Ted Stevens' Pollster Admits He's All But Certain To Lose
Looks like even Senator Ted Stevens' own pollster, Alaska-based David Dittman, can read the writing on the wall: Stevens is gonna lose to Dem challenger Mark Begich once all the remaining votes are counted.
At least that's what he's now admitted to The Huffington Post:
"I don't think Stevens can come back," Dittman said, noting that he thinks the remaining trove of uncounted ballots will help Begich "increase his lead."...Dittman believes early and absentee ballots, which compromise the approximately 40,000 votes left to count, will likely reflect Begichs' overall advantage so far among those who took advantage of either process. Heavy early voting occurred in the period that directly followed Stevens' conviction on seven felony counts of making false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms.
The current count has Begich ahead at 814 votes, and as Stevens' own pollster concedes, that lead is likely to grow.
Soon to be 58 and just 2 more to go!!!
November 13, 2008 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that Coleman will take Minnisota also. Not sure about Chamblis but hew has more chance that Coleman had. Of course, it will be great to see Ted Stevens not make it due to the count. It is reasonable that those early votes will break for Begich. I used to live in Alaska and when I first lived there, the Democrats had a lock on elections. Bill Eagan was the governor and we also had a Democratic Senator when I got to Alaska. Stevens has been elected far past his prime but he always got so many earmarks for Alaska that people there always voted for him. It will be good to see him out of the Senate at last.
November 13, 2008 9:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
HIP-HIP-HOORAY!!!!!
I hope he's right...
November 13, 2008 4:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can I stand anymore good news? I get up every day and start smiling cause it just gets better.
This is wonderful!
God I hope Franken makes it -
November 13, 2008 4:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Can I stand anymore good news? I get up every day and start smiling cause it just gets better."
LOL Tena, my days are starting with a huge smile too! And, I am hoping for Franken too!
November 13, 2008 5:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are they counting today?
November 13, 2008 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is God telling Palin something?
November 13, 2008 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Is that you, God? It's me, Sarah."
November 13, 2008 4:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
If there's a crack in the door I'll push through...
November 13, 2008 5:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
PLOW through was what she actually said. Truth in advertising?
November 13, 2008 5:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually she said "'Don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is.' And even if it's cracked up a little bit, man, maybe I'll plow right through that, maybe prematurely plow through it ...
Sounds like like deja vu.
November 13, 2008 6:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love the "cracked up" part. Cracked up at it more than once. This woman must be on crack, in fact.
November 13, 2008 7:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Open door" is a dog whistle to the faithful.
From the Book of Revelations:
"Behold I have set before thee an open door."
And many of the faithful believe this refers to the Rapture.
There's another one, "warrior" meaning "prayer warrior" one who prosletyzes.
There's a post on Andrew Sullivan's blog 'breaking the code' of Palin speak. It's not about dog whistles, it's about why she uses gibberish to hide what she really means.
(sigh!)
I wish she would go away. I'll bet those other Governors wish it too.
November 13, 2008 10:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll be happy to pretend to be God and tell Sarah NO if anyone thinks it will work...
November 13, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Piece o' cake, Tena! Just use the intercom! ;-)
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/43189
November 13, 2008 4:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL!
November 13, 2008 4:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stevens is GOING to loose? This loser is so lost that even Alaska is kicking him to the curb.
November 13, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's almost hard to feel schadenfreude, considering he's 86 and his career couldn't have gone on much longer - one imagines, anyway, even if he hadn't gotten caught.
November 13, 2008 4:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, come on, let yourself go. He's a fucking reptile. You couldn't kill him with a stake through his heart. Feel that schadenfreude, you owe it to yourself.
November 13, 2008 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not that I'm not elated. I guess you're right about not being about to kill him with a stake through the heart.
Ok, you talked me into it.
November 13, 2008 5:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lose, you mean. And then they will turn him loose.
November 13, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is this country going sane? Can it really be?
November 13, 2008 5:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is not about Stevens but Sarah.
She might just make me believe in God again.
November 13, 2008 5:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah. Isn't that something?
November 13, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL!!
November 13, 2008 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
1 down, 2 to go.
November 13, 2008 5:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
as for god and Sarah, let's not get ahead of ourselves here - there's always Don Young's seat, which will be vacated soon...
But otherwise, THIS
November 13, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
IS
November 13, 2008 5:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
EXCELLENT
November 13, 2008 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
NEWS
November 13, 2008 5:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
FOR GOD???
November 13, 2008 5:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
60 democratic votes in the Senate is a potential trap when we have a Democratic majority in both houses.
What we want to do is move the center left.
We have just succeeded that way.
We need to rehabilitate the Republican center, thereby isolating the right.
We need to focus on bringing Republicans with us.
The super majority required to close debate in the Senate is thus a valuable tool because it requires that we work to broaden areas of agreement and of respectful disagreement.
In other words we want to work with the party of Lincoln against the party of DeLay.
- George Conk, New York City
November 13, 2008 5:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like your thinking . . .
November 13, 2008 6:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not if we want to keep winning we don't.
I've decided the best thing in the world is that the Republicans have decided to purge all the moderates and go with Batshit Insane as their platform. I was all for a nice viable opposition, but if they're going to be batshit insane, I see it as a win-win for us.
They'll never win again. I just love that.
November 13, 2008 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
They'll have to get their act together sometime. From what I'm seeing, though, they aren't even trying. Is there a Imtrade poll about when it'll happen? Prediction:
2010: More Rep losses.
2012: "Hmmm, could something be wrong?"
2014: "ok, let's change a bit."
November 13, 2008 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is there any chance for an automatic recount in Alaska? At what point does the margin dictate a recount, or at what point can a candidate request a recount? Anyone out there know?
November 13, 2008 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Form the article linked:
Election officials Wednesday counted 57,000 of the estimated 90,000 outstanding ballots, which include absentee, early, questioned and provisional ballots.
Should the Senate results remain close a recount is possible. In Alaska, the losing candidate or a collection of 10 voters has three days to petition for a recount unless the vote was a tie, in which case it would be automatic.
If the difference between the candidates is within 0.5 percent of the total votes cast, the state pays for the recount, to be started within three days of the recount petition. The state Elections Division has 10 days to complete the recount.
http://kdka.com/politics/alaska.senate.race.2.863122.html
November 13, 2008 6:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
.5% of 300K is 1500. So if Begich is ahead by over 1500 then the petitioner pays for the recount.
November 14, 2008 2:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://media.adn.com/smedia/2008/11/13/13/RaceChart.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf?gallery
shows the tally status with Wed. counts broken out separately. In almost all districts the balance shifted toward Begich, sometimes strongly.
November 14, 2008 3:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hint to Obama: leave a few Dem Senators in the Senate, please.
I'm sure the quote in the article should read "comprise" and not "compromise," as it would be a shame if the remaining count was compromised by the absentee ballots that remain to be counted.
Maybe Sarah Palin will get reason to rethink her standing with God? It appears that he keeps throwing obstacles in her path every single step of the way.
How else to explain Bristol's pregnancy? A God that wanted SP in the WH would have ensured that every sacred little sperm didn't find a bullseye.
And now we have what appears to be divine intervention, at the very moment when SP announces that if God would like to see her in the Senate, He'll find a way.
Does SP know the commandments - particularly the one about taking God's name in vain?
Ah, Karma.
November 14, 2008 4:18 AM | Reply | Permalink