[Editor's Commentary: I wanted to repost this Boston Herald article, not because I agree with every point the author makes, but because I think it's very well written and she has used some very clever expressions. My personal favorite is the "Ward Clever Reassurance Scale." I know a lot of our readers will have to Google "Ward Cleaver" to find out who the heck he is, but it will be a pleasant stroll down "memory lane" for some and new information for others.
Just a reminder......for those readers in Missouri, our primary is this coming Tuesday, Aug., 3. Polls are open from 6am to 7pm. Please be sure to vote and bring somebody with you. Vote for the most conservative candidate available, put a clothespin over your nose if necessary. Vote "YES" on PROP C, to protect Missourians from the tender mercies of Obamacare.]
By: Margery Eagan bostonherald.com
So Mitt Romney – the venture capitalist guru who never sweats – leads all Republicans in a new Zogby poll that has him within striking distance of Obama, 45-43.
Can anyone be surprised? The economy’s a mess. We’re basket cases over keeping jobs and homes. Obama’s reduced to courting Whoopi and Barbara Walters today on “The View,” hoping a cozy chat will reassure the wives of independents and/or Tea Party sympathizers who’ve abandoned the president in droves.
Close your eyes. Envision, for a second, the best known GOP contenders: Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul. On the Ward Cleaver Reassurance Scale, none comes anywhere close to impeccable and unflappable Mitt with his crisp Power Point efficiency, his broad shoulders, his Vanilla Cokes, his beatific wife, and all those strapping sons with Talbots wives and Pottery Barn kids.
Does Mitt Romney ever go berserk? No.
He presides like a patient patriarch with that dignified splash of gray around his temples. (How come that gray never advances, you privately wonder).
How come, you may also ask, he seems preternaturally bloodless?
In these troubled times, nobody cares. We’ll overlook a lot: Mitt’s flips. Mitt’s flops. Mitt’s flip-flop-flips. Mitt’s illegal Guatemalan leaf baggers and the poor Irish setter Seamus he once tied to his station wagon’s roof for an eight-hour family trip.
Last time around, GOP “values” voters were supposedly spooked by the Mormon thing. There were unnerving GOP debates over evolution vs. creationism and the CNN questioner who actually asked if candidates believed every word of the Bible.
Today, it’s Mormon, Sch-mormon.
Mitt’s biggest problem: His fellow Republicans will wrap Obama-care around his neck no matter how he tries to wiggle away. And we’ll hear over and over Romney’s infamous quote: “I think the fundamentals of our economy are sound.” Whoops.
Expounding on the wonders of the free market – just months before it stole our 401(k)s – he said this to the New York Times [NYT], among others. When John McCain uttered the exact same words in the summer of 2008, and again after September’s Wall Street meltdown, it all but killed his chances along with, of course, his choice of running mate, Ms. Palin.
Suppose McCain had picked Romney instead. I, for one, am rooting for Mitt to get the GOP nod. What great fun for Massachusetts. And it’ll guarantee no repeat run by Palin, whose hokey-pokey candidacy, Part II, my shattered nerves will not survive.
[Editor's Commentary: Instead of using the news photo that accompanies this article, I have used this 1933 image from our media library to make a point. If we don't take back Congress this November, I fear this country may be headed for another Depression. No matter what the polls say this fall, you must vote in this election and bring as many conservative voters with you as you can.]
~~John Cronin~~
By: Mike Averill Tulsa World Staff Writer
Iron Gate was forced to suspend its food box distribution program Friday morning due to a large, misinformed crowd.
The line started forming at 6:30 a.m. outside the food pantry, located on the south side of Trinity Episcopal Church, 501 S. Cincinnati Ave.
“We estimate there were 2,000 people here this morning,” said Connie Cronley, executive director. “The heat, the crowd and the incorrect information they have received rendered, in my judgment, a situation that was unsafe.”
Cronley attributed the crowd to false information sent via group e-mails and Facebook regarding supplemental food boxes, 30-pound food boxes paid for by a $2 million federal stimulus grant to the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
“It’s like a bad version of the old telephone game in which children whisper a sentence to one another and it is passed around a circle. At the end, the sentence is not recognizable,” Cronley said.
The message that was circulating was that the food boxes were free for anyone, however they’re actually restricted to families with children younger than 18 and there is an income restriction as well.
Through the program families can receive one 30-pound food box for each child and one box for every two adults. Families also receive one household box (toilet paper, soap, shampoo, toothpaste) for every two people younger than the age of 18 in the household. Families may receive these boxes each week.
Iron Gate receives 250 food boxes and 125 household boxes each week that it distributes Fridays and Saturdays in conjunction with its regular grocery distribution program. The program runs through September.
In June it distributed 382 food boxes and 191 household boxes and these served 165 adults and 217 children.
Cronley said distribution should resume in a few weeks once a better system is in place.
“The need seems to be overwhelming, not only in Tulsa but in the surrounding towns. We need to figure out how to better distribute these boxes. Other agencies are sending people to us for food,” she said.
More troubling for Democrat watchers is Carnahan’s big spending. The FEC reports show Carnahan spent quite a bit more than he actually brought in. He only raised $9,375 yet he spent $12,432. A portion of his expenses went to relocating even more staff to help with his campaign. Carnahan now employs two Capitol Hill politicos as his top staffers Angela Barranco from Whip Crowley’s office and Angela Guyadeen from Marion Berry’s office, not to mention another staffer brought in from Louisiana.
Meanwhile Ed Martin continues to show steady growth and common sense spending as he quickly closes in on Carnahan regarding his campaign’s cash on hand. Ed Martin raised $18,207 yet only spent $6,805.
“Even in fundraising Congressman Carnahan serves as a prime example of the wasteful spending that is currently so rampant in Washington. The people of Missouri’s 3rd district don’t want someone who would throw away money on hiring Washington-insiders to help them do their bidding. They want a representative who uses common sense when it comes to money – someone who will take spending seriously. Carnahan’s spending is on track with the deficit problems plaguing our country and mortgaging our children’s future,’ said congressional candidate Ed Martin.
Ed Martin’s fundraising speaks volumes as to what the people want. In these last days before the primary, candidates are required to report contributions over $1,000 within 48 hours. Ed Martin just received two of these from Missourians who are worried about the future. Carnahan has reported none.
Fueled by voter dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama’s administration and the economy, Republican Roy Blunt leads Democrat Robin Carnahan in the highly charged Missouri race for U.S. Senate, according to a Post-Dispatch/KMOV-TV (Channel 4) poll.
The poll, conducted July 19-21, asked voters if they would support Blunt, a congressman from Springfield, or Carnahan, Missouri’s secretary of state. Blunt was backed by 48 percent of the respondents, compared to 42 percent for Carnahan. The remaining 10 percent were undecided.
The two are expected to sail through their party primaries on Aug. 3 and face off in the general election in November.
“Outside of the metro areas, he’s killing her,” said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, the firm that conducted the poll.
Carnahan leads in the more populated St. Louis and Kansas City areas, which tend to vote Democratic. But Blunt leads every other region of the state by a healthy margin, the poll found. In the Republican hotbed of southwest Missouri, where Blunt lives, the seven-term congressman leads nearly 3 to 1.
Pollsters conducted telephone interviews at random with 625 registered Missouri voters who said they cast ballots regularly in state elections. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Coker pointed to the unpopularity of Obama, especially among independents, as a key reason Blunt is faring better with Missouri voters. Blunt has made tying Carnahan to Obama a staple of his campaign. While the poll was in the field, he was running a television ad highlighting Obama’s recent appearance at a Carnahan fundraiser.
In the poll, 57 percent of respondents disapproved of Obama’s performance as president, compared to 34 percent who approved. Among independent voters — those who didn’t identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans — 63 percent disapproved of Obama’s performance.
Obama, who narrowly lost Missouri in the 2008 election, now has “horrible” numbers in the state, Coker said, especially compared to the rest of the U.S.
A CNN poll taken the same week as the Post-Dispatch poll, for instance, had 50 percent of national respondents disapproving of Obama’s job performance and 47 percent approving. A Fox News poll a week earlier had the president’s disapproval rating at 48 percent.
Coker said it’s possible that Blunt’s television ad skewed the Missouri results somewhat, but he said the overall unfavorable ratings voters gave to Obama — and Carnahan’s lack of strength with independent voters — were stronger factors.
The poll found that the top issue on voters’ minds was the economy. Government spending and health care came in second and third. Those issues simply don’t line up well for Democrats this year, Coker said.
“The voters are on the Republican side on all three issues,” he said.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina is drawing almost the same support from California voters as incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, according to recent polls.
Fiorina’s position on abortion? Not so much.
A full 71 percent of Californians favor either keeping the state’s liberal abortion laws intact or making abortion easier to obtain, according to new data from the Field Poll. The same percentage said they support the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade.
That’s a potential obstacle for Fiorina as she attempts to become the first anti-abortion candidate to win a California race at the top of the ticket since 1986. Former Republican Gov. George Deukmejian was the last abortion opponent to win a Senate or gubernatorial election; both subsequent GOP governors, Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, supported abortion rights.
Californians’ support for abortion rights — and the Roe decision — has been more or less stable, hovering between 66 percent and 71 percent, since Field started asking the question in 1987.
Democratic consultant Garry South, a veteran California operative, predicted that the state’s pro-Roe lean would be “one of the things that ultimately does in Carly Fiorina.”
“This Field Poll reaffirms what we’ve known for years — even Republicans do not favor overturning Roe v. Wade or tinkering with a woman’s right to choose,” he said.
Fiorina spokeswoman Andrea Saul acknowledged the candidate “realizes a lot of voters don’t agree with her” on abortion, but predicted the social issue wouldn’t be a prime motivator for them this year.
“Voters are evaluating candidates and making decisions about who they’re going to support based on a wide range of issues, not just one,” she said, predicting that voters’ main concerns would be “jobs and out-of-control spending.”
While Romney took an extended hiatus to write his book — “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” — he never really left the political game, staying in close touch with a small group of political advisers who have kept the presidential flame lit over the past two plus years.
That loyal group has helped Romney emerge as the frontrunner in the Invisible Primary — the behind-the-scenes battle before the battle for the nomination, a contest defined by fundraising, endorsements and general political sway. (The Romney team’s performance was near perfect until a background quote disparaging former Alaska Sen. Sarah Palin caused a bit of stir nationally.)
What better way to kick off our 2012 inner circle lists — the men and women closest to the various Republicans (and Democrat) running for president — than with Romney. Look for future inner circles for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and, yes, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in this space in the coming weeks.
The Romney Inner Circle
*Matt Rhoades: Rhoades served as communications director for Romney’s 2008 bid and earned a reputation as a savvy strategist in and out of the press world. Rhoades was named director of Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC earlier this year — a move that won the governor praise among insiders — and is widely expected to be the campaign manager for the 2012 race.
* Beth Myers: Myers served as chief of staff during Romney’s time as governor and managed the 2008 race. Myers is regarded as the staffer with the closest personal relationship with Romney — a not-insignificant thing in a presidential campaign where scads of advisers seek to win the candidate’s ear.
* Eric Fehrnstrom: While Fehnstrom has dabbled in outside consulting — he helped guide Sen. Scott Brown (R) to victory in Massachusetts earlier this year — he is still focused heavily on forwarding Romney’s political interests. Fehnrstrom’s relationship with Romney cemented during the ’08 campaign when he served as traveling press secretary but the two also have history; Fehnstrom served as Romney’s deputy campaign manager in the 2002 governor’s race.
* Stuart Stevens/Russ Schriefer: Romney had many — too many, according to some — media consultants on board during the 2008 presidential campaign. (Check out our 2008 Romney inner circle post for a look at all of them.). Stevens and Schriefer, whose firm helped elect Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.) in 2009, are the only image men left standing and are a near-lock to produce Romney’s ads in the race to come.
* Spencer Zwick: Commonly referred to as the sixth Romney son (Romney has five boys), Zwick is tasked with raising the money for the PAC — and, by any measure, has done a bang-up job. Romney has collected nearly $6 million for Free and Strong America since the start of 2009 and had doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates across the country as well. In both money raised and donations made, Romney stands alone among 2012 candidates — thanks to Zwick.
* Peter Flaherty: Flaherty is Romney’s go-to guy in outreach to conservatives, the same critical role he played for the governor in the 2008 presidential race. Flaherty, like Myers and Fehnrstrom, goes way back with Romney; he served as Romney’s deputy chief of staff in the governor’s office.
Kevin Madden, Spokesman for Mitt Romney's 2008 Primary Campaign
* Kevin Madden: Madden, the telegenic spokesman for Romney in 2008, has moved on to the world of political consulting — he is partners with former Republican National Committee strategist Jim Dyke — but keeps a hand in Romney world. Madden is also a regular presence on cable television, a role he’s likely to reprise if/when he signs up for a second bid.
* Ben Ginsberg: Ginsberg (and his law firm Patton Boggs) remains on Romney’s PAC payroll — a sign that the governor values the advice of one of the top election lawyers in Washington (or anywhere.)
* Ron Kaufman: Kaufman, a principal at the Dutko Group, is the insider’s insider and serves as a behind-the-scenes advocate for Romney within the professional political class in Washington.
Jim Talent, former Missouri Congressman and Senator
* Jim Talent/Mike Leavitt: Talent, the former Missouri Senator, and Leavitt, the former Utah governor, know the life of an elected official and can relate to Romney in a way that few others in the inner circle can as a result.
[Editor's Commentary: I have not done a search of Roy Blunt's voting record on other issues, but the abortion issue was the first to come up on a very helpful site that I was not aware of until a reader of this site gave me the heads up.
I am happy to report to you that, from a pro life point of view, Roy Blunt's record IS PERFECT!!]
2009 Representative Blunt supported the interests of NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2009.
2008 Representative Blunt supported the interests of Planned Parenthood 0 percent in 2008.
2007-2008 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association 0 percent in 2007-2008.
2007-2008 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 2007-2008.
2007 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2007.
2006 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2006.
2006 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 0 percent in 2006.
2005-2006 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association 0 percent in 2005-2006.
2005-2006 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 2005-2006.
2005 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2005.
2004 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2004.
2003-2004 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 2003-2004.
2003 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2003.
2001-2002 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 2001-2002.
2001 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2001.
2001 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 0 percent in 2001.
2000 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 2000.
1999-2002 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association 0 percent in 1999-2002.
1999-2000 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 1999-2000.
1999 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 1999.
1999 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 1999.
1999 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 0 percent in 1999.
1998 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 1998.
1997-1998 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 1997-1998.
1997 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 0 percent in 1997.
1997 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 100 percent in 1997.
1995-2004 On the votes that the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association considered to be the most important in 1995-2004, Representative Blunt voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.
1995-2003 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 0 percent in 1995-2003.
1995-1998 Representative Blunt supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 0 percent in 1995-1998
For your information as we head into the 2010 mid-term elections.
Elections
2010 Elections
Endorsements
NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC has made a number of endorsements in 2010 races:
Senate
Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA)
Sen. Russ Feingold (WI)
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (IL)
Rep. Paul Hodes (NH)
Rep. Kendrick Meek (FL)
Rep. Joe Sestak (PA)
House
Ami Bera (CA-03)
Rep. Rick Boucher (VA-09)
Paula Brooks (OH-12)
Suzan DelBene (WA-08)
State Sen. Ted Deutch (FL-19)
Denny Heck (WA-03)
Rep. Martin Heinrich (NM-01)
Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02)
Rep. Betsy Markey (CO-04)
Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA-8)
Rep. Scott Murphy (NY-20)
Rep. Gary Peters (MI-09)
Cedric Richmond (LA-02)
Rep. Mark Schauer (MI-07)
Dan Seals (IL-10)
Manan Trivedi (PA-06)
Rep. David Wu (OR-01)
Washington Senate: Murray Falls Behind Two GOP Challengers
Washington’s Senate race looks increasingly like a referendum on incumbent Democrat Patty Murray with two Republican candidates edging past her this month.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Washington State finds Republican hopefuls Dino Rossi and Clint Didier both earning 48% support in match-ups with Murray. She, in turn, picks up 45% of the vote against the two GOP challengers. Less than 10% of voters in both cases prefer some other candidate in the race or are undecided.
In June, Murray and Rossi were tied as they have been in virtually every survey this year. Since the beginning of the year, Murray has earned 46% to 48% of the vote, while Rossi’s support has ranged from 46% to 49%.
Incumbents that fall short of 50% at this stage of a campaign are considered potentially vulnerable, but worrisome for Murray is that this is her poorest showing of the year. She was reelected to a third term in 2004 with 55% of the vote.
Washington is one of nine states currently characterized as Toss-Ups in the Rasmussen Reports Senate Balance of Power rankings.
Last month, Murray led Didier, a former professional football player, 48% to 40%. Prior to that survey, Didier’s support had ranged from 30% to 37% since January. In the same time period, Murray earned 47% to 51% in match-ups with Didier
A third Republican hopeful, businessman Paul Akers, continues to trail Murray. But in the latest survey, the incumbent leads Akers 46% to 41%, while a month ago she was ahead 48% to 38%.
Republicans will pick their candidate in an August 17 primary, but Rossi, a two-time unsuccessful candidate for governor, is still considered the favorite in the race.
ST. LOUIS – Roy Blunt’s campaign this week announced it raised more than $2.2 million in the last fundraising quarter, trouncing Robin Carnahan by $700,000. Roy Blunt now has a nearly $1 million cash advantage over Robin Carnahan in the race for United States Senate. Blunt also continues to lead Robin Carnahan in the polls.
Respected pollster Scott Rasmussen of Rasmussen Reports says Robin Carnahan, “has never led in the race.”
It is clear to a huge and growing number of Missourians that the Carnahan, Pelosi, Reid and Obama policies are a disaster for jobs, the economy, health care and energy.
[Editor's Commentary: It is apparent that Missouri voters are in the process of rewarding Roy Blunt for his conservatism ( the American Conservative Union gives Mr. Blunt a 94% lifetime rating for his conservative voting record) and punishing Robin Carnahan for her leftist tax and spend politics.]
Not looking good for the Dems this Fall. On the national scene, we all saw the polls this week that showed the top three presumptive Republican Presidential candidates have tied or are in the lead against President “Oil Slick.”]
Washington (CNN) – Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney raised $1.8 million during the second fundraising quarter of this year, far outpacing the other Republicans he may face in the next presidential race.
Romney has also devoted considerable money to building an extensive national political network, doling out more than $400,000 since January to various 2010 candidates through his Free and Strong America political action committee and its state-level affiliates.
All told, Romney has collected $3.4 million since the beginning of the year – more than double the roughly $1.3 million that each of his next closest rivals in the money chase, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, raised during the same period.
With less than four months until the midterm elections, Romney has nearly $2.2 million left in the bank, giving him the financial muscle necessary to be a power player in Republican politics as November nears.
In the second quarter, Palin raised $865,000, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission. She spent $87,500 contributing to Republican candidates and has roughly $1 million on hand.
Pawlenty is not far behind: An aide to the Minnesota governor told CNN that the Minnesota governor took in $724,000 in the second quarter and has almost $940,000 in the bank. He contributed $84,000 to GOP candidates since April.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee maintained a steady if underwhelming fundraising pace, taking in about $258,000 between April and June.
Huckabee has raised just $531,000 since January but has been generous with his funds, handing out nearly $92,000 to midterm candidates – with a focus on Republicans in the key primary states of Iowa and South Carolina.
Quarterly financial reports were not yet available for the PACs of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, three other Republicans mulling a possible White House bid.
DETROIT — States have the authority to enforce immigration laws and protect their borders, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said Wednesday in a legal brief on behalf of nine states supporting Arizona’s immigration law.
Cox, one of five Republicans running for Michigan governor, said Michigan is the lead state backing Arizona in federal court and is joined by Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia, as well as the Northern Mariana Islands.
The Arizona law, set to take effect July 29, directs officers to question people about their immigration status during the enforcement of other laws such as traffic stops and if there’s a reasonable suspicion they’re in the U.S. illegally.
President Barack Obama’s administration recently filed suit in federal court to block it, arguing immigration is a federal issue. The law’s backers say Congress isn’t doing anything meaningful about illegal immigration, so it’s the state’s duty to step up.
“Arizona, Michigan and every other state have the authority to enforce immigration laws, and it is appalling to see President Obama use taxpayer dollars to stop a state’s efforts to protect its own borders,” Cox said in a statement.
Arizona’s Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, in a statement released by Cox’s office, said she was thankful for the support.
We’re coming off a great week at the Team Carly headquarters. Our campaign is heating up, and almost every poll released in the last week has Carly either leading or in a statistical tie with Barbara Boxer.
A SurveyUSA poll released Monday evening shows Carly ahead of Boxer by two points with likely voters, 47 percent to 45 percent. The news outlets are now calling our race one of the hottest Senate races in 2010. They’re reporting what we’ve always known: Barbara Boxer is more vulnerable than ever, and Californians are ready to fire her this November.
There’s no doubt this race is a dead heat. Your generous support has been critical in building a campaign infrastructure to help send Boxer packing once and for all. But we’re certainly not writing Barbara Boxer off. The last finance report filed by her campaign showed she had more than $10 million in the bank. After a costly and hard-fought primary campaign, we are starting at a disadvantage against her. The polls show Boxer can be defeated, but we need the resources do so.
[Editor's Commentary: Although SolidPrinciples does not endorse candidates, we do endorse Conservatism. Replacing the Uber-Liberal Barbara Boxer with the much more conservative and pro life Carly Fiorina is a quantum improvement, in our estimation. Conservatives are racking up big leads in several races around the country, they have leads of 5-7 points in others and there are virtual dead heats in a few states.
Of course, as the cliche says, the only poll that counts is the one they hold on November 2, 2010, so we can't afford to get complacent. I would urge all our readers to get involved in a Congressional race in your home state. Every campaign needs help with phone banks, mailings, yard signs, etc., so please help a conservative get elected this Fall.]
President Obama and Vice President Biden are both on the campaign trail today, boosting a lucky group of four candidates between them. Obama will attend two Kansas City fundraisers for Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s Senate campaign before heading to Las Vegas for two events at the Aria Resort and Casino with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Biden, meanwhile, starts his day in Portland, Ore., campaigning with Rep. Kurt Schrader and then travels to California to campaign with Sen. Barbara Boxer.
[Editor's Commentary: "A lucky group of four candidates," who do you think you are BSing? A visit from President "Oil Slick" will only drive down the already anemic poll numbers of these stiffs. Carnahan is losing by 5% against Roy Blunt and Sharron Angle has been up by as much as 15% against Harry "The Undertaker" Reid. Give us a break with the shilling, already.
To become the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama not only won heavy percentages of the black and Hispanic vote but also managed to trim the Democratic Party’s traditional deficit among white voters.
Four years after Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) lost the white vote by 17 percentage points, Obama lost it by 12, according to exit polls. While the 2008 gains were generally attributed to Obama’s strength with young voters — he won by 10 points among whites 18 to 29 years old — he managed to improve on Kerry’s showing with white voters across every age demographic.
Fast-forward to today. With the November midterm elections less than four months away, Obama’s standing among white voters has sunk — leading some party strategists to fret that the president’s erosion — and the party’s — could adversely affect Democrats’ chances of holding on to their House and Senate majorities.
“Since in the past House elections white voters tended to represent the independent vote, [the midterms] will surely be devastating for Democrats running in an election that will be a referendum on the Obama agenda,” predicted one senior Democratic operative who closely tracks House races.
In Washington Post-ABC polling, Obama’s approval rating among white voters has dropped from better than 60 percent to just above 40 percent. In a June poll, 46 percent of white voters under age 40 approved of how Obama was doing, compared with just 39 percent of whites 65 and older.
The latest NBC-Wall Street Journal poll reveals that Obama’s standing among white voters is remarkably similar to that of President George W. Bush at this same time two years ago.
In the June 2008 NBC-WSJ survey, 37 percent of white men and 26 percent of white women approved of the job Bush was doing. In the June 2010 poll, an identical 37 percent of white men approved of Obama’s handling of his job, as did 35 percent of white women.
Those numbers are all the more striking when viewed against overall perceptions of the two presidents. In June 2008, just 28 percent approved of the job Bush was doing while a whopping 66 percent disapproved. Obama, by contrast, is running far stronger with the nation as a whole, with ratings of 45 percent approval and 48 percent disapproval in last month’s NBC-WSJ survey.
Context, as always in politics, matters here. First, as noted above, Republican presidents tend to far outperform Democratic ones among white voters. Second, Obama’s sweeping win — his 365 electoral votes represented victories even in Republican-friendly states such as Indiana — meant that his numbers were bound to fall among whites (and nearly everyone else) once he began the task of governing. Third, Bush’s numbers were bolstered by whites in the South (42 percent approval in the 2008 NBC-WSJ survey) while Obama’s is hurt by them (29 percent approval).
Still, Obama’s numbers among white voters have some Democratic strategists with an eye on the fall elections decidedly nervous.
SACRAMENTO, CA – U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina today joined former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez in holding a town hall with Latino leaders at Griselda’s Catering in Sacramento to discuss the important issues facing the Latino community in California.
“Carly Fiorina understands the tough environment Latino families, businesses and communities are facing right now because of the recent economic slowdown and because of misguided policies championed by our leaders in Washington,” said Gutierrez. “Carly is a practical problem-solver who will be a vocal advocate in the U.S. Senate, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to support her candidacy.”
Gutierrez began his career as a sales representative and management trainee at Kellogg Company in 1975. He rose to become the company’s president and chief executive officer in 1999 and was, at the time, the only Latino CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He was then appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, a position he held from 2005 to 2009.
“California used to be the land of opportunity in the land of opportunity. But under Barbara Boxer’s leadership, taxes have gone up by more than a trillion dollars, our debt and our deficit have skyrocketed and the size and scope of government continues to grow,” said Fiorina. “If we want to get our state and our nation on the track toward job creation and economic growth, then we must support our nation’s small businesses and entrepreneurs. Barbara Boxer has thus far refused to pursue policies that encourage their growth and success, and that’s why we must replace her this November.”
Fiorina today also launched Amigos de Carly, a Web site dedicated to informing Spanish-speaking Californians about her candidacy for U.S. Senate and her views on some of the most important issues facing the state today, including job creation, economic growth and water. Amigos de Carly builds on Fiorina’s continuing efforts to reach out to members of the Spanish-speaking community, including through the Latinos for Carly coalition, which is chaired by former California State Assemblyman Bob Pacheco.
Rifle through a stack of Tea Party candidate resumes, and Joe Miller’s will stand out.
The man who wants to turn a fellow Republican, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, out of office is a graduate of Yale Law School and West Point, a decorated combat veteran and former judge. Many Tea Partiers share his disdain for Washington, its political gridlock and mounting debt, but not his credentials.
The message he conveys, though, is straight from the Tea Party script: He fears the nation is veering toward socialism and insolvency. He says Murkowski is too liberal.
To Miller, Alaska’s senior senator is complicit in the ballooning U.S. debt and spending and has a voting record that would make a Democrat proud. His agenda envisions a federal government with reduced limits. He would cut off federal dollars for the United Nations, gradually privatize Medicare and Social Security and disband federal departments that aren’t spelled out in the Constitution, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Education Department.
“The problem,” he says, “is incumbency.”
In an election year marked by Tea Party activism, Miller is part of the next wave of Republican primary candidates counting on a public weary of Washington and the stale economy, and eager for fresh faces. In more than a dozen primaries in the months ahead — among them Oklahoma, Kansas, Tennessee, Colorado, Arizona, Washington state and Florida — Tea Party candidates are determined to upend the status quo and capture GOP nominations.
Could Miller be the next Rand Paul or Sharron Angle — Tea Party-backed candidates who stunned GOP powerbrokers in Kentucky and Nevada?
Murkowski, a moderate and the first woman elected to Congress from Alaska, “is pretty safe but you never know,” says Judy Eledge, president of the Anchorage chapter of the Alaska Federation of Republican Women.
Eledge, who is not aligned with either candidate, says Murkowski’s biggest challenge will be reassuring conservatives. On Friday, the senator announced her opposition to President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan.
As a state legislator, Murkowski voted to raise alcohol taxes and against a bill to restrict publicly funded abortions. As a member of the GOP Senate leadership, she has displayed a centrist streak. Independents who make up more than half Alaska’s registered voters can vote in the Aug. 24 primary, which analysts say will benefit the incumbent.
Miller has gotten a boost from endorsements from Sarah Palin, the Tea Party Express and local Tea Party groups. But Murkowski has $2 million in the bank and has a familiar name in Alaska politics. Her father, Frank Murkowski, was a governor and senator. As governor, he appointed his daughter in 2002 to the Senate seat he had held.
Former Alaska lawmaker Andrew Halcro, a friend and supporter of Lisa Murkowski, says her moderate brand of politics fits well in a state where most voters don’t belong to any party. But the prevailing sour mood in the U.S. poses a threat.
“Like a lot of states, you have an angry populace” in Alaska, Halcro says. “If I’m Lisa, I am worried because these guys have an appealing message — down with government, down with incumbents.”
Surprises are the norm this year.
Three-term Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah was ousted by Tea Partiers at the state GOP convention in May. Tea Party darling Angle engineered a come-from-behind victory in Nevada over an establishment-preferred candidate and will challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November. Rand pulled off a surprise win in Kentucky’s Senate race over a party favorite. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was forced out of the GOP by Tea Party-backed Marco Rubio and is running as an independent. In South Carolina, Palin’s support and Tea Party activists helped GOP state Rep. Nikki Haley emerge from a crowded field to capture the GOP nod for governor.
In Colorado, the GOP Senate nomination appeared destined for a former lieutenant governor, Jane Norton. But Republican prosecutor Ken Buck has emerged as a rising Tea Party star by blending grass-roots organizing, a message of ideological purity and a folksy appeal he shares with candidates such as Angle.
In Tennessee, a Tea Party Republican seeking a congressional seat in a crowded field has made headlines by opposing construction of a suburban Nashville mosque. Candidate Lou Ann Zelenik says the “Islamic training center” is part of a political movement “designed to fracture the moral and political foundation of Middle Tennessee.”
“Until the American Muslim community finds it in their hearts to separate themselves from their evil, radical counterparts, to condemn those who want to destroy our civilization … we are not obligated to open our society to any of them,” Zelenik says. She hopes to replace Democratic Rep. Bart Gordon, who is retiring after 13 terms.
In Washington state, former professional football player Clint Didier is questioning the Republican credentials of party-recruited candidate Dino Rossi in the scramble to take on three-term Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.
The true test of the Tea Party candidates is whether they can attract moderate and independent voters to win in November.
As part of SolidPrinciples.com ongoing effort to bring our readers information on the all important 2010 mid-term elections, here’s a YouTube video featuring Joe Miller from Alaska answering a reporter’s questions on why the voters should send him to Washington next year.
In what looks like another move toward a possible run for the White House, Mitt Romney is donating $20,000 to the N.H. Republican Party.
According to the state party and a Romney spokesman, $15,000 of the contribution comes from Romney’s New Hampshire political action committee, with the remaining $5,000 from his federal PAC.
The former Massachusetts governor and 2008 GOP presidential candidate also donated $10,000 to the state party last year, bringing to $30,000 the amount of money he’s donated to the Republican Party of New Hampshire this cycle.
Romney is the only possible 2012 Republican presidential hopeful so far to donate money to the state party. New Hampshire holds the first primary in the nation, playing an influential role in the race for the White House.
Romney, through his PAC, has endorsed more than 100 Republican candidates so far this 2010 election cycle. The endorsements appear to be part of a strategy for Romney to build support among Republicans across the country, in advance of what many consider will be another bid for the White House.
Most popular official in survey; For incumbents, message is mixed
US Senator Scott Brown, who only months ago was a little-known figure even within the tiny band of Republicans in the state Senate, not only catapulted to national stature with his upset US Senate victory, but is today the most popular officeholder in Massachusetts, according to a Boston Globe poll.
After less than five months in Washington, Brown outpolls such Democratic stalwarts as President Obama and US Senator John F. Kerry in popularity, the poll indicates. He gets high marks not only from Republicans, but even a plurality of Democrats views him favorably.
The support for Brown, whose victory became a symbol of voter anger, is consistent with widespread sentiment that incumbents in Massachusetts and Washington “need to be replaced with a new crop of leaders.’’ That statement was supported by 50 percent of those polled, while 28 percent said they trust the incumbents.
Yet there’s one surprising consolation for Bay State Democrats who hope to defuse the voter backlash. When asked whether they will vote for a Democrat or Republican in their own congressional district in November, 42 percent of likely voters say they will vote for the Democrat and 27 percent will vote Republican.
While those polled tend to favor the nine Democratic incumbents running to keep their US House seats in November, Republicans can take hope in the state’s only contest for an open seat, being vacated by Democrat William Delahunt. Voters in the Southeastern and Cape and Islands communities that make up the district are evenly divided on whether they will vote for a Republican or Democrat.
The survey of 558 adults in Massachusetts, including 497 likely voters, was taken June 17-23 by the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center.
Brown’s backers can be heartened by the depth of his support.
Asked their opinion of Brown, 55 percent of those polled said they view him favorably, only 18 percent unfavorably. His rating among Republicans is 79 percent favorable, 3 percent unfavorable. And 55 percent of independents — the majority of the state’s voters — say they like him, while only 11 percent have an unfavorable opinion. The poll has a margin of error of 4.2 percent.
Despite the fact that his election in January was a crushing blow to both the state and national Democratic party, 41 percent of Democrats say they view Brown favorably, and 32 percent, unfavorably.
In contrast, Kerry was viewed favorably by 52 percent of those polled and unfavorably by 37 percent of the respondents. And in a sign that Obama is a polarizing figure even in Massachusetts, 54 percent of the respondents view him favorably and 41 percent unfavorably, according to the polling data.
