Saturday, August 28, 2004

One of These Things (Is Not Like the Other)

Hmmm, here's something I find interesting...

MoveOn.org and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are both 527 organizations (527's are non-profit political organizations, often using donations to run political ads and perform voter drives). For a list of the top 50 527's - take a look at OpenSecrets.org's list.

You may notice that most of them (and certainly the largest) are Democratic leaning organizations. Isn't it interesting then, that the one 527 that has really gone out and made a mockery of the entire 527 system is a Republican leaning one? Isn't it even more interesting that the Bush campaign is now calling for an end to 527's?

Who do you think that really will help most in the campaign?

Does that seem just a bit convenient to you? It does to the Kerry Campaign which recently sent out a flow-chart in their daily newsletter that shows the who-is-connected-to-whom between the Bush Campaign and the Swift Boat Veterans group.

Obviously, there is no actual smoking gun, but there are enough connections to make it hard to believe that their weren't at least a few off-the-record conversations between people in both groups about what this particular 527 might do to best help the campaign.

...like act so recklessly that all 527's might be outlawed; conveniently removing the biggest thorn in the Bush Campaign's side...the large number of Democratic leaning 527's.



-Scott

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Who Are You?

I think it is fair to say that John Kerry would like to be president. It would also probably be fair to say that his campaign staff are a bright bunch of people.

Why is it, then, that the Kerry campaign doesn't seem all that interested in really getting the word out what Kerry is about and what he would do if elected? The one complaint I've heard about the Democratic National Convention and Kerry's speech was that it/he didn't give any solid plans for what his administration would do (not just vague conceptual stuff, but actual policies and numbers). This is when Kerry had his largest audience of undecided voters looking for a reason to vote for him - and he blew it. I think this is why his post-convention bump was not as high as many expected.

It seems that the Kerry Campaign is counting way too much on anti-Bush sentiment to deliver votes. Big mistake. They really need to put together a picture of what John Kerry will do when elected. That is the way to the hearts, minds, and votes of the undecided.

Here's hoping they figure out how to really get his message out in the coming months.


-Scott

Soul and Inspiration

I'm fed up...at middle America.

This morning, I listened to a news story on my way to work. In the story, they spoke with a woman from Missouri who is voting for George W Bush because of his morals. Specifically she referred to his stand on gay marriage and his 'honesty and integrity' - Hello?!

I have heard this several times now, that people are going to vote for Bush because of his morals.

Am I the only one who finds this laughable?

Since when was skipping out on military service been moral?
How has lying about the threat posed by Sadam Hussein, by invoking fear of WMD's and of terrorists (though we know now that the WMD threat was, at best, sketchy in the months before the war and Sadam's regime is yet to be tied to any terrorist group) honest?
How has quietly reversing rules and regulations that protect the environment been moral?
How is cutting taxes, under the guise of boosting the economy even though most of the benefit goes to a few and results in spiraling deficits, been moral?

Also, I really don't understand people who consider gay marriage to be a reason to vote for one candidate over another. Do people really think that extending the protections and legal responsibilities of marriage to gays will cheapen 'traditional' marriages (or that preventing it will somehow magically cause gays - who seem to make some people mighty uncomfortable for some reason - go away)? If so, could you please explain how?

I believe that many people perceive GWB to be a religious man and, therefore, want to overlook any evidence that he just might not be up to the job. Here's how I see it...let's look at what he has actually done and then decide if he is a better man for the job than his opponent.

That's what I'll be doing. Right now, he's not looking too good to me.

To the lady in Missouri...thanks for ticking me off enough to get me to start this blog.

-Scott