"Mere $1900 outlay at club with reputation of Voyeur is clear indication of frugal investment"

By GottaLaff

Remember Stormy Daniels? She's not easy to forget, being The Vitter Pill's rather, er, imposing competition and all.

Now she shares her investment expertise:

"As someone who has worked extensively in both the club and film side of the Adult Entertainment Industry, I know from experience that a mere $1900 outlay at a club with the reputation of Voyeur is a clear indication of a frugal investment with a keen eye toward maximum return."

-- Stormy Daniels announcing her decision to become a Republican as she eyes a U.S. Senate race in Louisiana.

Spoken as a true Rushpublic.

And I shall refrain from outlay and maximum return jokes.

Norm Coleman faces hot seat even if he wins

By GottaLaff

Toker Norm better take a few more hits, because he's about to take a few more hits:

Even if Norm Coleman pulls off a long-shot legal victory in the extended Minnesota Senate race, Democrats are vowing to make him wish that he hadn’t.

Separate and apart from the ongoing legal dispute over November’s election, the Minnesota Republican faces several unresolved investigations: a reported FBI probe into his dealings with Nasser Kazeminy, a friend and benefactor; a potential Senate Ethics Committee inquiry into his Capitol Hill living arrangements; a federal elections investigation into his use of campaign donations for legal expenses; and a possible state probe into his campaign’s handling of donors’ financial information on its website.

Wowzers, but that's a lot of unresolved investigations. Where does he find the time... and funds?

Of all the issues facing Coleman, none is more potentially explosive than the Kazeminy investigation, and the Senate Ethics Committee also has been requested to look into the matter.

Last fall, a former associate of Kazeminy’s filed a lawsuit accusing him of trying to funnel $75,000 to Coleman’s wife, Laurie, through a Texas oil-rig company.

The FBI is reportedly investigating the claims — and the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a liberal nonprofit, has filed a federal elections complaint alleging the senator is misusing campaign funds by paying legal fees.

Coleman has dismissed the complaints as “sleaze.”

What a coincidence. We dismiss Coleman as sleaze.

But questions about the matter flared anew when another former company employee reiterated the charges in a civil court deposition made public last month.

In addition, a complaint is pending in the Senate Ethics Committee by the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington about Coleman’s $600-a-month room in the Capitol Hill apartment of another Minnesota donor and friend, Jeff Larsen.

And officials with the Minnesota Democratic-Farm-Labor Party have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging Coleman accepted soft-money donations from a group that receives corporate contributions, a potential violation of federal campaign finance law.

Now see, if a Democrat were in as much hot water as Toker Norm, he'd probably be impeached of indicted. Oh. Wait. He was. So what's holding up the works in Minnesota?

Sponsors of PAC disclosure law miss own deadline

By GottaLaff

So much for that:

CQ Politics: "Scores of lawmakers missed a deadline to start disclosing their ties to political action committees as required by law. Some of them were sponsors of the law that imposed the new requirement."

Why, here they are now!

“We are doing our best to make sure that everybody out there knows about their requirements under the law,” said FEC Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub, a Democrat. “It may have fallen off people’s radar screens.” [...]

They include: Reps. John P. Murtha , D-Pa., who controls the Majority PAC; Todd Tiahrt , R-Kan., who runs Heart PAC; Peter J. Visclosky , D-Ind., with Calumet PAC; Alan B. Mollohan , D-W.Va., with Summit PAC; C.W. Bill Young , R-Fla., with Victory Political Action Committee; and Marcy Kaptur , D-Ohio, with the TrueDem Leadership Fund.

Two other Appropriations Committee members filed late: Sen. Patty Murray , D-Wash., tied to M-PAC; and Rep. David R. Obey , D-Wis., who has the Committee for a Progressive Congress.

Time to get your radar equipment fixed, guys.

It's almost over in Minnesota!

By GottaLaff

Via Tweets from The Uptake:

Right now the noodling says Coleman will need 313 out of 400 ballots to overcome Franken

Ballots will be counted on April 7th.

Kos' Tweet says the same:

400 absentee ballots need to be counted. Coleman would have to win 313 or so of them to overtake Franken.

More from DKos. Here's a sample:

“It’s not looking good,” said a GOP staffer close to Coleman.

It never was, Toker Norm staffer.

UPDATE via Uptake Tweet:

Coleman attorney Ginsberg says the decision will be appealed to the MN Supreme Court.

Oy.

Kudlow hearts CNBC more than the U.S. Senate

By GottaLaff

Larry Kudlow has thought the better of it (original post):

CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow announced on his show that he will not mount a campaign to take on Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), CQ Politics reports.

Said Kudlow: "This evening, I'm letting the world know that I am not running for the U.S. Senate. And here's why: in my heart I know that I belong right here at CNBC."

This CNBC? To thine own, er, heart be true.

Orszag: House, Senate budget blueprints like Obama's

By GottaLaff

On track:

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said Wednesday that the budget blueprints being taken up by the House and Senate almost mirror the proposal put forth by President Obama.

"If you look at budget resolutions in both House and Senate, they are from the same family as the president's budget," Orszag said. "The resolution may not be identical twins, but they are certainly brothers who look an awful lot alike."

Orszag said the administration was "very pleased" that the budget plans of Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the chairmen of the budget committees in their respective chambers, have the same four priorities that the president's plan has: healthcare, energy, education and deficit reduction.

Orszag praised Spratt's and Conrad's proposals for cutting the $1.8 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2009 by more than half by 2013 and including a healthcare reserve fund.

Obama's plan sought to do the same, Orszag noted. [...]

But while Orszag highlighted the similarities between the plans' goals, he acknowledged differences in their approaches. The Obama plan spelled out how the administration would pay for the reserve fund, seen as a down payment on healthcare reform, by including a budget line for new tax revenue from limits on itemized tax deductions. The House and Senate proposals haven't specified how they will pay for the fund.

Orszag said that adjustments were "natural" during the legislative process...

More details here.

Norm Coleman Dismisses Idea of Taking Case to Supreme Court

By GottaLaff

Roll Call is subscription only, but...

Ex-Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.), at the Capitol on Tuesday to lunch with his former GOP colleagues, said he does not expect to take his election recount battle all the way to the Supreme Court.

We have a winner. Welcome to the U.S. Senate, Al Franken.

So what's Toker Norm been smoking this time? Whatever it is, keep it up.

UPDATE: On the other hand, appealing to a federal court isn't out of the question...

Ted Kennedy returns to Washington

By GottaLaff

Such great news:

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer, has returned to Washington for what is expected to be his longest stretch back on the job since the new Congress convened in January.

Kennedy will vote Monday night in Senate, and remain in town for at least the next two weeks to work on health care reform and national service legislation, a senior Democratic aide said.

Stick around, Ted. We need you.

Norm Coleman's lawyer predicts loss, appeal

By GottaLaff

Anything to keep Al Franken from representing Minnesota:

Former Sen. Norm Coleman's (R-Minn.) attorney predicted last week his client would not make up enough ground to overcome Democrat Al Franken's narrow lead, but said an appeal to the state Supreme Court could have more success.

"Could", but won't... hopefully.

“I think that's probably correct, that Franken will still be ahead and probably by a little bit more,” attorney Joe Friedberg said on KFAN radio. [...]

If Friedberg's prediction is proven accurate, Coleman is likely to take an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which Friedberg said would be more suited to the Republican's argument than the lower court.

“Our whole argument was a constitutional argument, and it's an argument suitable for the Minnesota Supreme Court, not for the trial court. So we'll see whether we were right or not,” he said.

On Friday, Friedberg clarified his remarks, saying the Coleman campaign's position would enfranchise “thousands of Minnesotans who had not had their ballots counted.”

“We still believe that when the court opens the 1,359 ballots that we submitted, and properly rules on the double-counting of ballots, and reverses the counting of votes where ballots have been lost, we will see positive results,” Friedberg said in the statement. “To that end, I feel confident that if the court proceeds with wisdom and with decisions based on the facts, and on the law, that we will succeed in our case.

Now get ready for the most insincere statement-o'-the-day:

In comments made this weekend at the annual conference of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Coleman expressed regret that the counting and subsequent court case was taking so long, but said the length of time was necessary to ensure an accurate count.

“I am sorry it's taken so long, but this is not fast food, it's the underpinnings of democracy,” Coleman said at the conference, according to the website PoliticalMavens.com.

Can't you just feel his remorse? Why would he ever want to deny the Senate one more (Democratic) vote? His (phony) regret doesn't quite stack up to his self-righteous dishonesty.

Thank you again, Toker Norm, for putting your own ambition ahead of democracy.

Franken Lawyers Predict 2-3 More Weeks

By GottaLaff

Endless:

"After five weeks of testimony and legal argument, Republican Norm Coleman rested his case Monday in the trial to resolve Minnesota's long-running Senate race. Attorneys for Democrat Al Franken now have will an opportunity to present their arguments, a process they predict will take two to three more weeks," CQ Politics reports.

The end of March can't come soon enough.

Larry Kudlow Considering Running Against Chris Dodd

By GottaLaff

The Tee Vee Machine is spawning candidates:

Jennifer Rubin at Commentary: "Here at CPAC a well placed source with knowledge of the Republican Senate Committee plans tells me that Larry Kudlow is 'considering' a Senate run against embattled Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd. Dodd's approval ratings have been plummeting in light of the Friend of Angelo scandal and the ongoing effort to stonewall local and national media... Also on the horizon is former Congressman Rob Simmons. So stay tuned: we might just have the most entertaining and most educational senate race in a long time."

Will Cramer be next? That would be the loudest, most annoying campaign ever.

Secret Coleman-Lawyer E-Mails Reveal Intentional Hiding Of Witness

By GottaLaff

This has gone on so long, I've forgotten what started it all. Oh yeah. An election. It nearly slipped what's left of my mind, what with all the drama. But wait! Here's more!

All hell just broke loose in the Minnesota courtroom, with Al Franken's lawyers catching Team Coleman in the act of yet more concealing of evidence -- and they've now made a motion to totally strike the Coleman camp's claims about double-counting of ballots, which the Coleman camp has hoped to use to subtract over 100 votes from Franken's lead.

When will the judges finally kick Toker Norm out of the courtroom and declare Al Franken the winner already:

[I]t turns out there's more evidence related to Coleman's lawyers' contact with this same witness that they still hadn't divulged until Franken's lawyer brought it out this morning on cross examination of the witness. [...]

It's pretty clear the three-judge panel has had it with Coleman's lawyers. It'll be interesting to see whether this latest episode exhausts any remaining benefit of the doubt they have in favor of Norm's team.

It's surprising he's lasted this long.

Senate approves DC voting bill

By GottaLaff

Via CNN:

The U.S. Senate approved legislation Thursday that would give the District of Columbia a vote in Congress.

The measure would give full voting rights in the House of Representatives to the district's congressional delegate, whose activity is currently limited to committee votes and procedural issues.

The measure also gives a new House seat to the state of Utah.

The bill now moves to the House, where it is considered likely to pass.

April powers make Right cower

By GottaLaff


I see the light:

Senate Democratic leaders that they "see a light at the end of the tunnel in the protracted Minnesota Senate race and expressed confidence that Democrat Al Franken would fill the vacant seat in a matter of weeks," CQ Politics reports.

Said Sen. Charles Schumer: "The projections -- and they're not locked in -- are that this should all be finished by the very beginning of April."

But look how long this took... and how many votes will have taken place by April... or so.

Why Chris Matthews Didn't Run for Senate

By GottaLaff

Or maybe he thought he'd lose?

Chuck Todd on why Chris Matthews ultimately didn't run for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania: "Because [Chris] had a really good friend of his say to him, 'What are you going to do when you get there?' and he couldn't answer the question and he realized that, and that's why he didn't run. It was a childhood dream to be a senator, but he didn't know what he was going to do if he got there."

A senator without a purpose. He'd fit right in.

Ethics Committee to investigate Burris

By GottaLaff

Inevitable:

The Senate Ethics Committee has opened a preliminary inquiry into Sen. Roland Burris’s (D-Ill.) conflicting testimony on the circumstances surrounding his appointment while Senate Democrats and Republicans take a wait-and-see approach to the potential impact on the 2010 election. [...]

“We know the Republicans are salivating, but I’m not sure they should be,” said the Democratic source. “This is far from the ‘Apocalypse of the Illinois Senate seat.’ “

A senior GOP aide dismissed that as “pure spin,” noting that Burris stridently insisted on being seated and has resisted any efforts to remove him ever since. And as investigations become possible at the state and federal levels, the aide said Burris will inevitably become more weakened.

“He’s not going anywhere, at least voluntarily, and any investigation won’t happen overnight,” said the GOP aide. “You can’t just remove a U.S. senator like they impeached the governor. This will take a while, and if anything, the Democratic infighting will further the divide over him. Look at what happened the first time he tried to enter the Senate.”

But several Democrats have expressed interest in the seat, even before news of Burris’ conflicting testimony on his contact with Blagojevich emerged. [...]

Two prominent Republicans are also weighing getting into the race. [...]

But first Burris will have to deal with potential state and federal investigations.

Al Franken: Call me 'Senator-elect'

By GottaLaff

Photo: AP

Nobody can say Al Franken's not the confident type:

Democrat Al Franken has started using the title “senator-elect,” despite the fact that his contest with Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) has not yet been decided. [...]

A press release sent out by his staff Monday announcing a series of town halls with local mayors reads: “Sen.-elect Franken held the first in a series of roundtable discussions with Minnesota Mayors today in St. Paul. Franken and metro-area mayors discussed the economic realities facing their cities, budget cuts, President Obama's measures for economic stimulus, and how to grow Minnesota’s economy.”

The Democratic mayor of St. Paul is also quoted in the release referring to Franken as the victor.

“Right now, Washington is debating matters of enormous consequence to Minnesota’s economy,” Mayor Chris Coleman says in the release. “Senator-elect Franken understands what our cities need to prosper, and we’re ready for him to go to Washington to be a voice for us.” [...]

Franken staffers and attorneys have used the phrase but often drawn flack from Republicans for doing so.

Franken spokeswoman Jess McIntosh told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that “when people call Al 'senator,' he corrects them.”

“It happened all the time,” she added.

Franken himself has resisted using the title, even though he has declared himself the winner. “I won the recount,” Franken said at a press conference after the initial recount concluded. “You can call me Al.”

And look who's once again-- What's that word I'm looking for? Oh yeah-- obstructing:

The GOP has promised to mount a filibuster [...] if Democrats attempt to seat Franken before Coleman exhausts his legal remedies.

Al Gore challenges an election in court, and the GOP throws a hissy fit.

Coleman goes the legal route, and it's fine and dandy.

Then Coleman loses legal battle after legal battle, looks like the inevitable loser, and refuses to accept reality... but it's Franken who has "no regard for the Minnesota election process."

BREAKING: Leon Panetta confirmed as CIA director

By GottaLaff

From the Department of No Surprise Here:

MSNBC just reported that Leon Panetta was confirmed by the Senate as CIA director.

+23

By GottaLaff

Will it ever end?

In an effort to accelerate Minnesota’s Senate election trial, the judges held a hearing Thursday to discuss the parameters for rejecting absentee ballots, a pivotal issue in the case to determine a winner in the 2008 race. [...]

Predictably, the two sides had widely diverse interpretations of what should qualify as a “legally cast” vote.

The judges’ ruling on the matter, expected Monday, will shape the nature of the trial going forward, providing a framework for the type of rejected ballots likely be ruled valid. [...]

The trial, now in its third week, has bogged down as Coleman’s legal team has presented painstaking evidence, ballot by ballot, of votes that it argued should have been counted. [...]

Franken’s attorneys characterized the Coleman campaign’s stance as a request “for judicial activism.” Their brief argued that Coleman is “not asking the court to apply the standards established by the legislature and the secretary of state . . . but rather go significantly beyond what the law permits.” [...]

It will be up to the judges, Edward M. Foley, a professor at Ohio State University, wrote on the Election Law@Moritz blog, to “decide how to balance these two competing interests, fairness and the need for rule-compliance, with respect to each of the 19 categories.”

If the judges lean towards fairness, it will broaden the pool of ballots ultimately determined to have been wrongly rejected, a boon to Coleman, who has argued that as many as 5,500 additional absentee ballots should be counted.

If they buy Franken’s argument and stick with the limits imposed during the recount, it will be much more difficult for Coleman to close the gap. [...]

Franken’s lead in the race got a boost earlier this week when the trial judges ruled that 23 voters who intervened in the case should have their votes counted. Those individuals were part of a group of 61 Franken voters who petitioned the court to admit their absentee ballots, arguing they had been wrongly rejected.

The court said the remaining voters would have to provide additional evidence before it could decide whether theirs ballots should also be counted.

That's the latest.

BREAKING-- Senate votes on Obama recovery plan: Passed 61-37

By GottaLaff

MSNBC reporting that the $838 billion stimulus bill has passed. The vote: 61-37.

UPDATE: Conference comes next. Dems are not happy with cuts.But this has to be done, per Obama, to avoid economic catastrophe. Ted Kennedy came in to vote. Judd Gregg has recused himself from these votes.

Rahm Emanuel had to come in and make Dems make concessions.

Andrea Mitchell: Obama's going to these meetings and putting a face on the economic problems is how he handles it politically.

Eamon Javers, Politico: He's much more forceful, using emotion to make his points. He takes it out to the country for an emotional pitch. He dips into the enormous well of public approval he's got.

Mark Whitaker: He's doing what Reagan did with a different agenda. People are really hurting, but realize it's complicated, all interconnected. People are willing to follow if he has a plan.