Congress Is Going Gray

MSNBC has a great article up about why Congress is getting so old. The average age for a Senator is 60 and the House isn't lagging to far behind at 55. Check out the full article to see why it's so hard for young people to get in.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., is an institution. He's the longest serving senator in U.S. history. He's also 88 years old, and if he wins re-election -- he's the clear favorite in his race -- he'll be 95 at the end of his ninth term.

But Byrd isn't alone. Also up for re-election is Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, who is 82 and would be 88 at the end of his third term, if re-elected. And over in the House, the 83-year-old Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, is running for a 14th term.

Congress, in fact, is the grayest it's ever been, and don't expect this to change much after the November midterms. The average age of a senator is 60 (the oldest ever) and the average age of a member of the House is 55 (the oldest in more than a century).

Source: In Congress, old is in - Politics - MSNBC.com

Sean Hannity Urges Democrats Not To Vote

...And I urge him to just shut up.

On the October 18 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, Fox News host Sean Hannity encouraged Democratic voters to "stay home on Election Day," adding that, "your vote doesn't matter anyway." He added that Democrats should not turn out to vote "for the sake of the nation" because Democrats' votes "won't change who occupies the White House" and Democratic "candidates have absolutely no idea how to win the war on terrorism." Hannity also appeared to predict he would be criticized for his remarks, stating: "This is how the press is going to report this: 'Hannity says Democrats should stay home on Election Day.' " He did not explain how that would be a mischaracterization of his comments.

Source: Media Matters - Hannity to Democrats: "[S]tay home on Election Day ... for the sake of the nation"

Ken Blackwell Gets Unendorsed

A very Republican leaning newspaper, The Courier of Findlay, has pulled their endorsement of Ken Blackwell due to his petty attacks at the debate Monday.

We've been following Ken Blackwell's career for years. Our file on him is more than an inch thick. We've talked with him personally and come away impressed with his intelligence and commitment to change -- both of which are much needed in this state.But while Blackwell may still get some of our individual votes, he's lost our endorsement, for whatever it's worth. His total nastiness at the Monday debate with his opponent, Democrat Ted Strickland, has proven that he's really not the kind of man we need as our next governor. Personal attacks of dubious accuracy should have no place in a political campaign. As Strickland said, "Mr. Blackwell, you should be ashamed of yourself."

Both Blackwell and Strickland have campaigned as religious people. Blackwell is an evangelical Christian and Strickland an ordained Methodist minister. The Monday debate showed which one has a greater understanding of Christian conduct.

Source: The Courier,Findlay, Ohio: EDITORIALS Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Charlie Wilson Can Sit Back And Relax

Wilson (D): 64%
Undecided: 3%
Blasdel (R): 32%

In an election in Ohio's 6th Congressional District today, 10/19/06, Democrat Charlie Wilson defeats Republican Chuck Blasdel 64% to 32%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WYTV-TV Youngstown. Since an identical SurveyUSA WYTV-TV poll 9/29/06, Wilson has gained 10 points and Blasdel has lost 9 points. Wilson's lead has grown from 13 points to 32 points. Independents now favor Wilson by 44 points, a 51-point swing from 3 weeks ago when they favored Blasdel by 7 points.

Source: Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #10432

More On Joy Padgett's Corruption

The Buckeye State Blog also is touching on Joy Padgett today. It seems that she may have illegally transferred land before filing for bankruptcy. Yes it seems Joy Padgett would do a great job of filling Bob Ney's shoes.

Padgett's transfer of this real estate for no money—signed in September 2005, but not recorded until February 2006—may violate Ohio's "Fraudulent Transfer" statute. The statute states that a transfer is fraudulent if it is 1) transferred for less than equivalent worth and 2) transferred with either the intent to hide the property from creditors or transferred when the transferor is insolvent. [Statement of Financial Affairs, Padgett Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filing, Docket No. 12; Padgett Deed, Recorded in Vol. 403, pg. 376 of the Coshocton County Deed Records; Ohio Revised Code Section 1336]

Source: Booya - Space lands killer blow to Padgett | Buckeye State Blog

Help Jennifer Brunner Win $10,000

Help Jennifer Brunner win $10,000 by voting for her to get the Secretary of State endorsement from Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot's Fund.

Her email:

Do you wish you could do more for Jennifer Brunner? Well, now you can and all it takes is just a click of your mouse!

Senator Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriot’s Fund is holding a vote to decide which Secretary of State candidate to support this year. If we win, we could get a check for $10,000!

To vote for Jennifer, just go to: http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/pickapatriot/vote-2.html.

After you vote, please forward this to 10 people and ask them to vote for Jennifer too.

Thank you for your continued support. With your help, we will win this vote and win on November 7^th.

Could This Be The October Surprise?

Finally, the much anticipated pre-election terrorist threat. But wait - it get's better, it's against football! As you can tell, I'm not that worried. Apparently the NSA tapped Payton Manning's phone and overheard a plot to smash the Washington Redskins this Sunday. Ok, kidding aside here's the real story.

MSNBC just mentioned briefly as they went to Tucker that the Department of Homeland Security had passed along a tip to several major cities with football stadiums that there was "chatter" detected about a possible attack. They don't have the story online yet though.

In more surprising news Genesis is going to have a reunion tour with Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. They may also reunite.

Update: 4:30 PM

ABC is reporting that the Government doubts the football threat.

The Daily Show Rips On Bob Ney In Web Only Story

Just a little story that I figured a lot of people might overlook.

Na, Na, Na, Say Ney... Goodbye

During a campaign season there are certain people you want to be seen with. For instance, John McCain. Or babies. A baby McCain would be nice too, and for Republicans, a great argument for cloning.

Then you have disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a man so toxic he can destroy a campaign with a mere creak of his skin-tight trench coat.

The latest to be "Abramoff-ed" is Bob Ney, the Republican congressman from Ohio who plead guilty to federal charges for accepting thousands of dollars in bribes and is expected be sentenced in January to 27 months in jail. That's right, America: in three months, you won't have Bob Ney to offer kick-backs anymore.

According to the Washington Post, Ney admitted to taking "tens of thousands of dollars worth of trips, sports tickets, campaign contributions, meals and casino chips in exchange for legislation and public statements supporting Abramoff's clients and a Syrian businessman." It's believed Ney figured the tickets and the meals and the poker chips weren't quite damning enough, so why not throw a Syrian businessman into the mix and go down hard with an anti-American twist.

Another recent casualty: Susan Ralston, Karl Rove's executive assistant and one time Abramoff aide who the former lobbyist called his White House "implant." In case you're not familiar with the levels of lobbyist influence in the White House, "Abramoff implant" ranks higher than "Abramoff lip collagen," but is "still" less influential than "Abramoff erection pump."

While she was in Rove's employ, Ralston accepted numerous gifts from Abramoff on her boss's behalf, including numerous tickets to sporting events and in June of 2002, two tickets to an Andrea Bocelli concert. That would make Karl Rove the hippest person ever to attend an Andrea Bocelli concert.

Source: Comedy Central: Shows - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Politics - Na, Na, Na, Say Ney... Goodbye

Joy Padgett Claims Recent Ad Is "Unfair", I Claim She's A Hypocrite

Joy Padgett is attacking an attack ad that ran against her yesterday claiming she had used her position to benefit her private business. Instead of replying to the claim herself she sent out the complete text of an editorial from a Wheeling, WV based conservative leaning newspaper.

I can't say for sure this is true but let's look at what I do know about Joy Padgett.

• While she was treasurer of her husbands small business it filed for bankruptcy, in the process defaulting on several loans. The business had ran up $1.16 million in debts. She won't have to pay back a $737,000 small business loan though, tax money will take care of it.
• She is known for running very dirty campaigns. In fact in 2004 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said her state senate campaign was “One of the nation’s nastiest campaigns [that] has divided a quiet corner of Appalachia, a place usually immune from political venom thanks to its neighborly ways”. In that campaign she accused her opponent of being soft on terror and in one of the dirtiest campaign tactics of all time she sent out mailers featuring a picture of her opponent with a Hezbollah terrorist leader. What she failed to mention was that the terrorist he was with was the leader of the group that had taken him hostage in 1985 while he was working as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press. Yes that's right, the Joy Padgett opponent (Terry Anderson) that was “part of the ‘Blame America’ crowd” had been held hostage by Hezbollah for almost 7 years.

Joy Padgett doesn't deserve your vote, in fact she barely deserves to live (Sorry, I know that was uncalled for but I've just spent an hour reading through news stories about her 2004 campaign). She does nothing that doesn't benefit herself. Just look back at all of her campaigns, she spends all her time bad-mouthing her opponent because she has no accomplishments worth discussing.

Bill Clinton Supports Ted Strickland

It's been a long time since I've received an email from Bill Clinton. In fact I think the last one was right before the 2004 election.

Ohio was one of the states that gave me the nomination for President in the June 1992 primaries, the state whose votes put me over the top at the 1992 Democratic Convention, and in November, 1992, the networks projected me the winner when Ohio went our way. So I know something about Ohio's importance in our country's election process.

The eyes of the nation are again on Ohio this year.

On November 7th, you have a tremendous opportunity to elect a new leader with the integrity and vision to move Ohio in a new direction, my good friend Ted Strickland. We're lucky to have him, and I'm asking for your help to make sure he wins this important campaign to Turnaround Ohio.

Click here to support Ted and help Turnaround Ohio.

Congressman Ted Strickland is a Democrat who truly understands how to unite people from both sides of the aisle around our most important issues. In 1997, I was proud to work with Ted in passing the historic Children's Health Insurance Program, which provided health care to millions of uninsured kids. That's the type of leadership Ted will bring to Ohio.

When I was elected Governor of Arkansas, there was a lot of work to be done. But we brought a new day in that state by doing exactly what Ted Strickland has proposed in Ohio--creating more opportunities by investing in education, job training programs, and the many assets of this great state.

These are the programs that can have a positive impact in the lives of countless families, and that's why Ted has made them the centerpiece of his vision to Turnaround Ohio. Today, Ted needs our support to get to Columbus and put his plan into action.

Click here to help Ted bring new leadership to Columbus.

Ted's opponent is Ken Blackwell, who used his office as Ohio Secretary of State to try to suppress the Democratic vote in the 2004 presidential election. Now he is overseeing the very election in which he is a candidate.

The stakes are very high, and there are some powerful people in Ohio and around the country who don't want to see Ted Strickland win this election.

I know what it's like to go up against the entrenched power structure. It's never easy, and they're trying to make it especially tough for Ted Strickland. Ken Blackwell's friends in Washington are throwing everything they can think of at Ted--anything to keep their hands on the great state of Ohio.

We can't let them succeed.

Click here to support Ted Strickland and make sure he can respond to Republican attacks.

Ken Blackwell can fly in President Bush and Karl Rove and charge $10,000 a head at a fundraiser. Ted Strickland on the other hand, is relying on help from Ohioans from all walks of life, who want to see a change in Columbus. Most folks can't give $10,000, so I'm asking for your help today, at whatever level you can manage.

Click here to support Ted Strickland.

Thanks for your support of Ted Strickland. Together, we can create a new day in Ohio and across the nation.

Bill Clinton

So The Republicans Are Pulling Out Of Ohio After All

It seems that the Republican Party is, in fact, pulling support away from Mike DeWine to focus on closer races, despite a massive ad buy from the NRSC that appeared to dispute the New York Times's claim. When it came time for the party itself to divide up it's cash among the races DeWine received a scaled-back check for only $700,000.

WASHINGTON - The Republican Party placed $700,000 in television ads in Ohio Tuesday, a scaled-back ad campaign amid growing doubts by party officials that GOP Sen. Mike DeWine can win re-election in the battleground state.

The ads by the party are smaller than recent million-dollar ad buys by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. But party officials touted the ads as evidence that they were not abandoning the state or giving up on DeWine.

Strategists from both parties were following the Republican steps closely because the GOP had chosen Ohio, Tennessee and Missouri as political fortifications against a Democratic takeover of the Senate. Democrats need a net gain of six seats to win control of the Senate.

Source: Republicans scale back TV ads in Ohio - Politics - MSNBC.com

The Political Silence Breaks Into All Out War In The Ohio Valley

After more then a month of West Virginian attack ad's filling the airwaves, the Ohio political silence has finally broken. Before yesterday I can't remember seeing any Ohio ad's since the primaries, though all that is changing now. Yesterday I saw ads for Ted Strickland, Sherrod Brown, and Mike DeWine, as well as some attack ads against Joy Padgett paid for by the DCCC. That's not bad considering I had the local TV on for about an hour.

It's Time To Stick A Fork In Mike DeWine

Sherrod Brown: 48%
Undecided: 17%
Mike Dewine: 34%

Another poll, this one by the New York Times, is out today showing Sherrod Brown pulling further ahead of Mike DeWine. Yesterday CQPolitics changed the rating on the Senate race from "Toss Up" to "Leans Democratic".

Source: Someone buy Dewine a box of kleenex... | Buckeye State Blog

Another Poll Has Brown Pulling Ahead Of DeWine

Sherrod Brown: 53%
Mike DeWine: 41%

Though the previous poll by Quinnipiac had Brown ahead by only one point, the latest has him ahead by 12 points. That's quite a jump.

In semi-related news, the New York Times is standing by it's story that the Republican Party had decided to pull support from DeWine to focus on other races.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown has opened up a 53 - 41 percent lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine among likely voters in Ohio's U.S. Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Seven percent of voters remain undecided and 14 percent of those who name a candidate say they might change their mind before Election Day.

This compares to a statistical tie in a September 20 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University Poll when Rep. Brown had 45 percent to Sen. DeWine's 44 percent. In the last month Brown has solidified his support among Democrats: 88 - 7 percent compared to 75 - 17 percent in September. But his real progress has been among independents, where he now holds a 58 - 34 percent advantage, compared to a 43 - 40 percent deficit in September.

Source: Quinnipiac University | Search Detail

What A Coincidence...

In a miraculous coincidence it seems that Saddam Hussein will most likely be convicted of crimes against humanity on November 5th, just before the election. I mean seriously, what are the odd's that that would happen? This basically guarantee's that before people go to vote they'll be seeing Condoleezza Rice and clips of Saddam statues being pulled down. I smell Karl Rove's hand in this, though I doubt anyone can prove it.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A court trying Saddam Hussein for killing Shi'ites in the 1980s could deliver its verdict on November 5, officials said.

The U.S.-backed court was due to announce on Monday a final date for verdicts on the ousted Iraqi leader and seven of his former top lieutenants for crimes against humanity, a charge which carries a maximum penalty of death by hanging.

However, the court said it needed more time to review testimony. Court spokesman Raed Juhi said the Iraqi High Tribunal would reconvene on November 5 although it was not clear if a verdict would be announced then.

Source: Court may give Saddam verdict on November 5 | Top News | Reuters.com

The Majority Of America Supports Cut And Run

Well at least as the President defines it. Support for Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, as well as the war itself, have fallen to new all-time lows according to a CNN poll.

War in Iraq
Support: 34%
Opposed: 64%

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A poll conducted for CNN over the weekend suggests support among Americans for the war in Iraq is dwindling to an all-time low. Just 34 percent of those polled say they support the war, while 64 percent say they oppose it.

Women led the opposition, with seven in 10 saying they oppose the war. Twenty-eight percent say they support it, which is the lowest support among women in any CNN poll taken since the invasion more than three years ago.

Support among men is stronger, with 40 percent supporting the conflict and 58 percent opposed to it.

This comes as the nation's top general acknowledged the overall strategy in Iraq is under review. Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN that military plans, including the linchpin of U.S. exit strategy -- reliance on Iraqi forces to take up the fight -- is being reviewed.

Source: Poll: Support for Iraq war at all-time low - CNN.com

I Guess We Spoke Too Soon, DeWine Not Losing Funding

To dispel reports that the Republican Party is pulling the plug on it's support for Mike DeWine the RNC has purchased over $1 million in TV ad time over the next two weeks. It must be nice to have money to burn.

Contrary to published reports that the Republican National Committee has decided to "write off" the Ohio Senate race, the RNC is about to begin a new, statewide TV buy in Ohio on behalf of the candidacy of Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH).
The buy, which costs in excess of $1 million, is scheduled to last for two weeks.

Polling continues to show the Ohio contest between DeWine and his Democratic challenger, Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), to be close, though most state and national political observers believe that Brown has the advantage.

Source: Political Wire: RNC Launching New Statewide Buy in Ohio Senate Race

New Poll Has Brown Still 5 Points Over DeWine

Sherrod Brown: 46%
Mike Dewine: 41%

I'll just let the numbers, along with the Republicans cutting and running from Ohio, speak for themselves.

Democratic Congressman Sherrod Brown now leads by five percentage points over Republican Senator Mike DeWine in Ohio's competitive U.S. Senate race. The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Brown with 46% and DeWine with 41%.

When “leaners” are included, it’s Brown by six, 48% to 42%. Leaners are those who don’t initially express support for either candidate but then express a preference on a follow-up question.

Source: Rasmussen Election Polls 2006: Ohio Senate

Rolling Stone Looks At "The Worst Congress Ever"

Below is the intro and one of the many reasons Rolling Stone's National Affairs blog cites in it's claim that we currently have "the worst Congress ever". Go read as much as you can stomach.

How sick and desperate and unbelievably hopeless is the current Congress? One leading scholar told Matt Taibbi — author of this issue’s cover story, “The Worst Congress Ever” — that the 109th Congress is so bad, “It makes you wonder if democracy is a failed experiment.” Before you are convinced thusly by Taibbi’s unbelievable report, preview the five ways our lawmakers have become a stable of thieves and perverts.

RULE BY IRON FIST

Republicans are so brazen that when Democrats attempted to keep a meeting going longer than was convenient for House Judiciary chair James Sensenbrenner Jr., he simply picked up his gavel and left the room, disconnecting the microphones and turning off the lights.

Source: Rolling Stone National Affairs Daily » Blog Archive » On This Issue’s Cover? The Worst Congress Ever

Is This Rove's October Surprise? If It Is, He's A Little Late

It seems that we've been holding a top al-Qaeda official in a secret prison for a year, but it's only now coming to the light. Is the October surprise Karl Rove promised?

MADRID (Reuters) - A suspected al Qaeda leader, accused of being involved in September 11 and planning the 2004 Madrid train bombings, has been imprisoned in a secret U.S. jail for the past year, Spain's El Pais newspaper reported on Sunday.

Mustafa Setmarian, 48, a Syrian with Spanish citizenship, was captured in Pakistan in October 2005 and is held in a prison operated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Pakistani and European security service officials told El Pais.

A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Spain declined to comment on the report.

Setmarian's 2005 capture was reported in May of this year after the United States put a $5 million bounty on the head of the alleged founder of al Qaeda's Spanish network.

A photograph of the red-haired Setmarian has been removed from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Intelligence's most-wanted Web page.

Source: Al Qaeda leader in secret CIA jail: report | Top News | Reuters.com

GOP Giving Up On DeWine According To The New York Times

It looks like the national GOP is waving the white flag in Ohio's Senate race to focus it's money on other threatened seats. It seems that the Republicans internal polls are showing DeWine lagging behind.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 — Senior Republican leaders have concluded that Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, a pivotal state in this year’s fierce midterm election battles, is likely to be heading for defeat and are moving to reduce financial support for his race and divert party money to other embattled Republican senators, party officials said.

The decision to effectively write off Mr. DeWine’s seat, after a series of internal Republican polls showed him falling behind his Democratic challenger, is part of a fluid series of choices by top leaders in both parties as they set the strategic framework of the campaign’s final three weeks, signaling, by where they are spending television money and other resources, the Senate and House races where they believe they have the best chances of success.

Source: In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets - New York Times

Man Held 5 Years In The US Without Being Charged

Remember those mass arrests of Muslims after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks? You know, the one's that aren't really written about in the news much anymore? Well it turns out that there's still a man being held from those arrests, even though he's never been charged and isn't believed to be a threat to anyone.

In a jail cell at an immigration detention center in Arizona sits a man who is not charged with a crime, not suspected of a crime, not considered a danger to society.

But he has been in custody for five years.

His name is Ali Partovi. And according to the Department of Homeland Security, he is the last to be held of about 1,200 Arab and Muslim men swept up by authorities in the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Source: 1 man still locked up from 9/11 sweeps - U.S. Security - MSNBC.com