In June, a video released on the Internet showed seven-term Congressman Bob Etheridge engaged in a sidewalk confrontation with a man in Washington, D.C. He grabbed the arm and then the neck of the man, who refused Etheridge's repeated demands to identify himself as he and another man videotaped Etheridge and asked if he supported "the Obama agenda."
Etheridge immediately apologized for the incident, but together with the national surge by the Republican Party, the video helped put his opponent, Renee Ellmers, on the campaign map.
The video is "Controversial" because Etheridge is a Democrat. Compare the coverage of this to what a mere supporter of Rand Paul did to a Move On Activist loon.
Ten Buck Fridays. It's to help people organize into giving to a worthy candidate at the end of a week ten bucks. Ten dollars doesn't seem like much but it adds up when everyone kicks it.
And you may not want to donate to Rev. Steven Broden in TX-30. There may be a local candidate you might want to donate to instead. That's fine. There are other choices in the poll this week.
Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has acknowledged "making a mistake" when awarding her own relatives and 2 children of her top Dallas-based aide scholarship money intended to be awarded to deserving students residing in the districts of Congressional Black Caucus members. Johnson claims she wasn't aware of the rules for awarding scholarship money because the rules had been ambiguous in prior years. Since 2005 Johnson has awarded a total of 23 scholarships to family members. Johnson additionally awarded scholarships to 5 other students who did not meet the residency requirements specified by the nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Johnson again claimed she was unaware of the residency requirement for the scholarship.
Vote for Stephen Broden and give Johnson the boot. It's for the deserving children. Not Johnson's family who is siphoning off of public funds.
Three years ago, when a North Dakota political blog reported that Marcela, 23 at the time, had a modeling portfolio online, the photos disappeared the next day. The existence of this lone remaining photo (posted at a North Dakota State University student forum) was brought to my attention by a source who asked my opinion as a communications professional: Is this a scandal?
Short answer: Of course not.
A scandal would be hearing about Joe Biden's daughter snorting lines of cocaine at a party. Shocking would be John Edwards stooping his whore mistress while his cancer stricken wife was on her death bed. A shockingly good scandal would be news that Barack Obama spent twenty years in a church where the pastor preached how AIDS was invented by the white man and 9/11 was perpetrated by the Jews.
A twenty three year old model in a bikini isn't a scandal by a long shot.
For the price difference for dinner for two between Outback Steakhouse and Applebee's, you can help support a worthwhile conservative candidate for Congress. A candidate who doesn't have the benefit of George Sorro's puppet 527 groups to laundry campaign funds to them.
Chip Cravaack, running for the U.S. House seat for Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, receives Ten Buck Friday donations with 31% of the vote for Week 5. District 8 is in the northeastern part of the state, and includes Brainerd, Duluth, and Grand Rapids, and International Falls.
Thanks to the always reliable Bob Belvedere for reminding me this moring.
Ten Buck Fridays. Set aside ten bucks at the end of the week for the conservative candidate you have eye on.
Chances are the Democrat in the race will have a nice campaign chest backed by union dues and special interests. And I doubt the GOP will get their act together anytime soon in order to be effective. So it will fall to the conservative grassroots to make the difference and pick up the slack.
It's about the same as a six pack of beer. Or a twelve pack if you like the cheap stuff. An army of Davids can make a difference.
Etheridge has so far held an enormous money advantage. Etheridge showed $1.1 million in his war chest in the last report to the Federal Elections Commission, while Ellmers had only $5,462 in cash on hand.
Ellmers said she has received a “big boost” since the Etheridge video first hit the Internet but also said she is still “far behind Congressman Etheridge.” She would not disclose how much money she has raised since the video surfaced
“I certainly have no name recognition. That’s a battle,” Ellmers admitted. But, she said, “it doesn’t matter what party, people are tired of what’s happening in Washington and they’re very upset with congressman Etheridge for his vote on health care in particular.”
Isn't it time to send Bob home? It's for the safety of random strangers who happen to walk by him.
It's a crowded primary with seven people having their hat in the ring, including Ben Quayle (son of former VP, Dan Quayle) and Vernon Parker.
After seeing an interview with Ben Quayle, let's just say that if there is someone for everyone then Ben's ideal someone would be Meghan McCain.
I was able to contacted her about the issues that mattered. What were the guns she used.
The footage that was in the video was of four firearms that belong to a friend who is nice enough to take folks out shooting now and then. All very cool and none belong to me. Here's the rundown on what we shot that you saw.
1928 A1 Thompson sub-machine gun
(Military version used by Navy and Marines in 1928 and used extensively in WWII by allied forces). It is not the 1921 earlier model made famous by mobsters. (shoots .45 ACP)
1911 .45 ACP (All Colt Products)
First used in WWI, still used by military today.
Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum model 29 (Dirty Harry made this one famous).
[I had asked if it was a Colt Python. It looked similar at a distance]
AR 15 Carbine. Shorter lighter weight version of the AR 15, semi-automatic only. It shoots 223 Remington
A pair of Republicans who contributed to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's (I) campaign for Senate have filed a lawsuit demanding that those donations be returned.
The class action suit seeks refunds for all of Crist's GOP donors, arguing that not refunding Republican donors now that the governor has left the party and is running against a Republican, actually violates state law.
The man leading the legal fight is Florida state Rep. Tom Grady, a former regional chairman of Crist's Senate campaign.
From what I've read, a donation to the candidate is a donation to that candidate. Regardless of party affiliation. It's a waiting game on how it will be played out in court.
Quarterly reports will be out at the end of this month. So we'll see how badly he needs to hold onto what funds he has in his account.
A crowd rallied in downtown Raleigh Wednesday calling for Congressman Bob Etheridge's resignation after a video appeared on YouTube earlier this week showing Etheridge in a physical confrontation with young men on a Washington D.C. Street.
Meanwhile, the identity of the men in the video remains a mystery.
Spoofing the YouTube video, a crowd outside his Raleigh office chanted “Who are you?!”
Etheridge's Republican opponent, Renee Elmers, recorded an online campaign video using footage from the YouTube video. Some Democrats online accused the men of staging the incident. But Ellmers' supporters say it doesn't matter to them who the men are and that they stand behind her campaign video.
"I don't think there's anybody out there who hasn't seen it,” protester Ellen Batten said. “And as far as her using it, I don't think that we can consider that dirt because it's not something we went out and found. Bob Etheridge gave us that."
[. . .]
North Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Andrew Whalen issued a statement saying, “Congressman Bob Etheridge quickly took the right steps and has offered a heartfelt and sincere apology, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping Renee Ellmers and her extreme right-wing Americans for Prosperity allies from trying to take advantage of the situation
“But consider the source. Mrs. Ellmers is a member of AFP and both have long held a vendetta against Congressman Etheridge. It’s no surprise they would try to score cheap political points with this poorly attended rally even after a pledge to take the high road.”
What Whaten really meant was: "This is really, really, really bad for Bob Etheridge. The fan didn't just get hit this time, it got covered.
North Carolina's primary was held in May so there isn't an easy way to field a new Democrat for the district. Short of having Etheridge stepping aside and the party appoint someone new to run in his place. Which may have a worse affect than letting Etheridge stay on as candidate.
This needs to hammer Etheridge, however. With his voting record of being in lockstep behind Nancy Pelosi, Renee Ellmers should be able to have a good chance at winning the seat. So naturally, Micheal Steele and the NRCC haven't picked up on her yet.
"I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction and I apologize to all involved," he said. "Throughout my many years of service to the people of North Carolina, I have always tried to treat people from all viewpoints with respect. No matter how intrusive and partisan our politics can become, this does not justify a poor response. I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse. And will be swearing off of martini's before 10 in the morning"
I've seen Congressmen dodge and weave a question but this is ridiculous.
The Congressman swung first after being asked a question. I'm not a violent man but I admire the college kid's restraint in not shaking loose and punching back.
I have to agree with Allahpundit that this ad isn't as bad as 'Build The Dang Fence' where McCain looks angry enough to chew prickly pear cactus but it is a close second.
To accuse J.D. Hayworth of being an insider when McCain has been in Washington DC for almost 30 years is laughable. McCain prided himself on being the 'Man To Get Things Done' in the Senate. He worked across the isle more times than I can count. He couldn't attain such a status if he wasn't an 'insider'. Is he looking to reclaim the 'Maverick' title again?
The guy who helped to make that commercial is Ladd Ehlinger Jr. Politicians, take note and use him often. And for those of you who are so inclined, he's very active on Twitter.
Sen. John McCain's re-election bid lost its campaign manager and another veteran Republican official, part of a shake-up for the Arizona lawmaker locked in a tight primary race with radio host and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
The pair of GOP hands—who started before Hayworth entered the race—will instead work on the Republican National Committee's effort in Arizona. Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said neither Shiree Verdone nor Mike Hellon, a former Arizona GOP chairman, were fired.
"Senator McCain is very grateful for all that Shiree and Mike have done to launch the re-election campaign and establish it on a firm footing and looks forward to working closely with them for victory in November," Rogers said in a statement.
McCain, his party's 2008 presidential nominee, drew a Republican primary challenge that has forced him to the right. The one-time champion of a moderate, bipartisan approach to immigration now is running ads demanding Washington finish "the danged fence" he once mocked.
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Pittsburgh TV station WPGH has suspended the latest ad for Democrat Mark Critz for making false claims. The ad by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee falsely claimed that Republican Tim Burns supports a 23 percent national sales tax and wants to ship jobs overseas.
Penn-12 was Jack Murtha's old seat, the one where he had to be carried out of office in a pine box. A Republican winning here would be a victory of Scott Brown proportions. In other words, pudding cups would be in order.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee effectively knew the party had no chance of winning the Hawaii special election when it withdrew from the race.
The vote is being conducted entirely through mail-in ballots. The day the DCCC announced it was pulling out of the state, the Hawaii Office of Elections said an estimated 90,000 ballots of the 317,337 mailed out had been received.
That means voter turnout is now at slightly more than 28 percent, and because it’s a special election it’s not expected to climb much higher.
The turnout figure, combined with public polling of the three-way race and the winner-take-all election format, meant the Democrats knew they effectively had no chance of defeating Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou (R).
“This election is pretty much over,” Djou told The Hill.
[. . .]
The DCCC, which had spent more than $300,000 on the race, declined to comment further than its Monday statement, where the party said it was withdrawing because “local Democrats were unable to work out their differences.”
This is the worst case of political whiplash I've seen.
This was the same Maverick McCain who introduced Amnesty with Teddy Kennedy. Now he wants to enforce the border and build a fence? The man is pandering for votes. He claimed to be principled and have honor but now when his Senate job is on the line, he'll sell himself out in an instant.
Anymore, a vote for Maverick McCain will leave Arizona like an abused woman in a hospital wondering why her drunken boyfriend just beat her up again when he promised he would change.
