The Tale of Two Warners, and Other News

Happy Humpday:

Virginia: Rumors are swirling that uber-popular former Governor Mark Warner is closer to running for Senate in 2008 than we thought. WaPo's Cillizza reports on it here (w/ Michael Shear) and blogs on it here at The Fix. As I've blogged before, there had been a phenomenon of "John Warner dropping out if Mark Warner gets in but Mark Warner not getting in if John Warner seeks re-election." Anyway, the report notes that M. Warner has been meeting with DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer, and reminds us that M. Warner left the Governor's office with an approval rating over 80% - monstrous. Perhaps enough to prompt J. Warner to retire and give M. Warner his open seat.

It turns out that accused-terrorist-funder Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari has given the NRSC even more money than originally believed (HT: TPM). It would be nice if the NRSC could produce a more clear and specific public response than this tepid, vague two-sentence statement.

Political Wire highlights a Roll Call piece that looks at the bumpy start GOP Senators have gotten as the minority party. The full impact of the GOP's new reality in the minority will only be fully felt (and further self-perpetuated) as GOP Senators (like John Warner and Thad Cochran in 2008 and even more in 2010) frustrated with their minority status possibly opt for retirement instead of re-election as the months roll on.

New blog: I want to give a quick shout-out to a new blog, The Accountability Project, which looks to hold GOP Senators to a pretty radical standard: their own votes and public comments. I look forward to The Accountability Project's commentary.