Hullabaloo

Sunday, October 26, 2008

 
Down To Pennsylvania

by dday

Now I'm going to have to call all my relatives. Thanks a lot, McCain campaign!

Pennsylvania will see a lot of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin next week.

The scheduling reflects McCain's tough electoral math. With some -- though by no means all -- advisers all but conceding Colorado, McCain would be forced to win a blue state in order to recoup the electoral votes. New Hampshire wouldn't give him enough, and Pennsylvania, the McCain campaign believes, is the most brittle of the remaining states. Public and private polls give Obama a double digit lead in the state, but McCain advisers believe that Obama is underperforming in the suburbs and exurban counties around Pittsburgh. Tensions between the two campaigns in the state is acute.

Pennsylvania doesn't have early voting, meaning that the McCain campaign is not starting from a deficit like in other states, and it's 82% white, a fairly high percentage, as well as one of the older states in the union (15%-plus over 65).

And so the dirtiest of dirty tricks are all manifesting themselves in Pennsylvania. The "B" lady who failed in her race-baiting effort to blame an assault on an African-American Obama supporter was in Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania GOP - not an outside group, but the state REpublican Party - sent out this mailer aimed squarely at my grandparents:

"Jewish Americans cannot afford to make the wrong decision on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008," the e-mail reads. "Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake. Let's not make a similar one this year!"

A copy of the e-mail, provided by Democratic officials, says it was "Paid for by the Republican Federal Committee of PA - Victory 2008."

It warns "Fellow Jewish Voters" of the danger of a second Holocaust due to the threats to Israel from its neighbors and touts Republican presidential candidate John McCain's qualifications over those of Obama.

The same spokesperson who's distancing himself from this mailer is the one who was feeding reporters the story of the campaign worker mugging.

And then, from the furthest stretches of Outer Wingnuttia, there's this:

A federal judge in Philadelphia last night threw out a complaint by a Montgomery County lawyer who claimed that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was not qualified to be president and that his name should be removed from the Nov. 4 ballot.

Philip J. Berg alleged in a complaint filed in federal district court on Aug. 21 against Obama, the Democratic National Committee and the Federal Election Commission, that Obama was born in Mombasa, Kenya.

Berg claimed that the Democratic presidential standardbearer is not even an American citizen but a citizen of Indonesia and therefore ineligible to be president.

He alleged that if Obama was permitted to run for president and subsequently found to be ineligible, he and other voters would be disenfranchised [...]

Surrick ruled that Berg's attempts to use certain laws to gain standing to pursue his claim that Obama was not a natural-born citizen were "frivolous and not worthy of discussion."

This guy was all over the map. He said Obama was born in Kenya AND an Indonesian citizen.

And previously, the state GOP sued the Secretary of State and ACORN, claiming that a clean election cannot be assured.

If you're looking for the trends reflecting the worst of the Republican Party, check out Pennsylvania for the next ten days.


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dday 10/26/2008 11:30:00 AM |