TresSugar

CNN Uses Fake Republican to Hit McCain? Real Ones on Road!

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:45:17 -0700

In a doom-and-gloom message from CNN today, it seemed like all was lost for the Republican candidate - no young voter was ever going to be inspired by time-tested McCain. Except, it's all a fake! According to a press release, CNN used a phony College Republican to dummy up the story.

The CNN piece quoted Eric Pearlmutter, a supposed College Republican at USC. Pearlmutter said, "We try to get people out to our College Republican meetings, but we can't seem to get the same amount of support." Seems damning - except that the real USC College Republican President Ben Myers says, "I have never met Eric Pearlmutter. I have never seen him at a College Republican meeting. He is not on our membership roster. I don't know why someone would think he speaks for us. As far as I know, he could be a Democrat." Whoa!

Update: According to TruthCaucus, the disputed CNN story was taken down for a period this evening. The name of the source, Eric Pearlmutter, may have been misspelled (the real spelling is possibly Eric Perlmutter-Gumbiner) though even so, Perlmutter isn't listed as an officer of the USC College Republicans. Plus his quote sounds very familiar. . . .

Update II: Interestingly, there seems to be a producer at CNN named Bruce Perlmutter. I wonder if he's related to the source of the quote?

Update III: CNN has admitted the error, via the LA Times saying, “Eric Perlmutter appeared on today’s American Morning segment about young Republicans on college campuses. While he attends USC and says that he is a registered Republican, he was inadvertently identified on-screen as a member of the USC College Republicans organization. We regret that error. We have invited Ben Myers, the president of the USC College Republicans organization, to appear on American Morning at a future time.”

In the meantime, there are real young Republicans on the road, crossing country for McCain. To see their story, read more.

Want proof that young people are excited about McCain? A group of four intrepid college Repubs are on the ultimate road trip - swinging across the country, heading coast to coast through 21 states without ever leaving red districts. Their mission is called Where Is the Red?, and it's pulling out all the stops to answer that question - honestly.

Knowing that the youth vote will play a pivotal vote in this election, the GOP road-trippers are volunteering for campaigns, inspiring College Republicans, and signing up voters. You can follow their every move through photos, videos, and their blog - not to mention the Google Map/GPS feature that shows exactly where the real young Republicans are - even if it's not on CNN.

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Headline: Young Voters Prove Politically Relevant

LibertySugar — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:57:32 -0800

Obama's victory in Iowa might ignite passion in a generation of voters otherwise unlikely to participate in politics. Almost a quarter of Democratic participants interviewed in the entrance poll were under 30 years old, up from 2004. The total youth turnout rose to 13 percent in 2008 from four percent in 2004 and four percent in 2000.

Of the under-30 vote, Obama got four times more votes than either John Edwards or Hillary Clinton. This accounted for 28 percent of Obama's support.

If young voters continue to come out in record-high numbers, this demographic may receive unusual attention during the general election. Watch Obama's Iowa victory speech (above) to see if he inspires you too!

US Youth More Confident in Social Security - Are You?

LibertySugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:01:29 -0800

Thirty-six percent of young American voters are at least somewhat confident in the US Social Security system, according to a new poll. While almost two-thirds of voters 29-years-old and younger do not have much hope for the taxpayer funded retirement system, the newest numbers show a rise in confidence. Less than a month ago, only 19 percent of voters in the same demographic were at least somewhat confident.

Right now, employees pay a 6.2 percent tax on their earnings of up to $102,000, while employers pay an additional 6.2 percent. Barack Obama wants to extend the tax to earnings above $250,000, still leaving earnings from $102,000 - $250,000 untaxed. Perhaps his plan to increase the Social Security tax on higher income has some voters more confident in the system's survival. Do you think Social Security will be around in one form or another when you retire?

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Sarah Palin: The Woman's Everywhere From People to the Post

CitizenSugar — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:30:11 -0700

Now that the McCain/Palin '08 stationery has been ordered and we've had a day to process the news the media has been working overtime to answer the question, "who is Sarah Palin." Here's what they've come up with:

People magazine whipped up an interview with both families, a stunning feat given that most of the Palin family didn't know until right before the announcement. Here's a taste:

Given her young age and relatively short resume, why is she any more ready to be president than Sen. Barack Obama?
JOHN: I don't think it's a short resume. She first ran for office back in 1992. I don't know what Senator Obama was doing then, but the first time she ran was 1992. That's 16 years. I think that's a pretty, pretty event-filled and record-filled resume.
SARAH: And I haven't had too many years other than that to fill up yet.
JOHN: There you go.

A woman on the ticket is what a lot of Hillary Clinton voters wanted to see. What's your message to women who might see a second shot at shattering the glass ceiling?
SARAH: Certainly in this election cycle, women aren't finished yet. And women can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.
JOHN: I think that Sarah appeals to a lot of voters – I think because of her independence, because of her reform agenda and her record of balancing both family and service. It is motivation to not just Clinton voters but to lots of voters.

This just made me snort in my coffee:

Mrs. McCain, do you even remember the last time he changed a diaper?
CINDY: No. And I'm not sure he does.
JOHN: Heh-heh. I remember. There's some experiences you never forget.

There's much more! To see how others are playing the "Meet Sarah Palin" game, read more.

In next week's The Weekly Standard Bill Kristol calls Palin a spectre haunting liberal elites:

There she is: a working woman who's a proud wife and mother; a traditionalist in important matters who's broken through all kinds of barriers; a reformer who's a Republican; a challenger of a corrupt good-old-boy establishment who's a conservative; a successful woman whose life is unapologetically grounded in religious belief; a lady who's a leader.

Gregg Erickson, reporter for the Anchorage Daily News did an online chat for the Washington Post where he answered the question:

What are Governor Palin's three greatest strengths? What are her three greatest weaknesses?
"She is smart, vivacious and energetic; she tends to oversimplify complex issues, has had difficulty delegating authority, and clearly has some difficulty distinguishing the line between her public responsibilities and private wishes. She is under legislative investigation regarding the last issue, the so-called "troopergate," in which she is said to have used improper influence to try to get her sister's ex-husband fired from the state troopers."

Politico has "Six Things the Palin Pick Says About McCain," the New York Times takes a hard look at the woman issue, while the New York Post calls the choice "a brilliant trap." Finally, Time magazine has a pretty even-handed look at the choice.

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Global Totals: Zimbabwe Election Results Baffling

CitizenSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0700

The results of the Zimbabwe election over the weekend seem a little like spring weather: if you don't like it, wait five minutes. Not just eager voters awaiting results, even news outlets are conflicted over how to report the tallies that are being released in a trickle, batch-by-batch.

In just the past few moments, the Washington Post reports, "Initial Tallies Show Mugabe Vulnerable, and All Africa says, "Mugabe Set to Claim Victory." Not to be outdone, the International Herald Tribune says, "Zimbabwe's Ruling Party and Opposition Tied in Early Poll Results."

The longer the results take, the more voters worry that untoward action on the vote totals is happening behind the scenes. And they have reason to worry - to see why, read more. One journalist went on a journey to see for himself if he could vote using the ID of an 86-year-old who'd been dead for 10 years. He could. Poll workers even directed the young and clearly not dead writer to the correct voting location.

Adding to this story is a great compilation of on-the-scene dispatches from the BBC. One young voter text-messaged, "they denied many youth to vote because they knew they were the ones to vote them away with various reasons. " Voter apathy also reigned with an email saying the attitude of many was, "what's the point? The outcome is predetermined."

Robert Mugabe has been in power since Zimbabwe claimed independence from Great Britain in 1980.
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Barack Obama First Candidate to Buy MTV Ad Time

LibertySugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:45:00 -0700

For the first time MTV's networks have decided to accept political advertising, and Barack Obama has taken them up on the offer, buying ad time on Comedy Central, VH1, and Spike. While Obama has many fans among musicians and celebrities featured on MTV's networks, he also has won over consumers of that culture. According to a recent USA Today/MTV poll, Obama has a 2-1 lead among 18-29 year-olds.

Obama didn't get the first shot of the campaign season, as the first national political ad to ever air on MTV came in July from a conservative group, attacking Barack as a flip-flopper. Even so he had the advantage in the MTV demographic, and the ads could help solidify the crucial steps of voter registration and turnout among young voters.

Iranian Election Draws Large Turnout

CitizenSugar — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:30:56 -0700

Iranians appeared to have turned out in large numbers yesterday to vote in nationwide parliamentary elections. In Tehran, lines formed at major mosques where polling took place.

Opinions differed between young voters who supported reform ideas, like one 27-year-old Iranian who said, “I am voting because I did not vote in the two previous elections. As a result, people I don’t like were elected, and their policies have affected my life,” and more conservative voters who support President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Interior Ministry extended polling hours to encourage high turnout, which was expected to be between 50 and 60 percent. Reformist supporters feared unfair balloting practices and complained Friday of irregularities and discrimination at polling places as well as the decision by the Interior Ministry to announce the election results only after the vote tally was final. Results had always been announced as they were tallied in the past while counting continued. This change makes some suspicious of government interference in the results.

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Veterans to Steer MTV's Choose or Lose This Election

LibertySugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:00:40 -0700

Using a different lens for its Choose or Lose programming this year, MTV will cover the election through the eyes of Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In that spirit, last night Choose or Lose and Kanye West teamed up for the special Homecoming. Kanye surprised three Americans (out of the 1.6 million) who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Kanye and Sway Calloway from MTV News listen to the vets discuss concerns like post-traumatic stress disorder and offered them opportunities like internships or debt repayment. The piece is an interesting bookend to HBO's documentary The Recruiter, which also aired last night but introduced us to would-be-vets just signing up and undergoing basic training.

According to an MTV survey, 80 percent of respondents 18 to 29 are closely following the election, which is double the number in 2004. The network has identified the wars in the Middle East as a crucial issue to these young voters, and thus its viewers. Do you agree?

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Christina Wraps Her Kid in a Flag to Rock the Vote - Wrong?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:54 -0700

New mom Christina Aguilera is politically active - and getting her son involved early - by appearing with him in an ad for Rock the Vote due out this summer. The message of the ad is great - but is the image chosen to trumpet the cause reason to sound the alarm?
Aguilera's son appears in the ad, swaddled in the American flag.

Aguilera said of her decision to make the ad, "This election in particular is such an exciting and historical one, and so I was proud to have my son and I stand together for such a powerful moment and message in time." Rock the Vote, which turns 18 this year, isn't a stranger to controversial imagery. Madonna made a similar Get Out the Vote ad in 1990 showing the Material Girl wrapped in a flag of her own. Is this just what's required to get the young 'uns attention?

Though this rule from USFlag.org is quite clear, "The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything," does the fact that she possibly did it to bring attention to the cause of voting make it less outrageous? Rock the Vote has given out 850,000 voter registration cards this year. Is that a good trade off?

Thanks to kikidawn for the tip!

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Briefing Book! Knowing Is Half the Battle . . .

LibertySugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:30:16 -0700

Campaign Ads: Will McCain save money on ad creation? Replace latest Clinton ad with an approval by McCain, and we've got a hypothetical McCain campaign ad. - RedState

Government Spending: Simple Math? When it comes to creating jobs and managing the nation's finances, Democratic presidents succeed while Republican presidents show failure. - Huffington Post
Travel: Gap year must? 23-day, 7,000-mile train route will connect London to Bangladesh. - londonist
Campaiging: Creative canvassing? Chelsea Clinton gets groped on bar crawl. - Wonkette
Young Voters: Can we read their minds? Check out an advance copy of an MTV/CBS poll of 18-29 year olds. – CampusProgress

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