That Alaska Senate Seat is Looking, Mighty Good the Lead Expands

Seems like Democratic Candidate, Mark Begich, Mayor of Alaska has taken a lead of 814 against Senator Ted Stevens, that is convicted Senator Ted Stevens.

There is more vote to tally, but it seems that these votes are from districts that lean Begich.

Now, if we can just get the senate seats for Al Franken in Minnesota and Jim Martin in Geogia. The Minnesota race too close to call and Georgia race is heading to a run-off December 2nd.

Alaska .pdf file, here.

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Obama Evening Wrap Up. Who will get Obama's senate seat?

Downtown Chicago

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Who will be appointed to Obama's Senate Seat?

This is the open question around the Chicagoland area.

We saw Obama with Illinois State Director of Veterans Affairs, Tammy Duckworth, yesterday. Her name is swirling around on the short list.

We have Jesse Jackson, Jr. who is on every television show ALLOWED, touting and pushing his interest in this senate seat, and privately stating it should be given to an African-American. Sigh. He even commissioned Zogby to poll citizens of Illinois and though he came out ahead, the poll is dubious. The poll only cites 21% in favor of Jackson, Jr., which means many are not paying attention, yet.

538 has rumor of Illinois State Senate Leader, Emil Jones, being assigned this seat for the last two years of the Obama term. The issue is his age. Mr. Jones is resigning in January, he is 73 years old, and if anyone know Illinois politics he is of the "old school pols" on the track of Daley. Would he be a good choice? Legislatively, yes, politically, I don't know. He would kill two stones. He is African-American, and those that want this seat will have to battle it out in the 2010 primairies.

Others being mentioned are Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), a good choice but her husband was indicted and convicted on federal charges of operating three check kiting schemes that defrauded banks of at least $2.3 million. He served 5 months in federal prison. Don't think this issue won't be brought up on the trail? It will.

Another name being touted is Dan Seals. He lost his second congressional battle against Mark Kirk (R-IL-10). He too, would fill the void of being African-American, mirrors Obama quite a bit, and is much younger. But, he is a dark horse candidate.

Governor Blagojevich (D-IL) will have the final call on who will replace Obama, but let us not think or believe that Obama will not have any input, he will.

Read more on Obama's replacement, here.

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This is why Joe Lieberman, should not retain his chairmanship.



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Minnesota, Alaska and Georgia Senate Update

I lived in Minnesota for 6 years, it is a state of independence. Remember, they voted Jesse Ventura for Governor.

Al Franken is poised to probably win this seat. Probably.

When Minnesotans woke up last Wednesday, Republican Senator Norm Coleman led Mr. Franken by 725 votes. By that evening, he was ahead by only 477. As of yesterday, Mr. Coleman's margin stood at 206. This lopsided bleeding of Republican votes is passing strange considering that the official recount hasn't even begun.

Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) has twice announced that he was the winner. Even asking Al Franken to concede and not allow a recount, but that request is out of Coleman's hands. Minnesota's law is mandatory recount if under 1% and this race is under 1%.

Coleman even went to court to try to stop 32 ballots from being counted, the judge denied the request.

Coleman's real fear is the undervote that will be examined by the recount/canvass board starting next week. All ballots will go through a hand recount next week. Many of these undervote ballots are in Hennepin (Minneapolis), Ramsey (St. Paul) and St. Louis (Brooklyn Center) counties, all strong holds of Democratic voters.

But Coleman has other problems. A group in Minnesota is requesting an FBI investigation into allegations that Sen. Norm Coleman's family received $75,000 in potentially illegal payments from a friend and benefactor. This was cited in a debate in Minnesota in which Coleman targeted Franken for attacking his wife, but Franken stated that he was not attacking his wife, but Coleman's "political sugar daddy." Yes, only in Minnesota.

Both Coleman and Franken are getting lawyered up, expect this to go to court after the hand recount. Florida anyone?

As for Alaska.

We all know Senator Ted Stevens was convicted, and is now a felon. He could not even vote for himself. We also know, if he wins this seat the senate is talking about expulsion. And he should be kicked out. We can't have a senator walking around capitol hill who is convicted, what kind of message is that sending? He has already been called upon to resign by colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Well, the Democratic Candidate, Mark Begich was 3500 votes behind. Alaska has NOW started to count the upwards of 100,000 early vote and absentee ballots, now Begich is 971 behind, Anchorage Daily now reporting Begich is up by 3 votes. Begich was in the lead in polling up to the day of the election, by many organizations and many was wondering what the hell happened for Stevens being ahead. Well, since the votes are being counted, Begich just might win this seat.

Update: here

And Georgia.

Lastly, the Georgia Senate Seat is going for a December 2nd runoff. The law in Georgia is that the candidate must get 50% of the vote.

The tough part for the Democratic Candidate, Jim Martin, is to get everyone to vote again, in fact that may be an issue for Senator Saxby Chambliss.

The Obama Campaign are sending staff to Georgia and have their offices open. Will Obama make an appearance? I don't know. That could be a double edge sword, we are talking about Georgia.

It would rev up the black vote, but also rev up the voters who did not vote Obama.

This is stictly a GOTV runoff, whoever get their voters to the polls will win this thing.

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Memory Lane: Barack in Indiana, May 2008

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and.............

Christmas Shopping Season Looking Terrible

Biden picks his Chief of Staff

Future First Family People Magazine Spread

Thousands of Alaska Ballots Found

Obama Team Bans Lobbyists From Transition

Obama Barber Pays House Call

Biden and Cheney to meet tomorrow

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Obama Morning Break. This is not over.

Barack in Pittsburgh, PA

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Not over.

Does anyone believe this is over? Not with a skinny guy, from Illinois, with a name of Barack Obama. It.is.not.over.

In fact, I expect everyone to have huge intensity for the next seven days. Why? In Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania the Republican 527s are running a new Reverend Wright ad, and it could be effective. How effective? I don't know, but it could move a point or two in polling. This is why it was important for Obama to refuse public financing for his campaign, it allows him to refute ads like this with his own. And he is outspending McCain on the average of 3:1 in these battleground states on advertising. Vitally important.

If you are in a state that allows early voting, please do so. Remember, the race is not over until the votes are counted. Also, work this campaign, all the information is to your left under, 'About Barack Obama.'

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Full Video of Barack Obama's Closing Argument Speech


Transcript

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Stevens verdict likely to inch Dems closer to 'magic 60′

Ted Steven's guilty verdict Monday afternoon could mean the end of the Alaska lawmaker's 40-year tenure in the Senate and serve to inch the already emboldened Democratic Party closer to 60 seats in the Senate, recent polls of the Alaska race suggest.

In an Ivan Moore Research poll of the Alaska Senate race conducted earlier this month, entirely before the verdict was handed down, Stevens and Democratic challenger Mark Begich were statistically tied. Several other recent surveys have also suggested the race is neck-and-neck.

But the prospect of Stevens, first elected to the Senate in 1968, facing a tough reelection race was unthinkable only a few months ago. After all, the last Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Alaska is former presidential candidate Mike Gravel. Gravel served two terms, from 1969 to 1981, before embarking on his unsuccessful presidential bid 26 years later. Stevens is also an icon in the state, responsible (and now infamous) for securing billions of federal dollars for the state, including the ill-fated "bridge to nowhere." continue

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Michelle in Las Vegas, Nevada

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Oh, Brother, Now Obama is Compared to the 'Third Reich'

It is crap like this that have many voters saying, "Enough".

More than 75,000 Jews throughout the Keystone state got an email Thursday from the “Republican Federal Committee of PA – Victory 2008” that compares a victory by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., to Nazi victories before the Holocaust.

“Jewish Americans cannot afford to make the wrong decision” the email said, making a number of false or misleading assertions about Obama and adding that “Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake. Let's not make a similar one this year!"

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and a Holocaust survivor, condemned the email.

“Ugly, divisive personal attacks against a candidate for any political office should never be acceptable, and using Holocaust analogies is completely beyond the pale," Foxman said. "Regardless of which candidate one supports, it is shocking and profoundly distressing that anyone would see fit to make such an odious, false and repugnant analogy. Not only does it further debase the level of our political discourse, but it also diminishes and trivializes the virulent anti-Semitism and Nazi aggression that led to the slaughter of six million Jews and millions of others.” continue

The Republican Party is showing itself to be a party of non-inclusive. This is a reason that many will lose their seats in congress, next week.

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and................

ATF foiled plot to assassinate Barack Obama

RNC buying time for West Virginia and Montana, polling showing Obama is closing in; but McCain cuts ads in Minnesota

Michelle on The Tonight Show

End of Battle Centers on Turf Bush Carried

The Next New Deal

McCain Largely Trying To Defend Traditionally GOP States

Morning Reaction: Internal GOP Poll has McCain Only +3 in AZ

Dems in GOP strongholds get Obama boost

Campaign Appearances
get information on rsvp, time from barackobama.com

Today

Barack: Chester, PA; Harrisonburg, VA; Norfolk, VA

Michelle: Las Vegas, NM; Colorado Springs, CO

Joe: Melbourne, FL; Ocala, FL;

Hillary: Manchester, NH; Pelham, NH

Tomorrow

Barack: Raleigh, NC; Sunrise, FL

President Clinton: Harrisburg, PA

Barack and President Clinton: Kissimmee, FL

Michelle: Rocky Mount, NC

Joe: Jupiter, FL

Thursday

Barack: Columbia, MO

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Status of the Race, 7 days out



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Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, GUILTY AS CHARGED

What does this mean?

It means this seat can go democrat, that is what it means. But will it? Stevens has a history of bringing home the "bacon" for his state, i.e., earmarks. Don't think people won't think about that.

In the end, he is a convicted felon. Don't forget it was Stevens who wanted this trial before the election, he pushed for this. Well, now his nightmare has come true, convicted.

Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history and patriarch of Alaska politics, was convicted Monday of all seven felony charges for making false statements.

The verdict could spell an ignominious end to the political career of a man who rose to be one of the most dominant figures in the Senate and helped transform Alaska in its 50 years of statehood.

Jurors deliberated from scratch Monday morning with the addition of an alternate juror, and in little more than five hours delivered a unanimous verdict on all counts. The verdict comes just eight days before Stevens faces the toughest reelection bid of his four-decade career.

Shortly before 4 p.m., the jury convicted the 84-year-old senator for making false statements by failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts from Bill Allen, the former head of Veco Corp., and other friends.

In a packed courtroom, Stevens appeared expressionless, holding his stomach while the verdict was read. The courtroom was silent as the powerful Republican's fate was read to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The senator left the courtroom without taking questions and was shuttled into a white van waiting for him and his team of attorneys.

Stevens has yet to indicate if he will appeal the charges. continue

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Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) Indicted...

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I knew this was coming. This is the man who got funding for Alaska for the "bridge that went nowhere" and cost tax payers MILLIONS.

Alaska is like Ohio. The Republicans are mired in corruption and scandal. This is an opportunity for the Democrats to pick this senate seat up. Mark Begich, the Mayor of Anchorage is running a good campaign out there against Stevens. Also, from polling the race is tight.

All the information is here fromn Sharon Jumper and brownsox.

Remember, this is just not about voting Barack Obama to the presidency, this election is pivotal to increasing and expanding seats in congress.

This indictment is bad news for the Republicans.

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