Lisa Murkowski has been declared re-elected by the New York Times and other MSM outlets. But Joe Miller hasn't thrown in the towel, and his campaign is raising serious issues regarding the fairness, accuracy, and honesty of the current count (emphasis added):
In order to ensure the integrity of the election results, the Miller campaign has requested, and the Division of Elections has now granted, the opportunity to review some precinct logs from throughout the state. Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto said, “Our campaign has sworn affidavits identifying unsecured ballot boxes, other precincts where numerous ballots appear to be in the same handwriting, others where there is 100% voter turnout and still other precincts where the ballots were sent to the Division of Elections presorted by U.S. Senate candidate. These and other irregularities give our campaign pause. Alaskans must be able to trust the results of its elections.”
One important step in reviewing the results of the election is ensuring that the number of voters signed in the precinct logs on Election Day matches the number of votes being recorded from that precinct and that there is no evidence of voter fraud. Further verification of these totals will have to come from the tapes that the voting machines produce with a tally of the number of voters and the break down between candidates. So far the Division of Elections has failed to respond to the Miller request for these tapes.
…
Additionally, the Murkowski write-in ballots have undergone a hand count review where spoiled ballots are being counted for her, whereas the Miller ballots have all been counted by machine with many valid ballots not being included.
I have no way of judging the validity of the Miller campaign's allegations. It's possible that Murkowski won fair and square — possible, but not likely. If there was no funny business, why has the Alaska political establishment gone to such lengths to block reasonable, legally sanctioned efforts — like matching the machine tallies against the number of votes recorded — to ensure that the counts are accurate? When people go to great lengths to hide things, it strongly suggests they have something to hide.
I've made another donation to the Miller campaign to fund their ongoing efforts to ensure a fair count. Please consider doing the same.
By the narrowest of margins, Joe Walsh has defeated Rep. Melissa Bean in Illinois' 8th District congressional race. Bean conceded today after the final vote tally showed that Walsh won by 291 votes out of more than 200,000 cast. In October, I posted about Walsh and donated to his campaign. Visit that post to watch what I described as "one of the most effective one-minute videos I've seen in a while." Here's his six-point campaign pledge:
I will not serve more than 3 terms in the House (6 years), if so privileged.
I will not receive any health plans or retirement benefits that only congressmen get and that aren’t available to all Americans.
I will not vote for any legislation which increases the size of government or isn’t supported by the Constitution.
I will never add an earmark to any bill.
I will always speak my mind and tell my constituents the truth.
I will always be accessible to my constituents and hold town halls on a regular basis, in good times or bad
I'm very pleased that Walsh eked out a well-deserved victory. I expect that he'll be one of the stars of the big freshman class in the next Congress.
UPDATE (11/19): In honor of Jed's clever comment (below), here's a classic 70s performance by Joe Walsh — the other Joe Walsh — of his signature song. Turn it up!
Did you see Senator-elect Marco Rubio's victory speech? He hit every note just right, didn't he? He was gracious to his opponents, positive, uplifting, and quite moving. If you haven't watched it, please do.
After you've seen Rubio, it's time to compare and contrast. Here's Rep. Barney Frank's victory speech. Ungracious doesn't begin to describe it.
My favorite moment? About 4:25 into this bitter diatribe, Frank claims his win is "a victory for a concept of government which eschews the anger and the vitriol" — that pegged my irony meter.
After watching that, maybe you're ready for something lighter. How about Paul Shanklin's "Banking Queen"? Enjoy!
On March 22, after ObamaCare was rammed through Congress, I wrote:
Aside from a few idiots chortling over the political benefit of letting the Democrats pass such an unpopular bill, the Stupid Party has acquitted itself pretty well during the struggle over government-controlled health care. Maybe — just maybe — some of them have actually learned from their well-deserved drubbing in 2006 and 2008.
The Evil Party, on the other hand, has interpreted public repudiation of Republicans (to be precise, candidates pretending to be Republicans) as a mandate to become even more evil. This fall, they may learn what a mistake that was.
I just hope we can find another Reagan — or better yet, a Thatcher — in the next three years.
I think the results of the election this past Tuesday have proven my prediction about this fall correct.
My hope for another Reagan may have begun to be fulfilled by the election of Marco Rubio to the Senate. I've finally watched his acceptance speech from Tuesday night, and to say I'm impressed is an understatement. Watch and see if you don't think this man has a very bright future. (Notice: no teleprompter!)
Nevada isn't the only place where Chavez-style tactics were used to influence the elections. The New Black Panther Party apparently repeated their thuggish 2008 voter intimidation tactics again this year in Philadelphia and expanded their theater of operations to Houston as well.
It's not just Las Vegas, Philly, and Houston. Disturbing stories of vote fraud, chicanery, and intimidation have come out of North Carolina and numerous other places as well. And this administration's Justice Department has made it clear that they're not interested in protecting the voting rights of anyone except those they look upon with favor.
Mark my words, it will only get worse in 2012. Democracy in America is under attack by people with the ideology, tactics, and goals of Venezuela's Chavistas. Before all you Republicans, constitutionalists, libertarians, and other freedom advocates get too giddy about the electoral turnaround that took place this year, think about all the places and ways that the will of the people was undermined, with varying degrees of success. And start seriously worrying about the next two years. If we don't act to ensure fair and free elections in the future, …
Among the good news in tonight's election returns is the defeat of three true scumbag congresscritters:
Wife beater Charlie Wilson (SD) lost to Bill Johnson (R) in Ohio's 6th district. As SusanAnne Hiller said, "No one likes a wife beater."
Phil "I don't worry about the Constitution" Hare (SD), a total leftist maroon, appears to have been spanked by Bobby Schilling (R) in Illinois' 17th district.
And perhaps most satisfying of all, Alan Grayson (SD), probably the most hate-filled, abrasive, and looney member of Congress, suffered a crushing, humiliating defeat at the hands of Daniel Webster (R) in Florida's 8th district.
Townhall.com has all the House race results live here.
If Harry Reid manages to hang onto his seat, it may be because of Chavez-style politics like this. Contemptible and outrageous.
Just how much strong-arm pressure was there? This much:
On Friday, Western Regional President Tom Jenkin sent out a follow-up email showing a total vote count for Harrah’s properties along with the percentages of employees who had voted at each property. Attached to the email was a spreadsheet showing employee names and at which property they worked. Supervisors were asked to fill in codes explaining why their employees had not yet voted.
The Harrah's employee who forwarded the emails asked not to be identified due to fear of reprisal. The employee said the pressure from upper management was "disturbing."
"We were asked to talk to people individually to find out why they had not yet voted and to fill in these spreadsheets explaining why," the employee said. "I did not feel comfortable doing that."
"It put me in a very awkward position," the employee added, saying the level of coordination between Harrah's upper management, the culinary union, and the Reid campaign was "disgusting."
Add to these thuggish tactics the earlier reports of voting machines controlled by SEIU technicians "pre-selecting" Harry Reid's name, and it's clear that Nevada is politically a banana republic, where instead of free and fair elections, they have a sham democracy.
A few years ago, Hugh Hewitt wrote a book called If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat. Although tonight is shaping up as a powerful nation-wide repudiation of the Socialist Democrat agenda, there are still many close races. And it's a pretty safe bet that the Socialist Democrats will win some of those — because they cheat.
Perhaps you’re having a tiny last minute qualm about voting Republican. Take heart. And take the House and the Senate. Yes, there are a few flakes of dander in the fair tresses of the GOP’s crowning glory—an isolated isolationist or two, a hint of gold buggery, and Christine O’Donnell announcing that she’s not a witch. (I ask you, has Hillary Clinton ever cleared this up?) … Better to have a few cockeyed mutts running the dog pound than Michael Vick.
I take it back. Using the metaphor of Michael Vick for the Democratic party leadership implies they are people with a capacity for moral redemption who want to call good plays on the legislative gridiron. They aren’t. They don’t. The reason is simple. They hate our guts.
They don’t just hate our Republican, conservative, libertarian, strict constructionist, family values guts. They hate everybody’s guts. And they hate everybody who has any. Democrats hate men, women, blacks, whites, Hispanics, gays, straights, the rich, the poor, and the middle class.
Democrats hate Democrats most of all. Witness the policies that Democrats have inflicted on their core constituencies, resulting in vile schools, lawless slums, economic stagnation, and social immobility. Democrats will do anything to make sure that Democratic voters stay helpless and hopeless enough to vote for Democrats.
Whence all this hate? Is it the usual story of love gone wrong? Do Democrats have a mad infatuation with the political system, an unhealthy obsession with an idealized body politic? …
No. It’s worse than that. Democrats aren’t just dateless dweebs clambering upon the Statue of Liberty carrying a wilted bouquet and trying to cop a feel. Theirs is a different kind of love story. Power, not politics, is what the Democrats love. Politics is merely a way to power’s heart. … And politics comes with that reliable boost for pathetic egos, a weapon: legal monopoly on force. If persuasion fails to win the day, coercion is always an option.
…
This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order. Power has been trapped, abused and exploited by Democrats. Go to the ballot box and put an end to this abusive relationship. And let’s not hear any nonsense about letting the Democrats off if they promise to get counseling.
You heard the man. If you haven't voted yet, you know what you have to do. Go to the polls. File that restraining order.
I wish I'd learned sooner about Operation Black Storm. I've already donated to several of their 16 candidates individually. Now, belatedly, I've donated to the organization. Why? Because I think more Frederick Douglass Republicans is exactly what this country needs. I'd love to see a bunch of these candidates win tomorrow, go to Washington in January, and form the Frederick Douglass Caucus of the Black Congressional Caucus. Just imagine — ideological diversity in the BCC!
Click the link above. Or watch the video below, and then click the link.
If you can spare a few bucks, help out Operation Black Storm. I don't think they're going away after this election. In fact, I think this organization may have a bright future. I certainly hope so.
On Friday, President Obama appeared at a rally in Charlottesville, VA, for Rep. Tom Perriello. Americans for Prosperity volunteers were on hand to offer free "Socialism Isn't Cool" bumper stickers to the Obama/Periello fans waiting to get in. They didn't have any takers. It seems that most (if not all) Obama/Periello fans think socialism IS cool. Watch the video.
The next day, there was a rally for Perriello's challenger, state Sen. Robert Hurt, and AFP volunteers putting up signs drew the ire of some Perriello supporters. To put it mildly. Watch the video.
There are few things less appealing in a person than the combination of arrogance and stupidity. This morning, appointed Senator Michael Bennet (SD-CO) called into the popular Peter Boyles Show on 630 KHOW and demonstrated this fact for a sizable Denver drive-time audience to hear.
I'm guessing that in less than three minutes, Bennet cost himself hundreds, maybe thousands, of votes. Have a listen.
Lisa Murkowski is a full-fledged member of the bipartisan ruling class that Angelo M. Codevilla described so well in his critically important American Spectator article. As such, she believes not only that she's entitled to rule, but that her subjects don't even have the right to make fun of her. Free speech be damned.
Murkowski doesn't have access to SEIU goons to do her dirty work, so she relies on $1000/hr. lawyers to intimidate and silence her critics. On Friday, Sarah Palin told the tale on her Facebook page (emphasis added):
Yesterday, Lisa Murkowski’s hired guns threatened radio host Dan Fagan, and more importantly, the station that airs Fagan’s show, with legal action for allegedly illegal “electioneering.” The station, unlike Murkowski, who is flush with millions of dollars from vested corporate interests, does not have a budget for a legal defense. So it did what any small market station would do when threatened by Beltway lawyers charging $500 to $1000 an hour – they pulled Dan Fagan off the air.
Does all this sound heavy handed? It is. It is an interference with Dan Fagan’s constitutional right to free speech. It is also a shocking indictment against Lisa Murkowski. How low will she go to hold onto power? First, she gets the Division of Elections to change its write-in process – a process that Judge Pfiffner correctly determined had been in place without change for 50 years. She is accepting financial support from federal contractors, an act that is highly questionable and now pending before the FEC. And today, she played her last card. She made it clear that if you disagree with her and encourage others to exercise their civic rights, she’ll take you off the air.
The concept of “electioneering” involves several issues, but typically refers to campaigning at the polls, which is appropriately banned. Under federal law, it can also mean paying for advertising on broadcast media during a federal election cycle, and it requires disclosures if done by groups and corporations. Fagan used satire to mock Murkowski’s write-in efforts and encouraged Alaskans to run as write-in candidates. That is not illegal. That is free speech.
Individuals like Dan Fagan have a fundamental right to speak their minds without threats from the incumbent Senator from Alaska. It is hard to find a constitutional right Americans cherish more than the right to free speech. This was a right Joe Miller, as a decorated combat veteran – a tank commander tested in battle, was willing to die to defend. Dan Fagan has not always agreed with me, but I will gladly defend his right to speak freely on his radio show, which he has often used to criticize me. In fact, Fagan has actually used his radio show to attack and insult me, my husband, my children, and my family in just about every way possible. He was especially insulting to my son, who left for a war zone to defend Fagan’s right to attack our family. But when I was his governor, I never would have dreamed of threatening his right to free speech. I support him in this fight because this D.C. Beltway thuggery, as exemplified by Lisa Murkowski’s latest threat, is ruining our country. The powers that be want ordinary Americans to sit down and shut up and let the ruling class ride us right off the debt cliff we’re heading towards with Obama, Pelosi, and Reid steering the nation’s car. We can’t let them. Now is the time to put aside our past differences and stand up to the establishment powers.
This whole episode confirms again why we need to elect Joe Miller. Lisa, you can sue me if you want (you won’t be the first). But I will not be intimidated from speaking my mind. Your intimidation just empowered us liberty-loving Alaskans. Are you really that out of touch?
Fortunately, Murkowski's thugs in pinstripes were too late. With some help from Dan Riehl's post at Big Government (which tells the story of the shameful election law subversion that led to this effort) and various bloggers, Fagan's call for more write-in candidates had the desired effect before he could be silenced. Riehl has the complete Alaska Division of Elections list of candidates for Senate and the story of how it came to be so large in a matter of hours just before the deadline.
Murkowski may have succeeded in getting election workers to distribute a list of write-in candidates to voters, but her name will be one of 148 on that list. Heh, indeed.
Famed Hollywood director David Zucker (Airplane, Naked Gun, Naked Gun 2.5, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4, An American Carol) has created a hilarious spoof of Barbara Boxer's "call me Senator" moment. Enjoy, and then share it with your friends in California. After Nov. 2, I hope we'll soon be calling her "ex-Senator."
HT: Patterico, who also has some good commentary on those lopsidedly Democratic polls out of California — and David Aitken, who passed along the Patterico link.
You may have seen my post supporting Tom Tancredo for Governor of Colorado, in which I described him as "sincere, principled, articulate, and funny. Not at all the angry right-wing ogre some people paint him as." And I'm sure you're familiar with the MSM's portrait of him as a racist and xenophobe. So, who to believe? Before deciding, I suggest you consider what African immigrants from the Sudan have to say.
El Marco has an enlightening post, African Immigrant Leaders Support Tancredo, Angry at Obama, that I strongly urge you to read. I can't possibly summarize or excerpt it adequately. It's full of marvelous images and compelling quotes, and you simply have to click the link. But it begins thus:
Colorado gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo is an extraordinary man with no shortage of friends, and detractors. Tancredo has been branded a racist by the political left for being a leading critic of illegal immigration, and yet he earned a standing ovation from the NAACP. Recently I was in New York to photograph the start of the Sudan Freedom Walk, and learned things about Tom Tancredo (and Obama) that few Americans know anything about. I discovered that while many in the Sudanese refugee community feel betrayed by President Obama, they reserve a special place in their hearts for Tom Tancredo.
Read the whole thing. Please. Seriously. And try not to get teary-eyed.
Yes, I realize that the issues of Darfur, slavery, and genocide don't have any direct relevance to how a candidate might govern Colorado. But indirectly, they do. They tell us something important about the kind of person this candidate is.
In any office you can think of, I'd rather have Tom Tancredo than the current occupant of the White House.
