Wednesday Night Rundown

The headline says it all: "Move To Let Gov't Negotiate Drug Prices Is Squelched By Republicans In Senate" - maybe we should vote some of those Senate Republicans out. A majority of Senators apparently support S. 3, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007, but a vote fell five short of cloture.

Among the obstructionist Republicans preventing our government from negotiating lower prescription drug costs: Alexander (R-TN), Chambliss (R-GA), Cochran (R-MS), Cornyn (R-TX), Craig (R-ID), Dole (R-NC), Domenici (R-NM), Graham (R-SC), Inhofe (R-OK), McConnell (R-KY), Roberts (R-KS), Sessions (R-AL), Stevens (R-AK), Sununu (R-NH), Warner (R-VA). These "Senators" all voted against lowering prescription drug costs, and their constituents will know about it. (Do Dole, Domenici, and Sununu really need more bad press? Does Sessions need to give Sparks more fodder? I guess so.)

Cook's most recent Senate Race Rankings is out. (Note: it is in PDF) Nothing too surprising on the Democratic side. On the Republican side, Sununu is listed as "likely rep" instead of "lean rep," surprisingly. And I don't know how he can rank Smith and Warner as "solid rep" instead of, at least, "likely rep" if not just "lean rep." But that's his outlook.

Oregon: Great line from Senate candidate Steve Novick:

Gordon Smith reminds me of the Wizard of Oz. Remember how at the end of the movie and the Wizard is exposed as a fraud. And Dorothy says, 'you're a very bad man'. And he says, 'No, dear I'm a very good man. I'm just a bad wizard.' Gordon Smith is a very nice man. He's just a very bad Senator.

North Carolina: Blue NC offers the latest developments on Elizabeth Dole's mixed messages on the OLF issue.

Oklahoma: Blue Oklahoma highlights a draft effort to encourage state senator Andrew Rice to challenge Jim "In Denial" Inhofe. The draft effort's home on the web is RunAndrewRun.com.

Maine: MyDD's Singer looks at Tom Allen's likely entry to the Senate race and touches on Susan Collins' duplicity on self-imposed term limits and Iraq policy.

New Mexico: NM FBIHOP looks at the possibility of a challenge to Pajamas Pete Domenici by former state AG Patricia Madrid. NM FBIHOP also notes Madrid's willingness to assist in the Domenici Senate Ethics investigation, which makes me uncomfortable with her as a Senate candidate. Unfair though it may be, it comes off as too opportunistic. Madrid would probably be a terrific Senator - this is just a very unusual set of circumstances.

Colorado: Coincidence of the day: Colorado Pols and the Guru both posted responses to WaPo's Cillizza's assessment of Mark Udall's Q1 fundraising post within a very short while of each other. And it turns out that great minds think alike.

Guru:

I respectfully disagree with that assessment. ... I don't think Udall having $1.5 million in the bank versus $2 million in the bank would have made a substantive difference.

Colorado Pols:

But to suggest that Udall could have raised enough money to scare off Schaffer is a bit silly. ... what difference would it make to Schaffer if Udall had $1.5 million or $2 million?

Schadenfreude of the day: "Burns Legal Fees Near $300,000"

UPDATE (11:20pm): Minnesota: Mike Ciresi's website is up and running.