EDITORIAL NOTE: This Post Originally Appeared At The Huffington Post / Off The Bus On September 14, 2008.
Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-foval/wisconsin-hotly-contested_b_126332.htmlto view the original post.
Wisconsin has become one of the most watched battleground states in the country, and forces on both the Democratic and Republican sides have activated their field operations and get-out-the-vote, or GOTV, efforts to woo registered Independent and undecided likely voters. Democrats have been hoping to turn this traditionally red state into a purple or possibly even blue one this year. But just before polls opened last Tuesday for Wisconsin's general assembly primary, numerous, unconfirmed allegations began to surface of a behind-the-scenes effort by the McCain-Palin campaign to manipulate the vote totals in Wisconsin and other key states this November.
On the Monday night before the primary, thousands of Wisconsin registered Independents and voters who have re-registered in the last year received absentee ballot applications enclosed in McCain / Palin direct mail pieces. The pre-printed, re-mailable absentee ballot applications appeared to be customized to the recipient's mailing address, with the addressee's local election office already on the form. Such mailers have been a tool for political campaigns, labor unions, GOTV interest organizations, and state and county election offices for a number of years. Other states reportedly saw similar mailings hit mailboxes, possibly totaling in the millions.
On the surface, the mailings appear to be a legal GOTV effort to re-register targeted recipients for the November 4 general election. But reports in the blogosphere, progressive media, and by other individual sources allege that the forms could instead be part of a larger effort to purposefully manipulate voter registrations in Wisconsin and possibly nationwide. The mailers, if true, may be a type of voter fraud because if someone receives an absentee ballot but does not send it in, he or she cannot go to the polls and vote on election day. The allegations imply that the McCain campaign is sending absentee ballots to people in the hopes that they will not send them in and when they try to vote in person will be turned away.
On Thursday's and Friday's nationally-broadcast Thom Hartmann Show, which airs on Air America Radio Network and streamed online, guest host Lee Rayburn of AAR affiliate The Mic 92.1 FM in Sun Prairie, Wisc., broke the story about the mailings and fielded numerous calls from listeners echoing their concerns about them.
In Wisconsin, the core center of government, the state capitol of Madison, is notoriously liberal. And Milwaukee, the economic center along Lake Michigan, tends to lean left. However, over the last three decades the rest of the state, proud of its independence, its agricultural and green technology industries, and religious conservatism, has proven to be moderate-to-conservative, primarily voting so-called red most of the time. In the last 12 years Wisconsin also has had its share of alleged voting irregularities, although investigations into the allegations have not yet been aggressively pursued by the state assembly or attorney general's offices.
This year, however, may be different. As the economic policies of George Bush have played out, and 3000-plus Wisconsin National Guard reservists were called up last weekend to deploy to Iraq this fall, the state's residents seem to have shifted their opinions of the Republican Party, and the presidential and vice presidential contests. As a result, Wisconsinites are scrutinizing every angle of electing their public officials at a level that has not been seen before. Members of the military who are deployed abroad, by far the largest group of absentee voters, are being courted particularly heavily by the political parties, as dissension in the ranks has swung both political contributions and absentee registrations towards the Democrats and away from Republicans in many states.
Direct mail campaigns containing absentee ballot applications from political parties and campaigns targeted at registered Independents are not new. Wisconsin is an Independent stronghold due to the popularity of Independent U.S. Senator Herb Kohl. Mail campaigns also affect the local and statewide races by activating those potential swing votes. Democrats have been active too, coordinating GOTV efforts for contested Wisconsin General Assembly seats with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU distributed direct mail pieces to thousands of households on behalf of their endorsed candidates to likely voters in Wisconsin and other states. In Wisconsin both direct mail campaigns hit mailboxes on or before Monday night, September 8, just in time for Tuesday's primary activities. The SEIU mailers did not contain absentee ballot applications, nor did they include endorsements of the national parties or the Obama-Biden campaigns.
McCain's political pitch is targeted squarely at pro-life conservatives. The headline, "A faith that sustains me...," leads to a main story starting with his POW experience in Vietnam, his adoption (with wife Cindy) of a little girl from Mother Theresa's orphanage, and delivers the pro-life position to the reader right between the eyes.
Quoted McCain lines from one of the mailers include these:
"My faith in God sustained me, protected me and gave me the strength to endure."
"That's why I have consistently fought to defend the right to life and the rights of the unborn."
"That's why Cindy and I have worked to promote adoption here and around the world as an alternative to abortion, including adopting our own daughter from Mother Theresa's orphanage in Bangladesh."
"And that's why I will appoint judges that respect the values and protect the rights established in our Constitution, faithfully applying the law without legislating from the bench."
Local party officials and labor union organizers are mixed on the effect the national efforts will have on the races at the local level, and on the results in November. Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District Democratic Party Chairman Peter Rickman, an experienced political operative and labor organizer for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), indicated in a Thursday phone interview that the national campaigns are prioritizing their efforts in Wisconsin towards GOTV efforts, but that more statewide and local media buys would be necessary to sway the voters in his district. Rickman insisted that the local candidates and parties were more focused on winning the Wisconsin General Assembly for Democrats, because local politics, he said, is where "real governing happens," and was pessimistic on whether the Obama campaign had done enough to support the entire ticket in an effort to spur the kind of change Obama spoke about in his Democratic National Convention acceptance speech.
"They're focused on their guy and getting him elected, and that's great, but the Obama Campaign could do a lot more to help out in local and statewide races, supporting the whole ticket," Rickman said. "If they really want to make change happen, it's going to have to be at the grassroots level, and although they have raised a lot of individual contributions and support from the grassroots, I haven't seen much of that money coming back in the way of paid media." Rickman did say, however, that the Obama-Biden Campaign and other national organizations are mobilizing large numbers of volunteers and paid staffers in his state and others to bolster GOTV efforts, which would go a long way to insure that likely voters are delivered on November 4.
Wisconsin Republican Party officials at the state and county levels in several areas were contacted for this report, but numerous requests for comment about the allegations surrounding the McCain-Palin mailings went unanswered. Democratic officials, including Rickman and Dane County Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Bigelow, did not mention the absentee ballot allegations in their respective interviews, but have been contacted for follow-up on this story. Efforts to contact state election officials about the allegations are still ongoing, but at press time, requests for comment have yet to be answered.
It used to be that when we reached this stage in a Presidential campaign, it was possible to get some substance from the requisite “60 Minutes” appearances by the candidates. You could watch the show and pretty much make up your mind which candidate fit your view of the world. This year, unfortunately, John McCain's and Barack Obama's appearances were clearly unbalanced—and it wasn't because the candidates were not matched.From the first segment through the entire hour, it became clear that the McCain half of the show was a “kid-glove” treatment from usually tough and thorough Scott Pelley, while Obama took major league hardballs from Steve Kroft and hit them out of the park. McCain, in his usual constrained, borderline-head-explosion style, came across as himself—an angry old man. He also looked constipated. Hey, I'm just saying. Hey Grampy! Metamucil, oatmeal, coffee...something! Anything!Every time Pelley got anywhere near a pointed real question, McCain looked like he was about to pull out his NRA-engraved six-shooter and blow Pelle away. The result was that Pelley spent more time talking to Jimmy Mac about his near washout in the Naval Academy, his reckless youth, his time at the Hanoi Hilton (again and again), and how he is running for President because its about “something more than self.” Even though McCain had what has arguably been referred to as the “worst week ever” for a campaign due to his flip flop on the state of the economy, calling for the firing of SEC Chairman and fellow Republican Christopher Cox (the President can't fire the SEC chair), and Sarah Palin's numerous flubs all over the place--Pelley didn't seem to realize that McCain was trying to avoid discussing almost every substantive issue on the table.Wow, Mr. Pelley, way to really go for it and grill McCain on the issues. I mean, the guy has lied his ass off for nearly 4 weeks now, switched positions on everything, has the $2 Millon a year former lobbyist for Fannie and Freddie as his campaign manager, and is propping up his campaign with Alaskan Republican eye candy. Couldn't you come up with something more important than asking about where John McCain gathers his thoughts while walking across the place where he gathers his thoughts? Dumb TV questioning equals more dumb TV, sir.The scariest moment of the interview was when Pelley asked whether McCain believed Sarah Palin was ready to step in as President of the United States if necessary. Coldly, without emotion, expansion, or context; McCain replied “Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.” Pelley failed to ask about McCain's rumored cancer remission, why he refuses to release his full medical records, or exactly what McCain's definition of “ready” might be.Obama, meanwhile was Presidential in his demeanor, and to be fair...he did not look constipated. He must be eating his bran muffins and Activia. Steve Kroft, always a solid interviewer, made a point of pushing hard about Obama's response to the current economic crisis, his position on the Iraq war, asked why the Illinois Senator believes he is best qualified to be President, and what the real differences are between McCain and Obama.The most notable portion of Obama's “60 Minutes” profile was a segment when Kroft and Obama were in the middle of a post-speech interview. Unexpectedly, Obama interrupted the taping to respond to loud calls from a nearby rope line. Politely, and without any of the usual politicianesque behavior often exhibited by candidates in unscripted moments, called back and asked the crowd to give him a minute to wrap up the interview. Obama then returned his focus to the camera to wrap up the segment. Immediately after answering the last question the camera followed Obama back to the rope line to capture a heartfelt moment where an elderly African-American woman shared with the Senator her story about her recently deceased husband, "who tried to stay alive long enough to see Obama elected."She explained that they had been married 70 years, and her husband had just died a few days earlier. Truly touched by his story, the Senator reached out and gave her a big lingering hug, thanking her for sharing the story. The dramatic and real TV moment was a sharp contrast to the stilted walk-and-talk Pelle conducted with McCain immediately after his RNC acceptance speech; where Cindy McCain is awkwardly left trailing listlessly and silently behind the two men as they talk about how he pulled out the nomination from a previously-failing campaign.Its not to say that the entire “60 Minutes” didn't have value. It truly did, as it demonstrated how the mainstream media continues to give McCain a major pass, while Obama has to be perfect every time, all the time. Even in the supposedly balanced gaze of the Tiffany network's eye, there is no longer balanced coverage. Frankly, as a young journalist who was schooled to believe that the venerable program was the best-of-the-best of the news magazine format; it would appear a letdown was inevitable. I'm just very disappointed that it came during the most important Presidential election in my lifetime.
View the original post at http://www.scottsbigmouth.com/main/2008/09/amid-mass-distr.html
On the eve of the International Conference on HIV / AIDS, kicking off today in Mexico City, Mexico, a revelation on the depth of the HIV/AIDS epidemic ripped across the wires. The rate of HIV/AIDS infections in the United States annually was underreported by roughly 40%.
After all the number crunching, the hemming and hawing over experimental vaccines, DNA profiles, drug-resistant strains, and experimental regimens; the numbers we have been talking about are actually 40% higher than reported. The new numbers tell us that nearly a quarter of a million additional Americans are living with the virus that causes AIDS or have full-blown AIDS, up from just over a million to 1.1 million.
As a self-identified HIV-positive American, I would have expected that my government was keeping better tabs on the epidemic. More than that, knowing this new data, I would have expected that U.S. HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment would be at least as important as other items on the national agenda, equally-as-important as the economy, jobs, poverty, corporate responsibility, the housing crisis, etc. I have a very hard time believing that this data is actually “new” information. Rather, it seems to me, based upon the particular agencies involved in public health policy and the Bush Administration's policies towards dissemination of this type of information, it is becoming clear that in the last 8 years the Bush Administration has been fudging the numbers in order to purposefully ignore the domestic HIV/AIDS situation, while simultaneously giving billions in global HIV/AIDS assistance to appear empathetic and responsive to the problem.
Meanwhile, U.S. HIV/AIDS prevention policy is hopelessly delivered via abstinence-only education programming in public and private schools, a course of “cloaked theology” proving itself ineffective through actual reported teenage pregnancies and up-ticks in new STD reports not including HIV/AIDS. At the national and state levels, HIV/AIDS research dollars, governed by the numbers that are now being “restated,” already are steered away from domestic “street level” prevention and treatment. Rather than leading research, prevention, and treatment at home, U.S. Taxpayers' health care dollars are spent on massive external delivery of anti-retroviral pharmaceuticals to African countries in an effort to cultivate needed goodwill, and the all-important access to oil reserves they hold.
These new numbers arguably are just another bullet in the smoking gun of hypocrisy that has become the hallmark of today's Republican party. Through cynical manipulation of all U.S. Government resources towards relentless pursuit of oil exploration at all costs, massive propaganda campaigns to confuse the American people, and manipulation of markets and other government -- all efforts are designed and executed to reward Republican donors' “investments” in their candidates. Regardless of who dies on the home front, be it soldiers or those suffering without adequate health care, the Bush Administration won't spend a dime unless it benefits their power or their pocketbook.
Obviously that statement is arguably controversial, especially because the Bushies claim they care about people with HIV/AIDS. The problem is, they only care when oil is connected to the situation. If you asked George W. Bush and Laura “Pickles” Bush to come down to the hood or to boystown to tour an HIV/AIDS not-for-profit treatment and services program...oh, I don't know...like TPAN here in Chicago (http://www.tpan.org), I guarantee you will get a non-response. Heck, we can't even get local Republican candidates to come down and witness the lack of resources, scarcity of free adequate HIV/AIDS care, and widespread starvation that exists here--let alone getting POTUS to stop by.
The truth is that we gays and african-americans have been written-off as “disposable” by the Republicans in charge of our current U.S. (and many local) government. We don't give a lot of money to them, we don't align with their right-wing conservative Christian ideology, and we don't “fall in line” behind the straight white guys who are their candidates. As a result, this 40% number, in any other context a scary increase over previously-disclosed numbers, will barely be reported in the corporately-controlled, Republican-leaning mainstream media. Rather, it will be swept under the rug, like all other things that affect the poor, afflicted, and less-powerful; and will only be spread under the left-wing and progressive blogs. The caveat is that if enough of these left-wing sites spread the message far enough, maybe, just maybe a brave reporter for Big Media will do some digging...of course, then that person's editor will nix their story.
Context: Download the speech here and View the video here.
First reaction: “Holy shit.” Second reaction: “Is that even possible?” Third reaction: “Holy shit.” Fourth reaction: “Pass the vodka.”
That was the the universal response; and that was by Thursday night. By the time Gore made it to “Meet The Press” Sunday morning, the press and the blogosphere had dissected his entire plan within an inch of its young life. Almost nowhere were people standing up and cheering “Yes We Can!” as if Barack Obama had taken the stage. Almost everywhere, people were downplaying the “reality” of the plan, and amping-up the questionable “possibility” of Gore's plan. Despite incredible cheers the moment it was made (to a crowd of excitable admirers, no doubt); Gore's plan was panned almost across the board by the MSM pundits and presserati.
Even the usually-malleable Tom Brokaw, (filling in for our dear, departed journalistic hero Tim Russert) seemed to not even glance in the direction of 'hope' and seemed to bat-down the plan without even an exploration of its points of possibility. Instead, Brokaw wasted his time with Gore debating the overall notion of the plan, ignoring its points of merit; choosing to refocus the discussion on the recent “New Yorker” cover, Gore's relationship with Bill and Hillary Clinton, and his appearance at The White House as a Nobel Prize recipient.
The question left on the table still isn't being covered by the MSM. In essence, does the U.S. (and arguably the world) have the guts to actually take on Gore's challenge? Do we still have that “Henry Ford” or “Wright Brothers” belief in our own abilities to actually make a go of it? Or, alternatively, are we resigned to the status quo, drilling offshore for oil that won't even make a dent in the fossil fuel dependence vs. climate change issue.
In the shadow of Anheuser Busch's absorption by InBev, does America still hold Augie Busch's legacy of good 'ol St. Louis can-do-it-ed-ness? Are we even going to try? Judging by the reaction from the press and pundits, one must shed a tear for the apparent lack of sack that is being reflected back at us.
Frankly, as an American, I'm embarrassed.
Rather than questioning the possibility or potentiality of Gore's plan, where are the people calling for Americans to “strap-a-pair-on and go for it?” The bottom line reality of the situation is that we need to listen to this man. So should both Presidential candidates, as should anyone running for Congress. Entrepreneurs all over the world should consider Gore's challenge a call-to-arms, and venture capitalists should consider this gamble to be the biggest opportunity we've ever had to duplicate and surpass the golden industrial age in both accomplishment and profit. Call it the “Greendustrial Revolution.”
All of the aforementioned parties should consider Gore's vocal leadership a common-sense airing of what we already know...we have to pull our stuff together and just go for it. I find it interesting that this kind of visceral, no-nonsense, “git-'er-done” kick-in-the-ass is exactly what the U.S. Economy needs, yet Wall Street doesn't seem to be getting it yet. More interesting (and frankly, a point of personal satisfaction) is that the current President seems to be sidelined in the current debate, preferring to return to what he knows (drilling) vs. what he doesn't (leadership). Once again, Al Gore is proving that he is more Presidential than the President himself, even in his call to “widen the space of political debate” and move forward with a tangible goal for all of us, regardless of partisan affiliation.
We need to “step up” and actually try to make this thing happen. Even if we don't do it in 10 years, we arguably might get a major portion of Gore's list accomplished and save the planet. Agreed, it is a daunting, and seemingly crazy proposition, that we might actually replace fossil-fuel-based electricity with clean renewable energy. Even if we achieve even half of what is necessary to reach the long-term-vision, at least we're going somewhere in the same direction...hopefully saving human civilization from itself in the process.
“Holy shit, pass the vodka...and the silicon. (gulp) Yes we can!”
Copyright 2008 Scott B. Foval
For a while now numerous American leaders have called for a change from business-as-usual politics. Barack Obama arguably has the most star power of this new generation. In reality, though, he is boiling down the complex web of issues that America needs to address into a core message for a mass audience to digest. “Change” is the mantra, because in these days of “sheeople” that can't pay attention long enough to see the train that's about to hit them, one word is just about all that can get through the noise coming from their iPod.
His advisers understand this intimately. His top “commander” is David Ploeff, a member of my own generation of political operatives who grew up with TV, worked for the old school candidates, and cut our teeth on Baby Boomers' perceptions of the world – often having more than a few misgivings about how the old ideas were working out. Barack Obama himself straddles the two generations, but is arguably more “Next Generation” than “Boomer.” To put it in TV terms, our parents liked Captain Kirk, but our generation knew that Jean Luc Picard was better.
So now the next generation political campaign is setting records in nearly every area of American politics. Ploeff, with a ripened, old-school mentor in strategist and media guru David Axelrod, is hatching a plan to be competitive in 50 states, many that haven't voted for a Democrat in two to three generations. They are raising money that out-paced even the money machines of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush using a hybrid of small donors and big money supporters woven into a symbiotic patchwork, rather than big lobbyists just running the table. Finally, and this may be the most important part, they've managed to boil the campaign down to “change” and make it stick.
Yes, they are stealing a page from Bill Clinton's own playbook. Anyone who's seen “The War Room” remembers the two mantras that James “Semper Fi” Carville (a.k.a. “Copperhead”), Paul “Motormouth” Begala (a.k.a. “The Texan”), and George “The Whiz Kid” Stephanopolous (a.k.a. “The Greek”) drilled into staffers' heads. “Change vs. More of the Same” and “It's the Economy Stupid” are as famous now for how closely they followed the good old P.R. rule of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid), as Bubba is for actually taking it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When you remember this factoid it might explain why the former POTUS was more than a little hurt and uncharacteristically hypersensitive when Obama kicked him and his wife in the tail on the campaign trail.
The fact remains, when Barack Obama was a young “Barry;” he was exposed to the lessons that were taught during the Reagan and Clinton eras. What he and his own “War Room” understand now is that those political lessons need to be improved upon and revised for the next generation. They understood at the campaign's outset that K.I.S.S. was going to have to be boiled down even further for today's “Ritalin Kids” to absorb. The result of their work is that he has a bigger army of diverse, excited, and energized young activists joining his campaign organization (i.e. the “movement”) than anything modern American politics has ever seen.
If you take the 100,000-foot view of the two major Presidential campaigns, there is a stark contrast between the messages preached out on the stump. It is so simple, really; but not everyone is seeing it -- either because they are blinded by the hubris that got them where they are today in the first place, or they are just part of a different generation. John McCain is a product of an older generation, the Clintons are Boomers (and so are Al Gore and John Kerry, mind you – part of the reason they never captured the next generation's imagination), while Barack Obama is recognized "one of us” in the minds of these young activists. He “gets it” and “means it.”
The older folks don't believe it though, because they think they've seen this dog-and-pony-show before.
They're right. His name was John F. Kennedy, and if you've been paying attention you'll quickly remember that Kennedy's brother Ted and daughter Caroline are major players in Barack Obama's kitchen cabinet of advisors. So is Gore, and hopefully so will be the Clintons if the former POTUS can put his ego in his pocket.
The JFK comparisons have been all over the place, but most commentators haven't quite been able to nail the “why.” What is it about Barack Obama's candidacy that reflects John F. Kennedy's? The reason is simple. It's the “movement,” not the particular candidate, something the older generation was unable to achieve in the post-JFK-assassination political landscape. The people who were there for the inside discussions in some of those aforementioned campaigns know and privately might even admit -- it has been tried numerous times.
So Obama is going for it, not for himself, but for “the movement” and this time the Secret Service is hopefully going to keep him alive to actually make it happen. Hopefully the Clintons will go the way of Gore and Kerry and work with the Obama juggernaut to bring the Boomers into the fold. Obama's folks will hopefully keep just enough independence there to insure that the next generation campaign continues adding independent voters, Reagan Democrats, and maybe even a few Republicans willing to cross over and vote for “change.” If that happens (and the polls are looking like McCain doesn't have a snowball's chance in his supporters' favorite tax-dodging land of Barbados), the Obamakins will have proven they have learned all the lessons necessary to go out and lead. They will have earned the right to “graduate” to The White House.
The question is, are the American people ready to graduate from the new school of political and diplomatic leadership? I think so; otherwise people wouldn't be so passionate about crossing over in the first place. They are tired of the divisive ways of George Bush, Newt Gingrich, and Karl Rove, and Jesse Helms is now gone (R.I.P. to the 'ol hate-monger). They're tired of being looked at as “those people,” with a pariah as a leader, by other countries. In this economically connected global community, it is time that we start acting as the 232 years our country has aged. In short, it is time for the United States to graduate into genuine long-term leadership.
We're no longer the new kid on the block that needs to prove its greatness to the rest of the world. We don't need to lead by shoving “our way” down the throats of those who don't understand that Democracy is better. We need to adapt a higher level of leadership than even our own country has been called to deliver before. It's called “demonstrative leadership,” and it is how truly great societies go from historic to legendary. Rather than having to invade to get what we want, as George W. Bush has attempted and failed to do, we are going to have to raise the bar of democracy and show that it works for the long term. This is arguably the single greatest challenge for any society in human history, and even the great ones don't always make it.
Of all the times in our country's still young life, though, it is time that “America” stands for a unified and flexible definition of a democracy that works well, innovates, and really leads the world rather than representing an ideological slice of the past. People like Obama are pushing us in this new direction, not because they don't like America as it is, but because they understand that our country must evolve to survive. Like everything in our young country's fast ascension, our adolescence was painful and difficult, and sometimes reckless. It is time for us to prove that we are ready to leave behind the imperialism, the nukes, the Cold War, and the Culture Wars. We have learned enough now to know that pushing our way upon others isn't authentic leadership.
As an adult nation, ready to “graduate” from those ideas and actions, we must show the world that we know how to behave, be responsible, and truly lead as the great country we profess to be. After all, there are a lot of other adolescent countries out there who are learning from the lessons we must teach.
Authored by Scott B. Foval, Edited by Rosemary Roberts. Copyright © 2008 Scott B. Foval
