October 05, 2006

Blogometer Extra

Election 06 Round-Up

CA 04: You're The Man, Charlie Brown

  LindaR at Daily Kos was most impressed by Democratic challenger Charlie Brown's "counter-event" to incumbent GOP Rep. John Doolittle's gala for visiting President George Bush: a barbecue open to the public.

  "At the Bush/Doolittle event," LindaR writes, "Republicans still willing to drink the kool-aid were charged $2,000 per head for the privelege."  Brown, on the other hand, "invited citizens ... to a franks and beans feed ... and asked for donations" of $20 a person.  "But," she notes, "no one would be turned away for the lack of funds."

  LindaR continues:

The campaign was planning for 150 people, but by the afternoon they thought maybe 300 might show up.  The estimate now is between 450 and 550. ... The place was packed. ... The campaign was hoping to raise about $2000-$4000.  They told me a while ago they are still counting, and so far they've counted over $10,000. ... People are on the brink of giddy over this campaign.

  She gives props the many "great" speakers in attendance, including former GOP congressman Pete McCloskey who, as she exclaims, "is so disgusted by this Republican Party leadership that he is working for Democratic candidates."

CO GOV: Board Silly

  Bobby Clark at activistblog ProgressNowAction announced two winners of a contest in which network members submitted slogans to be put up on mobile billboards that "will keep traveling around the state" through the election for Colorado governor.

  The two winning "amazingly creative" slogans were "All Hat No Cattle" featuring GOP candidate Bob Beauprez and President Bush side by side, Stetsons in hand or on head.  Even more cutting was the second winning entry, with a smiling Beauprez standing next to his duplicate and "BOTH WAYS BOB" spread across them... and on the side, the slogan "More Waffles than Belgium," all knocking Beauprez's apparent penchant for flip-flopping.

  Recent polls in Colorado have Beauprez trailing badly against the Democratic candidate, Bill Ritter.

PA 10: Sherwood Be Nice

  Eve Fairbanks at The Plank wisecracks about incumbent GOP Rep. Don Sherwood's newest ad, in which the Congressman, who had earlier admitted to an adulterous affair, is "begging" for voters' forgiveness.  The ad is available here.

  Fairbanks says, "This ad actually makes me kind of sad.  The guy looks so ... morose and depressed.  And his mistress was so much older than a page!"

PA GOV: Trumpeting Swann

  GOP gubernatorial challenger Lynn Swann, he of NFL legendry, took on Dem incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell in their first debate, and per pennpatriot at Redstate, he acquitted himself marvelously.

  "If tonight's debate was an actual football game," pennpat writes, "Swann would have been named the player of the game.  The fact is Swann had a very surprising Superbowl like debate performance against a very tough, seasoned political veteran."

  He continues:

Not only did Swann demonstrate a command of the issues, he even seemed more comfortable debating them than our three year, incumbent Governor.  During the debate Swann even caught Rendell using his own tax cut numbers to criticize Swann's plan to cut business taxes. ... For being a political newcomer Swann was unusually calm and poised during the debate.  He was confident.  And in my opinion, I think Swann actually may have benefited from debating Rendell on his home field of Pittsburgh.  Swann had his game face on and Rendell looked like he was washed up.

  It appears folks in the Keystone State agree, as a KDKA website poll quoted by pennpatriot indicated that "71% of viewers think Lynn Swann won the debate."
[Mike Sheehan]

Posted by Conn Carroll at 05:23 PM

10/5: Tracker Torture

Campaign trackers may have existed before blogs, but the medium does make their output more accessible. Thanks to small, low-cost cameras, almost all major league campaigns now employ (or at least have full-time volunteer) trackers tracking their opponents. Is there a standard of decency that should apply to the behavior of these trackers? Or will campaigns quickly disavow/ignore them the way the do bloggers intimately involved in their campaigns? Stories in MD and VA SEN today deal with these questions.

HASTERT: Measuring The Corner Drapes

Calls for Speaker Denny Hastert's resignation continue to trickle in, but the consensus that Hastert will not resign before November is matched by the consensus that he will not retain a leadership position past January. National Review Online's Rich Lowry forwards GOP strategist email: "I thought yesterday he was out of the woods, but today I'm not so sure. ... Sadly, he's probably in his last twom onths in leadership. I don't think he'll survive in January when he comes back."

Also on National Review Online, Greg Pollowitz wonders "how would a majority party in Congress actually go about replacing its leadership while its members are scattered across the country?" Kathryn Jean Lopezfires back : "Greg, think the answer is: They would do it by conference call, as they did when the Senate shifted from Lott to Frist." Finally, The Corner's John Podhoretz thinks all the Hastert speculation is beside the point: "Hastert will quit or he won't quit or he will take a nice long trip in a hot-air balloon. And Shimkus will...oh, who cares what Shimkus does. Doesn't matter. Madame Speaker, you may start measuring the drapes."

Over at RedState, Erick Erickson tries to look at the bright side of being in the minority:

"A Democratic Congressman with whom I have very good relations (no, not the Mark Foley kind) was drowning his sorrows tonight at the thought of going into the majority now. His point was that if the Dems lose again this year, they can blame Pelosi and replace her and will inevitably take control in 2008. But, because of Republican incompetence... the Democrats are going to take the majority this year, will have to make Pelosi the Speaker or look really bad, and then she will screw up everything for the Democrats and destroy their majority for the next 25 years. He assures me that this is a widespread sentiment, particularly among Southern and Midwestern members of the Democratic delegation who would rather see Speaker Hoyer or Speaker Anybody but Pelosi."

Perhaps looking ahead to January, Mark Kilmer at RedState is already "building a case against Roy Blunt."

On the left, Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall looks at Bluegrass Report news that Rep. Ron Lewis (KY-02) canceled a campaign stop with Hastert and writes: "Face it, the guy's radioactive." Over at MyDD, Jerome Armstrong pleads for Hastert to "stay a little longer" so he can further damage the GOP.

FORDHAM: The Michael Or Fredo Corleone Of The Velvet Mafia?

The Plank's Michael Crowley spoke with a non-Capitol Hill gay GOPer about the tuffle between Team Hastert and ex-Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY) Kirk Fordham. Said GOPer believes GOP leadership is: "mak[ing] it look like the gay velvet mafia is down there protecting Foley. ... Basically what you see them trying to do is say, "There's this cabal of gays on Capitol Hill who were trying to keep this quiet." Crowley then notes that David Corn has a list of possible gay GOPers "drawn up by gay politicos," but Corn declines to name names. Wonkette isn't buying Corn's ethical act: "David Corn asks "How can I score political points while maintaining smug moral superiority?" and comes up with the perfect answer: Name the senators and representatives who employ the homosexuals, but not the actual gay people working for them."

Righty blogger Gay Patriot also takes Corn to task for assuming all gays identify more closely with their sexual orientation then their citizenship. And Right Wing News looks at one righty bloggers decision to reveal the identity of Maf54's IMing partner.

Back on the left, Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall has many thoughts on the Washington Post's article on Fordham's tenure with Foley and Reynolds, and reminds readers "I always try to be as clear as I can on this site in distinguishing between what is reporting and what is speculation informed by reporting. I hope I've done so here." Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan offers up self contradictory Fordham quotes.

LANDSCAPE: Packin' Heat

TPM Cafe's Greg Sargent reports new FEC filings show the National Rifle Association is spending almost $500K on radio and tv in MN, MO, MT, and PA.

CT SEN: So, Don Imus And Joe Lieberman Walk Into A Bar ...

CT Blog has video of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Don Imus having "a laugh over torture" on Imus' 10/4 show. Lieberman tells Imus: "I have particularly appreciated your interrogation of some of the other Democratic elected officials. And I'm very comforted to know that your interrogation is not covered by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions." The unofficial Lamont Blog writes: "Simply disgusting. He also refused to call for Hastert's resignation in the interview."

Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher picks up on Lieberman's refusal to call for Hastert's resignation: "Joe Lieberman does not want to take responsibility for his mismanagement of the disastrous war in Iraq, nor does he want to hold Dennis Hastert responsible for his role in this sordid affair. This may be Tortureman's definition of what it means to be "bipartisan," but it is not mine."

MD SEN: Looking For Apologies In All The Wrong Places

Wizbang's Lorie Byrd reprints LG Michael Steele's (R) call for Rep. Ben Cardin (D-03) to apologize for his official tracker's filming of a conversation Steele had with two mothers whose sons died in Iraq. Steele writes: "The filming of this conversation demonstrates a callous disregard for families who have lost a loved one and is an indefensible invasion of privacy." Right Angle Blog's Robert Bluey notes that Steele asks for apologies from "three Democrats, plus Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman" and also wonders where his apology from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for his staff's illegal search of Steele's credit history.

VA SEN: Macaca 2.0

Ex-Navy Sec. James Webb's (D) "new Siddarth, the new Macaca," Joan VT at Raising Kaine has a two and a half minute video of her recent work at the Shenandoah Airport. No new bombshells here, but a "doofus' bald spot" is featured prominently.

On the right, the official AllenHQ looks at Daily Press reports that VA-05 hopefull Al Weed (D) accepted the resignation of a campaign staffer after it was reveled she was the author of a derogatory email making fun of Sen. George Allen (R). AllenHQ writes: "Will Jim Webb demonstrate the same level of personal dignity and honor by denouncing his own campaign staff's far more offensive 'error[s] in judgement'? Or does Jim Webb support his campaign staff when they claim or promote the claims that Senator Allen is a racist?"

Under the header "Deep vs. Shallow" The A-Team links to a PolicySoup, the blog of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Department, post featuring the candidates thoughts on research and development. The A-Team writes: " On the issue of research and development, Senator Allen's response simply blows away Jim Webb's simpleton statement."

ROMNEY: On The Plus Side, He's Out-Polling Gay Atheists

Although it pains IA's Caucus Cooler to bring up the subject, CC looks at results from a new Gallup poll showing "only 29% think [Americans] are ready for a Mormon President." This compares to "61% said they think we're ready for a woman, 58% an african-american, 55 percent said we are ready for a Jewish President. ... The only groups that scored lower were atheists and homosexuals."

IMMIGRATION: Intellectual Savages

Michelle Malkin has video of Minutemen Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist's 10/4 address to the Columbia University College Republicans devolving into a riot at the behest of what Power Line's Scott Johnson calls "intellectual savages." Malkin writes: "Every Columbia U. alum should be assailing the administration." the Bwog liveblogged the event.

IRAQ: Opinions Are Like Noses...

MyDD's Matt Stoller links to a Minneapolis Star Tribunewrite up of ex-Sec/State Colin Powell's comments as the distinguished Carlson Lecture at the Univ. of MN and writes: "Ok, Powell is taking the gloves off. In what looks to be Colin Powell's rejection of Bush, Powell joins the redeployment crowd."

Outside the Beltway's James Joyner also posts Powell's comments which include:

• "Only the Iraqi people can resolve this," Powell said.
• U.S. troops have to stay in Iraq for "some time," he said. "But there is a limit to the patience of the American people."
• Powell was the featured speaker at this year's distinguished Carlson Lecture at the University of Minnesota. In Iraq, "staying the course isn't good enough because a course has to have an end," Powell said.

Joyner concludes: "Aside from dissing the "stay the course" mantra, what here is even remotely new? The administration has been saying for years that it is ultimately up to the Iraqi people to solve this."

BLOGGER VS. BLOGGER: Four Out Of Six Ain't Bad

MyDD's Chris Bowers picks up on Kausfiles live vs. robo poll bias theory ("Voters in Tennessee don't want to admit in front of their conservative, patriotic fellow citizens that they've lost confidence in Bush and the GOPs in the middle of a war on terror and that they're going to vote for the black Democrat. They're embarrassed to tell it to a human pollster. But talking to a robot--or voting by secret ballot--is a different story.") and tests it in six Senate races. Bowers finds: "So, the theory does not hold in Arizona at all. In Missouri and Montana it holds, but could be chalked up to other factors, such as the time the polls were taken. It holds in Ohio and Tennessee, but in Virginia, it is reversed. ... I don't think that there is enough evidence here to conclude that there is a hidden Democratic vote in Tennessee and other red states, where conservative voters don't want to admit in public that they have at least temporarily given up on Republicans."

BLOGGER VS. BLOGGER II: Not Your Average Conservative Hacks

Crooked Timber's Belle Waring looks at an exchange on National Review Online's The Corner in which Ramesh Ponnurunotes the House Republican Conference is sending around Conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt's Foley scandal thoughts followed by Kathryn Jean Lopez' quip: "I often assume our friend actually works for the House Republican Conference, or RNC!"

Waring comments: "You know, when K-Lo thinks you're kind of a hack ... weelllll." Matthew Yglesias adds: "It's worth keeping in mind that whatever you may think of the NRO gang, they're about three hundred times as intellectually honest as the average conservative broadcast media outlet."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: We Thought This Was Jon Stewart's Job

Captain's Quarters draws attention to reports that Google Inc. boss Eric Schmidt wants to develop a "truth predictor functions that would assess the honesty of politicians." CQ wonders if Google actually is in the "truth" business: "Schmidt's new effort will likely find many fans, especially in the blogosphere. However, as Daniel Freedman notes at the New York Sun's It Shines For All blog, Google seems a poor choice for a partner in the search for political truth. This is the same company that cooperates with China's government in suppressing political truth in exchange for access to China's burgeoning Internet business."

LEST WE FORGET: Wonkette Reports, You Decide

Wonkette was "just saying, "If the Democrats continue to shut the hell up, there is some small chance this government will be thrown out!" But then we got this e-mail claiming there's a plan after all. WARNING: It really blows." Wonkette reprints:

Well the Democrats do have a plan you just don't listen when they tell you the plan. And if you guys keep saying the Democrats don't have a plan the public will continue to think that the democrats don't have a plan when they do.The plan is to redeploy the soldiers to surrounding countries and let the Iraq people form their own government.

Wonkette responds: "Wait a minute! So the Democratic Plan is to move 145,000 U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan and Turkey? That is a real piece 'o crap plan."

Posted by Conn Carroll at 12:19 PM