Mohamed ElBaradei Says He Has A Mandate To Lead

On today's “CNN’s FAREED ZAKARIA GPS” Mohamed ElBaradei all but declares himself the new leader of Egypt.

"What I have been authorized, mandated by the people who organized these demonstrations and by many other parts of the Egyptians, (inaudible) if you like, to agree on a national unity government. And I hope that I would - I should be in touch too with the army, and we need to work together. The army is part of Egypt, and we have the highest respect for them as civilians, and we need to work together to get Egypt (inaudible)."

A video clip and a full transcript of the interview can be found at this link.

Mubarak's remaining time is now measurable in days or hours.

It won't be long now.

Revolution in Egypt

Mubarak is done.

He just has not quit yet. He will either quit on his own very soon, or he will receive some assistance from the Egyptian military. If Mubarak is very unlucky, the Military will let the mob have him.

The Police and the Military are essentially standing down.

See: Egyptians Defiant as Military Does Little to Quash Protests

CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt struggled to maintain a tenuous hold on power on Saturday as the police withdrew from the major cities and the military did nothing to hold back tens of thousands of demonstrators defying a curfew to call for an end to his nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.

The Muslim Brotherhood will likely be a dominant force in the next Egyptian Government.

See: Egypt's Mubarak faces crisis, protest defies curfew

A senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamist group that has long seemed the strongest single force against Mubarak, said it backed ElBaradei as negotiator.

The Brotherhood has stayed in the background although several of its senior officials have been rounded up. The government has accused it of planning to exploit the protests.

Some of its leaders walked free from jails on Sunday.

The crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood is over. The Muslim Brotherhood will back ElBaradei.

Will ElBaradei be Egypt's next leader? Who and what will lead ElBaradei? What will become of Egypt? What is Qutbism and why is it important, particularly now?

Mubarak was not a good guy.

In politics on the world stage, you rarely have the opportunity, much less the luxury of choosing saints to make alliances with. All too often you have to choose between bad and worse.

Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak were not good guys. What has made them valuable to the West is that they both have kept Egypt a comparatively moderate and mostly secular nation in an area of the world that has been dominated by lunatics and theocrats.

Now that is about to change.

We live in interesting times.

Egypt on the brink

See: Egypt president's son, family flee to Britain

If this is true, if Hosni Mubarak's son, the man that was being groomed to be the next leader of Egypt has fled the country, then revolution is at hand.

This could end up being another Iran or another Lebanon. Either way, it is bad for Egypt, bad for the West and bad for Israel.

The world is getting more dangerous.

Much more dangerous.

[Additional - 02:46]

See: REPORT: Egypt President Mubarak's Family Flees for UK

Fenway_Nation has a very good post on this topic. Take a look.

"Left-Wing Pothead" shoots Congresswoman in Arizona

See: Jared Loughner, Alleged Shooter in Gabrielle Giffords Attack, Described by Classmate as "Left-Wing Pothead"

The American Left tried to blame this tragedy on the American Right from the very first minutes that the reports of the shooting hit the newswires.

There was a small problem. Their meme clashed with reality.

The American Right can accept that this shooting had little if anything to do with politics. Can the American Left accept that as well? I have my doubts.

Jared's YouTube videos reveal a mind that is deeply troubled.

As of the time of this posting, his YouTube page is still up. You can see for yourself where the shooter's head was at. Take a look at the three videos that he posted and the one, the only one, that he listed as one of his favorites.

There is nothing even remotely right-wing about his videos or of the one he listed as a favorite. His "favorite" is a video celebrating burning the American flag. That is something that places this guy about as far away from the American Right as it is possible to get and still be in the same country.

As for Starhitshnaz, the person that posted the America: Your Last Memory In A Terrorist Country! video, I suspect that it is Jared as well. Note the first popup baloon "You didn't know that B.C.E isn't starting?" in the "favorite" video and the line in Jared's Introduction: Jared Loughner saying "B.C.E. years are unable to start."

I think that Jared Loughner is Starhitshnaz.

As for what Jared wrote on the YouTube page that he puts his name to, he wrote his self descriptions on that page in the "past" tense.

Interests: "My favorite interest was reading, and I studied grammar. . .

- and

Books: "I had favorite books: . . ."

Jared's YouTube page suggests that he had suicide on his mind. Probably "suicide by cop" as suggested by his later actions.

From what his friends tell of him, he was a leftist and pothead. I don't think Jared's politics is relevant to this event.

Giffords was a high profile target that would guarantee an aggressive response by law enforcement.

The Giffords shooting was not political. It was tragic, but it was not political.

Those that are trying to lay the blame for this tragedy on the American Right are being shockingly mean spirited, ugly and shameful. You people need to get a grip.

$15.00 Movie Tickets And Declining Movie Theater Attendance

See: Warner Bros Wins 2010 Film Market Share; Year's Box Office Grosses Not A Record; Overall Movie Attendance Down Sharply; Should Studios Slash Number Of 3D Pics?

I like going to the movies. There is something magic about seeing a movie on the large screen. I like to sit near the front where the image on the screen fills your whole field of vision. With the sound up loud and surrounding you, you can shut out everything and put yourself in the movie.

Last weekend, I bought a ticket to see Tron: Legacy. I enjoyed it. Jeff Bridges overacts a bit. I don't know if that is Jeff's fault in this picture of it is the director's fault. The story was interesting. (It had elements of the "constrained" weltanschauung to it which was unexpected.)

What I did not like was the $15.00 price for a single ticket. What the (****) is Hollywood thinking? At that price, I will be spending fewer of my dollars at the movie theater. It is a hell of a lot cheaper to wait a few months and buy a DVD in the bargain bin somewhere then it is to shell out that kind of money for the "theater" experience.

At half the price of the ticket, I would have recommended that my friends go see Tron: Legacy in the theater. At $15.00? Screw that. I will tell them it is worth digging out of the bargain bin when they find it, but I won't recommend that anyone spend $15.00 to see it in the theater.

I make a hell of lot more money now then I did back when I was a teenager. I used to be able to afford to go to the movies on my weekends. Not anymore.

Voting With Their Feet

See: Low-tax states will gain seats, high-tax states will lose them

The state and local tax burden is nearly a third lower in states with growing populations, ATR found. As a result, per capita government spending is also lower: $4,008 for states gaining congressional seats, $5,117 for states losing them.

And, as ATR notes, “in eight of ten losers, workers can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. In 7 of the 8 gainers, workers are given a choice whether to join or contribute financially to a union.”

Imagine that.

Here in Washington State, William Gates Senior was one of the principle backers of an attempt to introduce an State Income Tax for Washingtonions. The measure was trounced. The Democrats lost on that one big-time.

See: Why Washington’s Tax on the Rich Failed

Passing I-1098 would have created the state’s first income tax. Polls and pundits said the main opposition to the tax was that voters feared the tax would start with the rich, and then quickly work its way down the income ladder.

“Citizens determined I-1098 was simply the first step toward establishing an income tax on all Washingtonians,” said Scott Stanzel, Defeat 1098 campaign manager, in a statement.

When I was asked about this by people that I know, I would in turn ask them if they really believed that the politicians would not extend the income tax to them. I told them that if they were in-favor of "taxing the rich", they also had to decide how much the trusted the politicians that they would be putting in charge of who was going to be taxed.

Lame-Ducking Obama Won't Work For The Democrats

The 2010 midterm elections were a referendum on Obama and the Democrat Party. They have been weighed and been found wanting.

Democrats, understandably, are concerned that their troubles are not yet over. If Obama runs for reelection in 2012, they worry, the losses that the Democrats may suffer could be as bad if not worse then what they have suffered in 2010.

To that end, the Democrats are begining an attempt to Lame-Duck Obama. (It won't work.)

See: Opinion | One and done: To be a great president, Obama should not seek reelection in 2012

We do not come to this conclusion lightly. But it is clear, we believe, that the president has largely lost the consent of the governed. The midterm elections were effectively a referendum on the Obama presidency. And even if it was not an endorsement of a Republican vision for America, the drubbing the Democrats took was certainly a vote of no confidence in Obama and his party. The president has almost no credibility left with Republicans and little with independents.

Obama may not be entirely opposed to the proposal, but not in the way that Douglas E. Schoen and Patrick H. Caddell would want. In fact, quite the opposite. Look closely at what Obama said in January of this year.

See: Exclusive: Obama Would 'Rather Be Really Good One-Term President'

"I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president," he told ABC's "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview today.

Having Obama declare that he will not run for reelection in 2012 will effectively lame duck his Presidency. Obama will become completely irrelevant to the political debate. He would become the most ignorable politician in Washington D.C.

Obama may be a narcissistic prick, but he is not stupid. He won't declare himself a lame-duck. On the contrary, he will campaign hard for reelection by being an even more outrageously leftist extremist. He will not move to the center to meet Republicans half-way. He will flip the Republicans the political bird and demand that they move to him.

Obama is not a politician out of the pragmatist mold. Obama is a believer. He believes he is working for a better America. He believes in his vision.

When Obama says that he would rather be a really good one term President then a mediocre two term President, he is declaring his belief that it is better to fight for his beliefs to the bloody-bitter end rather then to compromise with the opposition.

Obama will fight it out.

Obama will run for reelection in 2012.

Obama and the Democrats will get their asses handed to them in what will be a historic political route, a defeat that will make their losses in 2010 look moderate.

Expect things to get very weird over the next two years.

Launched From Hawaii?

We may be able to relax a little about that Chinese Submarine Launched Intercontinental Missile seen off of the coast of California on Monday.

See: Blogger Believes Webcam Image Solves 'Missile' Mystery

Its a weird looking contrail all the same.

I find it easy to believe that the Chinese would have both the know-how and the balls to fire a submarine launched missile close off of the California coast.

I also find the Flight 808 illusion hypothesis to be believable as well.

Additionally, there is the significant problem of the dog that did not bark.

An ICBM is noisy contraption. At 35 miles from the coast, it would have been heard by somebody or at least by something. The waters there are full of boats. There are no silent ICBMs. At least, not yet.

I now think it was just an airliner contrail.

A Shot Across Our Bow?

See: Mystery Missile Launch Seen off Calif. Coast

(CBS) A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS's cameras Monday night, and officials are staying tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile.

See: Mystery 'missile' launch near L.A. no threat to national security, government officials say

Officials with the Defense Department, the Navy and the Air Force said they did not have any details on the object or its launch site. Pentagon officials said that initial indications were that the military was not involved.

"We are aware of the unexplained contrail reported off the coast of Southern California yesterday evening," according to a statement Tuesday from the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command, which operates the U.S. and Canadian missile warning system. "At this time, we are unable to provide specific details but we are working to determine the exact nature of this event.

China?

About The Republican Redistricting Advantage

See: Will Redistricting Be a Bloodbath for Democrats?

Republicans took control of at least 19 Democratic-controlled state legislatures Tuesday and gained more than 650 seats, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The last time Republicans saw such victories was in 1994, when they captured control of 20 state legislatures.

Republicans haven't controlled as many state legislatures since 1928.

Across the country, the map for state legislatures has turned noticeably red as Republicans now control 55 chambers, with Democrats at 38 and the remaining yet to be decided. At the beginning of this week, Democrats controlled 60 of the country's state legislative chambers and Republicans 36.

Tuesday also was a historic day for many state legislatures. In Minnesota, Republicans won the Senate for the first time ever, while in Alabama, they took control for the first time since reconstruction.

The answer to the headline writer's question is yes! (Sort of.)

There will be a bloodbath, but if the Republicans forget about the future, they will just piss away the brief and ephemeral advantage that redistricting will give them.

Republicans will have a unique opportunity to shape the political landscape for the next decade. Redistricting in the States where Republicans now dominate will help adjust the balance of political power at both the state and the federal levels.

Red States will become more red. Blue states will become more blue.

The end result will be a deeper divide between the Constrained in the Red States and the Unconstrained in the Blue States.

Think San Francisco versus Boise.

Republicans should not get too full of themselves over their truly monumental and historic win. Republicans need to keep in mind that the opposition is still convinced that their Unconstrained world-view is the one that should dominate our nation politically and they still have a sizable following.

The main challenge for Republicans over the coming decade will be to seize this historic opportunity to reshape the political landscape by arguing forcefully and confidently for liberty as the best solution to our nations problems. On the other side, the left will argue for Statism as the solution to our nations problems. They will do so boldly and self-righteously. They will not just wither up and blow away.

Redistricting will help Republicans on the margin, but it is not a long term solution to our nation's problems. Our nations's problems are in our culture. Only by reshaping our culture will we be able to help our nation step away from the Statist precipice that the left has brought us.

With every issue that comes up in our nations future, we must argue for increasing individual Liberty as the best solution. Whenever our counterparts on the left offer Statism as a solution to a problem, we must aggressively challenge them and their assertions that surrendering our liberties to the state will solve our problems. Make them defend their assertions. They aren't used to being challenged on their core principles, so this can be fun too.

This is a long term generational project. Do not expect or even hope for quick results. Changing a culture takes time, patience and persistence.

Look to the future, not to just tomorrow.

A Deep and Wide Loss For The Democrats.

The Democrats received a historic shellacking at the hands of the voters on Tuesday. The Depth of the repudiation can be seen in the results at the State House level.

See: Republicans Won More Than 23 Legislative Chambers in Historic Wave Election

Last night, Republicans won more than 23 legislative chambers and counting, many in the large states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Republicans also won majorities in both houses in the southern states of North Carolina and Alabama and in the New England states of New Hampshire and Maine. We also gained majorities in the West in the Colorado House and Oregon House

That is a big loss.

Note that Oregon is on that list. Oregon is about as deep blue as it is possible for a state to get. Just to the north of Oregon is blue Washington, the Republicans may take the state senate. (And the Race between Rossi (R) and Murray (D) is still too close to call.)

Most of the media coverage about the election will likely focus on the few races that the Democrats one and on a few of the ones that the Republicans one on the Federal level. Reid's win in Nevada looks crooked as all hell but will likely stand. (Something about those machines and the technician that "serviced" them.) Boxer's win in California was not that unexpected. It stinks, but California has some serious issues. Bloody hell, they elected Jerry Brown as Governor. That is seriously deranged.

On the Republican side, Marco Rubio will shake the foundations of the Democrat's race-card political strategies that have helped them divide the country and our politics along racial lines since the civil war. For the Democrats, that is a serious threat to their power at every level. They will probably try to make his life hell. Watch for the Democrats to pull the same kind of stunts against Marco Rubio that they pulled on Clarence Thomas.

For Republicans, there is a danger.

This election was a deep and wide repudiation of Democrats. It was not an affirmation of Republicans.

Republicans now have the best opportunity to make the case for liberty since The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94. They also risk blowing again.

See: Washington the Biggest Loser as Wave Sweeps Through Congress

Newt Gingrich, the GOP firebrand who helped force Democrats from power in 1994, said Tuesday's results created "a dramatically weaker Democratic Party and a severely repudiated President Obama." He's right about that, of course. But does Gingrich really think Americans gave the GOP a full-throated mandate? He made that miscalculation a generation ago and overreached as the new House Speaker.

That mistake helped reelect Democrat Bill Clinton.

Obama is not on any ballot, but the votes cast are a reflection of how his first two years failed to meet the lofty expectations set in 2008. Liberals accuse him of accomplishing too little. Conservatives accuse him of turning too often to government as a solution.

The Republicans need to take this historic opportunity and make the case for liberty. If they assume they have a mandate, they will be the ones that will get shellacked in the next go-round.

[HT to FinallyFree at c2 - see post 144 for the link to Gateway Pundit]

More then ever, Your vote, Every vote, is important.

See: Republicans Appear Poised to Win Big on Tuesday

PRINCETON, NJ -- The final USA Today/Gallup measure of Americans' voting intentions for Congress shows Republicans continuing to hold a substantial lead over Democrats among likely voters, a lead large enough to suggest that regardless of turnout, the Republicans will win more than the 40 seats needed to give them the majority in the U.S. House.

The results are from Gallup's Oct. 28-31 survey of 1,539 likely voters. It finds 52% to 55% of likely voters preferring the Republican candidate and 40% to 42% for the Democratic candidate on the national generic ballot -- depending on turnout assumptions. Gallup's analysis of several indicators of voter turnout from the weekend poll suggests turnout will be slightly higher than in recent years, at 45%. This would give the Republicans a 55% to 40% lead on the generic ballot, with 5% undecided.

Every Republican vote is an essential vote.

This will be an election decided by turnout.

Even Democrats in the safest districts are now in close races.

Take Norm Dicks in Washington state.

See: Poll shows Cloud leads over Dicks

The most notable results in the poll came in the question that asked “If the election for the United States Congress were today and the candidates were Republican Doug Cloud and Democrat Norm Dicks, for whom would you vote?” The answer options were “definitely for Cloud, leaning for Cloud, definitely for Dicks, leaning for Dicks, and not sure”. Doug Cloud received a combined 609 votes for “definitely for” and “leaning for” while Dicks only received 558 for the 2 answers. 95 were still unsure.

Even Norm Dicks is in trouble.

Get every Republican that you know to the polls.

This time, it really matters.

This time, we could really win this.

[HT JCM at C2 - See post#218]

Time to grow out of the Microsoft "Subscription-Software" Trap

Open Office.

It is free. You can install it for free on a machine running a Microsoft OS. It also works on Linux and other non-Microsoft OS's. (Microsoft Office, not so much.) If your customers are still stuck with the Microsoft products, Open Office can save files to the Microsoft formats.

It takes a little getting used to, but I like it.

And the Gates' are pushing an income tax here in Washington State.

Screw'm.

Whats that?

Need to upgrade your OS too?

Ubuntu is pretty good, and its free. Linux used to be a pain in the ass to use. It was geekware, built by geeks for geeks. Now it is easy enough for anyone to use.

Linux is now no more difficult and no more buggy then the Microsoft products. And you don't have to fight the malware and virus battles that are de rigueur with Micorsoft products. Overall, I have much fewer problems with my Linux machines then I do with my Microsoft machines.

Go Linux. Because it just works.

Did I mention that the Gates's are pushing an Income Tax proposal here in Washington State?

Screw'm and the horse (Microsoft) that they rode in on. Bastards.

Rossi 48% - Murray 47% in latest Rasmussen Poll

Rasmussen is calling it a tie. The margin of error in the poll is (+/-) 4. This will be an election decided by turn-out, and heavily dependent on an honest counting of the ballots.

See: Election 2010: Washington Senate - Washington Senate: Rossi (R), Murray (D) Tied

Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democrat Patty Murray are separated by a single point in the U.S. Senate race in Washington with less than a week until Election Day.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Rossi picking up 48% of the vote, while Murray draws support from 47%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and two percent (2%) are still undecided.

There is also the 50% ("Incumbent Rule") for the Murray camp to worry about. While undecided number of 2% is small it can be the deciding factor in this race. If the Incumbent rule holds in this case, Rossi will be Washington State's next Senator.

Of course, all of this pre-election polling is only a good indicator of how an honestly conducted count of the vote might look like. Rossi has had trouble with the state engaging in some very strange ballot counting practices before. in his 2004 gubernatorial campaign Rossi won the Governor's race in the first count and the second in a recount, only to lose it to a strange as all hell third count. The 2004 gubernatorial count strongly suggests that an honest counting of ballots can be problematic, if not downright Chicago-esque here in Washington State.

This will be an election to keep an eye on.

Democrat Vote Fraud - Machines Rigged To Vote For Democrats

Vote Fraud - Its the only hope that the Democrats have.

See: Nevada Voters Complain Of Problems At Polls

LAS VEGAS -- Some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines.
Voter Joyce Ferrara said when they went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, her Democratic opponent, Sen. Harry Reid's name was already checked.

Ferrara said she wasn't alone in her voting experience. She said her husband and several others voting at the same time all had the same thing happen.

"Something's not right," Ferrara said. "One person that's a fluke. Two, that's strange. But several within a five minute period of time -- that's wrong."

Watch your vote.

They will take that away from you too if they get half the chance.

Fight.

[Update - 11:27 am]

And in North Carolina, more strange Democrat vote fraud.

See: Ballot Machine Malfunctions Reported in Nevada, North Carolina

In North Carolina, an incident was reported in which a voter tried to vote a straight Republican ticket and instead the voting machine indicated that a straight Democratic ticket was voted.

"Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said. Then he asked for and received help from election staff.

"'They pushed it twice and the same thing happened,' Laughinghouse said. 'That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted.'"

With an important, possibly history-making election drawing nigh, the idea of voter fraud is being raised on talk radio and other venues. The fact that the current president learned politics in the rough and tumble atmosphere of Chicago, a place known for ballot manipulation, does not exactly assuage suspicions.

Malfunction my ass.

The Democrats need to understand that if they bugger the elections to the point that nobody believes in them anymore, things will get ugly.

[Update 10:42 pm]

So lets take the above two stories and look at a tie-in.

See: Nevada voting machines automatically checking Harry Reid's name; voting machine technicians are SEIU members

Now the county voting technicians aren't unique here -- many of Clark County's employees are also represented by the SEIU. But it is worth mentioning, the SEIU is hyperpoliticized and has seen its fair share of corruption. (It certainly seems more questionable than Diebold, the voting machine manufacturer with Republican ties that was at the center of many conspiracy theories on the left during the Bush administration.)

Unions increasingly have a major financial stake in election outcomes, both as a matter of their own election expenditures, and as a function of what they stand to gain if their legislative agenda is enacted. Should they really be responsible for tabulating the votes? That's certainly something voters ought to think long and hard about.

We may have to outlaw government employee unions.

Washington State Senate Race Still Too Close To Call - Rossi Polling Ahead Of Murray

The Washington State Senate race is one of a handful of contests that could go either way.

See: Rasmussen Predicts GOP Gain of 55 in House

“Republicans should have 48 seats [after the elections next month], Democrats 47, and five seats could slide either way,” said Rasmussen in his banquet address at the Western Conservative Political Action Conference. He was referring to seats in five states in which the Senate race this year he considers too close to call: California, Illinois, Washington, West Virginia, and Nevada (or “that mudwrestling contest,” as Rasmussen described the race between Republican Sharron Angle and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid).

That is bad news for long time incumbent, Patty Murray. She has been in office since 1988. That is long time. A very long time. (Think back, way back, all the way back to when George Bush Sr. beat Michael Dukakis.)

[Update and Correction - Patty Murray won her US Senate seat in 1992, the same year that George Bush Senior lost to Bill Clinton, with Ross Perot making a mess on the fringe. I confused Patty Murray's first race for the state legislature, where she won a seat in the Washington State Senate.]

Rossi now leads in Rasmussen's October 8th report.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Washington shows Rossi with 49% of the vote, while Murray’s support stands at 46%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and two percent (2%) are undecided.

What should especially worry Murray is the Incumbent 50% Rule. This rule says that if the incumbent polls bellow 50% in the poll closest to the election, the "undecideds" will over 80% of the time, break for the challenger. (Go Rossi!)

I can see November from my house.

On accident, or on purpose?

See: Military ballots may not count in Illinois

Cray says she is currently compiling data from each of Illinois' jurisdictions to determine which were compliant and which were delinquent. Cray said it's possible the ballots may not be counted because the state was tardy in sending them out.

Illinois was required to have all of its absentee ballots mailed by Sept. 18, the national deadline. Election officials have until Nov. 15 to count the absentee ballots, which must be postmarked by midnight Nov. 1 to be eligible.

This kind of stuff is not acceptable.

One Year Today

-

Sun glistened sea,

Sparkling waves,

Dancing in the cool Autumnal breeze.

-

$100 To Dino Rossi

I just sent the Dino Rossi campaign $100.00.

This is not something that I can really afford to do. It is also something that I could not afford to not do.

In our lives, we are often confronted with "put-up or shut-up" moments.

Now is one of those times.

The race is close. Rasmussen has called the Washington State Senate Race a toss up. Rasmussen is a competent polling company. Their work is good.

On the sidelines, there is very little that individual voters like you and I can do to help move our nation in the right direction. So much of what happens in the political sphere that will shape our future happens in political campaigns like Dino Rossi's.

We can help.

We can help a candidate like Dino Rossi take his message to the voters by sending him and his campaign a small amount of money. We can do this much. If we are serious about what we believe, we must do at least this much.

Dino Rossi has answered the call.

We must, in kind, answer it too.

Washington State Senate Race Now A Toss Up.

See: Election 2010: Washington Senate

Incumbent Democratic Senator Patty Murray and Republican challenger Dino Rossi are back to a virtual tie in Washington’s race for U.S. Senate.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Rossi picking up 48% support, while Murray earns 47% of the vote when leaners are included. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

This race now moves back to a Toss-Up from Leans Democrat in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Senate Balance of Power rankings.

We are about a month away from election day.

Washington State's Senate race will be decided on turn-out.

Can the Democrats get their people to the polls this November?

We shall see.

The Republicans are all fired up.

They will vote.

The Democrats . . .

Its not looking so good for the Democrats.

See: DC rally shows support for struggling Democrats

Organizers claimed they had as many participants as Beck's rally. But Saturday's crowds were less dense and didn't reach as far to the edges as they did during Beck's rally. The National Park Service stopped providing official crowd estimates in the 1990s.

In other words, the Democrat's rally was a flop.