Welcome, friends. The purpose of this regular series is to promote enthusiasm and action among Daily Kos members. Romney will very likely out-fundraise President Obama. However, we believe that we can still win if (1) we can remain competitive financially, and (2) we volunteer our time and energy (GOTV, canvassing, phonebanking, LTE, ...).
ObamaNightlyNews posts every night at 9:00 ET, 8:00 CT, 7:00 MT, 6:00 PT
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Jim Cramer's dad will be disenfranchised
“My dad, a vet, won’t be allowed to vote in Pa. because he does not drive, he is elderly, and can’t prove his citizenship,” Cramer wrote on Twitter.
Sec Sebelius let us know that The Affordable Care Act is already saving people money
The Affordable Care Act holds insurance companies accountable and puts more money back into the pockets of Americans across the country. According to a new report, consumers saved over $2 billion because of new rules that protect people from insurance industry abuses.
As a former Insurance Commissioner, I’m familiar with how alone consumers can feel when dealing with their insurance companies.
Charlie Cook points out rmoney is losing
Romney Adrift
The economy’s a mess, but thanks to a hapless campaign, the GOP nominee is behind with time running out.But for all of that, Obama went into the conventions either tied or with an ever-so-slight lead in the national polls, and he comes out of the Democratic convention with a lead. The exact size of that advantage will be clear by the end of this week, when we will see a pile of new, post-convention polling. Gallup’s seven-day moving-average tracking poll through last Sunday gives Obama a 4-point lead, 49 percent to 45 percent. Going into the GOP convention, the battleground-state picture looked better for Obama than the national numbers: Obama was up in nine of 11 battlegrounds, with Michigan and Pennsylvania looking not so much like battleground states. Romney leads only in North Carolina.
Salon sees this as well
Barack Obama is winning
... and he has been pretty much all year
The final evidence isn’t in yet, but there are strong indicators that Barack Obama received a real boost from the Democratic convention – bigger than the paltry bump Mitt Romney got out of his party’s gathering and potentially big enough to push Obama’s national lead to heights not seen since Romney emerged from the GOP primaries back in the spring.
But these guys can't see the sun on a cloudless day at high noon in Amarillo
Two More Months
It’s a dead heat between the aggressive liberal and the decisive manager.
Republican anti choice language in their platform
The 110-member platform panel, meeting today in Tampa, Fla., passed a so-called Human Life Amendment that calls for a ban on abortion, without mention of the more common exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
“Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed,” said platform language obtained by CNN. “We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.”
Other winners from their platform
MEDICARE AND MEDICAID
The platform pledges to move both Medicare and Medicaid away from “the current unsustainable defined-benefit entitlement model to a fiscally sound defined-contribution model.
Here we go :
MARRIAGE
The platform affirms the rights of states and the federal government not to recognize same-sex marriage. It backs a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
That is definitely not forward.
What follows is first - terrible ethics and even worse politics - they oppose Comprehensive Immigration Reform and The Dream Act
IMMIGRATION
The platform makes clear that “we oppose any form of amnesty for those who, by intentionally violating the law, disadvantage those who have obeyed it.” It demands that the Justice Department halt lawsuits against Arizona, Alabama and other states that have enacted tough measures against illegal immigrants. It says federal funding should be denied to universities that provide in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants. It advocates making English the official national language.
Here is our newly released hot off the press platform
We will not allow Republicans to end Medicare and replace it with a voucher program :
The Republican budget plan would end Medicare as we know it. Democrats adamantly oppose any efforts to privatize or voucherize Medicare; unlike our opponents we will not ask seniors to pay thousands of dollars more every year while they watch the value of their Medicare benefits evaporate.
Democrats believe that Medicare is a sacred compact with our seniors. Nearly 50 million older Americans and Americans with disabilities rely on Medicare each year, and the new health care law makes Medicare stronger by adding new benefits, fighting fraud, and improving care for patients. And, over 10 years, the law will save the average Medicare beneficiary $4,200. President Obama is already leading the most successful crackdown on health care fraud ever, having already recovered $10 billion from health care scams. We will build on those reforms, not eliminate Medicare’s guarantees. The health care law is closing the gap in prescription drug coverage known as the “doughnut hole.” More than five million seniors have already saved money – an average of $600 last year – and the doughnut hole will be closed for good by 2020. In short, Democrats believe that Social Security and Medicare must be kept strong for seniors, people with disabilities, and future generations. Our opponents have shown a shocking willingness to gut these programs to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest, and we fundamentally reject that approach.
and We support The Dream Act:
President Obama and the Democrats fought for the DREAM Act, legislation ensuring that young people who want to contribute fully to our society and serve our country are able to become legal residents and ultimately citizens. Although this bill has a long history of bipartisan support, Republicans decided to play politics with it rather
than do the right thing. So the Obama administration provided temporary relief for youth who came to the United States as children, through no fault of their own, grew up as Americans and are poised to make a real contribution to our country
We are the party that respects Women
And that’s why the Affordable Care Act is ending health insurance discrimination against women, and provides women with free access to preventive care, including prenatal screenings, mammograms, cervical cancer screening, breast-feeding supports, and contraception. We understand that women’s rights are civil rights. The President and the Democratic Party believe that women have a right to control their reproductive choices. Democrats support access to affordable family planning services, and President Obama and Democrats will continue to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers
Protecting A Woman’s Right to Choose. The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. We oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right. Abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her clergy; there is no place for politicians or government to get in the way.
We are the party that stands for voting rights
Voting Rights. We believe the right to vote and to have your vote counted is an essential American freedom, and we oppose laws that place unnecessary restrictions on those seeking to exercise that freedom. Democrats have a proud history of standing up for the right to vote.
We are the party that does not discriminate
Freedom to Marry. We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples
I am very proud of our party's platform !
I am a Democrat -
I support marriage equality
I am completely pro choice
I support The Dream Act
I support The Employee Free Choice Act
I support raising the taxes of the wealthy back to the Bill Clinton rates
I support a New Stimulus without tax cuts - composed of food stamps, unemployment compensation, and infrastructure
I support fighting climate change by reducing our carbon dioxide emissions
I support bringing our troops home from Afghanistan now
I support Medicare for All but would accept a public option with gratitude
I support protecting the right to vote and oppose Jim Crow legislation
I oppose ending Medicare and replacing it with a voucher program
Those are some of my values.
We need to remember to focus our attention on the US Congress, state legislatures and governorships as well.
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Galluping away from the republicans
President Obama received a modest bounce out of the Democratic National Convention and now leads Mitt Romney by 6 percentage points, according to the latest Gallup poll released on Tuesday.
US News and World Report
We are the change Barack wants to see. Obama just told us in his best speech as president. Apparently, we the American people like the sound of that, cosmic music to our souls—and polls.
Why else is Obama getting such a bounce in the polls out of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte? He currently leads Republican leader Mitt Romney by roughly 52 to 46 percent, polls show. Romney had no such luck after his party convention in Tampa. In fact, Obama's new lead is the first tie-breaker since summer convention season ended.
Romney is getting desperate
(CNN) -- Mitt Romney strengthened his attacks on President Barack Obama on Monday in the face of a new CNN/ORC International poll that indicated the Republican challenger in November is losing ground after last week's Democratic National Convention
.
Significantly, President Obama is at or above 50% job approval in most polls now.
And :
TPM tells us of the increased enthusiasm
“The convention energized-at least temporarily — the Democratic base, as more Democrats (59%) than Republicans (57%) seemed to be enthusiastic about voting,” CNN wrote in its analysis. “This marks a turnaround from last week, when the number of Republicans who said they were extremely or very enthusiastic about voting was six points higher than for Democrats.”
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As is our custom, we provide voter registration information for three states in the Tuesday Night Edition of Obama Nightly News. We have shared how to register and how to vote in every hotly contested swing state already. We are returning, if you will, to the scene of our past crimes !
Today, like last week, we decided to pick Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina.
North Carolina was an obvious choice since our convention starts there today.
Virginia is a neighboring state and is a swing state. Hence, it seemed to make sense to pick Virginia this week.
Florida is the closest swing state in polling that we are favored to win.
Florida
Florida
To register to vote in Florida, you need :
6.Provide your current and valid Florida driver’s license number or Florida identification card number. If you do not have a Florida driver’s license number or a Florida identification card number then you must provide the last four digits of your Social Security Number. If you do not have any of these items, you must write “none” in the box or field.
8.You must be registered for at least 29 days before you can vote in an election
The book closing dates for the 2012 election cycle are:
January 3, 2012………………Presidential Preference Primary
July 16, 2012……………………Primary Election
October 9, 2012………………General Election
On election day, to vote you need :
Florida requires a valid picture identification and a signature to vote. The following photo IDs will be accepted:
◦Florida driver’s license
◦Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
◦United States passport
◦Debit or credit card
◦Military identification
◦Student identification
◦Retirement center identification
◦Neighborhood association identification
◦Public assistance identification
If your photo identification does not contain your signature, you can show a second ID that does. For example: your student photo ID + your debit card.
call Florida’s Voter Assistance Hotline at 1-866-308-6739.
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Virginia
Virginia
Get registered to vote with your current name, at your current address, by 22 days before Election Day.
To be registered for the November 6th, 2012 General Election, you must be registered no later than October 15th, 2012.
More info :
FIRST TIME VOTERS
If it’s your first time voting in a federal election in Virginia, be sure you bring one of the following types of identification containing your current and complete name and current address:
◦A current and valid photo ID (for example a driver’s license); OR
◦ A current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck that shows name and address; OR
◦ Another government document that shows name and address (for example, a voter card).
ALL OTHER VOTERS
Make sure you bring one of these forms of identification in order for your vote to count:
◦A Virginia voter registration card
◦A valid Virginia driver’s license
◦A military ID
◦Any Federal, Virginia state or local government-issued ID
◦An employer issued photo ID card
◦A Social Security card
◦A student ID from a Virginia Public School
◦A student ID from any Virginia college or university
◦A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck that has your name and address
◦For other acceptable forms of identification see here
Note: Any voter who forgets to bring acceptable ID to the polls may still vote, but will be required to submit the ID to the local electoral board by noon on Friday following the election, by fax, e-mail, mail, or in-person.
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North Carolina
Our first state for our voter registration today is North Carolina.
The Voter Registration Process
To vote in North Carolina, a person who meets the qualifications above must sign and complete a voter registration application. When completing a voter registration application, be sure to provide your full name, residential address, date of birth, and citizenship status. In addition, do not forget to sign the form. Failure to complete a required field on the form will delay the processing of the application. After completion, send the form to the appropriate county board of elections. In order to vote in an election, the form must be received by the voter registration deadline.
If an application is complete, the county board of elections will notify registrants of their precinct and polling place assignments by mail (voter card). Voter registration applicants, who have met the voter registration deadline, should expect to receive their voter card within 1 to 2 weeks. The voter card is a non-forwardable mailing. If a voter card is returned by the postal service as undeliverable after two attempts, then an applicant’s voter registration may subsequently be denied. Applicants should contact their county board of elections if they do not receive their voter card within two weeks. Note: The applicant must have transmitted the registration application by the registration deadline; otherwise, the voter card will not be mailed until after the completion of the election.
Voter Registration Deadlines
The deadline to register to vote in North Carolina is 25 days before the day of an election
These people are not friendsof democracy :
What Constitutes A Vote
Pursuant to Section 301 (a)(6) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, codified as 42 U.S.C. § 15481(a)(6), and N.C.G.S. § 163-182.1(b), the State Board of Elections has developed these standards and procedures to define what is a vote and when that vote should be counted in circumstances in which voting systems are unable to determine the voter’s intent with respect to a marked ballot.
Curse them for that !
What ???
That is troubling - to say the least.
:
on election dayIf this is your first time voting in a federal election in North Carolina, you may be asked to show ID before you can vote on Election Day. Identification may include (but is not limited to):
◦A North Carolina driver’s license
◦Another valid photo ID
◦A current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or other government document that shows your current and complete name and current address.
If you’ve previously voted in a federal election in North Carolina, you don’t have to bring an ID with you to the polls.
If you have additional questions about voting in North Carolina, please contact: Elections Division: (919) 733-7173 or (866) 522-4723; elections.sboe@ncsbe.gov
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Link to Transcripts and Documents.