Friday Items

Please contribute via my new Expand the Map! ActBlue page. I have a very modest goal of 10 contributions for Larry LaRocco and 10 contributions for Andrew Rice by the end of today. Every dollar in Idaho and Oklahoma can go a very long way! Please help out.

Good ole' Club for Growth:

In the Senate, the Club would like to take on Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R), a notorious earmarker whose legal woes are giving some hope for a primary challenge. ...

It issued a poll last week showing Stevens losing handily to Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and this week criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) votes for the Democrats’ appropriations bills.

Stevens does not have a major potential primary challenger at this point, while some Kentucky GOP activists are trying to recruit former gubernatorial nominee Larry Forgy (R) to challenge McConnell.

I can't imagine Palin will enter a primary againt Stevens simply because she wants to be Governor. But it might empower other Republicans to consider a primary bid.

Alaska: Speaking of Stevens, SSP's Trent Thompson offers further insights on the recent poll on Ted Stevens, noting that 45% say they are unlikely to vote for Teddy Tubes for re-election and only 43% say they are likely to vote to re-elect Stevens, down from 50% in June.

South Dakota: Senator Tim Johnson reiterates that he is "determined to run for re-election."

Oregon: Speaker Jeff Merkley snags the biggest out-of-state endorsement yet in the 2008 Senate race: Senator Jon Tester of Montana.

Texas: Speaking of endorsements, State Representative and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega received the endorsement of VoteVets.

New Hampshire: Blue Hampshire notes that, while the Senate passed the anti-hate crimes amendment by a margin of 60-39 including the support of New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg, Sprintin' John Sununu opposed it, making him the only New England Senator of either Party to do so.

Nebraska: Former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub is expected to exit the 2008 Republican Senate primary after only about two weeks. Early primary poll numbers did not look good for Daub. Nevertheless, don't let Daub's exit serve as an indicator about Jon Bruning's intentions, vis a vis Mike Johanns' entry. Bruning has given every indication that he is in it for the long haul - in fact, Daub's exit may strengthen Bruning's position if Daub's support came from the same anti-Hagel/Heineman/Johanns pool that Bruning's comes from.

Will John Cornyn and the rest of the Senate Republicans who flipped out over MoveOn.org's ad questioning the veracity and accuracy of General Petraeus' report on Iraq to the point that he filed a Senate resolution condemning it now also file and support a resolution condemning Rush Limbaugh for calling soldiers fighting in Iraq who want to see an end to the War "phony soldiers"? Or are John Cornyn and his ilk going to again demonstrate their unending hypocrisy?