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Polling and Political Wrap-Up, 7/2/09

post from Daily Kos on 02 July 2009 11:46:04 PM. © Daily Kos

As people start staring out the window at work, anticipating the holiday weekend....

MN-Gov: Coleman Flirting With Gubernatorial Bid. No...Really.
This was hinted at back when Tim Pawlenty announced his retirement, but now the whispers are getting louder: is Norm Coleman contemplating a run for Governor? The head of the GOP in Minnesota said that he talked to Coleman, and that the former Senator is not "ruling anything in or out." The St. Paul Legal Ledger does a nice job today, meanwhile of summarizing the field for this top-tier governors race.

TN-Gov: Prominent State Senator Moves Closer To Democratic Primary
State Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle has filed paperwork to run for Governor. He becomes the fifth Democrat to declare an interest, but Kyle might have an ace in the hole--he is the only one of the five thus far who hails from vote-rich Shelby County (Memphis).

IL-Gov: GOP Field For Governor Reduced By One--Birkett to Run for AG
One of the fence-sitters on the Illinois Governors race got off the fence today, by declaring that he will NOT be a candidate. DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett instead announced he is planning to run for Attorney General. The current Attorney General, Democrat Lisa Madigan, has frozen the Democratic side a little bit as she vacillates between running for Governor, running for the U.S. Senate, and running for re-election.

NH-Sen: Popular Former GOP Governor Joins Sununu on the Sidelines
Laura Clawson told us here at Daily Kos this morning that former Senator John Sununu has decided NOT to run for the open Senate seat in 2010. Later in the day, the wound was compounded when Stephen Merill, who was a popular Republican governor of the state during the 1990s, told the Manchester Union-Leader that he ALSO did not wish to run for the Senate. Good news for the GOP, though: Ovide Lamontagne (last seen getting blown out by seventeen points against Jeanne Shaheen back in 1996) is sounding more and more like a candidate. The GOP is still hoping for either former Congressman Charlie Bass or state AG Kelly Ayotte to make a bid.

In other NH-Senate news, a new poll by the University of New Hampshire has likely Democratic nominee Paul Hodes leading all but one prospective GOP opponent. Ayotte actually holds a 39-35 lead over the Democrat, while Hodes holds narrow leads over Sununu (43-41), Bass (40-38), and possible candidate Frank Tausch (45-25).

AK-Gov: Top Palin Critic Seeking to Be A Palin Opponent
Democrats, usually scrambling to find statewide candidates in Alaska, seem to have a run on them for 2010. The newest name is state Senator Hollis French, who headed last year's Troopergate investigation and has been a leading critic of Sarah Palin. Palin, of course, has not clarified her 2010 plans. She apparently has been too busy excoriating her old pals at Team McCain for not affording her enough opportunities to get her sweat on.

NATIONAL: The Sad Tale of the Gingrich "Revolution" Class of '94
Politico, besides being quite busy ripping the folks at WaPo to shreds today, has also posted an interesting piece by Michael Falcone highlighting the personal travails of several members of the Congressional "class of 1994" that was swept in by that year's Republican tsunami. Sure, you know about guys like Mark Sanford and John Ensign. Sadly, there are many more examples. Some will find it somewhat sad, others will bathe in the schaudenfreude. Either way, a worthy read.

NATIONAL: Epic Fail For The NRCC On Cap and Trade Attack Ad
Yesterday, the NRCC (the House campaign wing of the GOP) announced that they were going after several "vulnerable Democrats" on their votes for President Obama's American Clean Energy and Security Act. It did not take long for the nonpartisan analysis site FactCheck to weigh in on the ad:

"The NRCC ad credits a Washington Times editorial for its claim that the Waxman-Markey bill would make electricity prices “skyrocket,” costing families $1,870 a year. But the NRCC is wrong...The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill would cost households an average of $175 in 2020."

Other analysts, of course, even imply that the plan will eventually lead to savings, and not costs. One TV station in Roanoke, Virginia is already refusing to air the advertisement.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/Ny6ZKz1GqLs/-Polling-and-Political
-Wrap-Up,-7-2-09

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Conflict of Interest, Our Congress and Senate
Campaign Process

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 02 July 2009 11:43:38 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

I've always thought the system of "private" contributions to the campaigns of Congress and Senate candidates was ridiculously corrupt and presented a clear conflict of interest. Of course, those "private" contributions mostly consist of money from[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/5OpjmBV-VIg/conflict-of-interest-our
-congress-and-senate-campaign-process

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Scottish sheep shrinking due to global warming

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 02 July 2009 11:35:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

Mother nature always knows.

The case involves a rare herd of wild sheep on the remote Scottish island - known in Scottish Gaelic as Hirta - that are refusing to bow to conventional evolutionary pressure, which says big is best. Instead, they have steadily decreased in size since the 1980s.

Scientists have now stepped in to solve the conundrum, and fingered the culprit as the new Moriarty of mankind: global warming.

The experts say shorter and milder winters mean that lambs do not need to put as much weight on during their first few months of life. Smaller animals that would have perished in harsh winters a few decades ago can now survive to their first birthday. As a result, the average weight of the sheep has dropped by 81g each year.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Americablog/~3/SSwFiPgmKP4/scottish-sheep-shrinkin
g-due-to-global.html

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Open Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 02 July 2009 11:30:37 PM. © Crooks and Liars

The Ledge_262e4.jpg

CHICAGO ? Visitors to the Sears Tower's new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest.

The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out four feet from the building's 103rd floor Skydeck. Their transparent walls, floor and ceiling leave visitors with the impression they're floating over the city.

"It's like walking on ice," said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. "That first step you take ? 'am I going down?'"

Click here to see more images of "The Ledge." Would you walk out on it?

Open thread below...

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/open-thread-7

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Takes Your Breath Away

post from Talking Points Memo on 02 July 2009 11:29:00 PM. © Talking Points Memo

Melinda Henneberger has a nice blow by blow run-down of the various, overlapping, often contradictory and mainly just painful explanations from WaPo executives about their abortive pay-for-play/pay-for-schmooze operation discussed this morning by[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/sDwNdr-11oU/takes_your_brea
th_away.php

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Overheard in Michele Bachmann's office

post from Daily Kos on 02 July 2009 11:10:07 PM. © Daily Kos

A conversation between Michele Bachmann and one of her staffers:

Staffer (approaches gingerly): Congresswoman?

Bachmann (looks up from computer screen, revealing that she was posting a comment on a freeper board as "CensusBoycott2009"): Yes?

Staffer: I just received word that three members of the GOP caucus have asked you to give up your Census boycott.

Bachmann (shakes head): I just knew it.

Staffer (confused): Knew what?

Bachmann: Obama's socialist mind control is already working. He's taken over the Republican Party.

Staffer (horrified): Oh no! What do we do? You're the only thing standing between us and insanity!

Bachmann (soothing): Don't worry. I have a plan. But we must be careful. And we cannot admit the real reason I am boycotting the Census.

Staffer: You mean we have to stop telling the truth about how they plan to round up Americans and put them in FEMA camps, just like the Japanese in World War II?

Bachmann: Oh yeah, I'd been meaning to tell you about that. Michelle Malkin cleared that up for me -- it was actually a good thing to put them in internment camps, so that's not why I'm against the Census anymore.

Staffer: So why are you against the Census?

Bachmann: If I told you the truth, your life would be in danger.

Staffer: From The Obamessiah?

Bachmann (nods): Listen, I'm standing firm on this. But if they ask you why I won't fill out the Census, I want you to give them a cover story.

Staffer: What's the cover story?

Bachmann: That I've gone hiking.

Staffer: Gone hiking? Where?

Bachmann: Around Lake Bimidji.

Staffer: I didn't know you liked hiking.

Bachmann: Yes, I love hiking. I've always gone hiking. And we're all hikers now. So be careful. Because they are coming after us hikers.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/2wTHMwJrhV8/-Overheard-in-Michele-
Bachmanns-office

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Enjoy Your Independence Day (a.k.a., 4th Of July)
Staycation Forced In Large Part By Ludicrously Lavish Vacations By Our Elected Officials On OUR Dime

post from The Gun Toting Liberal on 02 July 2009 11:07:42 PM. © The Gun Toting Liberal

Lavish Overseas Travel Expenses For Congresscritters And Senators TRIPLES Since 2001…Hey, why should we have a problem of any sort with our elected leaders public SERVANTS taking one-day trips to Iraq to earn some self-promoting facetime with our “boots on the ground” followed by...

This is only a comment summary. Visit http://guntotingliberal.com to view the lastest content complete with some of the most outrageous original photoshops in the political blogosphere!

Read The Full Article:
http://guntotingliberal.com/?p=5999

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Late Night: A Whiter Shade of Pule

Jay Nordlinger, NRO's Renaissance Grandpa Simpson, Deeply Ponders the Message of History, and affably informs us "America has always been screwy about race and ethnicity." How true! Slavery, for instance, was just altogether "screwy," goofball stuff. And[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/02/late-night-a-whiter-shade-of-pule/

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C&L's Late Nite Music Club with Green Day

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player! DOWNLOADS: (49)
PLAYS: (227)

I'm with Howie: Green Day's new album, 21st Century Breakdown, is yet another great piece of songwriting. I'm astonished that at the very least it equals American Idiot, which I thought would be an impossible album to top.

They're kicking off their national tour Friday night in Seattle at Key Arena. I still haven't wrangled a pass yet, but I'm hoping to figure out a way to get in and report back. In the meantime, I wanted to run this live version of "Viva La Gloria" as a kind of warmup.

Read The Full Article:
http://lnmc.crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/cls-late-nite-music-club-green-day

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Thursday Stuff

A word from our sponsor: the Friday area votes in Congress thing is on my "to do" list, but after that, I don't know what will be going on around here over the 4th and into next week. I'll keep you posted.

But in the meantime, let's kick start this baby...

...and memo to President Obama: sometimes worrying about setting a precedent isn't as important as doing the right thing, particularly when the Bushco cretins outed a patriotic American, Valerie Plame by name (David Shuster, sitting in for K.O., interviews Michael Isikoff)...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

...and RIP, Fayette Pinkney of The Three Degrees, pioneers of The Philly Sound (I don't think she was in this later incarnation of the group from '82, though)...

...and if Karl Malden had never acted in another movie besides this one, which of course is "On The Waterfront" with Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger and Marlon Brando from 1954, he would deserve a special place for it alone (particularly for this scene).