http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/rattricks/ en-us Wed, 1 Nov 2006 16:23:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1729966/posts The National Democratic Party has spent $50,000 promoting a nominal Republican write-in candidate to succeed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a move the more prominent GOP campaign called a "desperate" effort to split the write-in vote. The mailout on behalf of write-in candidate Don Richardson describes positions potentially appealing to conservatives who, according to a recent Chronicle-11 News poll, make up at least 55 percent of the district's population. "Don Richardson supports President Bush's Patriot Act," the mailer says. "Do you?" It also says he would put troops on the border to stop illegal immigration, allow law enforcement officials... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1729966/posts#comment Wed, 1 Nov 2006 16:23:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1717466/posts Kinky says he won't step down. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell called on independent Kinky Friedman to drop his 20-month-old bid for governor Tuesday night. Friedman didn't directly answer his opponent but said in a telephone interview: "Hell, no. Why would I do that? "I don't want to step down for anybody when I think America is going to have a big turnout" on Election Day, Friedman said from a hotel in McAllen. "I'm not looking for a way out. We don't negotiate with terrorists." Republican Gov. Rick Perry "better watch this, because we're going to beat him," Friedman said.... Austin American-Statesman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1717466/posts#comment Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:01:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1716337/posts A federal appeals court blocked an Arizona state law requiring voters to present identification at polling stations and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an emergency motion by opponents of the law for an injunction to prevent the law's voter identification requirements from taking effect for the November 7 elections. Opponents of the Arizona law said it discriminated against minorities and the poor, who might not have funds to obtain the necessary proof of identification. “The law sets a burdensome requirement,” Victor Meiser, attorney for the plaintiffs. “To get a driver’s... AZCONSERVATIVE http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1716337/posts#comment Mon, 9 Oct 2006 17:23:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1713638/posts Finally, a Republican scandal that may stick Usually when the Republican chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children instant-messages an underage boy and asks him to get out a ruler to measure his... Well. Ahem. Let's just say: Usually when a congressman is involved in a scandal, he doesn't bring the whole party down with him. This time could be different. The Mark Foley affair is so simple and so human, it's like a Cliffs.Notes version of all the other Republican scandals: Rampant corruption. Leadership? Ha. No one cares till the klieg lights get turned on. THE... NY Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1713638/posts#comment Wed, 4 Oct 2006 18:02:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1709245/posts One of Virginia's best-known political analysts said he had never personally heard Sen. George Allen use racial epithets, despite saying on television a day earlier that the senator "did use the n-word." Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press, "I didn't personally hear GFA (Allen's initials) say the n-word. "My conclusion is based on the very credible testimony I have heard for weeks, mainly from people I personally know and knew in the '70s," Sabato wrote. Sabato, a classmate of Allen's at the University of Virginia... Newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1709245/posts#comment Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:42:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701593/posts TRENTON, N.J. - A Princeton University computer science professor added new fuel Wednesday to claims that electronic voting machines used across much of the country are vulnerable to hacking that could alter vote totals or disable machines. In a paper posted on the university's Web site, Edward Felten and two graduate students described how they had tested a Diebold AccuVote-TS machine they obtained, found ways to quickly upload malicious programs and even developed a computer virus able to spread such programs between machines. The marketing director for the machine's maker — Diebold Inc.'s Diebold Election Systems of Allen, Texas —... Associated Press via Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701593/posts#comment Thu, 14 Sep 2006 20:47:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1698066/posts "Path to 9/11" Web Address Hijacked Get a load of this one. The left is using every dirty trick and sneaky internet ploy in the book to shut down ABC’s The Path to 9/11, and here’s the latest. Someone anonymously registered the domain name pathto911.com and installed a redirect that takes visitors looking for information on the movie to the Democratic Party’s anti-ABC page. (Hat tip: Robin.) Here’s the genuine web site: ABC.com: The Path to 9/11. lgf http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1698066/posts#comment Fri, 8 Sep 2006 22:12:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1691501/posts On October 3, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell talked to reporters after meeting with Laszlo Kovacs, the foreign minister of Hungary. The meeting went well, with nothing controversial to discuss. It went so well, in fact, that a reporter said to Powell, “Mr. Secretary, things are so smooth I thought I’d ask you about something else. The State Department is offering to help in the search for the person who leaked the CIA official’s name. Can you say something about that situation? How might the State Department help?” “We have been asked by the Justice Department, those who are... NRO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1691501/posts#comment Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:38:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1687370/posts New Orleans police chief during Hurricane Katrina, Eddie Compass, says he unnecessarily "heightened people's fears" by repeating unconfirmed reports of out-of-control crime in the city during the aftermath of the storm, adding to the confusion caused by the disaster and potentially hampering rescue efforts. "There were reports of rapes and children being raped. I even got one report … that my daughter was raped," Mr. Compass says in a Spike Lee documentary scheduled to air on HBO tonight. "In hindsight, I guess I heightened people's fears by me being the superintendent of police, reporting these things that were reported to... NY Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1687370/posts#comment Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:04:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685597/posts The prosecutor who vigorously pursued the case against conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been accused of going easy on a wealthy Democrat accused of sex crimes with kids. Billionaire Palm Beach financier Jeffrey Epstein, 53, was indicted last month on a charge of felony solicitation of prostitution. But Palm Beach County Police Chief Michael Reiter wanted Epstein to be charged with the more serious crime of sexual activity with minors. Florida State Attorney Barry Krischer of Palm Beach County rejected that call – even though police believe Epstein regularly brought girls as young as 14 to his mansion for... NewsMax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685597/posts#comment Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:19:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685055/posts If there's one thing Donovan Riley apparently learned during his time in Chicago, it was "Vote early and often." Riley, 69, the former CEO of the University of Illinois Medical Center and a former law professor at Loyola University, is running for a state senate seat in Milwaukee. On Nov. 7, 2000, the day of the big election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Riley appeared at the polling place in Oconomowac, Wis., where he had registered to vote just the day before, voting records show. His ex-wife owned a home there. "Then he drove... Chicago Sun-Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685055/posts#comment Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:07:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1684808/posts In a recent speech, I told the audience about the political landscape of the 2006 elections. It’s going to be much tougher for Republicans than in recent election cycles. As a political party, we must have our act together in order to be successful. Unfortunately, that task has become tougher. The congressional seat of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay is now in jeopardy thanks in part to a failure in leadership from party officials. Following a primary election victory, Rep. DeLay decided, through the advice of party officials, that because of the media circus that was surrounding his pending court... GOPUSA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1684808/posts#comment Wed, 16 Aug 2006 18:24:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1681382/posts U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman's campaign Web site remained offline Thursday, and federal and state authorities were investigating why it crashed on the eve of this week's defeat in a high-profile primary. The site, Joe2006.com, appeared to have suffered from a so-called "denial of service" attack, in which computers overwhelm a site with fake traffic so real visitors can't get through, said Richard M. Smith, an Internet security consultant in Brookline, Mass. The Lieberman campaign denied speculation among liberal Web pundits that the centrist Democrat's Web site had simply crashed because it used a low-budget Web host unable to handle the... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1681382/posts#comment Thu, 10 Aug 2006 20:17:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/1681247/posts Write-in candidate names are not on the ballot by design. To cast a vote for one on the electronic eSlate machines, which don't have a keyboard, you'll have to use the "select" dial to choose "write-in." Even then, the names won't automatically pop up, said Scott Haywood, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office. In each booth there will be a printed list of candidates who have been certified for the Congressional District 22 race. Using the dial and a picture of a keyboard on the screen, the voter will click the letters of the name they want. Potential... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/1681247/posts#comment Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:00:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679929/posts Davis Doesn't Fly 08/08 12:00 PM I'm intrigued by the bizarre attention so many conservative websites and bloggers are paying to Lanny Davis's silly op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal. See here. Here's an excerpt from the Davis piece: My brief and unhappy experience with the hate and vitriol of bloggers on the liberal side of the aisle comes from the last several months I spent campaigning for a longtime friend, Joe Lieberman. This kind of scary hatred, my dad used to tell me, comes only from the right wing—in his day from people such as the late Sen. Joseph... Levin on NRO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679929/posts#comment Tue, 8 Aug 2006 17:01:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1677899/posts Variety reviewer Robert Koehler (formerly of the L.A. Times) recently reviewed a new documentary titled "Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater." The main driver behind the project is his granddaughter, C.C. Goldwater, and it's scheduled to air on HBO on September 18. The list of interviewees underlines it's not a big right-wing project: it includes Walter Cronkite, Ted Kennedy, Al Franken, Helen Thomas, James Carville, Bob Schieffer, Andy Rooney, Julian Bond, Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn, John Dean, and erstwhile Goldwater Girl Hillary Rodham Clinton. A few righties appear (Richard Viguerie, George Will) and some more centrist GOP types do, too... newsbusters.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1677899/posts#comment Fri, 4 Aug 2006 19:59:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675846/posts Former Representative Michael Decker admitted in federal court today receiving $50,000 and a legislative job for his son in exchange for supporting Jim Black for a third term as House speaker in 2003. The former Forsyth County lawmaker, who switched parties from Republican to Democrat, pleaded guilty to a single of charge of conspiracy to extort, commit mail fraud and launder money. (snip) Decker's support created a 60-60 split in the House, allowing Black to remain as co-speaker. Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, in 2003 entered into a power-sharing agreement with Republican Rep. Richard Morgan. News & Observer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675846/posts#comment Tue, 1 Aug 2006 17:53:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675471/posts With the California Democratic Party drifting leftward, Republicans had an opportunity this year to claim the decisive political middle by fielding a slate of centrist candidates for statewide office, led by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Curiously, however, Schwarzenegger did not lift a finger to help moderate Republicans in their duels with conservatives for party nominations... The same dynamic that will make it difficult, bordering on the impossible, for Parrish, Strickland, Poochigian and McClintock to win their offices in November is also working against Angelides in his contest with Schwarzenegger. A major party nominee for statewide office can count on party loyalists... Scripps News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1675471/posts#comment Tue, 1 Aug 2006 02:47:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1669780/posts Take a look at the photo of Congressperson Cynthia McKinney above. Obviously the source of that picture must be some vicious hate-filled right-wing website that dislikes the "progressive" policies of Ms Mckinney, right? Wrong. The source for that picture is none other than the Daily Kos. You read that correctly. This picture is part of an ad by McKinney's primary opponent, Hank Johnson, that is figured PROMINENTLY at the top of the list of Daily Kos advertisers. I should have had a hint of this latest Kos Blogola scandal yesterday when I did a search on the Daily Kos... DUmmie FUnnies http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1669780/posts#comment Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:17:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1668029/posts DETROIT (AP) — The city clerk plans to purge the names of nearly 55,000 dead people and those who no longer live in the city from voting rolls as part of an effort to ensure integrity in elections. Clerk Janice Winfrey bought lists of deaths from the state and city health department. Then she moved to eliminate the names of people who hadn't cast a ballot since before the 2002 election and who had been mailed voter card registration renewal forms that were returned as undeliverable. Already the names of about 33,000 deceased voters have been removed, The Detroit News... AP via Mlive.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1668029/posts#comment Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:51:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1667433/posts Seeks to clear way for independent in US Senate bid... Vermont's Democratic Party is maneuvering to keep the Democratic candidates for the state's open US Senate seat off the November ballot, as party leaders seek to clear the way for independent Representative Bernard Sanders in his bid for the Senate. State Democratic leaders are spearheading efforts to gather signatures to put Sanders on the ballot as a Democrat, even though Sanders has repeatedly said he would turn down the party's nomination if he wins the primary. At least three other candidates have announced their intention to run for the Democratic... The Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1667433/posts#comment Mon, 17 Jul 2006 21:58:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1667800/posts Would you like the early line on the exact moment when the Democratic Party bungled the midterm elections this fall -- and, as an added bonus, People's Exhibits Q through Z why Rahm Emanuel and the folks at the DCCC would screw up a one-car funeral, even if you spotted them the hearse? Well, this is it. This good, tough Internet ad gets pulled because some of the people who enabled the murderous lunacy depicted therein throw public hissy-fits. Almost immediately thereafter, Senator Mike DeWine (R-I'm-Not-Bob-Ney-Dammit!) drops a television spot using the people killed on September 11 as a cudgel... The American Prospect http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1667800/posts#comment Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:31:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1657374/posts AUSTIN - A federal judge hearing a ballot dispute Monday involving former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay said he thinks that DeLay withdrew from the November election, indicating potential trouble for Republicans who want to name a replacement candidate. "He is not going to participate in the election and he withdrew," said U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, who did not issue an official ruling after a daylong trial regarding DeLay's status as the GOP nominee for the 22nd Congressional District. Jim Bopp, a lawyer for the Republican Party of Texas, disagreed, telling Sparks "there's been no withdrawal." Bopp said that instead,... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1657374/posts#comment Wed, 28 Jun 2006 22:49:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1648635/posts The flier put out by Jim Webb's campaign for U.S. Senate described his opponent as a corporate lobbyist who made money by sending American jobs overseas. But what caught Dan Smolen's attention was the cartoon that accompanied the text: That of a man with a hook nose and money spilling from his pockets. It was a caricature of Harris Miller, Webb's opponent in Tuesday's Democratic primary who happens to be Jewish. The image made Smolen, who is Jewish and Stafford County's Democratic chairman, uncomfortable. "I don't think whoever did the cartoon caricature meant this as an ethnic slur," he said,... Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1648635/posts#comment Tue, 13 Jun 2006 17:37:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620414/posts High turnout prompts a probe by secretary of state SAN DIEGO - A dead man sending off for a mail-in ballot for the March primary was just one of the clues that brought investigators from the Texas attorney general's office to Duval County. Assistant District Attorney Jon West had only been on the job for about three months when the voter fraud allegations started surfacing. The post office returned several rejected mail-in ballot applications to residents who said that they had not sent them. And in one case, a woman complained that her father could not have sent a mail-in... Corpus Christi Caller-Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620414/posts#comment Mon, 24 Apr 2006 12:02:06 GMT