I've been reading a lot of despair from some DU'ers and posters on Daily Kos over the Francine Busby non-scandal "papers" comment. For those that missed it, she gave a speech to a largely Latino crowd and, as the story goes, one man asked, "I don't have papers but I want to help." To which Busby, according to legend, said, "You don't need papers to vote and you don't need to be a registered voter to help." The comments were recorded by a Minuteman and given to right-wing radio causing a few "news stories" (from wingnutville) to be written and appear on Google news when you type in Francine Busby. That is the extent of the story and DU'ers and practically throwing themselves under a train. This is of course the entire point for writing "Busby in Trouble" in a headline from Powerline, to demoralize Dems, and after so much defeat, it appears we are ready to self-immolate at the slightest sign of trouble.
Forget the fact that we didn't get the whole story of course because it is pure propaganda black ops (e.g. what was the original question in Spanish and what was the translation). Forget that in CA you DON'T need "papers" (i.e. proof of registration) to vote at the polls if you are a registered voter and you don't need to be a registered voter to help a campaign (many miss the cut-off to register but can't be barred from helping).
This story does not have legs, so cheer up DU. The latest stories in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Reuters, and Washington Post make NO MENTION of the incident. Just read the Union-Tribune piece if you want to be reassured:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060604-9999-1mi4duke.htmlSome choice quotes:
At a heavily traveled Encinitas intersection Friday, Bilbray and sign-toting supporters waved at passing cars. Trucks honked. One man pulled up and said jovially: “Hey, I recognize you. You're the carpetbagger, right?” – a reference to the fact that he moved to his mother's house in the district last year.
snip
“I'm on the right, but I'm going to vote for you anyway,” Art Jensen, a fan of conservative talk radio, told her. “At this point, it's character that counts.”
snip
Before a debate Friday night in Carlsbad, Busby swept into the room of 275 like a rock star; people rose to their feet, shouting and clapping and trying to shake her hand as she made her way from the back of the room to the stage, where Bilbray sat scowling. The debate had the atmosphere of a high school pep rally as Busby's supporters cheered her every word and drowned out Bilbray with derisive laughter. Bilbray also had fans in the crowd, and they tried to make up for their lesser numbers with volume. Carlsbad police officers were stationed outside. Across the street, a man chanted, “Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush.”
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Why is this time to throw in the towel for so many on DU? Are you afraid of a few headlines from Wingnutville?
on edit: The latest Union-Tribune piece, quoted above, is even written by the journalist who wrote the original "Busby on Defense, says she misspoke" piece yesterday (the story's only real entry into legitimate news). The story is going nowhere. Today and tomorrow will be all confetti and rallies as we head to the election. A few nuts who would have voted for Griffith (the Minuteman endorsed candidate who takes votes away from Bilbray) will be further galvanized to vote for him. So what?