DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe stopped by last night. He's riding the circuit ... and in this case, shadowing the Bush economic team.
Snow, Chao, Evans are touring the NW territories, 'splainin' us how the economy is really better than it smells. (See Joel Connelly's take.)
Diebold? Not to worry. The nom? Settled by March 10. Should Kerry resign? First he'd heard of the issue.
The early WI numbers -- Kerry and Edwards neck and neck -- had just rolled up on screen when the Chair rolled in, and they visibly raised his eyebrows.
The nomination contest will be settled anyway by March 10. Interesting choice of dates. Not Super Tuesday, but the southern cycle a week later.
The Chair says Sen. Dodd has looked into the Diebold issue, and everything's under control. He waved both hands in the air to dispel the "conspiracy" aura. (
"put ya hands in the air like ya just don't care"???)
Odd. Dodd was a sponsor of HAVA, and an advocate for full-funding of voting reforms ... but he's been nowhere visible on electronic voting security/integrity.
Hackable voting system issues may well determine the Sec. of State contest in WA this November. The crowd was not amused. The average bar crowd in these parts has the requisite skills to hack a Diebold voting system, and this was no average crowd.
DNC's Voting Rights Institute, chartered in response to Florida 2000, seems to have been a flash in the pan. Maynard Jackson is deceased, Donna Brazile is happy talking up a storm on CNN, nobody is minding the store.
One of us had tried to contact VRI in re a suspect voting irregularity last fall, and was told "that office won't be staffed until the general election". Not good. The enemy never sleeps, but our sentries are comatose.
If Kerry slides through to the nomination, should he give up his Senate seat early enough to prevent a long-term GOP replacement? McAuliffe professed genuine ignorance of the issue, took note, said he would give it attention.