Mudslinging will damage McCain’s brand—but it may be the only way he can win, begins an article in the The New York Magazine. Here are a couple of excerpts from the New York Magazine article:
"With the week long string of attacks uncorked by the Arizona senator and his people during Obama’s trip abroad and in its aftermath—some brutal, some mocking, but all personal and focused on Obama’s character—we now have an inkling of just how deep in the mud McCain and his people are willing to wallow in order to win in November: right up to their Republican eyeballs.
As countless fact-checkers and tsk-tskers have maintained, the broadsides were a blend of distortion, innuendo, and outright slander. But that doesn’t mean they (and their inevitable successors) won’t prove effective. The strategy behind all this isn’t hard to discern: Drive up Obama’s negatives and render him unacceptable to pivotal voting blocs. Thus the depiction of him as too young, too feckless, and too pampered to be president. "
The New York Magazine is worth a read. Go to the New York Magazine article here:
Is the low road working for McCain? According to recent Quinnipiac polls taken in swing-states since McCain shifted to a harshly negative low-road posture, he has gained ground on Obama in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
By the end of last week Obama had started to toughen his rhetoric too, and so had his campaign. But now it's time for Obama go on the hard offense, to batter McCain for his gaffes and incoherence, hammer him for his flip-flops, highlight how his maverick status is a thing of fiction, and turn him into a combination of Bush and Grandpa Simpson.
There is also an interesting article in the Chicago Tribune. In this Tribune article Ed Rollins, a longtime Republican strategist, said McCain sometimes appears frustrated and angry when he talks about Obama, especially when complaining that the press does not treat him fairly. "John needs to be the deliberate, experienced veteran and not the grumpy old man," Rollins said. "If he's the grumpy old man, angry that the media is not in love with him anymore because they're in love with Barack Obama, that's not going to play well with the public." Go to the Chicago Tribune article here:
On ABC's Sunday "This Week" program, longtime Washington hand David Gergen took umbrage with John McCain's recent attack ads, charging that the Senator was using coded messaging to paint Barack Obama as "outside the mainstream" and "uppity." - Read more at Huffington Post
Then there are a couple of postings from AmericaBlog that points out why the Swift Boat type attack may not work in this election year. Go to the AmericaBlog positings here and here.
Rasmussen's latest polling information on the U.S. Sentate race in Texas between incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R) and Texas State Legislator Rick Noriega (D) shows that, despite a serious fundraising disadvantage, Rick Noriega remains competitive with John Cornyn for the Texas U.S. Senate seat:
The latest Rasmussen Report telephone survey in the Lone Star State finds Republican Incumbent John Cornyn leading Democratic State Legislator Rick Noriega 47% to 37%. When “leaners” are included, Cornyn leads 50% to 39%.
The incumbent senator is viewed favorably by 55% of voters and unfavorably by 31%. Noriega’s numbers are 45% favorable and 33% unfavorable.
July marks the second straight month that support for the incumbent has dropped below 50%. Last month, Cornyn had a 48% to 35% lead. Incumbents who poll below 50% are generally considered vulnerable. Cornyn polled better in early June, when he led the democrat 52% to 35%.
Though Cornyn’s lead has decreased this month, his numbers among unaffiliated voters have improved. The Republican now leads 41% to 24% among those voters. Support from his own party fell slightly this month, from 85% to 81%. On the other side of the aisle, Noreiga is now backed by 79% of Democrats, up from 68% last month.
The Republican now leads by fourteen percentage points among men and seven points among women, representing little change from last month.
Noriega's struggle, as it has been throughout his campaign for the Texas U.S. Senate seat, is to raise enough money to buy radio and TV spots to make himself more widely known to voters across Texas, which, as we know, is a very big state.
For two months running Cornyn has polled below 50% while more than half of Republican voters now believe that their Republican leaders, who have controlled America's direction for eight years, have taken the country down the wrong track (55%), up from 51% in June, according to a July 2008 Reuters/Zogby national poll of likely voters. On top of those facts, add that Senator Obama's presidential polling numbers are also within competitive striking distance in Texas and there's clearly an opening for Noreiga, if he can pull together the campaign contributions to stay competitive.
Rick Noriega will speak at the Democatic Party of Collin County's Ann Richard's Dinner and fundraiser at the Heritage Ranch Country Club in McKinney, TX on August 16, 2008.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate Rick Noriega has served in the Texas House of Representatives and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas Army National Guard. Noriega was deployed to Afghanistan for one year and served as deputy garrison commander of the KMTC training facility in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Watch Noriega's YouTube videos displayed in the right sidebar of this blog page and watch the video below to get to know him a little!!
Candidate for U.S. Senate, Texas State Representative, Military Veteran of War, and Lieutenant Colonel - Texas Army National Guard
Those hard at work to get Democrats elected in Texas will urge you to vote “down ballot.” Said another way, “please continue selecting Democratic Candidate ballot choices all the way down to the end of the ballot” after you have selected your Presidential choice at the top of the ballot.
It is important to study all the candidates and make an informed decision from your Presidential Candidate choice all the way down to whichever candidate is named last on the ballot.
Casting your vote to elect Judge Jim Jordan as Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court is an example of how to bring about change in Texas.
Judge Jordan believes, “A judge wears a black robe -- not a red or blue robe.” Here are three things Judge Jordan wants to address:
1. Fix the current, growing, backlog in the Texas courts
We need to demand that the court release statistics on backlogged cases by judge. In 2000 there were 102 cases pending; in 2007, there were 177!
Although each justice is obligated do his or her own part to work to reduce the backlog and to timely work on the matters assigned to them, the Chief Justice is uniquely positioned, as the leader of the court, to use peer pressure and bring appropriate and effective procedures to bear on the backlog problem. The fact that the public awareness of the backlog has spurred recent activity by the court demonstrates that transparency and pressure can have a beneficial effect.
2. Stop the bias in favor of insurance and corporate parties.
Judge Jordan states that “decisions should be based upon the law and the constitution, not upon the justices’ political views or to advance a personal agenda.”
The legal community has noticed this trend, and recent studies have confirmed it. Professor David Anderson of the University of Texas School of Law wrote an article last year (“Judicial Tort Reform in Texas”) where he concluded based upon empirical data gathered for the years 2005 and 2006 and upon an analysis of the court’s opinions during this time that the court was serving a political ideology. His study found that the Supreme Court has been in favor of business and insurance defendants more that 85% of the time and that jury verdicts overturned by the court had all been in favor of the plaintiffs. While I believe it is dangerous to determine the quality of a justice by keeping a keep score card of who wins and who looses, these numbers are overwhelming.
3. Remove the selection of judges from partisan politics
The influence of politics and money in the selection and retention of judges is harmful to a fair judicial system. Partisan political elections on a November ballot where judicial candidates raise money almost exclusively from attorneys and parties who appear in their court erode trust in our judicial system. However, we can start making a difference now by making sure that when the Governor appoints a judge to complete the term of a resigning judge, the nominee goes through a rigorous public examination to ensure we select judges with the proper qualifications, experience and judicial temperament, rather than for their ability to help the party in power.
Visit Judge Jordan's website for more information, including his answers to a Dallas Morning News questionnaire.
Watch as Judge Jim Johnson Speaks at the 2008 Texas Democratic Convention
The Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) recently endorsed Judge Jim Jordan for the office of Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. TDWCC membership voted to make a $1000 contribution to Jordan's campaign coffers on July 23, 2008. The picture at left shows Judge Jim Jordan with Barb Walters, TDWCC President, on July 28 at the organization's monthly membership meeting where he received the TDWCC's $1000 contribution.
You can review Judge Jordan’s responses to the position questionnaire submitted to him by the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) and discover why the TDWCC endorses him for the office of Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
Judge Jordan’s qualifications and experience are above reproach:
Judicial Experience:
Judge 160th District Court; former judge 44th District Court.
Leadership experience:
Elected by 39 fellow District Court Judges as the Local Administrative District Judge of Dallas County, Texas; Former President, Garland Bar Association.
Legal Experience:
Board Certified Civil Trial since 1984; Served two terms District 6A Texas Bar Grievance Committee; Teacher of trial advocacy trial skills at SMU and LSU law schools and at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
Howard Dean, DNC Chairman, has announced a "Why Are You A Democrat in 2008" video contest for the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month. One of our very own Frisco Democratic Meetup Group members, Amy Manuel, created a music video for the Democratic National Convention Contest. Watch Howard Dean's video announcement of the contest and then watch Amy's most excellent music video that she created with the help of Lightning Bear Productions. Way to go Amy and good luck!!
