trailmonkee
trailmonkee's JournalMother Jones did some follow up and found 4 of 5 Town Hall Debate Undecideds Now Support Obama
At the second presidential debate, a town hall forum held at Hofstra University, 11 undecided voters from Long Island asked President Obama and Mitt Romney questions on a range of issues, including unemployment, gun control, and equal pay for women. Mother Jones caught up with five of them, all of whom are still dealing with the aftermath of Sandy, and asked if they finally have decided. Results? Four of the five say they're voting for Obama. Here's why:
VOTER: Nina E. Gonzalez
QUESTION: "President Obama, during the Democratic National Convention in 2008, you stated you wanted to keep AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. What has your administration done or plan to do to limit the availability of assault weapons?"
VOTING FOR: OBAMA. "If I could have had a clear understanding of how Gov. Romney would have provided jobs, I would have gone with him. The bottom line is we need food, shelter, and clothing before we can take care of any other needs. I never got a clear understanding about how he would do it. With my question at least [Obama] showed some concern. Romney just reiterated that he would advocate that people be able to possess weapons. And he essentially said that single mothers were the problem. They have enough problems. He also flip-flopped in regard to his thoughts about abortion. So, I was not happy with his response."
VOTER: Jeremy Epstein
QUESTION: "Mr. President, Governor Romney, as a 20-year-old college student, all I hear from professors, neighbors, and others is that when I graduate, I will have little chance to get employment. Can—what can you say to reassure me, but more importantly my parents, that I will be able to sufficiently support myself after I graduate?"
VOTING FOR: OBAMA. "I feel that both Mitt and Obama have completely different paths for our country. I think [Romney] would undo a lot of the work the president has done in the few years of his presidency. We're already on one track; let's give it a chance and see where we are in another four years. I liked Romney's answer to my question better—his business experience swayed me, but the third debate swayed me towards Obama. That was a commander-in-chief test. Romney looked uncomfortable; he didn't look presidential like he did in first debate. How are you gonna lead if you're uncomfortable?"
VOTER: Kerry Ladka
QUESTION: "The State Department refused extra security for our embassy in Benghazi, Libya, prior to the attacks that killed four Americans. Who was it that denied enhanced security and why?
VOTING FOR: OBAMA. "It was always a toss up for me. Romney's business skills are well established, and I think we need a strong economy, but more important is Obama's backing of social plans like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I don't think he'll hurt them, but I think the Romney-Ryan ticket will try to destroy them. Also I'm a fan of Obamacare. I think this nation needs a national healthcare plan. I'm not crazy about that entire episode with people dying in Libya, but still, overall, I think he's a better man than the governor."
more: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/11/town-hall-debate-undecided-voters-obama-romney
Beautiful short note my wife posted on facebook about the President's Rally last night in Aurora, CO
My wife doesn't post much in the way of politics on facebook... but she posted this note on her impressions from the Rally last night, I thought I would share.
Last night, 20K + gathered for a late night rally. A mixed crowd. A middle school boy in a collared shirt with glasses was inching his way toward the front. His eyes eager and his smile wide when he looked back to his parents and younger siblings, asking them to come forward.
I moved over for his family to go in front on me. The dad, in a colored shirt, no jacket, work keys attached to his jeans, the smell of home cooking and a family excited to see the President. The dad trying to shirk off the cold, rubbing his eyes, looking at his watch but patient for his kids. Quiet. Maybe this bright eyed boy sees his reflection when he looks at the president...
The president arrived, the man smiled wide, lifted his kids high in the air and then, they turned around to leave. Quietly back to work, the kids back to school.
VOTE!
btw, Dave Mathews was great:
SHOULD VETS VOTE FOR OBAMA? Heartfelt view of Vet who is casting his first vote for a Democrat
Important Color Coded Chart: Which States Have: Voter ID,Early Voting; Poll Closing Times, etc.
Emergency Lawsuit Filed In Florida Over Long Lines At Early Voting (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/florida-early-voting-lawsuit_n_2072435.html?utm_hp_ref=twThere was no sympathy from the state for Floridians who have reportedly waited as long as eight hours to vote early, prompting Florida Democrats to file an emergency lawsuit Sunday morning.
The suit, filed in Miami federal court, seeks extended voting hours in counties including Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward because of "inadequate polling facilities."
"The extraordinarily long lines deterred or prevented voters from waiting to vote," the filing claims, according to the Miami Herald. "Some voters left the polling sites upon learning of the expected wait, and others refused to line up altogether. These long lines and extreme delays unduly and unjustifiably burdened the right to vote."
Despite previous calls from prominent Democrats and Monroe County's Republican Supervisor of Elections Harry Sawyer, Republican Governor Rick Scott has steadfastly refused to keep polls open beyond an 8-day early voting period that ended Saturday at 7 p.m. -- or make that 1 a.m., when the last waiting voter in Miami-Dade was finally able to cast a ballot.
"We think that the hours we have right now are the best hours we've ever had," Chris Cate, a spokesman for Florida's Secretary of State, told the Herald during the week.
Lines were especially long in Miami-Dade County, where by 7:25 a.m. Saturday two of the county's 20 early voting stations were already suffering 5-hour wait times. Six of the locations listed wait times of six or more hours on Saturday afternoon, hampered perhaps in part by a hefty ballot that was 10 pages for most voters.
Obama leads 50-47 nationally
Source: PPP
PPP's daily national tracking poll now finds Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 50-47 based on interviews conducted between Thursday and Saturday. This is the first time either candidate has led by more than 2 points in the three weeks we've been doing this survey. Obama has led in 4 individual days of polling in a row since Wednesday, suggesting that he may be getting a bounce based on his leadership during Hurricane Sandy.
Obama's approval is now on positive ground at 48/47. On our release last Saturday night he was at 44/52, so his net approval has improved 9 points in the last week. Obama's net favorability rating of +5 (51/46) is now 7 points better than Romney's is at -2 (47/49).
There are a couple reasons Obama has pulled into this small lead. One is that he's turned what had been a persistent disadvantage with independents into a 49/44 advantage. The other is that he's reduced what had been a 20+ point deficit with white voters back down to a 57/40 spread. When you combine that with his 89/9 lead among African Americans and 67/28 edge with Hispanics it's the formula for a small overall lead.
There are also indications that young voters might be renewing their enthusiasm for Obama in the closing stage of the campaign. He's leading 66/33 with respondents under 30, making up for his 49/47 deficit with the rest of the electorate.
It's still a very close race but momentum seems to be on Obama's side in the closing stretch.
full results here: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_TrackingPoll_113.pdf
Read more: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/11/obama-leads-50-47-nationally.html
Roxanne Rubin, Nevada Republican, Arrested For Allegedly Trying To Vote Twice
Source: huffington post
Roxanne Rubin, a registered Republican from Henderson, Nev., was arrested Friday on a felony charge of attempting to vote twice in the same election.
FBI agents took Rubin into custody as she arrived for work at the Riviera hotel-casino, according to the Associated Press. Rubin had roused suspicion on Oct. 29, after casting a vote at her precinct in Henderson, and then allegedly attempting to vote at a different polling site in Las Vegas later that day. Election workers at the second location ran her name through a database, which showed that she had already voted. When confronted by officials, Rubin reportedly claimed that their database was incorrect, and that she had not yet voted. She was ultimately prevented from casting the second vote.
A complaint was subsequently filed with Nevada's Elections Integrity Task Force, which carried out the investigation.
Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller said that the arrest is proof that the state is serious about cracking down on attempts to tamper with the vote.
"As we've said and demonstrated in the past, we take all elections complaints very seriously and investigate them thoroughly," she said. "Second, this demonstrates the integrity of the system. Someone thought that by going to two different locations they'd be able to cast two ballots. The system immediately caught that, the task force responded and an arrest was made."
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/03/roxanne-r
"Last Week They were 'Union Thugs' & Freeloaders, Tonight, They're Out There Saving Your Ass."
Biden zings Romney in Colo.
Source: NBC News
Three days before the election, Vice President Joe Biden pegged his newest critique of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to the semi-annual inconvenience of adjusting clocks for Daylight Savings Time, which occurs tonight.
"It’s Mitt Romney’s favorite time of the year -- because he gets to turn the clock back!" Biden told a crowd of hundreds at a suburban Denver high school.
In his remarks, the vice president accused Romney of embracing social policies out of an earlier era, pointedly noting the GOP nominee's voiced enthusiasm for "getting rid of" Planned Parenthood.
"With all the issues facing the country, Gov. Romney has focused on for the last three months [that] he's going to get rid of Planned Parenthood" Biden said. "And by the way, he doesn't even know he doesn't control Planned Parenthood."
Read more: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/03/14907213-biden-zings-romney-in-colo?lite?ocid=twitter
here's the video
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50134458n
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