Liveblogging the Phonebanking

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Tuesday October 16, 2012 · 4:39 PM PDT

2012/10/16 · 16:39

Tonight i went down to my local OFA office to help out some more, making phone calls and generally getting some positive karma in the bank.

The script tonight has us calling pholks who have previously said they'd support O, and we're trying to get them to commit to GOTV efforts over the next 3 weekends.

of course, afterwards, it's the debate watching!! woot!!1!!!1!!111

so far, i've made about two dozen calls and spoke to a handful of people. unfortunately for me, they've all been elderly ladies who just ain't comin in to GOTV.

more to come if anything exciting comes...but also, more to come if nothing else exciting happens.

pholkhero

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Monday October 08, 2012 · 3:04 PM PDT

2012/10/08 · 15:04

Hey, thanks again to everyone who responded to my diary of saturday afternoon.

I needed help and this community was there for me, even though i hadn't given much of myself to it, and I'm eternally grateful for all the words and advice everyone gave me.

pholkhero

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Saturday October 06, 2012 · 10:27 AM PDT

2012/10/06 · 10:27

Sorry for the provocative title, but that's about where I'm at with my life.

So, my estranged wife is out for a romantic weekend, and I feel like I'm losing my mind, literally.

I'm anxious, and nauseous. I can't stop thinking about their happiness (in all ways, not just sexual), and I can't deal with the powerlessness I have. I feel like I HAVE to write his or . . . i don't know . . . i just need feedback and support.

Some background and meditations following the hopefully helpful squiggly.

pholkhero

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Friday September 14, 2012 · 1:58 PM PDT

2012/09/14 · 13:58

I'm sorry for putting that image into everyone's head, so close to dinner here on the east coast, but just this on political wire, and had to share (my vomitous feelings).

Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, were interviewed on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael for a show airing next Tuesday, Reuters reports.
One of Romney's revelations: "I'm kind of a Snooki fan. Look how tiny she's gotten -- her spark-plug personality."

He was also asked what he wore to bed at night and replied, "I think the best answer is as little as possible."

[that sound is me throwing up in my mouth again]

but wait, there's more! There's the peeping tom wife! :)

Meanwhile, Ann Romney confessed what she found while exploring the White House: "It was George Bush having a massage. He was covered up. I was so embarrassed that the next time I saw him I didn't know what to say. He looked at me and winked and said, 'I look pretty good, don't I?'"

[but also, what's up with G W? trying to pick up ann??]

but the part that makes me gleeful:

The Washington Post reports the interview "brought shudders from some Republicans, who fear the Romney campaign is running aground in its final stretch.

somehow, i see a palin moment here (well, another one, that is) which means i'll have to breakdown and watch Live! Read More

Morning in America All Over Again

pholkhero

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Friday September 07, 2012 · 11:06 AM PDT

2012/09/07 · 11:06

The 1984 Reagan commercial, officially titled "Prouder, Stronger, Better," had, as its opening line: "It's morning again in america."

It featured a montage of images of Americans going to work and a calm, optimistic narration that suggested the improvements to the U.S. economy since his 1980 election were due to Reagan's policies and asked voters why they would want to return to the pre-Reagan policies of Democrats like his opponent Walter Mondale, who had served as the Vice President under Reagan's immediate predecessor Jimmy Carter.

- Wikipedia [bold added]

If you replace Reagan with Obama, and Democrats with the Republicans in the above, it would aptly describe the arguments at the DNC these past few days. They answered the question, "Are You Better Off Now?" with a loud YES, but also with a caveat of more work to come.

pholkhero

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Tuesday September 04, 2012 · 7:12 AM PDT

2012/09/04 · 07:12

And no, i don't mean the stomach pains I have from some virus i caught last week...

I feel this rising sense of Obama-ness coming.

I feel like the RNC was such a dud, and didn't move the marker any for Romney.

I feel like Team O and the Dems are going to hit it out of the park this week.

I feel like this is when BHO breaks it wide open with his counter-argument, and vision for the next four years.

I always thought Romney's bounce would be small, but I always have thought that after this is when O's numbers will start to hit 50 around the map.

Just watching MSNBC yesterday, and you see the almost-carnival atmosphere in charlotte. True, it was a labor day celebration, but there just seems to be so much more optimism.

And maybe that's all that i feel ~ blind-eyed optimism ~ but I still think this is when the Dems really kick it into high gear, and show America what a truly pathetic candidate teh republicans have when weighed against what's to come for us w/re-election.

Maybe it's just me...

[hate to diary and run, but I need to get some last minute school supplies for the kids today]

And the beat goes on... AP: Romney uses secretive data mining

pholkhero

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Friday August 24, 2012 · 6:09 AM PDT

2012/08/24 · 06:09

So, the AP is out with breaking story that R-Mizzle is using

a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans' personal information – including their purchasing history and church attendance – to identify new and likely, wealthy donors

and who did this little firm used to business with? I'll give you three guesses. The first letter is B and the second is AIN.

Buxton confirmed that the data-mining project began with the help of Dick Boyce, Romney's former Bain & Co. colleague, after Romney joined fundraising forces with the Republican National Committee. Buxton expressed such confidence in his business and analysis methods that, in nearly two decades of running his firm, he told AP he has always been able to answer essential questions for customers.
"I can look at data of any kind and say, `I want to know who that $100 donor could be,'" Buxton said. "We look at data of any kind."

It also says that the Obama campaign uses data mined from FB and Twitter but refused to comment on its practice. Also says no money changed hands....

coupled with a new usa/gallup poll showing (again) what we already know: obama is more likeable than R-MONEY by more than 20%, its heaping, helping of Schadenfreude for breakfast.

Romney's WSJ Op-Ed: Or, What I learned at Bain

pholkhero

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Thursday August 23, 2012 · 8:21 PM PDT

2012/08/23 · 20:21

Almost every year come September, many returning students have to write the obligatory "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" essay.

This op-ed piece from Mr Romney reads like so many of these essays.

[i somehow can't link to the WSJ article, perhaps b/c there's no www?? its at: online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444270404577605140607907860.html ]

pholkhero

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Thursday August 23, 2012 · 6:08 PM PDT

2012/08/23 · 18:08

Via the AP:

U.S. Capitol Police said Thursday that officers are investigating a reported threat against Rep. Todd Akin, the Missouri congressman who has been criticized for comments he recently made about rape.
[snip]

Several threats have been made against the congressman, his family and staff since the interview aired, Akin spokesman Steve Taylor said. Taylor said threats of rape and other violence have been aimed at Akin through phone calls, emails and tweets.

is it too cynical of me to think it's a clandestine, GOP-backed effort to get him out of the race?

also, how hard is it for capitol police to track threats from email and twitter accounts?? don't the accounts have some sort of ISP address??

New NBC/WSJ Poll: rMoney "out of touch"

pholkhero

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Tuesday August 21, 2012 · 3:45 PM PDT

2012/08/21 · 15:45

earlier today, they released some non-prez figures:

22% say they are more likely to pick romney b/c of ryan; 23% less. This is less than previous VP announcements w/biden 24% more/16% less and palin at 34%/25%.

They also put out a poll on congress. apparently, it's at an all-time low for the history of the survey w/12% approving and 82% dis. they also say that people view dems (42-40) better than repubs (36-45)

I saw bits of the presidential poll originally on Hardball, but the official numbers aren't being released until 630. I'm not sure if this is a NBC/Marist poll, but Nate Silver has them [nbc/marist] at a d+1.9 house effect, so keep that in mind.

the numbers:
Obama up 48-44 in general election trial.

there are full demographic breakdowns available at first read, but i wanted to highlight what i saw on hardball (i can't even imagine im writing that sentence):

What’s more, Obama bests Romney by 35 points (58 percent to 23 percent) on the question of which candidate is more likeable, and by 22 points (52 percent to 30 percent) on caring about average people.
In addition, a majority of voters (51 percent) view the former Massachusetts governor’s approach to issues as being “out of step” with most Americans’ thinking. By comparison, 54 percent say Obama’s positions are “in the mainstream.”

And by a 36 percent to 6 percent difference, voters say what they have seen, heard and read about Romney’s tax returns – he has refused to release returns prior to 2010 – has given them a more negative impression of the Republican candidate. Forty-one percent say it doesn’t make much of a difference.

Problematically for Romney, similar negative margins exist with swing voters like independents, suburban voters and Midwest residents.

i think it's clear that the O's decision to define romney in july and august is paying off, and his real challenge is to reset the campaign at the convention (after his VP-reset failed ~ apparently, he failed to blow on the cartridge enough ;) ) . now, if this were 2008 and his convention were second, i think there'd be a chance for a redefinition, but w/dem's rebuttal coming ~~a few weeks later~~ the next week [h/t to TexasDem n Jacoby Jonze], i'm not sure he'll be able to.
Read More

Romney Wins! Now about those blind trusts...

pholkhero

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Tuesday July 17, 2012 · 9:46 PM PDT

2012/07/17 · 21:46

If Romney wins, what happens to those blind trusts that he's got?

Will we know exactly HOW our would-be president is making millions off of his billions in "investing"?

Will he still draw an obscene amount of income from them as president??

Sorry the diary is so short, but seriously, wtf happens there??

New Amendments: Popular President; Proportional Senate

pholkhero

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Monday June 23, 2008 · 3:41 PM PDT

2008/06/23 · 15:41

We've known for 8 long years just how out-of-date and undemocratic the Electoral College is. Started as yet another check against the "mobacracy," it is high time that we, as a country, moved past such things and had our president chosen by popular vote.

This would have the added benefit of further cementing America as one nation, rather than a collection of states, as has been happening steadily, one could argue, since the very inception of the federal gov't, but started in earnest after the Civil War. (The simple fact that we say "the United States IS" and not "the United States ARE" as was the custom is a testament to that fact.)

However, in my opinion, a popularly-elected presidency does not go far enough in unifying our nation. It is my belief that we also need a popularly-elected, proportional, Senate as well.

In all other ways (duties, legislation, confirmations, etc), it would be exactly the same, except that Senate wouldn't be re-formed every 2 years with a third "new" membership.

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Liveblogging the Phonebanking

pholkhero update

I'm 99% Sure I Won't Harm Myself

OMFG: Romney sleeps nude!

Morning in America All Over Again

Does Anyone Else Feel That?

And the beat goes on... AP: Romney uses secretive data mining

Romney's WSJ Op-Ed: Or, What I learned at Bain

Akin Death Threats Being Investigated

New NBC/WSJ Poll: rMoney "out of touch"

Romney Wins! Now about those blind trusts...

New Amendments: Popular President; Proportional Senate