Starting Lineup: Hail Mary Time
Happy Columbus Day and welcome back to the Starting Lineup. What we at The Hotline are watching today: Yet another two previously safe Democrats now appear to be vulnerable; the White House's attack on third party groups hits a speed bump but the DCCC amplifies the attack; Russ Feingold (D) faces off against Ron Johnson (R) again, this time with some new ammo; intensity ramps up in West Virginia; the wheels come off for Paladino and Pres. Obama heads to Florida.
Red Alert For House Dems: Democratic concerns about the House playing field broadening to record levels appear to only be getting worse as reports that Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) are vulnerable surfaced over the weekend.
These are two members that have long been viewed as safely Democratic. Pres. Obama carried Grijalva's majority Hispanic district with 57% in '08. Grijalva, confident that he was safe, even called on Americans to boycott his own state in protest of Arizona's controversial immigration law, a measure that Republicans are confident is badly hurting Democratic prospects across the board in the state.
Similarly, Obama carried Hinchey's Poughkeepsie-based seat - which includes the college town of Ithaca -- with 59% in '08.
News of their vulnerability follows polling that Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who has served in the House since 1955, is seriously vulnerable, as well as House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (D-CT), who represents a Hartford-based seat that gave Obama 66 percent of the vote in 2008.
If these seats are even closely competitive on Election Night, Dems are facing the prospect of an epic bloodbath - one that could make 1994 seem like a walk in the park. http://politi.co/9UtQri
Chamber Attack Backfiring? The White House's attacks on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hit a few road bumps over the weekend. The New York Times reported that the Chamber isn't doing anything unusual with how it collects its dues - no different than labor organizations that frequently back Democratic candidates. On CBS's "Face The Nation," Bob Schieffer pointedly asked White House advisor David Axelrod, "is that the best you can do?"
Obama toned down the attacks a little bit at his Philadelphia rally yesterday. The fact that the White House is focused on an inside-baseball campaign finance issue, instead of the economy shows how bad the political environment is for Democrats this year. http://nyti.ms/cBwtfi
DCCC Gets In On The Act: Democrats, however, aren't backing down. The DCCC is launching a "significant" online ad campaign on Monday targeting conservative third party groups. The two web ads, obtained by Hotline On Call, read: "Don't Let Them Buy Congress, Stand Up And Fight Back" and "Shady GOP Front Groups, Foreign Corporations, Big Insurance, Wall Street Tycoons." It's unclear how effective a campaign tactic this will be, but it is sure to help Democrats raise money.
Wild, Wild West Virginia: If you thought last week was wild in the West Virginia Senate race, prepare yourself for more this week. Sources in the Manchin camp say they are going to make the NRSC's "hicky" ad a major theme of the race, and they started over the weekend with a new ad titled "Hicks."
"John Raese (R) thinks we're hicks," the ad's narrator says. "It's insulting, and he didn't even apologize."
The NRSC, meanwhile, shifted the "hicky" ad out of rotation and has gone up with another that ties Manchin to Pres. Obama in no uncertain terms. It even puts Manchin behind a "Change We Need" Obama campaign placard. "Joe Manchin used to be someone we could count on," the ad says, "then Obama and Washington came calling."
Manchin ad: http://bit.ly/bV0PpV
NRSC ad: http://bit.ly/aWQI3l
Feingold v. Johnson, Part Deux: Sen. Russ Feingold (D) and businessman Ron Johnson (R) will square off on Monday for their second debate of the Wisconsin Senate race. And Feingold, who has been hitting Johnson primarily on outsourcing, has some new ammo: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported over the weekend that Johnson employed work-release prison inmates who received state funded health care -- something that doesn't jibe with Johnson's message that the private sector, not government, is best for creating jobs.
Meanwhile, Johnson is trying to turn the outsourcing attack line back on Feingold. Johnson went up with a new ad on Sunday during the Green Bay Packers game that charges that Feingold voted for the economic stimulus package that "allowed U.S. tax dollars to go to foreign companies to create manufacturing jobs overseas."
Oh and if Feingold didn't already have enough on to worry about, SpeechNow.org, a group that opposes McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, is on the air in Wisconsin with a humorous ad attacking him. It features music from HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and says Feingold is two-faced for touting his independence in Wisconsin while voting the Democratic Party line in Washington.
Sentinel Story: http://bit.ly/9ymFKg
Johnson ad: http://bit.ly/crPPGa
SpeechNow.org ad: http://bit.ly/bkTdym
The Wheels Come Off For Paladino: Carl Paladino's (R) bizarre campaign for New York governor took an even stranger turn on Sunday, when the Republican argued that children should not be "brainwashed" into thinking they are homosexual. This quote speaks for itself: "I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don't want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option -- it isn't."
Newsday reported that the following line was in Paladino's prepared remarks but he didn't say it: "There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual."
Video: http://bit.ly/cqKST4
Report: http://bit.ly/a0SMcF
White House Watch: Pres. Obama heads to Miami on Monday for two fundraisers for the DCCC, including one with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Vice Pres. Joe Biden is also on the fundraising circuit on Monday, making three stops in Pennsylvania. He'll start where he was born, in Scranton, fundraising for Rep. Chris Carney (D). Biden will then head to Pittsburgh for another fundraiser for Reps. Kathy Dahlkemper (D) and Mark Critz (D) and a third for gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato (D).
Most recent news:"George Soros: I Can’t Stop Republican ‘Avalanche’".
I doubt even a 'hail Mary' would work!
Well, I guess the title of this article defines what is happening pretty well. I tried to remember the behavior of the two prior presidents when they were in similar circumstances (Clinton and Bush), and to the best of my remembrance they did not lower the presidency as Obama is doing. Obama, since he took over power has never behaved as President. He is actually a "campaigner" and chief. And he clearly uses Chicago politics as nobody else. He uses race, misinformation, baseless accusations and he appeals to the worst of his leftwing base. How did we elect him as President? And the attacks on the Chamber of Commerce reached a very low point. Can he go lower than that? I don't know. I am starting to believe, continuing this way he might break the law (if he hasn't done that yet - isn't against the law to make accusations without having any facts behind what you are saying?) and he might not end his 4 years term.
A vote for any Democrat is a vote for 9.6% UNEMPLOYMENT, for 95,000 more lost jobs in September, for trillions upon trillions in corrupt spending and debt. A vote for any Democrat is a vote for the arrogance that calls any American who dares to support the Arizona immigration bill a racist. A vote for any Democrat is a vote for the arrogance that call anyone who things the ground zero Mosque should be located where it won't cause so much pain a religious bigot and Muslim hater. A for any Democrat is a vote for Nancy Pelosi to keep running our nations Government. We desperately need to restore balance to our Government in Nov by firing every Democrat on the ballot!!!
I would love nothing more than to see the Dems lose 100 seats. That said I try to be realistic. Connecticut's First District is not a vulnerable seat. It is based in Hartford and I do not see any scenario in which the Republicans win.
As a disclaimer I am predicting that the GOP will win 75 seats (including CT-4 and CT-5), but CT-1 will not be one of them.
I'm with valwayne on this one.
The Democrats have had the country's Congressional purse strings for 4 years now, with a total Democratic trifecta of Obama, Reid and Pelosi Maoing down on America like a policial Communist insurgency for two years with their obcene generational theft debt for our GRANDkids to pay, contiuned bailouts and calls for more failed stimulus corruption bills.
Do we really want more years of massive unemployment, government jobs costing the private sector huge sums while they relax after tenure and retire early with generous benefits and pensions we could only dream of, and more corruption in Washington D.C. and the swamp of Democrat unions corrupting our national economy with mega-billions of pension and other benifits that our states are reeling under and are about ready to default and go under?
Do we want MORE unelected officials from the EPA going around "We the People" to aneact cap-and-trade and destroy our economy even more to environmental extremism based upon communist principles? Do we want less freedom, less constitutional limits upon the federal government and less money for our military in order to implement Obama's staggering socialism welfare expenditures of Obamacare,etc.?
There is one thing these Democrats know, and that is if a Movement of Americans helps to DefeatAllDemocrats on the entire ballot (local, state and federal offices) this November 2nd to show the world that 'We the People' have NOT been silenced by the elites in our government, who would rather rule over us than serve us.
Thanks for listening,
777denny
obama and the dems spent almost 1 trillion dollars on stimulus to lose 3 million jobs.
Nothing sums up why the Democrats should be retired quite as well as these quotes by a prominent Democrat!
Rep. Barney Frank ....September 11, 2003
''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''
Rep Barney Frank…….August 18, 2010
"There were people in this society who for economic and, frankly, social reasons can't and shouldn't be homeowners," Frank said. "I think we should, particularly, stop this assumption that you put everybody into homeownership."
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished rather than reformed as part of the Obama administration's planned overhaul of the government's role in housing finance, Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee, said on Tuesday.
Paladino is correct. Not politically correct, mind you, but he is speaking the truth. Statistics are inconvenient things, but they point to the fact that married heterosexuals are far happier and far more functional than homosexuals, whether in committed relationships or not. And heterosexuals' relationships are statistically far more committed than homosexuals' committed relationships. So mock Carl all you want, but he is speaking truth.