A 'Majority' Definition of Ethics
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
On her way to recapturing control of Congress in 2006, Nancy Pelosi introduced a measure co-sponsored by Senators Harry Reid and Barack Obama that she called a "Declaration of Independence from special interests." Ten months later, on election night, she renewed the vow, saying: "Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history."
How quickly the tune has changed. "Ethics" may have served as a populist rallying point for Democrats in the minority, but apparently "ethics" doesn't have much to do with governing in the majority. As the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported yesterday, Mrs. Pelosi has now enlisted Rep. Howard Berman "to consult with House Democrats on why they should continue to resist Republican demands for an ethics committee investigation" of senior Democrats tied to PMA Group, a defense lobbying firm embroiled in a corruption investigation.
PMA is now defunct since it was raided by the FBI last year, but top defense appropriator Rep. Jack Murtha, as well as several other Democrats, are reported to be implicated in an investigation of allegedly illegal campaign contributions in return for earmarks for PMA clients. Republicans, naturally, are relishing having the shoe on the other foot after their own disastrous involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake has introduced seven resolutions calling for Congress to launch its own ethics probe -- and all seven have been tabled by the Democrats.
Texas Republican John Carter likewise sponsored a resolution two months ago asking that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel step down until the Ethics committee completes its probe of alleged tax-related impropriety. Democrats killed that as well, even as the ethics committee report on the Rangel investigation is more than four months overdue.
But Democrats are clearly feeling some heat. Mr. Berman's appointment is seen as an attempt to show that Mrs. Pelosi and company take the concerns seriously while at the same time stalling any move against the members involved. Explained Roll Call: "After a long silence on the unfolding federal probe of the PMA Group and its ties to senior Democrats, House Democratic leaders are cobbling together a defense to offer political cover to their rank and file."
(Cross-posted from RCP's Politics Nation blog)
VA Gov Poll: McDonnell Leads Dems
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Bob McDonnell (R) leads the three potential Democratic nominees in hypothetical general election matchups in the 2009 Virginia gubernatorial race, a new Rasmussen poll finds (April 15, 500 LV, +/- 4.5%). The survey also finds President Obama and Governor Tim Kaine with 56% job approval ratings in the state.
McDonnell and Democrats Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe appeared yesterday at the annual Shad Planking event. Creigh Deeds, the third Dem, skipped the event to campaign alongside Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.). Moran, McAuliffe and Deeds will face off in a June 9 primary.
McDonnell 45 - Deeds 30 - Und 20
McDonnell 44 - Moran 34 - Und 19
McDonnell 45 - McAuliffe 33 - Und 19
FL Sen Poll: Wide Open Races
Posted by Tom Bevan | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
New Quinnipiac poll of the Florida Senate race shows that it's wide open on both sides - providing Charlie Crist decides to stay out of the picture.
Democratic Primary
Meek 16
Iorio 15
Klein 8
Gelber 5
Undecided 53
Republican Primary (w/out Crist)
Buchanan 16
Rubio 11
Bense 3
Undecided 66
Republican Primary (w/Crist)
Crist 54
Buchanan 8
Rubio 8
Bense 2
Undecided 25
The poll also included the following job approval ratings (change versus last poll on Feb 19 in parentheses).
President Barack Obama
Approve 60 (-4), Disapprove 32 (+9)
Democratic Senator Bill Nelson
Approve 52 (+4), Disapprove 24 (+2)
Republican Senator Mel Martinez
Approve 42 (-1), Disapprove 35 (+4)
Other notables from the poll: 42% would like to see Crist run for another term as Governor while only 26% say he should make the switch to run for the Senate; 53% approve of the way Crist is handling the economy as Governor, 55% say the same thing about President Obama.
State Department vs. Pirates
Posted by Greg Scoblete | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Secretary Clinton announced a four part anti-piracy plan yesterday. To summarize, it includes:
1. Sending an envoy to the international Somali peacekeeping and development meeting in Brussels. Said Clinton, "Our envoy will work with other partners to help the Somalis assist us in cracking down on pirate bases and in decreasing incentives for young Somali men to engage in piracy."
2. A meeting with the International Contact Group on Piracy to develop an expanded multinational response including possibly tracking and freezing pirate assets.
3. A diplomatic team will engage with Somali Government officials from the Transitional Federal Government as well as regional leaders in Puntland to eject pirates from their bases.
4.Outreach to the shipping and insurance industry to improve their capacity for self-defense.
Laura Rozen has the memo. Here's a video of Clinton announcing the moves:
Fat Lady Warming Up For Tedisco
Posted by Sean Trende | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Saratoga County has come in, and Republican Jim Tedisco is still behind Democrat Scott Murphy by 86 votes. This total appears to include both military and overseas ballots. Unless Tedisco has done a substantially better job than Murphy objecting to improperly filed absentee ballots, or unless the remaining ballots in other counties are from pro-Tedisco precincts, it looks like his is going to lose this nailbiter.
As I've said before, whether Tedisco wins or loses is of little importance in the big picture. The fact that Tedisco is in a nailbiter in the first place, in a district that the GOP won by over ten points the last time it was open (in 1998, which was not a great year for the GOP by any stretch), against a political novice, tells you that the GOP has not yet begun to recover -- at least not in the Northeast.
Nearly Two-Thirds of Minnesotans Say Coleman Should Concede
Posted by Mike Memoli | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Public Policy Polling has another survey out today, this one on the overtime Minnesota Senate race. It finds that nearly two-thirds of Minnesotans believe it's time for former Sen. Norm Coleman to concede the race to Democrat Al Franken.
A three-judge panel declared Franken the winner on Monday. Asked if Coleman should concede or appeal the ruling, 37 percent said he should appeal, while 63 percent said he should concede. Asked if Franken should be seated immediately, a slightly smaller number -- 59 percent, said yes, while 41 percent favor leaving it vacant. An identical ratio said Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) should sign a certificate of election.
Interestingly, when asked who the voter picked last November, the breakdown was roughly identical to the final result. Franken and Coleman each got roughly 42 percent of the vote, with independent candidate Dean Barkley garnering 15 percent. In the poll, 41 percent of voters said they picked Franken and Coleman, with 13 percent for Barkley.
President Obama has a 60 percent approval rating in Minnesota, according to the poll. Forty-eight percent of voters agreed with the sentiment that Republicans are funding Coleman's challenge to slow the president's agenda.
The poll surveyed 805 Minnesota voters from APril 14-15, and had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.
Impeach Governor Sanford?
Posted by Tom Bevan | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Mullins McLeod, a South Carolina attorney whose name is being tossed around as a possible Democratic Gubernatorial candidate, admits impeaching Republican Governor Mark Sanford is a pipe dream - but makes the indictment anyway in this morning's State:
South Carolina has never impeached a governor.
So the “Impeach Sanford” signs springing up across our state probably aren't a serious request to invoke Article XV of the South Carolina Constitution.
Instead, we should take them as a prayer for relief.
If South Carolina were a corporation, Sanford the CEO and the taxpayers were shareholders, he would be fired.
Because in desperate times we turn to our leaders — and we're getting no leadership from the governor's office or other key elected officials.
NC Sen Poll: Cooper Leads Burr
Posted by Tom Bevan | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
PPP is out with a new survey of the North Carolina Senate race (4/8-11, 979 RV, MoE +/- 3.1%) showing Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper leading incumbent Republican Senator Richard Burr by a slight margin. The results are basically unchanged from PPP's last poll of this race four months ago:
Cooper (D) 41 (+2 vs. last poll in December)
Burr (R) 37 (+3)
Undecided 22
PPP also ran a hypothetical match up between Burr and Democratic Congressman Mike McIntyre:
Burr (R) 39
McIntyre (D) 34
Undecided 27
Are The Lights Going Down On Tedisco?
Posted by Sean Trende | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
The count in NY-20 is winding to a close, and the unofficial count now shows Republican Jim Tedisco trailing Democrat Scott Murphy by 168 votes. Military ballots are still being counted in many counties, and Saratoga county -- a Tedisco stronghold and the district's population center -- has yet to report any results. But neither has Washington county, which cast 1/4 as many ballots as Saratoga, and which broke heavily for Murphy. Unless there are a lot of absentee and military ballots favoring Tedisco in Saratoga, it looks grim for him, especially given the recent trend in the count.
Further complicating any analysis is the fact that Tedisco is reportedly challenging substantially more absentee ballots than Murphy. If one assumes that Murphy voters weren't really any more likely to make mistakes than Tedisco voters, then one has to assume that this would eventually inflate Murphy's lead.
As we've said before, any analysis predicting a result at this point is only one step removed from entrail reading. But the fact that Murphy has opened up a three-digit lead with the number of ballots-to-be-counted dwindling is not good news for Tedisco.
DGA Touts Q1 Fundraising Numbers
Posted by Tom Bevan | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
The Democratic Governor's Association announced raised $5.3 million in the first three months of 2009, which it said was a record breaking first quarter for an off year. The DGA raised $18.1 million in all of 2006 and set a record of $23 million in the 2008 cycle.
“It's gratifying that our supporters continue to see the value of investing in these races for the once-in-a-generation elections in 2009 and 2010," Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, chair of the DGA, said in a press release.
