Jon Fleischman has some polling data on John Doolittle re-election. They are bad: In a one-on-one match up, if the election were held today, Democrat Charlie Brown gets 51% of the vote to Congressman Doolittle’s 31%. Those surveyed were also asked if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Read more…
This really isn’t a surprise, but Roll Call has the news. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) will not run for re-election. The FBI raid was making this swing seat even harder to keep, and there was a lot of pressure from the NRCC to get out. There will undoubtedly be a Read more…
Open Left’s Matt Stoller argues here and here that there is an operative "conservative majority" in Congress right now. His basic thesis is summarized here: In particular, this comment by Paul Rosenberg is I think accurate, as he argues that we are facing a conservative but not right-wing Blue Dog/DLC Read more…
Basically, my answer is that Hillary Clinton is a smart politician, she sees an issue coming, and she is trying to get in front of it. I have argued repeatedly that the housing and credit bust is going to be a huge issue. It is probably an unsolvable one. After Read more…
The Cleveland Plain Dealer blog is reporting that Zack Space flipped his vote on the motion to recommit on the Agriculture bill last Thursday: Either facing pressure from their party leaders or getting last-minute facts — accounts vary — several members of Congress from both parties, including Dover Democrat Zack Read more…
I grew up in the city of Chicago. I have watched polls in Philadelphia. I have been threatened with physical violence by union goons for offering people a piece of GOP literature. Urban Republicans like me often have an acute sense of Democratic corruption, especially as it applies to the Read more…
And, perhaps, well he should. From the Sac(ramento) Bee: But in a telephone news conference Monday, NRCC Chairman Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., indicated that the political ground has a way of shifting. "There’s a factor outside of normal politics that needs to be resolved," Cole said. "We’re keeping a close Read more…
Yesterday, Bob Novak said about the ethics bill: Because their leadership has not cared for this struggle from the start, Senate Republicans will likely be forced to vote for this weak bill simply because they will otherwise look like they are obstructing reform. There was however, one alternative, John McCain, Read more…
You have got to be kidding me. Check this out: But in a closed-door lunch with fellow Republican senators yesterday, Stevens (R-Alaska) himself threatened to block the measure, objecting that the legislation’s new restrictions on lawmakers’ use of corporate jets would unfairly penalize members of Congress who live in distant Read more…
But what the opening paragraph will be will depend on the Senate Republican Leadership and John McCain. You see, no story about the Senate will be complete without mentioning that Senator Ted Stevens’ (R-AK) home was raided by the FBI and IRS. But Harry Reid has been kind enough to Read more…