Republicans Playing on People’s Fears (Officially)?
Ben Smith writes on the Politico:
The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”
The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”
The presentation was delivered by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart to top donors and fundraisers at a party retreat in Boca Grande, Florida on February 18, a source at the gathering said.
In neat PowerPoint pages, it lifts the curtain on the often-cynical terms of political marketing, displaying an air of disdain for the party’s donors that is usually confined to the barroom conversations of political operatives.
The presentation explains the Republican fundraising in simple terms.
Is Your Favorite Politician A Psychopath? (Or All Politicians In General?)
Tony Schwartz writes on the Huffington Post:
What do John Edwards, Bob Barr, Rod Blagjevich, John Ensign, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, William Jefferson, William Jefferson Clinton, David Vitter, James McGreevy, Tom DeLay, Charles Rangel, Newt Gingrich, and David Paterson have in common?
Obviously, they’re all politicians who’ve been caught doing something illegal, unethical, mind-bogglingly self-destructive, or all of the above.
But what also binds them is that none of them seem to believe they really did anything wrong, in spite of vast evidence to the contrary. When they finally have no option but to appear contrite, their apologies feel stilted, scripted and anything but heartfelt.
The latest offender, New York Governor David Paterson, hasn’t even gotten around to apologizing yet. In the meantime, he’s apparently managed to convince himself that it’s okay to phone up…
Clay County, Kentucky: Precinct Worker Testifies She Stole Votes
Bill Estep writes in the Lexington Herald-Leader:
FRANKFORT — A former Clay County precinct worker testified Friday that top election officers in the county taught her how to change people’s choices on voting machines to steal votes in the May 2006 primary.
Wanda White testified that Clerk Freddy Thompson — the county’s chief election officer — helped show her how to manipulate voting machines along with Charles Wayne Jones, the Democratic election commissioner.
The scheme involved duping people to walk away from the voting computer before they had finished their selections, then changing their choices, said White, the Democratic judge in a precinct in Manchester.
White said she stole more than 100 votes that election. “It was easy done,” she said.
White said she also went into the booth with people who had sold their…
New Virginia Governor Re-Allows Discrimination Against Gays
Christina Bellantoni writes on Talking Points Memo:
Gay and lesbian state workers in Virginia are no longer specifically protected against discrimination, thanks to a little-noticed change made by new Gov. Bob McDonnell.
McDonnell (R) on Feb. 5 signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination “on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities,” as well as veterans.
It rescinds the order that Gov. Tim Kaine signed Jan. 14, 2006 as one of his first actions. After promising a “fair and inclusive” administration in his inaugural address, Kaine (D) added veterans to the non-discrimination policy — and sexual orientation.
Only 8% of Americans Want the Current Members of Congress Re-Elected
Jonathan D. Salant writes in Bloomberg via Yahoo News:
Just 8 percent of Americans want the members of Congress re-elected, according to a CBS News-New York Times poll taken nine months before roughly one-third of the Senate and the entire House face voters.
The Feb. 5–10 survey found 81 percent of respondents saying the lawmakers shouldn’t receive another term. By 80 percent to 13 percent, Americans said members of Congress are more interested in serving special interests than the people they represent.
Also, 75 percent disapproved of the job Congress is doing, the highest level since 74 percent said they disapproved in October 2008. Congress’s job approval rating was 15 percent in the current survey; it was 12 percent in October 2008.
Half of those surveyed said they wanted to abolish the filibuster in…
Carly Fiorina’s Bizarre ‘Demon Sheep’ Campaign Ad
Widely considered to be one of the worst American CEOs of all time Carly Fiorina thinks it’s a good idea to bring that business acumen to the U.S. Senate for the good people of California. From CNBC:
A consummate self-promoter, Fiorina was busy pontificating on the lecture circuit and posing for magazine covers while her company floundered. She paid herself handsome bonuses and perks while laying off thousands of employees to cut costs. The merger Fiorina orchestrated with Compaq in 2002 was widely seen as a failure. She was ousted in 2005.
THE STAT: HP stock lost half its value during Fiorina’s tenure.
Check out this campaign ad about “FCINO: Fiscal Conservative In Name Only” — the weirdness begins at around two and a half minutes into the video:
Iran Election Protestors Sentenced To Death
Remember when young Iranians marched though the streets this past summer to protest Ahmadinejad’s questionable victory in the nation’s presidential election? The U.S. media has lost interest in the topic, but Al Jazeera actually still cares, and reports that some of the protesters are now being sentenced to death:
Iran has sentenced five people to death and 81 others to prison terms of up to 15 years in a mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the unrest that followed June’s disputed presidential election, state television says.
Offenses includ[ed] security violations, agitating against the Islamic Republic, violating law and order, damaging public and private property, and assaulting civilians and security forces.
Obama’s Victory Decimated Republican Male Testosterone Levels
How much are politics tied to one’s personal sense of manliness? For liberals, not so much. For conservatives, very much so, especially in the case of one Barack Obama, who acts as an agent of chemical castration.
Wired Science has the results of a study in which the 2008 election-night testosterone levels of male Obama- and McCain-supporters were measured.
The group-wide testosterone levels of Democratic men were not affected by Obama’s victory, remaining stable throughout the night. However, for Republican males, election night 2008 was a hormonal roller coaster, and Obama’s success resulted in a plummeting of conservative male testosterone. What a bunch of weirdos.
