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Campaign Crawlers
Too Close to Call
Plan to celebrate a GOP win? Get a nap today. It’s going to be a long night.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Parked beside the Steve Southerland campaign headquarters on Baldwin Road is a big RV with an orange sign on the side designating it the “I’ve Had Enough Express.” And indeed, if polls can be trusted, voters in Florida’s 2nd District have finally had enough of seven-term Democrat Rep. Allen Boyd.
“We’re feeling very good about how things are going,” said Southerland campaign communications director Matt McCullough, as he sat in an office inside the yellow brick house that was once the home of the GOP candidate’s grandfather. Polls showing Southerland with a double-digit lead over Boyd, but the campaign is “not taking anything for granted,” McCullough said. “We’re still out there working as hard as we did from Day One.”
Despite such necessary cautions against overconfidence, Republicans here clearly expect to be celebrating a Southerland victory Tuesday night at the Boardwalk Beach Resort. If they want to learn whether their party wins a majority in the House of Representatives, however, they’d better be prepared to stay up past midnight.
Gallup, Rasmussen and other pollsters are now reporting “generic ballot” numbers at historic highs for the GOP, but many of the most hotly contested House races Tuesday are likely to be decided by narrow margins. No matter how great the advantage for Republicans nationwide, all politics is local and congressional elections are not generic. Each House district has its own candidates, its own demographics, its own controversies and, especially in highly competitive campaigns, its own attack ads.
Consider Florida’s 22nd District near Palm Beach. It was held by Republican Rep. Clay Shaw until 2006, when Shaw was narrowly defeated by Democrat lawyer Ron Klein. Two years ago, Allen West lost an underfunded challenge to Klein (see “Colonel of Truth,” TAS, June 20, 2008) but this year, West has become a GOP superstar, raising more than $5 million for his rematch with Klein. The Democrat incumbent has answered the challenge by spending nearly $5 million of his own, augmented by even more spending from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Much of that money has gone for TV attack ads depicting West as a shady extremist. A week ago, the DCCC unleashed a new ad that accused West, an avid motorcyclist, of associating with the Outlaws gang. “Drugs. Prostitution. Murder — that’s who Allen West rides with,” the ad says.
Before that latest attack hit the airwaves, polls had shown West leading Klein, and the Republican is still favored to win, but it’s probably going to be very close. And the closer the outcome, the more likely that the vote count will continue late into the night before TV networks feel safe declaring a winner.
Similar situations exist in dozens of other competitive districts across the country, so that however unpopular the Democrat incumbent may be, the Republican challenger is fighting a headwind of attack ads. In many of those districts, the final margin will be a matter of one or two percentage points — perhaps just a few hundred votes — and it is unlikely a winner will be declared before midnight.
Here in the 2nd District that encompasses Florida’s western Panhandle, Southerland’s supporters hope to start the party earlier — although half the district is in the Central time zone, where the polls close an hour later than in the rest of the state.
“We have consistently been ahead by double digits,” says McCullough, the communications director for the Republican’s campaign. “There are a lot of voters who are angry with Allen Boyd and we think he’s going to be held accountable…. [Boyd] voted for the health-care government takeover, he voted for the stimulus giveaway, he voted for the bank bailout, he voted for cap-and-trade… He’s voted 96 percent of the time with Nancy Pelosi. He’s no moderate.”
Confident as they are in their own success, Southerland’s supporters here hope to celebrate a big win for Republicans across the country. So after voting today, they’d be well advised to take a nap before heading to their Election Night party, because it’s going to be a late night. Whatever the polls say, it’s still too close to call.
About the Author
Robert Stacy McCain is co-author (with Lynn Vincent) of Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party (Nelson Current). He blogs at The Other McCain.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (117) | Leave a comment
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Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 6:31AM
We Tea Party Rebels Walk Our Talk Today.
We're Tanned,Rested & Ready.
Rise Up In Rebellion!
Ted Z.| 11.2.10 @ 9:29AM
Go, Giants, go!
Rangers=losers.
Sylvia| 11.2.10 @ 9:56AM
"We're tanned, rested and redneck."
This is nearer the truth.
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 10:01AM
More near the truth .
Sylvia is Pasty, Angst Ridden and A Red.
Maddox| 11.2.10 @ 10:29AM
Thank you for that compliment, Sylvia. I am a proud southern conservative, Bible clinging, gun toting, football loving, redneck. Those are labels I am proud of because they represent choices I made in my life that have lead to happiness and peace. I am tanned, rested, and ready to help put an end to Bo's reign of terror today.
Stephanie| 11.2.10 @ 11:01AM
HELL YEAH!!! right there with ya Maddox!
Slither on back over to the HuffPo Sylvia. Arriana is waiting for you~
Sylvia| 11.2.10 @ 11:10AM
Maddox, as in Lester Maddox?
Good ol' Lester. If he were alive today, he, too, would be a Tea Partier.
Pass around those axe handles, Lester. We're ready!
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 11:39AM
Lester Maddox Was A DEMOCRAT
Sylvia steps on the rake.
Paul D| 11.2.10 @ 12:10PM
LMAO
Paddy | 11.2.10 @ 3:09PM
ROFLMAO
chris| 11.2.10 @ 3:49PM
george wallace, ross barnett, all the segregationist governors and senators were democrats. al gore sr. filibustered against the civil rights act of 1964. the first civil rights act was passed in 1957 by eisenshower. the democrats controlled the south from post-civil war to the 1960's. it was the first republican president, lincoln, that freed the slaves.
Redstateboy| 11.2.10 @ 2:03PM
and if Hussien could come back as anyone.. he'd be Che' Guevarra.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 4:31PM
"Bible clinging"
Then pull down those Confederate statues, the statues are idolatrous.
May Jefferson Davis burn in Hell for all eternity.
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 4:44PM
Uh Oh ! Brooks Is All Snarly & Constipated This Fine Day.
Garcon ! Some Prune Juice For My Man Brooks Here.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 5:14PM
"Garcon ! Some Prune Juice For My Man Brooks Here."
Tim*, if you ever get into power you will look like tomato juice after a sniper gets you. My dad took care of such as you during the Big One.
real dude| 11.2.10 @ 6:27PM
your daddy? was he a sniper? you need your daddy to fight your battles? go back to the daily kos with your sissy liberal friends.
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 7:03PM
real dude
For clarity, my snotty retort is for ObamaBoy Brooks.
He's lookin' for a problem once again.
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 6:54PM
You threatenin' ObamaBoy Brooks ?
I'll shove that sniper's rifle up your ass Boy.
Wanna Try Me Twerp?
Bring It !
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 9:47PM
You liove in Philly? People there talk the talk pretty good.
As for my dad, yes, he was more of a man than me.
So what? Your great great grandparents were FAR tougher than you, to survive way back when, real dude. Compared to pioneers, you are an unreal dude. We all are.
Doesn't hi skool teach history well anymore?
Joe Hamilton| 11.2.10 @ 12:58PM
Sylvia: We Conservatives don't care if you DemoRATS use the race card. Are you ready the storm. IT is a comin'! DEMOCALYPSE! LOL
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 5:17PM
"IT is a comin'! DEMOCALYPSE! LOL"
You mean as in Rome 476? or perhaps you think America will dissolve like the Soviet Union did?
Roy| 11.2.10 @ 6:48PM
Your capacity for irrelevant comments has always fascinated me, but this one, well, wow.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 9:52PM
"Your capacity for irrelevant comments has always fascinated me, but this one, well, wow."
Don't be unconfident, America is in trouble like never before- the GOP are not magicians. I say good luck because you are going to NEED it to fix the ship of state up. You can't blame Obama for everything: the culture turned into slop when Obama was a child.
TomB| 11.2.10 @ 2:40PM
Better red than maroon.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 1:52PM
Where were you when Bush was wasting away our budget, oh you were cool with it because he was one of your people.
Redstateboy| 11.2.10 @ 2:06PM
I know where I was.... I was earning 40% more than I'm earning now - helping my parents, paying my bills, clawing out of debt and unemployment was 4.7%... then came Nazi Pelosi, Harry-the-war-is-lost-Reid and Hussein the Muslime King.. then it all began to crash...
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 2:10PM
Don't you think the billions wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan helped us dig a huge hole?
Paddy | 11.2.10 @ 3:12PM
Don't know if you've been watching the news dude, but Obamma has continued the war in Iraq, and vastly expended the one in Afghanisatn. HE OWNS THEM NOW!!
George S| 11.2.10 @ 3:24PM
No. The five trillion wasted on another war got us into this hole. That would be the War on Poverty, which we obviously lost or else Obama wouldn't have had anything to campaign on.
Redstateboy| 11.2.10 @ 4:08PM
I don't think we wasted billions in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know we freed 40 million people from Dictators, thugs, murderers and one Bananahead intent on obtaining WMD's - if that's your idea of "waste" then I'm for waste.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 2:21PM
Hey Redstateboy, when the little line is red under a word like Muslime it means you spelled it wrong. It's Muslim and our president is giving equal respect to all religions, like a great patriot Thomas Jefferson once did. We are not a country of Christians fighting out the good fight, we are a country of all sorts of religions and understandings. Bush helped us get into this mess with his tax cutting, and his huge waste of money in building more gov't like Homeland Security and the wasted war in Iraq. We could have just used the resources we had to fight the war on terror which is just a silly war that can never be won anyway. Furthermore, if you really believe in getting rid of Gov't waste, then get rid of medicare and social security along with the healthcare bill. But you won't, you want to have your cake and eat it too. Your name calling just shows are silly you really are, maybe read a little bit instead of blowing so hard and you might see there is some fixing that needs to be done in every single political party we have.
Al Adab| 11.2.10 @ 2:27PM
Conservatives opposed Bush spending while Republicans in Congress went on a huge spending spree. That is part of what is wrong. To The Left, it is conveinient to confuse Republicans with Conservatives, but they are not synonomous.
JShizzle| 11.2.10 @ 2:59PM
Hey Dude...I'd happily sign away the wealth redistributing Ponzi Schemes like Social Security and Medicare! Where do I sign to get rid of them? Oh, and about those "tax cuts we can't afford"....IT'S OUR MONEY! Taxation is money TAKEN from the citizens. Stop spewing tired liberal talking points.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 3:28PM
I didn't say anything about "tax cuts we can't afford". I'm not spewing anything other than the truth little guy. Walk the walk, get rid of all the social programs or your just a bunch of talk.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.2.10 @ 8:30PM
Given that you've established yourself as a user of a spelling check function ("Hey Redstateboy, when the little line is red under a word like Muslime it means you spelled it wrong"), and a critic of those who do not, please check the last phrase of your closing sentence "or your just a bunch of talk." I believe the correct grammar and spelling would reflect that the contraction "you're" is the appropriate subject and verb, and that the possessive "your" would in fact be a misspelling.
chris| 11.2.10 @ 3:55PM
"We could have just used the resources we had to fight the war on terror which is just a silly war that can never be won anyway. "
hey dude, you sound like harry reid that we have lost the war, and have the same name as the "dude president."
is this really the post of dude obama? it sounds like him.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 5:49PM
Sorry you can’t make war against terror. Terror is a technique of battle. It’s a tactic that has been employed since time immemorial. You can conduct clandestine action against terrorists, and that must be done. But, don't be fooled you can't win a war against a technique. It's really clear we didn't need Homeland Security, we could have just used the FBI, CIA and military complex to do the same job, we didn't need to outfit a whole new branch, we didn't need to double the efforts, we didn't need to waste that money. You can say what you will about Iraq, but the reality is they are just a little better off now then they were before we liberated them. The war cost millions of civilian lives over there, and set them into what is basically a religious war.
chris| 11.2.10 @ 6:32PM
if you had lived under hussein (saddam, not obama) you would believe now that you are more than a "little better off." especially if your wife,daughters were being raped by his sons and friends.
it doesnt matter if you call terror a technique. you still have to defeat the enemy, regardless of what technique he uses.
Dawson | 11.2.10 @ 4:40PM
I'm new to this, but thought I'd say something... Though I agree Bush helped get us here, the whole idea of electing Obama and giving the Dem's the chance back in 08', was because they promised change... Unfortunately it wasn't the change we expected nor want... Plus, what would you have preferred we do when we were attacked on 9/11?? Roll over and die?? Last but not least, the amazing part about this country, is we have these elections so we can show that we the people are not satisfied with the way the government is working... That's what makes this country so great... So make sure you all get out and vote and don't just give pointless opinions... (No vote, no gripe)
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 6:06PM
Did you know that not one of the 9/11 attackers came from Iraq? I didn't think we should roll over, but we could have focused on just taking care of the Taliban and not all the crap we wasted money on.
jstwndring| 11.2.10 @ 6:50PM
Did you know that Al-Qaeda trained in Iraq near Baghdad practicing hijacking commercial airliners prior to 9/11? Did you know that Saddam Hussein sponsored terrorist attacks against Jews in Israel (our ally)? Did you know that Saddam violated the northern and southern no-fly zones by repeatedly launching missle attacks against our planes? Did you know that we could have attacked his country for any one of these reasons (as well as a host of others) any time we wanted? Did you know that landing in Iraq gave us a central foothold in the middle-east from which to wage our war against the followers of that death cult known as Islam? Like moths to the flame they came to rid us from the region. And there they died--by the thousands upon thousands. Brilliant, actually.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 9:55PM
"helping my parents"
Oh, so they didn't save enough, did they, Redstateboy? your parents need your help; even with the govt help they get.
Look, we all know restaters work as hard as anyone- but they sure are thickheaded.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 3:32PM
"Plan to celebrate a GOP win? Get a nap today. It's going to be a long night."
You lowballer you;
you know very well you guys are winning. McCain, lowballing is tantamount to false modesty, and the more I read from those such as yourself the less I like you.
You speak of liberty, but you actually want power and will even hide it with false modesty.
Dai Alanye | 11.2.10 @ 5:13PM
Brooks' posts run so strangely from rational to irrational (see above for the latter) that I'm convinced it's caused by refusal to take all his meds. If only he would read and follow the instructions he'd make more consistently worthwhile contributions here. It's really too bad.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 5:23PM
Dai,
McCain DOES know the GOP is winning as I write this comment,
as you write your reply the GOP is piling it up.
And you know it. What bothers me is I know you will elect another GOP hack in 2016-- or even in 2012. In 57 years you only gave us Eisenhower and Reagan: 16 good years, 41 years of mediocrity.
Quartermaster| 11.2.10 @ 6:37PM
And the Dimocrats gave us quality? Hahahahahahaha! We are where we are because of the Left of both parties led by the Dimocrats. neither Jefferson or Jackson would recognize any of as anything other morons unworthy of a vote.
jstwndring| 11.2.10 @ 6:58PM
For the first time in our nation's history during the Carter administration, economic conditions were so dire that economists came up with a misery index. Seems that misery is the normal economic condition of our country when our government is dominated by Democrats and the only accurate barometer of that party's activity.
carnot| 11.2.10 @ 7:25PM
since 1932:
- Senate controlled 73% of the time by Dems
- House controlled 79% of the time by Dems
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 10:04PM
"since 1932:
- Senate controlled 73% of the time by Dems
- House controlled 79% of the time by Dems"
Post-Cold War era:
Bush 41: four years (wasted)
Bush 43: eight years (wasted)
Clinton: eight years (successful)
Plus the Gingrich wilted revolution, Newt couldn't persuade the old folks to get means-tested; he couldn't get space tourism boosted; and whatever happened to the Contract with America?
it fizzled out.
The Bishop| 11.2.10 @ 7:41AM
I just voted but couldn't find George W. Bush anywhere on the ballot. What gives? How I am I going to vote against the cause of all national ills?
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 3:35PM
Just wait, Cardinal, until ANOTHER Bushleaguer is fobbed off in '12.
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 5:01PM
Now Rabbi, Let's Not Be A Sore Loser!
You Da Shlimazel
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 5:27PM
Heil the Hitler-Youth boy Timmie*
BTW, how many Germans do think were castrated during the war (boys included): 200,000? 300,000? more perhaps? take a guess,
Tim*, a wild guess.
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 6:49PM
Apparently, as The Reich's Designated Geek You were plenty busy.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 10:07PM
"Apparently, as The Reich's Designated Geek You were plenty busy."
Gosh, I'm not THAT old! all those still around who were born in that that era are at least 65. Those who fought in the war are in their 80s-- at least.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 10:10PM
BTW, if it was so long ago, then wasn't the founding of Israel too long ago to complain about?
1948 was 62 years ago-- the people who founded Israel are dead, most of them.
jstwndring| 11.2.10 @ 6:59PM
Joe Biden for President 2011!
Sam Vaughn| 11.2.10 @ 7:47AM
Remember the 111th Congress;
Remember the 111th
The 111th Congress began by dropping a trillion dollars in debt on the American taxpayer. The money disappeared in a wild spending spree, buying $2 million jobs in Los Angeles, and evaporating into nonexistent zip codes. Billions of dollars remain clogged in the filthy pipes of government, producing nothing but more debt through accumulated interest payments. Much of the “stimulus” money was used to pump lard into government payrolls, creating useless jobs that vanished as soon as the taxpayer subsidies ran dry. The President recently admitted that the stated reason for appropriating this vast sum of money, the creation of “shovel-ready jobs,” was an outright lie.
Government payrolls, are the only thing that expanded during the past session of Congress. Public sector jobs multiplied like a virus, and the number of six-figure government employees skyrocketed. Meanwhile, real unemployment in the private sector – including seasonal adjustments, long-term discouraged workers, and the underemployed – hit 22% nationwide. The lights burned bright and merry in the plush offices of K Street lobbying firms, while the rest of the economy slid into darkness.
This Congress demonstrated its economic wisdom with the Cash for Clunkers program, which wasted billions of your dollars in a futile attempt to shovel new car sales from one quarter to another, giving them a “success story” to tout for a while… until they realized nobody was gullible enough to consider it successful. Meanwhile, it drained sales from healthy industries, destroyed the used-car market, and provided incentives for low-income buyers to rack up more debt they cannot afford to repay.
The 111th congress stank with the corruption of Christopher Dodd, Jack Murtha, Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel, and Harry Reid. The ruling Party made it clear that it would go to any lengths to protect its worst members from investigation and punishment. The agenda of this Congress was conducted behind closed doors, or slipped like poison into the legislative bloodstream, to escape the notice of the American people. Fat bailouts for loyal union allies were hidden inside bills that were supposed to fund the military. Nobody knew what this Congress was really voting on… including members of Congress, who didn’t bother to read the bills anyway.
The House of Representatives was presided over by a Speaker of astonishing arrogance, who recklessly abused her power for personal convenience. Caught in a trap of her own making, after trying to score political points against terrorist interrogation techniques she had been fully briefed on, Nancy Pelosi tried to weasel her way out by claiming the CIA lied to her. The disgraceful “leadership” of Pelosi and Reid will be studied by generations to come, in the kind of class future kids only have to take when they’re caught skipping more interesting classes to fool around on their hoverboards.
This was a Congress at war with American business, which is a war against American liberty, since business is the instrument through which we invest the hours of our lives. The 111th Congress spent its term menacing the private sector with disastrous, economy-killing ideas like cap-and-trade, Card Check, and value-added taxes… then wondered why nobody was creating any jobs. There’s no point in taking risks and doing the hard work to be a winner, when the losers get taxpayer bailouts, provided they have employees from the right labor unions.
Of course, this is the Congress that shoved ObamaCare down our throats. Drafted in secret, hidden behind fraudulent cost estimates, and understood by none of the people who voted on it, ObamaCare is the most shocking dereliction of Congressional duty in recent history. Its architects flirted openly with violating the Constitution to inflict it upon us through reconciliation, before they managed to buy enough votes with our money. It has already destroyed thousands of jobs, and inflicted painful new costs on hapless workers who thought their health insurance was supposed to get cheaper.
The passage of ObamaCare shattered the myth of the “moderate Democrat” for a generation. Every one of them is an accomplice to this radical offense against the American people. Private comments from Congressional representatives made it clear they knew exactly what they were doing to us. They saddled us with a system designed to fail, and pave the way for something even worse: single-payer socialized medicine.
Faced with electoral destruction at the hands of an enraged populace, the Democrats of the 111th Congress spent their last days calling the voters stupid and insane. They scurried out of town without even passing a budget, leaving a recessionary economy tied to the ticking bomb of the expiring Bush tax cuts.
Remember the arrogance. Remember the cowardice. Remember the ugly hatred of middle-class America. Remember the sheer blind stupidity of those who demand the power to write our destiny, when they’re not yelping in surprise at the latest piece of “unexpected” economic news.
Remember the 111th Congress this Tuesday, and render your verdict in the voting booth.
By - Doc Zero
Epluribus| 11.2.10 @ 10:23AM
Wow - what a concise indictment of the most disliked (hated?!) congress. Should be reprinted everywhere. Fantastic Doc Zero!
Buck Patriot| 11.2.10 @ 12:51PM
Let's not forget the Omnibus Spending party they had just after the election. They dropped about $450 billion; to get warmed up for Stimulus 1a.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 1:56PM
All I know is the GOP better create some jobs and get America going again, or all this talk is just that.
DUDE 2| 11.2.10 @ 3:59PM
government does not create jobs.people create jobs. they create more jobs when the government does not tax and regulate them into forcing them to close or outsource the jobs overseas where there is less tax and regulation.
you must be a democrat to believe government creates jobs.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 6:10PM
Actually the Gov't does create jobs, I know a lot of people that work for the Gov't directly. You kind of feel stupid now don't you.
Dude 2| 11.2.10 @ 6:36PM
it figures you know a lot of people employed and paid by the government. that is not creating jobs. that is what is called "patronage." if you dont know what it means, ask your friends on the government teat, moron.
jstwndring| 11.2.10 @ 7:04PM
See Reagan--the 1980's, in case you're too young.
carnot| 11.2.10 @ 7:23PM
no...their number one job is to rid the country of the plague currently occupying the front office.
KyMouse| 11.2.10 @ 7:48AM
Please call your nearest Republican campaign headquarters or favorite candidate's office and offer to take voters to the polls. The Democrats certainly will be offering rides, when they aren't busy digging up voters from cemeteries.
Louis Jenkins| 11.2.10 @ 9:07AM
I will not lose any sleep tonight. I will go to bed and sleep and get a good nights rest. For tomorrow I will have to get up, and continue onward with rebuilding this country. Will the results be ideal? No! Pelosi and Reid are toast. It is a beginning.
chris| 11.2.10 @ 9:19AM
last night on GRETA, john mccanin practically endorsed russ feingold and did not endorse christine o'donnell.
when asked about o'donnell, rather than say positive comments, he started with his mealy"well, she had problems and she still has problems...."
when asked about senators who may lose, he said"my dear friend russ feingold, a man of integrity, blah, blah..."
mccain is a great war hero. period. he is a lousy senator, always ready to compromise with the democrats. he lost in 2008 primarily because he could not turn out the vote baecause he is not a likable person, and not a true conservative.he should have run with kerry in 2004 as he had planned so he would have been out of the republican party, and not have been the candidate in 2008.
PolishKnight| 11.2.10 @ 9:58AM
What's a great war hero?
The word "hero" is thrown around an awful lot lately by the left and right both. Victims of DV (women only, of course), are referred to as "heroes" and "survivors" by the left. On the right, any American in combat, civilian or military, is a "hero" such as 9-11 victims.
On a general level, all soldiers who are in combat situations are heroes but really, Chris, is McCain a, and I quote for emphasis:
"a great war hero"
Doesn't such a label cheapen what great war heroes are? Let's consider Audie Murphy, a man of 5'5" who accomplished several of these feats: "The next day, January 26 (the temperature was 14 °F (−10 °C) with 24 inches (61 cm) of snow on the ground), the battle at Holtzwihr (France) began[1][6] with Murphy's unit at an effective strength of 19 out of 128. Murphy sent all of his men to the rear[6] while he took pot-shots at the Germans until out of ammunition. He then proceeded to use an abandoned, burning tank destroyer's .50 caliber machine gun[1] to cut into the German infantry at a distance,[6] including one full squad of German infantry that had crawled in a ditch to within 100 feet of his position. Wounded in the leg during heavy fire,[1][6] he continued this nearly single-handed battle for almost an hour.[1][6] His focus on the battle before him stopped only when his telephone line to the artillery fire direction center was cut by either U.S. or German artillery. As his remaining men came forward, he quickly organized them to conduct a counter attack,[1][6] which ultimately drove the enemy away from Holtzwihr.[6] For these actions Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor"
Or Peter Lemon, medal of honor recipient in the Vietnam war: "Wounded yet a third time in that final assault, and reduced to having to fend off the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, somehow the fearless Army Ranger survived the night. In the days that followed he surveyed the impact of that night from his hospital bed. Every man in the platoon had been wounded. Dead were three of his closest friends, Casey Waller, Nathan Mann and Brent Street. His own wounds would require more than a month of hospitalization, yet he had refused to be evacuated until the other wounded had been flown to a field hospital. "
Based upon what I read of his background, McCain deserves credit as a hero. He volunteered for combat and withstood torture after capture in Vietnam. But a lot of other heroes did this too. And truth be told, they probably would make better senators!
jstwndring| 11.2.10 @ 7:06PM
Yeah. F-McCain. He's a P.O.S. Get off our side you RINO, two-faced bastard.
Sheila| 11.2.10 @ 9:26AM
I fully expect democrats to steal quite a few of these close races through their usual fraud; I fully expect the GOP insiders to accede to this fraud in the spirit of "compromise" and "bipartisanship." Unless the GOP victory is over and above the Margin of Fraud (at least 3%), don't count on it standing - and expect many of these recounts (supervised by democrat Secretaries of State elected by George Soros' project) to result in numerous "found" ballots. Decline and fall.
Ken (Old Texican)| 11.2.10 @ 10:21AM
Sheila,
Will you vote today? Or will you decline?
Sheila| 11.2.10 @ 11:14AM
Ken (Old Texican) - I voted two weeks ago, on the second day of early voting. I've also contacted the "True the Vote" group to see about checking the validity of local voter rolls as soon as possible.
Ken (Old Texican) | 11.2.10 @ 12:49PM
God bless, Sheila.
Just hush that decline and fall stuff. OK?
One way or another, we patriots are going to get our constitutional government back. Please do not doubt us.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 2:31PM
No worries this Dem only voted once, and I expect the GOP to takeover. I think it will send a good message to my party to wake up and start really fighting. I really hope the GOP plan will work, I would love to see this country start climbing out of debt like we were in the Clinton years. I keep hearing how the GOP wants to cut back all of Obama's measures which is fine, but please focus on building jobs and making Americans wealthy again. We don't need religion to make us whole again, we need jobs and real ideas not prayers and hopes.
Tim*| 11.2.10 @ 2:52PM
Apparently, ya voted Republican this time, the way you're talkin'.
Good Boy.
dude| 11.2.10 @ 3:36PM
No I voted Dem, I don't agree with the GOP. When I lost my job last year, I was thankful for all the help I got in keeping my mortgage and car payments going. I lost insurance but at least my kids were covered under medicare. But I am done with both parties, I will be looking for a third party that is about separation of church and state, one that doesnt want to interfere with my personal freedoms ie the Patriot Act, or the Dems plan to limit Salt.
Al Adab| 11.2.10 @ 3:54PM
Dude,
I notice your earlier post also. Government, by either party, cannot of itself "create jobs." All it can do is allow the economy to function relatively free from imposed costs. It is the market that creates jobs, growth and wealth.
While you and others may be grateful to government programs that got you through hard times, we all still agree that such programs are not the main purpose of government.
As you state, government should protect our rights which we hold by virtue of our humanity, not find ever more ways to circumscribe those rights. The temporary sacrifice of our comfort to preserve our Freedom (and that of our children and their children) is but a small price to pay. Government cannot eliminate the risks of life even through the most tyranical means. The more we ask it to do, the less free we become and the more dissatisfied we get.
chris| 11.2.10 @ 4:04PM
You can thank barney frank and chris dodd for you losing your job.
the "help" you received came from taxes paid by people who work. if you had to rely on help from your democrats, many who do not work or pay much in taxes, you would not have any help.
how have your freedoms been limited by religion, and the patriot act. be specific, give us concrete examples.
Dude| 11.2.10 @ 5:57PM
How about you back up your assertions that democrats don't work or pay taxes? I never said religion is limiting my freedom you said that. It could if you allow religion and politics to mix, we are a free and open country to all religions and I would hope we would stay that way. The Patriot Act was pretty much the opposite of what our founding fathers would have wanted. There is nothing patriotic about having your personal home searched and you not being informed by the Gov't about it, there is nothing patriotic about having your email read by the Gov't. You guys scream less Gov't, why don't you walk the walk. The Patriot Act is more Gov't, Homeland Security is more Gov't. If your about cutting back spending and more personal rights then we should be speaking the same language you dig.
chris| 11.2.10 @ 6:43PM
you have not given any specific, concrete examples of how YOU personally been harmed. i agree to limit the power of government. the biggest threat to your privacy is IRS. it can search every aspect of your life, how you earn, spend, etc. did you know obama has ordered the assassination of an american citizien, the cleric who is now in yemen? when did a president get thae power to order killing an american citizen without a trial? you are repeating nonsense from the far left, why don't you concentrate on th specific, concrete, if you have any. skip the generalities you hear on Olberman.
Quartermaster| 11.2.10 @ 6:44PM
The idea that you can separate church and state is a lie. To keep the church out you have disenfranchise Christians as they are the Church. The first amendment only keeps the FedGov from dictating anything to religion, not to keep Christians out, which is what the left has been trying to do for years.
carnot| 11.2.10 @ 7:20PM
you can thank folks like me...not the dems. glad I could sustain your lifestyle...F-head.
Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 10:13PM
"The idea that you can separate church and state is a lie."
If the safety net is destroyed, we will need as many Christians as we can get.
Anthony| 11.2.10 @ 9:33AM
We've been waiting two years for this!! Boy, did it feel good this morning to VOTE!!!
I wish I was a D, then I'd do it 5 more times today, but I'm just a law biding R.
Perusha| 11.2.10 @ 10:30AM
This is the “Out damned spot!” election.
Facing the “devil” that is all things considered Obama, enough people have seen through the illusions he and his army of nihilists have spun.
Or else, we could say, “Satan, get thee behind me!”
The ever-inestimable Dorothy Rabinowitz of the WSJ has another brilliant piece today that cuts to the essence of our devilish American---and, thus worldly—problem. She concludes by noting that the loss of illusions “matters”, and no doubt for a secure majority of citizens, the whirling devilish guy BHO is NOW seen, and this naked B-bird is totally repellant!
Here’s another splash of the cold water of factual truth, though, which should cause any awake one to keep their right take about the unconscious state of mankind in defcon 5: as vital as this midterm election is, it’s still likely that only a little more than 40% of eligible voters will participate---excluding, of course, all those dead and otherwise stolen “votes” for the devilish party.
Wave election? Of historic proportions? NOT!!!
Now, I am of two minds, certain about history repeating itself, with the loser liberals trying every trick possible to steal as many elections as possible. And, my intuition, probably linked to my ever optimistic nature of naiveté, that Obama et al went so far that he’s turned off way too many voters, and so on all fronts of this electoral war, they will annihilate the Democratic annihilators.
Can you imagine a 100-seat pickup in the House, and winning back the Senate with ease, and even stomping out the jackasses vying for the governorship?
Oh well, the fun and existential GAMES reaching the latest electoral orgasm today, will certainly need to be observed, processed and understood, because as Scarlet O’Hara rightly put it, “Tomorrow is another day!” Or, another useful saying goes, “This too shall pass.”
I always use the latter, a lot, whenever “bad” days, such as illness or pain, arise---and, people, Obama = an illness in the political realm, and the pain is almost unbearable!
How does your mind work?
Before the Internet became ubiquitous, with the use of links that instantly pull up relevant stuff, my mind---and all minds, I’m sure---has happily been link city. A study of how the brain works, synapse to synapse, physically, illustrates this.
So, many years of an open mind that stays as fluid and unblocked as can be, for moi, instantly connected with the use of the word, “illusion”.
A Zen master, Huang Po, was asked by a devotee: you have told us all about illusion, but you haven’t told us how to get rid of it.
Huang Po replied: “The arising of and the elimination of illusion is illusory”.
Now—you make sense of it!
dude| 11.2.10 @ 2:36PM
Stop trying to make the dems the"devil" and GOP saints, they are all sinners.
Too Many Tims| 11.2.10 @ 10:31AM
Where's Bob ? I think it was at least daily for the end of 2008 and half of 2009 he bombarded us with his helpful advice: turn left! Eschew conservativism! Be bipartisan!
You out there Bob?
Bob| 11.2.10 @ 11:12AM
What is it with these McCain's? Long after midnight? You won't know until long after midnight because you plan on getting your election info by carrier pigeon, other wise it is going to be over early and resoundingly often. Go talk to Boobette Megan .
Ken (Old Texican)| 11.2.10 @ 1:03PM
Perusha,
Today, I find myself praying earnestly for my country.
My mind keeps driffting back to the Battle of Midway, when God Himself intervened, and the blood of patriots was shed as well.
A.M. Mallett| 11.2.10 @ 1:04PM
What is with this too close to call media hype? It is nonsense. The Republicans are going to gain strong control of the House and the Dems will have a much weaker control of the Senate. It is as plain as that. Anything better is just gravy although I would not be upset to see the Dems have marginal control of the Senate. It keeps them in the spotlight as the obstructionists working against the will of the electorate for the next two years.
Al Adab| 11.2.10 @ 1:20PM
What a great feeling it was this morning as, by dawn's early light, I stood in line to cast my vote. This time it matters. What a clear reminder of the glory that is self-government.
The Republican leadership (establishment) however needs to understand that this election is not a vote of confidence or endorsement of them. It is rather a repudiation of the statist, cetralizing Left. It is not that people choose Republicans to do the centralizing, it is that we wish to turn from government control toward Free markets, Free people and Free enterprise.
Sen. McCain take heed, the Democrats are not your friends for even they betrayed you two years agom just as with McCain-Kennedy and McCain-Fiengold you betrayed us. You may see yourself as the leader of this Republican resurgance, but understand we will not accept business as usual from the GOP nor a continuation of statist policies under new management. "Return to proven ways, not because they are old, but because they are true".
RCV| 11.2.10 @ 2:48PM
I had the same feeling, Al Adab, as I always do when I vote. I never take the right of self-government for granted. That's why I don't vote absentee, but instead have always taken my children with me (before they headed off th college). This is a right my direct ancestors fought, and in some cases died for. It ALWAYS matters. Elections have consequences, and this country will always be a better place when people come to understand and believe that. God bless the United States of America.
Ken (old Texican)| 11.2.10 @ 4:52PM
RCV,
Is a liar.
He is a God-denying...communist person.
He HATES Christians.
He is a LIAR.
skip| 11.2.10 @ 8:05PM
R(atfink)
C(ommunism worshipping)
V(apid hypocrite)
George S| 11.2.10 @ 3:29PM
I disagree. This will not be close because this is like no other off year election. When was the last election people couldn't wait to vote?
No Democrat incumbent in these "close races" polled over 50 percent. The rule that the undecideds break for the challenger seems to apply in all elections, so why would this be different? I say 10:00 pm tops.
Redstateboy| 11.2.10 @ 4:28PM
It would appear some of the Liber-uls commenting here didn't read the.. Ya can't blame Dubbya anymore - article.
Dixie Pixie| 11.2.10 @ 4:32PM
I think everyone has been misreading the last two election cycles.
When the elections bang, bang from one extreme to another then the normal rules do not apply.
Consider, In my lifetime I have seen formally prosperous farms turn into first pasture land then woodland.
I have seen once great manufacturing centers turn into shattered ruins. I have seen a major city fall to ruin and then grass covered city blocks.
I have sat in meetings in which Wall Street minions graduated from selling bits of companies to selling whole companies to the 3rd world with governmental subsides.
I have had customers impoverished because good paying manufacturing jobs were sent overseas with Federal governmental encouragement.
The Democratic Elite was often the worst at throwing the people into the street.
During this time the Ruling Elite voted themselves more and more expensive entertainment complexes for themselves. The distaste of the Ruling Elite for the common people is legendary.
This election is part of a ongoing revolt against the policies of the current Ruling Class.
The current Ruling Class came to power in the 1960's and have misruled for the last 50 years.
Now the populace has had enough and are using all the legal tools available to correct the current policies.
The Ruling Class has run out of time and out of the goodwill of the populace.
The Republicans have about one year or less to make a radical 180 degree policy change or the populace will turn on them again.
If the Republicans do business as usual they will be gone.
Redstateboy| 11.2.10 @ 5:07PM
I carefully agree with you yet I say this... "radical" is the word. IF the Republicans would radically begin dismantling this bloated Federal Government.. that'd save us.. EPA? GONE! HEW? GONE! HUD? GONE!
Dixie Pixie| 11.2.10 @ 7:32PM
Thanks for the support RedStateBoy
But “radical” is a understatement.
40% of all Federal spending is borrowed money and this can not last for long.
So to bring spending in line with income that means spending must be cut 40%.
To start paying off the mountain of debt spending must be cut 50%.
That means firing every other Federal employee next year.
If the Republicans do not cut spending then the Chinese Creditors will want something big when the US can't pay the bills.
Something like California with Hawaiian Islands and Alaska thrown in for extra credit.
Dixie Pixie| 11.2.10 @ 8:24PM
Again many thanks for your kind words RedStateBoy.
However the main point I was trying to make is when you see a major indicator slam from one extreme to the opposite extreme per cycle then it is obvious a major malfunction is occurring.
In electronics, when any indicator swings max between the upper and lower limits per cycle, that is the classic sign the system has been over-driven and catastrophic failure is imminent.
To have the federal elections swing from from total Republican control to total Democratic control and back again means the political system has been driven beyond its structural limits and catastrophic failure will occur. The key value to look for is if the period between swings is decreasing and the intensity is increasing. That value is the rate in which system failure is occuring.
No system can survive being slammed from limit to limit.
How many cyclic slams a system can take is determined by how tough a system is.
We may have the misfortune in finding how tough the American Political System really is by finding the breaking point.
carnot| 11.2.10 @ 7:16PM
what the H? I'm no grand fan of the "grand ole party"...but let me get this straight....50 yrs to screw things up....12 mos to fix it?
you're friggin pout of your mind.
Dixie Pixie| 11.2.10 @ 8:40PM
Greetings Carnot
Out of my Freaking Mind????
12 months to complete a political fix!!!!
No that is the time limit the Republicans have to work within.
The 50% cut in spending is how serious the political problem is.
Personally, I don't think the Republican can correct the political problems in time.
But they have surprised me before.
If they don't, then the 2012 election cycle will see a another massive political lurch in another direction.
Dixie Pixie| 11.2.10 @ 9:58PM
Greetings Carnot
Upon further reflection I don't think I explained my thinking on the 12 month window of opportunity.
In 12 months the 2012 election cycle will have started.
That is the traditional end of the Off-Year Window of Legislation.
In 12 months, the MSM and Hollywood Media will have resumed their traditional love affair with the Democratic Party and all things liberal.
The repentance in trusting Republican talk of reforms will have begun.
The public will start to be distracted by talk of the next “White Knight” to save us.
Both Party's will be looking to revamp their Images for the 2012 election.
12 months is the limit for a Republican turn-around.
Out of My Freaking Mind?
If Jon Stewart is the definition of Sanity then I am proud to be called Insane!
Perusha| 11.2.10 @ 5:49PM
Have you ever heard of the ten two-lettered words that (used to?) define America?
If it is to be, it is up to me.
Now, given what's presently being "adjudicated" in the American "courtroom" at this very moment, thinking about Obama and his crazy friends on the left, a couple of simple changes to this ditty came up---
Socialists would say---
If it is to be, it is up to WE.
AND---for those power hungry pols epitomized by MOSTLY leftists of all stripes, I believe the best way to put their take is---
If it is to be, it is up to YE!!!
Probably the best way to grok the modus operandi of leftists is that they flog the "we" saying, while in their ripping-off hearts they truly come from the "ye" one.
Fakes and LIARS, always!
You know how a Boy Scout has to take an oath confirming the intention to do those "helpful" things?
I think leftists must FIRST vow to take from all "YE", all the time, and pretend to do it for all "WE".
Well, they are just WEENIES!
carnot| 11.2.10 @ 7:13PM
be ready...it's time to go to the next level.
boycott CA and Nev! no tourism....no purchases. nothing. Let your elected reps know that you will sack them if they approve any bailouts for these states.
this battle is going to go on for years. you're either all in or get out of the way.
RCV| 11.2.10 @ 10:28PM
Good luck with that!
chuck jim fox| 11.3.10 @ 1:08AM
It got passed over by the pundits, but in North Carolina the Repub. Burr beat the Dem. Marshal for the governorship. Is a duel in the future, and is this a sign of the decline of the Jefferson era.
chuck jim fox| 11.3.10 @ 8:30PM
The Burr/Marshall contest was for the Senate, from N. Carolina. My bad, and the bad results crawl on Fox News. yes, I know; Aaron Burr was from New York and John Marshall was Virginia