Wednesday’s political round-up

September 21, 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:

* Confirming a series of other polls showing a tightening race, a new SurveyUSA poll shows Virginia’s gubernatorial campaign getting closer with each passing week. Former state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore’s (R) kead over Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) is down to three points, 46% to 43%.

* Former Senate Dem Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) is raising eyebrows with a surprisingly busy schedule, prompting questions about whether the recently-defeated senator is eyeing the 2008 presidential campaign. Among the signs: Daschle will be the guest speaker at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner and Daschle has recreated his political action committee and a 527 group. Steve Hildebrand, a longtime Daschle adviser, said that the chance of Daschle running for president is “probably pretty low,” but Hildebrand would not rule it out.

* Facing a primary challenge from the right, Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.) is calling on those with experience in similar circumstances — he’s hired the same political team that helped Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) defeat a primary challenge from the right in Pennsylvania last year.

* As if it weren’t discouraging enough for Rick Santorum to see polls showing him well behind, State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. (D) is making things worse by raising money at a torrid pace. Casey traveled to Washington on Tuesday night for a fundraiser at the Georgetown home of Democratic financiers Smith and Elizabeth Bagley. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, also are hosting a fundraiser for Casey on Saturday in Pittsburgh. In addition, Casey recently raised an estimated $500,000 at a private Philadelphia luncheon featuring Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

* Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) continues to talk openly about an upcoming presidential campaign. He told Bloomberg News that he hopes one of the more establishment candidates seeking the GOP nomination will adopt his xenophobic platform, but if not, he’ll run just to raise the profile of his agenda. “I will enter primaries, and I will try my best to make all the folks out there have to deal with it,” he said. Since May, Tancredo traveled to the presidential primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire four times to talk about immigration issues.

It’s never ceases to amaze how politicians who couldn’t get re-elected in their own states suddenly hear the call that their country needs them. Daschle was a nice guy, I’m sure, but he was also the poster boy for ineffectual Dem leadership and spinelessness. So now, he can thrill us all by being a Dem candidate for president–perpetuating the feckless image of the Democratic party before he, hopefully, falls flat on his face in the primaries. Just like Pataki in my own state and man-on-dog Santorum in PA., these guys just can’t see reality. On the other hand, the Repugs don’t mind choosing a nutjob, a moron, a nothing or a crook–and they know how to get him elected to boot.

  • Tancredo can travel to New Hampshire and talk about perils of immigration ’til the cows come home. He’s doing nothing but wasting his time and his money. Immigration is not an issue that has resonance in any nothern tier state. Admittedly, I live in Wisconsin, and not New Hampshire, so I can’t say for sure, but although immigration populations have increased in Wisconsin, it isn’t particularly visible here. I would expect that New Hampshire has similar experiences — or lack of experience — with large immigrant populations.

    I think that may be why this country has a hard time deciding if immigration is a blessing or a curse. Half the country doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. Of course, another reason why this country may have a hard time dealing with the issue is not having a LEADER in our country.

    On second thought, maybe it’s good that Tancredo wastes his resources harranguing a part of the country that just doesn’t want to hear his message.

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