Friday’s political round-up

November 2, 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:

* John Edwards’ campaign has released probably the hardest-hitting spot of the Democratic campaign, issuing a YouTube clip this morning accusing Hillary Clinton of engaging in the “politics of parsing.”

* Speaking of Edwards, the former senator won the endorsement of the New Hampshire chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), but under unusual circumstances. The chapter’s executive board endorsed Barack Obama last week, following a 7-to-5 vote, but met again this week, with more board members present. Edwards won the second vote, 9 to 8.

* The DSCC really wanted Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) to consider running for New Mexico’s open Senate seat, but as recently as last week, Udall said he wasn’t interested. As of yesterday, that may no longer be the case. Udall has reportedly told party leaders that he’s giving the race another look. If he runs, he’ll be considered the automatic frontrunner.

* Bill Richardson picked up a high-profile endorsement yesterday when former Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee Iacocca threw his support to the New Mexico governor. “Unlike others on the stump, he’s offering bold plans, not just pandering talk,” Iacocca said Thursday in a post on his personal blog titled “Bill Richardson is my guy.” After noting some of Richardson’s policy positions, Iacocca, a former Bush supporter, added, “I also just plain like the guy.”

* It appears that comedian Stephen Colbert’s one-state presidential campaign came to an abrupt halt yesterday when the South Carolina Democratic Party rejected his application for a spot on the primary ballot. The state party’s executive council voted 13 to 3 in opposition to Colbert’s bid.

* After trading a couple of shots earlier this week with Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden sought to keep the fires burning with another salvo. Luis Navarro, Biden’s campaign manager, sent this to reporters: “Rudy Giuliani seems to be increasingly worried that Joe Biden is questioning his lack of leadership and his use of 9/11 for his own political purposes. This criticism is grounded in reality: there are numerous examples of Mr. Giuliani using 9/11 as a substitute for real experience and real answers to important topics.” Navarro added, “In the spirit of Halloween, Rudy, if the dress fits, wear it.”

* Wired: “If Texas congressman Ron Paul is elected president in 2008, he may be the first leader of the free world put into power with the help of a global network of hacked PCs spewing spam, according to computer-security researchers who’ve analyzed a recent flurry of e-mail supporting the long-shot Republican candidate. ‘This is clearly a criminal act in support of a campaign, which has been committed with or without their knowledge,’ says Gary Warner, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s director of research in computer forensics.”

* Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) endorsed Giuliani yesterday. Andy Barr, Al Franken’s campaign manager, responded, “So the Senator who didn’t think Halliburton’s war profiteering was worth investigating is endorsing the candidate who wanted to put Bernie Kerik in charge of Homeland Security. Makes sense to us!”

* Just how crazy is Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo), best known for leaving threatening voice-mail messages for some of his Republican constituents? So crazy that the Colorado Republican Party has decided not to endorse his re-election bid.

* Unsure how to stop former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner’s (D) Senate bid, some conservatives hope to lure former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson into the race. How sad.

* If you’re ever wondering just how many endorsements the presidential candidates have received, and from whom, the WaPo has created an “endorsement tracker.” Could be handy.

Ron Paul supporters are also spamming his campaign with U.S. dollars, it’s really getting out of hand!

  • * Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) endorsed Giuliani yesterday. Andy Barr, Al Franken’s campaign manager, responded, “So the Senator who didn’t think Halliburton’s war profiteering was worth investigating is endorsing the candidate who wanted to put Bernie Kerik in charge of Homeland Security. Makes sense to us!”

    lol

    Bill Richardson is done for me since I heard he falsely billed himself as having been recruited by Major League Baseball years ago. That’s about as bad in my book as L. Ron Hubbard claiming to be in touch with space aliens. Maybe there’s something good he can do, but I wouldn’t vote for him for anything.

  • Rudy Giuliani; a noun, a verb, 9/11, a comely frock and a frisson of fascism. What more could a Republican ask for?

  • Joe Biden seems to have decided that since there’s no way he’s going to get the nomination, he should at least have some fun. And making Rudy Giulianni go apeshit is probably a great way to go about it.

    I don’t normally say this but “Good for Biden!” I’d like to see some of the other “guys who know they’re not going to win” spend some time making the GOPer candidates go nuts for a change. It would at least give them a reason to stay in the race.

    And who knows – you could stumble across something that moves you from “no chance of winning” to “hey, this guy knows how to beat down Republican talking points – maybe he’s worth a vote” among some of the base. There’s a good-sized constituency among Dems out there who just want to have a candidate who is both willing to and good at pushing back against the GOPers. The guy with the rep of “tweaking GOP candidates so that they go insane with rage and can’t fight back” is not a bad thing to be.

  • Wow … I’d wondered why RedState wouldn’t let Ron Paul supporters post there anymore.

    Just when I thought I’d be in a position to speak up for free speech … but spam is an example of what the First Amendment is not.

  • The spamming is completely independent of Ron Paul’s campaign. I don’t know is if it is an actual Ron Paul supporter, or if it is someone else trying to smear his name and internet campaign. Unfortunately, not everyone has the integrity that Ron Paul does.

  • Unfortunately, not everyone has the integrity that Ron Paul does.

    Which is undoubtedly true, but also a meaningless statement since it doesn’t speak to HOW MUCH integrity he has.

  • Just another Ron Paul robot crazy cult member here reporting for duty. Awaiting primary election to complete mission. 😉

    Ron Paul tells it like it is whether you want to beleive it or not…this country is f*cked and in serious need of a doctor. He is the ONE. Funny how you never can find debate on the issues, just shallow attacks about the validity of his support.

    http://www.ronpaul2008.com

    Almost Nov 5th, almost time to set some records.

  • You know, it would be tempting to dismiss Rich as crazy, except I appreciate the enthusiasm and spirit, and I have more than a little wistful empathy for what his disappointing crash will be like having seen (and, confessionally, probably written) similar e-mails among and between Dean supporters as we anxiously awaited the Iowa caucuses and the start of our victorious march to “Take Our Country Back,” starting with the White House. . .

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