Communiqué for the Week of October 9, 2007:
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Thursday, October 11, 2007
Trolling for Suckers, You are all exposed
Trolling for Suckers, You are all exposed www.ip2location.com
Ok Marshall, lets talk about real lack of security, who at the Utah Democratic Party forgot to turn on the security feature of site meter? It’s been really fun collecting all the access information since the sock puppet site went live. I especially love the anonymous post comments that can be tied directly to their IP address.
As far as all my domains, (I own hundreds by the way) they are all sub accounts under my main domain “thespyglass” so of course spyglass is listed, it is on all of them.
Hide the directory, what for, I’ve nothing to hide, and what better flashing, shining lure to a newbie is a directory listing. Your repeated attempts to get access was quite amusing, of course everything you tried to do I have documented. Some of you were pretty creative, but what did your discover “NOTHING”
What exactly do I do for a living people? What does my Blogsite say I do? What did I tell people who replied to my email I was going to do with the information?
First let’s talk about the law:
Prohibited by law from making any “expenditures from public funds” or providing anything of value to influence the outcome of any election. U.C.A. §§ 20A-11-1203(1), -1202(3) (defining “expenditure”), -1202(5)(a) (defining “influence”), and -1202(9)(a) (defining “public entity”). In other words, it is not only morally wrong for school districts and their subunits to utilize taxpayer funds and taxpayer-provided resources to peddle their point of view, it is a crime.
Email sent to Teachers and Government Employees
You are receiving this email because of your connection to education
here in
We have no way of telling how you feel on this issue, but if you support our cause to defeat this pro-voucher movement we would ask you to reply to this email. Additionally we would warn educators to not use their
If you support our cause, we ask you to provide a personal email
address, name and contact number so we can keep you informed. If you do
not support our efforts, do nothing. We will assume a non-reply to mean
that you wish no further contact from our organization.
Email sent to Political and Policy Activists
You are receiving this email because of your active involvement in politics and policy here in
We have no way of telling how you feel on this issue, but if you support our cause to defeat this pro-voucher movement we would ask you to reply to this email so we can build an action list of anti-voucher supporters. We ask you to provide a personal email address, name and contact number so we can keep you informed.
There is a website that we would like you to see and post comments about some of the articles. The most recent posting about an abc news story must be put down before it receives traction.
The Website is http://vouchernews.blogspot.com/
Latest email sent to those who responded to the above
Please go to these websites and post comments to tell these pro voucher people what Utahans’ for Public School really think.
http://vouchernews.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post.html
http://politicalspyglass.blogspot.com/2007/10/tension-between-legislature-state.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
This is what I’ve been doing since the 1980’s folks. You may not like what I do, but I’m very good at what I do. I probably have the most accurate anti-voucher email list available here in
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The Spyglass Spots The Giuliani prospect
Rudy Giuliani possesses strenghts as a presiential candidate that rightly make him a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination. He may be the most accomplished municipal leader in American history, with a record he compiled while facing down the steady opposition of the New York Times and other malefactors. The qualities of leadership he displayed as mayor are remarkable. And he has emerged as a leading candidate because of his strength on issues of national security. He seems to be the candidate with the best chance of winning a national election on a playing field tilted toward the Democratic candidate.
Yet Mayor Giuliani's social liberalism remains a liability with the social conservatives who have formed an essential part of the Republican coalition. Social conservative leaders such as James Dobson threaten to support a third-party candidate. In the course of two good columns -- here (last week's "The GOP needs a survival instinct") and here (today's "Electoral pragmatism reconsidered"), Tony Blankley has instructed conservatives in the prudential considerations that may dictate subordination of their primary political concerns to the survival of their coalition with the Republican Party. The upshot of Blankley's teaching is this:
Every faction within the GOP coalition should agree immediately to make no further demands of their party. Just as the liberals did in 1991 and 1992, the conservatives of 2007 and 2008 simply should let their strongest candidate campaign in a way most likely to gain victory. Every conservative principle thereby would be safer than if heavy demands yield a Hillary presidency. Given the grotesque irresponsibility of the national Democrats, keeping them out of the White House should be the first calling of every patriotic conservative.I agree with this, and it is my approach to the Republican field. I watch and wonder who would be the strongest candidate in a difficult year. I am happy to sit back and let my fellow Republicans sort out the candidates in the upcoming primaries, trusting that many Republicans share my primary concerns.
Nevertheless, the same prudential considerations in which Blankley instructs Republican voters apply to Republican candidates. If you want to lead the party to national victory, find a way to enlist the party's core voters in your cause (without alienating the independent voters without whom victory is impossible). Mayor Giuliani seems not to have done this, preeminently on the subject of abortion. Perhaps it is not possible for him to do. But I should think that it would have been possible for him to say what is implicit in his comments on selecting judges -- that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided -- and that the issue of abortion should be returned to the states, where it was when the Supreme Court upset the applecart in 1973. Or perhaps Mayor Giuliani offers the formulation of his approach to selecting judges as the ground on which he can meet social conservatives halfway. I have to say that, contemplating the retirement of several Supreme Court justices during the next presidential term, it satisfies me if he means it.
I am afraid that not even this would satisfy Amherst's Professor Hadley Arkes. Professor Arkes has been one of the leading intellectual lights in the constellation of pro-life conservatives, an architect of the legislation protecting partially born infants. In his talk on social issues and the Republican Party at the APSA/Claremont panel in Chicago over Labor Day weekend, Professor Arkes argued:
Now with Mr. Giuliani we would have the advent of a candidate whose ascension in the party would mark the end of the Republican party as the pro-life party in our politics. Over the last twenty years the pro-life movement has sought a series of measures quite modest, moving step by step, with the object of putting the right to abortion “in the course of ultimate extinction,” to borrow a phrase from Lincoln. But the object of that design, put in place by Giuliani, would be to put the pro-life movement itself in the course of ultimate extinction.As if to confirm Professor Arkes's observation, Mayor Giuliani's comments on abortion posted on his Giuliani 2008 Web site, Mayor Giuliani devotes himself largely to the subject of pornography.
Professor Arkes wondered in the course of his remarks whether it would be better to lose with Romney than to win with Giuliani. Better for whom? My notes don't reflect whether Professor Arkes specified, but it was there that he lost me. It seemed to me to be lacking in the prudence Blankley counsels in his thoughtful (if not entirely persuasive) columns.
To comment on this post, go here.
The False Contorversy Over Rush Limbaugh
I didn’t take it personally.
I happen to agree with Rush that many conservatives in Washington lost their way and we needed to clean house.
I believe Rush was the single most important factor in conservatives retaking the House in 1994. Given that kind of power, it is obvious why Rush is being attacked. The left rightly hates Rush.
In the case of Rush’s “phony soldiers” comment, perhaps Senator Reid, after his performance on the Senate floor, should consider a new line of work as an actor in Hollyweird. Such umbrage about America’s brave soldiers from a man who, not long ago, declared the war lost, is political chutzpah worthy of a Daily Show segment.
I personally believe the war is well on its way to being won.
With successes being reported throughout Iraq, what is the left doing?
As I write this, the Pelosi majority are attempting to apply United States criminal law to Blackwater USA and other private security firms in Iraq. What’s next? Supplying Moqtada al-Sadr with a taxpayer funded trial lawyer? The same people who clamor for a “diplomatic and political solution” are trying to hamstring the very people who have a 100% success rate in protecting diplomats. If this makes no sense to you, you may have what it takes to be a free-thinking conservative.
So when Rush takes on one of their erstwhile heroes, like Jesse MacBeth, who will be serving time for lying to the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the phantom that the left hoped and prayed was telling the truth, Scott Thomas Beauchamp, they try to play bait and switch with the American people and conflate their loathing of a strong America with Limbaugh’s loathing of phony soldiers. When the public affairs officer in Iraq announced, “An investigation has been completed and the allegations made by PVT Beauchamp were found to be false,” the folks at Media Matters must have cried into their carbon neutral tissues.
Are there phony soldiers? Yes. Congress had Wes Cooley. Utah had a one term Congressman in the 50’s who exaggerated his heroics as well. Anyone who watched the clip of Rush’s comments know he was moderating intense feeling. You could see the anger and frustration on his face as he distinguished between real heroes, unsung heroes, and quiet heroes who are winning this war, with phony heroes.
It is amazing to me that the left has been able to create a furor over this. It is facially false. Maybe the politicians on the left are just auditioning for a new career. Let’s hope so. They seem to have the same acting capacity as some of our best Hollywood stars. They ought to be making millions. Why aren’t they rushing to the left coast?
Chris Cannon is a Republican Congressman from Utah.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Giuliani: Firm hold on national polling (not in Iowa)
Giuliani: Firm hold on national polling (not in Iowa)
by Mark Silva
From that national perspective of who's on top and who's not, Republican Rudy Giuliani remains on top of the GOP pack of presidential candidates.
This overlooks the fact that Republican Mitt Romney fares better in the latest survey of Iowans likely to turn out for the nation's first nominating caucuses in January -- yet Romney has not gained any traction on the national stage, the Gallup Poll reports.
As the Republican candidates prepare to face off again today, this time in Dearborn, Mich., the newest Gallup Poll shows that Giuliani stands 12 points stronger among Republicans nationally than former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson -- who will make his first appearance on the party's debate stage this afternoon -- and 16 points ahead of Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
The poll finds former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee moving within two points of Romney, whose nationwide support among Republicans remains mired in single digits.
In his summary of "The Race as of Oct. 9,'' Gallup Editor-in-chief Frank Newport reports:
"The basic structure of the national Republican race for president has remained relatively stable since early September. If there has been a change of note over the last several months, it has been the failure of Mitt Romney to capitalize on his mini-surge when he won the Iowa straw poll in early August,'' - again, bypassing talk of Romney's gain in Iowa polling.
"John McCain has, at the same time, recovered his standing after slipping in August,'' Newport says of his Oct. 4-7 survey. "There has been a slight but steady increase in support for Mike Huckabee, despite his very low name identification.''
For more, see the Gallup Poll reporl:
McCain: Retool Jobs Programs
McCain: Retool Jobs Programs
DETROIT (AP) — John McCain on Tuesday proposed updating the unemployment system and retooling training programs to help people who have lost their jobs — particularly older workers — adapt to a changing economy.
"Change is hard, and while most of us gain, some industries, companies and workers are forced to struggle with very difficult choices," the Republican presidential candidate said as he espoused free-market principles in a state that leads the nation in unemployment.
"But it is government's job to help workers get the education and training they need for the new jobs that will be created by new businesses in this new century," McCain added.
In a broad speech to the Detroit Economic Club, the Arizona senator promised to rein in runaway federal spending, simplify the tax code, help U.S. industries become more competitive and control spiraling health care costs. Speaking in the home state of the Big Three U.S. automakers, McCain also called for increasing fuel efficiency standards while maintaining auto safety.
"We can't keep this level of gas guzzling and make a strong impact on our dependence on foreign oil. It's a national security issue," McCain said in response to a post-speech question about gas mileage requirements. His remarks were met with silence from a skeptical audience. "I noticed no applause," he said with a chuckle before a few people obliged.
McCain spoke to about 500 members of the group hours before joining eight GOP opponents in nearby Dearborn, Mich., for a debate primarily on economic issues. The setting was fitting. Michigan's unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in August; the nation's was 4.6 percent.
In the speech, McCain slapped at his rivals generally, scolding them for "claiming to understand the finer nuances of markets and management. In fact, success has nothing to do with fancy theory." He said free people are the strongest economic force in the country.
As he does routinely, McCain also assailed Democrats and accused their party's presidential front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton, of backing dangerous economic policies.
"I will not let the Democrats roll back the Bush tax cuts," said McCain, who voted against the president's tax cuts but now supports them because he says that repealing them would amount to a tax increase.
Separating himself from Bush, McCain criticized federal programs intended to aid displaced workers, and called for:
_Overhauling the unemployment insurance program so that it can retrain, relocate and assist workers to find new jobs.
_Replacing a half-dozen outmoded and redundant jobs programs with a single system and drawing on the success of community colleges that he says does a better job than the federal government of giving workers skills they need.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hd9VdSLMH1-mCdHBntxXFOjLhcvQD8S5PF6O0Fred is Fading Fast
October 8, 2007
Fred is Fading (Dick Morris)
Scott Rasmussen’s daily tracking poll catalogues a candidacy in trouble as it chronicles Fred Thompson’s descent over the past two weeks in the polls as his candidacy increasingly comes to resemble the old U.S. Vanguard rocket, which would go three feet up in the air before crashing back down on the launching pad (circa 1958).
Rasmussen, who uses a tight screen to identify core Republican primary voters, has always had Thompson higher than any of the other polling organizations. These other firms, like Gallup, use a looser screen, which may let in more people who are not definitely going to vote in GOP primaries. (Neither one is clearly right or wrong, but the one likely understates turnout while the other probably overstates it. Take your pick.)
Rasmussen has Thompson losing a fifth of his vote share between Sept. 25 and Oct. 5, dropping from 27 percent to 21 in the national GOP head-to-head contest:
Rasmussen shows Thompson drop
Date Thompson Vote Share
Sept. 25 27%
Sept. 26 26%
Sept. 27 26%
Sept. 28 24%
Sept. 29 26%
Sept. 30 25%
Oct. 1 25%
Oct. 2 24%
Oct. 3 22%
Oct. 4 22%
Oct. 5 21%
All his missteps and his laid-back style of campaigning is taking a toll on the early enthusiasm with which his candidacy was received.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Mark Towner's Spyglass Spots: Thompson on the Trail
Since entering the 2008 presidential fray last month, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has admitted he's a "little rusty" when it comes to debating but he has also promised to do it "early and often." He'll make his debate debut in Michigan Tuesday, standing side-by-side with his GOP rivals for the first time.
The actor and lawyer was absent from last month's debate, which was attended by the wide field of Republican candidates, opting to upstage his party rivals that evening by instead announcing his candidacy on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Thompson also skipped a PBS-sponsored debate at Morgan State University, which the other leading GOP candidates -- former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain -- also missed.
The last time Thompson seriously prepped for election debates was more than a decade ago as a Tennessee senator. According to his campaign, to prepare for Tuesday's verbal sparring with the Republican pool, Thompson has been practicing at home in mock debate sessions with campaign advisers, including former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, according to his campaign.
"He's never going to be as slick as some of the other candidates, or as politically correct as some of the other candidates. But he will be the most authentic," said Thompson communications director Todd Harris. "With Fred Thompson, what you see is what you get."
Thompson himself has been playing the expectations game by downplaying his much anticipated performance. At a press conference in Chicago last Thursday, Thompson spoke matter of factly, describing himself as someone who doesn't like to play by the rules.
"I'm just going to the best that I can. I am a little -- probably a little rusty -- on my sound bite responses," Thompson said. "I'm not used to playing by strict rules, you know, either on the Senate floor or in the courtroom or any place like that."
Indeed Thompson often chooses his own script in public appearances, which has caused several verbal missteps in his first weeks of his candidacy. In his folksy stump speeches, he speaks unguided by notes, often casting broad overviews of issues.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Giuliani predicts 'formidable' Clinton-Obama Democratic ticket
4 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, frontrunner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, is predicting that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will team up to form the Democrats' White House ticket, US media reported Sunday.
"I believe she will be the nominee, and Senator Obama will be the vice presidential nominee," Giuliani said in remarks reported by the Washington Post.
"That's the candidacy we are going to be facing, and that is a very formidable candidacy," he said in an interview conducted late last week.
Clinton, who is vying to make history by becoming America's first woman president, has opened up a sizeable lead over the rest of the Democratic field, including Obama, who aspires to be the first African American president.
Many political observers agree with Giuliani that the former first lady is opening up a sizeable lead for the Democratic nomination.
The ex-mayor's prediction of an eventual Obama vice-presidential nod goes against conventional wisdom, however.
"He's kind of earned it," Giuliani said. "He brings a kind of enthusiasm to the ticket that everyone desires and likes to have."
He called Republicans "underdogs" in the 2008 race for the White House and said the party would have to abandon its "old playbook" if it hopes to win in the election, 13 months away.
That old strategy -- which Giuliani said would lead his party to "sure defeat" -- would "rule out" 15 to 20 states, "concentrate on the base" and hope to win the key swing states of Ohio and Florida.
"We have to have a candidate that can run in all 50 states," said Giuliani, who also has said he is the Republican contender with the best chances of beating Clinton in a head-to-head match-up.
"We should give ourselves the best chance to win," he said.
GOP Wants Craig to Go
GOP Wants Craig to Go
Sunday, October 7, 2007 2:45 PM
By: Ronald Kessler
Sen. Larry Craig’s decision to remain in the Senate has outraged Republican senators, who hope to force out the disgraced senator.
When Craig spoke with Republican colleagues after announcing his decision, only two of the 45 senators present applauded his defense of his conduct in a men’s room at the Minneapolis airport, according to one source.
“Members are making it known publicly and privately that they think he should resign,” said an aide to a key Republican member. “He is being treated as a pariah. When senators see him, they walk in the other direction. He is bringing down the party and providing Democrats with an issue. He is embarrassing the whole Senate by remaining. It is an act of pure selfishness.”
Craig, 62, was arrested June 11 in a men's room in the Minneapolis airport by an undercover officer. The officer said Craig exhibited behavior consistent with seeking a sexual encounter. On Aug. 1, he pleaded guilty by mail to disorderly conduct.
The Idaho senator first said he intended to resign on Sept. 30. After some prodding from Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, Craig then said he would remain in the Senate as his legal case continued.
Last week, Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter ruled: “Because the defendant’s plea was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence ... the defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied.”
Craig then changed course again, saying he does not plan to leave office until his term expires in January 2009.
“I am innocent of the charges against me,” he said in a statement.
“Senator Craig gave us his word” that he would resign by Sept. 30 if he could not overturn the guilty plea, said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who chairs the GOP campaign committee overseeing next year’s Senate elections. “I wish he would stick to his word.”
“It’s embarrassing for the Senate; it’s embarrassing for his party,” Ensign said.
Asked for his opinion, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said, “You don’t want to know what I really feel.” DeMint is chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, a caucus that includes the majority of the Republican Conference, the organization of all Republican senators.
Shunned though he is, Craig has a few defenders, including Republican Sens. Michael D. Crapo, also of Idaho, and Specter. Both said Craig was within his rights to remain and try to clear his name. “Senator Craig is entitled to make his decision and I respect it,” Specter said. “Disorderly conduct is not moral turpitude, and it is no basis for leaving the Senate.”
While the U.S. Constitution provides that two-thirds of the members of the House or Senate may expel one of its members, since 1789 the Senate has expelled only 15 members, all but one for supporting the Confederacy. Yet, said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., “Clearly, his ability to serve his people was severely compromised.”
The bipartisan Senate ethics panel is gearing up for possible hearings into Craig’s case, a step requested by Republican leaders when they were trying to persuade the senator to step down. Some senators hope that the prospect of tough hearings will lead him to resign. But Craig is said to be oblivious to warnings or advice from friends and advisors.
If the hearings are public and air still more seamy details, it will mark another setback for the GOP.
© 2007 NewsMax. All rights reserved.
http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/craig_resign_specter_GOP/2007/10/07/38880.html
Saturday, October 06, 2007
The Winning Ticket for the GOP, Giuliani and Romney
The real question is will they bash each other so badly before Super Duper Tuesday that they will not be able to reconcile. I hope not, and let me explain.
I very much want to see Mitt Romney as the President of the United States someday, but it’s not going to happen this cycle. What with all the positives going for Mitt, the current voting population over 50 will simply not elect a Mormon as President right now.
However, electing Rudy as President and Mitt as his Vice President will fly right now. Eight years as Vice President will allow the people of America to get to know the person, feel comfortable with the Mormon faith, and more importantly many of the 60-80 year old anti-Mormon voters will have moved on to their respective eternal destinies.
As with civil rights for blacks in the 60’s, Women’s rights in the 70’s and 80's, and Gay rights today, time will alter the paradigm of bias including that of Religion.
Mitt Romney’s opportunity to lead the country will come thru the office of Vice President. Then nobody can say a Mormon can’t be elected President.
MANCHESTER, N.H., Oct. 5 — The two men were both leaders in liberal bastions. They both once held positions heretical to Republican Party orthodoxy. And they are both campaigning in large measure on their competency and ability to change Washington.
Now Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mitt Romney are engaging each other like never before in the towns and villages of New Hampshire, from Derry to Nashua. It is a state where Mr. Romney’s regional appeal, bolstered by heavy advertising, helped him to early leads in the polls but is now being threatened by the autograph-seeking crowds that greet every appearance by Mr. Giuliani.
And as Mr. Giuliani has started focusing more on Mr. Romney’s backyard, Mr. Romney on Thursday leveled some of his sharpest criticism to date on Mr. Giuliani’s record as New York mayor, accusing him of the cardinal sins of supporting taxes and opposing tools to limit spending.
With the candidates practically tripping over each other this week in their appearances on consecutive days, even working patrons at the same diner in Derry, the campaigning has shown the stark contrasts between the styles of these two men as they head into the final three months of campaigning before the New Hampshire primary.
“The mayor is a New Yorker; you can see that,” said Bill Andreoli Sr., 60, owner of Mary Ann’s, a ’50s-style diner in Derry that both men visited. “Romney is kind of polished, and the mayor is a little more outgoing when it comes to speaking off the cuff.”
Where Mr. Romney, even as the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, still has to introduce himself to voters here, his rival has basked in the fame gained by his response to the attacks of Sept. 11 for so long that he has even perfected a technique for signing baseballs (jamming the ball against his knee to steady it while writing with a ballpoint pen in his free hand).
Mr. Giuliani is blunt and lecturing; Mr. Romney is precise and practiced. Mr. Romney speaks in full sentences, with clauses that flow into full paragraphs and build to calculated crescendos. Mr. Giuliani’s words often tumble out, stream-of-conscious style, meandering with little of the rah-rah, inspirational moments typical of political oratory.
“That’s my appeal,” Mr. Giuliani said to reporters on Wednesday in Salem. “I am me. I will be straight with people. I think the most important thing we’re facing is the challenge of terrorism.”
The next day at a forum here, Mr. Romney told his audience: “Now, I don’t have all the answers. I don’t pretend to be the answer man. But I do know how to get all the answers.”
He highlighted his private sector résumé and spoke about what could be accomplished by “bringing in great people, doing sound analysis, thorough analysis, gathering data, setting a strategy and following a course that is benchmarked to see if we are progressing or not.” He added, “We need that in America.”
The campaigns are starkly different, too. When Mr. Romney met with the news media after his first stop on Thursday, aides had laid tape on the ground to mark where the candidate would stand and where the media should gather. Mr. Giuliani’s media meeting a day earlier had the organization of a rugby scrum.
While both men draw approving crowds, they typically number in the dozens, much smaller than the mega-events the leading Democrats often hold. Both Mr. Romney and Mr. Giuliani found themselves this week speaking before rather subdued audiences filled with many people who have yet to make up their minds.
Mr. Giuliani used Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, as the foil to stir emotion. Mr. Romney was genteel by comparison, talking about “family values” and working hard to inspire with anecdotes.
The voters who support Mr. Giuliani or Mr. Romney cite recurrent themes in explaining their appeal. For Mr. Giuliani, the words that come up most often are “genuine,” “honest,” and “strong.” Mr. Romney’s admirers find him “competent,” “presidential” and a “family man.”
And for those who are not fans, Mr. Giuliani is viewed as more scary than straight-shooting, whereas Mr. Romney is thought too polished to be for real.
Mr. Romney tends to plant himself during his stump speeches, standing ramrod straight in his starched white shirt and tie. Mr. Giuliani often bounces around, so jittery during a speech in New Hampshire about health care last month that the camera crews in the back of the room interrupted him to stop him from pacing in and out of the frame.
At forums, Mr. Romney almost invariably tacks on to his response a “thank you,” even after a hostile question. When he spoke to a crowd on Thursday where the stage was in the middle of the room, he repeatedly apologized to those who had to look at his back. Mr. Giuliani, who is not without manners, is also not especially delicate, likely to flash a toothy grin when he hears something he considers absurd.
Mr. Giuliani, with his wife, Judith, in tow, was the first to drop by Mary Ann’s diner on Wednesday. The stop was an unusual bit of retail politicking, with limited interaction with voters. After just a few minutes of greeting people, the Giulianis sat down to eat an actual meal together — vegetarian egg-white omelets — with hordes of journalists hovering.
At the Chocolate Moose candy store in Salem, when Mr. Giuliani arrived he stopped in the men’s room as dozens of camera lenses trained on the door waiting for him to emerge.
Mr. Romney, on the other hand, campaigns with an energetic focus, purposeful at every step. At Mary Ann’s on Thursday, he worked hard to connect, pausing for extended conversations with patrons.
While Mr. Romney would hold four town-hall-style forums the next day, Mr. Giuliani’s campaign scheduled one, in Windham, at the end of a day of diner-hopping.
During Mr. Giuliani’s question-and-answer session, a woman in a wheelchair pressed him about the legalization of marijuana. She accused Mr. Giuliani of promising to have “federal agents arrest the sick and the dying.”
Mr. Giuliani, with his trademark smirk, interjected, with just a hint of underlying aggression, “I never said that.”
Here was the pugnacious, alpha male in Mr. Giuliani. The word “strength” is an important buzzword of Mr. Romney’s campaign, but he sometimes struggles to match Mr. Giuliani’s testosterone level.
“I find Rudy to be the street tough,” said Nancy Copa of New Boston, who has seen both in person and was interviewed after a Romney event on Thursday here. “That New York temperament, knock-off-the-kneecaps if I want to get on that bus.”
Mr. Romney, on the other hand, is more polite, Ms. Copa said. “I don’t think Mitt’s personality would work with that.”
But who will she vote for? She is still not sure.
Mark Towner's Spyglass Spots: Edwards Raps Clinton Aide
By MIKE GLOVER –
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) —
Edwards suggested similarities between Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, and the Republican president.
"George Bush has been a perfect example of cronyism because Blackwater has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans and to President Bush," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"I also saw this morning that Senator Clinton's primary adviser, Mark Penn, who is like her Karl Rove, his firm is representing Blackwater."
"It is the reason I continue to say we don't want to replace a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats," he said. Blackwater is a private security firm whose employees have been accused of using their weapons too aggressively against Iraqi civilians and police.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Mark Towner's Spyglass Spots: So Far Rudy's Run Going According to Script
So Far Rudy's Run Going According to Script
- After nine months of campaigning, Giuliani remains atop the national polls (to the astonishment of many pundits); he has closed the gap with Mitt Romney to under 4 points in New Hampshire; and he is leading the field in South Carolina and Florida.
- Yesterday Giuliani reported raising $11 million in Q3, putting him atop the Republican money race for the second consecutive quarter. Furthermore, Giuliani has $16 million cash on hand - including more than $11 million available for the primary - which is more than $2 million more than what his nearest competitor has in the bank.
Beyond those numbers, however, recent developments may have made the last month Giuliani's best yet. First, Fred Thompson's performance has been decidedly average since entering the race in early September.
Not only has Thompson failed to set the base on fire but, more importantly, he has generated a recent round of squabbling among religious conservative leaders as to his acceptability. This has prevented Thompson from consolidating the evangelical vote - at least so far.
The result is almost exactly what Rudy would have hoped for if he had drawn up a best case scenario a month ago: Thompson is running well enough to draw votes from others in the race - keeping the social conservative vote split and hurting Romney, Rudy's other major threat, - but not running so well as to have grasped the mantle of the sole conservative option to Giuliani.
The other factor that is working in Giuliani's favor - and one that has gone nearly unnoticed - is the media-fueled strengthening of Hillary Clinton's grip on the Democratic nomination.
One of Giuliani's strongest selling points to conservative voters who may be at odds with him on social issues is the promise that he can run the strongest general election campaign of Republican in the field. Giuliani continually harps on the fact that he scrambles the electoral map, putting states into play that no other Republican can.
But Giuliani's "electability" argument is enhanced considerably when Republicans envision - as most already do - Clinton winning the Democratic nomination. Case in point: in the NBC/WSJ poll released this week Giuliani holds a 7-point lead over Thompson (30% to 23%) among Republican voters. However, when those same Republican voters were asked which candidate had "the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton in the general election," Giuliani's lead over Thompson balloons to 31 points, 47% to 16%.
So long as Clinton rides high and appears to be the "inevitable" nominee of her party, she will buoy Rudy's chances of winning the GOP nomination precisely because a square-off with Hillary, in particular, brings out all the qualities Republican voters find most attractive in Rudy: he's a tough guy, a fighter, and a reliable partisan on the most important issues of the day.
Nowhere was this displayed more fully than when Rudy jumped at the opportunity to mix it up with MoveOn.org, the New York Times, and Hillary Clinton over the "General Betray Us" ad controversy. And when the counter attacks came from MoveOn, Rudy turned them into a badge of honor, reinforcing the very things Republicans like most about him.
Clearly, the first nine months of the campaign are a prelude to the real deal, which has only just gotten underway and becomes more real with each passing week. Many, if not all the dynamics I've written about today could, and perhaps will change before the first vote is cast. But while other candidates have had their struggles, Rudy has confounded the conventional wisdom with a surprisingly smooth ride that has gone more or less according to script. Whether or not there's a happy end to Rudy's story remains to be seen.
Tom Bevan is the co-founder and Executive Editor of RealClearPolitics.
Jesse Harris is a Liar and a thief (Updated)
Below is another accusation from liar and thief blogger Jessie Harris.
What amazes me again is that he has again admitted "remember that I snagged a copy" downloading my email list from a proto website I was trying to get going to better handle my free newsletter distribution.
Additionally other parties downloaded this list and I have their IP addresses and time stamp when this happened.
It was in fact Jessie Harris that posted to the Utah Blogosphere about the list and where to find it.
Jessie’s big revelation that I’m involved with the Voucher War Blogsite is no news at all.
In fact if Jessie had been reading The Political Spyglass like my other subscribers, I indicated that I created the site some time ago to focus on the voucher battle, so the spyglass can continue posting about other events.
There are several Pseudonym authors on the site, just like there are many bloggers here in Utah that use pseudonym names like Utah Conservative, Part of the Plan, Voice of Utah, annonoymous on Utah Amicas, the list goes on and on. I'm sure these people do not what their identies exposed for many reasons.
Mr. Harris has provided a link to another sockpuppet website called "against utah vouchers" that claims they have some evidence to support Jessie’s claim.
Here is the exact quote “A friend of mine far more sopisticated at the technology end of the Internet found that Utahns for Public School (singular) - host of the offensive, deceptive e-mail -redirects to a site called www.thespyglass.us/.”
Well whoever your friend is (probably Harris) is an idiot. No email was sent by http://www.thespyglass.us/ The site is parked and has been inactive for weeks.
Anymore Lies?
Here is what Jessie Harris posted today
Was Mark Towner Behind the Voucher News E-mail?
That depends on who you talk to. It seems that a fair number of Utah bloggers (like Marshall over at Wasatch Watcher) believe it to be so. The Deseret News reported on the deceptive spam e-mail in today's edition. What's suspicious is that the contents of the e-mail linked to a pair of Towner blogs and, for some odd reason, to the Utah Democrats blog. Why the link to a blog that supports vouchers when the purpose of the e-mail is to "tell these pro voucher people what
Utahn’s for Public School really think"? Simple answer: it's a red herring.
But how do we know that Voucher News is linked to Towner? Check out the following screenshot:
That post is by The Political Spyglass, the name of Towner's main blog. (There's also classic Towneresque spelling and grammatical errors in the e-mail message.) Given his long and sordid history of spamming (read more here and here), it doesn't take Dick Tracy to stick two and two together and suspect that Towner used his large e-mail list to boost blog traffic and try and stir the pot a bit. I can't prove it yet…. but you can.
If you have been the recipient of one of these e-mails, please forward the entire message to me (with headers) so I can analyze them and see what correlation there is between his spam list (remember that I snagged a copy?) and the recipients of this message. I've also sent e-mails to the Deseret News and Utahns for Public Schools to let them in on our suspicions. (Hey Mark? I have the screenshot of the site, so no changing the author of the post, m-kay?) I may be pro-voucher, but I feel much more strongly about being anti-spam.
UPDATE: There's no maybe about it. The e-mails are from Mark Towner. Busted!
A Previous Post on the Spyglass
Jesse Harris is a Liar and a thiefAnti 1st amendment jack ass Jesse Harris http://www.coolestfamilyever.com/has shown his true colors. First he calls me a liar saying I did not have anywhere near the 10,000 subscribers I claimed for the Spyglass Newsletter. Now after stealing 5800 edited down email addresses his fist accusation is debunked.
Do I receive and apology, no just more attacks and statements of how he plans on revealing the contents of the stolen email list.
Additionally by posting on his own website how he subscribed to my email list and agreeing to the terms, which included not downloading information without permission, chose to suggest other bloggers to duplicate his unethical if not illegal behavior.
His blog sites and his open support of UTOPIA, and distain of Comcast and Qwest takes a “holier than thou” attitude because I continue to “spam” thousands of email addresses with a link to my free Political Newsletter The Spyglass.
The Spyglass is nothing more than a place for me to post articles that interest me and for others to read what is happening in the world of politics. Additionally it provides me an easy archive of thoughts and stories.
Additionally I sometimes write commentary or comments to get other bloggers feedback on issues or events.What part of the First Amendment does Jesse Harris not understand?
I guess this is what you can expect from a Liar and thief.
Mark Towner,
Publisher
Bill Clinton considers role if Hillary elected president
1 hour, 5 minutes ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton said on Friday he could take a role promoting the United States around the world if his wife Hillary becomes president.
Clinton said the government had "squandered" widespread global support after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
"There was a period after 9/11 when we decided on a go-it-alone, my way or the highway approach which I think really alienated a lot of the world," he told BBC Radio.
Asked what role he might take if his wife became President, he said: "I'd be of most use to her doing something to try to help restore America's standing in the world and build more allies and get us to work together again."
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll showed Hillary Clinton pulling away from her Democratic rivals for the nomination with 53 percent support compared with 20 percent for Senator Barak Obama and John Edwards with 13 percent.
Bill Clinton stressed he knew who would be boss if she wins the presidency.
"In the end she would make her own decisions just as I did when I was President," he said.
"She would be a great president and I would be the happiest person on earth if she could get elected," he added.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Republican Nomination Race Gets Murkier With No Clear Frontrunner
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/
For those covering the story of the Republican Presidential Nomination this week, the focus will be on interpreting the results of the various candidate's fundraising results for the third quarter. For political junkies, that's interesting stuff, but it's unlikely to add clarity to who is ahead or behind at this time.
While weekly poll results) and Mitt Romney leads in Iowa and New Hampshire, there is no true frontrunner among GOP hopefuls. If anything, the race is getting murkier as time goes on.
A week ago, Rasmussen Reports noted that Romney needs to win big in both Iowa and New Hampshire if he is to remain a viable top-tier candidate. Polling data, however, shows that his lead is shrinking in New Hampshire. Since he has a home-court advantage as the former Governor of neighboring Massachusetts, and because he began campaigning in New Hampshire far before anybody else, Romney needs a solid victory just to meet expectations.
On Saturday, it was Giuliani's turn to receive news that could threaten his candidacy. A group of influential Christian conservative leaders threatened to consider backing a third-party candidate if the former New York City Mayor wins the GOP nomination. While such a third-party campaign would likely attract only a small percentage of the vote, that could be enough to doom any GOP hopes of winning the White House in 2008. Earlier in the week, the campaign's chief fund-raiser resigned amidst speculation that third quarter fund raising may not have been up to expectations. These news items are particularly troubling for Giuliani because much of his current success is based upon the perception that he is the most electable Republican candidate.
The continuing challenges faced by each of the leading Republicans may force the chattering class to wait for voters to get engaged before a clear frontrunner emerges. It is even possible, of course, that no clear frontrunner may emerge even after the dust settles following the nearly national primary day of February 5.
For those who like a little more clarity, the narrative in the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination is much simpler--Hillary Clinton is the clear frontrunner, but her victory is not yet inevitable.
Rasmussen Reports conducts national telephone surveys on the Presidential race every night and releases updated data from our Presidential Tracking Poll by noon each day, Monday through Friday.
Those results are based upon a four-day rolling average and provide a quick update on the race.
In addition to the daily tracking poll, Rasmussen Reports provides weekly results to provide a longer-term overview of the race. These updates are based upon nightly telephone surveys. Results are reported based upon interviews conducted on the seven days up to and including the night before posting.
For the seven days ending September 30, 2007 show that Fred Thompson earns 25% of the vote while Rudy Giuliani attracts 23%. Mitt Romney has moved back into third place, supported by 13%. John McCain is now the favorite for just 10% and Mike Huckabee is at 6%. Four other candidates split 4% of the vote while 19% are undecided (review history of weekly results).
The seven day results typically include interviews with more than 1,000 Likely Republican Primary Voters. This includes both Republicans and those independents likely to vote in a Republicans Primary. In some state primaries, independent voters are allowed to participate in party primaries while in others they are excluded. The margin of sampling error for the weekly update is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Updates prior to July 16 were based upon four days of polling conducted the Monday through Thursday preceding release.
Rasmussen Reports continuously updates general election match-ups and other key stats for all Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates.
Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.
Mark Towner's Spyglass Spots: the Clintons back in the White House for the next eight years.
A careful analysis of recent polling indicates that unless something dramatic happens by February 5th, 2008 (Super Duper, Duper Tuesday) we will likely have Rudy Giuliani (R) vs. Hillary Clinton (D) win the nominations long before their respective National conventions
This is the only close match if you look at all the numbers
Look at the other matchups and you will see the reality
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/national.html
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Mark Towner's Spyglass Spots: UTAH STATE ED BOARD MEMBERS SPEAK OUT FOR REF 1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact:
October 3, 2007 Camden Hubbard, Communications Director
(801) 557-5271
UTAH STATE ED BOARD MEMBERS SPEAK OUT FOR REF 1
SALT LAKE – Today three members of the Utah State Board of Education
reinforced their full support for Referendum 1.
“We are not about maintaining the system, we are about serving the needs of students,” said board member Richard Moss of Circle Spanish Fork. “We want Utah children to be inspired by their opportunities,” he continued
“We value education, that’s why our tax dollars are allocated to education. The result we desire is educated children. We shouldn’t discriminate against private schools,” said board member Mark Cluff of Alpine.
“Voting ‘Yes’ on Referendum 1 will improve public education through reduced class sizes and cost savings. Low and middle income families will particularly benefit through increased educational opportunities that are not available today,” said Bill Colbert, of Draper.
Interviews with the board members are welcome and available upon request.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Mark Towner's Spyglass Spots: RELIGION MARGINALIZED
Opinion William F. Buckley
RELIGION MARGINALIZED
Tue Oct 2, 7:58 PM ET
Pity John McCain, for whom everything has gone sour in the past period, taking him from lead candidate for the Republican nomination to the cellar. Some years ago, after hearing what John McCain withstood in North Vietnam, I pledged never to write a negative word about him, and over the years it has required very few beads of charity to stand by him. His latest difficulty started out sounding worthy of another medal of honor, to wear alongside the one he earned through the efforts of the North Vietnamese torturers.
What happened was that Sen. McCain was a guest on the Web site Beliefnet.com. He was there to answer questions about his religious beliefs, and his answers were recorded on video and are available for those who seek to examine the gods of presidential candidates.
The interviewer started off by asking: How important should religious belief be in a U.S. presidential contest?
Well, answered the senator, "I think the No. 1 issue people should make (in the) selection of the president of the United States is, 'Will this person carry on in the Judeo-Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?'"
When asked specifically about a Muslim candidate, he said: "I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know has a solid grounding in my faith."
Gasp. Within one day, poor Sen. McCain had called the Beliefnet people back and said he needed to amplify his answers to yesterday's questions. Now he added: "I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values."
That was fast going but not fast enough.
What is happening is the reification of a civic conflict of the most fundamental order. We have for many years, in the talkative corners of the world, pretty much agreed not to emphasize in public the distinctive qualities of our own faith. The implication is that, just to begin with, there are no (important) differences between Protestants and Catholics. For reasons bloodily baptized in World War II, we threw in the Jews -- no differences, really. This didn't mean that there could not be a survival of Jewish theology, or seminaries devoted to explaining and glorifying the Dominican understanding of the deity. But it was saying something on the order of: We pledge the freedom of religious practice and admire those institutions working along similar lines to our own.
What John McCain said on the Beliefnet program was not quite in line with this orthodoxy. He recognized this almost immediately and took the opportunity to retrench. He resorted to the First Amendment parachute, which is that Congress shall make no law establishing religion, nor denying to anyone the free practice thereof.
Analyses have been written, but not I think pondered by civil servants, that one way to ignore religion is to deprive it of singular meaning. When the Mormons decided in the 19th century that polygamy was required by their religion, prosecutors in various places worked to stamp out the practice. But as time went on, interest in the remaining polygamists died down -- at least until a Mormon, Mitt Romney, declared for president.
It is all very well for Sen. McCain to say that he would have no problem voting for a Muslim for president if he or she was the best candidate. Surely qualifications need to be placed on such effusions of equality. Would it violate the First Amendment for a state to ordain that any Muslim running for public office would have to endorse votes for women? Would have to abjure the commandment that any Muslim defector be executed?
Christianity is supposed to be a way of life, and it was a way of life that Sen. McCain initially spoke of in his Beliefnet interview. Islam is a way of life -- there is nothing in Islam excepting a way of life. We're at about the point when Christians have to admit that we were there when they crucified Our Lord.