Kerfuffle

Apparently, FOX News and its TeaBagging pals were able to engineer the spectacular loss of a House seat held by the GOP since before the Civil War. Oops!

Too funny.  De Facto Republican leadership at FOX News and the Tea Party folks have done what the Democrats have not been able to do in 70 elections.  They essentially lost the seat by forcing out the locally chosen Republican candidate in favor of a third-party conservative.

The list of supporters of Doug Hoffman includes Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Neal Cavuto, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, the Dick Armey, Rick Santorum, Geroge Pataki, Newt Gingrich and many more all lined up to trash regular Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava.  They called her all kinds of things beyond just being a RINO, and backed the otherwise unknown Doug Hoffman.

Democrat Bill Owens won.  Doug Hoffman lost.  He lost.  He fucking LOST.

Now, you know, this was a victory for real Republicans.  Real Republican Michelle Malkin says so...

Hoffman may have lost narrowly, but NY-23 is a much broader victory for conservatives who believe the Republican Party should stand for core limited government principles ....This is a victory of principle.

Better a donkey in office that acts like a donkey than a donkey in elephant’s clothing making a complete ass of the GOP.

Moreover, NY-23 is a victory for conservatives who refuse to be marginalized in the public square by either the unhinged left or the establishment right. A humble accountant from upstate New York exposed the hypocrisy of GOP leaders trying to solicit funds from conservatives by lambasting Pelosi and the Dems’ support for high taxes, Big Labor, and bigger government — while using conservatives’ money to subsidize a high-taxing, Big Labor-pandering, bigger government radical. The repercussions will be felt well beyond NY-23’s borders. Conservatives’ disgust with the status quo has been heard and felt. They have been silent too long. They will be silent no more.

OK, Michelle.  And you guys don't care about this stupid seat anyway.  Forget about how the de facto leaders at FOX News harped on how important this election as, and how it would be proof that the Tea Baggers were now calling the shots and that's how the Republican party is going to reclaim the throne they so rightly deserve.  That was before.  Before Hoffman lost.

Jed Lewison posted a montage over at DK, under the headline Engineering Defeat, that is about eight minutes worth of the several hours FOX News gave over to promoting this race and their special candidate...

The last time NY23 was not held by a Republican, it was held by a Whig.  Priceless.

The shrinkage effect: Men who voted for McCain suffer testosterone drop after election

I'm not sure what's funnier:  the results of this study or the fact that someone actually came up with it in the first place.  It must have been a fun IRB.

From Agence France-Presse via Raw Story...

WASHINGTON — Men who voted for Republican John McCain in last year's US presidential election saw their testosterone levels fall significantly when they learned he had lost to Barack Obama, a study showed Thursday.

Saliva samples collected from 163 men on the evening of the election showed that voters for both McCain and Obama had similar testosterone levels when polling stations closed on the east coast, but the levels in McCain backers fell when Obama was announced as the winner.

By contrast, testosterone levels among men who voted for Obama remained stable. Taking into account the fact that polls shut and results were announced at night -- a time when men's testosterone levels usually decline -- the study said the level was equivalent to a rise.

I guess the other research question I would have wanted to study would have been how high these guys' testosterone levels were spiked every time Sarah Palin shot something, encouraged rally mayhem, or winked at the camera.

More states' voters are singing the "Eight Years of George W. Bush Made Me a Democrat" blues

Gallup posted results of a simple state by state poll asking respondents whether they consider themselves a Republican, a Democrat or something else.

Guess what?  These days, only five states are either solidly Republican or lean Republican.  And, surprisingly, none are in the south!

Polls are nothing more than a snapshot in time, so I don't put a whole lot of stock in this.  But it is interesting that, right now, even states like Texas, South Carolina and Arizona are not leaning Republican.  Wow.

Curiously, Republican members of the US House of Representative banded together to vote against the economic reinvestment bill yesterday.  Needed more cowbell, in as much as "cowbell" equals more tax cuts for people who make a shitload of money.  That cowbell didn't work, the Republicans lost control of both houses and the presidency, and yet they still seem to think they are (a) in charge, and (b) correct in how to deal with the slumping economy. 

Digby at Hullabaloo puts it well...

Can someone explain to me why I'm seeing Republican after Republican on television advising Americans on the right way to run the economy? Is there any reason why we should listen to them sanctimoniously lecturing us on "what's worked in the past" and telling us that the only way to cure the problems they themselves created are to do more of the same? They've always been known for chutzpah, but this takes the cake.

[sigh]  Boneheads.

Recounts: a different take on the low-interest voter

Most balloting seems pretty straight-forward.  The voter is asked to blacken a circle or draw a line through a box with a special felt tip pen.  Maybe it's a butterfly ballot, and the voter is to use a stylus to punch a hole through the ballot to mark various choices.  Levers.  Touch screens.  All in all, this shouldn't be brain surgery.  And yet, as ballots continue to be counted in the Coleman versus Franken senatorial race in Minnesota, the electorate is once again proving that if given instructions, a certain number of people will ignore them.  The photo at left (click for larger image) shows how some knucklehead put a check mark in the oval he or she was supposed to color in (like the visible instructions show).  The scanner doesn't recognize -- and thus doesn't count -- improperly marked ballots.  This should have counted for McCain-Palin, and ultimately did after a hand count I presume.

I spent a good chunk of time this weekend coding surveys I fielded for a graduate school research project.  The instructions, which were read aloud in each undergraduate class that was part of the survey, were pretty damn simple.  For nearly all the questions, a Likert scale was used.  You've seen these before...

In this section, there are a series of statements with which you may (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither disagree nor agree, (4) agree, or (5) strongly agree.  Please respond to each of these items by indicating your level of disagreement or agreement by circling the appropriate number.  There is no right or wrong answer.

The scale is played out thusly...

disagree    1    2    3    4    5      agree

Apparently, this was still pretty confusing to some of the college students who responded.  Several respondents just circled either disagree or agree.  (I coded those as either a 1 or 5.  I hope that's cool, Dr. B.)  Others were indecisive, and circles a pair of numbers, trying to split between a 2 and a 3 for example.  I coded that based on which ever number seemed more emphasized.  Judgment call.)  Another section asked multiple choice questions, some of which were returned with multiple answers.

Don't get me wrong; I am not looking to make fun of my respondents.  They were all doing me a favor by helping me with this survey.  Rather, I guess this got me to realize that people just don't always follow instructions, even when they are read aloud or clearly written with diagrams and pictures and readily available assistance.  It's just the way it goes.  What should be easy, and appears easy to most of us, isn't so simple.  People fuck things up... even smart people.  Seeing this in my own survey gives me a new appreciation for the occasional need for a painstakingly accurate recount in close elections.

All of that said, I do have to wonder if the people who recount ballots ever see rationalization for the way a voter voted.  This occurs to me because on several of the surveys I reviewed for my project, there were little notes in the margins explaining why certain answers were chosen.  My survey dealt with computer self-efficacy, and how people used social networks and music download sites and stuff like that.  I came across comments like "I hate iTunes," "only an idiot would buy a CD," and "I used to download music until my I dropped my laptop."  And what's with little smiley faces next to some answers?

Are the ballot police in Minnesota finding stuff like "Coleman is a shithead" or "I hate Stuart Smalley"?  I have to wonder. 

[cross-posted on Daily Kos]

A brief comment about gay marriage, hate, and California

Proposition 8 passed, barely, in California.  This proposition constitutionalizes a prohibition on same-sex marriage in California.  Essentially, this takes away -- removes, nullifies, negates -- an existing right.

Admittedly, I didn't watch this ballot initiative all that closely.  We already have a similar constitutional amendment here in Wisconsin.  Tom and I have to put in place a lot of legal instruments so that we can come close to having some rights shared by legally married couples.  Further, I am not an advocate for gay marriage, per se.  I see the word "marriage" as a religious totem that is best left as it is.  I'd much rather see some sort of civil union construct that offers the same legal standing as marriage without having to call it marriage.  Is this semantics?  Yes, to a degree.  But one of the touchiest things is the treatment of the word marriage.  Want it, religious bigots and hate-mongers?  Fine, take it.  Is this a form of "separate but equal" status?  I suppose.  But we are not talking about water fountains and bus stops.  We're talking about legal accommodation for two committed human beings.

One of the most maddening aspects of campaigns like that wages by the proponents of California's Proposition 8 is the spewing of hate-filled lies.  Friends have sent me videos of some of the television spots.  The claims that were made in the name of passing this proposition were simply outrageous.  But that's how the religious right likes to play the game.  And, give them, credit, it works.  Funny how hypocritical they are, of course.  The Mormon Church plowed millions into passing this proposition.  That would be the same Mormon Church that had to wind its way out to Utah to be able to practice polygamy. 

I have to agree with John Aravosis at Americablog, however, that the reason this passed is less about Mormons and money, and more about organization...

I'd like someone to explain to me why the leaders of our side of the campaign shouldn't be metaphorically beaten to within an inch of their lives. We should have hired political professionals, even - eeks! - straight ones, to do this. But we relied on the usual gay names and faces because, cumbaya my lord, a PC group hug is far more important than actually winning. I'm disgusted. And I want to see some heads rolling.

Kos seems to agree...

That California would vote for a black president with a margin of 61-37 and then shit on gays was horrifically disappointing. We have a long way to go. The anti-Prop 8 campaign wasn't helped by a shoddy operation that most observers who interacted with it admit was incompetent and ill-suited to wage a statewide campaign. While the Mormon Church flooded the state with ground troops for the fight, our side had no ground game. Inexcusable, but borne out of a complacency that I myself shared. No longer.

This isn't over, not by a long shot.  But seeing Jesse Jackson in tears last night, seeing history be made after a long civil rights struggle, reminded me that attaining civil rights when there are a lot of ignorant, bigoted and hateful people in the way is not an easy road.  But we'll get there.  Maybe not in my (gay) father's lifetime, but perhaps in mine.

Obama wins; The World celebrates America's choice to move forward

It will be nice to have the chance to finally regain the world's mutual respect and admiration after the arrogant and alienating foreign policy of the Cheney/Bush presidency.

Awesome. Simply awesome. It's a new day, America.

Wow.

I know, that's not very profound.  But wow.

It's been a long road.  It's not been easy.  But it's done.  Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States of America.

Earlier tonight, I asked my 82 year old father if he ever thought he'd see an African-American president in his lifetime.  "Not five years ago, no," he told me.  "But last year, I began to think I would."  This from a man who has been a Republican most of his life, and a man who felt the Republican party left him behind a while back.  He voted for Obama today.

It's more than just a racial milestone.  It is a strong rebuke of failed economic and foreign policy executed by leaders who put party before people, who put special interests before the greater good. 

This is a game-changer.  People who've long felt they didn't have a reason to vote have become part of the process.  Those who would try to cage and suppress voters have been given a good look at what happens when you take the electorate for granted.

This is so cool. It's a great day to be an American.

An especially satiying win: Kay Hagan tosses Liddy Dole out on her sanctimonious behind

From the Raleigh News & Observer website...

Kay Hagan claimed victory tonight over incumbent Elizabeth Dole in the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina.
With 63 of 100 counties reporting, Hagan led Dole by 52 to 45 percent. Libertarian Christopher Cole had 3 percent. 

“Believe me, it has been an honor and a joy to represent the people of North Carolina in the U.S. Senate,” Dole said in a concession speech at the historic train depot in Salisbury. “I’ve done my level best to make you proud.”

In her victory speech in Greensboro, Hagan said, "What we were able to accomplish in a little more than a year shows how hungry people are for a change. So much has gone off-course for the last eight years, and it will take all of us working together to get it turned around again."

Dole blew this big-time when she decided to call Hagan, a Sunday school teacher,  "godless" last week.  Nice to see a despicable campaign blow up in the face of the person who dealt it. 

Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out of Congress, Senator.

A vote for Obama: a vote for change, for hope, and for a better America

Today's the day. 

It's the day we can finally escape the near-tyranny of the neocon Republican minority's grip on this country. 

It's the day this country can move past a period in our history when we abandoned out principles, trampled out beloved Constitution, allowed our international reputation to tank, blew the budget surplus, and saw our government start an unnecessary and unjust war.

It's the day we can throw out the bums that focused on rewarding their special interest pals while ignoring the middle class.  We can turn out the people who decided torture was something that could be done in the name of the people of the United States. 

It's the day we can make history.

Vote.  Vote for Barack Obama.

Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died today in Hawaii

This statement was just released by Barack Obama and his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng:

It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.
Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time. It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer.

[via TPM]

Sad news indeed, to have come this close to election day and, I certainly hope, her grandson's victory. 

Peace be with the family, and strength be with Sanator Obama.