Not going to jinx it, but things are looking a wee bit good.
A new Rasmussen survey in Connecticut finds Ned Lamont (D) leading Thomas Foley (R) in the race for governor, 42% to 35%.
Dan Malloy (D), who is battling Lamont for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, also edges Foley, 38% to 35%.
Just a month ago, both Democrats were running behind Foley.
No such luck. Via Taegan-
'It wasn't that I thought that my political outreach and charm would immediately end partisan politics. I just thought that there would be enough of a sense of urgency that at least for the first year there would be an interest in governing. And you just didn't see that."
-- President Obama, quoted in The Promise: President Obama, Year One by Jonathan Alter, on Republican obstruction being his biggest surprise since taking office.
Heh. Problem is that this kind of stuff doesn't resonate with the people all that much, but it can distract the GOPers for a bit.
The Michigan Democratic Party filed an official complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, alleging that the Michigan Republican Party and the Republican National Committee struck a deal to get around campaign finance limits and launder roughly half a million dollars in contributions from Michigan residents through the RNC and back to the Michigan GOP.
These allegations first came to light with an article in the Daily Caller last week, which we reported on at the time. The Michigan GOP denies any wrongdoing in the matter, but now the FEC will presumably open an investigation reach its own conclusion.
The Daily Caller cited an unnamed source within the GOP:“It was a known secret that a deal had been struck on the topic,” a former RNC official confirmed to The Daily Caller.
“I think the benefit to them was them getting guaranteed money,” the source said of the Michigan GOP, “and the benefit to the RNC was getting higher fundraising numbers.”
The article also noted that FEC reports showed that a group of Michigan donors all maxed out their contributions to the RNC in the last days of 2009, donating nearly half a million dollars collectively. The RNC then transferred that money back to the state party in two payments in early 2010.
By GottaLaff
When Democrats unify, they actually accomplish things. Imagine what it would be like if they unified and communicated effectively. What a concept.
How many times have you yelled back at the Tee Vee Machine, as if you were a surrogate for Congress Member X? How many times have you gnashed your teeth as Rushpublic after Rushpublic punditiot over talks a Democratic one?
How many times have you asked, "Why can't our side do that?"
How many times have you called a Dem "spineless"?
"People want a congressman who stands up and speaks out. People have come to think that a Democratic Congressman with guts is a mythological creature, like a unicorn."
-- Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), quoted by the Plum Line.
[H]is appeal to Dem base voters resides in the fact that he’s not afraid of GOP attacks, that he doesn’t let Republicans own the debate, that he makes his case as aggressively as he can and hopes for the best — in short, that he fights. [...]
Rank and file Dems across the country have grown so fed up with watching their leadership cower in the face of GOP attacks that they reward this kind of feistiness when they see it — and even regard him as their Representative, Grayson says.
By GottaLaff
Fox conducted a poll. Here are three little excerpts, but please go here for much, much more.
This little piggy is a little cringeworthy for everyone:
This little piggy is a little cringeworthy for Barbie McLipSchmutz:
And this little piggy cried "We're weeee-weeee-weeee'd up!" all the way to the ballot box:
Click on images to enlarge.
The End.
By GottaLaff
Those disorganized Democrats, they can't do anything right.
Oh wait. They passed health care reform. They're turning the economy around. They passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. They're getting us out of Iraq... you get the idea.
And now, they're out raising the Rushpublics:
With eight months to go before congressional elections, House and Senate Democratic candidates exceed in virtually every important campaign fundraising category. Democratic House lawmakers appear likely to reverse their seven-cycle record of being outspent by House Republicans, according to recent finance reports.
...controversy over lavish and questionable expenditures by the Republican National Committee -- including chartered airplanes and a young Republicans' night out at a bondage-themed nightclub in Hollywood...
One wild card this year is the impact of last year's Supreme Court decision lifting limits on direct expenditures by corporations or unions on advertising supporting particular candidates. Some Democrats are concerned that corporations might open their checkbooks for their favorites, but an internal Republican fundraising presentation for party leaders in February predicted it would have "NO direct effect on . . . [Republican] parties or candidates."
Likewise, spending this year by regulated advocacy groups, known as "527s," is hard to predict, particularly since a federal court said on March 26 that such groups can now accept unlimited contributions by wealthy individuals.
By GottaLaff
Retiring Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) is beginning to unload some of that huge $13 million campaign treasury.
The Indiana Democratic Party announced Tuesday that it has received $1 million from Bayh's campaign committee -- money that party officials said would be used to help elect Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D) as Bayh's successor.
By GottaLaff
In recent days, several Democratic offices around the nation have also been vandalized. Although it’s unclear who the perpetrators are, all the incidents took place shortly before or after the House’s vote on health care yesterday:
– The glass front door of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ (D-AZ) Tuscon office was “smashed out” a “few hours after she voted in favor of health care reform.” Giffords’ spokesman C.J. Karamargin “said it was unclear if the glass had been shot out with a kind of pellet gun, if it had been kicked or smashed with an object. The door has been covered with plywood.”
– On the morning of March 19, someone threw a brick through the front window of Rep. Louise Slaughter’s (D-NY) Niagara Falls office. Monroe County Democratic Committee officials also said that a brick shattered the glass doors at their party’s headquarters in Rochester, NY on Saturday or Sunday.
By GottaLaff
J Sid in Wonderland has gone completely through the looking glass. Up is down. Black is white (well, except for President Obama... who's apparently too black for his crowd). Old is young.
No, wait. Old is McCain:
"There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year," McCain said during an interview Monday on an Arizona radio affiliate. "They have poisoned the well in what they've done and how they've done it."
By GottaLaff
I'm sorry, what? Coburn's issuing threats? Really?
Please note his little posse chuckling when he throws around threats to Democrats.
Classy stuff, Tom, and a tad extreme.
This comes from utter desperation, knowing the Dems are about to score a big health care win. The GOP is like a scared animal lashing out blindly at anything and anyone who they thing "crosses" them. That's their mentality, assuming they have any mental capacity left at all.
Get him on the road NOW. h/t Greg.
PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans remain more confident in the healthcare reform recommendations of President Obama (49%) than in the recommendations of the Democratic (37%) or Republican (32%) leaders in Congress. But these confidence levels are lower than those measured in June, suggesting that the ongoing healthcare reform debate has taken a toll on the credibility of the politicians involved.
By GottaLaff
Oooo, somebody's in trou-ble! President Obama is summoning some very, very naughty Democrats to the White House. They're the ones who have been stubborn about accepting his health care proposal because it doesn't include a public option.
Now that's the kind of bratty I can appreciate.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) and Lynn Woolsey (Calif.); Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairman Mike Honda (Calif.); Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee (Calif.); Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.); Reps. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Lucille Roybal-Allard (Calif.) and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.); and Dels. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam) and Donna Christensen (Virgin Islands)... be good or you'll be grounded!
The Dems who don't think he's done enough about the price of the plan are Reps. Jason Altmire (Pa.), Melissa Bean (Ill.), Lois Capps (Calif.), Joe Crowley (N.Y.), Ron Kind (Wis.), Allyson Schwartz (Pa.) and Adam Smith (Wash.). They will also be given a talking-to.
Prez O sure has a lot of kids.
By GottaLaff
Democrats spoke for a total of 135 minutes while President Obama spoke for 122 minutes, for a total of 257 minutes. Republicans, meanwhile, spoke for just 111 minutes, about 30 percent of the total speaking time.
The time discrepancy did not go unnoticed by the top Republican in the Senate
Shortly after President Obama, Vice President Biden and legislators from both parties returned from a lunch break, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office released a statement detailing how long President Obama had the floor, versus how much time members of each party were allotted during the nearly three-hour morning session.
Let's break it down: The Dems got 135 minutes and the GOP got 111. The president was moderating. And he's the president.
Now let's compare that enormous, terribly unfair 24 minute gap to this post of only 1 year ago:
In a new analysis, ThinkProgress has found that Republican lawmakers outnumbered Democratic lawmakers 75 to 41 on cable news interviews by members of Congress (from 6am on Monday 2/2 through 11pm on Thursday 2/5):
Some observations from our analysis:
– Last week, Fox News came the closest to balance with 8 Republicans and 6 Democrats. But the so-called “fair and balanced” network was not able to maintain such a ratio this week, hosting 24 Republicans and only 11 Democrats.
– The business news networks were particularly egregious this week. CNBC had more than twice as many conservatives, with 14 Republicans and 6 Democrats. Fox Business was even worse, hosting 20 Republicans for just 4 Democrats.
– In the previous study, the supposedly liberal MSNBC favored Republicans 15 to 9. This week, however, MSNBC became the only network to host more Democratic members of Congress than Republicans, with 17 Democrats and 12 Republicans.
[...] Some of the most frequent Democratic guests this week were outspoken critics of the proposed stimulus plans, such as Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Kent Conrad (D-ND).
Fortunately, the imbalance on the networks is not going unnoticed. A House Democratic leadership aide told Politico’s Michael Calderone yesterday that “what happened with cable last week is that Republican House members were the only show in town.” A “very senior” Democratic aide told The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent that the leadership is “aware of the problem and are taking steps to fix it.” The aide noted that “there is also an onus on producers to remedy this issue.”
Let's not forget this post. Or my post entitled "Mything In Action-- Librul Media. Network news coverage favored Republicans 1992-2004". Or this one.
Call me crazy, but I kinda think they owe us a few minutes.
By GottaLaff
Traction? We got traction? How come nobody told me?
Congressional Democrats are celebrating what they say was their best week politically since Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts on Jan. 19.
After playing defense on the economy, the stimulus and healthcare for much of the past year, Democrats went on the offensive this week.
Democrats took advantage of the one-year anniversary of the passage of the economic stimulus package and a slow news week to blast Republicans for claiming credit for stimulus funds they opposed.
By GottaLaff
The Becks of the world have been asking, "Where's Gore?" He's been busy, that's where. Busy at what, you ask?
Calling out Republicans. Oh yeah, and Democrats.
Oh no he didn't! Ohhh yeah. He did. Al Gore's group, the Alliance for Climate Protection, just put up not one, but two Tee Vee Machine ads in Indiana and Maine, with two more expected in Missouri and Arkansas.
You may be asking, as you're wont to do, so what? Here's what. The ads, featuring regular old Americans, call out Democrats for backing off of cap and trade climate legislation.
That's right, not just Rushpublics, but Al Gore, the former Vice President, is mentioning Even Bayh, Claire McCaskill, Blanche Lincoln, and others by name via Repower America. And that's the so what:
Repower America, a project of Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection is upping the pressure on swing-vote Democrats to support legislative action on climate change.
By GottaLaff
With 59 votes, Dems must seek Republican input
"Over the past week, President Obama and his senior aides have repeatedly cited Republicans' filibuster threats as the primary reason for the lack of progress on big ticket legislative items, an early sign that Democrats will seek to use this bit of legislative arcana against the GOP in the coming midterm election," The Fix observes.I am Laffy and I approve that message.
"By making the filibuster a political issue, the White House may be hoping to turn the base's anger at the way things are being done in Washington away from an inward focus on the party's unwillingness to change the rules and toward Republicans for their legislative blocking."
By GottaLaff
How amusing that this news broke smack dab in the middle of the Super Bowl:
Scott Lee Cohen (D), the Democratic nominee for Illinois lieutenant governor, "removed himself from the campaign Sunday, freeing Gov. Pat Quinn from the baggage Cohen brought to the ticket, but also leaving him without a running mate," NBC Chicago reports.If? If?? Yeah, look where you are.
Said Cohen: "I'm someone who made mistakes in my life. And look where I am. If I let you down I"m sorry".
By GottaLaff
The Wall Street Journal reports today that "Republicans are stepping up their campaign to win donations from Wall Street, trying to capitalize on an increasing sense of regret among executives at big financial institutions for backing Democrats in 2008." [...]Last week, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio made a pitch to Democratic contributor James Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan, over drinks at a Capitol Hill restaurant, according to people familiar with the matter.Mr. Boehner told Mr. Dimon congressional Republicans had stood up to Mr. Obama's efforts to curb pay and impose new regulations. The Republican leader also said he was disappointed many on Wall Street continue to donate their money to Democrats, according to the people familiar with the matter.
The Boehner foots the bill for a couple of drinks and expects a few million in return... and his bait to Wall Street is that the Democrats are trying to fix the gargantuan problems that the Rushpublics jammed down our throats for 8 endless years.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Haven't the sane people been saying this all along? The damage is already done with the squabbling and fecklessness of the D's. Via Taegan-
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Democratic candidates this fall "will fare about the same whether health care passes or not."
"The GOP leads 43-40 on the generic Congressional ballot. When you ask people how they'll vote if the Democrats don't pass their health care plan the GOP leads 43-38. That's because the level of support from Democratic voters for their own party drops from 80% to 76% if there is no health care bill. The GOP level of support remains unchanged at this point whether it passes or not."
Bottom line: "The political damage for Democrats has been done. It doesn't matter whether it actually passes- it has had the effect of getting Republican voters really fired up and along with the economy continuing to struggle it has turned independents toward the GOP as well. Those voters aren't going to come back at this point because health care doesn't pass. Would Democrats be in a better position right now if they hadn't even touched the issue? Probably. But what's the point of being in power if you don't deal with things like health care?"
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