Busby Stumbles .... and Republicans Pounce

[AtomicKitten]

This on the heels of McLaughlin predicting her win yesterday on the McLaughling Group.

Busby on defense, says she misspoke

By Dani Dodge
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 3, 2006

Excerpt:

If an election can turn on a sentence, this could be the one: “You don't need papers for voting.”

On Thursday night, Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District, was speaking before a largely Latino crowd in Escondido when she uttered those words. She said yesterday she simply misspoke. But someone taped it and a recording began circulating yesterday.

It was translated and Busby replied: “Everybody can help, yeah, absolutely, you can all help. You don't need papers for voting, you don't need to be a registered voter to help.”

Bilbray said at worst, Busby was encouraging someone to vote illegally. At best, she was encouraging someone who is illegally in the country to work on her campaign.

“She's soliciting illegal aliens to campaign for her and it's on tape – this isn't exactly what you call the pinnacle of ethical campaign strategy,” Bilbray said. “I don't know how she shows her face.”

Busby said that Republicans are now twisting her words. She does not in any way support or advocate that illegal immigrants vote, she said.

“I was clarifying the question that was being asked in Spanish and then stated that you do not have to be a registered voter to help the campaign because there were many people who appeared to be to be under 18 in the group who wanted to volunteer,” she said in a statement. “I'm not surprised that the Republican Party is making this last-minute, desperate ploy and it is absolutely false.”

more at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/50thdistrict/20060603-9999-1mi3busby.html

[Rose Siding]

1. Uh, Bilbray who endorsed an accused wife abusing, deadbeat polygamist?

That Bilbray doesn't know how SHE shows her face?

[rocktivity]

2. If illegal ailens are so bad for your city, Bilbray

why don't you make getting rid of them part of your campaign platform?

:headbang:
rocknation

[Botany]

3. this will be the reason given for her loss

But repugs have already been @ work on voter rolls in Orange County already.

Trust me I am from Ohio and I can smell a cover story from a mile away.

[AX10]

4. Sadly true.

[Joanne98]

6. I'm in Ohio too. But I grew up in Bilbray's district....

The people in this district, that sits on the border, consider illegal immigration a huge problem.

[Botany]

9. Without a doubt it is an issue but .....

.... this close to an election people have their minds made up.
I am more worried about the stories I heard of voter files being
tampered w/. This "story" might very well be used to explain Bilbray's close victory.

And doesn't Bilbray have some real baggage too?

[Joanne98]

15. I think he's pretty boring. He was even boring when he was...

a lifeguard. But I haven't been keeping up to date. I'll have to call some IBer's an see if there's any good gossip.

[Joanne98]

5. Do you know how hard it is to turn Brian Bilbray into a winner?

Only our, ever so clueless, leaders could do the impossible. I'm beginning to suspect that the immigration issue is a SET UP! It feels like a set up. It smells like a set up. I'm having De Ja Vu. Is the immigration bill the next "Gay marriage" bomb. It's feels like 2004 all over again. (sigh)

[AtomicKitten]

7. I wonder if the traditional roll-out of exclusionary/hate issues

will continue to work for the GOP. Surely at some point even those dolts much catch on. Maybe not. Rove is betting on immigration being the hate issue de jour for the GOP, but the squabbling within their own party may neutralize that.

[Joanne98]

11. It's the hot-button issue this season for sure.

[Capn Sunshine]

13. Bilbray doesn't even live in the district

Even if he wins, he's going down for fraud.

I can't understand why Busby isn't right out front with this.

Illegal immigrants? Bilbray had to sneak in to the district he's running in!

[rurallib]

8. What would Bilbray know about immigration? He lives in Alexandria

that's in Virginny folks.

[AtomicKitten]

10. Just like Texan Cheney established wink-wink residency in Wyoming

Rules weren't made for Republicans, donchaknow?

[Joanne98]

12. He grew up in Imperial Beach CA. I went to school with his brother.

[cascadiance]

18. The problem is the right wing echo chamber (NewsMax, blogs, etc.)...

They are latching on this and pushing it far and wide and through right wing talk shows, etc.

To be equivalent, we should be having every publication we can get our mitts around talk about how a "Carpetbagger lobbyist wants their vote!".

Look at all of these links that are distorting this story that are under Google "News"!

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/6/4/125134.shtml

http://www.townhall.com/blogs/c-log/JeffEmanuel/story/2006/06/03/199835.html

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/014274.php

http://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/006284.html

http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2006/06/03/california-democrat-urges-undocumented-citizens-to-vote-for-her/

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/15081.html

http://sixers.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NGQ1MTU3ZjkxN2YzODkxODdiOTY3NTA4Yjk0OTU4NGI=

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/50thdistrict/20060603-9999-1mi3busby.html

http://wizbangblog.com/2006/06/03/california-democrat-stumping-for-illegal-alien-votes.php

[CityDem]

14. Your papers please

Busby is not ready for prime time. Illegal immigration is a nuclear subject and her comments more than likely led to the election of Bilbray.

[mountebank]

16. Blame the victim approach?

Notice that this "story" is not getting picked up by mainstream press, only the wing-nuts. I guess it's early and who knows if the "story" will last. But it's clearly a manufactured controversy, and anyway it's not even clear if it will benefit Bilbray. Why blame the victim of typical RNCC black ops? Busby not ready for prime time? Give me a break. She's probably one of the most qualified leaders running.

[mountebank]

17. Busby was actually right - you don't need any documentation to vote

or voter registration card in California. If you're registered you walk in, give your name, and vote. You know, this is so typical that we are not getting the whole story, such as a) what the original question was, b) what the translation was. I don't believe Busby was endorsing illegal aliens to vote, so I have to believe she was saying that you don't need proof of registration (some sort of paper) to vote and you don't need to be a registered voter to help the campaign.

And there is still no indication that this is hitting anywhere other than wingnutville. The latest article on the race from the Union-Tribune makes NO MENTION OF IT.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060604-9999-1mi4duke.html

Don't read the wingnut headlines that appear on Google News such as "Busby in Trouble" from Powerline. That is exactly what they want, their exact point in doing that, to demoralize. Sad that an old trick still works so well.

[Cha]

19. Oh, big "stumble"..Give

me a Break!

[AtomicKitten]

20. I hope that

was directed at the Republicans and not at me. The Republicans are broadcasting her quote all over their fascist airwaves, and I was merely bringing that story here to DU.

Of course it was an innocuous statement; that's the point. The Republicans often resort to twisting statements and blowing them out of proportion to try to hamstring opponents a la Karl Rove, and this nonsense proves their desperation in this tight race.

[dorktv]

21. Does someone need an ID card to vote in California?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

22. HA, the perfect strategy...

All our TOP Dem leaders can start screaming about how wonderful paper-less voting machines are and trigger dumb rank-and-file Repukes to call for a paper trail! it's brilliant! LOL

[madmusic]

23. Turn it around on them!!!

Who do these racist pigs think they are? Just because someone asked a question in Spanish they think they are illegals? How biased and disrespectful is that?

EDIT: talk about racial profiling.