Sunday Rundown

South Dakota: An aide to Senator Tim Johnson says that a decision on a possible 2008 re-election bid will come after Johnson returns to his Capitol Hill office, and that, regardless of his injury and subsequent recovery process, a re-election announcement would still not have been made by him at this point in the cycle.

Wyoming: The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle suggests more names for the short list to fill the Senate vacancy, including: State House Majority Leader Rep. Colin Simpson of Cody, state senator John Barrasso, former U.S. Attorney Matthew H. Mead, and former state rep. Beckett Hinckley. Colin Simpson, son of former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson, seems to be the one name that makes every single list, so it's a safe bet that he'll be one of the final three (and, therefore, probably a safe bet that Democratic partisans would want Governor Freudenthal to pick one of the other two names on the list).

Alabama: Jeff Sessions has a hideous record when it comes to supporting labor and working-class folks. As such, I hope that, on Election Day 2008, labor and working-class folks choose not to support Jeff Sessions, since Jeff Sessions doesn't support them.

Colorado: It sure didn't take long for the NRSC to jump out with misleading attack ads for the 2008 cycle, and they're using a dusty, old playbook with which to do it. The NRSC's misleading attack ad against Congressman Mark Udall takes out of context Udall's votes in opposition to Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The NRSC and Republican leadership simply do not care about the truth. Congressman Udall's policy page on taxes outlines his positions, and offers specific votes to defend those positions, quite clearly (emphasis added by me):

I support responsible tax cuts to help Colorado working families and to create jobs.

* I voted to permanently end the marriage penalty so that people wouldn’t pay more income taxes just because they got married.
* I voted to permanently extend the special 10% tax bracket that has reduced the income tax for millions of people.
* I voted to make permanent the $1,000 child credit that helps people struggling to raise and educate their children and I support the tax credit that helps people adopt children who need loving homes.
* I voted to protect middle-class families from extra taxes under the “alternative minimum tax.”
* I voted to slash the estate tax.

But I have not supported the Bush Administration’s program of excessive tax breaks for the people who need them least. Coming on top of the recession and the need to spend more for homeland security and national defense, the President’s tax cuts have drowned the budget in red ink and led to the worst tax increase of all – the national “debt tax” that will have to be paid by our children. I believe it is immoral to leave this debt to our children and grandchildren and Congress must act to bring fiscal responsibility back to the federal budget.

The page goes on, offering vote citations and more background. Udall also does a good job of pointing out that Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy now are just a tax hike on everybody down the road as Bush's fiscal policy has led to record deficits (a concept I hope more Democrats point out and focus on). Ultimately, Udall makes it crystal clear that he supports tax cuts for working-class families that need the tax cuts and opposes tax cuts for the wealthiest people who do not need the tax cuts. Udall's position on taxes seems like it would greatly benefit Colorado families - but the NRSC simply doesn't care about the truth. I suppose we can expect more misleading attack ads from the NRSC and Republicans as the cycle continues.