I haven't been reading as much coverage as I normally do, but perhaps someone can explain this to me:

Why is Barbara Boxer asking to be called "Senator" instead of "Ma'am" being used so heavily by the Fiorina campaign?

[bitch]

oh, I know the polling numbers, I just think it's retarded to portray her as an elitist because she wants to be called "Senator", as if anyone else wouldn't shit a wig in the same position.

When my dad told me he voted last week, I was like "Wait, don't you wanna see if anything happens to change your mind?" Silence.

I hate early voting. I like the pomp, circumstance and old people smell of Election Day.

And I am sure he ended up voting for Nathan "Raw" Deal

The biggest surprise to me, being a recent transplant to Wisconsin, is how in the hell is this moron Ron Johnson actually beating Russ Feingold in the polls?

Feingold is also a classic liberal, a quirky guy who doesn't want DSCC help, and an easily identifiable candidate who has "been there too long" and "doesn't represent us anymore" -- a problem for incumbents around the country.

Feingold is also a classic liberal, a quirky guy who doesn't want DSCC help, and an easily identifiable candidate who has "been there too long" and "doesn't represent us anymore" -- a problem for incumbents around the country.

In GA I have no idea why Barnes and them aren't running ads saying "10 term Congressman Nathan Deal" and "Are you better of now than you were in 1998?" - but I hope it has to do with the fact that those seem like good issues, but don't poll well.

Of course, we're embroiled in our own scandal over here, and are trying to judge the fallout.

well we may end up with Chris Dudley as governor. The shitty ex-basketball player, yes. I guess loaning/investing money with rich powerful people in the state over the past few years has earned him some nice friends.

Face it: anybody who "talks politics" in impassioned tones, either online or in the meatworld, is completely wasting their time. Politics is for idiots; by definition, politics is designed to harness the power of the masses. Unless you are a professional PR person, or a cynical "political personality", or aspire to political office, then you are just a pathetic "Big Fan" of politics. You have as much influence as a baseball or football fan has in watching and cheering for their favorite team, either on TV or in person. Let's also remember that 99% of all this political process and political movement is just happening inside people's heads. It is a boring, banal menage-a-trois between people, their televesions, and themselves-- a never ending pointless dialogue where people compare the relations and symmetries of ideas in impassioned tones, imaging themselves to be arguing with Olberman or Hannity or whoever makes them itch.

South Jersey Tea Party candidate is a Democratic plant, report says

CAMDEN COUNTY — Democratic leaders in southern New Jersey recruited a fake Tea Party candidate to try to draw votes away from a Republican challenger in the 3rd District congressional race, a newspaper reported today.

Several Democratic operatives who spoke to the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill on the condition of anonymity detailed how the campaign of first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler and officials in the Camden County Democratic Committee ran the petition drive to get Mount Holly picture framer Peter DeStefano on the ballot. Operatives also told the newspaper a county Democratic employee is running DeStefano's campaign.

Polls show that Adler is in a tight race against Republican challenger Jon Runyan. DeStefano, Adler and top officials in Adler's campaign did not immediately return calls or e-mails from The Associated Press on today.

Previously, they have denied Republicans' accusations that DeStefano was a plant intended to siphon votes away from whichever Republican would emerge from last June's primary to face Adler.

In an August interview with the AP, DeStefano displayed a stack of books by Tea Party favorites like Dick Armey and Glenn Beck and blasted both Adler and Runyan ruthlessly.

He fended off questions about Republicans' accusations and Tea Party organizations' claims that he wasn't even a member, though he was running for congress with the slogan "New Jersey Tea Party." While there are several Tea Party groups in New Jersey, none goes by that name. Some Tea Party groups are supporting Runyan.

"Any American citizen can run for any office they want," DeStefano said. "I think it's time we get past this crap."

He refused to answer questions about precisely when he decided to run.

The operatives told the Courier-Post the plan was shared with members of the South Jersey Young Democrats, and some in that group gathered signatures for DeStefano — while others didn't because they thought the plan was unethical.

Republicans started raising suspicions about DeStefano months ago for two reasons. First, most people didn't realize he was in the race before the Democrats released an internal poll that showed the unknown Tea Party candidate drawing about one-tenth of the votes.

Then, Republicans poured over DeStefano's nominating petitions and found many of the signatures were from Democrats, including a former Adler campaign staffer.

Adler is exceptionally well funded, especially for a first-term member of Congress. By June 30, he had nearly $2 million on hand in his campaign funds, even after spending over $500,000.

But Runyan has been seen as a threat. He's a popular recently retired member of the Philadelphia Eagles running in a sprawling district that usually elects Republicans.

The campaign has been nasty and not especially focused on policy issues.

Adler has criticized Runyan for eschewing open-format debates, keeping donkeys on his property to qualify part of it for a lower agricultural tax rate and not denouncing spending by independent conservative groups that have targeted Adler.

Runyan, meanwhile, has expressed outrage, claiming Adler falsely tried to link him with Republicans who want to privatize social security. He also filed charges accusing an Adler campaign volunteer of harassing his 8-year-old daughter while she played outside by taking photos of Runyan's home.

I'm still amazed at the support David Vitter gets.