Us presidential election 2004

[Schoeler 0]

As for McCain, doesn't anybody else remember him denouncing calls for him to veep for Kerry as rediculous and preposterous? Why does't Zell Miller (D-GA) get as much attention for disagreeing with his party, as McCain (G-AZ) does for disagreeing with his?

Well I don't know much about Miller, but I'm pretty sure he didn't volunteer to stay in the Hanoi Hilton an extra five years because his fellow inmates lacked the political connections his father had.

McCain has proven his integrity time and again, in winning the Medal of Honor, in pushing for campaign finance reform and in voting his conscience even if it means crossing party lines again and again. I'll not only vote for him, I'll campaign for him again. He should have won the nomination the first time.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

As for McCain, doesn't anybody else remember him denouncing calls for him to veep for Kerry as rediculous and preposterous? Why does't Zell Miller (D-GA) get as much attention for disagreeing with his party, as McCain (G-AZ) does for disagreeing with his? Again, the media isn't so much biased as they are ignorant.

The media wouldn't cover the McCain Republican schism if the GOP leadership didn't do things like insult McCain because of his refusal to toe the party line 100%. You'll notice that the key ingredient in a good news story, conflict, is lacking in the Zell Miller case. Despite the fact that he has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican party (after years of legitimately having a bipartisan record, which also leads me to bring up the fact that you're comparing a generally solid party-voter with a guy who, until recently, crossed the aisle on a daily basis), minority leader Daschle has neither done or said anything about Miller's antics. Contrast that with Senate Republicans joking to reporters about McCain being a closet Democrat for having the temerity to break party ranks. Another thing to keep in mind that Miller's on the way out, and he was never as high profile a Senator as McCain anyway.

[shinRaiden 0]

Clarifications:

John McCain has the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross, but not the Medal of Honor.

McCain says that he was put in solitary for an extra two years because he refused the offer of early release, demanding instead 'first-in, first-out', explaining he believed that the NV would spin the story through the US media that daddy got him out.

What McCain has going for him is his strict discipline to what he believes in. Where the problems come in is that as he survived Hanoi, comes from a long history of "The Navy way or the wrong way" (when my grandpa found out that my aunt was up and joining the blinkity-blank army... ), and furthermore being bit of a gritty Arizona politician, is it any wonder that he livens things up? Since he doesn't work the way 'washington' does, the ignorant media once again trips over themselves trying to put words in his mouth.

My point was that if McCain makes a peep, it's all over the front pages, but if Miller launched a lengthy castigation of his party's leadership, 'not' news. Furthermore, Miller being from Georgia, is from the south, and life and communication is totally different in those parts.

[walker 0]

Hi all

In fighting in the Republican party has reached such a level that the foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney is having to fight for his political career as more traditional republican voters demand a purge of the NeoConMen.

Quote[/b] ]Republicans have quietly suggested that he should be replaced. He has had four heart attacks and his approval ratings have plummeted amid persistent questions about his role in promoting the Iraq war and in handling the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Among reported replacement possibilities: Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Secretary of State Colin Powell, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn....r=email

Rumours of persistent health probelms and the foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney's four heart attacks are being seen as good excuse for traditional conservative Republicands to remove the ageing NeoConMan and his clique.

Mean while J. F. Kerry is trying to keep the foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney on the Republican ticket as he is seen as a vote looser for the Bush Administration among tradional republicans.

Quote[/b] ]Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Thursday that if Bush replaces Cheney, it will be the latest in a string of broken promises. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Thursday that if Bush replaces Cheney, it will be the latest in a string of broken promises.

"It will mean that the president's word once again doesn't mean anything, that he himself is the flip-flopper of all flip-floppers because he's been touting how important Dick Cheney is," Kerry told broadcaster Don Imus. "The fact is that George Bush would be declaring an act of desperation, a sudden move that goes contrary to everything he's said."

Kind Regards Walker

[billybob2002 0]

Walker,

Why are you hoping for Cheney to drop out the race? Bush's numbers would go up if he got McCain or Powell or etc (high-profile)....

It seems Walker is a sercet Bush lover.....

[billybob2002 0]

The white house explains why Bush did not go to the NAACP convention this year....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...._league

Quote[/b] ]

Bush to Speak to National Urban League

Thu Jul 15,11:18 AM ET  Add Politics - AP to My Yahoo!

WASHINGTON - Leaders of the NAACP, through their "hostile rhetoric," have shown no interest in working with President Bush (news - web sites), the White House said Thursday. The president skipped speaking to the group, but will address the annual meeting of another civil rights organization next week.

Bush will speak at the Urban League on July 23 during its convention in Detroit. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) also has been invited to speak to the league.

"The president welcomes differing views — constructive dialogue about differences. Ways we can work together on shared priorities is an important part of our national discourse. But the current (NAACP) leadership, through their repeated partisan comments and hostile rhetoric, have shown that they are not interested in a constructive dialogue," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

Bush declined to speak to the NAACP during its convention in Philadelphia this week, drawing criticism from NAACP leaders. Although he spoke to the group when he was running for president, Bush has not attended its convention as president, the first since the 1930s to decline to speak to the group.

The White House cited a scheduling conflict when it turned down the NAACP invitation. Bush later said his relationship with NAACP leaders was "nonexistent" and told reporters, "You've heard the rhetoric and the names they've called me."

On Monday, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume described Bush's black supporters as "ventriloquists' dummies" and said the president's decision not to speak at the convention was an insult. The same day, NAACP chairman Julian Bond urged members to oust Bush and condemned the administration's policies on education, the economy and the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

Kerry was scheduled to speak to the NAACP on Thursday, the final day of its convention.

Bush spoke to an Urban League conference in July 2003, telling the mostly black audience that his economic policies were a path to "greater opportunity and hope" for black Americans. When he addressed the group's national convention in Washington in August 2001 he asked members to support his education initiatives.

I agree with the White House on this issue because if you look at the comments made by the leadership of the NAACP about Bush, they imply he is a racist....

[red oct 2]

don't worry bush will just issue another terror alert and the "hostile rhetoric" will pipe down. problem solved.

[walker 0]

Hi all

In fighting in the Republican party continues to grow with the sidelining of Donald Rumsfeld who like the foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney and the wolf crying Ashcroft is part of the internal NeoConMan coup who took over control of the US republican party.

All three are seen as electoral liabilities.

Quote[/b] ]Once seemingly in danger of being fired over the prisoner abuse, Rumsfeld appears to have survived. Yet some wonder whether the White House might still conclude he is a political liability and prefer he leave this summer.

"Donald Rumsfeld has gone from being the most popular spokesperson for the Bush administration policies to something of a pariah," said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a think tank.

"Whereas before the White House was happy to see him speaking in public whenever he chose, now it kind of cringes for fear of what the results might be," Thompson added.

My use of bold

http://www.usatoday.com/news....d_x.htm

It is expected that the US Republican Convention will be the seen of some serious political score settling as the two sides square up to each other and vie for future control of the US Republican Party.

Many traditional conservative voters are sick of the divisive nature of the Bush/Cheney administration which has left the US divided as never before they are also angry that their political party has been taken over by the NeoConMen who many see as a bunch of carpetbaggers.

The traditional conservative voters disgust with the NeoConMen is so bad that most GOP adverts are now aimed at trying to get Republicans to vote at all.

Kind Regards Walker

[Akira 0]

Quote[/b] ]foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney

Quote[/b] ]wolf crying Ashcroft

Quote[/b] ]NeoConMan

You should really trademark those.....

[Milkman 1]

I liked the "Dodgy Dick Cheney."

[walker 0]

Hi all

The Devisive nature of the Bush/Cheney presedential bid is starting loose the Republican Party votes in the Key State of Ohio

Quote[/b] ]Bush support softens in middle

By Susan Page, USA TODAY

DAYTON, Ohio — The dozen independent-minded voters sitting around the table here Tuesday night are the face of trouble for President Bush.

Seven of them voted for him in 2000; all 12 are middle-of-the-road folks who sometimes back Republicans, sometimes Democrats. But as the president campaigns for re-election, only four say they are leaning in his direction. None describe their support as rock-solid.

http://www.usatoday.com/news....s_x.htm

The main force driving voters from the Republican party in droves and why most GOP adverts are aimed at keeping their voters rather than winning new voters is the extremism many witness in the US Republican party since the NeoConMen took control of the party.

Since that coup Republican party policy has shifted further and further from true American Values into extremism with an underlying tinge of coruption and cheap huksterism so prevalent in the NeoConMen who conned the Republicans out of their party.

The extremism leaves many voters cold and is seen as the root of the problems that face an increasingly divided nation.

The American people are looking to heal that rift and the Kerry/Edwards ticket is seen by many as the only solution to the divisions.

Kind Regards Walker

[walker 0]

Hi all

Important stuff!

Quote[/b] ]Barriers to voting remain for troops deployed abroad

By Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Problems with military absentee ballots that clouded the 2000 election have not been fixed, jeopardizing the ability of more than 160,000 troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to have their votes counted this fall.

Among developments that have election officials concerned:

• A $22 million pilot program to develop an Internet voting system for Americans deployed overseas was scrapped after the Pentagon concluded it would be vulnerable to hackers intent on tampering with elections.

• The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress formerly known as the General Accounting Office, found that the system used to collect and deliver mail in Iraq, including absentee ballots, suffers from long delays and other problems.

• The Pentagon's inspector general found that a Defense Department program to ease voting by Americans overseas, including deployed troops, continues to be given low priority by field commanders. Surprise visits to 10 foreign sites found seven programs ineffective and three only partially effective. Nearly three of every five troops surveyed said they did not know their voting assistance officer.

http://www.usatoday.com/news....e_x.htm

Let us all ensure this gets fixed we can not have another debacle in Florida like the last one where many US millitary personel never had their votes counted.

Quote[/b] ]In 2000, an estimated 29% of military personnel who wanted to vote did not get absentee ballots or received them too late. The impact was felt particularly in Florida, where hundreds of military absentee ballots weren't counted because they arrived late, lacked postmarks or had problems with signature verification.

If you are in the military make sure your officers are sorting this out now and that they follow the correct procedures. If someone knows a site with the procedure; make sure they post a link up here so that others can make sure it is followed.

Kind Regards Walker

[shinRaiden 0]

Well at least one politician is speaking his mind, and we sure could use more of that frank honesty more often. That incident with Cheney was where his antagonist was blowing smoke being confrontational, and Cheney had put up with enough for long enough. Now if it were some other country, there'd be fist-fights, as we've seen in Africa and Asia.

Notice who is getting listed as options, and who is asking for replacements.

Options:

Powell, Guliani, McCain, etc.

Grumblers:

Media, old beltway bandits, Alphonse D'Amato, etc.

The problem is that for all you people who are scared of Bush, replacing Cheney is the worst option from what you are saying. If Bush is the great bogey-daemon that you make him out to be, he needs all the hard nosed of Rice, Cheney, Ashcroft, etc, to reel him in, and replacing Cheney with a presumed pansy would give more leash to the dog you want caged. You also seriously underestimate the capability and capacity of those alleged options. Just because the ingorant and incompetent media claims that there is a schism, doesn't mean that there actually is one.

I have a friend who is absolutely convinced that Kerry will win, and says a lot of the things that are said here too. I happen to believe the exact opposite, and tell him so. But we are still good friends, and continue to be so because we don't let the hyperventilation of politics over-run our real life. Now those that do, make all the ruckus because they have nothing better to do, and sadly all the real people see are the rabble-rousers, so they get depressed into apathy, instead of lulled into apathy by the previous enlightened leadership of the most glorious comrade leader.

As for the NAACP, they denounced Bush as a racist, when his gubernatorial administration made sure everything was done to ensure the likelyhood of the death penalty for the thugs that killed James Byrd. The funniest thing about that case though, was the Klan came to town unarmed without their hoods, and called for the death penalty for those thugs, while the Black Panthers across the street were waving AR-15's in the air threatening to burn down Texas. Incidently, Jesse Jackson invited Bill Cosby to say the things that the NAACP didn't want said.

Finally, notice how quick Leahy shut up after Cheney called him on the carpet for being a blowhard. That was funny too. If you take politics that serious, you've been in DC drinking the swamp-water way too long.

- edit -

With the voting issue, that's logistics, that's how the military will always be. The mail might get there, some time. For those in Iraq, the proper answer to whether they'll get to vote, is Inshallah. That's not so concerning as is the continued idiotic usage of electronic voting machines. That would make the presidential elections as open to Organizatiya control as was the abominable American Idol voting.

Quote[/b] ]Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Fantasia Barino!

[walker 0]

Hi all

At the bottom of that page I linked to were a couple of sites but when I clicked on the links they did not work.

Here is this one

http://www.OverseasVote.com

It is supported by the Democrats but even if your a republican you can use the process.

Here is the second but the site is a bit confusing all I can see is demo for a voter registration system??

http://www.absenteeimpact.com/

I am sorry but I could not find a Republican system for registering absentee voters in the Millitary I will continue to search and also see if I can find one that is based in the Pentagon.

[edit]This link apears to be the proper link to US millitary voter registration

http://www.fvap.gov/[/edit]

Remember it is only by voting that you have some control of who governs you for the next four years.

Kind Regards Walker

[walker 0]

Hi all

US Troops will be able to see the box office busting film Farenheit 9/11

http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=46

Kind Regards Walker

[walker 0]

Hi all

It is the important stuff remember to register to vote.

Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia) says so! Check out this surreal little film. http://promotions.yahoo.com/declareyourself/ud/dogfood_medium.html

Register to Vote

Kind Regards Walker

[walker 0]

Hi all

Speculation on the future of the foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney staying on the Republican bid for the presidency in 2004 has risen dramaticley after news that Dodgy Dick Cheney has replaced his doctor.

Quote[/b] ]The newest theory - advanced privately by prominent Democrats, including members of Congress - holds that Mr. Cheney recently dismissed his personal doctor so that he could see a new one, who will conveniently tell him in August that his heart problems make him unfit to run with Mr. Bush. The dismissed physician, Dr. Gary Malakoff, who four years ago declared that Mr. Cheney was "up to the task of the most sensitive public office" despite a history of heart disease, was dropped from Mr. Cheney's medical team because of an addiction to prescription drugs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/15/politics/campaign/15vice.html

Many see the medical excuse as the chosen option for removing the senior NeoConMan without George Bush Jnr. being seen as flip-floping on choice of his running mate. Rumours of a purge of the NeoConMen in the Republican party abound in washington with both Donald Rumsfeld and The Wolf Crying Ashcroft being sidelined.

Now Paul Wolfowitz is said to be on the George Bush Jnr.'s vote looser hit list after he accussed journalists of being afraid to go out and get stories in Iraq. The Journalists then pointed out how many of them had died in the Iraq war and to how many of them were killed by the US millitary. The fact that the security problem is seen as being produced by TBA was highlighted by the press and is said to have left George Bush Jnr. incandescent at Winey Wolfowitz's stupidity.

Quote[/b] ]Wolfowitz apologises to journalists over Iraq remarks

United States Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has apologised for saying journalists too afraid to leave Baghdad reported rumours instead.

"Just let me say to each of you who have worked so hard and taken such risks to cover this story, I extend a heartfelt apology and hope you will accept it," he wrote in a memo "To Journalists Covering Iraq".

Mr Wolfowitz made the remark at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday after a member asked how "the true nature of progress in Iraq" could be better conveyed to the American people.

He responded that one approach was to take reporters with him when he travels to Iraq.

"Because frankly, part of our problem is a lot of the press are afraid to travel very much, so they sit in Baghdad and they publish rumours. And rumours are plentiful," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200406/s1140459.htm

Winey Wolfowitz was also along with Dodgy Dick Cheney seen as the cause of many of the woes of the Republican Party as it was they who placed such faith in the Iranian Spy Ahmed Chalibi

Quote[/b] ]Mr Chalabi's former backers, in particular the Deputy Secretary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz and the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, who gave Mr Chalabi such enormous influence and access in Washington.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news....op.html

The fact that the two arch NeoConMen were them selves conned by the Pro Iranian into helping remove Irans enemy Sadam has left the NeoConMen looking decidedly foolish.

Quote[/b] ]Mr Chalabi - formerly the Pentagon's chief source of intelligence on Iraq, including its nuclear capability

Many traditionalist in the US Republican party see the NeoConMen's Iraq war con as the cause of Republican party unpopularity. Many Republican Senators and Representatives see their jobs on the line if they continue to allow the NeoConMen to rule the party.

Kind Regards Walker

[shinRaiden 0]

So what was he supposed to do? The previous doctor was busted for malpractice, do you want to have a crooked doctor for you? If he didn't fire him, it would come back politically, and in any case do you want a convicted felon druggie working on the next-in-line?

The whole nonsense about this being an uber-plot to bounce cheney is coming from those who lost their talent to read tea leaves by switching to frapachinos.

And as for the reporters getting capped, go read "Boots on the ground". At least one reporter had the humility to admit he didn't know the first thing about body armor or how to wear it, let alone buy it, but was willing to admit he was ignorant and ask the right questions of the right people. Having also had hunting experience, that reporter also had the sense to keep his head down when the bullets started flying.

As to Mr. Chalabi, why isn't anyone nominating him for Nobel Peace Prize? Yeah, he spent some time in jail and as a wanted man for insurrection and fraud, started resistance movements and militias, and pumped himself up as a somebody, but so did Nelson Mandela. Seriously though, is it possible to prevent every con man in the world from peddling snake oil?

[walker 0]

Hi all

Mean while voters of put a big thumbs up to the naming of North Carolina Senator John Edwards as J. F. Kerry's running mate.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories....5.shtml

EDWARDS AS KERRY’S RUNNING MATE

Glad Edwards was chosen

All Voters 52%

Democrats 69%

Wish Kerry picked someone else  

All voters 11%

Democrats 9%

Didn't matter/no opinion

All voters 37%

Democrats 22%

FEELING ABOUT CHOICE OF EDWARDS  

All Voters

Enthusiastic 19%

Satisfied 53%

Dissatisfied 12%

Angry 1%

Democrats

Enthusiastic 25%

Satisfied 65%

Dissatisfied 4%

Angry -

IMPORTANCE OF VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Will have influence on vote 16%

Will make choice mostly on president 81%

EDWARDS’ IMPACT ON YOUR VOTE

All Voters  

Makes no difference 84%

More likely to vote for Kerry 10%

Less likely to vote for Kerry 3%

Independents

Makes no difference 83%

More likely to vote for Kerry 10%

Less likely to vote for Kerry 4%

The likable senator John Edwards is expected to garner as much as 10% extra votes from the Republicans owing to the dismal showing of the foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney.

VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IMAGES

Cheney

Favorable 27%

Not favorable 47%

No opinion 26%

Edwards

Favorable 38%

Not favorable 9%

No opinion 53%

With the failed Dodgy Dick Cheney partnering George Bush Jnr. loosing the Republicans so many votes, it is no wonder George Bush Jnr. wants to get rid of him but like his 20 minutes of frozen terror reading an upside down book about goats during 9/11; will George Bush Jnr. go throught more dithering over important decisions and the fear of being caught doing another flip-flop? Will George Bush Jnr. pluck up the courage to rid himself of another NeoConMan vote looser?

Mean while John F. Kerry continues to increase his lead in the run up to the Presedential elections.

PRESIDENTIAL CHOICE  

June

Kerry/Edwards 45%

Bush/Cheney 44%

NOW

Kerry/Edwards 49%

Bush/Cheney 44%

Kind Regards Walker

[billybob2002 0]

Walker,

FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!!

http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=2314&content=full

Quote[/b] ]

Washington, D.C.—The latest AP/Ipsos Public Affairs poll shows that while Bush has pulled slightly ahead of Kerry in the head-to-head race, both candidates have momentum. Bush is getting points from the electorate for an improving economic climate and for handing over power in Iraq. Kerry is strengthening support among his voters, and the addition of John Edwards to the Democratic ticket appears to have given him a boost in the South.

Bush has taken a slim lead over Kerry in the July AP/Ipsos poll, after five months in which the two candidates have been running neck and neck. Bush has gained ground since last month among men under 45 (62% now, 52% in June) and also suburban women (52%, from 41%). Regionally, Bush’s support in the Northeast has risen slightly (45%, from 38%).

Quote[/b] ]NOW

Kerry/Edwards 49%

Bush/Cheney 44%

Kind Regards Walker

AP/Ipsos puts it at:

Bush/Cheney 49%

Kerry/Edwards 45%

Nader 3%

This poll is better because:

Quote[/b] ]

The Associated Press Poll is conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs. Between July 5-7, 2004, the AP/Ipsos poll interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 adults nationwide, including 804 registered voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 for all adults, +/- 3.5 for registered voters. Margin of error for subgroups may be higher.

CBS Poll:

Quote[/b] ]

This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 462 registered voters interviewed July 6, 2004. These respondents had originally been interviewed by CBS News and "The New York Times" June 23-27, 2004. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus five percentage points for results based on the entire sample. The sampling error on individual change is much smaller.

Also, you forgot something about the CBS News:

Quote[/b] ]

The error due to sampling could be plus or minus five percentage points for results based on the entire sample.

The CBS poll is a "tie", and AP poll is very close to a "tie"...

A long way to go....

[Akira 0]

Ah screw polls.

You find one that says Kerry 49%, and then you can find one just as easily that says Bush 49%.

Polls prove nothing, and are good for little other than to illustrate that the country is in turmoil.

[walker 0]

Hi all

In a move seen by many in the Republican party as grooming a new running mate for George Bush Jnr.'s presedential bid Senator John McCain of Arizona replaced the foul mouthed liar Dodgy Dick Cheney for much of a vice presedential campaign yesterday.

Quote[/b] ]Despite the onstage friendliness, relations have not always been so cordial between Mr. McCain and the Bush administration. Earlier this week Mr. McCain declared the push by President Bush for a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage was "antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans."

Support from Mr. McCain could prove important in Michigan, a state Mr. Cheney visited three times in the last six weeks.

Mr. McCain defeated Mr. Bush in the 2000 Michigan Republican presidential primary and remains popular there. In the general election, Michigan, which has 17 electoral votes, went Democratic, with Al Gore narrowly defeating Mr. Bush.

Some attending the rally on Friday said they believed that the onstage friendliness between the Mr. Cheney and Mr. McCain belied deeply held distrust.

"There were a lot of smiles between McCain and Cheney on stage in front of the cameras," said Byron J. Hughes, who clutched a copy of a book by Mr. McCain and wore an autographed T-shirt from the senator's failed presidential bid in 2000. "But I think there was real tension there in the background."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/17/politics/campaign/17cheney.html

The apearence by Senator John McCain of Arizona in an aprenticeship role for the vice presedential slot on the Bush ticket is thought by many Republicans to be a good way of introducing a new candidate.

Many speculate that the best time to anounce the worsening health of Dodgy Dick Cheney's and the choice of Senator John McCain of Arizona as the George Bush Jnr. running mate will be at the end of the Democratic Convention with the hope of stealing some of the Democrats' thunder. It also gives some time to promote the new George Bush Jnr. running mate before the Republican Convention and change posters. It will also help heal some of the rifts in the republican party after the NeoConMan coup.

Kind Regards Walker

[walker 0]

Hi all

In a rather disturbing incedent reminicent of the worst era of soviet politics GOP wants Republicans to spy on their neghbours to find out their politics.

Quote[/b] ]Take Minnesota. The state Republican Party has developed a Web site that allows its activists to tap into a database of voters whose political allegiances and concerns it would like to know. But it is not just any group of voters -- they are the activists' neighbors.

The project, dubbed WebVoter, gives GOP activists the names and addresses of 25 people who live, in most cases, within a couple of blocks from them. The party has asked 60,000 supporters from across the state to figure out what issues animate their neighbors and where they stand in the political spectrum, and report that information back to the party -- with or, possibly, without their neighbors' permission.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58309-2004Jul17.html

Such action in the UK is against the law.

I am suprised that it is legal in the US.

Shocked Walker

[denoir 0]

Candidates battle for dollars [bBC]

Quote[/b] ]President George W Bush runs the most successful political money machine in history.

Back in December, when John Kerry had to re-mortgage his house to keep his campaign alive, Mr Bush had already raised $100m for his re-election bid, breaking a record he himself set in 2000.

Pessimists in the Democratic Party, by no means a minority, took this as a sign that they were in for a drubbing.

Mr Kerry had just $2.5m in the bank by the time he had seen off his Democratic rivals in March (Mr Bush had $150m), but since then, while the president has been taking flak over Iraq, the senator has been quietly setting records of his own.

He raised over $100m in three months - a million dollars a day - making him the best-financed presidential challenger ever. The Bush campaign spent $85m on advertising in the same period, hoping to kill off Mr Kerry's challenge early on, but with the two men still neck and neck in the polls this looks like money down the drain.

Mr Kerry even outspent the president in April and May.

Skyrocketing costs

It was not supposed to be like this.

The cost of election campaigns had skyrocketed in a generation - Herbert Alexander of the University of Southern California estimates that the total cost of all elections in the US shot up from $540m in 1976 to $3.9bn in 2000. That prompted Congress to outlaw "soft money" in 2002.

The term refers to an unregulated system of fundraising and spending in federal election campaigns. Banning it was supposed to end money politics. Instead the candidates are simply raising even more through "hard money" donations.

These are limited to $2,000 per person and registered with the electoral authorities.

Online giving

The Democrats have been the most inventive. Following on the success of Howard Dean's sensational, but fruitless, campaign for the presidency, they have embraced the internet as a way of cheaply soliciting large numbers of small donations.

After John Kerry started touting his website in stump speeches, his campaign took a record $2.6m in online donations on one day in March.

The Democrats are also exploiting new loopholes in electoral law. Campaign groups known as "527s" (named after a section in the tax code) are exempt from federal regulations on political fundraising. They can spend this money on attacking Mr Bush, so long as they have no formal contact with the Kerry campaign.

The Republicans initially claimed that these groups violated the soft money ban, but later set up 527s of their own after trying in vain to have the Democratic-leaning ones shut down. The Republican party's real strength lies in its formidable network of bona fide activists, who solicit individual contributions from their professional and social networks.

Titles

The Bush campaign rewards its most successful fundraisers with special titles: "Pioneers" have raised more than $100,000, "Rangers" more than $200,000.

Appreciation events for these elite supporters are held at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. But it is not clear that all the effort that goes into fundraising is worth it.

In high-profile campaigns, no amount of money will beat a popular candidate with good policies. Predictions that Howard Dean's fundraising advantage would leave his rivals for dust in the Democratic primaries proved groundless.

Successful fundraising could even be a turn-off for voters.

The size of the Bush war chest appears to confirm perceptions that he is in thrall to rich corporate donors, while John Kerry's claim to represent ordinary Americans seems odd when his campaign's survival hinged on raising $6.4m off the value of his Boston mansion.

[IsthatyouJohnWayne 0]

Interesting to see how much Republican money comes from lawyers. Clearly lawyers are all fine upstanding people ,but i do seem to recall theyre not generally greatly popular with the American populace at large. hmmm..