Two weird, somewhat interesting, observations about voting patterns in the recent Presidential election that you may not have seen. First, from Rocky Mountain Right:It's not all doom and gloom in Colorado. Exit polling from the presidential race indicates that Colorado may be in for a generational swing back towards the Republicans over the next few years going against national trends. Nationally, exit polls show that John McCain carried only 32% of the 18-29 age bracket. In Colorado, McCain won that age bracket with 53% of the vote.... Second, from Gay Patriot:According to the CNN exit polls, 4% of the American electorate self-identified as gay or lesbian. That means about 4.8 million gays and lesbians voted on Tuesday. That seems … [Read more...]
Former I.I. Intern Smiles for Washington Post during Presidential Debate
(Photo: Washington Post) Former Independence Institute intern and now Washington insider (ha!) Dan Head smiles widely as he watches John McCain deliver a zinger at last night's debate. After two mediocre McCain performances, last night was the aging Arizona senator's best debate of the season against Democrat Barack Obama. The only question that matters now is whether it will make enough difference to impact the election. For that, we'll just have to wait and see. Way to go, Dan, making it into the Washington Post. … [Read more...]
Why Barack Obama’s Ties to ACORN Should Really Scare (or Anger) You
It was good to see ACORN brought up in tonight's debate. My frequent attention of late to the topic has brought on Lefty critique (22 comments!) that the group has never actually been convicted of electioneering fraud. But we'll leave that dispute aside for the time being. Investigative reporter Stanley Kurtz points us to the deeper problems:On ACORN, I continue to be stunned by Obama’s denials of his extensive ties to this execrable group. The fact that ACORN came up at all is good. Most folks still don’t know what ACORN is, how bad it is, and how deeply it’s tied to the financial meltdown. John McCain needs to make sure the public learns about ACORN and Obama. Obama’s dissembling on his ties to ACORN shows that he recognizes … [Read more...]
Will VP Debate Moderator Gwen Ifill Disclose Her Conflict of Interest?
Question before tomorrow night's vice-presidential debate: Will moderator Gwen Ifill disclose to the viewing audience her clear conflict of interest? Just wanted to lay that out up front. … [Read more...]
Political Fault Lines Clearly Shifting Around Federal Bailout Bill Debate
One thing that's clear is the Congressional bailout debates have shifted political fault lines in unusual ways. The Denver Post highlights the odd split in Colorado's Congressional delegation: Mark Udall, John Salazar, Doug Lamborn, and Marilyn Musgrave against the bill vs. Tom Tancredo, Diana Degette, and Ed Perlmutter for it. Then, there's my two favorite fiscally conservative national think tanks. Co-authoring an issue brief for the Heritage Foundation, former Attorney General Ed Meese says the bailout bill was "vital and acceptable," while Cato Institute scholar Jagadeesh Ghokale notes:Overall, it's not a pretty picture--but score one for supporters of the free market who insist on allowing market reorganization of the financial … [Read more...]
Newsbusters: Soldier’s Family Told Barack Obama Not to Wear Bracelet
Do you remember in Friday's presidential debate where the Obamessiah had his little "me too" moment, and showed off the deceased soldier's bracelet given for him to wear? Well, to his credit, Warner Todd Huston at Newsbusters dug a little deeper and found that the family asked Barack Obama not to wear the bracelet:[Father Brian] Jopek began by saying that his ex-wife was taken aback, even upset, that Obama has made the death of her son a campaign issue. Jopek says his wife gave Obama the bracelet because "she just wanted Mr. Obama to know Ryan's name." Jopek went on to say that "she wasn't looking to turn it into a big media event" and "just wanted it to be something between Barack Obama and herself." Apparently, they were all shocked it … [Read more...]
Passing Thoughts on “Bailout” Debate
Passing thoughts on the "bailout" debate.... John Hawkins at Right Wing News:If the history of government intervention in this country has taught us anything, it's that we should be much more afraid of the long term ramifications of the government rushing through an emergency "solution" to a problem than the actual problem the government is trying to "solve" in the first place. Agreed. In that spirit, the Heritage Foundation has an excellent piece urging Congress to live up to its "deliberative" role in this debate. Meanwhile, Rossputin has recanted his initial tentative support of the administration's $700 billion bailout plan, writing:[Federal Reserve Chairman Ben] Bernanke is warning us that doing nothing poses serious risks to … [Read more...]
Bob Schaffer-Mark Udall Debate Coverage Roundup
Here's a roundup of new media coverage of Monday's premier public debate between Colorado U.S. Senate candidates Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall. From Schaffer v Udall... - Schaffer v Udall Debate: Update, Quick First Impressions - Bob Schaffer's Clear Debate Victory over Mark Udall Sways Uncommitted Voter - Schaffer v Udall Debate Photos - Missing the Point of Bob Schaffer's Powerful Zing on Mark Udall's Iraq Record - Mark Udall Healthcare Quips From Rocky Mountain Right... - Pictures from the Schaffer-Udall Debate - Breaking News from the RMN: Udall Staffer Approves of Udall's Debate Performance! Also check out Face The State's slideshow of the debate. And, of course, though it's not new media, 9News has a report from the … [Read more...]
Live-Blogging First Campaign Debate between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall
Today I'm taking a few personal hours from work to go cover the first debate of Colorado's 2008 U.S. Senate campaign. Hopefully, El Presidente and I will be live-blogging the event between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall over at the Schaffer v Udall blog. Doors open to the public at 9:30 AM local time, with the debate scheduled to take place from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. … [Read more...]