From The Hotline for Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008

GENERAL ELECTION

Nut Crackers

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008


Citing charges of voter fraud tied to ACORN, a community-based non-profit, John McCain's camp on 10/14 "raised the specter of a Nov. 4 'nightmare,' with charges of election fraud and court fights that could make the hanging-chad drama" of WH'00 "pale in comparison." The Barack Obama camp "countered by accusing McCain's aides of launching a 'cynical ploy' to cover the GOP's own efforts to dampen" Dem voting.

"The back-and-forth follows voter registration drives by" ACORN, "which has had affiliations with Obama but has no current formal ties." The Obama camp "paid an ACORN affiliate for get-out-the-vote work during the primary season, but it has handled its own voter registration initiative."

"Election boards can check IDs and screen potential voters to verify they are eligible." But ex-GOP Sens. John Danforth (MO) and Warren Rudman (NH), who are "working with" McCain, "said the fraudulent registrations create potential for people voting who should not; for people voting more than once; and for election officials to have to spend so much time on this that they cannot prepare properly for an orderly election."

"If the election's outcome is tight," they said, "there are bound to be charges of fraud. They asked" the Obama camp "to team with McCain and identify potentially troublesome precincts in battleground states. Then the campaigns could jointly monitor the precincts and assure that the election is clean."

However, "several outside groups, including Common Cause and the Brennan Center for Justice, agreed that the greater danger in this election is that legitimate voters will be purged from the rolls."

Obama manager David Plouffe: "It's highly transparent what they are doing. They are going to try to raise questions and cry out and make arguments about fraud and try and create a smoke screen out there to confuse voters and perhaps to give cover to some of the activities they are going to be undertaking the next few weeks" (Koff, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 10/15).

Salon's Burmon writes, according to Barnard prof. Lori Minnite, "who has spent the last eight years studying the role of fraud in U.S. elections," the GOP "crusade against voter fraud is a strategic ruse. Rather than protecting the election process from voter fraud -- a problem that barely exists -- Minnite says the true aim" of GOP efforts "appears to be voter suppression across the partisan divide. ... Playing the role of vigilant watchdog gives GOP bureaucrats a pretext for obstructing the path of marginalized and first-time voters headed for the polls" (10/15).

Cracking Under The Pressure?

ACORN officials "sought to provide assurances" on 10/14 "that instances of wrongdoing were not widespread." They "acknowledged cases where canvassers submitted false or duplicate registrations, but said they represented only a tiny fraction" of its 1.3M registered voters.

ACORN spokesperson Kevin Whalen: "Out of 13,000 workers there were inevitably a few who decided they'd pad their hours by duplicating a card and filling out another one or making up a name. If we discovered this, we not only turned that information over but turned the information we had about that former employee -- because they'd been fired by that point -- to elections officials and asked for their help in prosecuting that person."

Also on 10/14, ACORN "was surveying local offices to come up with a tally of the number of 'problematic' registration cards it had submitted to states." A spokesperson "indicated that the number of employees who had been fired for job-related problems could reach" 1K "or more nationwide, but later backed off that estimate." The spokesperson "confirmed that more than 100 Acorn workers" in OH and MI "had been fired" (Falcone, New York Times, 10/15).

No Matter

On 10/14, the Obama camp "said that its army of nationwide workers has registered millions of voters" and that Dems have a 3.34M-voter edge in 13 battleground states. "With voter-registration deadlines past in most key states, Obama's aides said data show that in 13 swing states, there are 1.49M more Dems and about 61K fewer GOPers registered than WH'04 (Gordon, McClatchy, 10/14).

Obama: "We've got the best voter registration and turnout and volunteer operation in politics right now and we don't need ACORN's help" (Tapper, ABC, 10/14).

Mission Accomplished

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) on 10/14 "said he had no regrets for claiming" that GOP rhetoric in WH'08 "reminded him of words spoken by segregationist" AL Gov. George Wallace -- "but he admitted that he could have made his point 'in a different way.'

Lewis: "I do not regret what I said. Maybe it could have been said in a different way, because it was not suggesting that John McCain or Sarah Palin was closely related [in] any way to the actions of Governor Wallace. It was all about what I call toxic speech -- statements [and] an audience that can unleash bitterness and hatred. And I don't need anyone to lecture me about my feelings, or what I have observed for more than 50 years."

"Regardless of any criticism, which he characterized as overblown, Lewis said his protest had its effect." Lewis: "I think it checked some of the things that had been going on. I don't think you're going to see people making reference to a young man who is the nominee of his party as running around with terrorists. I don't think you're going to have that anymore" (Galloway, "Political Insider," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/14).

Raising The Double Standard

National Review's Goldberg writes, Lewis "sold off another chunk of his reputation by coughing up some absurd partisan talking point about how the McCain-Palin campaign reminds him" of Wallace.

"McCain has done nothing to fuel racism. Or, put another way, his campaign has done as much to promote prejudice" as the Obama camp "has to inflame the vile passions behind the 'Abort Sarah Palin' bumper sticker, Madonna's stage video lumping McCain in with Hitler, the eugenic snobbery aimed at Palin's son with Down syndrome."

"Why is it racist to treat Obama just like the four white guys who preceded him? Talk about double standards. If Obama were a white" Dem "named Barry O'Malley, the GOP would be going after him twice as hard. But liberal" Dems "would still caterwaul about fomenting hatred and racism, because that's what they always do" (New York Post, 10/15).

The Wright Stuff?

Rev. Jeremiah Wright "and his inflammatory sermon have surfaced in an ad attacking" Obama, "but it's not clear how widely it will air." The ad: "Barack Obama seems to have different values from most Americans."

"Contending that" McCain "has not been aggressive enough," GOP consultant Sal Russo "and his allies produced the ad and rented a bus that they intend to drive across the country with the goal of rallying voters against Obama in swing states." His partner Joe Wierzbicki "estimated that they have raised" $600K to $700K in a new PAC, Our Country Deserves Better.

However, a Dem source, "who declined to be identified, said the initial advertising buy may be as little as" $6K. "The amount the PAC has raised could not be verified" through FEC filings (10/15).

Returning To Taxes...

With McCain "unveiling" a $52.5B "package of proposals" on 10/14, both candidates "have now outlined their plans for addressing the economic crisis, leaving voters with a clear choice when it comes to one of the biggest challenges the next president will face."

McCain's new plans "include tax cuts on capital gains and on withdrawals from retirement accounts by people 59 and older, bigger write-offs for stock losses and a tax waiver for unemployment benefits. Those proposals, which would be effective for two years, complement an overall economic program that hews" to the GOP "playbook: tax cuts geared especially to individuals and businesses at the top of the income scale, in the belief that they will stimulate the economy and create jobs that benefit everyone" (Calmes, New York Times, 10/15).

Where They Agree

On 10/14, Obama and McCain each said "that he would put his own stamp on the massive financial-rescue plan, going beyond buying up bank stocks and distressed assets to exert influence on how the firms are structured and managed. ... Neither candidate, nor aides, elaborated on how they would implement" the plan, "or how they might differ from each other. But it's clear that the government's partial takeover of the nation's banking industry ... will give the Nov. 4 winner tremendous discretion over the workings of the economy" (Weisman, Wall Street Journal, 10/15).

"Although taxes have become a major political battleground," Obama and McCain "agree on a couple of estate-tax issues that could benefit many people and their heirs. Both candidates agree on changing the law to make the federal estate-tax exemption 'portable,' senior advisers say. This issue is known as portability because the exemption per person" -- $2M this year and $3.5M next year -- "would become transferable from one spouse to the other, in effect doubling the surviving spouse's exemption" (Herman, Wall Street Journal, 10/15).

Tidal Airwaves

Last p.m., McCain "stepped into a ballroom at the Grand Hyatt" in NYC "for what was likely to be his last fundraiser" of WH'08.

"But while the event, which was expected to net" $8M to $10M for the RNC, "will provide a much-needed infusion for" McCain, "it will do little to whittle down the massive financial advantage" that Obama "is using to dominate the electoral landscape. Exactly how much money" Obama "has raised will not be clear until next week, when the two campaigns are required" to file their Sept. FEC reports.

As the first POTUS candidate to run a general election "entirely with private donations, Obama is building a significant fundraising advantage and is now using that imbalance to swamp McCain on the airwaves and in building turnout operations coast to coast" (Mosk, Washington Post, 10/15).

"In the first three weeks" of Sept., Obama ran 1,342 TV ads in the DC media market "that reaches heavily populated and contested" northern VA. "In the same period and market," McCain "aired just eight commercials on broadcast stations. Similar disparities are playing out across the country" as Obama "flexes his financial muscle to outspend McCain" and GOPers on TV ads, "in some cases by ratios of as much as 8-to-1."

"As of close of business last week, Obama had spent approximately" $195M "on primary and general election ads compared with" $99M by McCain and the RNC. "And the gap is widening in the final weeks" (Cummings, Politico, 10/15).

  •  
  •