…and get involved in close races around the country by going here: https://call.barackobama.com/c…

All of you have been focused for months on getting out the vote for our great progressive candidates in Vermont, and rightly so.

But as you all know, the rest of the country needs Vermont — and never more than tonight.

I wanted to get this up ASAP so that you all put this in your plans from 7 PM to 11 PM this evening.

There are a great number of races around the country that will be incredibly close. Reports are beginning to trickle in about strong voter turnout in Democratic districts across the country as the President’s supporters head to the polls to support his allies.

Still, Democratic control of the House and Senate could hinge on a few votes in key states and districts.

https://call.barackobama.com/c…

So with all due respect, don’t spend your time refreshing GMD and updating Vermont returns until a little later in the evening — instead, call some sporadic Democratic voters who should get out to the polls and vote in these close races in Central, Mountain, and Pacific Time.

Grab an evening coffee and make the evening count. Can the GMD community make Vermont’s voice heard by calling 1,000 targeted voters after the polls close in Vermont?

https://call.barackobama.com/c…

Also, please post and share the https://call.barackobama.com Call Tool on Facebook, Twitter, and email…and thanks for all you’re doing.

It’s an unfortunate fact that the longer I am away from the day to day business of professional electioneering, the more detached I become mentally from the experience on the ground and – as a result – start to overlook the quiet contributions of those professionals making it all happen. Here it’s Election Day, and I realized only yesterday while on air on Vermont Edition that I have, up to this point, almost completely neglected the staffs on the ground.

There have been a lot of great jobs done this year as well that merited recognition a long time ago, come what may – especially when you consider this Coordinated Campaign is following up the unpleasant soap opera that was the ’08 Coordinated Campaign. Paul Tencher, Robert Dempsey and numerous others deserve a lot of credit for taking up the professionalism and efficiency of the operation several notches.

But the biggest star who is going to emerge from all this is Shumlin Campaign Manager Alex Maclean. Early on in the effort, the buzz was that she personally was pulling more of the weight than a single staffer should, especially for a first time CM with limited electoral experience. And in truth, she probably was. I suspect, however, that her future trail will be littered with people underestimating her intelligence and capacity. Maclean showed discipline and agility, and the inevitable missteps have been minor and inconsequential. There is no question that, win or lose, Maclean is going to be the go-to Campaign Manager in Vermont Democratic Party circles for some time to come (and I mean time… she has a lot of years to go in this business).

It’s hard to make predictions in Vermont because there’s so little data, and such a small population base can turn unexpectedly. Having said that, I’m expecting a good night for Dems, although there’s no question there’s going to be drama. With all the appropriate grains of salt and disclaimers that I really don’t know, here’s what I’m gonna throw out there. This way you can make fun of me when I’m wrong:

US Senate: Leahy 65%, Britton 32%, Others 3%

US House: Welch 61%, Beaudry 38%, Others 1%

Governor: Shumlin 49%, Dubie 47%, Others 4%

Lt. Governor: Scott 52%, Howard 45%, Others 3%

Secretary of State: Condos 51%, Gibbs 49%

Auditor: Hoffer 50%, Salmon 50% (Going out on a limb a bit here, but I’ll definitely disagree strongly with Totten that the last minute release of the DUI video hurt Hoffer. No way. Maybe it stung among the 5% of the electorate at best that has been really following this race, but 95% of voters just don’t follow the auditors race, and “DUI” has now been repeated enough, it’s going to neutralize name recognition. I think Hoffer takes it in the end.)

An Open Letter to Conservative Americans: This Is the Same Bunch of Republicans Who Caused Our Economic Meltdown in the First Place and Have Embarked on a Disgusting Campaign of Stoking Irrational Fears of People of Color, Muslims, Gays and Anyone Else Who Isn’t a So-Called ‘Red-Blooded Patriotic American” — If You Vote to Put These Paranoiacs Back in Charge of Congress, You Will Send Our Country Plunging Down the Toilet

ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO VOTE FOR A BUNCH OF REPUBLICAN FEARMONGERERS AND HYPOCRITES? — Today is Election Day and the time has come once and for all to end the denial: If you plan to vote to put the Republicans back in charge of Congress, then you’re going to condemn America to at least two years of total political chaos, for the Republican Party of 2010 is farther to the right — and loaded with more out-and-out fearmongering demagogues and paranoiacs — than at any other time in its 146-year history, according to an “open letter to conservative Americans” by guest commentator Russell King. (Cartoon by David Horsey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

(Posted 5:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, November 2, 2010)

NOTE TO READERS: Today is Election Day in the United States. As millions of voters across America cast their ballots in this midterm congressional and state election, polls show many races for Congress too close to call, with party control of both the House and Senate hanging in the balance. In a commentary first posted on his own blog, Russ’ Filtered News, in March, Russell King, a Wisconsin-based blogger and lobbyist for progressive causes, wrote a lengthy “Open Letter to Conservative Americans” that lays bare the case against voting for the Republicans in today’s election. The ‘Skeeter Bites Report is republishing King’s article — with his permission, even though it is not copyrighted — in a last-ditch effort to persuade voters to not make a grave mistake with their ballot. — Skeeter Sanders, Editor & Publisher

By RUSSELL KING

Dear Conservative Americans,

The years have  not been kind to you. I grew up in a profoundly Republican home, so I can remember when you wore a very different face than the one we see now. You’ve lost me and you’ve lost most of America. Because I believe having responsible choices is important to democracy, I’d like to give you some advice and an invitation.

First, the invitation: Come back to us.

Now the advice. You’re going to have to come up with a platform that isn’t built on a foundation of cowardice and fear of people with colors, religions, cultures and sex lives that differ from your own; fear of reform in banking, health care, energy; fantasy  fears of America being transformed into an Islamic nation, into  social/communo-fascism, into a disarmed populace put in internment camps; and more. But you have work to do even before you take on that task.

Your party — the Republican Party — and the conservative end of the American political spectrum has become irresponsible and irrational. Worse, it’s tolerating, promoting and celebrating prejudice and hatred.

Let me provide some examples — by no means an exhaustive list — of where the Right as gotten itself stuck in a swamp of hypocrisy, hyperbole, historical inaccuracy and hatred.

If you’re going to regain your stature as a party of rational, responsible people, you’ll have to start by draining this swamp:

A LONG RECORD OF GOP HYPOCRISIES

You cannot flip out – and threaten impeachment — when Democrats use a preliminary procedure (deem and pass) that your party used repeatedly (more than 35 times in just one session and more than 100 times in all!), that’s centuries old and which the courts have supported. Especially when your leaders admit it all.

You cannot vote and scream against the stimulus package and then take credit for the good it’s done in your own district (happily handing out enormous checks representing money that you voted against is especially ugly) — 114 of you (at last count) did just that — and it’s even worse when you secretly beg for more!

You cannot fight against your own ideas just because a Democratic president endorses your proposal.

You cannot call for a pay-as-you-go policy, and then vote against your own idea.

Are they “unlawful enemy combatants” or are they “prisoners of war” at Guantanamo? You cannot have it both ways.

REPUBLICANS KINGS OF CORPORATE WELFARE EVEN AS THEY BLAST RUNAWAY SPENDING

You cannot carry on about the evils of government spending, when your family has accepted more than a quarter-million dollars in government handouts!

You cannot refuse to go to a scheduled meeting, to which you were invited, and then blame the Democrats because they didn’t meet with you.

You cannot rail against the president using TelePrompTers while using TelePrompTers yourselves. Repeatedly.

You cannot rail against the bank bailouts when you supported them as they were happening.

You cannot be for immigration reform, then be against it. You cannot enjoy socialized medicine, while condemning it.

A DOUBLE STANDARD IN BLACK AND WHITE

You cannot flip out when America’s first black president puts his feet on the presidential desk when you were silent about white presidents doing the same. George W. Bush did it. Gerald Ford did it.

You cannot complain that the president hasn’t closed Guantanamo, yet campaign to keep it open.

You cannot flip out when America’s first black president bows to foreign dignitaries, as appropriate for their culture, when you were silent when white  presidents did the same. Bush did it. Richard Nixon did it. Even Dwight Eisenhower did it. You didn’t utter a peep when Bushheld hands — and even kissed on the mouth — leaders of countries that are not on “kissing terms” with the U.S.

You cannot complain that the Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called “Underwear Bomber,” was read his Miranda rights under Obama when Richard Reid, the so-called “Shoe Bomber,” was read his Miranda rights under Bush — and you remained silent (And, no, Newt Gingrich, Reid is not a U.S. citizen either, so there’s no difference.).

You cannot attack a Democratic president for not publicly condemning a terrorist event for 72 hours when you said nothing about his Republican predecessor, who waited six days to comment on an eerily similar incident (and even then, he didn’t issue a condemnation). The Obama administration did so the day of the event.

You cannot throw a hissy fit, sound alarms and cry that Obama freed Guantanamo prisoners who later helped plan the failed Christmas Day underwear bombing, when, in fact, only one former Guantanamo detainee — released by Bush — helped to plan the failed attack.

You cannot condemn those blaming the Republican former president for an attempted terror attack on his watch — then blame the Democratic incumbent president for an attempted terror attack on his.

You cannot mount a boycott against singers who say they’re ashamed of President Bush for starting a war, but remain silent when another singer says he’s ashamed of President Obama and falsely calls him a Maoist who makes him want to throw up and says he ought to be in jail.

HEALTH-CARE HYPOCRISY

You cannot cry that the health care bill is too long, and then cry that it’s too short.

You cannot support theindividual mandate for health insurance, and then call it unconstitutional when Democrats adopt it and then campaign against your own idea.

You cannot demand television coverage, and then whine about it when you get it. Repeatedly.

You cannot praise criminal trials in U.S. courts for terror suspects under a Republican president, and then call them “treasonous” under a Democratic  president.

You cannot propose ideas to create jobs, and then work against them when the Democrats put your own ideas in a bill.

You cannot be both pro-choice and anti-choice on abortion.

You cannot condemn someone for failing to pay $900 in taxes, when you’ve paid nearly $20,000 in IRS fines.

You cannot condemn criticism of the president when U.S. troops are in harm’s way, then attack the president yourselves when U.S. troops are in harm’s way — the only difference being the president’s party affiliation (and, by  the way, armed conflict does NOT remove our right and our duty as  Americans to speak up).

You cannot be both for cap-and-trade policy and against it.

You cannot block debate in the Senate on a bill, then bemoan the lack of “open debate.”

A REPUBLICAN DOUBLE STANDARD EVEN IN EXPRESSIONS OF HOMOPHOBIA

If you push anti-gay legislation and make anti-gay speeches, you should probably  take a pass on having gay sex, regardless of whether it’s 2004 or 2010.

This is true, too, if you’re taking GOP money and giving anti-gay rants on CNN (Are you reading this, Carl Paladino?).

Taking right-wing money and GOP favors to write anti-gay stories for news sites while working as a gay prostitute, doubles down on both the hypocrisy and the prostitution (Are you reading this, Jeff Gannon?)

This is especially true if you claim your anti-gay stand is God’s stand, too (Are you reading this, Ted Haggard?).

When you chair the House Committee on Missing and Exploited Children, you cannot send sexually explicit e-mails to 16-year-old boys — which is illegal anyway, but you made it hypocritical as well (Are you reading this, Mark Foley?).

HAVE YOU REALLY FORGOTTEN GOP’S SORRY RECORD WHILE IN POWER?

You cannot criticize Democrats for not doing something you didn’t do while you held power over the past 16 years, especially when the Democrats Democrats have done more in one year than you did in 16.

You cannot decry “name-calling” when you’ve been the most consistent and outrageous at it. And the most vile at that (Remember Joe Wilson?).

You cannot spend more than 40 years hating, cutting and trying to kill Medicare, and then pretend to be the defenders of Medicare.

You cannot praise the Congressional Budget Office when its analysis produces numbers that fit your political agenda, then claim it’s unreliable when it comes up with numbers that don’t.

You cannot vote for extending unemployment benefits under a Republican president, then vote against extending them under a Democratic president. Either you support unemployment benefits or you don’t. And it makes it worse when you change your position merely for the sake obstructionism.

You cannot call the reconciliation process in the Senate “out of bounds” when you used it repeatedly.

You cannot spend taxpayer money on ads against spending taxpayer money.

You cannot condemn individual health insurance mandates in a Democratic bill, when the mandates were a Republican idea.

You cannot demand everyone listen to the generals when they say what fits your agenda, then ignore them when they don’t.

You cannot whine that it’s unfair when people accuse you of exploiting racism for political gain, when your party’s first black national chairman admits you’ve been doing it for decades.

You cannot portray yourself as fighting terroristswhen you openly and passionately support terrorists.

You cannot complain about a lack of bipartisanship when you’ve routinely obstructed for the sake of political gain — threatening to filibuster at least 100 pieces of legislation in one session, far more than any other since the procedural tactic was invented — and admitted it. Some admissions are unintentional; others are made proudly.

This is especially true when the bill is the result of decades of compromise between the two parties and is filled with your own ideas.

You cannot question the loyalty of Justice Department lawyers when you didn’t object when your own Republican president appointed them.

SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES — AND MORAL HYPOCRITES

You cannot preach and try to legislate “Family Values” when you:

# take nude hot-tub dips with teenagers (and pay them hush money);

# cheat on your wife with a secret lover and lie about it to the world;

# cheat with a staffer’s wife and pay them off with a new job;

# pay hookers for sex while wearing a diaper and cheating on your wife or just enjoying an old-fashioned non-kinky cheating on your wife;

# try to have gay sex in a public toilet;

# authorize the rape of children in Iraqi prisons to coerce their parents into providing information;

# seek, look at or have sex with children;

# replace a guy who cheats on his wife with a guy who cheats on his pregnant wife with his wife’s mother.

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, YOU’VE GOT TO KICK THESE OFF-THE-WALL LOSERS TO THE CURB

You really need to disassociate with those among you who:

# assert that people making a quarter-million dollars a year can barely make ends meet or that $1 million “isn’t a lot of money;”

# say that “Comrade” Obama is a “Bolshevik” taking cues from Lenin. Lenin died nearly 40 years before the president was born;

# ignore the many times your buddies use a term that offends you and complain only when a Democrat says it;

# liken political opponents to murderers, rapists and “this Muslim guy” that “offed his wife’s head” or call then “un-American;”

# say Obama “wants his plan to fail…so that he can make the case for bank nationalization and vindicate his dream of a socialist economy;”

# equate putting the good of the people ahead of your personal fortunes with “terrorism;”

# smear an entire major religion with the actions of a few fanatics;

# say that the president wants to “annihilate us;”

# compare health care reform with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a Bolshevik plot, the9/11 terrorist attacks, or reviving the ghosts of communist dictators (And, by the way, it’s also not Armageddon, either);

# equate our disease-fighting stem-cell research program with “what the Nazis did;”

# call a bill passed by the majority of both houses of Congress, by members of Congress each elected by a majority in their districts, an “an unconscionable abuse of power,” a “violation of the presidential oath” or “the end of representative government”. . .

I could go on and on, but you get the point.

So, dear  conservatives, get to work. Drain the swamp of the conspiracy nuts, the  bold-faced liars undeterred by demonstrable facts, the overt hypocrisy and the hatred. Then offer us a calm, responsible, grown-up agenda based on your values and your vision for America.

We may or may not agree with your values and vision, but we’ll certainly welcome you back to the American mainstream with open arms.

We need you.

Sincerely,

Russell King

# # #

(This article, although not copyrighted, is republished with the permission of the author and was edited for length. The full-length version of this article can be found on King’s Web site Russ’ Filtered News.)

# # #

The ‘Skeeter Bites Report Copyright 2010, Skeeter Sanders. All rights reserved.

The Bennington Banner has just published this letter by Joseph J. Mangano, executive director of the Radiation and Public Health Project based in New York, who has written for The Nation and many other publications.

Vermont Yankee causes harm

 Monday November 1, 2010

 

Health data suggest harm from plant

A recent report by the state health department concluded that the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor has not harmed local residents (“Yankee gets clean bill of health,” Sept. 23). But a closer look at official government data shows some unusually high death rate near the reactor.

Vermont Yankee is located in Vernon, in Windham County. There are no unusual health risks in Windham; poverty rates and education rates are similar to the state. Residents have access to medical care, locally and in Boston. And the county is not full of industrial pollutants — with the potential exception of the state’s only nuclear reactor.

There are some troubling health patterns among Windham’s residents.

Since the 1970s, the county has the second highest mortality rate among Vermont’s 14 counties for infants dying before their first birthday. It also has the 2nd highest rate of deaths for children and young adults in the past three decades. While many factors can affect infant and child death rates, scientists agree that the youngest are most susceptible to the harmful effects of radiation exposure.

Another disturbing trend is that since 1999, Windham has the highest cancer death rate of any Vermont county. The county’s cancer death rate moved from 5 percent below the U.S. a generation ago to 10 percent above the U.S. currently.

This also should raise a red flag, since radiation is known to cause cancer in humans. Vermont Yankee generates a huge amount of radioactive particles and gases, found only in nuclear weapons and reactors. These include over 100 chemicals like Cesium-137, Iodine-131, and Strontium-90. Much of it is stored at the plant in deep, constantly-cooled pools of water. But every day, a portion is released from the reactor into the local air and water. They enter human bodies through breathing, water, and food.

Federal regulators must soon make a major decision. They will elect either to extend the Vermont Yankee license extension for 20 years, or allow the plant to shut down when the current license expires in just over a year.

This is a critical time to understand all potential health risks, and state health officials should make a thorough review.

JOSEPH J. MANGANO

Radiation and Public Health Project

Ocean City, N.J.

Today I shook hands with Vice-President Joe Biden.  

See Burlington Free Press Ryan Mercer’s Video here.

I have spent a lifetime attending political rallies, so I guess I was a little ho-hum about this event, hoping it was worth standing in the cold sputtering rain and snow for almost 90 minutes before the security screening.  And security was tight especially given the Yemen attempted cargo plane bombings this weekend.  

But quite honestly, there is nothing every day or mediocre about hearing Vice President Joe Biden speak in person about the condition of our country, the importance of mid-term elections, and his ringing endorsement of Gubernatorial Candidate Peter Shumlin.

The rally was high-energy all the way from State Auditor Candidate Doug Hoffer’s opening comments for the whole rally to VP Biden’s heartfelt sharing, gritty details about the state of the economy, Republican negativity, and his rousing call for all Vermonters to support Shumlin for Governor.

Update – this photo just in from the Shumlin For Governor campaign

More Below the Fold.

Wish I had better photos.  I was having trouble finding the right setting on my camera, so only about 1/3 of the photos came out.

Hoffer was up first, followed by Secretary of State Candidate Jim Condos, and Lt. Governor Candidate Steve Howard.  Each of the first three candidates were upbeat, positive, and clear on issues and turning out to vote.  Howard really caught me by surprise.  I have heard his stump speech before, heard him debate, and quizzed him on issues.  Wow does he know how to rally a crowd.  He was terrific.

Our federal delegation was the second group to come to the center podium.  The positive energy, comraderie, and mutual respect among them emanated from the stage.  Senator Bernie Sanders spoke first and like Biden, Bernie did not mince words on the state of the economy and the political gridlock in DC.  He was clear on the legacy left by the Bush years and the significant issues facing us as Vermonter and as US citizens.  Bernie then introduced Congressional Representative Peter Welch, and after he spoke, Peter introduced Senator Patrick Leahy.  The crowd was really animated by that time, and chanted Leahy time and time again.  Leahy quipped something like: ‘Vice President Biden always speaks to me a lot nicer than Dick Cheney used to do’.  The crowd roared it approval.

Finally, Shumlin and Biden came up to the podium to rousing cheers.

Shumlin spoke first.  People assume that I support Shumlin for Governor because of his stance on Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, but that only one of several key reasons.  I am a Justice of Peace (so don’t forget to vote for me also tomorrow), and after two-years as a JP, I became convinced that marriage equality is a critical civil rights issue.  I am proud of standing up for marriage equality, and proud of Peter Shumlin for his push to pass that legislation, at a time when many legislators would have preferred to walk away.  There are many more issues that draw me to Peter Shumlin: single payer healthcare, rebuilding Vermont’s economy, and jobs and energy independence just to name a few.  Lastly, as Peter said today, he is dyslexic, and so is my son Eric.  I know just how tough that is.  Not only has Peter Shumlin invested his time and money in Vermont, but he fights for equal education and school diversity throughout Vermont.

Back to VP Joe Biden, who was the last to speak.  Did you know that at one time Biden almost moved to Vermont?  Right after he was first elected to the Senate, his wife an daughter were killed in a car crash, and his two sons were severely injured.  Today, Biden told the crowd that he came to Rutland and put an offer in for a house, and his father told him to wait a little and not make a rash decision, and after six months or so, if Biden still felt that he wanted to get away from it all, then his father would also accompany him to Vermont.  Biden quipped that then he would have had to run against Pat Leahy for Senate, and he would not have won!  The crowd loved it.

Biden wove his personal story and that of his work with Leahy, Sanders, and Welch throughout his edgy criticism about Bush, the loss of jobs during the Bush years, the financial debacle, and Republicans in Congress.  He called today’s Republicans ‘not the Republicans of our parent’s generation’.  Biden painted a clear picture of the cost of war and real estate and bank losses that are being passed on to our children and grandchildren, but are not beig paid for today.

In closing Biden urged everyone to vote Democratic and elect Peter Shumlin as Vermont’s next governor!  

Fact: There are two candidates who might win the race for Governor tomorrow – Brian Dubie and Peter Shumlin.

Fact: No matter who wins, the changes in our state government will not be revolutionary, radical – or quick.

Fact: But whoever wins tomorrow will set the state on a path. One path will start us down the road towards a responsible energy policy, land use policy, economic policy and towards a more thoughtful, comprehensive management of our natural resources.

One path goes the opposite direction.

Anyone who thinks that decision isn’t meaningful, or that being a part of that decision isn’t worth their time is either not paying enough attention or willfully ignorant. That’s something election activists of every stripe should be able to agree on.

(REMINDER: If you haven’t yet, be sure you go to the online GOTV tool at votegreengov.org! Use the tool to find your green voting friends and neighbors and send them a personalized email urging them to vote!!)

I don’t expect any problems like we’ll be seeing in many other states, where tea party followers are being deployed to challenge the rights of blacks, hispanics, or others they decide look inherently shifty to vote. Nevertheless it is true that Vermont’s tea crowd is planning to deploy poll watchers in defiance of the Secretary of State’s reading of the law on this issue.

All of which is to say there’s the potential for friction, and friction at the polls can lead to nastiness (by which I mean more nastiness than the teabaggers come preloaded with by merit of the 50 pound chips attached to their shoulders).

SO on the off chance there is a problem, readers should be aware of www.866ourvote.org. This is the online home of “Election Protection,” which is standing ready to help voters who are feeling intimidated at the polls. Keep ’em in mind, just in case.

The help number is 1-866-our-vote (1-866-687-8683). Here’s a link to information on using twitter to report anything untoward.

It’s not just the money, its how you spend it.

Democrats are used to being outraised and outspent in statewide elections. When the dust clears on this one, Brian Dubie will have raised and spent more than Peter Shumlin overall. But it aint just about the receipts, and the Dems have learned how to get more bang for their buck (and I don’t just mean that they spend tens of thousands less on internal polls to tell them what they already know).

Dems know how to target their resources. Sure, the data’s always a bit fuzzy, but at least they have data and they use it intelligently, rather than just carpet-bomb their message indiscriminately (and expensively). Consider what’s been reported at this site in the last 24 hours or so:

• GMD front pager and well-known Franklin County gadfly Sue Prent got a robocall from Jim Douglas encouraging her to vote for the local GOP House candidate.
• GMD Front Pager Julie Waters got a robocall encouraging her to vote for Brian Dubie.
• Another GMD commenter received one of the Penny Dubie robocalls (okay, not a public figure, but still – any voter ID information in Dubie HQ at all?
• And a couple weeks ago I received a mailing from Brian Dubie encouraging me to vote early for him. But then, I suppose I’m not that widely known as a Shumlin supporter, really.

I don’t know how Sue and Julie feel, but for my part, I say to Brian Dubie and pals, spend all the money you want trying to convince me to vote for you. Gold plate those mailers, even. Send a mariachi band to my door.

Because its clear that I haven’t made up my mind. Better throw some more persuasion money my way. C’mon. There’s still time. You know you wanna.