The Democrat Thread

[HuskyCaucasian]

Obama: GOP Takes Pride in Being Ignorant

[Balta1701]

This is interesting. Couple people put together an analysis of correlation between voting patterns and sales of "O" magazine, while trying to account for all of the other relevant demographic information, to see if they could get a look at how much Oprah's endorsement helped Senator Obama in the primaries. They concluded it was pretty darn important, controlling for everything they could think of.

A 10 percent change in the county-level circulation of Oprah Magazine is associated with an increased vote share for Obama of approximately 0.2 percentage points. This estimated effect was higher in areas holding caucuses rather than primary elections. In terms of voter participation, a 10 percent change in circulation is associated with a 0.06 percentage point increase in turnout. Similar effects from the endorsement were found in areas with differentially high sales of books included in Oprah's Book Club. In total, we estimate that the endorsement was responsible for 1,015,559 votes for Obama.

[bmags]

BARACK QUIT BEING SO UPPITY

[kapkomet]

Obama: GOP Takes Pride in Being Ignorant

Yep, he's reaching out to all Americans.

 

[lostfan]

Yep, he's reaching out to all Americans.

Did you watch the video or did you just read the tag line at the top?

[kapkomet]

Did you watch the video or did you just read the tag line at the top?

The tag line on top, becuase I was getting ready to leave work, so I'll go watch it now.

 

Edit: I stand by my statement.

Edited August 5, 2008 by kapkomet

[lostfan]

The tag line on top, becuase I was getting ready to leave work, so I'll go watch it now.

 

Edit: I stand by my statement.

It's a response trying to deflect a direct jab from his opponent. Really, what else do you want him to say/do? He wants to win the election.

[kapkomet]

It's a response trying to deflect a direct jab from his opponent. Really, what else do you want him to say/do? He wants to win the election.

Ignore the GOP stupidity and just keep going on.

[lostfan]

Ignore the GOP stupidity and just keep going on.

That doesn't work. He tried not fighting back vs. Hillary and eventually he had to throw his hat into the ring.

[kapkomet]

That doesn't work. He tried not fighting back vs. Hillary and eventually he had to throw his hat into the ring.

BUT BUT BUT HE's GOING NEGATIVE!!!!

 

Uh huh.

 

[lostfan]

BUT BUT BUT HE's GOING NEGATIVE!!!!

 

Uh huh.

That's pretty much why he didn't want to do it. I remember when it first started happening, it was a big deal and they were all talking about how it'd undermine his message and everything.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Pay close attention to the Hess Corporation (an oil company), the Rocchio family, and the RNC / John McCain. Something is a bit fishy.

[Balta1701]

Pay close attention to the Hess Corporation (an oil company), the Rocchio family, and the RNC / John McCain. Something is a bit fishy.

Have been since yesterday. Not convinced anything will come of it at all. I wouldn't be surprised if similar things had happened with a non-trivial number of Bush bundlers. Given that you can give people money as a "gift" without reporting it on your taxes or showing it anywhere, that seems like a difficult case to make, ever.

[bmags]

Family, I have a great gift for you today. I've written you all a check for 22,500 dollars. Consequently, if you all don't donate 22,500 to McCain's campaign I'll switch you. I love you, family.

[Balta1701]

Family, I have a great gift for you today. I've written you all a check for 22,500 dollars. Consequently, if you all don't donate 22,500 to McCain's campaign I'll switch you. I love you, family.

Well, I'll give the media credit...the angry crazy TPM bloggers who were responsible for basically breaking the entire DOJ scandal open thought something smelled fishy, and now more people are starting to get in on the game.

A review of state and federal campaign finance records found that this collection of donors has been activated four times. Their names -- confirmed by Sargeant -- first appeared in finance records on June 19, 2006, when about 50 of them each donated $500 to Crist's gubernatorial campaign. Sargeant helped lead fundraising for Crist that year.

 

Thirteen of the donors resurfaced on Dec. 13, 2007, sending a combined $29,200 to Giuliani's campaign at a time when Sargeant was heading up fundraising efforts in Florida for the former mayor. Seventeen of them sent the maximum allowed, $2,300, to Clinton's presidential campaign on Dec. 24. And a dozen of them returned in March to write checks to McCain totaling $50,600.

 

Brian Rogers, a McCain campaign spokesman, said: "We strictly follow campaign finance law, and where flags are raised, we'll certainly look into it."

 

Donors reached by phone or interviewed in person declined to explain who asked them to make the contributions.

 

Ibrahim Marabeh, who is listed in public records as a Rite Aid manager, at first denied that he wrote any political checks. He then said he was asked by "a local person. But I would like not to talk about it anymore." Neither he nor his wife is registered to vote, but the two donated $4,600 to Clinton and $4,600 to Giuliani in December.

 

At the Twilight Hookah Lounge, owned by Nadia and Shawn Abdalla, patrons smoke tobacco flavored with honey and fruit from a menu that includes the strawberry-flavored Sex on the Beach and the strong, orange-flavored Fuzzy Navel.

 

The Abdallas, who are not registered to vote, said in an interview that they recalled writing a check to an organization in Miami, because a person with that organization was a friend of their mother's. They said they could not remember his name.

 

Nader, 39, and Sahar Alhawash, 28, of Colton, Calif, who at one point ran the Avon Village Liquor store, donated a total of $18,400 to Giuliani, Clinton and McCain between December and March. About 80 people in the country made such large contributions to all three, and most were wealthy business executives, such as Donald Trump. The Alhawashes declined to comment about the donations. Abdullah Abdullah, a supervisor at several Taco Bell restaurants in the Riverside area, and his wife have donated $9,200 to McCain.

 

Reached at work, Abdullah said he knows little about the campaign. "I have no idea. I'll be honest with you," he said. "I'm involved in the restaurant business. My brother Faisal recommended John McCain. Whenever he makes a recommendation, we do it."

 

Faisal Abdullah, 49, said he helped organize all of the contributions from members of his family. When he was asked who solicited the contributions from him, he said: "Why does it matter who? I'm telling you we made the contribution. We funneled it through the channel in Florida because that's the contact we had. I was responsible for collecting it."

Nothing definitive yet, but more and more of these names are smelling fishy.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Well, I'll give the media credit...the angry crazy TPM bloggers who were responsible for basically breaking the entire DOJ scandal open thought something smelled fishy, and now more people are starting to get in on the game.

Nothing definitive yet, but more and more of these names are smelling fishy.

McCain–Feingold my ass. Strike McCain off that. I think I pointed out earlir (maybe in another tread) all the loop holes that the McCain campaign and the RNC are using to get around finance laws.

[Balta1701]

McCain–Feingold my ass. Strike McCain off that. I think I pointed out earlir (maybe in another tread) all the loop holes that the McCain campaign and the RNC are using to get around finance laws.

Honestly though, it's sort of hard for either side to complain about "Loopholes". But there's a difference between using loopholes and what this smells of.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Honestly though, it's sort of hard for either side to complain about "Loopholes". But there's a difference between using loopholes and what this smells of.

TPM is going to push this hard. When there's smoke, there's a fire. I see a lot of smoke right now. Maybe it's just being overly critical during a campaign season, but this is fishy even by my standards.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Now THIS is different.

 

Obama, maybe at a gas pump near you

Here's a new innovation on the marketing principle of proximity: this new Barack Obama ad about independence from foreign oil is coming soon to gas pumps all over Florida.

 

The ad, which blames Republican John McCain in part for the energy crisis, will broadcast on a network of television screens conveniently located on top of gas pumps in that state.

 

And in a further attempt to bring the message to consumers at the height of anxiety about high gas prices, the Obama campaign this week is launching a broader effort to put his energy plan into people's hands while they're still at the gas station.

 

Supporters will be handing out copies of Obama's "New Energy for America" plan this week to consumers in 24 states -- in theory, while they're in the process of paying the $4-a-gallon bill.

 

Presumably, anybody can put up an ad on that "Gas Station TV" network, even though it's a little like airing plane crash stories on those flatscreens at the airport. But you have to wonder which station owners will be the first to realize that those energy independence pamphlets are partly talking about independence from, um, them.

 

To be on the record: I HATE "Pump TV". I try to avoid ANY gas station that has TVs at their pumps.

[bmags]

I f'n love TPM. They are so self-aware of their own coverage. They seem to be able to critically look at their coverage and they adjust very quickly. That, and they know they are speaking to a pretty politically literate audience, and will release entire documents to us and let us catch things they might have missed. They see incomplete stories and complete them. They are wonderful examples of how impactful blogs can be.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I f'n love TPM. They are so self-aware of their own coverage. They seem to be able to critically look at their coverage and they adjust very quickly. That, and they know they are speaking to a pretty politically literate audience, and will release entire documents to us and let us catch things they might have missed. They see incomplete stories and complete them. They are wonderful examples of how impactful blogs can be.

From late last night:

Can someone explain the Chet Edwards boomlet for me? That's not a rhetorical question, or snark. He may be a great pick. I just need a little more background on this one.

 

So basically, "I dont know this guy. Explain him to me". I love it.

 

You are right on. It's interactive. I like how you call it a "politically literate audience". They are writing to me, not my sister.

Edited August 6, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[bmags]

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photograph.../oil_spill.html

 

interesting video I found

[BigSqwert]

Today is the anniversary of the day Harriet Miers handed George Bush an intelligence memo entitled, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”. Ultimately, Bin Laden’s determination was more successful than George Bush’s intelligence. As of this writing, Bin Laden remains at large.

 

 

LINK

[HuskyCaucasian]

Get Back To Work

[HuskyCaucasian]

Leaked McCain Memo: Paint Obama As A "Job Killing Machine"

 

John McCain was widely ridiculed several weeks ago for fielding reporter's questions in the cheese aisle of a grocery store. But the location of the impromptu press conference was hardly random. The McCain camp, in a strategy memo, has pinpointed grocery stores as an important venue for the Senator to push his economic agenda.

 

In a McCain campaign "Economic Communications Plan" that was obtained by the Huffington Post, an aide to the Senator lays out several themes, tactics and objectives to shore up the Arizona Republican's standing on the economy and paint Barack Obama as a "job killing machine."

 

"Our polling tells us that Americans are still not tuned into what the candidates might do to fix the economy," reads the memo. "We have an opportunity to fill in that gap."

 

The strategy, which was authored by Taylor Griffin -- a veteran of the Bush White House and Treasury Department who serves McCain as a senior adviser -- seems built around traditional themes. The McCain campaign will paint Obama as being "aligned with trial lawyers" and "unions (card check, trade, education reform)," and push the frame that he "raises taxes" and "will kill jobs."

 

In contrast, McCain will be positioned as a bold leader on economic matters, someone who has a "record of taking on corporate interests" and will "fight speculation driving up prices of oil and food" as well as "the lawsuit culture."

 

To do this, McCain's camp plans to utilize a number of tactics, including "family budget roundtables, grocery store visits," and "roundtable events heavily tilted towards women to discuss the pressures the economy is placing on family finances and how McCain's plan would help." The campaign also will work the fourth estate. As detailed in Taylor's memo, McCain will "provide compelling set of programming and surrogate activity to drive media interest," and "mobilize economists in target states supporting the McCain plan to engage the media in support of our plan."