Arizona has nine congressional races and there are three Republicans in trouble. We have to hope that we Democrats can get our voters out to the polls. Our opposition is pulling out all the stops to mobilize their base. So, let’s get out and make our best last effort!

Congressional District 1 Ellen Simon Out in Front of Renzi

The latest poll is from Constituent Dynamics dated October 8^th-10^th and it showed Ellen Simon up by five points which is greater than the margin of error. Since then Renzi has been rocked by allegations of bribery and tax evasion related to a land swap deal that is being investigated by the FBI and Arizona’s Office of the U.S. Attorney.

http://www.constituentdynamics.com/mw/2006/index2.php

Congressional District 4 Harry Mitchell in virtual tie with Hayworth

The latest poll in this tight race shows Hayworth with a 1 point lead over Harry Mitchell. Since the margin of error is almost five percentage points, this race is a dead tie. Hayworth is one of the most corrupt congressmen in Washington and he now appears on the “Dishonorable Mention” list of Beyond Delay a log of the twenty most disreputable people in congress.

Congressional District 8 Gabrielle Giffords over Randy Graf

Gabrielle Giffords seems set to put Graf into retirement. This latest poll puts her ten points ahead and shows her lead increasing over the previous poll. The margin of error is only 4 percent. Assuming we can get our voters there, we Democrats should pick up this formerly Republican seat and maybe two more.

United States Senate Kyl Still Out in Front of Pederson

Unless we get an November miracle it appears that Jon Kyl is going to win re-election. The latest poll shows Kyl some nine points ahead of Jim. Republican smear tactics appear to be hurting. A few days ago we had one poll showing Jim only six points behind, so maybe these latest numbers are a smoke screen. Now is not the time to give up! Work for Jim Pederson!

Organized campaigns are gearing up to get out the vote (GOTV) for both parties.  Democrats are especially eager to make sure that as many Democrats as possible get to the polls.  The national Democratic organization with its 50 state campaign is working very hard to mobilize volunteers and to organize sophisticated phone and email campaigns to exort Democrats and Independents to vote in the upcoming elections.

We here in SaddleBrooke are active too.  The SaddleBrooke Democrats are organizing two efforts aimed maximizing our vote count.  Mark & Stephanie Griffith (825-3219) are seeking volunteers to phone area voters on election day. “Just an hour or so, is what is needed.  We already have about ten volunteers for our SaddleBrooke team who will come to our home and phone voters” commented Mark Griffith.  They use computer listings with names and phone numbers of Democrats and Independents who have said they intend to vote for Democratic candidates this year.  The lists will be updated to exclude those voters who voted by mail, the team will be concentrate on those people who expect to vote at Mountainview and other polls in southeastern Pinal County.  “During the election day, we will be further narrowing the lists to reflect who has voted and who has not.”  Our obvious phone targets are those who have not yet voted.

In addition, volunteers are needed to man a table with signs and voter information outside the Mountainview Clubhouse.  “This effort is meant to remind Democrats and Independents that SaddleBrooke is not all red.  During the primary, ‘Captain’ Melvin and his bunch had two tables in front of the polling place. It was like runing the gauntlet.” commented Mark Griffith.

Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al-Qaida suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called “water-boarding,” which creates a sensation of drowning.

Cheney indicated that the Bush administration doesn’t regard water-boarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. “It’s a no-brainer for me,” Cheney said at one point in an interview.

In the middle ages, torture was common and it was commonly understood then that testimony obtained through torture was unreliable.  After all, under torture and abuse, most people will say whatever is needed to stop the pain of the moment.  It was for this reason that literally thousands of people confessed to being witches in the middle ages, even when they knew that punishment was to be burned at the stake.  We wonder how many “terroist plots” have really been uncovered by torturers sanctioned by Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfled and George Bush, our President.

With the election less than two weeks away, several national polls were released that suggest that the Democratic edge has not diminished and in some aspects seems to be increasing.

Pew Research completed a poll yesterday. The headline was “Democrats Hold Double-Digit Lead in Competitive Districts; GOP Troubles Extend into Home Territory.” Nationally, the Democrats hold a 49%-38% lead among registered voters and a nearly identical 50%-39% lead among those voters most likely to cast ballots on Nov. 7.

The Diageo/Hotline Poll of 1,000 registered voters including 580 likely voters was conducted October 19^th to 23^rd and released today. The Democrats lead in the “generic ballot” increased to 49% for Democrats versus 34% for Republicans. The fifteen point advantage for Democrats grew by five points in the past month. The “generic ballot” is a poll asking the question; “In your district would you vote for the Republican or the Democrat?”

The Fox News poll contains the best news for Republicans as one might expect of the Neo-Con News Channel. But the “good” news is not so good. W (worst ever) registered an approval rating of 40% with 53% disapproval. The release continues; “Today Democrats have an 11-percentage point advantage in the Congressional election (49-38 percent), up from a 9-point edge over Republicans two weeks ago.”

Ninety two percent of Democrats polled say they will vote for their Democratic candidate. Eighty five percent of Republicans remain committed to their candidates. Among Independents, Democrats hold a 14 point advantage over Republicans (43% to 29%).

Lastly, the Associate Press/American Online poll shows Democratic support from middle class voters. “Less than two weeks before the Nov. 7 election, the latest Associated Press-AOL News poll found that likely voters overwhelmingly prefer Democrats over Republicans. They are angry at President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress, and say Iraq and the economy are their top issues.”

According to several stories being posted on the internet, Republican Rick Renzi is scheduled to be publicly charged with bribery and tax evasion after the election. The issue goes back to a land swap deal about a year ago that was facilitated by legislation introduced by Renzi and was reported on by the Phoenix New Times. Apparently an investigation by the FBI wiretapped the congressman’s office and Maricopa County prosecutor Howard Sukenic has apparently obtained an indictment from a Federal Grand Jury. Records from the wiretap reportedly feature Renzi soliciting a bribe which was subsequently paid and apparently not reported on the Congressman’s tax return.

According to these sources, regulations of the U.S. Attorney’s Office require that indictments of politicians not be made public within a 60 day period prior to any election. Mr. Sukenic and U.S. Attorney, Paul Charlton, have been asked about the issue and refused to comment. A few sources have speculated Charlton is trying to influence the election outcome and hold onto the seat for Republicans. Mr Charlton was appointed by George W. (worst ever).
Ellen Simon, of course, is the Democratic opponent of Congressman Renzi who is running for re-election in district one. Congressman Rick Renzi is rated as one of the twenty most corrupt congressmen in Washington.

Additiona post, Friday, October 27th:  The New York Times now has parts of this story.

Time Magazine has this story about Howard Dean’s penchant for spending money in places where there are few Democrats.  Under his direction, the national party has been investing money and effort to build organizations in states where Democrats are scarce.  The idea is to build for the future.  Invest in party organization and voter registration.  Well the strategy has been heavily criticized for reducing the money available in close races in Ohio and other places that could pay dividends now.  On the other hand with the tidal wave of angst that threatens to drown the Republicans, we are beginning to see some results in some odd places like Montana, Idaho and Mississippi.

The State Department has conducted a poll of Iraqi young people and it turns out they agree that the US should leave immediately.  In the past there have been more general polls that showed that 75% or more of all Iraqi citizens want the United States to leave and believe that our presence is creating more violence that it saves.  This time the poll adds the idea that we should get out yesterday.  The plain simple truth is that America has failed to accomplish any of the goals that we enumerated except that we captured Saddam.

By sheer coincidence, Saddam is to be sentanced two days before our Congressional Election.  Isn’t it wonderful how Iraqi justice has triumphed and the government we installed is doing our bidding.  George must be pleased.

Some time in December, our troops will have been in Iraq longer than the free world took to fight World War II.  Let us not fool ourselves, W (worst ever) wants the oil.  There is no other reason for the United States to be in Iraq.  We have spent blood and half a trillion dollars and the result is that we are more hated than ever before throughout the Middle East.  China is getting most of the new oil contracts and our influence is waning.  Thank you W (worst ever).

Most of our postings are news stories with a few comments added to a link allowing you to read the story. This is a little different. I’ve been traveling the information super-highway and found some interesting comments made by other bloggers that I think are worth sharing.

Here are some

Election Day Still a Long Way Off
Molly Ivins As Posted on Alternet

Thinning the Herd
David Brooks Opinion - New York Times

Voters are Ready to Reject Republicans–But Can Democrats Get in Front?
Ruth Conniff as posted on The Progressive

Bush Spins the Rising Bloodshed: The Iraqis are killing Each Other over There
to sway your vote Here!
Arianna Huffington as posted on The Huffington Post

US Responsible for One of Worst Human Catastrophes in History
Peak David as Posted on Daily Kos

Are the Faithful Losing Faith
A Newsweek Poll/Article appearing on MSNBC.com

Waste Fraud and Abuse
Sterling Newberry as posted on TPM Café

Judge Orders Cheney Visitor Logs Opened
Matt Apuzzo article at ABC News

It’s beginning to look as if there will be something to celebrate on the evening of November 7th. But remember the lessons of 2000 in Florida and 2004 in Ohio! We must protect the integrity of our election process. Already Republicans are reportedly circulating letters to frighten and intimidate Hispanic voters. We cannot allow our election to be high jacked! The Democratic National Committee has placed an high emphasis on election integrity and here in Pinal County, Arizona we are putting on an effort to monitor the polls much more closely than in the past. Click here to read about our national party’s efforts.

As part of this effort, Joe Robison, Chair of the Pinal Democrats, has appointed Tom Bean of Casa Grande to act as Liaison for Election Protection and he needs your help.

Anyone who is going to be at a polling site needs to be on the lookout for voter problems. You may be there only while you are voting or be offering the greater help of volunteering to be a poll watcher. Either way, you can be of immense help by just watching what’s going on.

If you would like to be an official poll observer, you can obtain a letter from Tom Bean at BeanFam@Yahoo.com or Joe Robison at JoenmnRob@aol.com that will allow you to access into the polling place for the purpose of officially observing. There, you can sit and watch for potential problems inside and outside.

Here are a few things to watch for:

* Are persons standing outside with signs regarding who can or can not vote? We are especially concerned by efforts to frighten or intimidate Hispanic and minority voters.
* Have political signs been defaced or torn down?
* Are people upset? Do there appear to be arguments or disputes between voters and officials or other persons at the polling place? Are people leaving upset or crying?
* On the inside, are some people being delayed or ignored? Are they treated differently than others?
* Are there extremely long lines? Could it take more than an hour to vote?

These are problem signs. Please call us and pass the information on for investigation. We have professionals standing by to assure that our elections are open and fair.

Tom Bean (520) 483-8735
Joe Robison (520) 668-3156
Pinal Elections Dept. (520) 866-7570

This is very important to insure that all voters have the opportunity to cast their votes.

Today, the Shiite militia loyal to anti-American Muqtada al-Sadr, briefly took total control the the city of Amarah. This continues a pattern in the past few days where insurgents and militia troops are fighting pitched battles. They are beginning to occupy large areas for extended periods of time signaling the full fledged development of civil war. American troops are unable to suppress the violence.

This situation in Iraq continues to deterioriate. The United States military now admits failure in their efforts to suppress violence in Bagdad. US commanders publicly admitted yesterday that the two-month joint US-Iraqi drive to end the violence in Baghdad had to all intents and purposes failed.

The grim assessment, by the US military spokesman Major General William Caldwell, came as at least 38 Iraqis were killed in bombings in the north of the country, and the Pentagon announced that the death toll for the month had reached 73.

Meanwhile in Afganistan, our earlier successes are crumbling into failure. Observers say that the war against the Taliban is failing because American politicians rushed to proclaim victory.

W (worst ever) still believes that America must defeat the insurgents and win the war in Iraq despite the fact that most Americans still feel that the invasion and occupation were mistakes. “And so we will stay in Iraq, we will fight in Iraq, and we will win in Iraq,” said Mr. Bush (worst ever).

Lastly if this was not enough, let us remind you that the War on Terror has not been won, despite spending half a trillion dollars, deaths of thousands of US troops and hundreds of thousands of civilians in Afganistan, Iraq and the rest of the world. American intelligence estimates reveal that the U.S. is less safe than ever.