April 9-12, 2012
Apr 09 02:34 How much proof of voter fraud will it require? Apr 09 09:39 Felons always tell the truth, don't they? Apr 09 12:17 Dayton mocks Minnesotans by 'vetoing' constitutional amendment Apr 09 14:22 Hegseth emerges as GOP frontrunner Apr 10 14:00 Killing businesses the old-fashioned way? Apr 10 22:26 DFL allies repeat anti-Cravaack chanting points Apr 11 08:25 Obama in DEEP trouble Apr 12 03:27 Terminated SCSU administrator blows whistle on President Potter Apr 12 13:12 Why do DC GOP insiders think Team Obama is unstoppable?
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
How much proof of voter fraud will it require?
The DFL, starting with Mark Ritchie but continuing with Gov. Dayton and corrupt special interest groups, insist that a) voter fraud doesn't exist in Minnesota and b) Minnesota has the most corruption-proof elections in the nation. Both theories don't withstand reality.
First, Rick Smithson's testimony at the House Local Government and Elections Committee provides proof that voter impersonation voter fraud exists. Here's his testimony :
RICK SMITHSON: We had an incident. I live in a small town of about 900 people and we had -- I'm not sure. I called one of the city council members to ask him. It was between 10 and 13 people came into the same day registration table. And by the way, I election judge all the time so I've seen situations like this, not necessarily exactly like this but very similar ones.
On this particular night, between 10 and 13 people showed up for same day registration. They had all claimed that the local laundromat address as their residence. When we challenged it, we called the State Auditors Office and we were told that there was nothing we could do about it. We were told that we couldn't interfere with their right to vote but we could make note of it.
A veteran election judge tried preventing "10 to 13 people" in a small town from voting because they all insisted that the local laundromat was their home address.
That's Exhibit A that voter impersonation happens in Minnesota.
Here's Exhibit B :
According to MN Secretary of State information , after the 2008 presidential election, about 26,000 postal verification cards sent to same day voter registrants were returned as undeliverable : no such person or no such address. Meantime, their votes were cast and counted! In total, during the 2008 calendar year, about 38,000 were returned as undeliverable.
What are the odds that tens of thousands of PVCs for same day registrants would get returned as undeliverable? More importantly, what are the odds that those undeliverable PVCs were innocent keying mistakes by the data entry staff? What's the likelihood that these phantom voters were people committing voter fraud?
The DFL can insist that voter fraud doesn't exist all it wants but that doesn't mean proof of voter fraud doesn't exist. It exists in abundance.
The only question that's left is whether the Twin Cities media will continue to pretend that that proof doesn't exist.
More on this subject:
Minnesota's election system: no longer the gold standard, Part III
Another major vulnerability exposed in Minnesota's election system
Smoking guns, Photo ID, voter fraud and corrupt organizations
Tags: Voter Impersonation , Rick Smithson , Testimony , Voter Fraud , PVCs , Photo ID , Mark Ritchie , Mark Dayton , DFL , Elections
Posted Monday, April 9, 2012 2:34 AM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 09-Apr-12 09:56 AM
Aw, c'mon. There's no voter fraud. The American Civil Liberals Union said so.
Comment 2 by Susan at 09-Apr-12 01:01 PM
Did Rick Smithson show an ID before testifying before the committee? Because a list of registered voters in Minnesota (public information) shows no Rick Smithson. Or Richard Smithson. Or Dick Smithson.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 09-Apr-12 01:07 PM
Watch the video. He's an election judge.
Comment 3 by Susan at 10-Apr-12 10:17 AM
No, he says he "election judges all the time." He did not say he was an election judge that day. He is testifying about what he says his city council member saw. But I want to know if Rick Smithson is his real name.
Comment 4 by walter hanson at 10-Apr-12 04:36 PM
Susan:
Since the issue is the DFL doesn't want people to show ID to vote then I guess you don't have to show ID to do anything.
And since you did a great job determining that a Dick Smithson couldn't testify can you go over the Minnesota voter lists for us and identify all the illegal voters for us?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 5 by Jethro at 11-Apr-12 12:09 AM
Quiz question of the day: Who stands to lose more illegal votes if voter ID passes?
A. Republicans
B. DFL
C. Cannot be determined cuz there is no proof of voter fraud.
Felons always tell the truth, don't they?
In early February, I wrote that Minnesota's election system wasn't the gold standard the DFL insists it is. At the time, I transcribed some conversations James O'Keefe's investigators had with Scott County government employees in this article . This exchange is particularly disturbing:
INVESTIGATOR: In theory, I could just, you know, say I have some illness or disability and just be at home and there's no way that the state would know otherwise.
WORKER: You are signing a statement, a form, that the information you're providing is true and correct.
This morning, I read an article about voter fraud that shows why it isn't good enough to say that voter registration forms must contain accurate information:
Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring said the charges stem from a statewide investigation by the Virginia State Police into allegations of fraud in 2008.
Herring said each of those indicted spoke with a solicitor who was trying to get people to register to vote. In most cases, the person told the solicitor that he or she was a felon, and some of those indicted told a solicitor they therefore could not vote.
Herring said the solicitors told each person they could vote, which wasn't true. In some cases, Herring said, a solicitor told the felon that new legislation had restored the felon's right to vote or that if he or she was going through a process to have voting rights restored, he or she could vote.
Each of the felons indicated on a form that he or she was not a convicted felon, Herring said .
"They were proud to have voted," Herring said.
Court records show that the felons include at least one with a sex-crime conviction and others with convictions on burglary-related charges, forgery offenses and drug-related charges, among others.
Apparently, convicted felons didn't hesitate about lying to authorities in order to vote. For most people, it isn't surprising that dishonest people would lie in order to commit voter fraud.
This isn't just a Photo ID issue , either, though that's important:
Filmmaker James O'Keefe demonstrated just how easy it is on Tuesday when he dispatched an assistant to the Nebraska Avenue polling place in Washington where Attorney General Holder has been registered for the last 29 years. O'Keefe specializes in the same use of hidden cameras that was pioneered by the recently deceased Mike Wallace, who used the technique to devastating effect in exposing fraud in Medicare claims and consumer products on 60 Minutes.
O'Keefe's efforts helped expose the fraud-prone voter-registration group ACORN with his video stings, and has had great success demonstrating this year in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Minnesota just how easy it is to obtain a ballot by giving the name of a dead person who is still on the rolls. Indeed, a new study by the Pew Research Center found at least 1.8 million dead people are still registered to vote. They aren't likely to complain if someone votes in their place.
Photo ID will eliminate the vast majority of these "1.8 million dead people" who are "still registered to vote." Attentive secretaries of state would be a major step in the right direction, too. Mark Ritchie as much as admitted that he wasn't updating the SVRS as required by HAVA. He argued that the state legislature hadn't passed the legislation authorizing him to update the SVRS.
Ritchie didn't need the state legislature's authorization because HAVA gave him the authorization.
Mr. Ritchie and his partners in corruption insist that voter fraud doesn't exist. In this post , I asked how much proof Photo ID activists need to provide before the Twin Cities media stops pretending voter fraud doesn't exist in Minnesota.
Secretaries of state like Mr. Ritchie should be updating the SVRS to flag felons and dead people. If the SVRS isn't frequently updating their rolls, the potential for voter fraud soars exponentially. That's unacceptable at a time when voter registration fraud is reaching epidemic levels.
If our leaders won't listen to We The People, then they'll have to be fired in the next election. People that won't clean up the corruption don't need to be employed.
Tags: Felons , Voter Fraud , Michael Herring , Commonwealth of Virginia , Prosecutions , SVRS , HAVA , Mark Ritchie , Corruption , Elections , DFL
Posted Monday, April 9, 2012 9:39 AM
No comments.
Dayton mocks Minnesotans by 'vetoing' constitutional amendment
Proving yet again that he's out of step with Minnesotans on an important issue, Gov. Dayton staged a mock veto of the Photo ID constitutional amendment that the Minnesota legislature just passed:
In a symbolic gesture, Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday, April 9, vetoed the photo ID bill that the Republican-contolled Legislature sent to him last week.
But the issue will be on the Nov. 6 statewide ballot anyway.
"Although I do not have the power to prevent this unwise and unnecessary constitutional amendment from appearing on the Minnesota ballot in November, the Legislature has sent it to me in the form of a bill," the DFL governor wrote in a letter to lawmakers. "Thus I am exercising my legal responsibility to either sign or veto the amendment."
Gov. Dayton, like the vast majority of DFL legislators, opposes legislation that 76% of voters approve of. A mere 18% of Minnesotans oppose Photo ID.
If the DFL is willing to ignore their constituents on this important matter, then they need to be fired this November. Gov. Dayton's statement that Photo ID is an "unwise and unnecessary constitutional amendment" is pure BS. It's also poorly timed, considering the fact that this video popped up this morning:
Gov. Dayton apparently is arguing that a total nobody walking into a DC polling station and getting U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's ballot doesn't mean we need Photo ID. There's tons of proof that the potential for voter fraud exists.
Just because Gov. Dayton dishonestly insists voter fraud doesn't exist doesn't verify his statement as truthful.
The video also shows how easy it is to commit voter fraud in Minnesota, the state Gov. Dayton says has the "best-in-the-nation election system." With all due respect to Gov. Dayton, the DFL and their corrupt allies, Minnesota's election system isn't all that great.
Here's the list of verifiable proof of voter fraud or potential voter fraud:
Same day registrants claim small town laundromat as their address
Tens of thousands of PVCs returned as undeliverable
Felons convicted of voter fraud
Despite this information, Gov. Dayton and SecState Ritchie and the rest of the DFL insist that voter fraud doesn't exist. They also insist that the potential for voter fraud doesn't exist either.
That's BS. So is this :
The governor faults Republicans for not working on election reform in a bipartisan way, saying he was never contacted by the GOP to collaborate on a solution.
The only solution to eliminating voter fraud includes Photo ID. If someone says that "election reform" is possible without Photo ID, they're either lying, stupid or both.
When a white man can walk into a well-known black man's DC polling station and get a ballot, it's understatement to say the opportunity for corruption exists.
If Gov. Dayton wants to deny that, let him argue with the video. Good luck with that, Gov. Dayton.
Tags: Voter Impersonation , Eric Holder , Mark Dayton , Veto Ceremony , Voter Fraud , Corruption , Democrats , Project Veritas , James O'Keefe , Constitutional Amendment , Reforms , Elections
Posted Monday, April 9, 2012 12:17 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 09-Apr-12 12:31 PM
Gary - he is mocking the Republicans who are holding an amendment-a-thon, because they disrespect the office of the governor. And, is there a bunch more deserving of mockery? I know of none. Dayton is is calling out the disingenuousness of what the Republicans are gleefully up to, just as Obama called out the activist Luddite justices, in anticipation of yet another politically motivated bad decision. Strib has an interesting online item about how your guys cannot handle it when liberals stop acting like wimps. Had enough. That's what Dayton said. That's what Obama said. And the people will vote.
Comment 2 by Patrick at 09-Apr-12 01:05 PM
Democrats only believe in bipartisanship if they get their way. Instead of Governor Walker facing recall for doing his job according to the state constitution Governor Mark "shut 'em down" Dayton should be recalled for mocking and making light of duly elected state legislature for doing their jobs.
Eric if you are claiming that Dayton did good and are praising Barack Hussein Obama for his childish rants against separation of powers then I think there are seats available for you on the next plane to Russia. Because you sure don't understand what freedom is all about. Voter ID is needed to maintain that freedom.
Comment 3 by Jethro at 09-Apr-12 10:47 PM
Eric, speaking of mockery, I am still laughing about Gov. Dayton trying to skirt the legislative process in an attempt to unionize child care providers. And you think the DFL agrees with a vast majority of voters that voter ID is a good idea?
Comment 4 by Rex Newman at 10-Apr-12 07:43 AM
Someone on Twitter said GOP should hold a symbolic impeachment of Gov. Dayton. Even some libs have to be bracing for the blowback should Dayton veto the "teacher seniority" bill.
FYI, Rep. Pat Garafolo on Late Debate said he thinks Dayton will grumble but sign it, pointing to his pointless veto of school shift repayment to say he's still on Education Minnesota's team.
Comment 5 by Gary Gross at 10-Apr-12 08:05 AM
That's interesting information. Thanks Rex.
Comment 6 by markmwhite at 10-Apr-12 09:48 AM
what was Dayton's reaction to The Legacy Amendment? (yes i know he was not Governor then) does he believe that that was a responsible use of the amendment process? or an irresponsible abdication of budgetting duties by the legislature?
also wonder if eric z thinks the Legacy Amendment was a mockery of the then sitting governor?
Comment 7 by Gary Gross at 10-Apr-12 10:01 AM
Mark, Thanks for those illustrative rheotical questions.
Can you say "double standard"?
Comment 8 by walter hanson at 10-Apr-12 04:30 PM
Eric:
I don't call I believe it's 3 amendments as an amendment thon. furthermore lets see creating the state definition for marriage so the state Supreme can't take that away, an amendment to put in proper safe guards on voting because the democrats and current state leadership don't care, and an amendment giving the whole state a chance to vote (unlike Wisconsin when it was just their legislators) on what worker's rights are. Doesn't seem wrong.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 9 by eric z at 11-Apr-12 09:41 AM
Walter and all - will the GOP actually push the right-to-work [for less] thing, or back down? It looks as if polling's been done, and there's little taste for that fight in the GOP legislative majorities. Walker and Kasich probably enjoyed poking a stick into that hornets' nest but can they run away fast enough to not end up stung all over?
Comment 10 by walter hanson at 11-Apr-12 04:54 PM
Eric:
Actually in Wisconsin the reforms have been great for everybody. One thing it did is it allowed school districts to change the health care plan the teachers operated and made a large profit on to a cheaper and same coverage plan. School districts, which were afraid of doing layoffs, were surprised they didn't have to lay off teachers when the pension changes and the health plan changes alone stopped layoffs.
In Ohio, where unions claim they care about people, their workers are being laid off because the unions lied to the public and said it will be bad for public workers.
Oh so the unions can automatically dictate pay increases and health care benefits with no consequence at all. That's a silly position Eric.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Hegseth emerges as GOP frontrunner
Based on the Hegseth campaign's statement , it appears as though Pete Hegseth has assumed the frontrunner status to challenge Sen. Klobuchar in November:
Decorated combat veteran and U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hegseth announced Monday that his campaign raised $160,000 in the first quarter, and has roughly $130,000 cash on hand. These numbers come just one month after Hegseth officially entered the race on March 1.
'Our fundraising success is a sign that voters are ready for new leadership,' said Hegseth, who returned to Minnesota in February from a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard. 'I'm honored and humbled that, in this economy, so many Minnesotans and Americans are willing to donate their hard-earned dollars to stand with me."
The fundraising total exceeded the campaign's expectation.
'Our internal goal was to raise $100,000 in our first month and we surpassed that handily,' campaign manager Anne Neu, who managed Congressman Chip Cravaack's 2010 upset of 36-year incumbent Jim Oberstar, said. 'The fundraising progress we've made in just one month, while also building a grassroots organization, has been incredible.'
Hegseth also announced last week that over 300 people have signed up to volunteer with the campaign.
It'll take a strong fundraising operation to defeat Sen. Klobuchar and her protective press allies. Hegseth's fundraising total is easily the strongest total thus far of all the GOP candidates.
Whoever the GOP candidate is, he'll need a big warchest to highlight Sen. Klobuchar's unwillingness to embrace an all-of-the-above energy policy or her refusal to lift a finger to make PolyMet a reality.
Sen. Klobuchar stands for higher gas prices and opposes high quality jobs for union workers. That isn't a great thing to run on. Meanwhile, Hegseth will get the opportunity to run on a reform agenda that appeals to Minnesotans.
Don't look now but this race just got interesting.
Tags: Fundraising , Pete Hegseth , First Quarter , Reforms , GOP , Amy Klobuchar , Gas Prices , Jobs , DFL , Election 2012
Posted Monday, April 9, 2012 2:22 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 11-Apr-12 09:36 AM
This is interesting. Earlier Andy A. on Residual Forces had focused upon Hegseth. And Andy has been pushing hard on the "give the guy campaign money" rope. We walt. We see. It was interesting that TPaw squared accounts closed the books, and closed shop. If the state GOP only would take those same three steps after Sutton-Brodkorb ...
Killing businesses the old-fashioned way?
In this video, Bernie Marcus explains why this administration's regulatory policies are killing job creation and wealth development:
The sad thing is that Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank and their partners wouldn't have created the jobs they did if today's regulatory environment had been in place in 1978:
This administration's love of stifling financial regulations would've stopped Home Depot before it started. Whether you're talking Dodd-Frank, which Marcus calls the Bonnie and Clyde Act, or whether the subject is Obamacare, the EPA's industry-killing regulations or the NLRB's dictatorial act, the reality is that this administration loves killing opportunity, jobs and prosperity through regulations.
This says everything about today's regulatory burden:
MARCUS: We talk about job creation. We've got more job-killer rules than there is ever before. It's never happened like this before and I've got to go back to when we started Home Depot again. When Arthur and I with Ken Langone, we can attest to the fact that we were undercapitalized. We had a great idea. We had a way of creating a wonderful new industry and there was a banker that believed in us. He put his job on the line and he gave us a line of credit and without that line of credit, we wouldn't have opened this chain of stores.
As bad as that information is, it pails in comparison with this statement:
In today's market, there are no such people. There's no way you could do it. The regulators would probably put that banker in jail today.
Think of the profound implications Marcus's statement would have on job and prosperity creation. This administration's war on the private sector is being waged in the name of fairness and protecting 'the little guy.' Whatever the rationalization used in public, the reality is that it's killing private sector innovation and prosperity.
Though the unemployment rate is 'down to' 8.2%, the reality is that the economy is stumbling along at an anemic pace. The rate of economic growth right now isn't fast enough to create jobs or prosperity. People know that because they're living it.
This administration's spin won't change that reality, just like it won't change people's opinion of this administration's series of economic missteps.
The only way to fix this nation's economic difficulties is to a) fire President Obama this November, b) hire a new president that won't wage war against capitalists and risk-takers, c) dramatically reduce this nation's compliance costs on regulations and d) dramatically cut federal spending.
Doing those things will revive America's economy in a heartbeat.
Tags: President Obama , Regulations , Dodd-Frank , EPA , Unemployment , Democrats , Bernie Marcus , Arthur Blank , Home Depot , Bank Regulators , Mitt Romney , Economy , Reforms , Republicans , Election 2012
Posted Tuesday, April 10, 2012 2:00 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 11-Apr-12 09:32 AM
With that headline I thought you'd be writing about Romney.
Comment 2 by eric z at 11-Apr-12 09:32 AM
And Gordon Gecko.
DFL allies repeat anti-Cravaack chanting points
Give the DFL an A+ for persistence in sticking with their discredited anti-Chip Cravaack chanting points. Yesterday, Minnesota Progressive Project kept the drumbeat going with this post . Here's the heart of their chanting points:
Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN/NH) has a problem. It all began when he campaigned against Jim Oberstar as out of touch with his district. He claimed that Oberstar actually lived in the Maryland suburbs of DC. He further claimed that Oberstar rarely visited Minnesota. Candidates who make those sort of claims better make themselves very available to their constituents and get lots of face time in their districts.
As everyone knows, Cravaack moved his family to New Hampshire after he beat Oberstar.
Actually, Chip moved his family to New Hampshire as a result of a medical emergency. The 'convenient thing' for the DFL is that they aren't interested in reality. They're only interested in playing mindless gotcha games. (Apparently, they don't think in terms of solutions, just gotchaisms.)
The DFL's disinterest in the truth is apparent through this:
Cravaack won't even verify when he's actually been in the district . He just claims a lot and asks us to believe him.
That paragraph deserves a Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire alert. Chip's constituents don't have to take his word he's staying in touch with them. They know because he's held 27 townhall meetings in the district thus far.
That's more open-to-the-public townhall meetings than Sen. Klobuchar, Sen. Franken and Jim Oberstar held the last 5 years combined.
The DFL will attempt to defeat Chip by repeating their mindless chanting points. If that's all they've got in their CD-8 arsenal, they're in trouble.
Tags: Chip Cravaack , New Hampshire , Townhall Meetings , Constituent Services , PolyMet , EPA , MPCA , Mining , MNGOP , Amy Klobuchar , Al Franken , Jim Oberstar , Photo Ops , DFL , Election 2012
Posted Tuesday, April 10, 2012 10:26 PM
Comment 1 by Jethro at 11-Apr-12 12:11 AM
D on't
F orget to
L ie
Oh, I am sorry. That was mean.
Comment 2 by eric z at 11-Apr-12 09:31 AM
That CD 8 seat is in play. Who will be the general election challenger? Any thoughts, Gary?
Do you see any other Minnesota seats in play? The DFL wants to say Kline and Paulsen can be unseated. The GOP wants to say Peterson and Walz can be. The field against Walz looks mediocre. My guess is no change in any Minnesota district, except CD 8, no change in the Senate. I know at some point Gary you will be posting an extended analysis of the Senate situation, but for now it's Mr. X to challenge Klobuchar, and best to wait until "X" is replaced with a name.
Comment 3 by eric z at 11-Apr-12 11:07 AM
On CC himself, I think he's proud of New Hampshire and that New Hampshire should be proud of him, proud of his family's residence choices, proud to have him in Congress.
Comment 4 by Gary Gross at 11-Apr-12 01:13 PM
Isn't it time that A-Klo resign, then officially move to Virginia & become their senator?
I'm curious why lefties like you haven't talked about Photo Op Amy isn't really a Minnesotan. At least by your standards, she isn't.
More importantly, why don't you take her to task for neglecting an important part of the state? I thought the DFL cared about unions.
It's unfortunate that you couldn't prove it by Sen. Klobuchar's or Rep. Oberstar's actions.
Comment 5 by eric z at 13-Apr-12 10:04 AM
More detail, Gary?
Residence? The evidence?
Neglecting a part of the State? Specifics of the charge?
She's caving in on environmentally dangerous mining where the advocates do not want to escrow cash to assure remediation happens at the expense of the profiteers after the ore's played out, vs. some shell firm exploiting things and then leaving with taxpayers holding the bag. You WANT taxpayers to get stiffed? Why? If safe and sane mining proposals happen, with an end-of-mine-lifetime remediation kitty in place, that would be different.
She's caved in on that stupid bridge to nowhere.
Yes, progressives are not satisfied.
But there is no viable alternative unless/until a progressive challenges and wins a primary. It is unlikely.
At least she and Franken are leaders against the pump-price manipulators and speculators. Do give her credit for that. The Koch refinery has a market monopoly because you cannot except at great expense truck gasoline in from Cleveland or Buffalo, each with a sole refinery manipulating its local market as the Koch firm does here. What are the GOP doing about the speculators and the refinery chokeholds? Zippo. Schmoozing with the Koch brothers in ALEC mode is not really helpful at the gas pump.
Any thoughts on that.
And the canard "Drill here," etc., is hogwash. There is a fracking boom time in NoDak, and the pump price is climbing because it's the refineries that are screwing folks by manipulating the bottleneck in things.
They are drilling there in NoDak, drilling there now, and yet it is no surprise really that the pay more part is not part of the Gingrich-Bachmann mantra, but it's merely the truth.
Obama in DEEP trouble
Jay Cost is excellent at deciphering polls. His latest column deciphering yesterday's ABC/Washington Post poll spells major trouble for President Obama. Here's part of what he wrote:
Yesterday, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll seemed to confirm the meme that Barack Obama is pummeling Mitt Romney among women, helping the former open up a 7-point lead in the general election horse race.
What to make of this?
Well, for starters, the poll has an inexplicably large Democratic advantage; the party breakdown in the poll is 34 percent Democratic, 23 percent Republican, and 34 percent independent. As a point of historical comparison, the party spread in four of the last five elections since 2002 has basically been an even split between the two sides. In 2008, a 'perfect storm' of bad news for the GOP, the party ID advantage was 'only' +7. So, a Democratic advantage of +11 is an unjustifiable number, at least in terms of what the electorate is thinking.
You're in trouble when you lead by 7 points but they oversampled your 'supporters' by 11 points. That's like hearing your spouse say that there's a 60% chance you'll still be together a year from now. That isn't a ringing endorsement.
Unfortunately for President Obama, that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'll guarantee that this statistic has Axelrod drinking a bottle of Maalox each day:
President Obama's handling of the economy : 23% strongly approve, 21% somewhat approve, 12% somewhat disapprove, 42% strongly disapprove
This result is more troubling for President Obama:
The situation with gas prices : 14% strongly approve, 14% somewhat approve, 12% somewhat disapprove, 50% strongly disapprove .
Remember, these numbers are actually propped up by the unjustifiable oversampling. If the sample accurately reflected the party identification figures, those results would look even worse for this president.
If President Obama can't turn those figures around fast, he'll get thumped this November. It's a distinct possibility that he'll get fewer EVs this year than McCain got last time.
Though I can't find the link for it, I saw a poll yesterday that showed President Obama leading Mitt by 5 points in Michigan. That's trouble for President Obama because President Obama thumped Sen. McCain in Michigan 57% to 41%. HINT: If President Obama is fighting to win Michigan, he's heading for a thumping.
President Obama is rightly called incumbent now. If these polling figures don't turn around by Election Day, the term one-term wonder will be most appropriate.
Tags: President Obama , Gas Prices , Economy , Democrats , ABC News , Washington Post , Polls , Oversampling , Michigan , Election 2012
Posted Wednesday, April 11, 2012 8:25 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 11-Apr-12 09:26 AM
I await the "How Great Mitt Is" post.
Terminated SCSU administrator blows whistle on President Potter
Last week, I interviewed Dr. Mahmoud Saffari. During our interview, Dr. Saffari talked about how St. Cloud State hired a marketing company called Earthbound Marketing from California to do a series of focus groups and to put together a marketing plan to cast SCSU in a positive light.
That's significant because this happened right after they had eliminated 32 majors and minors due to $14,000,000 in state budget cuts. What's more is that Dr. Saffari raised the question about whether the focus groups were randomly picked. Allegedly, the focus groups were hand-picked.
In addition to spending money on consultants and marketing firms, President Potter's management style has led to a serious decline in on-campus morale . This incident is a perfect illustration of how President Potter's management style is hurting on-campus morale . Here's what happened in Dr. Saffari's words:
About 2 years ago, I left my office around 8:15 a.m. to go the Admissions Staff meeting. I ran into former SCSU President, Dr. Roy Saigo in the Administration Services Building. He had a meeting that morning on campus.
I said hello to him and told him that I was going to the Admissions Staff weekly meeting in the Administration building and if he had a minute to stop by and say hello to the admissions staff. He knew all of them prior to his retirement. He agreed and stopped by for a minute and said hello to them and told them that they were doing a great job and then left.
That same afternoon around 1:30 p.m. Provost Malhotra came to my office and closed the door and told me that President Potter had asked him to come and tell me not to associate with former President Saigo and not to ask him to talk to the admissions staff!
I don't know what triggered President Potter's reaction. I just know that the reaction doesn't fit the information. Because many of President Potter's reactions don't fit the situation, many administrators and professors are walking on egg shells.
If President Potter doesn't make better spending decisions, taxpayers and, perhaps more importantly, the business community will reject him. If President Potter doesn't change his management style, he'll lose what little is left of his support amongst faculty and administrators.
At that point, the amount of support that's left will be miniscule. At that point, it's all over but the shouting.
Follow these links for more information on the St. Cloud State situation:
President Potter and the sinking morale at St. Cloud State
SCSU President Potter throws faculty, legislators under the bus
President Potter Ignores MnSCU procedure, MnSCU provides the whitewash
How President Potter blew it with Aviation shutdown decision
Posted Thursday, April 12, 2012 4:05 AM
Comment 1 by Jethro at 12-Apr-12 03:30 PM
I bet the bill to hire Earthbound Marketing out of California wasn't cheap.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 12-Apr-12 03:45 PM
It's rumored to be over $560,000 but that hasn't been confirmed. Is that expensive in your estimation?
Comment 3 by Patrick at 12-Apr-12 04:10 PM
$560,000 wow - well if they paid that much for the new website I would say they got taken to the cleaners as I don't see much difference from years past. and to think Potter almost broke his arm patting himself on the back because he thought he was doing good by closing the Aviation Department.
Wonder why they did not hire a Minnesota company?
Comment 4 by Gary Gross at 12-Apr-12 04:56 PM
Patrick, It's possible that Potter has connections with this company. Let's remember that his previous job was as a provost in Oregon. I don't know there's that type of connection. I certainly can't rule it out, either.
Why do DC GOP insiders think Team Obama is unstoppable?
After watching Hilary Rosen say that Ann Romney "has never worked a day in her life", conservatives should question DC GOP operatives if they've acted like Team Obama is a juggernaut:
This unscientific poll openly ridicules Ms. Rosen:
Was Hilary Rosen out of line with her comments that Ann Romney "has never worked a day in her life."?
Yes, raising a family is a lot of work. 97%
No, Ann Romney is out of touch with the economic issues facing working women. 3%
It's worth highlighting the fact that Paul Begala was enthusiastically agreeing with everything Ms. Rosen said. Though he isn't officially a member of Team Obama, Begala is part of the Agenda Media team that's enthusiastically praised President Obama's failed economic policies.
It's worth highlighting the fact that Mitt Romney would be sunk if he ran against President Clinton. If that was the matchup, Clinton would win a minimum of 35 states with winning 40 states a definite possibility.
Fortunately for Mitt, he's running against President Obama, not President Clinton.
The difference between President Obama seeking re-election and President Clinton seeking re-election is that President Clinton had a lengthy list of accomplishments with solid bipartisan support. That's something President Obama can't point to.
He can't highlight any accomplishments with solid bipartisan support. In fact, President Obama can't point to any worthwhile accomplishments. His stimulus hindered the recovery. Dodd-Frank, aka the Bonnie and Clyde Act , is having the same effect on economic growth as towels dripping with cold water have on campfires.
It's important that Republicans outwork their opponents. If the outwork the Democrats, they'll retake the U.S. Senate, add seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and serve termination papers to this administration.
GOP activists should insist that DC GOP operatives repeat this mantra 25 times a day:
Team Obama isn't a juggernaut. Team Obama isn't a juggernaut. Team Obama isn't a juggernaut. Team Obama isn't a juggernaut.
It's time Republicans stopped treating progressives like they're intellectually superior. They aren't. In fact, in most cases, they're intellectual neanderthals.
Finally, anyone that thinks Ms. Rosen's attack wasn't coordinated with this administration obviously hasn't read this article .
UPDATE: Kelly Fenton, the deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, issued this statement just minutes ago:
St. Paul - Republican Party of Minnesota Deputy Chairwoman Kelly Fenton issued the following statement denouncing attacks against Ann Romney and all stay-at-home mothers by DNC advisor, Hilary Rosen. Last night on CNN, Rosen said Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney has 'never worked a day in her life' despite the fact that she is a mother of five, grandmother of 16, has fought breast cancer and MS, and devoted time to serving her community.
'Hilary Rosen's comments are an affront to all women and the children they work so hard to raise. This shows how little respect the DNC and the Obama administration have for women and the work they do whether inside or outside the home. The hypocrisy is shocking - Democrats continue to attack Republicans for waging a so-called 'war on women,' but then their own advisors belittle women and the incredible work they do in raising the next generation.'
'We know Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congresswoman Betty McCollum would have jumped at this opportunity if it was a Republican, but even so, it's time they stand up for women, even to their own party establishment.'
It's foolish to think Sen. Klobuchar would harshly criticize people in her own party. There's a greater possibility that I'll get hit with 3 bolts of lightning while holding a winning Powerball ticket and a winning MegaMillions ticket than there's a possibility that St. Amy would criticize another Democrat for making such a disgusting statement.
Posted Thursday, April 12, 2012 1:12 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 12-Apr-12 04:40 PM
Gary:
Lets not forget it's because Obama was such a juggernaut they wanted Romney since Rick, Newt, Michelle or Sarah if she ran would've caused a massive landslide loss.
The Republicans will have to work extra hard because Romney, while he might make a good President, certainly can't operate a campaign that will cream this nonjuggernaut person known as Obama.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 12-Apr-12 04:54 PM
With all due respect, Mitt doesn't have to be great to defeat The One. He just has to show he isn't as nuts as President Obama.
Comment 3 by eric z at 13-Apr-12 08:24 AM
I think Rosen did an excellent job. She has a follow-up op-ed online, you can Google and find it. I have to complement writing a followup to the kerfuffle on the TV that was several paragraphs long and yed did not rope in the Santorum and Gingrich spouses and use the term "Stepford Wives" showed a remarkable level of self-restraint. It would have been so easy ...
Comment 4 by eric z at 13-Apr-12 08:37 AM
And do not ever forget that talk of Ann Romney, health troubles aside, is talk of one who clearly knows privilege. Remember the Mittster in Michigan back in Feburary, "I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs actually. I used to have a Dodge pickup truck, so I used to have all three covered."
That guy really knows how to connect on a gut level with the average American's lifestyle.
HufPo had the video embedded.
Just do a Google = Mitt Romney wife "couple of Cadillacs"
You get multiple hits.
Comment 5 by Gary Gross at 13-Apr-12 09:28 AM
I hope Ms. Rosen keeps doing an excellent job. She's swung the axe to the Democrats' 'GOP war on women' storyline.
Comment 6 by Gary Gross at 13-Apr-12 09:29 AM
PS- Nothing says 'I connect with Sally Main Street' like taking 6-8 lavish vacations a year like Michelle Obama has done.
Comment 7 by walter hanson at 13-Apr-12 04:15 PM
Gary:
I was just citing what those knuckleheads thought. If you had somebody run a clear conservative campaign like a Palin, a Rick, or a Newt the margin of our win will be like 58% to 42%. Romney being on the ticket makes it like if we're lucky 53%-47%. The campaign that Palin, Rick, or Newt would've done would bring in way more senate and house seats we're going to get thanks to Mitt on the top of the ticket.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 8 by walter hanson at 13-Apr-12 04:17 PM
Eric:
Your idea of praising Rosen for doing far far worse than Rush's so called insult shows just how insenstivive and out of touch you are. fortunately for us there are far more people like Ms Romney in this country than your out of touch views to help sweep Mitt to victory in November.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
