Open Thread

Today's starter topic: The internal report created by the State Department to figure out what happened during the attacks at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya is said to have utterly ignored the president and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

Discuss the news of the day or anything else you'd like. Some possible topics: The new pope or the beginning of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

Check out this photograph snapped recently in northern Virginia. [h/t MRC's Ed Molchany; posted below page break]

The license plate blurred to protect the guilty. You'll notice this fellow has both an Obama-Biden bumper sticker and a Media Research Center (MRC) "Don't Believe the Liberal Media" bumper sticker. Cognitive dissonance? A family with divided politics? Or is it possible for the liberal media to be too liberal for even some Obama voters' tastes?

Writing at National Review, John Fund has an important piece on the declining power and influence of labor unions. Given their significant contribution to aiding and funding the growth of government, this is a positive trend that deserves to be highlighted amidst much of the negative news that conservatives have faced recently, especially considering that this is truly a historic slide to irrelevance:

Well, so much for “Plan B,” House Speaker John Boehner’s proposal to block tax increases on everyone whose annual income is below $1 million. After already being preemtively rejected by Harry Reid in the Senate, House Republicans told Boehner they would not support the effort to raise taxes. This caught everyone by surprise according to NRO’s Robert Costa who was there with an inside account.

The both houses have gone into recess for the Christmas holiday, what do you think should be done before the New Year? Sound off here on this topic or another topic.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has once again demonstrated that when it comes to budgets, he’s simply not serious and neither is his fellow partisan President Barack Obama. Yesterday, the Republican leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell called for a vote on the budget outline (once again no bill) from Obama. This was immediately killed as a "stunt," which was Reid’s term for it.

Question: Does Reid actually want to pass any budget? He has not allowed a vote on any budget for years and will not propose one himself. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselfs or talk about any other topic you’d like right on this thread.

Today's starter topic: Just in case the far left tries to resurrect its anti-gun rights agenda, here's an inconvenient fact: According to the FBI, murder victims are more likely to be killed by assailants using parts of their bodies than firearms.

For general discussion about the races other than the presidential one.

We'll have several threads going tomorrow during Election Day but for now, use this thread to keep fellow NBers informed of the latest polling developments on this Election Eve.

If only there were something interesting to talk about.

The Obama campaign is now spending money in Pennsylvania. Is this a sign of the state becoming closer? Or is this just idle speculation considering the state has often been close but never quite within reach for a Republican presidential candidate?

In Minnesota, polls have been showing a dead-heat for months now. Is the state that prevented Ronald Reagan from having a landslide about to vote Republican? Your call, NBers.

Discuss Hurricane Sandy or whatever else is in the news today on this open thread.

Discuss the news of the day and whatever else you'd like.

Will you be tuning in to tonight's presidential debate which starts at 9pm ET? If so, please join fellow NewsBusters readers here for a live chat about the contest.

UPDATEII: Our regular chat server has been having problems today. Please click here to visit our chat room for the night. We've also got a live feed of the debate that you can watch on your computer if you can't watch it on TV for some reason. Our version also allows you to rewind and watch segments again just like a DVR.

Today's starter topic: In an essay published in the Wall Street Journal, former senator Phil Gramm and Michael Solon wonder if the unusually large amount of money spent on the welfare state by President Obama is what accounts for his ability to have any chance at all in the coming election. Historically speaking, presidents in office under economic conditions similar to the current ones have invariably lost.

On the other hand, it is just as likely that the nearly abject media coverage that Obama has received for more than 5 years from America's so-called mainstream media is the main reason the election is as close as it is. Which do you think is the greater reason that Mitt Romney isn't running the table?

Will you be tuning in to the second presidential debate tonight? If so, please join fellow NewsBusters readers for a running commentary and discussion of the contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The debate starts at 9:00 PM Eastern time. We will also be featuring a livestream video of the debate inside this posting

Note: You will need a browser that has Flash to participate in the chat or to watch the video.

Will you be tuning in to the vice presidential debate tonight? If so, please join fellow NewsBusters readers for a running commentary and discussion of the contest between current veep Joe Biden and Republican rival Paul Ryan. The debate starts at 9:00 PM Eastern time.

Note: You will need a browser that has Flash to participate in the chat.

Tonight is the big night for Vice President Joe Biden. Or is it? Do veep debates even matter?

Other question: Due to Sarah Palin's presence, the veep debate in 2008 was widely watched. Do you think people will tune in this year?

Discuss the news of the day and anything else you'd like on this thread.