| Senate Republicans hurt working class families. Period. Meanwhile, among those who voted for the $700 billion financial services bailout, but against the $14 billion emergency loan to keep the American auto industry alive were 18 Republican Senators, including those up for re-election in 2010: Bob Bennett, R-UT; Richard Burr, R-NC; Tom Coburn, R-OK; Chuck Grassley, R-IA; Judd Gregg, R-NH; Johnny Isakson, R-GA; Mel Martinez, R-FL; John McCain, R-AZ; Lisa Murkowski, R-AK; and, John Thune, R-SD. Did Judd Gregg learn nothing from John Sununu?! (And, yes, it's very disappointing that Blanche Lincoln falls into this category, too.)
Shorter Senate GOP: We must slash working class wages! But, talk about a windfall profits tax or even suggest that some CEOs' multi-million dollar paychecks (and bonuses and golden parachutes, etc.) are unwarranted, and you're a Communist.
Minnesota: On top of all of the good news Al Franken received today, it is announced that "in overwhelmingly Democratic Duluth - which has not officially tallied rejected absentees - about 40 percent of that city's 319 rejected absentee ballots were mistakenly rejected." This could net Al Franken several dozen, maybe more than a hundred, additional votes.
Illinois: If a special election is held, Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky is ready to run and Republican Congresscritter Mark Kirk sounds like a typical, bile-spewing candidate for higher office. However, this may be moot as the push for a special election may be "losing steam." One reason for this may be the price tag for a special election exceeding $30 million for the cash-strapped state. Another reason may be state Attorney General Lisa Madigan's plea to the state Supreme Court to oust corrupt Gov. Rod Blagojevich, obviously stripping him of his appointment power, be declaring him Constitutionally "unfit for office." Simultaneously, to make sure all the bases are covered, Democratic state legislators are preparing possible impeachment proceedings against Blagojevich.
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn has indicated that, if Blagojevich is removed from office, "his 'first assignment' would be appointing a successor to Barack Obama." In the meantime, Blagojevich still retains appointment power and could name a successor at any time if he's crazy enough, though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated the the Senate would possibly refuse to seat an appointment made by Blagojevich.
Pennsylvania: Whether Pennsylvanians consider Republican Arlen Specter to be "moderate" or "conservative," one commonality he shares with most Senate Republicans is undeniable: Arlen Specter is a partisan obstructionist. Meanwhile, MSNBC's Chris Matthews reportedly has through the holiday season to decide on continuing at MSNBC or running for Senate in 2010.
Elsewhere, Research 2000 releases a wealth of polling data on PA-Sen. Specter starts off at only 43% against potential Republican primary opponent Pat Toomey's 28%, with almost a third of respondents undecided. This is a very bad starting-off point for Specter. The poll also measures a Democratic primary including MSNBC's Matthews, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz and Congressman Patrick Murphy. It measures the Dems in a three-way race and in all three possible two-way permutations. In no contest does any of the three break 30%, illustrating that a Democratic primary would start off as wide open. Further, when matching up Specter against each of the three possible Democratic primary competitors, Specter does not reach 50% in any match-up.
New York: Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, my early pick to win the appointment to succeed Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, is reportedly withdrawing from appointment consideration.
North Carolina: A new Public Policy Polling poll shows Republican Richard Burr's approve-disapprove at a lackluster 32-31. Despite four years as U.S. Senator, one-third of North Carolinians apparently don't have strong feelings about Burr or simply don't know much about him. Yet there is bigger news from the poll. PPP matches Burr up against Democratic state Attorney General Roy Cooper (who PPP finds to have a significantly stronger 44-23 approve-disapprove). In the PPP poll, Cooper leads Burr by 5 points, 39-34. Time will tell if this is just the residual pro-Obama and anti-Dole glow or if North Carolina is truly shifting bluer.
In related news, an effort to Draft Roy Cooper for U.S. Senate has sprung up. The draft effort's blog gives a few reasons to the question "Why Roy Cooper?" including: his success as Attorney General, his ability to win statewide, and his effectiveness as a legislator, harkening back to his time in the North Caroline state Legislature.
Iowa: Very interesting results in the new Research 2000 poll. While Republican incumbent Chuck Grassley sports a strong 57-36 approve-disapprove, Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack enjoys a nearly identical 55-36. Similarly, in a hypothetical match-up, Grassley only leads Vilsack by the four-point margin of error, 48-44. Meanwhile, the septuagenarian Grassley is only getting older, and Iowa is only getting bluer. How long before a Draft Tom Vilsack effort springs up?
Ohio: A new Quinnipiac University poll further illustrates the vulnerability of Republican potential retiree George Voinovich. In a match-up against "generic Democrat," it was a statistical dead heat, Voinovich 36, generic Democrat 35. Only 44% of respondents said Voinovich deserved re-election and Voinovich's approval rating was a poor 39%.
Hawaii: We can call this a formal announcement. Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye will run for re-election in 2010. CQ Politics also notes that Democratic former Congressman Ed Case, who challenged Senator Daniel Akaka to a primary in 2004, supports Inouye's re-election, so no expected primary challenge there. Republican Governor Linda Lingle is the only member of her Party with a prayer of making this race into anything approaching competitive. New DSCC Chair Bob Menendez can rest a bit easier.
Texas: State Railroad Commission member Elizabeth Ames Jones is the first Republican to formally announce that she will run for the Senate seat currently held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, who may vacate it to focus on her gubernatorial bid. Quick on her heels, former Texas Secretary of State (and currently a car salesman) Roger Williams announced that he would form an exploratory committee. Jones and Williams join Democratic former state Comptroller John Sharp, the last Democrat to win a statewide office in Texas, as the only heretofore announced candidates. Though unannounced, the Houston Chronicle is breaking that Houston Mayor Bill White, arguably the Democrats' strongest potential candidate, will announce next week that he will enter the Senate race if KBH resigns. Stay tuned.
New Hampshire: Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter may be considering a 2010 Senate race against Republican Judd Gregg.
Kentucky: Please, please, please, Jim Bunning, go for it! (Bunning 2010 is lookin' good!) In other Bunning news, an invitation to Bunning to attend a business development forum in Michigan was rescinded after Bunning stuck it to Michigan workers with his opposition to the emergency loan to the American car companies.
Florida: Count young Republican Congresscritter Adam Putnam out of a 2010 Republican Senate primary.
Oklahoma: With his eyes set squarely on the Governor's office, count out Democratic state Attorney General Drew Edmondson from the 2010 Senate race. As we await Republican incumbent Tom Coburn's decision on a re-election bid, we also hope current Democratic Governor Brad Henry, who is term-limited, might be interested.
Louisiana: Roll Call sees Louisiana's Republican Secretary of State, Jay Dardenne, taking his time on decision-making regarding a primary challenge to prostitute-lovin' David Vitter:
The name mentioned most often for a primary challenge to Vitter is Secretary of State Jay Dardenne (R), who some Louisiana Republicans had hoped would challenge Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) this year. He didn't, but state Treasurer John Kennedy (R) did after switching parties in 2007. Landrieu ended up winning the race by a comfortable 6-point margin.
This week Dardenne acknowledged that he is the subject of speculation about a primary bid against Vitter, and he said the talk has resulted "in a steady stream of calls and visits from people who have encouraged me to run."
Dardenne, who did not attend Vitter's "Mardi Gras in December" event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night, said the encouragement he's received has come from friends and supporters in Louisiana rather than from individuals in Washington.
But, for now at least, Dardenne said he's happy with his role as secretary of state and he doesn't have any timeframe in mind for making a decision about the Senate seat.
"I haven't done anything to advance a candidacy for the U.S. Senate except listen to people who have encouraged me to run," he said.
But some Louisiana insiders believe that if Dardenne decides to do more than just listen, the popular secretary of state could be as big of a threat to Vitter as any candidate that Democrats could put up in 2010.
"If Jay Dardenne were to stand up and say we need better representation in Washington and he ran in a Republican primary, it would be tough for Vitter," Louisiana political columnist John Maginnis said this week. Maginnis said part of the interest in Dardenne may have come from disappointment by state Republicans over a missed opportunity in the 2008 Senate contest.
Dardenne's highlighting of his "steady stream" of encouragement, be it actual or exaggerated, illustrates some degree of interest. Go, Jay! Go! Meanwhile, is Vitter that dumb that he would name his fundraiser "Mardi Gras in December," Mardi Gras being an example of hedonistic excess and Vitter having visited prostitutes over the course of several years? And Politico's Anne Schroeder Mullins thinks that "it's getting to the point where picking on Sen. David Vitter is not even fun anymore." (She said that in response to Vitter using the word "ass" in a Senate floor speech.) C'mon, Anne, it's still plenty fun - and very warranted.
Alaska: Ted Stevens is not just a convicted felon. He's also a sore loser.
In determining if the Bush administration is more incompetent or more malevolent, score another point for incompetent.
Speaking of incompetent administrations, it looks like John W. McCain really wanted to follow in George W. Bush's footsteps.
The Center for Public Integrity's Broken Government project finds that "the eight-year tenure of the Bush administration was marked by more than 125 systematic failures across the breadth of the federal government." And they have a very cool website.
Anybody who takes issue with President-elect Barack Obama including his middle name, Hussein, at his inauguration is un-American.
Anyone else find it ironic that soon-to-be-jailbird Republican Vito Fossella opposes a bailout?
I would have preferred an Oscar hosting return by Chris Rock. |
