James Ridgeway

In 1965, James Ridgeway helped launch the modern muckraking era by revealing that General Motors had hired private eyes to spy on an obscure consumer advocate named Ralph Nader. He worked for many years at the Village Voice, has written 16 books, and has codirected Blood in the Face, a film about the far right. In 2012, he was named a Soros Justice Media Fellow.

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Election Irregularities: Already Happening

—By James Ridgeway

| Mon Nov. 6, 2006 10:56 AM PST

Warren Stewart, policy director for VoteTrustUSA, a nonprofit that tracks voting irregularities at the state and local level, is reporting that voting problems have already begun. In 15 states there are provisions for early voting, and that's where the problems are occurring.

So far 5 states are involved. Voter choices are being flipped to the opposite candidates on all 4 electronic voting machines -- Diebold TSx, Sequoia Edge, ES&S iVotronic, and Hart InterCivic eSlate.

"Three counties in Texas report vote-flipping on the Diebold and ES&S machines," Stewart writes. "Three counties in Florida report vote-flipping on the ES&S and Sequoia machines. One county in Illinois, on the Sequioa Edge, and one county in Arkansas, on the ES&S iVotronic. In some cases, when the voter selects one candidate, the machine shows an opponent is selected instead."

A South Florida voter reports: "When I touched the one [button] for the Democratic vote, that button disappeared and the vote went to the Republican."

And from Illinois: "Corrine Stoker pushed the button for one candidate, but her voting machine showed she voted for the opponent."

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Church and State

—By James Ridgeway

| Mon Nov. 6, 2006 7:45 AM PST

A Christian Broadcasting Network blog has been asking readers "Which issues will affect your vote during the midterm elections?''

Excerpts from the discussion last week:

"Forget the politics. I am in no mood today. Let's just remember we all worship the same God, who is most merciful and benevolent, and must be heartbroken to see this quarreling. A situation too complicated to explain that has been most stressful for me has just been resolved by what can only be divine intervention. At the moment, I don't care who wins Congress, or if Baptists ever let gays marry, I'm just overjoyed I'm not losing the person I love most. Thank you, Jesus." —orpheus1984

"What difference does it make regarding political issues. Once a man or woman is elected into office, their whole character changes and all of a sudden they take ownership of the state they represent, or their country, and forget to represent the people. 'The People' is the last of their concern as long as they get their personal 'agenda'. As far as truth in government is concerned, it does not exist. Immorality, killing the unborn, homosexuality, lieing [sic], murder, theft are all reflective of the minds that govern this country" —darmar48

"I am just amazed at what a crazy frightening disease religion really is. Please keep it away from children and animals." —liberate

"…I believe our country has real problems to deal with, and none of them are the so called 'values' issues conservatives use to rally the faithful. How much time and money did the last Congress spend on such peripheral issues such as gay marriage, flag burning and Terri Schiavo while ignoring Social Security, the health care crisis in our country and gun control. No matter which side of these issues you fall on, you have to admit all these things have a far greater impact on our country than whether two people who love each other." —deacnblews

Read the discussion postings to date here.

And This Man Wants to be President?

—By James Ridgeway

| Sun Nov. 5, 2006 10:14 AM PST

Rudy Giuliani went to Pennsylvania this weekend to try and shore up Rick Santorum's tottering campaign for re-election to the Senate. "He really is something very, very special," Giuliani said of Santorum. "We can't afford to lose someone like that."

"After September 11, there is no excuse for not adequately seeing the threat," Giuliani said in a Wilkes Barre speech Friday. "If Rick Santorum is not re-elected and his opponent is elected and people like his opponent are elected, they are going to push us very, very hard to go back on defense against terrorists rather than being on offense the way we are now."

In an accompanying "Dear Conservative" fund raising note, Santorum pleads, "The stakes in this race are incredibly high! The choices voters will make on Tuesday will decide which party leads our country -- the common-sense, conservative leaders dedicated to defeating Islamic fascists and those who want to kill Americans, or the far-left liberal defeatists like John Kerry who will cut-and-run in the War on Terror and demoralize our troops by implying they are 'uneducated.'"

"P.S.,'' says Santorum, "The pundits and polls have given up on me, but I know that together we can defy the odds."

The Menendez-Kean Seesaw

—By James Ridgeway

| Sat Nov. 4, 2006 4:00 PM PST

The well respected WNBC-Marist poll of New Jersey has Menendez comfortably ahead in the New Jersey Senate race. The pros have been all over the map on this one. Here's what Marist says:

"As campaign 2006 heads into the homestretch, Robert Menendez receives the support of 50% of likely voters, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, compared with 42% who support Tom Kean, Jr. Eight percent remain undecided. There is an enormous partisan divide. 82% of Democrats support Menendez, and 81% of Republicans support Kean. The majority of independent voters back Menendez. He receives the support of 51% of independents likely to vote on Election Day compared with 39% for Kean."

Rats Fleeing a Sinking Ship

—By James Ridgeway

| Sat Nov. 4, 2006 9:12 AM PST

Vanity Fair's website is running interviews with leading neoconservatives who are trying to jump ship by attacking Bush as a nincompoop.

A few excerpts from the article by David Rose:

Richard Perle: "The levels of brutality that we've seen are truly horrifying, and I have to say, I underestimated the depravity." Perle holds the President responsible.

Kenneth Adelman, another leading neocon, once said taking Iraq would be a cakewalk. But now: "I just presumed that what I considered to be the most competent national-security team since Truman was indeed going to be competent. They turned out to be among the most incompetent teams in the post-war era."

Michael Ledeen, currently at the America Enterprise Insitute: "Ask yourself who the
most powerful people in the White House are. They are women who are in love with the president: Laura [Bush], Condi, Harriet Miers, and Karen Hughes."