1 866 OUR VOTE

Know that number. Call it if you have any trouble. Because the GOP, afraid of what will happen if the people get to vote, will be causing trouble. For example:

Citing a new list of more than 37,000 questionable addresses, the state Republican Party demanded Saturday that Milwaukee city officials require identification from all of those voters Tuesday.

If the city doesn't, the party says it is prepared to have volunteers challenge each individual--including thousands who might be missing an apartment number on their registration--at the polls. [. . .]

City officials, who already were trying to establish safeguards in response to the party's claim of 5,619 bad addresses, were surprised by the 37,180 number, nearly seven times larger.

"It's not a leap at all to say the potential for voter fraud is high in the city, and the integrity of the entire election, frankly, is at stake," said Rick Graber, state GOP chairman. "The city's records are in horrible shape."
Any inaccurate address, he said, is an opening for someone to cast a fraudulent vote. However, many of the new addresses now cited might be eligible voters who have voted for years without problems.

City Attorney Grant Langley labeled the GOP request "outrageous." [. . .]

The initial GOP challenge, which was dismissed 3-0 by the city Election Commission last week, cited thousands of cases where no voter address exists, such as vacant lots and, in one case, a gyros stand.

It was the result of using a computer to compare the city's list of 386,526 registered voters to a U.S. Postal Service list of known addresses.

The same list generated about 13,300 cases where incorrect apartment numbers were listed, and some 18,200 more cases where no apartment number was listed for an existing building. However, the party didn't include any of those in its original challenge, filed three minutes before the 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline. [. . .]

Citing its expanded list, the GOP argues any address deficiency, such as no apartment number listed, constitutes an invalid registration.

Langley said he is not prepared to try to review more than 37,000 addresses by Monday, which would be necessary in order to be confident any "watch" lists given to poll workers do not include any valid addresses.

"Here we are Saturday night at 5 p.m., and they're going to drop 37,000 names on me?" Langley said. "There has got to be a deadline for a reason." [. . .]

"People certainly can come to their own conclusions," said Martha Love, chair of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party, noting a similar review was not done for Republican areas such as Bayside. "But if it's not voter intimidation or suppression, then what's the point?"

Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the state Elections Board, has been working with the city on the 5,619 addresses to put safeguards in place that would flag questionable addresses.

"The concern the board has is the pall it casts over the process," he said Saturday.

That's right: The GOP is planning to challenge and intimidate nearly 10% of Milwaukee's voters. Were there probably some fraudulent addresses submitted by registrars paid per new voter? Undoubtedly. Is this cause to fear widespread (or even localized) voter fraud? Goodness, no. I mean, even the celebrated voter fraud cases from 2000 turned out to be basically nothing:

Four years ago, the Journal Sentinel found at least 361 felons voted while still under state supervision in Milwaukee. Three men were charged, but the charges were dismissed when prosecutors were unable to prove they knew it was illegal for them to vote.

Last time, there were also reports of college students voting multiple times, though one student who bragged he voted four times--writing in himself - recanted, and a review by prosecutors of 400 other voters didn't turn up any double-voting.

Be prepared. Vote Monday, in fact, if you can, so to avoid this attempt at intimidation.

UPDATE: Scott has some thoughts, too.

And (I shudder to write this) go Pack!

When it comes down to it

You're gonna have to give as much for after the election as before. Here's a good place to start.

More MJS Endorsements

Not surprisingly, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has endorsed every incumbent in the congressional races--or, in the cases where there was no incumbent, then the incumbent's party. Of particular interest may be the Feingold endorsment. You can also check out the paper's Q&A with Feingold and Michels, which doesn't help Michels, I don't think. I couldn't get the audio to work, though.

Also, if you're interested in taking on Feingold next time around, or challenging Herb Kohl in 2006, you can buy a Senate Campaign in a Box this week on eBay. Check it out.

A Headline I'd Like to See

As FBI Probes Halliburton, Cheney Flees Continental US

Never happen, though.

Use It

Here's a handy list of Kerry Wisconsin links, including campiagn and rally signs for your consumption.

Thanks to Darci for putting it together!

They did it

And the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did it surprisingly well:

Endorsement: John Kerry for president

Both presidential candidates are decent men, undeserving of the demonization they’ve endured during this campaign.

That said, there is a clear choice in this election, and that would be John Kerry for president.

Kerry’s record--Vietnam combat vet to anti-war activist to effective U.S. senator--speaks of courage, patriotism and a balanced and thoughtful view of this country, its needs and its role in the world.

It is inescapable, however, that a presidential re-election contest is also a referendum on the incumbent.

Kerry, though not flawless, mostly measures up based on a reasoned look at his record. Regrettably, we find President Bush, though well-intentioned, severely deficient based on his. [. . .]

In the senator, however, we see a reasoned pragmatist with enough intellectual curiosity to lead him to prudent, decisive and well-thought-out action.

Installing someone during war who has never been commander in chief is too risky, the president’s campaign is trying to scare you into believing. But voters can weigh that against what should now be a firm understanding of what they will get in a second Bush term. No risks there. There’s every danger of it being worse than the first.

The hatred directed against this president is largely undeserved. The caricatures and barbs hurled carelessly his way have been decidedly mean-spirited. Many will disagree, but we don’t believe that he has deliberately misled. He has good instincts on connecting with people and on hopes for elevating students through his No Child Left Behind program (chronically underfunded, unfortunately). We even believe that his faith-based initiative, though it has its faults, indicates a big heart. Faith that guides generously but doesn’t dictate to others can be a good thing.

In 2000, we lauded Bush for his ability as Texas governor to work in bipartisan fashion. We admired what seemed to be a tendency to make moderate judicial appointments. We’ve seen precious little of that in his first term as president.

This time around, there is just so much at stake.

There is an ever-evolving economy that must lift more boats, a health care crisis requiring bold solutions, Iran and North Korea posing global threats, an environment that needs more protection than has been given in this term and Supreme Court nominations that will touch just about every policy issue imaginable.

The president is a decent man, yes. On the whole, however, he has been so wrong about so much in such a short time that accountability must kick in at some point.

We’re at that point. John Kerry for president.

In 2000, they wimped out and ran a non-endorsement pro/con piece on Bush and Gore. And this year they were rumored not to be endorsing, either. They may have been swayed by the fact that Kerry made time to sit down with the editorial board, in spite of the rumor, when Bush did not.

Yes, their news content is still regrettably slanted to the right, but this is a very good endorsement that may well swing some moderate fence-sitters. Hats off to the editorial board.

Did I say it was on? Oh, yeah, it's on.

Call to Battle
The Challenger's Opening
My Opening
The Challenger's First Rebuttal
My First Rebuttal
The Challenger's Second Rebuttal
My Second Rebuttal


Keep checking back for more.

It's On

Oh, you'd better believe it's on.

Oh. My. God.

Question: If you knew where Osama bin Laden was--and I'm not saying you do; I'm just speaking hypothetically here--what would you do? Would you go get him, let him be, what?

Well, if you were the Pentagon, apparently, you would just walk away whistling and looking innocent: Jim Lehman, one of them 9/11 Comission guys and a former underling to Colin Powell, says the US knows where bin Laden is. Apparently, he's hiding out in South Waziristan.

So why can't we go? "If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."

Yeah. God forbid we go after a bad man in a far away country in an action that may tie up our army, marines, reserves, budget, political cycle . . .

Fool me once, shame on--Crap.


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And I always thought New Jersey was the armpit of America . . .

Get the fork ready--Michels is done

Last week, I noted how Republican senate candidate Tim Michels felt that polls showing him far behind Everyone's Favorite Senator™, Russ Feingold, were "communistic," including a poll conducted by the Bush-endorsing Chicago Tribune. Today news is out of a St. Norbert College poll putting Russ up by 23 points, at 56-33. (This is the same poll that shows Kerry up by five (48%-43%) here in Wisconsin.)

Michels, despite his self-financed millions, is in his first race for office ever. It's very hard to pull out a US Senate seat if you've never run for anything before, and even harder against a popular maverick with crossover appeal like Russ. (And against someone with Russ's $10 million war chest!) Republicans, including talk-radio blowhards, are already grumbling about how poorly Michels has campaigned, which may be a factor in the NRSC's withdrawing $1.6 million in planned spending for him.

Fellow Milwaukeean Scott at Brewtown Politico notes a Rasmussen poll in the field about the same time as the SNC poll showing only a ten-point lead for Russ, and points out what we've known all along: Russ has crossover appeal, with only 83% of Feingold voters in that poll planning to vote for Kerry. (That makes Kerry's number seem smaller than in Ras's last Wisconsin poll, though that was from September.) At any rate, a strong turnout for Russ and a poor campaign from Michels can really only help Kerry.

That's crazy talk!

"I know I stood up for the principles of objectivity. In journalism, all we have is credibility and objectivity."

- former Sinclair Broadcasting Washington Bureau Chief Jon Leiberman

Why "former"? Because he spoke out against his network's decision to air an hour or more of "news" based on the slanted "documentary," "Stolen Honor."

"They're using news to drive their political agenda," Leiberman said about his bosses. "I don't think it serves the public trust."

Let's keep the pressure on, 'kay?

No news today

Got Indigo Girls tickets. Third row.





Just had to rub that in.

More Republican Liars and Lawbreakers

The Wisconsin State Journal--the more conservative of Madison's two dailies--has broken the story today of Wisconsin's Republicans for Nader. The nut:

At least 16 Republican Party officers and volunteers from across Wisconsin were involved in a secretive signature drive to get presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the ballot by claiming to be supporters and keeping quiet about their GOP affiliations.

Organizers of the covert drive gathered an estimated 3,228 signatures - far more than the 2,000 required to put Nader, an independent, on the Nov. 2 ballot. [. . .] As required by law, each circulator signed a statement on the petition swearing, "I intend to support these candidates." The form warns that anyone submitting false information on the petition could be guilty of a felony.

Some circulators contacted by the State Journal said they had no plans to vote for Nader, but most said they supported his right to be on the ballot--primarily as a way of benefiting Bush. [. . .]

In addition to [UW College Republican Matt] Holsen, the circulators with links to the GOP included volunteers or Republican Party officials from the state headquarters and from the Milwaukee, Eau Claire, Kenosha, Racine, Sheboygan and Winnebago county parties and College Republican chapters at UW-Madison, Marquette, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire, the State Journal found.

Among the 119 circulators was attorney and Racine County Republican Party board member Jay K. Nixon, an unsuccessful candidate for circuit court judge this year. The Republican official refused to say whether he planned to vote for Nader, calling it "a personal thing." Nixon said he doesn't recall where he got the petitions or to whom he turned them in. After answering a few questions, Nixon hung up.

At least two of the circulators were elected officials--village of Brown Deer President Margaret Jaberg and Eau Claire County Board member Benjamin Hack, treasurer of the UW-Eau Claire College Republicans. [. . .]

Another of those circulators, UW-Eau Claire student James Taylor, said he and about a dozen college-aged Republicans were asked by a local Republican Party official - whom he wouldn't name - to circulate the petitions but to keep quiet about their party affiliation.

"We were told, 'Don't say anything unless people ask,'" said Taylor, who gathered 34 signatures for Nader. Hack said he doesn't recall receiving such advice.

Taylor said he never planned to vote for Nader and he collected the signatures "because votes for Nader take votes away from Kerry."

In the end, the Nader campaign wisely rejected the signatures gathered by Republicans, but that does not make the Republicans' criminal activity--or at least their lies--any less shameful. Nader has received help from Republicans not just in Wisconsin, but in at least a half-dozen other states. Republicans here in Wisconsin also gave assistance to Nader when state Democrats challenged his ballot status because his campaign didn't follow the rules. (The state supreme court finally rejected Dems' challenge.)

I'm a cynical man by nature, of course, but when the lawbreakers themselves admit that all they wanted to do was suppress the Kerry vote, then you know your party has problems.

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We Win

Or, at least, we've worked out a good compromise. The City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County will split the cost of printing an additional 260,000 ballots for the Nov. 2 election. In addition, if the city does use the etxra ballots, the County will pay the full cost.

I don't know: Maybe Walker ended up playing us so that we look like whiners and he looks the magnanimous one. I'm not willing to give him that credit, though. As long as everyone gets to vote, I will be happy.

Better (call it) Red than (admit your campaign is) Dead

It's nice to come back from dinner and find a news story like this:

Wisconsin Senate GOP candidate Tim Michels complained Friday about "communistic" polls that he says are skewing results toward his opponent, Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold.

Michels specifically cited a recent Chicago Tribune/WGN poll that reported Feingold with a lead of 57 percent to 33 percent among Wisconsin voters, with 10 percent undecided. Those results were published in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story Friday [scroll to the end].

"What are they polling - just Madison?" Michels said during an appearance on Milwaukee radio station WTMJ's "Midday with Charlie Sykes."

"I call them communistic polls that are coming out," Michels continued.

Indeed, a 24-point spread is probably unrealistic, but every poll save one since the primary has put the race at double digits. The news Thursday of the NRSC pulling its money coupled with the news today that Michels is down 24 points and Feingold topped $10 million for the cycle has got to hurt, really dampen morale. Invoking communism may work to excite a certain part of Michels's base, but it will not help him among the undecideds or persuadables. This race really is over.

Four Updates

1. Tim Michels is putting on a brave face, keeping a stiff upper lip, whistling past the graveyard, whatever you want to call it. "I'm glad the NRSC isn't coming in. I want to be able to control this campaign," Michels said during a conference call with reporters. "I've said all along I will not lose this race because of money." [condescendingly pats Michels on the head] Of course, Timmy.
   
   
2. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has asked the state elections board to step in on the Milwaukee city/ county ballot dispute. County Executive and Bush re-election co-chair Scott Walker is not providing the city with all of the ballots that Milwaukee mayor and Kerry campaign co-chair Tom Barrett asked for:
   
   "Doyle said in a statement he's not in a position to say what is the right number of ballots. But he said the Elections Board is charged under state law with making sure counties comply with requirements to have enough ballots on Election Day so no one is disenfranchised. Doyle said the board should review Walker's decision."
   
   I repeat: Walker must be stupid if he thinks that doing anything even remotely smelling of voter disenfranchisement in this caustic election cycle is a good idea.
   
   
3. A few days ago I speculated on the possible identities of people who might have sabotaged transmission towers belonging to American Transmission Company. My vote was with people upset with ATC over their plans to build a power line through acres of pristine wilderness Up Nort. The FBI has startling new revelations:

   Four men were reported taking photos and shooting video outside the headquarters of a transmission company at the same time 17,000 customers lost power in what police have called an act of sabotage.
   
   An employee of American Transmission Company and a security officer from We Energies electric company both reported seeing the men at the side of a highway near ATC's Pewaukee headquarters Saturday night, according to a police report. [. . .]
   
   According to the police report, a system operator who was headed to the scene of the outage around 6:30 p.m. saw four men standing a few feet off the highway taking still and video pictures of the ATC headquarters. He notified someone at the office, who called police.
   
   The man at the office said he went to a window and saw three of the men still there. About an hour later, a We Energies security officer called Pewaukee police to report he had seen four men in the same spot at 6:10 p.m. as he made his nightly rounds. The officer, William Cerar, said two of the men had small, hand-held video cameras and appeared to be filming. Cerar said he had seen the men laughing as they came out of the woods nearby when he approached.

   My theory still makes sense. If I'm right, I get big props, and I'm not talking about Gallagher.
   
   
4. The Sinclair protests are working in Madison:

   One local business has decided to pull its ads from WMSN/Channel 47 in the wake of the station's decision to air an anti-John Kerry documentary next week.
   
   The owners of the Paisan's and Porta Bella restaurants said that after receiving about a dozen complaints about the program, "we just decided that we didn't want to jeopardize losing any customers over this," said owner Jerry Meier. [. . .] Meier said his restaurants began receiving calls on Tuesday and the volume picked up on Wednesday.
   
   "I took most of the calls, and the people were very polite and well-behaved," said Meier. "But most of them said they were long-time customers and they weren't going to come in as long as we continued to advertise on Channel 47."

   I haven't heard about Milwaukee--but you know what to do.

One more race in the bag

(I wrote this post this morning, and Blogger ate it. Stupid Blogger.)

Today we got news that the National Republican Senatorial Committee was pulling out of Wisconsin. Effectively, this is the Republicans' admitting that millionaire businessman and politcal novice Tim Michels cannot beat Everyone's Favorite Senator™, Russ Feingold.

I have been saying for some time now that

1. Feingold will outpoll Kerry
   
2. The far-right Michels will not have the support the moderate Republicans (there are a few) and Libertarians in the state
   
3. The Republicans are screwed this cycle by their own little Albatross: Bush. People like Russ Darrow here in Wisconsin--who was supposed to win--and Pete Coors in Colorado were supposed be able to finance their own campaigns. Michels has alread poured $1.6 million into his own campaign, for example. This is because it takes a lot more resources to elect this incumbent than by all rights it should.

Anyway, I've been wrong before, but Russ is going to waltz home now.