Tuesday Afternoon Quick Hits

On the Expand the Map! ActBlue page, Andrew Rice has crossed $3,000, Larry LaRocco has crossed $1,000, and Tom Allen has crossed $500. The last threshold to get through is putting Rick Noriega over $1,000. We're only $88 away! Please chip in $10 if you can.

Mississippi: Republican Gov. Haley Barbour indicates that he has every intention of appealing the circuit court's decision to mandate the special election to replace Trent Lott within 90 days (emphasis added by me):

"When I set the special U.S. Senate election for November 4, 2008, I felt very strongly that it was the legal and appropriate action under the U.S. and Mississippi Constitutions and state law," Barbour said in a statement Monday. "Nothing in this decision by the Hinds County Circuit Court changes that belief. As I have said all along, the final decision in this case will be made by the Mississippi Supreme Court, and I look forward to that decision."

Word is that the Mississippi Supreme Court (which is an elected body) is stacked with Barbour cronies. (If Wikipedia's coloration is accurate, it consists of seven Republicans and two Democrats.) I know it's unbelievable that Republicans sitting on a Supreme Court would ever work to screw over Democrats (and, really, all voters) looking for a fair electoral process, but it happens. Stay tuned for developments.

New Hampshire: Popular former Governor Jeanne Shaheen is taking a pretty common sense stand on energy policy:

Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is calling on Washington lawmakers to roll back subsidies for oil and gas companies and invest in renewable energy.

And what is John Sununu's record? Very much against renewable energy and very much in the corner of Big Oil.

Oregon: Speaker Jeff Merkley's $619,000 Q4 take was not just a solid haul, but it was also record-breaking. And it was not just record-breaking, but it was competitive with Gordon Smith's $900,000 Q4 take. Of course, Smith has a cash-on-hand bankroll of over $4 million, but as long as Merkley (or whoever the eventual Democratic nominee is) can raise competitively with Smith, the DSCC and its massive fundraising advantage over the NRSC will be there to buttress the Democrat against Smith.