Month: January 2008

Crossposted with different title and a few clarifying edits from Blue Hampshire.

It appears that the GoOPers in high places have decided to put their heft behind Nashua right-wing radio talk show host Jennifer Horn to go against Paul Hodes in the second district of New Hampshire.  I say this because unlike earlier challenger, lawyer and veteran Jim Steiner, Horn’s candidacy has arrived with great fanfare, with the NRCC putting the Telegraph article on their site, an up-column mention from DiStaso in the Union Leader, and a feature from the Republico Politico, which, without any empirical evidence, declares her the “emerging as an early front-runner” and boasts:

National Republicans have been attempting to recruit her into the race for several months. She currently faces a nominal primary challenge from attorney Jim Steiner, though other candidates could emerge before the June filing deadline.

So, what’s Jennifer Horn’s candidacy in a nut-shell?

She said she entered the race because “it’s time we stop electing lawyers and politicians and people who have spent their entire lives setting themselves up for the next office.”

Yes, by all means, let’s not elect lawyers to the legislative branch of government.

And given the above statement, I’m somewhat amazed at the fawning eulogy she gave to career politician Charlie BassMaster at his defeat. Clearly what the law-making branch of our government needs is less experts on laws and public servants, and more right-wing talk show hosts.

What does she think of Paul Hodes?

“Paul Hodes is a do-nothing representative in a do-nothing Congress,” she said.

Quite a piece of shop-worn candidate rhetoric for someone framing herself as an ordinary person outside the beltway.  For those of you looking beyond the slogans of politicians, check out this graph of how the 2006-elected Blue Wave (of which Paul Hodes is frosh president, btw) stacks up against career politician Charlie Bass’ freshman year with the Gingrich-led Contract with America in 1994:

By all means, throw out the do-nothing lawyers and bring in the Gingrich-style ideologues.  That’ll drain the swamp and get things done.  And is back-bencher Bass available for an encore?

Ben Lodmell Democratic Candidate for Congress in Alabama’s District 01 released this policy statement today.

They don’t call oil “black gold” for nothing. At $100 a barrel, which we saw earlier in the year, it is easy to understand that comparison. That’s seven times more than the price of crude oil 30 years ago! Which has some experts more than a little worried about how high the price may go if tension in the Middle East escalates, especially with Iran, or if instability in other oil producing countries gets out of hand.  If such a scenario unfolds, they say, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” when it comes to the price of oil.

Even so, there are worse fears than that. Some oil industry experts predict there may not be enough oil to go around if increasingly industrialized nations like China and India begin sucking oil up faster than it can be produced and refined.

 But you and I and our neighbors here in the 1st District don’t buy crude oil. So why should we be concerned if the price of gasoline, say, goes up another half-a-buck or so? Why? Because the cost of gasoline is only the tip of the American economic iceberg.

The fact is virtually everything we consume contains some kind of oil component. The fact is our economy is already faltering because of it.

Yes, experts are saying the price we pay for gas at the pump will probably jump to about $3.40 a gallon by spring and may be as high as $3.75 later in the year. But before that up-tick in gas prices puts an added crimp in the take home pay of working families, many will see at least a 33% hike in the price of heating oil. And that’s just the beginning of the inflationary spiral. The fact is that oil affects the cost of just about everything we manufacture and eat and anything and everything that’s shipped by truck or plane.

In short, oil has an ever-tightening strangle hold on the throat of America’s economy. It threatens the way we live, thanks in large part to our ever-growing dependency on foreign oil, which amounts to about 60% of our needs. Couple that with the all-for-oil approach by the Bush-Bonner gang in Washington, and we have a real recipe for disaster. What is the Bush-Bonner approach to the energy crisis? Damn the consumer! Damn the environment! Damn the world! Full speed ahead, with exploration, drilling and pumping, wherever there’s a buck to be made! To hell with polluting the earth and the atmosphere and despoiling the oceans! Give the oil producers what they want. Give them what they pay for with their unconscionable and corrupting political contributions. Give them subsidies and drilling rights, and protect their tax breaks. That’s what Bush wants. That’s what Jo Bonner has voted for time and again. That’s the Bush-Bonner plan. It gins up the profitability of major oil producers to unconscionable heights, while every fuel-sensitive industry in the country suffers and every man, woman and child America pays the ever-increasing price.

This near-criminal idiocy has got to step. Our country must get out of oil, plain and simple! And we must do it fast or watch our way of life erode away. What we must do is create a “clean energy economy” with the same kind immediacy and national commitment that enabled America to put a man on the moon in 10 years. The Apollo Alliance is a national movement with just such a goal. But to make that goal America’s goal, we must first change whom we send to Washington to make the rules. That means the Bush-Bonner gang has got to go, every last one of them. And when I get to Congress, you can bet that creating a clean energy economy will be one of my top priorities.

Candidate filing is sailing along with 5 states now having completed candidate filings. And other than a truly woeful performance by the Texas Democratic Party we are humming along.

Below the fold for details and once again go and take a look at the 2008 Race Tracker Wiki.  

***I have included Cook PVI numbers where possible after blogger requests to do so!***

Lots of House races now have Democratic candidates that have bobbed up in the last month or so:

CA-46 – R+6,

KS-01 – R+20,

LA-06 – R+7,

MS-01 – R+10,

MS-03 – R+14,

MO-07 – R+14,

OH-03 – R+3,

OH-04 – R+14,

OH-08 – R+12,

TX-06 – R+15,

TX-12 – R+14,

TX-19 – R+25,

TX-24 – R+15,

But two races now no longer have a confirmed Democratic candidate:

IL-18 – R+5.5, (Our candidate withdrew for health reasons but can be replaced by a vote of the county dem chairs afer the primary.)

WI-05 – R+12 (Our candidate withdrew for professional and personal reasons.)

So 370 races filled! This of course includes 233 districts held by Democratic Congresscritters.

But we also have 137 GOP held districts with confirmed Democratic opponents.

So here is where we are at (GOP Districts):

Districts with confirmed candidates – 137

Districts with unconfirmed candidates – 2

Districts with rumoured candidates – 22

Districts without any candidates – 35

Filing closed – No Democratic candidate – 6

The GOP held districts with confirmed Democratic challengers are as follows:

AL-01 – R+12,

AL-03 – R+4,

AL-04 – R+16,

AK-AL – R+14,

AZ-01 – R+2,

AZ-02 – R+9,

AZ-03 – R+6,

AZ-06 – R+12,

AR-03 – R+11,

CA-03 – R+7,

CA-04 – R+11,

CA-21 – R+13,

CA-24 – R+5,

CA-26 – R+4,

CA-40 – R+8,

CA-41 – R+9,

CA-42 – R+10,

CA-44 – R+6,

CA-45 – R+3,

CA-46 – R+6,

CA-48 – R+8,

CA-49 – R+10,

CA-50 – R+5,

CA-52 – R+9,

CO-04 – R+9,

CO-06 – R+10,

CT-04 – D+5,

DE-AL – D+7,

FL-01 – R+19,

FL-05 – R+5,

FL-07 – R+3,

FL-08 – R+3,

FL-09 – R+4,

FL-10 – D+1,

FL-12 – R+5,

FL-13 – R+4,

FL-14 – R+10,

FL-15 – R+4,

FL-24 – R+3,

GA-01 – R+?,

GA-09 – R+?,

GA-10 – R+?,

ID-01 – R+19,

IL-06 – R+2.9,

IL-10 – D+4,

IL-11 – R+1.1,

IL-13 – R+5,

IL-14 – R+5,

IL-15 – R+6,

IL-16 – R+4,

IL-19 – R+8,

IN-03 – R+16,

IN-04 – R+17,

IN-06 – R+11,

IA-04 – D+0,

IA-05 – R+8,

KS-01 – R+20,

KS-04 – R+12,

KY-04 – R+11.7,

KY-05 – R+8,

LA-01 – R+18,

LA-06 – R+7,

MD-01 – R+10,

MD-06 – R+13,

MI-02 – R+9,

MI-07 – R+2,

MI-09 – R+0,

MI-11 – R+1.2,

MN-02 – R+2.7,

MN-03 – R+0.5,

MN-06 – R+5,

MO-02 – R+9,

MO-06 – R+5,

MO-07 – R+14,

MO-09 – R+7,

MS-01 – R+10,

MS-03 – R+14,

NV-03 – D+1,

NJ-03 – D+3.3,

NJ-04 – R+0.9,

NJ-05 – R+4,

NJ-07 – R+1,

NJ-11 – R+6,

NM-01 – D+2,

NM-02 – R+6,

NY-13 – D+1,

NY-23 – R+0.2,

NY-25 – D+3,

NY-26 – R+3,

NY-29 – R+5,

NC-03 – R+15,

NC-05 – R+15,

NC-06 – R+17,

NC-08 – R+3,

NC-09 – R+12,

NC-10 – R+15,

OH-01 – R+1,

OH-02 – R+13,

OH-03 – R+3,

OH-04 – R+14,

OH-05 – R+10,

OH-07 – R+6,

OH-08 – R+12,

OH-12 – R+0.7,

OH-14 – R+2,

OH-15 – R+1,

OH-16 – R+4,

OK-05 – R+12,

PA-03 – R+2,

PA-05 – R+10,

PA-09 – R+15,

PA-15 – D+2,

PA-16 – R+11,

PA-18 – R+2,

TX-03 – R+17,

TX-04 – R+17,

TX-06 – R+15,

TX-07 – R+16,

TX-08 – R+20,

TX-10 – R+13,

TX-12 – R+14,

TX-13 – R+18,

TX-19 – R+25,

TX-24 – R+15,

TX-26 – R+12,

TX-31 – R+15,

TX-32 – R+11,

VA-05 – R+6,

VA-06 – R+11,

VA-10 – R+5,

VA-11 – R+1,

WA-04 – R+13,

WA-08 – D+2,

WV-02 – R+5,

WI-01 – R+2,

WI-06 – R+5,

WY-AL – R+19,

The following GOP held districts have a candidate that is expected to run but is yet to confirm:

KY-02 – R+12.9,

PA-06 – D+2.2,

The following GOP held districts have rumoured candidates – please note that some of these “rumours” are extremely tenuous!

AL-02 – R+13,

FL-06 – R+8,

FL-21 – R+6,

FL-25 – R+4,

GA-03 – R+?,

GA-06 – R+?,

GA-07 – R+?,

GA-11 – R+?,

IL-18 – R+5.5,

LA-04 – R+7,

MT-AL – R+11,

NE-02 – R+9,

NE-03 – R+23.6,

NV-02 – R+8.2,

NJ-02 – D+4.0,

NY-03 – D+2.1,

OK-03 – R+18,

OK-04 – R+13,

SC-01 – R+10,

SC-04 – R+15,

TN-07 – R+12,

UT-03 – R+22,

VA-02 – R+5.9,

The following districts have not a single rumoured candidate:

AL-06 – R+25,

CA-02 – R+13,

CA-19 – R+10,

CA-22 – R+16,

CA-25 – R+7,

CO-05 – R+15.7,

FL-04 – R+16,

FL-18 – R+4,

ID-02 – R+19,

IN-05 – R+20,

KY-01 – R+10,

LA-05 – R+10,

LA-07 – R+7,

MI-03 – R+9,

MI-04 – R+3,

MI-06 – R+2.3,

MI-08 – R+1.9,

MI-10 – R+4,

MO-08 – R+11,

NE-01 – R+11,

OK-01 – R+13,

OR-02 – R+11,

PA-19 – R+12,

SC-02 – R+9,

SC-03 – R+14,

TN-01 – R+14,

TN-02 – R+11,

TN-03 – R+8,

UT-01 – R+26,

VA-01 – R+9,

VA-04 – R+5,

VA-07 – R+11,

WA-05 – R+7.1,

WI-05 – R+12,

And last but not least the list I did not want to have to include.

The following Republicans will not have a Democratic opponent in 2008:

TX-01 – R+17,

TX-02 – R+12,

TX-05 – R+16,

TX-11 – R+25,

TX-14 – R+14,

TX-21 – R+13,

It is galling to say the least that the Texas Democratic Party couldn’t get their act together. We had candidates good to go in 3 of these districts and our 2006 nominee in the 1st is running as an independent. I am still stunned that the Party couldn’t find candidates in or around Dallas, Bexar, Galveston or Austin to run in their local district! It has been speculated that the Texas party is concentrating on winning back the Texas House, an interesting proposition given that a third of Texas house districts don’t have a Democrat on the ballot either!

**On a brighter note we may still be able get candidates on the ballot in Texas via write in but I will diary about that seperately.***

Finally due praise to those states where we already have a full slate of house candidates – Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

It is also interesting to note that we have only one race left to fill in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. Thats 23 states with a full slate, and 12 states with one race to fill! That is more than half the states with a full or nearly full slate of candidates 10 months before election day, an impressive feat indeed!

Please note that in some races others at the racetracker site have confirmed candidates that I haven’t. This is because to satisfy me a confirmed candidate has either filed with the FEC, The Sec of State or has an active campaign website, or even if they come and blog and say yep I am running. Others are not so rigorous.

It is also great to see candidates in AZ-06, CA-42, FL-12, LA-06, MS-03, VA-06 and WI-06; 7 of 10 districts we did not contest in 2006! Of the other 3 TX-11 will again go uncontested whilst VA-04 and AL-06 do not currently have Democratic candidates.

We were on track to beat the 425 races we contested in 2006 but with the Texas debacle it now seems unlikely.

*** Tips, rumours and what not in the comments please.***

Democracy for America’s 2008 Grassroots All-Stars vote is underway and we have a chance to use the voting to push for a endorsement of progressive Democrats running in tough primaries. Specifically Ed Fallon.

Ed is a progressive Democrat running against Bush Dog Leonard Boswell. Ed ran for governor in 2006 and won the district in the primary. We have done great work for Mark Pera and Donna Edwards campaigns against Bush Dogs. Now with a extra netroots boost Fallon can beat another Bush Dog!

First lets take a look at Boswell from the great Bush Dog profile that David Kowalski did at OpenLeft.

Boswell has had a terrible voting record on important legislation.  He was among the minority of House Democrats to authorize the use of military force in Iraq (AUMF).  Boswell also voted for the PATRIOT Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, a draconian immigration bill that never made it through the Senate, and No Child Left Behind.

It is important to understand that Leonard Boswell is no coward.  He believes in this stuff.  Boswell served 20 years in the military rising from a draftee in 1956 to a Lt. Colonel when he retired in 1976.  Boswell served as an assault helicopter pilot for two tours of duty in Vietnam earning 2 Bronze Stars and 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses.  He ran an ad attacking his 2006 opponent Jeff Lamberti under “national security” for being soft on immigration and soft on crime.

Now who is Ed Fallon?

I attended Marlboro College in Vermont for two years, after which I traveled the world for six years. In the mid 1980s, I attended Drake University, where I received a degree in religious studies.

From 1986 to 1992, I worked in the peace movement.

From 1993 to 2006 I served in the Iowa Legislature, representing residents of downtown Des Moines, the surrounding neighborhoods and the City’s northeast side. My focus as a lawmaker was to champion the needs of constituency groups treated unfairly by government or neglected by the majority of policy makers.

In 1998 I helped found 1000 Friends of Iowa, a land-use and anti-urban sprawl group. I served as executive director for 5 years.

In 2006, I ran for governor in a four-way Democratic primary, receiving 26% of the vote — far more than the 5-10% pundits predicted.

In 2007, with my partner, Lynn Heuss, I co-founded I’M for Iowa: an Independence Movement for Iowa, which addresses many of the same issues raised in my gubernatorial campaign. For the last year, Lynn and I also worked as consultants with John Edwards’ campaign for president.

I am an accomplished musician on many instruments and I speak French and Spanish. I was raised Catholic and consider myself staunchly ecumenical. I lived in the inner-city of Des Moines for 20 years and now reside in the historic Sherman Hill neighborhood. I am an avid gardener and for many years grew much of my family’s food on land reclaimed from a clay parking lot. I also established a community garden in the inner-city and I maintain strong connections to my father’s farm in Ireland, where I organized the planting of 25,000 oak trees in 1999.

My passion for justice inspires me and my life is committed to working for progressive reform, both within and outside the political process.

And why is he running?

While Leonard Boswell is an honorable man who has served with dignity, I feel his positions on many key issues are wrong.

Boswell accepts donations from PACs and lobbyists. Of the $600,167 he raised between February and September 2007, 73% came from PACs. During my 14 years as a state representative and when I ran for governor, I refused donations from PACs and lobbyists and won’t accept them in my congressional campaign either.

In 2003, he voted for the Iraq War and has continued to support additional funding with no timetable to bring the troops home. I opposed Bush’s war from the start and believe we need a more diplomatic approach to foreign policy, not just in Iraq but throughout the Middle East.

In 2005, Boswell voted to provide $14 billion in tax breaks and incentives for oil and gas companies. He also supports greater use of coal. I have been a leader in the fight against government handouts to big business. I support a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and have helped lead efforts in Iowa to fight global warming.

Boswell voted for No Child Left Behind. I have always spoken against this unfunded, ineffective mandate, and believe NCLB should be repealed, or at a minimum severely overhauled.

Boswell supported the Patriot Act, and in August 2007, voted for a bill to increase unwarranted surveillance on the American people. Iowa’s other Democratic Congressmen, Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack, voted against it. I have a long track record of fighting for civil rights and personal liberties.

In November 2007, Boswell joined Congressmen Steve King and Tom Latham – both Republicans – to vote for a NAFTA-like trade agreement with Peru. I am a vocal opponent of NAFTA and other so-called “free” trade agreements and believe in fair trade that protects American jobs, our environment, and workers’ safety.

Boswell is fairly conservative and old, therefore he has had some tight races. But although Fallon is slightly to the left of the district he is young and energetic and so claims that he “couldn’t win” are over the top. Fallon will kick off his official campaign tomorrow and the primary is June 3rd. If Iowa progressives can rally around him and if he gets a extra boost from the national people-powered movement then he has a real shot at winning. Both Donna Edwards and Mark Pera have never been elected to anything but they are both running real credible campaigns and have a great shot at victory. Ed on the other hand already has represented parts of the district and has run a state-wide campaign that won this district. He already has a base of support and is known, however Boswell will have a lot of money from his insider friends and so we will need to fight back. Getting DFA to support him is a great first step.

Vote Ed Fallon for All-Star

NY-26 Democratic candidate Jon Powers had a great week in his race for Republican Rep. Tom Reynolds’ House seat.

It all started with a fundraiser in Buffalo. Rep. Steve Israel from New York’s 2nd District attended the fundraiser to show his strong support for Powers.

Israel touted Jon’s military record, as well as his message of leadership by example. Following Israel, Powers spoke about the concerns of Western New Yorkers. Powers said that WNYers’ first concern is jobs. The second concern is jobs and probably the third is jobs as well. The jobs issue is an important one for people in the 26th district.  

But the week was far from over for Jon. Wednesday night, just hours after Rep. Israel’s support, Jon received the Livingston County Democratic Committee’s endorsement. At their committee meeting, the Livingston County Dems heard from not only Jon, but Alice Kryzan as well. After listening to both candidates message, the Livingston County Dems overwhelmingly endorsed Jon in his run to unseat Reynolds.

It was the third county Democratic endorsement Jon has received. Previously, the Orleans County Dems endorsed Jon and the Genesee County Democratic Committee was the first to endorse Jon. He’s also received endorsements from Sen. Bob Kerrey and Gen. Wesley Clark.

Speaking of Orleans County, Jon came to Orleans County for a house party on Sunday. (Note: I’m from Orleans County.) That was a great event and just from the feeling I got from everyone (about 35-40 people) in the room, he will have a lot of support in the rural areas of this district, including Orleans County.

Then last night, Jon capped off the last week by receiving the Town of Clarence Democratic Committee endorsement. Again, he went head-to-head with Kryzan and Clarence took Jon. Jon is from Clarence, so he had the home-field advantage and a clear message.

Jon is a great all-around candidate. I will write often about the news from his campaign. It should be a great 9 1/2 months.

Links:

Powers For Congress

Contribute to Jon Powers for Congress

Join Club 26

And yet another House Republican decides that life in the minority is a total bummer:

The dean of Louisiana’s congressional delegation, Rep. Richard Baker, has decided to step down from Congress after 22 years to take a lucrative job in the private sector representing investors he has spent a career regulating.

[…]

It is possible that the election to fill Baker’s seat could be held March 8, the same day as the first party primary to fill the vacancy of former Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner, who was inaugurated as governor Monday.

A spokesman for Secretary of State Jay Dardenne said he would recommend to Jindal today that the primary for Baker’s 6th District seat coincide with that for the 1st District. It will be up to Jindal to call the election.

Go Don Cazayoux!