Purple-State Shuffle: How Wisconsin Moved Left Fast
Concerns over the economy and Sarah Palin turn cheeseheads into Obamaheads.
Until this month, the presidential race in Wisconsin looked tight. Polls through September routinely placed the battle within the margin of error and the McCain campaign’s “Palin bounce” seemed unlikely to fade. By October, however, Obama had taken a commanding, double-digit lead that has held all month. As the McCain campaign pulls advertising from Wisconsin, it seems unlikely that he will see a late surge in this state.
Wisconsin has long been a purple state, with George Bush losing extremely narrow races in both of his last campaigns — in 2004, Kerry won by 0.4%. Outside of Milwaukee and Madison, the state largely goes Republican. It is a state that had loved Republican governor Tommy Thompson for 14 years before he moved on to become secretary of Health and Human Services in George W. Bush’s first term. So looking at why Wisconsin seems set to break so heavily Democrat this year could be instructive. Looking at the Democratic strategy in the state shows three critical areas in which Obama’s ground campaign overtook McCain.
Ideas
Until the economic crisis surfaced, the election had been largely up for grabs. Momentum had been swinging slowly back toward Obama; after losing a lead of 4% in an early May Rasmussen poll, McCain had pulled back to within a statistical dead heat with Obama in September. When other issues were in play, so was McCain.
The economic crisis has changed that dramatically. Hammering on “the economy overwhelmingly,” Obama spokesman Matt Lehrich says the Obama campaign took advantage of the lack of public confidence. “How we’re going to create affordable jobs [and] health care,” Lehrich says, has become the crucial question for Wisconsin voters. “[Voters feel that] problems are being passed along and not solved,” Lehrich says. McCain’s campaign agrees that “the big message … is the economy,” says Kirsten Kukowski, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. But the GOP message of “controlling spending, highlighting differences on taxes and spending proposals” that Kukowski laid out has not resounded well so far.
Nor did the “Palin bounce,” which seemed to be moving the state back toward McCain, have lasting traction. That bounce may have been responsible for bringing McCain back from a dangerous gap — Kukowski says GOP voters “felt a new energy” after the Palin nomination — but her lack of experience has not comforted Wisconsinites. “At the end of the day, she didn’t represent a break from John McCain and George W. Bush,” says Lehrich. Instead, the choice of Palin has prompted further questions about McCain’s judgment, and while it excited some of the base GOP constituents, it has helped to turn off many in the middle who may have voted for McCain, but now worry about the GOP ticket. “Traditionally conservative voters are taking another look [at Obama],” says Lehrich.
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Steven Schwerbel blogs at Letters in Bottles.
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63 Comments
1. Marc Malone:Just the twin barrels of media and poll bias. McCain and Palin clearly won both debates on substance, and lost them on style and post-debate spin.
Cheeseheads became chowderheads.
Oct 26, 2008 - 1:16 am 2. vivo:Wisconsin is showing more brains that cheese.
Oct 26, 2008 - 1:46 am 3. cedarford:Marc Malone:
Just the twin barrels of media and poll bias. McCain and Palin clearly won both debates on substance, and lost them on style and post-debate spin
Not really, independent polling was pretty consistent that Obama won his 1st 2 debates and had a draw with his last one. The same polling also had Biden beating Palin by a slight margin.
The real problem in States like Indiana, Wisconsin is that they don’t have a militarist, Religious Right preference. In fact quite the opposite – they want no new wars unless the country is attacked or a clear and present danger exists – this is the Isolationist center of America, and the religiously moderate.
McCains rhetoric on troops and how every other sentence had “fight” in it, may play in S Carolina, not Minnesota or N Dakota. He was killed by the economy and the old Reagan ideas of tax cuts for the wealthy, free trade even if it guts America of good jobs, and was touting free markets and the glories of keeping government off the back of Wall Street a week before everything melted down. Then he spent 2 weeks flopping around on side issues and hasty solutions, poorly thought out like:
” More tax cuts! Lower capital gains on the rich! We’ll buy up all the banks bad mortgages at face value! Bill Ayers! Terrorism! I’ll fight for you, my friends! My friends! I’ll fight and I’ll fire people. Iran! It’s all about character, I have character! POW! 30 years inside DC! Not about issues…or ideas..but character…”
Palin managed to scare off most women outside the Bible Belt. And Hispanics, who are mistrustful of a fervid Fundie Icon. And among independents that still clung, a sense that he picked an underqualified woman who knows little about most issues and national policies – and was not ready for the job in 2008.
It’s looking like an electoral debacle. Not just losing McCain, who appears to be a poor selectee to executive leadership and being CiC (the Pentagon leans to preferring Obama in the senior leadership level..they have had poor dealings with McCain) – but a massacre is forming for Republicans in Congress.
And Bush, the neocons, crony corporatist Republicans, massive-spending Corrupticans, and intolerant theocrats tolerated by Republicans as “The Base” — set the table for Old John.
Oct 26, 2008 - 4:00 am 4. Bill Perron:VIVO is showing more bias than sense.
Oct 26, 2008 - 4:06 am 5. Ed Wallis:Hey folks: have you read (I saw it over at <IYTownhall) that
Obama is now getting Bill Clinton to campaign with him together?!
If “the polls” were anything CLOSE to being…err…A C C U R A T E…
…such nonsense would not be necessary at this time.
Drown out the static of the “polls”!
*** McCAIN / PALIN ‘08!!! ***
Oct 26, 2008 - 4:13 am 6. Terry Gain:Stuck On Stupid
Concerned about the economy:Vote for Obama’s socialist experiment.
Oct 26, 2008 - 5:37 am 7. Boris:“If “the polls” were anything CLOSE to being…err…A C C U R A T E…
…such nonsense would not be necessary at this time.”
You’re grasping, man.
Oct 26, 2008 - 5:48 am 8. Tom H:cedarford et el-don’t be surprised if incumbents in general get tossed – since there are a lot more Demos than Pubs in Washington right now, you might be looking at eating your words….
Oct 26, 2008 - 5:53 am 9. cedarford:Tom H:
cedarford et el-don’t be surprised if incumbents in general get tossed – since there are a lot more Demos than Pubs in Washington right now, you might be looking at eating your words….
Unlikely. People who crowed that Congress had a lower rating than Bush forgot that 25% of America hated the Democrat incumbents, and it looks like about 55% said they hated Congress because members of the Party of Bush, the Fundies, and Tom DeLay were still in office.
Right now, if you go to Real Clear Politics, the Democrats are on track for a 30 seat gain in the House, adding to their majority. More importantly, they are on track to wipe out the ability of Republicans to filibuster against judicial nominees or other critical policy. No filibuster means Republicans have no say in anything and are effectively powerless. On track for 9 Dem Senate seat pickups, with 2 more – possibly even 3 tossups that could go the Dems way. (Mississippi, Georgia, Minnesota)
Oct 26, 2008 - 6:34 am 10. R a Z o R:The Bradley Effect will be called The Obama
Effect after 5NOV08 , no disrespect to Tom .
________________________________________________
Aggressive progressive liberals like Obama with
his Marxist agenda is not an American .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjJjFoufo4
Oct 26, 2008 - 6:35 am 11. geokstr:Cedarford:
“The same polling also had Biden beating Palin by a slight margin.”
In their debate, Biden certainly did literally cream Palin in the number of major misstatements, misrepresentations and outright lies, including about his own and The One’s past postitions and statements. However, the “objective” media (an oxymoron) failed to mention that to the participants prior to taking these “random” polls of “life-long” republicans who suddenly were on bended knee kissing The Messiah’s ring.
Oct 26, 2008 - 6:41 am 12. Joseph Marshall:Well, we will see in 9 days just how accurate the polls are. At the moment they are the only actual evidence we have to go by. Heaven knows just what evidence Ed Wallis has to bring to the table.
I am very pleased [and surprised] to see somebody from PJM actually out on the battlefield and realistically reporting the conditions. What you are telling us about Wisconson seems quite close to what I am observing in Ohio, except for the fact that the poll numbers down here are closer.
Obama’s people are in neighborhood after neighborhood canvasing like Energizer Bunnies on steroids, McCain’s are hardly visible.
Now in the past here [and probably elsewhere] the Republican strategy was to track and follow everybody who has registered to vote Republican and concentrating on turning out those people, and, if they are, I wouldn’t be getting any phone calls. So McCain may have more up his sleeve than I know about.
But since we have a large gaggle of the Republican Base on the comment pages, I’ll ask a question, primarily out of curiosity and not partisan views: Has anybody here gotten a phone call, an e-mail, or a knock on their door from the McCain/Palin campaign? And, if you did, has there been any follow up?
Oct 26, 2008 - 7:23 am 13. Rachel:Comfortable with Obama???? Why would you trust a man who allowed his own constituents to live in rotting new buildings, since he forgot to check on them? And don’t tell me he did not know; they protested him!!!!
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/
Oct 26, 2008 - 7:31 am 14. Eric:O/T but I want to sprinkle this everywhere especially in light of Biden’s interview with the FL reporter.
Important distinction that NEEDS to be made over and over again between now and Nov. 4.
When Obama talks about reducing taxes for 95% of working Americans he is only talking about income taxes. He is not talking about payroll taxes which is where the funding for new programs will come from.
The nationalized health care plan the Dems are salivating about is a 7% payroll tax, the new retirement plan to replace our 401k’s is a 5% payroll tax, and the wage insurance is a 1% payroll tax for a total new tax burden of 13%. Add that to the current 6% Social Security payroll tax and the 1% (or more) Medicare payroll tax and we’re looking at a payroll tax burden in excess of 20% which is not subject to the deductions the income tax is.
No one is exempt from payroll taxes so Obama is simply lying.
Oct 26, 2008 - 7:45 am 15. Wally Kalbacken:For those not following the Wisconsin AG’s suit mentioned in this piece – it has been DISMISSED. While the Wisconsin AG suggested he would appeal – nothing would happen in time to have an impact on the Nov. 4th election. The SCOTUS ruling in the Ohio GOP v. Brunner had an impact in this case – the Circuit Judge accepted the interpretation that only the US Attorney General has the standing to sue under HAVA. The Wisconsin case involved the intertwining of HAVA and state law, do it’s not clear that there was no standing by the Wisconsin AG in those facts. It was a sloppy decision – revealed only in the transcript of the decision read in court on Thursday. I hope it’s appealed, but it will play out long after the election.
Oct 26, 2008 - 9:52 am 16. Steve Bourg:The fact that so many Americans cannot understand that NONE of Obama’s ideas will help our Capitalist economy (will in fact hurt), is not just alarming; it is tragic. The economic-illiteracy of 60% or more of our population is going to have devastating impact if/when this semi-socialist Obama is elected. Socialism cannot help create any private sector jobs. Reducing tax rates, slowing or freezing govt spending, and drilling for more of our own oil are the ways our economy can gain vibrancy………McCain and Palin understand this. Obama and Biden think just the opposite, which is utterly mind-boggling.
Oct 26, 2008 - 10:05 am 17. John:Wisconsin was never going to go Republican. That said I think the margin of Obama’s win has steadily increased due to McCain’s erratic performance and the Palin pick which was a disaster. A friend of mine owns a business in the state just outside Milwaukee. He’s a rock solid Republican but is going Obama because of Palin who he regards as an insult to the intelligence. I just surfed a few of the comments here from Republicans and I’m coming to the conclusion denial of reality has become a systemic illness in the party. It’s been apparent over the past eight years on everything from Iraq to global warming and evolution. Whether it’s claims their candidates “won” the debates, when there is a mountain of evidence to the contrary, or claims about socialism when a Republican admin is busy nationalizing banks and insurance companies, these are people who have clearly lost their bearings. I have to say it’s a fascinating insight on the human capacity for self delusion and must hearten con men and scammers everywhere.
Oct 26, 2008 - 10:10 am 18. Bill Perron:Capitalism should be a required subject taught in our schools. We teach some really ridiculous waste of time and brains subjects to students, and the subject that would really help them and the country is ignored, why ?
Oct 26, 2008 - 10:22 am 19. Marc Malone:I guess the detractors here missed reading my whole comment. McCain and Palin won on SUBSTANCE, but LOST ON STYLE and post-debate spin.
Yes,they lost the debates, but not for lack of facts. They lost on style. Obama said the usual campaign drivel, while McCain in clumsy fashion, put forward valid arguments. Obama looked unruffled, and that’s all that counted. He and Biden both do the speak-with-authority schtick, while BS-ing. It is, however, a winning strategy, when Americans have so little capacity for critical thinking.
Oct 26, 2008 - 11:52 am 20. Assistant Village Idiot:wow, cedarford, I’m impressed. You managed to pack so many DNC talking points into one comment. I think when conservatives talk about winning a debate, they usually mean on substance. The Palin/Bible Belt sneer is pretty much the usual stereotype – thanks for the independent analysis.
As to her actual intelligence, I have not read many good debates on the topic. One side just keeps repeating “Oh everyone knows she’s stupid.” You might try making it as a case that would actually persuade people by intellectual argument, rather than the usual progressive social popularity rap. Condescension doesn’t work as well on conservatives for keeping them in line – that will only work with your liberal friends.
Oct 26, 2008 - 12:05 pm 21. senor:even if the leftwing loonies do get 60 senate seats enough of them will be from conservative states to prevent things like the fairness doctrine, the freedom of choice act or other social legislation from being passed. If Obama sticks to economics and foreign policy, he’ll be ok. If he gets involved with god, gays or abortion, he’ll be in trouble.
Oct 26, 2008 - 12:30 pm 22. juliej:The Polls are absolutely wrong. People are absolutely afraid of Obama and their campaign workers. There are many reports of people who just are saying they are going to support Obama when people knock on their doors, but they are going to vote for McCain. The intimidation of vandelized McCain signs and cars have even led me to take mine down. I won’t give an Obama supporter a chance to come back at me.
Oct 26, 2008 - 12:56 pm 23. J.Scott:I firmly believe McCain is going to win. I don’t think its a Bradly Factor because we were not afraid of Tom Bradley, but we are afraid of Obama and his thugs: Ayres, Wright and Acorn. Anyone that goes after Joe the Plumber has Americans very fearful. There is no way Obama is going to win. MARK MY WORDS.
Can somebody explain to me what the heck the problem is with the folks up in Michigan? They have a Democratic Governor who has done nothing for the State except blame Bush. Here in Virginia we have another Democrat Governor whose approval rating remains opular and yet turns in a 2.5 to 3 billion dollar shortfall on the budget. he succeeded another Democrats and yet get away with blaming Bush and people buy it. While I can understand the frustration with Bush, but if the elect another Dem as Governor in either Michigan or Virginia next time they are insane!!!!
Oct 26, 2008 - 1:02 pm 24. NahnCee:“The Bradley Effect will be called The Obama Effect after 5NOV08 , no disrespect to Tom ”
I don’t think it’s a Bradley/Obama effect as much as it’s a media-lying-effect and a bought-off-pollster effect. I simply do not understand how the polls can change so much in a space of 48 hours given that EVERYone must have made their minds up by now. So who the hell are the pollsters still asking these questions of, and why are they flip-flopping so drastically from hour to hour when nothing is really happening in the Real World to cause the changes. I mean, New York hasn’t been nuked, Iraq hasn’t been lost, how much more can anyone say about Palin’s pumps and hope to make a difference?
My answer is that they’re not flip-flopping and that the questions aren’t even changing but that the pollsters are massaging and weighting the same numbers over and over again, and then the media are re-writing the same story in different words over and over again.
Which is why I think there’s a very good possibility that McCain will win, because EVERYthing that has been reported and polled for the last couple of months has been lies. If it wasn’t lies, why the forced flip-flopping when I don’t know of anyone around me who hasn’t calmly and with certainty made up their minds months ago on how they’re going to vote. And are not in the least afraid to say so, either, so I don’t believe in the Bradley effect because the word “racism” has been so over-used that it’s lost all its once-lethal power.
Oct 26, 2008 - 1:20 pm 25. AdrianS:The extensive broadening of John McCain’s presidential popularity.
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=75
Is it Obamalies or Lies Obama tells?
Oct 26, 2008 - 1:34 pm 26. Frank:http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=73
Obama will win, the slightly-less-than-half of Americans who voted against him will suffer, and the slightly-more-than-half who voted for him will get exactly what they deserved. It won’t be long before most people are ashamed to admit they voted for Obama, the way they are with Bush now
Oct 26, 2008 - 1:54 pm 27. Donna:I just want to say that I am from Wisconsin and support Sarah Palin. Before she joined the ticket, I was not sure about McCain, but she sealed the deal (and I know many people who feel that way). BTW, no one has called our house for any polls this year. It’s as if they kept track of what we answered last election and don’t want their pro-Democrat results to be skewed…
Oct 26, 2008 - 3:13 pm 28. NahnCee:I had several calls from pollsters 2 or 3 months ago – none lately, and I haven’t heard of anyone else around me that they’ve been contacted either.
Oct 26, 2008 - 3:54 pm 29. Lars:I don’t buy it for a minute. The wild divergence of the polls shows them to be completely unreliable. This year will see the mother of all “Bradley” effects, for the simple reason that the Democrats and their media accomplices have played the race card more heavily than ever. Unless one is a committed Conservative who doesn’t care that opposing Obama brands you as a racist, there is too much incentive to hide your true opinion. Middle-of-the-roaders just don’t have the moral stamina to tell pollsters the truth. The other problem with the polls is that they still considerably overcount Democrats.
Oct 26, 2008 - 4:09 pm 30. Joseph Marshall:Thanks NahnCee. Hope you can get to the polls early enough to avoid the crush, or even better, that you’ve already voted.
Oct 26, 2008 - 5:31 pm 31. anotherview:For conservatives to think Obama is middle of the road, means Obama has done the greatest con job of all times. A liberal mother and mentors has given him the socialist view of America. His friends are simply a reflection of who he is.
Put Palin and Obama side by side and there is no way Obama comes out as more “experienced.” Put them in a debate together now and Palin will kick ass. Obama has had 300 advisers to coach him now on foreign policy and as far as economy show me his experience and skills to manage big budgets. Palin can.
Lets face it, Obama is a thriller to the emotions, like a first date. Then the reality sets in about who you just kissed.
Oct 26, 2008 - 6:59 pm 32. anotherview:POLL: a number that supports an existing position, belief, and/or agenda.
Look at who does the poll and the result. That will tell you why one shows McCain dead even and another gives Obama a double digit lead.
Life is actually very simple!
Oct 26, 2008 - 7:02 pm 33. A Adams:Wisconsin is moving to the left and the South is becoming more conservative. While anger is growing on the left, what is not reported is growing anger among conservatives. Where is the point of no return? Is it possible that the Red States led by Texas, once a Republic itself, want to secede from the Union? It seems unimaginable. But I will tell, you it was once a topic of conversation that never came up that is now more frequently discussed. It seems an absurd idea but it was absurd in 1830. I hope it would not happen.
Oct 26, 2008 - 8:53 pm 34. Truth First:Very soon Barack Obama will be your new President. This is a reality you cannot alter or escape from. It is fact. It is history. It is justice for the world.
Many of you have seen the light and have accepted the truth. And we thank you for your support and aid in electing Barack Obama.
To those who have rejected the truth you have no reason to fear Barack Obama. He is wise and just and he will follow the principals followed by his African forefathers. Barack Obama is the son of Kings and Queens who started human civilization thousands of years ago. Barack Obama remembers his heritage and his obligations to the Truth, Justice and the Future.
Barack Obama understands what is wrong and what needs to be done. Barack Obama has intelligence and vision that has lasted for over a millennium. Barack Obama was born with the appropriate ways of thinking, speaking, and acting and this will inspire you to be liberated for now there is no shackle which can keep you enslaved.
An African Proverb tell us: “Then command the servant, thusly: Make an Elder’s staff causing my son to stand in my place I will instruct him through the speech of the listeners and the counsels of the first of the ancients who listened to the divinities. In so doing troubles will be removed from the people.”
Barck Obama is here now to listen, to instruct and will lead you to your new life.
America will have a new start. A change to right itself. A change to correct its wrongs and address its sins. If you support change that will bring forth social and economic justice, you will stand with Barack Obama. Those who have been denied justice in America will get justice. Those will have been denied opportunity will be given opportunity. Those will falsely imprisoned will be freed. Those who are guilty will be punished. America’s salvation is at hand.
Those who have profited in America will play a role helping others. Justice requires equality and fairness and those who have the means will now be fair and will contribute to equality.
Stand with Barack Obama and you will be honored you for your work, sacrifice, dedication and devotion on behalf of all oppressed peoples.
Stand with Barack Obama and you will be honored and celebrated and remembered in song and praise and by your children.
http://truthfirstnow.blogspot.com
Oct 26, 2008 - 9:27 pm 35. Nahanni:“Truth First” is a poster child for what Ali Sina was talking about in “Understanding Obama: The Making of a Fuehrer”
http://www.faithfreedom.org/obama.html
“When you fall for someone to the extent that Obama’s followers have fallen for him, you surrender your reason and individuality to him willingly. When millions of people surrender their hearts and their minds to one person the result can be catastrophic. This is what happened in Germany with Hitler, in China with Mao, in the Soviet Union with Stalin, in Cuba with Castro, in Iran with Khomeini, and so on and so forth. Today, we think these men were monsters, but that was not what millions of their worshipers thought. Those people loved them. Dictators can’t dictate, unless people are willing to be dictated.”
*snip*
“Anyone can be fooled by narcissists. Just as experienced and smart senators of the Democratic Party have surrendered to the charisma of Obama, a man who is inferior to them all in every sense; many members of the media also have fallen for his charm hook, line and sinker. The American media is soft on Obama, but extremely harsh and deceitfully unfair on Governor Palin. The “rich White Americans,” the very people he despised for twenty years are swooning for him. The Jews whom he opposed all his life are backing him. They are opening their wallets and supporting his campaign in an unprecedented way. He has managed to charm even the Kennedys. Ted Kennedy, the lion in Winter, passed the Kennedy mantle unto Obama. That was hugely symbolic. As for the great Clintons, he made them submissive, and for whatever reason, incomprehensible to me, they are playing his game. Think about it. Obama is a cipher. In reality, he is nobody. And yet, thanks to his overbearing display of authority, the very mask that he is wearing to hide his devalued and injured self, he has overwhelmed all the giants of the Democratic party. Cults are full of smart people who have been hoodwinked by ally sick needy people.
Could all this phenomenal support and unbounded adulation erupt into violence? All the abuses and killings in Nazi Germany were done by the Germans, ordinary people who loved Hitler and believed in the glorious tomorrow that he was promising them. Hitler was insane, but those who did his bidding were not. Despite being smart, they did not hesitate to fulfill their fuhrer’s wishes and commit the most heinous crimes. The same thing happened in Iran. Ordinary people, once under the spell of Khomeini, acted like beasts. This is what happens when sane people follow insane people.
Could the same happen in America? Why not? Look how millions of people literally worship Obama. With some people I cannot even talk about Obama. They cannot tolerate any criticism of him. They get angry and, not only they want to end the conversation but threaten to end the friendship. I am familiar with this kind of religious devotion to a person. The reaction that I get from Obama worshipers is similar to that of Muslims when their prophet is criticized.”
*snip*
“How can smart people let themselves be manipulated by a psychopath to such an extent that they become quasi zombies? Recall what the smart Germans did under the spell of Hitler. Bear in mind what the Soviets did under the influence of Stalin. Consider what the Japanese did during WWII when they believed in the divinity of their emperor. Evoke how the Chinese Red Guard massacred millions of their own countrymen when they were blinded by their love for Mao and his faux notion of equality. Look at the Islamic terrorists. Can’t we say the same about them? Isn’t Islamic savagery the result of Muslims’ uncritical devotion to a long deceased narcissist? If you don’t know what I am talking about, I invite you to read my book, Understanding Muhammad. When sane people fall for the lies of an insane man, they act insanely.
No one is born a terrorist. Terrorists are ordinary people who do the bidding of a pathological narcissist whom they love and worship as their liberator. They are so enamored with him that they stop thinking and act like automatons. To prove their love and devotion they can commit murder and even suicide. They can kill their own children, as the followers of Jim Jones did in Guyana. The narcissist encourages all of this behavior because it validates his delusion of omnipotence. It reassures him that he is loved, respected, counted, taken seriously. Did you hear the song played during the Democratic convention? It said, “This is the church.” And who do you think is the head of that church? Americans are as fallible and as gullible as everyone else. It is foolhardy to say “it won’t happen to us.” Just as today, Obama’s supporters happily engage in intellectual dishonesty, deceitful reporting, and even hooliganism, I predict they will soon, merrily commit the same crimes other nations committed under the spell of their narcissistic leaders.”
Oct 27, 2008 - 2:05 am 36. urbanleftbehind:Just another reason Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) (or, reluctantly, Tim Pawlenty) made more sense as a VP pick.
Oct 27, 2008 - 9:45 am 37. Donna V.:I live in Wisconsin, in one of the bluest areas of the state outside of the People’s Republic of Madison. I’d be amazed if Wisconsin went red, but I do find it odd that there are some McCain signs in my neighborhood. There were no Bush signs at all in 2000 or 2004. And once I get out into the ‘burbs, I see more McCain than Obama signs. But voter fraud occurred here in ‘00 and ‘04 and I don’t doubt the Dems will be up to their usual tricks.
Many Wisconsinites are stubbornly conservative about their liberalism. They vote Dem because dad and grandpa did and damnit don’t confuse them with the facts. And so Wisconsin has one of the highest property tax rates in the country and Milwaukee has a terrible business climate (in addition to a terrible climate, period).
There’s a referendum on the ballot here in Milwaukee which will require businesses to pay sick time. That’s nice, isn’t it? Sick time is one of those deals that should be worked out between employer and employee, but the libs here want the government to mandate pay. So if you run a McDonald’s and the 17 year olds working for you call in sick so they can go to a rock concert, you’ll still have to pay them. In fact, from the POV of the employee, it would be stupid to ask for unpaid time off if you can call in sick and still get paid.
Sadly, it will probably pass – ’cause we’re so fair and nice here. And people will continue to sit in the neighborhood bars and wonder why all the jobs are moving elsewhere.
If my family wasn’t here, I’d move to a red state in a minute – a warmer red state!
Oct 27, 2008 - 10:08 am 38. deguello:An increasingly stupid and stupefied,ignorant,and intellectually vapid american electorate,is going to get a self-administered lesson in Chavez style marxism;let ‘em choke on it!
Oct 27, 2008 - 10:29 am 39. urbanleftbehind:Donna V,
Your property taxes are probably still lower than Lake County IL. Otherwise, what explains so many people commuting to the northern suburbs of IL from SE Wisconsin (Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie)? Maybe its a Milwaukee metro thing.
Also, whats up with the lack of mandatory auto insurance? Half of my town (Waukegan, the beaner capital of North America) has Wees-con-sin plates.
Oct 27, 2008 - 11:10 am 40. nlcatter:Rhodes scholars vote for Obama
Nobel prize winners vote for Obama
really ignorant
FU Racists
Oct 27, 2008 - 11:15 am 41. nick:I was not for Obama,
I have been anti MORONIC GOP
and they proved themselves worthy of title
Oct 27, 2008 - 11:17 am 42. Heather:It doesn’t matter what the polls say; vote fraud is as firmly entrenched here as it is in Chicago. Obama will get enough fake votes in Milwaukee County to win the state no matter how much people in Wisconsin don’t want him. Watch when the results are broadcast; Milwaukee County will annouce last and put him over the top.
Oct 27, 2008 - 11:22 am 43. Donna V.:“Your property taxes are probably still lower than Lake County IL. Otherwise, what explains so many people commuting to the northern suburbs of IL from SE Wisconsin (Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie)?”
You know, I wasn’t aware of that,…,but saying property taxes are lower in IL than in Wisconsin is like saying the Sahara is cooler than Death Valley. That may be, but would you want to live in either place?
Not even the most liberal Wisconsinites I know have an answer when I ask them if they really want a President from the city that has produced entities even more vile than the loathsome Ayers and Wright.I am speaking of course, of the Cubs and the Bears, also known in these parts as Evil Incarnate.:-)
Oct 27, 2008 - 12:26 pm 44. Donna V.:Heather: I am sorry to say that I think you’re right.
Hopefully, Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s son, Solar Moon Twinkie or whatever his name is, won’t be vandalizing cars with McCain bumper stickers like he did in 2004.
Oct 27, 2008 - 12:32 pm 45. Big Red:You nailed it, Heather. As a life-long resident of America’s Tax Hell, our two biggest problems have been the People’s Republic of Madison and Morewelfare County. We have taxed and spent more jobs out of this state than most will ever see, but we just don’t seem to learn. Show us a lying, free taxing and spending populist with a D after his name and we’ll run over little old ladies to get to the polls and vote fir him. Also, truth First, get a kick out of your posts, however when hitting the salad bar at Veggies R Us, you might want to take a close look at the mushrooms
Oct 27, 2008 - 12:54 pm 46. Jim Baker:nick,
Oct 27, 2008 - 1:11 pm 47. nlcatter:How much do you get paid to drop your drivel in here. Don’t try to explain anything, just state your age.
thansk for your AH reply
123
Oct 27, 2008 - 1:54 pm 48. kevin c:YOU CANT TALK SENSE TO THE STUPID. I DONT EVEN BOTHER. COMMIELIBS HAVE IQS LOWER THAN THE TEMPERATURE OF AN ICICLE IN SIBERIA IN JANUARY AND FOLLOW MARXIST IDEALS THAT HAVE FAILED MORE TIMES THAN THE CUBS TRYING TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES. FACT IS AS FORREST GUMP SAID “STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES”. NOT TO MENTION EINSTIENS DEFINITION IF INSANITY.
Oct 27, 2008 - 2:24 pm 49. nlcatter:this is the Typical GOP
andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-n-word.html
Oct 27, 2008 - 2:53 pm 50. nlcatter:lets see my sats were 1480,
my GRE was PERFECT – ACT 31
yes im a dummy all right like
andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-n-word.html
Oct 27, 2008 - 3:34 pm 51. Marina:O.K., we all will never say we don’t like communism when the communism comes. That’s the feature of communism.
If someone dosen’t belive the polls, please, help me:::::::
OBAMA FAKE CROWDS:
http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/6765
Please, read it if you want, but please, please send it to Rush, one of our last mouthes:
ElRushbo@eibnet.com
MY PROVIDER BLOCKS IT ALL THE TIME, PLEASE HELP ME,
OBAMA REALLY FAKES HIS CROWDS!!!!!!!!!
Send it to Rush or wherever you like, spread it, please,
Oct 27, 2008 - 6:28 pm 52. Fred:DON’T LET THEM KILL OUR SPIRIT WITH THEIR FAKED POLLS!
nl “clutter” is up to her usual spamming again.
Wisconsin is going Leftwards because the political culture there has been primed for it for a long time. Things like this do not happen overnight. The school systems and the colleges and universities all play a role in advancing the Gramscian agenda. The Left has worked hard at this; Republicans and conservative Democrats have been too lazy and complacent for many years. The same thing is happening in my state (New Hampshire). There are a lot of variables involved in the nation moving left of center.
Now they are about to govern with a super majority. We will be watching them very closely.
Oct 27, 2008 - 10:39 pm 53. Marc Malone:Fred – I don’t think the Gramscian march is the cause of this shift. It is the effect of natural trends. The Tyler (Tytler) Cycle explains it perfectly:
Bondage> Spirituality> Liberty> Affluence> Selfishness> Apathy> Dependence> Bondage
We were in apathy about 10-20 years ago. Voter turnout was incredibly low. Our vote didn’t matter. “Same soul with a different face.” – Prince
We’ve been moving into dependence for some time now. Free this, that, and the other. Populism from both parties. That’s where all the massive spending comes from. The bailout has put us firmly there, now. This will swiftly lead to bondage. The only way out will be for people to seek spirituality, that is, turn back to God. And so it goes.
When the student is ready; the teacher appears. When the slave is ready; the slavemaster appears.
Oct 27, 2008 - 11:43 pm 54. bobc:GOD? is that Zeus or hercules?
or perhap Mercury?
I love you superstitious morons no different than Taliban terrorists
Oct 28, 2008 - 12:00 pm 55. nick:I was in Denver , 100,000! WOW
and when I touched the fake people, they did not fall over , they said ‘watch it”
Oct 28, 2008 - 12:02 pm 56. Frank Logan:This story is bullsh$t. Wisconsin will be very close. McCain will win Ohio & Pa and win going away. Liberals will remain dupes like always.
Oct 28, 2008 - 6:17 pm 57. nick:ohio? perhaps
penn – never
wisc ? close perhaps
Oct 28, 2008 - 6:32 pm 58. harmonicminer » Potpouri #3:[...] my great sadness at the moral blindness of the state where much of my family comes [...]
Oct 28, 2008 - 10:16 pm 59. Bruce:Truth First writes:
“Barack Obama understands what is wrong and what needs to be done. Barack Obama has intelligence and vision that has lasted for over a millennium. Barack Obama was born with the appropriate ways of thinking, speaking, and acting and this will inspire you to be liberated for now there is no shackle which can keep you enslaved.
An African Proverb tell us: “Then command the servant, thusly: Make an Elder’s staff causing my son to stand in my place I will instruct him through the speech of the listeners and the counsels of the first of the ancients who listened to the divinities. In so doing troubles will be removed from the people.”
Barck Obama is here now to listen, to instruct and will lead you to your new life”.
un quote.
Thank you, truer wiser words have never been uttered.
Freaken awesome those African Genes and culture. I think barry could save America, the world…. ah…. but..
But you forget, barry is only 50% Kenyan.
What about the other 50% of his genetic background; The northern European, savage, brutal, colonizing, racist, enslaving world,conquering western cowboy captitalist genes. The same genes and culture that also happened have produced the biggest cult murders in mans history “In the name of Marxism”.
That’s the half of the man I worry about. So I’m torn, is barry the wise African who can save the world as “truth first” claims or is he the lying hidden Anglo,Chicago Marxist?.
So this man is inhertanly 50% flawed. Dang it, how can a man with those crimes in his gene pool save us?.
But I will give up thinking, worrying and have faith.
Oct 29, 2008 - 5:24 pm 60. Kevin in Wisconsin:barry help us. barry be praised.
barry is great.
Gotta tell ya, what I see in my little Southeast Wisconsin hamlet of New Berlin and West Allis is McCain signs 6-1 over Obama signs. And growing up in northern Wisconsin, as I did, there’s a hell of a lot more people that will take to the Republican ticket than the Democrats. Tommy was a popular Governor because he was fair. He weighed the pros and cons, and chose what was best for the state. This state is 90+% small businesses. Think they’re going to vote to have their taxes increased? The city of Milwaukee is seeing what a Democratic majority is getting them: 14.6% increase in property taxes approved from the school board just two days ago after 30% reduction in student enrollment but no commensurate reduction in costs, a referendum on the tripling of the county sales tax, the possibility of EVERY business having to provide sick days to employees (even those who allow sick days under a blanket Paid Time Off accrual).
I’ve been called several times by the local Republican office, and have encouraged them to keep calling. I’ve received many mailings from them as well. The only pro-Obama mailing we’ve received? From the Teacher’s Union, of which my wife is a member. But guess what . . . my wife teaches her college students to think critically about their decisions – she’s teaching them life and death decisions of patient care. And she’s voting McCain.
Me? An engineer with a Master’s degree? I don’t believe a word about Obama’s supposed double digit lead in Wisconsin. But don’t take my word for it. Read for yourself what Milwaukee is finding out under Democratic leadership:
Oct 29, 2008 - 7:41 pm 61. God Help Us:School Board: http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/33470044.html
Sales tax: http://www2.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=807738
Sick Days: http://www.jsonline.com/business/33544954.html
I hate to bring these facts up because they make me sick, but Wisconsin has been a very liberal state for a very long time. We did have a republican Gov. for many years, but he spent money like a democrat. Also, Milwaukee was the first city to ever elect a socialist mayor and the socialist party is still very strong and very organized here. God help us.
You need to watch this video.
Oct 30, 2008 - 11:00 am 62. Kevin in Wisconsin:Update on the McCain signs – my four got stolen last night. How’s that for interfering with my freedom of speech? Luckily I had another one up by the house, so it went right back down by the road. Screw you, thief! I will not be silenced! Tomorrow I’m stopping by the Republican headquarters and getting a few more.
Oct 30, 2008 - 7:52 pm 63. tree_city:Kevin – around here very few Obama signs. Had 2 McCain signs out, property manager stole them.
Oct 30, 2008 - 9:54 pmWouldn’t at all be surprised at a large “stealth voter” turnout for McCain – I don’t see any signs on lawns in this working class section but most of the signs I see are McCain signs on business properties. Just can’t talk with some of these Obama fans, they know better, facts be damned! “Stealth voter” – someone who knows who he/she supports, doesn’t want to hassle from the opposition or discuss it.