The Most Comprehensive Guide to U.S. Politics ... since 1997
| DIRECTORY:
Home | The Presidency
| P2008 Race | State/Federal
Candidates | Political Parties Calendar | Campaign Products & Services | Issues | News Blog | News Links | Job Bank FAQ | Site of the Day Award | Bookstore | Our Awards | Advertise | About Us | Email Us |
| BLOG ARCHIVE: DECEMBER 1-15, 2006 JOHNSON
CRITICAL BUT RESPONSIVE; N.J. PASSES SAME-SEX CIVIL UNION LAW. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. SEN.
JOHNSON HOSPITALIZED; REID CLEARED; GOP LATINOS BOLT TO THE DEMS. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. RODRIGUEZ
DEFEATS CONGRESSMAN BONILLA IN UPSET; PELOSI SNUBS JEFFERSON. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. KUCINICH
RUNS; DALEY'S SIXTH; TANCREDO VS RICHARDSON; OWENS OUT; LAUTENBERG
IN. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. JEFFERSON
WINS; ROMNEY NEEDS TO 'SPLAIN; GOP SENATOR ATTACKS BUSH IRAQ POLICY. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. LOUISIANA
CD-2 VOTES, TOM ALLEN PONDERS, FRANKS MOVES ... AND HOORAY FOR
CANADA. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. KUCINICH
RETURNS; TWO MOMMIES; MURKOWSKI'S LAST FLING; GATES' SURPRISING
FOES. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. BONIOR
MANAGES, BONILLA LEADS, DOLE DENIES, DAUB PONDERS, GATES SAILS. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. LEVIN
RUNS, BOLTON QUITS, BROWNBACK FILES, McAULIFFE RETURNS, BLOOMBERG
LOOMS. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. WANNA
TRADE? BAYH
IN, KERRY DELAYS, DASCHLE OUT OF '08 RACE. McCAIN
GETS SLAPPED AT HOME; UTAH REDRAWS; CLELAND SAYS NO TO REMATCH. FREE
SPEECH ZONE. |
BLOG
ARCHIVE:
POLITICAL BLOG ROLL: KINDA
NEUTRAL: DEM/LEFT: GOP/RIGHT: OTHER: For those who would like to track Politics1 with a newsreader, we publish a RSS feed:
|
Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV) of any ethics violations related to his having
accepted free ringside boxing tickets from the Nevada Athletic
Commission ... National Journal's Hotline reports that
GOP insiders are very troubled by the Tuesday of defeat of Congressman
Henry Bonilla (R-TX) in a Hispanic-majority district. The defeat
was seemingly caused by the massive defection of Latino voters,
including many who supported Bush and Bonilla in the past. Example:
"In Maverick County (95% Hispanic), Bonilla won a miniscule
14% of the vote. By contrast, Bonilla carried the county in his
comfortable 2004 win." The Hotline explained: "Bonilla
was a strong supporter of the tough-on-immigration measures sponsored
by the Republicans. He voted for the construction of the 700-mile
border fence, and supported Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner’s bill
penalizing workers who hire illegal immigrants." Bonilla
was the only Mexican-American currently serving in Congress, and
yet he was defeated when Mexican-American voters sharply turned
against him. This pattern, especially if it carries over to non-Hispanic
GOP candidates, has Republican political consultants growing rather
worried about the impact on the 2008 races. Latino voters were
a significant part of President Bush's successful voter coalitions
in 2000 and 2004 ... Congressman Steve King (R-IA) and humorist/radio
talk show host Al Franken (D-MN) both say they need more time
as they are still mulling making challenger races for US Senate
in 2008. US Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) said this week he is not
yet ready to make a decision about seeking re-election in 2008.
Cochran said he'll wait until November 2007 to make any decision
... "Stay the course" wasn't one of the recommendations
from the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group, but you couldn't tell
from President Bush's latest moves. CNN reported that "President
Bush will soon seek about $100 billion in additional emergency
funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." Bush also says
he will not be rushed into making policy changes. "I reject
those ideas -- ideas such as leaving before the job is done,"
said Bush.
Congressman
Henry Bonilla (R) in the run-off for the CD-23 seat. Bonilla
-- who had frequently been touted as a future candidate for statewide
office -- had led in all polls leading up to the December 12 run-off.
The liberal Rodrirguez, meanwhile, was significantly underfunded
in this race after having lost primaries in 2004 and nine months
ago for the nearby CD-28 seat. At one point a few months ago,
Rodriguez seemed so discouraged that he announced he was planning
to imminently quit the contest. On Tuesday night, Rodriguez won
by a 55%-45% vote. With the win, the Dems are +30 over the current
US House ... Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) announced
Tuesday the Democratic Steering Committee decided to continue
to deny scandal-plagued Congressman Bill Jefferson (D-LA) a seat
on the House Ways & Means Committee in the next Congress.
Pelosi told the AP she plans to hold House Democrats "to
higher standards." 
Pelosi
said she had not yet decided what to do with Congressmen Alan
Mollohan (D-WV) and Jim McDermott (D-WA), as both men are currently
Dems dealing with ethics problems. McDermott was "admonished"
by the House Ethics Committee this week for violating ethics standards
by a decade ago by giving reporters access to an illegally taped
telephone call involving House GOP leaders ... According to the
Nashville Tennesseean, outgoing US Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist (R) is already considering a run for Tennessee Governor
in 2010, when incumbent Phil Bredesen (D) is term-limited ...
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that the recent
Clay Shaw-Ron Klein race for the CD-22 seat cost a whopping $13.5
million, when factoring in the money also spent by outside groups
on TV spots. That worked out to $63.51 per vote ... Oregon State
Senator Ben Westlund, a Republican and wealthy agribusinessman
who briefly made a high-profile Independent run for Oregon Governor
in 2006, joined the Democratic Party this week. He is already
being mentioned as a probable Dem candidate in 2008 against US
Senator Gordon Smith (R).
perhaps,
in the same way he helped torpedo rival anti-war candidate Howard
Dean's candidacy in the 2004 Iowa caucuses with his secret pact
with John Edwards' campaign ... Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
(R) said Monday he plans to file federal paperwork to form a White
House exploratory committee in January ... Chicago Mayor Richard
Daley (D) announced Monday he will seek re-election in 2007 to
a sixth term. "I have more to give to keep Chicago moving
forward," said Daley. Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy
Brown (D) and former mayoral aide Bill Walls (D) are both running
against Daley in the non-partisan contest, but the 64-year-old
incumbent is heavily favored to win again. If re-elected, Daley
will surpass the 21 years his late father served as Chicago Mayor
... Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) will speak in Miami on Thursday,
just one month after insulting the city as being like "a
third world country." The title for Tancredo's speech to
the local Rotary Club: "Renewing America: The Need for Assimilation."
Governor
Jeb Bush's office was quick to comment on the controversial visit:
"The Governor has clearly reminded the Representative that
we take pride in Florida's diversity. It is what makes Florida
so strong" ... On the other side of the fence from
Congressman Tancredo in
the immigration debate is New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson
(D). Richardson, who will launch his Presidential campaign next
month, said immigration issues are one of his highest priorities.
Richardson said he supports "scrapping plans for a 700-mile
fence" along the Mexican border, and said Congress must recognize
that illegal immigrants have "become part of the fabric of
our economy and our culture" ... Outgoing Colorado Governor
Bill Owens (R) said he does not plan to run for US Senate in 2008
if incumbent Wayne Allard (R) retires ... The Bergen Record
reports that, health permitting, US Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
plans to seek re-election in 2008 ... Several Kentucky newspapers
report that Attorney General Greg Stumbo (D) and former Lieutenant
Governor Steve Beshear (D) are the two latest hopefuls exploring
possible runs next year against embattled Governor Ernie Fletcher
(R).
Jefferson
moved to the front of the line of Members of Congress likely to
be indicted in the coming months ... Election Season 2006 will
finally come to an end of Tuesday with the run-off between Congressman
Henry Bonilla
(R) and former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (D) in Texas' CD-23.
Bonilla is favored to win ... Some leading Christian conservatives
are starting to back away from the Presidential campaign of Governor
Mitt Romney (R-MA), based upon a 
is
going to have a hard time overcoming this." Paul Weyrich
said he feared that almost any explanation by Romney would reveal
Romney to be "a hypocrite." In pro-Romney news, Romney
locked up several key Florida endorsements last week: Lieutenant
Governor Toni Jennings, former State GOP Chair Al Cardenas, and
outgoing State House Speaker Allan Bense. All three are close
allies of Governor Jeb Bush. ... Human Events, a prominent
national weekly conservative publication going back to the 1940s,
released the results from its November GOP straw poll. Readers
favored Newt Gingrich (R-GA) by a landslide margin: 55% for Gingrich,
14% for Romney, and everyone else in the single digits ... US
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) sure sounded like a Presidential candidate
during his weekend visit to New Hampshire ... US Senator Gordon
Smith (R-OR) is the latest Republican to turn against President
Bush's Iraq War policies. A few days ago Smith said Bush's handling
of the war "may be criminal" in its negligence. Speaking
Sunday on ABC's This Week, Smith reaffirmed his earlier
comments and added the President's handling of the Iraq War was
a "dereliction ... [and] deeply immoral." Smith is up
for re-election in 2008.
Congressman
Bill Jefferson (D) is facing an aggressive challenge from State
Representative Karen Carter (D). Jefferson, the target of an ongoing
FBI corruption probe, is expected to soon be indicted on bribery,
conspiracy and other charges. Carter is endorsed by the Louisiana
Democratic Party. Still, Jefferson has 28-years in elective office
and lots of friend in the community. Carter will likely win, but
don't expect it to be a landslide ... Congressman Tom Allen (D-ME)
told Roll Call he is
"seriously considering" running against US Senator Susan
Collins (R) in 2008. Dems think they have a shot at the seat,
in light of what happened to centrist US Senator Lincoln Chafee
(R-RI). 
Despite
high approval ratings, Chafee still lost because Dems in Rhode
Island thought it was more important to elect a Dem than return
the a likable, moderate Republican ... Now that the dust has settled,
The Hill has the inside scoop on how US Senator Trent Lott
scored his surprising 25-24 win over US Senator Lamar Alexander
in the race for Senate Minority Whip, after Alexander thought
he had the votes locked-up. According to the newspaper, US Senators
John Warner and Susan Collins were late defections from the Alexander
camp over to Lott. US Senators John McCain, Judd Gregg and John
Thune were credited with being particularly instrumental in winning
the support of a block of GOP moderates over to Lott's camp ...
Congressman Rob Simmons (R-CT), who was narrowly defeated last
month for re-election, is lining up support to be the next State
GOP Chairman ... Retired Army General Tommy Franks (R), former
CENTCOM Commander, sold his home in Florida and is moving to Oklahoma.
NBC says the move is related to his "desire to run for federal
office from the Sooner State." Does Franks know something
we don't, as both US Senate seats are currently held by Republicans.
None of the Congressional incumbents look like they're planning
to retire, either ... 
Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Conservative) says he kept his
word to voters on Thursday by allowing Parliament to vote on whether
or not to reopen debate on the country's same-sex civil marriage
law that the Liberal Party passed last year by a 158-133 vote.
The Conservatives and Liberals both released all their caucus
members to freely vote their beliefs, while the Bloc Quebecois
and the socialist NDP members unanimously opposed any attempt
to repeal the gay marriage law. Gay marriage supporters scored
a big win this time, as Parliament voted 175-123 to not reopen
debate on the issue. Six of Harper's own Cabinet members were
among those voting to retain gay marriage. "Obviously the
vote was decisive and obviously we'll accept the democratic result
of the people's representatives. I don't see reopening this question
in the future," said Harper. (Editorial comment: I guess
that means my Canadian marriage remains legally recognized. But
just not here in the United States.) 
apparently
interested in making a second
White House run in 2008, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
"Shortly, I will make my intentions known. In the meantime, I
am going to continue to challenge the Administration and Congress
to cut off the funds for the war, bring all our troops home and
end the grave misadventure in Iraq," said Kucinich. In 2004, he
scored in the 1-2% range in most of the competitive early contests,
but he continued his peace campaign throughout the entire primary
season ... Vice President Dick Cheney is soon to be a grandfather
again, and his grandchild will have two mommies. Mary Cheney,
the VP's 
out
lesbian daughter, is pregnant. She and her partner Heather Poe
are expecting the child to be born sometime in the spring, according
to the Washington Post ... Outgoing Alaska Governor Frank
Murkowski (R) made 35 appointments to state boards in what was
literally the final hour of his term. New Alaska Governor Sarah
Palin (R), who handily defeated Murkowski in the GOP primary,
immediately vowed to "revisit" the appointments. One
appointee was Murkowski's son-in-law, while another was Murkowski's
Chief of Staff. According to the Anchorage Daily News,
Palin has the authority to withdraw most of these appointments
... Congressman Charlie Norwood (R-GA) -- who underwent a lung
transplant in 2004 due to a chronic lung disease -- has now been
diagnosed with liver cancer, reported the AP ... The US Senate
on Wednesday confirmed Robert Gates to be the next US Defense
Secretary by a 95-2 vote. US Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and
Jim Bunning (R-KY) both voted against Gates, citing their displeasure
with his confirmation comments criticizing the Iraq War and US
policy towards Iran. 
Congressional
veteran -- is reportedly going to manage John Edwards' soon-to-be
Presidential campaign. Bonior, who is close to organized labor,
will first assume the title of senior advisor to Edwards' leadership
PAC until Edwards launches his '08 White House campaign ... According
to a new SurveyUSA poll for WOAI-TV, Congressman Henry Bonilla
(R) leads former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (D) by a 53% to 46%
vote in the December 12 run-off in the Texas CD-23 race ... Missouri
Governor Matt Blunt (R) has thrown his support in the P2008 race
behind outgoing 
The
White House announced Monday that John Bolton, the Acting US Ambassador
to the United Nations, will resign before the end of the year.
Bolton, a temporary recess appointment last year by the President,
acknowledged he has no chance of winning US Senate confirmation
for the permanent appointment. Democrats, and some GOP moderates,
blocked the confirmation of the controversial neo-con ... US Senator
Sam Brownback (R-KS) filed paperwork with the FEC on Monday for
his White House exploratory committee. Brownback said he wants
to use his campaign to promote a message about a "culture
of life ... liberty ... justice ... renew our families and rebuild
our culture ... [and restore] genuine conservatism and real compassion."
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Domino's
Pizza chain founder Tom Monaghan and retired USMC Commandant Charles
Krulak are among those serving on Brownback's steering committee
... At one time, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) was being
mentioned as a possible 2008 White House hopeful. After narrowly
winning reelection last month, Pawlenty squelched any further
discussion of an '08 run this weekend by telling the New York
Times he plans to support John McCain for President. National
Review also reports Pawlenty is actively helping organize
the McCain exploratory effort ... No surprise, but former DNC
Chair Terry McAuliffe told the Washington Post he will
be "orchestrating" the Hillary Clinton campaign "from
the inside" and James Carville will be "orchestrating
[it] from the outside" ... Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie
has a new political job. He was elected the new Virginia State
GOP Chair over the weekend ... In an 
interview
with New York magazine, billionaire NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg
(R) sounds much more like someone positioning
himself to make a dramatic late entry -- mid-2008 -- into the
Presidential contest. "Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats
blame Republicans, but just look at both of them. They will do
anything, say anything, to avoid talking about the important things
and the need to sacrifice. The public wants government to address
long-term issues: Who's going to pay for spiraling health-care
costs? Or solve our foreign-oil dependency problem? Or pay for
retirement costs or take on the environmental issues," says
Bloomberg. In 2006, he campaigned around the nation for an eclectic
group of candidates he liked including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
(R-CA), US Senator-elect Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Governor Jodi
Rell (R-CT), Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) and US Senator Joe
Lieberman (I-CT). He also donated $100 million of his own money
to stem cell research at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg's
alma mater ... Congressman Bob Brady (D) looks likely to soon
join Congressman Chaka Fatah (D) as another candidate in the open
Philadelphia Mayor race this year.
reporters
said on Sunday he will file paperwork with the FEC
this week to launch his Presidential exploratory committee for
2008. Bayh -- a former two-term Indiana Governor -- was the keynote
speaker at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. He has positioned
himself as a Democratic centrist, more conservative than perceived
frontrunner Hillary Clinton. "As the people get to know me,
I think we'll do very well ... Is this a little bit like David
and Goliath? A little bit, but as I recall, David did OK,"
said Bayh during his appearance Sunday on ABC. Bayh, through his
leadership PAC, spent the past two years laying the groundwork
for a White House run ... US Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is "reevaluating"
whether or not to run for President again in 2008, according to
the Boston Globe. The backlack from Kerry's botched election
eve joke about soldiers in Iraq, including sharp criticism from
fellow Dems, caused Kerry to delay his former plan to make a decision
on the race by January 2007. The article quoted several Kerry
allies as saying they thought Dems jumped on Kerry over the joke
due to "pent-up anger" with Kerry for losing the 2004
race. Now, according to the newspaper, Kerry will wait "until
late spring before declaring his intentions" ... Former US
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) is another hopeful who
created a leadership PAC and spent the last year acting like a
probably Presidential candidate. On Sunday, Daschle announced
he will not run for President. "I've
made a decision that I will not seek the Presidency of the United
States. I've had a lot of encouragement and I've been very gratified
to have the encouragement from within the state [of South Dakota]
and around the country," he told KELO-TV.
Political associates of Daschle said fundraising concerns played
a significant role in the decision ... Appearing on a KWBP radio
show, former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber (D) said Sunday he
will not run against US Senator Gordon Smith (R) in 2008 ... US
political nomination conventions have become highly stage-managed,
scripted, dull, and without any element of surprise. If you want
to see how exciting political nominating conventions could be
(with some changes to party rules, of course), just look north
of the border at this weekend's 
Stéphane
Dion -- a former college professor -- came from behind to unexpectedly
win the leadership nomination on the fourth ballot. Dion finished
in a virtual tie for a distant third out of the eight hopefuls
on the first ballot. After each ballot, the last place candidate
each round was automatically eliminated (and some of the others
also dropped out). Dion moved up to solid third place on the second
ballot, leaped into first on the third ballot, then crossed the
50% mark on the fourth ballot. The reason the convention is a
free-for-all is that the races in each province for federal convention
delegates are scheduled over a period of just one weekend nationwide.
As the party's leader, Dion would become Prime Minister of Canada
if the Liberals win the next national election -- which may take
place as soon as Spring 2007. The Liberals -- despite their name
-- are the centrist party in Canadian politics, with the currently
ruling 
Fife
Symington lost a bid to become the GOP Chair of his local legislative
district, which also happens to be the home district of Senator
John McCain. Symington strongly supports McCain for President,
and was supported by McCain in the local contest. Incumbent local
GOP Chair Rob Haney is openly hostile to the Senator ("The
mass media kind of idolizes the guy, but we don't") and portrayed
the pro-life and anti-gay rights Symington as not conservative
enough. It was the first electoral defeat of Symington's career.
Haney told reporters his victory over Symington as a direct slap
at McCain, saying it was a vote by grassroots Republicans against
McCain running for President. "[McCain] came at us with every
big gun he had to take us out of his district. Their plan was
to get rid of us because we would object to his Presidency,"
said Haney. McCain himself also lost a race at the same meeting
for State Committeeman. McCain had his name placed in nomination,
but he didn't attend the meeting to actively campaign for himself
... Utah 
state
legislators will redraw the state's congressional districts, starting
Monday in a special session, to add a fourth congressional district.
The move is in response to a Congressional bill that appears likely
to soon pass, giving the District of Columbia a voting seat in
Congress. The bill proposes a trade-off of creating a new seat
in Utah, likely ensuring the Dems and GOP will each gain one seat
apiece. In the 2002 reapportionment, Utah fell only a few hundred
residents short of the amount needed to gain one more seat. The
bill would increase the size of the US House to 437 voting seats
... Former US Senator and disabled Vietnam War hero Max Cleland
(D-GA) said Thursday he will not seek a rematch in 2008 against
US Senator Saxby Chambliss (R), who defeated him in 2002. Many
leading Dems had urged Cleland to run ... Two of the likely GOP
White House hopefuls -- Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) and US Senator
John McCain (R-AZ) -- were both in Miami on Thursday evening for
fundraising and visibility events based around the annual meeting
there of the Republican Governors Association. Congressman Tom
Tancredo (R-CO) presumably didn't attend the event because he
couldn't find his passport, or maybe was afraid he'd have to encounter
Latinos and Haitians who live in Miami.
The
Presidency | P2008 Race | The
States | Calendar | Blog Archives
Political Parties | News
Links | Issues | Job Bank
| Issues | FAQ
Campaign Products & Services | Campaign
Buttons | Bookstore | About
Us | E-Mail
© 1997-2005 by Ron Gunzburger. All rights reserved.