Blogometer Update: House Edition

In Tha House

AZ 08: This Graf Zeppelin's Made Of Lead

  James L. at Swing State Project says the GOP has given up all hope of capturing the House seat that Jim Kolbe (R) is relinquishing after 22 years.  The Republicans' preferred candidate, Steve Huffman, lost a bitter race to "anti-immigration zealot" Randy Graf, and by their reckoning Mr. Graf is too far to the right; James: "I'm sure it pains them to cede this seat to the Democrats, but they're being backed into a corner here: the consensus surrounding this purplish district is that candidates who appear politically moderate attract the strongest support."  As a result, the NRCC is pulling up its stakes and going elsewhere.  James quotes Jesse Lee over at the DCCC blog:

The NRCC, having gone out on a limb to get a more moderate candidate through the primary and failed, has just given up on the Medicare-abolishing, Department of Education-hating, David Duke-endorsed nominee Randy Graf. ... We have just gotten word that they have cancelled everything on the air from October 3rd forward.

  "Graf is not even worth a token effort," James wraps up.  "Stick a fork in him; AZ-08 is going to be [Democratic candidate Gabby] Giffords country now."

CT 02: Rotten Per Simmons

  So is Democratic challenger Joe Courtney a stud or a dud to incumbent Rep. Rob Simmons (R)?  Apparently the latter, as Simmons has just released what Jeff Hughes at TPM Cafe calls a "blistering new ad which touts his own record in helping 'save' a local submarine base and slams Dem challenger Joe Courtney for having accomplished 'nothing.'"  See the ad here.

  One little problem though, says Hughes:  "It appears that Simmons himself actually thanked Courtney for -- you guessed it -- having played a role in helping save the base Simmons is patting himself on the back for rescuing."  The Norwich Bulletin has the goods:

The Courtney camp released an audio tape of a telephone message Simmons left for Courtney Aug. 28, the day the BRAC Commission voted to remove the base from the closure list. ... On the tape, Simmons says, "I just wanted to say to you how much I respect your decision back on May 13 not to take political advantage of the process.  I think that was the high road."

  "Rob Simmons' hypocrisy is astounding," said a Courtney spokesman.  The Simmons campaign's response?  "It's silly."

CT 05: Mostest Worstest Evil Ad Ever?

  The hyperboles are flying in the wake of another controversial ad, this time from the camp of incumbent Rep. Nancy Johnson (R), being challenged this year by Democrat Chris Murphy.  Andrew Golis at TPM Cafe posits the titular question before offering justification.  To wit: "[I]t is awfully vile.  For one thing, the central claim -- that you need to get warrants before doing the wiretapping -- is flat out false.  What's more, the ominous-looking paperwork that flashes across the screen is actually a set of student aid spreadsheets."  You can view the ad yourself here.

  The electionblog No More Nancy has a nitpicky deconstruction of the ad's "sheer stupidity," but it does shed more jocular light on Johnson's use of financial aid paperwork in her terror pitch.

GA 08: Quien Es Mas MacCo?

  Eric Kleefeld at TPMCafe has another entry in today's intriguing collection of ads, this one (see vid here) by GOP challenger Mac Collins, blasting incumbent Dem Rep. Jim Marshall for kowtowing to illegals by voting for bilingual ballots."  Eric writes:

The ad by Collins ... warns viewers: "Jim Marshall voted with his liberal leader Nancy Pelosi and voted to waste our tax dollars printing election ballots in Spanish."  Then a sneering voice ads in Spanish: "Muchas Gracias, Señor Jim Marshall."  Why doesn't Mac Collins want new American citizens to be able to vote?

  The ad promises that Collins will "fight to make English our official language" and to protect what he vaguely refers to as "American values."

GA 12: EFFing Barrow

  The Economic Freedom Fund, which appears to be the successor to 2004's Swift Boats gang, has incumbent Rep. John Barrow (D) in its sights.  Paul Kiel at TPMmuckracker reports on a new EFF ad that knocks Barrow "for '[helping] trial lawyers' and '[hurting] small businesses.'  The ad is viewable here.

Kiel notes that the group has sunk "about $1.07 million nationwide" on ads, but in Barrow's case, the ad "isn't the only weapon the group is wielding."  He mentions "negative fliers and misleading robo calls" in addition to the commercial.  Barrow's spokesman described the automated calls as "short and nasty."  It remains to be seen what effect the ad will have on the race, which according to a recent poll "showed Barrow narrowly leading his challenger, former Rep. Max Burns.

OH 02: Schmidt Hits The Fan

  Controversial incumbent Rep. Jean Schmidt (R) is under scrutiny again, this time by the DCCC's Stakeholder blog, for apparently plagiarizing a press release by a congressional colleague.

  Stakeholder quotes a bulletin from Dem challenger Victoria Wulson's campaign which details several clear-cut examples of Schmidt copying almost verbatim a press release regarding a Medicare issue by Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH).  How bad is the alleged thievery?  Stakeholder remarks, "I wish that there were excerpts I could pull out to make the case.  But I can't.  The entire thing is stolen..."

Stakeholder passages include:

Schmidt: Prior to enactment of this measure, Medicare had changed little since its creation in the 1960s.  The program brought a 20th-century attitude to 21st-century medicine, funding expensive operations but failing to fund prescription drugs.  Medicare would pay for your operation to install a pacemaker after a heart attack, but it wouldn't pay for the heart medicine that might have prevented the heart attack in the first place.

Pryce: Prior to enactment of this measure, Medicare had changed little since its creation in the 1960s.  The program brought a 20th-century attitude to 21st-century medicine, funding expensive operations but failing to fund prescription drugs.  Medicare would pay for your operation to install a pacemaker after a heart attack, but it wouldn’t pay for the heart medicine that might have prevented the heart attack in the first place.

[Mike Sheehan]