SSP Daily Digest: 8/23 (Morning Edition)

  • MO-Sen: AFSCME just threw down another hefty hunk of cash, pouring $700K into radio ads attacking Roy Blunt for voting against minimum wage hikes. According to The Hill, the union says that the ad is airing “statewide on over 200 radio stations outside the St. Louis and Kansas City media markets.”
  • NH-Sen: Despite leading in the polls, AG Kelly Ayotte is joining third-party groups and launching a TV ad of her own attacking rival Bill Binnie as a “liberal.” This comes in response to Binnie’s new ad attacking Ayotte for her handling of the FRM scandal. NWOTSOTB, though Binnie’s latest purchase is reportedly for some $430K.
  • WI-Sen: It’s hard to keep up with Rand Paul and Sharron Angle, but really, the lamestream media is being unfair to Ron Johnson, who definitely deserves a starting spot on the Wingnut 9. Watch him bash this stand-up double into deep right field:

    • There’s a reason Greenland was called Greenland. It was actually green at one point in time. And it’s been, since, it’s a whole lot whiter now.

  • FL-22: Absolute fucking maniac – and absolute fucking whiner – Allen West has been decrying the “Gestapo-like intimidation tactics” he fantasizes have been deployed by Ron Klein, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama. What are his dark Orwellian warnings about? The fact that the Klein campaign has been sending a video tracker to West’s events. Yep, exactly like the Holocaust. Good comparison to be making in Palm Beach.
  • IA-01: The American Future Fund, a conservative 501(c)4, claims it’s preparing to spend “six figures” against Rep. Bruce Braley (D), not a guy generally considered to be vulnerable. Part of that is because Braley leads his opponent, lawyer and former congressional staffer Ben Lange, $630K to $110K in cash-on-hand. Let’s see if they actually follow through, though.
  • MO-04: For the first time since the mid-90s, the Missouri Farm Bureau’s political arm, FARM-PAC, is not endorsing Ike Skelton – and in fact, they’re supporting Republican Vicky Hartzler. FARM-PAC cited Skelton’s vote in favor of cap-and-trade as the main reason for their change of heart. The Skelton campaign did, however, announce they received the backing from another agricultural group, the Missouri Corn Growers Association.
  • ND-AL: Rep. Earl Pomeroy is out with a new ad attacking Republican Rick Berg for his long (28-year) tenure in the North Dakota state lege, as well as his support for privatizing Social Security. NWOTSOTB.
  • NM-02: Defenders of Wildlife has re-upped its ad buy against Steve Pearce, who is attempting a comeback bid against Rep. Harry Teague, throwing down another $125K. It’s not clear whether this is the same ad from a couple of weeks ago, which one station refused to air.
  • NJ-03: Props to Jane Roh of the Courier-Post, a paper which serves southern New Jersey. She exposes Republican Jon Runyan’s first television ad for the video press release that it is, reporting that it’s a mere $8,400 (on FOX News and CNN), but notes – do I detect a touch of mockery here? – that it’s “expected to swell to $12,500 this week.” This is pretty much a joke buy anywhere, but in the NYC media market, this doesn’t even rate with late-night infomercials.
  • NY-13: Rudy Giuliani’s lent all kinds of support to Mike Grimm in his primary against Michael Allegretti, and now he’s cut an ad for him as well, touting Grimm’s experience with terrorism as a “9/11 first responder.” I wonder if that’s the tie that binds these two men, or if Rudy is making some long-term play against the entrenched GOP interests on Staten Island which, for whatever reason, have been backing Allegretti. Anyhow, NWOTSOTB, and incidentally, the FBI (and the Marines) have expressed displeasure with similar Grimm ads in the past.
  • NY-29: Teabagger Janice Volk failed to collect the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent… but now says she’ll run as a write-in. Whatever. Anyhow, has anyone heard anything – anything at all – about Dem Matthew Zeller?
  • OH-18: The Ohio Elections Commission ruled late last week that Rep. Zack Space made false statements about Republican opponent Bob Gibbs in an attack ad, but is issuing no penalty – not even a letter of reprimand. Sort of makes you wonder why this commission exists in the first place. I also find it weird that Ohio even has some body that tries to act as a referee for political campaigns. Isn’t that what voting is for?
  • Redistricting: Redistricting geeks, rejoice! Thanks to some key volunteer help, Dave’s Redistricting App now has partisan data for North Carolina and New Mexico. But more help is needed to get the remaining states online. Check out Dave’s diary to see how you can help.

    • 95 thoughts on “SSP Daily Digest: 8/23 (Morning Edition)”

    2. Answer: because it’s Ohio.

      This is the same state where it’s legal for a police officer to pull you over for speeding without radar “using professional judgment”, and where it’s also legal for the state to steal your identity for law enforcement to use in an undercover operation without actually telling you they’re doing it. And need I remind you that the Ohio State Senate Democratic caucus is so useless that Capri Cafaro is considered up and coming young talent?

      Few state legislatures are more disconnected from reality than Ohio’s, and considering we’re discussing deliberative bodies here, that’s really saying something.  

    4. For Ohio Driehaus is toast and i’m keeping a close eye on Boccieri. Tom Ganley and Bob Gibbs will be close but luckically there facing two strong incumbents in Zack Space and Betty Sutton.

      BTW we bring up how Rob Portman got mad money in his campaign account, exactly how much money does he have compared to Fisher?

    5. and didn’t West use that phrase in relation to a tracker who was the grandson of Holocaust survivors?

      What a dick. Ron Klein might be a candidate for me next time we play the “what incumbent would you save” game.

    6. I also find it weird that Ohio even has some body that tries to act as a referee for political campaigns. Isn’t that what voting is for?

      I’m actually glad to hear such a commission exists, though it’s a pity it’s apparently a toothless one. Negative ads, even ones that spread outright lies, deceptions and misinformation, have proven to work, electorally, in the past. So you can’t solely rely on the actual election results to reprimand candidates who peddle falsehoods. Plus, any election result is influenced by so many factors, it’s impossible to read it as a repudiation of one or the other ad or speech.

      Moreover, despite the rapt day-to-day attention people like us spend on such things, the actual election results will primarily reflect the basic fundamentals of the state of the economy, unemployment etc, as well as things like incumbency and national approval of the ruling party, anyway, so relying on the voters to punish a deceitful campaigner is a fools errand most of the times anyway.

      If anything, I’d say it’s up to the press rather than the voters to fulfill this particular watchdog function. And they’ve started to do that better now, with the fact-check genre rising, but you know they’re still underperforming this task – plus, any smackdown by this or that newspaper will just be dismissed as a partisan attack anyway.

      So I’m all for a commission with some form of formal authority to act on the most outrageously deceitful ads. I have no idea how the one by Zack Space ranks, and of course the commission would need to have some kind of teeth to fulfuill its task (and be thoroughly independent, and I’m not sure how to secure that), but the aspiration to have such an arbitrator, ruling on individual ads that cross the line, is a good thing in my book.

      /European observer

    7. I had always thought that Greenland was warmer when the vikings first settled it, and they only left after the climate became colder. (At least thats what I learned from the history channel)

    8. Everyone else has McCollum retaking the lead over Scott the past few weeks.  The Q-poll’s latest confirms today.

      But PPP is the lone dissenter and still has Scott up, indeed by a decent margin.

      PPP also gives Meek a blowout margin over Greene now, while all others have Meek up much more modestly.

      We’re going to find out who’s naughty and who’s nice in polling methodology, and Santa will reward them accordingly.

    11. http://arkansasnews.com/2010/0…

      Crawford is at 48, Causey 32.

      I wonder if the Dems in the legislature will draw one safe Dem district in redistricting now that the dam has burst and they can’t rely on historical tendencies to keep electing Democrats. It’s easy to do — connect the counties along the Mississippi with Pulaski County.

    13. Here’s a good article on the CT-Sen race and some of the problems Blumenthal is having:

      http://www.ctpost.com/opinion/…

      I’ve been worried about this race for awhile. I fear that this has the potential to be another unlosable race that the Dems lose this cycle.

      I think this article hits the nail on the head about his campaign’s problems.

      One thing they left out about the cash advatage McMahon has is that Blumethal is just as wealthy as McMahon is yet he refuses to self finace his campaign. Blumenthal is relying 100% on raising money and getting donations while she pours millions of here own cash into the race.

    15. Ah, a $700K ad buy on spread oout on radio stations in rural Missourri outside the population centers.

      Am I the only one who doesn’t udnerstand who this ad is targeted ad?  Or why an ad about minimum wage isn’t targeted at KC and St Louis?

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