RUNNING TO CENTER; CPAC NEWS; PENCE PLAYS; BLUNT PRIMARY LOOMS; MS ‘07 FILING CLOSES; AND MORE.
Continue Reading March 1st, 2007
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.
RUNNING TO CENTER; CPAC NEWS; PENCE PLAYS; BLUNT PRIMARY LOOMS; MS ‘07 FILING CLOSES.
P2008: National Journal has some interesting new analysis out about the ‘08 Presidential hopefuls. Here is The Hotline’s summary: “Not only are Clinton and McCain the most moderate members of Congress in the WH ‘08 race, but they’ve each made sharp swerves to the center at decisive points in the past few years. Clinton, for example, once voted solidly with the left, ranking among the most liberal sens in ‘01 and ‘02. Since ‘04, she has moved notably to the right, especially on economic and foreign issues. While her lifetime average is still slightly left of Biden, she’s now the 32nd most liberal; Obama is the 10th, even farther left than Kucinich …. Same story for McCain, who ranked among the most conservative Senators during his first 8 years. Starting with the GOP takeover in ‘95, however, and continuing through the Bush years, McCain has moved steadily to the middle (in ‘04, McCain, Chafee and Snowe were the most liberal GOPers). He now ranks as the 46th most conservative Senator.”
McCAIN: US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is making an odd move for a GOP Presidential candidate: he’s the only major GOP contender who plans to skip the influential Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this upcoming weekend. The event has been a key stop for years on the Republican road to the nomination. Even Rudy Giuliani, who is the most socially moderate of the GOP contenders, plans to attend the 34th annual CPAC gathering in DC of conservative activists. Former US Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) — a favorite of CPAC conservatives — took the opportunity to slam McCain. “The only one I wouldn’t support is McCain. I don’t agree with him on hardly any issues. I don’t think he has the temperament and leadership ability to move the country in the right direction,” Santorum told The Politico. If that wasn’t bad enough, McCain in the face of harsh criticism hastily retracted his Wednesday comment that the lives of 3,100 US soldiers were “wasted” in Iraq. “I should have used the word, sacrificed, as I have in the past,” said McCain.
PENCE: Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), the former Chair of the House Republican Study Committee, is the keynote speaker featured at the CPAC convo. He’s a favorite of Club for Growth conservatives. Some fans have even launched a Draft Pence for President campaign site. When asked about it by The Hotline, Pence’s spokesman responded: “Congressman Pence has not ruled out a run in the near term or the long term.” A Pence candidacy for Prez next year is a longshot — but we’d bet a lot of Republicans would love to see Pence in the VP spot.
MISSOURI: State Treasurer Sarah Steelman (R) is acting these days like someone readying for an aggressive 2008 GOP primary challenge to Governor Matt Blunt (R). The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Steelman issued a press release this week that “blasted the Blunt Administration’s handling of the sexual harassment allegations and lawsuits revolving around Agriculture Department Director Fred Ferrell.” Steelman criticized the $70,000 check the state paid from the the State Agriculture Department to settle the matter — a payment the purported victim had rejected — and she went so far as to stop payment on the check. “I did it because it’s the right thing to do. My job as State Treasurer is to take care of the people’s money … [my job involves] pointing out that this government is flawed,” said Steelman to the newspaper, noting “no one would have known about it” if lawsuits hadn’t been filed last week. “Governor Blunt respects the opinion of Treasurer Steelman and they have a positive working relationship,” said Blunt’s spokesman. When asked if she was planning to run for Governor next year, Steelman coyly responded: “I’ve got no timetable. I haven’t even thought about it [yet].” The Dems already have an announced candidate against Blunt: Attorney General Jay Nixon (D).
MISSISSIPPI: Candidate filing for the 2007 elections closed on Thursday. Despite months of speculation, former Governor Ray Mabus (D) did not file to run against Governor Haley Barbour (R), and former Governor Ronnie Musgrave (D) likewise passed on the open race for Lieutenant Governor. Instead, Barbour’s leading challengers — both “second tier” candidates — are wealthy attorney John Arthur Eaves Jr. (D) and former State Senator Bill Renick (D). With three open statewide offices, it was no surprise that lots of candidates qualified for the ballot. Click here to view all of the Mississippi statewide filings. The primary is August 7.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 03.02.07 | Permalink | postCount(’030207a’);
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
3,100 American lives “wasted” in Iraq … or “sacrificed”? I’m going to step on some toes here, but the difference between those words is meaningless semantics. Dead is dead. What makes this waste of brave young lives so tragic is that they died in a preemptive, unprovoked war in which no real US interests were ever at stake (except, of course, the interest of Bush family vanity). And now our troops are caught in the crossfire of a bloody religious sectarian civil war. I’m unapologetic on this issue. If we really want to support our troops, the solution doesn’t lie in the phony salve of soothing political wordsmithing. The solution is to bring our troops home from Iraq now. Let our troops concentrate on the free world’s real post-9/11 mission: defeating the terrorist al Qaeda forces based in the Afghan region.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 03.02.07 | Permalink | postCount(’030207b’);
WANNA TRADE?
I’m interested in building up my collection of Canadian campaign buttons. If you’ve got Canadian political buttons to trade, I’m interesting in swapping with you for some great US pins. Please drop me a note!
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.
McCAIN MAKES IT OFFICIAL; WARNER VERSUS WARNER, ROUND 2?
McCAIN: US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) officially made his preordained transition from exploratory candidate to official Presidential candidate with his Wednesday night appearance on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman. In an email to supporters, McCain’s campaign described the appearance as his announcement. It also said he will hold a formal announcement even in April — so he can “announce” his candidacy for the third time.
VIRGINIA: The Washington Post reports former Governor Mark Warner (D) is engaged in discussions with the DSCC about making a challenge next year against US Senator John Warner (R). Mark Warner, the wealthy Nextel company founder who aborted his Presidential run late last year, has apparently dined with Senator Chuck Schumer and remains in regular contact with him and other DSCC officials about the Senate race. The two Warners faced off for the US Senate in 1996 — a costly and competitive race won by John Warner — before Mark Warner was elected Governor in 2001.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 03.01.07 | Permalink | postCount(’030107a’);