Right Wing Nation

Not mine — I won’t make one, although tomorrow, during my break from working the polls (I work 6-10, then 4-6), I will be here and will tell you about the voter turnout, and any fun stuff — uh, what was I saying?

Oh yes. Bob Krumm’s prediction.

I do think, however, that the media and the polls have vastly underestimated GOP enthusiasm, and I believe tomorrow will demonstrate that they will have therefore vastly underestimated GOP turnout, like they did in 2004, except even more so this year. We didn’t have Sarah Palin on the ticket in 2004, nor did we have His Hopeyness running on the Democrat ticket. This is a fairly heavy GOP voting district. A large turnout tomorrow means a large GOP turnout. That’s what I hope to see. If, on the other hand, voting is light, I’ll be a lot more nervous.

We’ll see. Best of luck to Lt. Col. Bill Russell. If Murtha wins, it will be by only a very slim margin.

Sarah’s a natural. This is the whole speech from a rally in Las Vegas, so it’s long (25 minutes), but this is very, very good. And this speech is largely about women in America.

Both McCain headquarters in town are literally packed with volunteers.

Errands. Then to the rink for the Penn State - Ohio game. While I’m at the game, the microwave will get installed, and I can actually defrost something for dinner from the deep freeze!

And here’s a couple of things to lift your spirits.

Obama fading in Pennsylvania. And that Zogby poll: McCain 1 point ahead.

Palin at PSU.

It’s on the Hillary Forum, but it seems to be down. It’s also been posted at Red State: Hillary staffer comes clean. The author isn’t identified, and I’m inclined to doubt these sorts of things, but this makes me suspect this may be genuine.

Obama’s radical connections. Standards operating procedure has been to cry “racism” whenever one of these has been brought up. We even have a detailed strategy ready to go should McCain ever bring Rev. Wright up. Though by themselves they are of minimal worth, taken together, Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Father Pfelger, and now, Rashid Khalili, are exactly what the campaign does not need. The more focus on them, the more this election becomes a referendum on Obama. The campaign strategy from the very beginning was to make this election a referendum on Bush. Strategists have been banging their head on how successfully McCain has distanced himself from Bush. This has worked, and right now the tide is in his favor. People are taking a new look at Barack Obama, and our experience when this happens tells us this is not good news at all. When they take a look at him, one or more of these names are bound to be brought up. McCain has wisely not harped on this in recent weeks and let voters decide for themselves. This was a trap we set for him, and he never fully took the bait. Senator Obama openly dared him to bring up Ayers. This was not due to machismo on the part of Obama, but actually due to campaign strategy. Though McCain’s reference to Ayers fell flat in the last debate, people in the Obama campaign were actually disappointed that he didn’t follow through on it more and getting into it. Our focus groups found this out: When McCain brings these connections up, voters are turned off to him. They’d rather take this into consideration themselves, and when this happens, our numbers begin to tank.

A conservative would never have written the bolded section above. Conservatives have been howling that McCain should take off the gloves (hockey reference!) wrt Ayers and Wright.

Anyway, it’s interesting. I suggest you read the whole thing.

and shake his (or her) hand: Huge Democrat Turn Out In Florida Turns Into Huge McCain-Palin Gains - UPDATED!

Democrats have an almost 2 to 1 advantage in numbers, yet McCain leads in the vote totals. RCP has Obama up 3.5% in Florida - totally opposite this massive wave of early voting.  According to a GMU site monitoring early polling Florida is already seeing almost 34% of the total 2004 vote for Florida - stunning. And the advantage for Dems on this site is 45.4% to 39% (including absentee). So with a really high 6.4% advantage in turnout Obama is losing by 4%. That is some massive defection numbers away from Obama. And it would seem a large turnout is not a bad thing at all for McCain-Palin, since it will swamp the Obama strengths in certain demographics.

If this is an indication of things to come, the liberals are in for a rough week.

Again, it’s an exit poll (insert all warnings and disclaimers here):

Democrats are beaming that their party is outperforming the Republicans in early voting, releasing numbers Wednesday that show registrants of their party ahead 54 percent to 30 percent among the 1.4 million voters who have gone to the polls early.

“We’re thrilled at the record turnout so far,” said Democratic Party of Florida spokesman Eric Jotkoff. “It’s a clear indication that Democrats want to elect Barack Obama and Democrats up and down the ballot so that we can start creating good jobs, rebuilding our economy and getting our nation back on track.”

But party breakdowns for turnout aren’t the same as final tallies, and at least one poll offered a different view for the campaign of Republican John McCain.

A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll gave McCain a 49-45 lead over Democrat Barack Obama among Floridians who have already voted.

And Republicans continued to show a traditional strength, leading 50 percent to the Democrats’ 30 percent in the 1.2 million absentee ballots already returned.

So who’s been saying all this doom and gloom was crap? Eh? Who, again?

The Review Journal:

With the election still a week away, nearly a quarter of the Nevada electorate has already cast ballots, according to the secretary of state.

Through the end of voting Sunday, about 300,000 people had voted early statewide, a turnout of 24.9 percent of the state’s 1.2 million active voters. In Clark County, 211,000 had voted early, a turnout of 25.9 percent.

In Clark and Washoe counties, Democrats have been voting at higher rates than Republicans since early voting began Oct. 18. However, Republicans have narrowed the margin somewhat.

On the first day of early voting, 62 percent of Clark County voters were Democrats, while 23 percent were Republicans and the rest nonpartisans or members of minor parties. Through Sunday, 55 percent of early voters were Democrats, 29 percent Republicans.

Of all registered voters in Clark County, 47 percent are Democrats and 32 percent are Republicans.

In Washoe County, 51 percent of the early voters through Sunday were Democrats, while 33 percent were Republicans.

Okay, that’s not surprising — to me, early and absentee voting (unless you’re going to be out of town on election day) is like going to Saturday evening Vigil Mass instead of going on Sunday morning. It just doesn’t feel right. The interesting part is — wait, before you read on, go back up and review the percentages of Democrats and Republicans who’ve voted. Okay. Here it is.

Exit polling of early voters conducted by a local political consultant suggests a close presidential contest in the Silver State: Democratic nominee Barack Obama had the votes of 50 percent who had voted, while Republican nominee John McCain had 48 percent of the early vote.

That’s unexpected, even taking into account all the problems with exit polls. It seems a lot of Democrats are voting McCain. Here’s the discussion on the Hillary Clinton forum.

The local rag a couple of weeks ago announced that The First Dude would be at the Homecoming tailgate, but didn’t bother to write a story afterward. They did cover last night’s Palin rally. And Mitch, who was just going to go, got lassoed into working the rally.

And I may not go to the rally tonight. I know, I know, but remember: I’ve been to three so far. Look, it’s cold as hell. Well, it’s technically 41, but it’s very windy. I looked at the temp, threw on a T-shirt and a windbreaker, and went to headquarters. I was way underdressed. And my hip hurts. I’m starting to think the cold affects the arthritis.

News. Ted Stevens was convicted on seven counts of corruption (speaking of, when did “plead” become a weak verb? pleaded? Not in the King’s English, it’s not. Where did these journalists go to school?)

The Governor released this statement.

This is a sad day for Alaska and for Senator Stevens and his family. The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. That control was part of the culture of corruption I was elected to fight. And that fight must always move forward regardless of party or seniority or even past service.

As Governor of the State of Alaska, I will carefully monitor this situation and take any appropriate action as needed. In the meantime, I ask the people of Alaska to join me in respecting the workings of our judicial system. I’m confident Senator Stevens will do what is right for the people of Alaska.

You do know who the Governor of Alaska is, don’t you?

I’m not big on identity politics, but this woman has a point.

I cannot predict who will win the presidential campaign, but I already know who will lose big: all women.

I realized this when I saw a 20-something male student who attends a class in the community college where I teach, wearing a T-shirt that read, “Sarah Palin is a C-.” He wore it in public, in broad daylight, and without shame or even consciousness of what he was doing.

Why bother, when Jim Treacher says it all?

I expected them to come out with this earlier. However, now that I think about it, closer to the election is probably better.

Just a few days ago, the McCain campaign started soliciting videos from voters. Here they are, edited into an ad: I Am Joe.

Joe the Plumber:

Sweat Equity:

Still 1-1.

Paco has a great roundup of links. And the arthritis is acting up — think it could be the cold?

now meet Tito the Builder.

False alarm, by the way. But the commercials will be over any minute now, and the game’s 1-1 in the second.

Scroll down for updates. Iowahawk’s post.

Dr. Joy encapsulates the campaign:

This week we had Joe the Plumber in front of his modest home with an old rusty basketball hoop for his kids, burdened with tax debts but uplifted by his aspirations, and we had Sarah Palin stopping the campaign bus to get diapers at WalMart for her baby.

By way of contrast, we had Michelle Obama, a highly privileged Limo Liberal with millions in the bank and a $350,000/yr “administrative” job for some hospital or something, ordering lobster, Iranian caviar, and champagne for a snack from room service - and whining all the while about how mean and tough life is in America if you have two kids, as her husband preaches about taking from Joe to give to…whom?

From PA Water Cooler (I assume it’s somewhere here in the state).

Joe the Plumber.

Once again, I got the email message just now, but it’s not up on the site yet, so no URL.

COLLEGE TAILGATE WITH TODD AND THE VICTORY RV
Penn State v. Michigan
Beaver Stadium
State College, PA
RV Parking Lot Spot 6047
Saturday, October 18th
Starts 3:00pm

For more information email: pasportsmen@johnmccain.com

Nobody shouted “Kill him!” at the Palin rally. Secret Service confirms.

The best part? Only one person at the rally heard it — the reporter.

Sure.

Sarah Palin is calling Rush today at 1:30.

Bocephus jumps on the campaign trail.

This is the closest to complete video I’ve been able to find. This was the rally we attended Saturday.

We believe in the forward movement of freedom, and not the constant expansion of government.

We believe that the best of America is not all gathered in Washington DC. It’s found in the kindness and the courage of everyday people who run our factories and grow our food and fight our wars, those who protect us and protect the virtues of freedom that you so respect and love here in Pennsylvania.

Looks like we could have just stayed here yesterday. Right after the rally, she drove from here from Johnstown, and made a surprise stop at Way Farms just down the road before she flew from here to Philly to drop the puck at the Rangers-Flyers game.

The Washington rally was all day. After the entertainment, there was some local politician, then Diana Irey, then Lynn Swann, then Tom Ridge, and only then, McCain and Palin. It was also the first rally after McCain announced Palin in Dayton, only two days later (that will be relevant in a moment).

Before I go on, you’ll recall that my crappy little Canon decided on the day of the Washington rally to stop working, so we had to buy a new camera in Washington. That will also be relevant shortly.

So I grabbed the new camera and headed out the door. After picking up the Mystery Blogger, we headed to Johnstown, some eighty miles away.

The Washington rally was held in a Minor League stadium. The Johnstown rally was in an indoor arena. When we got to Johnstown, the first clue that maybe leaving earlier would have been a good idea was the line of thousands of people all the way around the stadium, then way down the street. There were lines at Washington, of course, but nothing like the lines today. Talk about despair (that will also become relevant). It turned out that leaving earlier wouldn’t have made any difference, since we stood in line for maybe an hour before it started moving.

We didn’t grab seats. Instead, we stood on the floor, about 100 feet away from the podium on the stage. Ah, pictures! I know that’s what you’re thinking. Well, think again.

Today was the day I discovered that my brand new camera — rather, the lithium battery inside — bleeds power. Or maybe I accidentally left it on when I transferred the pictures from the first rally to my computer, and it doesn’t go to sleep. Anyway, turn the camera on, and it does nothing.

So no, there are no pictures, and that’s really irritating, because I could have gotten really good closeup shots, considering how close we were and the zoom on the camera. Of course, had I known, I could have picked up a new battery when I went to Wal-Mart early this morning, but I didn’t and the rally is over, so life goes on.

This time, there was no local entertainment, nor other politicians. Aaron Tippin came out and introduced Sarah, then she came out with Bristol, Piper, and Trig.

I’m glad to say that the rally was nothing like the one Bitter and Sebastian attended. It was well organized, if minimal, and ran smoothly once they started letting people in. There were about 20-30 Obamatrons across the street, but they were well behaved. There was to and fro shouting and chanting, but nothing beyond, although one of the Obamatrons was obviously confused. He kept yelling, “KKK!” so he must be under the mistaken impression that Robert Byrd is a Republican.

Sarah was good. Really good. The arena just went nuts. The Mystery Blogger and I agreed that she’s getting even better, and she was really good to start with. Remember the convention speech?

There were between 6 and 7 thousand there. I know this because the arena seats 6,000, and every seat was full, so there’s the minimum. The floor holds another 2,000 and somewhere between 1/4 - 1/3 of the floor was packed. So 6,000 and change.

I got a free Russell Brigade T-shirt (Boots on the ground!), and the Brigade was handing out free coffee and hot chocolate, too (if they’d been Democrats, the “freebies” would have come with “suggested donations.”) Course, this is Peterson’s district, but the 12th is next door, and I figure the most important congressional race in the state is Russell v. Murtha.

But back to the rally. First, it wasn’t a rehash of her convention speech. There were some new topics, like a spending freeze (can we all say “Thank God!” together?) and balancing the federal budget (say it again, folks!) What I really want to focus on, however, is the difference between the people at the rally and a great many in the blogosphere.

I am really fed up with two things I’ve been seeing a lot of lately: Whining, and this air of desperation that seems to have set in with some bloggers, but more, their commenters. I didn’t see any of that today, not in the people who drove to that rally (and some drove a lot further than we did). These people were enthusiastic. Pumped up. These people are not staying home on Election Day, and nobody was whining. And when I say I’m fed up, that’s vastly understating the case. It would be more accurate to say that all the whining and moaning really pisses me off, because I’d bet almost anything that 99% of these whiners and moaners haven’t donated a penny and haven’t volunteered. But of course, we all have a right to their opinion, so they tell us what McCain should do, and what he should not do, and they just need to STFU. Anyway, if I don’t stop now, I’m really going to start ranting, so I’ll stop. But check out the commenters at Hot Air, if you want to see all this whining and bitching and all this desperation in action. Me, I’m done with comment threads on those sites until after the election.

Nice drive back. Beautiful day, about 66, and not a cloud in the sky.

Sarah Palin is a Joooooooooooo! That’s no doubt supposed to get the liberals and the Ron Paul Bots scared.

You have to wonder. If Obama has the election sewed up, as the Democrats claim, then why all of this idiotic last minute Palin bashing?

The ObamaMorons are claiming it was “abuse of power.” Here’s the conclusion.

I find that, although Walt Monegan’s refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Gov. Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as a commissioner of public safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin’s firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercie of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.

Yawn.

So you’re wondering why I’m up at this hour. Well, there’s that Palin rally. The doors open at 8, and it’s about an hour and a half from here. I have to pick up the Mystery Blogger who’s going, but after I hit Wal-Mart (thank God they’re open 24/7).

That’s after I shower and get ready, of course. That’s going to happen as soon as I finish my coffee.

First, the context. Here’s the picture.

Here’s the professional journalist’s or gateway keeper’s or urban idiot’s (take your pick) statement.

Hey, is that even the right way to hold a rifle? Can’t you shoot your foot off like that?

Tim Blair posted about this yesterday. Great comments.

It takes a really special kind of stupid to unite an entire comments page on the internet against oneself.

Is that the proper way to write a blog post? Couldn’t you get your foot stuck in your mouth writing it that way? Oh, you did already.

to which another commenter replies:

Actually, it’s more a case of only the rightwing making comments. The lefties are still trying to figure out what the humor is about.

or

Snead’s remark is typical of so many reporters, and liberals in general.

The reporter clearly doesn’t know anything about guns. Just as clearly, Sarah Palin does. So if the reporter thinks the pose looks unsafe, her first guess ought to be that she’s mistaken.

Consider the breath-taking stupidity. Having no familiarity with firearms, she nevertheless presumes that she knows how to handle them better than a longtime hunter does.

And she probably thinks Sarah Palin is stupid.

There are a lot of good comments at the original, too. This may be the best, though.

That is a 50 caliber automatic street-sweeper cop-killer assault weapon. Not only could she have blown her foot off, she could’ve killed every human within a 1000 yard radius. Which she would’ve probably enjoyed, since she loves to kill things. She is terrifying, and I have nightmares about her every night.

Hold me.

This has been going around for a couple of days. It’s actually really good.

This guy’s voting McCain-Palin, and he tells you why. The analogy to crabs in a bucket is genius.

“Matt Damon, I think you should be more gracious toward Sarah Palin because if she would have known you back in the day and have known that your prognosis would have made you the mental handicap that you are today, she still would have even supported your right to live.”

He has a few other entertaining videos up here.

The tickets to Saturday’s rally, that is. Palin only at this one, but I suspect there will be a full contingent of local and state GOP celebs. I’m positive the Russell Brigade will be out in full force — Bill may even be speaking at the rally (just guessing here).

Team McCain rolls out John Murtaugh:

“When I was 9 years-old the Weather Underground, the terrorist group founded by Barack Obama’s friend William Ayers, firebombed my house. Barack Obama has dismissed concerns about his relationship with Ayers by noting that he was only a child when Ayers was planting bombs at the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol. But Ayers has never apologized for his crimes, he has reveled in them, expressing regret only for the fact that he didn’t do more.

“While Barack Obama once downplayed his relationship with Ayers, today his campaign took that deceit one step further. Barack Obama now denies he was even aware of his friend’s violent past when, in 1995, Ayers hosted a party launching Obama’s political career. Given Ayers’ celebrity status among the left, it’s difficult to believe. The question remains: what did Obama know, and when did he know it? When did Obama learn the truth about his friend? Barack Obama helped Ayers promote his book in 1997, served on charitable boards with him through 2002, and regularly exchanged emails and phone calls with him through 2005. At what point did Barack Obama discover that his friend was an unrepentant terrorist? And if he is so repulsed by the acts of terror committed by William Ayers, why did the relationship continue? Any honest accounting by Barack Obama will necessarily cast further doubt on his judgment and his fitness to serve as commander in chief.

“Barack Obama may have been a child when William Ayers was plotting attacks against U.S. targets — but I was one of those targets. Barack Obama’s friend tried to kill my family.”

If you’re unfamiliar with Murtaugh, read this.

Okay, I’ve already been to one — the first rally after the Palin announcement, in Washington PA, about thirty miles south of Pittsburgh — but this is an hour away — and I can pick up tickets at headquarters here in town.

Now, that is the John McCain I know!

I don’t need lessons about telling the truth to American people. And were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn’t seek advice from a Chicago politician.

Zing! Oh, but there’s more. The gloves are off.

Senator Obama has accused me of opposing regulation to avert this crisis. I guess he believes if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough it will be believed. But the truth is I was the one who called at the time for tighter restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could have helped prevent this crisis from happening in the first place.

Here’s the link, for those with selective memories.

Wait. You thought that was all?

Senator Obama was silent on the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and his Democratic allies in Congress opposed every effort to rein them in. As recently as September of last year he said that subprime loans had been, quote, “a good idea.” Well, Senator Obama, that “good idea” has now plunged this country into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

To hear him talk now, you’d think he’d always opposed the dangerous practices at these institutions. But there is absolutely nothing in his record to suggest he did. He was surely familiar with the people who were creating this problem. The executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have advised him, and he has taken their money for his campaign. He has received more money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than any other senator in history, with the exception of the chairman of the committee overseeing them. [That would be Christopher Dodd, by the way.] Did he ever talk to the executives at Fannie and Freddie about these reckless loans? Did he ever discuss with them the stronger oversight I proposed? If Senator Obama is such a champion of financial regulation, why didn’t he support these regulations that could have prevented this crisis in the first place? He won’t tell you, but you deserve an answer.

Zing!

My opponent has invited serious questioning by announcing a few weeks ago that he would quote — “take off the gloves.” Since then, whenever I have questioned his policies or his record, he has called me a liar.

Rather than answer his critics, Senator Obama will try to distract you from noticing that he never answers the serious and legitimate questions he has been asked. But let me reply in the plainest terms I know. I don’t need lessons about telling the truth to American people. And were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn’t seek advice from a Chicago politician.

Sorry. I just had to run that one again.

My opponent’s touchiness every time he is questioned about his record should make us only more concerned. For a guy who’s already authored two memoirs, he’s not exactly an open book. It’s as if somehow the usual rules don’t apply, and where other candidates have to explain themselves and their records, Senator Obama seems to think he is above all that. Whatever the question, whatever the issue, there’s always a back story with Senator Obama. All people want to know is: What has this man ever actually accomplished in government? What does he plan for America? In short: Who is the real Barack Obama? But ask such questions and all you get in response is another barrage of angry insults.

More at Hot Air. Characteristically (I’m sorry to say), the full release is not posted on the campaign site yet, but I’ll give you the link when it is.

Moe sez:

PS: Oh, Sarah?

Lock and load.

Heh.

And finally, the MSM is covering it. Well, Ayers, that is.

The campaign responds to the “I didn’t know!” defense.

When I first saw this this morning, I decided to hold back until there was confirmation — not because of IUSB Vision, but because it was an unconfirmed email message from Greta van Mymouthisallscrewedupononeside.

Well, the proof is in the video. The President of the L.A. chapter of NOW (as in National Organization of Women) introduced Palin at a rally, with the words, “America, this is what a feminist looks like.”

Cool!

Paging Tammy Bruce! Tammy! Have you seen this?

Sing it, sister!

ABC News’ Teddy Davis, Rigel Anderson, and Arnab Datta Report: Speaking to Fox News on Friday, Sarah Palin indicated for the first time that she does not consider Barack Obama qualified to be commander in chief and sharply criticized him for saying last year that U.S. troops in Afghanistan are “just air raiding villages and killing civilians.”

Calling Obama “reckless,” Palin said that where she comes from Obama’s remarks “disqualify someone from consideration for the next commander-in-chief.”

“Some of his comments that he’s made about the war, that I think, in my world disqualify someone from consideration for the next commander-in-chief,” said Palin. “Some of the comments he’s made about Afghanistan, what we are doing there, ‘just air raiding villages and killing civilians.’ That’s reckless.”

She’s baaaaaaack!