Wednesday’s political round-up

July 5, 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:

* New Mexico Republicans may have switched their gubernatorial candidate recently, but the latest Rasmussen poll shows it may not make much of a difference. Gov. [tag]Bill Richardson[/tag] (D) enjoys a big lead over former GOP party chairman [tag]John Dendahl[/tag] (R), 56% to 32%. At this point, nearly one-in-three New Mexico Republicans (30%) say they plan to vote for Richardson.

* Speaking of New Mexico, Sen. [tag]Jeff Bingaman[/tag] (D) also appears to be in a strong position to win re-election. In the same Rasmussen poll, Bingaman leads [tag]Allen McCullough[/tag] (R), 59% to 33%. Overall, 65% of New Mexicans approve of Bingaman’s job performance.

* Sen. [tag]Richard Lugar[/tag] (R) will not face even token Democratic opposition this year, assuring the five-term incumbent will win re-election in November. The state Democratic Party chair said Lugar “is just too popular to challenge.” Reports surfaced a year ago that former Rep. Tim Roemer (D) was interested in the race, but he withdrew from consideration shortly thereafter. (via Teagan Goddard)

* National Journal reports this morning that the DNC is slated to begin a Spanish-language radio ad campaign today, criticizing the Republican Party for its “inaction” on immigration reform. In the spot, entitled “Border Security,” Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), a 26-year Border Patrol veteran, calls on Republicans to stop blocking Dem efforts to improve border security. The ads are intended to coincide with the House GOP’s series of “hearings” on the issue.

* And in 2008 news, Sen. [tag]Joe Biden[/tag] (D-Del.) announced this week that he will spend 15 days in Iowa this August to generate support for his presidential campaign. Biden, at this point, is the least shy of the 2008 contenders about his intentions — at a parade in New Hampshire yesterday, the senator said, “I’m Joe Biden, one of 400 people running for president.”

The announcement of Sen. Lugar’s Democratic opponent (or lack thereof) was made here a few days ago and gathered little coverage in the state. The sad part is that Lugar’s participation in this Republican mess and his kowtowing to Bush has definitely made him vulnerable to a populist campaign.

Even though Indiana is a horribly red state, the tide has turned against Bush. And with a good Democratic campaign, it could have turned against Lugar as well. Even Birch Bayh, one of the best senators this state ever had, got rolled during a time of disenchantment. It could have happened to Lugar, as well. Oh well, not this year I guess!

  • “Biden, at this point, is NOT the least bit shy about stating his intentions ”

    I’m glad to see the DNC is advertising to the Spanish speaking community about immigration. And it’s nice to see that New Mexico is so solidly Blue this year.

  • “Biden, at this point, is NOT the least bit shy about stating his intentions “

    Yeah, the sentence didn’t quite work as written. I edited it a bit.

  • Ed,

    Is this the best we can do?

    I submit that Clark and Edwards are both excellent candidates for the position. Biden, on the other hand, not so much.

  • Joe Biden as President. Yeeeecccccchhhhhhh. Oh well, it wouldn’t be as bad as having Lieberman as President. But only just barely.

  • I can’t wait. It’ll be like the dog and pony show that was the California recall election.

    I’m sure all of the corporate interests will have their candidates…big oil, credit cards….

    Should be fun. 😐

  • I can’t sat too much for Biden, other than the fact that he might be less destructive than Kennedy

  • I would like to announce an alternative to all of these folks! I, for one, am voting for Frank Moore.

    Frank Moore Announces Candidacy for 2008 U.S. Presidential Election
    Berkeley, CA — Monday, July 3, 2006 — Berkeley avante-garde artist and unrelenting defender of free speech, Frank Moore is running for President. Candidate of the Just Makes Sense Party, Frank’s tag-line is “I Get Results!” He is calling for his fellow artists to do pieces of any kind to support his candidacy, and says, “Yep, there will be an artist in the White House!”

    Local campaign supporters have called his platform a “springboard of new possibilities”, based on the notion that every American deserves a basic humane standard of living where the very basics of life are provided for. “If we apply the tangled leaden mass of the current economic system to it we’ll miss the point. Who knows what will happen to people when the fear and anxiety of basic survival is lifted…”

    Frank Moore’s Presidential Platform follows. For more information, see the Frank Moore for President website and blog: http://www.frankmooreforpresident08.com/ & http://www.frankmooreforpresident08.com/blog/ .

    PLATFORM FOR FRANK MOORE’S PRESIDENCY ‘08

    I’ll do away with welfare and social security. Instead, every American will receive a minimum income of $1,000 a month. This amount will be tied to the cost of living and will not be taxable.

    We will have universal prenatal-to-the-grave health care and universal free education with equal access.

    I’ll do away with all tax deductions for over $12,000 income. Instead, there will be a flat tax of 10% on annual income of less than one million dollars for an individual and less than five million dollars for a corporation. But the flat tax will jump to 75% on annual income exceeding these limits.

    I’ll cut the military budget by at least half.

    Public mass transit will be free, 24/7, and reliable.

    All patents and copyrights will expire in 20 years. Inventions, products, etc. which are developed with governmental money and/or public institutions can not be patented.

    All businesses selling their products in the U.S. will have to certify that their products were manufactured in accordance with this country’s labor, wage, environmental, and safety laws … that they meet or exceed these … no matter where they were produced.

    Each city and each “media market” will have at least two public access channels on radio, broadcast television, cable, AND satellite!

    Election day will be a paid holiday.

    MORE TO COME!

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