Mark your calendar! We SaddleBrooke Democrats are having an election eve party to hopefully celebrate some victories. We finally appear to be pushing back. Our best guess is that our Democrat candidates are ahead or tied with some 30 Republican incumbents in the House of Representatives. We still have a chance to pull out a Senate victory as well. Finally here in Arizona we have important House and State Senate races to watch; not to mention Chris Vasquez and Brenda Oldham!

Anyway, we are having a party! We have all worked hard and it’s time for us to kick back and watch the result of our labors.

The party starts at 6:30pm and runs to whenever. It is at the home of Mark & Stephanie Griffith which is at 64541 East Rosewood Drive. Their home is in Unit #6, just off Ridgeview Blvd near (northeast) of SaddleBrooke Club House. Please call 825-3219 or email to Webmaster@saddlebrookedemocrats.org to RSVP for a fun evening. We will have coffee, dessert, and some wine; but please BYOB. We will be watching the national election results early and switching to Arizona results after 8pm. If you want to bring a wireless lap-top do so! We a couple of computers to watch via the Internet.

One last note, during the day we will be maning a booth at Mountainview to welcome Democrats and Independents. A phone effort will also be underway that day to contact those Dems and Independent and urge them on to the polls. Please call if you would like to join our teams for either effort.

The Republicans are pulling out of three more congressional races as Democrats begin to pull away. Signaling retreat, House Republicans are scaling back television advertising in three highly contested races, officials said Tuesday, including Rep. Curt Weldon’s scandal-tinged bid for re-election in Pennsylvania and two open seats in Colorado and Ohio.

Some of the funds will be spent to help other Republicans in races that remain competitive.

In contrast to the Republican strategic retreat, House Democrats are expanding the number of districts where they are advertising, an indication of growing confidence as Election Day approaches. In recent days, the party’s campaign committee has moved into districts in New Hampshire, New York, Kansas and Nebraska that have long been in GOP hands.

John Kerry has once again engaged his mouth before his brain. In response to a “failed joke” the GOP is lashing out with virulent invective in an obvious strategy to divert attention from the Iraq War and its consequenses.

There is a semi-anonymous blogger post on TPM (Talking Points Memo) that has a few things to say about John Kerry. JF (only identified by his initials) calls for Democrats to give up on John Kerry. He may have a point.

The article goes on to discuss the Republican response. “When a majority of the public demands accountability for the Iraq fiasco, does the Bush Administration answer responsibly, with a strategy for success? No, they ignore the well-being of our troops, instead climbing on their backs, using Americans’ love and admiration for our fighting men and women as a cheap wedge to divide the country. These politicians are exploiting the very danger that they have irresponsibly placed our troops in – to score cheap political points in the week before an election.”

W (worst ever) held a wide ranging interview to set up his party for the midterm elections. Worst Ever said Wednesday he wants Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain in his administration until the end of his presidency, extending a job guarantee to two of the most criticized members of his team.

Bush, in an interview, also said he was determined that sanctions imposed against must be applied even though Pyongyang has agreed to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.  Click here to read the story.

Things are looking good. The last several elections have featured a surge for those evil-doers on the right. Well, this year there is no sign of any surge. Poll numbers for Democrats have been and remain positive according to Rasmussen Reports as of this Wednesday, November 1st.

In fact, this afternoon there is a new poll out of Virginia showing Democratic candidate James Webb out in front of Senator Allen.

In a new poll from the New York Times, a substantial majority of Americans expect Democrats to end or reduce military involvement in Iraq if they win control of congress. The poll found that just 29% of Americans approve of the way W (worst ever) is handling the Iraq situation (a new low low)! Nearly 70 percent of Americans said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war, and an overwhelming 80 percent said Mr. Bush’s latest effort to rally public support for the conflict amounted to a change in language but not policy.

In today’s Washington Post Jonathan Weisman and Jeffrey Birnbaum discuss the corruption culture of the Republican congress in terms of the sheer number of scandals affecting the elections.  It may just be our bias that shows but we’re pleased to note that almost all of these fifteen cases involve Republicans.

“Not since the House bank check-kiting scandal of the early 1990s have so many seats been affected by scandals, and not since the Abscam bribery cases of the 1970s have the charges been so serious. But this year’s combination of breadth and severity may be unprecedented, suggested Julian E. Zelizer, a congressional historian at Boston University.”

Last evening, former President Bill Clinton appeared before a cheering audience to rally the Democratic base and extend an arm of friendship to Independents. Clinton warmly endorsed Jim Pederson as a United States Senate candidate. A reported crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 was thrilled by President Clinton as well as Janet Napolitano, Jim Pederson and Gabrielle Giffords.

In a lead up to Clinton’s address, Jim Pederson gave a thoughtful talk to the enthusiastic crowd. It was among the best speeches that he has given this election season. Devoid of negative campaign expressions, he talked of the need to raise the minimum wage, to secure our border and to have better education and healthcare for all Americans. Bravo JIM! He got a rousing cheer when he told the audience that new polls show him in a dead even race with Jon Kyl and that the polls suggest there is a large number of undecided votes that need to be courted over the next four days.

However he may be described, Bill Clinton is charismatic and engaging. People listen to him. Clinton at times electrified and silenced the crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 at Reid Park, characterizing the Democratic Party as a force that can bring the nation back to the political center. “We are a practical, pragmatic people, not a radical people…We are not about cut and run, but we do believe in stop and think,” he said.

Several carloads of SaddleBrooke Democrats were able to make the trip and we can safely say that we were all happy, excited and energized by what we hears and saw.

W (worst ever) told us we were going to Iraq to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. Then he told us the mission was to bring Democracy to Iraq and to help rebuild Iraq into a modern up-to-date ally of the United States. Remember?

Then we had Halliburton, Bechtel, and other giant corporations get billions in no-bid contracts to “restore basic services in a country where the infrastructure was destroyed by the occupying forrces.” This was followed by allegation of corruption and malfeasance by the same American corporations.

Now we find out that the Republican congress has acted to prevent auditors from uncovering the bribes, thefts and corruption that has occurred in the name of “rebuilding Iraq.” Click here to read the story in the New York Times.

Continuing with this theme, Paul Krugman of the NY Times has written an Op-Ed piece that focuses on Bechtel. We recommend it for your purusal.

So here is your assignment for early next week. First of all, if you have not already done so, VOTE! If you have not mailed in your early ballot, take it directly to the polls on Tuesday (but please do not put in the mail after Friday)! On behalf of the SaddleBrooke Democrats, we ask you to vote for us old yellow dogs. The Republicans are not worth the effort this time. The country is moving in the wrong direction and we need your help.

Next assignment, FILL UP ON GAS! We think you should do this as there is a tinney whinney chance that Exxon and Halliburton are trying to influence your vote. As evidence, I (an old Wall Street yellow dog) would like to point out that crude oil prices are down 23% from the highs ($80 to $62). But, please note that gasoline is done 35% ($3.20 to $2.09)! The steeper fall in gasoline is likely to reverse itself as refineries begin to build margins. So fill up that tank and keep it full for a while. By January you will be happy you did!

Republicans moved to have Medicare require proof of citizenship for parents before rendering treatment to infants.  Under a new federal policy, children born in the United States to illegal immigrants with low incomes will no longer be automatically entitled to health care through Medicaid, Bush administration officials said Thursday.

Under the new policy, an application must be filed for the child, and the parents must provide documents to prove the child’s citizenship.

The documentation requirements took effect in July, but some states have been slow to enforce them, and many doctors are only now becoming aware of the effects on newborns.

Obtaining a birth certificate can take weeks in some states, doctors said. Moreover, they said, illegal immigrant parents may be reluctant to go to a state welfare office to file applications because they fear contact with government agencies that could report their presence to immigration authorities.

Who says Republicans are not mean-spirited?  How are we supposed to be proud of America?