From NBC's John Yang Judge James B. Zagel has denied Blagojevich attorney Sam Adam Jr.'s request that he revisit his Friday ruling that Adam may not refer in his closing argument to witnesses not called. Adam is not making a fuss today, as he did late yesterday.
Zagel wondered aloud: "This raises the question if what I have before me is tactics -- and if successful, not bad tactics."
Earlier, Zagel assured Adam that going to jail for contempt was never a possibility (though a contempt citation was). "So if you were wonder who to give your watch to, you don't have to worry about that," the judge told Adam.
The net result is that Adam will be allowed to deliver his closing in one chunk today rather than splitting it into a bit on Monday afternoon and the rest this morning, which is what he had asked Zagel to allow him to do -- and Zagel denied -- just before yesterday's blow-up.
Zagel has warned Adam that if he violates his ruling and "repeatedly" mentions witnesses not called, he will end the defense's closing argument. "The last thing I want to do is sit the defense down in closing arguments," he said. "But I am willing to do it and will do it at the point that I can no longer repair damage done to the jury."
All this was done outside the presence of the jury. They then recessed for 10 minutes. When they resume, the jury will be brought back in and Adam will begin Blago's closing arugment.
Colorado Republican Party chair Dick Wadhams (left) and former congressman Tom Tancredo (right).
Tough times for the GOP in Colorado… Today's war supplemental vote expected to pass, despite the WikiLeaks leak… Senate Democrats aren't expected to be able to defeat GOP filibuster against DISCLOSE Act… Obama meets with congressional leaders at 11:00 am ET and delivers a statement to reporters an hour later… NRSC has reserved $1.75 million to help Carly Fiorina (but is that a head fake?)… Kend rick Meek goes on the attack against Jeff Greene… Today's Primary Day in Oklahoma; polls close at 8:00 pm ET… Previewing CA-3… And Andrew Romanoff sells his home to loan his campaign money.
From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Rocky times for the GOP in Colorado: Every day, it seems, brings us another crazy GOP development in Colorado. But it will be hard to top what happened yesterday, when Tom Tancredo (who is now running for governor as an indie) and state Republican Party chair Dick Wadhams squared off on a local radio program. We have three takeaways after listening to the Tancredo-Wadhams debate: 1) It was clear that the GOP has given up on its two gubernatorial candidates in this key state; 2) you had the state party leader and a former congressman saying things -- publicly -- that typically get said in smoke-filled back rooms; and 3) Republicans are getting close to blowing it in a battleground state in which they should make gains come November. Indeed, when is the last time we've talked about Michael Bennet, Andrew Romanoff, or John Hickenlooper? Exactly...
*** A final thought on Tancredo-Wadhams: Folks, we can't stress enough how unusual it is to hear a prominent state party chairman and a former congressman/presidential candidate engage in a screaming match on talk radio about the future of the GOP in Colorado. If you are a political junkie of any stripe, it's compelling radio. Yes, it's a 20- to 30-minute investment of time. But trust us, it's that good. (The clash starts at about the 10-minute mark.)
*** Today's war supplemental vote: Turning to the news in Washington… After the WikiLeaks document dump on Afghanistan, the House today will vote on the war supplemental bill, NBC's Luke Russert reports. The legislation contains the funding for the actual military campaigns that are ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will require a two-thirds vote to pass because the rules will be suspended, Russert adds, and it is done when lawmakers feel they have enough votes to bypass the usual Rules Committee process of laying out the rules for the debate. House Democratic and GOP leadership aides have told Russert that they feel the legislation will pass. By the way, a House subcommittee is today marking up a Defense appropriations bill that Obama -- with the emphatic support of Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- has threatened to veto over a jet-fighter engine.
*** Disclose this: Over in the other chamber, the Senate today will vote the DISCLOSE Act, the legislation crafted -- after the Citizens United decision -- to require disclosure of corporate spending in efforts to influence races for federal office. It's likely that Democrats don't have the 60 Senate votes needed to invoke cloture when the vote takes place at 2:45 pm ET. The New York Times: "The House has passed the measure... But in the Senate, with a solid wall of Republican opposition, the measure is expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster." Knowing that the legislation will likely be filibustered, Obama delivered a speech yesterday trying to score political points. "You'd think that reducing corporate and even foreign influence over our elections would not be a partisan issue," Obama said. "But of course, this is Washington in 2010."
*** A poor sales job: Supporters of this legislation who will be disappointed by today's result only have themselves to blame; they've done a horrible job at educating the public on exactly what this legislation will do. And then there are all the special carve-outs -- for the NRA, for AARP, for unions. In short, it looks like a boondoggle. And at a time when Congress' job rating is barely in double-digits, why should they expect the public to believe they are capable of writing rules that would somehow do anything other than help their own re-election prospects? Congress has never succeeded in legislating campaign money. This year's reform becomes next year's loophole (see the history of political action committees).
*** Obama today: At 11:00 am ET, President Obama meets at the White House with bipartisan congressional leaders -- Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Mitch McConnell, and John Boehner. (Roll Call says that extending the Bush tax cuts is on the agenda.) An hour later, Obama will deliver a statement to reporters. At 7:00 pm in DC, Obama attends a fundraiser for the DNC.
*** Aiding Carly: While the situation might not be good for Republicans in Colorado, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has decided that things are looking good enough in California to set aside $1.75 million to help Carly Fiorina defeat Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall. The AP: "Republicans have reserved $1.75 million for television ads to help Carly Fiorina in the final week of the California Senate race… The Republicans plan to target the Los Angeles market and the money would buy enough air time for viewers to see an ad -- at least in part -- 10 times." Also, the NRSC has tapped California-based GOP communications adviser Brian Jones to help the Republican Senate races in California, Nevada, and Washington state.
*** A head fake? The NRSC's aid is an interesting decision in this one respect: A $1.75 million buy is a drop in the bucket when it comes to California TV, especially when you consider the fact that Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown and their allies will be up with cajillions at the same time. Does the NRSC really think their $1.75M will make a dent? Could this be a head fake by the NRSC to force Barbara Boxer to panic and beg the DSCC for money and also assist Fiorina in raising national money?
*** Meek on the attack: In Florida, meanwhile, Kendrick Meek is punching back against wealthy Jeff Greene in the state's Democratic Senate primary. In his first TV ad, Meek dumps nearly all the oppo on Greene -- he's a former Republican, made his money betting against subprime mortgage loans -- except for Greene's Mike Tyson/Heidi Fleiss links. Of course, this ad raises a key question for Meek: If he's having this difficult a time against a candidate with this much baggage, what does this say about Meek's chances come November? The primary is less than a month from now…
*** Oklahoma! Today, it's Primary Day in Oklahoma, where the marquee contests are the Dem and GOP gubernatorial primaries to succeed term-limited Gov. Brad Henry (D). On the Democratic side, Attorney General Drew Edmondson at Lt. Gov. Jari Askins are battling for the nomination, while Rep. Mary Fallin is the overwhelming favorite to win the GOP nod, and she would be the front-runner in November. Polls close at 8:00 pm ET.
*** 75 House races to watch: CA-3: The GOP nominee is eight-term incumbent Dan Lungren; the Democratic nominee is Ami Bera, a physician who has raised more money than Lungren for five-consecutive quarters, per the Sac Bee. McCain won 49% in this district in '08, and Bush won 58% here in '04. Lungren voted against the stimulus, cap-and-trade, and health care. Both Cook and Rothenberg rate the race as Lean Republican.
*** More midterm news: In Colorado's Democratic Senate primary, Andrew Romanoff has sold his Colorado house to loan his campaign $325,000, per the Denver Post. ("I'm never home anyway," Romanoff said.) … In Pennsylvania, Joe Sestak said Obama "has offered to come to Pennsylvania to campaign, but he would not be Sestak's first choice," the Morning Call writes. "He'd rather have Obama's wife, Michelle, hit the trail with him… And in Tennessee, a Mason-Dixon showed Knoxville Mayor [Bill] Haslam leading [Rep. Zach] Wamp by 36 percent to 25 percent," the Chattanooga Times-Free Press reports.
Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 7 days
Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 14 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 98 days
President Obama this morning meets with House and Senate leaders. Roll Call: "There is no announced agenda, but leadership aides in both parties speculated Monday that one point of discussion will be whether to allow tax cuts enacted during the George W. Bush administration to expire at the end of the year.”
The Boston Globe's editorial page after the WikiLeaks revelations: "The Obama administration must demand more than just promises from Pakistan that it will cut ties with the insurgents. ... The Obama administration should turn the leaks’ release to its advantage. The reports should bolster US demands that Pakistan, recipient of $1 billion in annual US aid, stop working with the Taliban and start helping to stabilize Afghanistan."
The AP: "President Barack Obama's once solid support among Hispanics is showing a few cracks, a troubling sign for Democrats desperate to get this critical constituency excited about helping the party hold onto Congress this fall," according to an AP-Univision poll. "For a group that supported Obama so heavily in 2008 and in his first year in office, only 43 percent of Hispanics surveyed said Obama is adequately addressing their needs, with the economy a major concern. Another 32 percent were on the fence, while 21 percent said he'd done a poor job."
That said, nearly 60% of Hispanics (57%) approve of Obama’s job in the poll, and Hispanics overwhelmingly favor the Dems over the GOP.
"The White House on Monday gave the strongest signal yet that it may pick Elizabeth Warren to head a new consumer bureau created by the Wall Street reform bill," The Hill writes. "White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday said Warren is “very confirmable” for a position in charge of the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA)."
The House will vote on the DISCLOSE Act, which Roll Call writes, "aims to partially reverse the effect of the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United ruling, a complement to their broader strategy of portraying the GOP as beholden to big business." It will likely fail. Bill sponsor Chuck Schumer called it “one of the most important things we’ll be voting on in the next decade,” but "Minority Leader Mitch McConnell dubbed it an election-year ploy and blasted Democrats for pivoting away from a small-business lending bill to hold the procedural vote."
"House Democrats were struggling Monday to come up with a plan to deal with Rep. Charlie Rangel’s ethical troubles and do it quickly," Roll Call says. "Publicly, Democratic leaders were trying to put a positive spin on the New York Democrat’s upcoming trial before his peers on charges that he may have violated House ethics rules. Privately, however, Democrats were scrambling to contain the damage and hoping Rangel cuts a deal in the next few days to avoid a public spectacle that could unfold weeks before the November elections."
"Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday that investigators have unearthed new allegations of misconduct against him, while House Democratic leaders increased the pressure on him to reach a settlement before a congressional trial starts Thursday," the New York Post writes. "'We waited almost two years, and they finally investigated, and guess what -- they have some more alleged violations,' Rangel said." And: "The alleged misdeeds include Rangel using House stationery to solicit contributions for a self-named center at City College, failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets, and not paying taxes on rental income from his Dominican villa -- all first reported by The Post. He also kept four rent-regulated apartments in Harlem."
Going Down Hill... "A traumatized Rep. Charlie Rangel didn't stay sorry very long, lashing out Monday over questions about the ethics storm bearing down on him," the New York Daily News notes. "'Why don't you wait until you know what the facts are?' the Harlem Democrat snapped at one reporter, after calling his ongoing ethics probe 'traumatic.' He was especially grouchy over suggestions Democratic allies like Gov. Paterson, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Chuck Schumer are less than wholehearted in their support. 'I don't believe what you are saying to be true,' Rangel, 80, said of reports Cuomo and the governor might skip his Aug. 11 birthday fund-raiser."
Don't expect any anti-Rangel resolutions this week, The Hill reports. "Republicans are employing a don’t-get-in-the-way-of-your-enemies-when-they-are-destroying-themselves strategy, the same game plan Democrats employed as Republicans grappled with ethics scandals in 2006."
Tax cuts solve all? "Republicans are formulating a messaging strategy that ties unemployment to Democratic tax policy and rebuts charges that they support tax cuts for the rich at the expense of deficit reduction," Roll Call writes, adding, "Rather than simply arguing that the government’s money belongs to the taxpayers, Republicans are claiming a direct correlation between extending the Bush-era tax cuts with a small-business owner’s ability to hire more workers and give employees a raise."
The Hill, meanwhile, looks at the Democrats' summer strategy: "House Democrats plan a six-week messaging campaign for the August recess in which they’ll warn voters that putting Republicans back in power would mark a return to failed George W. Bush administration policies. The strategy, coordinated with the White House and the Democrats’ campaign committees, is designed to put Republicans on defense by forcing them to explain where -- and how -- they would lead the country should they win control of Congress."
Politics Daily covers Tim Pawlenty speaking to reporters yesterday in DC. “There's no mystery about Pawlenty's political intentions, which partially explains why he drew 39 journalists to his debut this week at a ritual Washington breakfast… This was no light breakfast. It amounted to an hour-long audition for commander in chief, with a side helping of fiscal responsibility and enough tough rhetoric to prove that "Minnesota nice" is a relative concept in politics.”
COLORADO: Tom Tancredo announced yesterday that he would run for governor as a candidate with the American Constitution Party, prompting Ben Goss, the Constitution Party candidate until now, to say he would "rather let a strong conservative confront GOP candidates Scott McInnis and Dan Maes than leave them unchallenged," the Denver Post reports. "It’s not that I’m not a strong conservative," Goss said. "But I don’t have the same ability to bring focus to my message and to marshal and motivate resources."
In the Senate race, Democrat Andrew Romanoff has sold his Colorado house to loan his campaign $325,000, the Post finds. "I’m never home anyway,” said Romanoff of the decision.
Roll Call goes to Denver and dives into boots vs. high heels, or Ken Buck vs. Jane Norton: "In many ways, the marriage between Buck and the tea party has been one of convenience. ... Some activists in the state admit that they are supporting Buck in large part because he’s not Norton."
FLORIDA:Stu Rothenberg takes a look at Rick Scott, who Rothenberg calls "the odds-on favorite to win the Aug. 24 GOP primary over state Attorney General Bill McCollum" and "no worse than even money" in the general election. "How did Scott get to this point, where he is likely to be the GOP nominee? First and most obviously, Scott’s money made the difference." He adds: "[A]lthough McCollum and his allies have hammered Scott in paid media over Columbia/HCA’s $1.7 billion settlement, voters seem to be ignoring Scott’s warts, whether because they are more concerned with how government is affecting their lives or they have become so cynical about politicians that none of them look like bargains. It’s hard to believe that Scott would be doing as well if he were running in any other cycle or, possibly, against a different kind of opponent. But this may just be the perfect cycle for him, both in the primary and in the general election. Democrats ought to be careful about treating him as a weak general election opponent."
OKLAHOMA: The Tulsa World previews today's open primaries in Oklahoma. "The top of the ticket is the governor's race, with two Democrats and four Republicans seeking to replace Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat who is finishing the final year of his second term. He cannot seek a third term," the paper writes.
The Daily Oklahoman's lead: "Republican and Democratic voters take the first step today to select who will lead the state for the next four years, choosing from a lineup that is one of the most impressive in recent memory."
Here's an interesting fact: Longtime Attorney General Drew Edmonson, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, had an uncle who was governor, father was a congressman, and brother is chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
By the way, Mary Fallin, who's the front-runner for the GOP nomination isn't going to vote. Instead, she will "vote on an emergency funding measure for military operations in Afghanistan."
PENNSYLVANIA: "Senate candidate Joe Sestak says President Barack Obama has offered to come to Pennsylvania to campaign, but he would not be Sestak's first choice," The Morning Call writes. "He'd rather have Obama's wife, Michelle, hit the trail with him. Sestak told reporters at the Pennsylvania Press Club that Obama 'has offered to come and I went down to the White House and said absolutely, but I said, what I really want, my number one choice ... I said Michelle Obama.'"
TENNESSEE: A Mason-Dixon poll shows Knoxville Mayor Haslam beating Rep. Zach Wamp 36%-25%, the Chattanooga Times-Free Press reports.
The Colorado ad wars continue, this time with Americans for Job Security attacking Jane Norton; Kendrick Meek is out with his first ad in the Florida Senate race; the DGA hits Bill Brady in the Illinois gubernatorial race for his economic policies; and vehicular politics makes a comeback, although TN gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter's ride is not a truck.
AZ SEN, Hayworth, "McCain's Amnesty" 7/22 SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R): "I helped author with Senator Kennedy comprehensive immigration reform and fought for it twice." PRES. OBAMA: "I stood with Ted Kennedy and John McCain and took on this tough issue." ANNCR: "McCain's amnesty bill would cost 2.6 trillion dollars, rewarding illegal aliens with Social Security and Medicare benefits. Had enough? J.D. Hayworth led the fight against McCain's amnesty bill, wrote the book on securing our border and is endorsed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio." HAYWORTH : "I'm J.D. Hayworth and I approved this message"
CO SEN, anti-Norton (Americans for Job Security) "Talk is Cheap" 7/26 ANNCR: Liberal politicians will say anything. But talk is cheap. Take Jane Norton. NORTON: The federal government is overspending, overtaxing, it's overregulating. ANNCR: Wait. What's the real Norton record? Norton pushed the largest tax hike in Colorado history. As a regulator, she managed a multi-million dollar surge in government spending. Yup, talk is cheap. But Jane Norton has cost us plenty. Tell Jane Norton: No more high taxes and spending.
FL SEN, Meek, "He's the Man" 7/26 ANNCR: Check it out. Meet the real Jeff Greene. Ran for Congress as a California Republican. Moved to Florida two years ago. Became a billionaire on Wall Street betting middle-class families would lose their homes. Helped fuel the economic meltdown. Warren Buffett called Greene's scheme "financial weapons of mass destruction." GREENE: They'll attack me for my friends and my past when I was single. Some of it's true. But none of it matters. ANNCR: Betting on suffering does matter.
NV SEN, Angle, "Please Stop" 7/21 ANGLE: "Well, Harry Reid says he does more for Nevada; he's done more for unemployment. We were at 4.4%. Now we're at 14.4%. He's done more for the foreclosure rate. We have the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. He's done more for bankruptcy. We have the highest bankruptcy rate in the nation. Harry Reid has done more and it's time to say, 'Stop doing it. We can't stand anymore.' I'm Sharron Angle and I approve this message"
NV SEN, anti-Angle, (Patriot Majority) 7/23 ANNCR: "What do you think of Sharron Angle's ideas?" ANGLE (in clip): "As your U.S. Senator, I'm not in the business of creating jobs." MAN #1: "Oh, really?" MAN #2: "That's not her job, huh?" WOMAN #1: "If that's the case, whose job is it?" MAN #3: "What she doing for the people?" WOMAN #2: "I know so many people that are unemployed." MAN #4: "I don't know what she thinks her job is." MAN #5: "That doesn't make sense." WOMAN #3: "Everybody that's a politician in our state should help with people getting jobs." ANGLE (in audio clip): "That's not my job as a U.S. senator to bring industry to this state." WOMAN #1: "Sharron Angle's ideas are bad ideas"
CT GOV, Lamont, "Ted Kennedy, Jr.," 7/22 KENNEDY: "I'm Ted Kennedy Jr. I've lived in Connecticut for 25 years because I love this state. I've gone to college here, worked as an attorney here, and chosen to raise my family here. But what makes Connecticut so special to me are the people that I've met here. Two of those people are Annie and Ned Lamont. I've been lucky enough to become good friends with them, and I know they share the same values I believe in - the values of hard work and giving back. I admire the way Ned has worked to build his own business while still giving back to those less fortunate. Like being a national leader at Mercy Corps and improving education in distressed areas. I've seen Ned in action and I know Ned can bring people together from both parties to move Connecticut forward. I'm Ted Kennedy Jr. and I'm voting for Ned Lamont in the August 10th Democratic primary, and I hope you will too." LAMONT: "I'm Ned Lamont and I approve this message"
CT GOV, Fedele, "Jobs?" 7/22 MAN: "It was just a very good place to live, a good place to work, a good place to raise a family." WOMAN: "Tom Foley bankrupted the Bibb. We did not just lose our jobs, we lost our town." FOLEY CLIP: "The Bibb experience will make me a better governor." MAN: "I don't think Tom Foley should make $20 million dollars at the demise of somebody else losing their job." WOMAN: "I would not want him as governor." FEDELE: "I'm Mike Fedele, and I approve this message"
CT GOV, Foley, "Vision," 7/22 FOLEY: "I'm Tom Foley. I believe in Connecticut. Our well-trained work force, excellent schools and our quality of life. We should be a leader in the new global economy. I have a detailed plan for bringing back jobs. I'll reduce the cost of state government and close the state budget deficit without raising taxes. When it's done we can be proud, not just of where we have been, but where we are going. Working together, we can fix Connecticut. I'm Tom Foley and I approve this message"
GA GOV, Deal, "Why" 7/22 NOAH: "Papa, why do you want to be governor?" DEAL: "'Cause grown-ups in Washington are just spending too much money. They're hurting us here at home." NOAH: "Really?" DEAL: "YES, and I want to fight back by giving more jobs and lower taxes so people can keep more of their money." ETHAN: "Why, Papa?" DEAL: "Ethan, because I love the people of the state of Georgia almost as much as I love you and Noah." ANNCR: "Pro-life. Real conservative. Real results"
IA GOV, Culver, "Children" 7/21 ANNCR: "How do you say no to the most vulnerable? Shortchange their future, choose corporate giants over Iowa children. Why did Terry Branstad oppose health care for Iowa's neediest children, and now wants to close preschools across the state? Branstad believes his corporate contributors deserve tax breaks more than our children deserve a doctor or a teacher. Terry Branstad -- cooked books, eight pay raises, a past we can't repeat"
IA GOV, Bransted, "What Jobs?" 7/23 Chet Culver's jobs plan... iJobs. Chet borrowed $900 to create jobs... but Chet can't tell us how many job... likely none. Now get this... Culver's I-Jobs will end up costing taxpayers $1.57 billion. $$ million every year... for 23 years! Nearly 114,000 Iowans out of work. Almost 20,000 new unemployed since I-Jobs started. Chet, $1.7 billion and no jobs to point to? Really?
IL GOV, anti-Brady (DGA - Stop Bill Brady), "The Same" 7/26 ANNCR: People are asking. What kind of politician would side with insurance companies to oppose mammograms? And oppose the creation of family medical and maternity leave? It's the same Bill Brady who wants to give tax breaks to millionaires and the biggest corporations. But now says, we should roll back increases in the minimum wage. When it comes to protecting our pocketbooks, Bill Brady sides with the wealthy corporations while the rest of us need a governor on our side.
IL GOV, Brady, "Christmas in July and Pat Quinn is Santa" 7/23 ANNCR: "It's Christmas in July and Pat Quinn thinks he's Santa Claus. His personal staff got raises, some as much as 20%. What did we get? We get the bill. A proposed 33% tax increase, courtesy of Pat Quinn. It's no wonder the Tribune calls Quinn 'downright clueless.' Families are suffering, and the last thing Illinois needs is Pat Quinn tossing our money around while we can't even pay our bills. Bill Brady, governor"
MN GOV, Entenza, "Rip" 7/23 KID 1: "I want to learn." TEACHER 1: "I want to teach about science." KID 2: "History." TEACHER 2: "How to think." KID 1: "Not just how to take tests." ANNCR: "George Bush's No Child Left Behind is hurting our kids. Tom Emmer supports Bush's failed policy and drastic cuts to education. Matt Entenza and Robyne Robinson's plan? Get rid of No Child Left Behind. Let teachers teach to every child's potential, not just a test. And they'll make sure decisions are made right here in Minnesota, not Washington. Let's make Minnesota great again"
NM GOV, Martinez, "Jobs Plan" 7/22 ANNCR: "As jobs were lost, Richardson/Denish wasted millions. Abused the state jet. Denish even spent federal stimulus funds on campaign Christmas cards. We need change, Susana Martinez." MARTINEZ: "Over 80% of all jobs are created by small businesses. And that's why my plan focuses on them. By ending corruption and eliminating wasteful spending, we can phase out job-killing taxes to help all small businesses grow. If we have the courage to make bold changes, we will turn New Mexico around"
NV GOV, Reid, "Ask" 7/22 ANNCR: How much lower can we go when Nevada's schools rank last in the nation? And Brian Sandoval cuts education by hundreds of millions more. What opportunities will we be denied when Sandoval's cuts force layoffs of one in five teachers. How overcrowded will our classrooms become when Sandoval raids the fund set aside for class size reduction. How can Nevada build a stronger economy if Brian Sandoval gets his way? Just ask yourself.
TN GOV, McWherter, "The Four Wheeler" 7/25 ANNCR: "Imagine a governor more interested in fixing things than playing politics. Born and raised in rural Tennessee where he built a successful business and raised a family, he has a Tennessee First jobs plan that will cut taxes for businesses that create jobs here at home. He'll veto any proposed income tax and cut wasteful spending. He won't just fix his four-wheeler, he'll fix our economy." MCWHERTER: "Tennessee First. Tennessee Jobs. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work"
From NBC's Athena Jones President Obama took to the Rose Garden today to urge Senate passage of a bill that would require disclosure of corporate spending in any efforts to influence federal political campaigns.
The vote is expected Tuesday, but -- like everything else in the Senate -- 60 votes would be needed to move the legislation forward. And chances appear slim.
The House has already passed a version of the DISCLOSE Act, Democrats' answer to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which allows corporations and unions to directly spend money on TV ads, mailings, and other political activity on behalf of or against candidates.
"Because of the Supreme Court's decision earlier this year in the Citizens United case, big corporations -- even foreign-controlled ones -- are now allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money on American elections. They can buy millions of dollars worth of TV ads. And worst of all, they don't even have to reveal who's actually paying for the ads," Obama told reporters. "Instead, they can hide behind a name like 'Citizens for a Better Future' even if the more accurate name would be 'Companies for Weaker Oversight.'"
The president said such "shadow groups" were amassing tens of millions of dollars to influence the midterm elections, which would give special interests a huge amount of influence over politicians running for office. The DISCLOSE Act would require corporate political advertisers to reveal who is funding their activities and would restrict foreign corporations from spending money to influence American elections. Like the House bill, the Senate bill provides an exemption to these requirements for large interest groups such as the National Rifle Association, the Sierra Club, the Humane Society and the AARP.
The president said the requirements in the DISCLOSE Act should be "a matter of common sense" and not a partisan issue. He went on to paint Republicans who oppose the bill as standing in the way of progress -- a common administration theme this campaign season.
"The Republican leadership in the Senate is once again using every tactic and every maneuver they can to prevent the DISCLOSE Act from even coming up for an up-or-down vote, just like they did with unemployment insurance for Americans who'd lost their jobs in this recession, just like they're doing by blocking tax credits and lending assistance for small business owners," he said. "On issue after issue, we are trying to move America forward. And they keep on trying to take us back."
From NBC's Courtney Kube President Obama's nominee to be the new OMB director, Jack Lew, arrived in Iraq today to "review developments in that country and review transition plans," State Department spokesperson PJ Crowley said today.
Lew will meet with Iraqi leaders, embassy staff, and U.S. forces in Iraq to discuss the overall transition from a security mission in Iraq to a civilian-led partnership.
From NBC's Pete Williams Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) today asked the federal judge hearing the challenge to the state's immigration law to dismiss the Justice Department's lawsuit.
Lawyers for the governor repeat some of the same points they made last week -- that the law is not pre-empted by federal law and that an injunction is inappropriate. The law should be given a chance to work first before its operation is attacked in court, the governor argues, instead of relying now on "hypothetical scenarios."
There's no word from the judge on when she'll issue her ruling on the request to block the law. Federal judges typically do not give notice of when they'll rule; they just do it. We're watching the electronic docket closely.
From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Just after 2:00 pm ET on the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rhode Island Rep. Jim Langevin (D) was at the House chamber rostrum as the first disabled member of Congress to preside over the floor.
Aides say the big, leather chair was removed so Langevin's wheelchair can fit. House woodworking shop crafted a smaller gavel for him. The gavel was attached to his hand with a specially made strap.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D) offered congratulations and lead the Pledge. Speaker Pelosi also offered her congratulations and commented on how the five-term congressman deserved the chance to lead the House like all other members, and today he is able to do that for the first time.
From NBC's Mark Murray The Denver Post is reporting that former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, who ran for president in 2008, will run for Colorado governor as an independent.
"I will officially announce at noon [Colorado time] that I will seek the nomination of the constitution party," Tancredo told the Denver Post.
Last week, Tancredo threatened to launch a third-party bid unless the two Republicans running for governor -- Scott McInnis and Dan Maes -- promised to drop out of the race AFTER the Aug. 10 primary. McInnis is currently embroiled in a plagiarism scandal.
These developments -- Tancredo's bid, McInnis' plagiarism scandal -- probably increase the chances that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Democratic nominee, might win this race in November.
Las Vegas -- When 2,100 progressive activists gather in one place, Democratic Senate candidates show up too.
Democratic nominee for Senate Alexi Giannoulias, in a tight race with Republican Mark Kirk, told the Netroots Nation candidate cattle call in Las Vegas this weekend "I'm probably the first candidate in the history of the state of Illinois to run for the U.S.Senate not to take money from federal lobbyists, corporate PACs." (Which made one wonder about former Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. In 2004 Obama's Senate campaign did take $1.2 million in money from PACs including those of BP, Boeing, Pfizer, and the American Federation of Teachers. )
Iowa Democrat Roxanne Conlin reminded the Netroots activists that her opponent, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, had contended that the health care law would allow the federal government "to decide when to pull the plug on granny."
Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway promised the crowd that "with your help" he would "beat back the ignorance and intolerance of one Rand Paul."
And North Carolina Senate candidate Elaine Marshall, a Netroots favorite, told her supporters that, "I am running against one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the Senate," Sen. Richard Burr. But Burr had $6.2 million in cash in his campaign treasury as of June 30, compared to Marshall's $163,000.
Rep. Paul Hodes, running in New Hampshire for the seat being vacated by the retiring Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, said the difference between the two parties was the "we are about the people" and that the Republicans were "extremists, obstructionists, lying hypocrites, -- and we're not going to let them take back this country."
He urged the activists to "stop whining, start winning."
Noting that the unemployment rate in New Hampshire, at 5.9 percent is well below the national average, Hodes later told me, "Things haven't been quite as bad there – and you know we have this tradition of independence in New Hampshire."
Hodes' party loyalty record as a House member is strong. But if he wins while other Democrats are losing, New Hampshire voters may show that they're independent of national trends.
Hodes' Republican opponent won't be selected until the Sept. 14 primary. The frontrunner among the GOP contenders appears to be former state attorney general Kelly Ayotte.
Standing quietly and little noticed in the crowd of a couple of hundred, listening along to the Senate candidates make their pitches, was former Arkansas Senate candidate Bill Halter, one of the Netroots heroes, who narrowly lost his primary last June to Sen. Blanche Lincoln.
When Arizona Democratic contender Rodney Glassman told the crowd, "Howard Dean was talking earlier about the importance of Democratic primaries," Halter, the loser of the year's most hotly contested Democratic primary, looked down pensively.
Editor's Note: The quote from Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias in the story above originally stated that he had taken no money from PACS when he actually said he had not taken any money from corporate political action committees.
The liberal Web site Talking Points Memo is reporting that conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart -- who posted the very misleading excerpt of Shirley Sherrod's address to the NAACP -- is set to participate in an August fundraiser with RNC Chairman Michael Steele.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has a party fundraising event coming up in August that is scheduled to feature a very special guest: Conservative media activist Andrew Breitbart, according to a copy of the invitation exclusively obtained by TPM.
The fundraising event, billed as an "Election Countdown," will take place from August 12-14 in Beverly Hills, California, and will also feature other politicians such as California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, and Nevada Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Sandoval. Steele and Breitbart are scheduled to co-headline a welcome reception on the first evening, August 12.
The tax war cometh… Geithner makes the administration’s tax argument on “Meet”… What’s actually the new news from the Wikileaks?... The Rangel and Blago distractions… With 99 days until Election Day, can the RGA celebrate if it loses in CO, FL, and OH?... Rossi declares war against pork… Blunt leads Carnahan in Missouri… Profiling CA-11… And Ken Buck calls Tea Party birthers “dumba---s.”
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg *** The tax war cometh: Move over health care and financial reform. What to do with the expiring Bush tax cuts is about to become the next big congressional battle. “Democratic leaders, including Mr. Obama, say they are intent on letting the tax cuts for the wealthy expire as scheduled at the end of this year,” the New York Times front-pages yesterday. “But they have pledged to continue the lower tax rates for individuals earning less than $200,000 and families earning less than $250,000 -- what Democrats call the middle class. Most Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for everyone, and some Democrats agree, saying it would be unwise to raise taxes on anyone while the economy remains weak. If no action is taken, taxes on income, dividends, capital gains and estates would all rise.”
*** Geithner makes the administration’s case: On “Meet the Press” yesterday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner made the Obama administration’s tax argument. “The fair thing, the responsible thing for the country now is to make sure we leave in place and preserve tax cuts that go to more than 95% of working Americans and complement those with a set of incentives for businesses to expand and hire,” he said. “To make that possible, and to do that responsibly, I think it is fair and good policy to allow those tax cuts that only go to 2 to 3% of the highest earners in the country to expire as scheduled. The country can withstand that. The economy can withstand that.” By the end of the summer, we’ll know who has the upper hand here if this becomes a debate about raising taxes, or a debate about tax breaks for the wealthy and adding to the budget deficit. We could see a lot of ideological rhetorical gymnastics in this debate: Republicans may call the full extension stimulus; Democrats may make the "ok, fine, but let's pay for the tax cuts" argument.
*** Wiki, wiki, wiki: Another week, another distraction for the White House that takes their public focus off the economy. The Internet site Wikileaks has released tens of thousands of classified on-the-ground reports (from 2004 to 2009) about the war in Afghanistan. Per the Times, “The secret documents … are a daily diary of an American-led force often starved for resources and attention as it struggled against an insurgency that grew larger, better coordinated and more deadly each year.” Here is our question: What do these documents reveal about the war that we already didn’t know? Pakistan's ISI can't be trusted? (Sorta knew that.) The war was under-funded for years? (Sorta knew that.) Soldiers aren't sure whether these Afghans will be on our side long-term? (Sorta knew that, too). One potential second-day story is the news that the drones might not be as successful as originally thought; this would get to the heart of some of the supposed military successes that have been touted. Also, First Read has learned from a senior administration official that the government has pretty good idea who leaked the documents to Wikileaks.
*** The Rangel distraction: Speaking of distractions, the ethical clouds hovering over Charlie Rangel also aren’t pleasant news for Democrats. But is it harder for Republicans to push this story after Democrats already took away Rangel’s Ways and Means gavel? That’s almost as big as getting kicked out of office -- and arguably for Rangel, maybe even bigger.
*** Closing arguments in the Blago trial: NBC’s John Yang reports that closing arguments in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) are scheduled to begin today at 10:30 a.m. ET. Blagojevich is charged with 24 separate counts, including racketeering, attempted extortion, bribery, and conspiracy. Most of the crimes carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison. If he is convicted of all charges, gets the maximum sentences and is ordered to serve them consecutively -- a highly unlikely combination of outcomes -- he'd face 415 years in prison. Also if he’s convicted, Blagojevich would be the fourth former Illinois governor to be convicted, and the third for acts as governor. (Dan Walker was convicted of fraud in connection with his tenure as head of a savings and loan after leaving office.)
*** Can the RGA celebrate if it loses CO, FL, and OH? Republicans not only are poised to gain House and Senate seats in November; they're also expected to pick up several governors mansions -- a key development in next year's redistricting. But here is something to ponder: Will Election Night be bittersweet for the RGA and Republicans if they're unable to win the gubernatorial contests in the battlegrounds of Colorado, Florida, and Ohio? Right now, Dems might be the slight favorites to win all three, given the GOP plagiarism scandal in Colorado, the Rick Scott-vs.-Bill McCollum disarray in Florida, and John Kasich playing defense in Ohio. These races also offer a '12 storyline: If the GOP can't win the governor's race in these states -- in this year's political environment -- what does that say about Republicans' chances in 2012? Don't get us wrong, the Republicans are going to make huge gains in important battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and even Wisconsin. But Florida and Ohio are HUGE on the combo of presidential and redistricting politics.
*** Food for thought: The AP runs this quote from Washington state Senate candidate Dino Rossi (R): "The idea of dragging home pork is an old-school measurement of a senator,’ said Republican Dino Rossi… ‘And right now, with Republicans and Democrats alike doing that, it's bankrupting America. There's nothing in the Constitution that says the job of a senator is bringing home pork." Rossi’ quote raises an important question: If a senator or member of Congress isn’t supposed to bring home the bacon, then what is his/her job? To simply cast votes? Sit at committee hearings? Wage ideological fights?
*** Show me a poll: We finally got a good poll we can report on in Missouri’s competitive Senate race: A St. Louis Post-Dispatch/KMOV-TV/Mason-Dixon poll shows Roy Blunt (R) leading Robin Carnahan (D) by six points among registered voters, 48%-42%. But the biggest news -- again -- might be Obama’s approval rating, which sits at 34% in this battleground state. Ouch. By the way, in Missouri, a six-point lead isn't narrow; that's pretty large considering the history of closely contested campaigns in this state.
*** 75 House races to watch: CA-11: The Democratic nominee in this race is incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney (D), and the GOP nominee is David Harmer, who ran for the open CA-10 seat last year (and lost). McNerney voted for the stimulus, cap-and-trade, and health care. Obama won 54% of the vote in this district in ’08, and Bush won 54% here in ’04. Both Cook and Rothenberg rate this seat as Lean Democrat.
*** More midterm news: In Colorado, GOP Senate candidate Ken Buck “called Tea Partyers questioning the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate 'dumba---s' to a Democratic operative recording his comments without his permission,” the Denver Post writes… Also in Colorado, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is endorsing Buck opponent Jane Norton… In Nevada’s Senate race, CQ-Roll Call says that “Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Sharron Angle and her lackluster campaign”… And in Tennessee, GOP gubernatorial candidate Zack Wamp walked back his earlier suggestion that the Volunteer State might secede from the union.
Countdown to OK primary: 1 day Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 18 days Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 15 days Countdown to Election Day 2010: 99 days
“Shocking in scope if not in content, the leak of 91,000 classified U.S. records on the Afghanistan war by the whistle-blower website Wikileaks.org is one of the largest unauthorized disclosures in military history,” the AP writes. “The documents cover much of what the public already knows about the troubled nine-year conflict: U.S. spec-ops forces have targeted militants without trial, Afghans have been killed by accident, and U.S. officials have been infuriated by alleged Pakistani intelligence cooperation with the very insurgent groups bent on killing Americans.”
The New York Times: "The material comes to light as Congress and the public grow increasingly skeptical of the deepening involvement in Afghanistan and its chances for success as next year’s deadline to begin withdrawing troops looms. The archive is a vivid reminder that the Afghan conflict until recently was a second-class war, with money, troops and attention lavished on Iraq while soldiers and Marines lamented that the Afghans they were training were not being paid."
Greg Sargent sees this as yet another distraction for the Obama White House. “No matter how grim the prognosis for the war is in these documents, the economy, not Afghanistan, will decide the midterms.”
Obama’s “message for the fall elections, which are looking ominous for his Democrats, is that Republicans caused the nation's economic troubles, but he and the Democrats are starting to fix them. So stick with the Democrats and don't go back to the GOP,” the AP says. “‘This is a choice between the policies that led us into the mess or the policies that are leading out of the mess,’ Obama said recently in Las Vegas. Trouble is, it's a tough sell to voters who've seen little progress.”
“Feel like going to a Chicago birthday bash for President Obama, who turns 49 on Aug. 4? Be prepared to pony up a $30,000 donation to the Democratic National Committee, it was reported yesterday,” The New York Post writes.
The New York Post: “Democratic Party insiders predict that many top New York Democrats will abandon embattled Rep. Charles Rangel if the veteran lawmaker doesn't admit to several ethics violations before the charges against him are outlined on Thursday.”
Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) became the first Democrat to call for Charlie Rangel to step aside, The Hill reports. She told the paper Friday: "It is regrettable, but Charlie Rangel needs to resign from his seat in Congress. This isn’t about being a Democrat or Republican, this is about preserving the public trust. Our nation is facing extraordinary challenges and we must be focused on building a sustainable economy that will allow our workers and businesses to flourish."
“Sutton has built a reputation as a crusader for congressional ethics. In 2008, she led the fight to pass legislation creating the Office of Congressional Ethics, which now serves as an independent ethics body within the House of Representatives.”
The Hill: “A prominent congressional Democrat having to stand trial before the House ethics committee less than two months before November's election could compound the party's electoral woes in 2010. Yet if Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) does end up making the campaign trail tougher for House Democrats this fall, the irony is that short of him being expelled from the House, observers say he's unlikely to lose his own congressional seat.”
“Washington is abuzz with rumors of late-night partying and of House Republicans inappropriately hanging out with female lobbyists,” Roll Call notes. “But not everyone was taken by surprise. Minority Leader John Boehner has been working behind the scenes to address the issue for at least the past year and a half. The Ohio Republican has had private conversations with several lawmakers asking them to curb their inappropriate behavior.”
“Sen. James Inhofe last week terminated two part-time staffers after Roll Call raised questions about their employment, but the Oklahoma Republican continues to employ a part-time director of African affairs who earns the rest of his income as a missionary in the Africa division of the Assemblies of God church,” Roll Call reports. “Inhofe said last week that he terminated the two Oklahoma-based staff members ‘to keep it clean’ and ensure there are no conflicts. But he said he sees no conflict with his D.C.-based director of African affairs working on African issues for the Senate and a church group at the same time.”
“Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), addressing a convention of liberal bloggers and activists Saturday evening, implored the left to fight to stay in power in the midterm elections,” The Hill writes. “’If Republicans take back Congress they'll implement a truly dangerous agenda,’ Franken told the Netroots Nation gathering in Las Vegas. ‘Everything is on the table from repealing healthcare reform to privatizing Social Security.’”
Roll Call: “When Rep. James Langevin ascends to the Speaker’s rostrum to preside over the House chamber today on the 20th anniversary of the day the Americans With Disabilities Act was signed, the moment will symbolize nearly two decades of progress on the Capitol grounds.”
The Washington Post: “Emboldened by sagging approval ratings of the Democratic-controlled Congress, Republicans almost unanimously opposed a bill to overhaul the financial regulatory system that President Obama signed into law; they are against a measure to increase the disclosure of campaign spending by corporations; and they've largely eliminated the chance of passing a series of measures Democrats say could help the economy. Their opposition turned unemployment benefits, usually an issue with little political controversy, into an intense clash between the parties.”
The AFSCME union is running a print advertising campaign in conjunction with Mitch McConnell’s appearance in Louisville addressing the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The Washington Post's Cillizza takes a look at this midterm's batch of self-funded candidates, noting their investments rarely mean big returns. “Between 2000 and 2009, just more than one in 10 (11 percent) of self-funding candidates -- defined as those for whom half or more of total money raised came from themselves -- seeking state offices won. That dismal percentage came even though the approximately 6,000 self-financing candidates donated nearly $1 billion of their own money -- or 12 percent of all money raised by all candidates during that 10-year period.”
COLORADO: Jan Brewer, kingmaker? “Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Saturday endorsed Colorado Lieutenant Gov. Jane Norton in Norton’s Senate GOP bid, perhaps signaling growing demand for Brewer’s endorsement of conservative candidates outside of her state that focus on curbing illegal immigration,” The Hill reports.
“Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Ken Buck called Tea Partyers questioning the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate 'dumba---s' to a Democratic operative recording his comments without his permission,” the Denver Post writes.
MISSOURI: Roy Blunt leads Robin Carnahan in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch/KMOV-TV poll, “Blunt was preferred by 48 percent of the respondents, compared with 42 percent for Carnahan… In the poll, 57 percent of respondents disapproved of Obama's performance as president, compared with 34 percent who approved.”
NEVADA: “[A]n internal memo obtained by the Associated Press says Reid has ‘a serious problem’ with voters frustrated with the economy and ‘receives a great deal of blame.’ The July 15 memo is based on polling research conducted for Patriot Majority, a union-funded group that is running TV ads against Angle. The race is wide open, the memo concludes, despite Reid’s improved standing and voters’ alarm over some of Angle’s positions.”
That said… “Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Sharron Angle and her lackluster campaign to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), fearing she is jeopardizing what they had long viewed as a sure pickup and costing them a chance to reclaim the majority,” Roll Call reports. “Senate Republicans quietly acknowledge that Angle’s controversial views on some issues remain a political liability. But the former Nevada Assemblywoman’s larger problems are a progression of unforced errors stemming from a lack of campaign experience and an amateurish staff incapable of offering her the necessary guidance.”
OKLAHOMA: Taegan Goddard links to an Oklahoma Poll, conducted for Tulsa World newspaper, showing Republican gubernatorial candidate Mary Fallin leading her primary challenger Randy Brogdon by 38 points, 56% to 18%, and Democrat Drew Edmonson leading Jari Askins, 49% to 33%.
TENNESSEE: Over the weekend, Rep. Zach Wamp, a Republican candidate for governor, backed away from comments made during an interview with Hotline on Call that “suggested Tennessee and other states may have to consider seceding from the union if the federal government does not change its ways regarding mandates. 'I hope that the American people will go to the ballot box in 2010 and 2012 so that states are not forced to consider separation from this government,' Wamp had said.
But on Saturday, Wamp clarified his earlier remarks, the Kingsport Times-News reports. “'When I'm governor of Tennessee, of course we will not secede from the union,” Wamp said. 'But we will also not have a governor who will cave in to Barack Obama… We're going to be a proud partner as a member of the United Sates of America,' he said. 'But there needs to be a conflict between the states and the federal government.'”
Las Vegas -- Democratic strategists meeting with the left-of-center activists at the annual Netroots Nation convention in Las Vegas are worried that progressives – some of them disappointed with President Obama’s performance so far -- might not turn in the kind of hardworking performance they showed in 2008 for Democratic candidates this time around.
Netroots activists must work “so that people don’t give in to despair, that they don’t give up on politics, that they keep fighting and keep active,” said Mike Lux, a veteran Democratic organizer and consultant.
“There’s clearly an enthusiasm gap. That I don’t think anyone can really deny. It’s anywhere from 10 to 15 points between Republicans and Democrats in the national polls. If we do nothing else in the next few months but reduce that enthusiasm gap,” then Democrats can hope to do well in November, said Democratic consultant Chris Kofinis, who is working with the Democratic Governors Association.
“My message to people who turned out for the first time in 2008 is that this is a long-run, serious business and you’ve got to get out” to work on campaigns and vote, said Harold Ickes, the Democratic strategist who ran Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
In gubernatorial elections last year in New Jersey and Virginia, and in the special Senate election in Massachusetts last January which Republican Scott Brown won, “the falloff has been dramatic” among loyal Democratic voter groups: young people, blacks, Latinos, and unmarried people. A “very scary” decline in young voters in the New Jersey race, Ickes added.
The consequences of a similar falloff in November could be huge. Voters in 37 states will elect governors this November and 6,118 state legislators will be chosen in 46 states.
In most states, it will be the governors and state legislators elected in November who will draw the lines of congressional districts across the nation.
Redistricting follows the decennial Census – and Republican-controlled legislatures and Republican governors drawing the maps would tilt the advantage towards a GOP House.
Nathan Daschle, the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, warned the Netroots activists that Republican leaders have said “that if they do their job in electing governors this year, they will gerrymander 30 House seats.”
And Daschle noted GOP claims that “it’s going to be impossible for President Obama to be re-elected in 2012 if they win some of these key governors races.” That’s because in states such as Ohio and Florida a governor’s political apparatus and patronage power gives him the ability to mobilize voters in 2012.
Daschle noted that two of the GOP’s smartest strategists, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, are piloting the Republican campaigns in gubernatorial and state legislative races. “They understand the power to make a decade-long change to our political environment at the state level.”
Michael Sargeant, the executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, who spoke at a Netroots Nation panel discussion Friday, pointed to Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, and Ohio as battleground states for state legislative races.
In each of them there is a governor’s election this November, as well as legislative races. The Cook Political Report rates Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio as toss-up governors races; it rates the Michigan governor’s race as leaning Republican.
There’s some tension between Netroots activists and the Democratic Party strategists in Washington D.C. who run the redistricting effort.
One Netroots Nation attendee asked Sargeant if he could give activists a list of the ten seats in each state that could tip the balance in each legislature from Democrat to Republican.
“State bloggers and people interested in financing these campaigns could then have those targeted seats ready to go -- especially when we have an infrastructure on line that can really rally people at a moment’s notice,” he told Sargeant.
But Sargeant was unwilling to reveal the entire DLCC target list.
“There’s so little news coverage of a lot of these campaigns,” he noted, and in some cases he prefers to keep it that way. He doesn’t want publicity for sleeper races where Democrats have a chance to pick up a seat.
“We’re going to spend, with your help, a lot of money and use a lot of resources to win these races – but we don’t want the Republicans to actually notice,” he said. “We have to work through with our leaders with what they’re comfortable actually talking about,” he told the Netroots Nation questioner.
“Both sides – Democratic and Republican – don’t want the other side to know all their strategies,” Sargeant told me later. “I may have a target list for what races I think are important in Indiana, for example; I imagine my Republican counterpart would probably have a different list. Sometimes it’s very public which races overlap, and sometimes maybe there are a couple of sleeper races.”
100 days to Election Day, 100 days since start of oil spill, BP-Megrahi hearing, the Rangel hearing, Arizona's immigration law takes effect, 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, If it's Tuesday... voting in Oklahoma, campaign finance vote, Obama to New Jersey, New York, Michigan, and Illinois, plus Andy's incendiary speech.
Liberal bloggers watched the Ken Buck "I don't wear high heels" clip and shared their ire with their readers. They also pounce on news of yet another embellishment from Rep. Mark Kirk in Illinois. And conservative bloggers savored the news that the House Ethics Committee has filed charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel.
MyDD's Nathan Empsall on the Ken Buck video: "What do you think is next for Buck after he loses this race? Maybe he'll run recall campaigns against GOP Senators Collins, Snowe, and Hutchison? More importantly, I wonder what the odds of Sarah Palin endorsing Norton are now?"
Calling it a "quasi-macaca moment," AMERICABlog's Gaius Publicus wrote, "Note that he was talking to a woman at the time. Synchronicity at work."
A Chicago Tribune report came out today saying that Kirk routinely embellishes aspects of a story he frequently tells on the campaign trail, about capsizing in a sailboat at age 16 and being rescued on the Coastguard - an experience which Kirk says inspired him to pursue a career in public service.
"In the most recent instance, the 50-year-old North Shore congressman told a boating magazine that he stood on his overturned sailboat and watched the sun set, when in fact he was rescued in midafternoon on June 15, 1976," the Tribune reports.
"Kirk also has said he swam up to a mile in 42-degree water and that he was rescued with his body temperature hovering two degrees from death. Those declarations are questionable, based on interviews with an eyewitness and medical experts," the story continued.
"The inconsistencies in the rescue story may not have the same galvanizing impact of inflating a military resume, but they raise a new set of questions about whether Kirk has added details to his true-life stories that make a better storyline."
Wrote Washington Monthly's Steve Benen, "If it were just an anecdote here or there that was exaggerated for effect, this would be meaningless. But Kirk has done this repeatedly, with a wide variety of subjects over the course of many years, as if he has some kind of uncontrollable urge to mislead those around him about his own life.
"It seems, in other words, Kirk can't seem to help himself when it comes to telling tall tales. How voters are supposed to find Mark Kirk trustworthy going forward remains a mystery."
Steve Singiser at DailyKos wrote, "Just when it seemed the seemingly endless avalanche of stories about him exaggerating his biography for political punch had abated, he gets contradicted once again. This time, it was for what he claims was his very rationale for entering public life."
Of the Rangel ethic charges, NRO blogger Kathryn Jean Lopez noted the heated exchange with NBC's Luke Russert (for which Rangel called Russert to apologize this afternoon) where Russert asked Rangel about the future of his job with regard to his then-ongoing ethics violation.
Lopez wrote, "Nancy Pelosi & co. may just be losing MSNBC... Not only a real question for a Democrat in trouble, but ... after playing video of the dust-up, MSNBC ran a line reminding viewers of Nancy Pelosi’s 'most ethical Congress in history' pledge.
"It’s safe to say this is not a summer of love for congressional Democrats," Lopez concluded.
Also incorporating the "most ethical Congress in history," slogan, HotAir's Allahpundit wrote about what comes next for Rangel and the Democrats: "The next step is a trial by subcommittee. Given that the most ethical Congress ever had a decidedly lackluster reputation on ethics until now, I wonder how much pressure for and against charging Rangel there is on the Democratic side. On the one hand, this is going to push ethics back on the campaign menu. On the other, if they beat up on Rangel, it makes them look forthright."
From NBC's Athena Jones President Obama on Friday called on Congress to do more to help small businesses, which he called America's "most important engine for hiring and for growth."
The president said he wanted the Senate to pass a bill that would provide tax cuts for small businesses and increase lending to those businesses. A small business jobs bill containing these measures could come up for final vote in the Senate in the next few days.
The bill would set up a $30 billion fund to help community banks offer loans to small companies -- a provision that has won bipartisan support, help states encourage more private sector loans to small firms in hard-hit industries like manufacturing and construction, expand small business initiatives and more than double the size of loans available to small business owners. Obama said he hoped to see the bill pass "without delay" and without "partisan wrangling," arguing that small business owners "can't afford any more political games."
"They didn't send us here to wage a never-ending campaign; they didn't send us here to do what's best for our political party," Obama told reporters gathered in the Roosevelt Room. "They sent us here to govern and that's what I hope we will do in the remaining days before the Congress takes its August recess."
The administration believes help for small businesses will spur hiring to solidify what has turned out to be a slow-paced economic recovery. The White House also wants to see Congress pass aid to states faced with budget shortfalls so they can retain school teachers and other officials.
But there is not a lot of support for more spending as the mid-term elections approach, with Republicans especially opposing anything that would add to the budget deficit.
The small business bill joins other measures the administration wants to see pushed through Congress in the coming days. There are several important matters the White House is hoping the Senate -- in particular -- can dispatch with before it breaks for the August recess, including ratifying the New START -- which the president signed in Prague in April -- and confirming Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
From NBC's Ali Weinberg The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Republican Marco Rubio today in Florida's competitive three-way Senate race.
Speaking to a group of bloggers on a conference call, Bill Miller, the political director of the pro-business group, praised Rubio's "appreciation for free enterprise," adding that he's "not just talked the talk but walked the walk" espousing fiscally conservative principles as a member of Florida's state legislature.
Miller would not specify how the Chamber, which has reportedly said it will spend up to $75 million on the midterms, would assist the Rubio campaign. Leaders from the group will go to Orlando tomorrow to stump for Rubio at a rally.
Rubio, also on the call, said he was "proud of the endorsement and grateful" for the Chamber's support. While there are many points of agreement between Rubio and the Chamber, including extending the Bush-era tax cuts, the two diverge on one issue especially salient with Floridian voters: a trade embargo with Cuba.
While the Chamber has worked to end the embargo, last year calling it "one of the biggest foreign policy failures of the past half century," Rubio, the son of Cuban exiles, opposes lifting the ban before Cubans have political freedom.
"We want Cuba to have a government and political system that respects their inalienable rights," Rubio said. "They don't have that right now. Having this economic sanction against Cuba gives us leverage" so America has a bargaining chip to negotiate "on behalf of the Cuban people," he added.
"I think we do have a difference of opinion," Rubio said, adding that he is prepared to disagree on many topics with his colleagues in Washington if elected.
Miller said their divergence was a respectful disagreement. "At the end of the day there are so many common issues," Miller said. "The things Marco believes in are exactly the kind of things we as a country need," he added.
A reporter on the call noted how Rubio has seemingly shifted from running as a conservative alternative to then-Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to a more traditional candidate after Crist's decision to run as an independent. Rubio countered that while the circumstances of the race have changed, his beliefs have not.
"My ideas are no different than when I first got in this race," he said. "A lot of things have changed since then," he added, pointing to the "establishment's" initial endorsement of Crist before he became an independent.
"Folks are buying into our agenda, what we stand for," he said. "A year ago, many in the leadership of my party weren't ready to embrace that. They thought the way to be re-elected was to behave more like the Democrats. We now realize that we already have a Democratic party in America and we don't need two," he said.
Rubio was also asked about Crist's call for a special session in the Florida legislature to put an amendment for a Florida offshore drilling moratorium on November's ballot.
He said he didn't think there was "any doubt" that the call for a special session was a "stunt," noting that offshore drilling in Florida is already banned by statute.
"Nobody's asking for a lifting of that ban at this point," Rubio said, adding that Crist's move was motivated by his "desire to continue a storyline."
From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro If it’s Friday, it’s time for another Top 10 list -- this time we look at what we consider our 10 favorite House races (because they’re competitive or they tell a story, or they’re just interesting).
1. WA-3: This open seat might the purest of toss-up seats. It’s only one of nine districts in the country with a Cook PVI of +0, meaning it doesn’t traditionally favor either party. Obama won it, and so did Bush. As the quintessential swing district -- in a Dem-leaning state -- it could be a good measure of where the country is. 2. VA-5: Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello has done something most endangered Democrats haven't done -- stood up for the Obama agenda. The problem for him: It’s a relatively conservative district. 3. FL-8: Alan Grayson -- he's loud, he's controversial, he's got a lot of cash. And it’s all taking place in swing seat right in the heart of the Florida I-4 corridor. 4. WI-7: Running for David Obey's seat is a former “Real World” cast member, Sean Duffy, who also happens to be a world-record pole climber (seriously). Since his “Real World” days, he went to law school and is now a district attorney and serious candidate. But Democrats still like their chances. 5. NY-23: Elected House Republicans are nearly extinct in Upstate New York. Because of intra-party fighting, Democrats flipped NY-23 in '09. Does incumbent Bill Owens (D) hang on? 6. MO-4: The quintessential majority-maker district. If we see Rep. Ike Skelton (D) fall on election night, Republicans are probably taking back the House. 7. OH-1: The rematch. In ’08, Steve Driehaus (D) defeated incumbent Steve Chabot (R), in large part due to African-American turnout. Now Chabot wants his old seat back, in a cycle when Obama won’t be on the ballot. Oh, and it’s taking place in battleground Ohio. 8. TX-17: Does any district better tell the story of a resilient Democrat in a conservative district? Year after year, Republicans target Chet Edwards. And year after year, he wins. What about this time, in this climate? 9. KS-3: Dennis Moore (D) may have retired, but there will be another Moore on the ballot to replace him -- his wife. 10. FL-25: Will Lincoln Diaz-Balart going to run for his brother's more solid Miami-area seat backfire on Republicans?
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