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March 08, 2006

Headlines

Midterm exams continue, so I only have headlines today.

First, the Southern Dem diaries on Daily Kos about an NRSC fundraising mailing and survey that intimidates recipients. Read this.

In Ohio, DeWine is having some trouble with the state GOP:

Things have still gotten a bit bumpy for Republican Sen. Mike DeWine across pockets of rural Ohio as he campaigns for reelection.

Two county GOP organizations have voted not to formally endorse the senator, and another has agreed his unknown opponent is equally qualified for the job.

Bill Pierce, a conservative math teacher and engineer who hopes to rise from political obscurity, tied with DeWine in Preble County last Thursday, which means the county executive committee there has officially chosen not to support the sitting senator. Preble County is on the Indiana line west of Dayton and might best be described as solid Midwestern farm country.

Earlier, Pierce picked up the county endorsement in Knox County, and he was rated ''highly qualified" by the Clermont County GOP. In Clermont, Pierce actually received more votes than DeWine and fell just a few short of the number needed for a full endorsement.

Liddy Dole admits that the Republicans are having problems and that this is going to be a painful election cycle for the NRSC.

Rick Santorum's campaign has launched a new website trashing Bob Casey for campaigning too much and not being in the Treasurer's office enough.

Hillary Clinton has a new challenger in liberal Republican K.T. McFarland. From the New York Daily News:

That sets up a GOP primary race against ex-Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, a conservative who calls McFarland a pro-choice elitist liberal. "I don't know what this woman is thinking, I really don't," he said, saying she'll divide the party and ultimately help Clinton (D-N.Y.). In her first nationally televised interview yesterday, McFarland told Chris Matthews on "Hardball" that she would never have voted with other Republicans to impeach former President Bill Clinton in 1998 if she were in the Senate then. She also said that efforts to label Hillary Clinton as an "angry woman" were "just nonsense."
...
Spencer is backed by the Conservative Party, without which no Republican has won statewide office since 1974. Gov. Pataki is widely seen as behind McFarland. New York's top Republican has been cool to Spencer because of apparent past friction, said political strategist George Arzt, adding, "It's part payback."

Did you know that Jim Talent used to be a lobbyist?

Soon after taking office in 2003, Sen. Jim Talent co-sponsored a health care bill that he said would help small businesses with the sharply rising costs of insurance for their employees.

The measure had been a longtime priority for the Missouri Republican, stretching back to his days in the House, and a hot issue in his election campaign.

But the bill was also at the top of the agenda for one of Talent's former lobbying clients - the National Federation of Independent Business, a powerful small-business advocacy group. The group had paid Talent's firm $60,000 for lobbying and strategic advice after his failed gubernatorial bid in 2000.

No one has accused Talent of doing the federation's bidding. His years-long promotion of the health care legislation and his wonkish interest in its every detail make it evident that he sees it as good public policy, not as a boon to a private interest group.

But his work on the matter highlights a delicate dance that Talent has tapped since winning election four years ago after a brief but lucrative stint as a Washington lobbyist. And it points up the unusual path Talent took to the Senate, which involved a trip through the revolving door from public office to the lobbying business - and back again.

More from St. Louis Today on the Missouri Senate race and the Democrat's prospects in other Missouri races.

Posted by Max at March 8, 2006 03:07 AM

Comments

Mmmm, that's sexy. I love it.

Posted by: Janice at March 8, 2006 03:18 AM

Rumor alert: The hotline is saying that some upper echelon people in Katherine Harris' campaign are imploring her to drop out and she's expected to release some type of statement today. This is mixed news from our perspective, because while she wouldn't ahve beaten Nelson she could've affected the Governors race. The only bad thing is that their is still 8 months till election day enough time fo find a candidate, if this had happened 3 months later, Nelson may have been looking at an unopposed race.

Posted by: Safi at March 8, 2006 02:50 PM

Filing deadline for Florida is May 12.

Posted by: Ohio guy at March 8, 2006 03:05 PM

Wouldn't it be AWESOME if Nelson ran unopposed? He has close to $9 million in his war chest. If unopposed he could shill out some serious cash to other dem candidates in the state and accross the country, not to mention the effect it would have on the entire ticket in florida.

Posted by: Ohio guy at March 8, 2006 05:18 PM

Ohio, that's the main thing from my perspective. The Gov. race is obviously integral because I think one of Kerry's biggest problems in Ohio was the fact that the establishment in Ohio was all Republican. But it could also help some House races and some other legislative races

Posted by: Safi at March 8, 2006 06:20 PM

even if Harris dropped out, Nelson wouldn't be unopposed -- there's at least one other Republican running for the nomination, Belinda Noah. (assuming Noah can get on the ballot, that is.)

Posted by: Johnny Longtorso at March 8, 2006 11:19 PM