Dems bending over backwards to assure Republicans they won't pass legislation during lame duck session

Of course, it's entirely legal to pass legislation during the lame duck session. It's not like Congess ceases to exist between the elections and the swearing in of a new Congress. But, Democrats being Democrats, all the Republicans have to do is say "boo!" and they back away as quickly as they can. Really quite pathetic.

From The Hill:

The head of House Democrats’ campaign committee tried Tuesday to tamp down speculation that the party would try to push through major legislation during a lame-duck session of Congress this fall.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the assistant to the Speaker and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said “no one should think there’s some secret plan for after the election on big issues.”

“There’s no secret or overt plan to do something like that,” he told MSNBC.

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Missouri Teabaggers: We have NOT endorsed Roy Blunt. And, they're angry at Bachmann.

Woah. There's a major intra-GOP cat fight underway in Missouri.

Seems Michelle Bachmann, founder of the House Teabagger Caucus, is going to be campaigning this weekend for GOP Senate candidate Roy Blunt. His primary is next Tuesday, August 3rd. Joe the Plumber did an ad for Blunt's right-wing opponent, Chuck Purgason, this week.

Well, the Missouri teabaggers are NOT happy. Not at all. They're not for Blunt and want everyone, including Bachmann, to know it. Sean at FiredUp Missouri has the details:

KMBC's Micheal Mahoney: "More that two dozen Missouri TEA parties say a bid by US Senate candidate to capitalize on their movement has 'shocked' them...'Roy Blunt voted for TARP and Cash for Clunkers. For Michele Bachmann to come to Missouri and give the impression that all the Missouri Tea Parties support Roy Blunt is an abomination of everything we have been standing up for,' said Jedidiah Smith, a Tea Party leader in Franklin County, Missouri."

And, here's that Teabagger press release.
teapartypr Read More......

Maine's teabagger/GOP candidate for Governor caught lying. Will now only give written answers to media

Maine's Republican Party has its own version of Sharron Angle. He's the GOP candidate for Governor: Paul LePage. After a rough week, in which he basically spewed out a series of lies and personal attacks, LePage said he's not talking to the media anymore, via the Kennebec Journal:

"How do we keep this above board, how do we keep this straight?" Hale asked.

"Well, from now on, what I am going to do is, I'm not going to make any comments to reporters unless it's in writing," LePage said.

Hale asked, "Really?"

"Yeah," LePage said. "Because they won't report what you say, they just report the spin that they want to put on it."

Huh? See, part of the problem is that when LePage opens his mouth, he inserts his foot. For example:

On Tuesday, Democratic officials once again called on LePage to apologize for statements over the weekend in which he said that the Democrats’ 2010 campaign manager, Arden Manning, had suggested LePage was not fit to be governor because he is Catholic and of French Canadian descent.

Manning has denounced the accusation as “a lie, plain and simple.” And on Tuesday, the Maine Democratic Party insinuated that LePage’s statements could land him in legal hot water — even while citing the controversy in an appeal for campaign donations.

I believe Manning. LePage just flat out lied. That's disturbing on several levels. But, it's not unusual. He's made some bizarre statements in the past.

LePage thinks creationism should be taught in public schools. Seriously. In a televised debate of the GOP gubernatorial candidates on May 27th 2010, Maine Public Broadcasting Network’s each of the candidates was asked: “Do you believe in creationism, and do you think it should be taught in Maine public schools?” LePage's answer: “I would say intelligence, uh, the more education you have the more knowledge you have the better person you are and I believe yes and yes.”

Maine has a strong legacy of environmental leadership. But, even in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, LePage supports offshore drilling. In that same candidate's debate On May 27 on Maine Public Broadcasting Network, LePage was asked if he would support drilling off the coast of Maine. He answered “Yes.” Two of Maine's premiere industries are tourism and lobsters. Offshore drilling would do a number on both.

The Democratic candidate is Libby Mitchell (LePage trashed Libby about her age over the weekend, too.) There are also a couple of independents in the race.

So, when you wonder why Collins and Snowe aren't being the moderates they purport to be, keep in mind that their stand-bearer in Maine is a teabagger. Collins has already endorsed LePage. I'm sure Snowe will. Read More......

GOPers Vitter and Blunt sponsor bills to protect BP by limiting liability

You'd think that the Senator from Louisiana would want to hold BP accountable. Not David Vitter. He wants to pass legislation to protect BP by limiting the company's liability by basing liability on BP's profits (and, as we reported earlier, BP had a $17 billion loss in the last quarter.)

Via Sam Stein:

Instead, the GOP has rallied around a counter-proposal, authored by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would cap an oil company's liability at an amount equal to its profits of the last four quarters. If the company had not made a profit in the past four quarters, it would be liable for $150 million (or twice the current cap).

To be sure, BP still has a chance to turn around its profit margin during the next three quarters. But in terms of net earnings, it is now operating out of a $17 billion hole. If Vitter's version of economic liability legislation were the law of the land, there would be open concern about the damage payments that Gulf residents would end up recouping. As a Democratic operative working on the issue notes:

When Vitter introduced the bill, we pointed out that one of the co-owners of the Deepwater Horizon rig, Andarko, had not made a profit in the last year. But with this news today, if BP doesn't overcome this quarter's losses, next year they could be responsible for a disaster as bad as or worse than the one in the Gulf and they would only be liable for $150 million if Vitter's bill were law.

UPDATE: An astute reader points out that another Senate candidate, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), has sponsored legislation similar to Vitter's in the House.

Vitter and Blunt are two of the GOP's top Senate candidates this year. Protecting BP is a top priority.

And, we're all well aware of Vitter's shady past with prostitutes. Turns out Blunt is a Party Boy -- a big time DC Party Boy. Read More......

Senate GOPers block vote on campaign finance reform

First, a win for corporate interests in the Supreme Court with the Citizens United decision. Now, a follow-up victory in the U.S. Senate.

The Senate Republicans, voting as a bloc, just sustained their filibuster of campaign finance reform. The vote was 57 - 41. All the Democrats present, even Ben Nelson, voted to end the filibuster. (Reid voted no for procedural reasons.) Remember when John McCain used to be an advocate for campaign finance reform, before he flipped on that issue like every other? What a fraud. And, Maine has a Clean Elections law, which passed as a citizen initiative back in 1996. So, this should have been an easy vote for Snowe and Collins, but they must show fealty to Mitch McConnell and the GOP funders, not Mainers.

During the floor debate, Chuck Schumer, who is the sponsor of the DISCLOSE Act, said:

This is a sad day for our democracy. Not only does the Supreme Court give those special interests a huge advantage, but this body says they should do it all in secret without any disclosure. That, my colleagues, transcends this election, transcends Democrat or Republican. It eats at the very fabric of our democracy. It makes our people feel powerless and angry.

It is another sad day for our democracy. And, while Schumer thinks this might transcend Democrat or Republican, the GOPers sure benefit from it. Read More......

In NH, Palin's endorsement of GOPer could swing Senate race to Democrat Paul Hodes

Many in the traditional media and the political punditry are agog over Sarah Palin. They monitor and deconstruct her tweets and Facebook postings, trying to determine how she'll shape the nation. But, Palin doesn't cast the same spell over real voters -- outside of the hard core of the hard core Republicans. Look at PPP's latest numbers from New Hampshire:

Kelly Ayotte's seen her appeal to moderate voters crumble in the wake of her endorsement by Sarah Palin and her lead over Paul Hodes has shrunk to its lowest level of any public polling in 2010- she has a 45-42 advantage over him, down from 47-40 in an April PPP poll.

While Palin's endorsement may help with the extreme GOPers (and the Villagers), it's not so helpful with the moderates:

Most of the movement both in feelings about Ayotte and in the horse race has come with moderate voters. Moderates make up the largest bloc of the New Hampshire electorate at 47%, and Hodes' lead with them has expanded from just 8 points at 47-39 in April to now 21 points at 51-30. Ayotte's favorability with them has gone from +5 at 32/27 to -19 at 27/46.

The Palin endorsement may well be playing a role in this. 51% of voters in the state say they're less likely to back a Palin endorsed candidate to only 26% who say that support would make them more inclined to vote for someone. Among moderates that widens to 65% who say a Palin endorsement would turn them off to 14% who it would make more supportive.

So, Ayotte could win the GOP primary because of Palin's endorsement, but lose the general election because of Palin's endorsement. I'll take that.

I met Paul Hodes at Netroots Nation -- and I was impressed. He's not your run-of-the-mill Senate candidate. He's got a varied background: a lawyer and a musician. And, he supports marriage equality. His website is here. Read More......

Jeb Bush's Rand Paul Fundraiser Awkwardly Takes Place On Anniversary Of Disability Act

Aw-kward.

When former Florida Governor Jeb Bush hosts a fundraiser on behalf of Senate candidate Rand Paul on Monday it will symbolize, in more ways than one, the uncomfortable union of opposite poles of Republican ideology. Bush's brand of pragmatic conservatism stands in contrast to Paul's Tea Party temperament. The Kentucky Republican, likewise, often touts his independence from the GOP, citing the antiquated Republicanism of the Bush clan as an example.

And so it seems almost appropriate that the two would team up, of all days, on the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Then there is Paul. The Tea Party candidate caused a stir the day after winning the Republican primary when he wavered on saying whether he would have supported landmark civil rights legislation had he been in office at the time. Tucked away in that same interview was a similar question about ADA. Did the legislation go too far, asked NPR's Robert Siegel.

"I think a lot of things could be handled locally," Paul said. "For example, I think that we should try to do everything we can to allow for people with disabilities and handicaps... I think if you have a two-story office and you hire someone who's handicapped, it might be reasonable to let him have an office on the first floor rather than the government saying you have to have a $100,000 elevator. And I think when you get to solutions like that, the more local the better, and the more common sense the decisions are, rather than having a federal government make those decisions."

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GOP worried that Angle isn't doing so well against Harry Reid

Well, she is a bit nutty. From CQ Politics:

Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Sharron Angle and her lackluster campaign to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), fearing she is jeopardizing what they had long viewed as a sure pickup and costing them a chance to reclaim the majority.

Senate Republicans quietly acknowledge that Angle’s controversial views on some issues remain a political liability. But the former Nevada Assemblywoman’s larger problems are a progression of unforced errors stemming from a lack of campaign experience and an amateurish staff incapable of offering her the necessary guidance. However, Angle has proved to be adept at fundraising, corralling $2.6 million in the second quarter.

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Judy Woodruff looks at why there's a lack of enthusiasm among Dems.

This is definitely worth watching. Excellent analysis featuring Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Kerry Eleveld from The Advocate. The video is here, too.

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Crazy GOP Rep. Bachmann: 'All We Should Do Is Issue Subpoenas' If GOP Wins House

TPMDC has the audio. Read More......

'Vote for me — I don't wear high heels'

Huh? This was forwarded by a reader who commented, "I am sure there is a perfectly good explanation for this, because no one could possibly be this blatantly sexist on purpose." At AMERICAblog, we're not so sure.

The context: During a meet-and-greet event, Colorado Senate Republican primary candidate Ken Buck is asked by a woman in the audience, "Why should we vote for you?"

Buck's answer: "Because I do not wear high heels" (emphasis his). Note that he was talking to a woman at the time. Synchronicity at work.

The context of the context is provided by Ben Smith at Politico:

Buck was apparently responding to his rival Jane Norton's recent ad blaming him for independent attacks on her.

"You'd think he'd be man enough to do it himself," she says in the ad.

The connection isn't immediately clear in the video, in which he responded to a simple question from a woman in the audience.

And now the walk-back from this quasi-macaca moment. Explanation 1:

"She has questioned my manhood. I think it's fair to respond," he explained. "I have cowboy boots. They have real bulls*** on them." (euphemistic typography theirs)

Oops, that won't fly. Explanation 2:

Buck spokesman Owen Loftus e-mails, "Obviously, the comment was made in jest after Jane questioned Ken's 'manhood' in her new ad."

Questioned his manhood? Click the link for the ad — that "manhood" seems rather easily questioned.

This is almost a cliché, isn't it? Republican candidates duking it out in high heels; and that name — Ken Buck. Really?

GP Read More......

Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello now down by 23%

In what could be a harbinger of House seats to come, SurveyUSA has a poll for the Tom Perriello / Robert Hurt race. Perriello has gone from even to 23% down. Doesn't look good:

VA-05: Democrat Perriello in Peril, One More House Seat Poised for Republican Take-Away: In an election for US House of Representatives in Virginia's 5th Congressional District today, 07/20/10, Republican State Senator Robert Hurt defeats incumbent Democrat Tom Perriello 58% to 35%, according to this latest exclusive WDBJ-TV poll conducted by SurveyUSA.

The seat is one of many Republicans hope to capture in November 2010. 39 "take-aways" are needed for Republicans to capture control of the US House of Representatives.

Perriello, who defeated 6-term Republican Virgil Goode by 727 votes in 2008, today trails among most demographic groups.

At FireDogLake, Jane Hamsher puts the blame on the health care bill:

[F]orcing members of Congress like Tom Perriello to vote for the health care bill was truly a Paths of Glory move by House leadership and the administration. As our SurveyUSA polling indicated at the time, the health care bill was hugely unpopular in swing districts. . . members like Perriello were counseled to vote for the Stupak amendment as a sop to conservative voters in their districts. Well, looks like that didn’t work out so well[.]

Take a look at the poll; the numbers are pretty striking, even among women. Perriello is a conservative Dem in Virginia. The White House plan was to make the ConservaDems vote for health care (which was unpopular in their districts), and sop the district base with Yes votes on Stupak.

Looks like the Stupak sop-vote was a negative with women, and not a plus with men. Jane's point is that guys like Perriello got played, and the piper's now back with his hand out.

Perriello could be one of many, whatever you think of the health care bill.

GP Read More......

Alan Grayson: 'I punch back'

Thanks Digby, for pointing this out, as you do all things Grayson.

This is Alan Grayson, in the well of the House yesterday, via Joe yesterday. (Be sure to watch the vid — it's priceless.)

Next the winger reaction, via the HuffPost:

Dan Gainor, Right-Wing Media Critic, Offers Cash For Assault On Alan Grayson

Prominent conservative media critic Dan Gainor has offered $100 to the first member of Congress who punches "smary [sic] idiot" Alan Grayson (D-Fl.) in the nose, reports Media Matters.

But guess what?

Grayson is not one to back down from a media brawl. He told HuffPost: "I think he's overlooking something important: I punch back."

Thanks, Alan, for showing the way.

GP Read More......

Democrats up six in Gallup generic poll. GOP enthusiasm at highest level since April

Some good news from Gallup. The Democrats have moved ahead in the generic poll:

In the same week the U.S. Senate passed a major financial reform bill touted as reining in Wall Street, Democrats pulled ahead of Republicans, 49% to 43%, in voters' generic ballot preferences for the 2010 congressional elections.

The Democrats' six-point advantage in Gallup Daily interviewing from July 12-18 represents the first statistically significant lead for that party's candidates since Gallup began weekly tracking of this measure in March.

That's encouraging. The House Democrats, for the most part, have delivered on key elements of the Democratic agenda. And, they're all up for reelection this year.

A number of pundits will gag and choke if they try to spit out this line, "independents are primarily responsible for Democrats' improved positioning." But, I suspect you won't hear that much. It defies the current conventional wisdom.

Now, the not-so-good news. The Republican base is motivated. Really motivated:

Simultaneous with increased support for Democratic congressional candidates, Gallup polling last week found Republican voters expressing significantly more enthusiasm about voting in the 2010 midterms. The 51% of Republicans saying they are "very enthusiastic" about voting this fall is up from 40% the week prior, and is the highest since early April -- shortly after passage of healthcare reform. Democratic enthusiasm is unchanged, at 28%.

Trying to scare the Democratic base with images of Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader McConnell isn't enough to motivate the base.

The Democratic leadership in DC needs to rile up its base. Creating jobs and getting the economy moving is most important. But, there are several constituencies, including LGBTs, Latinos and labor, that need some motivation. And, there's still time to motivate them. Read More......

Senate election forecast from Nate

From 538.com:

Our latest Senate simulation has the chamber convening in 2011 with an average of 53.5 Democrats (counting Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders), 46.0 Republicans, and 0.5 Charlie Crists.

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Hill memo tells Dems to cheer up

From Sam Stein at Huff Post. These are the main points of the memo.

-- President Obama is much more popular than President Bush was in 2006 or President Clinton was in 1994.

-- Similarly, more voters trust the President and Congressional Democrats to lead the country than trust Republicans to do so.

-- In fact, on what may be the most important issue of this election -- the economy -- Democrats lead Republicans in voter trust, and do so by a similar margin to Democrats in 2006 and a larger margin than Republicans in 1994.

-- And voters don't just trust Democrats on the economy; they support Democrats' legislative efforts to improve the American economy and to move our country forward in other ways. And voters are more likely to support candidates who back the Democratic agenda.

-- Despite voter support for Democrats on key issue tests like the economy, some polls do show narrow support for Republicans over Democrats on the generic congressional ballot. However, Republicans hold only a tenuous lead in such polls, with generic support for Republicans this year nowhere near that of Democrats in 2006.

-- Similarly, Republican cheerleaders have cited polling showing support for GOP control of Congress as an electoral boon; however, such polling has proven an unreliable indicator of electoral results.

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West Virginia has a new Senator

The Governor has picked a successor to Robert Byrd:

Gov. Joe Manchin is tapping his former chief counsel and a member of a prominent West Virginia family, Carte Goodwin, to succeed the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Democratic officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

Three officials familiar with the governor's pick spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment ahead of an official announcement.

The Charleston Gazette reported earlier this week that Goodwin had become the front-runner for the appointment.

This is a temporary assignment. The permanent successor will be chosen by the voters in November. Governor Manchin is expected to run for the seat. Read More......

Poll Fix: Senate races in CA, PA, NV and MO

Over the past couple days, there have been a slew of polls from key Senate races. So, here's a poll fix.

California Senate:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds Boxer with 49% support versus Fiorina’s 42%. Four percent (4%) favor another candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

Pennsylvania Senate:

Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey are locked in a 43 - 43 percent tie in their race for the U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Nevada Senate via Jon Ralston:

The Reid folks surely are not going to count their chickens, but they could not have hatched a better scenario than what is unfolding. That was confirmed Tuesday by a Rasmussen Reports poll showing a dead heat (Angle, 46 percent; Reid, 43 percent). And with Rasmussen considered the pollster most favorable to Republican candidates, there are those who will conclude Reid actually is ahead.

Missouri Senate:

The Missouri Senate race has squeezed to a near tie but remains largely the same way it’s been for months with Republican Roy Blunt barely ahead of Democrat Robin Carnahan.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Show Me State finds Blunt with 47% support and Carnahan earning 45% of the vote. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and six percent (6%) remain undecided.

Blunt has a right wing/teabagger opponent, Chuck Purgason, in the GOP primary on August 3rd. Rasmussen didn't poll that race. Read More......

As House leaders head to White House, Pelosi calls Gibbs 'politically inept'

This morning, eight House Demcoratic leaders are heading to the White House to meet with President Obama. Among the attendees are Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the Chair of the DCCC, Chris Van Hollen. They're going to be talking about the legislative agenda, but as I said in the open thread, they really need to talk about the upcoming elections. This meeting plays out against the backdrop of the comments from Robert Gibbs that Democrats could lose the House this fall.

Apparently, those comments didn't sit well with the House Democratic caucus -- and the Speaker:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slammed White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during Tuesday night’s House Democratic Caucus meeting for saying Sunday that Democrats could lose control of the House in November.

Several Democratic sources in the room described a testy scenario that started with Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (N.J.) criticizing Gibbs for saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there is “no doubt there’s enough seats in play” to allow for a House GOP takeover in 2012. Things heated up as Pelosi jumped in and blasted Gibbs for making “politically inept” comments, according to one source.

“It was bad,” another source said. “She was like: ‘I don’t appreciate it. I don’t know who this guy is. I’ve never met him before. And he’s saying that we’re going to lose the House.’”

The House has delivered on the Obama agenda. House Democrats have fought harder for the agenda than Obama's White House has.

Gibbs and the White House crew should be trying to figure out how to win in the fall, not giving ammo to the GOPers.

I have no doubt that some politicos think it might be easier for Obama to run for reelection if the GOPers control the House. But, we didn't elect Obama so he can run for reelection. We elected him to enact an agenda. It's been hard enough with Democrats in control. Nothing will happen if the GOPers have real power. Nothing. And, the White House will spend all of its time responding to subpoenas from Darrell Issa. Read More......

Whitman Buys GOP Operative (or more fun in CA!)

Was buying GOP strategist Mike Murphy from Steve Poizner, who was running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, simply a good investment or was it actually a campaign expense?

Today's New York Times explores a single entry on Meg Whitman's financial disclosures from late 2008: $1 million in an “entertainment/production” company called “Tools Down! Productions.” The company was owned by Mike Murphy widely known for his strategery with McCain and the Guvernator.

Whitman was throwing cash at Mr. Murphy's dream of becoming a Hollywood player to make sure he was not part of the opposition team - and could possibly become a quarterback on hers.

In the summer of 2008, he had been "flirting" with the Poizner campaign, observing focus groups and even a drafting memo for the candidate. But, he was not match for Whitman's bottomless cup of cash and Murphy's yearning for his name in lights.

On Nov. 4, 2008 — two days after Mr. Murphy responded to another entreaty from the Poizner campaign by saying he was “tired of politics” and would definitely not be available to work for it — Ms. Whitman signed a partnership agreement with Mr. Murphy, taking an ownership stake in his movie company, according to her campaign.

He was not tired long.

In the end, Mr. Murphy’s political hiatus went into intermission quickly. By late 2009, he had already returned to politics. He became a “senior adviser” to his benefactor, Ms. Whitman, taking in fees of $665,000 for his first six months, according to her latest campaign finance report.

But, is this kosher?

A business investment, as opposed to a cash gift, offers tax advantages, including the ability to write off losses, as well as the avoidance of gift taxes. If the investment’s purpose was actually political, there are also questions about whether it should have been legally disclosed as a campaign expense.

We'll have to see what the experts say. (I am waiting to hear back.)

Turns out Hollywood types think Murphy has a talent for Tinseltown. We now know he most definitely knows how to write a script that pays. Read More......