Voter witnesses electioneering, propaganda at South Carolina polling place

By GottaLaff

Commenter Ady received the following e-mail from a voter in South Carolina. Get ready:

I went to go vote absentee today in Greenville and I saw something that really concerned me. There was a lady in line in front of me and she said, "Would you like some reading material while you wait? It has the candidates' positions on the issues." I took the printout out of curiosity and it was an email about how Barack Obama was a muslim and McCain was right on the issues. I didn't read the whole thing but one line did say that he wanted the same level of health care as those in 3rd world countries. I was mad so I just gave it back to her and said I considered myself to be well informed. I should have taken it as proof but it all happened so fast I didn't think about it.

After we got inside I overheard her say to the lady in front of her that if Obama was president there would be no more national elections. This was right in front of the poll worker. She looked uncomfortable but she didn't say anything. I didn't know what to do but when I got back to the house I told my sister Angela. She said I should call the Obama office and send out this email immediately.

The lady I talked to on the phone at the Obama office called the supervisor at the polling location and told him about it. He talked to all the poll workers and no one admitted to hearing the conversation. They never had to put up a sign about how it was illegal but they may do it now.

Please let people know about this. Hopefully it wont happen again, but if it does we will be more prepared.

We're letting people know. Every time something like this happens, it's important to hang on to any proof you can, take photos (cell phones come in handy for this), and report it.

Bush/Cheney not attending Republican convention: "It's probably easier to say who IS attending."

By GottaLaff

I've already touched on this in previous posts, but the list of "thanks, but no thanks" Republicans is growing:

At least 10 incumbent senators, plus several Senate candidates, have sent their regrets. Only three incumbents in hotly contested races, including Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, will join the partygoers.

"It's probably easier to say who is attending," said Rebecca Fisher, spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. But the list is "a moving target," she added.

But why? Who would turn down the biggest event of the election season?

"The party brand is in tatters," said the aide. "The president is highly unpopular. There doesn't seem to be much excitement around the candidate. And there's a real fear of being tagged with the Republican label and being seen with George Bush."

Wham! A blow to the solar plexus!

Let's see who's on the "sending regrets" list these days:

1. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will bow out to stay in California and deal with a budget stalemate.
2. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana canceling because of Hurricane Gustav.
   
3. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas canceling because of Hurricane Gustav.
4. President Bush has now said he will not go, per CNN just now.
5. Same with Vice President Dick Cheney.
   
6. Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is awaiting trial on seven federal charges stemming from a corruption scandal. His staff says he won't attend because he is too busy campaigning for his eighth term.
7. Idaho Sen. Larry E. Craig also has reasons to avoid the Twin Cities.
8. Pat Roberts of Kansas enjoys a double-digit lead over a Democratic challenger in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. But Roberts is "finishing his 105-county tour" of the state and doesn't want to stop, said spokeswoman Molly Haase.
9. Maine Sen. Susan Collins also will skip the St. Paul festivities to campaign at home, as will Oregon Sen. Gordon H. Smith, who is running for his third term.
10. Ditto for North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who is locked in an unexpectedly tight reelection race.
11. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who is retiring after two terms, plans to visit Europe this week rather than St. Paul. Hagel last week issued a statement of praise for Joe Biden, the Delaware senator who is now the Democratic nominee for vice president.
12. Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) also offered public support for Biden. He isn't going to the GOP convention, according to his office.
13. Neither is Mike Johanns, a Republican running for Hagel's seat. Johanns is "taking no vote for granted" and will be knocking on doors in Nebraska, said spokeswoman Sarah Pompei.
14. Retiring Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) is skipping the convention.
15. So is the Republican who is campaigning to succeed him, Bob Schaffer. McCain didn't help Schaffer, or his presidential election chances in Colorado, by indicating this month that he supports renegotiating a 1922 Colorado River compact to allocate more water to his home state of Arizona, as well as Nevada and California. "Over my cold dead political carcass," Schaffer told reporters.

Per CNN: There is now talk of canceling the convention and reducing it to a two hour event to fulfill the requirements necessary for a nomination.