The left has been having a heyday with Sharron Angle's comment last month that her run against Harry Reid was a calling from God, but she's not alone in feeling the presence of the Almighty in her political life. Charlie Rangel added some bipartisan flavor to the theme yesterday when he suggested to a crowd that God had told him not to agree to a plea bargain in his ethics case.
"How lucky are you when God tells you that you don't have to take a plea..." Rangel told the crowd.
Later, however, Rangel backtracked on the notion of divine intervention, saying, "I exaggerated. I really didn't talk to God ... I said that in the heat of the campaign but no, she hasn't spoken to me recently," he said.
Why don't we just leave God out of it altogether, shall we?
WaPo & the Face of the Tea Party
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On RCP, Scott Conroy talks with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and writes about the groundwork he's laying for a possible 2012 presidential bid. David Paul Kuhn writes about the odd alliance between President Obama and neoconservatives on the Afghanistan war. On the Election 2010 page, Kyle Trygstad reports on last night's primary in Tennessee and Kendrick Meek's tough race in Florida.
On RCM, Larry Kudlow makes the case for why the government should encourage saving and investment.
And on RCS, Art Spander writes about Aubrey Huff's resurgence in San Francisco this season.
Polls Show Meek In Trouble, But Hanging On
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek still looks to be in serious trouble in the Democratic Senate primary against billionaire Jeff Greene. Two new polls released last night -- one public poll and one internal poll commissioned by the Meek campaign -- show the race is neck-and neck.
The Mason-Dixon poll, conducted for Leadership Florida and the Florida Press Association, finds Meek ahead by 4 points, 33%-29%. That's an unimpressive result for the former frontrunner, but it's an improvement over the last public poll, which found Greene up 10 points.
The survey of 625 likely Democratic voters was conducted Aug. 2-4 with a 4% margin of error.
Meek's internal poll has the race even closer -- Meek 36%, Greene 35%, former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre 8% and 20% undecided.
"Jeff Greene is in trouble, and he knows it," according to the polling memo released by Meek. "Expect Greene to continue his downward spiral with a campaign built upon a negative message and massive distortions for the duration of the race."
The poll, conducted by the Feldman Group, was taken of 800 Democratic voters from Aug. 1-3 with a 3.5% margin of error.
Scott Brown To Vote Against Kagan
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) will not support Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination when it's brought up for a vote this afternoon, he announced in a press release. According to reports, at least 60 senators have already committed to supporting her nomination, enough to end debate and bring her confirmation up for a vote -- so Brown's vote won't be needed.
"She has an impressive resume, and in my private meeting with her I found her to be brilliant, as you might expect from a former dean of Harvard Law School. However, I cannot vote to confirm Elena Kagan," said Brown, who along with Sen. John Kerry formally introduced Kagan to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The reason is simple. I believe nominees to the Supreme Court should have previously served on the bench."
Without bench experience, Brown said, he would prefer someone with "many years of practical courtroom experience to compensate for the absence of prior judicial experience. In Elena Kagan's case, she is missing both."
According to C-SPAN, five Republicans plan to support Kagan: Susan Collins (ME), Lindsey Graham (SC), Judd Gregg (NH), Richard Lugar (IN) and Olympia Snowe (ME). And just one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, will oppose her.
On RCP, Tony Blankley argues that the release of secret Afghanistan war documents by WikiLeaks may have been an act of espionage. Victor Davis Hanson explores the illogical arguments of the immigration debate. On RCP's Election 2010 page, Kyle Trygstad reports on a new poll in the Connecticut Governor's race that shows both the Republican and Democratic primaries tightening. Also, check out RCP's interview with California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina.
On RCW, Federico Delgado writes about how Colombia outmaneuvered Hugo Chavez.
On RCM, Diana Furchtgott-Roth discusses the concerns about deflation, and John Tamny explains why pundits on both the right and the left are wrong to say that the bailouts of GM and Chrysler succeeded.
Finally, on RCS, Jeff Neuman disagrees with ESPN's Bill Simmons and argues that the creation of the NBA super-team in Miami was just as "natural" as the dynasties created by smart general managers.
CA: Boxer Holding On Tight In Close Race
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
It's never a good thing for a three-term incumbent to be polling under 50% and hold less than a 10-point lead over a challenger, but that's exactly the scenario California Sen. Barbara Boxer has been in all year. Boxer's Republican opponent, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, spent $5.5 million of her own money in the GOP primary, and now finds herself trailing the incumbent Democrat by just 5 points.
Boxer takes 45% to Fiorina's 40% in a new Rasmussen poll, with 10% undecided. The survey of 750 likely voters was conducted Aug. 3 with a 4% margin of error. Rasmussen has had the margin between 4 and 7 points since February.
The two disagreed on yesterday's federal judge ruling against the constitutionality of California's ban on gay marriage. As the AP reports, unlike Boxer and the state's other Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein, "Fiorina says California voters spoke clearly against same-sex unions when a majority approved Proposition 8 in 2008."
For more differences between the two candidates, check out RCP's Newsmaker interview with Carly Fiorina, published today.
On RCP, Jay Cost explores why President Obama's approval rankings are sinking. Check out RCP's Election 2010 page for coverage of last night's primary elections in Kansas, Michigan and Missouri.
On RCM, Steven Malanga writes that publicly funded sports and entertainment complexes almost always end up costing taxpayers.
On RCS, Art Spander writes about the annual speculation over Brett Favre's future.
McCain Stumping For Norton In Colorado
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
John McCain is taking a break this weekend from his own primary campaign to stump for a Senate candidate in a neighboring state. The longtime Arizona senator is heading to Denver and Grand Junction on Sunday to campaign alongside Jane Norton days before Colorado voters head to the polls.
Norton, a former lieutenant governor, is locked in a competitive primary bout with Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who's ahead in the polls with a week to go.
The Norton campaign says the event will focus on national security, including highlighting Buck's "uneven" and "flip-flopping" stance on Afghanistan.
"This critical juncture is not the time to waffle back and forth on a timetable for retreat in Afghanistan," Norton says in a press release. "The brave men and women of our fighting forces are committed to dismantling the insurgency. John McCain knows that we can never retreat from terrorism, and I am grateful for his support."
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports that "Buck on Monday took a swipe at McCain, saying the onetime presidential candidate was 'greasing the power brokers' to pay for attacks on him."
McCain was once thought to be in a competitive primary of his own, but recent polls show the Aug. 24 contest against former Rep. J.D. Hayworth is no longer close. A Rasmussen poll released last week found McCain ahead by 20 points, and another this week finds McCain leading Democrat Rodney Glassman in the general election by 19 points.
On RCP, Sean Trende writes that despite rumors of a resurgence, the Democrats' prospects for the midterm elections still look bleak. On the Election 2010 page, Kyle Trygstad previews Thursday's primary in Tennessee.
On RCM, Josh Barro writes about the problems with current system of bond subsidies for states, and John Tamny details the consequences of currency devaluation.
RCS ranks the "Top 10 Most Hated People in Sports," and Tim Joyce writes that Andy Murray's window of opportunity may be closing.