Good morning, today is Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It's election day, have you voted yet?

Your morning open thread begins below.

Some things go better if you get prepared. People should get ready to vote now to make their voices heard in this important election year. There are a few ways voters can get their votes in easily, get their votes counted, and make sure their voices are heard.

Every vote counts. Your right to vote is one of the most basic rights you have as an American. Many states’ rules have changed so make sure you know what you need to vote in your state this year.

K N O W Y O U R V O T I N G R I G H T S
Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Vote411: Plug in your address and find out where your polling station is and information about your registration.

An interactive map with hundreds of links to state-by-state election websites, including voter guides, provisional voting information and polling place hours and locations.

• 1-800-311-8683 Voter Help Line set up by the Democratic Party
• 1-866-MYVOTE1 (866-698-6831)
• 1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)
• 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español)

Arizona's largest county puts wrong date on voter cards. Only in Spanish though. Wonder how that happened? *cough*

Via:

"The Maricopa County Elections Department mistakenly listed the wrong date of the upcoming general election on an official government document.

The error appears on a document containing a voter ID card.

In addition to the ID card, the piece of paper it comes in lists other information such as important election dates.

In the corner of the document, it says November 6th in English but in Spanish it reads 8 de Noviembre, the 8th of November.

Election day is November 6th, not November 8th."

Guest Post by Jim Messina, Campaign Manager, Obama for America

For this video, we asked people to compare Mitt Romney's real positions with the ones he's claimed to support in the final weeks of the campaign.

We know Mitt Romney will say anything to win, even if it’s not true – just like he did in Massachusetts and in the first debate. The real Mitt Romney has been running on his “severely conservative” positions for years, but now – just weeks before Election Day – he’s trying to hide them because they’ll hurt the middle class and his chances of winning.

We saw this clearly in the first presidential debate on Oct. 3, as Governor Romney cynically and dishonestly hid the self-described “severely conservative” positions he’s been running on – and there’s no doubt he’s memorizing more deceptions as he prepares for Tuesday’s second debate.

On Tuesday, Romney will be asked some simple questions by Americans from diverse backgrounds about how his plans will impact their lives. So we’ve provided some simple translations to help voters – and the media – interpret the deceptive answers he’s most likely to give in return.

Question #1: What’s your tax plan and what will it mean for middle-class families?

What he’ll say: “I will not, under any circumstances, raise taxes on middle-income families.” – Mitt Romney, Denver Presidential Debate, 10/3/12

Translation: As part of his tax plan, Romney has proposed $5 trillion in specific tax cuts. As independent, non-partisan analysts have highlighted, to pay for his plan, Mitt Romney has promised $1 trillion more in tax cuts for the rich than there are tax benefits to close. As a result, he would have to cut popular tax deductions that middle class families rely on, like the mortgage interest and charitable deductions, to pay for $250,000 tax cuts to multi-millionaires. Paying for Romney’s tax cuts would mean the average middle class family with kids would see their taxes go up by $2,000 a year.

Reality under President Obama: The typical middle class family has seen their taxes cut by $3,600 by President Obama over the course of his first term, and he has a detailed plan that would keep income taxes low for 98% of families and 97% of small businesses, while asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share to help create an economy built to last.

Question #2: What about that $5 trillion tax cut skewed toward the wealthiest I’ve heard about?

What he’ll say: “First of all, I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut…I’m not going to reduce the share of taxes paid by high-income people.” – Mitt Romney, Denver Presidential Debate, 10/3/12

Translation: Mitt Romney has detailed a specific tax plan that provides $5 trillion in tax cuts weighted towards millionaires and billionaires – a combination of a 20 percent cut in individual income taxes, eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax, repealing the estate tax and the high-income Medicare tax, and cutting taxes for corporations by $1.1 trillion. That math is clear, but when it comes to paying for these tax cuts, Romney hasn’t specified a single loophole he’d close. Even if he eliminated every deduction for high-income taxpayers and enough loopholes to pay for his corporate tax cut, he’d still need to increase middle class taxes by $1 trillion to pay for his plan.

Reality under President Obama: President Obama has already signed $1 trillion in spending cuts as part of a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion, while maintaining critical investments in innovation, education, and infrastructure needed to create jobs now and grow our economy in the coming decades.

Question #3: So how can you claim your tax cuts won’t result in more taxes for the middle class?

What he’ll say: “Six studies have guaranteed…that this math adds up…even their own deputy campaign manager acknowledged that it wasn't correct.” – Paul Ryan, Vice Presidential Debate, 10/11/12

Translation: While Romney will cite “studies” to back up his wild suggestion that he won’t raise taxes on middle-class families, independent fact checkers and journalists have noted time and time again, those so-called “studies” are actually partisan op-eds, blog posts and analyses by conservative think tanks. None have disputed the total cost of his plan or the fact that it is a large tax cut for those at the top – so none prove that he can pay for his tax plan without raising middle-class taxes. He’s trying to take statements out of context to get around the truth: he’s proposed $5 trillion in specific tax cuts, and even if he closes every deduction for the wealthy, he’ll still fall $1 trillion short. That means he has to either raise taxes on middle-class families or explode the deficit.

Continue reading »

The Commission on Presidential Debates, a private corporation, restricts the ‘debates’ to the two corporate parties and the issues that they approve. The concerns of the people such as ending corporate influence over politics, ending militarization, and creating real jobs and access to health care and education will be discussed superficially or not at all.

How will you Occupy the Debates? You can do this in many ways and if you need them, we are here to provide resources to you.

Here are ways to get involved:

Take the online survey at OccupytheDebates.org.
Read about the issues.
Organize an event in your community.
Spread the word!

Occupy Denver has taken the lead on this and is organizing a variety of events around the first presidential debate to be held there October 3rd. Events include a People’s Forum with live entertainment and opportunities to share stories and a People’s Dialogue to discuss the top issues that are chosen in the survey. And Occupy NOLA is holding a People’s Convention on Octcober 27.

The results of the Occupy the Debates survey and events will be collected nationally and shared with presidential candidates for response and posted on the OccupytheDebates.org prior to Election Day.

Continue reading »