Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* The DCCC this morning unveiled a series of web videos -- too long for broadcasting on television -- targeting 25 congressional Republicans over sequestration cuts. This one, for example, targets Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.).
* Ashley Judd appears increasingly serious about running against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) next year, as evidenced by her meeting this week with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic donors and strategists in Kentucky.
* In Louisiana, Republican U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany and Jeff Landry are increasingly likely to face one another in a Senate primary next year. The latest Public Policy Polling survey shows both of them losing to incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) by 9 and 10 points, respectively.
* Speaking of Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), PPP also found the Republican governor's approval rating in his home state dropping to just 37%.
* In New Jersey, Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) is already running for the vacant U.S. Senate seat, but he's likely to have some primary opponents. In recent days, both Rep. Rush Holt (D) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D) have expressed a strong interest in the race.
* In California, Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) approval rating is up to 57% in the latest Field Poll.
* In his first fundraising latter since launching his Senate campaign, Rep. Paul Broun (R) of Georgia wants credit for being the first member of Congress to falsely condemn President Obama as a "socialist."
* And recent ethics allegations haven't done Sen. Bob Menendez (D) any favors in his home state of New Jersey. It's worth noting, however, that he won't be up for re-election until 2018.
Leave a Comment:
Here come the Judds.
Oh, my -- I wonder how many folks on here know what you REALLY said!
Sometimes it's good to have some years behind you . . .
Well some of us are old enough to remember "Laughin"
Yertle and Karl shouldn't have pissed her off like they did.
Between Ms. Judd's donor base in entertainment and Mr. McConnell's donor base (aka his evil masters) in the Koch brothers, this race may well saturate every TV station, radio station, mass mail outlet, and internet operation serving Kentucky (a relatively small state).
Let the games begin.
Why just run the sequester ad against a handful of Republican congresscritters. How about running against every Republican in the country. You might see lots and lots of those "safe seats" suddenly become very, very shaky.
Because it's expensive to do ad buys. There are some districts where the seats aren't seriously contested. In some cases, there is no Dem candidate on the ballot.
If you want to get that aggressive, it's not just persuading the electorate but fielding Dem candidates who can get elected. It is tempting to think that you have to go right- that is, match up with the more right wing views present in these states. And at that stage I start to get extremely ambivalent. I don't feel very good about DSCC money going to Max Baucus due to his stands on Climate, Guns, Taxes or single payer. But what if you don't run guys like Baucus? Does that mean you hand the seat to another potential lunatic from the GOP fringe? If the republican wing of the Democratic party- the New Democrats/ DLC wants to do that sort of recruitment, I prefer them to the alternative. But not by much.
David Sirota points out what is brain damaged about giving up on the traditional worker oriented themes of the Democratic party. He points out how it is mistaken to think that one must move Right to take a Red state. Bernie Sanders, a self described socialist has a firm power base in what traditionally is a conservative republican state of Vermont. Sherrod Brown in Ohio wins using traditional populist class rhetoric shunned by the business chummy New Democrats.
Sirota's article on the Da Vinci Code for Democrats is worth a read (or reread). He wrote it in a self reflective time for Dems in 2004 after Kerry's defeat. The correctness of his observations have been demonstrated over the past 8 years. What Obama in 2008 showed was that he could go to the left of the DLC on trade, opposition to the war, and universal health care. Unfortunately, when in office Obama surrounded himself with members of the DLC, even calling himself a New Democrat (source). Really sad, but at least 2008 demonstrated that true left rhetoric can win in a general election. Arguably, Obama's shearing to the right and reluctance to engage populist sentiments against Wall Street ceded the Populist message to the Tea Party leading to the "New Democrat" engineered disaster of 2010.
Responsible advocacy of populist themes is nothing to be shunned by Democrats. The republican wing of the Democratic party is very very wrong on that point- and as Sirota points out, this is the avenue to make inroads into Red states, not the Bush-lite sort of positions New Democrats like Hillary take.
Go Jerry Go!
All hail Governor Moonbeam!
Making government work helps a governor's popularity.
The fact that this news is noteworthy indicates how far the rot has progressed in our system.
Judd is not going to realistically have any chance to beat McConnell. However, KY Governor Steve Beshear is going to be term-limited out of the State House in 2015, he's riding a nice crest of popularity, and he has a score to settle after 1998's nasty race.
Beshear in '14!
I don't know that she doesn't have a realistic shot. She is popular, has name recognition and the funds to fight him. She could probably do better than Beshear.
Could the President make these across-the-board sequestration cuts affect disproportionately red congressional districts in red states? For example, he could close military bases in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia...shut down national parks and monuments in Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Arizona... cancel government contracts with companies in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The best way to get red state voters to contact their legislators is to make them feel the hurt of these cuts.
Who would then blame the President.
I doubt that Obama can do that, but Hagel certainly can.
Reading about Ms. Judd entering the race along with a tbagger thinking about primarying Yertle must have Rove's panties tied in knots. This is the very scenario that he is spending so much time and effort and other people's money to avoid, a shatbit crazy teabagger running against a real Democrat. If Ms. Judd wins, I can see Rove just shooting himself.
I'm just wondering how the experiences of those living in the "laboratories of Democracy" (aka "states") under Tbagger control will play out in 2014 and 2016?
There's a very good reason Republican politicians have been so averse to stating their policies and LA and other states are discovering it...
Dear Rachel Maddow, please keep us apprised of the NDAA lawsuit, the DOJ Whitepaper, and the drones coming to America. Do they know they are supposed to defend America and not destroy America? Perhaps we should cut the funding for these projects. Not willing to give up Due Process of Law just yet so let's end the war against whatever the war is against and its associated forces.