A new poll shows that a plurality of Americans do not find Sen. Al Franken's (D-Minn.) victory over Norm Coleman very funny. Forty-four percent of voters nationwide have an unfavorable view of the former Saturday Night Live star compared with 34 percent who rate him favorably.
The official release mentioned that is it fairly common for individual lawmakers to have unfavorable polling numbers nationally.
On the other hand, it said "There's clearly more intense feeling among those who don't like Franken. Twelve percent (12%) of voters have a very favorable view of the new senator, compared to 29% who have a very unfavorable opinion."
Also, 19 percent of Democrats had a very favorable rating of Franken while 51 percent of Republicans and 32 percent of independents found him very unfavorable.
On Tuesday, Coleman conceded the race to Franken after the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously declared Franken the winner. The close election has been tied up in an eight-month court battle over recounts.
It looks as though Minnesota will avoid any open congressional seats in the aftermath of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's (R) decision not to seek a third term.
Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.) both suggest they won't be running. It's also hard to see freshman Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) even being interested, given that he just won his seat six months ago.
Minnesota's two chairmen - Reps. Collin Peterson (D) and Jim Oberstar (D) - won't go anywhere, and the state's other members don't really seem to fit the statewide profile.
We generally see House members jump at the chance to run in an open governor's race. Such has been the case this cycle already with Reps. Zach Wamp (R) in Tennessee, Gresham Barrett (R) in South Carolina, Artur Davis (D) in Alabama, Nathan Deal (R) in Georgia, Neil Abercrombie (D) in Hawaii, Pete Hoekstra (R) in Michigan and Mary Fallin (R) in Oklahoma.
That list could also soon include Reps. Peter DeFazio (D) and Greg Walden (R) in Oregon and Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) in Pennsylvania.
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) on Tuesday downplayed his endorsement of the Senate candidacy of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist as a snub of former state House Speaker Marco Rubio--a fellow Cuban-American.
Martinez said he endorsed Crist on Tuesday because he believes the governor can win the election, not because of any animosity toward Rubio.
"I'm very proud of my heritage as I'm sure he's proud of his," Martinez said. "But this is about the next senator from Florida. I would have been very happy to see Marco Rubio as a candidate, but not with Charlie Crist in the race. Governor Crist is ready now to be the next senator from Florida."
Sen. John McCain on Tuesday acknowledged he is trying to persuade Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) into running for the Senate, saying he has had informal conversations about the possibility of Castle running for Vice President Joseph Biden's former seat.
"He's had an outstanding record of service, and I told him someone with his background and experience would have an immediate impact in the Senate," McCain said of Castle. "He has a very good record that I
think is distinctive for Delaware."
McCain also said he advised Florida Gov. Charlie Crist into making the choice he announced Tuesday, that he will run for Sen. Mel Martinez's seat.
McCain and Crist have a noteworthy history--Crist's endorsement helped put McCain over the top in last year's GOP presidential primary in Florida, and Crist made the short list of vice presidential prospects for McCain later in the year.
"I support him, and he was very important to me in the primary," McCain said. "We've talked several times. I told him, 'Run.' We need him... I know him very well, and he's very qualified. I have great respect for the other candidates, but he's mine."
In one of the clearest signs so far the liberal activists will not give up on a primary challenge to Arlen Specter, MoveOn.org has launched a new ad against the Pennsylvania Democrat.
The ad swipes at Specter for opposing mortgage reform, and reminds viewers the he has taken $6 million from the financial industry.
"What did he do?" the ad asks. "Exactly what the banks wanted. And now millions of people will lose their homes because of it."
Meanwhile, a coalition of liberal blogs and labor groups have launched an online straw poll asking activists to weigh in on whether Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) should challenge Specter. As of now, 88% favor a primary.
I didn't get a chance to read Michael Grunwald's dissertation on Republican woes when it came out yesterday, but skimming it just now this passage jumped out:
The most urgent question is the meaning of economic conservatism. Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, a conservative who keeps a bust of Reagan on his desk, surprised me by declaring that the Reagan era is over. "Marginal tax rates are the lowest they've been in generations, and all we can talk about is tax cuts," he said. "The people's desires have changed, but we're still stuck in our old issue set." [emphasis added]
That's really a stunning admission from McHenry, who's just about as conservative as they get. Without a small government, less taxes agenda, what exactly do Republicans have to counter Obama? (Meanwhile, John Amato at Crooks and Liars asks how long it will be before McHenry apologizes to Rush Limbaugh. "I give it one day," he concludes.)
El Tinklenberg has buttered some bread for a second shot at Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), but he'll have to get through a primary first.
Former University of Minnesota Board of Regents Chairwoman and 2006 Independence Party lieutenant governor nominee Dr. Maureen Reed announced Wednesday that she will seek both the Democratic and Independence Party nods for Bachmann's seat.
"We create a bright future when we put rhetoric aside, focus on the real problems, and work hard together," Reed said. "This is exactly what I've done all my life."
Tinklenberg is almost sure to try again, but Reed could pose a significant threat. Not all in the Democratic establishment are thrilled with how Tinklenberg finished in 2008, after several majorly divisive statements from Bachmann opened the door to defeating her and flooded Tinklenberg's campaign coffers with money from across the country.
Gabby Adler, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), praised Reed's entry.
"The people of the 6th district are fed up with Michele Bachmann, and are looking for a strong candidate like Maureen Reed who reflects their values and will fight to protect jobs, make health care more affordable, and promote local economic growth," Adler said.
Reed and her gubernatorial running mate, Peter Hutchinson, took just 6 percent of the vote, but Democrats aren't discounting her early in the process.
Her history with the Independence Party could be a bonus if she's able to secure both its and the Democratic party's nominations. Bachmann was held to just 46 percent of the vote last year, but an Independence Party candidate took another 10 percent, leaving Tinklenberg three points shy.
UPDATE: In an interview, Reed declined to say whether she would continue to run if she got the Independence Party nod and someone else got the Democratic nod.
"My intention is to get them both, and I don't even want to get into hypotheticals," she said.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is drawing fire for comments he made on Friday suggesting American Muslims don't cooperate with authorities.
In response to news that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had released a report warning of rightwing radicalism, King told MSNBC that DHS "has never put out a report talking about look out for mosques. Look out for Islamic terrorists in our country. Look out for the fact that very few Muslims come forward to cooperate with the police."
King, who is considering a Senate campaign in 2010, defended his comments over the weekend.
"The fact is, the Muslim community does not cooperate with law enforcement," King told Newsday.
This isn't the first time King has made controversial remarks about Muslims. In 2007, King landed in hot water for saying there were ""too many mosques in this country."
Pat Toomey told a gathering of Pennsylvania conservatives on Saturday that "It is very, very likely that very soon I will be a candidate for the United States Senate."
Giving the keynote address at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference just outside Harrisburg, Toomey unloaded on Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), blaming him for facilitating Democrats' agenda. The "serial bailouts" of recent months, Toomey claimed, "would not have been possible without the complicity of one man: Arlen Specter." (hat tip: Associated Press).
Potentially foreshadowing the dynamics of the primary, Specter lambasted Toomey last week for voting for de-regulation of the financial services industry when he was a Congressmen. "He's like the AIG employees: he creates
Put this in the everyone-will-think-this-is-surprising-but-it-really-isn't category (I know, it's a mouthful). After campaigning furiously against him in the presidential campaign, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) thinks President Obama is doing a good job.
"Bottom line: I think Barack Obama, president of the United States, is off to a very good start," Lieberman told the Associated Press.
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