A Republican Wins WA-8! [Patrick Casey]
Associated Press is announcing that incumbent Republican Dave Reichert has beaten Democrat Darcy Burner in the race for House-8 in Washington State.
These days I get excited about small things.... 11/14 02:58 PM Fairness, Pelosi Style [ John J. Pitney Jr.]
The Washington Post quotes Nancy Pelosi on Republicans and procedural fairness in the House: "They just shut the doors to debate on the floor, to amendments coming, to even how special orders [speeches] were conducted. Everything they were effective in using to gain the majority they shut down." "We're going to do the opposite," she pledged.
A few paragraphs later, however, the pledge takes a Clintonesque turn: In the 1990s, Republicans shifted the number of committee seats allotted to the majority and minority parties to virtually ensure that no cross-party collaboration would be needed to draft and pass legislation. When asked whether she may change those ratios as a goodwill gesture, Pelosi last week snapped, "I don't see a scenario where there is going to be much appetite for that." 11/12 02:34 PM
Rove's wrap up [ Greg Pollowitz]
Via Mike Allen at Time Mag. An excerpt:
"The profile of corruption in the exit polls was bigger than I'd expected," Rove tells TIME. "Abramoff, lobbying, Foley and Haggard [the disgraced evangelical leader] added to the general distaste that people have for all things Washington, and it just reached critical mass."
11/11 09:16 AM Lieberman is a Democrat again [ Greg Pollowitz]
AP: So will he count as a Democrat or an independent who caucuses with the majority Democrats? In an e-mail message late Thursday, Lieberman spokesman Dan Gerstein said the senator will begin his new term as a Democrat.
11/10 11:48 AM Help Wanted [ Greg Pollowitz]
Wanted: Democratic Senior Staffers Job: Lobbyist Pay: $600,000/year 11/09 09:27 PM Hillary's Coattails [ Greg Pollowitz]
MyDD.com is not impressed with Hillary's ability to help down ballot candidates: In an incredible wave year, in one of the blueish states in the country, we picked up just three House seats and one state Senate seat. There were three, maybe even four, more seats we could have taken. And we didn't come close to taking the state Senate, which we need to do to be in a position for redistricting in 2010. I'm no Evan Bayh fan, but at least in Indiana we got three seats out of three seats we could have gotten. So be aware. At the top of the ticket, Hillary Clinton spent more money on her reelection campaign than any Senate campaign in the country, and had no opponent. And at the end of the day, despite all the money raised and all the campaigns she did events for, her name on the ticket in New York state helped no one but herself. Hillary Clinton may win the nomination, and she may be able to win the White House. Or she may decide not to run for President, and become a wonky technocratic Senator. But regardless of what happens, don't expect her to bring anyone into office with her. That's not how the Clinton's work.
11/09 09:09 PM PA-06: 3001 Votes [Alex Charyna]
Incumbent Republican Jim Gerlach's 3001 vote margin of victory might have come at the hands of MoveOn.org, according to Bill Levinson, Gerlach's campaign was the only one that had used the MoveOn.org Action-Forum's anti-semitic postings as part of their advertisements. Bill writes... This race is significant because: (1) Jim Gerlach (R) was projected to lose to Lois Murphy ( MoveOn.org Democrat) (2) The Gerlach campaign was, as far as we know, the only one to have followed our advice to use MoveOn.org's record of welcoming hate speech at its Action Forum to damage his MoveOn-backed opponent. The Gerlach campaign used the following radio ad, which in turn relied on information that we provided. The very same Lois Murphy who has accepted a quarter of a million dollars in support tied to the radical extremist group, MoveOn.org, who has been called anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic. Jewish leaders called an ad posted by MoveOn, featuring Hitler, as vile and shameful. Both Jewish leaders and the Catholic League have demanded candidates return money tied to MoveOn, and Lois Murphy hasn't returned one cent. Zip. None. Pretty telling about Lois Murphy, isn't it?
11/09 02:29 PM Steele Rumors [ Greg Pollowitz]
Michael Steele to head the RNC? From today's Washington Post: Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R), who came up just short yesterday in his Senate race against Rep. Ben Cardin (D), is mulling a bid for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, according to an informed GOP source. Steele would not challenge current RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, but chatter among Republican insiders is that Mehlman has made clear for months that he might not return to his current post. "Chairman Mehlman will be making an announcement regarding his future at the RNC in the coming weeks," said RNC communication director Brian Jones. Mehlman has made outreach to the African American community a priority during his time as head of the party, and Steele would be seen as a logical successor to that effort.
11/09 02:26 PM Rangel evicts Cheney [ Greg Pollowitz]
NY Post: November 9, 2006 — Rep. Charles Rangel, the incoming chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, revealed yesterday that he's got his eye on Capitol Hill office space now held by the man he recently called a "son of a bitch" - Vice President Dick Cheney. "Mr. Cheney enjoys an office on the second floor of the House of Representatives that historically has been designated for the Ways and Means Committee chairman," explained Rangel, who vaulted to the top slot of the tax-writing panel - one of the most powerful in Congress - when Democrats rolled over the GOP to take control of the House. "I talked to [future House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi about it this morning," a giddy Rangel crowed during a news conference at his Harlem office. "I'm trying to find some way to be gentle as I restore the dignity of that office," chuckled Rangel. "You gotta go, you gotta go."
11/09 01:01 PM The night before morning in America [ Greg Pollowitz]
I thought I'd post some excerpts from a NY Times article summarizing the 1982 election. Just remember, what happened yesterday need not be permanent nor long lasting. Democrats scored major victories in House races yesterday and seriously damaged President Reagan's ability to push his legislative program through Congress. Late returns indicated that the Democrats might pick up as many as 30 seats, enough to retake effective control of the House from the coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats that gave Mr. Reagan so many victories in his two years in office.
and... In an interview last night, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas said that the Republicans ''were really taking a bath'' in the House races. Representative Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., the Speaker of the House, called the results ''a disastrous defeat for the President'' and predicted that many conservative Democrats who sided with Mr. Reagan in the last Congress would now drift back to the party leadership.
and... ''Some of them,'' he said, ''received a message from home that they shouldn't be so strident in supporting the President.'' Mr. O'Neill suggested that the lame-duck session of Congress that convenes Nov. 29 should immediately take up a $1 billion public works bill to repair the nation's bridges and put thousands of jobless workers on the public payroll. But he insisted that the issue of Social Security should be put over until the new Congress, with its strengthened Democratic membership, opens in January.
and finally... Democratic challengers were also running well in many Southern states, where Republicans have made major gains in recent years and had talked confidently of permanently altering the region's traditional Democratic orientation.
11/09 10:17 AM A Modest Proposal [ John J. Pitney Jr.]
So unless there is a last-minute miracle in Virginia, Robert Byrd will again be president pro tem of the U.S. Senate. I know it's un-clubby and all that, but it would be fun if a Republican senator proposed a "sense of the Senate" resolution that no former member of the Ku Klux Klan should be in the line of succession to the presidency. Let's see Democrats vote against that. Just a thought. 11/09 09:55 AM The Post Election Canonization of Linc Chafee [ Patrick Casey]
Glad to see that the Republican Party spent its money wisely in Rhode Island. The 53%-47% loss suffered by Senator Lincoln Chafee yesterday was well deserved by a party that had forsaken ideas and good government for a quest for raw power. There was not a single issue discussed seriously in this year’s Chafee-Whitehouse match-up other than who hated Bush and his policies more. In the end, Rhode Islanders preferred a real registered Democrat over one who just pretended to be one. By putting forth a candidate like Steve Laffey, Republicans could have guaranteed a race in Rhode Island where issues like the economy could have been discussed. The fact that we currently have a great economy, and the way we got to it, was lost to Rhode Islanders this election cycle. The fact that our goal in Iraq and the Middle East is noble, and the fact that in wartime sometimes mistakes are made and things take longer than we would like, was lost in the battle between who was more anti-war and anti-Bush – Chafee or Whitehouse. Talking about these things in the Senate race would have given us the opportunity for those ideas to have trickled down to other candidates – and blunted the effect of the “I hate Bush – No, I hate him more” mantra from both parties a little bit. The pseudo-Republican/No Ideas Party that we have here in Rhode Island was destroyed last night, hopefully. The Democrats won every statewide seat except for one – the Governorship. And that was close – Governor Carcieri beat Charlie Fogerty by only 8000 votes, 51%-49% - stunning, considering Don Carcieri is a pretty popular and well-liked figure in Rhode Island. The General Assembly remained, as always, monolithically Democrat. Rhode Islanders had no real choices this election cycle. It was, from the Senate down to the individual State Representative seats, a series of races between Democrats and Republicans whose party platform is to pretend to be nicer than the real Democrats. Disgraceful. But not as disgraceful than this morning’s love letter to Chafee by ‘reporter’ John E. Mulligan, A citizen-senator to the end, where the sycophantic author actually compared Chafee to the Founding Fathers approvingly. At least in the national Republican Party you have a considerable base of officeholders and ideas that you can build on. In Rhode Island we have to start from scratch. 11/08 04:55 PM Recount! [ Greg Pollowitz]
A very simple message on George Allen's blog this morning: Recount! The election continues...
11/08 09:46 AM Webb declares victory [ Greg Pollowitz]
AP: Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record)'s political career hung by a thread on Tuesday, as Democrat Jim Webb claimed victory — though fewer than 8,000 votes separated the two, and a recount was virtually certain. "The votes are in and we won," Webb said, though there were still votes to count. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Webb had 1,170,564 votes, or 49.6 percent, to Allen's 1,162,717, or 49.3 percent. A final count, including all absentee ballots, was expected later Wednesday. There are no automatic recounts in Virginia, but state law allows a candidate who finishes a half-percentage point or less behind to request a recount paid for by state and local governments. With a margin greater than that but less than 1 percentage point, the trailing candidate can still seek a recount but has to pay the costs if the results are unchanged. Either way, a recount could not begin until after the State Board of Elections certifies the results Nov. 27; the losing candidate has 10 after that to request a recount.
11/08 09:26 AM Madame Speaker... [ Greg Pollowitz]
...has some work to do. From Rasmussen:Nancy Pelosi (D) is viewed favorably by 24% and unfavorably by 44%. Those figures include 8% with a very favorable opinion of the Democratic leader and 26% with a very unfavorable view.
11/08 02:16 AM Dem Majority Leader [ Greg Pollowitz] 11/08 01:34 AM Ronald Reagan irony [ Greg Pollowitz]
On the same day that the Ronald Reagan era comes to an end, Daniel Ortega is elected in Nicaragua. 11/08 01:27 AM GOP GOTV effort [ Greg Pollowitz]
What seems like days ago, we were talking about the robocall issue and the effect it would have on the election. Here's a question: When Republicans told us of the millions of base voters that had been contacted, how many of those reported numbers were through these robocalls? If so, changes are needed...fast. 11/08 01:21 AM Montana voting problems [ Greg Pollowitz]
Fox News Radio is reporting that there are problems in Montana and ballots will need to be counted by hand in some areas. No certification expected until the morning, at the earliest. 11/08 12:59 AM Maryland's Absentee Ballots [Stephen Spruiell]
Maryland still has 200,000 absentee ballots that haven't been counted. Two sources close to the Steele campaign say they think he can win those by 50,000. So as the remaining precincts report, that's the number to watch. If the margin grows wider than that, it's likely - although not certain - that Steele will concede.
UPDATE: Steele for Maryland finance chairman Alan Fabian just told the crowd at Steele HQ that the race would not be decided tonight, and that everyone should go home for now. Overheard: See you at the next victory party.
11/08 12:50 AM White House to do list [ Greg Pollowitz]
1. FIND veto stamp 2. BUY ink for veto stamp 3. ASK Alberto how Executive Privilege works again 11/08 12:34 AM Steele way behind now [ Greg Pollowitz]
That enthusiasm didn't last long. Steele's now down by 6%. 11/07 11:58 PM Steele news [ Greg Pollowitz]
Because my cable box just went out, I'm listening to a live feed of Fox News Radio, which just said the Wa. Post has retracted it's call in the Maryland Senate race. 11/07 11:35 PM Steele in the lead [ Greg Pollowitz]
Steele is now leading Ben Cardin by a few hundred votes with 34% reporting. 11/07 10:56 PM Florida 2000 [ Greg Pollowitz]
Michael Barone thinks we're heading for a recount in Virginia and compared Allen/Webb to Bush/Gore in Florida. 11/07 10:53 PM Santorum to the UN [ Greg Pollowitz]
I wonder what Rick Santorum thinks about spending a little more time in NYC. Say on the East River. Time for another recess appointment, Mr. President! 11/07 10:26 PM Wasted money [ Greg Pollowitz]
I'm watching Fox coveage right now and AARP is running it's campaign ad encouraging voters to check out www.dontvote.com to find out where the politicians stand on Social Security. Hopefully, AARP is in favor of more fiscally responsible measures from government than what it practices in the real world. And don't bother clicking on the link...once you get into the site, none of the links to the actual candidates work. 11/07 10:01 PM Hillary's spin [ Greg Pollowitz]
The House isn't looking good and we haven't even gotten to NY's House races yet. There's been some talk on the news shows tonight that Hillary's lavish spending to win by a gigantic margin could possibly help swing NY's districts to the Democrats. If so, I'm sure we'll be hearing how Hillary won the House. 11/07 09:43 PM IN-02 and KY-03 [ Greg Pollowitz]
Are now blue seats. 11/07 09:32 PM RI Called for Whitehouse [ Carroll Andrew Morse]
Providence's NBC affiliate has called the RI Senate Race for Sheldon
Whitehouse, based on exit-polling data. 11/07 09:26 PM Lieberman wins [ Greg Pollowitz]
Fox just called CT for Lieberman. Next up, Burns over Tester. 11/07 09:20 PM I know it's early... [ Greg Pollowitz]
...but, the Georgia races in the 8th and 12th are looking good, too. 11/07 09:09 PM Bright spots in Fla. [ Greg Pollowitz]
Mark Foley is leading, as is Vern Buchanan in Katherine Harris' seat in the FL-13th. 11/07 08:54 PM Talking to Voters in PG County [Stephen Spruiell]
I spent the day talking to dozens of voters in the mostly black, upper and middle-class suburbs of Prince George's County. While this wasn't a survey with any kind of statistical validity, I got some general impressions of how people voted in PG County and why.
By my rough tally, which includes voters I talked to at three precincts including the county's largest, Cardin supporters outnumbered Steele folks and undecideds by about 3 to 2. And you read "undecideds" right: Some people in line to vote told me they still hadn't made up their minds and probably wouldn't until they saw the ballot. (Some at Evangel Cathedral, where waits were up to 3 hours today, joked that they had changed their minds several times since they got there.)
My guess is that most of those undecideds ended up voting for Steele, but even if they did, Steele probably fell short in this crucial county. According to a source close to his campaign, turnout in the county was low, which they said could go either way, but because this was the best place for Steele to pick up black Democrats, I think low turnout hurt him.
We'll know soon enough. But if Steele didn't pull it off, it's not because he ran a bad campaign. Even Cardin supporters I talked to said Steele was an appealing candidate and Cardin a deeply unimpressive one. For them, it came down to George W. Bush. "If he'd have done a better job of distancing himself from Bush, he would've won," one Cardin voter told me.
11/07 08:50 PM Dean on Iraq [ Greg Pollowitz]
Dean on MSNBC: "We have to get out of Iraq, we just have to do it carefully and thoughtfully."
Matthews was pretty hard on him actually for not saying anything meaningful. 11/07 08:47 PM KY-03, Dems up [ Greg Pollowitz]
Yarmuth (D) up 1%, 64% reporting 11/07 07:29 PM VA Marriage Amendment... [ Greg Pollowitz]
...Passes. From CNN.com: CNN projects that an amendment to the Virginia Constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman will pass.
Isn't this good news for Allen? 11/07 07:23 PM KY-03, Reps up [ Greg Pollowitz]
Northup (R) now up 50%-49%, 55% reporting 11/07 07:17 PM Indiana House [ Greg Pollowitz]
IN-02 Chocola (R) over Donnelly (D): 57%-43%, 4% reporting IN-08 Ellsworth (D) over Hostettler (R): 70%-30%, 13% reporting 11/07 07:15 PM KY-03 [ Greg Pollowitz]
Yarmuth (D) over Northup (R): 51%-48%, 15% reporting Update: Same split, 37% reporting 11/07 07:00 PM MSNBC coverage right now [ Greg Pollowitz]
Kudos to MSNBC for balancing out it's election day anchor coverage. Chris Matthews' far left views are nicely balanced by Keith Olbermann's extreme left views. 11/07 06:54 PM REWARD! [ Greg Pollowitz]
MoveOn.org is offering a $250,000 reward for a voter fraud lead that results in a felony conviction. I assume they'll still pay up if it's Democrats who are found at fault. 11/07 06:42 PM Bob Novak on Howard Dean [ Greg Pollowitz]
Last, but not least, comes the brilliant candidate recruiting and fundraising on the part of two men – Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairman Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). And should it occur, Democratic victory will come in spite of the total incompetence of Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean.
11/07 04:58 PM Mehlman on exit polls [ Greg Pollowitz]
Wolf Blitzer asked Ken Mehlman what he thought about exit polls. Mehlman's partial response: "Ask President Kerry. Ask President Gore."
Wolf just assured us that the glitches from previous exit polls have been solved. Mehlman is talking about voting problems in New Mexico where there aren't enough ballots for Republicans in Heather Wilson's district. UPDATE: Kathryn has more. 11/07 04:52 PM Harold Ford [ Greg Pollowitz]
Harold Ford is on MSNBC right now talking to Joe Scarborough and he's wearing a camouflage hunting hat. It's quite amusing. Maybe Rick Santorum should go on TV in a tie-dyed t-shirt to appeal to left leaning voters? 11/07 03:19 PM Mehlman chooses paper [ Greg Pollowitz]
How the other half votes, from TPM Reader DP: I was directly behind RNC Chair Ken Mehlman this morning when I came out to vote. He lives up my street on Capitol Hill. When a poll worker asked whether he wanted to vote on an electronic machine or use a traditional pencil and paper ballot, he chose the latter. So Mehlman won't drink from the poison cup? Actually, DP says the line for paper ballots was much shorter than for the electronic machines.
11/07 03:11 PM Major Democratic problem in No. Va.? [ Greg Pollowitz]
Not sure if this is as big a deal as "Not Larry Sabato" suggests, but as it's a pro-Webb blog, it's something to watch: FAIRFAX COUNTY DEMOCRATS PRINTED THEIR SAMPLE BALLOTS FOR THE 10th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ON YELLOW PAPER- WHICH IS ILLEGAL UNDER A 2005 RULE CHANGE.
ALL DEMOCRATIC SAMPLE BALLOTS IN THE FAIRFAX PORTION OF THE 10TH ARE BEING PULLED. THIS COULD BE A DISASTER IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA'S MOST COMPETITIVE CONGRESSIONAL RACE... DEVELOPING.....
11/07 03:10 PM Skunked in Colorado [ Greg Pollowitz]
Republicans are being blamed for this: As voters headed to the polls, Fawcett campaign volunteers arriving at campaign offices were greeted with a vile "Skunk" aroma, making it virtually impossible to conduct work there. The campaign is expecting more than 200 people to come through the offices today to help with Get Out The Vote and Poll Watching efforts.
Or maybe it was a real skunk that just happened to spray near Fawcett's hq. Or...maybe there is a connection...from the Colorado Dept. of Wildlife's website, it looks like global warming will lead to an increase in the skunk population: Range: The striped skunk is the most widespread, occurring statewide. The spotted skunk occurs in rocky foothills, mesas, canyons and along major rivers of the High Plains. Hog-nosed skunk is known only from the roughlands of southeastern Colorado, where they appear to be rare or perhaps only occasional. This is one of those southwestern mammals that may be ecpected to expand with climatic warming.
11/07 02:44 PM Laura Ingraham: Thug [ Greg Pollowitz]
Laura Ingraham: Thug Tue Nov 07, 2006 at 09:49:45 AM PSTFDL: Laura Ingraham has asked her listeners to call the Dem Voter protection hotline — and they are now being flooded with calls from crank callers. Please call Laura and tell her what you think about this: 800.876.4123 . You can e-mail her here. Apparently, voter intimidation and fraud are a joke to Laura Ingraham. Let's let her know that it is no joke [...] More on Laura Ingraham: "caller indicated she is running a tape of Bill Clinton over and over saying "call 1-888 Dem Vote to report problems" — and then making fun of him, thus producing a spike in crank calls to the number" Protecting voter integrity is no joke. And I am not laughing. If anyone has audio of this, I'd love it.
Voter disenfranchisement is soooo funny!
11/07 02:44 PM Electronic voting machine anger [ Greg Pollowitz]
Joe Scarborough, Bob Shrum and Pat Buchanan are all agreeing right now that we have to throw out the electronic voting machines and go to paper ballots. 11/07 02:43 PM |
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