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From here.

WV Vote-Flipping Explained

Finally, we have an expert who can explain the charges of vote flipping (you vote for Obama, it shows as assigned to McCain) in West Virginia and elsewhere. The good news: it appears there is no conspiracy, but rather a technical glitch related to calibrating the touchscreen. The bad news: It looks like this is a very easy problem to have occur, which probably means we'll be hearing about a lot of reports of vote flipping in the days to come.

Third Party Debate Tonight

Unfortunately, nothing that has happened in the last few weeks has changed my decision to vote for a third party in this election. If you are still interested in exploring the beliefs and approaches of the third party candidates, consider tuning into the third-party-candidate debate tonight on CSpan at 9 PM EST. We usually tune into these third-party debates, and they are always interesting, as they provide a view into a side of politics that we rarely see on the major networks. Even if you are already committed to a major candidate, consider tuning in as an educational exercise.

Vote Switching in West Virgnia

Between these charges and the widespread allegations of voter fraud by ACORN, I am expecting we are in for a rash of after-election lawsuits about the results.

Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week.

This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain".

In both counties, Republicans are responsible for overseeing elections. Both county clerks said the problem is isolated.

They also blamed voters for not being more careful.

"People make mistakes more than machines," said Jackson County Clerk Jeff Waybright.

I am betting on of the first things the next President/Congress will have to tackle is a way to restore faith in our electoral system. That may require abandoning the electronic machines that they mandated only a few years ago.

(Not) Voting for John McCain

As I indicated, I have sent a letter to the RNC and John McCain's campaign on the reasons I do not plan to vote for him. I have done so, and thought I would enclose it here.

To whom it may concern at the Republican National Committee and the Campaign to elect John McCain,

After much soul-searching and observation of recent events, I have decided not to vote for Senator John McCain and the Republican ticket. Instead, I currently plan to vote for the Constitution Party Candidacy of Chuck Baldwin as a protest vote. I have been a faithful Republican voter since George H. W. Bush ran against Bill Clinton (my first election in which I could vote for president). But I find Senator McCain wanting as a presidential candidate, even though I also find myself unable to support Democratic candidate Barack Obama due to his views on abortion and consistently Left-wing voting record.

Rather than simply cast my vote in silence, which would be emotionally satisfying but ineffective, I thought it wise to send an e-mail in which I lay out my reasoning. This might be useful in guiding the Senator in reaching out to voters like me, or to the GOP in a post-election world.

First, let me start with the straw that broke the camel's back for me - the Bailout/Rescue Bill. This bill was concieved with little public scrutiny, rushed to two separate votes, and was passed with no real explanation beyond "We have to do something." While I was always skeptical of the Bill, I was waiting for the Senator or the President to lay out a clear and argued case for why these maeasures were the right ones to address our economic meltdown. Economics is complex, but the causes of the current crisis were not. The solution itself should be explainable and defendable, and the Senator had multiple opportunities to directly address this. He did not. Instead, we were told again last night that "We had to do something" and to trust the machinery of government to work it out. When the machine has already proven itself to be broken - hence the economic turmoil - you simply can not assume the same machine can fit itself. Proof needs to be offered. None was.

Second, the Senator has yet to enunciate a clear and specific philosophy for his campaign. Say what you will about President Bush, he had a fairly clear philosophy and guiding principles coming into each election. It was clear what he planned to do, how he planned to do it, and what his priorities were. Senator McCain is proud of being a "maverick who crossed party lines", but as often as not this has meant going against the apparent philosophical underpinnings of the Republican party. This means that I am never sure which principles are near and dear and which are negotiable. I do know what the Senator plans to do: work on earmarks, focus on reducing corruption, and work towards energy independence, among others. But I am unclear what his priorities are, and when push comes to shove what is his #1. That came across painfully last night in the debate.

Third, the Senator has yet to give a clear explanation of why this is his moment in history. Senator Obama may be inexperienced, but he has made a clear case for why he deserves to be in the White House: returning dignity and dliberation to the process, correcting the wrongs of slavery, and pulling us back from the excesses of Post-9/11 reactions. Senator McCain, on the other hand, has offered a good resume of skills for the office, but has never explained how history points to him being the next logical link in the chain of executive leadership. I strongly respect his record of wartime, his record of service in the Senate, and his record as a man in his personal life. But at the moment, I do not see why he deserves to be president aside from a sense that it is "his turn".

Please note, none of my concerns have to do with the vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. But I do not vote based on who is up for vice-president.

I hope you find this useful, or at least enlightening, in the day ahead.

Thank you for your time.

Alright, folks. Go ahead and tear it apart. And if you have also decided to go third party, I encourage you to compose, send, and post your own letter. This way, at least the major candidates have a chance to respond before the election.

If I recieve a non-form-letter response, I will post it here.

Today's Woot Shirt is brilliant.

Click here to view their site. I am buying one and think it does a great job of parodying the silliness of this election cycle. The shirt will only be available today... although there are some third parties who will reprint them.



Updated 4:13 PM: Fixed link to shirt.woot.com.

Is the GOP's only hope an anti-establishment revolution within the party?

As the Republican Party is reeling from a major loss in Mississippi - once considered the reddest of red states - the party is facing the obvious: it is going to be a bad year to be a Republican running for office. Interestingly, however, I do not get the sense it is a bad year to be a Conservative. As I poll the people around me, most are still open to traditionally Conservative values - family, freedom of religion, pro-life, fiscal restraint, etc. - but disenchanted with the part of George W. Bush, specifically.

This raises the obvious question: IS IT TIME FOR ANOTHER REPUBLICAN REVOLUTION? The first in my lifetime was the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan lead a transformation in the party that has become legend. The second revolution was the Contract With America which swept Republicans into a majority status in Congress where they had been the minority for over 20 years. There is a common strain to both of these revolutions was: fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, smaller government, and government accountability. Guess what has been undermined since 9/11 transformed the GWB White House: fiscal responsibility, smaller government, and government accountability.

It is time for someone - probably NOT John McCain - to start the third revolution of my lifetime dedicated to Conservative principles, and not just the Republican party. Problem is, I have no idea who has the credibility and appeal to do so. Not Ron Paul. But it is exactly this need driving his candidacy.

Another Candidate Matchmaker Application

As we get closer to the caucuses and primaries, here is another candidate matchmaking application that will tell you who answered the questions the closest to you. Thanks to WNYW Fox 5 in New York for this link.




My top 3 were:
Thompson 68%, Romney 63%, Hunter 60%

Another One Bites the Dust

Republican Presidential hopeful Rep. Tom Tancredo will drop out of the race today. Hopefully Rep. Duncan Hunter will follow suit soon so that we can be left with the 5 credible candidates when we go into Iowa and the other early states. Now if we can only get some of the Democrats to do the same thing. (Do you hear me Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel and Joe Biden.) I think they all were fine running when we were farther off from the election, but when we get within a month of the election and can see that none of these candidates have a chance of winning more than one state at best, then it is time to drop out.

Edwards Loses Nomination with One Position

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards lost the nomination to represent his party in the general election today. He admits that his health care plan would require manditory doctors visits. Here is his quote: "It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care. If you are going to be in the system, you can't choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK." There is no way he can win the nomination with this position and it is not a position he can back track from.