Governor Locke's Not-So-Hidden Agenda

Governor Locke has weighed in on the WashiFlorida gubernatorial race, on the day when the Secretary of State has certified Dino Rossi as Governor-elect of the State of Washington. He's trying to sound like a statesman, above partisan politics, but just about anyone can see through his obvious ploy.

He wants a statewide hand recount and says both sides should accept the result. He doesn't say why on earth Dino Rossi should accept a less accurate and unprecedented statewide hand recount when he has won the first count and the second. The only purpose of a third count is to change the outcome. These Democrats want to keep recounting until they get a result they like.

Meanwhile the ever more pathetic Christine Gregoire is holding a "count every vote" vigil, the trouble is that every vote has been counted twice and she got a free gift from a King County judge. That was in the form of hundreds of fishy Seattle ballots that shouldn't have been counted in the first place because signatures didn't match or for other problems.

Liberal former Republican Governor Dan Evans, in a rare instance of agreement with his own party, had an excellent op-ed piece published in the Seattle Times today on why there should not be a hand recount.

Why Bother?

I really don't understand why Bush would bother to visit Ottawa at a time when US-Canadian relations are this poor. Normally that would be a reason to make a stab at improving things, but the current political climate in Canada is such that all he was bound to encounter was more irrational euro-style hatred.

The American press missed two things, however, in their perpetual ignorance of all things Canadian. One, the main rally denouncing his appearance was put together by the socialist New Democratic Party. Also, outside of Quebec and Ontario, there are many Canadians who are supportive of America and even Bush himself, especially in the western provinces.

Nonetheless, I think the visit was a waste of time. Until political conditions within Canada change, the country has earned the isolation it has recently experienced.

Ukraine vs. Washington State

What's the difference between election fraud in Ukraine and what's happening in Washington State? The end result is the same, only the methods sometimes differ. Certainly those loyal to outgoing President Leonid Kuchma's (and Putin's) hand-picked successor are better at stuffing the ballot box than King County judges and party activists in Washington, as Gregoire finished the second count 42 votes behind.

The Sunday Telegraph gives the best account of the attempt to swipe the election so Putin can reassert control over Kiev, Soviet-style. In the Washington matter, John Fund finally gives the story the national attention it deserves in the Wall Street Journal Online Edition.

While in Ukraine there was outright violent intimidation on election day, both places saw a fishy, sudden surge in the numbers of ballots after the polls closed. In Washington it occurred in Seattle's King County.

In both cases the obvious losers, Viktor Yanukovich in Ukraine and Christine Gregoire in Washington, refuse to concede. Both are working their respective legal systems, hoping to find a way to manipulate things in their favor. Gregoire found a King County judge willing to help her change flagged provisional votes by allowing the Democrats to contact provisional ballot voters whose signatures didn't match or had registration issues. This alone is highly irregular. King County marked ballots for Gregoire where it felt the voter's intent was to choose her even when not clearly indicated.

It isn't really much different than what happened in Kiev, where voters were given marking pens with disappearing ink in opposition strongholds. Sometimes acid was poured into the ballot boxes. In both cases you are manipulating the results.

Yanukovich may want to take some lessons from Gregoire. Her media friends in Seattle continue to portray the election result as some kind of unresolved matter still in limbo. The fact is that Dino Rossi is the Governor-elect. He won both counts. The election results had to be certified last Wednesday by law. Yes, Gregoire may sue her way into an overturn, but the fact remains he won.

King County Mathmatics

King County failed to cook up quite enough fishy Gregoire ballots, so at least for now, Republican Dino Rossi has won the WA gubernatorial recount by 42 votes. Watch for endless lawsuits to come. There is no way the Dems are going to let this go until they've found 43 votes somewhere.

Rossi Gains in Recount- But What About King County?

So far Republican Dino Rossi has actually gained on his 261-vote lead in the recount by 25 additional votes, but the big question is whether his lead is sustainable after King County is finished cheating on Wednesday.

Cheating? It's a carbon copy of Florida 2000, with elections workers making judgment calls about voters intentions. They're going out of their way to "find" the votes Democrats need in their core constituencies. Election workers say there's no bias, and in most Washington State counties that might be true, but not in King.

So far Republicans have lost two court challenges to the county's manufacturing of votes. Another try will be coming up. Democrats have their usual rhetoric about "counting all of the votes" as though they care. Funny how in the other counties it's a simple matter of making sure the machines didn't miss a vote or two. In King it's a legal showdown that probably won't end on Wednesday.

Brace Yourself for More Funny Stuff in Washington State

Now that the votes are finally counted in Washington State's crazy governor's race, Republican Dino Rossi has taken a 261 vote lead over Democrat Christine Gregoire. Does that mean it's over? Not hardly. It looks so much like Bush v. Gore it's ridiculous.

After convincing a King County judge to let them cheat by counting provisional ballots where signatures didn't match those on file, Democrats now say that one mere recount may not be enough. They want to keep recounting until they get a result they like.

From the Seattle P-I (link to full story above):

State Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt is already talking about ordering a second, hand recount of the votes. "We see this as a two-recount process," he said.

"We will keep our eyes out for any irregularities and do our best to make sure every vote gets counted," said Gregoire campaign spokesman Morton Brilliant. "However long this process takes, it will be worth it."

Gregoire declared the race a "virtual tie" on Wednesday and spent Thursday working with her campaign staff and transition team. Rossi flew to New Orleans early Thursday to spend a day meeting his possible future colleagues at the Republican Governors Association meeting.

This gives you a sense of how ugly this is going to get. Gregoire's trial lawyer buddies fighting to the death for the result they want, her meeting with a transition team even though she lost the first count, and a lot of rhetoric about counting every vote. Worse still is the fact that I wouldn't trust Grays Harbor or King Counties as far as I can throw them after what they pulled in the last week.

If she had finished 261 votes ahead, do you think she would call it a "virtual tie"? No, she'd be calling for Rossi to concede so she could get on with the business of the state. Nobody's saying there shouldn't be a recount, but Gregoire should recognize that she did come in second when all the votes were counted. Now they want multiple recounts, even by hand which has never been done statewide.

Watch for nuclear war over this race, the ugliest politics ever seen in Washington State are ahead.

A Talk Radio Double Standard: Rice Called "Aunt Jemima" on Show

Just two weeks after WISN/ Milwaukee host Mark Belling was suspended for calling Mexican voters "wetbacks" on the air another host in the same state, John Sylvester of WTDY/ Madison, got away with calling incoming Secretary of State Condolezza Rice "Aunt Jemima" and Colin Powell "Uncle Tom". Sylvester, a white liberal, has drawn criticism from some leftist politicians but no calls for his removal from the airwaves. In fact he plans to give away Aunt Jemima products as part of a radio stunt meant to pour salt on the wounds.

The double standard here is obvious and it comes after a wave of outrageous racist statements directed toward Rice by Democrats and liberals in the days since Bush announced her appointment as Secretary of State.

What's more obvious is that Rice is a genius, a key adviser to Bush that he most certainly listens to on a daily basis. She's a renowned expert on Russia and ran Stanford University years ago. If we ever do have a female President in this country, I sure hope it will be her and not you-know-who.

As for talk radio, it's further proof that leftys are getting away with what conservatives can't. There were never any repercussions after Air America's Randi Rhodes and Seattle's Mike Webb called for President Bush to be killed earlier this year. Belling, meanwhile, is now back on the air at WISN, but lost his TV show and newspaper column.

What Will Sen. Harry Reid do for the Dems?

With Senator Daschle's removal from power a Democrat Party short on talent has now turned to Nevada Senator Harry Reid to replace him as Senate Minority Leader. Commentators haven't said much about Reid, not seeming to be very familiar with him, claiming he is quiet and nondescript.

Based on my clashes with Senator Reid in the past, I'm not sure how true this is. When you click on the title link above, you will see a 1998 story from the Las Vegas Review-Journal that paints a different picture.

I believe Reid is more like Daschle than people realize, most certainly he's received a lot of training in political hardball from the outgoing South Dakota Senator. For one thing, both are much more liberal than the states they represent. Reid has also had some reelection close calls, against Sen. John Ensign six years ago in particular. Reid also shares a very partisan approach to issues, don't expect him to try to work with Republicans on much.

Daschle had a knack for getting to know his constituents in a personal way, would sound conservative in South Dakota, then revert to form in D.C. Reid is not known for charm or warmth and does not seem to have a strong desire to meet the voters of Nevada on a regular basis. Reid instead built his power at home through ties to special interests such as major land developers in Southern Nevada.

Before his failed attempt to get me fired from Reno's KOH-AM radio eight years ago, I was around him a number of times when he regularly came to the station to record announcements. He always came across as a man with little personality and lacked the presence you expect when a US Senator walks into the room. Personally, I will always owe him one for the quote that he was glad I was leaving Nevada for a position in Seattle.

His beef with me was criticizing him over a story about ties to Del Webb Corp. that appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Reid was used to having an unusual level of control over Nevada's media outlets and outspoken talk show hosts like myself were new and foreign to him at the time. He used then-aide Jenny Backus (now a national party operative) to go after me in the press.

I'm not sure what Sen. Reid can do for the Dems in their current sorry state. He certainly lacks charisma and an interest in the types of issues that the party might use to reverse their fortunes. I can't imagine him ever being an effective attack dog against Senate Republicans and President Bush. One wonders if he will last in the position for long or merely be a caretaker while the party licks its wounds and works on rebuilding.

However, Republicans would make a terrible mistake if they were to underestimate his abilities, they way Democrats have with President Bush for so long. If they dismiss him as quiet, inept, or incompetent they will overlook a lot of potentially effective plotting and scheming.

WA Governor's Race a Rollercoaster Ride

Latest returns have Democrat Christine Gregoire now in the lead by about 600 votes. Dino Rossi had held a 2000 vote lead for a number of days, but that was wiped out late Monday. Creepy parallels to four years ago, when Sen. Slade Gorton was defeated by Maria Cantwell after last minute provisional counting, are becoming visable.

What has party officials and activists in a tizzy now are the provisional ballots, many of which come from Seattle. Democrats want to make sure all of these are counted, whether from legitimate registered voters or not. They won a court ruling allowing them to contact those whose provisional ballots are in question due to signature irregularites. They can then turn around and swear up and down that they are bona fide voters.

The big question, the one faced previously, is this: why so voters in Seattle can't seem to figure out where to vote or whether they are registered on election day.

Not only will there be a recount in this race but there will also be court battles no matter who comes out ahead.

A Rare Bit of Intellectual Honesty From the Left- Will They Listen?

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, probably one of America's most left-wing daily newspapers (of course Seattle could very well be exiting America to join British Columbia), surprised me with an unusually honest self-examination of "progressive" shortcomings and how they lead to electoral defeat. Click above to see the story.

Anthony Robinson, clearly on the left himself, has obviously spent some time observing the political scene in Seattle when he writes this:

Democrats and liberals tend to tout themselves as the people of tolerance and diversity. But when you ask what tolerance and diversity really mean, it often means tolerance for people who share our views and the diversity "of the enlightened." Liberals decry those who would "impose" their views on school prayer while confidently imposing their preferred school sexuality curriculums. And last time I checked most of us were quite willing to impose our environmental views and policies on loggers, cattle-ranchers and miners. The "tolerant" versus "intolerant" is a false and elitist move.

What I wonder is if any of Seattle's elitists are able to see this in themselves and will work to change it. This is where Robinson may be speaking Greek to the P-I readership. He is right on target again when he says:

Democrats and liberals also need to lose the language of scorn. During the past four years, I have heard much that I can describe only as scorn for George W. Bush, and by extension, those who support him. "What an idiot!" "The man is an absolute moron!" There's no way that the language of scorn can be made to sound appealing. I may be old-fashioned, but I believe a president of the United States, any president, deserves basic respect. Yes, I know the wackos maligned Clinton mercilessly. But what your grandmother said still holds, "Two wrongs don't make a right."

I'll be interested to see what kind of reaction this essay gets from P-I readers. Are they willing to listen to the real truth from someone on their own side of the fence?

Florida 2000, Meet Washington State 2004!

As Americans put the election news behind them, however they feel about the results, to focus on holidays, trial verdicts, or weather, in Washington State it's a political Groundhog Day: always Tuesday.

It's the election that never ends, much to the relief of lawyers stunned that Kerry would concede the race without 500 lawsuits, from Ohio to New Mexico to Iowa.

Yes, the barristers have simply migrated to Seattle, where those working for the Democrats duke it out with their GOP counterparts over every vote to be counted in Washington State's unbelievably close gubernatorial race between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi.

Washington State hasn't elected a Republican in 20 years and Democrats are fighting hard to make sure it doesn't change this year. On Friday they won a King County court ruling, allowing them to contact people whose absentee votes were tossed out because signatures didn't match those on file.

The biggest battle is over large numbers of provisional ballots in King County and elsewhere. Both sides figure these iffy votes, if counted, will lean heavily toward the Democrats.

Already state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt is whining about supposedly intimidating behavior by Republican vote count watchers. GOP party officials supervising the counting merely say they are there to make sure everything is done legally and fairly and that Democrats don't want them there at all.

So far Republican Rossi is holding a slight lead, about 2000 votes, as ballots continue to be counted. But R's rightly fear that illegitimate votes will be forced into the total by the courts and their great hope of retaking Olympia will be lost.

GOP supporters can be forgiven if they are feeling a little bit queasy at the moment. This has ended badly for them in the past.

Rossi Pulls Ahead in WA Governor's Race

In the nation's last undecided gubernatorial race, Washington State Attorney General Christine Gregoire has now given up her lead to Republican Dino Rossi as votes continue to be counted. Rossi ticked off Democrats by naming a transition team in case of a victory.

Tens of thousands of absentees remain to be counted, but the real battle will be over large numbers of provisional ballots, normally issued to voters who go to the wrong polling place on election day or for other specific reasons. Many are from Seattle where most votes would be for Gregoire. This is where you are going to see the lawyers getting busy.

The Seattle elitist establishment is not going to let their machine candidate lose this to a Republican, that hasn't happened in WA for 20 years. Watch them fight to the death to make sure Gregoire wins. It will be a sad reminder of how US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) beat Senator Slade Gorton four years ago: through provisional ballots issued at Western Washington University and in Seattle that weren't successfully challenged.

This race proves that there really are two Washingtons: Seattle and the rest of the state. Gregoire is hardly carrying anyplace beyond King County. Several of the eight (of 39 total) counties where she's ahead, it's just by a handful of votes and they could swing to Rossi in the next couple of days. The divide between Washington State and Seattle has never been greater.

In the meantime, Rossi has hit upon a magic formula for overcoming Seattle's huge liberal voting bloc: win in Snohomish and Pierce counties, carry everything east of the mountains, and you can overcome Seattle and King County. Future Republicans running for office will need to study where Rossi ran strongest and emulate elements of his campaign.

Meanwhile, the hopeless Seattle press has already begun assigning blame to Gregoire's campaign staff for her weak showing. They are saying she wasn't nasty enough, not mean enough as Senator Patty Murray was in her re-election campaign, to get the job done. Could it simply be that voters liked Rossi better?

The Belling Situation Deteriorates

Mark Belling, the suspended WISN/Milwaukee talk show host I wrote about a couple of days ago, has seen his career situation take a turn for the worse. Belling, who remained on the air for a week after using the term "wetbacks" on his show, has now seen a local TV station pull the plug on his weekly show. For now, his newspaper column remains, but that could be just as shaky.

More and more the situation looks to be very disturbing for talk radio hosts nationwide. Belling apologized for his on-air slur but the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has been relentless in pressuring advertisers to drop any associations with him or his programs.

Aren't Chambers of Commerce specific to race or ethnicity just as unnecessary in our society as the language Belling used on the air in the first place? Dividing businesses in such ways is exclusionary and injects a negative tone into community relations between groups.

Meanwhile, for Belling, it is unclear when he will return to WISN. Clear Channel said Wednesday that he would not be fired but they would not say when his suspension would end.

A talk radio progammer I spoke with yesterday about the situation said that Belling is not known for careless language or behavior on the air. If so, the programmer told me, he wouldn't have been invited to fill-in for Rush Limbaugh on several occasions.

The Canada Question

Liberals have a weird relationship with Canada, they generally ignore it like other Americans, but in times of personal distress resulting from political discontent, they run to the country, or at least the idea of it.

Just to let you know: the story is not being overblown by the news media, it's really true that some Democrats are looking to abandon the Stars and Stripes for the Maple Leaf after their election defeat, I personally know a few people considering it right now.

What irritates me about the situation is how ignorant these disaffected partisans are about the country they would adopt. How many know the capital of Canada? Can they name three provinces? The party in power there? How the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced? The common name for the dollar coin?

I've spent a great deal of time in Canada without having actually lived there, I feel I know the country as well as a non-resident can. Plus, for years I've spoken to radio show callers from all over British Columbia and Alberta. What I've learned is that it's a wonderful place to visit, but until the utterly corrupt and incompetent Liberal Party is finally reduced to being in the opposition, there is no hope for the country.

The irony is that if these leftists actually did move to Canada, they would most likely return to America as conservatives. Washington State residents are especially aware of British Columbia residents heading south for top medical care without the waits in Seattle. Income and sales taxes are so high as to be crushing to the average worker. That's why one of Canada's biggest exports to the United States over the years has been brainpower. After a few years in Canada liberals would see what life is like when their idealism is put into practice: it fails utterly.

At the same time Canada isn't uniformly leftist as the American activists wrongly believe. It's divided more along regional lines, with the western provinces and Ontario being more conservative, the Maritime provinces liberal and Quebec always playing the outdated and ridiculous seperatist card.

So the next time you run into one of these angry hotheads ready to leave, ask them about Ottawa, the Liberal Party, the Loonie, and Zed. Chances are these people don't have a clue about their utopia to the north.

Slur Gets Host Canned?

WISN-AM/ Milwaukee talk show host Mark Belling has now been removed from the Clear Channel station, one week after calling Mexican immigrants "wetbacks" on the air, according to WISN-TV.

This Monday move, with no indication of when Belling might return to the airwaves, comes after a tough week for Belling and the station capped with a protest outside the station on Friday. WISN-TV is going out of its way to make sure the public knows the two stations are unrelated. Apparently they are getting flooded with calls about the story. It's similar to what happened in my case, where Cox-owned KIRO-TV heard from many people who assumed the stations were connected.

Belling did try to apologize during the course of the week, but Hispanic activists apparently thought it sounded sarcastic.

It's a weird controversy, I can't remember the last time I heard anybody use the term wetback for one thing. And to see this sprout up in Wisconsin of all places, I wasn't aware there was a large Hispanic population, much less political lobby, in the state. I spent two days there recently, it's a beautiful state with exceptionally friendly people, but doesn't come across a hotbed of political activism.

Were Belling on the air in parts of California, for example, where "wetback" has a lot of history and baggage (wasn't it used in Steinbeck's novels?), one could imagine an immediate reaction.

Clear Channel has recently been trying to put a "right wing" label attached to the company by some liberals behind it, partly by happily signing up for Air America programming and now by dealing with this in a politically correct manner. CC's press release was full of language about "cultural diversity" as though they were bracing for an unannounced visit from Jesse Jackson.

Note that Belling has been replaced by Sean Hannity for now, is that the company's plan for the time slot? They aren't saying.

Reaching Out

We've now had a full day of reporters, anchors and commentators from the left making the point that it is "time for reaching out" and "working together". I heard several times in different places sermons, disguised as questions, regarding what good ideas Republicans could grab onto if only they are willing to listen to Democrats. Bush got one question after another about this and even Michael Savage had a caller pressing him to say the same thing the press corp wanted from Bush.

The answer, of course, as Savage laid out especially well: NO! There is nothing to be gained from the party whose ideas the nation has just soundly rejected. There is no reason to stop criticizing Democrats and their failed policies just because the press still claims the nation is divided.

If the situation were reversed, do you think reporters would push victorious Democrats to listen to Republicans? That wouldn't happen in a million years.

The nation isn't divided, as an electoral map broken down by counties, rather than just states, will show you. The Boston Globe printed one in their Election 2004 section on Thursday. It is amazing to see how red the country looked on Tuesday. Even California, Oregon and Washington look conservative outside of some extreme coastal counties.

The only states that are mostly blue are found in New England. Even there, pockets of red are found in New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut. Pennsylvania is almost all red outside of Philly. The same is true even in Illinois outside of Cook County. There are several states where Kerry didn't win a single county, or just a handful of them.

We won't hear anymore whining from the Democrats about the Electoral College. It helped Kerry a great deal in this election. Again, the map broken out by counties shows the true picture.

In the meantime we are also subjected to the left's own post mortem, where they blame bad campaign strategy for the loss rather than the candidate and his rejected ideas. They still don't understand that America rejects out-of-hand their entire philosophy. Because Susan Estrich didn't get her talking points memo in time for Hannity and Colmes, the race was lost? I don't buy it.

The Boston Globe quoted New Englanders who couldn't figure out why the image of a candidate from Massachusetts was so unappealing to Americans. They felt the area was getting picked on unfairly. The problem is that Kerry really did fit the Northeastern liberal elitist image and that is not an easy sell in most of the country.

Franken and Air America's Future

I'll be writing a lot more about where talk radio is heading after this stunning election victory for the GOP.

Immediate industry attention is focused on where Air America will go from here. It has been unclear all along how committed some of the players would be to this once the election is over.

Right out of the gate today, Al Franken said this on his show:

"I don't mind losing an election over honest disagreements that is based on facts, but that's not what happened. A large majority of Bush supporters are literally delusional because there has been a systematic campaign by the right-wing media of lying to the American people. We lost yesterday to a guy who is not honest and who is divisive. And here at Air America we will continue to be here, we are not going away and we are going to continue to fight every step of the way."

Bush bashing didn't win it for Kerry and these sour grapes aren't going to keep Air America going either.

Don't Buy the Spin

As Kerry prepares to concede in moments, here we go with all of the expected spin:

1. It's still a divided country.

Bush won by at least 3.5 million votes, that doesn't seem very divided.

2. He won't have a mandate this time either.

With the number of Senate seats picked up by the GOP there's no doubt Bush got a mandate.

3. Once the Democrats lick their wounds they will come back stronger than ever in four years.

It's up to them to figure out why they are so unpopular.

4. Watch out for Hillary in four years.

We'll deal with it when we get there.


It was amazing to watch CNN very early in the morning, refusing to call any of the states for Bush where he was clearly a winner. Judy Woodruff looked almost panicked when Bush suddenly moved from being up 4000 votes in New Mexico to 11000. She had the staff searching for answers.

As I watched various anchors across the networks, the stubbornness and reluctance to call anything for Bush was downright funny. Bush ahead by 140,000 votes was "too close to call" but Kerry up by far less in another state gave it to him in lock.

One really got the sense that the news media was ready to lead the way for whatever Kerry wanted to argue in the coming weeks.

Why Should We Be Surprised?

It's obvious Kerry has lost Ohio, Iowa looks bleak, and so does Nevada and New Mexico.

So what do we get? A repeat of Sore-Loserman from four years ago in John Edwards, emerging in Boston to talk about how we can wait one more night. There is no way that provisional ballots are going to get Kerry anywhere near what he would need to close the gap in Iowa. Most won't be valid. Kerry is behind by 125,000 votes in Ohio at the moment. And yet he has lawyers flying into Ohio right now.

This is why the Democrats lose elections. They tick people off.

South Dakota

The race that I'm watching like a hawk tonight is the South Dakota Senate race. Republican John Thune has just pulled ahead of Senator-for-life Tom Daschle for the first time all night. He's 6000 votes ahead now. Now it's a question of where remaining ballots might come from- reservations or rural pockets of the state. I didn't think Daschle could be beaten.

The huge GOP US Senate pick ups may be a bigger story than Bush's likely re-election if things keep going this way.

At 10:15 PST

Bush has made up all of his lost ground in Iowa. Ohio holding. Nevada neck and neck. New Mexico holding for Bush. WA called for Kerry, but much closer than expected. More Bush money should have been spent there and less in Oregon.

In Washington State, Gregoire losing ground and Rossi within striking distance. It's a nailbiter, just like New Hampshire's gubernatorial race earlier in the evening. I think Rossi has a real chance.

WA Gov Race Neck and Neck

At 9:54 PST, Gregoire is ahead by one point. It all boils down to how many of the Seattle ballots have been counted. The Seattle monorail recall initiative looks to be failing, a real blow to common sense. Jim Johnson, the more conservative state Supreme Court candidate, is ahead of his opponent. Let's hope it holds this time. Reichert holding a good lead over Ross for WA-8 Congress.

FOX just called Ohio for Bush. It's over.

WA-Wow!

As of mid EST/ 9p PDT, with 10% of returns in, Bush is slightly ahead in Washington State! Now that shouldn't hold as Seattle precincts are counted, but for Bush to be ahead at any point in the game is significant in WA. It means the state is changing.

Dino Rossi has at least a prayer of beating Christine Gregoire to become the first (R) WA governator in 20 years. Early numbers don't look too bad. That's huge in itself.

Tim Eyman having a tough night as his gambling/property tax reduction initiative goes down to defeat. His email already reached me about what next year's initiative plans will be. This isn't even going to slow him down.

Also in WA, the 1% sales tax increase for education backed by the Gates family is going down in flames. WA voters 1, Seattle elitists 0.

No monorail recall numbers yet.

What's going on in Oregon? It was supposed to be a swing state, so far a huge advantage for Kerry. Maybe they had it backwards, WA was the real state in play. Are the early returns all from Portland and Eugene?

MSNBC called CA for Kerry and Murray over Nethercutt before any votes were counted. Could you at least wait for some returns?

I can't believe Kerry will really win Nevada once rural voters and all of Washoe Country is tabulated. The early numbers looked heavily to represent Clark County.

So Much For Exit Polls

They did give us a good scare today, didn't they? Even sparked a late Wall Street selloff. Nothing traders fear more than a Democrat in the White House. Feeling okay about the results as of this moment, but cautious ahead of Left Coast poll closings.

In WA, hoping Rossi (R) can beat Gregoire (D) to become the first Republican governor in Olympia in 20 years. Expect King County Sheriff Dave Reichert to beat Democrat talk show host Dave Ross for Jennifer Dunn's House seat and liberal Dem Patty Murray should have another term locked up. The governor's race may provide the only suspense in WA.

From One Extreme to the Other

Getting sick of the news anchors yet? After prematurely calling states such as Florida for Gore in 2000, only to have to change that later, the networks are going out of their way not to call anything for anybody tonight. The only exceptions are in the most obvious places.

It gets to be absurd at times. If Bush is ahead by 15 points and more than a third of the ballots are counted, in most cases it's going to be time to call it for him. The exceptions would be states like Ohio and Florida, where it all boils down to where the ballots counted so far are coming from. I certainly would not try to call either for Bush or Kerry yet.

Have the antacid at the ready tonight.

George Will Says: Calm Down

If surveys and exits polls are driving you nuts today, check out George Will's column linked above. It helps to put it all in perspective.

Will They Really Move to Canada This Time?

This Magazine, a Canadian periodical, offers the above-linked site for frustrated liberals who might be looking to flee to Canada if the election doesn't work out.

They always threaten to leave, but never seem to do it. Maybe they too don't relish the thought of paying 50% of their income to Ottawa, plus sales taxes in the 15-18% range?

Bush Wins-- In Iraq!

At this time we don't know yet who win the election, but a silly global vote contest has been held, with the results published in the Irish Times (click on link above to see the story). Dia Dhuit.

As you can imagine, Kerry wins the global would-be vote in most of the world, where media coverage is slanted and conservative opposition barely exists.

Where Bush did better, oddly enough, was in the Middle East region, and he won in Iraq. That has got to be driving liberal newspaper editors nuts this morning.

Liberal Newspapers Losing Readers

Matt Drudge has posted just-released newspaper circulation figures for the six-month reporting period ending 30 September and it isn't pretty for the liberal old guard.

The Los Angeles Times, infamous for their attempt to sink Arnold last year in a series of last-minute hit pieces before the California recall election, saw a hefty 5.6% circulation drop.

It must not have been a fun day at the even more radical San Francisco Chronicle, where readership fell a staggering 8.5% during the period. The Chronicle has been going downhill ever since former Examiner staffers largely took over control of the paper after the latter's demise in a complicated deal. The formerly moderate Chronicle then took on the extreme political bent of its long-suffering former rival.

The pattern was repeated to a smaller extent at the most certainly leftist Washington Post, with a 3% drop. The more sensible Wall Street Journal saw a 0.8% circulation increase while liberal rivals The Boston Globe and New York Times were essentially flat.

This data backs up my contention that consumers vote with their feet and are dropping subscriptions to biased newspapers they no longer wish to support with their hard-earned money.