July 09, 2009
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) "will not run for election in 2010 -- a not surprising decision given that Burris, appointed by ousted Gov. Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama had never created a political organization, raised virtually no campaign cash, and faced controversy from the start,"
Lynn Sweet reports.
Burris' decision "was fueled in large part by his anemic fund-raising efforts, which will become public next week."
A new
DailyKos/Research 2000 poll in Ohio finds Gov. Ted Strickland (D) leading John Kasich (R) in the gubernatorial race, 44% to 39%.
In the U.S. Senate race, the Democratic primary is far from settled with Lee Fisher (D) at 22% support, Jennifer Brunner (D) at 17% and a very large 61% still undecided.
However, both Democrats edge Rob Portman (R) in a general election match up. Fisher leads, 42% to 35%, and Brunner leads, 40% to 36%.
Jay Newton-Small, who interviewed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for this week's
Time magazine, notes that "one of the most interesting aspects of the story is how vehemently the Palin camp blames Barack Obama" for her troubles. "That's the way they think about it: that these Alaskans filing ethics complaints have been hoodwinked by Obama operatives into wasting the Alaskan government's time and resources."
Palin aide Meg Stapleton said, "A lot of this comes from Washington, D.C. The trail is pretty direct and pretty obvious to us."
She goes on to argue that "the anti-Palin offensive seems lifted straight from
The Thumpin', which describes the political strategies of Rahm Emanuel, who is now the White House chief of staff."
Sen. John Ensign's (R-NV) attorney acknowledged "that the Nevada Republican's parents paid nearly $100,000 to the family of his mistress after she and her husband left his staff in April 2008,"
Politico reports.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) said he "would not testify in court or before the Ethics Committee about any
advice he gave Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) on how to handle his affair with a former staffer, citing constitutional protections for communications during religious counseling, as well as the patient confidentiality privilege,"
Roll Call reports.
Said Coburn: "I was counseling him as a physician and as an ordained deacon... That is privileged communication that I will never reveal to anybody. Not to the Ethics Committee, not to a court of law, not to anybody."
In an
interview, the husband of Ensign's mistress alleged that Coburn had proposed paying off the wronged family's mortgage.
A new
Public Policy Polling survey finds that 52% of Minnesota voters now have an unfavorable opinion of former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) following the protracted recount in last year's Senate race.
Key finding: 54% of respondents indicated that the way Coleman handled the recount made them less likely to support him in any future campaign.
A new
Pew Research report on American attitudes toward science finds that 55% of scientists identify as Democrats, while 32% identify as independents and just 6% say they are Republicans. When the leanings of independents are considered, fully 81% identify as Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, compared with 12% who either identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP.
A new
University of Texas poll finds Gov. Rick Perry (R) leading Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) in a Republican gubernatorial primary, 38% to 26% with another 34% still undecided.
Said pollster James Henson: "The much anticipated match-up between Gov. Perry and Sen. Hutchison is proving to be a close one. While the governor has pulled ahead in this and other recent polls, the race is still apparently very close, and a lot of people have yet to make up their minds."
Mark Penn: "
Unless some tough decisions are made soon,
rising jobless figures will most likely hit what could be a public
opinion and political tripwire: 10 percent unemployment. If and when
the country crosses that line, it will be the No. 1 news story for
days, recent stock market gains could recede, and consumer confidence
will fall. And whether or not the economic crisis is coming to an end,
such a high unemployment level has the potential to undermine the
hard-won confidence enjoyed by the Obama administration. The
Republicans will quickly claim all we have is more debt and fewer jobs."
A new
CNN/Opinion Research poll finds that 72% of Americans believe Obama "inspires confidence" and 70% think he's a "strong leader."
However, only 53% believe Obama "has a clear plan for solving the country's problems," down 11 points since February.
The
Washington Post notes the Obama administration, "hoping to boost its health-care reform effort with financial concessions from the hospital and pharmaceutical industries, is instead confronting deep dissension on several fronts within Democratic ranks and possible defections among key constituencies."
"No single development appeared likely to kill Obama's signature domestic agenda item, but the relentless barrage of challenges that seemed to hit hourly served to demonstrate why no president since Lyndon B. Johnson has been able to enact large-scale health legislation."
Nonetheless, the
Huffington Post reports former President Clinton predicted that President Obama "will ultimately succeed where he failed" because of three distinct reasons.
Said Clinton: "The filibuster won't be an option, the small business community won't be as against any plan we got now, and frankly the economy is in such a mess that you've got a little more budget flexibility."
Mike Allen: "It's important for everybody to step back and look at how far and how fast we have gone here. This thing has gone farther and faster than any health reform, ever...
There's always drama on the Hill -- that's what happens. Our eyes are on the concrete steps of the legislative process."
Read more...
Time makes the case for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin noting her "unconventional step speaks to an ingrained frontier skepticism of authority -- even one's own. Given the plunging credibility of institutions and élites, that's a mood that fits the Palin brand. Résumés ain't what they used to be; they count only with people who trust credentials -- a dwindling breed ...If ever there has been a time to gamble on a flimsy résumé, ever a time for the ultimate outsider, this might be it."
However, in a
New York Daily News op-ed, GOP consultant Mike Murphy disagrees, arguing Palin "is the political train wreck that keeps on giving."
Confirming speculation, Massachusetts State Treasurer Tim Cahill left the Democratic party and registered as an independent, the
Boston Globe reports.
Cahill left open the possibility that he may also run for governor next year, dramatically complicating Gov. Deval Patrick's (D) re-election prospects since polls already show Patrick deadlocked in a race with Christy Mihos (R).
"After missing two overseas trips due to surgery to repair a broken elbow," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "plans to deliver a major foreign-policy speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington next week," reports
The Cable.
Clinton will discuss the use of "smart power" to promote nuclear nonproliferation and combat violent extremism.
"But Clinton's planned speech is clearly meant to raise her own profile as well. In her first six months as Barack Obama's top diplomat, the secretary has faced something of an underappreciated challenge: proving that she is a loyal lieutenant to her former presidential primary rival while projecting that she owns the Obama administration's diplomatic portfolio."
A follow up to yesterday's
story: CIA Director Leon Panetta told the House Intelligence Committee that the agency had misled and "concealed significant actions from all members of Congress" dating back to 2001 and continuing until late June,
CQ Politics reports.
The disclosure came just as Democrats and Republicans were set to take up an intelligence authorization bill on the House floor today.
In a must-see interview,
Jon Ralston spoke to Doug Hampton, the man whose wife had
an affair with Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).
Among the revelations: Ensign pursued Cynthia Hampton even after Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) urged him to end the affair, and that Ensign paid Mrs. Hampton more than $25,000 in severance when she left his staff.
Read more...
July 08, 2009
The
Las Vegas Sun posts the
handwritten letter of apology Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) sent to his mistress in February of last year.
Wrote Ensign: "I was completely self-centered and only thinking of myself. I used you
for my own pleasure... God never intended for me to do this. I walked away from Him and my
relationship with Him has suffered terribly. I know He loves me and He loves you. He wants to restore Doug and you."
The newspaper also reports that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) urged Ensign to end the affair and help his mistress and her husband "pay off their home and move to Colorado."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) reported that "he raised a blistering $4.2 million in the 9-day period he was allowed to fundraise after the legislative session and veto period," the
Dallas Morning News reports.
"The reports aren't due out until next Wednesday, but the Perry camp jumped in, saying they now have $9.3 million on hand to take on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison."
Colorado gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis (R) "accidentally used a picture from the Canadian Rockies on his web site," the
Denver Post reports.
"It's no small gaffe in a state proud of its mountains."
"It's almost like being back in law school in 1956, when there were 9 of
us in a class of over 500, so that meant most sections had just 2
women, and you felt that every eye was on you. Every time you went to
answer a question, you were answering for your entire sex."
-- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in an interview with the
New York Times Magazine, on what it's like to be the only female justice on the court.
WCBS-TV reports that New York Gov. David Paterson (D) is planning to appoint a lieutenant governor later today.
Sources says that the new lieutenant governor "is expected to be someone that will play the role of a caretaker in the position, and would not run in next year's gubernatorial election."
However, the
New York Times notes there "is no provision in the New York State Constitution that provides for filling the office in the event of a vacancy, though some in Albany have pushed a legal theory that state law would allow the governor to name someone to the post."
"The lack of a lieutenant governor -- who casts tie-breaking votes in the Senate -- has become a particularly pressing issue as senators remains unable to reach an agreement that would allow them to begin passing legislation again."
Update: The
New York Daily News says Paterson picked former MTA boss Richard Ravitch though it will likely be challenged in court.
John Harris, the last chief of staff to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), "
pleaded guilty today to a single count of wire fraud in federal court. He agreed to cooperate in the federal probe against his former boss in return for a recommended prison term of just under 3 years," the
Chicago Tribune reports.
"Harris was accused of aiding some of the former governor's efforts to leverage the powers of his office in exchange for favors and campaign contributions. Among the accusations against Blagojevich is that he attempted to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama."
Read more...
If you wanted to read the
Kindle version of Political Wire but didn't have a Kindle yet, Amazon
just dropped the price to under $300.
A new
Elway Poll finds Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) with the highest performance ratings of her career with 53% of voters rating her job performance as excellent or good.
Nonetheless, only 44% of voters surveyed said they support her re-election next year, while 33% said she should be replaced.
With Lisa Madigan (D)
now out of the Illinois Senate race,
Politico reports that Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is calling leading donors and GOP operatives to tell them he plans to run.
"His decision to pursue a Senate campaign lands Republicans one of their leading recruits, and ensures that Illinois will be a major Senate battleground in 2010. Kirk has been one of the most politically-resilient members of the House, winning re-election to his Democratic-leaning suburban Chicago seat during two difficult election cycles for the GOP."
