The Voice of Treason

THE PRESIDENT: Let’s see here — yes, McKinnon.

– The East Room, November 8, 2006

That’s what George W. Bush — the longest-serving wartime president in U.S. history –said during Wednesday’s press conference. You don’t get to do “do-overs.” Now that the dust of the election has settled a bit, let’s take a look at some of the current political rumblings.

First, on the D-List, Tom Vilsack has made his 2008 ambitions official. (Note to self: I’ll need to bold his name - number 12 - on my list of Dems who are gearing up for the big race.) So confident are the Dems since Tuesday that now they’re even floating Howard Dean’s name around again for 2008. On the R-List - or the D-List, depending how you look at it - John McCain will launch an exploratory committee next week. (I tell ya, the only good news this week was the fresh issue of National Review in my mailbox.)

(Say - any word on that Madrid/Wilson race?)

The big question, of course, is: “Who will be Hillary’s running mate?” Since the Democrats are determined to have the first female president, they’re eager to kill two birds with one stone and put up a VP of color. Uh, Barack Obama? Not necessarily. They already gave us the first “black” president. Once again, the Democrats will demonstrate that they’re taking the African-American vote for granted and will kick blacks to the curb for a more valuable demographic: the Hispanics. Governor Richardson - need help packing? (Scary thought: Can the other Bill share the ticket? I’m sure lawyers are looking into it as I type this. Scarier thought: Should we be asking who Nancy’s running mate will be? Aaaarrrggghhh!!!!)

(How’s that vote counting coming along on that Madrid/Wilson race?)

Now that Charlie Rangel has dissed the South (“Who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?”), there’s really no need to look below the Mason-Dixon for candidates. Besides, now that the Midwest is turning blue, the South might officially be GOP territory. Now, don’t y’all be payin’ no attention to them ol’ Blue Dogs down there, ya hear?

(Got a winner yet on that Madrid/Wilson race?)

Speaking of the Blue Dogs, I wouldn’t mind seeing some party switching. Word on the street is that Senator Chafee’s dropping hints that he might just change over. Really? He’s finally going to become a Republican? (Sir! Did you not pay attention Tuesday night? Your concern should be updating your resume.)

(It’s been five days…the world was created in seven - any news on that Madrid/Wilson race?)

I think the Right has some weird fantasy about the Blue Dogs doing a power grab. Oooh… what if all the Blue Dogs got some Joe-mentum and went Independent? Personally, I’d like to see a couple get vocal if the Liberal wing goes too nuts and then switch to the right side of the aisle. Now that would be fun to watch.

(Jeez — how much freakin’ time does Patsy need to “find” enough votes to put her over?)

That reminds me. Anyone hear anything about the arrest on Election Night of Bill Nelson’s son? Let’s see…charges of battery on a law officer, disorderly intoxication, and resisting arrest without violence. The 30-year-old wasn’t violent because he was so drunk he could barely stand up. Man, this story has been buried deep. Yet Jenna Bush orders a margarita and all hell breaks loose.

(Michael did it…Conrad did it…George did it…come on, Patsy! Just concede already!)

You know, if the recent campaigns had been half as good as some of the concession speeches - and I’m talking about speeches from both sides - our world would be a better place. After months of revolting behavior from both Republicans and Democrats, suddenly they’re all Miss Manners. A few of these speeches were eloquent. Classy, even. Presidential.

(You got the House, you got the Senate - just let go, Patsy!)

Speaking of classy, George Allen demonstrated true decency in the manner in which he conceded the election. If he had been this impressive before the election, history might have told a different tale. Ah. That’s right - no do-overs.

(Fifty freakin’ states and they all know who won and lost - what’s the hold up in Nuevo Mexico?)

So now we wait for the next set of resignations. First we heard that John Bolton would be going away - and that would be tragic - and then there was breaking news about Ken Mehlman. But it’s not news. His term is up in January and there had already been talk about him moving on - win or lose. The interesting part, however, would be his replacement. Two names have surfaced: Bill Owens (good guy) and Michael Steele (oooh, yes, please God, please God). There will, no doubt, be a Cabinet shake-up (now, you Dems, don’t get too excited - this is standard operating procedure), so Steele or Owens could end up there, too. But I’d really rather see Steele leading the RNC. (Think: if a team rounded up all the Oreo cookies the Left throws at him, he could feed staff members and volunteers and trim that meal budget.)

(Bill! Can you tell Patsy to just go quietly?)

Lot of the same names, too, out there: Mitch McConnell and Lamar Alexander, for instance. Yawn. (Trent Lott, please go away - now is not the time to make a scene.) Liddy Dole is stepping aside (good move) and John Ensign (nice choice) will probably take the reins from her. Mike Pence and John Shadegg (two Libertarianish Republicans) have considered running for Minority Leader and whip — respectively. (“Nice-sssss.”) Oooh! And NM’s very own Steve Pearce has expressed an interest in a larger role on the D.C. stage.

(Read my lips! Heather won! Concede already!!!)

And have you noticed that the Democrats are already taking credit for the economy? I think I actually heard some positive reports coming out of Iraq this week. At this rate they’ll be claiming they’ve found the cure for male pattern baldness.

(Patsy! Stop your ballot mining! Concede!)

George Bush began that press conference in the East Room on Wednesday with these words: “I say, why all the glum faces?” Abu Ayyub al-Masri certainly isn’t glum. In the newest “terror tape” he praises the astute American voters and congratulates the Democrats on their victory. (Hmmm. Didn’t Dick Cheney say this would happen?) Al-Masri adds that Bush is the “most stupid president” in U.S. history and the terrorists won’t rest until the White House is obliterated and Jerusalem is occupied.

I have some issues with this. First, they refer to the White House as “filthy.” They talking about the old Oval Office carpet? Laura put together a Hazmat team and got that thing outta there. Second, they want to “occupy” another country. I thought they didn’t support occupation. Isn’t that what we, the American “occupiers,” do over there? And finally, if George Bush is so stupid, why is it that he seems to be the only one who knows these people are lunatics?

Perhaps the new leadership should send the duo of Carter and Kucinich over to talk to Mr. Al-Masri. I’m sure Rosalynn would be happy to pack some overripe peaches as a peace offering.

(Are we still looking for ballots in Nuevo Mexico? Have you guys checked the landfill yet?)

“Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, a 25-year-old Navy SEAL, saved the lives of three comrades by throwing himself on a grenade in the Iraqi town of Ramadi. The grenade had hit Monsoor’s chest and fallen to the floor of the sniper hideout the SEALs occupied. “He never took his eye off the grenade,’ said one of the survivors, “his only movement was down toward it…We owe him.” As do we all. R.I.P.”

– National Review/November 6, 2006

Obviously, Michael Monsoor was one of those mental deficients who got stuck in Iraq. You know, if John Kerry, a veteran himself, hadn’t pointed that out to me I would have thought that Michael was a steadfast young man who didn’t even have to think before doing the right thing. True, he didn’t weigh all the options, consider the gray areas, consult with others. He simply didn’t have the time. To second guess. To hesitate. To change his mind.

Michael Monsoor was someone who knew more about courage and sacrifice than I’ll ever know. Certainly more than John Kerry will ever know. But then, I didn’t vote for the Senator. I voted for the “dummy” — twice. And I guess that makes me pretty smart.

On this Veterans Day, I’d like to direct readers to this article written by Orson Scott Card. It’s been out there a while, appearing in several places, and many were urging voters to read it carefully before they went to the ballot box. It’s long, but certainly worth the time.

JERRY: What is that song?

GEORGE: Artie Schumann? From Camp Hatchapee?

Anyway, Nancy - may I call her Nance? - had lunch with George yesterday. You know, that incompetent, dangerous, oblivious psychotic who lives in the White House? And it’s not like Nancy can call those terms of endearment or say that in San Francisco those words mean something else. I lived in the Bay Area longer than anywhere else and I can assure you those words mean precisely what you think they mean.

“Speaker of the House
Doling out the charm
Ready with a handshake
And an open palm…”

Why is it that I don’t see these two at the bar telling bawdy jokes the way Reagan and Tip O’Neill might have?

“…Glad to do a friend a favor
Doesn’t cost me to be nice
But nothing gets you nothing
Everything has got a little price!”

Damn, I can’t get that song out of my head. Anyway, I think it’s unfortunate that these two won’t be able to get along. One of the things I’ve always admired about George is that he likes women, feels comfortable working with them, and puts them in positions of power. May have been a little hasty with Harriet, but no one’s perfect. And I don’t believe he’s ever been accused of groping or asking Condi or Karen to “kiss it.” But it doesn’t look like that will earn him any points with Nance.

“…Speaker of the House
Keeper of the zoo
Ready to relieve ‘em
Of a sou or two…”

Speaking of which, what can we expect from this new Democratic Congress? Investigations? Tax hikes? Gridlock? Hyperpartisanship? Amnesty? Impeachment?

Some say that if Congress initiates something we don’t like, Bush can veto it. (Uh, someone check this - does he know how to do that?) Yet if we initiate something they don’t like it’ll die an ugly death in Congress.

Where’s the common ground, people? Tax reform? A flat tax or the FairTax? And wouldn’t tax reform help all Americans? How ’bout revisiting Social Security reform? We can let the Dems take credit for some of it as long as they make an effort to address it. Remember what Ronald Reagan said:

“There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

Instead of battling over Hispanic voters, couldn’t we come together to secure our borders and work on those illegal immigration issues?

How about fixing the current voting system? No one seems too thrilled with the different methods, the lack of voter i.d., or all the voter fraud. How ’bout tackling that?

I realize they don’t want to make Bush look good, but can they really afford to make themselves look bad?

“…Everybody’s bosom friend
I do whatever pleases
Jesus! Won’t I bleed ‘em in the end!”

Now, to start dropping hints that they’d be able to accomplish so much more if only they had a Democrat in the White House would be unseemly. (So much for those “checks and balances”.) And voters will see through us if we say “we tried, but they blocked everything we tried to do!”

So where does that leave us? Can’t blame people like Ann Coulter for being skeptical about all those new Dems in Congress - the ones they advertised as “gun-toting conservatives.” Ann’s not the only one who thinks this new pack of Blue Dogs is fake. And if they aren’t, what power do they have against an extreme liberal leadership?

Sure, the Dems are willing to throw Harold Ford a bone, but Nancy’s already giving Jane Harman - who has demonstrated that she can work with the administration - a hard time. (I’d really like to see this dissing of the Blue Dogs come back and bite ‘em.)

Why is it that every time we talk about bipartisanship, it’s always the Right side of the aisle that has to concede? Remember “Read my lips,” George? Your dad tried to play nice with the Dems and they stabbed him in the back. You say you’re going to stand by your principles. Good. Be bold. Do it.

After all, the MSM told us that social conservatives stayed home on Election Day, but - as usual - they got the story wrong. Libertarians, in some states, actually had Libertarian candidates on the ballot, and that did make a difference. The real swing was with Independents and moderates who felt that since the Republicans in power were looking more and more like Democrats, why not just vote for Democrats? It’s why it’s important to illustrate that there really is a difference between the two parties.

Reagan didn’t have a problem with this. So, the administration can afford to put its foot down but it has to be clear about why it’s doing that. Now get to work on that agenda, boys.

“Everybody raise a glass to the Speaker of the House!”

Madam Speaker. That Geena Davis series was canceled, but now we have a new show. The first female Speaker: Is the first female president that far behind? Hard to say. After all, Condi insists she’s not running.

Watched the Bush press conference yesterday and he had some good moments. I especially enjoyed the expression on his face when David Gregory continued to speak as a colleague, not Gregory, took possession of the mic. Priceless.

It’s moments like these when I’m reminded that, despite his imperfections and my occasional irritations, I still like George W. Bush. There, I’ve said it. And I still like Donald Rumsfeld.

Now, this is not a popular position to take, obviously. That’s one of the frustrations of being a Republican or calling yourself conservative. We on the Right never walk into a room and announce: “The token Republican is here! Let’s get this party started!” We don’t, because chances are we’ll be physically assaulted.

Sure, there was a brief time when Clinton was going out and Bush was coming in that we could be honest about who we were. We could engage in discourse in the workplace, voice our opinions, debate. But now we’ve been muzzled again. Pushed back into the closet, so to speak. But it’s crowded in here and it’s time to come out.

I…uh…I am…I am a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy…and I’m proud.

Whew, that’s liberating. It’s all about taking a position, standing by it, defending it, not bending to pressure. It’s not the easiest row to hoe. You might not like George Bush, but you need to understand what it is about him that some do like. You might call it stubbornness; you might call it arrogance, or even stupidity. I still believe history will call it something else.

As for Rumsfeld, I stand by my belief that the man is a class act. Ah, I can hear you: “Letting all those young men and women die in Iraq is classy?!” Now where’s that change in tone, people?

Obviously the decision for Rumsfeld to leave wasn’t made yesterday morning. Rummy has offered his resignation before - that’s been no secret - and each time the boss has refused to accept it. Did he have the confidence of the administration? Or didn’t the administration have his replacement lined up? Be honest: would you want that job?

I don’t like that this is being interpreted as a firing, but in a way it’s intentional. And it was smart to move quickly and make noise. Sends a message. Here’s an olive branch; see how we’re willing to reach out? We’re listening. We’re responding. We’re changing direction, see?

But why announce Rumsfeld’s resignation now? Why didn’t Bush do this before the election and possibly retain Congress? Sends a message. Looks like a lack of confidence. Look like desperation. Looks like a response to polls. Looks like we’re losing.

One problem with that theory is that even by postponing the decision and announcing the decision after the election, it still looks political, and still looks like we’re capitulating.

But then there’s that other possibility. Well…because it was just in case they didn’t have to. If the election had turned out differently, would Rumsfeld be stepping down?

And there’s the real issue. Republican voters who stayed home or, worse, voted for the opposition were sending a message, too.

“We’re tired of playing defense all the time. We just can’t do it anymore and we cannot be expected to reward you for not doing what we thought you’d do. As much as we hate what might happen next, we cannot take the chance that you will retain power and continue to disappoint. You must be punished. You must learn your lesson. Sorry.”

It’s one of those “it’s unfortunate, but…” situations.

Whoa…unless this is strategery. What if Gates is not confirmed? Or the next replacement? Or the next? Hmmmm. Could it be that Bush was telling the truth when he said Rumsfeld would be around two more years?

Nah. If we who supported the administration and Rumsfeld were tired of playing defense, think how tired he must be. Does anyone really believe that he relishes the death of American soldiers? To see them with parts missing and wounds that will never heal? Criticize if you must, but this man is not a monster.

To reform the American military, fight two wars, and weather attacks by the media, the Democrats, and even those in his own department - hell, I would have told Bush to shove the job up his ass years ago.

I understand the profound weight of the strategic errors, the deaths, taking on the responsibility of the election results, and not wanting to leave until the job is done and the problem is fixed. He is now, as some have described, just another casualty of this war.

My hope is that this election sends another message - one to the Iraqis. Get off the goddamned stick and take control of your country before we abandon you - again.

“On the slightest touch the unsupported fabric of their pride and power fell to the ground. The expiring Senate displayed a sudden luster, blazed for a moment, and was extinguished forever.”

– Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

I ran outside this morning and the grass was greener, the sky was bluer, the sun shone brighter and the birds sang more sweetly. Leaves had reappeared on the trees. Inside, the dog’s knees weren’t popping, my mug of coffee tasted better, and that extra fifteen pounds I’ve been toting around was gone. But more important, the world loves us again! The war is over! We can all live in harmony at last!

Yeah, whatever. Let the gloating begin. Seriously, if the Democrats were smart they’d keep a tight lid on that. Now is the time to be on their very best behavior - and that’s always the hard part. What will help them is that the Republicans, as always, failed to articulate anything they’d actually done right. Now the Democrats can sit back and take credit for it all. Suddenly this will be the best economy in the last 150 years. Look - we haven’t been attacked! Check out that amazing stock market! Can you believe those unemployment numbers? Test scores are up! Crime is down! Look how much we’ve done already!

I predicted on Monday that the Republicans would lose both the House and Senate, but yesterday I held out some hope for the best case scenario: lose the House, barely hold the Senate, and learn something from that. I’m not holding my breath on Montana and Virginia - the Senate is gone. The good news, of course, is that Lincoln Chafee’s gone, too.

The bad news is that a lot of good people lost their races. Interestingly, Rich Lowry of National Review pointed out that the two who ran the best campaigns and were possibly the best Senate candidates - Michael Steele and Harold Ford - were defeated. Sorry to see DeWine and Santorum go, but that was expected.

And to think that just a few months ago, George Allen was being positioned for 2008. I admit I never got excited about him, even though there was plenty of evidence that he’d been a fine governor and had potential. But after his clumsy senate race…well, he did a Howard Dean, didn’t he?

It’s interesting, too, to point out that several of the Democrats who won are moderate to conservative, and several of the Republicans who lost were just moderate. That makes for an interesting temperament in Congress, but before conservatives and moderates get too excited, they should remember that Democrat leadership still leans left.

Their job is to keep a lid on the extremes, play nice, stifle any infighting, and make the voters believe that they have fixed everything so they deserve to win it all in 2008. So much for those “checks and balances.”

Despite all this, California still has a Republican governor. Some say it’s because he learned that ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and ran as a Democrat. There may be some truth to that, but too many forget that Schwarzenegger’s hero is Richard Nixon. Nixon was never a conservative; socially, he really was quite liberal. I’m not making this up - look at his record.

If Angelides, compared to Schwarzenegger, was “charismatically challenged,” Republicans need to take something from that. Democrats are always describing their candidates as “rock stars.” People who generate enthusiasm. Where are the Republican rock stars? Where are the young reformers? Where’s the flash? Where’s the incentive for me to go volunteer or send a check?

Sure, we generally value substance over symbolism, but sometimes you’ve got to put something out there that catches the voters’ attention. If John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are the only “rock stars” in the party, we have a problem. It makes me wish that Gary “Sure I inhaled - so f*cking what?” Johnson was running in 2008. Perhaps the Republicans need to open the tent to more Libertarians - a party that can’t seem to find viable candidates.

Locally, there were no surprises. I got a couple hours of sleep and woke up to discover that the Madrid and Wilson race hasn’t yet been decided. Looking at the ballot yesterday, if I were a Democrat I would have been tempted to fill in one oval for straight party and sacrifice Heather, just to avoid filling in the rest of that ballot. Most of the candidates were Democrats - several unopposed - so that one oval would have saved time and energy. I wonder how many voters went that route.

It would be a shame if Heather loses because she absolutely doesn’t deserve that; worse, her incompetent opponent doesn’t deserve to win. Corruption is as common as sand in this state, and more scandals are brewing. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. Will the Dems who won last night succeed in suppressing the revelations coming their way, or will the allegations touch more state Dems than we know?

Now I have to be subjected to Republicans talk about what they’ve learned and how they’re going to return to their conservative principles. What I’d rather hear - from both sides - is a little honesty. Did the GOP lose because Republican voters just couldn’t bring themselves to reward a party of sloth? The spending, the earmarks, the scandals; the inaction on immigration reform, tort reform, voting reform, energy reform, social security reform, tax reform; the inability to articulate what positive things had been accomplished. Didn’t Bill Clinton say that Republicans would lose because they weren’t conservative enough?

George Allen said one smart thing last night: this has been “interesting.” There’s an understatement. Michael Bloomberg sends “troops” to Missouri to support Claire McCaskill, and Republicans show more enthusiasm for Joe Lieberman than their own party’s candidates. Yes, very interesting.

Republicans just don’t play the political game as well as the Democrats and that was especially evident in this election. Again, like the Cardinals and Tigers, it wasn’t that the Democrats actually won - the Republicans lost. Nobody voted for what the Dems were for because they weren’t for anything. They were against anything their opponents were for, and they all ran against Bush. A strategy that worked, but now what?

Subpoenas? Congressional hearings? Investigations? Impeachment? That’s expensive: do taxpayers want to pay for it? Is this what they voted for?

No matter how much the Dems dislike one of their own, they’ll circle the wagons for the guy. Women still defend Bill Clinton - someone who represents just about everything I detest about humanity. That’s how Democrats win. If Republicans want to compete in 2008, they need to use the Democrats’ words against them - starting with “checks and balances.” And if there’s any move towards impeachment, I’d hope they’d remember how the Democrats pointed out how the proceedings made it impossible for Clinton to do his job and address terrorism. We’re at war now (yes, really, we are): Is it smart to cripple this President? Power issues aside, does anyone actually care about what’s good for the country?

Now we can get to the good stuff: who the hell is going to be running in 2008? It’s all up for grabs - how interesting is that? When George Bush went on the campaign trail, he told the crowds to ask the Democrats:

“What’s yer plan?”

It’s a question that needs to be directed to and answered by both parties.

“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Although I did want to shoot the woman who showed up to the polling place and said she didn’t even realize it was “voting day” until she drove by and saw the crowd. Anyway, I’m back. I said I’d report in after I’d been to the polls and now here I am. It’s done. So why did I vote today? Maybe it’s because I watched 1776 for the umpteenth time last night and got all fired up again.

It’s just too easy to be cynical. As I was typing earlier about local irregularities, they were being reported on the national news. When we were walking the dog this morning and I heard that Heather was out thanking voters at the precinct that ran out of ballots, T said it was strange that she just happened to be precisely where there was blatant disenfranchisement. She and Pete Domenici were already on the case, and it was a topic of conversation on Rush’s show.

Hmmm. How convenient that Heather just happened to be there to witness this. How interesting that Nuevo Mexico is in the news. Hmmmm, again.

Now before I start thinking it’s all one big conspiracy, I have to hold on to what’s left of my idealism. I was giddy by the time we got to our elementary school polling place and T looked at me as I was leaping out of the car: “What the…this is foreplay for you, isn’t it?”

It’s just that I still have reason to believe that participating in the process is important. I was impressed that Heather Wilson called voters herself this week and I liked that she was out this morning thanking those who showed up to vote. Call me gullible, but I refuse to give up, stay home, and not care.

But, of course, now that I have voted, I’m crippled. In the past year I’ve noticed that my hand and wrist cramp up when I write. Filling in all those ovals - being ever so careful to stay within the lines yet fill them in completely - was physically painful. And I’m tall, so it was awkward to bend over to fill in my ballot on what felt like an elementary school desk. And the lighting was bad. I created a shadow that obscured my own ballot. Then a man in a wheelchair - damn, I wish I’d thought to bring one of those - pulled up beside me and shook the table as I was filling in an oval.

I almost went outside the lines! And that’s something I do not need on my permanent record.

I had slipped into the booth to the right of T and, after filling in one oval, he announced that there was no way he could continue bending over to see his ballot. He went into a corner and got on his knees so he could bring the ballot closer.

I finished as quickly as I could and was able to feed my ballot into the “counting” machine. Then I stepped outside the school library and didn’t see T. Went down the hall and peeked outside. Not there. Is he still making his way through the ballot?

Yes! T has a similar issue. His hand cramps up when he writes because he just doesn’t write. Not even checks. Whenever we have to sign paperwork he has to stop and think about how he holds a pen and writes his name. It must be a Gen X thing. He is totally electronic.

But now he understands why I was bitching about paper ballots. My mother would never be able to get through a ballot like that. And I know people who suffer with bursitis and carpal tunnel. Back and vision problems. This is too much like the SAT — I want my touch screen back.

Well, I’ve responded to Dan’s comment (10/28) and I have an adult beverage in front of me. All I need now is a pizza and I’m set. So…good luck to all who give a damn, and let’s see what happens next.

“Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”

– Abraham Lincoln

I get to vote today! I swear it’s like I’m a little kid again and it’s Halloween, Christmas, or the last day of school. Or maybe it’s more like the first day of school; after all, I just read in the paper that the polling places might not have enough of those “special” pens for our new paper ballots, so I can bring a BIC medium point or a number 2 pencil with me.

And then a week from now I can hear how all the ballots that were filled in with BIC pens and number 2 pencils were disqualified and my vote wasn’t counted. It’ll be like the year I thought I’d save everyone in line behind me time and I voted quickly by pushing the “straight party” button…only to discover that the machines (conveniently) weren’t working quite right so anyone who voted straight party didn’t get their votes counted.

I’m going into this expecting frustration - but elation, too - at the polls. Like I said, I like this part of the process. I enjoy voting and then watching the results ’til the wee hours and beyond. Should I get pizza today? An appropriate adult beverage, too?

Just call me a “party” animal.

It’s no coincidence that this is The V.O.T. and when I sit down and post something I refer to it as “V.O.T.ing.” But as thrilling as it is to go to the polls and vote for real, I woke up this morning and said to myself that today might end up not so pleasant. I don’t think there’s a Republican out there other than George Bush and Karl Rove who says the GOP will retain the House. And there seems to be some split over the future of the Senate. In a perfect world, I’d say to Republicans: Bid the House a fond adieu but squeak by and hold the Senate. And then learn your lesson and do your jobs.

But anything can happen and that’s what makes this fun. It’s like global warming: the planet goes through cycles that we try to control and can’t, and our nation does the same thing. We swing right, then we swing left.

And that’s fine. I don’t have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the blatant cheating. All I wanted to do today is vote, get something snacky to munch on throughout the day and night, and watch the results come in - good or bad. And I started the day off on a really positive note when I saw that Dan, the author of Gone Mild, had found me and commented here on The V.O.T. (See October 28.)

But I’ll have to say more on that later because my mood has turned sour. I’m pissed off now. I switched on Neal Boortz this morning and heard him say that he went to his polling place to vote and he wasn’t allowed to. Someone had changed his address from his residence to his workplace and his precinct has now changed. His point is that he cannot vote at his new polling place because the address on record is not his home address and if he did vote he’d be committing a crime.

I’m hearing Rush now saying that Matt Drudge gave him a head’s up about bogus exit polls on House races (Rush explains that there are no exit polls on House races) and he’s playing sound bites from the MSM about voting “irregularities” and voter suppression - all Republican malfeasance, of course. Fine, that happens every election and we’re used to it.

Locally we had reports of our own “irregularities” and Dems were accusing Republicans of calling voters to remind them to get out and vote, then told them to go vote at the wrong polling places. Even if this was true, I have no sympathy for any voter who ends up in the wrong precinct today. Similarly, a Republican voter who procrastinated called talk radio this morning to say that he doesn’t know where to vote, he didn’t get his Sunday paper that had the locations listed, and now he can’t access the county website - it’s not working today. Of course it isn’t! But no sympathy from me, dude. It’s your responsibility to do everything you can to make sure you’re prepared in advance.

My sympathy is with the people who have been calling with stories of blatant disenfranchisement. Democrats are showing up and harassing voters who are standing in line; memory chips are burned out in the machines that are there to count the votes as they’re submitted and now poll workers are sticking them in mystery boxes to be “counted” later; and, worse, at 8:30 this morning several precincts were already out of ballots. The worst case is the precinct where there’s close to 2500 registered voters and they had only 150 ballots for them. It’s a heavily Republican area (a rarity in these parts) and Republican voters are being turned away. They’ve been told to give their names and phone numbers and they’ll be notified when more ballots show up. Our lawyers are already at work on this and that’s unfortunate. Can’t we all just play by the rules and keep the attorneys away from the process?

The crooked County Clerk who has been in charge of crap like this is running for Secretary of State and will win easily. It’s an outrage. The lines are long today and it would be nice if the people who traditionally vote multiple times (common in this state where people own property and have addresses in several counties) would just vote once and give others a shot at it before the polls close.

Knowing precisely how the elections are manipulated in Nuevo Mexico, I shouldn’t even waste my time voting today. My vote means nothing here. But as long as it still means so much to me I’ll be there with bells on.

I’ll be back later to tell you how it went. (Guess I’d better get my ass down there before they run out of ballots.)

It’s the newest memo from the DNC: Go out there and talk about “checks and balances.” Actually it’s not that new - it’s been around for a while, but it’s just recently caught fire. Democrat friend Tim, who responded to a post at the end of October, mentioned that this was his main concern.

“I’m more concerned with the imbalance in the congress/president right now. There is very little check and balance and I feel that it has created a less than desirable outcome.”

I’d had about enough of cable news, talk radio, and campaign ads today, so I switched to C-SPAN. There I saw 92nd Street Y - an installment taped on 10/29 - featuring a conversation between James McGreevey and Andrew Sullivan. Unfortunately I tuned in late and missed a good portion of it, but it had to be the best thing I’ve watched in a long time. C-SPAN tends to repeat, so I might get lucky and have the opportunity to catch the entire program. What I saw was a civilized and thoughtful conversation between two people - two people who were actually listening to one another. Answers were not prepared or rehearsed: it seemed that these two men were speaking to each other as if they were just having a drink in a bar instead of sitting in front of an audience and TV cameras. It was completely engaging.

But then came Sidney Blumenthal, speaking at the Politics and Prose bookstore, and again I heard the checks and balances argument. It is an entirely false argument. If Democrats are that concerned with the concept of checks and balances and feel that there should be a Democratic Congress when a Republican sits in the White House, the logical next step - after taking control of both the House and Senate tomorrow - would be for Democrats to vote for, in 2008, another Republican president to retain that precious balance they keep talking about.

So…we can expect to see that, right?

I’ve been sitting here all weekend waiting for the bomb to drop. Last week Chuck Schumer warned that the Dems have “a big surprise” planned before Election Day…did I blink and miss it? Or will it be the Monday Surprise?

I stayed up late to watch the verdict on Saddam - no real surprises there. And the Vatican, of course, has issued a statement: We don’t want an execution. No surprise there, either. Some videos have popped up today: happy Iraqis dancing in the streets, and unhappy Iraqis in Tikrit protesting the decision on their hometown boy. Again, no surprises.

More scandal brewing over deadbeat employees and security breaches at Los Alamos. Uh, yeah? This is normal for the lab, so why is anyone surprised? Is anyone surprised?

Even more scandal brewing over early voting in our state. Now the wait is averaging three hours and some voters simply cannot wait that long. Is that the smell of disenfranchisement in the air? Or is that the stench of a big fat lawsuit? A common aroma in these parts; again, no surprises here.

And speaking of hometown boys, Neil Patrick Harris - a.k.a. “Doogie Howser” - officially announced this week that he’s gay. Uh, yeah? Neil, you were often the topic of conversation at staff meetings at the non-profit arts organization where I worked, and I gotta tell ya…this, again, is no surprise.

October’s list of Democratic candidates for 2008 revised:

1. Evan Bayh
2. Joe Biden
3. Wesley Clark
4. Hillary Clinton
5. Tom Daschle (who?)
6. Chris Dodd
7. John Edwards (a.k.a. the Breck Girl)
8. Russ Feingold
9. Algore (Inventor of the Internet)
10. Barack Obama
11. Bill Richardson (world traveler and Bill Clinton’s pimp)
12. Tom Vilsack

Jumpers:

1. Mark Warner
2. John F. Kerry