Achy Obejas

A checklist for election watching

By: Achy Obejas | Nov. 6, 2012

Nov. 6, 2012

1. Virginia closes its polls a 7 p.m. and though the focus these last few days has been almost exclusively on Ohio to win, Virginia might be a greater bellwether early on for how the rest of the night will go. If Mitt Romney wins Virginia, he has a real shot at the presidency (and it will be a very long night). If Barack Obama wins, there will be a giant sigh of relief at McCormick Place. Ohio becomes less necessary to Obama with a Virginia victory; he can even afford to lose the Buckeye state.

2. Polls close at 8 p.m. in Pennsylvania and Florida. Obama doesn’t expect to win Florida’s 29 Electoral College votes, but if his get-out-the-vote machine in the center of the state actually motivates Florida's Puerto Rican voters, he could squeak through.

A few things to consider in Florida: The ballot has 11 amendments, the longest in Florida history, and voters are taking up to an hour to fill it out — which means a lot of folks could get discouraged and walk away from the lines before casting their ballot.

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Swing state calls, the day before the election

By: Achy Obejas | Nov. 5, 2012

Nov. 5, 2012

We’re down to the wire. I’m not going to pretend to call this thing in its totality, especially because there are appear to be all sorts of last minute variables with GOP shenanigans in Ohio and Florida. But here are my swing state calls, and you can do the math -- let me know what you think!

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Dems in the senate, Romney doubles down, and crazy David Rivera

By: Achy Obejas | Nov. 2, 2012

Nov. 2, 2012

Things are looking better for the Democrats not just to hold the senate but to actually gain seats since I last checked in on those races in September.

All but one of the Democrats I said were safe then continue to improve their numbers.

But a number of races I thought were sure bets for the GOP have tightened in the last few weeks. Top among these is in Indiana, where the GOP’s Richard Mourdock may have shot himself in the foot with his comments about God and rapists. Democratic challenger Joe Donnelly--only marginally better on choice--leads by ten points in the latest polls.

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Romney's last-minute lie

By: Achy Obejas | Oct. 31, 2012

Oct. 31, 2012

As most of the country focused on Superstorm Sandy’s assault of the East Coast, Mitt Romney’s campaign hit new shameless lows in Ohio this week.

In spite of promises to lay off politics for a few days while folks were dealing with Hurricane Sandy, this is the loathsome radio ad he’s running in Ohio as of Tuesday:

Barack Obama says he saved the auto industry. But for who? Ohio, or China? Under President Obama, GM cut 15,000 American jobs. But they are planning to double the number of cars built in China — which means 15,000 more jobs for China.

And now comes word that Chrysler plans to start making jeeps in — you guessed it — China. What happened to the promises made to autoworkers in Toledo and throughout Ohio — the same hard-working men and women who were told that Obama’s auto bailout would help them?

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Sandy forces presidential campaigns to change tactics

By: Achy Obejas | Oct. 30, 2012

Oct. 30, 2012

Don’t think for a minute that Superstorm Sandy has put the presidential campaign on hold.

Both President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney’s teams have merely pivoted from overtly political to less so. For both efforts, it’s crucial to look sympathetic and not opportunistic. And for both, the suspension of normal campaigning has serious risks.

For Obama, whose campaign depends on the ground game at this point, suspension of early voting in crucial East Coast states is a huge blow. Maryland suspended early voting completey, and sites in Virginia and North Carolina were forced to close.

He’s also been effectively shut down as a campaigner. Surrogates such as former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden are carrying the load, particularly in Ohio.

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What is an abortion 'moderate' these days?

By: Achy Obejas | Oct. 25, 2012

Oct. 25, 2012

The whole world now knows that Indiana GOP U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said he believes “that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”

In other words, God has a plan, and it involves that rapist fathering a kid. Don’t doubt or question it because, damn it all to hell, it’s God’s plan.

Mourdock opposes abortion with a single exception: cases where the life of the mother is at stake.

The kicker? The Democratic candidate, Rep. Joe Donnelly, took a more “moderate” stance, saying that his position allows for abortion in the case of rape, incest or the life of the mother.

That’s a hell of a choice Hoosiers have.

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Five countries that will be mentioned during debate

By Achy Obejas | Oct. 22, 2012

Oct. 22, 2012

1. Libya

Duh. Mitt Romney’s had two chances to go at President Barack Obama on this issue, where there’s enough haze for him to make some hay, but has blown both. Which means that if there’s one issue, one question, that the Romney debate prep team has been hammering, it’s this one. I know everybody was blown away by Obama’s answer last time, but he missed an opportunity to poke back at Republicans, and particularly at Romney’s VP choice Paul Ryan, all of whom voted against more funding for embassy security, not just in Libya, but all over the world. C’mon.

2. Iran

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As DOMA heads for the Supreme Court, Romney wants more judges like Scalia

By: Achy Obejas | Oct. 19, 2012

Oct. 19, 2012

President Barack Obama lived through the second presidential debates and may have blunted some of Mitt Romney’s momentum in these last few weeks. But a bigger reason to vote for Obama became clearer two days after the clash at Hofstra University, when the 2nd U.S. District Court of Appeals in New York determined that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, and its definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional.

The majority opinion in Windsor v. United States was written by Judge Dennis Jacobs, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush. Bush gave us the thewless Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court to replace the towering Thurgood Marshall, but perhaps more notable in the long run, he also put David Souter on the bench.

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