Tag: Election

Grace Ross, who ran in 2006 as the Green Party’s candidate for governor of Massachusetts, is now running in the Democratic primary for the same office, against incumbent governor Deval Patrick.  “I wasn’t planning to run again,” stated Ross, “but things got worse.  Things got worse for regular people.”

Thanks for the frontpagey goodness budhy! : )

Crossposted at Daily Kos

    I am thrilled to announce that Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA08) is live in a liveblog interview with me at TheProgressiveElectorate.com I have posted the body of my part of the interview below the fold and will be adding updates with Congressman Sestak’s commentary. If you wish, we are thrilled to have you join us and ask any questions you like of the Congressman as he fights to be the true Democratic voice for Pennsylvania in the US Senate.

Please join us at TheProgressiveElectorate.com where we would love to hear your input.

    Thank you for joining us this evening. The ProgressiveElectorate is honored tonight to be hosting this exclusive liveblog interview with sitting Democratic Congressman and former 3 star Navy Admiral Joe Sestak who represents Pennsylvania’s 8th district and is currently challenging current Republican Democratish Senator Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary for the upcoming Senate election in Pennsylvania.

   Before we start, I’d like to introduce Congressman Joe Sestak to our readers.

   Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 to represent the 7th Congressional District where he was born and raised. During a distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, Joe attained the rank of 3-star Admiral and served in the White House, Pentagon, and in operational commands at sea. He is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He attended the Naval Academy and later earned a Ph.d. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. After retiring from the Navy, Joe returned home to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex, and proudly represents the 7th District.

joesestak.com

    Before asking Representative Sestak a few questions of my own, I would like to thank him again for joining us here tonight, and, of course, I strongly encourage anyone who is reading this to join in with Congressman Sestak and I with any questions they’d like to ask. The more the merrier, I always say.

   Now, on to the show.  

You know, being politicians and all, you’d think the Institutional Democratic Party could READ A FUCKING POLL!

DEMOCRATS LEARNING WRONG LESSON FROM MASSACHUSETTS?

EVEN SCOTT BROWN VOTERS WANT THE PUBLIC OPTION, WANT DEMOCRATS TO BE BOLDER

“In an election between Scott Brown and the public option, the public option would have won.”

– Charles Chamberlain, political director of Democracy for America

HEALTH CARE BILL OPPONENTS THINK IT “DOESN’T GO FAR ENOUGH”

• by 3 to 2 among Obama voters who voted for Brown
• by 6 to 1 among Obama voters who stayed home

(18% of Obama supporters who voted supported Brown.)

VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT THE PUBLIC OPTION

• 82% of Obama voters who voted for Brown
• 86% of Obama voters who stayed home

OBAMA VOTERS WANT DEMOCRATS TO BE BOLDER

• 57% of Brown voters say Obama “not delivering enough” on change he promised
• 49% to 37% among voters who stayed home

PLUS: Obama voters overwhelming want bold economic populism from Democrats in 2010.

Evidently not!

Morons, assholes, or sell-outs.

Take your pick.

h/t John Amato @ C&L

Updated.

Well, what did you expect?  The best analysis I’ve read so far is from John Aravosis–

Massachusetts, that kept Ted Kennedy in office for decades because he promised to provide affordable health care to every American, thinks President Obama is going too far by passing legislation that is, at best, half a loaf of what Kennedy had been proposing. Got that?

What other “far left” agenda could Bayh be talking about? Gay rights perhaps? First off, not much of an agenda in this White House, but in any case, we’re to believe that liberal views on social issues are ticking off a state that was the first in the country to have gay marriage? Seriously? How about abortion – Kennedy was pro-choice, never hurt him, and in any case, Obama is hardly God’s gift to choicers.

So it’s not health care reform or social issues, maybe it’s economic issues. Was it the Wall Street bailout? Not very liberal there. Maybe defense issues. Perhaps the mini-surge of additional troops in Afghanistan? Again, no liberal to be found.

So what exactly is Evan Bayh talking about when he says that our government has lurched too far to the left of Massachusetts? What part of President Obama’s agenda wasn’t Massachusetts familiar with when they voted for him over John McCain last November by double digits? And the irony is that Obama has never moved farther to the left in office than he promised on the campaign trail — he’s only moved to the right.

Crossposted at Daily Kos

What I do is called speaking truth to power.

What Erick Erickson of RedState.com does is called speaking lies for rich people.

    For a refresher, dkos blogger pinback found that RedState (was) trying to jam Coakley phone banks, and I questioned the legality of those actions yesterday. Erick Erickson, mature adult that he pretends to be, decided to respond. Bad move.

The not so very bright readers of Kos want to send Martha Coakley and me to jail.

Why us?

Well, I published the list of union organized phone banks for Coakley on Friday night.

Some genius who probably thinks Joe Stalin was just misunderstood now is convinced I must go to jail. WITH A POLL!!!!

I assume s/he (that covers everything including transgendered I hope) also wants to send Martha Coakley to jail. She did the same thing I did, but offered up even more details, including the phone numbers of the locations and email address of the contact person.

Idiots.

By the way, points off to the Koskidz for misspelling my name.

http://www.redstate.com/erick/…

Them’s fighting words.

More below the fold.

Crossposted at Daily Kos

   First off, I strongly encourage anyone who is reading this to go check out an article titled RedState trying to jam Coakley phone banks by dkos user pinback for more information on this story.

    So, as for the title of this article, my question is, should Erick Erickson of RedState.com go to jail the same way the last Republican hack who pulled this phone bank tampering scam did?

    Federal law prohibits making interstate calls “without disclosing the caller’s identity and with the intent to annoy . . . or harass any person at the called number.”

Rawstory.com Jan 10, 2006

    A hat tip to dkos user inland for the RawStory.com link.

More below the fold . . .  

On Sunday August 30  voters in Japan did something that most thought would never take place a change of government. Unlike previous times one Liberal Democratic Party leader wasn’t replacing another. In a complete about face voters took a huge leap of faith and voted in the opposition Democratic Party of Japan led by Yukio Hatayama.  

In what Americans call party platforms (manifestos in Japan) the Democrats laid out what they hoped to achieve if elected.  One plank of the platform stood  out: Bureaucratic reform. Unlike America lawmakers don’t have large staffs which include experts in several fields of the members interest. Because of this elected officials have become overly dependent upon carrier bureaucrats for any research  or relevant information needed when crafting legislation. Given this the final bill will mirror not the original ideas put forth by its sponsor but those of the bureaucrat providing the information because its their job to promote policies of the ministry which employees them rather than those of the government in power.

Additionally there are few independent think tanks in Tokyo able to provide a further layer of expertise unlike Washington which has hundreds of them reflecting the ideas of the political landscape.  

The Democratic Party of Japan could achieve the changes in the current system if the choose to be bold.

First they could have civil service reform enacted through legislation which would if done right keep the ministries independent but allow for parliamentary oversight which doesn’t really exist at this time. Once a person joins the civil service they should no longer be allowed promotions based on seniority rather than merit.

Second they should increase the size of the members staffs so that one: They will have access to their own experts and two they can lose their reliance upon the bureaucracy.

While these are simple ideas the fact remains that this is still Japan and change here usually comes at a glacial pace no matter which party controls the Diet.  

The revolution may not be televised, but it will be Twittered.

Right now, people in Iran are fighting and dying for their freedom:

IRAN is on fire! ppl are fighting in ALL CITIES for their VOTE and against the DICTATORSHIP! #iranelection,RT pls

# sources from Tehran: ppl are killed, ppl are in blood, tehran is hell. #iranelection #cnnfail15 minutes ago from web

“sadatabad, tehran. violent street battles between Basij and people. cars on fire.” @iran09 #Iranelection

RT @StopAhmadi It’s getting rough in Rasht tonight. Armed forces waiting for ppl to make their move to beat them #IranElection

There is fight in Shiraz between people and police in Mollasadra, Sinama Sadi and other down town streets. #iranelection

Hospitals around Tehran surrounded by secret police who refuse to let people with injuries get through, humanity at its worst #iranelection

It is near morning there now, and the regime appears to have spent last night, among other things, attacking university dorms in Tehran and elsewhere:

all university’s own security and personnel already evacuated by police, there are only us students in here right now. #iranelection

@mohamadreza: they push ppl & students into the dorms then throw tear gas, sometimes attacking them with anything they have

@IranRiggedElect sources: “tear gas in the dorm. It’s un-uniformed police and riot guards. at least 100 students arrested.”#iranelectionabout 2 hours ago from web

to other sources: this isn’t the police! police is still outside! we’re under attack by Ansar-Hezbolah. #iranelection

@Change_for_Iran:typing as fastest as I can in bth English&Farsi,Still we need outside help,I really don’t want to be captured by Ansar

@Change_for_Iran: some students with urgent need of medical attention calling out to all ppl who can help don’t leave us #iranelection

They attacked protestors students in Guilan university. Blood and violence here… #IranElection

unconfirm: Shooting @ Tehran Univ. Dorm. Militia has attacked the student like 8 years ago

Friend: 17 y/o killed infront of me couldn’t get to him in time guards beating us up went to hospital but he stopped moving #iranelection

Students:”50 of our friends are in jail now. We were beaten. We expect Mousavi to stand up to this,we support him” #iranelection

The students and others are fighting back:

eyewitness: It’s 3am in Iran and ppl are still fighting on the streets. #iranelection #cnnfail

Guards are Shootings in Tehran and Police car being attack by protesters …

is there any end to police’s motorcycles?! how much more we should burn?! #iranelection

@iran09 best way to #counter-attack the riders: carry some MOTOR OIL! http://tinyurl.com/nz43zg #iranelection

@Ghattavi students hold two militias as hostage, loads of motor oil is spread on the streets [to make bikers slip]

Hackers toolkit for taking down Iranian propaganda websites. VERY EASY TO USE: http://sharebee.com/31922799 #iranelection

wwowowowowo!!!!! IRIB.ir id down!!!! #iranelection #WeWin #cyberattack

Mousavi has called for a demonstration tomorrow @ 4:00 pm (7:30 am EST) followed by a general strike on Tuesday.  The regime says the demonstration is illegal and there are reports of Revolutionary Guard tanks moving into the capital.  No one doubts what is at stake:

4pm all across IRAN RT @persiankiwi tomorrow we march. Will biggest in world history. 10 mill march tomorrow.

@flashpolitique we are moving either toward a north korean style dictatorship or a more open and democratic society

black joke:”George Orwell has requested to change his book’s name from 1984 to 1388.”(it’s year 1388 in iran. calendar) #iranelection

Stay tuned….