Tuesday’s political round-up

January 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:

* Outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) will create a presidential exploratory committee this week with the FEC, but out of respect, will wait until funeral services for former President Gerald Ford have concluded. The paperwork will probably be filed tomorrow. Romney’s successor, Gov.-elect Deval Patrick (D) will be sworn in tomorrow, but Romney will not attend the ceremony, instead settling into his new campaign headquarters.

* Speaking of Romney, as conservatives began to learn more about his previous support for abortion and gay rights, many of those who considered him a conservative alternative to McCain and Giuliani are having second thoughts. TV preacher Pat Robertson’s news program noted late last week that “four conservative state representatives in Michigan who are members of Romney’s state steering committee are now seriously thinking about abandoning their support for him.”

* There were some rumors that Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) was weighing retirement at the end of his fifth term in 2008, but the senator appears to be leaning towards re-election. Bob Novak reported that “close associates” of Cochran are “cautiously optimistic” that he’ll seek a sixth term. Novak added that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has ruled out a Senate bid even if Cochran retires.

* The AP ran an item yesterday on Sen. Christopher Dodd’s (D-Conn.) likely presidential campaign. The article emphasized that Dodd, soon to be the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, will have little trouble raising a lot of money. “Any time you are chairman of a committee that oversees, arguably, the wealthiest sector of society, that’s a significant opportunity to raise some real dough,” said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist from several presidential campaigns.

* And Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) says if he runs for president he won’t be a Republican who will “scare the living daylights” out of independents and moderate Democrats. “I think I would appeal to true conservatives for whom conservatism doesn’t mean they’re angry at everybody,” Huckabee said in an interview with the AP. “My brand of conservatism is not an angry, hostile brand. It’s one that says ‘conservative’ means we want to conserve the best of our culture, society, principles and values and pass them on.”

And Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) says if he runs for president he won’t be a Republican who will “scare the living daylights” out of independents and moderate Democrats.

But then how will we know when to be afraid of the terr’r’sts?

  • Speaking of Romney…

    Will Mitt steal equipment from the “Big Dig” to dig his way out of his hole of hypocrisy? Will disgusted Massachoosians kick him back in? Stay tooned!

    This is the fate of cretins who try to court Das Base. The radicals now expect candidates to bludgeon Mary Cheney in front of the cameras and then lob a few grenades into at least three Planned Parenthoods to prove they are true to the fundies’ ideal: Support life. Until it emerges from the womb.

    ‘conservative’ means we want to conserve the best of our culture, society, principles and values and pass them on.”

    Via a large stick with nails in? I’m still waiting for a conservative to say being a conservative means minding your own damn business most of the time. But I’m not holding my breath.

  • Sorry Mike Huckabee, we’ve heard the line about a conservatism that is compassionate before. The fact that the candidates on the right have to brand themselves as “the nice kind of conservatives” proves what a nasty, brutish and selfish brand of politics they champion. No one from the left has to say they are compassionate liberals; it’s inherent in the philosophy.

  • Huckabee must be under the delusion that “Reagan-nice” politics still work. How the hell is he going to stir the conservative base without beating up on the “God-less” and their evil lifestyles. Polarizing by Bush will not be easily undone.

  • Respect for Ford or no, Mitt Romney will have to wait until tomorrow. The feds manaaged to tack on another holiday to honor Ford today, conveniently extending their New Year’s weekend.

  • I’m just glad Mitt got a chance to totally debase himself before starting to lose support. Let him go home and run for assistant patriarch now.

    I like the response when one points out the ridiculousness of a particular religion, “Yeah but all religions have some crazy stuff in them.” Well, yeah, my point exactly.

  • For what it’s worth, the Reich-esque rantings of “Das Base” (sweet metaphor, TAiO—when do I get to fly over the morons and drop a bomb on ’em?) blew its entire load on the ’06 cycle—and came up looking like a bunch of scary marys on November 8. They’ve exposed themselves as blowhards with little meaning, no ethics, and a negative-range agenda. Robertson coming out and bad-mouthing Romney—could actually work in Romney’s favor….

    Huckabee’s gambit won’t travel far on its own legs, either—the “kinder, gentler” routine was played to the hilt by Bush 41—and all we got from it was “the fruit of his loins.” ***Note to self—add “prevent skull-n-bones members from procreating” to plans for global conquest….

    And Dodd needs to really “toe the line” on ethics if he’s thinking of a run in ’08. Having the bank committee under his control, by default, can just scream “impropriety.” And we all know what the Reich bloggers are capable of….

  • What’s deeply satisfying about the Republicans is that having indulged themselves in the deepest pit of rabid partisan loathing for so long, they can’t really stop: the Limbaugh/Coulter take of pure id-driven hatred for the political Other (a group that gets bigger, expanding gradually but inexorable from Bill Clinton to Max Cleland to Olympia Snowe and finally James Baker himself) has become the mainstream of the party.

    Yet they’ll never be able to sell that to the country. Huckabee probably understands that–Arkansas has a lot of current and former Democrats, after all, and he’s just never struck me as a particularly vicious guy–but it still seems like a longshot that the Republican “base” will be able to break the cycle of self-indulgence in time to win in two years.

  • I might have welcomed Huckabee’s statement seven years ago, but recent history has taught me to be wary of any Republican. Even if he is a Republican I like, ie McCain vintage 2000, or the guy who ran against Pombo in the primary last year, he still gives his support to the party, which is the problem. It’s the Republican party that I intend to steer clear from.

  • Rian Mueller,

    or the guy who ran against Pombo in the primary last year

    talk about a good Republican. He’s someone even I could support. Of course, he drives the current GOP “thought-leaders” batty. I believe his name was McNeirny (sp?). Co-sponsor of the act that created the EPA…good man.

  • Did anyone else watch the Rose Parade? I admit to being a big sci fi fan but I have to tell you that when I saw those storm troopers marching my stomach sank. I know it was in fun. Still they were the Empire’s troops and they were marching in our empire. Not a nice symbol.

  • I think that every time a Republican tries to paint himself as a “compassionate” or”different” kind of conservative, they should be asked what is so awful about the other kind. It also would have been nice to ask Cheney if he was the compassionate kind, and if not, what he thought of his running mate finding a need to draw a distinction between the two of them.

  • So Chris Dodd’s claim to be the party’s nominee is that he can raise “lots of money” from bankers and other assorted unindicted white color criminals?

    Whop di dah!

    “four conservative state representatives in Michigan who are members of Romney’s state steering committee are now seriously thinking about abandoning their support for him.”

    Did they join just for the opportunity to publically dump him?

  • The term “compassionate conservate” has been used a lot, by many people who didn’t deserve it, but Huckabee really is compassionate. He realizes the party line may not be what’s right for his state. He had to raise taxes in order to help out the elderly and ensure the children of his state have access to healthcare. He signed a road tax to help overhaul the highways in Arkansas–then the worst in the nation. Is that a Republican way to do it? No. Did it benefit Arkansas? Absolutely.

  • “My brand of conservatism is not an angry, hostile brand. It’s one that says ‘conservative’ means we want to conserve the best of our culture, society, principles and values and pass them on.”

    So is this the official announcement that Huckabee is really a Democrat???

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