Monthly Archives: October 2002

The Washington Times on why

The Washington Times on why Muhammad and Malvo should be prosecuted “anywhere but Maryland.” It comes down to the death penalty. As I noted last week, it is basically a dead-letter in Maryland. In fact, currently there is a moratorium on the death penalty here. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was a prime-mover for the moratorium, although she is now saying that the death penalty is a “no-brainer” in »

Bill Whelan of the Hoover

Bill Whelan of the Hoover Institution reports on the Callifornia gubernatorial race. A federal judge has released letters from attorneys representing a convicted state coastal commissioner alleging that, a decade ago, he and Gray Davis schemed to obtain campaign donations from developers in exchange for political favors. However, Whelan questions whether these allegations, though shocking, will have shock value, since this is what voters have come to expect from Governor »

The Washington Post reports on

The Washington Post reports on the tight congressional race in Baltimore County between Republican Helen Bentley and Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger. The Republicans may need to win at least one of the two hot Maryland races, the other one being the race in ultra-liberal Montgomery County between Republican incumbent Connie Morella and challenger Chris Van Hollen. I have always thought that Republican chances are better in the Baltimore Country race. But »

Apparently I wasn’t the only

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was appalled by the Wellstone “memorial service.” The Associated Press reports that “Wellstone Memorial Turns Into Rally”. Note that the AP repeats the results of the Star Tribune’s Minnesota Poll and declares Mondale to be “comfortably ahead.” The Democrats will do everything possible to create an air of inevitability around Mondale and prevent a real campaign from breaking out over the next six »

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has released its latest Minnesota Poll; the headline trumpets the claim that “Support Shifts to Mondale,” while the body of the story says that “Dramatic political developments since Wellstone’s death Friday have had little effect on voters’ leanings in the U.S. Senate race.” I guess the Strib’s headline writers just can’t restrain themselves. The poll says that Mondale leads Coleman by 47% to 39%. The Trunk »

Update: The word on the

Update: The word on the street is that Walter Mondale has cashed in approximately $6 million in stock options on shares of United Health Group, the HMO on whose board of directors he has served for several years. This is potentially explosive because Mondale’s wealth has come not as the result of many years of hard work, but rather by selling his name and attending a few board meetings. In »

Somewhat surprisingly, Minnesota’s Democrats are

Somewhat surprisingly, Minnesota’s Democrats are running scared. The lawsuit filed earlier today, which I posted on below, requests that absentee ballots cast for Paul Wellstone be construed as votes for Walter Mondale. The Democrats’ position is too ridiculous to require refutation. How a voter could be “deemed” to have voted for a candidate who was not even in the race at the time the voter filled out the ballot is »

The Democrats’ “memorial service” for

The Democrats’ “memorial service” for Paul Wellstone is in progress now, being televised on every Twin Cities station. I watched only the first few minutes; it was a pep rally, not a memorial service. It is at Williams Arena, home of the Minnesota Gophers basketball team, and as it began, a parade of celebrities entered the arena to wild applause and raucous pop music. Bill and Hillary are there, Ted »

Here comes more voter fraud,

Here comes more voter fraud, this time in Michigan. »

The Democrats commenced a lawsuit

The Democrats commenced a lawsuit in the Minnesota Supreme Court this morning, seeking to overturn the bipartisan plan for handling absentee ballots that was agreed upon by Democratic Attorney General Mike Hatch and Republican Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer. As discussed below, there are relatively few votes at issue here; it is fair to infer that, notwithstanding their professed confidence, the Democrats are expecting a very tight Senate race. »

The non-Israeli Jews and Jewish

The non-Israeli Jews and Jewish refugees of the Arab Middle East are not exactly a popular or well-known victim group, though not because they have not been horrifically persecuted in their countries of origin. By contrast, anyone who has ever visited Israel must be struck by the manner in which Arab Israelis participate in the civic and commercial life of the country. The contrast with their Jewish counterparts in Arab »

Speculation is rife that Walter

Speculation is rife that Walter Mondale’s eighteen years in private life may have made him vulnerable as a political candidate, and that the Democrats may have acted hastily in selecting Mondale before thinking through what skeletons may be in his closet. Mondale has been on the board of directors of an HMO for some years, and it is being reported that over the last several years, he has sold several »

The first two rounds of

The first two rounds of polling subsequent to Paul Wellstone’s fatal accident have been completed. As reported in the Washington Times this morning, and as posted below, the Republican Senatorial Committee’s poll, conducted Sunday night, showed Walter Mondale with a 45%-43% lead over Norm Coleman. The Minnesota Republican Party did its own polling Sunday and Monday nights, using a different pollster, which showed the race to be a dead heat. »

Here is an important piece

Here is an important piece by Hugo Gordon of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Gordon explains the anti-democratic machinations of the European Union. In this instance, Ireland is re-voting on whether to agree to the Treaty of Nice, which involves a massive transfer of power from the people of Europe to the unelected authority in Brussels. The Irish rejected this once, but under the Euro rules, only a “yes” vote is »

John O’Sullivan notes that “If

John O’Sullivan notes that “If we had to rely on the U.S. government and major news media for enlightenment, we would be utterly mystified as to why John Muhammad and John Malvo allegedly went on a killing spree. They are pretty sure that it has nothing to do with Islam or illegal immigration. Aside from that they are baffled.” O’Sullivan points out that there never was any evidence to support »

Dick Morris notes that President

Dick Morris notes that President Bush’s approval rating has dropped significantly. He attributes this partly to the fact that Bush is using presidential capital in hotly disputed congressional races (as he should be doing). The other main cause, as the charming Mr. Morris expressed it on national television last night, is that Bush is perceived as “a pussy” on Iraq because he’s “dancing” with France and Russia after convincing the »

Our friends at Real Clear

Our friends at Real Clear Politics have pulled together the latest generic Congressional preference polls and find that, on the average, the Democrats lead by two points, 44% to 42%. This difference is insignificant, except that it fails to show any late surge in the direction of either party. The significant issue, as always, will be voter sentiment in the relatively few competitive districts. Meanwhile, the right direction/wrong direction polls »