8.18.2006

Bucher: "Support Me, I'll Lose to Peg or Kathy by Less!"

This is the definition of desperation:

In a head-to-head match-up with incumbent Peg Lautenschlager, Bucher is merely 6 points away from the incumbent (41%-35), with the margin of error at plus or minus 4 percentage points. He would defeat Lautenschlager with male voters (40%-37). In contrast, Van Hollen loses to Lautenschlager by 20 points
(42%-22).


If that is the best spin they can put on it, this poll and press release tells me if I were a Republican, I'd put my money and energy into a different race.

Now the race is just to see which Democrat will win in November.

I don't know if anyone saw the debate between the two jokers (they both suck, by the way) on PBS ? They were asked how conservative they are, on a scale of 1-10. Tweedledee said he was an 8, while Tweedledum said, in essence, "Oh yea, well I'm a 9!" (I forget which said which, I believe I was making potato'e' salad at the time for a family picnic).

How is this an election strategy. They are fighting to be the farthest out there from the mainstream, yet hope to then secure 51% of the vote in November.

As a proud Democrat, I would like to thank the RPW for these two guys.

Update - Yet another reason Bucher sucks... And here...

Quote of the Day: WAC Edition

From a release from the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, I can only assume they are talking about a certain Rep. Green:

Then the candidate who wants to return from Washington to teach us fiscal conservatism which is like coming from Iraq to teach political moderation) claims he will introduce a real freeze. At what cost? The end of economic development and loss of thousands of jobs.


More:


So here is my request. Tell your homeowners and voters to ask state candidates for two promises. First, I'll stop hurting you. Second, I'll tell you the truth. Local officials live under the laws set by the governor and the state legislature. They control what you do and how much revenue you will have to do it with. I wonder when collectively they will take responsibility for their actions.

I can tell you we have allies in the state legislature. They belong to both parties. I hope the public sends more like them. You know the kind. People who won't shift property taxes from manufacturers and other special interests to homeowners. People who will reject new non-funded mandated spending.

Could These Be Related?

NYTimes - Aug 10th:

Detroit's Answer to $3-$4 Gas: New Muscle Cars

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Aug. 9 - As gasoline prices surge past $3 a gallon in most of the country and closer to $4 in some cities, sales figures show Americans are snapping up small cars that go easier on fuel and on their wallets.

But none of the smallest cars are designed or developed by Detroit companies, which in the face of high gas prices are now highlighting another kind of automobile not usually thought of as energy efficient: the muscle car.

Ford Motor said Wednesday that it planned to build a 325-horsepower version of the Ford Shelby GT. It also plans a big luxury car, the Lincoln MKS, which will become the struggling brand's flagship sedan. The announcement came at an industry conference here sponsored by the Center for Automotive Research.



MSNBC - AUG 18th:

Ford to slash production amid sales slump
Report: Ailing automaker seeks to accelerate turnaround plan


DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. on Friday announced sharp cuts in its North American production that would force it to partially shut down plants in the United States and Canada in the fourth quarter.

The company said fourth-quarter production would be down 21 percent, or 168,000 units, from last year. Third-quarter production will be 20,000 units below what was previously announced.

For the full year, Ford plans to produce about 9 percent fewer vehicles than last year.

8.15.2006

George Will: John Kerry was Right About Fighting Terrorism in 2004

What too him so long?

The London plot against civil aviation confirmed a theme of an illuminating new book, Lawrence Wright's "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11." The theme is that better law enforcement, which probably could have prevented Sept. 11, is central to combating terrorism. F-16s are not useful tools against terrorism that issues from places such as Hamburg (where Mohamed Atta lived before dying in the North Tower of the World Trade Center) and High Wycombe, England.

Cooperation between Pakistani and British law enforcement (the British draw upon useful experience combating IRA terrorism) has validated John Kerry's belief (as paraphrased by the New York Times Magazine of Oct. 10, 2004) that "many of the interdiction tactics that cripple drug lords, including governments working jointly to share intelligence, patrol borders and force banks to identify suspicious customers, can also be some of the most useful tools in the war on terror." In a candidates' debate in South Carolina (Jan. 29, 2004), Kerry said that although the war on terror will be "occasionally military," it is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation that requires cooperation around the world."