Island Dave's View

If you think the GOP is going to slow down its disinformation assault on the American people , you should seriously wake up to reality. Remember a few days ago, when the White House claimed that records of Bush's time in the Alabama National Guard had been destroyed?

Now, the White House has flip-flopped to claim that the earlier declaration was inadvertent and incorrect.

The Pentagon on Friday released newly discovered payroll records from President Bush's 1972 service in the Alabama National Guard, though the records shed no new light on the future president's activities during that summer.

A Pentagon official said the earlier contention that the records were destroyed was an "inadvertent oversight."

Like records released earlier by the White House, the newly released computerized payroll records show no indication Bush drilled with the Alabama unit during July, August and September of 1972. Pay records covering all of 1972, released previously, also indicated no guard service for Bush during those three months.

The documents which they have released offer no new evidence, and hence, no support for Bush's claims. If these are official documents, and they are the best the White House can come up with, I think it certainly leads one to conclude Bush et al. are simply liars. This stupid game over Bush's records makes perfect sense for two reasons: 1. Rove is a political genius who's knack for timing has long aided his pet politicians. 2. Bush was technically AWOL and any honest release of the documents would resulting in accusations of desertion, and undoubtedly, a failed 2004 campaign.

I'm sure this will not be the last "leak" of distracting information we get over the next week as the Democratic convention fires up. Expect the GOP to follow up on the leak of the Berger investigation with something more potent to cast shadow over the Democrats in Boston. Unfortunately, the GOP, and Rove for sure, are far from finished in this political fight.

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

These guys are backed into a corner right now.

They are cagey to begin with.

They are dangerous when survival is at stake.

It was certainly a hot one passing out fliers on Tuesday. Roger Eaton's brochures are well-designed, and for a change, actually spell out information useful for voters. The slick design is eye-catching, and I noted quite a few people actually stopping to read them details.

At the Emerald Isle spot, I probably only saw a total of 150 people, and managed to get fliers in the hands of 75-100. This, in a district which has about 2000 registered voters. Of course, many of these likely have more than one home, and stay away from the Island during this hot months and tourist season.

I spoke to a couple of die-hard Republicans who will be voting Kerry this year if he can present a reasonable argument. Even if he does not, these people asserted, Bush would not get their votes. The war in Iraq, in particular, was a subject of heated discourse. I listened as one Korean Vet railed against what he called the "murder" of our service members in the name of a personal grudge match between Bush and Saddam. On man told me he had voted Republican in every election over his lifetime (probably about 50-55 yo), but would never vote for Bush. In fact, he is so disgusted with Republicans that he declared he would not vote for a single Republican this year. I talked to him for a long period of time about Roger's campaign against Wacky Walter Jones, and pointed out Roger's strong belief in protecting our military, and seeing them rewarded at a level which better represents the depth of sacrifice these people make. Concurrent receipts, I told him, is a big issue for Eaton, and expect him to push his support for improving the lives of our military men and women in every way possible.

Another man I spoke to told me that he was a Republican, but occasionally voted Democratic when he felt the need. A Mike Easley (Dem Gov-NC) supporter, he said he voted for Bush 1 but not the second time (he voted Perot), Dole, and then Bush 2. He's not a great fan of Kerry, but said the supporting the "alternative to Kerry would be like me having voted for Clinton in 1992." Though I'm not quite sure whether that is a good thing or ill, I'll nonetheless take that as meaning he'll not vote for Bush2 this year.

All in all, I believe I talked to six open Republicans who voiced at least moderate support for Kerry, four of which gave an affirmative when asked if they believed Kerry would get their vote. Now for some rough math (I'm too lazy to draw up a chart, so bear with me)...

2000 voters, split 45%Rep35%Dem20%UA. 900 Reps, 700Dems, 400UA.

The register was split fairly evenly on turnout. Quick guess said 55% voted in Rep, 45% in Dem (NC unaffiliateds can apparently vote in either) This falls almost perfectly in line with overall makeup of district, assuming UAs are split in this area between the two parties. Out of 900 Reps, approx 75-15UA=60 showed up to vote. 4 of those chose to voice strong opinions against Bush, with a vote for Kerry in Nov. 2 more sounded likely, but I won't stand on it. And these are just the few who chose to stay and speak to me. May not sound like a great deal, but honestly, in this dominating conservative district, where Reagan Dems are common, 4 strong opinions, in public, by die-hard Republicans, against Dubya, is a very, very positive sign. 1 in 15 were outspoken, and I am confident there are many others who feel similarly who, however, did not voice them to me.

I have no doubt, despite the likely poll swings between now and November, that many traditional Repubs are sick of the growing government, defense carelessness, and fiscal deficiencies, and will, at the least, not vote for Bush.

If the GOP is going to push Nader, we should be pushing Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate. Badnarik has even started buying ad space on Daily Kos and other liberal sites in the effort. Not that I necessarily agree with the GOP tactics, but unfortunately, this is not the year to be hampered by "white" ethics concerns. White, as in "white lie", no racial overtones here. If a Badnarik campaign can draw Nader-like votes from Bush, which I honestly be greater of an impact than Nader, the third party race would effectively achieve a draw, and therefore, a landslide victory in November for Kerry (mark my words.) That is, unless e-vote hackers or terrorists don't manage to alter the votes totals in the voting machines.

Roger Eaton for Congress is manning polling locations to hand out fliers for his campaign. I'm heading down to the Emerald Isle location now with stacks of them, though I seriously doubt that many people will turn out. Roger is not on the primary ballot, so I'll be passing them out as people leave the building so as not to create confusion. Plus, the trash cans are inside and I'd rather have them toss the fliers in the car, where someone else might fight them, than stuff the "memory hole" trash cans in the building.

It should be an interesting time since I have never handed out literature before. But Roger's campaign is both a positive one as well as a true "underdog" scenario which deserves every ounce of support I can give. He is a genuine, intelligent, and reasonable person who has witnessed the lack of representation from Wacky Walter, and hopes to remove Jones from the seat Jones likely believes is his by default.

Unfortunately, my Outfoxed did not arrive in time to screen for my house party. It was pretty frustrating, especially considering the fact that I ordered the DVD within a few hours of receiving the initial House Party email from MoveOn. I'm not sure quite what happened, but my suspicion is that they ran out of DVDs early on, and shipped mine later when replacements were procured.

I was offered an opportunity to receive and overnighted, rush delivery from MoveOn on Friday. I responded on time, but alas, no video arrived. I had to cancel the house party instead, a pretty disappointing turn of events.

Naturally, what shows up Monday morning? Both copies of Outfoxed. The mailed version was my requested DVD, but the rush copy was a VHS (I had requested DVD for it as well.) This is one reason I suspect the DVDs were out of stock for a bit.

Anyway, I am going to try to reschedule the event. Roger Eaton has said he would certainly like to attend and get a chance to meet everyone. He stopped by my place just a few minutes ago with his campaign manager Larry Spell to drop off fliers for the primary.

Although he is not facing primary competition (and thus, not on the primary ballot as per state rules), the campaign wants to hand out fliers to those who show up at polling places. The brochures are really very stylish, concise, and unlike most political fliers, actually contains information about Roger's platform. Tiffiney and I will be handing them out during the primary tomorrow at Emerald Isle and Pine Knoll Shores.

Now, as to the Outfoxed movie, which I watched this morning, here is my take: Brilliant, provocative, but unlikely to impact media relations in time to affect 2004 campaign coverage. MoveOn has filed a complaint with the FTC about Fox's trademark "Fair and Balanced" which the network is clearly not. Please sign the complaint here. Read the full complaint here.

The movie itself offered quite a few different perspectives on the Fox bias, but honestly I thought there would be more direct accusations. Robert Greenwald, the director, clearly wanted to leave some of the arguments open-ended without drawing a commentated conclusion (other than Fox is a biased group of networks.) But the movie's subtitle is "Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, so I expected a bit more focus on the person behind the punditry. Murdoch is clearly addressed in the movie, but I feel he got off a bit lighter than he should have. Maybe that is why Greenwald is a producer and I am not: He knows how to just make a point without ramming his view down the watcher's throat.