It seems to me, the real victim of this season’s bizarre G.O.P. primary season is Mitt Romney.

Here is a guy who has been running for President for a long, long time. He has executive experience. He has business experience. He has lots and lots of money. He doesn’t look like a troll (think Ron Paul or Newt Gingrich). He doesn’t have a “Google problem.” He isn’t a fucking lunatic teabagger (think Michele Bachmann). He lost the suit. He can recite Snoop Dog lyrics. He never worked for Obama.

Yet, here we are with less than two months to the Iowa Caucuses, and where does Mitt stand? Oh…maybe 30%.

A couple months ago, “George W. Bush on Steroids” jumped into the race and became the instant front-runner—until he proved to have the intellectual capacity of George Bush on paint chips. But Romney still couldn’t break out.

More recently he has been polling neck and neck with a serial sexual harasser whose entire platform is a one-word slogan repeated three times. That is, until the heightened scrutiny caused some ideas twirling around in his head to leak out…or not leak out. And still Romney didn’t break out.

And now he is tied (or even trailing) a serial adulterer, who at one time was the most despised man in U.S. politics. And soon people will remember why. And they will despise him even more for being a lobbyist for Freddie Mac. But Romney will still be shunned by 2/3 of a disappointed pack of Republican voters.

That’s gotta sting.

But nothing will sting more than the stain of trailing behind Rick Santorum in the polls—even if only briefly. And I do believe Santorum is next in line for a fling with increasingly desperate Republicans.

It’s Tuesday. Please join us for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally.

We meet at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00 pm; a few folks will show up earlier for dinner.

This may be remembered as “The week that Republicans went for the Newtclear Option.” Here are a few clips to commemorate:

Can’t make it to Seattle? The Tri-Cities chapter of Drinking liberally meets every Tuesday night. Drinking Liberally Tacoma meets this Thursday. And next Monday there are meetings of the Woodinville chapter the Olympia chapter, and the Shelton chapter.

With 227 chapters of Living Liberally, including twelve in Washington state and six more in Oregon, chances are excellent there’s one near you.

The last Republican debate was spectacular—both comedy and tragedy. Here’s hoping tonight’s is equally entertaining.

You can stream the debate here.

Here’s your debate sandbox….

5:05: Mitt Romney SCORES…on the moderator.

5:10: The Paulistias are in force tonight!

5:28: Rick Santorum is asked, “If a Pakistani nuclear weapon goes missing, what do you do?” Rick proffers a complete non-answer. Correct answer for Santorum, “Shit my pants.”

5:30: Act I has concluded. Pretty disciplined debate so far. Lots of Obama bashing. But really, I haven’t heard much in the way of actual foreign policy proposals that differ from Obama’s.

5:37: Rick Santorum promises to surround himself only with people who think like he does. That’s fucking frightening!

5:35: And by asking Newt how he would “think outside the box,” I must assume the moderator means, “after pulling your head out of your ass.”

5:40: Rick Perry can see Mexico from his back porch!

5:41: Cain is no torturer…unless you consider his stint with Burger King and Godfather’s Pizza.

5:42: Cain is no torturer…except for stuff you can rebrand “enhanced interrogation.”

5:42: Michele BELIEVES in torture. I’m suspect that’s one of the things Marcus loves about her.

5:43: Kudos to Ron Paul for smacking down his fellow Republicans over the torture question.

5:44: And Kudos to Jon Huntsman for smacking down his fellow Republican over the torture question. Some things transcend party.

5:45: Mitt and Newt are pro-killing American citizens engaging in terrorism outside the U.S. Still…sounds like the Obama foreign policy!

5:48: Rick Perry is outrage that “cybersecurity can go on”?!?

5:50: Mitt will fix the china problem by, “Number one…acknowledge that they are currency manipulators.” There was no number two.

5:59: End of Act II. I missed the last 5 minutes of this act, so perhaps I missed something new, but I didn’t hear any real solutions (I mean, besides Michele and Herman reinstating torture).

6:02: Michele Bachmann way out-crazies my ability to liveblog about it!

6:04: Shorter Herman Cain on Middle East: “I can’t even put together a coherent sentence about the region, but Obama is doing everything wrong there.”

6:09: Rick Santorum’s understanding of the Constitution, the Geneva Conventions, and unlawful combatants is staggeringly naive!

6:11: Michele Bachmann has been chomping at the bit to get some zinger out about torture!

6:13: And…Michele Bachmann throws in her endorsement for Obama’s policies!

6:19: Wikipedia: “Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice.” If I understood correctly, Michele Bachman just argued to reverse Johnson’s vision. Michele Bachmann: Pro-poverty, Pro-racial injustice?

6:24: There’s that “lost nuclear weapon” question for Rick Santorum again. “I’d shit my pants.” Just say it, Rick!

6:28: That’s it?!? Just like that? Sheesh!

Postscript: There were no big winners or losers in this debate. And it wasn’t very entertaining. The most annoying thing was the perpetuation of the myth that the debt is the biggest threat to the U.S. right now. No…that isn’t the biggest threat.

The single biggest threat is the willingness of politicians to put party ahead of the good of the country.

Thom: The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly.

Veteran’s Day:

• Obama honors veterans at Arlington National Cemetery
• Maddow wishes DeMint a Happy Veterans Day (via OneGoodMove).
• Alyona: The MSM on Veteran’s Day
• Patty Murray calls for passage of her major veterans employment bill.
• Ann Telnaes: Veterans Day at Dover Air Force Base.
• Alyona’s Fireside Chat: The 1% that fights our wars

Prosperity for WA: What does it look like?

Thom: More Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

America Occupied:

• Young Turks: Occupy protester shot with rubber bullets.
• Alyona: Winter comes to the Occupy movement
• Garfunkel and Oates: Save the Rich:
• Alyona’s Tool Time: N.Y.Post.
• Olbermann: The ACORN conspiracy!
• Young Turks: Police attack UCB Occupy protesters
• Alyona: Police beat OccupyCal protesters.

Greenman: Ben Santer crushing the myth of global cooling.

Thom: There are no “free” markets.

Extended Daily Show interview with Bill Clinton.

The G.O.P. Primary Asylum:

• Sharpton: Enjoying the comedy show.
• Pap: The GOP’s search for a hero.
• The Debate in 100 seconds (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• Pap: GOP debate filled with STOOPID talk.
• Thom: Republican debate…more than one “oops.”
• Young Turks: Can Romney win the GOP nomination?
• Ann Telnaes: Romney aims for the GOP base.
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Mitt Romney, “I’ve got to worry more about ME than anybody else”.
• No Mitt, you didn’t care at all.
• Young Turks: Mitt Romney pretends he isn’t rich
• Hit the road, Mitt.
• Sam Seder: Herman’s secret harassment message.
• Young Turks: Herman Cain’s epic debate fail.
• Stephen on Herman’s Jimmy appearance.
• Maddow: Herman’s excuse (via The Political Carnival).
• Ed and Pap: How much did Cain cost the Koch brothers?
• Keith and Markos on Herman Cain’s statement.
• Young Turks: Rush Limbaugh smears Cain’s accusers
• Herman Cain makes some promises
• Ed: ‘serial’ sexual harasser Herman Cain on Nancy Pelosi
• Young Turks: Cain hurt in polls by sexual harassment charges.
• Sam Seder: Don’t dare ask Herman about sexual harassment at the debate.
• Actual Audio: Herman Cain sure loves the Koch Brothers.
• Jon: Oh! The Hermanity (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• The 12 best Herman Cain pick-up lines.
• Jon on Herman Cain’s growing pile of accusers
• Jon on Brain Freeze (via Political Wire).
• Rick Perry does the post-debate Walk of Shame (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• Sam Seder: Why is nobody asking the obvious question about Rick Perry?
• Young Turks: Rick Perry’s EPIC FAIL.
• Rick Perry’s top 10 excuses…
• Conan: On that Perry ad….
• SNL: Rock Perry explains last week’s problem
• Stephen on Rick Perry.
• Perry v. Perry: The ultimate reel (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• Alyona’s Tool Time: Michele Bachmann, “No work, no food.”
• An Occupy message for Michele (via Crooks and Liars).
• Lawrence O’Donnell: Here comes The Newt!
• Maddow: The scam that is Newt Gingrich

White House: West Wing Week.

Stephen on SuperPAC issue ads.

Rep. Joe “Dead-beat-dad” Walsh (R-IL-8) Comes Unhinged:

• Rep Joe Walsh yells at his constituents (man…he was much mellower with The Eagles).
• Thom: Breaking down Joe Walsh’s big fat lie.
• Sam Seder: Rep. Joe Dead-beat-Dad Walsh lies loudly at his constituents.
• Alyona’s Tool Time: Rep. Walsh yells.
• Young Turks: Rep. Joe Walsh, “Don’t blame banks!”
• Ed talks with woman screamed at by Dead-beat Joe (via OneGoodMove).

Young Turks: GOP pretend to attack the rich.

Alyona: Drone policy will come back to haunt us.

Rick Santorum nominates his way to Worst Person in the World.

Mark Fiore: SuperCommittee.

Jay Inslee for Washington:

Thom: Why is FAUX “palling around with terrorists?”

Campaign in 100 seconds: Why Obama’s numbers are on the rise. (via TalkingPointsMemo).

ONN week in review: Latest GOP debate concludes with candidates wrestling a pig and slaughtering it, and other news.

About Last Tuesday:

• Lawrence O’Donnell with DNC Chair: Democratic victories.
• Pap: Victory for women in Mississippi.
• Ann Telnaes: Personhood according to Mississippi.
• Olbermann with Markos on the big win in Ohio.
• Maddow: The booze vote
• Sam Seder: “Satan” wins in the Mississippi personhood vote!
• Pap: Corporate money loses in Ohio election
• Alyona: Voters reject Republican extremism.
• Young Turks: Wingnuts get their asses handed to them.

Bill Maher with some New Rules.

Joe Paterno is Worst Person in the World.

Maddow: A Pantheon of Pregnant Pauses:

Thom: The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Un-fucking-believable, that Joni Balter is. I’m told by journalism insiders that she used to be a young and eager reporter. But with age, and her acceptance into inner-sanctum of the Seattle Times misanthrope society, she has undergone the journalistic equivalent of atherosclerosis that has left her lazy and apathetic. Worse, her written opinions are banal, and lacking substantive intellectual analysis.

Here is a perfect example of lazy and substance-free Balter:

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has got to be joking, but I fear he is not. McGinn actually argues that if only the failed $60 car tab request to voters had been bigger — $80, if only — the poorly hatched plan would have been approved.

No, Joni. That isn’t what he argued. Here are his words:

I wanted a bolder transit package to get rail out to the neighborhoods. The City Council chose to fund a lot of smaller projects. It wasn’t clear to people what they were getting for their money.

Now, look, I am not a Seattle resident and I’m an infrequent consumer of the Seattle Times’ “product” (I mean, unlike Goldy, I hardly ever comment on their editorials…simply because I almost never bother to read their editorials). I don’t really feel compelled to protect McGinn from that fossil we know as the Seattle Times. But Joni’s claim is lazy to the point of being dishonestly misleading. It’s irresponsible.

McGinn was talking about substantive differences, and how voters might perceive a different value in the more extensive package.

Joni refuses to fire her synapses enough to get past the dollar amount.

McGinn is playing chess. Joni is playing checkers tiddelywinks dead.

I am on a bus at the moment, so I may not get a good feed for the debate. If you can, write about what you hear in the thread.

Or if you have poignant comments about Republicans, the Republican field, or the G.O.P. primary…feel free to spew ’em here.

4:53: Something to watch for: Will Herman Cain be positioned away from Michelle Bachmann?

5:37: I just got home, but with no functional television around, I am left looking for live streaming of the debate. No luck so far. Anyone else find a video or audio live stream?

5:45: Found a live stream here.

5:53: CNBC put Newt next to Michele? How long until we start calling her Mrs. Michele Gingrich?

5:55: Ron Paul, “We need to be able to opt out of EVERYTHING!”

6:12: New campaign slogan: “Santorum will bring people together!” Ewwwwwww!

6:17: Tomorrows headline: “Does Rick Perry suffer from early onset Alzheimer’s?”

6:21: Another possible headline for tomorrow: Rick Perry announces he is “withdrawing from the Republican…um…ahhh…ohhh…thing”

6:31: Just thinking about cutting the Department of Energy caused a blackout for Perry. No doubt he’s been thinking about cutting the Department of Education his whole life!

6:50: It’s over! What a snoozer…except for that DELICIOUS part with Rick Perry, seeding comedy shows and comedians for years!

Here it is…in all its deliciousness:

“Mitch McConnell is the one who has had his foot on the neck of this country’s economy….And the polls are now showing that Americans understand that Republicans are willing to sacrifice the health of our economy to have political advantage.”

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA-07) to MSNBC’s Chris Jansing.

I just got to the Ale House, and will provide commentary and results as I find ’em. Feel free to scream, shout, celebrate, and weep in the thread.

7:02: Okay…according to Lee’s twitterfeed here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from all around:

47% voter turnout predicted by Sam Reed.

KY Governors race is a 21% spread for Democrat Steve Bashear.

With 1/3 of precincts reports in Mississippi, Initiative 26 (fetal personhood) is going down 60% to 40%.

In AZ, it looks like Russell Pearce (author of the anti-immigration law, SB 1070) is on his way out…53% to 45% with an unknown percent reporting.

7:12: Pro-union is voting to reject Ohio’s “Issue 2” that would repeal limits on collective bargaining. I mean…if The Twitter can be believed.

7:15: Virginia Senate is currently 22 D to 18 R. It is starting to look like Dems will retain their Senate majority.

7:17: It looks like Republican Phil Bryant wins for Mississippi Gov. Too bad…I heard an NPR piece about Democrat Johnny DuPree last night, and he was very intriguing. Sadly, Mississippi will have to wait to have its first black Governor.

7:24: As an aside…It seems to me that there is some type of metaphor here: Herman Cain reaching up the skirt for America’s genitals. On the other hand, Herman Cain pulling America’s head toward his crotch seems like an even better metaphor….

7:56: Just before WA results start coming in, I’ll shamelessly steal a summary from DailyKos on called races:

• All KY statewide races (D), except Ag Commish (James Comer, R)
• All MS statewide races (R), except AG (Jim Hood, D) & Treasurer (uncalled)
• OH Issue 2 (good guys)
• ME Question 1 (good guys)
• MS Initiative 26 (good guys)

8:15: Very early results from a couple of counties (Franklin, Lewis, Kitsap, some of Pierce):

I-1125 (Kill transportation infrastructure): 52% yes to 48% no
I-1163 (Health care workers): 66% yes to 33% no
I-1183 (Costco’s Law): 62% yes to 38% no

8:26: I-1125 is now down by 1.5% with just under a million votes counted. Tim “Biggest Lie of My Life” Eyman is reportedly already trying to spin this as a “moral victory”. And by that, we mean, he got rich hawking the initiative.

8:30: AP calls I-1183. Get ready to cancel your Costco membership!

8:34: Jane Hague is up over Richard Mitchell 54% to 46% with 28% reporting. Booooooooooo!

8:41: In King County, with 25% reporting, I-1125 is losing 60% 40%.

8:42: For Seattle City council I hear incumbents all the way. Being a Redmond resident, I don’t really care.

8:44: I’m sitting next to Lee, and he is FORCING me to let you know that Initiative 1 in Tacoma (Makes pot possession lowest priority for law enforcement, like a similar thing in Seattle some years ago) is winning big time! [Update: 65% to 35%]

8:49: The other statewide recall this election is in Michigan HD-15, where Republican Rep. Paul Scott is being recalled. I’m seeing tweets that it is very close, but it looks like he has been recalled.

8:52: Dem. Reardon is winning in Snohomish. I’m not really a fan of Reardon, but Hope (R) is one scary motherfucker!

8:54: The most important statewide issue on the ballot this election is I-1125, that would restrict tolling, shut down light rail, and cripple Washington’s transportation infrastructure for years. As the vote trickles in, it becomes clear that the initiative is going down.

8:58: Old news now, but in Arizona, Wingnut author of anti-immigration law, Russell Pearce (R) is outta dare! This election has a certain amount of “extremism will not go unpunished” to it

9:17: In case you were wondering, Sherril Huff will continue to be KC elections director.

9:25: I-1125 is still down, but the margin has narrowed to 51% NO to 49% YES.

9:33: Surprise of the night: I-1125 is losing in Garfield County. Really? Garfield joins King, Snohomish, San Juan, and Jefferson counties? Well, it is only losing by 2 votes out of 864 (so far). But still….

It’s election day! If you haven’t done so yet, drop off your ballot. Then join us for an evening of electoral politics under the influence at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking liberally.

We meet at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00 pm, but a few folks show up earlier for dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle? Tonight there are also meetings of the Tri-Cities chapter, the Vancouver, WA chapter and Drinking Liberally Bellingham. Tomorrow night, Drinking Liberally Bremerton meets.

With 227 chapters of Living Liberally, including twelve in Washington state and six more in Oregon, chances are excellent there’s one near you.

Okay…maybe they didn’t strike a blow directly to Rob Mckenna, but by upholding the “individual mandate” in last year’s health care reform bill today, the Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit has struck another serious blow against the multi-state lawsuit.

Today’s ruling makes the third Appeals Court to uphold the law and the controversial individual insurance mandate. (I reviewed the pending lawsuits and decisions through July here.) One court has ruled against the law: the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta ruled 2-1 on August 11th against the insurance mandate provision in the law. This is the Teabagger-inspired lawsuit that Washington state AG Rob McKenna unilaterally joined against the will of the Governor, the Legislature, and the people. Mckenna takes credit for the instigating the lawsuit.

In today’s ruling the majority rejects the the Appellants’ central objection that, “Congress, for the first time, has actually commanded that all Americans purchase a product, health insurance”

We look first to the text of the Constitution. Article I, § 8,cl. 3, states: “The Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.” (emphasis added). At the time the Constitution was fashioned, to “regulate” meant, as it does now, “[t]o adjust by rule or method,” as well as “[t]o direct.”

To“direct,” in turn, included “[t]o prescribe certain measure[s]; to mark out a certain course,” and “[t]o order; to command.”28 In other words, to “regulate” can mean to require action, and nothing in the definition appears to limit that power only to those already active in relation to an interstate market. Nor was the term “commerce” limited to only existing commerce. There is therefore no textual support for appellants’ argument.

Of course, they then look to previous Supreme Court decisions. The bottom line: the Court rejects McKenna’s bullshit.

And my lunch break is over, so enjoy the rest of the opinion.

I’m going to delve into a bit of poll wonkery here, so if this kind of thing doesn’t trip your trigger, go check your email or something.

There are a lot of polls I’ll not bother to write about.

For example, the Zogby Interactive polls are pretty much bullshit because the samples don’t come close to approximating a random sample of eligible voters. Likewise, I usually ignore polls conducted on behalf of candidates or a party. In that case, the polls may use perfectly fine methods conducted to professional standards. The problem is that the results may be released strategically—that is, released if the findings are favorable to a candidate or party and kept private otherwise. In other words, the poll itself isn’t representative.

Yesterday I came across a new type of poll from SurveyAnalytics . Here are the sampling methods described in the top-lines:

SurveyAnalytics conducted an online survey of 2,001 voters in King County, including the City of Seattle. All of these voters were determined to be likely to vote in the November 2011 General Election. SurveyAnalytics recruited respondents from a voter list purchased from Labels & Lists, which included citizens who had voted in 2, 3 or 4 of the most recent General Elections. Respondents were contacted via e-mail following an e-mail matching process also conducted by Labels & Lists. Voters completed the survey online using SurveyAnalytics’ CityFeedback platform.

Okay…the methods sound interesting, although I don’t know how the “email matching process” works. Older folks are likely underrepresented because many still don’t have email addresses or computers. But traditional land-line polls under-represent young voters, who are more likely to have only a cell phone for a telephone.

SurveyAnalytics compares their sample to a SurveyUSA poll of King County taken in 2009, and they find very similar results for sex and ethnicity, as well as crudely categorized education and income variables. But the SurveyAnalytics sample is, as expected, slightly younger compared to SurveyUSA’s poll. An alternative interpretation is that the SurveyUSA sample—based on robocalling land-lines—was too old!

I cannot vouch for the representativeness of this poll. I do find the methods intriguing. With that…here are some results from their survey of 2,001 King County likely voters (MOE 2.24%) taken from October 29 to November 2:

• Obama 52%, Romney 24%, Neither 13%
• When asked for names of people running for Governor, McKenna’s name was given by 68%, Inslee’s by 57%
• A head-to-head match-up gives McKenna 36%, Inslee 35%
• Cantwell is at 54% to the sum of all other Republicans at 35%
• I-1183 (liquor privatization): 61% yes, 33% no
• I-1125 (Eyman/Freedman anti-tolls/anti-transit): 50% no, 38% yes
• I-1163 (background checks, training on long term care workers): 60% yes, 25% no

Again, keep in mind that these results are for King County only.

Out of curiosity, I’ve compared the SurveyAnalytics poll to the “Puget Sound” sample from the recent Washington Poll. I’m not sure what “Puget Sound” is defined as in the Washington Poll, but keep in mind that the samples in the two polls are not strictly comparable.

Obama does marginally well in King County by this poll at 52%. But the total of all Republican candidate percentages is only 24 36%, with Romney at 24%. The Washington Poll has an Obama—Romney match-up giving Obama 55% to Romney’s 37% in “Puget Sound”. The difference may largely be the number of undecideds, perhaps reflecting how the question was asked.

The most interesting finding is that McKenna and Inslee are practically tied in King County. This isn’t as bad as it looks for Inslee, as McKenna had an extra 10% of people who could say he was running. The Washington Poll found Inslee leading McKenna in “Puget Sound” 45% to 40%. As I mentioned earlier, Inslee probably does better relative to McKenna as more of the undecideds decide. And to win, he’ll have to do much better in King County in November 2012….

The I-1183 findings are more favorable at 62% Yes, 33% No compared to Washington Poll’s 52%, 42% split for “Puget Sound”.

Initiative 1125 loses by a whopping 50% to 38% in King County; the Washington Poll’s Puget Sound sample rejected the initiative by a more modest 43% to 42%.

It will be interesting to compare the actual vote in King County for the initiatives this election to these poll results, if only to assess whether this particular internet-based polling method is any good. And whether future polls of this type are worth our attention.

Alyona: Today is “Bank Transfer Day”:

Thom with The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly.

Conan does a same-sex wedding on his show (via Slog).

Ann Telnaes: Seven Billion.

Daily Show on how a bill donsn’t become a law.

America Occupied:

• Thom: OWS vs. Koch-ville
• South Park takes on the Occupy Movement.
• Young Turks: OWS-inspired Constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United.
• Gov. Scott Walker gets a taste of the human microphone (via Slog).
• Sam Seder: Anatomy of an OWS smear.
• The Occupy Main Street movement:
• Liberal Viewer: FAUX News blames protesters for police violence.
• Thom on revolutions
• Stephen tries to buy OWS
• Stephen isn’t done trying to buy OWS
• Thom: OWS is America’s first general strike in 65 years.

Sam Seder: The Republican “God” job plan.

Alyona: Mass corporate tax dodging.

Ann Telnaes: China to bail out the Euro.

Thom with some more Good, Bad, and Very, Very Ugly.

The Republican Primary Asylum:

• Mitt’s spending plan.
• Thom on the Mitness protection program.
• Why Mitt Romney is very bad for women.
• Mark Fiore: Zero-zero-zero.
• Liberal Viewer: FAUX News bias on Ron Paul poll.
• Stephen: Herman Cain’s foreign policy experience.
• Herman Cain’s innocent gesture.
• Newsy: Cain supporters call it a high tech lynching.
• Stephen on the impending sexual harassment allegations against him.
• Actual Audio: Rick Perry has an awesome tax plan.

Alyona’s Tool Time: John Boehner on Norquist.

Obama: On investing.

Glenn Beck is just happy to be noticed as Worst Person in the World.

Jon the Racist:

• Jon on The Donald’s charges of racism.
• Alyona’s Tool Time: The Donald on accusing Jon of being a racist.

White House: West Wing Week.

Judge William Adams (Arkansas County Court-at-Law, Texas) is Worst Person in the World.

Sam Seder: Ann Coulter’s, “Our blacks are the best blacks.

Twilight: “Say it”:

Are the Koch brothers denying your vote?

Alyona’s Fire Side chat: Escalating drone war unnoticed.

Thom: The secret list of 14 words.

Sam Seder: How do you debunk a Libertarian? Let ’em talk.

G.O.P.’s Big Job Creation Idea:

• Alyona’s Tool Time: The GOP’s “In God We Trust” resolution
• Jon: In God We Trust resolution.

Sam Seder: How racism still influences American politics.

Ann Telnaes: The McFib.

Ed and Pap: Tea Party is okay with sexual harassment.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Yesterday morning on KUOW, Darcy Burner announced her candidacy for Washington’s 1st CD. Weekday host Steve Scher interviewed Darcy about her run and her vision for the position. Here is the audio of the interview. It’s worth a listen:

[audio:http://www.podcastingliberally.com/podcasts/BurnerInterview.mp3]

Darcy Burner’s campaign web site can be found here.

It is election time in Washington state. Like me, you probably have a ballot and a voter’s guide sitting on the kitchen table.

Sometime this weekend, Kathy and I will sit down at the kitchen table and discuss issues and races as we fill out our ballots. And no, we don’t always vote the same way, but usually. When there is uncertainty about a race or ballot measure, perhaps she’ll pull out her Mac Air while I fire up my my Windows netbook, or maybe she’ll grab her iPhone as I grab for my Android phone and we’ll engage in a friendly research competition. Despite our “platform heterogeneity” we typically end up agreeing politically. The winner gets there first.

One of my favorite on-line resources is Fuse’s Progressive Voters Guide. Their statewide guide can be found here. County-specific and even city-level guides are available as well. So, if you live in King County, check this one out. Seattleites go here.

As much as I lament the demise of the voting booth, I welcome voting as a new and interesting (if brief) family activity.

Make sure you vote this week! It just might be fun.

There were hints, and clues, and even outright claims, but now it’s official.

I mean, if you can believe hack journalist David “Goldy” Goldstein…Darcy Burner is running for Congress in Washington’s 1st congressional district.

For me that’s great news—I live in the 1st CD. Looking at the redistricting proposals, chances are excellent that Darcy Burner will be my next representative.

Darcy joins a somewhat crowded field of Democrats for the 1st CD, including State Rep. Roger Goodman, Former state Rep. Laura Ruderman, and State Rep. Marko Liias. I would be happy to be represented by any of these folks. (Okay…maybe not so much Ruderman, who seems to be great at fundraising, but what else? I simply don’t know.) Darcy, just by entering the race, becomes the front-runner.

This isn’t just my opinion. Remember the poll that Publicola got wind of (and that I mentioned here) a couple days ago? It shows Burner unquestionably in the lead.

If the redistricted 1st CD bears any resemblance to its old self, a Democratic candidate coming out of the primary will almost certainly win the general. Rep. Jay Inslee (who is vacating the seat to run for Governor) has held the district since 1999. The district has voted increasingly Democratic in recent presidential elections: Al Gore won by 53%, John Kerry won by 56%, and Barack Obama won by 62%.

On top of that, the Republicans have no candidates of any note running. Well…James Watkins, the guy who challenged Inslee in 2008, is running again.

I met Darcy during her first congressional run against Rep. Dave Reichert. I have interacted with her, perhaps, a dozen times since then, including doing one interview. My excitement at today’s announcement is genuine…I really want her to represent me! My reasons haven’t changed much from what I wrote back in 2006:

It was clear to me from that first meeting that Ms. Burner was an extraordinary individual—she struck me as smart, well-informed, articulate, disciplined, confident, and full of energy. I had no idea whether these attributes could translate into success in campaigning and politics, but I thought that Darcy exhibited many of the good attributes that I wanted in a political leader, and she didn’t seem afflicted with the negative attributes found in so many political leaders.

I couldn’t vote for Darcy in 2006 or 2008—my house is located a bit north of the 8th CD in the 1st CD. For the 2012 election cycle, I am most pleased to welcome Darcy to the 1st!

(You can contribute to Darcy Burner’s campaign here.)