Bipartisan agreement: Alan Grayson is a loudmouth nut

As someone who had the unpleasant experience of having Alan Grayson as my Congresscritter for two years, this story did not surprise me at all:

Ouch, that's harsh: Congress less popular than head lice and Nickelback

Having a bad day? Take comfort in the fact you're not as hated as Congress.

According to a recent poll by Public Policy Polling, Congress just dropped to their lowest approval rating in American history, a brutal nine percent.

New poll shows Scott Brown in "strong position" for special election

New reasons to smile

Boston's NPR radio station, WBUR, conducted a poll earlier this week that shows Scott Brown is in a "strong position" to rejoin his colleagues in the Senate, assuming John Kerry is appointed to be Secretary of State, triggering a special election.

The poll was conducted with 500 registered voters on Monday and Tuesday, and Brown's favorables are very high, even though it is less than two months after he lost a brutal campaign battle against Elizabeth Warren. 

Another shameless power grab coming from MA Dems?

It's been an interesting time for me in Massachusetts this year, seeing the differences (the many, many, many differences) between that state and Florida. 

Both states have a legislature dominated by one party, but with wide variation in how much autonomous power the controlling party really has. When the Republicans who control the Florida House and Senate push their luck too far, the Florida press corps howl in protest and voters in even heavily-Republican districts tend to reject anything really outlandish (case in point: the failure of many of the constitutional amendments, which originated in the Legislature, on the ballot this year).

In contrast, in Massachusetts, when the Democrats try something nutty, it's met with shrugs  and mostly ignored as simply business as usual. At best, media outlets like the Boston Herald may cover a story here and there, but it rarely seems to slow down the Democrats' appetite for abusing government power.

Still Proud.

Sigh...anyone who has spent five minutes reading this blog knows that many of tonight's results are not what I wanted, and some of them are not just disappointing, but shocking.

Ignore the exit polls. Here's why.

The polls are starting to close in the early states, and until the official vote tallies are reported by the supervisors of elections, the networks will include information from exit polls in their reporting.

Remember, polls in FL do NOT close at 7 pm. GOP-leaning Panhandle is in Central Time Zone & open until 8 pm ET. #AndExitPollsAreBS
— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) November 6, 2012

You should completely ignore any results coming from exit polls. Here is why:

Inspirational Election Day Video from Romney

This video, posted today by the Romney campaign, is very well done:

Positive signs for GOP in OH, FL, CO voter turnout

I'm getting a variety of reports on voter turnout around the country, and there are some positive indicators for Romney...

Problems already in Pennsylvania [UPDATED WITH VIDEO]

Even at this early hour, I am already getting reports of problems in Pennsylvania. Sigh...

Keep Calm and Stay In Line

Election day is finally (finally!) here, and the next few hours will determine our nation's future, at least for the next few years. 

It's going to be an intense day, and it's easy to lose focus in the middle of all the chaos and excitement. Here are some things to keep in mind...

Make sure you're at your correct precinct. States have different types of provisional ballot rules, and certain restrictions have been lifted for areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, but it is much easier to be at the right place and not have to fill out the extra forms and come back to validate your ballot later.

Romney campaign link to look up your polling place (links for all states available).

For Massachusetts voters, Red Sox fans, and anyone in a blue state

In all the election coverage I've read in the past month or so, one of the posts that stuck out as making a particularly good argument was written by Cat del Valle Castellanos at CNN.

In the post, Castellanos responds to a recent CNN piece about undecided young female voters, and says that she had made a choice, and that she was voting for Mitt Romney.

Rejecting any suggestion that she was merely adopting the politics of her Republican strategist father, Castellanos goes on to articulate several well-reasoned arguments for her support for Romney, including this passage:

Orange County (FL) GOP increases early voting numbers; Democrats fall short

Just got a press release with the final numbers from early voting in Orange County and there are some very positive signs for Florida Republicans. 

LIBRE Initiative launches new Spanish TV ad in Orlando

The LIBRE Initiative, a conservative organization focused on Hispanic outreach, launched a television ad for Spanish television stations in the Orlando market during this last week before the election, with a simple yet powerful message:

Just who do you think you are?

John Hawkins at Right Wing News occasionally sends out email polls to a group of conservative bloggers, and his latest one was a simple two questions about the presidential race. We were asked (1) who do we thought would win the election, and (2) for whom we were voting. 

I didn't think much of it when I sent in my response (Romney for both questions, duh), but when John emailed out the results last night, I saw red.

Florida is Romney Country

Mitt Romney just finished speaking at his last event in Florida before the election in front of an overflowing crowd at a hangar at the Sanford Airport (just north of Orlando, for those of you not familiar with the area):

WTF, NYC?

Absolutely unacceptable. 

As the New York Post reported this morning, the New York Marathon was cancelled days ago, but the generators, food, water, and other supplies still sit unused and inaccessible to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy:

Latest Romney TV Ad: "Bigger, Better America" [VIDEO]

Using footage from a rally in West Chester, Ohio two days ago, the Romney campaign has released a new television ad. From the campaign's press release:

Today, Romney for President released a new television advertisement, “Bigger, Better America.” The differences between Mitt Romney and President Obama are clear. He says it has to be this way. Mitt Romney says it can’t stay this way. President Obama is hoping Americans settle, but Americans don’t settle. We build. We aspire.

Oh Heck Yeah.

This brought a smile to my face:

A reminder about the Orange County Tax Collector's race

If you are voting in Orange County, Florida, one of the races on your ballot is for Orange County Tax Collector. I strongly encourage you to support Jim Huckeba.

#BusybodyBloomberg meddles in FL elections while NYC drowns

Rep. and Mrs. Webster

Congressman Dan Webster is one of the nicest people you might ever hope to meet, anywhere. In the cutthroat world of politics, he really stands out. I haven't confirmed it, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't even step on ants on the sidewalk.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why he always seems to attract the most unhinged and crazy attacks during his campaigns.