Barbour refuses to say Palin’s qualified to be president, pauses and stumbles when questioned about it.
Barbour refuses to say Palin’s qualified to be president, pauses and stumbles when questioned about it.
Mississippi Gov. and Repulican Governors Association (RGA) President Haley Barbour (R) attracted attention on Wednesday for praising former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, saying that she’s “a heck of a lot smarter than she gets credit for.” But that doesn’t necessarily mean Barbour thinks she’s ready to run for president. Today on MSNBC, Chris Matthews repeatedly asked Barbour if he thought Palin was qualified to be president. In response, Barbour would stop, stumble, and muster out weak statements like, “Constitutionally, she sure is” or “I don’t know anything that disqualifies her from being president” (perhaps subtle winks to the birther community that believes Obama is unconstitutionally unqualified?). Watch it:
While governor, Palin was not accepted into the inner circle of the RGA’s leadership, and Barbour never seemed very impressed with her self-proclaimed foreign policy expertise.
- Comments
- 93
Hoffman un-un-unconcedes the NY-23 special election.
Hoffman un-un-unconcedes the NY-23 special election.
On Monday, ThinkProgress reported that failed Conservative Party candidate had rescinded his concession to Democrat Bill Owens in the NY-23 special congressional election. The next day, however, Hoffman’s spokesman said he was un-conceding the race, adding that they weren’t planning on challenging the results. Now, alleging widespread voter fraud at the hands of ACORN and labor unions, Hoffman is again taking back his concession. From a statement posted on his website last night:
As evidence surfaces, we find out that reported results from election night were far from accurate. ACORN and the unions did their best to try and sway the results to Obamacare supporter Bill Owens. [...]
Rest assured, they will not succeed, and I am therefore revoking my statement of concession.
But as Politico’s Josh Kraushaar notes, “Hoffman currently faces next-to-no chance of pulling ahead,” as he would “need to win nearly 80 percent of the outstanding absentee ballots to win.” The Jefferson County Republican elections commissioner said that Hoffman’s allegations were “absolutely false.”
Palin-Beck 2012?
Palin-Beck 2012?
In a new interview with Newsmax, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin hinted that a “dream ticket” of Palin and Fox News host Glenn Beck is not out of the question:
“I can envision a couple of different combinations, if ever I were to be in a position to really even seriously consider running for anything in the future, and I’m not there yet,” Palin tells Newsmax. “But Glenn Beck I have great respect for. He’s a hoot. He gets his message across in such a clever way. And he’s so bold – I have to respect that. He calls it like he sees it, and he’s very, very, very effective.”
Palin is a big Beck fan. In August, she wrote on her Facebook page, “FOX News’ Glenn Beck is doing an extraordinary job this week walking America behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and outlining who is actually running the White House. Monday night he asked us to invite one friend to watch; tonight I invite all my friends to watch.” Maybe they could go up against Michele Bachmann and Steve King? (HT: Ben Smith)
Dick Cheney shoots down his daughter Liz’s hope that he’ll run for president in 2012: ‘No chance.’
Dick Cheney shoots down his daughter Liz’s hope that he’ll run for president in 2012: ‘No chance.’
During a discussion of President Obama’s bow before Japanese Emperor Akihito on Fox News Sunday this past weekend — after host Chris Wallace aired a videotape of Vice President Cheney choosing not to bow before the Emperor in Feb. 2007 — Liz Cheney quipped, “you could also look at the comparison and think, Cheney 2012.” On Fox News yesterday, Cheney further explained her promotion of her dad, saying, “I have to tell you, he’s my candidate. But I have yet to get him on board with the concept.” In Texas yesterday to endorse Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) in the Texas governor’s race, the former vice president adamantly rejected the idea:
When she took the stage, Hutchison noted a Sunday cable show in which daughter Liz Cheney suggested her father might be a good presidential candidate in four years.
“I wasn’t sure when I saw Liz Cheney on TV Sunday, I thought this might be the start of Cheney 2012,” Hutchison said.
A member of the crowd shouted, “We need you, Dick.”
Cheney shook his head.
“No chance,” he said.
Watch it (Via Jason Embry):
Florida senatorial candidate Marco Rubio slams Ronald Reagan’s immigration policy.
Florida senatorial candidate Marco Rubio slams Ronald Reagan’s immigration policy.
The Palm Beach Post reports that former Florida House Speaker and Republican senatorial candidate Marco Rubio took issue with President Ronald Reagan’s immigration platform at a Martin County Republican Womens Federated meeting today. The Post reports that Rubio “delivered a six-minute discourse on immigration policy” in which he slammed Reagan’s support of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which put undocumented immigrants on a path to legalization and made it illegal to knowingly hire unauthorized workers:
In 1986 Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to 3 million people. You know what happened, in addition to becoming 11 million a decade later? There were people trying to enter the country legally, who had done the paperwork, who were here legally, who were going through the process, who claimed, all of a sudden, ‘No, no no no , I’m illegal.’ Because it was easier to do the amnesty program than it was to do the legal process. [...]
Only after you deal with illegal immigration in a serious way — seal the border and the visa problem — can you then create a legal immigration system that works.
Rubio later conceded that “he [Reagan] did it for the right reasons, but I think it ended up working the wrong way.” Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is staunchly opposed to any effort to fix the immigration status of undocumented immigrants and proposes solving the problem “dramatically by attrition.” The Miami New Times points out that he was 15 years-old when IRCA was signed into law.
Hoffman un-unconcedes the NY-23 special election.
Hoffman un-unconcedes the NY-23 special election.
Yesterday, ThinkProgress reported that Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman had rescinded his concession to Democrat Bill Owens in the special congressional election in New York’s 23rd district. Hoffman went on Glenn Beck’s radio show and said he was feeling “hopeful” about the fact that Owens’ lead over him was narrowing with the counting of the district’s absentee ballots. “[I]f I knew this information at the election night, I would not have conceded,” said Hoffman. When Beck asked, “So are you un-conceding?” Hoffman replied, “If that’s possible, yes.” However, today Hoffman’s spokesman told the Syracuse Post-Standard that he is un-unconceding:
Hoffman is not “un-conceding” the race, contrary to what he said Monday when pressed by Glenn Beck on his national talk radio show.
“What really matters is the count that is taking place today,” Rob Ryan, Hoffman’s spokesman told The Post-Standard. “When we see the direction that is taking, we will make the decision.”
Ryan added, “There has been no formal action to contest the vote, and depending on how the absentee count turns out we will decide how to proceed.”
As Gawker’s Alex Pareene wrote yesterday, it looks like upstate New York may have its own Norm Coleman.
Sarah Palin Rejects GOP Senate Candidate Mark Kirk’s Plea For An Endorsement
Sarah Palin Rejects GOP Senate Candidate Mark Kirk’s Plea For An Endorsement
Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), a candidate for Senate in 2010, wrote a memo to Sarah Palin requesting that she endorse him during her visit to Chicago for the Oprah Winfrey Show. The Post noted that “Palin’s endorsement [of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman] helped force state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R) from the race” in the NY-23 special election, and that Kirk’s memo is “tangible evidence of the power of Palin’s endorsement in a Republican primary.”
The memo is also tangible evidence of Kirk’s willingness to dramatically switch positions in order to gain political power. Last year, Kirk panned Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) selection of Palin as his running mate, telling the Chicago Tribune, “I would have picked someone different.” Asked about Palin’s qualifications for office, Kirk said, “Quite frankly, I don’t know.”
However, it appears that Palin has rejected Kirk’s request for an endorsement. Recently, Kirk told ThinkProgress that he had been expecting her endorsement once she visited Chicago:
TP: How about Sarah Palin? How close are you to getting her endorsement?
KIRK: We sent a memo detailing the race, and she’ll be coming in to Chicago shortly.
Watch it:
However, Palin visited Chicago last week to tape an interview with Winfrey and made no mention of Kirk. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal noted that Kirk was “unsuccessful” in his bid for an endorsement, despite his detailed memo.
Facing a competitive challenge from businessman Patrick Hughes in the Republican primary, Kirk is attempting to veer to the right. After voting in favor of cap-and-trade clean energy legislation during the summer, Kirk quickly changed his mind and told tea party activists that he would vote against the same bill in the Senate. Speaking to another assembly of conservative supporters in April, Kirk suggested that people should shoot Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL) for raising taxes.
Hoffman ‘Un-Concedes’ The NY-23 Election After Prodding From His ‘Mentor’ Glenn Beck
Hoffman ‘Un-Concedes’ The NY-23 Election After Prodding From His ‘Mentor’ Glenn Beck
On Nov. 3, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman conceded the special election in New York’s 23rd district after finding out that he was losing considerably to Democrat Bill Owens, who has already been sworn in and cast an important vote for health care reform. However, “a standard process of correcting human errors in election night spreadsheets” has narrowed Owens’ lead over Hoffman from more than 5,000 votes to about 3,000, and the New York Board of Elections is counting around 10,000 absentee ballots.
A Hoffman win is still a longshot, but on Glenn Beck’s radio show today, he said he was feeling hopeful. He even told Beck that he was un-conceding the race:
BECK: Alright, so let me ask you two questions. Are you currently bowing to me at the waist? (LAUGHTER) Have you bowed, or will you bow, to anyone, at the waist? No? Okay, good. Second question for you, are you officially un-conceding at this moment?
HOFFMAN: Yes, if I knew this information at the election night, I would not have conceded.
BECK: So are you un-conceding?
HOFFMAN: If that’s possible, yes.
BECK: If the President can bow to an emperor and nobody says anything, yeah, I think you can unconcede.
Listen here:
If anyone could get Hoffman to unconcede the race, it would be Beck, whom Hoffman has called his “mentor.” Hoffman has signed a pledge to uphold Beck’s 9/12 Project principles in Congress and lurched to the right to curry favor with the right-wing host.
Conservatives register Tea Party as an official third party in Florida.
Conservatives register Tea Party as an official third party in Florida.
After hard-line conservatives and tea party activists forced moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava to drop out of the race in New York’s 23rd congressional district, they announced that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist would likely be their next target in the GOP civil war. Politico’s Ben Smith reports that some Florida Republicans recently registered an official “Tea Party” to challenge both Republicans and Democrats:
“The current system has become mired in the sludge of special interest money that seeks to control the leadership of both parties. It’s time for real change,” says Orlando lawyer Frederic O’Neal, the new party’s chairman, who couldn’t be reached immediately by phone, in a press release.
A spokeswoman for the Florida Secretary of State, Jennifer Davis, said the party had registered in August.
O’Neal compared his party’s role to that of the Conservative Party in New York’s 23rd District. Florida, however, lacks the “fusion” rules that has allowed third parties in New York to amass influence by offering their ballot line to acceptable major-party candidates.
On Saturday, Dan Semenza, a Lake County Republican Party executive committee member, told the Daily Commercial that the registration of the third party organization meant “that the Tea Party has considerable strength.”
Rep. Mark Kirk begs for Sarah Palin endorsement, but scoffs at Glenn Beck: ‘He’s a very interesting guy.’
Rep. Mark Kirk begs for Sarah Palin endorsement, but scoffs at Glenn Beck: ‘He’s a very interesting guy.’
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), who is seeking the Senate in 2010, has been running to the far right to appease his base and win the Republican primary. Kirk has been actively seeking Sarah Palin’s endorsement, hoping she will burnish his right-wing credentials. However, when ThinkProgress interviewed Kirk yesterday, he seemed tepid about accepting an endorsement from popular hate radio talker Glenn Beck:
TP: How about Sarah Palin? How close are you to getting her endorsement?
KIRK: We sent a memo detailing the race, and she’ll be coming in to Chicago shortly.
TP: How about Glenn Beck, if he offered you his endorsement, would you accept that?
KIRK: Uhh, he’s a very interesting guy. I don’t think he’s endorsing any candidate though.
TP: He endorsed Hoffman, you don’t want him to endorse you?
KIRK: So, it’s been nice seeing you.
Watch it:
Earlier this year, Kirk suggested shooting Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL) because of higher taxes. After voting in support for clean energy legislation, Kirk was hounded by angry tea party protesters. Kirk then bowed to pressure, withdrawing his support for cap and trade. Despite Kirk’s lurch to the right, apparently vitriolic talkers like Beck are a bridge too far.
Limbaugh blames Newt Gingrich for screwing up the NY special election.
Limbaugh blames Newt Gingrich for screwing up the NY special election.
Yesterday, Bill Owens scored an historic victory by becoming the first Democrat in more than a century to win a congressional election in upstate New York’s 23rd district. Owens’ victory was a defeat for many prominent leaders of the conservative movement, particularly Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. In the lead-up to the election, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had engaged in a public brouhaha with Beck over his support for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman’s candidacy. Gingrich complained that Beck, Limbaugh, and company were pursuing “a very destructive model for the Republican Party,” and those concerns appear to have been vindicated by the outcome of Tuesday’s election. Nevertheless, Limbaugh is blaming Gingrich for the conservative’s defeat:
Here is — these are my thoughts on New York-23. … We cannot forget how this whole thing happened in the first place. There was not a primary. The right message here would indict the way party bosses, Republican Party bosses and these big thinkers like Newt screwed the whole thing up from the get go.
Listen here:
The war between Newt and Rush extends back to earlier this year, when Limbaugh said Gingrich was tearing apart the conservative movement by trying to embrace “better policy ideas.” Gingrich had argued that the “era of Reagan is over,” and that Republicans needed more than simply being the “party of no.” Limbaugh is of course quite comfortable with the “party of no” status.
Creigh Deeds Failed To Run As A Progressive
Creigh Deeds Failed To Run As A Progressive
Republican Bob McDonnell won a “landslide” victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds in yesterday’s gubernatorial election in Virginia, sweeping the state by a whopping 18 points. Exit polls showed Democrats had “trouble getting their base to the polls.” One possible explanation: Deeds did not run as a progressive reformer.
McDonnell “spent much of the campaign trying to tie Deeds to cap-and-trade environmental legislation and pro-union legislation on Capitol Hill that is unpopular with many Virginia voters.” But rather than make the affirmative case for progressive policy reforms, Deeds responded by largely “distanc[ing] himself from Obama’s agenda, especially on health and energy policy.” Some key examples:
NOT PROGRESSIVE ON CLIMATE: By the end of his campaign, Deeds was running ads attacking Obama’s clean energy agenda, saying Obama’s “cap and trade bill” would “hurt the people of Virginia.” Other ads carried the same message: “Creigh Deeds says no to any new energy taxes from Washington.” Instead of disputing his Republican opponent’s false attacks on climate legislation, Deeds amplified them. Deeds chose to run away from his past record on environment and climate issues. He had been a leader in “getting a land-preservation tax credit program into effect and supporting mass transit,” and “supporting a gas tax to fund transportation improvements.” Deeds “was one of 40 members of a commission on climate change convened by Virginia’s current governor.” His campaign platform included strong renewable energy and energy efficiency standards and environmental protection programs. Deeds embraced some coal industry positions. During the primary season, Deeds defended the despicable practice of mountaintop removal, telling a reporter in March, “The coal industry calls it surface mining.”
NOT PROGRESSIVE ON HEALTH CARE: During the final gubernatorial debate, Deeds stressed that health reform must “reduce costs so more people can afford insurance” and “increase coverage,” but argued that creating the option of a public health care plan “isn’t required.” “I don’t think the public option is necessary in any plan…I would certainly consider opting out if that were available to Virginia,” he said. After the debate, Deeds conceded that the plan might be “one way” to reduce costs, but “maybe one way might not be the best way.” “We have to leave all options on the table to find ways to reduce costs and increase coverage,” he concluded. The Deeds campaigned also issued a statement reiterating the candidate’s lukewarm support for the plan. “If the public option proves to be the best way” to reduce costs and expand
coverage, “he’d support having Virginia participate. He’ll examine all of the proposals on the table and choose the option than provides
Virginians with the most affordable and quality coverage.”NOT PROGRESSIVE ON LABOR ISSUES: “When I’m governor, you won’t just have a friend in Richmond — you’ll have a partner,” Deeds told union supporters in October, 2008. However, despite support from SEIU and the Teamsters, Deeds then proceeded to campaign on an anti-labor platform. He opposed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) — which would have created a fairer path toward unionization for workers — saying it would “put us at a competitive disadvantage” and reasserting the false right-wing claim that EFCA would eliminate the secret ballot in union elections. Deeds also did not support the right of public safety employees in Virginia to bargain collectively, “because it would carry with it the right to strike.” However, Deeds had previously told the Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia that he was a “strong” supporter of their right to collectively bargain.
NOT PROGRESSIVE ON IMMIGRATION REFORM: More than one in ten Virginians are immigrants. The Immigration Policy Center also points out that Latinos comprised 2.0% (or 74,000) of Virginia voters in the 2008 elections — enough to make a difference in a tight race. Creigh Deeds might regret repeatedly voting in favor of legislation that would hurt a large and growing part of his constituency. Deeds voted alongside his contender, Republican Robert F. McDonnell, to designate English as the state’s official language. He also supported denying undocumented immigrants state or local benefits. Deeds recently voted in favor of a bill that would’ve restricted in-state college tuition benefits to undocumented immigrants. And although undocumented immigrants can’t vote, about one-third of all “unauthorized families” in the country are “mixed-status families,” or families that include legal resident and US citizen family members. Neither Deeds nor McDonnell talked much about immigration on the campaign trail, however, Deeds’ organizers told the Washington Post that he would treat immigration as a federal issue and McDonnell would not.
After insisting he’s not ‘crowing’ about GOP victories, Steele gloats by striking the Heisman pose on MSNBC.
After insisting he’s not ‘crowing’ about GOP victories, Steele gloats by striking the Heisman pose on MSNBC.
This morning, RNC Chairman Michael Steele appeared on CBS’s Early Show and attempted to convince the audience that he was humbled by yesterday’s GOP victories in New Jersey and Virginia, saying, “We’re not crowing, we’re smiling.” But just an hour later on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Steele dropped all pretense and struck the Heisman pose to gloat:
Of course, the GOP’s favored candidate, Doug Hoffman of the Conservative Party, lost the special congressional election in New York’s 23rd district, despite attracting heavy conservative endorsements from the likes of Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Sean Hannity, and eventually the RNC and Newt Gingrich. The district now has a Democratic congressman for the first time since the mid-19th century. Watch Steele’s two morning segments here:
Armey Meets With Author Of Town Hall Harassment Strategy Memo To Plan Purge Of Moderates From GOP
Armey Meets With Author Of Town Hall Harassment Strategy Memo To Plan Purge Of Moderates From GOP
In late July, ThinkProgress first reported on a memo detailing how conservative activists can successfully disrupt Democratic health care town halls. The memo, authored by a Tea Party Patriots volunteer named Bob MacGuffie, was distributed on a listserv controlled by FreedomWorks — the corporate front group run by Dick Armey that is dedicated to organizing tea parties and other anti-Obama efforts around the country. A member of the listserv, Jenny Beth Martin, blasted out the memo on June 13th, declaring, “We here in CT have developed a strategy for holding our elected officials accountable. We show up en mass at the ‘town hall’ meetings they have!” The tactics included:
– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”
– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”
– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”
In town hall after town hall during August, the strategy was used to target members of Congress who are considering support of health care reform. Although Armey disputes his relation to the memo, both Rolling Stone and Talking Points Memo have verified that FreedomWorks staffers, like FreedomWorks Florida coordinator Tom Gaitens, control the Tea Party Patriots listserv which distributed the memo. Armey has gone so far as denying even knowing Gaitens, who has worked for FreedomWorks for years and can be seen in the last ten seconds of this ABC News segment handing a microphone to Armey.
Now, the Courant is reporting that Armey plans to go to Fairfield, CT on November 11th for a “strategy session” with conservative activists and MacGuffie, the original author of the town hall harassment strategy.
An announcement sent out by MacGuffie proclaimed that he, like Armey, has actively supported Doug Hoffman’s bid to rid the NY-23 special election of moderate Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R-NY). Now, both Armey and MacGuffie are planning to purge the Republican Party of more moderate politicians.
MacGuffie has declared that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are RINOs (Republicans in name only) who “have routinely abandoned or betrayed us.” Similarly, the next step of Armey’s agenda appears to be an intensified crusade to challenge moderate Republicans in primaries. The Politico reports that Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC), Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL), former Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT) and other Republicans who have strayed from rigid party-line positions face primaries from candidates inspired by the tea parties and town hall disruption type tactics.
As The Media Obsesses Over New York Special Election, It Ignores Leftward Lurch In California Special Election
As The Media Obsesses Over New York Special Election, It Ignores Leftward Lurch In California Special Election
In the past few weeks, conservatives and their allies in the press have obsessed over the special election in New York’s 23rd congressional district. Pundits have claimed that the rise of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman as the likely winner in that race is a “referendum on the Obama-Biden spending agenda” and evidence of a rightward shift in the nation’s politics, despite the fact that this particular district in New York hasn’t elected a Democrat in a century.
While pundits have obsessed over the special election in New York, they’ve completely ignored another race that evidences a progressive resurgence. Today, voters in California’s 10th congressional district will go to the polls to elect a member of congress to replace former Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), who was brought into the Obama Administration to serve as the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.
As The Nation’s John Nichols notes, CA-10 is a far more competitive district than NY-23:
If [NY-23] elects a Republican Tuesday – and, though Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party line, he is now backed by local, state and national GOP leaders and organizations – the district will hold to the pattern it has been on since Ulysses Grant was president. On the other hand, California 10 was represented by a Republican until Tauscher beat him in 1996 – and in the past century, Republicans have represented the core counties of the district more frequently than Democrats. In other words, California 10 is the more historically competitive turf.
Despite the competitiveness of his district, Democrat John Garamendi leads Republican David Harmer by ten points in the latest polling.
What makes Garamendi’s lead all the more impressive is his progressive stances. While CA-10 was previously held by a Democrat, Tauscher legislated as a centrist. A member of the business-friendly “New Democrat Coalition,” Tauscher was a supporter of rolling back the estate tax, tightening bankruptcy rules, and expanding free trade agreements. Following the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 2006, she famously warned her colleagues to not run “over the left cliff” by passing too much progressive legislation.
Garamendi, on the other hand, is an unabashed liberal. He is a strong supporter not only of a public option, but of a single-payer Medicare-for-all health care system, supports the creation of an exit strategy from Afghanistan, and actually defeated the hand-picked candidate for the Democratic endorsement.
If he is elected, and he likely will be, it will mark a dramatic leftward shift in CA-10. But with all the media coverage of NY-23, most Americans may never know that.
McConnell mistakenly claims Republicans and Democrats are ‘close to even’ in the polls.
McConnell mistakenly claims Republicans and Democrats are ‘close to even’ in the polls.
At a press conference this afternoon, a reporter asked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to explain why such a low number of Americans (approximately 20 percent) self-identify as Republicans. McConnell responded by dodging the question, saying, “You can pick out of polls what you want to focus on.” He then proceeded to pick out a number he wanted to focus on:
I think a very interesting question of most of the polls I’ve seen in the last few months is the question of the party generic ballot. That is, if the election were held today, would you be more likely to vote for the Republican or the Democrat? Most of the surveys that I’ve seen in the last three weeks or so have us close to even.
Watch it:
McConnell is sadly mistaken. As The Plum Line’s Greg Sargent reports, a new Washington Post poll shows the gap between the two parties is currently as wide as it has been in the previous two elections:
Right now, the poll finds that when respondents are asked whether they will vote for a Dem or a GOPer in the 2010 elections, 51% pick the Dem and 39% pick the Republican.
In June of 2008 (the most recent historical data in the WaPo poll), Dems led the generic matchup 52%-37%. And in early November of 2006 the Dem lead was 51%-45%. Today the spread is largely unchanged.
Despite this, GOP cockiness about the midterms is widespread.
Lieberman jokes about running in 2012 as a Republican.
Lieberman jokes about running in 2012 as a Republican.
This morning, Politico reported on how some Democratic senators are already preparing for their reelection efforts in 2012, “boosting their campaign coffers, raising millions for an election that is still 37 months away.” In an interview, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) joked that he could potentially run as a Republican:
Several Senate Democrats up in 2012 have already joined the million-dollar club, including Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Bill Nelson of Florida, Dianne Feinstein of California and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, as well as independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who caucuses with Senate Democrats. Several more are expected to surpass the million-dollar mark when the latest round of campaign finance reports is released Oct. 15.
Lieberman, who had $1.4 million through June 30, said he was unsure whether he would run in 2012 as a Democrat or an independent.
“Or a Republican,” Lieberman jokingly added. “I have all sorts of options.”
Some Democrats might not find Lieberman’s joke very funny. After Lieberman bucked his party and supported Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for president — even delivering a speech at the Republican National Convention — some of his Senate colleagues wanted him to be punished, with some suggesting that he should lose his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Instead, they let him off with slap on the wrist.
Tom Ridge considers run for U.S. Senate.
Tom Ridge considers run for U.S. Senate.
Bush’s former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, is considering a run for the Republican Senate nomination in his home state of Pennsylvania. Roll Call reports “Ridge’s moderate politics and national profile would make him a more viable candidate in the general election” against Arlen Specter, who recently switched to the Democratic Party because he feared that he would not be able to win the Republican primary. Several Democrats, including Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) and Pennsylvania Board of Education chair Joe Torsella, are considering competing against Specter in a primary. Specter has lined up the support of Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) and President Obama.
Flashback: Steele Foolishly Boasted That NY Special Election Was ‘Credible Repudiation’ Of Obama
Flashback: Steele Foolishly Boasted That NY Special Election Was ‘Credible Repudiation’ Of Obama
The race in New York’s 20th congressional district was finally decided yesterday. The seat was vacated when Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to take Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat. After a tight election contest, Republican Jim Tedisco conceded, opening the way for Democrat Scott Murphy to be seated in Congress.
Steve Benen notes, “It was, at least on paper, a race Republicans should have won. They didn’t.” Before the election, RNC Chairman Michael Steele boasted, “Our game is not up…our message still rings true with countless Americans, specifically with those in the 20th congressional district.”
The New York special election was held on March 31, 2009. Wasting absolutely no time, the very next day, Steele wrote an audacious — and foolish — op-ed in Politico, triumphantly declaring the outcome a defeat for President Obama’s agenda:
Tedisco’s victory will be a credible repudiation of the spending spree that Obama and Congress have been on since January. Even the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee acknowledged over the weekend that the race was “a referendum on the Economic Recovery Act and Barack Obama’s policies.” Well, the DCCC is right — this likely Republican victory is a referendum on the president. [...]
Well, the voters have spoken, and while the results are still pending, Republicans are confident that the final vote tallies will show those voters have rejected the president’s approach. [...]
The ground has shifted, and is shifting, as the voters become increasingly worried about Obamanomics. [...]
Tuesday’s election was a vote of “no confidence” in the Democrats’ tax, spend and borrow approach. I hope Obama and congressional Democrats are listening.
“That’s a seat that we should be able to go in and be competitive and win,” Steele said prior to the special election. “I’m gonna put — make it a focal point, right out of the box.”
In early March, FiveThirtyEight.com’s Sean Quinn quoted former high-level RNC staffers as saying, if Tedisco loses, “Steele is done.”
Chambliss: My 2002 Attack Ad On Cleland Was ‘Truthful In Every Way’
Chambliss: My 2002 Attack Ad On Cleland Was ‘Truthful In Every Way’
During an interview with Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) on MSNBC this afternoon, host Andrea Mitchell noted that John McCain is campaigning for him in Georgia today even though McCain had strongly condemned one of his 2002 attack ads. That ad linked his opponent, Max Cleland, to Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.
Earlier this week, Chambliss defended the ad, calling it “a lightweight ad” and “very fair.” Today, Mitchell gave him another opportunity to repent, but Chambliss wouldn’t bite:
MITCHELL: Do you have any regrets in retrospect?
CHAMBLISS: You know, Andrea, that ad is truthful in every way. [...] He voted against George Bush eleven times on the issue of homeland security. [...] You have to remember the two most notible terrorists in the world at that point in time were Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. We were trying to protect the homeland. We were trying to create an agency that was going to protect Americans and in fact we did that, we did it without Cleland’s vote.
Watch it:
But the ad is not truthful. Chambliss claims that Cleland voted against vital homeland security efforts but in fact, Cleland was voting against a provision in a homeland security measure that would have stripped away the collective bargaining rights of federal employees — many of whom would form the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Of course, Cleland’s homeland security votes in no way linked him to either bin Laden or Saddam.
Cleland not only voted to authorize the use of military force in Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, but he also co-sponsored legislation introduced in May 2002 that called for the creation of a cabinet-level DHS.
Thus, Chambliss’s claims that the attack ad was “very fair” and “truthful in every way” ring hollow. Even John McCain knows that.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll