I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Sunflowers, they've been hitting Indiana, of all places, with last minute anti-Obama ads. WTF? The state is already a lost cause (heavily Romney), so I'm not sure what the point is, unless it's to try to salvage state-level Republicans by tarring the opposition with associations with Obama. Actually, I bet that's it. Mourdock has been behind lately (yay!), so maybe they're trying to whip up an anti-Democratic vote for any office.

Can someone explain to me how "True the Vote" can stop water bottles and chairs in the 7 hour voting line ups - what are they the police?

From The Nation:

Last Friday and Saturday, the last two official days of early voting, black voters and NAACP members were upset when Republican poll watchers challenged NAACP members for passing out water and offering chairs to voters standing in long lines in the hot sun.

Black voters have been turning out in record numbers, not only in Tampa but throughout the state. There are reports of people standing in line up to seven hours, many of them elderly and disabled—and at one Orlando site there was a bomb scare.

So NAACP members have been passing out water to help people deal with the heat. A Republican poll watcher reported this activity at the C. Blythe Andrews Jr. polling site in Tampa, a predominantly African-American district, and had the poll clerk stop the water distribution. According to NAACP political action chair Yvette Lewis, the Republican poll watcher accused the teams of bribing voters with the water, much like a challenge filed by a Republican poll watcher Sunday when helpers passed out fried fish.

Lewis said the water ban was made possible by a poll watcher assigned by the Democratic Party (all poll watchers are assigned by the political parties) who capitulated to the Republican poll watcher’s demands, in an effort to “pick and choose their battles.”

True the Vote–affiliated poll watchers filed similar challenges against the NAACP for passing out water in Houston. Right-wing blogger Matthew Vadum, who once wrote that it should be criminal to register low-income people to vote, wrote about the Houston NAACP Water-Gate caper saying:

Poll watcher Eve Rockford said members of the left-wing so-called civil rights group appeared at the early polling place wearing NAACP-labeled clothing and 50 cases of bottled water. The activists handed out the water bottles to individuals standing in line waiting to vote. They were also “stirring the crowd” and “talking to voters about flying to Ohio to promote President Barack Obama,” said Rockford, who was trained in poll-watching by True the Vote, a prominent electoral integrity organization.

Lewis said the Republican poll watcher stood outside the polling place, “Grinning like, ‘Ha, I control you all, I shut you all down,’ because that’s what it felt like. We had all these people out here to help voters and this one man shut it down.”

But it didn’t seem to stop the flow of voter traffic. Black voter turnout at predominantly black districts hovered around 45 percent, which Lewis said was “very good” compared to 2008. But it also means that there‘s roughly half of remaining black eligible voters who have one more day to vote, tomorrow, which means lines could be even longer.

More here: http://www.thenation.com/blog/171030/tea-party-group-blocks-florida-voters-stops-water-handouts-polls

O.K. I get it now - but surely all they have to do is caution the NAACP to keep a lid on it and just pass out the water - I worked GOTV in NY state for several elections and yep, you are not allowed within I think 100 feet of the polling location advocating for anyone on election day but no one was being forced to wait in 7 hour lineups in heat.

I just wanted to say, if I ever had any doubt about whether this anti-Obama sentiment was about racism, after what I read today, no more.  I'm appalled. I had the same shock when I spent 2 weeks in rural Alabama in the late 1960's.  I saw and heard things in those 2 weeks I never thought could exist, being a young girl from California.  If I think about those people I met in Alabama in 1969, they are still alive, most of them.  Their children are adults, but still younger than me.  Why wouldn't those racist sentiments still exist?  I suppose I thought we grew up as a country and became better human beings.  Nope, they became Republicans.  While I don't believe all Republicans are racist, I do believe that most of the racists in this country vote and are Republican.  No more benefit of the doubt.  I'm convinced and I will no longer be naiive about this topic.  They need to own it.

Good night, Athena.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow - a little nervous, but still optimistic.  Had lots of good conversations with folks in Virginia tonight, and will be doing GOTV all day tomorrow.

Linda

One last thing to share tonight before I turn in as well -- really interesting HuffPo piece on "Occupy Sandy" and its use of social media to coordinate relief efforts.  It's something I've been watching in real time, as notices show up in my FB feed (I'm not a Twitter person), and it's both effective and, I think, interesting and important -- an example of the real world connections social media can enable. 

For instance -- with so many cars ruined by the flood, on the one hand, and shortages of gas, on the other, a call has gone out to connect the owners of trashed cars with a crew that will siphon their gasoline and give it to residents for their generators.  Incredibly resourceful (and also a good illustration of just how bad conditions are in some neighborhoods . .  like "Mad Max," but less violent, thank God.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/occupy-sandy-relief-efforts_n_2079308.html

Linda

To all of you who are helping to re-elect President Obama tomorrow -- the rest of the world, and especially your Canadian friends, send you a warm, heartfelt THANK YOU! 

I just read that Governor Cuomo has signed an Executive Order that allows New Yorkers to vote at any polling places.  More info here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/new-york-polling-places-andrew-cuomo_n_2079491.html

Obama sounds like he's losing his voice. He must be exhausted by now.

Mary

The Republicans' closing arguement.  http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/11/the-republicans-closing-argument.html

Yes, thank you to all of you democracy volunteers, and to our Canadian well wishers who count on US to make the right choice for the United States and for the world.

I am casting my vote for humanity, prosperity, modernity and democracy.

I am casting my vote to piss off my fellow Republicans. :-)



Nah, not really. That's just a happy by-product. I vote for Obama because I haven't a clue what Romney believes or how he will act once in office. I vote for Obama because, although he's lied(as has everyone on the planet), his lies don't inform his actions nor are they a reflection of chameleon-like behavior (no offense to chameleons). I vote for Obama because of his integrity, intelligence, good judgment and infallible grace under pressure. Finally, I vote for Obama because I'll take caring, empathy, and social justice over survival of the fittest all day, every day.



Susan,

Who believes that "sucks to be you" shouldn't be a campaign slogan

Just wanted to say GOOD MORNING to all my fellow patriots, regardless of where you live, you are all vitally important to the reelection of Our President, can't count the nubmer of emails I've gotten with "WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT??" and big smiley emoticons, "Helen& Margaret", best cartoons, NICKNAMES, think our Loyal Bartender gets the prize for that one....if memory serves, and learned so much good stuff...

Ok - another HUG, just such a BIG BIG BIG hug to Chris Matthews http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/ns/msnbc-hardball_with_chris_matthews#49701374

Off to VOTE.  It is a gloriously COLD COLD CLEAR New England Day - ice on the windshield of the car, lotsa layers to put on, so I can take some off, when we all sit around our Town Hall and chat, with the approx.860 registered voters who will probably all turn out today. Long ballot, and one of the names, ELIZABETH WARREN carries my heart with her.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your caring about this election, caring about each other, your compassion for the entire human community, community, community....hugs to all our "community organizers" working for the common good.  Including and especially Our Community Organizer in Chief.

Also, ready for HRC in 2016