Tag: Election 2004

Dollar Bill on Springsteen & Stipe.

“The 50-50 split is not between Democrats and Republicans, but those who vote and those who don’t. That’s right: nearly 50% of eligible voters chose not to vote in 2000. The underlying challenge of our democracy is to change this non-participation and to ensure that the core values of citizenship and active participation in the electoral process overshadow the domination of big money and corporate power.” Sent to me by Chris at Do You Feel Loved, the inimitable Bill Bradley emerges from hiding to admire the Vote for Change tour in USA Today.

Gimme Shelter.

True to form, “House Republicans are working to eliminate or dilute provisions in a new corporate tax bill aimed at cracking down on illegal shelters.” This despite the fact that a “study last week by Citizens for Tax Justice, a liberal research organization, reported that 82 of the nation’s most profitable companies paid no corporate taxes in at least one of the last three years.” Say what they will about Dubyanomics, it is patently obvious once again that the Republican Party does not represent the best interests of you, I, or the vast majority of this nation. Vote ’em out, already.

A Crisis of Conscience.

“In heavily Democratic Rhode Island, he has been a Republican since birth; his parents named him Lincoln after the first Republican president. He says he is waiting for the moderate wing of the party to rise again; in the meantime, he was asked if he went to bed at night wondering how he could remain a Republican. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I don’t deny that.’” Also in the NYT, GOP moderate Lincoln Chafee contemplates pulling a Jeffords. Although he says he’s sticking with his party for now, Chafee has already declared he won’t be voting for Dubya this election cycle…and it seems doubtful that this White House will take kindly to such a decision.

The Voice of Reason.

Well, well, look who’s back. Kerry closes the gap over the weekend, setting the stage for this week’s debate double (Dubya?) dip (beginning tomorrow with Edwards v. Cheney.) Maybe now Dubya is finally beginning to realize: going mano-a-mano with Kerry is hard work.

Round 1: Kerry.

Well, to give credit where it’s due, Dubya has clearly improved as a debater since 2000. While occasionally flustered and often seeming petulant, he never seemed as confused and inarticulate as he did in his jousts with Gore…in fact, I’d go so far to say that he even occasionally seemed wily. Still, given the artifice of the format, it’s hard to see how John Kerry could have done much better in tonight’s first debate. After the first question or so, Kerry seemed calm, collected, forceful and resolute, and he managed to make succinct and readily understandable distinctions between he and Dubya throughout. For undecided voters who imbibed all the RNC’s garbage a month ago and were expecting another Dukakis Dem in John Kerry, I suspect they may have begun reevaluating him tonight. And, when you consider that the terrain of this debate most facilitated Dubya’s “9/11, 9/11, 9/11” strategy, Kerry’s got nowhere to go but up.

Oh, you mean those letters.

Seven months after the White House declared it had released all documents surrounding Dubya’s desertion, Bush’s resignation letter shows up. “White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the resignation was found in connection with a lawsuit brought by The Associated Press.” Yeah, I’ll bet it was.