Republicans starting to worry?

This is very very interesting. From what I've seen Thompson was doing very well against Feingold in the polls. Plus, Pitaki seems to be backing away from running against Gillibrand. Add in some promising economic trends and hmmm. h/t Ben.

MILWAUKEE - According to a source who has spoken with TODAY'S TMJ4 HD's Charles Benson, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson says he will not run for Senator Russ Feingold's seat.

Thompson is set to announce his future at a "tea party" rally in Madison on Thursday.

(snip)

Thompson told The Associated Press on Wednesday morning that he hadn't made up his mind on whether he'll enter the race. He says, "The only person who knows what I'm going to do is myself and I don't know what I'm going to do."

Wisconsin Prosecutor says sex ed teachers could be charged with contributing to delinquency of a minor

I'm in topsy turvy world. Yesterday Virginia reinstated "Confederate History Month", the Utah GOP is trying to kill Utahans with AIDS and now this yahoo wants to criminalize sex ed teachers?

MAUSTON, Wis. - Juneau County's district attorney is warning school districts that sex education teachers could be charged with contributing to delinquency of a minor.

A new law takes effect this fall that requires schools with sex ed programs to teach children how to use condoms and other contraceptives.

DA Scott Southworth says the requirement encourages sex among minors, which is illegal. Southworth says it's like teaching children about alcohol use, then instructing them on how make a mixed drink.

Afternoon Distraction

Holy crap, this had me laughing from the first note. Wisconsin's Finest (that I hope usually only sing at church).

"For someone who claims to be rogue... hypocritical to not let media...cover" her

By GottaLaff

Well guys and gals, Sarah the Quitter is quitting... again. This time she's washing her hands of media coverage on her not-so-excellent Wisconsin adventure. Going Mute:

[N]o press will be allowed into the Milwaukee auditorium where she will speak and those who have paid the $30 admittance fee are unable to carry in cell phones, cameras, laptops, or recording devices of any kind.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate told the Wisconsin Radio Network he finds all these restrictions "bizarre."

"You know, for someone who claims to be a rogue and isn't afraid of what other people think it really is sort of hypocritical to not let the media, the press cover your event."

Come on, Wisconsin, would you want a record of your rancid, badly tossed, wilted Word Salad out there?

Video- President Obama delivers remarks on education in Wisconsin

Video- Obama writes student a note for missing school

Too damned cute. Must be used to writing notes for kids missing school.

A man stood to ask a question and said he had his 10-year-old daughter with him and she was skipping her last day at school to be there.

"I hope she doesn't get in trouble," the man said.

"Does she need me to write a note?" the president asked. "No, I'm serious."

The president asked the girl's name -- Kennedy.

"That's a cool name," the president said, then wrote a note on the lectern, stepped down into the audience and delivered the note to the girl.

Live Streaming Video: President Obama holds town hall meeting on health care in Green Bay, Wis.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Wisconsin judge throws out voter ID lawsuit

By GottaLaff

First Ohio, now Wisconsin. Maybe the Republicans should take a hint: Elections should be fair. Voter suppression is so 2004:

A judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit by Wisconsin's attorney general demanding that state elections officials confirm hundreds of thousands of voters' identities before election day.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi ruled that neither federal nor state law makes the checks that Atty. Gen. J.B. Van Hollen seeks a condition for voting. She said Van Hollen had no standing to sue and should have made a complaint to the state Government Accountability Board rather than going to court.

Van Hollen spokesman Kevin St. John said the state Department of Justice would appeal, perhaps directly to the state Supreme Court. The agency will continue to pursue the case beyond election day if it must because an accurate list of registered voters is crucial to future elections, he said.

Van Hollen, a Republican and co-chairman of GOP presidential candidate John McCain's Wisconsin campaign, argued that the federal Help America Vote Act requires the accountability board to check the names of everyone registered to vote since Jan. 1, 2006, against driver's license and Social Security data and remove any ineligible voters from the rolls. [...]

Sumi said only the U.S. attorney general could bring a court order to enforce the federal voting act.

A similar case in Ohio resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court's rebuffing Ohio Republicans' efforts to force Ohio's election overseer -- a Democrat -- to give local election boards lists of 200,000 voters whose names didn't match other databases.

Rebuffed at every turn.

National Journal Poll: McCain's Options Dwindling

G-d bless Taegan-

Sen. John McCain's options for reaching 270 electoral votes are narrowing, according to the latest Allstate/National Journal poll. Sen. Barack Obama now has double-digit leads in three of McCain's last remaining targets that went Democratic four years ago.

Minnesota: Obama 50%, McCain 40%

Pennsylvania: Obama 51%, McCain 41%

Wisconsin: Obama 53%, McCain 40%

Obama camp responds with a robocall of their own

By GottaLaff

BFCE:

Barack Obama’s campaign is set to release it’s own robocall in Wisconsin Wednesday in response to McCain’s ‘sleazy phone calls,’ against the Illinois Senator.

Via TPM, Jeri Watermolen, a former McCain backer now supports Obama because of Gramm-pa’s robocalls which ‘viciously—and falsely’ attack Obama, and has recorded this:

Script:

Hi, this is Jeri Watermolen, calling for the Campaign for Change. I live in Green Bay and, like you, I've been getting sleazy phone calls and mail from John McCain and his supporters viciously — and falsely — attacking Barack Obama. I used to support John McCain because he honorably served our country — but this year he's running a dishonorable campaign. We know McCain will continue many of Bush's policies, and now he's using George Bush's divisive tactics. In fact, he hired the Bush strategists whose attacks even McCain once called hateful.

Barack Obama will turn the page on these negative politics and stand up for the middle class. That's the change we need, and it's why I have changed my mind about John McCain. Join me in voting for Barack Obama. Paid for the Campaign for Change, a project of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and authorized by Obama for America.

Imagine: She did all that without once using the words "socialist", "Muslim", "terrorist", or alluding to race. Will wonders never cease...

McCain Giving Up On New Hampshire, Wisconsin?

Just means they'll start doubling down on the hate and fearmongering.

Democratic sources tell George Stephanopoulos that Sen. John McCain's campaign "may be giving up on New Hampshire and Wisconsin."

"Instead of placing new television advertising buys in those states, they say the McCain campaign is stretching out previous ad buys over more days rather than devote new ad money."

Woman Canvassing for Obama Punched in the Face; Obama calls her

By GottaLaff

They're out of control:

A woman canvassing for Obama in Wisconsin was punched in the face by a man ranting about ACORN. [...]

The silver lining is that when the woman who had been assaulted returned to Chicago, there was already a voicemail message from Barack Obama expressing his sorrow that she had had to go through such an experience.

[...] The usual gang of conservative bigmouths are inciting violence with their propaganda, and the suckers who want desperately to believe are so frustrated with the lack of believability of the propaganda that they're lashing out with violence and violent rhetoric.

Meanwhile, Obama has such a great organization that he heard about this small incident and contacted the victim before the end of the day.

I cannot begin to express my admiration for our candidate. Conversely, I cannot begin to express my abhorrence for the ignorant, stark raving mad goons on the other side.

H/t: Kerry

RNC out of Wisconsin, Maine; focuses on red states

By GottaLaff

Wave bye-bye!

The Republican National Committee is halting presidential ads in Wisconsin and Maine, turning its attention primarily to usually Republican states where GOP nominee John McCain shows signs of faltering. [...]

The shift in advertising resources suggests that the RNC has decided to focus on defending reliably Republican-voting states against Obama's onslaught of advertising. Flush with money, Obama is outspending the joint efforts of the Republican Party and the McCain campaign by more than 2-1. [...]

A poll in Wisconsin by Quinnipiac University of New York for The Wall Street Journal and the Web site of The Washington Post, taken after last week's presidential debate, had Obama at 54 percent and McCain at 37 percent.

"Like most campaigns, we don't talk strategy and tactics," said McCain Wisconsin spokeswoman Sarah Lenti. "That said we are extremely excited by our chances in Wisconsin and will continue to run ads, period. We are up and running."

More like down and crawling.

Quinnipiac: Obama Pulls Away in Battleground

Almost as good as sex. Via Taegan.

"Boosted by the economic crisis and a strong debate performance," Sen. Barack Obama is over the 50% mark in the key battleground states of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, "and for the first time leads or ties Sen. John McCain among white voters in all four states," according to four simultaneous Quinnipiac polls.

Colorado: Obama 52%, McCain 43%

Michigan: Obama 54%, McCain 38%

Minnesota: Obama 51%, McCain 40%

Wisconsin: Obama 54%, McCain 37%

Said pollster Peter Brown: "Sen. Obama's leads in these four battleground states are as large as they have been the entire campaign. Those margins may be insurmountable barring a reversal that has never been seen before in the modern era in which polling monitors public opinion throughout the campaign."

Gramm-pa McCain to reporter: "He Would Hate To Live in Milwaukee"

By GottaLaff

From the Department of Majorly painful Gaffes, once again Gramm-pa McCain delivers:

This week, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain will come to Wisconsin to push for his candidacy.

Four years ago, he made a comment to a reporter that some people might not think would be so welcoming around here.

Reporter Mark Leibovich, now of the New York Times, heard him say that, as Leibovich put it in his 2004 article in the Washington Post, "He would hate to live in Milwaukee."

Oops. That probably wasn't wise. Perhaps his brain ceased to exist that day. Perhaps he had all his synapses forwarded to someone else's brain. Perhaps he was just being a typically dismissive crank.

"We were at a Diamondbacks game (against the San Diego Padres) in 2004, in the springtime. I was writing a profile of him for the Washington Post, which is where I worked then.

"We were just talking. He was just talking about various random things that two people sitting next to each other in the course of a three-hour baseball game talk about.

"For whatever reason, he said he would hate to live in Milwaukee. I put it in my story, and lo and behold, four years later, a radio station in Milwaukee has found it.

Maybe he was just commenting about a team or something. "Boy, how 'bout them A's. I'd hate to live in Oakland." No?

"I also remember putting in the story that he was heckling the opposing pitcher (the Padres' Jason Szuminski) when he was knocked out of the game. The pitcher had gone to M.I.T. He had given up three or four runs in half an inning, and he was coming off the mound and McCain yelled, 'Next up, NASA, buddy!' or something like that."

Note: Newsradio 620 WTMJ has contacted the McCain campaign for comment, and his campaign has not yet responded.

I wonder how he'll end up doing in Wisconsin when all is said and done.

Audio: Reporter Mark Leibovich's interview with Jagler and Mueller

H/t: AMERICABlog

Gramm-pa McCain's fate hangs on three states

By GottaLaff

It's down to this:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) now must win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Minnesota in order to get enough electoral votes to win the presidency, his campaign says. [...]

McCain's political director, Mike DuHaime, told reporters on a conference call three hours before debate time that the campaign plans "an aggressive" front in Maine, a solidly Democratic state that gets virtually no attention in presidential races.

The sudden attention to Maine, which is getting some of the staff McCain is moving out of Michigan, reflects what a squeaker McCain expects.

Maine is not a winner-take-all state — the only other one that splits its electoral vote is Nebraska). And McCain aides, perhaps optimistically, are suggesting he can win one electoral vote by picking up one of the Pine Tree State’s two congressional districts. [...]

McCain has very limited ways to win, with no room for error. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) still has many routes to the White House and so can afford to campaign on a much broader playing field. [...]

McCain figures that winning one of those three big remaining swing states, plus those he considers safe, would put him 10 shy of the 270 electoral votes he needs to win.

Scrounging for electoral votes now would make me very uncomfortable if I were Gramm-pa. Which I'm not. Which I'm more than a little thankful for.

H/t: TheKingFiphtin

Is Wisconsin next?

By GottaLaff

On MSNBC, Chuck Todd just said that the Gramm-pa McCain campaign may pull out of Wisconsin too, but add Maine. First Michigan, then Wisconsin. Sounds good to me.

Poll-itics: Obama leads in Wisconsin edition

By GottaLaff

There have been so many polls out today, most with Obama leading. Here's one more:

A new Strategic Vision poll in Wisconsin finds Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain, 49% to 40%.

UPDATE:

Diageo/Hotline: Obama Surges in Battleground States

A surge we can believe in.

An early look at today's Diageo/Hotline tracking poll shows Sen. Barack Obama now holds a double-digit lead in key battleground states.

Among registered voters surveyed in Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and Nevada, Obama tops McCain 50 to 40%. Just a week ago, Obama led 45% to 42%.

Nationwide, Obama leads 47% to 41%.

Rasmussen has Obama up 51% to 45%.

Wisconsin "vote fraud" claims, brought to you by... Republicans!

By GottaLaff

Election fraud is a huge problem, as I've said over and over and over and over and over again. It has me worried. Obama needs to get a huge turnout just to compensate. Voter fraud is not a huge problem, but the Republicans want to make it one.

Here we go again:

From the history of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, we know vote fraud has been a very successful issue for the Republican Party. The more vote fraud they commit, the more successful they are.

That's why it was no surprise when Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, co-chairman of the John McCain campaign in Wisconsin, filed a lawsuit to try to prevent thousands of state voters from casting their ballots.

Republicans used similar tactics in Florida in 2000 and in Ohio in 2004 to remove thousands of voters from the rolls based on confusion over names, addresses and clerical records.

The cover story this time is that Van Hollen claims to be concerned because the names or addresses of many new voters who have registered since 2006 don't match state driver license records or other bureaucratic sources.

There are many innocent explanations for such discrepancies. Sometimes numbers are transposed by clerical error or names are recorded differently because of nicknames or middle initials.

Differences in addresses are particularly common among low-income voters who move frequently.

Republicans have made exaggerated claims in recent years about vote fraud to try to justify requiring photo IDs for voting, a roadblock that disproportionately affects low-income, minority and elderly voters, who are less likely to have a driver's license and more likely to vote Democratic.

Remember, there's a difference between voter fraud and election fraud. Voter fraud is extremely rare:

Common sense tells you why. Anyone convicted of vote fraud goes to federal prison. Risking incarceration to cast an illegal vote that would make an infinitesimal difference in the outcome of an election is senseless. [...]

In fact, one of the few groups with any incentive to put phony voters on the rolls is the Republican Party. That could then be used to justify all of the obstacles they are eager to put in the way of likely Democratic voters.

Investigate away, Mr. District Attorney. It would be wrong to prejudge the investigation, but if the Republican Party turns out to be involved in any way, hang 'em high. [...]

Republicans want to make voters jump through more and more hoops so many of them will become discouraged and fall away. That is especially true of low-income voters who lack transportation and have other difficulties in their lives to distract them from voting. [...]

By forcing thousands of legitimate voters to re-register at their polling places or to go through additional paperwork to cast provisional ballots, Republicans hope to create even more delays at urban polling places.