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Showing posts from October, 2006

Larry Kissell's positive ads and homespun wisdom

The Southern Dem has been doing an awesome job covering Larry Kissell's race against Robin Hayes in NC-08. Check out this suite of postive ads from the Kissell campaign at the tail end of this post about Hayes unrelenting negativity. Larry is a great candidate; I mean, one honestly just starts to like the guy. A fantastic quality in a candidate. Larry Kissell Robin Hayes North Carolina the Southern Dem

Great news out of Idaho

Blogger Lynn Allen of Evergreen Politics links to this story from the red state of Idaho (from the Idaho Statesman): For the first time since the early 1990s, the outcome of a statewide election appears in doubt with just 10 days to go. An Idaho Statesman/Today's 6 poll says races for governor, 1st Congressional District and school superintendent are essentially tied. Now, the state with the nation's highest proportion of GOP legislators has a nail-biter election that will turn on last-minute advertising, debates and organization. Democrats haven't won a governor's race since 1990 or a seat in Congress since 1992, but a call for change nationally is reaching Idaho. Coupled with Republican candidates who inspire negative feelings, Democrats have a shot. That is jaw dropping news. And this quote seals the deal: "At this point in a typical campaign, Idaho Democrats are dispirited and looking for moral victories," said Jim Weatherby, a political scientist who h

Great news out of Kentucky

There's great news out of Kentucky. Local blog the BlueGrass Report cites polling that favors Democrats in both tight House races in the state: With exactly one week to go until the November 7th election, a new round of independent polling shows former Rep. Ken Lucas (D) with a 50% to 46% lead over Rep. Geoff Davis (R) in the latest Constituent Dynamics poll. Previously, the poll showed Davis with 49% to 46% leads in both of the previous polls taken in August and early October. Also, the Lucas camp informed me that their latest internal polling -- received within the past week -- confirms their lead, showing the race at 46% to 38%. Coupled with yesterday's numbers showing John Yarmuth (D) surging ahead of Rep. Anne Northup (R) by a 52% to 46% margin, I think we're now witnessing previously undecided voters casting their lots and breaking sharply towards the Democratic challengers. This is absolutely fantastic news. GOP Congresswoman Anne Northup has made a living "del

Blogging 2.0

It's one week out and there's two things that are clear to me: First, the 2005/2006 period represented a test run for any number of projects and concepts that we will be seeing a great deal more of in the years to come. The Bloggers' Convention ( Yearlykos ), campaigns like Use it or Lose It , ACTBlue pages , the rise of Local Blogging , Netroots participation in cultivating and supporting progressive Primary candidates, citizen-created political Media and Video (YouTube), Wide-field targeting a la the 50 State strategy , and online cooperative projects like we've seen here on MyDD and elsewhere...to name just a few. Second, looking at all these trends, it becomes more and more clear that many of these projects will not go dormant after the election. Far from it. I would argue that we are now engaged in a two year battle for governance in the United States, of which the 2006 mid-terms are just the opening bell, and in which , the netroots will play an increasingly im

bloggers should blog

This is just a low key late night think piece. Basically, there's always this issue about what bloggers should do regarding election time. Traffic goes up. New readers and eyeballs hit websites. (Not this one much, but I hear rumors of it elsewhere, lol.) There's also pressure for folks to use the blogs exclusively as GOTV tools, to shape content exclusively to match election season. Well, imo, bloggers should blog. If you do GOTV or you cover political races on your blog, well, by all means you should blog about that. You shouldn't write in a vacuum. (And I remain convinced that if you write about GOTV you should do it too.) But, in general, the best thing any blogger can do as an election approaches is to do what they do best year round. That's the point. General pieces about topics of political interest are FINE. New readers haven't been reading all year...and so they should get a chance to read the latest news AND a blogger's best commentary. What surpris

UNLV Young Dems vs. Jon Porter NV-03

Now, I'm not sure I'll watch this a second time, but the first time around was pretty funny...in a Gong Show kind of way. (Courtesy of the Las Vegas Gleaner , where you can read about Congressman Jon Porter and other Nevada races.)

attention Northern Californians: CA-11 rising

Babaloo at Say No to Pombo has a great post up right now about how you can help with the race in CA-11. It's called Ramping it Up for McNerney .

some quick thoughts regarding Googlebombing

I want to say, right off the bat, that the Use it or Lose It campaign helmed by Chris Bowers has been a stroke of brilliance. It reminds me of the web-based $$ innovations that have marked the last two election cycles. Act Blue, the Dean Bat, the small donor revolution and now this campaign to kick some reluctant $-rich Democratic incumbents in the pants. Kudos to Chris and all who've helped. That being said, I have some real reservations about Chris's other MyDD project: Google Bombing. (Googlebombing, admittedly, is a relatively harmless practice, and one that I've tried and failed at.) Here, then, in brief, are my thoughts. 1) I don't think we should have to google bomb. A well-developed infrastructure of local political blogs, linked and interlinked, should be able to deliver a Google Page Rank that would get all of us onto search pages for GOP incumbents and issues of the day. I've read a great deal of local blogs over the last year...and linked to them

Scott Howell's racist ad crafting buoys the GOP

Scott Howell doesn't care if you think he's racist . Hell, he doesn't care if he drags the political discourse in this country into the mud . Scott Howell is about two things : a) the almighty dollar b) doing whatever it takes to get Republicans to win As Lowell of Raising Kaine writes: Many of you might remember Scott Howell, the infamous Republican political hit...,er, ad man whose work includes such gems as the racist "Black Hands" ad in Oklahoma (2004) and the disgraceful "Hitler ad" in last year's Kaine-Kilgore race in Virginia. Well, apparently those despicable ads haven't dissauded Republican candidates from using Howell's fine services. This year, for instance, Howell is hard at work, "crafting the message" for Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-MN), Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO), Mike Bouchard (R-MI), Tom Gallagher (R-FL), Bob Corker (R-TN), and...yes, you guessed it, our own George Allen (R-VA). So, what's How

Soapblox regional blogs

I've been writing and linking to local and regional blogs for a while now and one thread that's woven through all these posts are myriad links to the Soapblox regional blog network. Soapblox is a Scoop-like platform (it's a Java-based reverse-engineering of Scoop to be precise); what that means in lay terms is that Soapblox blogs are community blogs with user diaries, front-page stories and moderated comments. My Left Wing is probably the most well-known Soapblox blog, but there's a host of regional political Soapblox blogs listed below. If you want to "take the pulse" of regional blogging this election season, I would say that checking out SoapBlox's network of blogs is a great place to start: The SoapBlox Network - Below Boston (MA) - BlueJersey.net (NJ) - Blue Mass. Group (MA) - Blue Oklahoma (OK) - Burnt Orange Report (TX) - Calitics (CA) - Fireside 14 - Florida Politics (FL) - GreenMountainDaily (VT) - LiberIL View (IL) - Michigan Liberal (MI)

Revisiting the k/o list

Below you'll find an updated blog entry version of the k/o list. This list, as I've explained before , is a work in progress and a tool for you to use to read about some of the close races in this country where Democrats are taking GOP seats back from Republicans. I will republish it periodically before election day: the k/o list : updated Sunday Oct. 15th, 2006 Key: candidate name = Democrat running for office CA-11 = dkos Tag local blog name or L = local blog G = google blog search T = technorati search R = regional blog C = Campaign website $ = ActBlue page The West Harry Mitchell AZ-05 the Lofty Donkey G R $ Gabrielle Giffords AZ-08 R Charlie Brown Dump Doolittle CA-04 Jerry McNerney CA-11 SayNotoPombo G R $ Phil Angelides CA-Gov GovernorPhil R Ed Perlmutter CO-07 SquareState G R $ Monica Lindeen MT-AL L R $ Patricia Madrid NM-01 NM-FBIHOP G R $ Tessa Hafen NV-03 LV Gleaner R $ Peter Goldmark WA-05 R $ Darcy Burner WA-08 Everg

Visit Surf Putah

Surf Putah is the new local blog covering Yolo County California by the blogger who goes by wu ming. There's a reason wu ming gets nominated for best commenter in the Wampum awards...and longtime k/o readers will recognise the voice and the insights. If this post is the kind of thoughtful and relevant piece we can expect from wu ming...and, trust me, it is...Surf Putah will always be worth a stop. What a great way to grab a virtual cup of coffee in Davis, California.

It's about Congress, stupid

Dailykos diarist Eleanor A. points up this must-read editorial from East Tennessee opinion maker Frank Cagle regarding the "conservative vote" and the Tennessee Senate race: Which brings us to U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker, the Republican nominee. Corker is not a conservative. He is a nice fellow and his election would not be a tragedy for Tennessee. But have you heard Corker deplore the corruption, legal and moral, now rampant in the United States Congress? Has he said a word about the deplorable state of his party’s governance? Has he suggested he would lift a finger to clean up this deplorable mess? Has he called for Speaker Dennis Hastert to resign? Corker is not a change agent. He is establishment to the core. There is only one way for a conservative to make these people pay for what they have done. They have to be punished . If you vote for Corker you are ratifying the “big government conservative” agenda they have perpetrated. You can say what you please about Con

Condoleeza Rice and failed US policy on North Korea

The truth hurts . Josh Marshall has the best summation yet of the North Korea detonation: let's review the salient facts one more time. "Failure" =1994-2002 -- Era of Clinton 'Agreed Framework': No plutonium production. All existing plutonium under international inspection. No bomb. "Success" = 2002-2006 -- Bush Policy Era: Active plutonium production. No international inspections of plutonium stocks. Nuclear warhead detonated. Face it. They ditched an imperfect but working policy. They replaced it with nothing. Now North Korea is a nuclear state. And, yes, when the Democrats win the majority, there will be truth and oversight once again in Washington... I'm sure that's of great comforat to Rice, Cheney and Mr. Bush. North Korea Condoleeza Rice

Off the Kuff electronic voting interview

Charles Kuffner at Off the Kuff has done an amazing interview with Dan Wallach, professor of Computer Science at Rice University. This interview is a MUST LISTEN for anyone who cares about voting reform. (Folks are working on a transcription as I write.) Wallach, in my mind, lays out both the substance and the mindset for eventual nation-wide regulatory policy regarding electronic voting. His approach is grounded in academics; it's measured and focused and pragmatic. Wallach and Kuff raise enormous, real concerns...concerns shared by many nationwide...but this is not scare-mongering. This is how we will reform electronic voting. Go. Listen. And if you're moved to do something about electing people who will shape that legislation regulating electronic voting...visit the Secretary of State Project . electronic voting Elections Diebold Voting Secretary of State Project

the GOP vs. Moms with questions

At Blue Jersey local blogger JRB has an excellent piece documenting just how in bed with the GOP the press can be. Marcia Kramer, journalist for CBS2 in New Jersey, apparently thinks that citizens assembling to ask questions of a candidate is a "dirty trick." Kramer thinks that a mother with a son in Iraq who wants to ask: "How long will our troops be in Iraq if there's a civil war?" of her GOP candidate is some kind of "sneaky stunt", and not a proper excercise of first amendment rights. As JRB writes: Let it be clear that Marcia Kramer and Tom Kean Jr's handlers (who fed this piece to her) think that ordinary citizens shouldn't have access to our Senate candidates. In their book, it is a dirty trick (their words, not mine) for the mothers of soldiers to get time with their candidate. I guess a mom with a question IS a real problem for the GOP. Kean is running for US Senate. He should be able to listen, and if needed, disagree with any one

NAACP gives Anne Northup, GOP KY-03 an "F"

Local blog the Bluegrass Report reports that Anne Northup couldn't make a debate with her challenger, Democrat John Yarmuth , organized by the local NAACP, Urban League and religious organizations. According to a spokesperson, Northup...who had a conflicting "dinner engagement" and couldn't attend the event...prefers debates that " address the broadest topics ." Yarmuth, restricting himself to "narrow topics" in Northup's absence, addressed Universal Health Care, the minimum wage, the failures of the No Child Left Behind Program and the rising income gap in a time of soaring corporate profits. Congresswoman Northup, however, does not fear that skipping this debate will adversely affect her relationship with the African-American community. According to spokesman Patrick Neely: Northup has deep and long-lasting ties to the African-American community. She's been honored to serve them , and we believe the African-American community knows the d

Pombo's Co-author: "Republicans unworthy of retaining control"

Babaloo at Say No to Pombo has this jaw-dropper. Joseph Farah, arch-conservative and co-author, with Congressman Richard Pombo (CA-11) of the book This Land is OUR LAND: How to End the War on Private Property has released a statement regarding the Foley/Hastert affair: Following the revelations about Florida Rep. Mark Foley's sexually suggestive e-mails to a 16-year-old congressional page, I have concluded Republicans are unworthy of retaining control of the federal government. […] It's not just what one unfit congressman did. It is how his colleagues, mindful only of defending their own positions of power, reacted [...] they did no investigating because they didn't want to know the truth. Stop the presses. There's millions of us who couldn't agree more. Richard Pombo, like his GOP colleagues, is unworthy of anyone's vote. And yes, as Farah says, for those in charge of the GOP, this was about power all along. It was definitely not about taking responsibility

the scandal that engulfed a party

...and let another find its voice . There's nothing I can add to what's already been said so ably by Glenn Greenwald , Hunter , Steve Gilliard , Lindsay Beyerstein , Josh Marshall and Wanda Sykes . All I'd say is that don't neglect that these venues and formats...this "push back" machine I've linked to above did not exist three years ago...well aside from the Tonight Show!. It may not work perfectly..but its ours. Use it well and wisely.

Foley/Hastert coverage on local blogs

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has had absolutely stellar coverage of the Foley/Hastert Page Affair (Josh, along with Hunter at dailyKos, has steadily provided a laser focus on the core issues here.) As part of his coverage Josh Marshall has asked local readers to ask their Congressional representatives to go on the record about the Foley/Hastert affair. Here are some of the responses . And, here, in no particular order is how local blogs are following Josh's lead in examining this Republican failure of leadership: Say No to Pombo asks for calls to Richard Pombo's office Goldy at Horses Ass covers how GOP Congressman Dave Reichert has scrubbed his web page of photos taken of him with Mark Foley. MN Publius points out that newly vulnerable GOP incumbent John Kline is ducking out of debates with Coleen Rowley perhaps to avoid having to comment on the Foley/Hastert affair. And Dump Mike in NJ-07 points out that once again GOP Congressman Mike Ferguson is returning money

Sunday October 1st: Democrats rising

That's not just the news regarding GOP scandals, that's the news all over: In Minnesota, Blue Stem Prairie reports on this hopeful trend from MN-01's local press: Richard Hall recently attended a rally for DFL senate candidate Amy Klobuchar, and as he scanned the room at Daube's Bakery in Rochester, he couldn't help but notice a political trend. Many of the people there had once been Republicans. There's more to this story...take a look. If you don't think the Foley Page Predator Cover Up story will have an impact nationwide, take a look at this story from Ohio, where Mary Jo Kilroy is quite appropriately turning up the heat on Deborah Pryce, a vulnerable member of the GOP House Leadership. This is the Congress that Pryce helped build; hold her accountable. This story about how GOP Congressman takes money from those he supposedly oversees at Blue Jersey is not just a garden variety tale of how our GOP Congress has ZERO oversight or accountability: it'