"Fear Up" in the City That Doesn't Sleep

And to find out more about the show, and get tickets, you can go here:

http://www.democracycellproject.net/gallery/fearup.shtml

And I'm planning on going on opening night! Anyone else?

Lucky you Carol!

I can't go but wish I could.

****

I just got back from voting in our primarys. Happy to report two things:

1. no diebolds---although they were optiscans but there is a paper trail of my vote!

2. For a small town, at least half the people who voted while I was there asked about the Diebolds and the security of their vote.

Wow, Suz - I think that is really great.

Maybe people ARE starting to pay attention...

Guess what? No help whatsoever from that lawyer we went to see. I think he was as confused as I have ever seen anyone once he heard what we were saying.

We are totally running out of options. The DOJ keeps reffering us to the FBI the FBI is reffering us to the DOJ, Colorado cops are being stonewalled too, and we are still waiting on a call back from the State Attorney Generals office and the ACLU.

Ok now the AG called back and we are being reffered to the LA State Police Captian of Detectives. Which is only slightly higer than the LA State police we started with.

A 23 year redundant nightmare is what this is.

And looky looky what the Red River Parish DA, in office since 83 is now saying, I guess as an excuse to 'stonewall' the Colorado investigation...

"But not all law enforcement agencies are pleased with the trio's methods.

Red River Parish District Attorney Bill Jones said the El Paso County sheriff's investigators disclosed confidential information about two unsolved murders and a missing persons case, all in Browne's hometown of Coushatta, in an arrest affidavit that was made public July 27. The lengthy court document was released in conjunction with Browne's indictment for first-degree murder for the 1987 death of a Colorado Springs, Colo., teen.

Case files pertaining to the homicides of Katherine "Fuzzy" Hayes, 15, in July 1980 and Wanda Faye Hudson, 21, in May 1983, and the disappearance of Faye Aline Self, 26, in March 1983, were shared during a fact-finding meeting held in February in Dallas. Law enforcement agencies from several states in which Browne has confessed murders attended.

"They have no investigative interest or jurisdiction over our cases so why did they need that information on what we had here to get a warrant up there? We shared our information in confidence," Jones said. "The best thing is to let the (Louisiana) state police continue to investigate to see if they can prove what (Browne) is saying."

"They ought to let us finish before they start making comments," Jones said of the El Paso, Colo., authorities.

Jones pointed out a time in the 1980s when confessed killer Henry Lee Lucas also took credit for Self's murder, along almost 600 other people across the nation -- a claim he later recanted.

"I'm not saying Robert Browne did do it or didn't do it. ... I just don't need to reveal some of our stuff that's going on right now. But there will be an appropriate time for us to make a comment on all of this," Jones said.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060808/NEWS03/608080318/1002

Good luck with FEAR UP!
Nice interview, Fe!

"They have no investigative interest or jurisdiction over our cases so why did they need that information on what we had here to get a warrant up there? "

"They ought to let us finish before they start making comments,"

Yeah cause 23 years was not enough time apparently.

" I just don't need to reveal some of our stuff that's going on right now. But there will be an appropriate time for us to make a comment on all of this,"

Have you ever heard anything more inane or creepy?

Wow that is,,, I do not even have words for what that is.

More to tell...

Incumbent Joe Schwartz is involved in a heavy-duty battle against challenger Walburg. I had voted for Schwartz in 04 as a moderate, which he ended up not being. (OK...he did vote against Anwar drilling before he abstained from the vote later. (Perhaps, this is why he was able to get bragging rights over keeping one of the bases open in our district.) (And he abstained from the Social Security decision last year.)

He voted with the neoCons on Shaivo, on bankruptcy, on the war, on budget, etc.. I don't know where you find out the percentage of votes with GWB...but my guess is that his is around 92%.

At any rate...this little juicy smear fly-er came in today's mail.

"LIBERAL Congressman Joe Schwarz supports using your tax dollars to pay for VIAGRA (bold and cap'd on the page) for welfare recipients.

(Nice pretty picture of pills...)

On the other side:

"It's hard to believe, but it's TRUE! (CAP and HURGE on the word true) Liberal Congressman Joe Schwarz voted to use your tax dollars to pay for Viagra for welfare recipients. Source house vote 312, 2005

But Schwarz's liberal record of wasting your tax dollars didn't stop with taxpayer funded Viagra. Schwarz also voted to use your tax dollars to pay for a swimming pool in California, and Aquarium in Connecticut, and even a Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska. source: house vote 277 2006 house vote 298, 2006, House vote 65, 2005

That's not just liberal, it's shameful.

Call Joe schwarz at 517 783 4486 and tell him to change his shamefully record of wasting our tax dollars.

address:
Club for Growth State Action, 240 Waukegan Road, Glenview, Il 60025"

So I did a little research...not liking the smear on Liberals since those things he voted on were with the Republicans. Whoever is smearing him is clearly "right" of him. First, I tried to get the phone number from Information. No such name at that address, just a doctor. The doctor's office told me that there is a "government office" that rents the office above them on the second floor. They would not give me the name.

So I call information again and ask for the business on the second floor. The business they connected me to USE to rent that office around 2 years ago but have now moved.

So I am sort of hitting a wall on finding out who is smearing libs and Shwarz in one swooop.

So next, I called the number on the fly-er. I spoke to a women there and asked her about the fly-er. She told me that Club for Growth State Action is a Washington DC based lobbying firm that represents many industries.

I'm chasing that info down next. In the meantime, she said that the Viagra was used for infants and children with heart dicease. And the only way to approve the ingredients in Viagra for that purpose was to approve Viagra. (Schwarz is a former md if that makes a difference to any of this.)

I found these articles on Viagra and children with heart disease.
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/07/25/pul.viagra/index.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8598304/site/newsweek/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8206066/

Looking forward to seeing you again, Carol, at FEAR-UP, Friday.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jimmy_carter/2006/08/jimmy_carter.htmlBreaking the cycle of violence

The people of the Middle East deserve peace and justice, and we owe them our support.

Jimmy Carter

The Middle East is a tinderbox, with some key players on all sides waiting for every opportunity to destroy their enemies with bullets, bombs and missiles.

One of the special vulnerabilities of Israel, and a repetitive cause of violence, is the holding of prisoners.

Militant Palestinians and Lebanese know that a captured Israeli soldier or civilian is either a cause of conflict or a valuable bargaining chip for prisoner exchange.
(snip)
This stratagem precipitated the renewed violence that erupted in June when Palestinians dug a tunnel under the barrier that surrounds Gaza and assaulted some Israeli soldiers, killing two and capturing one.
(snip)
Hizbullah militants in south Lebanon then killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others, and insisted on Israel's withdrawal from disputed territory and an exchange for some of the several thousand incarcerated Lebanese. With American backing, Israeli bombs and missiles rained down on Lebanon. Soon, Hizbullah rockets supplied by Syria and Iran were striking northern Israel.

It is inarguable that Israel has a right to defend itself against attacks on its citizens, but it is inhumane and counterproductive to punish civilian populations in the illogical hope that somehow they will blame Hamas and Hizbullah for provoking the devastating response. The result instead has been that broad Arab and worldwide support has been rallied for these groups, while condemnation of both Israel and the United States has intensified.

Israel belatedly announced, but did not carry out, a two-day cessation in bombing Lebanon, responding to the global condemnation of an air attack on the Lebanese village of Qana, where 57 civilians were killed and where 106 died from the same cause 10 years ago.
(snip)
The urgent need in Lebanon is that Israeli attacks stop, that Lebanon's regular military forces control the southern region of the country, that Hizbullah cease as a separate fighting force, and future attacks against Israel be prevented. Israel should withdraw from all Lebanese territory, including Shebaa Farms, and release the Lebanese prisoners. Yet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected such a cease-fire.

These are ambitious hopes, but even if the UN Security Council adopts and implements a resolution that would lead to such an eventual solution, it will provide just another band-aid and temporary relief.

Tragically, the current conflict is part of the inevitably repetitive cycle of violence that results from the absence of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East, exacerbated by the almost unprecedented six-year absence of any real effort to achieve such a goal.

Leaders on both sides ignore strong majorities that crave peace, allowing extremist-led violence to preempt all opportunities for building a political consensus. Traumatized Israelis cling to the false hope that their lives will be made safer by incremental unilateral withdrawals from occupied areas, while Palestinians see their remnant territories reduced to little more than human dumping grounds surrounded by a provocative "security barrier" that embarrasses Israel's friends and fails to bring safety or stability.
(snip)
There will be no substantive and permanent peace for any peoples in this troubled region as long as Israel is violating key UN resolutions, official American policy and the international "road map" for peace by occupying Arab lands and oppressing the Palestinians. Except for mutually agreeable negotiated modifications, Israel's official pre-1967 borders must be honored.
(snip)
A major impediment to progress is the US administration's strange policy that dialogue on controversial issues will be extended only as a reward for subservient behavior and will be withheld from those who reject US assertions. Direct engagement with the Palestine Liberation Organization or the Palestinian Authority and the government in Damascus will be necessary if secure negotiated settlements are to be achieved. Failure to address the issues and leaders involved risks the creation of an arc of even greater instability running from Jerusalem through Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad and Tehran.

The people of the Middle East deserve peace and justice, and we in the international community owe them our strong leadership and support.

--This president was never adequately recognized for his peace efforts in the middle east and in fact was unfairly blamed for the Iran hostage crisis. With the wisdom of his age & experience, he now tells it like it is re US & allied foreign policy & also voting systems & democracy. DiAnne

Stress sent soldiers to drink and drugs, colleague testifies
Soldier at rape-murder hearing describes conditions in Iraq

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Stressed-out soldiers drank whiskey and downed painkillers to try to cope with "mentally draining" duty in Iraq, a private testified Tuesday.

Troops turned to alcohol and drugs as they dealt with fears of being attacked and killed, Pfc. Justin Cross said.

"It drives you nuts. You feel like every step you might get blown up. You just hit a point where you're like, 'If I die today, I die.' You're just walking a death walk."

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/08/iraq.mahmoudiya/index.html

Got fear?

Club for Growth State Action:

K-street 202-955-5500... Genevieve... Director of Government Affairs...Conservative 527, school choice, free market, limited government...

l Street 202-955-4466

http://www.cfgsa.org/

Click on my state or on Illinois that had the address on the smear card.

Is it possible that they used a false front out of Illinois for this or could it just be that the webpage is outdated?

Suz
Club for Growth sounded awfully familiar. I checked some sources, to support my memories, & yes - they funded an anti-Dean campaign in Iowa in 2003. They are up to no good, obviously.

Wow - "Lieberman Claims Website Hacked"

Speaking of security:

John Kerry Says Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson Should Resign After Further Security Lapses

Below is a statement from Senator John Kerry:

“Our veterans deserve better. Fire the incompetents. Americas’ veterans can not endure another “Brownie” in the Administration. Losing veterans’ most sensitive personal information must have consequences. There needs to be accountability. “

RE: Lieberman's site being hacked... Kos & DU have been on top of it all day. Here's the latest...

Two posts down it's clear that Lieberman's website isn't suffering from a Denial of Service attack.

But now I have the definitive answer as to why Lieberman's site went down.

They are paying $15/month for hosting at a place called MyHostCamp, with a bandwidth limit of 10GB. MyHostCamp is currently down, along with all their clients.

--snip--
Update: Dan Gerstein, Lieberman spokesperson, admits they have no evidence Lamont's campaign or his supporters are behind their website woes.

I'm telling you, it's down because they were too cheap to pay for quality hosting. That's a lesson to all of you campaigns skimping on hosting. $15 won't cut it.

Update II: Joe's site shares one server with 73 other sites. They pay $15/month for an overcrowded server, and then they blame others when it goes down? Full list of sites on Joe's server on the flip.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/8/153827/3493

Also...

As a public service to the Lieberman campaign, the Lamont campaign has just posted a cached copy of the Lieberman campaign website:
http://nedlamont.com/blog

A direct link to the Google-cached Joe 2006 site is also provided here:

http://72.14.209.104/...

Awfully decent of the Lamont campaign, don't you think?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/8/15280/27506

Posted by: DiAnne at August 8, 2006 04:01 PM

I'll see that condemnation and raise it a decible...

This country, the human race, indeed this planet, deserves better. At this point, the incompetence is either willful to the point of sinister, or truly disasterous by any means of reasonable measurement.

U.S.Arbusto

Thanks Fe--Joe is directing as I write! We are doing a run through at the moment--it is looking and sounding good.

Carol and Marjorie--cannot wait to see you both! We just got word that Emi Maclean, Center for COnstitutional Rights' Guantanamo Global Justice Initiative Fellow, will be leading the talk back after the show, along with Raed Jarrar. She (Emi) gets a mention here:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/07/14/factual_errors_cited_in_cases_against_detainees/

Every time I hear the words in this play, my sense of outrage is renewed, as is my admiration for those who can face such horror and persevere with clarity and humor.

Human beings, emphasis on the HUMAN part, are amazing. Artists are REALLY amazing.

Remember, you too can produce a reading of FEAR UP. Just email: fearup@democracycellproject.net and tell us what you want to do--anything from a group of friends in a living room to a fully produced evening. We want these stories known.

defarge in a close election this web site allegation could swing a few votes. Could this have been a stunt by the Lieberman campaign itself to win the last minute pitty vote? Desperate candidates sometimes do desperate things. It just seems to convenient since Jo has tried every other last minutes stunt the last 48 hours of his failing campaign. I like the other theory that his internet consultant was just incompitent. Will this be his justification to announce this evening that that is why he now has to run as an indepedent in Nov?

I just want to point out that Schwaz is looking like he might lose today to Walberg. He's comparign this contest to the Republican version of Lieberman and Lamont.

http://storiesinamerica.blogspot.com/2006/08/operation-house-call-week-six-day-two.html

....it was a devastating, heartbreaking moment when the Capitol police made Carlos Arredondo open up the full size casket that he drives around the country in honor of his son, Alex, hoping to prevent the loss of more lives. Carlos methodically removed the clips holding the flag in place, and removed his boy's boots from the lid. He hung his sons uniform, bedecked with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, on the crossbars of the Operation house Call sign. Military Families Speak Out members gathered around, as did the two park police who had come to challenge our permit. My husband survived his first tour. Should he be redeployed in 2007, all bets are off.

(more at the link)

early results from Connecticut, the Courant:

"Minutes after the polls closed, returns in the primary for U.S. Senate started coming in from Connecticut's smallest towns and the numbers were strong for challenger Ned Lamont.

Colebrook, Norfolk, Sprague, Union, Sterling, Sherman, Deep River, Bozrah, Avon reported early. Lieberman won in Sprague and Bozrah, but Lamont won the others, according to unofficial returns."

"With just 21 of 748 precincts reporting, the vote was 40.44 percent Lieberman and 59.56 percent for Lamont."

A New Beginning.

This is a long article but well worth the effort to read. >>>>

HOLY TOLEDO
Ohio’s gubernatorial race tests the power of the Christian right.
by FRANCES FITZGERALD
Issue of 2006-07-31
Posted 2006-07-24

Pastor Rod Parsley stood on a flag-bedecked dais on the steps of Ohio’s Statehouse last October and, amid cheers from the crowd below, proclaimed the launch of “the largest evangelical campaign ever attempted in any state in America.” A nationally known televangelist and the leader of a twelve-thousand-member church on the outskirts of Columbus, Parsley had gathered a thousand people for the event, and attracted bystanders with a multimedia performance involving a video on a Jumbotron and music by Christian singers and rappers broadcast so loud that it reverberated off the tall buildings south of the Statehouse. TV crews from Parsley’s ministry taped the event. “Sound an alarm!” he boomed. “A Holy Ghost invasion is taking place. Man your battle stations, ready your weapons, lock and load!” In the course of the performance, Parsley promised that during the next four years his campaign, Reformation Ohio, would bring a hundred thousand Ohioans to Christ, register four hundred thousand new voters, serve the disadvantaged, and guide the state through “a culture-shaking revolutionary revival.”

Among those who spoke at the rally were Senator Sam Brownback, of Kansas, and Representative Walter B. Jones, of North Carolina, both Christian conservatives, and J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio’s secretary of state, who is now the Republican nominee for governor. All talked about the need to bring God and morality back into government. “We refuse to give up or back up or shut up until we’ve made a better world for all,” Blackwell said.

For the past two years, the religious right in Ohio has been on a victory march. In 2004, a coalition of conservative Christian organizations campaigned statewide for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, enlisting hundreds of pastors and collecting half a million signatures. The ballot initiative, known as Issue One, passed with sixty-three per cent of the vote, and many concluded that this effort to bring out “values voters” won the state for President Bush, and returned him to the White House. Parsley and another megachurch pastor, Russell Johnson, of the Fairfield Christian Church, campaigned hard for the initiative, as did Ken Blackwell, whose role in overseeing the election procedures caused a controversy of its own, and who was the only Republican leader in the state to join them. Subsequently, the two pastors formed organizations—Reformation Ohio and Johnson’s Ohio Restoration Project—to get out the vote in 2006 and beyond. This year, there is nothing like Issue One on the ballot, but Blackwell, who carries the standard of the religious right, could become governor of Ohio.

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060731fa_fact1

I just want to point out that Schwaz is looking like he might lose today to Walberg. He's comparign this contest to the Republican version of Lieberman and Lamont.

Posted by: Suz at August 8, 2006 06:52 PM

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

If Joe Schwarz doesn't get a river of terrified Democratic voters crossing over into the Republican primary today, he stands a very good chance of losing the primary to the challenger Wahlberg.

If Joe loses in the primary to a Neander-Republican (Wahlberg), the Democratic party in the 7th Congressional will actually have to get off its butt and run a concerted campaign (that they are really trying to win, not just faking it)..... with REAL MONEY, and REAL CAMPAIGN EVENTS, and REAL LAWNS SIGN, REAL MASS MAILINGS and a REAL CANDIDATE. Since the Democrats are so out of practice doing any of this - actually running campaign - they will probably lose the 7th Congressional yet again.

Wow the big Lamont lead has vanished:

U.S. Senate - - Dem Primary
484 of 748 Precincts Reporting - 64.71%
Name Party Votes Pct
Lamont, Ned Dem 89,814 51.60
Lieberman, Joe (i) Dem 84,231 48.40

Posted by: ralpheh at August 8, 2006 09:50 PM

I did not vote for Schwaz. I did vote for a Democrat. My concern is like yours...I've seen few Democratic efforts out here. I saw Sharon Reiner shaking hands. I've seen Ream lawn signs by the road. That's about it.

Bush and Condi clash over Israel; president overrules her for the first time

http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/Condi4.htm

My husband handed me a note
LAMONT LEADING 52-48 w/73 percent of vote counted

Reuters

Suz
Boy did I eat up that article about Condi & W. I have wondered when this would happen -- she may be a neocon but at least she has to travel and actually LISTEN to world leaders. & if she's actually listening to people like Brent Scowcroft, or even Bush's dad ..

This is a quite opinionated little Canadian piece, alot of which I happen to agree with, about W's possible intentions re Cuba - fostering capitalism and calling it "democracy," questioning whether we really truly have "democracy" in US, exactly what it is that we spread and what our interests are (thinking in terms of the military-industrial complex & corporatism).
http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2006/08/08/01222.html

Dianne,

Yep, your link is right on target too.

rawstory calling the CT race for Lamont - 52-48 with 89% reporting.

www.rawstory.com

Ned Lamont 124,940 52%
Joe Lieberman 116,060 48%
Precincts Reporting - 651 out of 748 - 87%

Ned Lamont 133,801 52%
Joe Lieberman 125,427 48%
Precincts Reporting - 696 out of 748 - 93%

C-SPAN JUST CALLED IT FOR LAMONT!!!!!

I really hope Joe doesn't run as an independent. I feel he will break up the Democratic party if he does.

Lieberman about to concede on cspan now.

carol link?

Never mind. got my link to work.

Yep..he's filing independent!

I can't believe with all the evidence out there that he wasn't hacked that he just made that "When we're not hacked" comment!

Will Reid strip him of his committees now? Other sites want to get Reid to kick him off them.

He said he'd still disregard politics and vote the way he wanted - he STILL doesn't get it.

Alito, Schiavo, the war in Iraq, don't question the president....I'm glad he's not representing the dems. I just hope he gives up the independent bid, because he might cause the republicans to win.

I hate his stance on the war, but the Schiavo thing really put me over the edge. Not that I vote in CT or anything, but still.

And here comes Ned Lamont!

www.cspan.org

Well - off to bed. I'm sure the thugs will be spinning this in their own way in the morning. But for now, it's nice to see the people of CT sending a message to Washington. I hope they get the message loud and clear.

Off to bed soon too .. George Galloway was on NPR & Monbiot of the Guardian wrote a pretty provocative piece today (the latest war could have been pre-meditated). Also just caught an update on Kos of something I've been watching even though ltd news access at work - oil spill in the Mediterranean that could rival ExxonValdez in Alaska, when Israel hit a Lebonese plant (& now we have the new BP mess in Alaska). Only I had read somewhere earlier that it wasn't just oil - also I think Xylene (or similar, like Toluene), which is highly highly carcinogenic. & then reading about the guys who got high on Iraqi cough syrup out of desperation (same who raped a 14 year old then killed her & family). Such a world ..

TIME TO KICK KISSIN' JOE OUTTA THE PARTY!!!

BTW Schwarz is losing to Wahlberg - it looks like Schwarz will lose too..

Wow the Connecticut primary got all this foreign press already!

Posted by: ralpheh at August 9, 2006 12:05 AM

Ralph.

I don't know...even a former right-moderate Republican (sorry...he's still not in the old Republican style) is better than a complete neocon. Read this:

Wire and staff reports

Former state Rep. Tim Walberg defeated freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz on Tuesday night in the hotly contested 7th Congressional District Republican primary.

Schwarz, a Battle Creek surgeon, conceded the race after 11 p.m. With 68 percent of the district's precincts reporting, Walberg had 55 percent, or 24,564 votes, to Schwarz's 45 percent, or 19,739 votes.

The contest, which has drawn national attention, represented an ideological clash between Schwarz, a moderate, and Walberg, who was one of the most conservative state lawmakers during his 16 years in the state House.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060808/ELECTIONS02/608080362/1001/NEWS

Clinton's lap dog, Lanny Davis, is out with a new book attacking the blogging left, and defending folks like Lieberman.

Memo to Lanny Davis: Lieberman's support of an unsound policy has left the United States infinitely more vunerable for the forseeable future.

Why in the world should anyone who continues to support this failed policy expect to get a pass?

Iraq was only do-able under optimal circumstance. Lieberman was appearing in the Rose Garden with Bush on the very day when the Senate was debating Biden-Lugar - in the process, selling out his party, his country, and making it impossible for this reckless President to be held in check.

And now he wants to be forgiven for his vote. What a wimp!

Joe, be a man. Accept the verdict of the electorate, and pray for another opportunity to atone for your terrible mistake.

Lamont Defeats Lieberman in CT Primary
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080806Y.shtml
Just after 11:00pm on Tuesday night, Senator Joeseph Lieberman stepped to the podium to congratulate his primary challenger, Ned Lamont, on his victory. A bit of history has been made in this Connecticut race; more than 95% of incumbents are re-elected to Congress, and a long-time incumbent losing a primary race is almost unheard of.

Man - reading this - the man was in deep denial.
Good preface by Pitt too.

Schwarz's seat has been put in the crosshairs by the conservative Club for Growth, which has spent more than $400,000 in independent expenditures while directing donors to support Walberg, who has received most of his $600,000 in funding from outside the district.

Club for Growth President Pat Toomey, a former Pennsylvania congressman who narrowly lost a primary against Sen. Arlen Specter in 2004, rejects the notion that primary fights hurt Republicans.

"The more races in which we're able to help good, pro-growth, limited government candidates win, the better the chances Republicans have of holding the House, which I think is a dicey proposition right now," Toomey said. "We're the voice out there saying 'Hey guys, the Republican Party's got to stand for something."'

Schwarz has received help from the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership. Executive Director Sarah Chamberlain said her organization expects to spend $600,000 on the race, "which could have been better spent against Democrats in the fall."

"To me, control of the House is clearly at stake and this is a million dollars that could be better spent helping the bottom line," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., a Main Street member.

Schwarz, a physician from Battle Creek, won the Republican primary in 2004 with 28 percent of the vote when Walberg and five other conservatives split the vote. Private polls have shown a close race after Walberg branded Schwarz as too liberal on abortion, taxes and immigration.

"I am a conservative. I believe in limiting government through reducing taxes and cutting spending ... and speaking for strong support of traditional values," Walberg said Saturday.

Schwarz contends Walberg has badly twisted his record and accused the Club for Growth of hijacking the primary. Both campaigns have filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission while the tone has grown increasingly negative.

"They're trying to buy the seat," Schwarz said. "That to me is the worst of politics."

link:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060806/NEWS12/608060688/-1/BUSINESS07

Posted by: Cyrano at August 9, 2006 12:26 AM

Let's remember that Clinton held the country together through his charisma and skills (which were good), not by his ideology (which was wrong on many levels, and started the whole disastrous "move to the center" trend for Democrats).

I'm glad that Lamont won, though I would have preferred a larger margin of victory.

The new blog, while still rusty, is now open at:

http://www.liberalvaluesblog.com/