Friday’s political round-up

March 24, 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:

* Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) is still struggling in his re-election efforts, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. The results show Schwarzenegger trailing both of his Dem rivals — State Comptroller Steve Westly and State Treasurer Phil Angelides — albeit by the slimmest of margins, 45% to 44%.

* A critic of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) troop-redeployment plan for Iraq announced this week that she’ll run against Murtha in November. Diana Irey, a commissioner in Washington County, said Murtha has “drifted further and further from the ideals that made this country great.” Irey added that she is “standing steadfastly by our fighting men and women.”

* Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld’s gubernatorial campaign in New York suffered a setback this week when former Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) started something of an intra-party feud with Weld. D’Amato said Weld is “without any real experience” in New York. “If he couldn’t run Decker College — they had a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise of swindling these poor kids trying to get an education — and if he didn’t know that was taking place — I’m not suggesting he was part of the cabal — then why didn’t he?” Mr. D’Amato said. “Does that recommend him to be governor?” D’Amato added that Eliot Spitzer has “done a magnificent job as attorney general, better than any I have ever seen.”

* Iowa’s gubernatorial race continue to be one of the most competitive contests in the country. A new Research 2000 poll (.pdf) shows Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver effectively tied with Rep. Jim Nussle (R), 44% to 43%, though Nussle leads former economic development Director Mike Blouin, 43% to 37%. (via Taegan Goddard)

* And in Florida, Rep. Katherine Harris (R) has vowed to donate $10 million of her own money to her Senate campaign, but history shows that similar investments rarely pay off for candidates. The Post’s Chris Cillizza noted this week, “In recent years, candidates who have tapped their personal bank accounts have tended to drop out of races or lose outright. In fact, in 2002 and 2004, only two of the 45 candidates for the House and Senate who spent more than $1 million of their own money on a race won, according to campaign finance records.” Buying a Senate seat, in other words, may prove to be more difficult than Harris expects.

Note to Diana Irey:

“John Murtha IS one of our fighting men and women, and he has done more for this country than you have done or will ever do. You are a shameless and transparent political opportunist and should apologize to every person who has ever worn the uniform for trying to turn them into a mere campaign prop for your spineless attempt to swiftboat a true American hero.”

Fools like her really make me mad. Can you tell?

  • Curmudgeon –

    Get off the fence, do you like her, or not?

    And by the way, I am sure that she will travel to Iraq to lend a helpful hand to our troops there (and outside of the Green Zone, too), right? I mean, a Republican wouldn’t just say something without backing their statements up with actions, right?

  • Curmudgeon, well said. What kind of idiot is that woman?

    Also, you know things are messed up when ol’ Alphonse D’Amato is backing Dems (how far has the GOP turned to the right??). Apocalypse or just a sea change coming?

  • Irey added that she is “standing steadfastly by our fighting men and women.”

    If being some 10,000 miles away is standing steadfastly behind. Oh so easy to say when it’s not their ass in a sling.

  • I think the Republicanites have discovered that most of the Military, once they retire, demonstrate a frightening level of thoughtfulness and ire which the chicken-hawks at Defense did not realize existed under the strictures of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and military discipline.

    Scary to discover that the men and women whose lives and health they’ve wasted are pissed at them. True there are some true believers coming out of Iraq, but as long as we don’t let them swift-boat the real heros, America may still turn out okay.

    As far as I’m concerned, supporting the troops does not mean cheering them on as they walk deeper into a quadmire, but throughing them a rope and helping to pull them out.

  • Here’s the argument that I’ve spent the last three years trying to comprehend: In order to SUPPORT the troops, you have to want them to go overseas with crappy or no body armor, ride around in a Humvee that may or may not have “hillbilly armor” jury-rigged to it, carry weapons that constantly jam in the dust and sand, be under constant attack 24/7, deal with not only insurrgents but also militia groups, get shitty food and shelter from Halliburton, and all the while know that your benefits back home may or may not be there when you ETS.
    Like I asked, this is SUPPORTING the troops?

  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did a profile of Irey in April of 2004. It is not very flattering.

    There is an interesting angle on her decision to run which I hope the media will pick up on. From the Post-Gazette article we learn that “her husband, Bob,[is an} executive at a Southpointe firm, CLI Corp., that provides consulting, management and other services in the coal and mineral industries.” In fact he is an owner of the firm. He was also a business partner with Dale Stofell, a childhood friend of his in who

    …devised elaborate schemes to get Iraqi government contracts to repair an unending list of things that no longer worked. He posed for photographs in the desert wearing a flak vest and toting an M5 submachine gun. He clenched a cigar between his teeth.

    He pushed those schemes until they became reality. He signed huge contracts with the interim Iraqi Defense Ministry — the biggest of which was to repair the country’s broken-down arsenal of tanks, helicopters and jets.

    Stofell and his business partners had accused the Iraqi government of defrauding them. He and another partner Joesph Wemple were kill in Iraq in December of 2004. It is not unreasonable to think that her decision to run for Murtha’s seat and to make his position on Iraq an issue has something to to do with her husband’s business dealings. Exactly what I’m not sure.
    I think reporters need to look at this a little more closely. There is only so much a guy can do with a high speed internet connection.

  • Paraphrasing LA Weekly’s Bill Bradley:

    Political insiders fully expected Angelides to be the Democratic nominee… He was getting all the endorsements, leading in all the polls, and was much better known than Steve Westly. But with ten-and-a-half weeks to the primary, things are changing. Angelides was expecting to get important endorsements from Sierra Club and NOW, but both decided on duel endorsements, which Westly has the money to capitalize on – and Angelides does not. ” …Westly will have a lot more money to run TV ads touting his endorsement by the Sierra Club, more California voters will consider him to be the environmental choice…. Expect that edge to continue and probably increase as his TV advertising broadens to all media markets in the state beyond the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento markets…” The Schwarzenegger camp is reportedly “not pleased” at the prospect of having to face Steve Westly. Team Arnold would have “relished the opportunity” to run against Angelides.

  • As an impartial gawker, I’d like to clarify a few things. A. murtha isn’t a hero by any stretch of the word. He tried without success to get medals he didn’t deserve, then when he got elected, he helped himself get them.
    His story on wounds recieved has never been coherent. He wrote his wife to say he got shot in the foot- that was later disputed when there was no scar or skin damage. He also said he got hit with schrapnel while in a chopper. that was also untrue. He did however, get treated for two shaving cuts. – treatment for ANY wound is good enough for a purple heart.
    B The gallantry medal he refers to was a standard issue to all troops in nam. C. He volunteered to go to nam only after he was assured he would be promoted and used in intelligence. He was never near or in a fire fight.
    D. He was kept from danger and used as a map reader and minor intel analyst. E. He was in nam from 65 to 66. At that time it wasn’t even a war.
    We didn’t build up until 66. casualties were very very low while murtha was there. that all changed in 67-68 with TET. F. murtha has made a career out of lying about his military service. He was never in Korea and he was never in danger in nam. Yet he has got elected and re-elected for over 32 years on that lie. He has 12 million in a pension account and has made millions more in pay and defense kickbacks masquerading as campaign contributions.
    Murthas district is one of fht epoorest in the country and has been for over 30 years. He needs it to stay that way so he can be awarded “set aside” defense contracts to bring home on his white horse.
    Try to open a company in his district and you may have an accident. he can’t have unemployment drop below 6% or he loses set aside defense money. he relies on war and high unemployment to maintain power.

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