Thursday, November 07, 2002
OFF TO RHODE ISLAND
I'm off to Rhode Island today for an academic conference. I dread these things. I don't mind writing that since I'm pretty confident that no one attending the conference reads my blog. It further irks me that I won't be able to do more election wrap up. In particular, there's some stuff on the Register editorial page today that needs a good "Fisking". Oh well. I'll have to get to it next week.
Tomorrow my article on the implications of this election for Social Security reform will be post at the American Prowler. Click here to go to that site. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you have any, so either email me or post a comment below.
One other thing: Thank you for a record week last week! This site surpassed the old record by more than 300 hits. So thanks to all of you who stopped by.
So now I'm off to a conference. Groan. Well, on the bright side it's in a state with a new Republican governor. Heh heh.
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A EXCELLENT IOWA WRAP UP
Marc Hansen has this outstanding column in the Des Moines Register this morning. He sums up nicely the problems with Doug Gross, Greg Ganske, and absentee ballots.
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Wednesday, November 06, 2002
DICK MORRIS WAS WRONG
This just in: Hey Dick! Who's your daddy?
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DAILY DIATRIBE: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE ELECTION
As I was writing this Diatribe this morning, I was listening to Terry McAuliffe on Fox and Friends spin like a pinwheel on steroids. There goes a man about to be looking for a new job.
Unfortunately, it was a disappointing night for Iowa Republicans in the statewide races. Tom Vilsack will be heading back to the governor’s mansion. Too bad Doug Gross had the "hog lot" stone around his neck; otherwise he made a fine candidate. I can’t say the same for Greg Ganske. He tanked it against Tom Harkin. Well, at least Harkin will be heading back as a member of the minority.
In a bit better news, the GOP did not lose any members of the House in Iowa. They also held onto both chambers of the statehouse.
The Paul Wellstone memorial/rally backfired against the Democrats. This has boosted my faith in the voters. (As a side note, Walter Mondale gave one of the most gracious concession speeches I can remember.) Now if only New Jersey voters had said no to Lautenberg….
Aside from the GOP takeover of the Senate, there were two very important victories last night for those who favor free markets and limited government yesterday. The first occurred in Oregon, where voters had to decide on a ballot measure which, if approved, would have provided government health-care to Oregonians. Not only was the measure defeated, it was thumped. And then some. Conservatives now have an excellent example to use in the health-care debate. They can point to Oregon and say that voters clearly do not like the idea of government provided health-care. That will prove a potent weapon.
The second one is Social Security reform. The two candidates who stuck to there guns the most on the issue of personal accounts were Elizabeth Dole and Pat Toomey. Dole won her Senate race in North Carolina rather handily. Pat Toomey, probably the most vocal proponent of reform, won a landslide (57-43%) in a Democrat-leaning district in Pennsylvania. Is the tide turning in the Social Security debate? It’s too soon to tell. But it appears that Democrats’ scare tactics are losing their potency.
The Social Security battle will not be won in one fell swoop. Rather, it will be won one small fight at a time. A significant one was won last night.
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EL WRONGO
I love it when I'm wrong.
(And I hate it when I'm right.)
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HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!
Republicans control the Senate.
Oh yeah. And Jim Leach won.
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ONE MORE IOWA HOUSE RACE
GOP incumbent Tom Latham has defeated Democrat John Norris 54-44% with 85% of precincts reporting. Still close in the Leach-Thomas race, but trending toward Leach.
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BILL SIMON?!?!
Keep your eye on this one folks. Already two big gubernatorial upsets for the GOP in Georgia and Rhode Island tonight. Will the Left Coast be the third?
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GOP WILL CONTROL THE SENATE
FoxNews has just called Colorado for incumbent Republican Wayne Allard. That means to maintain their one seat majority in the Senate, the Democrats have to hold Missouri, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Louisiana. And that just ain’t gonna happen.
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SOME IOWA CONGRESSIONAL RACES
Time to close the book on the races in the 1st, 3rd and 5th districts here in Iowa. With 91% of the precincts reporting, Jim Nussle (R) has put the smackdown on Ann Hutchinson (D) 57-43%. In the 3rd district, Democrat incumbent Leonard Boswell has bested Stan Thompson 54-45%, with 89% of the precincts reporting. I think the GOP is going to regret giving up on this one with only two weeks to go. In the 5th, there was never really any doubt. Steve King has easily won this heavily GOP district, beating Paul Shomshor 63-37% with 73% of the precincts reporting. Still a bit too early to call the Leach-Thomas race and the Latham-Norris race. But it’s looking good for both Leach and Latham.
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Tuesday, November 05, 2002
VILSACK WINS
With about 55% of the precincts reporting, incumbent Democrat Tom Vilsack leads Republican Doug Gross 54-43%. Vote count is 359,674 and 287,461.
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HARKIN WINS
With 34% of the precints reporting, Tom Harkin leads Greg Ganske, 56-42%. Vote count is 247,956 to 186,375. The fat lady is wailing away on this one.
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CAMELOT IS OVER!
Bob Ehrlich beats Kathleen Kennedy Townsend!
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IOWA UPDATE
FoxNews is suggesting the Iowa Senate race is likely Harkin's.
In the House, Jim Leach leads Julie Thomas 51-48% with 20% of the precincts reporting. Jim Nussle leads Ann Hutchinson 55-45% with 20% reporting. Tom Latham is winning a squeaker against John Norris. Steve King and Leonard Boswell are mopping up. Here's a link.
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CHAMBLISS AND ROMNEY
Fox News has just called the Georgia Senate race in favor of Saxby Chambliss and the Massachusetts Governor's race in favor of Mitt Romney. Both GOP wins.
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SO MUCH FOR THAT LEAD
With 2% of precincts reporting. Vilsack leads Gross 57-41%. Tom Harkin also leads Greg Gankse 58-40%.
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GROSS LEADS!
With 1 precinct reporting (that's 1 precinct, not 1%) Gross leads Vilsack 63% to 35%. Woo hoo.
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IOWA RESULTS
The polls have just closed in Iowa. Should have some preliminary results soon.
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DOLE AND GRAHAM WIN
FoxNews Channel has just called it for Dole. Also called it for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.
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BUSH WINS
You've probably already heard, but Jeb Bush cleaned up in Florida. See Jay Caruso for more.
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ELECTION LINK CENTRAL
Bill Quick has done us all a big favor and compiled the links to blogger election coverage. Go here and scroll down.
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MORE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM?
Yesterday I suggested the McCain-Feingold was just the beginning. Two recent editorials, today's in the Washington Post and yesterday's in the New York Times, bear this out. Both are angry about the loopholes already discovered in the new law. So what is the solution? More reform, of course. Sigh. Some people will never learn.
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BUSH THE RADICAL
Paul Krugman just can't help himself: In today's column nominally about urging people to vote, he has to take multiple swipes at President Bush. In describing Bush's agenda, he uses some variant of the wod "radical" five times.
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DAILY DIATRIBE: HOW TO DEPRESS TURNOUT 101
When I got home last evening and checked my messages (yes, I actually had some!) there was a message informing me on where Jim Leach (R-Iowa) stood on protecting my 2nd Amendment rights. A gentleman’s voice told me that Leach had been given an "F" by the National Rifle Association for voting for the Brady Bill. It then encouraged me to call Jim Leach and tell him to protect my 2nd Amendment right to own guns.
Halfway through the message I thought "Gee, it seems a bit strange that the NRA would make a call critical of Jim Leach. Granted, he’s not exactly the gun lobby’s best friend, but he’s surely better than his challenger, Julie Thomas. She’s ultra-liberal and could easily be one of the NRA’s worst enemies. Surely the NRA wouldn’t want me to vote for her instead of Leach?"
Just as that thought settled in my brain, the next message began to play. The voice was the same as the one from the previous message. But this message was about the War on Terrorism. It informed me "Jim Leach was one of six Republicans in Congress who voted against President Bush’s resolution to stop Saddam Huessein and protect our country from Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction." It then urged me to call Leach and "tell him to stop voting to put America at risk for future terrorist attacks."
The same voice, but a different message. It wasn’t the NRA making those calls. Was this some conservative group? That doesn’t make sense, given that Julie Thomas is against the war with Iraq. Surely conservatives don’t want me to vote against Leach and for Thomas.
Then it hit me: They’re calls from some Democrat group. They have a list of Republicans in Leach’s district, and are trying to dampen any enthusiasm that GOP voters might have for Leach by pointing out that he has taken some liberal positions. Hopefully—at least for Democrats—Republican voters will be upset at Leach and leave the line for Representative blank on their ballots. The less votes for Leach, the better the chances for Julie Thomas. Now that makes sense.
This is the politics of cynicism. A group that is probably pro-gun control and anti-war with Iraq makes misleading calls trying to get me to "not vote" for someone because he voted for gun control and against war with Iraq. Before any of you Democrat readers of mine (all two of you) get your knickers in a twist, let me say I am well aware that the GOP engages in similar tactics. All such tactics are sleazy, and that the parties continue to use them post 9/11 is a sign the cynicism that plagues American politics still runs very deep.
However, there is one thing in the calls that reflects poorly only on the Democrats. It is the part in the second message which instructed me to phone Jim Leach and "tell him to stop voting to put America at risk for future terrorist attacks." If this was a Republican message, Democrats would be howling in outrage that this amounted to questioning one's patriotism. But apparently it's okay for Democrats to do it to Republican candidate. The hypocrisy is staggering.
I'll end with the following. To whichever Democrat group made those phone calls last night: SCREW YOU, I'M VOTING FOR JIM LEACH!
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ELECTION NIGHT UPDATES
Over at the Daily Rant, Jay Caruso is going to give up to the minute coverage of the Florida gubernatorial race this evening.
Over at Daily Pundit, Bill Quick linked to Jay, and asked for other bloggers to cover the election. So click here for links to folks who will cover California, Georgia, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Texas, Nevada--am I missing any? Well, just go to the link and look for your favorite state.
P.S. I 'll do the same for Iowa as soon as I get home this evening. But that may not be until after 9pm.
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SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM
This letter to the editor by Thomas Boyd hits the nail on the head regarding Social Security reform.
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NO KIDDING!
The Des Moines Register gives us its usual "GO OUT AND VOTE" editorial today which includes some remarkable advice:
Here's how to fight back at attack ads: Ignore them. Go to the polls. Vote for the candidate of your choice based on your independent judgment.
Really?!? I'd never thought of that! Gee, thanks!
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OUT ON A THIN LIMB
Well, I need to gamble every now and then, so I might as well do so with one election pick. Here goes: Bill Simon will be California's next governor.
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FROM STARVING CHILDREN TO...
Hesiod is calling Jeb Bush a "baby killer." Big surprise.
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MORE ON THE WELLSTONE MEMORIAL/RALLY
The op-ed page of the Iowa State Daily, no bastion of conservatism, didn't much care for what happened in Minnesota last week. (Thanks to John Ferguson.)
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Monday, November 04, 2002
HEALTH CARE COSTS
Jane Galt has this interesting bit about a fight between a hospital and an insurance company.
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BOWLING FOR STUPID WHITE MALES
Mike Hanson has a pretty stinging takedown of Michael Moore.
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DAILY DIATRIBE: FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE IOWA GOVERNOR'S RACE
If you’ve seen this story, you know that the Des Moines Register is reporting that the race for Governor has narrowed. Gross is gaining on Vilsack. The visit today by President Bush may help. But Gross may be too far behind to pull an upset. There’s a chance, but it is a very small one.
This is too bad, because Gross’s plans for Iowa is far more based on the free market than is Vilsack’s. It’s not perfect, but it’s better. Vilsack’s plan relies far more on government spending and even creates some new layers of bureaucracy.
An outside observer might look at the Iowa race and wonder how Vilsack could be ahead. He’s made a mess of the budget, and the Iowa economy is losing jobs. To a small extent, the Iowa opinion makers have absolved Vilsack for much of the blame, saying that the sagging economy is not his fault, or that tax cuts are to blame for the budget shortfall. Surely, many economic factors are beyond any Governor's control. But Vilsack has not made economic development a priority until this year. (What a coincidence!) And he does bear much of the blame for the budget mess; many of his spending initiatives have helped push the state into the red.
There is also a shameful side to this race: hog lots. Vilsack has beat Gross over the head with his work as the attorney for Iowa Select Farms. While Iowa Select Farms was a terrible hog producer, why should Gross be blamed for his clients actions? Was Johnny Cochrane blamed for what O.J. did? (Yes, O.J. was found not guilty. Be quiet.) Or is the former-trial lawyer Tom Vilsack to blame for everything his clients did? An attorney is supposed to zealously defend his or her client. If Gross had not done that, we no doubt would be seeing all sorts of ads questioning his competence in the legal profession.
The fact of the matter is that Vilsack has not run on the issues, at least the major ones. Gross has focused on Iowa’s two biggest concerns, the budget and the economy. Vilsack has been throwing mud. If he is reelected tomorrow, he’ll show that smear tactics can distract voter’s attention from important issues (budget, economy) to less important ones (hog lots). He’ll show that smear tactics can be used to deflect attention from a lackluster first term. In short, he’ll show that such tactics work.
Iowans may dislike this type of campaigning. But if Vilsack wins, we’ll be seeing more of it in the future.
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McCAIN-FEINGOLD: JUST THE BEGINNING?
Jane Norman has an article on the Senate races which includes this passage:
Whoever triumphs, it comes at a cost. Federal Election Commission data show that Senate campaigns raised $257 million between Jan. 1, 2001, and Oct. 16 of this year. That's a decline in receipts compared with 2000, because the battles are being waged in smaller states where television costs are lower, such as South Dakota, the FEC said. But it's way up from the $187 million spent in the same states in 1996.
There seems to be a lot of concern for the cost of elections this year in the Iowa media. I also noted this article at KCCI’s website quoting Governor Vilsack:
Politicians seeking election in Iowa this year will spend up to $50 million and Gov. Tom Vilsack said Friday the costs of campaigns are spiraling out of control.
It seems that McCain-Feingold (or Shays-Meehan) was just the beginning, not the end. Despite what the Supreme Court does with MF, we will surely see more of it, if for no other reason John McCain thinks it’s just wonderful:
"Maybe next election, when campaign finance reform takes effect, you won't have to hit the mute button every time you see one of those political commercials come on the television." - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in Cedar Rapids campaigning for Ganske.
What a cavalier (and a bit creepy) attitude toward the First Amendment! Campaign finance reform is going to rid us of all those negative ads that annoy us. Never mind that little thing called free speech.
The First Amendment is supposed to protect all speech, even the annoying kind. Liberals always scold us about that every time someone paints a religious icon and flings elephant dung on it. Unfortunately, there are too many people in power who think political speech is an exception.
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YOUNG PEOPLE DON’T VOTE—AND IT’S NOT A BAD THING
This editorial in the Des Moines Register laments the low turnout rates among 18-to-30-year-olds. I might agree with them were it not for this passage:
What kind of tangible issues might politicians talk to younger voters about?
How about college tuition? Young Americans are paying these soaring bills out of their own pockets or watching student loans pile up. The cost of college affects some younger people as profoundly as Medicare premiums hit seniors. You can bet that if there were an equivalent of AARP for young adults, tuition might not be rising at double-digit rates.
Just what we need. The government getting involved in tuition costs. That’ll fix the problem!
To all those under 30: On Tuesday, enjoy yourself. Plant yourself on the couch with some beer and chips, and watch the new episode of "24." Don’t bother going to your polling place. It will keep the college tuition from getting screwed up.
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MORE IOWA PORK
The Des Moines Register has given its endorsements for Congress. Guess what theme dominates? If you can’t guess, you haven’t been reading this site the last week. Here’s a hint:
Think Boswell - and more road projects for Iowa.
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