Dullard Mush

Mark Amodei's Plaintive Tweet

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Maybe taken by itself it's not so bad, but viewed on a page of tweets Mark Amodei's looked, well, sad.

Please visit my website to learn more about me. http://bit.ly/2R5PoU

Even sadder, the link Amodei used went to a Facebook post, not his actual website, Amodei4Nevada.com. Oh well.

I guess as long as we are giving people the correct address to the U.S. Senate candidate's campaign site we'll go ahead and point out for the third time or so the fact that Amodei needs to fix his "Learn More" page's Twitter badge (it links to an abandoned account) as well as offer a way for voters to email him.

And So It Goes

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:34:00 +0000

Parties cash in on hot issues.

Carrie Prejean Sex Tapes, Astroturf Letters and the Political Demise of MySpace

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:36:00 +0000

I always want to write "Clearing the Cache" with these type of posts because it sounds cool. But then I remember that's because TechPresident has been saying it forever. Oh well.

You would have thought the whole "I want breast implants to compete" story would have doomed former Miss California Carrie Prejean's attempted career as a conservative spokesperson. It didn't. But those self-shot sex tapes finally may have, especially if Vivid Entertainment releases them.
I always wondered if people mindlessly sent those pre-written letters special interest groups of all stripes are always urging their followers to sign their name beneath. I guess they do.
Huffpo blogger worries about ramifications of DC politicians abandoning MySpace. I just figured they were leaving because everyone else was too.
They don't really have a shot at the Republican nod for Nevada's U.S. Senate race, but both Sharron Angle and Mike Wiley scored stories in Silver State papers this past week.

Brian Sandoval's Veterans Day Ad

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:54:00 +0000

At least on the online front, Brian Sandoval is blowing away fellow Republican Jim Gibbons (and he's the incumbent!). Sandoval's latest below:

Gibbons Campaign Updates Site

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:22:00 +0000

Although it took a month and an RGJ story on webmaster (and deputy chief of staff) Stacy Woodbury, Jim Gibbons' campaign site has finally lurched forward with some corrections and actual content. Though, stylistically, one could argue it's still hopelessly stuck in the late '90s.

But, no longer was the campaign leading with the "Nevada economy" having gone to pot since Gibbons took office. Now it is the "national economy" that's headed south in the past three years.

We also now know Gibbons was named the "Outstanding Freshman Legislator" in 1989, not 1998. And he actually has a stance on some issues.

Of course, he's still missing a privacy policy and his Facebook link goes to, well, Facebook instead of his actual campaign account. But considering there are zero posts it probably doesn't matter.

One casualty, though, in the JimGibbons2010.com storyline apparently is Woodbury's side business of wedding announcements and website development. Appearances, LLC went dark this past week.

For Ensign, Maybe ABC's Nightline is Best

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:32:00 +0000

If you are going to be raked over the coals, like Senator Ensign will be by Doug Hampton, there are worse venues than having it run on ABC's Nightline. Granted, the whole late-night show will be devoted to the story and will be teased throughout ABC's primetime lineup that night (I'm sure Ensign is hoping it's not going to be Thursday) and on World News, but it could have been worse for the Senator. He could have had NBC's Keith Morrison intoning "Ohhh ... Nooo" for a full primetime hour on Dateline. (And think of all the puns Morrison could work in.)

Of course, if some legal bombshells are dropped it won't matter when or where it airs.

Heller Tweets the Pelosi Health Care Bill

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:20:00 +0000

At last count, he was up to page 1,990.

Gerrymandering or: Why So Few Political Races Are Competitive

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:34:00 +0000

A new interactive site, Redistricting the Nation, looks at the time-honored tradition of gerrymandering; where politicians of both stripes shape districts for their own benefit. One might say it is even more important than money.

Tahoe Rim Trail Money Makes McCain's Pork List

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:03:00 +0000

John McCain's "Earmark Friday" lists Top 10 pork projects from Dept. of Interior appropriations. $100k for Tahoe Rim Trail is number nine.

Mark Amodei's Online Troubles Continue

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +0000

If you are going to make all kinds of changes to your online campaign, for U.S. Senate no less, then shouldn't it be for the better? And done correctly?

I'm not even talking about the wisdom of dropping AmodeiForNevada.com for Amodei4Nevada.com, or changing your Twitter name to AmodeiNevada from, well, your own name. I'm talking about the new Mark Amodei site and online campaign. Granted, it's better than Jim Gibbons', but what site isn't?

I was over at Amodei's site today specifically to ask a question. But I couldn't. Why?

1. There isn't a "contact us" page on the site.

2. There isn't even an email address on the site.

3. There isn't an email capture page that not only is essential to build a list for himself, but would also give guys like me the slim hope that I would then be able to see a "reply to" address.

4. The Twitter badge on his homepage goes to the new, and unused, AmodeiNevada account, while the Twitter badge on the "Learn More" page goes to the now-canceled MarkAmodei account.

In fact, the only way you can currently get your name to Amodei is by sending him money through the contribution page. Which, quite frankly, I'm surprised they even got encrypted correctly.

Think about the message the site is sending. It's either "I can't even handle putting together a simple website, or hire people competent enough to" or "I don't care to hear from you, unless you use your credit card."

Not exactly the recipe to defeat Harry Reid with.

CityLife's Reported Rise of Nevada's Independent American Party Misses the Big Picture By a Mile

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:29:00 +0000

Ever read one of those articles that claims to explain something and yet you keep waiting for the real, and painfully obvious, reason to be addressed?

That's the feeling I got when reading CityLife's Major Party Crashers: What's Behind the Rise of the Independent American Party of Nevada? It's the kind of story that, quite frankly, can be answered in one simple sentence -- "Because a lot of people who want to register as independents incorrectly check the 'Independent American' box instead of the 'Non-Partisan' box." End of story. A story, I might add, that tends to pop up every couple years.

Yet that simple explanation didn't appear until about three-quarters into the article and then is given only one paragraph. Instead we hear scenarios of angry tea-baggers and disaffected voters flocking to the hard-right conservative party. Granted, it does make for a more intriguing angle than, say, "Some Nevada Voters Too Stupid to Even Register Correctly." But it's just not true. Let's go to the numbers.

This latest story, like most, focuses almost exclusively on the IAP's registered voter totals (and they are impressive for a third party). In this case it notes that Democratic and Republican registrations have decreased this year while the IAP's increased their total to 56,521. However, it fails to mention that non-partisan, what Nevada officially calls independents, also saw an increase. But let's forget that for a minute and go to the only numbers that really count.

If there is one thing to be said about people who knowingly choose to register as a third party voter, it is that they are very loyal to the cause and actually go to the polls. So let's look at some of the vote totals in Nevada's 2008 election. For numbers we'll use the active voter rolls at the "Close of Registration, General 2008."

Presidential vote totals with party registration numbers in parentheses:

Barack Obama (D) - 533,736 (531,317)
John McCain (R) - 412,827 (430,594)
Bob Barr (Libertarian) - 4,263 (6,776)
Chuck Baldwin (IAP) - 3,194 (47,967)
Cynthia McKinney (Green) 1,411 (3,349)

Despite factoring in turnout percentages, cross-over votes and the 184,000 non-partisan voters, almost every party's total came roughly in line with their registration numbers except for the IAP, which saw less than 7% of their registered voters actually vote for their nominated candidate.

But maybe the presidential race isn't a fair indicator. So let's look at the CD-2 race.

Dean Heller (R) - 170,771 (180,805)
Jill Derby (D) - 136,548 (158,729)
John Everhart (IAP) - 11,179 (18,148)
Sean Patrick Morse (L) - 5,740 (2,705)
Craig Bergland (G) - 5,282 (1,289)

In this case, look at the third party numbers. Both the Libertarian and Green party candidates clearly overperformed from their base supporters. Only the IAP's Everhart received less than his registered numbers (a whopping 38% less).

So it's pretty clear the IAP's real supporters are nowhere near the numbers touted in the CityLife story. While I'm sure their true believer number is larger than the other Nevada third parties, it isn't nearly enough to even broach the subject of them becoming a major party here anytime soon.

What Happened to Mark Amodei's Website and Twitter Account?

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Granted, GOP U.S. Senate hopeful Mark Amodei's online campaign hasn't been the smoothest since he announced his intent to try and take on Nevada's Harry Reid. He failed to register his own name as a domain and then saw his Wikipedia profile edited numerous times in a less than flattering way (one said he was dead!). But he finally got his site, AmodeiForNevada.com, up and running and actually started to Twitter. Things were looking up, at least in an online media way.

But something unusual has happened. I went to AmodeiForNevada.com today and received an error message -- Firefox couldn't find the server. Figuring it was probably a temporary problem, I didn't really think much of it. But when I returned a couple hours later, I received the same message. I then thought maybe his Twitter account might have something on the outage. But it too had disappeared, and with the choice handle of "MarkAmodei" no less.

Now thinking his campaign had also died, I checked his Facebook page. Apparently Amodei's campaign is still amongst the living, but his site has inexplicably been changed to Amodei4Nevada.com. Even stranger, his new Twitter account has the awkward name of AmodeiNevada (what, he doesn't like the "4" here?).

So what exactly happened? Did some market research firm tell Amodei using the numeral "4" was considered hipper than the actual word and that going by his own real name on Twitter was too old school and out of touch? It makes no sense. If you did want to use the "4" as the official site, why not just forward the old (and already published on Google) address? And as for the Twitter name change, that's just crazy.

In fact, about the only other scenario that could explain these changes for the worse would be if the Amodei campaign didn't actually own the original site and Twitter account. But that would entail one believing that somehow a fan of Amodei launched a campaign site, acquired the MarkAmodei Twitter handle and proceeded to run both unhindered for a month or so after Amodei announced a U.S. Senate run. That couldn't have happened, right?

But whatever happened, it doesn't say much for a campaign that wants the chance to topple the U.S. Senate Majority Leader.

Kieckhefer Goes with BenForNevada.com

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:06:00 +0000

GOP State Senate candidate Ben Kieckhefer, who saw political activist Chuck Muth and an opponent scoop up his domain name, has settled on BenForNevada.com as his campaign site. Vegas-based political consultancy firm November, Inc. also picked up the .org domain but, curiously, left the .net open for anyone.

Kieckhefer, who is running against Ty Cobb and Todd "Taxpayer" Bailey for the Republican nod in District 4 (Washoe), has a decent site and uses some lingo voters don't usually find on one (e.g., "That's flat out pathetic"). He also has one of the most in-depth privacy policies I've seen on a political site.

But for all of that, I can't help but think the one image potential voters will take away from BenForNevada is the photo. I mean, it really shouldn't have any bearing on a voter's decision but, damn, Kieckhefer looks young. Really young. I would thing a picture like this one in the RGJ (except without the horrible cropping) would lend a more "experienced" vibe than their current choice. But maybe November, Inc.'s Mike Slanker told him wearing glasses wasn't cool or something.

Mike Wiley's Anger Problem

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:22:00 +0000

The funny thing about conspiracy kooks and fringe candidates is that people don't real have to attack them to make them look ridiculous. They do such a damn good job themselves.

Take, for instance, Mike Wiley and his GOP primary campaign for U.S. Senate. His recent performance on Face to Face was so bad, claiming a government cover-up of UFOs tends to do that, host Jon Ralston decided to change the criteria for future guests. I posted on it, wondering if Wiley had ruined it for other, less conspiratorially-minded, candidates.

The good news is Wiley read the article and took the time to respond. The bad news is his response is the same angry, everyone is out to get me screed that just tends to reinforce the image of him being, well, a nut.

Dear Mush,

It is a shame that you are a fake. First of all it was pathetic that Ralston, would take a little known issue and go with it without knowing the origin. As a radio talk show host we have many callers and many issues. The liberals trying to make me look foolish and with their total control of the media, brought up the fact that some callers to the show discussed the Governments knowledge of UFO's. The liberal media tried to make it seem like it was a campaign issue. It was merely an attempt to deter from the real issues of a campaign that liberals don't like to discuss.

Now Ralston could have not brought it up, but his intent was to demeen my character. You noticed that you did not bring up the big story and that is the GAO report on the misrepresentations of where tax payer money is going. But liberals and half baked bloggers like you that can't make it in real life as a real reporter. why don't you first get the facts before you spout off. If there is anyone to blame it is you for not being professional enough to write a real column like Muth another website geek athon. Why don't you half bakes try to run for office and really do something for this country instead of complain and dump on people who you can't even relate to. Come out from your laptop and let's debate.

If you have the guts.

Is that really how a serious candidate hoping to take on Harry Reid responds in public? Granted, Reid or a Sue Lowden may think that, actually they probably do many times, but they have enough savvy not to say that in public. Now, of course, Wiley would probably respond how that is what makes him different from them and include some polemic about speaking the truth. That's fine, more honesty is what is needed in politics. But all Wiley's "speaking the truth" does is prove he is a somewhat-paranoid, blowhard who seemingly gets angry at the drop of a hat. Hardly the qualities a voter looks for in a U.S. Senator.

So even if by some chance Wiley should come into the millions needed to mount a serious campaign, it wouldn't matter. It's not the "liberal media" or Hillary Clinton that is holding him back, it is himself. Just take a look at this Las Vegas Sun story from earlier this month, specifically the comments section.

Once again Ralston and Company want to ignore GOP Senate candidates who are legal and are getting attention from Republican groups. Funny Chachas didn't bother showing up to the National Federation of Republican women's candidate forum, maybe he is not serious about running. I guess because he is a millionaire he qualifies to be on Ralston's show. I can just see the Teamsters lining up for his campaign.

Well after I, Mike Wiley spoke, I was invited by three Republican groups to speak. I must have said something right, huh Johnnie Boy.

Maybe it's because as a former conservative Democrat and the son and grandson of teamsters, I could actually win this thing after I take out the chosen Republican wealthy and whiney in my primary, none of whom have had to deal with the Far Left lunatics like I in a US Senate race.

Maybe because I did so well in the last US Senate race I ran in, in 1994, that you want to ignore me. Funny the Clinton White House didn't ignore me, when they tried to buy me out of the race or when they had me taken off the air on Boston radio a year later.

You liberals are all a like, 2 and 2 is five and he did not have sex with that women. Why don't you lefties try the truth once and a while and put people on who speak it. What are you afraid of?

And the subsequent, "Is that guy for real?" response from a typical voter.

Hey, Mike Wiley, are you running next year against Harry Reid? Who are you? You ran in 1994? Where, here in Nevada? You think anyone with a brain cell is going to give you the time of day after reading your bitter diatribe? Are you a conspiracy theorist, just paranoid or simply mentally ill? You sound like a nut case in your post! BTW, Teamsters do not endorse Republicans. Seek mental health help, soon, and stay out of politics, we don't need any more nutty republic (sic, thanks Ensign) senators in Washington D.C. I don't like Harry Reid but if it's a choice between him and someone like you, I'll vote Reid. I just wish the Senate would remove him as Majority Leader. In that position, he's worthless, but you sound simply crazy.

Crazy indeed.

If you want to see the Face to Face interview that started it all, go here for all four segments. The UFO part is in segment one. And, yes, he states his belief in UFOs and that the government knows about it, not some bit about talk show callers discussing it.

Using eBay to Raise Funds for Abortion Doc Killer

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Pro-life advocates plan eBay auction to raise money for Scott Roeder, who has been charged with killing Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller.

Something tells me eBay isn't going to let this one fly.

Newspaper Circulation Plummets to Record Lows

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:00:00 +0000

The bad numbers just keeps snowballing for the newspaper industry. The latest nail.

Daily circulation falls to 39.1 million. Lowest since 1940's 41.1 million (and that was the first year of tracking).
Only 12.9% of the population buys a daily paper.
Only 13.5% buy the Sunday paper.

The "I'm Armed, My Next-Door Neighbor Isn't" Sign

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:11:00 +0000

I'm sure there is an interesting backstory to this pro-gun sign. That said, people seem to fall into two camps on both sides of the issue. While a lot of people find it hilarious, there are also quite a few who think it is stupid to advertise having guns (always a popular choice for the discriminating burglar) in your house -- and that's from the pro-gun crowd. Anti-gunners, as expected, aren't too keen on the message, though a few agree with the advertising valuable goods line.

GOP Up Across the Board in Rasmussen Poll

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:10:00 +0000

One has to wonder about some of these numbers, but on all 10 issues Rasmussen Reports show Americans trust Republicans more than Democrats.

But before the GOP gets too cocky with those results, Rasmussen also found a whopping 73% of GOP voters think Republican congressional members have lost touch with their base.

UFO Nut Ruins It for Other Candidates

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:27:00 +0000

Let's face it, fringe candidates can be kind of fun to watch. The favorites are almost always so scripted and on-message even the most casual political observer can predict with Carnac the Magnificent-like accuracy what they will say to any given question. But for the fringe-dwellers, who knows what will come forth.

The only problem, though, is that for every fringe candidate (and, well let's be honest, by "fringe" we mean slightly kooky) there are usually a couple other equally under-funded hopefuls trying to get their non-quirky message out. They might actually have a plan that makes sense, ideas that could work and, in most cases, a refreshing honesty when it comes to answering questions. But what they usually don't have is the chance to get their message out effectively to the masses. They can't bombard the airwaves with 30-second spots or plaster billboards everywhere. That's why political shows like Jon Ralston's "Face to Face" and Sam Shad's "Nevada Newsmakers" are so important for those candidates. It probably won't translate into many votes, but it is a chance for ideas to be aired.

But now, thanks to GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Wiley, one of those avenues may be closing. Wiley's recent appearance on F2F, where the conversation drifted to UFO coverups and such, has Ralston rethinking his booking policy.

At some point, you have to draw the line — and we have chosen that point as one year before the election. We will set standards for all the contests — U.S. Senate on down.

Some will say they are arbitrary. Some will say they are unfair. But I assure you they will be … serious.

Hopefully this won't completely doom the lesser-known candidates, but if so, they only have Wiley to blame.

Sharron Angle's Cash-On-Hand Problem

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:48:00 +0000

When Sharron Angle officially launched her campaign for the U.S. Senate she touted the fact that she had raised over $215K. Obviously, compared to incumbent Harry Reid it is a pittance, but to fellow Republican Danny Tarkanian it's in the ballpark. The only problem is the real figure that counts is cash on hand. And in that category, Angle is lacking.

Although she has raised $215,968 this year, Angle has also spent $139,882, leaving her with only $76,085 cash on hand. Even worse, her campaign owes $119,310.

Nevada Newspapers Shutter

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:48:00 +0000

The Boulder City News and Henderson Home News have both closed up shop. Although words like "suspended" and "hiatus" are being used, one gets the feeling this is a permanent shuttering. The Las Vegas Sun, which shares ownership with the dropped titles, put the blame on declining ad sales and the economy. But one can't help but think the true culprit is the industry-wide trend of shrinking readership.

Speaking of Two-Time Losers: What's Jill Derby Doing There?

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:09:00 +0000

Curious about the SpookyPoliticians.com site, which, among other things, refers to GOP U.S. Senate hopeful Danny Tarkanian as a "two-time loser," I wandered over to the Nevada State Democratic Party website to read the official spin from communications director Phoebe "Not So" Sweet. But before I could access the NVDems homepage, I first had to click past one of those email capture pages that tend to plague a lot of political sites. It was your basic page, pictures of Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Shelley Berkley, Jill Derby ... Jill Derby?

Now normally when it comes to party websites, Nevada's Dems usually mop the floor with their Republican counterparts (case in point, the latest NevadaGOP.org mess). But either someone has forgot to update the 2008 version, or Derby is trying for the reverse hat trick.

Remember that Post About Paying for Tweets?

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:13:00 +0000

You know, we riffed on why someone would pay Lauren Conrad to tweet about politics. Actually we kind of wondered about the whole concept of hyping stuff on Twitter for money. Are there really companies willing to pay for it and how much it?

Well, apparently, the answer is yes and a whole damn lot. A whole lot, at least for now. Check out the stats for internet marketer Shoemoney.

I think I need to boost my Twitter followers.

The Waning Days of the Independent Political Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:12:00 +0000

An interesting post by Micah Sifry over at techPresident. Is the future of political blogging moving from the lone independent voice to a moneyed corporate entity? A couple big indies chime in and agree.

One of the killers mentioned, well besides cash, was the fact that while independent bloggers readily link to media firm blogs, that practice isn't reciprocated nearly as much. I've been lucky to be mentioned a couple times in media-owned blogs, but more often than not it is by name and not an actually hyperlink for their readers to click to. And getting clicked to is the lifeblood of the independent blogger.

You Know Things Are Bad for Jim Gibbons When ...

noreply@blogger.com (The Anon Guy) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:08:00 +0000

... you are the sitting Governor of Nevada, running for reelection, and the Impeach Jim Gibbons Facebook group has 366 members while your campaign one has only 193. And that's not counting other groups like Jim Gibbons is the Worst Governor EVER!!!!!! (76 members), Students Against Jim Gibbons (44) or Jim Gibbons' Got to Go (13).

Of course, it might help to increase those "for" numbers if, you know, the Facebook button on your official campaign website actually linked to your group. But that's another story. (And, seeing how all the errors are still there 13 days later, apparently one his ever-vigilant staff has overlooked.)