Month: May 2008

It has been a rocky road in Kentucky’s Democratic Senate Primary. First, we kept losing candidates as the establishment lined it up for Bruce Lunsford.  I actually lost interest in the race knowing I would vote my straight ticket in the fall. Now it seems we will be able to mount a successful Progressive challenge after all. That is because Greg Fischer has stepped to the plate and is charging to the finish. This race is heating up and has begun to tighten.  

In exchanges yesterday and today, these campaigns kept slugging it out. First, Bruce Lunsford released this:

LOUISVILLE – In a stunning display of hypocrisy, U.S. Senate candidate Greg Fischer touted his record as “an open book,” yet he failed to file his Personal Financial Disclosure (PFD) report with the Senate Ethics Committee until 11 days after the deadline.

Fischer has repeatedly attacked fellow Democrat Bruce Lunsford for his management of Vencor and spread false information about Lunsford’s business record. Yet, when Fischer finally filed his PFD, it revealed he has investments in five different publicly traded funds which invest in either Ventas or Kindred – both corporate descendants of Vencor.

“Greg Fischer has gone against the will of Kentucky’s voters and Democratic leaders by taking a page out of Mitch McConnell’s playbook, slinging mud at his fellow Democrat Bruce Lunsford rather than focusing on what he would do as Senator to improve the lives of Kentucky families,” Lunsford spokesperson Allison Haley said. “The fact that all the while, Fischer has investments in the very companies he claims Bruce ran into the ground makes Fischer’s actions the ultimate hypocrisy.”

Senate ethics rules require all candidates in the Kentucky Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate to submit their PFD form to the Senate Ethic Committee 30 days before the election. Greg Fischer didn’t even sign his form until more than a week after the deadline and then took an additional three days to send it in.

Examination of Fischer’s PFD shows his investment portfolio includes public funds that have a combined total investment of over $26 million in Ventas and Kindred.

“If I were Greg Fischer, I wouldn’t want the public to know I had been investing in the same companies I was openly criticizing either. Maybe that’s why he waited so long to file his PFD.,” Haley said. “What else is he hiding?”

http://www.bruce2008.com/relea…

The Fischer campaign was quick to respond:

LOUISVILLE, May 6, 2008 – Kim Geveden, Political Director for Greg Fischer’s U.S. Senate campaign blasted Lunsford’s Swift-Boat-Style attack yesterday saying.  “Bruce Lunsford’s latest negative attack against Greg Fischer is as false as it its ridiculous and desperate.  It looks like it could have been authored by Mitch McConnell.

“You know Lunsford is desperate when he reverts to his true Republican roots and takes a page from his 2003 playbook in which he spent $8 million falsely attacking Ben Chandler, only to quit, desert our Democratic Party, stand with Mitch McConnell and publicly endorse Ernie Fletcher,” Geveden said.

“Confronted with independent poll results showing Fischer gaining rapidly, Bruce Lunsford has abandoned his much touted “Integrity Pledge” and is once again falsely attacking an honorable Democrat in Greg Fischer, while desperately trying to stop the political hemorrhaging that threatens his ego and quest for the Democratic nomination.”

The campaign added this “fact sheet” to counter Lunsford’s claims:

Lunsford’s False Claim:

“Fischer has investments in the very companies (Ventas and Kindred Healthcare) he claims Bruce ran into the ground.”

Fischer Fact:

Fischer has no direct or indirect investment in Vencor, the company that Bruce Lunsford ran into the ground and bankrupted.  Lunsford’s mismanagement of Vencor in the period leading up to its bankruptcy is well-documented and includes charges of patient abuse and falsely billing the federal government.

Fischer Fact:

Ventas and Kindred have absolutely nothing to do with Bruce Lunsford’s mismanagement of Vencor. Bruce Lunsford has absolutely no managing control over either Ventas or Kindred.  Lunsford’s is attempting to use Kindred and Ventas as a smoke-screen to hide his appalling behavior as CEO of Vencor.

Fischer Fact:

Fischer holds no direct investment in Ventas or Kindred – The truth is, Fischer owns shares in two mutual investment funds – iShares Russell 1000 Growth Fund and iShares Russell 2000 Value Fund.  Ventas and Kindred make up an extremely small fraction of the holdings of the two funds.

Fischer Fact:

Fischer owns 5,500 shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth Fund. At market close yesterday, the Ventas portion of Fischer’s investment in the fund was valued at $289.18.

Fischer Fact:

Fischer owns 1,300 shares of iShares Russell 2000 Value Fund. At market close yesterday, the Kindred portion of Fischer’s investment in the fund was valued at $113.47

http://www.gregfischer.com/ind…

All this comes at the same time a new SurveyUsa poll is released which shows Fischer creep steadily up the polls as time runs quickly away:

Two Weeks Out, Lunsford Still Well in Front in KY Dem Senate Primary: In a Democratic Primary for United States Senator from Kentucky today, 05/06/08, 2 weeks until the primary, Bruce Lunsford defeats Greg Fischer, 41% to 22%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WHAS-TV Louisville and WCPO-TV Cincinnati. Five other candidates are in single digits. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released one week ago, Fischer is up 4, Lunsford is down 2. Among men, three weeks ago, Lunsford led by 40 points; one week ago, by 21; today, by 20. Among women, Lunsford led by 35, by 27, and now by 19. Among voters 50+, Lunsford led by 44, by 21, and now by 14. The winner of the 05/20/08 closed Democratic Primary advances to face incumbent Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate, who is running for his 5th term.

http://www.surveyusa.com/clien…

The Political Director of Fischer’s campaign had this to say about the new numbers, showing a steady rise for Fischer:

The polling trends clearly shows that Bruce Lunsford is a fatally flawed candidate,” said Kim Geveden, political director for the Fischer campaign.  Matt Stoller, a nationally prominent political commentator who regularly appears on CNN and other national news broadcasts, has described Lunsford as, “…definitely the worst Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in the country.”

She then went on to explain this sentiment which is shared by many Kentuckians including myself:

“Kentucky Democrats are starting to focus on this race.  They’re learning more about Greg Fischer.  And they’re remembering Lunsford’s defection to the Republican party in 2003 and his support of Republican Ernie Fletcher for governor.” said Geveden.  “The conclusion they’re coming to is the obvious one:  Greg Fischer is the best Democratic candidate in this race and he’ll give Mitch McConnell more than he’s bargained for in the general election this fall.”

http://www.gregfischer.com/ind…

Now, Ms. Geveden summed up nicely how I feel about Bruce Lunsford and Greg Fischer. I don’t come upon this opinion lightly. Here are some of Lunsford’s political contributions:

http://www.bluegrassroots.org/…

This video sums it up nicely:

Now, Fischer’s rise in this race has given me hope that we can actually run a candidate I can be proud of, a candidate that hasn’t been fighting against me through all these long years we have been losing here. A candidate that is Progressive, and won’t turn on us if he gets mad.

Greg Fischer believes in our kind of Change:

He tells a truth Kentuckians can believe in:

Please help us avoid risking our support to elect another DINO into the United States Senate. Greg Fischer can still win this race!! All the momentum is his, and he still has time. Two weeks can be an eternity in politics!! Please help us and support Greg here:

http://www.actblue.com/page/wk…

Be sure to visit his site, and spread the word about a great Senator-to-be in Kentucky!!:

http://www.gregfischer.com/

The NRCC posted another $44K in expenditures tonight on the race to replace Roger Wicker in Mississippi.  The filing includes: $27,000 on direct mail, $4400 on yet another poll, $12,000 on media production, and under $1000 on phone banks. The new expenditures bring the NRCC’s total tab in this R+10 district to $1,031,442.

The DCCC posted $34,000 of their own expenditures here, including $17,000 on direct mail, $12,000 on media production, and $5500 on field organizing and phonebanking.  The DCCC has now spent $1,423,302 on this race.

If you’d like to help Democrat Travis Childers hustle out the vote here next week, you know what to do.

Special election: 5/13.

R.A. Dillon, a journalist who writes for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, breaks the news on his blog:

Jake Metcalfe is reportedly going to announce tonight tomorrow that he’s dropping out of the race for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Metcalfe has been under pressure to drop out since his political adviser was linked to websites attacking fellow Democratic candidate Ethan Berkowitz. The adviser, Bill Scannell, resigned last week but never admitted guilt and the websites have remained online.

The controversy over the websites damaged Metcalfe’s reputation, but the real campaign killer was his inability to raise the kind of money necessary to be considered a serious contender. Metcalfe raised less than $50,000 in the first quarter.

Update: KTUU confirms it.  An unfortunate end to a campaign that didn’t have to go down the kind of road that it apparently chose to.  This race now moves to a two-way primary between ’06 candidate Diane Benson and former state House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz.

Vito Fossella may have been able to survive his recent DWI arrest, but can he survive the upcoming sex scandal?

On the night of Fossella’s arrest, the congressman called on a “very good friend“, a former intelligence officer at the Pentagon, to pick him up from jail:

Fossella, according to a police report, said he was rushing to see his “sick daughter” and take her to the hospital. But, the Republican lawmaker, allegedly blew a 0.17 into the officer’s Breathalyzer – twice the legal limit – and was hauled off to jail.

A few hours later, Fossella called Fay to sign him out of jail.

When asked whether Fay’s 3-year-old was the same girl Fossella had to take to the hospital, his spokeswoman declined to comment.

“That is a demeaning and highly inappropriate question that does not deserve an answer,” said Susan Del Percio, a high-priced public-relations crisis consultant.

Roll Call has more:

But despite the display of normalcy in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, rumors were swirling behind the scenes that the 43-year-old Congressman might not be able to survive the spate of embarrassing headlines that have blared from New York newspapers since his arrest. […]

Privately, however, political leaders and operatives on both sides of the aisle were beginning to express doubt that Fossella can serve out the remainder of his term – let alone remain politically viable in November.

“I think the realization is beginning to sink in that he can’t last,” said one Washington, D.C., Republican. […]

[A] New York-based GOP consultant who did not want to be named said some Republican insiders have been advised not to defend Fossella too aggressively, for fear that it could hurt the party’s efforts to hold his seat if he chooses to resign or retire.

Already names are floating of possible Republican contenders for Fossella’s seat, such as state Sen. Andrew Lanza and City Councilmen James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio. All are relatively young and quite popular.

Both parties are nervously considering the possibility that a quick Fossella resignation will force a special election to replace him.

If Fossella should resign before July 1st, Gov. Paterson has the option of calling a special election, or he could leave the seat vacant until the next Congress.  But if Fossella resigns, and if Paterson calls a special election here, there would be no primary.  In what would amount to one of the biggest backroom deals in recent political memory in NYC, party leaders would designate the nominees.  And that could spell trouble for current candidates Domenic Recchia and Stephen Harrison:

Although Recchia had more cash on hand than Fossella as of March 31 – $325,000 to $248,000 – his greatest handicap may be the fact he comes from Brooklyn, while most of the Congressional district’s voters are in Staten Island. If there is a special election, it is possible that party leaders from that borough may try to tap one of their own as the nominee – though the top three Democratic elected officials on Staten Island, state Sen. Diane Savino, state Assemblyman Michael Cusick and City Councilman Michael McMahon, have all declined to run against Fossella in the past.

A Fossella resignation would be a once in a lifetime opportunity in this D+0.8 seat.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the whispers continue to intensify over the weeks ahead.

NC-Sen (D):

96 of 100 Counties Reporting

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Kay Hagan	803,121	60.32
Jim Neal	240,705	18.08

NC-Gov (D):

96 of 100 Counties Reporting

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Beverly Perdue	835,639	55.92
Richard Moore	594,725	39.90

NC-Gov (R):

96 of 100 Counties Reporting

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Fred Smith	185,817	36.95
Pat McCrory	232,173	46.17

NC-03 (R):

17 of 17 Counties Reporting

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Walter Jones	22,703	59.52
Joe McLaughlin	15,441	40.48

NC-10 (R):

9 of 10 Counties Reporting

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Patrick McHenry	33,020	66.51
Lance Sigmon	16,624	33.49

RESULTS: NC SBE

9:25PM: McCrory is pulling away from Smith for the Gov nod — 47 to 37.

9:22PM: Neal sure got whipped tonight.

8:00PM Eastern: Deliciously mediocre early numbers for McHenry. I don’t want to speak too soon, but this race could be worth watching in the fall — the Democratic candidate, veteran and hero Daniel Johnson, has raised a strong amount of cash so far.

A while back I started my Americans for Ryan ActBlue page to try and raise $1500 for Heather Ryan in Kentucky’s First Congressional District by the time of the primary she is unopposed in on May 20. Well, the great news is fully two weeks before that date, Americans for Ryan crossed the $1500 mark today!!

I can only say thanks to everyone who made this possible. Heather has been staying busy meeting voters, and every penney of this money has been invaluable and put to work immediately!!

I am very proud of the fact that many Kentuckians joined in, and contributed too!! In fact the last contributor that put us over the top was a prominent Kentucky Democrat!! Although I won’t name names, I am so proud to have this person’s support. Lets me know we are doing something right!!

You can bet, grassroots Democrats in this district are going to be fighting hard to expand our Congressional majorities. We have a great candidate, a winning message, and a large percentage of registered Democrats in our district. With support from Democrats all over the country, we will put this race in play!!

Now, just because we passed our goal, doesn’t mean the May 20 fundraiser is over. We will still be holding our contest to see who wins the pinback buttons from JFK’s 1960 election seen here:

Anyone who contributed on or before May 20 is automatically entered in a drawing for this small piece of history.

Due to the hard work of Heather Ryan and the generosity of our fellow Democrats, we are going to win this race!! Keep the momentum going here:

http://www.actblue.com/page/am…

Thanks so much for making this a success!!

Best wishes fellow Democrats!!

 

IN-Gov (D):

5214 of 5230 Precincts Reporting

Candidate	Percent
Jim Schellinger	49.8
Jill Long Thompson	50.2

IN-07 (D):

442 of 445 Precincts Reporting

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Andre Carson	62,815
Woody Myers	32,463
David Orentlicher	28,328
Carolene Mays	10,419

RESULTS: Indianapolis Star | Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette

1:18PM: With only 26 precincts to go, JLT has pulled ahead by 50.2-48.8… a stunning evening.

12:42PM: And we’re tied at 50-50…

12:25PM: Holy smokes — I can’t believe I overlooked this. In Indiana’s 5th District, incumbent GOPer Dan Burton nearly LOST to challenger John McGoff. Burton won 45,378 votes to McGoff’s 39,305. 2729 votes went to another challenger, Clayton Alfred.

11:54PM: JLT is winning the vote in Lake by a 54-46 margin with 158 of 599 precincts reporting.

11:27PM: As we wait for Lake County to count their votes, here’s a stunning number: In 2004, 969,000 people in Indiana voted for John Kerry. Tonight, 1,099,780 Indianans voted for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary.

10:10PM: The Schellinger-JLT race really hinges on the city of Gary and Lake County. The candidate who wins there will win this race. But which one will do so?

9:04PM: Schellinger just pulled into the lead!

8:59PM: Schellinger has closed the gap to 49.3-50.7 with about 60% of precincts reporting.

8:47PM: Carson just put his race away.

8:13PM: Maybe I spoke too soon. With less than 40% of precincts reporting, Schellinger has closed the gap to 48.3-51.7.

7:46PM: Damn, Carson is in a tight three-way race with Orentlicher and and Myers. This one should be close.

7:41PM: JLT is pulling roughly even with Schellinger in Marion County (Indianapolis) so far. I’m not sure that Schellinger has enough mojo in southern Indiana to do this thing tonight.

6:41PM Eastern: A close race in IN-Gov so far, 50.5-49.5 for JLT. Schellinger is doing well in south Indiana so far, while JLT has the lead in the northern counties.

Polls close in Indiana at 6pm Eastern and in North Carolina at 7:30pm Eastern (although some metropolitan areas may keep their polls open until 8:30), so there’s still plenty of time to post your predictions for tonight’s contests.

We ran through the races worth watching in these two states last week, but the contests that we’ll be following are:

IN-Gov (D): Jill Long Thompson v. Jim Schellinger

IN-07 (D): Andre Carson v. Woody Myers (and others)

NC-Sen (D): Kay Hagan v. Jim Neal

NC-Gov (D & R): Beverly Perdue v. Richard Moore; Fred Smith v. Pat McCrory (and others)

NC-03 (R): Walter Jones v. Joe McLaughlin

NC-10 (R): Patrick McHenry v. Lance Sigmon

Feel free to post your predictions for these races in the comments.  Oh, and if you insist, you can give your presidential guesses as well.  Have at it.