In what was initially report to be an explicit appeal to disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters, GOP Presidential candidate John McCain announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. Gov. Palin, took office as the governor of Alaska little over a year ago. The former Miss Alaska runner-up previously served as the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. At 44 she is three years younger than Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Gov. Palin is such a political novice that the news media knew virtually nothing about her political positions when McCain first announce his VP pick.
As Palin's positions on several social issues are becoming known it is now looking like McCain picked Palin, an evangelical Protestant, to appeal to conservative evangelical Republicans rather than Senator Clinton's supports. Palin is as ardently opposed to women's pro-choice rights as John McCain. Palin is on record as opposing pro-choice rights even in cases of rape and incest. Palin says she does not believe that using human activities and fossil fuel use causes global warming and she believes in teaching creationism in public schools. In picking Palin for the VP slot McCain may be looking to energize evangelical Republicans in Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and other states where Senator Obama is showing increasing voter support. And, if McCain can pick up a few disaffected Clinton supporters as well, so much the better.
Barack Obama Campaign Spokesman Bill Burton responds to John McCain's VP choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin saying, "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."
The Associated Press reports, "More recently, she has come under the scrutiny of an investigation by the Republican-controlled legislature into the possibility that she ordered the dismissal of Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper."
The commissioner, Walt Monegan, was fired on July 11, because Palin "wanted to take the department in a new direction," according to Bloomberg. "Monegan than alleged that he had been pressured to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, who was married to Palin's sister and was involved in a contentious divorce, according to the Anchorage Daily News."
The Bloomberg story continues, "Palin has denied any wrongdoing. The state Legislature voted on July 28 to hire an independent investigator to probe whether Palin, her family or members of her administration had pressured Monegan to fire Wooten, according to the Daily News."
Last month a Democratic official told the Wall Street Journal that Palin was facing possible impeachment.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) spoke by phone to NBC's Andrea Mitchell on Friday morning about Senator John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Wasserman Schultz was a strong backer of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries and is known for her interest in women's issues. She told Mitchell, "If John McCain thinks that he can substitute Sarah Palin for Hillary Clinton in the minds of Hillary Clinton supporters he's sadly mistaken. I know Hillary Clinton, and Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton."
"She's been governor of Alaska for eighteen months, and before that she was the mayor of a town of 8,000 people," Wasserman Schultz continued. "She's already under investigation by her state's legislature. ... They voted to spend $100,000 on an investigation, because she is accused of firing a state commissioner who refused to fire her sister's husband. ... This is not the kind of change that we need."
Mitchell pointed out that there may have been "some family abuse" on the part of Palin's sister's husband and that "she might have been protecting a victim who needed help" in firing the commissioner.
Mitchell then asked, "What about the pull of gender politics? Will there be a ... large number of women -- independents, Republicans, people who you all wanted to bring into the Democratic tent -- in suburban towns and cities around this country, who will like the idea of a woman on the ticket?"
"Women in this country don't want a candidate on the ballot just because of the parts that she has," Wasserman Schultz replied. "They want a woman candidate running for president or vice president because they support equal work for equal pay, they support a woman's right to make her own reproductive choices, they support access to children's health care, they want to make sure that we improve the quality of public education. Sarah Palin is against all of those things. So it's not just electing a woman for the sake of getting a woman in there."
Mitchell then quoted from the official McCain campaign announcement, which calls Palin a "tough executive [who's] ready to be president ... has a record of delivering on change and reform [and] has challenged the insolence of the big oil companies while fighting for new energy sources."
"Sarah Palin is inexperienced, unethical and wrong on all the issues that Americans care about," Wasserman Schultz replied. "Do we have the confidence that if, God forbid, something happens to John McCain that Sarah Palin is going to know what to do and is going to have her hands on the tiller of American foreign policy? What makes her ready to be commander in chief? This is just an example of colossally bad judgment on the part of John McCain."
"The other thing ... that's important to note," concluded Wasserman Schultz, "is there has been a culture of corruption hanging over the state of Alaska. ... Senator Ted Stevens, Congressman Don Young, Governor Sarah Palin, they are all cut from the same cloth. The last place we need to pull an elected official who wants to be vice president is the state of Alaska right now. They need to clean up their act."
Approximately three hundred people RSVP'ed to attend the Barack Obama acceptance speech party at the Prince Bistro Thursday evening, Aug 28th. To see the pictures click here. Dan Dodd, Chair of the Democratic Party of Collin County, commented that he estimates approximately six hundred people in all attended or dropped by the event during the evening to pick up free candidate yard signs and bumper stickers. The signs and stickers were made available by the Democratic Party of Collin County and the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County organization.
The official capacity of the Prince Bistro is three hundred and the restaurant was packed to capacity from 7 P.M. until well after Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama finished speaking.
The restaurant was noisy during the first part of the evening as attendees got know their Democratic neighbors and freely talked politics. Health care and the economy were the most popular topics of discussion, but energy, the environment, education, college tuition, national security, foreign policy, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were all topics of discussion during the evening.
Attention increasingly turned to the convention speakers through the evening. Attention noticeable turned to the big screens as the citizens, one by one, took the podium at the Invesco Field stadium to to tell their personal stories and express their support for Barack Obama, Joe Biden and all their local Democratic candidates running for office this November.
When Al Gore began to speak at the convention, the political chatter in the restaurant began to noticeably drop off. The crowd became attentive to Gore as he talked about the environmental challenges facing America and the world. Just as Gore was applauded and cheer at the Invesco Field Stadium in Denver, so was he applauded and cheered by the people watching the big screens at the Prince Bistro.
Barack Obama received loud cheers and applause in the restaurant as he took the podium to give his nomination acceptance speech. All during his speech all attention was focused on the big screens as Senator Obama spoke. Frequent loud applause erupted as Obama gave sharp criticism of Senator McCain, and the George Bush policies that McCain has repeated stated he will continue, and as he went on to lay out his road map for an era of progressive change in America.
The loudest cheers and applause came when Obama said, "The change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington, Change happens because the American people demand it -- because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time."
38 million viewers watched the Thursday evening convention broadcast of Senator Barack Obama accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, according to Nielsen Media Research. The four-night 2008 Democratic convention ranks as the most-watched party convention of either party, Democratic or Republican, since Nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960. Nielsen did not estimate how many people watched Obama on PBS, C-SPAN and direct Democratic Internet video stream out of the convention on Thursday night, so Obama's audience might well be much higher than the 38 million that Nielsen Media Research estimates.
USA Today describes the speech as "filled with promises of generational change and a better America," and the New York Times refers to Obama's "cutting language" and to the "cheers that echoed across the stadium." McClatchy notes "an estimated 84,000 people jammed the football stadium," and adds Obama "tied McCain squarely to President Bush." The Washington Times refers to Obama's "soaring oratory," with "the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop." In another front page story, the Washington Post says that the speech yesterday "proved the greatest testament yet to the intensity of Barack Obama's support and the enthusiasm for his candidacy that his party hopes will carry him to the White House."
David Gergen said on CNN that the speech "opened up an important and legitimate debate the Republicans will carry on about issues," but "as a speech, I was deeply impressed. In many ways it was less a speech than a symphony." Carl Bernstein, on CNN, called it a "transformational speech, maybe the greatest I've ever heard at a convention since Kennedy." Keith Olbermann, on MSNBC immediately after the speech ended said, "Vote for him or do not, but take pride that this nation can produce men and speakers such as that."
Watch the slide show of all my pictures taken throughout the evening at the Prince Bistro. (See the right sidebar of this blog page) Click on the picture to go to the album where the pictures have descriptive captions.
Speaking at the Democratic Convention in Denver, Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Rep. from Ohio, called on Americans to "Wake Up" in an audience rousing speech!
Kucinich declared from the podium of the Convention, "In 2001 the oil companies, the war contractors and the neocon-artists seized the economy and added $4 trillion of unproductive spending to the national debt. ... Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid for with borrowed money."
"We cannot afford another Republican administration," Kucinich said. "Wake up, America; the insurance companies took over health care. Wake up, America; the pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing. Wake up, America; the speculators took over Wall Street. ... Wake up, America; we went into Iraq for oil."
"This administration can tap our phones -- but they can't tamper our creative spirit," he said. "They can open our mail, but the can' t open economic opportunities. They can track our every move, but they lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline, and electricity skyrockets. Now, they have skillfully played our post 9/11 fears, and they've allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many."
DENVER -- As many as 80 percent of Ohio's registered voters could turn out on Election Day, says the state's top election official.
"Looking at the interest in this election, we think it's highly probable," Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said during a panel discussion on election reforms.
Brunner addressed controversy in the state over use of electronic voting machines in the past.
While she was unwilling to force counties to completely abandon DRE machines, she said all voters would have the option to vote on a paper ballot and officials were implementing more stringent security procedures in the 53 counties that still used electronic machines.
All the members of the Plano City Council were present Thursday night to hear comments regarding the city’s tax rate with the exception of Place 3 Council Member Mabrie Jackson
No Plano residents were in attendance to the public hearing.
Thursday’s public hearing was the first of two on a proposal to increase total tax revenues from properties on the tax roll in the preceding tax year by 5.20 percent.
The Plano City Council voted a week ago to establish not to go higher than the current tax rate of 47.35 cents. Even though the city-wide tax rate may stay the same, Plano residents could potentially see a change in tax charges.
“Since property values are changing, that could positively or negatively affect an individual resident’s total tax bills,” said Karen Rhodes, director of Plano’s Budget and Research Department.
The public hearings were scheduled in compliance with the Open Meetings Act as designated by Vernon’s Texas Codes Annotated, stating that city governments are to hold public hearings when considering changing the tax rate.
The second public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on Aug 25, at the council chambers in the Plano Municipal Center. Immediately following the public hearing, the City Council will hold the regularly scheduled preliminary open meeting and regular meeting.
DENVER — As they meet for their national convention Monday through Thursday, Democrats are poised to shift their party's course — and the country's.
They're turning to the left — deeply against the war in Iraq, ready to use tax policy to take from the rich and give to the poor and middle class, and growing hungry, after years of centrist politics, for big-government solutions, such as a health-care overhaul, to steer the nation through a time of sweeping economic change.
They are, in short, more liberal than at any time in a generation and eager to end the Reagan era, which dominated not just the other party, but also their own, for nearly three decades.
"Every generation . . . there are changes in people's relationship with government," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. This, he said, is such a time.
The shift of the party also reflects a change in much of the population — evidenced in the policy positions advocated by rank-and-file voters as well as the party's presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
What changed? Several things:
The Iraq war lasted longer, cost more lives and money, and proved deeply unpopular. A few years ago, Obama was a rare voice in the party opposing the war; today he's one of a chorus.
Anxiety about a slowing economy resurrected fears about American jobs and paychecks in the global economy.
Promises to change trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement punctuated the [2008] Democratic primaries.
Obama promises a dramatically different tax policy, one that would raise taxes on the wealthy, cut taxes for the middle class and offer new "refundable" tax credits to the working poor that would wipe out tax liabilities and deliver anything left over in the form of checks.
Obama also wants to tax oil companies and use the money to give checks to the poor to pay for high fuel costs, or anything else.
Many Americans recoiled at the weak federal government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Republican George W. Bush turned into one of the most unpopular presidents in modern history.
Barack Obama selected Senator Joe Biden of Delaware late Friday to be his vice presidential running mate.
Since being elected to the Senate at the age of 29 in 1973 Biden has served in the Senate he has been at various times not only as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but also the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It is the Senate Judiciary Committee that has jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues. Biden, 65, who has himself twice run for the office of President of the United States, is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, has a progressive voting record and has a reputation as a hard hitting debater and orator.
"Yesterday, Senator John McCain was asked again what do you think about the economy, he said I think the economy is fundamentally strong," said Senator Barack Obama. "Now this puzzled me. I was confused what he meant. But then there was another interview where somebody asked John McCain how many houses do you have and he said 'I'm not sure. I'll have to check with my staff.' True quote. 'I'm not sure ill have to check with my staff.' So they asked his staff and they said, 'at least four.' At least four. Now think about that. I guess if you think that being rich means you make $5 million and if you don't know how many houses you have then it is not surprising that you think the economy is fundamentally strong. But if you are like me and you've got one house, or if you are like the millions of people struggling now to keep up with your mortgage payments, you might have a different perspective. By the way the answer is John McCain has seven homes."
McCain’s month long surge of aggressively negative campaign advertising against Obama has translated into a surge of polling advantage over Obama in the latest Zogby/Reuters telephone survey. In this poll McCain leads Obama among likely U.S. voters by 46 percent to 41 percent, reversing Obama's 7-point lead in July and for first time taking the lead over Obama in the monthly Zogby/Reuters poll. McCain further has a 9-point edge, 49 percent to 40 percent, over Obama on the issue of who would be the best manager of the U.S. economy, an issue nearly half of voters sat is their top concern in this election year.
This latest live operator telephone survey was conducted Aug. 14-16, 2008 from Zogby’s call center in Upstate New York. It included 1,089 likely voters nationwide, and carries a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points.
The poll shows Obama losing voters to McCain in groups where Obama had bigger leads a month ago. This table shows Obama’s loss of support between the July and August Reuters/Zogby polls among some significant sub-groups (the margin of error is greater for sub-groups than the sample as a whole)
Obama Support
July
August
Difference
Democrats
83%
74%
-9
Women
50%
42%
-8
Catholics
47%
36%
-11
Ages <35>
59%
47%
-12
College Grads
51%
40%
-11
Live in Cities
54%
43%
-11
Income <$50,000
53%
46%
-7
Southerners
46%
35%
-11
Obama's support among voters between the ages of 18 and 29, which had been one of his strengths, slipped 12 percentage points to 52 percent.
Wanted: New Voters - The Atlanta Car and Bike Show lasts for one day only, and on a recent hot summer afternoon, the line to get in snaked for hundreds of yards through the carpeted interior of the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. . . Before attendees got to the cars and music, volunteers from the Obama campaign were doing their best to make sure they spent a moment on civics. Serena Bland and her husband, Adrian, paced up and down the entrance to the hall with Register to Vote signs, urging people toward the voter-registration booth a dozen feet away. There, Anderia Bishop chatted and joked and generally poured every ounce of her considerable enthusiasm into persuading even the skeptical or indifferent that registering would be the best five minutes they ever spent. "We're chasing people through the park," Bishop said of her local volunteer group's activities. Read the rest of the article
Before you go read the rest of the article here is something to think about:
With 10 more votes/precinct in 2004, John Kerry would have won the states of NM, IA, & OH
With 50 more votes/precinct in 2004, John Kerry would have also won the states of NV, CO, MO, AR, WV, FL
With 100 more votes/precinct in 2004, John Kerry would have additionally won the states of AR, KS, SD, LA, IN, KY, SC
Registering new voters and helping to get out the vote this election can truly make the difference for Democratic candidates, even here in Collin County, Texas.
Many Democratic groups and organizations are already ramping up voter registration drives and Get Out The Vote activities today. All of these campaign groups and political organizations need volunteers. We need to form a large army of Democratic volunteers in Collin County this year to help Get Out The Vote! Call one of these groups today to volunteer:
and more (look in the left hand sidebar of this blog page to find all of the Democratic candidates that will appear on Collin County ballots this fall.)
