well yeah, so it would seem. The Media is very intent on keeping things going, which is hard given the polls. This Plumber thing is pretty much what I think is called "Jumping the Shark". Sarah was out today with "Joe and Jane the Plumber" nonsense. I wonder, Sarah, do the Plumber's have any pregnant 17 year old unwed daughters?
Posted by T2 at October 16, 2008 11:14 AM"mcpalin"..the gift that keeps on giving.....
Posted by headxray at October 16, 2008 11:27 AMHmmm. Good point.
What happens when you have 24x7 news channels, thousands of electronic and print media people assigned to the elections, and all the storylines of the election have been exhausted? That may be where we are now.
I mean, the last debate's over with the same outcome, and same messages/policy positions, as the first three. No news there. Obama's team is relentlessly on message and has been hammering it home -- there are no new stories there. Even the McCain-erratic and McCain-angry stories are getting old. Acorn/Ayers is getting old.
So today we spend more time on Joe-the-plummer because there is nothing else new to talk about.
What this means, of course, is that anything that does come up in the next few weeks that is even remotely new will get disproportionate coverage.
Posted by Anonny at October 16, 2008 11:54 AMDon't you guys know?
Silly Season official starts October 15th.
And "Joe the Pluumber" costumes will be all the rage this Halloween!
Posted by snark at October 16, 2008 11:57 AMofficially and Plumber.
Gotta stop sniffing glue.
Posted by snark at October 16, 2008 11:58 AMPrediction: Joe the Plumber will have his own reality show by next week.
Posted by Shirin at October 16, 2008 12:05 PMJoe the Plumber will have his own reality show by next week.
heh.
"Joe the Plumber" better get his Plumbing Contractor's license and pay his taxes.
AFL - CIO wants to know if Joe "...is a member of a pipefitters, steamfitters or plumbers unions." If it's a Union town, I wouldn't want to be known as a scab.
It's over. Just look at the math.
Oops, the general isn't a caucus. The media doesn't get to cram a candidate down our throats like the DNC (and the media) did in the primary. It's not over until we vote.
Rumor has it internal polling for O isn't showing the same results as MSM polling. The polling was adjusted for Obama - but wasn't equally adjusted when Palin hit the scene and energized her base.
Posted by jmac at October 16, 2008 01:38 PM"The fat lady has sung, and she's gone out for doughnuts!" - Murphy Brown (Candace Bergen), 1994 season
Posted by Donald from Hawaii at October 16, 2008 01:39 PMOh, it's most certainly not over. The fact that a strong majority of people apparently don't want the Repub candidate as president will not be determinative. The Repubs simply need to make sure that enough votes are not counted or cast. And this is precisely what they have been working on for years.
The next ring of the circus will be the Bush judiciary injecting itself (via lawsuits brought by GOoPers) into crucial swing states to swing them back to the Repubs. "Election" By Litigation is how the Bush Era began with Bush v Gore, and it looks to be the last hope of the criminal conservative Right. Having the federal appeals courts in your back pocket is a huge advantage in a federal election, and it may well prove decisive for McCain/Palin.
Bush and conservative Repubs have invested everything in their stealth army of 50 year old conservative white male wingnuts masquerading as "judges", who now make up over 50% of the federal judiciary, especially on the crucial appeals courts. Rove's Repubs are now looking to them for salvation.
There was a critical ruling by the 6th Circuit Appeals Court this week which has the strong potential to purge every newly registered voter in Ohio from the rolls, and there isn't much that can be done at this point. Of the 16 appeals court judges on that court, there are 8 Bush "judges", as well one Reagan and a Bush I. The ruling against the Ohio Dem secretary of state was 9-6, with every Repub judge (but one) joining it.
The Repubs will now use this ruling to bring cases in every state where they want to purge newly registered voters. The conservative activists that Bush appointed as "judges" will likely decide who wins the election, especially if new voters are crucial. And there is nothing that can be done about it---they have the power to make up whatever result-oriented "rulings" they want, and the conservative Supreme Court (with the 4 RATS) will certainly not intervene to help newly registered voters.
Election day will be the now usual chaotic free for all, which has been the goal of Repubs for over 10 years now. Just make sure enough people have to use "provisional" ballots, which are ignored. They must stop people's votes from being counted, and their Bush judges will help them do just that.
So for those that are "certain" about the election, you're not really aware of where the crucial battles are now being fought. The conservative monster will be very, very hard to kill. So be ready and don't get too invested in an outcome.
Conservative activists rioted and intimidated the FL officials in 2000 into caving in during the recount. Will progressives be willing to do the same when the Bush "judges" rule that the votes don't count because because of manufactured, bogus, baseless "fraud" nonsense? I doubt it.
It would only be "over" in a functioning democracy whose institutions and officials placed democracy above their party and movement. We don't have that. Repubs place their party over democracy. So don't delude yourselves.
Posted by euzoius at October 16, 2008 01:48 PMSo don't delude yourselves.
How can any minority be a Republi-KKKon? They will never be white enough!
From Think Progress: Racist GOP mailing depicts Obama surrounded by KFC, watermelon, and food stamps.
euzoius is right, Repubs place their party over democracy. And they will do anything to hang onto power!!!
Posted by Seven of Six at October 16, 2008 02:01 PMWill progressives be willing to do the same when the Bush "judges" rule that the votes don't count because because of manufactured, bogus, baseless "fraud" nonsense? I doubt it.
We have to be.
We are a lot more educated and have access to more info than we did in 2000. The American people will NOT allow this election to be stolen.
I am not confident Euzious...I am willing to stand up and fight and I am paying attention; I believe that a lot of people are.
yeah, i just saw a crooksandliars link via huffpo.
palin is availing herself to the basest, most uneducated racist element of the u.s. of a. but then again, j mac is offended and hurt when lewis calls him on it and links him to the tacit tactics of wallace. this is getting out of hand, and the secret service "can't hear," kill him in a rally but prevents reporters from interviewing the crowd. wtf is in the best interest of our country? j mac and palin are doin whatever they can to win this thing, and prevailing to the kooks of the country, i dare say not loons, in homage to a previous poster, scares the shit outta me. this is getting ugly, and the msm in the interest of parity, comes up with any excuse to ignore the hateful rhetoric prevalent within the palin/ j mac rallies. i just hope come november 5, our country doesn't blow the fcuk up... a la rodney king, but on a national scale, cuz that's what is coming if this goes bad/ (becomes a questionable decision)...
I know we have the numbers and the percentages to win, but somewhere in the back of my mind is this sickening doubt. Each of us have to ask ourselves what we are willing to do if this election is fraudulent. How far will we each go?
Posted by Judith at October 16, 2008 05:14 PM