Since my last post there has been quite a few updates/primaries and I wanted to update everyone on how the Senate race is shaping up:
Illinois: Early last week Rep. Jan Schakowksy announced that she would not run for the seat. Early polls showed Schakowsky had a very real chance of winning the nomination and the general election. The three democrats that appear interested in the race is Senator Roland Burris, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, and Chris Kennedy, a Chicago businessman and son of Robert Kennedy. On the Republican side, the only credible candidate is Rep. Mark Kirk. Kirk hasn't said what he's going to do but did announce earlier this week he is getting a divorce from his wife. It is not known on this event will impact his decision.
Oklahoma: Senator Tom Coburn announced that he is going to seek another term, basically guaranteeing the seat stays in Republican hands
Connecticut: The latest poll shows Senator Chris Dodd trailing Rep. Rob Simmons in a hypothetical general election and he is still unpopular with most of the state. The good news for the Dodd campaign is that he is only losing by 6 percent and his numbers have been improving since my last update.
Pennsylvania: No official word on whether Rep. Sestak will actually run. I believe the general election will be very interesting one way or the other.
Colorado: The candidates for this race seem more like excellent candidates for a mayoral race rather than a Senatorial race. The current incumbent is Michael Bennet who was actually appointed to the seat and is a former school superintendent. The two Republican challengers are a county sheriff and a city councilman. Rumors have former Congressman Bob Beauprez looking at the race. If he entered he would be the only real prominent name. I think the Republicans need to look at this race because there is real opportunity to take back the seat.
Pete Coors, the Coloradoan businessman ran for the seat in 2004. If he wanted to really be in the Senate this year could be his year.
Florida: Governor Charlie Crist anounced he will run for the seat and he quickly snatched up key endorsements. Crist has some star-power and national fame. I think he wins the nomination and the general election.
Missouri: No big changes in terms of candidates, this race right now is a toss-up.
Delaware: Vice President Biden's seat could go into Republican hands if Rep. Mike Castle enters the race, sources say that he is leaning at running.
The most exciting thing in my opinion are the possibilities available to Republicans in 2010. This past November pundits and critics were telling Republicans that they were out of the mainstream. What a difference six months can make considering Republicans have good prospects in winning Senate seats in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Colorodo, and Illinois, which are hardly states considered red or purple.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
It's action time for Obama on the torture photos
Congress this week has had a big discussion on what to do with abuse photos from Abu Ghraib prison. If you haven't been following the news, Congress is working on funding legislation for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. In the Senate version of the spending bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attached a provision to bar the Abu Ghraib photos from being released for five years
A handful of very liberal members of the House of Representatives, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have said they would not vote for the spending legislation if that provision was in the spending bill. Due to this opposition, the conference committee, the group tasked with smoothing out the differences between the House and Senate version were forced to drop the provision after the urging of the Obama Administration.
President Obama himself has said that he does not want the photos released and supported the McConnell amendment. Obama stated he opposed the measure because of the anger it will cause among Muslims and the harm that could come to our troops. I agree with President Obama on this idea.
The problem though is that the Obama adminstraton was not able to use its influence to get the necessary support for the spending measure and asked the conference committeee to remove the amendment from the spending bill.
I have two issues at this point, one issue is why some members of Congress want the photos released ( I feel this is more political and a topic for another blog) . The main issue I have is that the photo issue has not been resolved and the Obama administration needs to act now.
Congress has shown they are not capable of making the photos classified and the responsibility now lays with the president. I urge President Obama to classify these photosl for national security purposes and end the debate in Congress. These photo's should have never been taken and their existence is a black mark on the United States but no one benefits from their release. The photos should not be released now, in five years or ever, their release serves no function but political enjoyment for some of the exteme liberal members of Congress.
A handful of very liberal members of the House of Representatives, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have said they would not vote for the spending legislation if that provision was in the spending bill. Due to this opposition, the conference committee, the group tasked with smoothing out the differences between the House and Senate version were forced to drop the provision after the urging of the Obama Administration.
President Obama himself has said that he does not want the photos released and supported the McConnell amendment. Obama stated he opposed the measure because of the anger it will cause among Muslims and the harm that could come to our troops. I agree with President Obama on this idea.
The problem though is that the Obama adminstraton was not able to use its influence to get the necessary support for the spending measure and asked the conference committeee to remove the amendment from the spending bill.
I have two issues at this point, one issue is why some members of Congress want the photos released ( I feel this is more political and a topic for another blog) . The main issue I have is that the photo issue has not been resolved and the Obama administration needs to act now.
Congress has shown they are not capable of making the photos classified and the responsibility now lays with the president. I urge President Obama to classify these photosl for national security purposes and end the debate in Congress. These photo's should have never been taken and their existence is a black mark on the United States but no one benefits from their release. The photos should not be released now, in five years or ever, their release serves no function but political enjoyment for some of the exteme liberal members of Congress.
Run! What's KBH waiting for?
I have written a lot about the Texas Governor's race and a recent event has really made me think. Yesterday current US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison sent out a letter to her supporters basically asking for money. Of Course what made her letter interesting is that she included the phrase
" I am running for Governor because Texas must prepare for the future. I am running because I believe it is conservative to demand results and hold government accountable - with integrity and responsibility."
Now this is not the first time that KBH has said she is running but there has not been an official announcement of her campaign. At this point I am wondering what the hold up is in making an official announcement.
I am actually questioning the strategy of the campaign. When Senator Hutchison does finally announce she is running, the news won't be so shocking to Texans. Normally a candidate, any candidate gets a bounce in the polls when they actually say they are running. At this point its not news that she is running.
The only thing that would really be news is if Sen. Hutchison did not run. My thinking right now is that KBH would really like to run and be governor of Texas but wants a safety net and the ability to quickly back out of the race. Hutchison is looking to challenge incumbent Governor Rick Perry, who is not popular in the state by any means. The one issue the senator might have is that Perry is still very popular with conservatives. The senator has at times been at odds with some in the conservative wing of the party. We know from previous elections that devoted ideologues are usually the ones that turn out and influence a primary result. If Perry can get a enough of his base to turnout and Hutchison has issues connecting with voters it's possible Perry can win the nomination.
I do believe even though Texas is a very Republican state, I don't think Governor Perry has a good chance a general election if he is the nominee.
Right now, all Sen. Hutchison has really done is form an exploratory committee. She has also announced she is about to tour the state to discuss the future of Texas. After Senator Hutchison's listening tour it would not be too late for her to back out of the race if the polls don't look good. In fact she could easily back out of the race by saying "After touring our state and talking with Texans I have found that the best thing for Texas is for me to continue my work in the United States Senate."
Hutchison has backed out of the governor's race in years past and it still could happen this time around. If Hutchison does decide to run all the way I have to question the public relations strategy, I feel they the campaign might lose some of its momentum with multiple pseudo-announcements.
" I am running for Governor because Texas must prepare for the future. I am running because I believe it is conservative to demand results and hold government accountable - with integrity and responsibility."
Now this is not the first time that KBH has said she is running but there has not been an official announcement of her campaign. At this point I am wondering what the hold up is in making an official announcement.
I am actually questioning the strategy of the campaign. When Senator Hutchison does finally announce she is running, the news won't be so shocking to Texans. Normally a candidate, any candidate gets a bounce in the polls when they actually say they are running. At this point its not news that she is running.
The only thing that would really be news is if Sen. Hutchison did not run. My thinking right now is that KBH would really like to run and be governor of Texas but wants a safety net and the ability to quickly back out of the race. Hutchison is looking to challenge incumbent Governor Rick Perry, who is not popular in the state by any means. The one issue the senator might have is that Perry is still very popular with conservatives. The senator has at times been at odds with some in the conservative wing of the party. We know from previous elections that devoted ideologues are usually the ones that turn out and influence a primary result. If Perry can get a enough of his base to turnout and Hutchison has issues connecting with voters it's possible Perry can win the nomination.
I do believe even though Texas is a very Republican state, I don't think Governor Perry has a good chance a general election if he is the nominee.
Right now, all Sen. Hutchison has really done is form an exploratory committee. She has also announced she is about to tour the state to discuss the future of Texas. After Senator Hutchison's listening tour it would not be too late for her to back out of the race if the polls don't look good. In fact she could easily back out of the race by saying "After touring our state and talking with Texans I have found that the best thing for Texas is for me to continue my work in the United States Senate."
Hutchison has backed out of the governor's race in years past and it still could happen this time around. If Hutchison does decide to run all the way I have to question the public relations strategy, I feel they the campaign might lose some of its momentum with multiple pseudo-announcements.
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