I saw none of it, heard none of it.  I am surprisingly tuned out to this election campaign because — what?  You think something new is coming out of the busshels anywhere?

Apparently Romney cleaned Obama’s clock last night.  The key word, of course, in all of these is “Performance” — we are back to the classic line “It’s all theater review we’re getting” in campaign coverage.

I suppose it might matter?  Because everyone wants to vote for someone other than Romney or Obama, and because Romney has had terrible negatives and this will tap up his positives?  Or it might not matter?  Because, after all, these are just freaking platforms for two candidates to flesh out their final month’s stump speech?   Or it might not matter, because the two candidates had their surrogates furiously spun beforehand that they were about to get their clock cleaned so as to lower expectations, and thus Obama won the debate in a back-handed sneaky way?

Whatever the case, the entertainment value is to see the liberal blogs, dailykos and huffington post, go “Substance” and, for instance, blow out a big picture of Big Bird to show why Romney’s “I’ll cut PBS funding” is an absurd comment on deficit reduction.  And the conservative bloggers jump up and down … time to google “Tele-prompter” or something.

And you know you want it… Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson!!!!  Interjecting in a clever little device.  Will Democracy Now do the same for the vice presidential candidates?

Roseanne Barr of the Peace and Freedom Party after the Green Party rejected her.
Well, I see why the party was so eager to get the celebrity their nomination.
Barr’s Peace and Freedom Party needs voters as well as cash; the party won’t be on the ballot in California in 2014 unless 45,000 more voters register with the platform, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
 Further…
The 59-year old Barr, who currently runs a nut farm in Hawaii, said she would grow hemp if it weren’t the only commodity which is legal to own, import, export, buy, and sell, but not to grow. And if she did, she’d “employ hundreds of thousands of Americans.”
But what about this mind control? “Without mind control (from the two parties),” she said, according to the Merc, “people would demand a representational government that works for the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
That’s an interesting approach to explaining the famed Two Party Duopoly, or “Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum”.

Attention Portland.  Roseanne Barr will be at Powells, Wednesday between 2 and 4.  Apparently not really campaigning, though.   Won’t find this book in the too-be-remaindered book table of presidential and veep candidate campaign books.

The Libertarian Candidate, Gary Johnson, has a huge poll number in Ohio.

When only President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney are included, Obama leads by 45.2% to 44.3%, with 10.4% either undecided or supporting a third party candidate.
When Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson is also included, Obama leads Romney by 44.5% to 37.8%, with Johnson winning 10.6% of the vote. 7.1% are either undecided or supporting another third party candidate.
This is the first poll in Ohio to show Johnson reaching double-digit support, and his presence appears to affect Romney far more than it affects Obama. Ohio is considered to be a must-win for Romney, as no Republican has ever won the Presidency while losing in Ohio.
Green Party nominee Jill Stein and Constitution Party nominee Virgil Goode also have ballotaccess in Ohio, but their names were not included in the poll.

The Ron Paul-philes are amusing in jumping in to chime “Ha!  Screw with Ron Paul… and … er ???”
There is a “Beware” quality here.  Mention names and a sort of soft Romney supporter will fade to the third name, before casting the ballot for Romney.  If you had substituted Jill Stein or Virgil Goode, they would attract a decent number of that number.

Rocky Anderson and Jill Stein “debate” on Democracy Now.
That same evening, Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson will appear at a Democracy Now! live event at the Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman Street, Denver. Amy Goodman will host. The audience will see the Commission on Presidential Debates on a screen. After the first question has been asked of President Obama and Mitt Romney, and their answers have been received, the church audience video of that debate will pause, and Stein and Anderson will also answer whatever question had just been asked in the CPD Debate. Then, the church audience will then see the next CPD question (which, of course, is no longer live, because of the delay) and the process will continue. Here is a link to Democracy! Now’s web page about the event, which does not mention any other presidential candidates. The Green Party publicityabout this event says that Gary Johnson is also participating, but this appears to be incorrect.

Question asked in comments:  What would it take to get Johnson and Goode to participate?  I don’t know… this is a Left-wing forum, Democracy Now, so you can find a right-wing forum.  Unfortunately your Tea Party is kinda committed to the Republican nominee by means of its control mechanisms with Koch, etc.

This is probably more interesting than figuring out what the Socialist Workers Party candidate is up to in 2012.  A Rally in 1948 — predicts that Dewey win everyone thought was coming, etc.

OOOh.. A tough one.
Opposition to the death penalty is pretty much my most fundamental political belief. I’ve therefore always followed the principle of voting for an anti-death penalty candidate, unless there wasn’t one on the ballot paper. I do this even if it’s a fringe candidate. […]
 However, the only left-of-centre, anti-death penalty presidential candidate in “my” state this time round is Peta Lindsay, who represents an out-and-out revolutionary Marxist-Leninist party, and who regards Cuba as the template for the rest of the world to follow. Now, I’m all for acknowledging the good side of the Cuban system as well as the bad, but such views are a bit strong for even my taste.

Write in time.  I hear Mickey Mouse opposes the Death Penalty.

I was wondering how the Reform Party Convention went.  It went to… Andre Barnett, a business owner, model and military veteran from New York State… who has a lot of shirtless buff images on the Internet.  The big news appears to be that the Kansas state party substituted Chuck Baldwin for him, choosing to go to the Theocratic Right.  Whether Baldwin cares to run or not.

In other news…  Here’s the Facebook like tallies for the candidates…

1. Barack Obama (D) – 538,733
2. Gary Johnson (L) – 62,224
3. Mitt Romney (R) – 37,820
4. Jill Stein (G) – 22,834
5. Rocky Anderson (J) – 6,279
6. Roseanne Barr (PF) – 3,915
7. Virgil Goode (C) – 2,092
8. Stewart Alexander (S) – 1,677
9. Tom Hoefling (A) – 1,057
10. Merlin Miller (A3P) – 224
11. Andre Barnett (RP) – 197
12. Ed Noonan (AI) – 93
13. James Harris (SW) – 67
14. Jerry White (SE) – 57

Minnesota:  The surest sign of a politician who is on their way to losing is that they start attacking the polls.

 In a news release titled, “Daddy’s poll,” Osskopp, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee’s campaign manager, attacked the Strib’s recent Minnesota Poll that showed Bills 29 points behind.
“If ever there was evidence of bias, this is it. A 13 point Democrat advantage in party ID isn’t credible to even the most partisan analyst,” said Osskopp.
I know, it’s almost like that other poll that showed a 10-point Democrat advantage! Oh wait — that was Bills’ own poll?
And what about that poll showing a +14 Dem advantage … that Bills touts on his own website!

Kurt Bills, I note, is featured in the latest Reason Magazine article about “Libertarians Running”.  He’s in the “Long shot” category.  Or better to say “No Shot”.

We’re getting into a curious realm in the supposed “War on Women” with Kurt Bills, in tandem with the more viable Todd Akin in Missouri.  “Don’t forget, Amy’s Dad was a columnist for the Star Tribune for 3 decades. It’s no coincidence that they are pulling for Daddy’s little girl.”  Yeah.

Tennessee… and on in the region.
While Tennessee Democrats have disowned and vowed not to support nominee Mark Clayton of Whites Creek in the U.S. Senate race — due to his views on gays and his association with an anti-gay group — their Alabama counterparts took an even more drastic step with one of their candidates.
The Democratic Party there disqualified its nominee for chief justice of the state Supreme Court because of comments he made online about the Republican nominee, accusing him of having “dementia” and being “a devil worshipper.” Party officials felt the comments were improper for a judicial nominee. It just so happened the Democratic nominee in question, Harry Lyon, also had a long history of entering and losing Alabama political races.
Shouldn’t the Alabama Democrats just be happy that the candidate has neutralized that “God” issue down there in the bible belt?

Meanwhile, here’s an interesting choice for the Democratic Party of Tennessee.
Eleven people have signed up to have their names counted as write-in candidates for the U.S. Senate, but the state Democratic Party has not endorsed one as an alternative to their disavowed nominee, Mark Clayton. […]
The 11 candidates who met the deadline for doing so include two losers in the Aug. 2 Democratic U.S. Senate primary, Nashvillians Larry Crim and Gary Gene Davis, and one loser in the Republican primary, Fred R. Anderson of Maryville.
Con Flip!  I would say vote for the Green Party candidate, except this message irks me in its unreality.

Please consider our campaign for US Senate. www.martinpleasant.com Corker barely won last time!
Yeah, and he’ll win in a landslide this time.

Rhode Island Barry Hinkley comes out for crude Big Government, ala looming defense cuts coming with where the deficit cutting deal sunset came in — the “if we can’t pull this off, there will be cuts in defense spending”.

Missouri:
Todd Akin’s political comeback commences anew, predictably.  First the likes of Jim DeMint takes a peek in to prop him him, now The RSCC is shading in as other races fall by the wayside.  His latest gaffe — “McCaskill is less ladylike than she was in 2006” — is, um, probably just a way to the hearts of his caveman constituency.   McCaskill, for her part, plays her role and calls Bachmann a hippy.

North Dakota .

The Department of Justice is looking at a tv ad in which a retired Deputy U.S. Marshal appears on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Rick Berg.
Jake Werner is clearly identified as retired from the Marshal’s service in the ad, which compares the positions of Berg and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp on the economy. Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Orr in Fargo says the Office of General Counsel is reviewing the commercial to determine whether it gives the appearance that the federal law enforcement agency is supporting Berg.
Orr says he expects a response from Washington by the end of the week.
The Berg campaign says it’s not aware of the review. The ad is sponsored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

AND
The ad attempts to refute Berg’s claim that he’s had “absolutely no involvement” with Goldmark, and it uses audio of him saying as much. But to refute Berg’s claim, it lists a myriad of evidence — including a real estate license application from Berg that notes his affiliation with Goldmark, previous reports that he was a spokesman for Goldmark and federal forms on which he listed Goldmark as an employer.

“Rick, how can we believe anything?” the narrator asks at the end.

Massachusetts.
Scott Brown and the Tomahawk Chop.  You really can’t do that these days.  But more interesting … what exactly is the history of that?

Maine.  Angus King tries to right a slightly leaky ship.

Indiana.  Dick Lugar won’t campaign for Richard Mourdock.  So is why is the Wall Street Journal urging him to?  Polls show a sizebale chunk of Lugar primary voters going to the Democrat… and that’s the crux of the race.

Pretty much every politician in Wisconsin has tweeted their outrage at the Packers — Seahawks call.  The attention has turned to Governor Walker and Representative Paul Ryan, wanting the refs back, hence the irony of these two pols backing the Union.  I don’t know if buttressing Union cred was at stake for Obama’s tweet, but there he was too.

To anyone who chimes in with a “Don’t these politicians have … Problems to solve… and better uses of their time than to pontificate on Sports?”… Consider the case of Martha Coakley, who lost Ted Kennedy’s seat to Scott Brown, and was pilloried for not knowing who Curt Schilling was… committing a faux pas of calling him a “Yankee fan“.  Cynically, in the world of “Rooting for Laundry” that is pro-sports I was thinking at the time (1) Just wait a year, and (2) Isn’t he a Diamonback?  So, pols are damned if they do, damned a lot more if they don’t.

Or maybe not.  Kind of depends on your geography and how storied the franchise you’ve got is.  I note that there isn’t any political figure in Washington State chiming in on the great Seahawks walking away with a misbegotten victory.   There’s a big Governor’s race — Jay Inslee and Rob McKenna.  Surely they can spend 15 minutes at one of the debates on the topic?  And what about Jim McDermott — The great Train-wreck / Crime Scene that garnered the highest rated Sportscenter in history (even if it was just re-looping the same five seconds of footage over and over again) happened in his district … or is he too busy leaving God out of the Pledge of Allegiance every chance he can find  and planning his pilgrimage to Saddam Hussein’s grave-site to take note of referee controversies?
Maybe his opponent, Ron Bemis, can chime in?

Personally, I would back any candidate who — prior to the just now agreement deal that’s returning the refs — would speak in behalf of the be-leagured Replacements… “They’re bringing in a Wild Card element to the game that’s adding excitement to the game.”     Too late, I guess.

Yes, I was too damned cynical in assessing Doc Hastings’s opponents’ motives.

Jan Smith.  I thought Mary Baechler sold the Baby Jogger Company in 2004. How could she be doing this for a promotional attempt. This just shows how in tune Doc Hastings is in the 4th District.

I think I was musing over the remarks by a billionaire Republican Senate candidate running a campaign against an entrenched Democratic Incumbent who made remarks that running to promote your company is a good reason to run.  It doesn’t even matter if you lose.
This apparently isn’t  Mary Baechler’s reason.  Her company’s out of her hands.  But a while ago a sad “Dump Doc Hastings” blog had the entry noting the Democrats had failed to recruit its candidate.  A good reason to run is “stepping in the breach” — the void, even in a jungle primary of a heavily Republican district — the Democrat would still likely be the second candidate — that would otherwise fall to a Gordon Allen Pross type.

So… that cleared away… I guess it’s time for me to survey the latest on Congressman Hastings.

We see Hastings at the hustles…. Well then.

Doc shared that we got the same Paul Ryan as VP candidate that he has known and worked with for the last 14 years. He said Ryan is the “real deal”.

And a hyped up Pat Murray in the district (bringing up vote tally for Jay Inslee’s state-wide contest and beyond) , talking at the same time Hastings was… and I guess the answer from the Republican point of view It just does.

EDITOR’S NOTE — How exactly does holding middle-class tax cuts hostage to extending tax cuts to the wealthiest 1% address “the crushing burden of debt”?

In terms of big Legislative attempts… it looks like Hastings was defeated by Dennis Kucinich… who I guess has the luxury of offending Washington State by virtue of not jumping in to carpet-bag in the newly redrawn 10th district in the Seattle Suburbs.

In a vote that came up in the House of Representatives on September 20 during a “suspension of the rules,” the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act (HR 5987) won a majority vote of 237/180, or 55% to 42%, but failed because the bill required a two-thirds majority to pass.

The suspension of the rules is typically used to pass non-controversial bills quickly with only 40 minutes of debate, but in this case, the bipartisan-sponsored bill turned out to be more controversial than anticipated. One hundred twelve Republicans voted against it, as did 68 Democrats.

In particular, a statement on Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) website gives him credit for leading “a bipartisan coalition of 180 Members of Congress to stand for veterans, for fiscal responsibility and friendship with the Japanese people” to defeat this bill.

“The technology which created the bomb cannot be separated from the horror the bomb created,” Kucinich’s statement continues. “We should not celebrate the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians or the destruction of two major Japanese cities no matter how proud we are of our ability to innovate.”

I’m neutral on this matter, but I don’t quite get Kucinich’s logic.  Also I very much  But … I gather commemoration seems in order, doesn’t it Kucinich?  And I very much doubt this is the reason for the no votes, especially amongst the 112 Republicans — who would be more along the lines of the “fiscal responsibility” card that would likely have Doc Hastings opposing the bill if it weren’t in his backyard.

I saw a t-shirt with “10-13-2012” on it, followed by the words “If you thought [some other date] is big”…

I sure as hell hope that the date that I saw when I glanced — 9-11-2001 — wasn’t the date on the shirt, because … I don’t know… 10/13 is sort of significant to me and I wouldn’t want it to be clumped in the same category as 9/11.

Also that would make for a very disturbing message that would get them pulled over at an airport, or just about any other security check-point.

I would like to know what date that was, and what is happening on 10/13-2012 that is bigger than the other date, though.