Different Day, Same Shit.

If anyone was looking for an "October Surprise," Hurricane Sandy was it. Even though the storm had been downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a mere tropical storm, it was still the worst natural disaster to strike New York City and the rest of the Northeast U.S. in over a hundred years. As of yesterday, over 4.8 million people in over 15 states are still in the dark. Major portions of NYC's subway infrastructure remain flooded. Over a hundred homes in Rockaway burned to the ground shortly after the storm. Places like Hoboken, N.J. not only have to deal with a lack of power, but overflowing sewage and gas shortages, as well.

This is what the NYC looks like shortly after it was hit by Hurricane Sandy. Pictures say far more than words can.

After this weekend, there's only a single day standing between Americans and the nearest voting booths -- at least for those who aren't reeling from the devastation. There's plenty of talk about how Hurricane Sandy could tip the electoral scales in favor of Mitt Romney, since not only are many voters in the traditionally liberal Northeast are too busy cleaning up after Sandy, but whatever infrastructure that could have been in place for the elections...well, it might be a bit of a mess, depending on where you are.

Earlier, both Dick Morris and Karl Rove were crowing over a projected "landslide" for the Republican contender. Post-Sandy, the sight of President Obama "being presidential" and the resulting poll data is making poor Dick second-guess himself. Nevertheless, these are dangerous times and I fully expect the Romney campaign and the GOP to do everything they can to tilt the election results in Mitt's favor, even if he continues to do an outstanding job of eating his own wingtips every second syllable.

Hurricane Sandy wound up a brief conversation piece between me and a close family member. We both talked about the potential impact it could have on President Obama's re-election chances and how millions of people unable to head to the polls can tip the elections in one direction or another. She thought it would be best to simply postpone the upcoming elections until the bulk of the Hurricane Sandy cleanup work was done. Sandy has already put a damper on early voting in many areas and I can't see how those affected are going to be in any condition to head to the polls -- that is, if there are any polling precincts set up nearby.

She's not the only one wondering if Election Day should wait. The main problem with any postponement is a legislative one, unless there's some legal gymnastics involved:

When people go to the polls on Election Day, they aren't voting directly for their choice for president or vice president. Instead, they are voting to select representatives -- or "electors" -- to the Electoral College, the body that actually determines who will be president and vice president.

The Constitution gives Congress the authority to determine "time" of choosing those electors. In 1845, Congress passed a law that set the Tuesday immediately following the first Monday in November of every election year as Election Day across the country.

The same law also gives states some leeway in picking electors to the Electoral College. But to exercise that leeway, a state must have "held an election for the purpose of choosing electors," and "failed to make a choice on the day prescribed by law." When that happens, the law says "the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such manner as the legislature of such state may direct."

But the law passed by Congress setting Election Day only allows a state to pick its electors on a later date if it has already held an election on Election Day and "failed to make a choice" on that day.

So a complete statewide postponement would arguably violate the 1845 law, the 2004 report suggested. But the report also pointed out that the Supreme Court has emphasized the role states play in selecting the presidential electors, so a state might be allowed to postpone an entire statewide vote for president in emergency circumstances like a hurricane or other natural disaster.

Not only do you have this, but there are many who'd argue that creating an exception to the rule in this one case will open the door to more exceptions and eventual abuse in the future. Then there's the prospect of people complaining over a region and a largely liberal one at that receiving preferential treatment. They'll cite examples like Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that devastated much of the Mississippi River Valley back in 2011. However, those disasters occurred nowhere near the presidential election timetable, not even close.

I'm torn -- as much as I want to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to cast their vote come Tuesday, I hate thinking about the Pandora's Box that'll get thrown open in the event of a postponement.

Last time yours truly turned his attention to Steve King, the Republican congressman from Iowa bragged about having a sixth sense for spotting illegal immigrants and opined how America should sift through its incoming legal immigrant population like shoppers sifting through a scratch-and-dent clearance bin at the local Kmart.

Yesterday, Storm Lake's very own preceded to eat one of his wingtips while expressing concern over federal aid planned for Hurricane Sandy refugees survivors:

"I want to get them the resources that are necessary to lift them out of this water and the sand and the ashes and the death that's over there in the East Coast and especially in the Northeast," King said during a Tuesday evening debate in Mason City, Iowa.

"But not one big shot to just open up the checkbook, because they spent it on Gucci bags and massage parlors and everything you can think of in addition to what was necessary," he said later, referring to Hurricane Katrina.

Seven years after the storm opened a Pandora's Box of incompetence and self-service from a variety of state and federal officials along with a helping of racial antagonism, Hurricane Katrina remains a code word and a catch-all for anyone wanting to compare or comment on black America's supposed predilection towards profligate welfarism, helplessness and wanton destruction. In other words, it's a convenient way to avoid stepping over the "Ni-CLANG Event Horizon" while making your point about those ni*CLANG* and anyone looking to act like them.

For general reference, King was also one of 11 congressmen who voted against a $51.8 billion relief package aimed towards Hurricane Katrina relief back in 2005. He still sees it as "a good vote." He also has a penchant for opposing disaster relief and prevention bills:

King has opposed other disaster relief and prevention bills, including twice voting against a bill to authorize funding for the National Flood Insurance Program.

He's also the same gentleman who not only boarded the S.S. Legitimate Rape with Paul Ryan and Todd Akin by supporting the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which would have banned Federal funding of abortions except in cases of forcible rape, but also invoked a certain incredulousness when it came to young victims of incest and statutory rape:

"Well I just haven't heard of that being a circumstance that's been brought to me in any personal way, and I'd be open to discussion about that subject matter," he said.

He might want to take some notes from the Guttmacher Institute on that one, or better still, quietly listen in on an interview with a young victim of incest and rape.

In short, Stevie K is exactly what you'd expect from a staunch conservative - a man who expresses his personal prejudices under the guise of fiscal and moral responsibility. Here's to hoping Christie Vilsack overcomes King's current four-point lead.

“One thing he’s gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [the hurricane] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in…Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas?” Brown says. “Why was this so quick?… At some point, somebody’s going to ask that question…. This is like the inverse of Benghazi.”

The above quote comes courtesy of former FEMA Director Michael Brown. If you all remember, our friend "Brownie" was in charge of FEMA during Hurricane Katrina. The slow response of the agency fell squarely on his shoulders according to a 2006 report from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, leading to his resignation from FEMA two weeks after the hurricane struck.

And apparently, the man sees fit to chastise the president for "jumping too quickly" on Hurricane Sandy, just to get in an oblique jab on President Obama's response to Benghazi. Yeah, the GOP's still trying to make hay of his response to that tragic event:

Conservatives have been hitting Obama for weeks on his attendance at a fundraiser in Nevada following the assault in Benghazi, claiming at alternate times that the President either cared more about politics than lives lost or that he was trying to downplay the attack’s significance. Now the critique has mutated into a belief that Obama is currently “playing President” to score points during disaster relief in the run-up to the election, in contrast to his actions in September.

Actually, from the moment President Obama took the oath of office, it was decided by the unreconstructed throughout the GOP that he was, in fact, "playing president." Because no ni*CLANG* could ever be president of the United States of America, no matter how hard he faked it.

The bottom line of all this shit talk is an undercurrent of disrespect that now lays open like an open sewer or a beached whale carcass. I'm genuinely surprised that no actual politician has gathered the required minerals to cross the dreaded "Ni-CLANG! Event Horizon" openly and unapologetically call the current President of the United States a "ni*CLANG*." In that regard, there's not much the president can do to that would earn their respect or approval, as demonstrated handily over the course of an entire presidential term.

Michael Brown had his time in the sunshine and with a dubious track record such as his, he should be the last individual to have anything to say about Obama's handling of this and other natural disasters. I wonder what Kanye West would have to say about all this...

The only thing the Deep South got from Hurricane Sandy (at least in my neck of the woods) were a few strong winds and a fierce cold snap. I can't say the same of the people farther up the East Coast:

At least 15 people were reported killed along the eastern seaboard by Sandy, one of the biggest storms to ever hit the country, which dropped just below hurricane status before making landfall on Monday night in New Jersey.

The storm interrupted the presidential campaign a week before Election Day - posing both risks and opportunities for President Barack Obama as he seeks a second term in a tight race - and closed U.S. financial markets for a second day.

As a weakened but still massive storm system continued its trek inland, more than 1 million people in a dozen states were under orders to evacuate. Sandy left behind a trail of damage - homes underwater, trees toppled and power lines downed - caused by epic flooding and fierce winds all along the Atlantic coast.

In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion, only half insured.

"It's total devastation down there, there are boats in the street five blocks from the ocean," said evacuee Peter Sandomeno, one of the owners of the Broadway Court Motel in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. "That's the worst storm I've ever seen, and I've been there for 11 years."

Sandy comes just a week before the presidential election. The election is so close that it could determine who wins, but just how that will play out is hard to know. This is the October Surprise. -Abagond

A lot of people were worried about the potential effects Hurricane Sandy could have on the election (i.e. people wouldn't be able to get out and vote in the storm's aftermath). To be honest, I not worried about that and neither is the president:


Right now, all the president has to do is his job. The election will take care of itself, for better or worse. With any luck, Mitt Romney's latest attempt to turn a national tragedy into a photo op will surely collapse on itself with the same speed and force as a red giant at the cusp of supernova. I'm sure the thousands in need of FEMA assistance in the wake of Hurricane Sandy appreciate Mitt's concern over the effect the agency has on the nation's fiscal well-being.

If anyone in the affected areas manages to read this blog post, stay safe. From the looks of things, there's a lot of work to be done in the coming days.