The Polling Report [8.7.12]

We have some new polls in Washington State, Indiana, Colorado and North Carolina, all but one showing movement towards Obama. Hell, even the national tracking polls have moved in the direction. Here is the new map:

UPDATED: Mandatory Pregnancy Testing In School

Delhi Charter School, in Delhi, Louisiana, has come under fire for its policy that campaigners say is ‘clearly illegal under federal laws’. Under the new rules, a teacher can ‘require’ a student to have a test if they suspect she could be pregnant. If the test comes back positive, the policy states: ‘The student will not be permitted to attend classes on the campus of Delhi Charter School.’ She will be required to pursue a course of home study. Delhi Charter School has established an environment whereby the conduct of its students must be in keeping with the school’s goals and objectives relative to character development.’
And what happens to the boys at Delhi Charter School who participated in pregnancy, or who have fathered a child?

Tuesday Open Thread [8.7.12]

This is a brutal ad from the pro-Obama Super PAC, Priorities USA. It features Joe Soptic, a former employee of the Bain-owned GST Steel plant who lost his job—and the health insurance that covered his family.

23rd RD Endorses Paul Baumbach

When you have wide open races replacing a beloved retiring Representative, such as Terry Schooley, with three candidates struggling to get their names out there and pounding the pavement every night, endorsements from the local Representative District committee can mean a lot. Last night the 23rd RD endorsed Paul Baumbach over Jerry Grant and Claudia Bock. Of the 12 members voting, apparently Paul got 8 votes.

Republicans are pissed off at Romney over the tax secrecy

Romney is letting Obama pound him over the head with taxes, and that is vexing Republicans. A legion of Republican pundits have called for Romney to stop the blood letting, but Team Romney seems convinced that it can ride out the storm, or reboot the conversation by picking a blockbuster VP. We'll see. In the meantime...

This Guy Represents all Bigoted Conservatives

He is so batshit crazy and dumb, he does not think through his protest to realize it might be hazardous. He is so mindbogglingly incompetent that he cannot carry out said protest without burning down the town. And then he runs away like the little coward that he is, evidencing how much he and all bigoted conservatives really disdain personal responsibility and accountability.

Markell enters Romney tax fray – ‘(Romney) should have been ready for this’

Delaware's Jack Markell piles on Romney pointing out the obvious, that Romney should have know that this was going to be an issue.
“It would seem to me that he would be ready for this, recognizing the comparison would come up to his father and to others,” Markell said. “The issue is he’s the one running for president. The questions have been raised about him, he could have them answered.”
Markell rubs salt into GOP wounds by making this about Romney's poor judgment, and I LOVE IT!

Monday Open Thread [8.6.12]

The consensus seems to be that Mitt Romney is nearing a decision on his running mate and is just waiting until the damn Olympics are over with to announce it. It also seems that the consensus choices for the second slot are as follows, as they have have been left out as convention speakers so far:
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin are both big names in the party believed to be among those Romney is weighing for the vice presidential slot or for the keynote address. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio also were noticeably absent from the slate of announced speakers and may be contenders for running mate.
My money is on Paul Ryan. Take the poll in the middle column.