Tuesday’s political round-up

March 7, 2006

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:

* Thanks to a couple of weeks of wooing from party leaders, Kathleen Troia McFarland, a former speechwriter and public affairs official at the Defense Department during the Reagan administration, announced yesterday that she will take on Sen. Hillary Clinton in November. McFarlandwill likely face former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer in a GOP primary. One important twist: Spencer has already been endorsed by top New York Conservative Party leaders. Clinton’s the favorite anyway, but a Republican/Conservative split could make the race even more one-sided.

* Speaking of New York, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi (D) denied reports that he’d consider running for governor as a Republican, and blamed rival Eliot Spitzer of trying to sabotage his campaign by spreading false rumors about his commitment to the party.

* House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) announced yesterday that he is retiring from Congress at the end of the year now that Republican House rules mandate that he give up his committee gavel. The early word is that Assemblyman Kevin McCarthy and state Sen. Roy Ashburn, both Republicans, will throw their hats into the ring sometime this week.

* Also in California, a new Field Poll suggests Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) should have no trouble cruising to re-election this year. Feinstein leads retired State Sen. Richard Mountjoy (R), 56% to 28%.

* Because the DCCC has a policy about supporting incumbent lawmakers facing primary challenges, the party officially supports Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) in today’s primary race. But because Cuellar has been such a profound disappointment, and votes with the GOP so frequently, top party leaders from across the country have rallied behind Cuellar’s Dem opponent, former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez. Among the officials who’ve come to Rodriguez’s aid are Sen. John Kerry, and Reps. John Murtha, Lloyd Doggett, and Loretta Sanchez.

* In Ohio, a new internal poll shows Cincinnati City Councilman John Cranley (D) within striking distance of Rep. Steve Chabot (R) in the state’s 1st congressional district. Though Chabot has cruised to re-election in recent campaigns, the Cranley poll shows Chabot leading, 49% to 40%. Moreover, 44% of district voters said they’d prefer a new representative.

Why is it that whenever I see something about Ohio (or Florida) Democrats I’m disinclined to read the story? It’s as though it doesn’t matter who’s doing what, or who’s ahead of whom — it’ll all come out Republican in November anyway.

  • Ed, it just dawned on me a few weeks ago that the Republican base is the old Confederacy plus a few swing states like Florida and Ohio. The Confederacy has been in the bag for roughly the last thirty years. All they really needed after that was Diebold to put in the fix in the swing states.
    Wouldn’t it be something if the United Arab Emirates port deal tears the the Confederate base apart?

    For what it’s worth, I just got back from voting in the Texas primary. I voted for Ciro Rodriguez who is running against my hometown boy, DINO Henry Cuellar. I hope I don’t bring Ciro bad luck. I voted for him last time out when he lost to Henry by about 60 votes.

  • Jim B,

    The old Confederacy was Democrat (in name only, but still…) until LBJ drove them into Republican cess pool by signing the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts in the mid ’60s. I think you may have something in your suggestion that Bush’s willingness to sell anything – even port security – to anybody (even what Southerners tend to call Ay-rabs) may finally tear that old coalition apart. I’ll believe it when I see though: as “Crash” points out, racial bigotry runs deeper than most people realize, deeper certainly than one’s need for real-world security.

    Good luck to Ciro Rodriguez, btw.

  • I saw that poll on Cranley vs. Chabot down in Ohio’s 1st. Very surprising that Cranley has closed in on Chabot so early. I can’t imagine what will happen once Cranley’s fundraising base further swells and he is able to communicate his campaign’s message throughout Cincinnati.

    It looks like the most Conservative Republican in the House is unknowingly about to honor his term limit promise back under Gingrich’s term as Speaker! (It’s about time).

    Cranley has more at http://www.johncranley.com

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