Thank you for joining us for this, the second night of our Obama Nightly News.
Welcome !!! The purpose of this regular series is to promote enthusiasm and action among Daily Kos members. Willard will likely outraise President Obama. However, we believe that we can still win if (1) we can remain competitive financially and (2) we volunteer more (GOTV, canvassing, phonebanking, LTE, ...) .
Republicans know that they cannot win if everybody votes. So, they are suppressing the vote, attempting to disenfranchise millions of voters. We will be providing information for voters about the new requirements, especially for swing states. We hope that this will make it easier for those here on Daily Kos to meet the new draconian requirements and be able to vote and to explain how to vote to those who live in these states. .
PA, FL, OH, IA, CO, VA, NC, NM, NV, and others
Due to space requirements, we will present 3 states at a time.
Our goal is to provide :
* a link to new legislation - or articles about it
* a link to the new id requirements
* a link to where voters can find where to go to get registered / check registration
* a link to where voters can go to get the identification that they will need
* a link to any legal action / attempt to combat the Jim Crow type legislation
Pennsylvania :
Here is what is different :
The new law dramatically changes the requirements by mandating: (1) YOU MUST SHOW AN ID EVERY TIME YOU VOTE, and (2) only a valid photo ID (as identified below) is acceptable. The prior law only required you to present an ID if you were voting for the first time ever or voting for the first time in a new place (for example, when moving requires you to vote at a new polling place). And the prior law allowed you to identify yourself by showing photo or non‐photo ID with your name and address (for example, a utility bill, paycheck or bank statement).
OFA website for Pennsylvania voters
To get registered in PA click here
The registration form must be postmarked 30 days before election day.
The form asks for the last four digits of your social security number or your driver's license number. Identification cannot be expired by more than 1 year.
You can mail your form - so you don't have to present id to get registered, but you will need a valid photo id (or not expired by more than 1 year) to actually vote on election day. You must also have been a resident of your district in which you vote for at least 30 days prior to election day.
(717)-787-5280
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Florida
To register to vote in Florida, you need :
6.Provide your current and valid Florida driver’s license number or Florida identification card number. If you do not have a Florida driver’s license number or a Florida identification card number then you must provide the last four digits of your Social Security Number. If you do not have any of these items, you must write “none” in the box or field.
8.You must be registered for at least 29 days before you can vote in an election
The book closing dates for the 2012 election cycle are:
January 3, 2012………………Presidential Preference Primary
July 16, 2012……………………Primary Election
October 9, 2012………………General Election
On election day, to vote you need :
Florida requires a valid picture identification and a signature to vote. The following photo IDs will be accepted:
◦Florida driver’s license
◦Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
◦United States passport
◦Debit or credit card
◦Military identification
◦Student identification
◦Retirement center identification
◦Neighborhood association identification
◦Public assistance identification
If your photo identification does not contain your signature, you can show a second ID that does. For example: your student photo ID + your debit card.
call Florida’s Voter Assistance Hotline at 1-866-308-6739.
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Ohio
Voter Registration Drive in Ohio Resource
The registration deadline for Ohio is October 9 !
:
Check to see if you are registered to vote in Ohio here
You may print our a copy of a voter registration form for Ohio here
Voter registration cards can also be found :
The office of the Secretary of State;
The office of any of the 88 county boards of elections;
The office of the registrar or any deputy registrar of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles;
Public libraries;
Public high schools or vocational schools;
On election day :
A voter presenting an Ohio driver's license that shows the voter's former address is permitted to cast a regular ballot so long as the voter's current residential address is printed in the official poll list of registered voters for that precinct
Voter id that is acceptable on election day in Ohio :
The forms of identification that may be used by a voter who appears at a polling place to vote on an Election Day include:
A current and valid photo identification card issued by the State of Ohio or the United States government; or
A military identification ("military ID"); or
An original or copy of a current utility bill; or
An original or copy of a current bank statement; or
An original or copy of a current government check; or
An original or copy of a current paycheck; or
An original or copy of a current other government document, other than a voter registration acknowledgement notification mailed by the board of elections, that shows the voter’s name and current address.
Questions about voting in Ohio - click here
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If you have questions about voting requirements or how to get registered or what id is needed, kosmail me : If I don't know, I will find out !
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TPM: Romney Donor paid to Share Info on new PA voting law
The man behind a company that got a big state contract to educate Pennsylvania voters on the commonwealth’s restrictive new voter ID law is a fundraiser for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Ads created by his company, a Republican lobbying group, encourage Pennsylvania residents to obtain state-issued photo identification so they don’t “miss out” on their right to vote
The fact that a Republican lobbying group is in charge of educating those most likely to not have an ID — Pennsylvania’s poor, minority, elderly (and mostly Democratic) voters — about changes to the election law isn’t likely to ease complaints that the law is a partisan voter suppression effort, especially after a top state Republicanbraggedthat the change would help Romney win the Keystone state.
While the Justice Department has challenged voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas it hasn’t done so in Pennsylvania because it isn’t covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a provision which requires certain states with a history of racial discrimination to have changes to their voting laws precleared by federal authorities. While civil rights groups havesued overPennsylvania’s law on behalf of clients including a 93-year-old woman who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a challenge from DOJ’s Civil Rights Division likely couldn’t come untilafterthe 2012 election
Willard continues to struggle with his foreign trusts
For the first time, President Obama on Monday personally joined Democrats in demanding Romney release his tax returns and clear up the nature of the companies in question.
“What’s important is if you are running for president is that the American people know who you are and what you’ve done and that you’re an open book,” Obama told a New Hampshire television station. “And that’s been true of every presidential candidate dating all the way back to Mitt Romney’s father.”
If Rmoney thinks we are going to drop this, he is badly mistaken.
Bain is killing Rmoney in the battleground states :
Question: Is Romney's work buying and restructuring companies before he went into politics a major reason you to (support) that candidate, a major reason you to (oppose) that candidate, or not a major factor in your vote?
Reason to support: 16
Reason to oppose: 32
Not a major factor: 49
Question: In his work as a corporate investor, do you think Romney did more to (create jobs) or more to (cut jobs) in the United States?
Did more to cut jobs: 48
Did more to create jobs: 34
As Jed notes, the problem is that Rmoney has
no jobs recordin Massachusetts (47th) and his argument for being President is based upon the idea that his business experience shows that he knows how to create jobs. Reality is quite different. He does not know how to create jobs. That is not what a
vulture capitalist, like Willard, does. They make money for themselves and their shareholders. He has never shown any ability to create jobs. And his policies are ones that do not create jobs.
Thus, as Dr. Krugman points out :
Last week, noted economist Paul Krugman eloquently summed up Romney’s pitch to voters that he should be elected president “because he made a lot of money.” It is true Willard made a fortune during his time at Bain Capital, but leveraging struggling companies with debt, shipping jobs overseas, and reaping huge profits at the expense of American’s jobs is not a valid qualification to be president. Indeed, if making outrageous amounts of money qualifies any American to be president, then thug rappers, star athletes, and movie producers are every bit as qualified to lead this country as Romney
Bloomberg says:
Yet to craft his economic plans, the Republican presidential candidate has turned to a group of Washington insiders.
Among the financial and business experts advising Romney’s campaign are Columbia University’s R. Glenn Hubbard and Harvard University’s N. Gregory Mankiw, both economists who headed the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Rounding out the team are former Missouri Senator Jim Talent and onetime Minnesota Congressman Vin Weber, now Republican lobbyists at Washington-based firms.
Here is how Politics USA puts it :
Romney is the Second More Disastrous Coming of George W. Bush
One of the detrimental effects of America’s higher education system churning out an over-abundance of MBAs is the equally over-abundance of so-called economic experts. However, corporate malfeasance, greed, tax avoidance, and outsourcing American jobs for higher profits does not make one an economic expert; it just means they will take any steps necessary to increase their bottom line. America suffered through eight years of an MBA president and his policies created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and as the economy makes a slow, but steady, recovery, another MBA is hoping to become the next Republican to preside over another Great Recession and more likely, a Great Depression. The latest MBA seeking to ruin America’s economy is Willard Romney and his promise to exceed Bush’s economic expertise sends a clear message that just because he holds an MBA, it does not qualify him to be president
In case you missed it, here is
Ashwani's story :
age of 26, a recent college graduate, and an American, Obamacare means the world to me.
“It means that I can no longer be denied coverage due to my pre-existing condition. It means that I won't face the same hurdles when buying my own health care as I look for my first job. It means that I won't be a burden to the American taxpayers if I ever get sick again and lose my insurance. It means that insurance companies no longer have a monopoly on my health. It means that my doctor will have the final say in how I can be treated.
“Mitt Romney has been clear he’d repeal Obamacare on Day One. Let’s make it clear to Romney: Obamacare isn’t going anywhere. Let’s get to work—join us as we reach out to voters about what’s at stake in November.
—Ashwani, Maryland
I like seeing this :
Number One on President Obama's vision is Strengthening our Educational System.
The President's schedule today includes :
12:20 pm The President holds a roundtable discussion with a local Iowa family
Local Event Time: 11:20 AM CDT
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Private Residence
Pool Spray at the Top
Out-of-Town Travel Pool
1:50 pm The President deliver remarks on middle class tax relief at a campaign event
Local Event Time: 12:50 PM CDT
Kirkwood Recreation Center
Open to pre-credentialed media
Vice President Biden is
3:15 pm The Vice President delivers remarks at the 2012 National Council of La Raza Annual Conference
Local Event Time: 12:15 PM PDT
Las Vegas, Nevada
Open Press
10:00 pm The Vice President attends a campaign event
Local Event Time: 7:00 PM PDT
Park City, Utah
Speaking at NCLR : Awesome. A campaign event in Park City Utah ? ??????
I must be missing something here. If POTUS wins Utah, the world has well and truly come to an end.
The President sent us all an email :
We're getting outraised -- a first for a sitting president, if this continues. Not just by the super PACs and outside groups that are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into misleading ads, but by our opponent and the Republican Party, which just outraised us for the second month in a row.
We can win a race in which the other side spends more than we do. But not this much more.
So I need your help. If you believe that regular people should decide elections, then please chip in $4 or more today.
AP tells us:
Romney bests Obama donations with help of rich few
By: Jack Gillum, Associated Press, Superior Telegram
The grim news for Obama came as his campaign officials have publicly worried they were on track to lose the money race. Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, in an email to supporters just three days ago, said: "Their gap is getting wider, and if it continues at this pace, it could cost us the election."
Indeed, wealthy donors have been instrumental in helping Romney beat Obama. When he broke fundraising records last month, Romney's campaign praised small-dollar donors it said made it possible. But it was actually a small and often wealthy number of donors responsible, who gave an average of about $2,400 each, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Please
donate to President Obama's campaign whatever you are able - it is important. I agree with TomP - this is the most important election since 1932.
PPP polls
In 2008 Barack Obama put North Carolina and Virginia in the Democratic column for the first time in decades. PPP's newest poll in those two states finds him running very close to his performance four years ago. In Virginia he leads Mitt Romney by 8 points, 50-42, and in North Carolina he has a single point advantage at 47-46.
Our polling in both of these states has been pretty steady over the last year and a half. Obama has consistently fared very well in Virginia, leading by 6 points, 8 points, and now 8 points again on our last three polls. This is looking like it could be something of a firewall state for him. We have now polled North Carolina 22 times since late November of 2010. 21 out of those 22 times Obama and Romney have been within 3 points of each other. The state's about as much of a toss up as it could possibly be.
I continue to believe Rmoney's chances (all things being equal) to win Virginia and Colorado are equivalent to his chances to winning Massachusetts.
Biden at NCLR - National Council of La Raza
Biden: 'Mitt Romney wants you to show your papers, but he won’t show us his'
haymaker of an attack on Romney's taxes and his position on immigration:
“When his father, George Romney, was a candidate was for President in 1968, he released 12 years of tax returns because, as he said, ‘One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show.’
“His son has released one year of his tax returns.
“Making a lie of the old adage: Like father, like son.
“Mitt Romney wants you to show your papers, but he won’t show us his.
“So many questions…”
Longer excerpts after the jump ...
“You’re the fastest-growing population. You now make up more than 16 percent of the population.
“But there are voices among us who fear your inclusion. This is not new.
“There have always been fights between the voices of inclusion and the voices of exclusion.
“Between those pushing us forward and those who keep pulling us back.
“Between those appealing to our hopes, and those appealing to our fears.”
Other than North Carolina and Indiana, at the present time,
538 sees President Obama with 50% or better chance of winning every state he won in 2008. This is a snapshot in time.
The Hill has a poll that shows 1 in 5 Democrats and most Americans believe that President Obama has changed the country for the worse.
Salon has news of the love affair between the Koch brothers and Willard M Rmoney.
Michael Tomasky tells us how President Obama should play offense on taxes :
Barack Obama surely does not think the Republican House is going to agree with him suddenly and pass an extension of the Bush tax cuts on dollars earned (not people, dollars earned; see my explanation of why) below $250,000 a year. But he’s right to keep this issue front and center. I hope that this is the first salvo in what will be an ongoing attempt to focus Americans on the tax choices they face, and to educate people a little bit about how taxes are actually paid in this country. It’s a debate he can win hands down, and one that will only tilt the polls even more in his direction and make Mitt Romney look more plutocratic than he already does.
Eugene Robinsonspeaks out about GOP voter suppression efforts :
Late last month, the majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Mike Turzai, was addressing a meeting of the Republican State Committee. He must have felt at ease among friends because he spoke a bit too frankly.
Ticking off a list of recent accomplishments by the GOP-controlled Legislature, he mentioned the new law forcing voters to show a photo ID at the polls. Said Turzai, with more than a hint of triumph: "Voter ID, which is going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania -- done."
Thanks to figures released last week by state officials, we know the answer. It turns out that 758,939 registered Pennsylvania voters do not have the most easily obtained and widely used photo ID, a state driver's license. That's an incredible 9.2 percent of the registered electorate.
Most of the voters without driver's licenses live in urban areas -- which just happen to be places where poor people and minorities tend to live. More than 185,000 of these voters without licenses, about one-fourth of the total, live in Philadelphia -- which just happens to be a Democratic stronghold where African-Americans are a pluralityThat might be reasonable, except for one fact: There's no fraud to eliminate.
Prodded by GOP political activists, the Justice Department under Bush conducted an extensive, nationwide, five-year probe of voter fraud -- and ended up convicting a grand total of 86 individuals, according to a 2007 New York Times report. Most of the cases involved felons or immigrants who may not have known they were ineligible to vote.
.
Without voter suppression and Jim Crow laws, Republicans cannot win. They know this. They have zero ethics. So, they are going full bore ahead with voter suppression. We fight it by making sure that we get all of our voters registered, equipped with the proper identification needed according to their new laws, and get them to the polls.
http://www.wlky.com/...
Surprise: Willard is lying
I do not use the word lying lightly. It mays seems to say something false on purpose. It does not mean to be merely mistaken - the way some use it. If we can't show that the person knew what they were saying was false, then we should not use the word lie.
This appears to be a case where Willard intentionally misled, yes lied, regarding his offshore holdings.
And now, according to public records cited by the Obama campaign, it appears that Romney did in fact hold at least one of his offshore investments before the formation of his blind trust: a Bermuda-based shell corporation formed in 1997 known as Sankaty High Yield Investors Ltd with Mitt Romney as the sole owner.
In a research document, the campaign writes:
The problem with Romney’s claim? The Bermuda corporation—Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors—was registered in 1997 and Romney was listed as the “the sole shareholder, a director, and president” of the corporation. The Bermuda corporation was under his personal ownership until it was transferred into a blind trust in his wife’s name the day before he was sworn in as governor, possibly to avoid disclosure. In fact, the one fulltax return Romney did release shows that he directly owned the company as recently in 2010 and it was not held in his trust.
Mitt Romney’s continued dishonesty on his investments in offshore tax havens and corporations raises serious questions about why he won’t release his tax returns. Only a release of additional tax returns will allow us to see if Romney avoided U.S. taxes with his offshore holdings.
So we now have at least one clear cut example of Mitt Romney making a public statement about his financial history that is clearly refuted by the limited records available for public scrutiny.