Blogometer Update: House Edition

CT 04: Sex As A Weapon

  Matt Corley at TPMCafe has an update on the controversial comments last week by Rep. Chris Shays, in which the incumbent GOPer--a frequent visitor to Iraq--"asserted that what happened at the notorious prison 'wasn't torture' and was just a 'sex ring.'"  Corley:

  Shays acknowledged to the Associated Press today that what happened at the prison was in fact torture.  But he offered a curious qualification, saying "it was torture because sex abuse is torture."  He added that his earlier remarks had been prompted by photos of "naked Iraqis, naked Americans, Americans having sex."  It was unclear from his comments which disturbed Shays more -- the images of abuse or the images of sex.

  Commenter whiterosebuddy had this to add:

  Shays has visited Iraq numerous times and is privvy to the entire report on AbuGhraib.  I suspect the details and truth are more salacious and bigger than the public knows.  This particular story involved enlisted people who were engaged in sex among themselves that tawdryjezebelleashholdingtrash, and the other wifebeatersuperior of hers were having sex.  Recall, that she was pregnant?  Shays is basically saying that these folks were engaged in sadomaschistic sex acts and the public and general population view this as torture.  The truth is probably even worse than we know.

CT 04: UnFarrelly Maligned?

  Andrew Golis has the goods on the latest GOP mailing to constituents of Connecticut's 4th district at TPMCafe.  It seems that Dem challenger Diane Farrell likes having a cup of joe with the Taliban.  Golis includes scans of the mailing, and has this to say:

  To back up this charge, the flyer says simply that Farrell's candidacy "is endorsed by an organization with a leader who wanted someone to sit down and have a talk with the Taliban."  The group isn't named.  But NRCC spokesman Ed Patru tells Election Central that the organization in question is the Council for a Livable World, a moderate think tank previously cited in GOP advertising.

  No further evidence beyond the unnamed leader of the Council who supposedly advocated talks with the Taliban was offered to support the belief that Farrell herself believes anything like this.

  Commenter BlueInColorado remarks, "This is really weird.  You expect this in Alabama or Idaho.  Places below the proverbial media radar, but this kind of crap, combined with his 'no torture at Abu Grahib' in Connecticut?  Not very steady at all.  I can't think of another candidate melting down this badly.  Especially an old hand like Shays."

  For his part, Shays is outraged at his own party for the mailing.  Golis, in another TPMCafe entry, notes that Shays posted a statement on his site "slamming the flyer ... as 'outrageous' and as 'garbage,' saying that it was 'an insult to the intelligence of the Fourth District.'"

NY 25: Toxic Walsh

  Mark Weiner, in a item at The Huffington Post, reports on a new ad by a D.C. think tank that, by featuring speaking children, blasts incumbent GOP Rep. James Walsh for his position on stem cell research.  (The ad is visible here.)  Walsh, according to Weiner's article at The Post-Standard of Syracuse, "reacted angrily."  To wit:

  Walsh immediately asked three local television stations to stop airing the ads, saying they were false, misleading and in violation of rules that require such ads not paid for by candidates to be accurate.  "It is a whole new low," said Dan Gage, speaking for Walsh.  "They're using children.  You see a mom and a teenage boy and a young child.  For all of those folks, you want to do everything that you can."  He added, "The ad is blatantly false and inaccurate.  It's a complete lie."  Gage said the congressman has always supported federal funding for stem cell research, including existing embryonic stem cells that can become all of a body's cell types.  Walsh's opposition is to the use of new lines of embryonic cells not already part of research projects, he said.

  The group that produced the ad says it stands by its commercial, saying "Doing everything you can means supporting embryonic stem cell research."

  Commenter thedetroitviper at HuffPo cracked, "Said Rep. Walsh, 'Why don't these kids just shut-up and die already?  Can't they see that I'm in a close race?'"

PA 07: Curt Tailed

  Despite press hype that the FBI was about to investigate Rep. Curt Weldon for influence peddling, the raids that actually happened were on the office of Weldon's daughter and a friend of the GOP incumbent.  In a news conference on Monday, Weldon said, "I have not done anything wrong and my daughter hasn't either.  I would absolutely never use my position to help anyone in an unusual way."

  The left side of the blogosphere ain't buyin' it.  Last Night in Little Rock's take at TalkLeft is representative of the more sardonic element:

  If one has to [deny] any wrongdoing," then an investigation would seem to be the next thing on the agenda.  "Off guard"?  Being a Congressperson from the GOP does not mean that one is bulletproof.  They just think they are.  As Lord Acton said in 1887, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  The GOP apparently wants to prove Lord Acton correct.  Wait.  Nixon already did.  This is just the new guys.

  Will Bunch at Attytood focuses on the hard stuff, though:

  There's an updated story from the Associated Press on the Curt Weldon investigation that says the feds actually raided six sites today -- not just the home of the Delaware County Republican's lobbyist daughter and Delco GOP powerhouse Charlie Sexton but also two other sites in the Philly area and two in Jacksonville, Fla.

  Jacksonville?  That's a huge window into the investigation, because a leading client of Karen Weldon and Sexton's former lobbying firm, the Russian oil giant Itera, has its American office there.

  Commenter Mr. Smith remarks, "Generally, Weldon's been very good at bringing home the bacon.  In this case, he didn't bring it home.  He dropped the ball.  He's outlived his usefulness to his district, and his quirky weirdness has lost its entertainment value.  It's time for some nameless, faceless, useless Democrat to hold the seat for 2 years.

TX 22: DeLay Effect

  Greg Sargent at TPMCafe writes that the GOP has all but abandoned their candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs in the race to replace disgraced ex-Rep. Tom DeLay.  Sargent:

  The NRCC isn't investing any serious money in the race for Tom DeLay's seat between Dem Nick Lampson and GOP write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.  "National Republicans were supposed to invest $3 million to $4 million to help Sekula-Gibbs," reports the Associated Press.  "So far, however, she's received just $134,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee."  Lampson had $2.2 million as of June 30th.  Meanwhile, other GOP House candidates are swimming in cash: The NRCC yesterday dumped a staggering $9.3 million into a bunch of other races.

  Commenter dfx reports from the district:

  This has been a fairly quiet race so far here.  There's plenty of mailings and yard signs for Gibbs around, way more than I've seen for Lampson. ... However, I have seen a few Lampson commercials on television, and none for [Sekula]-Gibbs.  I would expect to see more action in the next week from both of them... I will add this: I work in a fairly conservative industry, and you can sense the mood has soured on the Iraq war.  You'll still find a Freeper here and there, but I've noticed the the social and religious conservatives have been somewhat quiet whenever discussions go political.  They'll need some real energizing to go out and vote in a couple weeks; that's the feeling that I get right now.

  Meanwhile, commenter montag quips, "They don't need to pour a lot of money into TX-22, they have electronic voting.  And I suspect the machines will have a spell check so no one misspells what's her name's name."