SSP Daily Digest: 5/8

PA-Sen: Tom Ridge’s appearance on Hardball yesterday may have set a new bar for equivocation. He wouldn’t commit to whether or not he’d vote for would-be rival Pat Toomey in the GOP primary, instead veering off into extolling the virtues of the secret ballot. On the flipside, in a nice bit of symmetry, Arlen Specter told Fox News that he can’t promise to vote with the Dems “all the time” on procedural votes. So, the takeaway is: nobody’s promising anything.

NY-Sen-B: Charles Schumer has ratcheted up his efforts to grease the wheels for Kirsten Gillibrand’s re-election path in 2010, hooking her up with donors, lobbying to get her on the good committees, and trying to tamp down possible primary challenges. “There is not going to be a primary!” he recently announced at a fundraiser (to the laughs of the audience… although I’m not sure whether the insiders were laughing due to his comic timing or the audacity and/or futility of his statement).

IL-Sen: Roland Burris is starting to seem like that last guest at the party who isn’t getting the message that it’s time to go home. Burris says he would like to keep his Senate seat, but will have to make “a formal decision in the next few weeks based on his ability to raise money for a campaign.” With a total of $845 raised so far… well… you do the math.

KY-Sen: One more Kentuckian is touring the state gauging potential support for the GOP Senate primary, which may or may not contain Jim Bunning. It’s Rand Paul, a doctor who’s never held elected office before but has one important ace in the hole: he’s the son of Rep. Ron Paul, which, if nothing else, establishes his liberatarian bona fides and gives him a nationwide fundraising base of fringe weirdo small donors.

NM-Gov: Two new candidates have emerged as possible contenders for the Republican nomination for governor in the Land of Enchantment: former state GOP chair Allen Weh (who was intrumental in the firing of US Attorney David Iglesias), who opened an exploratory committee this week, and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, who’s in the “considering” stage. National Guard Brig. Gen. Greg Zanetti is already in the race. This race could get more interesting if ex-Rep. Heather Wilson joined this paltry lot, but with the Dems already coalesced behind Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, the GOP is starting out in a hole here.

CA-47: Remember how Bill Sali had his campaign HQ in the wrong district? GOP assemblyman Van Tran seems to be following in Rep. Brain Fade’s fine footsteps, at least in the map skills department. He kicked off his campaign with an event in the Little Saigon neighborhood in Westminster… in CA-46.

CA-32: In the run-up to the May special election, state Sen. Gil Cedillo has turned his fire toward the race’s third wheel: Emanuel Pleitez. Pleitez, a 26-year-old up-and-comer who was part of the Obama transition team, threatens to eat into Cedillo’s share of the Latino vote (which he’ll need to dominate if he’s to beat Board of Equalization chair Judy Chu). Cedillo is sending flyers using photos grabbed from Pleitez’s Facebook page to make the case that he’s too young and immature for Congress.

TN-04: A stem-winding progressive-sounding speech came from a very unlikely place: Blue Dog Rep. Lincoln Davis, holder of a newly-minted R+13 seat, speaking at last weekend’s Tennessee Democratic Party summit.

Mayors: There’s another batch of big-city mayoral elections this Saturday, all in Texas. In San Antonio, 34-year-old former city councilor Julian Castro is favored to win. Castro finished second four years ago to Phil Hardberger, who’s now termed-out. In Austin, the best-known mayoral contender is Carole Strayhorn, who was mayor of Austin in the 1970s and ran for governor as an independent in the crazy 2006 gubernatorial election. Strayhorn, however, is probably too conservative for today’s Austin, and the frontrunner seems to be city councilor Brewster McCracken.

Census: The state of New York is ponying up $2 million in state funding to bolster participation in the 2010 Census, mostly for outreach campaigns to traditionally undercounted populations. Assumedly, they think this money will pay much greater dividends later, if a more accurate count reveals more New Yorkers and thus brings in more federal funding for social programs.

LA-Sen: In a tantalizing item, the Hotline teases that “The DSCC won’t let Rep. Melancon (D) alone.” Does this mean Melancon could be back in the recruiting crosshairs, despite previously saying he was “not contemplating a run”? The Hotline’s note is behind a subscription paywall; if you have access to it, please feel free to elaborate in comments.

81 thoughts on “SSP Daily Digest: 5/8”

  1. Mignon Clyburn?!?  He named his daughter after a cut of meat?

    http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254

    WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to nominate House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s daughter to a seat on the Federal Communications Commission, a powerful agency that regulates issues ranging from TV profanity to broadband Internet access.

    Mignon Clyburn, the eldest of the South Carolina Democrat’s three daughters, is a Charleston native who has served on the South Carolina Public Service Commission since 1998.

    Obama’s promotion of Jim Clyburn’s daughter – which the Senate must confirm – would further strengthen the president’s relationship with a key congressional ally who helped move his $787 billion economic-stimulus plan quickly through the House in February.

    “She is very competent and accomplished, someone of whom I am very proud,” the congressman said.

    Aides to Clyburn said he had not spoken with Obama about the FCC post for his daughter.

    Mignon Clyburn, who holds a University of South Carolina undergraduate degree in banking, declined to comment.

  2. I just posted on it at Calitics.  And John Amato (musician and proprietor of Crooks and Liars) is still looking at the race too.

    I’m glad this is happening a year out from the primary.  There’s still time to gear up to boot Harman out of Congress.  

  3. Ol’ Chuck finally has someone to be his flunkie, and he’s trying to make life easier for her.  Won’t work.

  4. There’s nothing in Hotline you haven’t already got.  The DSCC is courting him in spite of his earlier statement about not being interested.  No info on if he’s receptive to them, turning them down or being coy.

  5. Keep your eyes on Castro. If he wins, he becomes one of the top folks in the Democratic farm team. Young, hispanic, and very progressive. He could be very attractive as a statewide candidate in 2014 or 2016, I have no idea how many years someone can serve as mayor of San Antonio.

    As for Austin, Strayhorn ain’t going nowhere. Everyone in Austin knows she’s the republican and they’re having none of that. This is Councilman McCrackin (D) vs. Councilman Leffingwell (D).

  6. one, if Schumer says Gillibrand won’ get a primary challenger that’s a pretty good sign of what will happen; he’s the most powerful Democrat in New York.

    Two, I don’t won’t Melancon running. It’s cajun territory, and though very racist it leans Democratic on a local level. Cazayoux of John some from more swingish parts of the state and would be able to put a stronger challenge.

    Plus, Melancon’s district would be a tough hold, especially in the midterm of a Democratic president. He’s personally popular, but in that sort of environment I don’t see anyone else holding it.

  7. These so-called fringe wierdos still hold the record for one day fundraising in a primary election.  And when they get ticked off by bloggers, it causes them to want to donate.

    Don’t really understand, but it usually worked that way.

    If you want to increase greatly this guys potential financing keep it up. These Paulenteers have gold and silver and no debt.  Unlike the uninformed masses, we weren’t stupidly invested in stocks last year.  We got money to burn, and might as well burn it before it looses all its value. We’re just waiting for Rand to “call out the hounds”.  Look for a modest $250,000 money bomb for starters if he announces, then the sky’s the limit.  We have been waiting for this….

  8. They rape your bank accounts and 401ks.

    Emasculate the dollar so compared with 1913 it’s worth barely as much as you poor excuses for men.

    Yet you still ever loyally oblige them, mouthing their tripe.

    If I ever knew it was so easy to obtain abuseable yet ever loyal slaves, I would be in another profession.

    Be right back. Got to go buy a whip.

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