READER COMMENTS ON

"75,000 Turn Out for Obama in Portland"

(24 Responses so far...)





COMMENT #1 [Permalink]

... Linda said on 5/18/2008 @ 10:41 pm PT...





Yay!!! I guess Oregon won't be a battleground state. I hope to be working in one of those battleground states soon for the Obama campaign. If I have a choice, which one should I pick? Ohio? Florida? Indiana? Michigan?

COMMENT #2 [Permalink]

... socrates said on 5/18/2008 @ 10:58 pm PT...





Ohio or Florida, gotta make those difficult to cheat again. Thanks for caring enough to do that.

COMMENT #3 [Permalink]

... Shannon Williford said on 5/19/2008 @ 7:07 am PT...





Don't they do mail-in ballots in Oregon?

How is that working? Do they do it in the primaries? shw

COMMENT #4 [Permalink]

... Nunyabiz said on 5/19/2008 @ 7:17 am PT...





Far as I can tell this is probably the largest political rally in US history, certainly in Oregon history. It makes the papers & MSM all over which is all find and dandy for Obama as I would prefer him to win over the other 2.

Of course I would prefer McKinney to win over Obama but the MSM will make certain that never happens. Approx 75,000 gather for a political rally and they rave. Approx. 15+ MILLION gather WORLDWIDE on Feb 15th 2003 to protest Bush & the Illegal occupation of Iraq and not a word is mentioned in the MSM. Approx. 350,000+ gather on Sept 24th 2005 to protest Bush the War and that 9/11 was an inside job and again the MSM is silent. About 60% of the US population and probably 80%+ of the world population KNOW that the last 2 pResidential S-elections were blatantly stolen and again the MSM is silent. Now just who is the enemy here?

COMMENT #5 [Permalink]

... Elaine said on 5/19/2008 @ 7:42 am PT...





Just surfing my usual sites this morning to see what’s up and, well, WOW! Great pictures of the Obama rally here in PDX today. Since our primary is so late, with paper ballots & all, we usually don’t get much coverage. Thanks, Brad, for keeping up the good work on so many important issues, but especially your perseverance to make every vote count.

COMMENT #6 [Permalink]

... Dredd said on 5/19/2008 @ 10:33 am PT...





Serious question: Does anyone know of anybody else ever seeing these kind of numbers at a Primary rally before? In all of American history? No Brad, I think these numbers, when combined with his grass roots contributors, is seriously worth talking about in the historical context you suggest. The reason is of course the voter rejection of the fascists. This is a rejection election. The Clinton campaign did not get it. Her advisors were not aware of the revolution. Same with the republicans. Still! They think the MSM and Obama supporters are liberals. That is incredible! That mistake is a compounded one, borne of the ignorance of knowing how sick to the right the GOP and the MSM have drifted. The GOP and the MSM are clearly fascists who have descended to the right, and the people are left far behind. What used to be the far left is now the middle of the road, and the radical lefties are so far from the right the radar isn't even picking them up. IMPEACH THE BASTARDS is mainstream is very near to the middle. GOOD!!!!! But I do not think America will ever recover fully from the past decade of destruction and mayhem and the hands of the fascists.

COMMENT #7 [Permalink]

... Brad Friedman said on 5/19/2008 @ 11:01 am PT...





Shannon Williford asked: Don't they do mail-in ballots in Oregon?

How is that working? Do they do it in the primaries? Yes, they do use mail-in ballots in the Primary in Oregon. And for the longest time, I've been trying to get around to a "What's Wrong with Vote-by-Mail" article, and haven't been able to get to it. Perhaps tomorrow, on the day of the Oregon Primary, will be a good day for me to do so. If I can. Yes, there are HUGE problems and concerns with all Vote-by-Mail elections, in my opinion. I'll try to outline them soon!

COMMENT #8 [Permalink]

... Dredd said on 5/19/2008 @ 12:45 pm PT...





No sooner than I say (#6) impeachment is a middle of the road concept, than a post today on Huffpo is an article about preznit blush being prosecuted for murder. And no sooner than it is ignored or poo pooed. Yep, "middle of the load" as they say in Japan. "Progress" is not just for the windshield view anymore, backward "progress" is the mantra of the new "progressives", fondly embracing the rear view mirror "progress". Any progress will do for the modern "progressives", that is why the progressives and the fascists are so difficult to weed apart these daze. "Progress in Iraq", mantra of the establishment "progressives". Hey, anyone heard McSame's global warming McFeign ... it is so "progressive"??? It wasn't given to a large crowd either. More like a captive audience.

COMMENT #9 [Permalink]

... Bamboo Harvester said on 5/19/2008 @ 1:00 pm PT...





A Progressive is a Liberal with a bad attitude and thats a Good Thing! & what needed these days.

COMMENT #10 [Permalink]

... PatriotNW said on 5/19/2008 @ 1:45 pm PT...





Since I live in Portland, it was good to see the coverage of the event. The support for Obama around here is tremendous, and many consider him a "once-in-a-lifetime" candidate. I am strongly in favor of the vote-by-mail system. It is incredibly convenient, and you have weeks to analyze the ballot measures and candidates, filling out the form as you determine your choices. No lines. No skipping out on work. There may be other issues I don't know about, but I'd say it's a model system for elections in terms of convenience for the average American.

COMMENT #11 [Permalink]

... Susan said on 5/19/2008 @ 1:57 pm PT...





I am an Oregonian and I think mail-in ballots are terrific. There may be problems with it, but when I consider hanging chads, I know it's not the only system with problems. Checks & balances have to be implemented for any system to catch cheating. My first election I was all geared up to vote to re-elect Jimmy Carter. Before I could get off work and to the voting booth, Regan was already being declared the winner. It is heartbreaking to be told election after election that your vote is not going to count, that you might as well not vote. That is what happens when the East coast closes three hours before us. No one ever seemed to care that our voting hadn't closed. Now, with mail-in voting, we can actually get our ballots mailed in and vote for our choice for president, even the primaries, before being told who won. And, as you can see from these pictures, Oregon might just count for something in this election! Count me: glad we're not punished anymore for where we live.

COMMENT #12 [Permalink]

... Paul said on 5/19/2008 @ 6:59 pm PT...





I look forward to Brad's article on vote-by-mail to read about the HUGE problems with vote-by-mail. As an Oregonian and a software engineer, I love vote-by-mail. I cannot say that I have considered all of the issues with vote-by-mail carefully, so I want to hear about the problems. In the last general election I compared the Oregon SOS web site participation rate to a sampling of other states SOS web sites, and could not find one that could compare to Oregon's voter participation rate. Also, when I compared reported problems in Oregon to the other states, the only problems I could find were registration issues, and a few people who could not find their polling place to vote the traditional way. A couple of improvements I would like to see with Oregon's vote-by-mail is the use of open source software, and a hand count sample to compare against the machines.

COMMENT #13 [Permalink]

... Shannon Williford said on 5/19/2008 @ 9:44 pm PT...





I, too, thank Brad for being able to look into vote-by-mail.

One of our big fighters against electile dysfunction here in TN is really excited by Vote-by-mail, and he, too is interested in hearing opinions as to why it's not such a good thing... shw

COMMENT #14 [Permalink]

... Agent 99 said on 5/19/2008 @ 11:23 pm PT...





Right off the top of my head I have to say that vote-by-mail necessarily obviates exit polls, which are crucial to determining the likelihood of election fraud. You can put in every safeguard in the world, but it won't insure against corrupt officials. Only exit polls have the accuracy to determine if that's a possibility at all. Too many people seem content to take officials at their word on this sort of thing, and.... Is everybody remembering that the occupant of the White House wasn't elected for EITHER term? Do you remember Katherine Harris and Kenneth Blackwell? What if Oregon gets an SoS like that? Even if the system has all kinds of opportunities for audits built into it, how are people to know when they need to look for fraud if there are no exit polls?

COMMENT #15 [Permalink]

... Jeannie Dean (not in) FL-13 said on 5/20/2008 @ 1:05 am PT...





Hmmm. Problem I have with VOTE BY MAIL is that it's a FRAUD VECTOR, in and of itself--like absentees. And correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't VBM make the US POSTAL SERVICE responsible for the CHAIN OF CUSTODY? Not sure HOW to feel about that... I don't fear too much for Oregon (very interesting to read the comments above!) as the PROGRESSIVE NORTHWEST seems to have it MUCH more together than my sucky-stupid-silly state. In fact, I'd feel MUCH better if SUSAN and PATRIOTNW in Oregon led the pack, instead of say, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 99's points above perfectly illustrate my fears about VBM as other states begin to flirt with it's implementation. KURT BROWNING+KATHY DENT+VOTE BY MAIL=TOTAL EFFIN'DISASTER.

COMMENT #16 [Permalink]

... Dredd said on 5/20/2008 @ 5:44 am PT...





Oregon ... they don't have any white people who work there. Take this guy for example:

Buffett told a press conference here Monday he had offered support to both Obama and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton but that since it appeared Obama would win the party's nomination, "I will be very happy if he is elected president. "He is my choice," Buffett said. (Warren Peace Sedd). He should get a job.

COMMENT #17 [Permalink]

... Dredd said on 5/20/2008 @ 5:57 am PT...





JoJ clone #9 prog·ress (prŏg'rěs', -rəs, prō'grěs') n. Movement, as toward a goal; advance. Condidate McFeign and his self image preznit blush call Iraq progress ("the hospitals are busy"), and they think our economy is advancing because the stock market has not collapsed. Those who oppose them see themselves as progressives too. In fact, anyone who thinks that their political direction is the correct direction is a progressive. Since everyone is a progressive, it is a silly, empty word that does fit the EI movement in Amurka. Going backwards and feeling good about it ("there is movement"). Yep the movement, its what makes things not stay in the same place ... even when they should.

COMMENT #18 [Permalink]

... NateTG said on 5/20/2008 @ 6:11 am PT...





The problem with vote by mail is that there is a big black box called the USPS between the voters and the counting. It's pretty similar to electronic voting in that sense, even if people have a better understanding of physical security than electronic security. Voter coercion is also much easier without isolated voting booths. On the other hand, if you give up voter anonymity, it's pretty easy to work out methods for eliminating large scale election fraud independent of the tallying system.

COMMENT #19 [Permalink]

... Susan said on 5/20/2008 @ 8:58 am PT...





Ah, but you don't have to use the USPS. There are always drop boxes available at various places: city halls, election offices and libraries. Just like showing up and voting in person in years past, I can show up and drop my ballot in the box in person. For those who don't know, registered voters get their ballots in the mail. Inside is the ballot and 2 envelopes. One envelope is generic and the completed ballot is sealed in this one. This envelope goes into a larger envelope that has the voter's name and address on it. The voter signs this envelope, just like signing in when voting at polling booths. Officials can compare and check off voters on a list; voters can't photocopy the outer envelope and vote more than once this way. Once the voter is checked off, the envelope is opened and the sealed, now anonymous ballot, is passed on to be counted. I hadn't thought about exit polls, but these could be done at drop sites on Tuesday night when a great many voters are dropping off their ballots by 8:00pm. Brad, I would be interested in the cons, as I'm sure there are some in this, as every system. Ballots can be tampered along the line by any unscrupulous official --- though that is, and has been, true in other systems. I like exploring these issues and keeping this issue alive. Susan, in Portland, Oregon

COMMENT #20 [Permalink]

... CDM said on 5/20/2008 @ 7:23 pm PT...





If you could pick any photo to run with the following article.... Obama draws 80,000 to Oregon rally

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24696575/

COMMENT #21 [Permalink]

... Dave said on 5/20/2008 @ 7:33 pm PT...





Susan, You may be interested in this website on the pros and cons of the electronic voting process. www.votingmachinesprocon.org/ In fact, it's a great site for anyone who has questions about the new voting technology. I just found it myself and have been a voting rights activist for 7 years (since I de-converted from Republicanism). Dave

COMMENT #22 [Permalink]

... Linda said on 5/20/2008 @ 9:49 pm PT...





Every single time a voting method is brought up for use, it should be subjected to trouble-shooting for election problems by smart people. We don't do this at all. Instead, we sit around like a bunch of ducks at dawn waiting for the hunters to open fire on us, before we all start quacking and flapping our wings to get out of their way. Why not anticipate that the hunters will definitely be there? Whenever I read some comment by some naive person that, well, we can't undeniably prove that election rigging is taking place, therefore everyone who is focused on that possibility is nuts-oid, well, I just want to start quacking. Seriously. If you want to be a dumb duck, then get out of the way of those who don't accept that fate. Just know that you're very possibly in love with a decoy, so any ridiculing you do of others who can spot a decoy is for your own amusement only.

COMMENT #23 [Permalink]

... The_Guise_of_Freedom said on 5/22/2008 @ 6:13 pm PT...





** A Swiftboat BOMBSHELL ** As the RNC gracefully nominated John Timothy Griffin to 'swiftboat' Barack Obama by digging up *his* past, I thought some of the friends here might find this rather juicy and --- yes, viral fodder for the internet at once. It seems this 'Swiftboater' has a bit of a past of his own, most importantly, his involvement in the 2004 Elections in Florida. BBC Newsnight's Greg Palast was on hand to film a 10-minute documentary, reporting on a possible U.S. federal violation to 'disrupt' the African-American vote, which was heavily favoring Kerry. About 5:45 into the documentary, a familiar face is seen getting out of a black SUV with tinted windows, and standing across the street from a voting area, filming the voters. The individual is our very own John Timothy Griffin. So I'm really looking forward to what Griffin tries to dig up on Obama. All we have to do is dig up this video. McCain loves wars so much. Oh, let's do give him one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkvWkwv7UVo The Guise of Freedom...

COMMENT #24 [Permalink]

... Craig said on 5/23/2008 @ 2:45 pm PT...

