Picture of the Day - 3
This is a picture of the "arch-conservative" Steve Laffey today who is in the Rhode Island Senate Primary.
He dressed his ten year old son up in camoflage and an army helmet for the biggest day in his political life. If you see the obligatiory shots of Laffey voting, there's the boy in full kit. It's just so bizarre.
(Sorry, this is the best photo I could easily find.)
posted by mikevotes at
7:16 PM
9 Comments:
Good - we need more troops for Iraq. Send him over with Jenna and Barbara
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 8:35 PM
Yeah.
It's just such a sad and transparent ploy, because politicians don't say, "sure son, you can wear your ballerina outfit on today, election day."
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 9:28 PM
Dude! That's messed up! lol
The guy is over compensating... 10:1 he's a closet gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that)
By
-epm, at 10:24 PM
That's funny.
By
mikevotes, at 10:31 PM
Is he serious? He must have watched Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11 a few too many times --here's proof he'd put his kid in the military to fight.
By
Liz Dwyer, at 10:41 PM
I'd like to see the ballerina outfit on election day - that would be a helluva statement. Actually, in my district I think I have seen the ballerina outfit on election day, but I live right above Chelesa/Greenwich Village where that sort of thing tends to be a common sight.
The Chafee victory is being spun as a great win for the vaunted GOP GOTV machine - the claim is they targeted likely voters (in this case independents) and got them out to vote for their man. Cillizza in the Post says this operation should give those predicting a Democratic wave this fall some pause. Hotline says Dems will now have to spend at least $3 million on this race when the money could have gone to Webb or Tester or Ford. Hotline also says the WH/RNC are bound to be cocky that their 72 hour GOTV program has pulled off another victory. Hotline says wherever the program has been used for the first time (like in California), it has worked, although it isn't working so well in places they've used it before, like PA, MO, and OH. Still, they plan on using it this year in CONN, IN, and TENN (their three firewall states) and judging by the results in California and now RI, it may work.
What do you think, Mike? Is this just RNC spin? After all, Democrat Whitehouse garnered more votes than Laffey and Chafee combined. Or should we be worried that the vaunted GOTV machine, combined with the Diebold shenanagins, will help the GOP keep power in both House this fall?
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 6:48 AM
Liz, Unfortunately, he was serious. Unbelievably he was serious.
Reality, A couple of points, a well funded GOTV is very easy and extremely effective in Rhode Island. "With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Chafee had 34,042 votes, or 54 percent, to Laffey's 29,431 votes, or 46 percent." I mean, with the millions the RNC poured in, you can literally handhold 10,000 voters to create this landslide.
It's not Tennessee or Virginia, or Ohio, or Missouri. (although it is Montana.)
And, Laffey had no preexisting GOTV structure or framework. His lists and data must've been miniscule.
So, to some degree I think it's spin. I do think the GOP does have a better operation, but in this case, it was a tiny market against virtually no opposition.
And when you mention California, I assume you mean Bilbray, and my feeling was that that election turned on the foolish immagrants can illegally vote comments a couple of days before the election in the absolute heat of the immigration frenzy in a district where that resonates. I don't think that was really due to turnout operations so much as a major fumble.
The GOP has shown a good GOTV effort recently, but they've only been able to do it in one or two focused places, and it relies on the "neighbor" strategy, that local community folks act as the legs. But with the lack of zest on the Republican side, and the falloff of crazy christian support, I wonder how effective that will be.
So, I don't read too much into Chafee, although it is big in maintaining control of the Senate. I think it's largely spin.
As for Diebold/electronic voting, that's a different matter. There would only have to be nudges on two or three races.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 9:11 AM
Good point about the size of the electorate in RI, Mike - Hotline Blog says the RNC literally did handhold hundreds of voters to the polls. Chafee even called some himself. Others received robocalls every other day, reminding them to vote.
Very costly and hard to replicate in larger states.
Don't you wish they were as good at govening as they are at raising cash and getting out the vote?
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 2:31 PM
I've thought that many, many times.
For instance, if they worked as hard on Iraq as they do defending Iraq, it would be a paradise.
On the other hand, if they were competent, their would be no social security, no fourth amendment, no estate tax, etc, etc.
So, maybe small blessings, eh?
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 2:47 PM
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