(Cross posted to Broadsides.org)

Global weirding, as global warming is now being more accurately called, is now sharing the stage — and our collective psyches – with economic weirding. And both seem like metaphors for each other. Images of Hurricane Ike crashing into Texas over the weekend could easily be used to capture the essence of this morning’s financial markets. Similarly, the frenzied traders on Wall Street this morning are ducking and covering from a financial hurricane of their own. And yes, both storms – financial and weather – can be traced back to find the human hand attached to both.

Today’s market crash will give the presidential campaigns of McCain and Obama – the supposed “change” agents — much to sling mud about. In fact, the first mud was flung only moments after the news about a possible Lehman Brothers bankruptcy was announced yesterday. The Obama campaign went on autopilot and fired off its upteenbillionth statement blaming it all on Bush and the McCain campaign responded just as predictably by declaring for the upteenbillionth time that he has more experience to calm the economic waters.

Both, of course, are full of it – and themselves.  

First, let’s look at Obama’s hubris. The Obama campaign continues to fall prey to riding the same one-trick pony that brought down the Gore and Kerry campaigns: Run against Bush. But, as a brief look back to the not-so-distant past should tell us (and them): It doesn’t work. And, worse, it continues to highlight the eight-years of “me-tooism” that has plagued the Dems. Sure, Bush wanted the war. But the Dems gave the congressional authorization. And, as I’ve said here repeatedly of late, the same holds true for almost all of the other oft-mentioned “great sins” of the Bush years.

Obama and the Dems have done little during the eight years of the Bush political frat party other than provide them with all the free alcohol they want and then stand back and act outraged (!) over their drunkenness.  Funny how that works. And, sorry, the votes don’t lie and vote after vote after vote during the last eight years shows little more than Democratic capitulation on everything from war, to civil liberties, to the environment and, yes, the economy.

But before the Obama campaign gets itself too far up on its high horse when it comes to blaming the current financial mess on Bush, let’s look at some facts.

First, let’s follow the money. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Obama campaign has received nearly $60 million in contributions from the “financial, insurance and real estate” industries. The McCain campaign has reported taking nearly $55 million from those same industries. And the conclusion? Change, my ass. Because the financial industries have been hedging their bets and – almost equally – invested deeply into both parties and campaigns. And all they’ve wanted in return for their investment is the inaction they’ve been getting, as in: Hands-off. Well, until the bailout money is needed.

It’s obvious that both campaigns and both parties are neck-deep in the dung of the current financial mess. Sure, the Bush administration may have been asking for the market freedoms, but the Dems have been doing little but rolling over for belly scratches when real opposition or oversight was in order.

Here’s how Floyd Norris of the New York Times summed up the financial hurricane that touched down on Wall Street over the weekend:

Those who were complaining, only months ago, that excessive regulation was making American markets uncompetitive, had it exactly wrong. It was a lack of regulation of the shadow financial system and its players that allowed this to happen. The regulators might not have gotten it right if they had tried to put limits on leverage, or assure that it was clear what risks were being taken, in the world of derivatives and securitizations. But deciding not to even try, and assuming that risks traded secretly would somehow end up in the hands of those most able to bear them, reflected ideology, not analysis.

And those complaining about the “excessive regulation” were, interestingly enough, the same folks who were putting $60 million into the Obama campaign and $55 million into the McCain campaign. Nice investments if you can make ’em.

But let’s not allow the McCain campaign’s weirding go unnoticed in all of this. Only days after ditching his “experience” mantra and hitting the campaign equivalent of the “refresh” button by selecting Sarah Palin and adopting the “change” mantra, McCain is back to experience. Dizzy yet? Suddenly, with the markets tumbling and our nation’s financial foundation trembling, all that folksy moose hunting and disregard for contraception doesn’t seem quite so cute, does it?

Drill, baby, drill? Nah. Sell, baby, sell. And now.  

At long last, the Obama campaign has gotten serious about staunching the bleeding. Here’s an ad I can believe in…

It's so reliable you can set your calendar by it. Every election year, and especially every presidential election, the Republican Party does its best to pervert the republican form of government required by our Constitution to ensure that the people do not have the chance to vote to protect their own interests. In addition, we know that the Republican dominance of the last forty years has been built on a foundation of racism and racial discrimination, primarily in the South, but really wherever they can gain control of the mechanisms of voting. See, for instance, the examples of Florida's fraudulent voter list purge in 2000 and Ohio's subversion of the voting system in 2004. Nevertheless, this week we have two particularly odious examples.

In Wisconsin, the attorney general, who also happens to be McCain's state campaign chair, has filed a suit designed to slow down voting lines and drive voters away from the polls. 

A lawsuit filed by the state attorney general Wednesday has the potential to slow down voting lines in what promises to be a staggering turnout for the Nov. 4 election, local voting officials said.

“It will disenfranchise voters. That's what we're concerned about,” City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl said.

Witzel-Behl said the net effect of the lawsuit, if it is successful, will be to discourage people from voting.

“It's going to slow down the lines,” she said. “And it will not only affect the people who have been flagged in the poll book, but the people who are standing behind that individual who have all come to the polls to vote.”

I know, I know. You thought that people are supposed to vote, it's an aspect of good citizenship, and everyone's civic duty. The problem is, when “certain people” vote it's just a bit inconvenient for the Republicans. Keep them away from the polls, and problem solved!

Bad as that is, though, what they're doing in Michigan, where I used to live, is even more loathsome. Really, beneath contempt: they're making sure that people who have lost their homes through foreclosure will also lose the right to vote.

Michigan Republicans plan to foreclose African-American voters

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

 And how do they know people have lost their homes? Well, convenently for the Republicans

GOP ties to state’s largest foreclosure law firmThe Macomb GOP’s plans are another indication of how John McCain’s campaign stands to benefit from the burgeoning number of foreclosures in the state. McCain’s regional headquarters are housed in the office building of foreclosure specialists Trott & Trott. The firm’s founder, David A. Trott, has raised between $100,000 and $250,000 for the Republican nominee.

They're doing the same thing in Ohio:

Carabelli is not the only Republican Party official to suggest the targeting of foreclosed voters. In Ohio, Doug Preisse, director of elections in Franklin County (around the city of Columbus) and the chair of the local GOP, told The Columbus Dispatch that he has not ruled out challenging voters before the election due to foreclosure-related address issues.

UPDATE: As of late Thursday afternoon the Republicans claimed they had backed off this plan to block foreclosed homeowners from voting. 

The Macomb County Republican Party chair who told Michigan Messenger earlier this week that Republicans planned to challenge voters at the polls using a list of foreclosed homes has changed his story.

Instead, they plan to use another sophisticated vote suppression technique called “voter caging”. 

Last week Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner acknowledged that the use of mail for vote caging has disproportionately affected poor and minority communities and she instructed that returned mail should not be considered reasonable evidence that someone has moved.

UPDATE: Having been caught in the act, the Michigan Republicans are trying to silence criticism by demanding a retraction. The Michigan Messenger, which reported the voter suppression story, has refused demands for a retraction and stands by its story.

Fortunately, there is a national campaign to protect voting rights, and they are actively seeking volunteers. Unfortunately, given the success of Republican vote suppression campaigns in recent years, it is entirely posible that these efforts will once again have an effect on this year's election.

( – promoted by odum)

We are about to get a test case in what happens when a big financial firm with lots of cross-holdings is allowed to fail. This morning, Lehman Brothers will file for bankruptcy. Krugman describes the decision to allow the 150 year old firm to fail as Russian Roulette:

 Krugmn's description is apt in more ways than one.  My guess is that Paulson and Bernanke are getting worried that they don't have too many bullets left and they are saving their ammo for a really big one.

Of course, all of this begs the question of the moral hazard that the Fed created when it bailed out Bear Stearns.  In doing so, it may have lulled investors into a false sense of confidence that the tax payer would bail them out if things got really bad.  I guess this morning, they've come to realize that the taxpayer is going to be selective in its bailouts.   

For Vermonters, there are repercussions.  Trying to get a loan for a car or a house will be a lot more difficult unless you have perfect credit.  If you have a 401k or a pension program, you may take a hit (Lehman works mostly with institutional investors) from Lehman's collapse.  It will also put upward pressure on oil prices as investors flee the dollar to oil and gold to ride out the storm (not too mention the price pressure caused by Ike).  

Scary stuff. 

(I just don’t get how this guy keeps getting elected. – promoted by JulieWaters)

There are moments when you wish you had a microphone hidden in your lapel and this was certainly true during a brief conversation with Brian Dubie back in July.  We were at the Quechee Inn on the occasion of an endorsement interview with the Professional Fire Fighters of Vermont.  Tom Costello used his time wisely by just phoning in, since it was pretty much a gimmie for Brian Dubie due to his role in Homeland Security and his existing ties with the PFF.  But I was asked to attend and so I trekked on down to Quechee, arriving during the luncheon break. 

Upon my arrival I was pointed toward the buffet table.  I was literally in the banquet room no more than two minutes, loading a burger on a bun, when Brian Dubie approached, looking a tad bit rattled.

The story just below the fold.  I'll switch to present tense for the benefit of a play-by-play description of this mic-worthy moment.

It's July 7th at the Quechee Inn.  Everyone's in their best suits and as I arrive I'm directed toward the fancy buffet table sporting the usual stainless steel chafing trays with a culinary offering of — hamburgers and hot dogs.  I'm a fan of any homespun barbeque, but there's definitely a disconnect between the smell of an outdoor grill and the Quechee Inn dining hall, complete with pleated table-skirts and white linen napkins.  Anyway, I place a hamburger on a bun and I still have the stainless steel tongs in hand when the breeze of a quickly approaching body causes me to glance back toward the oncomer.

Vermont's Lieutenant Governor introduces himself and says, rather hastily, “When you get a moment I want to talk to you about what you said about the National Guard.”

I'm a little taken aback, since I hadn't spoken or written a single word about Vermont's Green Mountain Boys during my campaign, during the last decade, or during my lifetime, to the best of my recollection.  In my moment of confusion, I can't help but respond with a crinkle of the eyebrow and a genuine facial expression of surprise.  I quickly reply, “Sure, anytime.”  It's not the most eloquent response, but I'm not sure the Lieutenant Governor even heard me.  He's already walking back to his table. 

Suddenly it's clear to me what Dubie is really talking about.  In my June 28th campaign announcement I referred to Brian Dubie's September 2006, two-week tour of duty in Baghdad as a “Tour of Glory.”  As an unknown candidate I had made a conscious choice to come out strong, and frankly, I had no interest to hold back from calling out Dubie on a political stunt in disguise as a call to active duty.  Dubie's suddent flight to Baghdad occurred without any notice given to Speaker Symington in a breach of our government's chain of command.  Nancy Remsen of the Burlington Free Press was right on top of the issue, and given the timing of the event on the eve of the Dunne/Tracy Lt. Governor primary, it didn't take a conspiracy theorist to suggest pure politics at its worst. Brian Dubie flew off under the cloak of night as the cowboy pilot, returning only 14 days later with a neat little war story from the rooftops of Baghdad.  Just in time for the General Election.  

No question about it:  a two-week sojourn, unlike any other Vermont soldier has seen, was a complete, unabashed Tour of Glory for Brian Dubie.  But only a few people dared to call the Lt. Governor out on the carpet at the time.  The somber fear of war and the lingering memory of terrorism were still quite close, easily summoned by such dramatic, front page photos such as covered the papers just days after the 5th anniversary of 9/11. 

So I make my way back to my table and lifted my burger with both hands, just as I would at any honest backyard barbeque, despite the presence of linens, dainty china and assortments of silverware.

As soon as the luncheon is over, the fire fighters recess to the conference room as the dining hall empties out.  The last person to start the meal, I'm also the last to finish, and as the movement to the next part of the day proceeds, Brian Dubie makes a B-line for my table.

Sitting with only one chair between us, Dubie says he wants to follow up with me and immediately goes into a breathless 10 minute vent.  He talks about how we are both Vermonters, how we both have families, and how he's won 5 elections.  The last part he mentions at least twice.  “I've won 5 elections.”  Vent, vent, vent.  “You know, I've won 5 elections.”

It's as if he hasn't even stopped to take a breath.  He unloads everything off his chest in what seems like a single, outward exhale from a pressure that's been building inside him for somewhere between 9 hours up to 9 days.  I maintain eye contact, nod my head reassuringly and give him the space to get everything out. 

Then he gets to the good part.  The part that reveals the inner Brian Dubie.  He's talking about wanting to keep the campaign from getting unpleasant, and says: 

“If things get too….”

He doesn't complete the sentence, but makes a stuttering gesture with both hands suggesting a palpable frustration. 

Then he delivers the nut:

“When it comes to public service, I could walk away from it all.”

Where's the microphone when you need it?  My next thought is, “Sounds good.  Let me help you out with that.”

Somehow my listening skills drop off for a moment as these words form a deep imprint in my brain.  But it's only another minute when Dubie stops abruptly, taking a breath as he says, “There, that's all I've got to say.”

Well then, enough said.

There is no question in my mind that Brian Dubie is a very decent, respectable and even honorable man.  He's a family man, a Vermonter just like all of us, and as Lieutenant Governor he's offered some tokens of green, local, Vermont-based values in speech and ceremony. His Green Valley Initiative.  His vow to end Vermont's reliance on foreign oil.  His praise of the Vermont Ski Hamburger.   

In fact, I tell him this much, less the references above, right at that table in the dining hall of the Quechee Inn. 

But I also assure him that there's a responsibility in politics, too.  

“At the beginning of the day and at the end of the day, we are both Vermonters,” I said.  “But during the day I have an obligation to fight as hard as I can to win.” 

Before he rises from the table, the Lieutenant Governor says, “I look forward to keeping this on the issues,” then he disappears into the conference room where he swiftly gains the PFF endorsement.

When Dubie is finished with his interview, he gives me a wave and leaves the dining hall.  I wonder where he's going next, given that, when it comes to public service, he can just walk away from it all.