Thursday’s political round-up

March 31, 2005

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:

* Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) made Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R) very happy yesterday, announcing that he would seek re-election to the House and not mount a Senate campaign. Rhode Island Secretary of State Matt Brown, at this point, is the only candidate in the race, though former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse is still mulling a bid and current state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal hasn’t ruled anything out. (Blumenthal is in Connecticut, not Rhode Island. My mistake.)

* Love him or hate him, Howard Dean doesn’t pull any punches. At a rally in Philadelphia yesterday, the DNC chairman called Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum a “liar” and “right-winger” who actually lives in Virginia.

* New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (R) popularity in GOP circles is suffering because he seems to like a few too many Dems. New York Republican Party Chairman Stephen Minarik expressed concern about the “discipline and focus” of Bloomberg’s campaign in light of his announcement that he may endorse Hillary Clinton’s re-election bid.

* Speaking of the New York mayoral race, Dem front-runner Fernando Ferrer is finding that his support in the upcoming primary is not quite as solid as previously thought. A new Quinnipiac University poll found Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields gaining ground on Ferrer. Though Ferrer still enjoys a sizable lead, Fields now trails by 15 points (36% to 21%), as opposed to 26 points a month ago (40% to 14%).

* Fans of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) will be pleased to know that the “blunt Midwestern maverick” is seriously planning a presidential campaign in 2008. In particular, Feingold plans to use his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee to raise his profile, should Bush have the opportunity to fill a Supreme Court vacancy.

* And speaking of presidential aspirants, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) will be making two appearances in New Hampshire in early June.

Richard Blumenthal is Connecticut’s Attorney General, not Rhode Island’s.

  • Someone should go pull the ads that Feingold first ran when running for Senate. If memory serves, he was pretty far behind in the race to someone with an existing profile (like a car dealer or something, can’t remember, but WI isn’t that big) and then he started running these ads where he was dressed in an Elvis costume. I was a bit drunk at the time (I think first year in college), but I seem to remember that the ads were goofy, but the message got across and resounded well with the electorate.

    Nevertheless, always liked the guy – and if he were a bit better looking he could have been Barack Obama years ago. I hope he runs and runs a good campaign, though he may come across a bit too John Kerry-ish to new voters with that memory fresh in their heads. Let’s hope Bill Richardson comes in and sorts this whole mess out.

    http://www.russfeingold.org/tenthings.php

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