Articles of Interest 10-27-06
11 Days to Victory!!!
Broken Promises Calendar: No Results from Governor Granholm
PROMISE: “Would institute a new profits tax while the [SBT] phase-out continues.” (The Review, 6/6/02).
NO RESULTS: After four years, the governor has not eliminated the job-killing Single Business Tax or instituted a new profits tax. And Michigan remains mired in a single state recession, the only state to lose jobs in each of the last three years.
President Bush was in town last night to fire up the troops and raise some more campaign funds for Sheriff Mike Bouchard. It was a great event with almost 500 people coming out to see Mike and the President. The President made the case why it’s important to keep a Republican Congress and what specifically a Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats would mean for America. It wasn’t pretty?!?
Mike Bouchard continues to build momentum and is on the roll. A new campaign ad hits the airwaves that explains the difference between himself and Debbie Stabenow. The Bouchard campaign is putting on an aggressive push in the final days to let the people of Michigan know that do nothing Debbie must go!
Matt Godlewski, Bouchard’s campaign manager and I had a chance to pull Karl Rove aside for a few minutes. We pitched him on the opportunities and unique position Mike was to take out Stabenow. He was very impressed with the efforts here in Michigan and said he had discussed this race with both the RNC and NRSC earlier yesterday and we were definitely on the radar screen for additional resources. Michigan is the best chance in the country Republicans have to take out an incumbent U.S. Senator!
With only 276 hours left until the polls close, we need you to make that extra effort to help our entire Republican ticket get over the finish line.
On my way home last night we stopped to fill up with gas and grab another diet Dr Pepper. While pumping gas I engaged the guy standing next to me who asked how the campaign was going. Before we were done he took a couple DeVos and Bouchard stickers for both his cars and asked for more of the “fire Granholm” stickers. The guy in the aisle next to us over heard the conversation and saw me hand the guy the stickers and came over and asked if he could have both a Bouchard and DeVos sticker!!! Then when we went to pay inside, two others engaged in the conversation and everyone but the young lady behind the counter were ready to vote for change!
Make every day count…take every opportunity to turn a vote…we have friends everywhere!!!
Dick DeVos continued his statewide bus tour and is met at every stop with renewed optimism and excitement about Michigan’s future. We are sending out multiple pieces of mail to targeted households on the contrast between Dick DeVos and Jennifer Granholm. The Governor has a FOUR year record of job losses, mis-management, indecisive leadership and flat out failure that leaves Michigan in a single state recession. We are the only state in the country to lose over 86,000 net jobs over the last 3 years while nationally 49 other states have gained over 6.6 million NEW jobs.
Michigan needs a change!!!
SOS Terri Lynn Land and AG Mike Cox continue their non-stop campaign tour to every corner of Michigan. Land has a statewide radio ad that hightlights her accomplishments and has peppered the state with signs. Cox now has two different TV spots that are running that talk about his record and aggressive efforts to keep criminal behind bars. Two great efforts that are sure to help bring out more Republican voters as we support two of America’s finest public servants.
Rightroots conservative internet bloggers fundraisers are pushing Mike Bouchard’s race for the U.S. Senate. Check it out…help Mike get over the top!!!
Great new Bouchard ad…this hits the nail on the head!!!
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2006/10/new_bouchard_ad.html
People moving out…why, because of the economy…stupid?!? Check out a clever parody produced by one of our activists:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2006/10/639_outbound_mo.html
Jon Stryker is pouring over $5 million dollars to defeat Republican legislative candidates in Michigan. To get a better understanding of what he is up to, read this:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2006/10/stryker_funding.html
Google “bombing”….what is it and how does it work? Check it out and help our folks make a difference.
http://beltwayblogroll.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/10/google_bombs_on.php
http://www.humanevents.com/rightangle/index.php?id=17464&title=google_bomb_these_democrats
With only 276 hours until the polls close we need your help. We need to stay focused on the task at hand and help get out our vote!!! The GOTV effort during the last 72 Hours of this election cycle are critical to our success. We are recruiting thousands of volunteers to fill tens of thousands of shifts around the state to help with this effort.
There are all kind of things you can do. Each county has all kinds of different efforts and every county has something you can do to help. Put up a lawnsign, make some calls, knock on some doors, serve as poll watchers or help with lit drops…it’s all part of our overall effort where every little bit helps.
Give an hour…give a few…join our Republican team as we head towards victory!!!
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270363/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
Decision 2006
Millions pour into key state election races
Kalamazoo billionaire forms a PAC with assets of $5.2 million to aid Democratic candidates.
Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
The struggle for control of the Republican-dominated state Legislature is set to become the most expensive in the state's history, experts say, fueled in part by an unprecedented investment of $4.7 million from a Kalamazoo billionaire.
Jon Stryker, a 48-year-old architect and philanthropist, has poured his money into a political action committee founded this summer, called the Michigan Coalition for Progress. The group is funding efforts, mostly television spots and leaflets, for Democratic candidates in races from Livonia to Fruitport.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-5/116187391590920.xml&coll=8
Billionaire spends money liberally on state politics
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By Ed Golder
CHRONICLE NEWS SERVICE WITH ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS
Dick DeVos might have met his financial match.
Kalamazoo medical supply company billionaire Jon Stryker and his organization are pouring millions of dollars into commercials opposing Republicans, including the wealthy DeVos.
In the TV ads, a narrator singing in an operatic voice accuses Republican lawmakers of giving tax breaks to companies that outsource jobs, not doing enough to stop Canadian and out-of-state trash from being dumped in Michigan, and backing a state law that protects drug makers from lawsuits. They depict gubernatorial candidate DeVos sending jobs to China. The cartoon ads show elephants dressed up like lawmakers to make the point.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1161876184203730.xml&coll=7
A frenzy of election spending Stryker family members' big donations trigger finger-pointing over influence
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By Kathy Jessup
kjessup@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8590
The Kalamazoo-based Coalition for Progress has become a $5.1 million force in Michigan politics in the last two months, with 99 percent of its funding coming from two Stryker family heirs.
Campaign-finance reports filed Wednesday with the Michigan Secretary of State's Office show the political action committee had spent $4 million as of Oct. 20, including $1.2 million to oppose Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and more than $200,000 earmarked to defeat incumbent Republican State Sen. Tom George, R-Texas Township.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601257.html
In Michigan, a Sale the GOP Can't Close
Friday, October 27, 2006; Page A23
HOUGHTON, Mich. -- While Republicans scratch their heads over why a seemingly good economy is not helping them nationally in this year's elections, Michigan is where the party once hoped a bad economy would help it seize a governorship.
The heavy hits sustained by the auto industry's Big Three have left the state with a 7.1 percent unemployment rate, just below the 7.2 percent rate for Mississippi, which endured Hurricane Katrina. The job hemorrhage seemed the ideal issue for billionaire businessman Dick DeVos, the Republican nominee, against Gov. Jennifer Granholm. She is a nationally respected Democrat who many think would have made a fine presidential candidate if only she had not been born in Canada.
Granholm slightly ahead of DeVos in new governor's race poll
10/26/2006, 8:00 p.m. ET
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Slightly more voters say in a new poll that they trust Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm rather than GOP challenger Dick DeVos to do what is right to improve Michigan's economy, while significantly more say she better understands their needs and concerns.
The poll of 600 likely voters released Thursday by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA showed 48 percent said they'd vote for Granholm, while 43 percent said they'd vote for DeVos and 7 percent were undecided. Gregory Creswell of the Libertarian Party and Douglas Campbell of the Green Party each were backed by 1 percent, while Bhagwan "Bob" Dashairya of the U.S. Taxpayers Party got less than 1 percent.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270385/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
Bitter gov race tightens
DeVos' women ads said to shore up his support, but more voters trust Granholm.
Mark Hornbeck and Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Republican Dick DeVos has pulled to within 5 points of incumbent Jennifer Granholm, as the two candidates claw their way toward the Nov. 7 finish line in one of the nation's costliest and nastiest campaigns for governor.
A new Detroit News/WXYZ-TV poll shows DeVos has cut by nearly half the 9-point lead Granholm held two weeks ago. The survey of 600 likely voters, conducted Sunday through Wednesday, put Granholm up 48 percent to DeVos' 43 percent.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/ELECTIONS03/610270325/1001/opinion
Published October 27, 2006
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Governor's race riding on economy
Voters look to pocketbooks at the polls
By Chris Andrews
Lansing State Journal
Lee Nickels of Holt has worked hard to reposition himself in Michigan's new economy.
Nickels lost his job when the Wohlert Corp. plant closed in 2004. He went back to school, earning an associate's degree in computer support this past May.
Five months later, he's still looking for a job.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1161875783189540.xml&coll=8
DeVos spreads message
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By Steve Gunn
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
If Dick DeVos is falling behind in the race for governor, you couldn't tell it by his mood or manner Wednesday as he whisked through a tight schedule of business visits in Muskegon and Ottawa counties.
The same friendly candidate with the wide grin and easy manner showed up to shake hands and share a few words with business managers and shop employees, less than two weeks before Election Day.
When reminded that he's been trailing Gov. Jennifer Granholm in most recent polls -- by 8 percentage points in one survey and 4 points in another -- DeVos seemed almost disinterested.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/26/D8L0ETJ80.html
GOP Blames Mich. Governor for Slayings
Oct 26 1:21 PM US/Eastern
A campaign mailing from the Michigan Republican Party blames Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state corrections director for a crime spree that resulted in the deaths of three people.
The brochure has a photo of Patrick Selepak, who pleaded guilty to killing Melissa and Scott Berels of New Baltimore and Winfield Johnson of Genesee County's Vienna Township in February. The headline says: "This violent criminal was mistakenly released into your community."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270366/1022
Friday, October 27, 2006
Decision 2006: Ad watch
Ad reminds voters of DeVos' strict anti-abortion position
Ad title:
"Extreme"
Who it's for:
Gov. Jennifer Granholm
Who's paying:
Granholm campaign
Air dates, markets:
Statewide, running at least one week
Produced by:
Solomon Friedman Advertising of Bloomfield Hills
Claims:
Against a black-and-white still picture of a young woman, the ad says Granholm "personally opposes abortion. But Jennifer Granholm believes that this deeply personal decision should be made by a woman and her doctor, and not by politicians."
The commercial goes on to say that Republican challenger Dick DeVos "wants to make all abortions a crime, even when a woman has been the victim of rape or incest. The difference is clear. It's time to take a stand."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270367/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
Decision 2006
Bush's Warren visit aims to give Bouchard a bounce
Gary Heinlein and Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
WARREN -- President Bush made a rousing speech Thursday to a gathering of Republican donors in support of U.S. Senate candidate Mike Bouchard.
It was Bush's second visit in a little more than a month in support of Bouchard, the Oakland County sheriff, hoping to come from behind in polls against Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Lansing. Stabenow leads Bouchard 50 percent to 38 percent.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061026/NEWS06/610260427/1008/NEWS
Debbie Stabenow on the issues
October 26, 2006
Sen. Debbie Stabenow's responses to a few questions asked for a Free Press/Gannett Michigan Group questionnaire, edited for space, and questions from a Free Press reporter. For full responses on these and others go to: www.freep.com/votersguide.
QUESTION: How will you vote on a ballot proposal to ban race and gender preferences in university admissions, hiring, promotions and contracting for the state, local governments, and all public schools and universities?
ANSWER: No.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-2/1161876507203730.xml&coll=7
Upton in the 6th District
Thursday, October 26, 2006
In the past several years, we've chided U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, for going along with too many bad ideas in Congress.
For a while, the moderate independence that had been the hallmark of most of Upton's career vanished in the wake of 9/11, President Bush's popularity and the discipline imposed on the U.S. House by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
But DeLay has been deposed and Upton appears to have regained his equilibrium and, as a result, his independence and moderation.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270360/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
Knollenberg ramps up campaign spending, but foe drives hard
State's most powerful congressman seen as safe; Skinner banks on anti-incumbent mood.
Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- In just the last three weeks, U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills, has burned through more than $200,000 for a voter blitz that includes buying airtime for TV ads, filling mailboxes with campaign literature and flooding homes with phone calls.
"We have radio, direct mail, and a significant television buy that starts in the Detroit media market next week," said Knollenberg campaign consultant Trent Wisecup. "We're feeling very confident about the race."
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1161882945196110.xml&coll=4
Moore has earned another term in the 97th District seat
Thursday, October 26, 2006
There's a fight to the finish in the race for the 97th District seat in the Michigan House of representatives.
It pits Republican Rep. Tim Moore of Farwell against Democrat Dave Schwab of Gladwin. Democrats lost the seat two years ago to Moore, and they want it back.
It's disappointing that the Republican Party has chosen to defend Moore's seat with last-minute ads slinging mud, some of them out-and-out fabrications, at Schwab - the same tactic the party used two years ago to help Moore defeat Democrat Jennifer Elkins.
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1161868938175510.xml&coll=9
Horn plugged into 94th's needs
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Two Saginaw County commissioners are bidding for an open seat in the state House to represent a horseshoe-shaped swath of Saginaw County surrounding the city of Saginaw.
Republican Kenneth B. Horn of Frankenmuth and Democrat Robert D. Blaine of Swan Creek Township hope to succeed Republican Rep. Roger Kahn, who is running for an open state Senate seat.
While the two candidates differ on some issues, the differences are smaller than what their party affiliations might indicate. Both Blaine and Horn are pro-life and support the Second Amendment. Both candidates also favored the elimination of the Single Business Tax.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-2/1161876498203730.xml&coll=7
For Michigan House, the Gazette endorses ...
Thursday, October 26, 2006
All of the 110-seats in the Michigan House of Representatives will be filled in the Nov. 7 election. Here are our recommendations in local races:
59th House District: Rick Shaffer
Although the ballot will say that state Rep. Rick Shaffer, R-Three Rivers, has a Democratic challenger, Shaffer is running virtually unopposed.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-2/11618724219800.xml&coll=5
No on Prop 06-1
Safeguarding state DNR funds doesn't require this measure
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Preventing raids on state recreational funds built up through hunting and fishing fees, park admissions and other user charges has broad appeal, which bodes well for a Nov. 7 ballot measure Michigan voters will decide.
However, the method proposed for achieving this protection - a state constitutional amendment - amounts to overkill and would be poor public policy. Therefore, Proposal 06-1 should be rejected.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/OPINION01/610270314/1008
Friday, October 27, 2006
Schools may get less money if Prop 5 passes
Education spending has outpaced inflation for decade
The Detroit News
Michigan residents have a well-deserved reputation for supporting their public schools and universities. This commitment could turn out to actually hurt state schools, however, if voters see it as a reason to support Proposal 5 next month.
Proposal 5 advocates imply that the state ballot initiative would improve Michigan schools and universities by forcing the state government to spend more on education, including guaranteeing funding increases equal to the annual change in inflation.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/OPINION01/610270346/1069
LOCAL COMMENT | PROPOSAL 06-5: Locked-in school dollars
Are state funding levels too low? Too high? This proposal is just right for too few -- and not for students and taxpayers
October 27, 2006
You remember Goldilocks. When she walked into the house in the woods, she found one chair that was too hard and another that was too soft. But a third chair was just right. One bowl of porridge was too hot, and one was too cold. But one bowl was just right.
Goldilocks would have loved Proposal 06-5 on the state's Nov. 7 ballot. Some people think Michigan spends too much on our public school system. Some people think our state spends too little. But like Goldilocks, the backers of Proposal 06-5 think current state spending on education is just right.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/OPINION01/610270316/1008
Friday, October 27, 2006
DECISION 2006: Endorsements
Our Wayne County Commission choices
15-member board needs strong focus on business and budgets
The Detroit News
W ayne County Republicans have given up on a third of the races for county commission by not fielding a candidate at all, and that's too bad. High taxes and shoddy services in many parts of the county are real issues the GOP and independent candidates could use to their advantage.
Separating Wayne County Democrats from their blind affiliation to the party won't be easy, but it's necessary. The dire economic and social conditions that exist in some communities in the county clearly make a case for change.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1161701448225720.xml&coll=6
Kent Board of Commissioners, Districts 1-10
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
The Kent County Board of Commissioners will have at least two new members next year, replacing incumbents who did not seek re-election. They, along with other commissioners, will face some challenging issues during the next two years. Priorities will include renewal of a jail millage; continued development of Millennium Park and a decision on a controversial admission fee to the park's beach; farmland preservation funding; getting a new state welfare building constructed and assessing the area's mass transit and 911 emergency dispatch needs.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1161788001314440.xml&coll=6
Kent Board of Commissioners, Districts 11-19
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
The Kent County Board of Commissioners will have at least two new members next year, replacing incumbents who did not seek re-election. Board priorities will include renewal of a jail millage; continued development of Millennium Park and a decision on a controversial admission fee to the park's beach; farmland preservation funding and assessing the area's mass transit and 911 emergency dispatch needs.
Our recommendations are as follows for Districts 11 through 19. The first 10 districts were discussed yesterday.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/OPINION02/610270349/1070
ROCHELLE RILEY: Dot-com campaigning
October 27, 2006
More than ever, political campaigns are being waged and voters wooed online.
So Michigan's two gubernatorial candidates went all-out to entice voters to their Web sites to see ideas and visit campaign stores.
Campaign stores?
Time was a free T-shirt came at campaign expense, and anyone could be a walking ad. But both Dick DeVos' and Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Web stores sell books, T-shirts and bumper stickers.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/AUTO02/610270353/1322/AUTO04
Friday, October 27, 2006
Daniel Howes
Usual suspects may not be to blame for Detroit's auto ills
G ood thing this town has the Tigers to cheer, because the hometown auto industry really is broken.
General Motors Corp. pops its third quarter numbers this week and calls them a success, despite a $3.8 billion cash burn, lower year-over-year U.S. market share and continuing losses in its auto business. With success like that, failure must be what -- last year?
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/OPINION01/610270315/1086/opinion
Published October 27, 2006
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Health $$: Realization grows that ignoring health costs is too costly
A Lansing State Journal editorial
In Michigan, retailer Meijer announces it will provide free prescriptions for seven common antibiotics.
In Texas, a hospital is giving free preventive care to people with chronic diseases with no insurance.
Bad business? Or evidence of a broadening realization in our culture that bad health-care policy costs everybody.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.humanevents.com/winningthefuture.php?id=17722
Is the Tide Turning in the 2006 Campaign?
by Newt Gingrich
Posted Oct 26, 2006
I am interrupting your week with this special edition of "Winning the Future" to deliver news about the 2006 elections -- news that you may not have seen in the mainstream media. Despite the constant drumbeat of dire predictions by the New York and Washington-based elite press corps, the momentum of campaign 2006 has shifted -- toward the GOP. But don't expect to read about it in the newspaper. I will get to that in a moment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601621.html
Well-Timed Funding in Tight Races
One Perk of Incumbency Is Cabinet Officials Bearing Checks
By Ben Feller
Associated Press
Friday, October 27, 2006; Page A21
Those in power love to dole out grants at election time. With Republican control of Congress at risk, the Bush administration is busily using the perks of incumbency to help allies from Ohio to California.
The formula: Cabinet luminaries travel to competitive districts and hand out money while local candidates bask in media coverage.
http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/as-gop-mopes-bush-adds-the-duties-of/20061023072609990001
As GOP Mopes, Bush Adds the Duties of Optimist in Chief
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and JIM RUTENBERG
The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 — The capital is filled with Republicans convinced that they will lose the House and maybe the Senate. So last week, the White House and party leaders convened a “friends and allies” teleconference to dispute what Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, considers flawed conventional wisdom.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS/610270334/1022
Friday, October 27, 2006
GOP fails to cash in on bright economy
Eduardo Porter / New York Times
In many ways, the economy has not looked so good in a long time.
The price of gas at the pump has tumbled since midsummer. Unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years. The Dow Jones industrial index is setting records almost daily.
President Bush, in hopes of winning credit for his party's stewardship of the economy, has been campaigning on the theme that the economy is purring.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601811.html
The Year Of Playing Dirtier
Negative Ads Get Positively Surreal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 27, 2006; Page A01
Rep. Ron Kind pays for sex!
Well, that's what the Republican challenger for his Wisconsin congressional seat, Paul R. Nelson, claims in new ads, the ones with "XXX" stamped across Kind's face.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270330/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
Muslim voters lean to Democrats
Poll suggests there could be a bloc that might have an effect on close races nationwide on Election Day.
Julia Malone / Cox News Service
WASHINGTON -- Muslim voters strongly oppose the war in Iraq and tilt toward Democrats in next month's congressional elections, a poll by a leading Islamic civil rights organization found.
The poll, sponsored by the Council on Islamic-American Relations and released this week, suggested a voting bloc that could have an effect in close races on Election Day, Nov. 7.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270332/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
More women vie for the statehouse
Some 2,431 are on the ballot for legislative seats across the country, besting the 1992 record.
Angela Delli Santi / Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. -- More women are running for state legislative seats than ever before, a group that tracks women's involvement in American politics said.
A record 2,431 women are running for state legislative seats on Nov. 7, 56 more than the previous record of 2,375 set in 1992, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270335/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
Experts fear Election Day complications
New electronic voting systems and stricter voter identification rules lead the list of top concerns.
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON -- Ambitious efforts to modernize the nation's patchwork voting system were supposed to pay big dividends in the 2006 congressional balloting, but instead Election Day could bring a new round of problems, confusion and partisan rancor.
Unproven electronic voting machines, stricter voter identification requirements in many states, new databases and partisan disputes over registration campaigns are all contributing to the concern.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FOLEY_BLOGS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Author of blog exposing Foley fired
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, has fired an employee who admitted to the first publication on a Web site of Rep. Mark Foley's e-mails to a former male page.
The e-mails and later disclosures of sexually explicit computer messages from the Florida Republican to other male pages sparked a campaign-season scandal that threatens the GOP's majority in Congress.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601565.html
Religious Conservatives Cheer Ruling on Gays as Wake-Up Call
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 27, 2006; Page A07
The New Jersey court decision that gay couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples was bad news for social conservatives -- the bad news they were hoping for.
"Pro-traditional-marriage organizations ought to give a distinguished service award to the New Jersey Supreme Court," said the Rev. Richard Land, head of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JUDGE_GAY_MARRIAGE?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Same-sex marriage questions stall judge
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Michigan judge whose nomination to the federal bench is stalled over her appearance at a lesbian commitment ceremony says she attended as a friend, not to give legal sanction.
The nomination of Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Janet T. Neff to be a U.S. District Court judge is on hold because Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., is not satisfied with her response to questions about her views on same-sex marriage, a spokesman for the senator said Thursday.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-32/1161892502241490.xml&coll=6
Second hearing on Neff's nomination refused
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By Ed Golder
The Grand Rapids Press
The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has refused to grant a second hearing on the nomination of Michigan Court of Appeals Justice Janet Neff to the federal bench.
The move removes one route for resolving the objections to her nomination from a conservative senator following a same-sex commitment ceremony at which Neff spoke. Neff's nomination remains on hold.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_GAY_MARRIAGE?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Bush defines marriage as man and woman
DES MOINES (AP) -- President Bush said the "sacred institution" of marriage between a man and a woman must be defended against what he called activist court rulings.
Bush briefly brought up the topic, unprompted, while raising money here for a Republican congressional candidate, a day after the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that same-sex couples must be given the same rights as married people.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CIA_LEAK?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Witness grilled in CIA leak case
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald took on the first witness in the CIA leak case Thursday, dissecting an expert witness until she acknowledged errors and misstatements in her research.
Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, hoped the hearing would persuade a judge to let him call a memory expert at his obstruction and perjury trial in January.
At the outset of the procedural hearing, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton indicated that he was not inclined to allow a memory expert to testify at the trial. Still, he allowed Libby's lawyers to present a witness to bolster their claim that memory experts would help in his defense.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601594.html
Intelligence Chairman Urges Leak Inquiry
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 27, 2006; Page A08
The chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has proposed a sweeping inquiry into the possible leak of a classified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq by a staff member, including an audit of staff telephone records and e-mail to identify unauthorized contacts with news media or messages related to the leaked document.
Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), in a paper outlining procedures for the inquiry, said a committee counsel could pursue "any additional information beyond that involving the NIE if it related to improper conduct with regard to classified information by any member of the committee staff."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_IMMIGRATION?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Bush signs U.S.-Mexico border fence bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush wanted an exchange of workers with Mexico to bring order to the border, but wound up signing a law Thursday that approves partitioning 700 miles of the United States from its southern neighbor.
The administration once talked of "orderly migration" - workers entering the United States and returning to Mexico or other countries when their jobs were finished. But political realities have replaced phrases like that with "border security" and plans for fences, surveillance cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles and watch towers.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/POLITICS01/610270337/1022/POLITICS
Friday, October 27, 2006
President signs border fence bill
Bush says it will stem illegal immigrants from Mexico; Dems call the proposal pointless.
Michael A. Fletcher and Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- President Bush signed a measure Thursday authorizing the construction of a fence along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, an action that conflicts with his own stated vision of immigration reform but one championed by many Republicans facing re-election in November.
Bush said the barrier would help the United States plug the porous southwest border.
"Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and, therefore, illegal immigration has been on the rise," he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102600120.html
Bush Signs Bill Authorizing 700-Mile Fence for Border
By Michael A. Fletcher and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 27, 2006; Page A04
WARREN, Mich., Oct. 26 -- President Bush signed a measure Thursday authorizing the construction of a fence along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, an action that conflicts with his own stated vision of immigration reform but one championed by many Republicans facing reelection in November.
Speaking at a White House ceremony before a day of campaigning for GOP candidates in Iowa and Michigan, Bush said the barrier will help the United States plug the porous Southwest border.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUMSFELD?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Rumsfeld tells war critics to 'back off'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday that anyone demanding deadlines for progress in Iraq should "just back off," because it is too difficult to predict when Iraqis will resume control of their country.
During an often-combative Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld said that while benchmarks for security, political and economic progress are valuable, "it's difficult. We're looking out into the future. No one can predict the future with absolute certainty."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601509.html
Lebanon's Aftermath
The border with Israel is quiet, but tension everywhere else is growing.
Friday, October 27, 2006; Page A22