Left and right united in opposition to controversial SCOTUS decision

Much has been made of late about the hyper-partisan political environment in America. On Tuesday, Sen. Evan Bayh explained his surprising recent decision to leave the Senate by lamenting a "dysfunctional" political system riddled with "brain-dead partisanship." It seems you'd be hard-pressed to get Republicans and Democrats inside and outside of Washington to agree on anything these days, that if one party publicly stated its intention to add a "puppies are adorable" declaration to its platform, that the other party would immediately launch a series of anti-puppy advertisements.
But it appears that one issue does unite Americans across the political spectrum.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that the vast majority of Americans are vehemently opposed to a recent Supreme Court ruling that opens the door for corporations, labor unions, and other organizations to spend money directly from their general funds to influence campaigns.
As noted by the Post's Dan Eggen, the poll's findings show "remarkably strong agreement" across the board, with roughly 80% of Americans saying that they're against the Court's 5-4 decision. Even more remarkable may be that opposition by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents were all near the same 80% opposition range. Specifically, 85% of Democrats, 81% of Independents, and 76% of Republicans opposed it. In short, "everyone hates" the ruling.

Full article..... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts1137

A history lesson for the `It must be Turner!' crowd

In 2004, Republican U.S. Senate primary nominee Jack Ryan was "forced" off the ballot when it became clear to him and party officials that his candidacy was badly compromised by information that had come out about him after the election-- information about his sexual predilections that was far less disquieting than the allegations and admissions in Scott Lee Cohen's past, but never mind.
I don't recall from Democrats nearly the level of phony indignation that I'm hearing today from Republicans about a denial of democracy and voters being cheated out of the candidate they chose. But I do recall distinctly that when the GOP went to replace Ryan, it ignored not only the second place finisher in the primary but all the other primary candidates. And I recall very little outrage and indignation on their behalf.
2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Primary Results

Jack Ryan 35.5%

Jim Oberweis 23.5%

Steven Rauschenberger 20.0%

Andy McKenna 14.7%

Jonathan Wright 2.6%

John Borling 2.0%

Norm Hill 0.9%

Chirinjeev Kathuria 0.8%

The party, quite sensibly, wanted to nominate the single best candidate to engage the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Quite crazily, then, however, it handed the nomination to the entertainingly batty Alan Keyes of Maryland. You know the rest.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., dies at 77

Rep. John Murtha, a retired Marine Corps officer who became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Monday. He was 77.
The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said.
Murtha was an officer in the Marine Reserves when he was elected in 1974. He was best known for being among Congress' most hawkish Democrats. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.

State Totals

Governor - Dem Primary
Name Party Votes Vote %

Quinn , Pat 460,391 50%
Hynes , Daniel 452,304 50%

Lieutenant Governor - Dem Primary

Cohen , Scott 212,902 26%
Turner , Arthur L. 182,432 22%
Hendon , Rickey 113,273 14%
Boland , Mike 105,551 13%
Castillo , Thomas 105,056 13%
Link , Terry 99,972 12%

Comptroller - Dem Primary

Miller , David 392,000 47%
Krishnamoorthi , Raja 383,672 46%
Krislov , Clint 63,859 8%

Treasurer - Dem Primary

Kelly , Robin 470,553 58%
Oberman , Justin 342,138 42%

"We gave it everything we had"

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes hugs his wife, Dr. Christina Hynes, after conceding to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn in the democratic Governor primary race at the Hynes campaign headquarters in Chicago. "Friends, we gave it everything we had," said Hynes.

Effingham County Totals

Effingham County Totals

Effingham County Totals

Unoffical Totals