Posts filed under 'politics'
Continue Reading May 23rd, 2007
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.
HILLARY WON’T QUIT IOWA FIGHT; NEWT’S CLOCK IS TICKING; BOEHNER ON IMMIGRATION REFORM.
CLINTON: An internal strategy memo written by a US Senator Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Campaign Manager suggested that she skip the Iowa caucuses in favor of concentrating on New Hampshire and the following primary states. The memo was leaked to the media through a rival campaign. Within hours, Clinton distanced herself from the memo. “I have to make the decisions and I’ve made the decision [to compete in Iowa]. I haven’t revisited it. I’m not agonizing over it. I never saw the memo. I’ve never had it read to me,” she said to the Des Moines Register. Recent polls place Clinton third in the state behind John Edwards and Barack Obama among like Dem caucus participants.
GINGRICH: Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is edging closer toward entering the 2008 White House race. First he announces Wednesday he plans to attend the important Ames Straw Poll this summer in Iowa — but not as a candidate. Instead, he said he plans to attend to help spread his message about the issues he thinks the party must discuss. He’ll be having a booth at the event promoting his American Solutions PAC. Then, on a Dallas radio show later in the day, Gingrich said he is looking “to see if there is a requirement for a citizen candidate [for President] who is committed to bold language and clearer solutions … and if there is, I’ll probably end up running.” He says he’ll announce his decision in September. Hint: Gingrich will announce his candidacy on September 27, 2007, the 13th anniversary of when he first unveiled the Contract with America campaign in 1994. His website even has a prominent countdown clock running towards that date.
IMMIGRATION: The Hotline reported on some unexpected remarks by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH). Speaking before a crowd of GOP activists in DC on Tuesday evening, Boehner discussed the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill compromise backed by the White House. “I promised the President today that I wouldn’t say anything bad about … this piece of shit bill,” he said. Here was Wednesday’s follow-up spin on the comments by Boehner’s spokesman: “Mr. Boehner’s comment was nothing but an off-the-cuff wisecrack made jokingly during a private gathering. While he has serious concerns about the Senate bill, it’s unfortunate that this comment in particular found its way into print.”
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.24.07 | Permalink | postCount(’052407a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily free speech zone. Suggestion: If you want to discuss American Idol, your favorite soda, etc., those kind of items probably belong in this thread instead of the political news one above.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.24.07 | Permalink | postCount(’052407b’);
Continue Reading May 21st, 2007
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
KY GOV POLL; McCONNELL & KUCINICH MAY GET PRIMARIED; REID’S PLAN; McCONNELL FOR HAGEL.
KENTUCKY #1: A final WHAS-TV/SurveyUSA primary tracking poll shows Governor Ernie Fletcher appears heading to a large enough win in Tuesday’s primary so as to avoid the need for a June 26 run-off. A candidate must win at least 40% to avoid a run-off. The numbers: Fletcher - 44%, former Congresswoman Anne Northup - 34%, businessman Billy Harper - 17%. The Fletcher-Northup numbers are unchanged since the last poll. In fact, Northup has been stuck at the 34% mark for the past four tracking polls. On the Democratic side, the leader numbers also remain unchanged: former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear - 32% and has moved ahead of the pack. Wealthy health care executive Bruce Lunsford is second with 23%, followed by former Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry at 17%, State House Speaker Jody Richard - 12%, attorney Gatewood Galbraith - 7%, and businessman Otis Hensley at 1%. Short of Henry closing the gap with Lunsford for second place on election day, it appears Beshear and Lunsford will advance to the run-off.
KENTUCKY #2: Call it Ernie Fletcher’s revenge. US Senate Mitch McConnell (R-KY), portrayed in state newspapers as the godfather of the Kentucky GOP, has his faction of the party heavily backing Anne Northup in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary. That appears to be why a growing movement in the party — led by the pro-Fletcher faction — is looking for payback in the form of giving McConnell a tough primary challenge in 2008. Check out the DraftForgy.com website, urging former State Supreme Court Justice Larry Forgy (R) to oppose McConnell. Forgy was the GOP nominee for Governor in 1991 and 1995. The Draft Forgy website is filled with pro-Fletcher and ani-McConnell sentiments, plus lots of Forgy quotes that make him sound rather interested in the race.
CONGRESS: Annoyed with President Bush’s recent recess appointments of controversial nominees, US News reports Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has a procedural maneuver to thwart the White House. “Reid will call the Senate into session [during the summer recess] just long enough to force the Prez to send his nominees who need confirmation to the chamber. The talk is he will hold a quickie ‘pro forma’ session every 10 days, tapping a local senator to run the hall. Senate workers and Republicans are miffed, but Reid is proving that he’s the new sheriff in town,” reported the magazine. The move would legally deny Bush the ability to make any recess appointments.
FLORIDA: Despite threats from both major parties, Florida Governor Charlie Crist (R) signed into law the bill that moves the state’s Presidential primary forward to January 29, 2008. The bill also forces to end in the state of touchscreen voting machines that don’t produce voter verifiable paper receipts, and ended the state’s “resign to run” law for candidates seeking federal office. That last part was purportedly added to allow Crist to be in contention for VP nomination — although it will allow lots of state senators and local officials to make congressional runs without risking their current seats.
HAGEL: Maverick anti-war US Senator Chuck Hagel (R) and Attorney General Jon Bruning (R) — Hagel’s announced conservative primary challenger — were both present at the Nebraska Republican Party fundraising dinner this past weekend. Also present in town was US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who was a featured guest at Hagel’s fundraiser the evening before. According to the Omaha World-Journal, McConnell “praised Hagel as a conservative who voted with his party more than 95 percent of the time.” McConnell said Hagel’s criticism about Iraq were proving true. “Many of the predictions that Chuck made about how the war might go have come true. A lot of us still believe that some of his early predictions — that this was going to be a very tough project — have proven to be accurate,” said McConnell.
KUCINICH: Parma Mayor and former State House Minority Leader Dean DePiero (D) told the Columbus Dispatch he is considering making a primary challenge next year to Congressman Dennis Kucinich. DePiero says he isn’t sure Kucinich is vulnerable in a primary, but the newspaper wrote “many residents of the 10th District are fed up with Kucinich’s quixotic quests for the presidency and grouse that he does not pay sufficient attention to the district.” If he runs, DePiero could present Kucinich with a tough primary contest.
ENVIRONMENT: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell (R) co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Post blasting the EPA’s failure to enact tailpipe emission standards. They described current EPA policies as “more of the same inaction and denial.” The two continued: “We are far from convinced that the agency intends to follow the law and grant us our waiver. If it fails to do so, we have an obligation to take legal action and settle this issue once and for all.” The EPA was quick to respond: “EPA initiated the statutory process for reviewing California’s waiver request used for all waivers, and the agency must complete that process before making a decision. By the end of this month, the agency will hold two public hearings….”
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.22.07 | Permalink | postCount(’052207a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily free speech zone.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.22.07 | Permalink | postCount(’052207b’);
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE.
IOWA POLL; GONE-ZO SAGA CONTINUES; CARTER-BUSH INSULTS FLY.
IOWA: A new Des Moines Register poll of likely Iowa caucus participants shows Mitt Romney’s weeks of TV advertising in the state have produced results. The results: Romney - 30%, John McCain - 18%, Rudy Giuliani - 17%, Tommy Thompson - 7%, Sam Brownback - 5%, Mike Huckabee and Tom Tancredo tied with 4% each, and all others at 1% or less. On the Democratic side, John Edwards holds a six-point lead. The numbers: Edwards - 29%, Barack Obama - 23%, Hillary Clinton - 21%, Bill Richardson - 10%, Joe Biden - 3%, Dennis Kucinich - 2%, and all others at 1% or less.
GONZALES: The US Senate’s “no confidence” resolution on on Attorney General Al Gonzales is looming, with a likely vote sometime this week. US Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) predicted on CBS’s Face the Nation that Gonzales will resign before the vote is taken. “Votes of no confidence are very rare. Historically, that is something which Attorney General Gonzales would like to avoid. I think that if and when he sees that coming, he would prefer to avoid that kind of a historical black mark,” said Specter. Appearing on ABC’s This Week, US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) signalled further problems when he declined opportunities to defend Gonzales. Instead, McConnell said it would be up to the President to decide if Gonzales could continue to be effective in his job.
“I KNOW YOU ARE, BUT WHAT AM I?”: After former President Jimmy Carter lobbed yet another round of sharp criticism at President George W. Bush this weekend, the White House responded in kind. “He is proving to be increasingly irrelevant,” said a White House spokesman.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.21.07 | Permalink | postCount(’052107a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily free speech zone.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.21.07 | Permalink | postCount(’052107b’);
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.
NH POLL; IMMIGRATION COMPROMISE; DOBSON HATES RUDY; GONE-ZO; GORE’S LOST LOVE.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: A new Zogby telephone poll of New Hampshire voters shows Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton leading for their respective primaries. On the GOP side, Romney led with 35%, followed by Rudy Giuliani and John McCain tied with 19% apiece, Fred Thompson at 6%, Ron Paul at 3%, and all others each scoring 1% or less. The numbers indicate Romney’s recent TV buys in the state are working, as he jumped up 10 points since last month’s poll. McCain is down 6 points, while Giuliani’s numbers are unchanged. On the Dem side, Clinton narrowly led Barack Obama by a 28% to 26% vote, with John Edwards third with 15%, Bill Richardson is at 10%, Dennis Kucinich had 4%, and nobody else scored above 1%. Obama has shrunk Clinton’s lead by four points since the last NH poll.
IMMIGRATION: US Senate leaders and the Bush Administration reached a compromise on last year’s immigration reform bill — a deal that will likely guarantee the bill’s passage. Under the compromise, the revised Kennedy-McCain bill would allow undocumented workers who arrived in the US before January 1, 2007, to be given immediate work authorization to remain in the US, be granted a “Z” visa and placed on a path to permanent residence. Heads of household would have to return to their home country within eight years but would be guaranteed the right to return, in exchange to paying a $5,000 fine. In a trade-off for immigration opponents, the bill would double the number of Border Patrol agents, strengthen the border fence with Mexico, and employers who hire undocumented workers would be fined. “The agreement we just reached is the best possible chance we will have to secure our borders [and] bring millions of people out of the shadows and into the sunshine of America,” said Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). “This is the first step, but important step, in moving forward with comprehensive, overall immigration reform … This is what bipartisanship is about. When there is a requirement for this nation and its security that transcends party lines, I’m proud to have been a small part of it,” said Senator John McCain (R-AZ). “This bill secures our borders, has tough enforcement of our immigration laws on the border and in the interior, brings the 12 million undocumented workers in our nation out of the shadows and creates a real immigration system for the future,” said US Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO). US Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) were all staunch opponents of the Kennedy-McCain bill last year, but announced they are satifsfied with this compromise version. “From my perspective, it’s not perfect. But it represents the best opportunity that we have in a bipartisan way to do something about this problem … So, to my constituents who said do something about this problem, I can say I have tried my best to craft a bill that won’t repeat the mistakes of the past and will deal with the problems of today,” said Kyl. “This bill is a two-step process. And the first step is cure the problem: Stop the insecurity on the border … And [second] let’s return to respect America’s dream of a legal immigration system that works,” said Isakson. Other appearing at the press conference to endorse the compromise plan included US Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Bush Cabinet members Carlos Gutierrez and Michael Chertoff. Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), by contrast, told Fox News he strongly opposes this compromise deal as “instant amnesty.” Tancredo blamed President Bush for bringing about the compromise: “The President is so desperate for a legacy and a domestic policy win that he is willing to sell out the American people and our national security.” Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) also denounced the compromise, saying it “will make a bad situation worse.”
GIULIANI: Religious right leader James Dobson of Focus on the Family really, really hates Rudy Giuliani (R-NY). Here is an excerpt from a column Dobson drafted for the conservative WorldNetDaily website: “Speaking as a private citizen … I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision. If given a Hobson’s - Dobson’s? - choice between him and Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama, I will either cast my ballot for an also-ran - or if worse comes to worst - not vote in a presidential election for the first time in my adult life. My conscience and my moral convictions will allow me to do nothing else.”
GONZALES: The US Senate appears likely to schedule a “no confidence” vote next week on Attorney General Al Gonzales. US Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) on Thursday became the fifth Republican Senator to call on Gonzales to resign. US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is leading the drive for a no confidence vote, said he is confident at least 60 Senators will vote for the resolution.
GORE: Former Vice President Al Gore told Time magazine he has “fallen out of love with politics.” Time reports Gore has played no part in encouraging his former aides and draft movement activists. “I can’t say [what it would take for me to run for President] because I’m not looking for it. But I guess I would know it if I saw it. I haven’t ruled it out. But I don’t think it’s likely to happen,” said Gore.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.18.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051807a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily free speech zone.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.18.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051807B’);
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.
SO, WOULD THIS MAKE THEM “CUT-AND-RUN REPUBLICANS”?
How badly do some vocal Republican supporters of the Iraq War want to find an excuse that will allow them to call for an quick withdrawal of US forces? Just check out all of these comments, as reported by The Politico. The comments were offered in response to AP’s report that a bill proposed in the Iraqi Parliament — which reportedly has the support of 144 of 275 members — would call for the US military to leave Iraq. The bill is backed by supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sad and others. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki opposes the bill, and it it is not clear if or when it will come up for a formal vote. The vote may be postponed until after the two-month parliamentary recess. However, if the bill is approved, many prominent, pro-war GOP Members of Congress say it would change their position. Congressman Adam Putnam (R-FL), the third-highest member of the GOP House leadership, said “I suspect we would respect their wishes.” Said US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “I want to assure you, if they vote to ask us to leave, we’ll be glad to comply with their request.” US Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) said the Iraqi Parliament “should heed McConnell’s words” or they will likely get what they wish for. “If the government of Iraq decided by a vote of the majority, obviously it would have a tremendous effect … I don’t think we’d throw our hands up and say adios, but it would have a major effect,” said US Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS). US Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) said that “Iraq is a sovereign nation. If they were to do that, we’d be happy to allow them” to get what they say they want. “I do respect democracy with all my heart, and I think that will change the equation,” said Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ). “That’s what the White House has been saying it wants. They stand up, we stand down,” said Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ).
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.17.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051707a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Yup, short posting today. After a full day of work, I did an 8-mile skate at the beach … then went for an ocean swim at sunset (and got to surf a few waves) … home for dinner and some nice wine … and now I just don’t feel like spending that much time writing tonight.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.17.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051707b’);
Continue Reading May 15th, 2007
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
FOX GOP DEBATE; KY POLL; BLOOMBERG’S BILLION; MN SEN POLL; FALWELL; PHILLY RESULTS.
GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE #2: First, the questions asked in the Fox News debate from South Carolina were certainly much better, tougher, and more direct than those poised in the previous debates this year. The candidates were actually called on the carpet and forced to give real answers. John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney all took early hits for jettisoning their previously moderate social views to gain conservative points in this race. Whatever points Ron Paul scored in the first debate as the lone anti-war GOP candidate were probably lost in this debate when he essentially said that US foreign policy provoked the 9/11 attacks. Plus, he gave Giuliani a moment to really shine on stage. Doctor Paul has clearly forgotten the key adage of the Hippocratic Oath: first, do no harm. True or not, Paul’s comments will relegate him to a fringe GOP following or a third party run. Tom Tancredo was feistier tonight in his controversial immigration views. Jim Gilmore got in a few shots at the frontrunners, but he’s still a non-entity in the race. Mike Huckabee took a hit for his record on taxes, but briefly won points for his John Edwards “beauty shop” line. Tommy Thompson and Duncan Hunter largely registered drab performances. Was Sam Brownback even there, because I cannot recall any memorable moments from him. The entire group — except for McCain and Paul — expressed support for using torture on suspected terrorists. Romney had the biggest pandering line, promising to not close the controversial military prison but instead said he would “double Guantanamo.” My overall take, Giuliani and McCain tied for the win in this debate. Tancredo and Huckabee also had a pretty good night. Romney did okay, but some of the tougher questions seemed to inflict damage. Paul definitely inflicted the most damage on his own campaign.
KENTUCKY: A new WHAS-TV/SurveyUSA poll gives us a good snapshot of next week’s gubernatorial primaries. On the GOP side, Governor Ernie Fletcher leads former Congresswoman Anne Northup by a vote of 44% to 34%, with wealthy businessman Billy Harper third with 14%. Fletcher has held the lead in all of the SurveyUSA tracking polls over the past two months. On the Democratic side, former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear scored 32% and has moved ahead of the pack. Wealthy health care executive Bruce Lunsford is second with 23%, followed by former Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry at 18%, State House Speaker Jody Richard at 12%, attorney Gatewood Galbraith at 5%, and businessman Otis Hensley at 1%. These numbers indicate a Beshear surge of 10-points and a Lunsford drop of 10-points since the last poll two weeks ago. A candidate must win at least 40% to avoid a June 26 run-off.
BLOOMBERG: According to a Washington Times report Tuesday, NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg “has told close associates he will make a third-party run if he thinks he can influence the national debate and has said he will spend up to $1 billion.” According to the newspaper, both major parties are very worried about his looming candidacy. “Senior Republican officials — including those supporting declared Republican presidential nomination contenders — and several top Democrats told The Times they take the possibility of a Bloomberg candidacy as a serious threat in November 2008,” reported the Times. To give you an idea of how a campaign budget of $1 billion would be the political equivalent of “shock and awe,” Bush and Kerry spent a COMBINED total of $695.7 million in 2004. Think of how many TV spots you saw last time for Bush and Kerry. Now think about $1 billion spent on Independent ballot petition drives and mega-doses of advertising. Every channel for months will be MTV — MikeTV, that is — if Bloomberg really plans to spend $1 billion.
MINNESOTA: Independent polling on the US Senate race shows US Senator Norm Coleman (R) is still well positioned to win re-election. The latest Minnesota Public Radio/Mason-Dixon poll shows Coleman leads humorist Al Franken (DFL) by a 54% to 32% vote. Coleman leads wealthy attorney Mike Ciresi (DFL) by a 52% to 29% vote. Coleman’s approval rating has dropped to 48%, which may be a warning flag for an incumbent that some electoral problems could be arise down the road.
JERRY FALWELL: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” … and I’ve got absolutely nothing positive to say about him … so, on to the next story.
PHILADELPHIA: As predicted in the closing polls, City Councilman Michael Nutter swept to a comfortable victory in the crowded Democratic primary for Philadelphia Mayor. Nutter, a political reform candidate who used a solid TV blitz in the final ten days, was viewed as a hopeless “also-ran” with little support just a month ago. Incumbent John Street (D) is term-limited. Nutter, interestingly, is a longtime foe of Mayor Street. Nutter won with 36%, followed by wealthy former Deputy Mayor Tom Knox at 25%, Congressmen Chaka Fattah and Bob Brady tied with 15% apiece, and State Representative Dwight Evans was fifth with 8%. Knox spent nearly $10 million of his own money on the contest, but saw Nutter’s reformist message eclipse him in the final days. The city is reliably Democratic, so Nutter is now a safe bet to win in November. Chamber of Commerce executive and two-time failed congressional candidate Al Taubenberger is the GOP nominee.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.16.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051607a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.16.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051607b’);
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade (both federal and provincial), I’m interesting in swapping with you (and will also trade your Canadian buttons for some of my great US pins). Please drop me a note! Also interested in buying Canadian pins, if you’re not interested in trading.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
PHILLY VOTES; UDALL-SCHAFFER; DALLAS RUN-OFF; ED & RUDY; CANNON GETS PRIMARIED.
PHILADELPHIA: Voters go to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in the open race to replace term-limited Mayor John Street (D). With the city’s heavy Democratic slant, the winner of the Dem primary is very likely to be the city’s next Mayor. According to a new WCAU-TV/SurveyUSA poll, City Councilman Michael Nutter (D) appears heading to a comfortable victory. Nutter leads the field with 36%, followed by former Deputy Mayor Tom Knox at 25%, Congressman Chaka Fattah at 13%, Philly Democratic Chair and Congressman Bob Brady at 12%, and State Representative Dwight Evans at 6%. Nutter started the race near the back of the back, scoring only in the mid-single digits in indpendent polls just three months ago.
COLORADO: State Board of Education Member and former Congressman Bob Schaffer (R) waffled in recent days about entering the open US Senate race — first announcing two weeks ago he would run, then announcing days later he had not made any decision, then formally filing paperwork this week to run. “After considerable assessment, I’ve decided I’m going to begin putting a campaign together to run for the United States Senate,” said Schaffer. In 2004, he lost the GOP primary for US Senate by a 20-point margin. This time Schaffer’s prospects for winning the nomination look much better. Attorney General John Suthers and retired USAF General Bentley Rayburn immediately let Schaffer know they would not challenge him for the nomination. Schaffer thanked the two men, saying they “deferred their ambition to me.” The NRCC had tried to recruit Suthers to run, believing his more centrist views made him more electable in November. Barring a total surprise opponent, Schaffer should cruise to the GOP nomination to replace retiring US Senator Wayne Allard (R). However — as Schaffer comes from the arch-conservative wing of the party — he likely will be an underdog to Congressman Mark Udall (D) in the general election.
DALLAS: Voters on Saturday narrowed the 11-candidate field for the open race for Dallas, Texas, Mayor to two men: businessman Tom Leppert and City Councilor Ed Oakley. The race is officially non-partisan, although Republicans are heavily backing Leppert and the Dems are backing Oakley. Leppert was first with 27%, followed by Oakley with 21%, City Councilor Don Hill at 14%, former City Councilor Max Wells had 12%, City Councilor Gary Griffith had 9%, and all others trailed behind. Hill, however, quickly endorsed Oakley in the June 16 run-off. If he wins, Oakley would be the first out gay Mayor of a major US city. Other major US cities have had gay mayors, but never one who acknowledged it while running for or serving in office.
GIULIANI: … And speaking of former NYC Mayor Ed Koch (D), he told the New York Post he will campaign around the nation next year bashing his old rival Rudy Giuliani (R). “If I had to sum it up in a few minutes I would say he’s a control freak — and the control is over your life,” says Koch. In 2004, Koch crossed party lines in the general election to campaign in support of President Bush before Jewish groups in key swing states. Koch said he plans to hit the campaign trail after Giuliani captures the GOP nomination. However, “if organizations asked me to come, I certainly would try in advance of that.”
UTAH: Add Congressman Chris Cannon (R) to the list of incumbents facing serious primary opposition in 2008. Cannon has won a series of unimpressive primary renomination contests in recent years, frequently being attacked for being insufficiently conservative on immigration and trade issues. This time his announced primary candidates include former Juab County Prosecutor David Leavitt, wealthy businessman John Jacob, and Governor Huntsman Chief of Staff Jason Chaffetz. Chaffetz, a former BYU football player, recently stepped down from his state post to make the race. Leavitt is the bother of former Utah Governor and current US HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt. Jacob, Cannon’s primary opponent in 2006, is an anti-immigration activist closely aligned with Congressman Tom Tancredo. Bombastic former Congressman Merrill Cook, a perennial candidate, is also looking at making a challenge. “The failings of Mr. Cannon are so evident, obviously there is going to be a number of challengers. All I can do is put my best foot forward and see if I’m the right messenger with the right message … [Cannon] has not instituted good conservative practices,” said Chaffetz to the Deseret News. Cannon said he welcomes a meaningful debate with his GOP challengers, but only if they don’t use “a lot of exaggerations and distortions. In the last two cycles, we’ve had a lot of statements that weren’t true.” Cannon only had $82,000 in his campaign account as of the most recent reporting period. The CD-3 seat is safely Republican.
ROMNEY: The AP reports that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) is the wealthiest of the major party Presidential candidates. According to the report, Romney is worth between $190 million to $250 million. Romney’s assets have been in a blind trust since he was elected Governor in 2002.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.15.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051507a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.15.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051507b’);
Continue Reading May 13th, 2007
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE.
HAGEL TALKS OF INDY RUN WITH BLOOMBERG; SCHMIDT GETS PRIMARIED; DCCC RECRUITS.
HAGEL-BLOOMBERG: Rumors of a looming NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg-US Senator Chuck Hagel ticket — in either order — have been swirling for a few months. The two men were also spotted having a private dinner together at a restaurant a week ago. Now, just days after Bloomberg relaunched his old campaign site for no apparent reason except to keep the rumors swirling, Hagel further stoked the fire. Appearing on CBS’s Meet the Press, Hagel said he’ll make a decision on running for President or Vice President as an Independent by “late summer.” He acknowledged running on a ticket with the billionaire publishing mogul Bloomberg is a real possibility. “We didn’t make any deals. But I think Mayor Bloomberg is the kind of individual who should seriously think about [running as an Independent for President]. It’s a great country to think about — a New York boy and a Nebraska boy — to be teamed up leading this nation,” said Hagel. He explained he is a lifelong Republican, but that the party “of Eisenhower, of Goldwater, of Reagan” was “hijacked by a group of single-minded almost isolationists, insulationists, power-projectors.” He added: “This country is in trouble. The world is in trouble. And we need some new, fresh, independent ideas to lead this country forward.” With Hagel’s frequent use of the word “independent,” it’s pretty safe to predict he won’t be seeking reelection next year — at least not as a Republican. Bloomberg and Hagel are both Iraq War opponents, but on first blush they appear to have little else in common beyond their maverick reputations. Bloomberg is pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-medical marijuana, pro-gun control. Hagel holds generally opposite views, and has one of the most conservative voting records in the US Senate. However, if he no longer plans to run again in conservative Nebraska, Hagel may be planning to rapidly shift to a more centrist agenda.
MISSOURI: The DCCC scored a major recruiting victory this weekend as former two-term Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes told the Kansas City Star she will challenge Congressman Sam Graves (R) next year. The CD-6 seat is viewed as a swing seat, but with a Republican lean. In an unusual move — previously reported by The Hotline — GOP State House Speaker Rod Jetton arranged last month to give Barnes an “Outstanding Missourian Award” at the State Capitol when he heard she was considering a run against Graves. Jetton and other Missouri Republicans are reportedly annoyed with Graves and his campaign consultant for “meddling” in Missouri Republican Party internal matters.
OHIO: Controversially outspoken Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R) looks to be in for yet another rough election cycle. In the 2005 special election, she narrowly won a crowded GOP primary and then survived to win an unexpectedly close general election. In 2006, she faced a Republican primary rematch from former Congressman Bob McEwen and then a surprisingly competitive general election against physician Victoria Wulsin (D). Well, Wulsin is already running again — but Schmidt also looks likely to yet again face a significant GOP primary challenge. Former Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich (R) officially announced his candidacy last week, saying he’s already raised over $120,000 for the race. Heimlich “is unemployed and unpopular and he wants to run. Well, we welcome him to the race,” said Schmidt’s spokesman. Fiscal conservative Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) group co-founder and State Representative Tom Brinkman says he’s also interested in running. Brinkman says he’d like the anti-Schmidt Republicans to unite behind a single challenger, and expressed disappointment that Heimlich is trying to grab an advantage in that informal selection process. Now — here is where it gets really interesting: The Hill reports others considering GOP primary runs against Schmidt include former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Hamilton County Prosecutor Jim Deters and former Abu Ghraib Prison Hospital Chief of Surgery Brad Wenstrup. Blackwell was the GOP nominee for Governor last year, while Deters was formerly State Treasurer. Schmidt’s spokesman said the best thing for the incumbent would be a multiple primary challengers who split the anti-Schmidt vote. Still, Schmidt could be facing the toughest fight of her career in 2008.
MINNESOTA: Dems hoped to recruit Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D) into the race next year against US Senator Norm Coleman (R) , but they can now forget about it. McCollum just endorsed wealthy trial attorney Mike Ciresi (D) for the seat. Humorist, author and former radio talk show host Al Franken (D) and State Representative Joe Atkins (D) are also announced candidates.
TOMMY THOMPSON: Former Wisconsin Tommy Thompson (R) continues to give new excuses for why he said two weeks ago in the first GOP Presidential debate that he supported the right of businesses to fire an employee simply for being gay. Within a day, Thompson explained he misspoke because he does not support allowing businesses to fire someone for that reason. The next day, Thompson explained he gave that original answer because his hearing aid wasn’t working well and he had trouble hearing the question. That seemed to strain belief, as Thompson’s answer appeared to be directly responsive to the question. Now, according to the AP, Thompson is offering another goofy reason why was distracted and gave an answer that misstated his own views: “I could not wait until the debate got off so I could go to the bathroom.” This is one of those instances where the excuses are doing more damage than the original comments, because they’re making Thompson look old and foolish.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.14.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051407a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.14.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051407b’);
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade (both federal and provincial), I’m interesting in swapping with you (and will also trade your Canadian buttons for some of my great US pins). Please drop me a note! Also interested in buying Canadian pins, if you’re not interested in trading.
WEEKEND OPEN THREAD.
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
We now can name all eleven GOP Members of Congress who met with President Bush in private on Tuesday to demand he make changes to his Iraq War policy. The “Gang of Eleven” members: Mark Kirk (R-IL), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Tom Davis (R-VA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Todd Platts (R-PA), Mike Castle (R-DE), Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Jim Walsh (R-NY), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Ray LaHood (R-IL) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH). The group brought polling data and personal worries to the meeting to tell the President his Iraq War policies could doom the Republicans — and the eleven legislators themselves — to significant electoral defeats in 2008.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.12.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051207a’);
Continue Reading May 10th, 2007
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.
SEVEN (OF) ELEVEN; BLOOMBERG LAUNCHES; CAR ENDORSEMENTS; FL SANCTIONS; NADER.
IRAQ: Okay, we now know the names of seven of the eleven centrist GOP Congressmen who met with President Bush in private on Tuesday to demand he make changes to his Iraq War policy. The seven names: Mark Kirk (R-IL), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Tom Davis (R-VA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Todd Platts (R-PA), Mike Castle (R-DE) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN). Davis is the former NRCC Chair. The eleven reportedly pledged to stay loyal to the President’s current Iraq agenda, but only until September. According to MSNBC’s Chris Mathews, the group told the President his uncompromising support for continuing the Iraq War was risking “the death of the Republican Party.” In response, President Bush indicated Thursday he is now will to “accept benchmarks” pegged to Iraq War funding — although it’s anyone’s guess as to what he meant by “accept.” We’ll let you know when we learn the names of the other four attendees. In related news, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) broke with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and joined with Republicans on Thursday night in voting against the bill to begin redeploying US troops out from Iraq within 90 days. The bill failed by a vote of 171-255. Congressmen Ron Paul (R-TX) and Jimmy Duncan (R-TN) were the only Republicans to support the proposal, versus 59 House Dems who voted against it. A short time later, the House approved by a 221-205 vote a $96 billion war spending bill that makes continued funding of the Iraq War dependent on a July progress report. President Bush has vowed to veto the measure, saying he wants guaranteed war funding with no strings attached through September 30, the end of the fiscal year.
BLOOMBERG: Talk about mixed signals, but NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg relaunched his campaign site Thursday only hours after says he still is “most likely” to not run for President. This is especially interesting as the billionaire Bloomberg is term-limited as Mayor and already “categorically” stated he will not run for NY Governor in 2010. So, why the relaunch of Bloomberg’s political site? Bloomberg told reporters he was “dusting off his old campaign website … This new web site is the single place where people can go to find out what I’ve done not only in government, but in business and philanthropy as well.” Also worth noting: the “Mike Bloomberg in the News” section contains links to various stories, including many that speculate about him making an ‘08 Indy run for President. The New York Sun wrote they found Bloomberg’s actions “puzzling” because “Bloomberg’s daily news conferences and statements are all posted on the city’s official [mayoral] home page” if this was merely about wanting an outlet for his public comments. For someone who claims he isn’t running for President, the site interestingly touts Bloomberg’s “efforts to build affordable housing, strengthen our economy, protect our environment, and reduce poverty.” Hmm … sounds like a nascent 2008 campaign site to me. Check it out and see if you think Bloomberg’s site signals his likely intent.
HYBRIDS: The AP asked the leading Presidential candidates “What car or cars do you drive?” The answers showed a surprising number of hopefuls in both parties said they drove hybrids as their personal vehicles. The hybrid drivers: Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo. Dennis Kucinich drives a compact, but not a hybrid one. Joe Biden drives a classic 1967 Corvette. Mitt Romney prefers a Ford Mustang convertible. Bill Richardson drives a Jeep. Mike Huckabee and Duncan Hunter prefer large SUVs. John McCain and Barack Obama drive luxury sedans. The most surprising answer came from Rudy Giuliani: “I don’t drive.” No answers were reported from the other hopefuls.
FLORIDA: Florida Democrats are considering a proposal to make the January 29 primary non-binding and instead select convention delegates in a mid-February caucus. That would ensure no DNC sanctions against the state. DNC Chair Howard Dean has threatened to strip the state of nearly all its delegates, and bar any delegates from being awarded to candidates who campaign in the state’s primary. US Senator Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and several other prominent Dems — plus various newspaper editorials around the state — oppose the caucus idea. They say the DNC must find a compromise to allow the primary to go forward on January 29, allow delegates to be awarded from it, and impose less severe sanctions against the state. Otherwise, they warn, the DNC risks dangerously alienating some of the party’s biggest national donors, key activists and voters in a battleground swing state. RNC Chair and US Senator Mel Martinez, meanwhile, told the Palm Beach Post that “as a Floridian” he was “perfectly fine” with his homestate defying the RNC and advanced the primary to January 29 because it “makes Florida more relevant.” Martinez said he can live with the sanctions he already announced on behalf of the RNC — that the Florida Republicans will see their convention delegate total halved — and that no further sanctions would be imposed. The Florida Republican Party “knows what the consequences of doing it are and they’re OK with it,” explaind Martinez. Clinton, Obama, Romney and McCain have already announced they plan to campaign in Florida’s January 29 primary. Perhaps the DNC, as a face-saving compromise, should simply follow the RNC’s lead and impose identical sanctions.
NADER: Four-time Presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader penned a column this week for CommonDreams.org that reads like an endorsement of … former US Senator Mike Gravel (D) for President. Nader wrote that the curmudgeonly Gravel was “a fresh wind coming down from Alaska … determined to start a debate about the fundamentals of democracy … no ordinary dark horse politician … he really believes in a government of, by and for the people.” Of course, Gravel is the perfect candidate for the cantankerous Nader to back. Why? Because once Gravel is knocked out of the race after the early Dem primaries, Nader would have a reason to feign reluctance yet again mount another independent White House run.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.11.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051107a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.11.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051107B’);
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade (both federal and provincial), I’m interesting in swapping with you (and will also trade your Canadian buttons for some of my great US pins). Please drop me a note! Also interested in buying Canadian pins, if you’re not interested in trading.
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.
GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND IRAQ POLICY CHANGE; TAKE TWO; WARNER’S MIXED SIGNALS.
IRAQ: A group of eleven GOP Congressmen — led by Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Charlie Dent (R-PA) — met secretly Tuesday with President Bush to candidly voice their concerns about the Iraq War. According to NBC News, the group urged the President to “change direction” in Iraq. The meeting was held in the private residential quarters of the White House, lasted 75 minutes, and was also attended by Secretary of State Condi Rice, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, political adviser Karl Rove and press secretary Tony Snow. And, as NBC had detailed info about the private meeting, news of what happened was clearly leaked by some of the GOP Congressmen. One legislator told the President his district was prepared for defeat in Iraq and wanted a change of direction in policy. Another told the President that “the word about the war and its progress cannot come from the White House or even you, Mr. President, [as] there is no longer any credibility. It has to come from General Petraeus.” The President responded to the blunt criticism by explaining “I don’t want to pass this off to another President. I don’t want to pass this off, particularly, to a Democratic President.” Reportedly, the group consisted almost entirely of mainstream Republicans from potentially swing districts who are worried about the President’s Iraq policy and the impact it could have on the 2008 elections. They reportedly support the concept of a timeline or benchmarks for US withdrawal from Iraq.
THOMPSON: Based upon his work as an actor, think of former US Senator Fred Thompson’s speech this coming weekend as “Take Two.” After bombing on his debut P2008 campaign stump speech last week in California, The Politico reports Thompson is quickly retooling his message for a Saturday speech in Virginia. Thompson acknowledged his California speech “didn’t live up to expectations,” but vowed that his next speech with be “a tighter and sharper message” focused on “values.”
MAINE: Hours after Congressman Tom Allen (D) announced he will run next year against US Senator Susan Collins (R), Collins has shifted her Iraq stance to supporting a possible fall withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Allen launched his campaign with an attack on Collins for her support of the war. “I do believe that there comes a point in September where if it’s evident that the new [surge] strategy is not successful and it’s not going to succeed, that we do have to change course, and that means looking at all the options, including a plan for withdrawing,” said Collins to CNN on Tuesday night.
VIRGINIA: US Senator John Warner (R-VA) is continuing to give mixed signals about whether he will seek re-election in 2008. This week he told reporters he is “still very interested in staying in the Senate” and “leaning” towards running again. Contrast this with this: earlier this year he said he’d announce his re-election plans around the time of his scheduled June golf outing fundraiser — but this week Warner announced he is delaying until September making any announcement of his 2008 plans. Further, the Richmond Times-Dispatch noted Warner’s Chief of Staff is departing the Hill this week to become a lobbyist. What does all this mean? Your guess is as good as mine.
WEST VIRGINIA: Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R) told GOP leaders this week she is not interested in challenging US Senator Jay Rockefeller (D) next year, according to The Hill. Capito was the NRSC’s top choice for the race. The NRSC is now reportedly interested in recruiting Secretary of State Betty Ireland (R) to run. “She has not made any plans for any future race at this point. All doors are open, and she never closes any door,” said Ireland’s spokesman. Wealthy businessman John Raese — who lost by 30-points in his 2006 race against US Senator Robert C. Byrd (D) — is reportedly interested in running. Rockefeller was seemingly safe before Capito’s announcement, but her decision locks in an easy ‘08 run for Rockefeller in this purple state.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.10.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051007a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.10.07 | Permalink | postCount(’051007B’);
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade (both federal and provincial), I’m interesting in swapping with you (and will also trade your Canadian buttons for some of my great US pins). Please drop me a note! Also interested in buying Canadian pins, if you’re not interested in trading.
Continue Reading May 8th, 2007
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
RUDY STILL PRO-CHOICE; NH NUMBERS; BLOOMBERG UPDATE; COLLINS-ALLEN; DRAFT POWELL.
GIULIANI: Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) says he has nothing to spin or apologize about in a response to news reports he made six personal donations in the last decade to Planned Parenthood. Appearing Tuesday on conservative pundit Laura Ingraham’s radio show, Giuliani said “Planned Parenthood makes information available. It’s consistent with my position.” A Giuliani campaign spokesman further elaborated: “Mayor Giuliani has been consistent in his position: he is personally opposed to abortion, but at the same time he understands it is a personal and emotional decision that should ultimately be left up to the woman. From the start Mayor Giuliani has been straight with the American people about where he stands on the issues and saying exactly what he thinks.” Planned Parenthood is viewed as on the nation’s leading pro-choice organizations.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The latest WBZ-TV/SurveyUSA poll of likely primary voters shows Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton holding comfortable leads in their respective contests. The GOP: Romney - 32%, Rudy Giuliani - 23%, John McCain - 22%, Fred Thompson -11%, Newt Gingrich - 4%, and “Other” - 5%. The Dems: Clinton - 40%, Barack Obama - 24%, John Edwards - 22%, “Other” - 10%. While the Dem numbers are largely unchanged, Romney surged to the front on the GOP side since the last poll.
“THE THIRD FORCE”: Respected political pundit Howard Fineman had an interesting column on MSNBC, ruminating about the possibility of a significant Independent Presidential candidate in 2008. Referring directly to a possible Indy run by billionaire NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Fineman says that former Vice President Al Gore, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, US Senator Chuck Hagel and US Senator Joe Lieberman are “key players” in a mutual admiration society — and all of them may be willing to break with their parties to back a viable centrist Independent White House campaign next year. In related news, Bloomberg on Tuesday shot down a newspaper report that he was looking to run for NY Governor in 2010 instead of President in 2008. “I have absolutely no interest, categorically. I have never had a conversation about” running for Governor, said Bloomberg. He was nowhere near as categorical in his comments about a possible Presidential run, simply explaining yet again that he has “no plans” at this time to run.
MAINE: Congressman Tom Allen (D) announced Tuesday he will run next year against US Senator Susan Collins (R). “From the beginning, when President Bush rushed to invade Iraq, Susan Collins has supported his misguided policy. I fought to stop it. She voted for the Iraq war. I voted against it. Susan Collins continues to vote with the Republicans against a timetable to end the war in Iraq … Maine people tell me that they want our involvement in the Iraq War, the worst foreign policy mistake in our nation’s history, to end,” said Allen. “Senator Collins has demonstrated her effectiveness by working across party lines for the benefit of Maine and the nation,” said Collins’ spokesperson. The Collins-Allen fight is expected to be among the hottest challenger races in the nation, as Dems have scored major gains in New England in recent years against GOP moderates. Allen’s CD-1 has a strong Democratic tilt, and several Dems have already announced an intention to run.
DRAFT POWELL: US Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) is openly urging former Secretary of State Colin Powell to jump into the GOP Presidential race. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Voinovich met with Powell last month to discuss the race. According to Voinovich, Powell replied he was not interested because “he had given his service to this country, and his wife’s a little bit reluctant about doing it.” Voinovich was not willing to accept that answer. “I said, ‘You have a moral obligation and I have a moral obligation, and this country is running out of time … I think we have a moral obligation to try to leave a better legacy than it looks like we’re going to leave to our kids,’” said Voinovich. The Republican Senator also told the newspaper he wants a quick end to the Iraq War: “I would tell [President Bush] on the war that I would try to extricate myself as gracefully as I possibly can.”
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.09.07 | Permalink | postCount(’050907a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.09.07 | Permalink | postCount(’050907b’);
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade (both federal and provincial), I’m interesting in swapping with you (and will also trade your Canadian buttons for some of my great US pins). Please drop me a note! Also interested in buying Canadian pins, if you’re not interested in trading.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
MILLER QUITS; HAGEL FLIRTS; FRED THOMPSON FLOPS; DOOLITTLE SPINS.
KENTUCKY: State Treasurer Jonathan Miller (D) abruptly quit the race for Governor on Monday, just two weeks before the May 22 primary. In withdrawing from the contest, Miller endorsed former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear for the Dem nomination. As the frontrunners cemented their leads, Miller remained mired in the second tier. Recent polls showed Beshear rapidly closing on wealthy health care executive Bruce Lunsford, the current frontrunner. The Miller endorsement will certainly be a boost to Beshear in these closing days before the vote.
HAGEL: Appearing on Political Capital, maverick US Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) again fanned the flames of speculation on the 2008 White House race. Hagel confirmed the story that he dined last week with NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg. “The Mayor and I had a delightful dinner. We talked about our families, we talked about backgrounds, the world, Iraq, politics. There was no conversation about the two of us teaming up on a ticket. We did talk about the entire arc of interests that a couple of politicians would,” said Hagel. Asked about making a possible Independent run next year, Hagel replied: “I don’t forgo any options. We’ll see how the political world develops.” When pressed further if he was considering an Independent run in 2008, Hagel said that “it’s a possible.” Whether or not Hagel makes an Indy run in 2008, his new comments make him sound much less like a GOP candidate for re-election in 2008. Hagel as Independent candidate for re-election in 2008 still could be possible — but no GOP candidate facing a tough primary challenge makes these kind of comments.
THOMPSON: Former US Senator Fred Thompson’s debut political speech as a possible GOP White House candidate appears to have been a flop. The speech was billed as Thompson’s discussion of his likely GOP agenda for 2008. Conservative columnist Bob Novak described the speech as “a letdown for the packed audience” and “one lackluster performance” that left the Orange County Republican audience “tepid.” Novak said it was clear Thompson lacked adequate preparation to “take up this daunting burden.” The Politico, a conservative-leaning DC political newspaper, was likewise unimpressed. They described the speech as a “pull-up-a-chair speech” that was “low key and at times meandering” and filled with non-specific “reassuring, optimistic rhetoric.” Conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt called the speech “workmanlike, but … underwhelming.” Hewitt added that Thompson’s speaking style and message reminded him of Vice President Cheney. FYI: While I think Hewitt meant that Cheney comment as a compliment, Dems can view it as a really sublime insult.
DOOLITTLE: Embattled Congressman John Doolittle (R-CA) says he is only the target of an Abramoff-related corruption probe because the GOP-controlled US Justice Department was conspiring to sacrifice him in order to protect Attorney General Al Gonzales. Writing for the Auburn Journal — a newspaper in his district — Doolittle penned a column in which he claimed the search was “an attempt to intimidate us and garner media attention … I do not believe it was a coincidence that the leak came the day before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before Congress on charges that his office was overly partisan in its firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, especially considering Gonzales specifically cited his recent prosecution of Republican members of Congress as evidence to the contrary.”
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.08.07 | Permalink | postCount(’050807a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.08.07 | Permalink | postCount(’050807b’);
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE.
BUSH APPROVAL HITS NEW LOW; SCHAFFER SAYS HE DIDN’T ANNOUNCE; SARKOZY WINS IN FRANCE.
BUSH: A new Newsweek poll shows President Bush’s approval rating has now dropped to 28%. That number is the lowest recorded for any President since Jimmy Carter scored 28% during the 1979 Iran embassy hostage crisis. The magazine reported the Bush approval number is so low that it is “casting a dark shadow over the GOP’s chances for victory in ‘08.” History lesson: The Dems were destroyed just one year later in the 1980 elections, carrying only five states in the Presidential race, losing twelve US Senate seats and 35 US House seats.
COLORADO: Despite several news reports last week that former Congressman Bob Schaffer (R) had announced his US Senate candidacy at a recent Teller County GOP Dinner, Schaffer has now shot down the reports as false. “I have not announced a candidacy or campaign and if and when there is one, I will announce it at the appropriate time,” he told the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Schaffer was previously an unsuccessful candidate for the US Senate nomination in 2004. To date, the GOP remains without any candidate to oppose Congressman Mark Udall (D) for the open US Senate seat. “I do believe Bob Schaffer will be announcing his intention to run or not to run in the near future. I do think the announcement could come in the next few months and there will be plenty of time to put together a campaign for next year,” explained State GOP Chair Dick Wadhams. “Every time the Republicans nominate someone who is really far right, they get into trouble, so if they nominate Bob Schaffer I will be thrilled,” responded State Democratic Chair Pat Waak.
FRANCE: Conservative former Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy was elected Sunday to be the next President of France. Sarkozy defeated Socialist nominee Ségolène Royal by a 53% to 47% vote. Sarkozy — the son of a Hungarian Jewish immigrant — is a vocal Americophile and Bush admirer. He is also outspoken in his opposition to radical Islam and about the dangers that Islamic immigration presents to the French culture. Despite those hot button issues, the nation’s economic problems were the top concerns in the final weeks. In his victory speech, Sarkozy made a point of telling “my American friends that they can rely on our friendship … France will always be next to them when they need us.” Sarkozy also called upon the US to lead the fight against global warming, or at least “not to impede” the fight. President Bush called to congratulate Sarkozy. US Senators Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also praised Sarkozy’s election as good news for the US. “It would be nice to have someone who is head of France who doesn’t almost have a knee-jerk reaction against the United States,” said Schumer.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.07.07 | Permalink | postCount(’050707a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread … today without any editorializing.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.07.07 | Permalink | postCount(’050707b’);
Continue Reading May 3rd, 2007
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.
GOP “DEBATE”; OBAMA’S PROTECTION; FL BREAKS PRIMARY SCHEDULE; MIKE & CHUCK SUP.
GOP DEBATE: “Ronald Reagan was great and I’d be just like him” was the overriding theme espoused by nearly every candidate on stage Thursday night in the first Republican Presidential Debate. Just like the Democratic debate last week, it was a rather tepid event dominated by 90-minutes of largely safe, predictable answers. One interesting moment came when the candidates were asked by a show of hands if any of them did not believe in the theory of evolution: three hands went up (Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee and Tom Tancredo). General thoughts on the evening: John McCain seemed to do well in simply delivering a solid enough performance that protected his first-tier status, while Hunter and Huckabee registered the strongest performances by second-tier hopefuls looking to emerge from the pack. Rudy Giuliani registered a somewhat weak performance by seeming to waffle on some issues. Mitt Romney looked very Presidential, but seemed to project himself as too slick and overly rehearsed. Ron Paul and Tancredo set themselves apart from the pack and from President Bush on some issues, but appear too far removed from the GOP mainstream to gain much traction in the primaries. Tommy Thompson, Jim Gilmore and Sam Brownback registered fairly bland performances. In fact, I challenge you to name a single unique point any of these three raised. Two big winners were absent: non-candidates Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich. There is clearly enough of a leadership vacuum and a lack of a solid conservative frontrunner in the GOP race so as to allow either or both of them to jump in this summer. The same probably is not true for the absent Chuck Hagel, as he would have to complete with Paul for anti-war Republican votes — a decidedly minority view among hardcore GOP “super voters.”
OBAMA: In response to non-specific threats received to date, US Senator Barack Obama this week was placed under US Secret Service protection. This marks the earliest Secret Service protection has ever been given to a Presidential primary candidate. FYI: US Senator Hillary Clinton, as a former US First Lady, still retains the Secret Service protection detail she has had since her days in the White House.
FLORIDA: Ignoring threats from both major parties, the Florida Legislature on Thursday passed a bill to break the official Presidential primary schedule. The bill — which passed unanimously — moves the primary to the Tuesday following whenever the New Hampshire primary is held (i.e., currently placing it on January 29). “With an earlier Presidential primary, Florida will now take its rightful place near the front of the line in determining the next leader of the free world,” said Governor Charlie Crist (R), who vowed to sign the bill. The RNC says they will strip the Sunshine State’s delegate total by at least half. The DNC says they will strip the state of nearly all delegates, refusing to recognize any delegates awarded in a pre-February 5 primary. Further, the DNC said it will disqualify any Florida delegates awarded to candidates who campaigned in the state’s primary. Questions for the DNC: What defines “campaigning” in Florida for the primary, and what date defines the start of “campaigning for the primary”? The same bill that advanced the primary date also bans the use of touch screen electronic voting machines in the state by 2012 and provides immediate funding for new scanner voting machines which use paper ballots in time for the 2008 election.
UNITY 08: Talk about an event seemingly staged to provoke political whispers and media attention. NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg (R-NY) and US Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) were spotted dining together this week, according to MSNBC. I wrote back in May 2006 — when Unity08 was first unveiled — that I believed the group was a front for Bloomberg (and later wrote I saw a Bloomberg-Hagel or Hagel-Bloomberg ticket coming out of the Unity08 movement). I believe that to be true even more so today.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.04.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (24)
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
AN EDITORIAL. As a Florida voter, I applaud my state’s move to advance our Presidential primary to January 29 (or earlier). I’m tired of casting meaningless Presidential primary ballots long after the handful of key earlier states have already decided the nomination. I’m tired of having a primary in which the anointed nominee wins 85% against Lyndon LaRouche and the last remaining hopeless hopeful. I want our state to be pandered to by the frontrunners, just like they do in Iowa, as they suddenly discover us and announce their enthusiastic support for federal subsidies for some new orange and sawgrass-based alternative fuel source (or whatever). Does it mean we lose nearly all of our delegates for 2008? Yeah, but 99.999% of Floridians won’t care. And neither will McCain, Obama, Romney, Clinton and the others who don’t want to risk national TV headlines about “losing” the Florida primary just one week before roughly 30 other states cast ballots on February 5. Further, Florida is doing a long-term favor to the voters of the 46 states not granted special early privileges by the two major parties with their fixed schedule. Let’s hope Florida’s brash move permanently destroys the Iowa and New Hampshire lock on “first-in-the-nation” status. Starting in 2012, let’s come up with a fairer method of rotating which states get to hold primaries in what order. Perhaps a series of 4-7 regional primaries, each held 3-4 weeks apart … or maybe the primaries could be chosen by random draw … or have states grouped into 4-5 primary clusters based upon size (smallest states in the first group, the largest states in the last group) to guarantee the nominee cannot secure the number of delegates needed to win the nomination until the final group votes. There is nothing magical, sacred or oracle-like about Iowa and New Hampshire. Anything has to be better than our current system. My state may lose nearly all of our 2008 convention delegates by refusing to genuflect before the bipartisan altar of corn and granite — but we’ll bring about the end of the unfair schedule forced upon us by the strongarm tactics of the DNC and RNC.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.04.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (5)
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade (both federal and provincial), \I’m interesting in swapping with you (and will also trade your Canadian buttons for some of my great US pins). Please drop me a note! Also interested in buying Canadian pins, if you’re not interested in trading.
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.
NORTHUP ATTACKS; OBAMA UNFRIENDLY; RENZI GETS IN DEEPER; HICK CRUISES.
KENTUCKY: Former Congresswoman Anne Northup (R) is on the air with a very harsh TV attack spot blasting incumbent Governor Ernie Fletcher (R). “29 members of Fletcher’s administration indicted. Eighty-five counts, felonies. Fletcher pardons them all. The Governor, himself, takes the Fifth and is indicted,” says the fake-ad-within-the-ad that Northup says the Dems will certainly use to win in November if Fletcher wins the GOP nomination later this month.
OBAMA: It was certainly understandable — from a political strategy and message control standpoint — for US Senator Barack Obama’s campaign to muscle volunteer supporter Joe Anthony out of the way with the grassroots MySpace page he created on his own two years to encourage Obama to run. Anthony’s page had signed up an impressive network of over 160,000 Obama “friends” over those two years. Even though Anthony gave Obama’s campaign direct editing access to the site and message veto power, they ultimately wanted total control. The campaign appealed to MySpace.com, who agreed to oust Anthony and give the site to Obama (although they agreed that Anthony still owns the network listing of 160,000 people). Maybe a smart move from purely a control perspective — but definitely a very uncool way to handle an enthusiastic supporter who did a lot to help Obama. TechPresident.com has the whole story.
ILLINOIS: The race to replace retiring Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D) is already getting crowded — and the filing deadline is still over seven months away for this very safe Dem seat. Chicago City Aldermen Manny Flores and Ricardo Munoz, and Cook County Commissioner Roberto Moldonado are already running, and others are still looking at it.
DENVER: Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) cruised to an easy re-election win on Tuesday, defeating public works employee Danny Lopez by a lopsided vote of 87% to 13%. The brew pub founder-turned-politician is one of the most popular elected officials in the state.
RENZI: Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ) was already reeling from allegations last month he is the target of a major FBI corruption probe. The bad news gets worse for Renzi, according to the Arizona Republic, as newly released federal documents show he last year paid a $25,000 fine to the Federal Elections Commission for underreporting money to his congressional campaign. On top of that, Renzi told the FEC he paid almost $324,000 in back taxes to the IRS to settle related charges that his businesses improperly financed his 2002 House campaign. He apparently used proof of his IRS penalty payment to negotiate a lower FEC fine. Renzi says he has no plans to resign, although GOP leaders are reportedly pressing him to do so. In related news, attorney Ellen Simon (D) — who narrowly lost to Renzi last year — filed paperwork this week to run again in 2008.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.03.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (821)
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The daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.03.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (30)
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
IRAQ TIMELINE FIGHT; FLETCHER, LUNSFORD LEAD IN KY GOV RACE; MORE POLLS.
SHOWDOWN ACCOMPLISHED: The Congress last week passed the $124 billion wartime spending bill requested by President Bush — but included the withdrawal timeline the White House opposed. And, as expected, the President vetoed the bill Tuesday evening. While both sides are currently resisting any movement from their stated positions, various media sources report both sides will discuss possible compromises. The reason: some Dems are waivering on requiring the timeline provision, while some Republicans who supported the President’s hardline stance actually support a timeline and want to see withdrawals begin soon. Thus, both sides know there is some softness on their respective sides. Will there be any compromise? My prediction: the Dems lose their nerve and fold before the President folds. Stay tuned.
KENTUCKY: With just three weeks left, anew WHAS-TV/SurveyUSA poll gives us a snapshot of the upcoming gubernatorial primaries. On the GOP side, embattled incumbent Ernie Fletcher is leading former Congresswoman Anne Northup by a vote of 46% to 34%, with wealthy businessman Billy Harper trailing far behind at 14%. Fletcher, in fact, looks better positioned today to win renomination than he did a few months ago. On the Democratic side, multimillionaire health care executive Bruce Lunsford now leads with 29%, former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear had 23%, former Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry had 18%, State House Speaker Jody Richard is at 9%, State Treasurer Jonathan Miller has 7%, liberal attorney Gatewood Galbraith is at 6%, and demolition contractor Otis Hensley is at 1%. If no candidate gets 40% of the vote, the top two advance to a June 26 run-off.
PHILADELPHIA: There are only two weeks until the primary in the open race for Philadelphia Mayor, and the Democratic contest has narrowed into a virtual tie. The numbers: Deputy Mayor Tom Knox - 29%, City Councilman Michael Nutter - 27%, Congressman Chaka Fattah - 18%, Congressman Bob Brady - 11%, and State Representative Dwight Evans - 9%. Nutter clearly has momentum, as he is up 13 points since the last poll two weeks ago, while Knox has dropped by 3 points. It also looks like Fattah and Brady will be staying in Congress. Based on city’s voting history, the winner of the Dem primary is heavily favored to win the general election to replace term-limited Mayor John Street (D).
IOWA: The latest American Research Group poll of likely caucus-goers shows John Edwards and John McCain leading in their respective contests. The Dems: Edwards - 27%, Hillary Clinton - 23%, Barack Obama - 19%, Joe Biden - 6%, Bill Richardson - 5%, and Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich tied with 2% each. The GOP: McCain - 26%, Rudy Giuliani - 19%, Mitt Romney - 14%, Fred Thompson - 13%, Newt Gingrich - 8%, Mike Huckabee and Tom Tancredo tied with 2% apiece, and everyone else each at 1% or less.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: A new American Research Group poll of likely primary voters shows Hillary Clinton leading the Dem primary field in New Hampshire by a comfortable margin — and Obama losing ground. The numbers: Clinton - 37%, Edwards - 26%, Obama - 14%, Richardson - 3%, Biden and Kucinich tied with 2% apiece, and Dodd at 1%. On the GOP side, McCain leads Romney by a 29% to 24% vote. Giuliani was third with 17%, followed by Fred Thompson at 7%, Gingrich at 4%, and everyone else each at 1% or less.
SOUTH CAROLINA: ARG is also out with a South Carolina poll. Again the early leaders are Clinton and McCain. The Dems: Clinton - 26%, Obama - 24%, Edwards - 18%, Biden and Kucinich tied with 3% apiece, and all others at 1% or less. The GOP: McCain - 36%, Giualiani - 23%, Fred Thompson - 10%, Romney and Gingrich tied with 6% each, Huckabee - 2%, and all others at 1% or less.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.02.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (867)
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Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.02.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (45)
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
ROMNEY’S OSAMA FALLOUT; THOMPSON EDGES FORWARD; JOE SEES INDY MOVEMENT RISING.
ROMNEY: In an interview with the AP, Mitt Romney (R) said the US would see only “a very insignificant increase in safety” if al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was captured or killed. “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person,” said Romney. Instead, Romney said he supports “a broader strategy” to defeat Islamic radicalism. “It takes a degree of naiveté to think [bin Laden is] not an element in the struggle against radical Islam,” responded John McCain. “Governor Romney believes that the terrorism threat posed by radical jihadists is larger than only one person,” reaffirmed Romney’s spokesman.
THOMPSON: Former US Senator and actor Fred Thompson (R) still hasn’t made a final decision on running for President, but he continues to edge closer to running. According to The Politico, Thompson’s political advisers are already interviewing potential campaign managers and laying the groundwork to make it possible for a late entry campaign. According to the newspaper, Thompson — if he runs — is looking to announce during the Summer, likely in June or July. Thompson also is interested in using the Internet and a limited number of large rally-type events as a way of avoiding the traditional, full-time, retail-style campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire and other early contest states used by all the other hopefuls. Thompson wants to run “a low-impact presidential campaign,” reported the newspaper. “You show up, you’re accessible, but you don’t have to go to every county seat several times,” said one Thompson adviser. “He doesn’t have to go diner to diner and church to church,” said another adviser. Those comments seem to peg Thompson’s attitude pretty accurately. “Going on the road for months at a time … I wouldn’t do that. I don’t think it has to be done that way. I know people will expect that of everyone — to run frenetically around for years — and I don’t do frenetic very well,” Thompson told FOX News. In related news, Thompson said in a speech Friday that the US should help Iranians overthrow their government. “Many Iranians don’t like their government, and I think we ought to capitalize on that. There is a chance they may mobilize themselves, and we need to assist them if that happens,” Thompson told the AP.
P2008: US Senator Joe Lieberman (Ind.Dem-CT) said he sees a real opportunity for an Independent Presidential candidate to have a serious shot at winning in 2008 because of voter anger with the status quo. Speaking on Monday at an American Enterprise Institute forum, Lieberman said: “The fastest-growing political party in America today is no party … People are registering as Independents because they’re fed up with — they don’t see them in the two major parties and they’re sick of the fury, the partisanship and instability. And I think if the two major parties don’t hear this going into ‘08, there is a real chance of an Independent third-party candidacy. And watch out, if that happens.” In case you’re wondering, Lieberman again insisted he will not be an Independent candidate in 2008.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.01.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (717)
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Happy May Day! Today was the original International Labor Day (or International Workers Day, depending upon the translation) — the date selected by the international trade union movement in honor of the memory of Chicago’s framed Haymarket martyrs — but the date of the formal Labor Day in the US was later moved when this day become associated too closely with the Labor Day celebration around the globe by closely associated with socialist and communist parties.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 05.01.07 | Permalink | COMMENTS (42)
Continue Reading April 29th, 2007
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE.
GOP FRONT THREE FLIP-FLOP; RETURN OF GALLEGLY & BLANCO; RENZI RUMORS GROW; HALL FACES TX PRIMARY.
CIVIL UNIONS: When it comes to state civil union legislation for same-sex couples, you could say Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney were each for it before they were against it. For years Giuliani was a vocal supporter of gay rights. He marched in gay pride parades each year, appointed out gay persons to prominent positions, supported hate crimes and domestic partner legislation, and even lived with a gay couple during his last divorce when his wife kicked him out of NYC’s mayoral mansion. That didn’t stop Giuliani from doing a total reversal, announcing his opposition this weekend to New Hampshire’s new civil union law which will give same sex couples the same legal rights under state law as those accorded to married couples. “Mayor Giuliani believes marriage is between one man and one woman. Domestic partnerships are the appropriate way to ensure that people are treated fairly. In this specific case the law states same sex civil unions are the equivalent of marriage and recognizes same sex unions from outside states. This goes too far and Mayor Giuliani does not support it,” said a written statement given to the New York Sun in response to questions. Compare this week’s statement to what Giuliani told FOX News in February 2004: “I’m in favor of … civil unions … That’s why you have civil partnerships. So now you have a civil partnership, domestic partnership, civil union, whatever you want to call it, and that takes care of the imbalance, the discrimination, which we shouldn’t have.” And, FYI, McCain likewise flip-flopped on the civil union issue this weekend. In November 2006, McCain told ABC News he was not in general against civil union legislation. On Friday, McCain tried dodging the issue entirely, saying he was a “federalist … [and] recognizes the right of the state of New Hampshire to regulate the institution of marriage and to pass civil union laws.” By Sunday, in a conference call with political bloggers, McCain jettisoned his former position of support. “I am opposed to that legislation … If I were a citizen of New Hampshire, I would oppose it. … Anything that impinges or impacts the sanctity of the marriage between men and women, I’m opposed to it.” Romney, as a candidate for Massachusetts Governor and US Senate, supported civil union legislation. He shifted his social positions sharply to the right as Governor, once he decided to run for President. “Governor Romney opposes the New Hampshire bill. He is a champion of traditional marriage. As Governor of Massachusetts, he has a clear record opposing same sex marriage and civil unions,” explained Romney’s campaign spokesperson to the Sun.
LOUISIANA: With former US Senator John Breaux (D) no longer looking at this year’s gubernatorial race, rumors are afoot that Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) may jump back into the contest. It was believed she exited the race a month ago to pave the way for Breaux to run. But, since Breaux ran into legal obstacles which blocked him from running, the picture has changed. Congressman Bobby Jindal (R) remains the solid frontrunner. The overt support the Louisiana Republican Party gave to Jindal prompted State Senator Walter Boasso last week to switch parties to continue his run for Governor as a Democrat. State Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell is also running, and is currently the leading Democratic candidate. When WAFB-TV asked Blanco about the rumors she was reconsidering her retirement decision, Blanco offered some very cryptic comments. “This is Louisiana and lots of exciting things can happen between now and the election. But, I’m certainly enjoying my current status and expect it to be the same … This is Louisiana and there are no written scripts before play day,” said Blanco. Candidate filing closes September 6.
TEXAS: Former Frisco Mayor Kathy Seei announced last week she will challenge Congressman Ralph Hall in next year’s GOP primary. “I have a very strong sense this is the year I’m supposed to run … This is more about me and my desire to serve than anything about Congressman Hall,” she explained to the Dallas Morning News. “She’s a nice lady, and she was a good mayor,” responded Hall, who said he doesn’t understand why Seei is challenging him as he believes she agrees with him on most issues. Hall, 83, says he intends to seek re-election to a 15th term in 2008. “I like what I’m doing. I want to go ahead and finish it,” said Hall. A conservative Democrat, Hall switched to Republican on the last day of candidate filing in 2004. Some speculate that Hall was planning to retire and Seei wants to get a jump on what will likely be a crowded field. However, Seei’s early start — and stepping on Hall’s toes in the process — may just force Hall to seek one more term.
ARIZONA: Despite a tidal wave of rumors to the contrary, Congressman Rick Renzi (R) says he will not resign his seat. Renzi and his family are the target of an FBI corruption probe that raided his home two weeks ago in search of evidence. The probe is related to allegation Renzi accepted an unreported $200,000 payment from a business partner and political supporter, possibly because it related to other improper conduct required in exchange for the cash. The Phoenix Business Journal reported US Senator Jon Kyl (R) and other leading Arizona Republicans are holding regular meetings to plan for holding the seat in the special election they also believe will follow the rapidly approaching resignation. According to the newspaper, Kyl and others are also pressuring Renzi to resign sooner rather than later. A large number of Democrats and Republicans are already positioning themselves to run in the special election.
CALIFORNIA: Congressman Elton Gallegly (R) totally botched his attempted retirement in 2006. In an effort to block GOP political rival Tony Strickland from jumping into his open seat race, Gallegly waited until just after filing closed to announce to the media he was going retire due to “health reasons” and quit the race immediately. Gallegly mistakenly thought he was unopposed in the primary and state law would allow the local party to pick an ally as his replacement on the ballot. Unfortunately, a little-known lawyer also filed in the GOP primary at the last minute, meaning the lawyer would have become the nominee if Gallegly quit. After several embarrassing days of attempting to stage the most inept retirement in Congressional history, Gallegly announced his doctors told him he had “recovered” and was now healthy enough to run again. Thus, Gallegly announced he’d run “one more time” before retiring — and won an easy re-election victory. Miracle of miracles, the mystery illness must now be in completely gone as Gallegly announced last week he now plans to seek re-election in 2008. Unless, of course, he’s really planning to quit again at the last minute. Fortunately, Gallegly now knows the correct way to choreograph the surprise switch: withdraw his papers and file someone else’s qualifying papers just before the filing deadline. Of course, it won’t be so much of a surprise to his Republican rivals if he tries it again this time.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.30.07 | Permalink | postCount(’043007a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
The daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.30.07 | Permalink | postCount(’043007b’);
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.
DEMS DEBATE; McCAIN DISSES GONZO; DEAN THREATENS FL DEMS; GEORGIA CD-10 SPECIAL.
P2008 DEM DEBATE: Talk about tame. The first Democratic Presidential Debate in South Carolina on Thursday evening was an overly polite, friendly exchange that probably changed very few minds. Some observations: (1) Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both easily held their places as the top tier candidates; (2) John Edwards’ safe performance was fine, but won’t do much to help keep him keep pace with Clinton and Obama; (3) Joe Biden sounded pretty good, pretty Presidential, but didn’t do enough yet to break himself out of the second tier; (4) Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd failed to make themselves stand apart from their second tier rivals; and (5) Dennis Kucinich will face a real fight in the third tier with Mike Gravel for the votes of the more leftist party activists.
GONZALES: John McCain became the latest Republican Senator to call for embattled Attorney General Al Gonzales to resign. “I am very disappointed in his performance. I think loyalty to the President should enter into his calculations,” he said to CNN. He is the first GOP Presidential hopeful to call for Gonzales to step down.
FLORIDA: RNC Chair Mel Martinez failed last month at pressuring his fellow Florida Republicans to back down from their support for the bipartisan legislation to bust the official Presidential primary schedule and move Florida forward to the whichever Tuesday follows the New Hampshire primary (January 29, based upon NH’s current intended date). Now the DNC is attempting the same threats against the Florida Dems. DNC Chair Howard Dean on Thursday told the Mortgage Bankers Association that it looks like Florida is the state most likely to break the official DNC/RNC sanctioned schedule. “If they do, our rules are so strict that not only will those states not collect any delegates, but anybody that campaigns in that state will be ineligible for any delegates from that state. We will reapportion their delegates to all the other candidates if they show up in a state that jumps ahead of February 5,” threatened Dean. According to the AP, leaders of both the Florida Republican Party and Florida Democratic Party say “losing delegates is less important than having more influence in the nation’s leadership” by holding a pre-February 5 primary. Governor Charlie Crist (R) has also endorsed the legislation.
GEORGIA: Candidate filing closed Thursday for the CD-10 special election to replace the late Congressman Charlie Norwood (R). Ten filed to run, including State Senator Jim Whitehead (R), physician Paul Broun Jr. (R), political consultant Bill Greene (R), wealthy former Yahoo executive Jim Marlow (D), psychotherapist Jim Sendelbach (Libertarian), plus three more Republicans and two more Democrats. Whitehead is the favorite to win, although Marlow has the personal financial resources to possibly the make the open primary race somewhat competitive. All ten candidates will appear on the June 19 primary ballot in alphabetical order. The election is a non-partisan contest, although each candidate’s party affiliation will be listed on the ballot. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two will advance to a run-off election on July 17. Click here to view the Georgia page to see the entire list of candidates and links to their websites.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.27.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042707a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
I got some complaints for not writing about McCain’s candidacy “announcement” on Wednesday. Well, it wasn’t really news. I’m tired of all these candidates — D and R alike — announcing and re-announcing their candidacies in these staged events devoid of real news … Also, congrats to the New Hampshire Legislature for passing civil union legislation for same-sex couples. Governor John Lynch (D) has promised to sign the bill into law.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.27.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042707b’);
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.
BLOOMBERG SORTA SAYS NO (YET AGAIN); NEW SC POLL NUMBERS.
BLOOMBERG: New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg (R) gave yet another of non-denial denial of his interest in running for President as an Independent in 2008. “I do not anticipate being a candidate this time or any other time … I plan to spend the next 984 days being mayor of what I think is the greatest city in the world. I have the best job in the world,” said the billionaire to Reuters during a trip to Mexico. Doesn’t “anticipate”? You see, every few months Bloomberg issues one of these statements that continues to leave the door open for a run.
SOUTH CAROLINA: New independent polls out for Presidential primary. This poll — conducted for the League of Conservation Voters by Ayers McHenry & Associates (R) and Hamilton Beattie & Staff (D) — places Hillary Clinton and John McCain in the lead. On the Dem side, Hillary Clinton was first with 31%, Barack Obama was next with 27%, followed by John Edwards at 16%. On the GOP side, John McCain led with 24%, Rudy Giuliani was second with 15%, Newt Gingrich was third with 12%, Fred Thompson was next with 11%, and Mitt Romney was fifth with 10%.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.26.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042607a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Why is today’s posting so short? I was in hearings all afternoon, then went rollerblading and swimming at the beach after work … so I’m just too tired to write more. Sorry.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.26.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042607b’);
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION PROBES FOCUS ON FEENEY, RENZI, ROVE; DEMS SNUB KUCINICH IMPEACHMENT BILL.
ABRAMOFF CORRUPTION PROBE: Add Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) to the list of possibly corrupt federal legislators in the FBI’s crosshairs. The St. Petersburg Times reported that the FBI this week requested further information from Feeney about his ties to Abramoff. Former House committee staffer Mark Zachares — who was a pampered guest on Abramoff’s infamous luxury golf trips to Scotland (along with Bob Ney, Tom DeLay and Feeney) — pled guilty Monday to felony corruption charges for accepting over $30,000 in gifts in exchange for inside information about legislative action and homeland security contracts. Zachares is reported to be cooperating with the FBI in exchange for a lighter sentence. Zachares’ attorney told reporters his client is “fully cooperating” with the investigators in order to get a reduced sentence. Zachares is the 11th person to plead guilty in the Abramoff scandal. Feeney was identified as the previously unnamed “Representative #3″ in Justice Department indictment documents filed this week in the Zachares case. For those of you who have already forgotten, imprisoned former Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH) was the unnamed “Representative #1″ in other Abramoff case affidavits. Feeney told The Hill on Tuesday he is “not worried” and had “no relationship” with Abramoff. “The Scooter Libby case showed that you must be careful when dealing with the [Department of Justice, but] we’re giving them everything they need and more,” said Feeney. In news that may also be related, former Feeney Chief of Staff Jason Roe abruptly resigned Tuesday as Deputy Campaign Manager for Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign. Roe, who was responsible for day-to-day operation of the Romney campaign, claimed “family obligations” as the reason for his sudden departure. Hmm … John Doolittle, Bill Jefferson, Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller, Rick Renzi, and now Tom Feeney. The list of House members under FBI investigation rapidly continues to grow.
CORRUPTION #2: In a sign of the seriousness of his growing FBI problems, Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ) on Tuesday resigned from all of his committee assignments. After the FBI raided his wife’s insurance business last week — reportedly seeking information related to Renzi and his wife’s involvement in some questionable business deals — Renzi quit his post on one committee. He quit the other two this week.
CORRUPTION #3: The Los Angeles Times and MSNBC reported Tuesday evening that the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is launching a potentially explosive and broad criminal investigation into the White House’s political operations. Presidential political strategist Karl Rove is believed to be the central target of the probe, with the initial focus being the allegedly improper role he may have played in the firing of US Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico. The White House first tried to imply they initiated the probe in order to clear the air of all allegations of improper conduct. However, Iglesias quickly debunked the story and confirmed Tuesday evening for MSNBC that he was the person who filed a formal Hatch Act complaint with the OSC charging Karl Rove and others with possibly having violated federal law by firing him over his failure to initiate partisan-motivated prosecutions. Iglesias, who was appointed as US Attorney by President Bush in 2001, was the GOP nominee for NM Attorney General in 1998. The investigation could also cause electoral complications for US Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM), who Iglesias believes pressured the White House to fire him for failing to rush politically charged case to produce indictments just before the November 2006 elections. Both Domenici and Wilson are up for re-election next year.
KUCINICH: Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D) is trying to garner some much-needed media attention for his underdog Presidential campaign. On Tuesday, Kucinich announced he was filing a bill of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. The articles of impeachment include allegations of knowingly providing false intelligence information in public appearances before the Iraq War in order to mislead Congress, made false statements about ties between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government, and is endangering national security by making his recent public threats of military action against Iran. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was immediately dismissive of Kucinich’s impeachment resolution, telling the Washington Post that “I don’t have any thought about it” and that he and Speaker Pelosi planned to keep the House “focus[ed] on the substance of the issues at hand, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Translation: Kucinich will get no committee hearings and no House floor time to debate his resolution.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.25.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042507a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Just my two cents of editorializing here — and everyone here certainly knows I think Vice President Cheney is a manipulative liar advancing a malevolent political agenda of greed and war — but Kucinich’s impeachment resolution is a joke (sincere, perhaps, but ridiculous all the same). It’s a total waste of time, and a distraction from the real issues before Congress. Kucinich has filed it and held his press conference. Now it’s time to move on. In the words beloved by many cops: “Move on folks, there’s nothing to see here.”
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.25.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042507b’);
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
FORMER RUSSIAN PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN, DEAD AT AGE 76.
While not US politics, the death of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin deserves to be the lead story because of the pivotal role he played in the downfall of Soviet communism. A dedicated communist, he rose through the Communist Party ranks by showing a rare populist streak. The charismatic regional leader saw his career quickly skyrocket once he was brought to Moscow, winning a spot on the powerful Politburo. Although some of his initial patrons were hardliners like Yegor Ligachev, Yeltsin soon broke free and showed an independent streak that troubled his colleagues.
While once a key ally in Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost and perestroika reforms, the two men split when Gorbachev was pressured by hardliners to slow reforms and dump the troublesome Siberian. Yeltsin — a flawed man who readily acknowledged he drank too much and suffered from serious bouts of depression — was rousted from a hospital bed after a breakdown to be publicly humiliated and expelled from all his party posts at an open meeting. While Gorbachev may have started a sincere drive to truly reform the moribund Soviet Union, Gorbachev always intended — like the doomed Czech leader Dubcek in 1968 — merely to fix the system and make Marxism work in a positive way for the people. Gorbachev’s start-and-stop timidity, however, undermined his reformist drive to failure.
Yeltsin’s expulsion from the CPSU leadership was the best thing that could have happened to his career, as it made him a people’s hero. Despite active KGB and CPSU efforts to scuttle Yeltsin’s comeback, he first won a seat in the newly created Congress of People’s Deputies with his frequent anti-Gorbachev speeches. He was then named by the Congress to a seat on the Supreme Soviet, a position he used to be elected chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR in 1990 over Gorbachev’s open opposition. During this period, the George HW Bush Administration totally shunned Yeltsin, mistakenly tying US policy entirely to hopes for Gorbachev’s survival. In June 1991, Yeltsin impressively won 57% of the vote over Gorbachev’s endorsed candidate in Russia’s first democratic Presidential election. Yeltsin took office in July 1991, right as Gorbachev’s USSR was on the verge of a dangerous precipice.
Yeltsin, former Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, and former Gorbachev reform ally Alexander Yakovlev all openly and correctly warned in speeches of a coming “dictatorship,” warning that Gorbachev had made too many concessions to hardliners in a Faustian bargain to maintain his shaky hold on power. In August 1991, the hardliners struck with an overnight coup that deposed Gorbachev and tried to reclaim control of the USSR. It was at this dark moment that Yeltsin rose to greatness, bravely using his personal popularity to resist the coup. At the risk of his life, Yeltsin drove in the early morning from his dacha outside the city to the government complex at the center of Moscow. Working to rally the pro-democracy demonstrators, he empowered them when he boldly climbed atop a Soviet tank and convinced the crew to turn their guns away from the building. He then addressed the crowds from atop the tank, rallying the democracy forces. From that moment forward, he guaranteed the strong resistance of the people and the swift collapse of the coup. That moment brought the collapse of not only the coup but of Soviet communism entirely. Within months, the Soviet Union itself was consigned to the dustbin of history, Gorbachev was out of power, the CPSU was outlawed, and Yeltsin was the most powerful man in the nation.
Yeltsin had to use military tanks to turn back a coup attempt against his government in 1993, led by his own Vice President and a key secret conspirator from the failed 1991 hardliner coup. This time, Yeltsin had the tanks open fire on the Congress, killing many rebels and arresting the surviving conspirators.
Yeltsin’s Presidency was marked by ups and downs, including a rise of widespread corruption, a messy transition to a market economy, and the emergence of the Mafia-state. The economy languished, he was largely passive due to bad health in his second term, and he ultimately tapped the despotic former KGB leader Vladimir Putin as his successor. Putin today is turning Russia back into an authoritarian nation, albeit a capitalist one. Still, despite all his flaws, it was Yeltsin — possibly even more than Gorbachev — who ensured the collapse of the feared Soviet Union and freed millions of people from state tyranny. The cause of freedom owes Boris Yeltsin a debt of gratitude.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.24.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042407a’);
CLINTON, McCAIN LEAD IN S.C.; CALIFORNIA SPECIAL ELECTION CANDIDATES EMERGE.
SOUTH CAROLINA: A new WPDE-TV/Zogby poll of South Carolina voters shows Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain leading their respective primary fields. On the Democratic side, Clinton had 33%, followed by Barack Obama at 26%, John Edwards at 21%, and all others at less than 1% each. On the GOP side, McCain led with 22%, Rudy Giuliani was next with 19%, Fred Thompson was third with 11%, and Mitt Romney had 10%. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R) — who has said repeatedly he will not run — was next with 8%, possibly as a sign of Republican dissatisfaction with the current field.
CALIFORNIA: Several names are already floating of candidates likely to run in the special election to replace the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald (D), who died Sunday. The names (all Democrats): State Senators Jenny Oropeza and Alan Lowenthal, State Assemblywomen Karen Bass and Laura Richardson, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Carson Mayor Jim Dear, and Compton City Councilman Isadore Hall III. A big enough turnout by any single ethnic or racial group could determine the outcome of a traditionally low turnout race this like this one.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.24.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042407C’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
The daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.24.07 | Permalink | postCount(’042407b’);
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade (both federal and provincial), I’m interesting in swapping with you (and will also trade your Canadian buttons for some of my great US pins). Please drop me a note! Also interested in buying Canadian pins, if you’re not interested in trading.
Continue Reading April 24th, 2007
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION PROBES FOCUS ON FEENEY, RENZI, ROVE; DEMS SNUB KUCINICH IMPEACHMENT BILL.
ABRAMOFF CORRUPTION PROBE: Add Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) to the list of possibly corrupt federal legislators in the FBI’s crosshairs. The St. Petersburg Times reported that the FBI this week requested further information from Feeney about his ties to Abramoff. Former House committee staffer Mark Zachares — who was a pampered guest on Abramoff’s infamous luxury golf trips to Scotland (along with Bob Ney, Tom DeLay and Feeney) — pled guilty Monday to felony corruption charges for accepting over $30,000 in gifts in exchange for inside information about legislative action and homeland security contracts. Zachares is reported to be cooperating with the FBI in exchange for a lighter sentence. Zachares’ attorney told reporters his client is “fully cooperating” with the investigators in order to get a reduced sentence. Zachares is the 11th person to plead guilty in the Abramoff scandal. Feeney was identified as the previously unnamed “Representative #3″ in Justice Department indictment documents filed this week in the Zachares case. For those of you who have already forgotten, imprisoned former Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH) was the unnamed “Representative #1″ in other Abramoff case affidavits. Feeney told The Hill on Tuesday he is “not worried” and had “no relationship” with Abramoff. “The Scooter Libby case showed that you must be careful when dealing with the [Department of Justice, but] we’re giving them everything they need and more,” said Feeney. In news that may also be related, former Feeney Chief of Staff Jason Roe abruptly resigned Tuesday as Deputy Campaign Manager for Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign. Roe, who was responsible for day-to-day operation of the Romney campaign, claimed “family obligations” as the reason for his sudden departure. Hmm … John Doolittle, Bill Jefferson, Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller, Rick Renzi, and now Tom Feeney. The list of House members under FBI investigation rapidly continues to grow.
CORRUPTION #2: In a sign of the seriousness of his growing FBI problems, Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ) on Tuesday resigned from all of his committee assignments. After the FBI raided his wife’s insurance business last week — reportedly seeking information related to Renzi and his wife’s involvement in some questionable business deals — Renzi quit his post on one committee. He quit the other two this week.
CORRUPTION #3: The Los Angeles Times and MSNBC reported Tuesday evening that the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is launching a potentially explosive and broad criminal investigation into the White House’s political operations. Presidential political strategist Karl Rove is believed to be the central target of the probe, with the initial focus being the allegedly improper role he may have played in the firing of US Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico. The White House first tried to imply they initiated the probe in order to clear the air of all allegations of improper conduct. However, Iglesias quickly debunked the story and confirmed Tuesday evening for MSNBC that he was the person who filed a formal Hatch Act complaint with the OSC charging Karl Rove and others with possibly having violated federal law by firing him over his failure to initiate partisan-motivated prosecutions. Iglesias, who was appointed as US Attorney by President Bush in 2001, was the GOP nominee for NM Attorney General in 1998. The investigation could also cause electoral complications for US Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM), who Iglesias believes pressured the White House to fire him for failing to rush politically charged case to produce indictments just before the November 2006 elections. Both Domenici and Wilson are up for re-election next year.
KUCINICH: Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D) is trying to garner some much-needed media attention for his underdog Presidential campaign. On Tuesday, Kucinich announced he was filing a bill of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. The articles of impeachment include allegations of knowingly providing false intelligence information in public appearances before the Iraq War in order to mislead Congress, made false statements about ties between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government, and is endangering national security by making his recent public threats of military action against Iran. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was immediately dismissive of Kucinich’s impeachment resolution, telling the Washington Post that “I don’t have any thought about it” and that he and Speaker Pelosi planned to keep the House “focus[ed] on the substance of the issues at hand, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Translation: Kucinich will get no committee hearings and no House floor time to debate his resolution.
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Just my two cents of editorializing here — and everyone here certainly knows I think Vice President Cheney is a manipulative liar advancing a malevolent political agenda of greed and war — but Kucinich’s impeachment resolution is a joke (sincere, perhaps, but ridiculous all the same). It’s a total waste of time, and a distraction from the real issues before Congress. Kucinich has filed it and held his press conference. Now it’s time to move on. In the words beloved by many cops: “Move on folks, there’s nothing to see here.”
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 04.25.07
Continue Reading April 12th, 2007
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.
OBAMA LEADS IN SC; HATCH FOR A.G.; WARNER RETIREMENT RUMORS; NC DOLE POLL.
SOUTH CAROLINA: A new independent poll is out with South Carolina Democratic Presidential primary rankings. According to the Insider Advantage poll, here are the SC numbers: Barack Obama - 34%, Hillary Clinton - 20%, John Edwards - 17%, Joe Biden - 3%, Bill Richardson - 2%, and Christopher Dodd - 1%. South Carolina is a key early primary contest, set for January 29.
UTAH: Speculation continues to grow that six-term US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) — former Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee — is aggressively posturing behind the scenes to replace Al Gonzales in President Bush’s Cabinet as the next Attorney General. Hatch would be certain to win swift Senate confirmation by a nearly unanimous vote. A Hatch appointment would also help improve Bush Administration relations on Capitol Hill. Numerous news reports, including inside-the-Beltway sources like Roll Call, all say Hatch very much wants the post as a nice way to close out his lengthy political career. Although Hatch was once a Presidential hopeful, most who know him say his real ambition for many years was to secure an appointment to the US Supreme Court. Now, at age 73, a realistic Hatch knows an appointment to the high court is most unlikely. If Hatch becomes AG, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (R) would select an interim replacement who would be required to face voters next year in a special election for the remaining four-years of Hatch’s current term. Several prominent Utah Republicans are already jockeying — just in case — to run next year.
VIRGINIA: In the strongest sign yet that five-term US Senator John Warner (R) plans to retire next year, just check out his 1Q-2007 fundraising totals posted with the FEC. For the first three months of the year, Warner raised just $500. No, that’s not a typo. Only $500. Just a single check received from a homemaker. “As I have said consistently, I am seriously considering running again for the Senate. For the present, I am devoting my full attention to my Senate duties … If I confirm my decision to seek reelection, I have every confidence that I will be able to raise sufficient resources and structure an organization to wage a vigorous campaign,” said the 80-year-old Warner to The Politico. Warner also said he plans to hold a fundraiser in June. Not exactly a statement of ringing intent to run again — and certainly not a message that would scare away a wealthy potential rival like former Governor Mark Warner (D).
NORTH CAROLINA: Dems are urging Congressman Brad Miller (D) to challenge US Senator Elizabeth Dole (R) next year. A new independent poll shows Dole starting well under the 50% danger mark for incumbents, meaning this could be a competitive race. Acc
