digby writes
Why can't we do it on the week-end?:
France had 80% voter turnout today. 60% is considered a political earthquake here. And one of the reasons is this:
American voter participation is terrible, and has been for half a century. So why do we vote on Tuesday? Absolutely no good reason. Recent laws to restrict the franchise haven’t made things any better. This year, we teamed up with Participant Media’s TakePart.com to ask presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich how they’d protect your right to vote. You can join us by signing our petition in support of The Weekend Voting Act which would move Election Day to the weekend so more people can vote.
This seems like a no-brainer to me.
Indeed. But while we're changing the day, we could also change the method by pushing in our own states—if they haven't already gone this way—a little thing called mail-in-your-ballot.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2007:
Romney won. Or McCain. Or Rudy. As expected, the supporters of each Republican candidate rushed forward, offering empty rhetoric about why their guy won last week's debate. Most of the detailed, insightful analysis seemed to center on who "looked presidential." But the none-too-fervent support for these candidates was noticeable even while the debate was still underway, and many pundits quipped that the real winner wasn't on the stage. It was clear that none of those participating had come close to capturing the imagination of the Republican Party, much less that of the general public.
To borrow a phrase from Rush -- the Republicans are looking for a Magic Neocon. They don't care if it's Newt the Magic Neocon, or Condi the Magic Neocon. They just need someone to pull out that magic wand and wave off the crushing sense of doom that hangs over the right.
Many are betting that Fred Thompson is the man they're searching for. After all, calling everyone in Hollywood a loon, then fawning over any third-rate actor who will give them the time of day, is a Republican tradition. Sonny Bono, the terminator, the guy who played Gopher on the Love Boat, and don't forget the deified Pharaoh Ronald, in whose golden shrine the debate was held -- ah, for more Republicans like these. They'd crawl all over the guy who played the body on last week's CSI if he'd only mouth the phrase 'pro-life.' On the right-leaning actor scale, Thompson's a prince. Besides, he's already played the president, so he certainly has experience at the primary Republican qualification: looking presidential.
Trouble is, what the Republicans are looking for can't be found in Thompson, nor in arch-hypocrite Gingrich, nor even work-wife Rice. That's because what the Republicans are missing isn't a person, it's a philosophy.
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