Tuesday Round-Up

Oregon: Governor Ted Kulongoski and former Governor Barbara Roberts have gotten behind Speaker Jeff Merkley's Senate campaign, noting Speaker Merkley's achievements in education, health care, ethics, energy, civil rights, and fiscal stewardship. The Governors described the current state legislative session as, "under Jeff Merkley's leadership, it was the most progressive and most effective legislative session in three decades." The endorsements are especially noteworthy given how early they have come out. Meanwhile, Republican Gordon Smith would rather perpetuate a policy that has led to the deaths of almost 3,700 American soldiers than hurt his friend's feelings.

Maine: Susan Collins is afraid of being held accountable for things she says and does in public on the campaign trail. Collins had her Chief of Staff (why she would have her taxpayer-funded Chief of Staff involved on campaign matters is another question!) send a letter to Congressman Tom Allen's camp begging him to stop recording Collins' statements at public events because, heaven forbid, people might actually find out what Collins has to say on issues of concern to them. Related, Collins Watch questions the Press Herald for overexaggerating the physical closeness of the activity, noting that anybody recording Collins does not encroach on her physical space. Collins Watch correctly categorizes the activity: "What we're talking about, instead, is the documenting of a public event." AmericaBlog's Sudbay nutshells it: "Susan Collins, who broke her promise to Maine voters that she would only run for two terms, doesn't want to be held accountable. No Republicans want that."

Texas: Cliff Schecter offers his reactions to State Representative and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega's most recent compelling ad. Also, The Politico chronicles the Texas Latino community's eroding support for the TX-GOP and John Cornyn.

Georgia: I really, really loathe Saxby Chambliss.

Kentucky: The Bridge offers the latest collection of possible Democratic challengers to Mitch McConnell in the 2008 Senate race.

Minnesota: With wildly unpopular George W. Bush coming to Minnesota to raise money for his good pal Norm Coleman, I'd love to see reminders like this in the media every day.

Votes in favor of John Roberts' and (especially) Sam Alito's nominations to the Supreme Court will indeed be 2008 campaign issues:

NARAL’s list [of Senate targets] includes Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire and Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico.

Alito and Roberts assured Senators that they were not idealogues, juuuust before their assault on individual rights, liberties, and protections.

DKos diarist plf515 offers a look at the recent gains, broken down by Party affiliation, in the state Legislatures of states with 2008 Senate races. For instance, Democrats recently made slight gains in both houses of the state Legislature in Colorado, Virginia and Kentucky, while making larger gains in the Maine and Minnesota Houses, and making massive gains in the New Hampshire House. (Entry updated; see comments.)

Carpetbagger looks at the GOP's purge of moderates and mavericks and ponders the media's overall lack of coverage of this political phenomenon.