In Minnesota, a nearly clean sweep

A pretty good night at Midtopia's campaign headquarters. All of my choices (see sidebar) won except for the governor's race, where Hutchinson split the ticket and let Pawlenty squeak through to re-election.

Tim Walz beating Gil Gutknecht was an intriguing surprise. I didn't mind Gutknecht so much, other than his longstanding support for Bush's Iraq policy. Count him a victim of the national mood.

And the 6th District is sending a nutjob to Congress. That's their right, and it's not like Wetterling was the strongest candidate in the world. But one usually hopes that sanity prevails over looniness. Oh, well; it's only for two years. Maybe Mark Kennedy will reclaim his seat in 2008, or Elwyn Tinklenberg will finally get his chance. Heck, maybe Bachmann will prove to be a reasonable Rep.... sure, and maybe pigs will fly out of my nose.

My overall approach worked, though. Pawlenty keeps his office, but every other statewide office went Democrat, and the Dems took control of the state House while holding on to the state Senate. So Pawlenty will have to do a lot of dealing if he wants to get anything done.

Congratulations to Klobuchar, Ramstad, Bonoff and Benson.

Minnesota, politics, midtopia

Dems fulfill predictions

An amazing night. I was up until about midnight watching the results, but didn't have the time for liveblogging.

First, give credit to the pundits: the general consensus of predictions (including my own) were right on. The Democrats picked up 28 seats in the House and 4 seats in the Senate (Pennsylvania, Missouri, Rhode Island, Ohio), with 2 Senate seats (Virginia and Montana) hanging in the balance. We may yet see a Democratic majority there.

The Dems also picked up 6 governorships, and now control a majority of those, as well as making serious gains at the statehouse level.

Some random thoughts:

Party makeup: On the one hand, I'm disappointed that the Democratic gains took an especially heavy toll on moderate Republicans. That's to be expected, since swing districts are pretty much by definition going to favor moderates in both parties. Santorum was a good scalp, and several Bush lapdogs went down. But Chafee, Steele and the like are the kind of people I'd like to see remain relevant in Republican circles.

Still, consider the long-term trends. In order to win, Democrats veered toward the center, electing conservative and moderate candidates in several key races. And the darling of the Netroots, Ned Lamont, got stuffed by the far more conservative Joe Lieberman. Nancy Pelosi may be liberal, but she will have to lead a caucus that will be decidedly more centrist than the one it replaces.

And as the Democrats grow more moderate, moderate elected Republicans are growing scarce. That will give conservatives and the religious right even more of a hold on the GOP. Unless they find a way to counter that, Republicans may find themselves ideologically purer but increasingly out of power.

Abortion and stem cells: The South Dakota abortion ban was shot down, showing that draconian restrictions on abortion still lack popular support in most of the country. California rejected a waiting period and parental notification for minors. The Missouri stem cell amendment looks like it will barely pass, which would seem to throw doubt on the theory that the amendment helped McCaskill. Arguably it helped Talent, as pro-life forces turned out to defeat the amendment.

Gay marriage: Arizona shot down a bill that would have outlawed civil unions as well as gay marriage. Five states passed bans on both. Two states outlawed gay marriage but not civil unions, though one of those states -- Colorado -- rejected a separate bill that would have legalized civil unions.

Taxes: South Dakota rejected a proposal to limit property tax increases, a Midwest version of California's Proposition 13 -- which has played havoc with that state's finances. South Carolina approved one. Three states rejected a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which would have put strict limits on tax increases. No broad restrictions on taxation power passed.

Eminent domain: Restriction on use of this power, a reaction to the Supreme Court's ruling in the New London case, passed in 9 states, while being rejected in two.

Minimum wage: Proposals to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation passed in all six states where it was on the ballot.

Other initiatives: Voters in South Dakota soundly rejected proposals to strip judges of legal immunity on their rulings. Arizona approved making English the state's official language.

The picture that emerges is one of a centrist electorate that opposes gay marriage (and appears willing to ban civil unions if the two issues are chained together), but generally supports legal abortion and opposes handcuffing government's ability to raise revenue. Voters also support the social safety net, as reflected in the minimum wage proposals. The one place they want to rein in government power is eminent domain.

The administration: Bush, Rove and Ken Mehlman were required to be cheerleaders leading up to this election, but it's worth pointing out just how wrong they were about how things would turn out. Bush stumping in conservative areas and defending his decisions in Iraq probably hurt more than they helped. It may have helped fire up Bush's base, but that base is at 34 percent and falling, and meanwhile coverage of his speeches helped remind people not only of their opposition to the war, but Bush's refusal to concede mistakes or deal with the reality on the ground.

The big question now is how Bush will deal with a Democratic Congress -- and how that Congress will deal with him. Expect a smattering of investigations, as well as bills restricting the President's ability to authorize torture and eavesdropping. But also expect Bush to use his veto pen more. It comes down to whether Bush can get past his innate stubborness and actually compromise, and whether Democrats can get past thoughts of revenge and actually govern. The next few months should be telling, as they'll set the tone for the next two years.

Independents: We've now got two in the Senate: Lieberman and Bernie Sanders. Both have said they'll caucus with the Democrats, but it will be interesting to see what price they demand -- especially if control of the Senate hinges on their decision. Lieberman will probably get the committee assignments he would have gotten had he run and won as a Democrat; but Sanders will have some interesting negotiations. And the GOP may try to bribe Lieberman if the stakes are high enough. Lieberman has said he won't switch caucuses, but we'll see.

Fraud: While there were hiccups, the voting overall appeared to go smoothly. In part that's because most of the margins were beyond dispute. But I haven't seen any credible claims of widespread fraud -- and to their credit, Republicans don't seem to be raising that particular chant.

Turnout: Turnout seemed to be pretty high across the country, with some areas experiencing percentages normally reserved for presidential elections. This is excellent for all sorts of reasons, but the main one is that it dilutes the influence of money, partisanship and the parties' get-out-the-vote operations. That turnout may end up explaining why the GOP's acknowledged advantage in such operations failed to move the needle yesterday -- enough people were mad enough and motivated enough that it simply swamped such partisan efforts.

Money: A lot of money went into this election. According to Opensecrets.org, Congressional candidates raised a total of more than $1.2 billion and spent about $1 billion of that. A lot more money went into state-level races.

But all that money appeared to have a limited effect this year. In Michigan, the GOP candidate for governor spent $35 million of his own money -- and lost. In Rhode Island, the GOP candidate for Senate spent $7 million out of his own pocket -- and lost. In Congressional races, Republicans outspent Democrats by $27 million -- and lost.

The moral: Money helps. But in a race where the issues are stark and well-known, its influence is limited.

Attack ads: I'm not about to suggest this is a trend, but another thing I noticed about this election is the relative ineffectiveness of the usual negative polemics. Republicans trotted out their usual screeds about "liberal" and "tax and spend" and "negotiates with terrorists", but this time around those ads just seemed shrill and weak, not devastating. The optimist in me would like to think that this year was a wake-up call for voters, who have started to see such tactics for what they are -- long on innuendo, short on substance and accuracy, and doing more damage to the speaker than the target.

That's it for now. More later as I get time.

politics, midtopia

Election Day misbehavior

A certain amount of this happens in every campaign. This post will be updated through the day to list this election cycle's shenanigans. I've already commented on the irregularities in Virginia. So without further ado:

In New Jersey: Vandals chained shut the doors of Republican Senate candidate Tom Kean's campaign headquarters, and broke keys off in the locks.

In Colorado Springs: The headquarters of Democratic House candidate Jay Fawcett was sprayed with chemicals that smell like skunk, making it difficult for workers to do their jobs.

In Kentucky: A poll worker was arrested after choking a voter and throwing him out of the polling place. The two had argued over a judicial election.

In Ohio: Someone broke into a polling station in Columbus overnight, causing it to open late. In southeast Ohio, callers have been falsely telling voters that their precinct had changed. There have also been problems and confusion around the new voter ID requirement.

All in all though, things seem to be going smoothly. Voting is a massive process, involving tens of thousands of precincts and millions of voters. While I'll probably have an impressive list in this post by the end of the evening, nothing so far indicates a major problem.

politics, midtopia

Go vote!

Last post of the night, and I won't be back before the polls open. I may try to do some liveblogging on the election, either here or at Donklephant. But I'm playing single dad for a couple of days, so it depends on the time available and the quality of my Internet connection.

But whatever you do, go vote! Stop on your way to work, or school, or the store. Bring the kids along. That's what I'm going to be doing: after putting my oldest daughter on the school bus, the younger one and I are going to exercise our greatest democratic right before I drop her off at preschool and head to work.

Do what you have to do, but vote. Because it matters. It's not just about who wins; margin counts, too. And the higher the turnout, the more the power of the party bases are diluted, and the more candidates have to consider being responsive to all voters, not just their most loyal or well-heeled ones.

Go. Vote. Bring a friend along and make her vote, too. Organize a lunchtime voting expedition at work. Stop at the polls on the way home from work. Make our government hear your voice.

Go. Vote.

politics, midtopia

Voter suppression in Virginia?

Appears so.

Documented incidents of suppression incidents include:

1) Calls that Voting will Lead to Arrest.

2) Widespread Calls, Allegedly from “Webb Volunteers,” Telling Voters that their Polling Location has Changed.

3) Fliers in Buckingham County Say “SKIP THIS ELECTION” (paid for by the RNC) have caused many in the African American community to call the Board of Elections to see if the election is still on. The full tag line says: “SKIP THIS ELECTION… (and then in smaller print): Don’t Let the Tax and Spend Liberals Win.”

4) Voter Machine Problems.

That last includes the main known problem: the fact that the machines leave off Webb's last name.

The link contains an audio file of the arrest threat. And in case you think the call might be genuine, it's not:

State election leaders warned voters Monday to ignore any phone calls claiming to be from registrars or other voting officials.

Jean Jensen, secretary of the State Board of Elections, said no such calls have been authorized by her office or local registrars in Virginia.

These allegations remain somewhat unsubstantiated; it's conceivable all of this is an elaborate Democratic effort to tar Republicans.

Assuming it's true, though, I hope whoever is behind this is caught and convicted. Similar shenanigans (jamming Democratic get-out-the-vote phone lines) led to the bankruptcy of the New Hampshire GOP in the last election cycle. Politics ain't beanball, but slime like this has no place.

politics, midtopia

The Final Sleaze

The closer we get to the wire, the worse it gets.

From New York: The picture: a white woman with a black hand over her mouth. The tagline: "If Democrats gain control of Congress, our values will be destroyed!!" As Andrew Sullivan writes: "The Democrats, in other words, want to let a darker-skinned man rape your white wife."

And while the Fix has a roundup of the best campaign commercials, Slate picks out the slimiest ones. All three are Republican. That could be a reflection of bias on the part of Slate. Or it could be a byproduct of the Republicans having the most to lose, or simply having the three looniest candidates this year.

Me? I've been avoiding answering the phone all day because computers have taken over the communications grid, robocalling me to vote for everybody -- twice, if possible. I feel like an extra in "Terminator 3."

I'm a political junkie, but Lordy, sometimes I think politicians should all be neutered. Or lobotomized. Or muzzled. Or maybe just have their noses shoved in their own poop.

Update: In Maryland, Republicans have sent out a last-minute flier that implies black leaders support Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Senate candidate Michael Steele.

Problem is that none of the three leaders pictured support Ehrlich and only one supports Steele.

Update II: In Utah, one county has more registered voters than people -- and one Republican claims to have 14 voting adults in his household.

politics, midtopia

Stretch run

As we head into Election Day, I'm going to break my no-poll guideline to lay out some indicators and make some observations heading into Tuesday.

First, where is Bush campaigning? In relatively safe conservative areas. If you want an indication of how Republicans really think the election is going, there's one. Sure, Bush has an abysmal approval rating (down to 35 percent) and would likely hurt more than help in competitive areas. But the fact that they feel the need to defend normally "safe" Republican districts is an indication of where the momentum lies.

Second, GOP activists are trying to gin up enthusiasm by talking about "momentum" heading into Tuesday. But what constitutes momentum? Not trailing the Democrats by quite as huge a margin as they did a few days ago.

And even that nerveless definition of momentum appears to be evaporating. Fox News shows Democrats leading Republicans by 13 points; CNN shows a 20-point Dem advantage, and a compilation of several polls shows a 12-point margin.

It seems a virtual certainty that Democrats will take the House, as well make gains among governors and in state legislatures. The only real question now is who will control the Senate. Give the edge to the GOP, because they win a tie. But it will be close.

My predictions? Democrats pick up 25 to 30 House seats, and 5 or 6 Senate seats. But that prediction is worth exactly what you paid for it.

politics, midtopia

Reconstruction auditor gets a stealth pink slip

A recent bill signed by President Bush contains an overlooked provision that fires the auditor charged with overseeing the reconstruction effort in Iraq.

Investigations led by a Republican lawyer named Stuart W. Bowen Jr. in Iraq have sent American occupation officials to jail on bribery and conspiracy charges, exposed disastrously poor construction work by well-connected companies like Halliburton and Parsons, and discovered that the military did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi security forces.

Mr. Bowen’s office has inspected and audited taxpayer-financed projects like this prison in Nasiriya, Iraq.

And tucked away in a huge military authorization bill that President Bush signed two weeks ago is what some of Mr. Bowen’s supporters believe is his reward for repeatedly embarrassing the administration: a pink slip.

During closed-door meetings to reconcile the House and Senate version of the bill, Republican aides working for Rep. Duncan Hunter inserted a clause terminating Bowen's office on Oct. 1, 2007. Neither the House nor Senate versions of the bill contained the provision.

The Republican explanation is that the move allows time to plan a transition to more traditional oversight, through inspectors general in various federal agencies. And the 11-month deadline doesn't exactly cut Bowen off at the knees, although it does mean that by January or so he'll have to start shutting things down, which will hamper his effectiveness for the remainder of his term.

But it does seem to continue a long tradition of hobbling oversight of administration actions. The story notes one such gem:

The criticism came to a head in a hearing a year ago, when Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat, induced the Pentagon’s acting inspector general, Thomas Gimble, to concede that he had no agents deployed in Iraq, more than two years after the invasion.

Given that history, the stealthy way in which the termination was executed doesn't do much to allay such concerns. And even if oversight functions are transferred to other agencies, it's doubtful they will execute the job with as much energy as Bowen has -- which may itself be another reason for the move:

Mr. Bowen’s office has 55 auditors and inspectors in Iraq and about 300 reports and investigations already to its credit, far outstripping any other oversight agency in the country.

On the plus side, revelations about the provision have sparked growing opposition from representatives and senators on both sides of the aisle. But it doesn't excuse the fact that the provision, after being inserted, was agreed to by the conferees. They, at least, should be held accountable for their decision.

I don't have a huge problem with Bowen's office being phased out, although it seems to be a poor idea given how poorly managed our Iraq finances have turned out to be. But the process needs to be conducted in the sunshine, not behind closed doors without telling members what you're doing.

Iraq, politics, midtopia

ACORN voter registration fraud

In Kansas City:

A federal grand jury handed up indictments Wednesday against four people after authorities said they submitted false voter registrations to the Kansas City election board.

The indictments — against Kwaim A. Stenson; Dale D. Franklin; Stephanie L. Davis, also known as Latisha Reed; and Brian Gardner — include two felony counts against each, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

All four defendants worked this year as voter registration recruiters for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN. They could not be reached for comment.

Conservative bloggers are trying to make political hay with this, and to a certain extent they're justified. Voter fraud, whomever commits it, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.

But it's not like anyone is defending this:

ACORN officials said they no longer work for the group. And, they emphasized, ACORN turned in the names of three of the defendants to authorities last month after learning of the problem....

Democratic party spokesman Jack Cardetti said, “We absolutely support the prosecution of anyone who turns in fraudulent registration cards.”

ACORN workers in other states have been similarly charged and in some cases convicted. And there have been some legitimate questions over whether paying registration workers per registration encourages them to turn in fraudulent applications. So the organization certainly deserves scrutiny. But it's a huge group: at least 200,000 members, never mind the people they hire to help with registration drives. So we should be careful about indicting the entire organization based on the actions of a handful of members.

But definitely investigate. People have enough things that make them worry about the integrity of the voting process; we don't need to give them more. And if it turns out the corruption is organizationwide, the entire organization should be held accountable.

ACORN, vote fraud, politics, midtopia

Bush's adobe politics

The previous post on Bush bemoaning mudslinging while engaging in it got me to thinking about his style of rhetoric.

He does one particular thing a lot: He sets up a strawman and then throws mud at it. In past years it was "some people"; this election season he's gotten more specific, aiming at "Democrats" for the most part. It's intellectually lazy, even dishonest. But it lets him look good by defining himself against the worst nightmare caricature of his opposition.

It's such a signature style it deserves a name. And I've got one. Strawman plus mud? Call it adobe politics.

Bush, politics, midtopia

Bush: Do as I say, not as I do

Bush has always been a hard-knuckle campaigner. But rarely is the contrast so jarring as it has been the last couple of days.

From Think Progress:

On Tuesday, in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, President Bush said the worst thing about being President was the "tone" in Washington, saying that it "has gotten ugly." Bush said that he had stayed above the fray, noting "I really don’t think it’s fitting for the president to drag the presidency into that kind of a mudslinging."

The day before, President Bush was on the campaign trail in Georgia. His message: his opponents want America to lose and the terrorist to win.

Has Bush himself joined the crowd that no longer believes a word he says?

I take Think Progress with a grain of salt, but in this case they've posted both the video and transcripts to make their point.

Bush, politics, midtopia

Iraqi men tattoo IDs on their bodies

It's so when they turn up dead, their relatives will be able to identify them even if they've been tortured, mutilated or blown up.

Ali Abbas decided that his upper right thigh was the best place for a tattoo because no one gets tortured there.

He'd seen hundred of bodies in the city morgue and dozens of hospitals during his 18-day search for his missing uncle. He'd seen drill marks in swollen, often unrecognizable heads, slash marks across necks, bullet holes in backs, abdomens and swollen hands. He'd seen bodies that had been thrown into the river, so swollen they'd barely looked human. But by and large, the thighs had been intact.

So that's where he decided to have his name, address and phone number tattooed, in case the day comes when someone is searching for his body.

Tattoos are considered a sin in Islam, which holds that believers shouldn't deface their bodies. And tattoo shops are difficult to find in Baghdad. They're often in the basements of more reputable shops.

But at least some tattoo shops are seeing more and more Iraqis who, like Abbas, are willing to risk offending Islam to ease their families' grief in the event of their deaths. The owner of one tattoo shop in central Baghdad admitted that he'd done such tattoos, but said he didn't want to talk about it for fear that he'd be killed.

Yep, things are going swimmingly. I'm sure the only reason Iraqis are doing this is because Western reporters are underreporting the good news.

politics, midtopia

Racism is dead.... well, not quite.

Out of Miami, another election-eve embarassment for Republicans -- and a reminder that, however much progress we have made, racism remains.

State Rep. Ralph Arza, facing arrest today for participating in expletive-laced threatening phone calls to a Miami Beach lawmaker, resigned his office Wednesday on the steps of Hialeah City Hall and said he would not seek reelection.

Arza made his announcement as prosecutors filed criminal charges of witness interference against both him and his cousin for their calls to Republican Rep. Gus Barreiro on Oct. 21 and 22, just days after Barreiro filed a Florida House rules complaint against Arza for his use of racially disparaging language.

"We had something that usually we find with street criminals, thugs, drug dealers: trying to intimidate a witness," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle said when she announced the charges Wednesday....

At his news conference hours before, Arza surrounded himself with family and friends, and asked for forgiveness for calling Barreiro a racial slur and "bitch."

How can we measure progress? Well, in the following ways: Arza was widely repudiated and forced to apologize and resign his seat. 50 years ago, that wouldn't have been the case.

But such behavior by an elected official also points up how old attitudes die hard. We'll never eradicate racism, merely ameliorate its effects; but such venom from a position of power suggests we still have a long way to go.

racism, Arza, Florida, politics, midtopia

Compare and contrast

Herewith I provide, without comment, two links.

President Bush on Rumsfeld and Cheney:

President Bush said Wednesday he wants Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain with him until the end of his presidency, extending a job guarantee to two of the most-vilified members of his administration.

"Both those men are doing fantastic jobs and I strongly support them," Bush said in an interview with The Associated Press and others.

Meanwhile, in Iraq:

U.S. military commanders assessed two weeks ago that
Iraq was edging toward chaos, according to a classified military chart published in the New York Times on Wednesday.

The chart titled "Index of Civil Conflict" shows a color-coded bar with "peace" marked on the left and "chaos" on the right. An arrow puts the current situation inside the red area on the far right, much closer to chaos than peace.

Draw your own conclusions.

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Iraq, politics, midtopia

Coulter case goes to prosecutors

A new development in the Ann Coulter voting fraud case!

Coulter has refused to cooperate with an election board investigation, so the board will turn the matter over to the state attorney's office this week.

Way to go, Ann. Stonewalling the cops always works so well.

Previous posts are here, here, and here.

For new readers: No, I don't think this is important. But it's always enjoyable to see unpleasant people get their comeuppance.

Coulter, politics, midtopia

Who I'm voting for

In case my opinion carries any weight, here's who I will be voting for next week:

Governor: Peter Hutchinson (I)
House: Jim Ramstad (R, incumbent)
Senate: Amy Klobuchar (D)
State Senate: Terri Bonoff (D, incumbent)
State House: John Benson (D)

Hutchinson stands out as the most thoughtful gubernatorial candidate. Pawlenty's performance has not earned him a second term, and Hatch is long on rhetoric but short on substance.

Ramstad is a moderate Republican who has served the district well. His opponent, Wendy Wilde, has impeccable liberal credentials but little practical experience.

Klobuchar is moderate, smart, and talented. Her opponent, Mark Kennedy, is a deeply conservative Bush lapdog who's about as appealing as Mr. Grumpy himself, Rod Grams.

Bonoff has done a good job in her brief stint in the statehouse. She faces the same opponent -- Judy Johnson -- she did the first time around, and Johnson hasn't provided any reason for voters to think they made a mistake.

Benson has the edge in experience, ideas and education over his affable but green opponent, Dave Johnson.

politics, Minnesota, politics, midtopia

Democratic condescension

This particular trope isn't limited to Democrats, but they happen to be the perpetrators in this instance.

In today's Star Tribune, Lynnell Mickelsen calls on supporters of independent Peter Hutchinson to stop deluding themselves and vote for the Democratic candidate for governor, Mike Hatch. Her closing line:

So, my dear friends, on Nov. 7, buck up and get over yourselves. It's not about you this time. It's about all of us.

Mickelsen has a point: independent candidates, if they don't win, tend to ensure that the candidate most despised by the independent voter will get elected.

But in this case, tough. Pawlenty, while not exactly deserving of a second term, has not been a complete disaster. And Hatch is simply not that impressive. I think he'd do fine as governor, but the gap between him and Pawlenty isn't alarmingly large. The risk of seeing Pawlenty re-elected is worth the chance of putting Hutchinson into office.

But my personal strategy is twofold, because Hatch would, indeed, be my second choice. So if he wins, I'm going to write him and say "This race was far closer than it had to be thanks to Hutchinson siphoning off votes. That's why you need to pass a law legalizing instant-runoff voting. Because in this state, it will almost always be the GOP that benefits from a three-way race. Unless you want to keep seeing GOP candidates win with pluralities, you need to allow voters to prioritize their choices."

Logic would suggest that a Democratic state administration would pursue IRV out of self-interest. I intend to put that logic to the test.

If Pawlenty wins, I'll send the same note. But I won't expect any results, because the GOP knows that the current situation benefits them more than the Democrats. It's not perfect, but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

instant-runoff voting, Pawlenty, Hatch, Hutchinson, Minnesota, politics, midtopia

Sleaze roundup

As we head into the final days before the election, out come the worst sort of attack ads: the ones that won't stand up to scrutiny, so they are released right before the election so they cannot be rebutted in time.

In Colorado: A GOP mailer accuses Democrat Ed Perlmutter of opposing sex-offender notification laws. The bill in question was killed at the request of law enforcement, and Perlmutter helped pass a more comprehensive notification bill the following year.

In Arizona: In a House race, Republican Randy Graf has accused his opponent, Gabrielle Giffords, of engineering a sweetheart land deal with the city of Tuscon -- a charge that appears to be clearly false.

In Virginia: While Democrats fan rumors that Sen. George Allen is a racist domestic abuser who is hiding a criminal record, Allen's campaign has tried to paint challenger James Webb as a sexual deviant based on passages in Webb's bestselling novels.

In Ohio: Republicans accuse Democratic House candidate John Cranley of wanting to use tasers on 7-year-olds.

There's more. FactCheck.org estimates that 90 percent of Republican ads and 80 percent of Democratic ads are negative.

Separately, we have simple political embarassment:

In Washington: John Kerry finally got around to apologizing for his remarks of a couple of days ago. It seems obvious that he simply screwed up an anti-Bush joke, and shame on the Republicans for cynically pushing the issue. But the gaffe -- and his ridiculous response to having it pointed out -- again highlight why he managed to lose to Bush two years ago, and why no Democrats are eager to see him run again. Most, in fact, just wish he would shut up.

In Nevada: A waitress has accused GOP Rep. Jim Gibbons, who is running for governor, of assaulting her. He says he merely helped her when she tripped.

In New York: The Daily News has released details of a 911 call from 2005, in which the wife of GOP Rep John Sweeney said he was "knocking her around the house."

Only six days until it's over.

attack ads, politics, midtopia

Hubble repair mission is a go!

Woo hoo!!

It's scheduled for May 2008. As discussed previously, the repairs will keep it operating until the James Webb telescope comes on line in 2013.

space shuttle, NASA, Hubble, politics, midtopia

The real battle is in the statehouses

While much attention is focused on the federal elections, a more profound change might be underway in state legislatures across the country.

Controlling the statehouses is important for two reasons. One, that's where the future leaders of both parties cut their teeth. Being in control means being able to point to a track record of legislative achievement. It's better practice for governing on a national level than being a perennial opposition party.

More directly, it's the state legislatures that draw Congressional districts after each census. Whichever party controls the statehouses in 2010-11 will be able to draw those districts to their advantage, cementing a decade-long advantage at the national level.

Right now the parties are almost evenly divided. Republicans control both chambers in 20 states; Democrats have that advantage in 19. They are virtually tied in the number of statehouse seats they hold.

If the Democratic wave at the national level is mirrored in local results, Democrats could be poised to take over a solid majority of statehouses. If they retain that control in 2010, it could redraw the political map in their favor.

To be clear, I think gerrymandering is terrible. I've written before about the need to come up with objective formula for drawing districts, and even discussed some proposals for doing exactly that.

So I'm not celebrating the idea of Democrats being able to gerrymander in 2010. But it's hard to overestimate the long-term significance of the local races.

gerrymander, politics, midtopia