Election Thread – Moon of Alabama

November 2, 2004

Election Thread

The best endorsement for this election is by Riverbend.
The best reason to vote is Abu Ghraib.
The best apparel for voting is a black hoodie.
The best black humor on choices is by Woody Allen:

“More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”

The best economy insight:

I was warmly embraced by our long steadfast allies, with a compassion and sincerity that deeply touched me. Their hearts were open and caring. Their home was my home.

That spirit has been squandered. Americans are at odds with one another, with a deep and worrisome intensity. And the world sees us in a stark, adversarial light. The cynics say this is just politics — that such divisiveness is the norm, especially during times of war. I beg to differ. Today, polarization is playing on the character of America — in the end, any nation’s most precious asset. Sadly, that character is now at risk, both at home and abroad. As dawn breaks the day after tomorrow, that will be the first thing on my mind.

Stephen Roach

Posted by b on November 2, 2004 at 09:39 UTC | Permalink

Comments

a few firsts for me..I have never been up all night restless before a vote…never had butterflies before voting…never had to prepare a voting package(water,book,unbrella,chair…its still dark out and my polling place is not in a very good new orleans hood so i guess its sort of a faith based vote in that respect,but i’m out the door and very excited to help put an end to this rolling snowball.it feels like the 60’s again only this time i’m old enough to vote and march.

Posted by: onzaga | Nov 2 2004 11:09 utc | 1

Pray with the General.

Posted by: b | Nov 2 2004 11:31 utc | 2

just got back about 20 people in line 10 first time voters,had a few minutes before poll opened no bushites in the bunch.a good start.

Posted by: onzaga | Nov 2 2004 12:16 utc | 3

Sounds good onzaga – will your vote be counted?

Posted by: b | Nov 2 2004 12:33 utc | 4

Money manager Bill Gross of Pimco with a new argument against Bush

I will offer up one sure-fire prediction that will scare the hell out of all you Republicans and maybe a few Democrats as well. If George Bush is re-elected, you can be sure that Hillary is next. That’s enough to get you to pull the lever for Ralph Nader I’ll bet.

Posted by: b | Nov 2 2004 12:36 utc | 5

To all Democrats, the voting rows are too long, please come back tomorrow.

Posted by: b | Nov 2 2004 13:10 utc | 6

I’m off to vote, then to class, then to volunteer work for the election.
I hope it’s Kerry in a landslide, but who knows, we may be waiting for more than a week for provisional ballots to be counted.
I was up until two last night writing a paper that I should have finished earlier, but of course I didn’t.
Sleep deprivation is good for the…for the…not the memory…

Posted by: fauxreal | Nov 2 2004 14:04 utc | 7

@fauxreal
I heard that they try using sleep deprivation against depression, instead of sleep therapy. Hope that after tomorrow we are not in need for that kind of therapy. Who knows, maybe it helps. I am all etchy too, so much depends on this election and not much I can do.

Posted by: Fran | Nov 2 2004 14:18 utc | 8

The Dem numbers are looking very good already Fran. Lots of new voters, mostly Dem. Lots of early votes, mostly Dem. Moveon and other organisations are dragging what they call “slackers”, those registered democrats who are on record as having failed to vote in one or more of recent elections, out to vote. They have hundreds of volunteers knocking on doors, and others at the polls to check off names. If a slacker promises to vote and doesn’t show up he gets a telephone call.
Victory parties are all set up for this evening.
Bush is toast.

Posted by: rapt | Nov 2 2004 14:57 utc | 9

Respected pollster John Zogby, president and CEO of the polling firm Zogby International, has said, “when I talk anecdotally to moderate Republicans, it’s very hard to find one who is going to vote for Bush. On the other hand, it’s not showing up in our polling.” In fact, Zogby’s latest polls show 87% of Republicans backing Bush. “I’m just watching and waiting and saying to myself maybe there’s something going on here, because I’m hearing it.”
Using Zogby’s figures, 13% of this country’s approximately 56 million registered Republicans could crossover to support John Kerry. This is a potential of seven million voters, and, if Zogby’s professional intuition is accurate that number could be much higher.
— Michael Cudahy, moderate Republican, quoted in today’s Alternet.Org

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 2 2004 18:25 utc | 10

Minnesota is a great state with great people, here is a glimpse of what is going on there

At the Earle Brown Elementary School in Brooklyn Center, where about 130 people voted per hour through the morning, one woman got to skip to the front because she was in labor, election judge Nancy Carlson said.
“Two minutes labor and she’s still in line to vote,” Carlson said.
Once the woman cast her ballot, she was put into a wheelchair and wheeled away, Carlson said.

Posted by: Dan of Steele | Nov 2 2004 20:00 utc | 11

another story of hope. Man I sure do not want to be disappointed in the morning. (It is after 9 here)

Posted by: Dan of Steele | Nov 2 2004 20:07 utc | 12

Kos has these early exit poll numbers
AZ CO LA PA OH FL MI NM MN WI IA NH
45 48 42 60 52 51 51 50 58 52 49 57 Kerry
55 51 57 40 48 48 47 48 40 43 49 41 Bush

Posted by: Dan of Steele | Nov 2 2004 20:24 utc | 13

Question for Europeans around here:
should I stay awake and wait for the early signs of my-often-claimed-Kerry-landslide before going to bed to a peaceful and gleeful sleep, or go to bed right now (it’s 9:30 in Paris) and wake up very early in the morning to get the full extent of the story?!
what are your plans?

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 2 2004 20:25 utc | 14

Jérôme
the polls will close in California around 7:00 our time (CET) tomorrow morning.
drink a nice brandy now and go to bed. If you are right in your prediction you should feel a bit better in the morning. If r’giap is right……no need to get so depressed already, plenty of time for that later.

Posted by: Dan of Steele | Nov 2 2004 20:40 utc | 15

I’ll TRY to stay up Jérôme – had few sleep the last nights so don´t know if I can.
I still doubt we will know the full story in the morning. These folks, having been so all out radical, are now deflating? That would be awesome. But – you could be right.

Posted by: b | Nov 2 2004 20:41 utc | 16

Jimmy Breslin is going to sleep.
Stories of voter turnout Estimates of highest turnout in America since 1968.
Dennis Kucinich, “populist orator and former Cleveland mayor, ignited the crowd with fiery lines of prophecy:”
(at a rally for Kerry, with Springsteen…wish I could’ve been there…)
“This city feels the hand of destiny that has been placed upon us…it’s all on the line. Everything we ever hoped for, everything we ever believed in, everything we ever wanted for our country…This is when history is written by our own hand.”

Posted by: fauxreal | Nov 2 2004 21:07 utc | 17

BBC has a good page for the results.
US election map
Well, I am going to get some sleep. Despite the elections tomorrow will be full of work. Hopefully by the time I get up the results will be out.

Posted by: Fran | Nov 2 2004 21:07 utc | 18

best comment so far from Atrios
How about starting a fund to pay Christo to wrap Bush’s Crawford Ranch in a continuous banner that says “Mission Accomplished”

Posted by: Dan of Steele | Nov 2 2004 21:10 utc | 19

Do we celebrate that there are only 58 million blockheads who will vote for Bush after these four years, rather than 59 million?
Are they warming up the paper shredders?
Who will be the first of the Bush team to publish a tell-all book?
Who will be the first to make a deal in exchange for immunity?
First to go to quit during the lame-duck period? First in jail?

Posted by: biklett | Nov 2 2004 21:17 utc | 20

“Bushemian Rhapsody?
I can’t get this thing to play. Can anyone on here?
I may have to make up my own lyrics, after the one line I was given…
“He’s just a rich boy from a rich family…”

Posted by: fauxreal | Nov 2 2004 21:33 utc | 21

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
just releasing a little tension

Posted by: annie | Nov 2 2004 21:33 utc | 22

okay, I got it to play. it’s silly fun, something we could all use these days..and bipartisan.

Posted by: fauxreal | Nov 2 2004 21:46 utc | 23

@B
Could you please narrow the margins of the posting area a bit. I have a smaller monitor and the screen view reminds me of an Excel spreadsheet or some other kind of monstrosity.
Please?

Posted by: FlashHarry | Nov 2 2004 21:53 utc | 24

voted for Kerry. electioneered at the polls 8 hrs today. turnout was higher than normal, lines at 10 am. praying that Jimmy Breslin is right. going to a kerry victory party but only til 9pm.
ps my Republican hubbie voted absentee for Kerry to my great surprise. his explanation: ‘i like Bush, i don’t like his advisors.’
Had Bush fired Rumsfeld and Ashcroft, he’d have won a landslide victory. But he’s loyal to a FAULT.

Posted by: Anonymous | Nov 2 2004 21:55 utc | 25

Sorry.
Everything works now.

Posted by: RoseAnn RoseannAdanna | Nov 2 2004 21:56 utc | 26

@ 4:55 – that’s what I never understood. Rove must have known this. Firing the “bad” guys after Abu Ghraib would have exculpated Bush from the whole Iraq mess.
@flashharry – annies scream was a bit long – I broke it down 🙂

Posted by: b | Nov 2 2004 22:04 utc | 27

The best election tracker may be at Media Matters – they list and compare the networks and cable news channels.

Posted by: b | Nov 2 2004 22:17 utc | 28

Zogby calls it for Kerry.
I don’t know who much longer I can hold my breath

Posted by: Dan of Steele | Nov 2 2004 22:29 utc | 29

up from my nap and off to deliver disposable rain gear to the lines at the polls poor people are standing in ankle deep water when i drove by but seemed in good spirits.i had forgot i had a box of rain ponchos from a rainey jazz fest a few years back now i’m glad i saved them.then off to do some phone banking.and yes b my vote will be counted,watchers were out at 6:00 this morning and the old ladies at my polling place don’t take shit from anyone.

Posted by: onzaga | Nov 2 2004 22:34 utc | 30

Hunter S. Thompson calls it for Kerry.
It is now Tuesday, and John Kerry is looking good today, while George Bush is looking a little desperate. His eyes are wild and his voice is shrill and he is acting more and more like a doomed animal on its way to the meat-grinder. Young George is about to lose his first election.
The sun has come up over the Rockies and the time has come to drive into town and vote aggressively for my man, who will win this election handily. And the Democrats will regain control of both houses of Congress. That is all I know right now, and all I need to know.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. We will march on a road of bones.
Mahalo.

Posted by: fauxreal | Nov 2 2004 22:57 utc | 31

I smell victory in the air. I hope I’m right. We had record turnout in our little area of the world. And I live in a rural area. Even in our area that votes mostly repug, I and my son did a Kerry and Bush sign count. Kerry averaged four signs to Bushes two. I felt over the weekend that Bush is toast.

Posted by: jdp | Nov 2 2004 22:59 utc | 32

Zogby is calling it 313 Electoral Votes for Kerry(270 needed to win)
Hope the hell he’s right.
LINK

Posted by: FlashHarry | Nov 2 2004 23:17 utc | 33

electoral-vote still has it very, very close. Zogby’s jumping the gun imho…

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 2 2004 23:19 utc | 34

I dunno why but I’m feeling optimistic about this. Not because a Kerry win will somehow make the world right because it sure won’t in fact as a believer in a bit of repression to breed insurrection, I reckon the world may turn out better off in the long term if Bush won..
But that’s being totally political and what makes me optimistic is the knowledge that human nature is going to win here. Hate merchants like BushCo only get elected when voters don’t see a viable alternative and are jaded with the ‘spokespeople’ for the centre and left. So they don’t vote or reluctantly endorse one or t’other. From what people in the US today are telling us that is not what is happening today. I reckon that most of the people in the US are just like the rest of us; they aren’t into deliberate cruelty and destruction no matter how scared various forces of ‘darkness’ are trying to make them. This is the other side of what I posted a while ago about US citizens wouldn’t have the excuse the Germans had if Bush gets re-elected and commits further atrocities.
I reckon deep down BushCo knows they are in for a pasting and may even try to insinuate there was something crooked because the polls said it was close when it was anything but.
That’s all in the future right now I’m going to feel optimistic that ordinary people have shown their belief in and concern for others in the face of an incredible machine of lies and greed.

Posted by: Debs in ’04 | Nov 2 2004 23:22 utc | 35

@DeAnander:
I’ve seen some pretty convincing exit polling and turn out numbers today too.
Zogby’s projections at 1730 EST took the nervous edge off of me.
Otherwise, I’d have needed 1/2 short ton of ludes to make it through the night.

Posted by: FlashHarry | Nov 2 2004 23:27 utc | 36

I have to admit that despite not being a drinking person in private life (despite the undeniable charm of the bar metaphor here and at those other virtual taverns) I went to bed with a hot milk and whiskey last night, rather than lie awake worrying. Tonight I’ll stay up and worry.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 2 2004 23:36 utc | 37

my friends
what is happening
watching from france
lots of commentary
not a lot of facts yet
is the zogby reliable – is that an exit poll
be strong
still steel
hope the good dr thompson is astute

Posted by: Anonymous | Nov 2 2004 23:44 utc | 38

that was rgiap
watching tv with my colleague
after watching out foxed
& a film le monde selon bush by william karel

Posted by: Anonymous | Nov 2 2004 23:46 utc | 39

Got up at 4 a.m. Watched at polls from 6-11. I had most names crossed off my list before I left. The crowd was awesome. New voters, young voters, people with wheelchairs and canes and walkers, parents bringing their kids with brand new registration cards and faces that reflected their hope and enthusiasm and determination. After looking in on pups I went to HQ to make phone calls and stayed until 5:30 p.m.
Saw Governor Warner on Fox and heard that Kerry had (at that time) a one point lead in Virginia. VIRGINIA!
Oh, S.O.’s x’s new husband was going to vote for bush, watched F 9/11 last weekend and voted for Kerry today.

Posted by: beq | Nov 3 2004 0:13 utc | 40

@beq:
The damned fools should have spent some money and time in VA.
They could have given Wes Clark a pup tent and a $50 per diem and let him travel around.
We could have won Virginia this time.
Zogby called VA even at noon.
Sure would be sweet to win Virginia!
@ RG:
Zogby’s projections were based upon sampling polls.
Here’s a link:
LINK

Posted by: FlashHarry | Nov 3 2004 0:34 utc | 41

Keep the faith, FlashHarry. Who’d of thunk it would even be close.

Posted by: beq | Nov 3 2004 0:43 utc | 42

mediamatters calls Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia for BushCo… Vermont for Kerry.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 0:43 utc | 43

02:00am in Germany – of four major networks, three are live with US election, one is showing Fahrenheit 911 plus CNN and BBC live and a bunch of local network news stations – incredibal

Posted by: b | Nov 3 2004 1:00 utc | 44

Election-Eve Plan Would Expand Cancer Care

The Bush administration announced an election-eve proposal Monday to expand Medicare coverage for certain clinical trials for cancer drugs and pay cancer doctors to measure patient reaction to potent medication.

Say desperate…

Posted by: b | Nov 3 2004 1:13 utc | 45

J’ai confiance que l’on gagnera. Best to all.

Posted by: Jackmormon | Nov 3 2004 1:26 utc | 46

Looks tight now – time to call the lawyers.
Obama wins Illinois 87% – ditch Hillary, Obama 2008/2012!

Posted by: b | Nov 3 2004 1:30 utc | 47

I see 162 Bush and 112 Kerry (EC)
BUSH EVEN LEADS POPULAR VOTE AS THEY SAY…
I AM GETING EXTRIMLY DESPARATE AT THIS POINT…
It looks like catastrophy…same happened here in Australia…God help us…

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 2:09 utc | 48

Glad to see so many people everywhere making sure everyone votes Cheney out of office. Today was the first time I heard half the office finally acknowledge that there’s a problem in this country. Just maybe we (the collective US public) can get our anti-war movement on again. Any bets on whether Billmon will let us back into the bar tonite for a little celebration, like he said he might?

Posted by: b real | Nov 3 2004 2:12 utc | 49

@vbo it ain’t over till it’s over… CA has not been called yet and that game piece is worth a lot of points.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 2:18 utc | 50

VBO-
early tallies always tend to be more conservative as they are weighted towards rural counties and absentee ballots.

Posted by: biklett | Nov 3 2004 2:38 utc | 51

I sooo hope you are right…but it’s 172 Bush 112 Kerry now…
Ohio is very close ands till voting and Rep’s are feeling confident about Florida (early count is 56 % for Bush)…Ohhhh

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 2:44 utc | 52

but they’re calling states even though less than 10% of the precincts are reporting. I wouldn’t make yourself sick watching it so closely.

Posted by: b real | Nov 3 2004 2:48 utc | 53

It’s geting harder and harder to watch. Kerry is still 112 and Bush is up to 185…

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 3:10 utc | 54

I just got up at 4 am and somehow wish I just turned around. This is enervating. All the websites I looked at have Bush in a lead. I sure hope that will change once the western States are anounced. I think I go and get another hour of sleep.

Posted by: Fran | Nov 3 2004 3:11 utc | 55

Well people it’s 196 for Bush and he is leading Popular vote…
I hate to be this pesimistic but I am very close to turn of my TV…

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 3:20 utc | 56

I used to enjoy watching election returns. This yr. it feels like a Chinese water torture. My dog promised that if I took him to the natural doggie treat store & got him a special treat that the good guys would win. He got a yummy natural turkey sausasge which we turned into a great game. Every bit of magical thinking helps, if only to distract me from the drip…drip…drip of returns.
My polling place was a few blocks away – @the Krishna Temple. Too bad there weren’t any Repugs to enjoy voting there – only 6% registered Repugs here… and that high only ‘cuz skyrocketing housing prices attracting the wrong sort.
As I wait all to breathlessly, I realize how little computer fraud they have to commit to steal it – Ohio & Fla. Hope everyone caught post last night on Rense about voting fraud. Seems someone is training boys from a Fla. reform school to do the dirty work. Someone who knows the details is about to go public, cuz they’re worried they’ll pull the same thing again this time – unfortunately they seem to be getting cold feet.
Hope to read more European posts tonight from all of you. Perhaps we should have discussed pooling our energies for a joint meditation by all of us at the same time. In case I can’t take listening & waiting, waiting & listening anymore, I bought the book on the fall of the Roman Republic that Paul Krugman recommended in his recent interview in Texas Monthly – Rubicon by Tom Holland – for distraction….

Posted by: jj | Nov 3 2004 3:31 utc | 57

Folks are still on line to vote in some of the key states still out – Ohio and Florida still are voting in some critical areas – and the Repug fussing about exit polls not matching real vote is making me very nervous since it feels like a strategy to cover some weird results … high democratic turnout, high youth turnout should mean kerry win and everyone is reporting those but then reporting pro-bush results. Mark Shields on public tv saying it feels weird that results are so slow – which seems to be the line ptv is taking while the rest of the networks are sounding pessimistic for Kerry.

Posted by: Siun | Nov 3 2004 3:39 utc | 58

Just one thought before I go to bed:
Did you know that during the 20th century only two presidential elections (1916 and 1976) the winner had less than 300 electoral votes? It seems to me that the odds are huge that this years winner will have less than 300. Looks like a nation divided indeed.
Now I will sleep and dream about a better world. Lets see if USA has elected a new president when I wake up.

Posted by: A swedish kind of death | Nov 3 2004 3:51 utc | 59

Bernhardt- thank you for hosting this forum and making it possible to gather here from time to time.

Posted by: fauxreal | Nov 3 2004 3:53 utc | 60

Kerry wins Pennsylvania…there’s still some hope…

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 3:55 utc | 61

GOP is just going to flatass steal Ohio.
Bush. Get used to it, I suppose.

Posted by: slothrop | Nov 3 2004 4:03 utc | 62

Since it only requires a 1% increase in turnout by one-side to create a lanslide victory for them & the turnout for Dems. seems to be unprecedented, things are starting to smell…especially if results are slow to come, as Siun just mentioned…..
The rense.com article I mentioned above is Cover-up of 2000 & 2004 Florida Vote Continues.

Posted by: jj | Nov 3 2004 4:04 utc | 63

Finally Kerry’s numbers are moving, BCC Kerry 188, Bush 211. Lets just continue hoping.

Posted by: Fran | Nov 3 2004 4:06 utc | 64

Kerry’s numbers on the C-SPAN map look even better. K 188, B 203.

Posted by: Fran | Nov 3 2004 4:10 utc | 65

Dirty stuff going on in Ohio. VoteProtect.Org overwhelmed with calls, their key entry team is lagging way behind the call logs, only 27,000 complaints are in the database, and last I heard (from inside gossip) there were over 50,000 calls logged.
The distribution of voting machine error is not random (gee why are we not surprised). Where “touch screen registration” errors are reported, i.e. voter touches Candidate A but instead the machine registers Candidate B — it is mostly people trying to vote for Kerry who are getting Bush instead. One reason why lines are so long in some precincts is because of voters spending many minutes “fighting” with the machines to get the correct Presidential vote registered.
Also, voters refusing to use e-voting machines and demanding paper ballots are meeting with harassment, intimidation, and claims that “we ran out of paper ballots so you have to use the machine.” In many precincts paper-ballot voters are not permitted any privacy but must sit at public tables to fill out their ballots.
Plenty of skulduggery, but this time the whole world really is watching. If the swing states are close, there’s documented evidence of irregularity sufficient to justify a revote I should think. If it looks this fishy and the Kerry team meekly accepts defeat then I think we will have to admit that Kerry was just a corporate puppet and a sideshow all along, a “competitor” allowed to distract us for a few months in much the same way that Micro$oft kept Apple alive just so that MS could pretend not to be a monopoly.
I remember the morning I woke up and went to the store and found out that (against all my expectations) Reagan was President. That was when the nightmare began that hasn’t ended yet.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 4:13 utc | 66

i wish my premonitions had not been correct but i feel that they are being fulfilled in the most nightmarish way
i feel simply awful – in every sense of that ward
i didn’t expect a qualitative change but i expected a change – at least a reflection on what has been done in these last four years – but is possible that the gangsters reign will be consolidated
i had wanted to believe in jérôme’s vision of this election as it was for us to vote against le pen aginst our worst instinct – but it seems america is proud of its worse instincts
from here watching the masses of people waiting in line to vote, the early optimism of the deomocrat pollsters & the admission by certain rightwing thinktankers who were saying on french tv that kerry would win – & you could almost taste their dread –
but now its five in the morning here – i weep for you – i weep for what you have lived & what you will live
still steel

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Nov 3 2004 4:13 utc | 67

“worst instincts”
No, core values, baby.

Posted by: slothrop | Nov 3 2004 4:16 utc | 68

@rgiap “never count your money, when you’re sittin’ at the table.” the dealin’ is not yet done. California has been called by the major media for Kerry (anything else would be proof positive of massive fraud), which puts us at Kerry 199 Bush 200. Ohio is still in play — and media attention is starting to be drawn to the dirty tricks there. do not despair yet mon ami.
I was trying to explain the situation to a Canadian friend (a different one this time) and finally said, “Kerry is like a stay of execution. We’re all still in jail, but at least we are not about to be hanged imminently. If Kerry is elected we still have time to figure out how to escape from this jail.” If K gets the White House it is still Black Hoodie Time. I’ve got a black hoodie myself, come to think of it — never wore it much but perhaps I will dust it off, no matter how much I loathe that tedious little poseur Eminem.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 4:17 utc | 69

why is eminem a fake?

Posted by: slothrop | Nov 3 2004 4:19 utc | 70

“Oh, show me the way to the next whiskey bar”
“oh don’t ask why…”

Posted by: slothrop | Nov 3 2004 4:21 utc | 71

@slothrop, oh y’know, whiteboy rappers, not very impressive to me any more than white kids going around with dreads pretending to be rasta or li’l middle class darlin’s wearing their baggyz hanging off their butts and writing fake tats on their arms with ballpoint, playing at prison chic. and then there’s the whole hate-gays hate-women thing which to me is just more poseur stuff, a strutting facade for some kind of deeply insecure flavour of masculinity. yawn. not saying mnm’s opposition to Bush isn’t genuine — after all he identifies with a draft-age generation — but in general I find him about as boring and inauthentic as any of the old 70’s glitterboys. just a new version of the same commercially shrinkwrapped pseudo-rebellion, and there’s the vicious misogyny and homophobia (gee, how very original and rebellious that all is)… yawn plus ick.
meanwhile

SCOTUS news: Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist announced last week that he was going to return to the Supreme Court yesterday. He did not return. According to the New York Times his office released a terse statement saying that the Chief Justice spent 7 days at Bethesda Naval Hospital where he was treated for thyroid cancer. He underwent a tracheotomy so he could breathe and he is now being given both chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Medical experts say this evidence suggests that the cancer was not successfully removed and that even with heroic treatment, patients with this type of cancer usually die within a year. Should the election end up in the Supreme Court, it is not known whether Rehnquist will particpate in the case and vote on the outcome. Should he decline to participate due to ill health, the deadlock in the country might end up in a Court itself deadlocked 4-4. In such an event, the lower court ruling stands but no legal precedent is set. An alternative scenario is that Chief Justice Rehnquist resigns and that President Bush makes a recess appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation. If Bush were to appoint a new justice without Senate confirmation who then cast the deciding vote to make Bush president I fear for the future of the country.

So says “The Votemaster” aka Andrew Tanenbaum author of Minix. His amusing comments on repeated DoS attacks on his site http://www.electoral-vote.com are worth reading.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 4:27 utc | 72

MSNBC reporting election problems – Election Problems
including this:
Voting machines were in short supply and some lines around the country were so long that an Ohio judge granted a request to provide voters waiting on line in Franklin and Knox counties with alternate ballots — including, potentially, the same sort of paper ballots that led to talk of chads and miscounts in 2000. Waits in Knox County were up to nine hours; 300 voters were still in line at 11 p.m. in the town of Gambier.

Posted by: Siun | Nov 3 2004 4:30 utc | 73

more on Ohio judges who allowed the harrassment @Ohio polls, via link from Josh Marshall who’s trying to stay on top of it.
Who are these two judges from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed challengers to hold up the voting process in minority-heavy Ohio counties this morning?
James Ryan – appointed by Ronald Reagan – notable for: dissenting in 2003 against 6th Circuit panel ruling that barred 10 Commandments from Kentucky courtrooms; wrote in his dissent “The influence of religion upon American law and government is a fact of American history and politics that has been widely recognized by scholars, jurists, legislators, presidents, and, not least, the founders themselves…In his Farewell Address to the nation, George Washington stated that religion was not only a part of the foundation of our law and government, it was a necessity.”
John Rogers – appointed by George W. Bush – notable for: writing the initial draft of the 1986 Thornburgh brief that urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade (as well as to uphold requirements requiring abortion providers to give their clients information about abortion alternatives and requiring that a minor girl obtain the consent of her parents, or a judge, before obtaining an abortion)
Can we just call the courts partisan now? Enough with the robes and the religious overtones and the veneer of objectivity. That ideal broke down before it even started.

Posted by: jj | Nov 3 2004 4:33 utc | 74

deanander
hoping against hope
it’s like this election has entered my body & i shall call my sickness – bush because it will forever in my mind be attached to him & here there is this refined demonisation of th voices of dissent in america as if somehow they are old fashioned & its only bush & his gangsters who represent modernity
surprisingly phillip starck is so violently against bush he makes me seem a liberal – but he is a rare voice amongst the commentators – but earlier in the evening there was a thug from the hudson institute who imagined his idols defeat & for a moment believed him
slothrop, worst instincts – yes – something primordial & primitive has happened to the american mind – this is as ugly as america has ever been & i politely disagree with alabama – these boys make joe mccarthy seem like a principled man
still steel

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Nov 3 2004 4:33 utc | 75

does not look like a landslide to me yet 🙁

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 3 2004 4:34 utc | 76

Kerry NEEDS Ohio…This time it will be the key…Bush is leading with more then half votes counted…not a good sign…

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 4:35 utc | 77

Dirty work continues in Ohio, with Josh Marshall reporting that

Across the board the story is the same in Ohio, a lawsuit strategy from Republicans is causing delays and shutdowns in precincts that remained open to allow people who were already in line to vote. Lawsuits create delays; folks leave.
…
What we’re hearing is that Florida is too close to call. In Ohio, the GOP is pulling out all the stops, frankly, to steal it in the courts, trying to get courts to stop voting for people who were already in line when the polls closed, ruling against provisional ballots, the whole nine yards. It’s wall to wall ugly.

and the SCLM are not reporting on the lawsuit tactic or on the people who were standing on line and were not allowed to vote.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 4:37 utc | 78

I don’t get it, why are the numbers so different. On CNN it is now K 188, B 197 – but on the others the difference is bigger. Don’t they all get the same information?

Posted by: Fran | Nov 3 2004 4:38 utc | 79

jérôme
your good sense made me believe that good sense was possible
but i’m not witnessing that i see profound ugliness & re florida & ohio – the tactics & strategies we have come to expect from criminals
still steel

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Nov 3 2004 4:42 utc | 80

one more tidbit … report on msnbc broadcast that FL is so confusing and not called yet because the AP is reporting numbers which are looking like Bush win (but very close) but Sec. of State is not reporting any numbers from the key Kerry counties …
we gotta be careful not to jump to wrong conclusions but this looks suspicious
jerome – we were counting on your prognostications … sigh
and my little state (NH) is still in play …

Posted by: Siun | Nov 3 2004 4:43 utc | 81

@rgiap as Harold Meyerson comments Time was when Republicans were at least embarrassed by their efforts to keep African Americans from the polls. Republican consultant Ed Rollins was all but drummed out of the profession after his efforts to pay black ministers to keep their congregants from voting in a 1993 New Jersey election came to light.
For George W. Bush, Karl Rove, and their legion of genteel thugs, however, universal suffrage is just one more musty liberal ideal that threatens conservative rule. Today’s Republicans have elevated vote suppression from a dirty secret to a public norm.
(The American Prospect).
I have to do something else — something a bit more positive — for a while. Gonna go load up the fruit dryer with ripe, squishy, gorgeous persimmons, get some dried fruit put away. Will drop back by the bar later.

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 4:48 utc | 82

French TV (TF1) is saying that FL was called for Bush? Any news?

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 3 2004 4:48 utc | 83

Bush 246 (wining Florida)…Ohio not really for Kerry…looks like we are having Bush’s “4 more years”…Bush ( like Howard here)has done better then last time… Unfortunately that’s what I felt is going to be the case…
I tried to save my self from big disapointed…
After all maybe that’s what Americans deserve…what ever comes with Bush’s 4 more years…but I don’t know why world deserves it…

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 4:55 utc | 84

no FL call by networks here yet …but talk that Kerry team is pessimistic
still serious concern about way results are coming in
Lockardt speaking for Kerry says they are still confident when number are really in due to high turnout and their own analysis… demonrove is flashing “V” to reporters at white house … both sides will position as victors in case they need to go to court

Posted by: Siun | Nov 3 2004 4:58 utc | 85

The media here say that ABC and CBS have called FL for Bush.

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 3 2004 5:02 utc | 86

just checked cbs – yep, they have FL as Bush while MSNBC is saying they may not call FL until tomorrow (or later today) due to closeness and the number of absentee ballots to be counted ..
apparently all the exit polls being done by broadcasts and by Bushco called for Kerry sweep – Bush looked depressed & anxious earlier today as noted by media – they are saying that the exit polls need to be re-examined closely – maybe they should instead look to voting irregularities? in FL you have Jebco doing who knows what with electronic voting, in Ohio you still have people voting last I heard (a few minutes ago) …

Posted by: Siun | Nov 3 2004 5:14 utc | 87

SAme old same old NBC here have called Florida but Fox just flashed up that CNN had called florida for Bush. That way Fox doesn’t cop it this time CNN does. I mean its just too close to call but BushCo are trying to create the feeling that they have Florida so it won’t be so apparent when the court steals it for them.
MY 12 yo just came in and asked me what was happening in the US when she saw the TV she said “People will die over this”

Posted by: Debs in ’04 | Nov 3 2004 5:16 utc | 88

Just woke up – WTF is happening here?

Posted by: b | Nov 3 2004 5:20 utc | 89

As trips wrote over at Le Speakeasy, the worst result in the long run was a very tight race. Whoever wins, there will be rancor, bitterness, suspicion and division. Well, we’re right in there.
(Except that the Senate remains Republican. And will Bush dare do a recess appointement at the Supreme Court, thus choosing the decsive vote for him there???)

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 3 2004 5:25 utc | 90

I don’t know how to frame this (perhaps it would be better as a fresh thread, tomorrow, if all does not go well), but here goes:
I’ve been lurking on this board for a while now. I live in the northern U.S., in a state which has been confirmed as blue. I think that if Bush is declared the winner of this election, the U.S. is sunk. I don’t want to be around for that. I want to get out. I’ve been against everything Bush has done for four years, and I see no reason why I should pay for his mistakes.
I have a college degree. I have a fair amount of cash. (Not enough to live on forever, but enough to coast on for a few more years if needed.) Unfortunately, I graduated from college in 2000 and the only full-time job I have had dried up after nine months when the company in question went under. Since then I have been working part-time at various small jobs. I have a medical condition (diabetes, directly from overeating) so not only will other countries be somewhat hesitant about allowing me in, but I can’t just go anywhere. Where should I go? Where can I go? I seek the advice of the group. Anyone have any advice?
(Of course, maybe Florida and Ohio will both go to Kerry — please God — and all this will be unnecessary. But it is better to be prepared in any case.)

Posted by: Blind Misery | Nov 3 2004 5:25 utc | 91

‘…you ask why i sing of toledo ohio, well i spent a week there one day…’ -john denver
ohio. i read the book ‘whatever happenned to kansas’. who are the ohio bushies? more of the ‘kansas’ phenomena?
yeah i know i know, vote theft going on.
in the morning, i am going to renew my old eu passport and get one for my child also. a second bush term is that frightening. my poor america, my heart is breaking.

Posted by: gylangirl | Nov 3 2004 5:36 utc | 92

southern ohio is very bushcountry

Posted by: Siun | Nov 3 2004 5:38 utc | 93

I apologize for raising hopes earlier, by citing an idiot “respected pollster”.
Looks grim.

Posted by: FlashHarry | Nov 3 2004 5:41 utc | 94

candidates get assassinated in banana republics, right?

Posted by: b real | Nov 3 2004 5:42 utc | 95

at 12:40AM EST – still voting in knox county, ohio … est 20 more minutes until they finish … what no one is talking about is how many votes are lost by people who just could not wait 9 hours to vote … who need to be at work tomorrow and can’t wait until 1AM to vote … etc

Posted by: Siun | Nov 3 2004 5:45 utc | 96

Blind Misery do not count on Australia. They didn’t allow woman who was married to an Australian to get permanent visa because she was UNDER weight…I guess you need to be perfect…On the other hand we are just another USA province (state) anyway…
Maybe New Zealand…they are definitely more human…still

Posted by: vbo | Nov 3 2004 5:47 utc | 97

@Siun
“apparently all the exit polls being done by broadcasts and by Bushco called for Kerry sweep”
A sweep of what? Exit polls have always been accurate – until Repug. controlled computers arrived….So, they’re stealing Fla. again? Is Soros party organized enough to fight it this yr.
Good news from Ohio. The Dem. vote isn’t counted yet – the area not counted is Cleveland & the provisionals, which are the newly registered voters that didn’t show up on the roll & had to vote w/PROVISIONAL BALLOTS – This Cycle’s Hanging Chads. Maybe that was part of the Repug plan. If you’re new or do not want to vote on fraudulent/malfunctioning computers, you’re forced to vote provisional. There are NO LAWS GOVERNING THE COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS ANYWHERE IN AMERICA. (I was forced to vote provisional, w/a signed ballot, although the only reason they were allowed to install Diebold computers in my county was if we were given a paper ballot option. We were not. And our provisionals are not counted for 30 days.) What’s going on w/those around the country??? Is that where the Kerry votes are?
Apologies about my semi-coherent state.

Posted by: jj | Nov 3 2004 5:48 utc | 98

in the usa, only racist/sexist bigots and the mentally disturbed resort to assasination. don’t even suggest it in jest or this website will be knocked off the web by the feds.

Posted by: Anonymous | Nov 3 2004 5:49 utc | 99

Not looking good. Florida was polling fairly solidly Kerry just hours ago, and now the major corporate news sources have called it for Bush. Deja vu, anyone? MI MN and WA ought to be safe for Kerry but that barely brings him even again, with the big ripe plum of Ohio still in contention and the Republicans in this case living up to the “Rethuglican” sobriquet in the degree of below-belt punching they are willing to do to grab that state. I don’t like it that Kerry has already made the “whoever wins we must all stand behind the President” speech. If he just steps aside tamely that’s it for the Demo Party — can’t see how even the most loyal adherents will forgive that. If he doesn’t just step aside tamely, we’re in for a legal brouhaha that will make Monicagate look moderate and dignified — if it’s true that CIA is at war with the White House then I expect some kind of devastating whistleblowing or leak. Cockburn and St Clair have already got a source they are running with, who claims he can substantiate the number of times the Taliban allegedly offered to hand over OBL and the Bush Regime wasn’t interested.
What amazes me about all this is that you would have thought the list of scandals and failures was enough to sink any regime in any country on earth, unless the polls were “supervised” by unfriendly young men casually waving AK47’s at the voters. I mean… economy in the toilet, unemployment rampant, national debt monumental, corporate corruption flagrant, Abu Ghraib, Enron, WMD lies, shortchanging the troops, TSA scandals, bogus Mission Accomplished stunt, “Bring Em On,” Bulgegate confirmed (cheating during debate likely), gilded crown in Lincoln Bedroom, stripmining national parks, suppression/distortion of science, total incompetence in prosecuting totally illegal Iraq war, dollar in free fall, international investors starting to wobble, US reputation worldwide at all time low… makes ya wonder how such a glaring record of failure can be rewarded with contract renewal. I mean, Phony Tony is a liar and an embarrassment but his gov’t has managed to improve services, the economy’s not bad, etc. Gt Britain’s international rep is battered but not quite so low as that of the US. The public are angry with Tony for his lies and his kissing of Bush’s fundament in public, but he hasn’t hurt them where they live. BushCo has hurt the American people where they live — and they get rewarded for it?

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 3 2004 5:53 utc | 100

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