Frightening Friday the Thirteenth Rundown
A new "centrist" Senate coalition is emerging on Iraq. But the coalition may be more about political posturing than achieving actual change in Iraq.
Louisiana: Crooks and Liars digs up some more rhetoric from prostitute-loving David Vitter on the moral fitness to govern. However, at the time, he was talking about President Clinton. We probably shouldn't expect him to hold himself to the same standard. Also, Cliff Schecter makes an excellent suggestion: the NRSC ought to return all money contributed to it or raised for it by Vitter, that is if the NRSC really cares about family values.
Meanwhile, Vitter rumors are flying fast and furious. One rumor offers that Vitter had his hookers indulge his alleged diaper fetish, and another rumor (an unconfirmed rumor!) suggests that he is at a New Orleans hospital currently on suicide watch. Some advice for Vitter: the best way to nip all rumors in the bud is to hold a press conference where you actually answer questions and put it all out on the table rather than offer a vague statement about receiving forgiveness for your sins and then try to sweep it under the rug as fast as possible. All the while, Vitter is e-mailing with his buddy Jim DeMint, who says that Vitter will be back to work next week. Hmmm, maybe he should have been working this week.
Colorado: Conservative former Rep. Bob Schaffer announced a $717,000 Q2 take, with $682,711 on hand. While that is a bigger Q2 take than many expected of him, it is still considerably behind Congressman Mark Udall's $1.1 million Q2 and $2.5 million on hand. Schaffer's next challenge is keeping up that pace in Q3 to demonstrate competitivity over the long haul.
New Mexico: Remember not too long ago (just last week) when Pajamas Pete Domenici said that he wanted to see a change in Iraq. Well, apparently he's reconsidered and fallen back in love with the status quo.
Kentucky: The Hill offers yet another article outlining Mitch McConnell's absent "leadership."
Kansas: Pat Roberts may be getting worried that Iraq is bringing down his approvals because it seems like he is getting ready to throw Bush under the bus.
Arkansas: Senator Mark Pryor's Q2 haul was over $1 million, bringing his cash-on-hand to just under $3 million.
Michigan: Senator Carl Levin's Q2 haul was nearly $1.8 million, bringing his campaign account to over $2.8 million.
South Dakota: With a little help from his friends, popular recovering Senator Tim Johnson's 2007 take so far has reached $1.3 million, $300,000 more than he had raised by this point in his last re-election cycle.
Minnesota: Smilin' Norm Coleman would hate to see anything happen to the precious status quo in Iraq. Meanwhile, Senate candidate Bob Olson is considering shifting gears and dropping out of the 2008 Senate race in favor of a House challenge to freshman GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Maine: CQPolitics and MSNBC both recognize that Iraq could be Susan Collins' political undoing, and Congressman Tom Allen is vociferously highlighting the enormous differences between he and Collins on the issue. Oh, and Olympia Snowe is doing Susan Collins no favors either, opting for a common sense approach over the Bush-Collins stay-the-course plan. As such, Mainers are out in the streets protesting Collins outside of her office.
Wyoming: Newly appointed Senator John Barrasso has officially filed campaign papers to run in the special election to fill the remaining four years of the late Senator Craig Thomas' term.
Tennessee: Rumors abound that Republican Lamar Alexander is considering leaving the Senate to become Vanderbilt University's new Chancellor, though the Alexander camp denies the rumor.
Oklahoma: State Senator Andrew Rice is sounding more and more like a candidate for U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, DocHoc asks "Is Inhofe Lying About College Degree?"
Iowa: Could the IA-GOP be turning their attention away from the Congressional delegation to find a challenger to Senator Tom Harkin, instead looking at U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker, described as "a loyal Republican with extremely strong ties to evangelical and conservative organizations."
Headline of the day: Signs Point To Rough '08 For GOP: Facts On The Ground Show Little Cause For Republican Optimism
1 Comments:
Actually, rumors had abounded that Alexander would leave for Vanderbuilt, fueled by his office's ambiguous statements on it. Its now back in the news because he's nipping the rumor in the bud.
And it should be that Schaffer has only been an active candidate since May, so his fundraising period was truncated. His campaign says that he's pulling in an average of $119K per week, which is an impressive showing. We'll see if he can close the gap between him and Udall.
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