BARR BOLTS; WARNER RECONSIDERS; TOMMY FILES; KEATING PONDERS; EDWARDS READIES.
December 17th, 2006
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE.BARR BOLTS; WARNER RECONSIDERS; TOMMY FILES; KEATING PONDERS; EDWARDS READIES.
Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr quit the Republican Party on Friday and joined the Libertarian Party. "I'm happy to announce that I am now a proud, card-carrying Libertarian who is committed to helping elect leaders who will strive for smaller government, lower taxes and abundant individual freedom," said Barr. He served eight years in Congress before losing his seat in a reapportionment primary against another GOP incumbent. Barr was also appointed to a Regional Representative vacancy on the Libertarian National Committee. Barr currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association, and is an advisor to both the ACLU and the American Conservative Union. Barr has said repeatedly in the past he does not plan to seek elective office again, so don't expect a 2008 Presidential run ... The Hotline and PoliticalWire are both reporting that former Virginia Governor Mark Warner (D) is already reconsidering his unexpected October withdrawal from the 2008 Presidential race. He's reportedly waiting to see what develops in the next few months with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton before making any new decision. Meanwhile, Warner is keeping his leadership PAC active and recently sent holiday cards to key New Hampshire Dems ... Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) filed FEC paperwork on Thursday to establish his Presidential exploratory committee. No website yet ... On a related note, I forgot to mention a week ago that Governors Janet Napolitano (D-AZ), Kathryn Sebelius (D-KS), Brian Schweitzer (D-MT), and Phil Bredesen (D-TN) jointly issued statements at the recent Democratic Governors Conference that they will all pass on the 2008 White House race. However, they each made a point of saying they were not closing the door on running for President in a future election ... Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating (R) is considering jumping into the 2008 Presidential contest, according to the AP. Keating expressed a concern that the current likely GOP field of hopefuls "lacks a Ronald Reagan conservative." If he runs, Keating would have to explain the financial scandal allegations that reportedly caused President Bush to pass over Keating for Attorney General after the 2000 election ... Former US Senator John Edwards (D-NC) will announce his 2008 Presidential candidacy before the end of this month. He will reportedly make the announcement from the New Orleans neighborhood hit hardest last year by Hurricane Katrina, to illustrate the gap between how rich and poor are treated in America ... US Senator Tim Johnson's office reports he is progressing well from the emergency brain surgery he underwent last week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Johnson is now expected to be "just fine" once he completes his recovery.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.18.06
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.18.06
Entry Filed under: Contributions, In the News, politics