From The Roots

It ain't easy being Blunt. Though he's the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri, Rep. Roy Blunt has had a tough couple of weeks. First, he was publicly humiliated by one of Missouri's elder statesmen, the well-respected former Senator John Danforth, who promoted prospective candidate Tom Schweich over Blunt for the nomination with this devastating one-liner:

"I think Tom offers a positive alternative to losing."

Blunt, presumably, does not offer the GOP an alternative to losing (at least, not a positive one). So sayeth the Senator, at least. Well, that's fine for Blunt then, right? He's perfectly capable of winning the GOP nomination his own self, without any patrician Senators telling him what to do, right? Erm, it's not quite that simple.

On June 11, the GOP is honoring Danforth, a longtime party heavyweight, with its annual Spirit of Enterprise award. The gala event at the Ritz-Carlton is one of the party's biggest fundraisers. Every year, the party chooses the night to honor one of its standard-bearers. The man who wants to be senator — Blunt — needs the money raised at the event, but the event will spotlight the former senator who says Blunt can't win.

Ah, to be a fly on the wall at that dinner! 

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03:00 PM May 26, 2009 - 0 comments permalink

Apparently there are consequences to blocking the advancement of the folks appointed to save our nation from disaster...even within today's Republican Party. Seems that retrograde Republican David Vitter, who recently made headlines for blocking Craig Fugate (President Obama's nominee to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency) is facing a potential primary challenge from one of the most prominent Republicans in Louisiana as a result. Louisiana political commentator Jeff Crouere (himself a former Republican candidate for office) reports:

Vitter’s stance on the Fugate nomination is leading GOP members to consider challenging him in the primary. Last week, Suzanne Haik Terrell, former New Orleans councilwoman and state elections commissioner, confirmed her interest. She ran for Senate in 2002, losing a close race to Mary Landrieu. Starting in October 2005, she served a three-year stint in the U.S. Commerce Department, specializing in economic development.

Apparently even Vitter's fellow Republicans recognize the importance of having someone capable in charge of FEMA...particularly going into hurricane season. Unfortunately, Vitter's Pavlovian aversion to even the slightest components of the President's agenda rendered him unable to appreciate this fact.

If she decides to run, Terrell would be a very formidable opponent for Vitter. She is the only Republican woman to ever win statewide office in Louisiana, and she has strong support from a range of Republican activists in the state. Women compose a majority of the Republican voters in Louisiana, and Terrell might be seen as a more palatable candidate than Vitter. While Vitter’s wife forgave him for his escapades with the D.C. Madam call girl ring, Republican women throughout the state might not be so forgiving.

If Terrell does get in the race, Vitter faces the prospect of a vigorous challenge from within his party as well as one from the Democratic Party, which will assuredly field a strong challenger to the doctrinaire right-winger. Vitter's decreasing popularity is simply one more reminder of the folly of putting partisan politics ahead of sound public policy.

(h/t: www.dailykingfish.com)

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10:30 AM May 21, 2009 - 0 comments permalink

Certainly not his fellow Kentuckian and the loosest of loose cannons, Senator Jim Bunning:

“If Mitch McConnell doesn’t endorse me, it could be the best thing that ever happened to me in Kentucky,” Bunning said.

Hot damn! Granted, McConnell has had something of a reverse Midas touch in recent years, steering GOP gubernatorial hopeful Anne Northup to a humiliating primary loss in 2007 and overseeing the loss of nine seats in the Senate since assuming stewardship of the S.S. Republican, but still.

Again, Bunning blamed McConnell for Republican losses in the Senate during the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, saying McConnell was primarily the cause of the losses last year when the Republicans dropped eight seats. “McConnell is leading the ship, but he is leading it in the wrong direction,” Bunning said.

Once again, Kentucky's two esteemed Senators are providing their adoring public with enough overwrought drama and unintentional hilarity to fill a good season of Days Of Our Lives.

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05:00 PM May 19, 2009 - 0 comments permalink

THE FBI is zeroing in on Minnesota, according to local and national press, and the newest target of their extensive investigation into Norm Coleman is the former Senator's new clothes. After months of allegations that former senator Coleman received thousands of dollars' worth of unreported gifts (in the form of expensive suits) from his friend and partner Nasser Kazeminy, the Huffington Post and Pioneer Press report that the FBI is now investigating the affair affectionately called "Suitgate". The Bureau was already investigating allegations that Kazeminy funneled over $75,000 to Coleman via Coleman's wife's employer, but this is the first indication that their investigation extends to Coleman's alleged gifts, and the first report that they are investigating within his home state of Minnesota. Huffington Post reports:

The FBI is investigating allegations that former Senator Norm Coleman had clothing and other items purchased on his behalf by a longtime friend and businessman Nasser Kazeminy, according to a source in Minnesota who was interviewed recently by federal agents. ... The Minnesota source said the FBI questioning focused on whether Kazeminy had purchased clothing on Coleman's behalf, reports of which surfaced in October. At the time, Coleman vehemently denied the allegations. "Nobody but me and my wife buy my suits," he said.

And the St. Paul Pioneer-Press elaborates:

The questioning of at least one person in Minnesota within the last two weeks — and the topic of clothing — signifies an expansion of an FBI inquiry that touches Coleman. In December, a different source told the Pioneer Press that FBI agents had talked to or made efforts to talk to people in Texas following allegations, contained in a pair of lawsuits, that Kazeminy had tried to steer $100,000 from a Houston firm he controlled to Coleman via Coleman's wife's employer in Minneapolis.

This comes on the heels of Coleman’s attempt to use campaign funds from his seemingly endless challenge to Minnesota’s election results in order to pay his own legal expenses. Apparently his legal fees could become quite costly indeed. In light of recent events, it's no wonder Coleman is prolonging his quixotic, hopeless attempt to be seated. It would seem to be a welcome distraction from an FBI investigation. And we should soon find out if, as we've been told so many times before, the former Senator has in fact reported every gift he’s ever received.

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04:15 PM May 18, 2009 - 0 comments permalink

A new Quinnipiac poll released today shows both Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in Ohio are leading the GOP front-runner Rob Portman by healthy margins. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher leads Portman 42 to 31 percent, while Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner leads Portman 40 to 32 percent.

Rob Portman is a darling of the GOP establishment and is the epitome of a Bush-Cheney, Washington insider politician. After serving in the House of Representatives, Portman became one of the chief architects of Bush’s failed economic policies. Portman served as both the United States Trade Representative and as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Ohioans can thank Portman for thousands of lost jobs, tax credits for corporations who ship their jobs overseas, and a huge trade imbalance.

So far things are looking good for the Democrats in Ohio, but they need our continued support as 2010 is a long way off and we all know Portman will do everything he can to win.

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12:00 AM May 07, 2009 - 0 comments permalink