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July 21, 2010
Jim Galloway credits Sarah Palin with boosting Karen Handel (R) to a first place finish in yesterday's Republican gubernatorial primary in Georgia.
"With a simple Facebook posting nine days ago, and a 30-second message sent to telephones in 400,000 Republican households, Palin served as both sword and shield for Karen Handel -- boosting the former secretary of state to the top rung in a GOP runoff for governor. It may have been the most efficient and impressive use of political celebrity this state has ever seen, made on behalf of a woman whose views sometimes mirror those of the former Alaskan governor -- but not always."
President Obama signed into law a sweeping package of Wall Street reforms adding to his list of impressive legislative accomplishments. The signing marks the conclusion of more than a year of effort to craft a legislative response to the 2008 financial crisis.
Wall Street Journal: "The wide-ranging law will touch every corner of the financial universe,
curtailing certain risky activities of the nation's largest finacial
firms, affecting how average Americans obtain credit cards and
mortgages, and transforming the way regulators work to assess and
respond to potential flash points in the economy."
Because of the law, Obama insisted "the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes. There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period."
A new
Public Policy Polling survey in Florida shows Alex Sink (D) has opened up "an unlikely lead" in the race for governor.
Sink leads Rick Scott (R), 36% to 30%, with Bud Chiles (I) getting 13%. She also leads Bill McCollum, 37% to 23% with Chiles at 14%.
Key factor: "Scott and McCollum both have very poor favorability numbers. Their
primary battle has completely turned off Democrats and independents, and
Republicans aren't seeing them very positively either."
New York Post: "Eliot Spitzer was so desperate to be on TV, he accepted a
contract from CNN for less than $1 million to host a prime-time, 8 p.m. show. A source says he's making closer to $500,000 than $1 million, as is his co-host, Kathleen Parker... Insiders say CNN isn't spending a lot on talent for the 8 p.m. show because its chances for success are slim."
The publisher of the
New Hampshire Union Leader blasts Sarah Palin's
endorsement of Kelly Ayote (R) in the state's U.S. Senate race.
"Palin isn't making these endorsements because, as she claims, she has spent time in New Hampshire and thus knows that the people here are a lot like Alaskans. She spent a few hours here on one day during the 2008 Presidential election. That's still more time than she spent getting to know Ayotte, but it takes quite a bit longer to know New Hampshire... Don't fret over what a '
Mama Grizzly' from Alaska does. Right now, Granite Staters have more to worry about in keeping bears away from bird feeders."
Rick Hasen reports that a draft FEC advisory opinion -- which is likely to pass without even a meeting or public discussion -- "is going to make it much more likely that the public will be unaware of the identity of corporate and union backers of campaign ads."
Since the Supreme Court decision earlier this year to
roll back contribution limits "a few more dominoes had to fall before I'd expect a flood of new money into elections. This is one big domino."
Ben Smith: "The election of Barack Obama, America's first black president, was supposed to be a sign of our national maturity, a chance to transform the charged, stilted 'national conversation' about race into a smarter and more authentic dialogue, led by a president who was also one of the nation's subtlest thinkers and writers on the topic."
"Instead, the conversation just got dumber."
It's worth noting that today's
Quinnipiac Poll shows Republicans leading the generic congressional ballot by five points, 43% to 38%. Among independents, the GOP lead is 15 points.
It's increasingly likely that the
Gallup survey released earlier this week that showed Democrats jumping into the lead is an outlier.
The RNC failed to report more than $7 million in debt to the FEC in recent months -- "a move that made its bottom line appear healthier than it is heading into the midterm elections and that also raises the prospect of a hefty fine," the
Washington Times reports.
RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen accused Chairman Michael Steele "of trying to conceal the information from him by ordering staff not to communicate with the treasurer -- a charge RNC officials deny." Pullen said that he "had discovered $3.3 million in debt from April and $3.8 million from May, which he said had led him to file erroneous reports with the FEC."
The Hotline notes Pullen's allegations "are sure to incite fireworks" at the party's August meeting. "Both Steele and Pullen have allies on the party's budget committee, where influential members of the RNC often find themselves. The proxy battle between the 2 is likely to dominate the gathering in Kansas City."
"It's almost mathematically impossible to win a race with seven candidates involved, and I was humbled and overwhelmed by it."
-- Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes (D), quoted by the
Atlanta Journal Constitution, on receiving 66% of the vote in Democratic gubernatorial primary to avoid a runoff. He'll face either Karen Handel (R) or Nathan Deal (R) in the general election.
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has decided she will not run to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), three sources familiar with her plans told
The Fix.
Capito was the favorite on the Republican side, and state legislators gained a
concession in a special-election bill passed earlier this week that would have allowed her to run for both reelection and in the Senate race at the same time.
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D)
announced yesterday that he'll be a candidate for the Democratic nomination.
A new
Quinnipiac poll finds President Obama's job approval rating has dropped to 44%, his worst net score ever, and American voters say by a narrow 39% to 36% that they would vote for an unnamed Republican rather than Obama in 2012.
By a 48% to 40% margin, Americans say Obama does not deserve reelection in 2012.
Said pollster Peter Brown: "It was a year ago, during the summer of 2009 that America's love affair with President Obama began to wane. In July of 2009, the President had a 57% to 33% approval rating. Today, his support among Democrats remains strong, but the disillusionment among independent voters, who dropped from 52% to 37% approval to 52% to 38% disapproval in the last 12 months, is what leads to his weakness overall when voters start thinking about 2012."
A new
SurveyUSA poll in Virginia's 5th congressional district shows Robert Hurt (R) beating Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) by a huge margin, 58% to 35%.
Perriello barely beat 6-term Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) in 2008 and now trails among most demographic groups.
July 20, 2010
Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes (D) avoided a runoff by trouncing his opponents in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, the
Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
He will likely face either Karen Handel (R) or Nathan Deal (R) who appear to be headed to a runoff.
A new
Reuters/Ipsos poll in Arkansas shows Rep. John Boozman (R) way ahead of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D), 54% to 35%.
Several other
recent polls have also shown large leads for Boozman.
Attorneys for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich told the judge in his corruption trial that their client will not testify in his own defense, the
Chicago Tribune reports.
The judge told the defense team to mull the decision overnight and then abruptly adjourned the trial for the day.
Sources said Blagojevich's lawyers told the judge that they may rest their case without calling any witnesses.
Meanwhile, the
Chicago Sun Times notes that if Blagojevich does decide not to present any witnesses White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will not have to testify.
A new
Magellan Strategies poll in Wisconsin finds Sen. Russ Feingold (D) holding a slim lead over challenger Ron Johnson (R), 45% to 43%.
In his latest installment of
D.C. Decoder, former
Hotline editor Craig Crawford shows you how to tell if a poll's results are legitimate.
A new
Detroit News poll in Michigan finds Andy Dillon (D) with a nine-point lead over Virg Bernero (D) in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor, 34% to 25%.
However, 40% of Democratic voters are still undecided on who they'll back in the primary.
A new
Public Policy Polling survey in Nevada shows Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) edges challenger Sharron Angle (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 46%.
Key finding: "Reid continues to have upside down approval numbers, but they've improved over the last six months. 44% of voters in the state like the job he's doing while 53% disapprove. That's a good deal better than earlier in the year when his approval was only 36% and 58% gave him bad marks. Since then Democratic voters have really rallied back around Reid and independents have softened in their feelings toward him as well. Reid's approval spread within his party is 80/14, compared to 67/27 over the winter. With independents he's still pretty unpopular at 38/60 but that's much improved from the prior standing of 24/68. Certainly the Republicans nominating Angle is the biggest reason this race is competitive again, but Reid's personal resurgence shouldn't be overlooked either."
A must read:
Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts: The Politics of Numbers in Global Crime and Conflict edited by Peter Andreas and Kelly M. Greenhill.
Jack Schafer: "Set aside a couple of hours tonight to read three or four of the essays that academics Peter Andreas and Kelly M. Greenhill collected in it. Then, sit down in front of your computer and send me an e-mail to thank me for helping to end your enslavement to the dodgy numbers that taint journalism and public policy. It's not just a good book. It's a great book. And it belongs forever on your bookshelf."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) "solidified his maverick status and no doubt fanned the flames of conservative resentment already running high against him," as he voted in the Senate Judiciary Committee "to support the nomination of Elena Kagan for a seat on the Supreme Court, the lone Republican to do so,"
Fox News reports.
Said Graham: "I'm going to vote for her because I believe this last election has consequences."
"Graham said senators shouldn't replace the president's judgment with their own, but merely ask, is the nominee qualified, of good character, and a judge, not a politician? To that, Graham answered yes."
A new
Public Policy Polling survey in Florida shows Gov. Charlie Crist (I) leads the race for U.S. Senate with 35%, followed by Marco Rubio (R) at 29% and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) at 17%.
With Jeff Greene (D) as the Democratic nominee, Crist leads with 38%, followed by Rubio at 29% and Greene at just 13%.
Key finding: "Crist has become the de facto Democratic nominee and that's where most of his support is coming from. He's currently getting 44% of Democrats in the Meek match up, along with 40% of independents and 23% of Republicans."
The
New York Times weighs in on Sarah Palin's latest high profile
endorsement and makes a smart observation: "That she is leaving a major footprint on the 2010 midterm elections is not disputed, but less clear is whether the endorsements are rooted in an effort to amplify her image or to create a political strategy for the future."
Bloomberg looks at second-quarter fundraising and notes that House GOP candidates running in competitive open seats have a decided advantage over their Democratic opponents. However, House Democratic incumbents have a clear financial advantage over their GOP challengers.
First Read: "This is why open seats matter, and why the relatively few number of Dem open seats is yet another difference why this might not be 1994. By the way, the
Rothenberg Political Report now projects Republicans picking up 28-33 seats. They need 39 to take back control of the House."
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