Category: Politics As Usual
True The Vote follies
Ha, ha! Juanita Jean is one of my favorite Texas bloggers, and she’s got a great one this time. Remember when I wrote about the Tea Party “True The Vote” thugs the other day? It turns out that a local candidate backed by Cathy Engelbrecht, president of True The Vote, is registered and voting in two states. (Which is a felony in Texas.) So Engelbrecht is running around the country, screaming about Democratic voter fraud, and … well, isn’t it ironic? And predictable?
Juanita Jean explains:
Today you get to know why I’ve been chatting about Cathy Engelbrecht and her True the Vote bullies. There’s been a story a’brewin’.
Cathy Engelbretch did not sniff out voter fraud when it was right under her nose smelling like a goat with a three day old catfish on its back. And here’s how I know that.
Like Cathy Engelbrecht, I live in County Commissioner Precinct 1 in Fort Bend County.Bruce Fleming: Loves to VoteBruce Fleming is the Republican nominee for County Commissioner, Precinct 1, in Fort Bend County. He won in a runoff election.
Bruce was also named Precinct Chairman of the Year last year by then GOP County Chairman and thug-about-town Rick Miller. Miller then recruited Fleming to run for county commissioner which seemed like a good idea at the time since Fleming is unemployed. Here’s Bruce’s website.So Ole Bruce is a dandy Republican who loves God and hates government
.Recognizing that rights come from God, not government, and that it should be a servant, not a master, are foundational principles under attack today.
“Let me tell you about Bruce’s foundational principles. In 2006, 2008, and 2010, Bruce voted in person in Fort Bend County and by mail in Pennsylvania in the same general elections.”
According to his financial disclosure forms, Bruce Fleming also owns a house in Pennsylvania. (He homesteaded a house in Texas and a house in [Lower Makefield], Pennsylvania, but that illegality is a whole ‘nother story.) Bruce felt that owning houses in both states gave him the right to vote in the same elections in both states. That’s a third degree felony in Texas.
Yes, it’s the same Bruce Fleming with the same address and the same birth date. And, even though Bruce registered in Fort Bend in 2006, he’s still an eligible voter in Pennsylvania. We’re still checking to see if he’s asked for a ballot by mail in Pennsylvania this election. It appears that Bruce’s wife did the same thing in 2010.
So here sits True The Vote and the King Street Patriots out chasing imaginary voter fraud when real voter fraud is happening right here in their own front yard.
Ain’t that just the damnest thing you’ve ever seen?There’s more to this story and all kinds of ugly Republican twists and splatters but I thought you’d want to chew on the glorious irony of Cathy Engelbrecht’s own Republican county commissioner candidate being a felony chronic serial voter frauder.
But here’s the best part:
“To be honest with you, the tip was Mr. Fleming had bragged to Rick Miller that he had voted twice against Barack Obama,” said Don Bankston of the Texas State Democratic Party.
What do you suppose the odds are he didn’t brag to Cathy Engelbrecht?
Debate
Now, THAT was fun! Martha Raddatz was very good, and Biden kicked ass (except when he hedged on the Social Security retirement age).
Debate night
This one should be a lot more lively.
Virtually Speaking one hour early
Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd – 1 hour early – 8pm eastern – 5pm pacific
Professor of Economics, specializing in Economic History, Melissa Thomasson is steeped in health care reform policy wonkery, which she and Jay discuss.
Links:
• Read: http://eh.net/encyclopedia/
• Listen to Melissa on ‘This American Life’ http://www.thisamericanlife.
• Watch Melissa on vimeo http://vimeo.com/15660730
• Listen Live or Later: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
Tweetable (ty Gaius): Virtually Speaking Tonight 8pm EST : health care reform policy wonk Melissa Thomasson + @JayAckroyd http://bit.ly/WWGnXf
Sesame Street
PA Working Families and Bain workers at Sesame Place:
Elizabeth kicks ass
“And I want to be blunt. We should not be fighting about equal pay for equal work and access to birth control in 2012. These issues were resolved years ago until the Republicans brought them back.”
Strange
Via Avedon, some bizarre news:
CHICAGO (CBS) — The President of the South Suburban Branch of the NAACP alleges a director of the re-election campaign of Barack Obama has threatened and intimidated him because he doesn’t support the president.
WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser has the exclusive story.
David Lowery says he believes he was threatened during a phone conversation with Louis Raymond, the Illinois political director for Obama for America.
Lowery says he doesn’t personally support the president because he’s not addressing issues important to the black community. He said he was explaining that to Raymond when the Obama campaign official told him, “You know what? I know everything about you.”
Lowery says Raymond added, “We’ve been watching you, and since you don’t support Obama, we’ll deal with you,” before hanging up.
Lowery filed a report with the Oak Forest police report, he says, “in case something happens.”
He says it was suggested the NAACP should automatically back the president. Lowery notes a non-profit cannot support a particular candidate.
He says it’s a clear signal the Obama campaign is concerned about the black vote.
Lowery hosts an internet radio program called “Let the Truth Be Told,” where he’s made no secret of his displeasure with the president.
How Obama has jeopardized the future of liberalism
So what else is new with our neocon president?
Liberals often tend to overstate conservative electoral achievements. Of the five most recent presidential elections, Republicans have won the popular vote in one, and their congressional majorities have never been large enough to pass legislation without Democratic cooperation.
But if there’s one place where conservatives have had great success, it’s the federal judiciary. Beginning with Ronald Reagan and continuing to George W. Bush, there’s been a concerted effort to bring reliable conservatives to the federal bench. The hope is that they will stand as a bulwark against activist government, and for the most part, that’s been the case: The individual mandate, for example, would have never become a constitutional issue if it weren’t for the influence of conservative judges. The last three GOP presidents appointed more than 150 judges to federal appellate courts.
After Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, there was hope that he would reverse this trend. Instead — to the potential detriment of his policies and priorities — he’s done little to make a mark on the federal judiciary. When staffing the nation’s most powerful courts, Reuters reports, Obama leans towards established moderates — not the younger liberals who would have a lasting influence on the direction of American law: “Obama’s 30 appointees have generally been moderates who mainly served on lower courts and were often selected in consultation with Republican senators.”
Some of this is a product of unprecedented obstruction by those same Republican senators. But a large portion of the blame falls on Obama’s shoulders. Reuters notes the three-person vacancy on the 11-member D.C. Court of Appeals, which — in terms of power — is second only to the Supreme Court. If this were a priority for Obama, it would almost certainly be the subject of complaint from the White House. As it stands, the administration is silent.
[…] It’s not an overstatement to say that by neglecting the judiciary, Obama has placed the future of liberalism in doubt. His loss wouldn’t just lead to the repeal of Obamacare or Dodd-Frank — the promises of a President Romney. It would jeopardize the constitutional status quo that made those laws possible.
Mitt’s advisors: ‘No clue’ on foreign policy
Big shocker there, huh? [Via Whowhatwhy.com]