Swing State Project

Ala the BURN BUSH campaign that helped raise $$ for Darcy Burner–

Online bloggers in support of Andrew Rice against Jim Inhofe have started the HUNT TERRORISTS, NOT DOVES campaign.

from actblue:

The country and world have turned against President George Bush’s Iraq occupation, but U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) remains one of the occupation’s most ardent supporters.

Inhofe is even holding his annual Oklahoma Dove Hunt at Quartz Mountain Lodge September 7-8 as the gruesome occupation drags on. He, along with his invited guest, the ultra-conservative John Cornyn (R-Texas), will be hunting dove, the international symbol of peace, as more American soldiers and innocent Iraqis die.

We need to send these two Bush lapdogs and Washington insiders into retirement. State Sen. Andrew Rice, a progressive Democratic from Oklahoma City, is running against Inhofe in the 2008 election. Rice, whose brother, David, died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, believes Inhofe took his “eye off the ball” after the attacks and, instead of going after terrorists, blindly followed Bush into the Iraq debacle.

Inhofe should hunt terrorists, not doves. But while Inhofe is killing doves, you can help send him into retirement. Become a Rice Dove today by contributing to Andrew’s campaign.

give what you can: HUNT TERRORISTS, NOT DOVES

(From the diaries – promoted by James L.)

Doug Tuttle, on the expectations game:

Thompson is expected to do well at everything, everywhere, while simultaneously channeling the spirit of Ronald Reagan and farting candy apples.

According to Cliff, the rumor mill has churned out none other than independent Senator Joe Lieberman as a possible Bush nominee to replace disgraced Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.  However, if you’ve believed all the rumors, Lieberman should have been one or all of the following by now: Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Homeland Security, Ambassador to the United Nations, and George Bush’s running mate in 2004.

But for the sake of exploring every wild-eyed hypothetical, let’s assume that Lieberman answers Bush’s call and gets confirmed by the Senate as the next AG.  At present, Connecticut law states that, in the event of a Senate vacancy, the Governor gets to appoint a replacement.  If Lieberman were to leave, that would put the ball in Republican Gov. Jodi Rell’s court to name his successor.

So, whom might Rell appoint?  The Republican bench isn’t exactly burgeoning with obvious possibilities, seeing as how Rell and her Lieutenant, Michael Fedele, are the state’s only current GOP statewide office holders.  Looking to those with Congressional experience, ex-Rep. Nancy Johnson is 72 years old, and appointing current Rep. Chris Shays would almost certainly cause his House seat to fall to the Democrats–an unattractive option for Rell.  If she doesn’t tap someone from the state legislature, there’s always Rob Simmons, who represented a district with a sharply Democratic PVI of D+7.6 from 2000 until his defeat last November.

Of course, Connecticut Democrats, who hold a veto-proof majority in the state legislature, could make this hypothetical moot by quickly ushering in legislation to strip the power to fill Senate vacancies from the Governor.  In such an event, Democrats are not short of potential recruits to bring a bit more sanity to Connecticut’s Senatorial delegation in a special election.  Which one would you like to see nominated?

hidely-ho there neighboreenos, I’m trying to collect instances of infidelity and super-fidelity (is that a real term?) from both parties.  By infidelity, I mean republican and democratic instances of cheating, prostitution, gay affairs, etc. etc.  for “super-fidelity” I mean instances where the couples stays together despite overwhelming odds, or stays together in the face of tragedy.  These should have been within the last ten years, unless that person is an important figure on the scene now.

for the repubs infidelity there is of course:

“Larry-boy” Craig soliciting gay sex

Diaper man Vitter, prostitution

newt Gingrich leaving his wife when she had cancer

Rudy Giuliani three wives

Fred Thompson trophy wife

Mark Foley well, I don’t need to get into that HERE do I?

While I’m sure there’s super-fidelity with the repubs, I don’t know off hand.

democrats infidelity

John Kerry 1 divorce

Bill Clinton Monica-gate

Russ Feingold 2 divorces (I think, it might be 1)

superfidelity

Clinton’s staying together (though if for love, or political standing we may never know)

John Edwards loving Elizabeth and standing by her through cancer

That’s all I can think of, I’m trying to get a handy chart for when the republicans claim to be the party of family values.  Thank you in advance for contributions

Just how far has John McCain’s stock fallen? According to a recent Rocky Mountain poll, he could face double digit defeat… in 2010. Yeah, even in Arizona, his home state, his popularity is less than 50%. The Rocky Mountain poll has popular Governor Janet Napolitano beating him 47% to 36% head-to-head. Napolitano is popular (59%), and could help downticket Democrats with a strong showing. McCain, on the other hand, is tied to an unpopular war, an unpopular immigration bill, and a really lousy attendance record.

Is it any wonder that McCain only leads by 9% in his home state’s GOP presidential primary? I’m glad he’s still in the race, because every dollar he spends is GOP donor money gone splendidly to waste.

(h/t Pollster.com – about 6 days old but I was on vacation and no one else diaried about it)

UPDATE: I guess that’s why McCain’s considering applying for public financing. The 100 million dollars he had planned to raise didn’t come through, so now he’ll probably take 6 million in federal funds just so he retire his debt. Anyone else think he’ll save some of the money he raises from here on out to protect his Senate seat in 2010?

[Napolitano] was ranked as doing an excellent or good job by 59 percent of those asked, and only nine percent gave her a poor or very poor rating.

The poll found that 76 percent of Democrats think she’s doing an excellent or good job, while 51 percent of independents and 41 percent of Republicans give her that ranking.

In a hypothetical head-to-head race for McCain’s Senate seat, 47 percent of those polled would vote for Napolitano, 36 percent for the sitting Republican senator, and 17 percent were undecided.

The poll, conducted by the Behavior Research Center of Arizona, was conducted between July 27 and Aug. 4 and has a margin of error of 3.9 percent.

Credit: AP, Aug. 21, 2007

Walberg Watch, which covers Michigan’s 7th Congressional District and the far-right Congressman Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) is excited to announce the first of (hopefully) many candidate interviews. Who’s first? Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek).

Some background from his website:

Mark Schauer, a resident of Battle Creek, currently serves as the Senate Democratic Leader. He also serves as the Democratic Vice Chair for the Senate Government Operations and Reform Committee and as a member of the Campaigns and Election Oversight Committee. Before being elected to the State Senate, he served three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Prior to serving in the State House, he was a Battle Creek City Commissioner. Sen. Schauer also previously served as the Coordinator for the Calhoun County Human Services Coordinating Council; Executive Director of the Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan; and as Urban Planner for the Calhoun County Planning Department.

As a state legislator for nearly 10 years, Mark has been a consistent advocate for quality and safe schools, early childhood development and investing in prevention, job training and economic development, and access to health care. He has also worked hard to provide neighborhood and community safety through community-oriented policing, to protect consumers and small businesses, and to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.

His community involvement includes Food Bank of South Central Michigan; Habitat for Humanity; Urban League of Battle Creek; Chambers of Commerce; and Lifespan and Kids ‘n’ Stuff board of directors.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Albion College, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Western Michigan University and a Masters Degree in Political Science from Michigan State University where he is also all-but-dissertation in Political Science & Urban Studies. He is married to Christine and has three stepchildren.

If you have any questions for Senator Schauer about his career, his candidacy, or Congressman Tim Walberg, leave them in the comments. Just remember, I won’t be asking him anything like “When did you stop beating your wife?” If you really want your question to be answered, make sure it’s a serious, fair question.

All four announced Democratic candidates– Jim Berryman, David Nacht, Sharon Renier, and Mark Schauer– have been approached or have contacted Walberg Watch about doing interviews. Each is at a different stage of preparation, but I look forward to speaking with all of the candidates.

While rumors have been around for awhile, it looks like Sen. Larry Craig has been busted:

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.

Craig’s arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

A spokesman for Craig described the incident as a “he said/he said misunderstanding,” and said the office would release a fuller statement later Monday afternoon.

After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report. At one point during the interview, Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, “What do you think about that?” the report states.

Craig is up for re-election in 2008 and something tells me this isn't gonna play well back home in Idaho.  Whether Craig chooses to resign or stick it out, Democrat Larry LaRocco should be able to make a race of it.

Update: In the event that Craig retires early, a quick check of Idaho statutes shows that the replacement process is fairly standard. Republican governor “Butch” Otter has the full authority to appoint someone who would serve through November 2008. 

Two weeks ago, Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce (OH-15) announced her plans not to run for re-election. Considering that Pryce defeated Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy by a razor-thin margin in 2006 in a district with a PVI of R+1.1, this seat was already going to be competitive in 2008. But as an open-seat, it quickly looked like one of the best prospects for a Dem pickup. 

And now things just keep getting better for our side as it appears that the NRCC is having trouble fielding a candidate in the race:

Northeast Ohio native and former Attorney General Jim Petro has ruled out a run for Congress, setting his sights instead on Ohio's next Supreme Court chief justice.  Party leaders, including House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio, had urged Petro, a moderate Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006, to run next year for a seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce of suburban Columbus.

And shortly afterwards: 

Former Mayor Greg Lashutka said today he will not seek the GOP nomination in 2008 for the 15th Congressional District seat being vacated at the end of next year by retiring Rep. Deborah Pryce, an Upper Arlington Republican.  Lashutka ruled out a run about an hour after former Attorney General Jim Petro said he will not seek the congressional seat, leaving local GOP officials scrambling for a candidate against Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, the favoried Democrat who narrowly lost to Pryce in 2006.

This comes on the heels of two other recruitment failures for the NRCC as State Sen. Steve Stivers and State Rep. Jim Hughes both turned down a race for the seat.

(h/t Buckeye State Blog)

Republicans in Louisiana are passing the bottle around tonight–they just snagged a fresh, high profile turncoat from the Democratic ranks.  John Kennedy, the State Treasurer of Louisiana since his election in 1999, has bolted to the GOP after heavy recruitment by the likes of Karl Rove and David Vitter:

State Treasurer John Kennedy has switched political parties and will seek re-election to a third term this fall as a Republican, he announced Monday.

Kennedy has been publicly mulling the switch for months, and he has clashed repeatedly with Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate over spending and other issues.

In an email message to supporters, Kennedy cited “certain fixed, bedrock principles” that he believes are more in line with the Republican Party than the Democrats, and said GOP officials have been more responsive to his proposals in recent years.

What are those “bedrock principles”?  Kos has the straight dirt from Kennedy’s press release:

I also believe in the power of ideas. Every advancement in art, science, technology, business, cooking and medicine has occurred only after someone challenged the rules and tried another way. My career in public service demonstrates my belief in the power of looking for a better way. For the past several years, it has increasingly been the case that those public servants who have embraced my ideas and my philosophy of trying new approaches are primarily Republicans. I am grateful for their support and their willingness to try something different. (Emphasis added)

Cooking?!  I had no idea that conservative Republicans were responsible for so many culinary breakthroughs.  I hope Kennedy succeeds in his quest to bring Cajun food to a whole new level.

Kennedy, as you may recall, ran as a Democrat in the 2004 Senate race to succeed retiring Sen. John Breaux, scoring 15% of the vote.  Party loyalty is not exactly a strong suit in a state that produced notable party-switchers such as Rodney Alexander, Billy Tauzin, Walter Boasso, and Ray Nagin, and with the state’s trending-red demographic catastrophe, I suspect that charges of opportunism will be fairly muted.  By crossing the aisle now, Kennedy is setting himself up to run against Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu next year, to the immense delight of Rove and Vitter.  Landrieu has decent approvals, but this will be the GOP’s #1 target in 2008.  Expect a bloodbath.