Lobbying should be required to be a totally transparent activity. Problem solved.

Paul-977599

Lobbying should be required to be a totally transparent activity. Problem solved.

Agreed.

Paul, I can't vote up your comment enough.

It's a shame our soldiers fighting overseas did not get ballots in time for a timely count in these elections. Funny, but I don't hear the Democrats complaining about these men and women being disenfranchised !!

Can you verify that claim?

Hey Jim041424, That's the first I've heard of that...how about a link or site I'd like to check out your claim. did you get that in an email? I see E.Dragon asked you for backup too.

Here is one link

http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext?nxd_id=184736

It appers to be an official election home page for the state of Illinois. It mentions the suits against both New York and New Mexico, who also failed to get their military ballots out timely. In New York I seem to remember the figure being over 50,000 statewide, but I confess to not really being sure of the exact number.

And, it is a game played every election cycle. Sad and sickening.

At least there's a compelling reason why these ballots weren't sent out - if the commissioner would've been required by law to send new ballots regardless of a deadline after the conclusion of the court case regarding the Constitutional Party, I don't think that the board should be held responsible or any implication made as to a conspiracy here. If anything, I should think the blame could fall on either the court or the counselors in the case looking to add the Party's candidate to the ballot.

Is there a stipulation anywhere that reasons for late-mailed ballots should be at the very least logged and appropriate extensions for returns and counts given? If not, why the hell isn't there one?

Why aren't Republicans and Democrats saying anything about this?

ED

I can't believe you'd fall prey to another of no jo's MANY lies. She was queen of the $200 MILLION a Day Mumbai trip, too. both MYTHS dispelled as follows:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/overseas.asp

http://factcheck.org/2010/11/ask-factcheck-trip-to-mumbai/

Please check it out before reaching HER conclusions. Thanks,

Good point. Example from my viewpoint, Iowa's Grassley has millions in his campaign war chest built up over his decades in DC, some years he spends very little of what he raises because there's no viable candidate challenging him. This made it impossible for his well-qualified opponent to year to compete in the TV ad wars, she just didn't have the money to go head to head. They should get to keep no more than say $50,000; the rest gets split between social security, medicare, medicaid which would help reduce the overall deficit.

I'm all for that. Limit campaigining to 6 months and further limit the amount they can spend in the last 4 weeks or so, and show the books to an independent auditor. Anything left over should go to reducing the debt. If you're shown to be cooking books, 10 years mandatory prison and no shot of running for any office ever again.

An interesting news article from that liberal bastion, the Washington Post, written by Farnam and Eggen:

The vast group of House Democrats defeated Tuesday lacked many things, but money wasn't one of them. In two-thirds of the House seats that Republicans picked up Tuesday, Democratic candidates had more money behind them than $Republicans, accoording to a Washington Post analysis of data from the Federal Election commission.

Overall, Democratic candidates in 63 races that flipped to the GOP had $206.4M behind them, a tally that included candidate fundraising and spending by parties and interests. That compares with only $171.7M for their GOP rivals.

That pattern appears to contradict widespread complaints from Dems that they were being unfairly over-run by wealthy Republicans, many of who donated money to conservative groups to spend on policical races - unemcombered by the limits and pubklic-disclosure requirements that constrain most political fundraising.

It sends a clear message that most Democrats couldn't buy their way out of bad sopending and health car votes"

wow, and to think the Chamber was demonized for this!

There are more than 20,000 early ballots that were dropped off at polling sites on election day. These are generally mailed back prior to the election. These have yet to be counted.

Then the results are not 100% in.

Yes and no. Of the precincts, 100% have reported. The individual precincts do not count early ballots.

Were you happy when the spendthrift GOP were voted out in 2006 or does their doubling the national debt not bother you?

Some of your post I agree with. How about naming a few conservative posters who name call every day, you singled out only liberals. Yesterday, a conservative repeatedly called me an idiot, clueless and those were the nice things I've been called recently; another slandered a military person, the President is called a whole host of things. I appreciate the fact you request no name calling but don't single out one side and ignore the other.

I also must ask brewgeek if he or she knows that the tax cuts (including the tax cuts for the wealthy) will ADD an additional $4 - $5 TRILLION to the federal budget. I find it rather humorous that Tea Partiers were screaming about spending and yet have no problem in adding trillions to the budget, without coming up with any way to pay for it. I also have read that many of the large corporations that supported Republicans are expecting huge tax incentives, loopholes, and abolishment of most regulations (I agree with Tea Partiers -- corporations will ALWAYS do the right thing and don't need regulation -- just look at the industries that should receive some kind of award for being so standup for America -- the banks, financial institutions, Wall Street, oil companies, chemical companies, mining companies, egg producing companies, large scale food producers -- ALL PROFILES IN COURAGE this past year :)

I hear time and time again about cutting spending, but just ask any Conservative what they want cut and you'll get a blank stare (I've had tons of them from my Conservative friends). It is because the "pork barrel" spending everyone talks about makes up about .01 percent of the federal budget. If you stop all pork barrel spending then it won't make any difference at all, not at all (and by the way, pork barrel spending is loved and adored by ALL Red States -- they just don't want it for ANY other states and of course, there is some good stuff in there -- here in WA state some of the "pork barrel" went for volcano testing equipment -- yes, I know, your good friend Bobby Jindal in talking about pork barrel spending did mention that as #1 on his list of spending that was ridiculous -- it seems Mr. Jindal didn't have a clue that we actually have lots of mountains such as Rainier that are ticking time bombs as well as St. Helens which already blew her top -- shame that top leaders in your party don't even know basic geography:().

Let's do some basic education now -- what comprises most of our federal budget? Military/Homeland Security is huge but I have heard that Republicans want INCREASES in the budget for Pentagon, and buying hardware such as planes that Robert Gates says the military doesn't need but are built in Red States and so therefore, will be built regardless of whether we need them or not. The other huge part of the budget is Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. After listening to and reading what the Tea Party stance is: I know that Medicaid is easy to get rid of (note from GOP to poor people: die already!) for Republicans but privatizing or eliminating Social Security or Medicaid will have to be done on tippy toes. But, of course, I know it is important to eliminate the social safety nets for your fellow Americans. I would like to make a note here -- would anyone be willing to send me a Republican Bible? It just seems so much different from the one I have :) Please? Other easy things for the Republicans will be eliminating a minimum wage (I mean, how dare anyone tell me I should pay someone $8 an hour -- we need more profit in our own pockets and less in our slave's pockets -- enough said!)

We did have to spend a lot to get out of the worst recession we've ever been in and pretty much a majority of economists said that if banks were allowed to fail, then it would have been a flat out collapse of the world economy, so kudos to George Bush and then to President Obama for saving the day, so to speak. You know those TARP funds -- the government is going to actually make money on that little venture :) Some breathing room was given to automakers and lo and behold, millions of jobs were kept (with actual workers and the domino effect on others in the economy when an industry is doing well) and it looks like we just might make money on that deal too.

It's funny, I never heard a peep out of Republicans about spending and George Bush and the Republicans liked to spend. What they did, which was kind of cool, is that they just left a lot of their spending out of the budget -- it just floated somewhere :) So GW started two wars without funding them, created a prescription drug benny, which by the way, all those old folks REALLY like, without funding it, No Child Left Behind without funding it, etc. That is a great way to reduce what your budget deficit looks like. President Obama decided not to do that -- he thought it would be kind of cool to show EVERYTHING the Feds spend -- bad idea as it turns out.

Anyway, brewgeek, to say that liberals are the worst namecallers is like living in la-la land - it has been nasty all around (I may disagree with you but I don't believe you are Hitler) and as our country starts to devolve (can you believe that countries like China, India, Europe are all spending tons of money on infrastructure, science, techology -- look to these guys as the superpowers of the world -- they'll come up with clean energy someday (and wow, Alaska and Texas and Louisiana and Wyoming will all be without income then -- bummer) and will make trillions while we sit here and say "if only........"

Take care -- as a liberal, a Christian, and a real American (yes, Sarah, I am an American no matter what you say!), I wish us ALL the best. God Bless Us All -- we'll need those prayers now more than ever (and if you could, say a little prayer for the environment and the poor and middle classes who are going to lose bigtime). Take care you all!

Add trillions to the budget deficit.

Jody, Iowa

Some of your post I agree with. How about naming a few conservative posters who name call every day, you singled out only liberals. Yesterday, a conservative repeatedly called me an idiot, clueless and those were the nice things I've been called recently; another slandered a military person, the President is called a whole host of things. I appreciate the fact you request no name calling but don't single out one side and ignore the other.

You have kind of done the same thing, no?

Jody, it is up to folks to police their own, and that never happens here. It is a sin that one only notices when the OTHER GUY is doing it. And I can tell you from experience that calls for civility only target the author for a gang tackle, so it becomes an exercise in futility for anyone who attempts it.

In the spirit of brother/sisterhood-there is a song that goes;

"Let there be peace on Earth

and let it begin with me..."

The best we can do is to NOT engage in that kind of negative crap OURSELVES. The more who adopt the "golden rule" in dealing with others, the more glaring and obvious the offenders will be, whichever tribe they belong to...:)

We should all be more respectful and realize we are not enemies. Thank god we live in a country where we can disagree. I know a awful lot of people who fought for us to have that right.

Hi, Rick. Good points.

I'm still waiting for journalists or hosts to ask a repub how they can justify extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% and adding $700 billion to the debt over 10 years and be serious about reducing the debt; and not let them say it'll create jobs because it didn't create jobs for Bush.

your welcome. if you put down your chardonney and baked brie for a moment, you may realize each day they are in session costs money. now go back to your chardonney and brie

Hopefully they will, then the senate also has to pass it, and finally the president sign it

Congress doesn't get COLA raises, they set their pay legislatively. Last year they voted down their preset raise...where were you?

Guess all you like. Got anything else to offer other than sour-grape-flavored innuendo?

Races that close don't translate to mandates, not matter who wins.

no, i hear its a lock, there sending in al frankens goons to be sure all is "fair"

I was hoping for at least one Nazi reference today -- thanks Mitch :)

not a problem, those who do not recognize the failures of the past are doomed to repeat them. aparently, thats very true. i am on the list, in fact, i sent my info in and demanded to be on it.

Got Medication?

Sally,

You are smoking something I definitely need -- I'm from WA state and no such thing has taken place. Please, send me some of that wacky weed you are smokin' that allows you to create your own facts. King County is breaking for Patty Murray bigtime because it is liberal to moderate, which Dino is not.

which were the two states that failed to get voting ballots to our troops as required?

speaks volumes, and no one was surprised!

guess theres not enough of the right color in the military for the AG to prosecute.