AlterNet: Election 2004: The frightened, the clueless, and the 'f word'
There are too many interesting things going on this week to simply focus on one. So here's a smattering of stories about the frightened, the clueless, and the "f word":
I'll spare you the jokes about how the controversy over "F-9/11" is "heating up" but the particulars are worth a mention. The Federal Elections Commission, in addition to its own internal recommendation that it prevent "F-9/11" ads after July 30 from mentioning Bush (or using his image), is considering a complaint, filed by a Republican group, alleging that the film amounts to a glorified campaign ad and as such violates campaign finance laws. Yeah, I'm sure that's what McCain-Feingold had in mind...
DailyKos reports that Ralph Nader is getting some much needed help in building a strong and lasting progressive movement -- from conservative groups in Oregon. From a "Citizens for a sound Economy" phone banking script: "Ralph Nader needs 1,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot and we need to ensure he gets them...Ralph Nader is undoubtedly going to pull some very crucial votes from John Kerry, and that could mean the difference in a razor-thin Presidential election."
Finally, the latest Gallup poll brings good tidings to Kerry and anyone interested in removing the Bush. In a space of three weeks, Americans went from believing that it was not a mistake to send troops to Iraq by a margin of 58-41, to believing that it was, 54-44. Even more devastating for Bush is the fact that these numbers precede the devastating events of the past couple of days. The number of registered voters who believe the war has made us safer has gone from 56% in December to 37% now.
But the bottom line is how the states line up. According to poll-expert Ruy Teixeira: "Bush (is) ahead by 8 points in the solid red states (won by Bush by 5 points or more in 2000), but Kerry (is) ahead by 14 in the solid blue states (won by Gore by more than 5 points) and ahead by 9 in the purple states (decided by less than 5 points in 2000). And Kerry is carrying independents nationwide by 10 points and moderates by 24 points."
So what's it all add up to? Bush gets all snippety with an Irish journalist who, unlike too many of his American counterparts, has the gall to seek an actual answer to his question while Cheney opts to keep it simple telling Sen. Patrick Leahy to "F--- yourself."
Comments