Tuesday, 11/07/06 Tennessean.com

Dems will go to court this afternoon to ask for polls to stay open

By ANITA WADHWANI
Staff Writer

Lawyers with the Tennessee Democratic Party will file suit early this afternoon asking that voting hours be extended due to reports of infrastructure problems, a party spokesman said.

The party has received reports that some precincts lacked enough voting machines, voting machines that are not working, long lines and delays in the openings of polling paces, said the spokesman Mark Brown.

If there are folks waiting to vote, then the polls should stay open.  While I normally do not endorse using other nation's political practices as a guide for the U.S., the practice of having voting on a weekend or for a 24 hour period of time would seem to make sense.  No one who wants to exercise the franchise, and can provide a valid, government issued photo ID should be denied the right to vote because the government cannot get its act together.

From WGST this AM:

University of Georgia study:

For every inch of rain, turnout is depressed overall by 1%; and by 2.5% for Democratic voters.

Please vote today.

While watching the tragicomic opera that is American politics can be fascinating and entertaining for those who love it like no sport, let us not forget that this great American experiment is unique in history.  It has given the world a shining example of what men are capable of when they commit their lives to a cause greater than themselves.

With a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."— The Declaration of Independence

We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

Benjamin Franklin

To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie on, without shoes so that their marching might be traced by the blood from their feet, and submitting without a murmur, is a proof of patience and obedience which can scarce be paralleled."

— George Washington, Speaking of the American soldiers at Valley Forge

The least each of us can do to honor their memory, and the hunderds of thousands of our soldiers who gave their lives in defense of our freedom and of millions around the world, is to get out and vote.

For folks who don't follow politics obsessively, set your Tivo to record the panel in the last 20 minutes of the Brit Hume news hour on Fox News.  Best panel out there during the week..the best Sunday panels are on Chris Wallace's Fox News Sunday and ABC's This Week.

On the Hume show regular panelists are Fred Barnes (Weekly Standard) on the right, Morton Kondracke (Roll Call) in the center, and Mara Liasson (NPR) on the Left.  Charles Krauthammer sits in occasionally, as does Nina Easton. The panel has great sources, is well balanced and moves pretty fast.

Tongiht we got Bill Kristol from The Weekly Standard as a guest, which meant there really wasn't anyone from the Left...makes it the mirror image of most MSM news shows, which usually have two Lefties and one Rightie. Except of course PBS which always has three Lefties...........

Tonight's comments:

Bill Kristol (BK): Nothing is happening that will keep the D's from taking the House.

Mor-tone Kondracke (MK): D's are still more excited about turning out than R's by 9 points

Freddy "the Beetle" Barnes (FB): D's had more likely voters than R's for months...now back to normal, with more R's likely to turn out...D's still win the House, but not the Senate.

MK: Pew has done a comparison of generic poll vs. actual results.....in '94 R's got 54 % on generic...now D's have 11-15% advantage..enought to get 15 seats which gives them control

MK:  D's get 25-30

FB:  D's will get 20-25

BK:  D's will get 32 could be 35-40

BK: Senate 50/50

MK: Senate D's get 5 or 6

FB:  R's hold on to Senate

Why is this happening?

BK:  The War

MK: Iraq, and read Fred's column in WSJ WSJ Barnes column to understand...the spirit of '94 is dead among the R's on the Hill.  Under DeLay, R's became pure power seking party..lost their soul

FB:  Yep, they did what the D's had been doing for years.  And they did nothing on reform, nothing on tax reform, nothing on immigration...it didn't have to be this way.  2005 and 2006 were wasted years.

BK:  Social Security reform hurt because they did nothing....the worst thing is to do nothing.

MK:  Congressional R's cut Bush off at the knees on Social Security and immigration.

For broadcast insiders....funny moment on the Hume show...Brit's teleprompter went out...he looked at one camera, then the other, then down and had to reach for the reading glasses in his suit pocket...........cut to commercial.........