theBlueHighwayman says: Failing to make a plan is planning for failure!

The words on a huge banner hanging in a warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky. No, it wasn’t a comment on the Iraq War but it summarized Bush’s folly in Iraq. This will be the main issue on voters’ minds tomorrow when they vote. No matter how the Republicans try to spin the truth they have finally trapped themselves. As I have traveled across the Heartland this year talking to all kinds of people in cities and rural areas both rich and poor it was always the Iraq war on their minds. If I had to single out one thing that will most affect the elections this year it would have to be the count of American lives lost in Iraq. I sensed a turn around in the Nation when Cindy Sheehan camped herself outside Bush’s Crawford ranch. The voice of a single mother did what no blog, demonstration, organization, or politician could accomplish. People around the country could relate to her loss. The price of this unnecessary war started being questioned. It was a feeling that grew with the ravages of Hurricane Katrina as we watched Americans in an American city left deserted when their homes were destroyed. Bush, as on the morning of 9/11, did not know what to do.

This picture of Motor City Industrial Park in Detroit sums up what’s happening in that area. It’s a gigantic complex completely deserted but you can almost hear the sounds of the thousands that once worked there. The drive along East Grand Boulevard is a ride into the past of this once thriving area. Homes are a shadow of what they once were with many badly run down and in need of repair. Voters in Michigan are not experiencing the ‘Good Economy’ but facing layoffs as Ford shuts many plants in this state. In the rural farm areas of western Wisconsin I saw home made signs along Interstate 94 which said ‘Had Enough Vote Democratic’ and ‘Bush Sucks Vote Democratic’. This is the Republican part of the state and these large signs were put up by the farmers who live there. In Minnesota the Senate race is not even a contest with Democratic candidate Amy Klobuchar trouncing Republican Mark Kennedy in the latest polls.The frontline in a St. Louis, Mo suburb, shown on the right, where the issue of Stem Cell Research may well determine the outcome of a Senate race tomorrow. Rush Limbaugh has unwittingly helped McCaskill in her campaign to beat Republican opponent Senator Talent, yes I believe she will win. In Tennessee Republicans are pushing the issue of Gay Marriage, shown below on the bumper sticker. As is the case whenever Republicans feel threatened in a southern state race baiting becomes the tactic of choice to win. We are all familiar with the ad featuring a half dressed white woman reminding Congressman Ford to call her. I spent an evening in Nashville with friends who confirmed that the ad had the effect the Republicans desired. Last year I spoke with some warehouse workers in Columbus, Ohio who voted for Bush in 2004 because Kerry was for the Blacks. The Republicans really know their base.

As I drove towards New York City for the last time before the election I listened to Fox News. They were broadcasting that Jihad leaders in Iraq are calling on Americans to vote for Democrats. It was a pathetic and desperate plea to the American Public for votes by a soon to be defeated Republican Party. This time people aren’t being fooled by the tactics of fear. They are asking about Bin Laden and have finally separated Iraq from those that actually attacked us. When America awakens on Wednesday hopefully the political landscape will have changed for the better. The checks and balances will be in place once again.

Vote! Get everyone in your address book to vote and tell all your friends to do the same it’s going to be close and every vote will make a difference.