 985 votes to 858 after trailing in live results for the most of June's election night. She now faces Republican Alan Kay in November.

Sweeney said he received no reports of voting machine problems, and that his strong election showing was the result of diligent campaigning.

Gibson has called for the implementation of voter receipts as proof that constituents voted for the person they intended. Election officials say they're powerless to do such a thing and that a paper trail would mean votes are no longer secret, opening the possibility of voter intimidation.

snip

Gibson said five voters told her they repeatedly touched her name on the county's iVotronic voting machines, only to see Sweeney's name show up on the following screen where voters verify their selections. She said poll workers couldn't solve the issue until, in one case, a man shook the voting machine :argh: and her name showed up.



more...

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080810/NEWS01/808100321/1001/NEWS01

[Wilms]

15. Why New York's Legislature's Plan to Computerize Our Electoral System Is Unconstitutional

Why New York's Legislature's Plan to Computerize Our Electoral System Is Unconstitutional

by andi novick

August 7, 2008

For 231 years the success of New York's democratic electoral system has depended on the ability to see how our votes are counted. That transparency is essential to prevent opportunities for fraud, as well as to provide citizens with a rational basis to trust election results and be able to evaluate their government's performance in conducting their elections. We can see how our votes are counted in a lever-counted or hand-counted voting system. We cannot see how optical scanners or DREs are programmed to count our votes, thus concealing the very fraud we must be able to detect and deter.

Attempting to first verify the unreliable software-generated count by hand counting a small portion of the ballots after the election is over, after the press has declared the winner, and after the ballots are exposed to heightened opportunities for post-election ballot tampering has historically been understood to be the least secure way to conduct an election. In fact, post-election ballot tampering has always been seen as so difficult to protect against that since the founding of the State, New York has mandated the election results be reliable, verified, and completed on election night.

It is the exposure of our franchise to these unprotectable opportunities for fraud before, during and after the election, that renders the new electoral system created by New York's 2005 Legislature unconstitutional.

The People Have the Constitutionally Protected Right to Know How Their Votes Are Counted and to See that Fraud Is Prevented

snip

For Two Centuries New York's Laws Have Required an Accurate Completed Reliable Count on Election Night: The Days Following the Election Invite Heightened Opportunities for Ballot Tampering Thus Requiring Any Verification/Recount to Be Completed on Election Night

Since New York's founding, our laws have required that the vote counting be conducted in an observable secure manner, subjecting the count to public scrutiny in order to prevent opportunities for tampering. For this reason New York's Election Law requires that the official election results must be accurate and completed on election night and the results publicly "...declared without any bias arising from a knowledge of its effect upon the aggregate result, or from exposure to subsequent influences." McLaughlin v Ammenwerth, 197 NY 340 (Court of Appeals 1910).

snip

The computerized evidence produced by software is insufficient to demonstrate how we voted or to prove fraud because it can be undetectably altered. If the paper ballots are also altered in the days and weeks following the election, there is then no evidence of what really happened on election day. An election can be stolen and the people, bereft of sufficient or responsible evidence, will be powerless to challenge the theft in court. This represents the ultimate destruction of checks and balances secured by our constitution, exposing us to the loss of our constitutional rights without legal recourse.

snip

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Overview-Why-New-York-s-L-by-andi-novick-080807-73.html

Discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x506589

[livvy]

17. KS: Uncounted Ballots — Good catch

Uncounted Ballots — Good catch
Not only did election chief recover the fumble in primary election, she took responsibility

The Capital-Journal Editorial Board
Published Sunday, August 10, 2008

Some local politicians who went to bed Tuesday night secure in the knowledge they had prevailed in their party's primary election and would be campaigning into November must have received a start when they learned Wednesday morning there were thousands of ballots still to be counted.

And those who had lost had renewed hope, briefly.

Before the day ended, however, the overlooked ballots had been counted and Tuesday's winners were still winners and the unsuccessful candidates remained unsuccessful.

Fortunately, the biggest news of the day was that a mistake had been made somewhere in the vote tabulation process. The best news of the day was that the mistake had been discovered and corrected, and how that all transpired.

Shawnee County election commissioner Elizabeth Ensley attributed the mistake to human error, but declined to point out the particular human whose error it was.

"I am responsible for everything going on in the office," she said. "There was an error last night. I can assure you it won't happen again."

more...



http://www.cjonline.com/stories/081008/opi_316874192.shtml

[flashl]

23. NM: Rahm Emanuel in New Mexico

New Mexico Politics From the Local Perspective

by: LP
Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 23:41:04 PM MDT

Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois was in the state and saw a good chunk of it in a short period of time -- at least up and down I-25.

...

Emanuel spoke about the big year Democrats had in 2006 and how we won; it wasn't just the war.

Yes, the war was a big factor. But the deteriorating economic condition in the middle class was a big factor in the fact that the Democrats took back the House and the Senate. And it will again be a contributing factor because people realize that under the Republican Party stewardship, the middle class has been hurt.

After the Ben Ray event, it was time for Emanuel to hop in his rented car (I assume) and head down I-25 to Albuquerque for a press conference with Martin Heinrich, Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, Captain Ahren Griego IAFF Local 244 and other firefighters from IAFF Local 244.

"We can fund our labs, and create new jobs, and we can fund our police departments across the United States," Emanuel said in his short speech. "I'm going to be here to help Martin because it's time for a change."

[livvy]

25. NY: Voting Machines For Disabled Are Unveiled

Voting machines for disabled are unveiled
Devices allow people to cast ballot unaided

By Jenny Lee • Poughkeepsie Journal • August 9, 2008

With the exception of some printer problems, Dutchess County's new machines for disabled voters seem to be working fine.

The machines - which can be used by anyone, but are specially built to allow disabled residents to vote unaided - will be in place for the Sept. 9 primary election.

The county Board of Elections rolled out the new Sequoia Voting Systems ImageCast ballot marking devices at an open house Thursday.

Miriam Zimet Aaron of the Town of Poughkeepsie saw how the new devices work.

more...

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080809/NEWS01/808090321/1006

[livvy]

26. NV: New-Fangled Voting System Gets a 'NO' From Collins

ANSWERS: CLARK COUNTY:

New-fangled voting system gets a ‘NO’ from Collins
He employs pingpong paddles to protest machines’ flaws
By Brian Eckhouse

Sun, Aug 10, 2008 (2 a.m.)

It wasn’t exactly the image county officials envisioned when they pitched a $400,000 electronic management system to the Board of County Commissioners: Commissioner Tom Collins using pingpong paddles to register votes on agenda items, one with YES affixed, the other with NO.

What is the management system?

More than a year ago, county commissioners — including Collins — approved spending $400,000 for what are actually two systems: a voting system, also referred to as a meeting management system, and an agenda management system. The cost included money for hardware, software and maintenance. Collins readily admits he approved the systems, but quickly adds he did so reluctantly.

They went into effect last fall.

What led to Collins’ protest?

Collins is frustrated with the new voting system, which he says is flawed. He estimates that in the past six months, there have been problems four out of five times — a figure officials dispute. “Right now, you can’t vote until the clerk says you can vote,” he said Friday. “It’s embarrassing.”

Collins says he’s had enough. “I told them to put it where the sun don’t shine,” he said.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/10/new-fangled-voting-system-gets-no-collins/

[livvy]

7. Election '08 and a 'toon

[livvy]

8. Obama Speaks the Truth to a Child, Right-Wingers Go Bananas

Obama Speaks the Truth to a Child, Right-Wingers Go Bananas
Posted by Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog on August 8, 2008 at 9:42 AM.

Somebody must have had to fetch a double dose of smelling salts for Hot Air's Ed Morrissey -- he's freaking out (as are others on the right) over a campaign clip in which Barack Obama tells a child at a campaign appearance,


America is ... , uh, is no longer, uh ... what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don't want that future for my children.

Watch it: (at the link)

Er, kids? If it's not permissible to say that America is less great at some moments than it is at other moments, then I guess the guy on this 1980 campaign button is a big fat commie:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

(Here's the button referred to in the post.... :rofl: )





http://www.alternet.org/blogs/election08/#94390

[livvy]

9. Krugman: GOP Is the Party for Fools

I really enjoyed the beginning of this piece, as yesterday I had a mini-breakdown listening to a snippet from McSame, a variation of the theme he's been shrieking about for days...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3752911&mesg_id=3752911

It's nice to know that this meme is wearing thin for others as well. :evilgrin:

Krugman: GOP Is the Party for Fools

By Paul Krugman, The New York Times. Posted August 9, 2008.



Partisan politics are unlikely to end any time soon -- not as long as the GOP believes that when it comes to politics, idiocy is the best policy.

So the G.O.P. has found its issue for the 2008 election. For the next three months the party plans to keep chanting: "Drill here! Drill now! Drill here! Drill now! Four legs good, two legs bad!" O.K., I added that last part.

And the debate on energy policy has helped me find the words for something I've been thinking about for a while. Republicans, once hailed as the "party of ideas," have become the party of stupid.

Now, I don't mean that G.O.P. politicians are, on average, any dumber than their Democratic counterparts. And I certainly don't mean to question the often frightening smarts of Republican political operatives.

What I mean, instead, is that know-nothingism -- the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there's something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise -- has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party's de facto slogan has become: "Real men don't think things through."



http://www.alternet.org/election08/94398/krugman%3A_gop_is_the_party_for_fools/

[livvy]

12. CorporateAmericaPrepares forBattleAgainstWorkerCampaign to RollBackAssault on theMiddleClass

I know this isn't exactly "election reform", but I thought it was interesting enough to include, and what the author is talking about does or can have an effect on election outcomes.

Union members are more likely to vote their economic interests than be dazzled by culture war issues. In 2004, while Bush won the votes of 78 percent of white Evangelical Christians, John Kerry won a slim majority among those who also belonged to union households.

In addition to flooding the airwaves with attack ads in states and districts where business-friendly candidates are on the bubble, we can expect millions of dollars from that corporate war chest to go into "issue" ads, part of a concerted effort of anti-union propaganda designed to convince working people that organized labor will cost them wages and jobs, and that union organizers are corrupt and self-serving.

In the upcoming election we need all the talking points we can gather to fight the GOP. We have to win by a huge margin to offset the dirty tricks that I believe will take place. Get the facts, talk to people, shove a mirror in front of their face, ask them to admire their nose, and remind them how unappealing they would look if they choose to bite it off by voting for McSame.


Corporate America Prepares for Battle Against Worker Campaign to Roll Back Assault on the Middle Class

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet. Posted August 8, 2008.



Big business has prepared a war chest of at least $150 million to stop progressive economic legislation that would seriously tax the rich.

There is nothing more terrifying to corporate America than the prospect of dealing with its workforce on an even playing field, and, along with allies on the Right, it's pulling out all the stops to keep that from happening. At stake is much more than the usual tax breaks, trade deals and relentless deregulation; corporations are gearing up for a fight to preserve a status quo in which the largest share of America's national income goes to profits and the smallest share to wages since the Great Depression -- in fact, since the government started tracking those figures.

There will be many heated legislative battles if 2008 shakes out with larger Congressional majorities for Democrats and an Obama White House -- fights over war and peace, energy policy, health care reform and immigration. But it may be a bill that many Americans have never heard of that sparks the most pitched battle Washington has seen since the Civil Rights Act. It's called the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) -- a measure that would go a long way toward guaranteeing working people the right to join a union if they so choose -- and it has the potential to reverse more than three decades of painful stagflation, with prices rising and paychecks flat, for America's middle class and working poor.

The Chamber of Commerce, D.C. lobbyists, firms that rely on cheap labor and a host of "astroturf" front groups are building a war chest that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to build a firewall against EFCA and other efforts to put a check on corporate power and rebuild a declining middle class. A recent report on the front page of the Wall Street Journal about how Wal-Mart -- the nation's largest employer -- is "mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors" in an effort to discourage its workers from voting Democratic this fall generated quite a bit of controversy. According to a report in the National Journal that received less attention, "several business-backed groups ... (including) two fledgling coalitions fighting labor-supported legislation and the conservative political group Freedom's Watch are trying to raise $100 million for issue advocacy and get-out-the-vote efforts to benefit about 10 GOP Senate races."

It's the EFCA -- the idea that working people who want to join a union can -- that has corporate America quaking in its collective boots. The bill passed the House easily in 2007 -- by 56 votes -- and had majority support in the Senate. But it didn't reach the 60 votes required to kill a GOP-led filibuster, and that massive war chest being amassed by the corporate Right is, in part, an attempt to maintain a firewall of at least 41 anti-union senators -- mostly Republicans joined by a few corporatist Dems -- to kill the bill in the 2009 Congress. President Bush threatened to veto the legislation if it had passed in 2007, but this time around, they fear that a Democrat will be sitting in the White House. Obama was a co-sponsor of the 2007 legislation; McCain opposed it.

more...



http://www.alternet.org/election08/94004/corporate_america_prepares_for_battle_against_worker_campaign_to_roll_back_assault_on_the_middle_class_/

[livvy]

13. Why Every Politician Should Go See "Swing Vote"

Why Every Politician Should Go See "Swing Vote"

By Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post. Posted August 7, 2008.

The makers of Swing Vote, the new film starring Kevin Costner, have pulled off a rare double play, producing a smart political satire that is also heartfelt and moving. It's also a film that turns out to be remarkably relevant to the 2008 race.

Costner plays Ernie "Bud" Johnson, a beer-drinking, unemployed resident of Texico, New Mexico who as fate -- and a voting machine error -- would have it, will single-handedly decide a presidential election (sure, it's high concept, but don't forget that in 2000 New Mexico was decided by just 366 votes). The media descends on him, as do both presidential candidates and their win-at-all-costs campaign managers.

The film has lots to say about -- and gets plenty of laughs from -- the evils of modern campaigns: pollsters, lobbyists, focus groups, and the inevitable mudslinging and negative ads. The film features a bunch of satiric smear ads launched by the competing candidates -- incumbent GOP President Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammar) and his Democratic challenger, Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper). You can see them here, here, here, here, and here

But as ludicrous and over-the-top as the film's negative ads are, none of them can hold a candle to the absurd ads unleashed last week by the McCain camp and the RNC.

more...



"Swing Vote" offers a cynical and entirely apt commentary on the sad reality of real-life politics.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/94313/why_every_politician_should_go_see_%22swing_vote%22/

[livvy]

24. Looking Past Residency, Voters Feel At Home With Wexler

Looking past residency, voters feel at home with Wexler

By JOHN LANTIGUA

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, August 09, 2008

BOYNTON BEACH — U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler is working the room.

He is at a lunch meeting of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, and almost everyone there is a generation or two older than he. Wexler is only 47, but his hair is gray, a kind of solidarity with his most faithful supporters.

He has joked that his district has "the highest use of Viagra anywhere in the world."

"Hello, I'm Robert," he says as he shakes age-freckled hands.

As if they didn't know who he is. He's running for his seventh two-year term from the 19th Congressional District, and he has always had the support of this crowd, many of whom treat him like a young relative.

"Robbit, listen to me," says an older lady grabbing his arm, and he bends down to hear her.

more...

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/08/09/0809wexler.html

[livvy]

18. National and a 'toon

[livvy]

19. A Losing Bid: Auctions of Votes on eBay Closed Down

A Losing Bid: Auctions of Votes on eBay Closed Down

By Lisa Rein
Sunday, August 10, 2008; Page C05

The auction for Aaron Fischer's vote this November opened at $3.99.

"Influence the political climate like never before in this November's historical Presidential Election!" read the Catonsville man's auction posting on eBay. "To the highest bidder, YOUR VOTE IS MY VOTE!"

Fischer also offered to video himself casting his ballot "to ensure your vote counts." He asked for "serious bidders only!" and would accept payment only by PayPal.

Last month, Fischer's approach was brought to the attention of Maryland election officials, who promptly called the auction Web site and informed its marketing officials that vote selling is illegal. EBay devised software that detects offers to sell votes, and Fischer's auction, posted July 9, was shut down.

So were auctions using similar language from potential vote sellers in Salem, Ohio, Chicago and a handful of other places. (Bids for the Chicago auction opened at 99 cents and had climbed to $10 by the time banksyinchicago's posting was removed. Milkman333 in Ohio had a starting bid of $1,000 that had not budged.)



more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/09/AR2008080901753.html

edited to add link...duh...

[livvy]

20. Big Turnout LIkely Will Be Big Headache

Big turnout likely will be big headache
States could face challenge ensuring all voters' ballots will be counted

By PAULINE VU Stateline.org

Aug. 9, 2008, 5:56PM

WASHINGTON — With a historic presidential race expected to drive huge numbers of people — particularly first-time voters — to the polls, states have a lot of work in store to ensure that every vote counts.

This year's presidential primaries showed that the problems that made headlines in the past — with voter registration rolls, identification requirements and voting machine glitches — have been upstaged by a new difficulty.

The huge turnout that whittled the presidential race to Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain overwhelmed some states and counties, according to a recent report by electionline.org, a project of the Pew Center on the States that tracks election reform efforts.

"Some places were unprepared. Some places just couldn't handle it," said Dan Seligson, electionline.org's publications manager.

Of the November election, he added, "People know it's going to be a historically high turnout. Whether they can do anything about it is another question."

more...


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5933266.html

[livvy]

27. Have a great week ahead, a thank you note, and one last 'toon.

Thanks flashl and Wilms for the assists!

[tbyg52]

28. Thank you all!

:kick: :thumbsup: