Wednesday’s political round-up

April 18, 2007

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) seems to be one step closer to launching a presidential campaign today, with a visit to DC where he’ll “meet with Republican House members who are interested in his potential candidacy. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., one of those pushing a Thompson run, arranged for the meeting at the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill.” Wamp said conservatives “are looking at the current field and saying, ‘No one here excites me, and Fred Thompson excites me.'” As many as 60 congressional Republicans may attend the meeting.

* Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) is still feeling the heat after telling a Jewish group the other day that earning money is “part of the Jewish tradition.” Yesterday, Thompson got a little snippy about it during an interview with a group of Politico reporters and editors. “I was tired, I made a mistake and I apologized. Have you ever made a mistake?”

* On a related note, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has called on Thompson to drop out of the presidential race. “Gaffes are nothing new to Thompson. But this was said to give him the aura of the average Wisconsin guy. No. The average Wisconsin guy deserves more credit.”

* The conservative Washington Times notes today that there is no second tier of Republican presidential hopefuls — only a first tier and a third tier: “Republicans’ presidential field may be wide, but this weekend’s fundraising numbers show it is not deep. Other than Mitt Romney, Rudolph W. Giuliani and John McCain, no Republican raised $2 million or had $1 million cash on hand as of March 31, making it nearly impossible for them to challenge the top three candidates.”

* And Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has unveiled a new idea that may generate some interest: he sent a letter to his Democratic House colleagues yesterday declaring his intention to file articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.

If Kucinich follows through with this and actually files the articles, and it gets some media coverage and a groundswell of popular support, I’ll pay attention.

Otherwise it will just come off as grandstanding and a rather desperate ploy to get some publicity.

I sure hope he talked about this among his collegues and got at least a few whispers of support before making this announcement. If not, it’s going to seem like a real bonehead play before too long.

  • If the press had their way, the race would end up being Joe Biden vs. Tommy Thompson– trading gaffes all the way to the most embarrassing election day in American history!

    As for Fred Thompson . . . I’m scared of him. We Dems need to start doing opposition research on him, and I mean THIS MINUTE!!!

  • Hey, CB, it looks like you’ve got the wrong link on the Articles of Impeachment blurb. It brings up the same article as the Repub fundraising blurb.

  • Poor Tommy Thompson. He was too tired to remember that he shouldn’t show his insulting stereotypical bias about Jews. Who could blame him for that?

    I’m often tired, but for some strange reason, I don’t come off sounding like a bigot when I am. Funny how that works.

  • Thanks Racerx (#6). The post article quotes a Democratic aide, “We’ll see a Kucinich Administration before we’ll see a Cheney impeachment”. I’d like to know who that butthead Democrat is. Kucinich appears to be the only Democrat with enough balls to agree with mainstream America. The Bush Crime Family has got to go … to jail.

  • that there is no second tier of Republican presidential hopefuls — only a first tier and a third tier

    Makes sense, considering this is the party that wants to destroy the middle classs.

  • “Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. . . said . . . Fred Thompson excites me.”

    Perhaps he should get his party to rethink its position on homosexuality?

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