Archive for Presidential Race
Oh No.
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I don’t have time for a proper post about this, but here’s the skinny from MSNBC:
In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down laws that banned corporations from using their own money to support or oppose candidates for public office.
By 5-4 vote, the court overturned federal laws, in effect for decades, that prevented corporations from using their profits to buy political campaign ads. The decision, which almost certainly will also allow labor unions to participate more freely in campaigns, threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states.
It leaves in place a ban prohibiting corporations and unions from directly contributing funds to candidates for any use.
In a statement, President Barack Obama said that the decision gives ‘a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics.’ The president pledged to work with Congress to ‘develop a forceful response’ to the court’s ruling.
What’s your take on the ruling?
Liveblogging the Dawning of a New Era
Posted by: | CommentsScrutiny Hooligans Year In Review
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Scrutiny Hooligans had a great year in 2008, averaging over 12,000 unique visitors per month and with a roof-blowing 26,000+ in October. The commenter community is consistently witty, thoughtful, and informative. This blog has helped to educate, advocate, and empower Ashevillains of all political stripes while providing a forum unavailable anywhere else.
Before we cross Father Time’s threshold into ought-nine, it seems right and virtuous to have a look back at the posts and themes that helped to make 2008 a banner year for Scrutiny Hooligans.
The General Election in Six Minutes, Nine Seconds
Posted by: | CommentsMonday Stuff You’re About To Know
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{Picture taken by a cat. Story here.}
Happy Monday, Hooligans. I hope y’all had a wonderful weekend in this bracing weather. Mine was full of citrus, parties, Rock Band, disc golf, and more. The week’s back at us, and it’s a couple of weeks before we can go into Holiday Mode. Here are some fun links to keep you up to speed.
“Dollar Bill” Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat who got busted with ninety grand in his freezer, was defeated by Republican Ahn “Joseph” Cao. Good riddance to that sleazy guy. Â Democrats still have a net gain of twenty seats because of Mary Jo Kilroy’s victory in Ohio. Â
Via Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire comes this scathing interview by The Independent titled, “Mark Penn – The man who blew the presidency”.  Fun excerpt:
“Â So why did Penn say in a memo of March 2007 that Obama was unelectable? “Huh. No. It doesn’t say that at all.” Yes it does, if the facsimile published by Atlantic Monthly magazine is correct. The great communicator appears thrown. “Those memos, right, that came out, were really … er, were really, I think, show you, you know, just a piece, because … a small part, a piece of how we were looking to, I think, set up or solve the fact that he was a very strong candidate.”
Right. Now, you could say it is unfair to run every pause and splutter in a sentence like that, but it does give a sense of Mark Penn floundering. There is sweat on his top lip. The same memo shows how spectacularly he failed to see that Obama was in tune with the times: “All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting that in a new light. Save it for 2050.”
Ouch.
Asheville Arts, Developers, and Voters
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While the bloggui’s got me, take these excellent links and do with them what you will:
Diane Ruggiero, Asheville’s Superintendent of Cultural Arts, has started blogging at ARTSBLOG. From her inaugural post:
“I think I am the only “bureaucrat†(notice the lower-case “bâ€) guest blogger. As I blog, I hope to share an alternate point of view to certain issues and explore the role of a municipality in the arts. I also feel that what we’ll notice are a lot of similar challenges and concerns. I’ll also just blog some fun stuff every now and then.
I’m looking forward to “talking†with all of you.
Tomorrow from 11:30-1, the City Manager’s office will present a development forum. It’s open to the public and will have presentations from all sorts of City staff. Here’s a link to the Powerpoint they’ll let fly. It’s an interesting rehash of what the City Council heard a couple of weeks ago with some extras about Developer Services.
Lastly, faithful reader and friend Undercover Blue sent this sobering look at how Buncombe County precincts voted in regard to the presidency. Â It underscores what David Roat wisely opined in the New York Times. Â Asheville is a blue oasis. Â Drive outside the city limits, and things change fast.
Friday Open Thread – Checking Out
Posted by: | CommentsI’m going to do a little work this morning then abscond to the mountains of Virginia for three days of internet-free R&R. Riding ATVs, shooting guns, drinking moonshine, and howling at the moon – just like a real American.
I haven’t had the energy or inclination to do some big wrap-up or analysis of the election. You can find those on every bloggy corner of the internet though, can’t you?
Here are some fun maps to have a look at:
Obama Picks Up Another One
Posted by: | CommentsObama got Nebraska’s last Elector. They split the electors in that state.
355 365.
Sorry no link, I got a call from a dependable source to let me know.
Barack Obama Wins North Carolina
Posted by: | Comments2,123,334 – Obama
2,109,281 – McCain
To everyone who cast a ballot, you brought NC into the blue for the first time in a generation, and you put Barack Obama over the magic number of 350 electoral votes, making this election an honest-to-God landslide.
