With the election less than a week away, retired Star-Bulletin editor Chuck Frankel shared this observation:

KITV is so devoted to bringing election news to its viewers that it says it will interrupt the political coverage on Nov. 2 to bring us “Dancing With the Stars” (I forget whether it is for 30 or 60 minutes).

I’m sure that’s news we were all waiting to hear!

Project Vote takes on the Tea Party mythology in a new research memo, which is summarized on their blog.

Tea Party candidates and their policy ideas are not representative of most Americans, just as midterm elections are not national plebiscites. The Tea Party movement should be understood as a reflection of the discontent of its followers, primarily white, better-off, older, libertarian-leaning Republican voters, rather than as a new majority in the American electorate. Polls find the Tea Party represents about 20 percent of likely 2010 voters, which is on par with support for Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential candidacy.

In any case, there’s some good data and perspective in their report.

And from the daily summary produced by Public Policy Matters, these reports on election year spending, more grist for the mill.

Unintended consequences. Three "reform" groups
that played key roles in enacting the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law to suppress spending in federal elections ruefully admitted that overall spending in next week’s midterm elections will shatter all previous records. The Center for Responsive Politics said Republicans are benefiting from the spending, Common Cause said spending in close races could reach $250 million by Tuesday’s election, and Public Citizen said in a report that independent spending by outside groups is largely hidden from public disclosure.

If you listen to public radio, this next item is for you. Fox News is on a rampage to pull the plug on all funding for NPR, described in this Huffington Post entry.

Here’s an easy thing you can do–add your name to this petition to Congress in support of NPR!