Same Sex Marriage Banned

Arizona and Florida voted to ban same sex marriage. In California, the proposition to ban same sex marriage is ahead 52% to 49% with about 90% of the votes counted. Three million or so absentee ballots remain uncounted.

Battleground Briefs, 10/31/08

The number of early voters in North Carolina is about 65% of the total turnout in 2004.

Obama will air ads in Arizona, Georgia, and North Dakota.

Odds and Ends

Politico picks the five best and five worst finance decisions made in this election season.

How blue is Virginia?

The Hill looks at the leadership changes that are coming in the Senate next year.

Washington Post investigates problems with Obama's small donor base.

How bad are things for John McCain? He's running robocalls in Arizona!

Why Obama Should Go to Arizona

Three recent polls show a tightening of the race in Arizona with Obama trailing by single digit margins. FDL has a new post urging Obama to make a campaign stop in McCain's home state. The author argues that an Obama appearance in the state would energize key constituencies such as Hispanic voters, the effects of which would be felt not just in the presidential race but for key down ballot races.

AZ-03: Curious Case of Credit Card

Republican Rep. John Shadegg's credit card was found at Arizona Democratic Party's headquarter. Bizarre. Shadegg emailed a response "saying that a "volunteer" accidentally dropped the card while paying for an Obama bumper sticker."

Arizona Democratic Party did some investigating and it turns out the "volunteer" in question is Shadegg's deputy campaign manager and there are no records of him buying Obama bumper stickers. The Arizona Democratic Party believes that the Shadegg campaign was spying on his opponent and trying to gain information on their confidential strategy.

Follow the details of this case here.

Guantanamo Bay, AZ

The New York Times does an article on Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, which is home to the city of Phoenix. Arpaio has gained fame and notoriety for his fight against illegal immigration, which has included tactics such as, "forcing inmates to wear pink underwear, housing them in tents and feeding them food of a green hue."

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has asked the Justice Department to investigate Arpaio's tactics but not because of the pink underwear.

“The sheriff always did his pink underwear and other publicity stunts,” Mr. Gordon said in an interview, in which he expressed regret over not speaking out sooner. “While they were funny, they weren’t breaking the Constitution and they weren’t endangering lives.” (emphasis added)

Mr. Gordon said he acted in April after meeting privately at a church with Hispanic constituents who complained that Sheriff Arpaio, in routine patrols and crime sweeps that included the arrest of large numbers of illegal immigrants, had sown a fear of all law enforcement officials, raising concerns that crimes were going unreported.

Among the "enforcement" tactics used by Arpaio is profiling people based on language, accent, and style of dressing.

For the better part of two years, it has not been uncommon for people in Maricopa County stopped for traffic infractions to be asked about their immigration status, particularly if they speak only Spanish and wear certain clothing, including jeans and shirts that officials consider characteristic of south of the border.

Most sheriff’s deputies “can make a quick recognition on somebody’s accent, how they’re dressed,” said Bruce Sands, chief of enforcement for the sheriff’s department, where deputies have received training from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This is in the home state of Sen. John McCain, just saying.