Author: politicalal

According to the latest Rasmussen poll yesterday. link to polling info These poll numbers seem a bit iffy to me considering that Noriega was only 4 points down last month. In any event, Noriega still has another few days on Active Duty this week

As we all know, bad polling numbers can really suffocated national momentum. I do question these polling numbers and I will explain why.

Although last months numbers may have been a bit too optimistic.

The poll gives this information

Cornyn is supported by 86 percent of Republicans and has a two-to-one edge among unaffiliated voters. Last month, his lead among the unaffiliateds was just four percentage points. Noreiga attracts 72 percent of Democrats, down from 81 percent a month ago.

The Democrat leads among voters under 30, reflecting a nationwide trend. He is competitive among those who earn less than $40,000 a year. However, Cornyn has the advantage among adults over 30 and those with annual incomes topping $40,000.

Incumbents who poll below 50 percent are generally considered vulnerable. Cornyn has moved slightly above that threshold, but many of his colleagues remain in challenging races

Now of course this comes from Rasmussen so I see a little bias right there. I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist except when it comes to Karl Rove, but maybe they even had bad numbers last month on purpose so they could balance them out with improved numbers this month and show the momentum was going back to Cornyn. After Cornyn voted against the New GI Bill and Rick has started receiving national attention I just do not buy these numbers. Maybe last months were out of whack, but I certainly see this as being less than 17 points. I think they can only go up.

Maybe he got some play from his crazy logic last week that the Global Climate Change bill would cost Texas 300k jobs. Mind you that gas prices have skyrocketed to over $4.00 while Cornyn and his Republican Cronies have been in Congress. That rise of gas prices certainly hasn’t cost the citizens of Texas any jobs right?

Cornyn did get some mileage out of saying that the global change bill would cost gas prices to rise immediately. scroll down to bottom of article for quote

So as gas prices rise and Democrats are increasingly spending more money for the necessities with the status quo politics of the Republican adminstration, John Cornyn’s poll numbers mysteriously rise. I’m going to do what I can to make this and other races competitive.

go to this act blue page

or click on the thermometer to make a difference now

 

I wrote a diary earlier this week. I am now re-pushing this page in light of some earlier discussions that I had. I think that it is important that we send a message to all those that voted against the GI Bill that we will take note.

I donate $20 to Noriega earlier this afternoon. Can anyone match this? I would love to give him the max, but cannot afford to do so. So therefore I am raising through blogging and friends that I have encouraged to give.

If you can spread the wealth and send these other candidates a few extra bucks it is worth it. We need to have a collective message that every Senator should be held accountable for their stance on how they treat veterans.

I have started a fund that will help those running against Senators that voted against the GI Bill race last week.

This fund will not only help such races as Noriega in Texas, but also bring attention to places like Alabama and Tennessee.

Join me in supporting candidates that actually support our Veterans through such mechanisms as increased funding for GI education and increased funding for mental health care.

We should not give up races in Alabama and Tenn and South Carolina because the polls and the pundits tell us a Democrat cannot win there.

see http://actblue.com/page/gibill

Breaking down some of these races

Alabama – I am very much active in trying to raise awareness for this issue because of the poor record of Jeff Sessions. We have an excellent candidate in Vivian Figures and I ask that you visit her website.

http://www.figures2008.com

Sessions never served in the military and is voted amongst the worst by veterans groups in terms of support.

Tennessee – Bob Tuke is a Vietnam Veteran. Lamar Alexander also never served in the Military. Voted against the GI Bill. Alexander among the top ten enemies of Veterans.  This is a longshot race also but any support will help but this in the public.

Read this Washington Post article for more on this issue.

Veteran having trouble with benefits.

Texas – Rick Noriega is running against John Cornyn. Noriega is perhaps the most well known of this bunch. Noriega is running hard on improving benefits for veterans. Cornyn recieved awful rating from Veterans organizations and is perhaps one of the most prolific in the GI Bill debate with the argument that it would cause retention problems. Help Noriega as much as you can but also help others.

South Carolina – Lindsey Graham consistently voted against health care benefits for Veterans. His voting record shows consistency in voting against improvements in veterans health care and this will cause more issues with high amount of PTS and mental health issues on the rise. Do what you can to help support the Democratic nominee.

I just read the Analysis on the Alabama Race which has been dedicated as Tier III by your site.  I will offer my own analysis as to why that is incorrect and hope to encourage readers and bloggers to take note and possibly even donate a little pocket change.  

First of all there are several reasons why this race should be more closely examined

1. There have been a lot of campaign activities since March 27, contrary to what the report read. There have been fundraisers and grassroots events all over the State. Perhaps the main reason that there has not been more notice is that Vivian Figures has been involved in the state legislative sessions much of the past few months. Furthermore, Senator Figures has received a lot of attention for her sponsorship of a bill to ban smoking in most public places. This is a very important health issue and extremely popular with citizens over the state.

2. Sessions voted against the GI Bill.

As a article from the Tuscaloosa News said today, “In doing so, Sessions, who is up for reelection this year just may have handed his likely opponent, state Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, a campaign issue on a silver platter.

Bush and his die hard congressional supporters contend that passage of the bill would hurt retention of troops by giving them incentives to leave the military earlier than otherwise, since they currently don’t qualify for educational benefits until longer stints in the military.

Proponents say it is just the opposite — by promising tuition aid after only three years, more patriotic young men and women would be more likely to enlist since they could realize their dreams of attending college sooner than is now the case. Such enlistments would more than make up for those who leave service “early” under the new benefit package, both the Congressional Budget Office and the supporters of the bill say.

Veterans benefits are becoming very important nationwide and especially the South.

3. There has been a lot of movement in Southern races as evidenced by the special election races. This will be further helped by Obama increasing turnout as well as rising gas prices and a troubled economy.