Fresh Loaf

State Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, filed legislation today that urges the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.

If you recall, the grassroots organization pissed off cable news pundits and right-wing Internet trolls during the 2008 presidential election for alleged voter fraud.

From the state Senate press office:

“An organization that chooses to undermine the integrity of our nation’s election process should not be entitled to tax exemption benefits,” said Sen. Mullis. “The excessive amount of evidence against ACORN engaging in fraudulent activity demands that the organization to be held accountable for taking advantage of hardworking taxpayers, and I call on the IRS to ensure that justice is executed in this case.”

The grassroots organization runs a large voter registration drive focused on minority and low-income communities, and during the 2008 presidential election came under fire for submitting voter registrations to 11 states with false information. ACORN has been accused of submitting the names of deceased persons and the names of 15 members of the Dallas Cowboys on registration forms in Nevada. In Ohio, one person stated that he signed 73 voter registration applications over a five-month span through ACORN, and in Connecticut, ACORN submitted a registration card for a seven-year-old girl that contained a false birth date.

Sen. Mullis is calling on the IRS and the Secretary of the Treasury to launch a full-scale investigation into ACORN’s fraudulent activities, and is urging the IRS to remove the organization’s tax exemption status.

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Nation Finally Shitty Enough To Make Social Progress

Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job

Republican Party, Average Working Joe Bid Each Other Adieu Until 2012

Hillary Clinton Resumes Attacking Obama

John McCain Gets Hammered At Local VFW

Voting Machines Elect One Of Their Own As President

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By the time Georgia polls close at 7 p.m. tonight, we here at CL will already be snookered on Diet Coke and moonshine, liveblogging in this digital Utopia about all the races up for grabs.

CL Editor Ken Edelstein will hold court at Manuel’s, staff writer Scott Henry will report from Jim Martin’s party at Park Tavern, and senior writers Mara Shalhoup and Andisheh Nouraee will monitor results and send dispatches from undisclosed locations. I’ll be in Stepford — oops, Buckhead — at the Intercontinental Hotel where the Georgia GOP is holding its fete. If you have any questions you’d like me to ask lawmakers, leave ‘em in the comments or send me an e-mail here.

Here’s a good list of key states to watch and what time their polls close. Here’s a neat-o map of the United States that shows where the presidential race stands. Here’s a place where you can win $20 of Andisheh’s money. And here’s a picture of a kitten dressed as a pirate.

Be sure to return and join us in a liveblogging celebration of America and insomnia. And if you haven’t done so already, go vote.

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FiveThirtyEight, one of the most entertaining and informative online resources for this Presidential election, posts an excellent Georgia-centric rundown on the state’s demographics and political dynamics — and how the combination of the two may determine who runs the country come Jan. 20.

From the site:

Since native son Jimmy Carter was on the ballot, Democrats have found Georgia tough sledding. But with African-American turnout soaring to unprecedented levels, Georgia may be a state where the public polling models are off, and indeed Barack Obama has put last minute advertising resources into the state in an effort to both go over 400 electoral votes as well as help a rising tide lift Jim Martin’s boat against Max Cleland-smearing incumbent Saxby Chambliss.

It’s a long read, but it says Georgia’s may be one of the closest races we’ll see on Nov. 4. Definitely worth checking out.

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In the last of its Jawja polls of the day, Rasmussen says John McCain still leads Barack Obama by five points in Georgia.

Interesting tidbit:

In the latest poll, Obama now leads 53% to 44% among unaffiliated voters in the state. Last week, McCain led those voters by an identical margin. McCain leads 73% to 26% among white voters in Georgia while Obama earns overwhelming support from black voters. While men favor McCain 55% to 45%, women are split between the candidates at 49% each.

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With just days left before votes are to be counted, Barack Obama is rolling out a new ad about the economy that’s slated to air in Georgia and North Dakota .

Here it is:

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— The election is less than a week away and, somewhere, the real housewives of Atlanta are plotting “strategery” to protect their Benjamins from being spread around. But after last night’s fund-raiser fiasco, let’s hope their plans don’t include an A-List party to raise last-minute cash for Johnny Mac. At Politits, Dcup tells them where they, and those like them, can go.

— Spread the wealth … Joe the plumber wasn’t happy with that idea either and neither is Jason Pye. However well intended, he writes, it is a socialistic concept. Pye would rather see spending cut across the board.

— My favorite J-Mac quote from 2000, back when a maverick was really a maverick: “Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads, you don’t have much of a vision for the future or you’re not ready to articulate it.” Hmmm. Jill Chambers, a Republican in good standing, should take note. DriftGrift discusses her desperation tactics to keep her House seat.

— Halloween is near. People create ghoulish scenes. And … please keep the politics out of it. Amy at Georgia Women Vote is no fan of Caribou Barbie. But a noose around the neck of the clothes queen? Definitely not cool.

— Want a summation of the difference between J-Mac and “that one”? The lovely Sara at Going Through The Motions puts things into perspective with the tale of two Ashleys. I remember the Ashley moment. It’s when I began to swing towards “that one.”

— Another national tragedy that the pols seem to relish is the slow death of traditional journalism. And it’s not just newspapers. As Live Apartment News notes, WSB radio just laid off two of its most experienced news reporters. Has anyone noticed that Atlanta is a town teeming with unemployed, award-winning journalists?

—

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The headline’s a bit misleading, sure, but this sounds like it’ll be just as interesting.

Grady High School’s award-winning Speech and Debate Team is hosting “The Final Showdown,” a U.S. presidential debate tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the school’s Main Theater. Seniors Mike Robinson and Demarius Wilson will portray John McCain and Barack Obama and debate healthcare, the economy, foreign policy and other issues. The fundraising event will be moderated by members of the press and Emory University’s Barkley Forum. Students and audience members will be able to pose questions to the “candidates.”

Can’t make it out to the event? No worries, you can watch the debate from home — the team will streamcast it live on its website here.

A chili dinner will be offered at 6 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Tickets cost $12 and can be purchased at the door or online here.

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This is going to be an interesting week. And a busy one.

Pollster, a website that somehow eats every single political poll IN THE WORLD and then burps them out in color-coded maps, says Georgia is now a “toss up” between John McCain and Barack Obama. Yep, Georgia.

Wonkette says no way, but we’ll see.

Pollster’s also calling “toss up” about Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat. Nearly everyone thought incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss would easily win a second term in his race against Democratic nominee Jim Martin and Libertarian challenger Allen Buckley. Turns out all of ‘em — me included — were wrong. Signs point to a run off in that race.

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If you’re stuck at college in Atlanta or Macon without a car and those damn campus buses don’t go anywhere near the polls, the Barack Obama campaign is here to save you.

Workers from the presidential nominee’s Hope Depots© will offer free bus rides for students from select colleges and universities next week for advanced voting.

Full list with details follows after the jump:

(more…)

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The latest Strategic Vision poll has Republican John McCain beating Democrat Barack Obama in Georgia 51 to 45. The margin of error is 3.

The same poll has Sen. Saxby Chambliss with a two-point lead over Democratic challenger Jim Martin. Libertarian Allen Buckley is at 5%.

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Pittsburgh police say the McCain volunteer who says she’s robbed by black man who then carved the letter “B” on her face after he saw a McCain sticker on her car has admitted her claim is a lie.

Right-wing race-baiters have been trying since yesterday afternoon to associate Obama’s campaign with the incident.

Don’t hold your breath for apologies.

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The latest poll from Rasmussen is the fourth straight snapshot that shows John McCain with more than 50 percent of the vote.

From the polling organization:

The race for Georgia’s Electoral College votes is getting closer.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows that John McCain’s lead over Barack Obama is down to five percentage points, 51% to 46%. In September, McCain led by 11. Earlier in October, that lead had slipped to nine points.

However, while Obama continues to gain ground, this is the fourth straight poll of Georgia voters to find McCain at the 50% level of support or above. In August, McCain led Obama 50% to 43%.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters in the state expect McCain to win Georgia on Election Day.

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Jim Wooten: "Let the Democrat infidels bask in their illusion"

The front page of Sen. John McCain’s Georgia campaign web site features a September 14 column from AJC conservative columnist Jim Wooten predicting defeat for Sen. Barack Obama.

The column’s complete and utter wrongness is almost impossible to overstate.

Some high/lowlights:

“Barack Obama knows it. The election he had in the bag is slipping away. The selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate has so thrown him off stride, as it has most other Democrats”

“For a “change” candidate, Obama appears to be a man locked in time, unable to move past criticism, unable to move from the grip of the Democratic left, unable to adapt to the changed reality that the campaign is not the referendum on the war in Iraq or on the administration of George W. Bush that he’d envisioned.”

“Obama has the habit, too, of reminding voters of their doubts about him,”

“Obama will lose because with less than two months remaining voters won’t be able to get comfortable with him. He can’t stay on message and he can’t avoid sending signals that interfere with the message when he does.”

“McCain, on the other hand, has been superb going back at least to Obama’s European tour. Mainstream America is comfortable with him and, with Palin’s selection, conservatives who had their doubts are onboard.”

“It’s not over. But it’s getting there —- and Obama knows it.”

In a state as chock-full-o-Republicans as Georgia, is Jim “Comical Ali” Wooten really the best conservative columnist the AJC can come up with?

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A recent Democracy Corps poll focused on Georgia shows a slight 46-44 margin for John McCain over Barack Obama and a 48-44 margin for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss over Democratic challenger Jim Martin.

But it was a question about the 2010 Governor’s race that caught my eye:

(more…)

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— Caribou Barbie’s appearance on SNL proves that she would have won the talent portion of the Miss Alaska beauty pageant if only she hadn’t brought out that danged flute. She even charmed Alec Baldwin. But as I wanted to tell the woman I saw wearing the over-sized “Palin Power” button yesterday, charm does not make a President. Or a VP. And in that train of thought, ATLmalcontent receives the “line of the day” award.

— DCup has a brief moment of pity for Johnny Mac at Politits in light of Colin Powell’s endorsement of “that one.” She says Bush not only screwed him over in 2000, he’s doing it again in 2008. But the polls are tightening and it’s too early to take things for granted. And considering what happened in 2000 and 2004, it’s not wise to make a foregone conclusion out of the presidential race. J-Mac’s not the only one who’s been screwed by the Bush regime.

— With the race tightening up and the gap between Democrats and Republicans growing smaller, even in Georgia, B King at Terminal Station writes that Georgia’s Democratic Party should be kicking itself for not fielding more candidates in the General Assembly races. Only 23 Republicans in the House even face opposition this year. What the Democrats need in Georgia is a strong leader to rally around, he argues. Problem is, there’s an acute shortage in that area.

— At Inside The Sprawl, Raleigh questions the logic of building a MARTA spur to the old Ford plant in Hapeville. Or at least building it before people actually turn up at what’s supposed to be Atlantic Station-South. Shouldn’t we be trying to put rail where people actually are? No, that makes too much sense.

— Atlanta television did an admirable job covering the suicide bomber who turned up at a lawyer’s office in Dalton, says Doug at Live Apartment Fire. Well, with one exception: WXIA apparently couldn’t afford the gas it took to send a crew to Dalton. It was the only local station that didn’t provide first-hand coverage of the tragedy.

— And, finally, either DriftGrift is transforming into a neocon in front of our eyes, or else the AJC’s Jim Wooten is transforming into a reasonable human being. It’s difficult to decide but, for the second week in a row, “My Morning Wooten” has turned into a love fest. With no vinegar.

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— The final debate between Johnny Mac and “that one” is in our rear-view mirror and Amy at Georgia Women Vote agrees with scores of pundits who think J-Mac came across as a pissed-off old codger.

— And Paula at Blog For Democracy has the best, and funniest, analogy I’ve yet to see. Plus a cool video to bring it home.

— DownRight makes the observation that conservatives are wondering how Obama is managing to pull ahead or pull close in most of the battleground states. One reason is J-Mac has run a bad campaign. But it’s also because the media has a man crush on Obama.

— Duane Moody usually writes about his favorite songs of the week on Fridays, and often includes a YouTube video. He’s angry because record labels are making YouTube take a lot of the music videos down, which is wrong-headed greed at work. One report I saw talked about a couple who videoed their three-year-old dancing to a song, and posted a 30-second snippet so their friends and family could check it out. The record label claimed the video violated copyrights. Now that’s just dumb.

— Speaking of which, Left On Lanier writes about a “pro-life day of silent solidarity” that was allowed in several local high schools this week. Essentially, if you’re against abortion, you don’t say a word all day. But what if the teacher calls on you to read your English essay to the class?

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— The polls show we may actually have a race on our hands for Georgia’s Senate seat. There was a debate last night down in Perry and DriftGrift was on the scene. His account is more poetic than reportage, but the headline — Clouds and Clods — gives you a hint.

— Some conservatives get it, argues ATLmalcontent. But others do little more than mouth the agenda offered by the Sean Hannitys of the world. And why is Johnny Mac following the lead of pundits who, just a few months ago, were leading the charge against his nomination? Has J-Mac sold his soul?

— And the conservatives who do get it? Jason Pye contends they are turning away from the dynamic duo. Federal bail-outs equate to socialism and, Pye says, that puts Johnny Mac to the left of his opponent.

— At Politits, Dcup talks back to the mainstream media after she heard a CNBC anchor say that people aren’t shopping these days because they’re scared of the economy. Well, not quite, Dcup answers. They’re not shopping as much because they don’t have money. She’s also worried about the anger that Johnny Mac and Caribou Barbie are whipping up on the campaign trail.

— And Amy at Georgia Women Vote smells a Republican conspiracy. Why else would Karen Handel send 2 million names to the social security administration to check their identity? Funny how the states who also sent in huge lists of names happen to be … wow, what a coincidence … swing states. Ah for the good ol’ days when the voter rolls allowed you to vote from the grave.

— And, finally, on the personal political front — men and women, that is — Amber Rhea has some tips for the male species on showing a little respect.

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After Thursday night’s roller-coaster ride on the YouBetchaExpress, this evening’s presidential debate was relatively staid. I thought Barack Obama clearly led the night, but McCain’s final two answers were stronger.

Your thoughts?

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Tonight at 9 p.m., the two vice presidential nominees from both major parties — where’s the Libertarian? — will face off in what’s sure to be a battle of the wits.

In one corner, we have Sen. Joe Biden, a veteran lawmaker with a history of gaffes but who has more or less held it together — even while riding the Amtrak from D.C. to Delaware every single day of his life. In the other, there’s Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has proven to be the most astute interview subject since Crispin Glover.

To help you enjoy the debate, the fine folks at GEDBlog have put together a Sarah Palin BINGO card. The targeted moose is a free space. Each time Palin mentions “lipstick,” “glass ceiling,” “Tony Rezko,” or the healthy polar bear population, cover a space. First person to mail in their winning BINGO card receives a free pair of 3-D glasses that have been sitting on my desk for a couple of months.

We may or may not be liveblogging this spectacle. I’m in talks with a special guest to join me, a person who has changed the very fabric of modern politics with her wit, wisdom and style. I’m speaking with her agents, who as luck would have it, are demanding I provide her with tomatoes. Even if we don’t, at least you have this fancy game to play.

To print out a BINGO card, click here to access the PDF version.

(Hat tip to various folks on Tumblr, GEDBlog)

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Libertarian Presidential nominee and former CL columnist Bob Barr was interviewed by Liz Gorman of Wonkette during Friday’s debate between the Barack Obama and John McCain. Skip the “festive” guy talking about conspiracies and start watching at 1:50. Barr shows his human side when he’s asked whether facial hair has any place in our armed forces.

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MELTDOWN: Bailout talks crumbled Thursday night when House Republicans announced they won’t back the plan because it offends free-market absolutism. McCain, who made a fuss this week about injecting himself into the negotiations, was largely silent as the Republican revolt ripped apart consensus. Talks resume today, and Bush promised this morning that a bailout package will be passed.

THE REELING IS MUTUAL: Washington Mutual becomes the largest bank to fail in U.S. history as it’s seized by the federal government and sold to J.P. Morgan Chase.

DEBATE AND SWITCH: Obama’s in Oxford, Miss., the site of tonight’s first presidential debate of the general election; McCain is still sending mixed messages about whether he’ll attend, although surrogate Lindsey Graham hinted this morning that McCain may be there after all. And despite McCain’s announced suspension of his campaign, ongoing TV commercials, a speech in New York and media interviews make it seem rather unsuspended. UPDATE: McCain now says he will show up for the debate.

NO. 1 STUNNER: Top-ranked USC falls to Oregon State, making No. 3 UGA’s matchup Saturday with No. 8 Alabama that much more momentous.

OIL FOR FEUD: Tex Pitfield, an oilman whose name wouldn’t allow him any other line of work, has asked Gov. Perdue to cancel the Georgia-Alabama game because of the gas shortage. Perdue’s office calls the suggestion “ridiculous,” and urges people to take common-sense measures, presumably such as stealing gas from Alabama fans. UGA officials have asked fans who can’t make it to Athens and back on one tank, however, not to come.

LONG SHORTAGE: The Washington Post breaks down the regionwide fuel crisis that’s hamstrung the Southeast.

ATLANTA’S AIR FORCE: Delta and Northwest shareholders have endorsed the airlines’ merger, leaving the ball in the Justice Department’s court.

WILD BLUE HITHER: GeorgiaSkies, a new airline launched by Pacific Wings, will offer intrastate flights among Atlanta, Athens and Macon starting Monday.

(SUNK) LIKE A ROCK: The abrupt closure of all Bill Heard Chevrolet dealerships on Wednesday, which the company blames on the economy and gas prices, has left many customers in limbo.

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One of the pleasant surprises of this campaign season for me has been the emergence of Emory University Psychology & Psychiatry Professor Drew Westen as an influential national political commentator. (more…)

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TROY DAVIS: Will be killed by Georgia tonight, barring a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court.

BAILOUT: What at first seemed like a tourniquet is starting to look more like a feather pillow for Wall Street, and congressional leaders are pointing out that we’ve been notoriously fooled before by this administration under guise of looming disaster.

BLAME: More Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis.

STONEHENGE: British researchers determine it was a pilgrimage site for the sick.

BRIAN NICHOLS TRIAL: Is under way, with the defense portraying Nichols as lost in fantasy during his notorious 2005 killing spree, and the prosecution arguing he knew what he was doing.

GAS SHORTAGE: Ten percent of the country’s refining capacity is still down post-Ike, leading to major gasoline shortages, especially in the Southeast.

A BLEND IN NEED: The shortage here is compounded by environmental rules requiring the metro area to use a special type of gas known as “the Atlanta blend,” which includes oxygenates such as ethanol that help fuel burn more cleanly.

LARRY MUNSON: The inimitable voice of Georgia football, who has suffered from health problems in recent years, announced his immediate retirement Monday.

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