Republicans Sweep Governorships in VA and NJ

Republican, Bob McDonnell sailed easily to victory in VA, and now the AP is calling it for Christie in NJ:

Republicans surged to victory in governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, wresting control from Democrats in both states as independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for the GOP. It was a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year.

Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell’s victory in the Virginia governor’s race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie’s ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled triumph for a party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008.

Dang, Corzine couldn’t squeak one out even with ACORN and teh One’s help?

OUCH!

The New York race is still up in the air. You can follow the results, here.

Pajamas Media is live blogging election results.

Ace: Hoffman Results Thread: 11% in, Hoffman Trails by 5% But… Exit Polls Show It 50-47 Hoffman

See also:

The Other McCain for up to the minute election results for the NY-23 race.

The latest:

Reports of voting machine malfunctions in St. Lawrence and Fulton Counties. National Review is a bit worried. The Hoffman campaign is still optimistic, but this long delay is stressful. As the percentage of returns increases an early lead for Democrat Bill Owens is shrinking. Whereas Owens led by 8 points with 21% reporting, it’s now 5 points with 39% reporting. Stay tuned.

More:

Problems are reported with a total of 11 voting machines (4 in St. Lawrence County and 7 in Fulton County). With 63% of precincts reporting, Owens leads 49% to Hoffman’s 44%, a margin of about 3,400 votes, with 5% for Dede Scozzafava. Many military absentee ballots (Fort Drum is in the district) are yet to be counted.

Love it:

Powerline has the headline of the night:

The fat man sings in New Jersey

LAST UPDATE:

R.S. McCain says Hoffman is expected to concede.

Drew at AoHQ: Hoffman Concedes.

Allahpundit (Eeyore) is uncharacteristically upbeat, putting a positive spin on the loss:

FNC has called it for the Democrat. Points to take away from the loss: (1) PPP’s last poll was way, waaaay off; (2) Scozzafava’s endorsement must have had some impact on her supporters, as it erased the five-point lead Hoffman held in the last Siena poll after she dropped out; (3) third-party challenges, while sometimes warranted, are a very risky proposition (attention Glenn Beck!); (4) the win in New Jersey, where The One staked his own political capital in campaigning for Corzine, was huge compared to the loss here; and (5) as I said over the weekend, the actual result of this race is unimportant. The point in torpedoing Scozzafava and swinging the GOP behind Hoffman was to send a message to the Republican leadership that only fiscal conservatives will be tolerated henceforth, and that message has been sent even with Owens winning a squeaker. The loss is disappointing but it’s a detail on an otherwise great night. So great, in fact, that it deserves something special. This special.

As Was Feared: Absentee Voter Fraud is Realized In NJ Governor’s Race

John Fund sounded the alarm, yesterday, pointing out the heavy ACORN involvement, and thousands of suspect absentee ballots throughout NJ.

Election Journal is covering the election today:

Throughout the morning, EJ has received tips regarding voters who have shown up to the polls today, to find that someone has already cast their ballot through the absentee process.

They were able to catch up with one of those voters – meet Mark Allen:

Tip of the iceberg, most likely.

See also Dan Riehl for a report on voter intimidation featuring gangbangers and felons in NJ.

Corzine doesn’t care how dirty he wins this thing.

MEANWHILE:

Dems are busy in New York drumming up the usual hollow, and fakey cries of voter intimidation, partially to distract from the genuine instances on their side, partially to distract from the fact that they’re losing:

The aptly named Crooks and Liars howls:

Police called in to NY-23 polling stations because of voter intimidation by teabaggers!

..alleging  “overzealous electioneering” by “teabaggers” who are yelling “anti-choice stuff” at voters:

The NY Daily News story reports:

It’s getting ugly out there.

I just got off the phone with former state Democratic Chairwoman June O’Neill, who informed me the police had been called to at least two polling sites in St. Lawrence County due to overzealous electioneering (O’Neill called it “voter intimidation”) by Doug Hoffman supporters.

“We’ve gotten reports that people are standing there, covered with Hoffman stickers and yelling anti-choice stuff at voters,” said O’Neill, a St. Lawrence native who has been running the party’s GOTV effort for Bill Owens in NY-23.
“Apparently, there’s some woman claiming to be a commissioner,” O’Neill continued. “Commissioner of what, I don’t know. She’s from Texas, I think, and she won’t leave.”

“This is not the way we roll in the North Country.”

What sort of  intimidating “anti-choice” stuff do you suppose they were yelling?:  “Vote for the pro-life candidate!” or something along those lines?  Damn. Scary stuff. I’d be intimidated too.

But what’s this?

An update to the story:

UPDATE: Joy Yearout, spokeswoman for the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life group that has endorsed Hoffman and is providing some 200 volunteers for him today, called in to provide “some additional information.”

Yearout said SBL has people working polling sites at 100 precincts in the 23rd for Hoffman. They’re handing out sample ballots so voters know where to find his name – remember, he’s on the Conservative line, which is Row D.

“At least three of our volunteers have been threatened with police when they’re not doing anything wrong,” Yearout said. “They haven’t seen any Democrats. No one for Owens.” “So, apparently, the poll workers who are Owens supporters are doing the only thing they can do: Intimidate. And they’re doing that by calling the police. Nobody’s been arrested because nobody’s doing anything wrong.”

UPDATE:

This is what real intimidation/suppression looks like:

EXCLUSIVE: Hoffman Plattsburgh Precinct Worker’s Tires Slashed

UPDATE II:

R.S. McCain issues a chilling  report detailing a confrontation he had with one of the electioneering “teabaggers” in Watertown:

The Watertown, N.Y., hotel that has been home of the National Desk for the past two days is across the street from a polling place. I just strolled over this morning and was greeted on the sidewalk by elderly volunteers handing out Hoffman sample ballots.

No such activity on the part of the Bill Owens campaign was evident at this particular polling place. Look at the sample ballot and you can see why this is so important to the Hoffman campaign: Owens is on lines A and E, Dede Scozzafava is on lines B and C, whereas Doug Hoffman’s name appears only on line D.

He doesn’t mention in his report whether any “anti-choice stuff” was shouted at him.

UPDATE III:

Ace has some good news for the NY, and NJ races.

UPDATE IV:

R.S. McCain has an update on the alleged tire slashing:

It was at 3:45 p.m. that Ali Akbar got up his report of tires being slashed in Plattsburgh, via a Blackberry message. It appears, based on closer examination of the tire, that the Hoffman campaign worker ran over a bottle. But whatever the truth of this incident, I was too busy eluding the New York State Police to worry about it.

 

Live Webcast: Republicans Read Through Pelosi Bill

House Republicans have set up a “Reading Room” today, where they will read through the Pelosi Health Care bill.

They will be in the Republican Reading room from 2:00-6:00 pm EST., today.

Live webcast, here.

You can download a copy of the bill, here.

RELATED:

Regardless of what Harry Reid has been saying, the Republicans have offered alternatives to this monstrosity:

Via Sean Hackbarth, here is Sen. Judd Gregg’s Coverage, Prevention and Reform plan.

And here is Sen. Jim Demint’s Health Care Freedom Plan.

And here is Sen. Bob Bennett’s Healthy Americans Act.

And here is the Patients’ Choice Act of Sens. Coburn and Burr and Reps. Ryan and Nunes.

Houston Tea Party Draws More Than 10,000 People

Brett Coomer Chronicle

Can you hear us now?

More than 10,000 people turned out Monday night for a North Houston Tea Party Patriots gathering to protest proposed health care reform and what they called big government spending and overzealous government leadership, according to preliminary attendance figures.

Under clear skies and a perfect moon, crowds packed the field at the Sam Houston Race Park and cheered loudly as speakers called for the people to take control of the American government. Wearing slogans that said “Don’t Tread on Me” and T-shirts stating, “I am a Tea Party Patriot — I will defend our Constitution,” those attending the event enthusiastically showed support for more constraints on the government and more personal freedom.

“This isn’t about ‘I can’t stand Barack Obama’ — this is about ‘I can’t stand a government that will tread on me,’ ” said Houston radio talk show host and TV anchor Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo to a rousing burst of applause from the audience.

“Taxes are going up because we have to pay for health care for people who are here illegally,” Pagliarulo said. “We have to pay for health care for people who don’t want health care … We’ve got a government that’s run amok — we’ve got a government that doesn’t care about you or me. It cares about power, it cares about control.”

Fox News was there to capture the event. Check out Lord Monckton in the cowboy hat. He’s still pretty worried about that climate change treaty in Copenhagen.

Meanwhile over at MSNBC, Keith Olbermann was covering Sarah Palin’s sexism.

RELATED:

Tea Party Alert: Anti-ObamaCare March On Washington This Thursday

Michele Bachmann: This Is the “Super Bowl of Freedom” This Week (Video)

Project Valour-IT Marines Of The Day: Aaron and Diana Mankin

Marines of the Day

This is, perhaps, one of the oddest love stories you will ever read.

There is an old saying: “Handsome is, as handsome does.” Had she done nothing else in her lifetime, Corporal Diana Kavanek, USMC would be, by any measure you care to name, a handsome woman.

A woman of substance.

“I found out I was going to be doing entry-control-point duty three days before I went out,” said Lance Cpl. Diana L. Kavanek, engineer, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (FWD). “It was a little shocking to me because I didn’t know I would ever be pulled for a duty like that. But I was ready to do my part.”Headquarters and Service Company, II MHG, was chosen to fill spots on the ECP female search team after a vehicle-born improvised explosive device killed five Marines and a Sailor, three of whom were female, and injured several more on June 23.

Major Michael J. Corrado, company commander, H&S Company, II MHG, II MEF (FWD), knew of the empty billets only days before the females were scheduled to leave.

“My initial thought was to accomplish the mission by supporting Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, and not let those bastards who bombed that seven-ton think they would weaken our resolve,” explained Corrado. “My next thought was ‘Where are we going to find the Marines to replace them’? Many of the H&S Company Marines are wearing two and three hats already.”

Headquarters companies companies traditionally concentrate on administrative and logistical support. But war has caused the Marines to invoke one of their oldest mottoes: “Every Marine a rifleman.” Little did Cpl. Kavanek know how severely the qualities that got her through Marine boot camp were about to be tested.

Keep reading at Villainous Company.