Democrat Ekes Out Senate Win

They expected that George A. Amedore Jr., a state assemblyman whose family has a successful home-building business in the capital region, would have no trouble making the jump to the Legislature’s upper house. Democrats sued to block the creation of the seat, but failed.

Yet on Friday, 73 days after Election Day, Mr. Amedore conceded defeat to a little-known opponent: Cecilia F. Tkaczyk, a Democrat who, in addition to serving as vice president of the local school board, is also the vice president of the Golden Fleece Spinners and Weavers Guild.

Ms. Tkaczyk (pronounced KAT-chik) was ahead by 18 votes — out of more than 126,000 cast — after a batch of contested ballots was counted in Ulster and Albany Counties. (Another uncounted ballot was found in Montgomery County, but it remains unclear whether it will be counted.)

“No one believed our campaign had a chance in a district hand-carved by Republicans,” she said, “and yet the power of good ideas and a strong campaign proved itself.”

Ms. Tkaczyk, from Schenectady County, is a third-generation farmer, and among her hobbies is spinning wool from her flock of Jacob sheep. She, unlike Mr. Amedore, also favors putting in place a system of public financing for state elections; supporters of election reform, including Jonathan Soros, a son of the billionaire financier George Soros, poured money into an independent-expenditure campaign supporting her.

“She ran a great race and was a great candidate,” Jonathan Soros said. “Voters want this reform, and they’re actually willing to vote on it.”

The race was for a seahorse-shaped district that stretches from the Mohawk Valley to the Hudson Valley. Ms. Tkaczyk, by trade a housing policy expert, emerged from Election Day with a narrow lead, but Mr. Amedore overtook her during a court-supervised counting of paper ballots, and a judge declared him the winner in late December.

But an appeals court ruled last week that 99 additional disputed ballots should be tallied, and on Wednesday, the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, declined to hear an appeal, allowing the ballot-counting to proceed.

“It was especially gratifying for the school board member and farmer to defeat the exceedingly wealthy assemblyman for whom the district was tailor-made,” said Dan Cantor, the executive director of the Working Families Party, which backed Ms. Tkaczyk. “David beat Goliath on this one, and that’s always a satisfying feeling for everyone involved.”

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In Missouri Senate Race, Ads Beset Incumbent Democrat

As the three Republican candidates have battled it out, Ms. McCaskill has had to buckle down as well. Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, David and Charles Koch’s Americans For Prosperity, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the 60 Plus Association have dumped as much as $15 million into the state since July 2011 to keep her on her heels.

In their advertisements, Ms. McCaskill’s face is sometimes bloated, sometimes goofy, sometimes exhausted. She is usually joined at the hip with President Obama. And she is always almost single-handedly to blame for Missouri’s economic travails, the nation’s skyrocketing debt, the Democrats’ health care law and a scandalous level of duplicity.

“As one guy said to me in rural Missouri, ‘Don’t worry, they’re trying to tenderize you before they pick a candidate,’ ” Ms. McCaskill said Thursday.

The sustained campaign could become a textbook for future efforts in a new era of anything-goes campaign financing, both Ms. McCaskill and her opponents say.

Most of the spending is coming from tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organizations like Crossroads GPS, which may accept large corporate and individual donations without disclosing donors’ identities. And the outcome could show that third-party advertising from these organizations and from “super PACs” — like Now or Never, which works on behalf of Sarah Steelman, one of the Republican candidates — could tip the balance to a larger degree in a statewide or Congressional race than in the presidential contest.

In other states with contested Republican primaries, like Arizona, Indiana and Wisconsin, outside money flowed in to take sides in the primaries themselves, leaving the Republican contenders wounded and the Democrat in better shape. In Missouri, it flowed in largely to take down the Democrat, providing vital air cover while the Republicans fought each other below the radar.

The three Republican candidates may be lesser known and less dynamic than Ms. McCaskill, a mainstay of Missouri politics, but she is possibly the most endangered incumbent in the Senate. A Mason-Dixon poll published on July 28 in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch found her trailing all three of her potential opponents, John Brunner, a businessman; Ms. Steelman, a former state treasurer; and Representative Todd Akin.

“When you have a late primary like in Missouri’s, the ability to keep a sustained message-fire on the incumbent is going to be important to whoever the nominee is going to be,” said Kenneth Goldstein, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks campaign television spending.

Republicans are reluctant to give the outside groups too much credit. They say Ms. McCaskill’s uphill climb to a second term is due to her fealty to Mr. Obama’s legislative agenda in a state where he is unpopular.

“Certainly the outside spending has reminded voters why they might not like her much,” said Todd Abrajano, an aide to Mr. Brunner. “But if there was no outside money, she’d still be in the predicament she is in today.”

But when pushed, Republicans do not deny that the groups have helped.

“They are keeping the pressure on McCaskill,” Mr. Akin said. “And that’s making any of us think, ‘We can do it, we can do it.’ ”

Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, allowed, “I can’t deny it’s had some impact.”

The Missouri Senate race has drawn outside money from more than a half-dozen groups: two Democratic outfits, the Majority PAC and Patriot Majority USA; and five Republican allies. The Campaign Media Analysis Group tallied $5.2 million in ads since June 1, compared with $4.8 million in Ohio, $2.9 million in Florida, $1.5 million in Montana and $1.1 million in North Dakota, where other contested Senate campaigns have drawn outside attention.

The Majority PAC has spent $722,000 since June to help Ms. McCaskill. Crossroads GPS has spent $857,000 against her, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce $190,000.

Democratic strategists say those numbers understate the impact. Crossroads GPS’s first ads ran in early July 2011, and since then, nine separate ads have come in a rolling barrage. When Crossroads GPS eased up in June, the chamber peaked in July. By the Democrats’ count, anti-McCaskill spending has already reached $15.2 million, with an additional $18 million in advertising slots reserved for the fall.

“People will look back at Missouri and look back at the money that’s been spent by outside forces and say this is an election that shows whether or not these anonymous masters of the universe can buy these elections,” Ms. McCaskill said. “If it works in Missouri, then I think we’re in for a rough ride in this country.”

Her opponents dismiss that. Since Ms. McCaskill’s narrow Senate victory in 2006, her state has drifted right. Mr. Obama lost Missouri in 2008 by fewer than 4,000 votes out of nearly three million cast. But in a 2010 Senate race, Roy Blunt, then a Republican representative, crushed Robin Carnahan, a Democratic scion of Missouri political royalty, by nearly 14 percentage points.

Some Missouri Republican strategists said the outside groups knew that Ms. McCaskill could not win and flooded the state to claim a scalp to take to their donors. Others said they saw her weakness and decided they could not forgive themselves if they let her off the mat.

For her part, Ms. McCaskill has made the outside money the main opponent of the campaign.

One McCaskill advertisement says: “They just keep coming back. Secret money attacking Claire McCaskill. These big oil and insurance companies don’t want you to know who they are.” As a stream of televisions showing her competitors’ ads moves across the screen, it continues: “Claire McCaskill will fight them. Always has, always will.”

Republicans say her effort has proved to be a major strategic error. Ms. McCaskill’s focus on the money has only intensified awareness of the campaign’s national importance, made her look defensive and increased the resolve of the outside groups to stay in, they say.

But Ms. McCaskill said that once her opponent was chosen, she could shift gears and try to move the race from a referendum on her to a choice between her and her opponent.

“I’ve had to tread water,” she said, “while they have been pounding me with certainly more per capita than anybody else in the country.”

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Five-Term Democrat Holden Loses in Pennsylvania Primary

Ten-term Representative Tim Holden of Pennsylvania was defeated in a Democratic primary on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, losing to Matt Cartwright, a lawyer, who made Mr. Holden’s vote against President Obama’s health care law a major issue in the newly redrawn 17th District.

Mr. Holden, who is part of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats, would become the second incumbent to lose to a newcomer in a House primary this season. This year, Representative Jean Schmidt, Republican of Ohio, was also defeated by a member of her own party. In both cases, the anti-incumbent “super PAC” Campaign for Primary Accountability has worked against the defeated House member.

In Mr. Holden’s case, the liberal League of Conservation Voters and MoveOn.org also piled on, taking advantage of a new district drawn by Republican legislators that is considerably more Democratic than Mr. Holden’s old seat. Center Forward, a group that is pro-Blue Dog Democrat, tried to bail out Mr. Holden with an advertisement last week attacking Mr. Cartwright. Mr. Holden himself had tried to portray his opponent as a corrupt lawyer wrapped up in a pay-to-play judicial scandal.

But ultimately, Mr. Cartwright’s own money may have made the biggest difference in a district where most Democratic voters had never been represented by Mr. Holden. Mr. Cartwright also hit Mr. Holden for voting with Republicans on some energy policies.

The incumbent was one of only 25 remaining Blue Dogs, whose ranks were decimated in the Republican surge of 2010 that wiped out most Democrats in Republican-leaning districts.

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: April 25, 2012

An earlier version of this post, its summary and its headline misstated the number of terms Representative Tim Holden has served in the House. He is now in his 10th term, not his fifth.

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Beyond Democrat and Republican: A Closer Look at Third-Party Campaigns (ContributorNetwork)

There has been plenty of recent speculation in the media about a possible third-party run for president by current Republican candidate Ron Paul. Whether Paul, or any other candidate, will make a third-party play against President Barack Obama and the Republican nominee this November remains to be seen. In the meantime let's look at some of the more creditable third-party presidential runs of the past one hundred years:

* Theodore Roosevelt (1912) -- A century ago the old "Bull Moose" founded the Progressive Party after a rift with his hand-picked Republican successor William Howard Taft. Roosevelt was upset with Taft for not continuing his progressive platform after he had left office. Roosevelt was so fired up that the former president decided to enter the 1912 race as the candidate for the new Progressive Party. Predictably Roosevelt split the vote and handed the election to Woodrow Wilson. Still, TR's 27 percent of the popular vote remains the high-water mark for third-party candidates still today.

* Strom Thurman (1948) -- Aside from being considered by many historians as the biggest upset in presidential election history -- incumbent Democrat Harry S. Truman beat Republican challenger Thomas Dewey -- this election was famous for Thurman's State's Rights (or Dixiecrat) Party. The Dixiecrats were white Southern Democrats who deplored the moves that the Truman Administration were making toward desegregating the South. They formed their own party and chose Thurman to run against Truman and Dewey. Thurman won four Southern states and 39 electoral votes and managed to get 2.4 percent of the popular vote.

* Ross Perot (1992) -- The Texas pro-business billionaire decided to throw his hat into the ring as an Independent candidate in the 1992 election. Concerns about the state of the economy, and a general distrust-as always-of Washington insiders, helped fuel a surge of support for his candidacy. In May, six months before the election, Perot was actually polling ahead of the incumbent Republican George Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Clinton. In the end Perot captured nearly 20 million votes and almost 19 percent of the electorate.

* Ralph Nader (2000) -- This was Nader's third run for president and, while his ultimate vote count was modest (about 2.8 million total votes and 2.73 percent of the electorate) his presence on the ballot might have proven to be monumental. That's because Nader took part in one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush. Many have suggested that, had Nader not been in the race. Gore, who actually won the popular vote, would have captured enough electoral votes to win the White House.

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Democrat leaders merge religion and party (Daily Caller)

Top Democratic legislators are promising to harness religion to help them win 2012 voters, and are also declaring that the Democratic Party’s actions are the expression of their religious obligations.

“The Democrats’ values and core agenda, and President Obama’s accomplishments, are reflective of the tenets and teachings and lessons of my faith as a Jewish woman… [and] no, there aren’t things that are informed by my faith than are different from the values and ideals of the Democratic Party,” said Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Wasserman Schultz and other Democrats, including Rep. James Clyburn, spoke at a Nov. 30 press event in the DNC’s headquarters intended to promote the party’s 2012 religious outreach.

When asked by The Daily Caller if the party’s blending of religion and politics is blurring distinctions between church and state, Clyburn said, “We are in recognition of the fundamental aspect of all of the great religions … love, the golden rule, of doing unto others as you would have be done unto you.”

A Washington Post reporter how the Democrats planned to work with black churches. In “the African American community, the church vote is very important… [but] the support for the president may not be as strong as it was,” the Post’s reporter said.

“As we organize going forward to next year,” Clyburn responded, “there will be be significant efforts on our part to reconnect the fundamentals of our policies to the [religious] teachings that we all learned, be it in the Old Testament or the New Testament.”

In the past, “we were so strong in our doctrine that there ought to be a separation of church and state, that we often took it to an extreme, and I thinks that’s how we got disconnected” from voters, said Clyburn, who heads the House Democrats’ Religious Outreach Committee, established after the party lost the 2004 presidential race.

“I speak with faith leaders every day, and a number of African American faith leaders,” said Rev. Derrick Harkins, the director of faith outreach at the DNC. “I find the issue is not a lack of enthusiasm, but the question is often raised ‘How can we be effective in this election cycle?’”

This use of religion for political purposes “will work with the less discerning” religious voters, said Richard Land, director of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. But, he warned, “whenever you employ religion to justify your own positions, which may or may not be biblical, it cheapens and desacrilizes religion.”

In 2006, Obama declared at a campaign rally that he started going to church after hearing a sermon from Jeremiah Wright, a controversial, politically connected, black reverend in Chicago. The sermon, Obama said, said, “‘The world as it is is not the world as it has to be,’ … [and] I loved that idea in my own life because I thought that’s a philosophy I believe.” (RELATED: Obama in 2006: ‘I stole’ book title ‘Audacity of Hope’ from Rev. Wright, ‘my pastor’)

In Obama’s 2011 Thanksgiving address,  he sidelined any reference to God, instead saying that Americans’ rights to freely speak, vote, assemble and own property depends on the approval of other Americans. “No matter how tough things are right now, we still give thanks for that most American of blessings, the chance to determine our own destiny,” he said.

Obama, however, did use biblical language to bolster the Democrats’ support for entitlements: “This sense of mutual responsibility — the idea that I am my brother’s keeper; that I am my sister’s keeper — has always been a part of what makes our country special,” Obama said. “If we keep that spirit alive, if we support each other, and look out for each other, and remember that we’re all in this together, then I know that we too will overcome the challenges of our time.”

“I would look at what Barack Obama’s policies and practices are, rather than what he may have or may not have mentioned,” Clyburn told TheDC. “I believe the president’s speech was very appropriate,” he continued, because, “The first Thanksgiving was all about celebrating a freedom to worship in one’s own fashion. … They gathered to give thanks not to any one God, but to give thanks in celebration of some omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent being.”

The meal was shared between Indians and the Pilgrims, who were members of a specific sect of English Protestants who worshiped the Christian God described in the Bible.

Speakers also caricatured Republicans’ beliefs as heartless and un-Christian.

A new generation of “values voters,” said Young Democrats of America President Rod Snyder, “will reject the GOP’s fend-for-yourself theology that would roll back health care benefits for younger Americans and deny quality education, all while preserving tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent.”

“If your philosophy is to take away from the needy in order to give to the greedy,” said Clyburn, “that’s anathema to my Christian faith.”

Land predicted the Democrats’ emphasis on religious will rise as the 2012 election gets closer. Obama’s speech “had all kinds of religious allusions when he ran for president, but since then they’ve disappeared,” he said. “He’s now playing golf instead of going to Church.”

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5 Reasons Kentucky Democrat Win Boosts Obama Re-Election Chances (ContributorNetwork)

ANALYSIS | President Barack Obama's re-election hopes got a huge boost on Election Day 2011, as Kentucky Democratic Gov. Stephen Beshear coasted to an easy re-election, defeating a veteran Republican politician and a frequent independent candidate by a wide margin. This is good news for Obama for several reasons.

First, as Kentucky goes, so goes the Democratic Party's chances in the next election. Democrat Brereton Jones won his gubernatorial race in 1991, a year before Bill Clinton prevailed in 1992. Democrat Paul Patton's close victory in 1995 preceded Bill Clinton's successful re-election. Patton was re-elected in 1999, a year before the 2000 election. Yeah, Al Gore didn't win the contest against George W. Bush, but he won the popular vote.

Patton's scandal hurt the Democrat nominee Ben Chandler. He lost to Republican Ernie Fletcher in 2003, a year before Bush was re-elected. Then Beshear thumped Fletcher in 2007, a year before Barack Obama's historic win.

Of course, the state doesn't always go Democratic in the presidential elections. But if Republicans have to work to win it, that's less money for another state winds up flipping to the Democrats.

Second, four states that voted against Obama in 2008 held elections in 2011. Democrats won two of them: Kentucky and West Virginia. That doesn't bode well for Republicans. And, if you think about it, the other two states that picked the GOP (Louisiana, Mississippi) often go against presidential election trends over the same time frame.

In fact, given the showings in Louisiana and Mississippi, the Democrats should be scolded for being less effective in those states. Wins by Beshear in Kentucky and Tomblin in West Virginia demonstrate that being in a red state is no excuse. Other Southern state Democratic parties should take heed.

Third, Kentucky isn't some oasis of growth in a sea of slow recovery. In fact, Kentucky is a bit behind the curve when it comes to hiring. So it wasn't some rosy recovery scenario that gave Beshear another term in office.

Fourth, it isn't like Stephen Beshear was some political superman. The former Attorney General and Lt. Governor lost a gubernatorial primary in 1987. Senator Mitch McConnell thumped him in 1996 in an otherwise good year for Democrats. His victory in the 2007 primary was considered a shocker. As for the Republicans, David Williams was a veteran politician, and the state senate president. Williams' running mate Richie Farmer was a University of Kentucky basketball star. They should have done much better than this.

Fifth, it was a win for all Kentucky Democrats, as they won plenty of down-ticket races. Beshear's victory alone should unnerve Republicans. His margin of victory and the Democratic Party sweep shows that the GOP has its work cut out for them. They could ignore the contest, like they did in West Virginia. But history shows that it is a bad sign for Republicans next year.

John A. Tures is an associate professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga.

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The Steady Disintegration of Obama and the Democrat Party (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | In 2008, the majority of Americans saw President Barack Obama as a rock-star who could do no wrong. Today, they pretty much disapprove of everything he does. While the disenchantment with Hope and Change is destroying Obama's favor among voters, stress cracks between Obama and fellow Democrats threaten to collapse the party from within.

Obama has lost support in every demographic in his base; the youth, Jews, Unions, Hispanics and African-Americans. Not even the death of Osama bin Laden could breathe lasting life into his approval rating. The majority now blame him for the economic mess.

Congressional Democrats have publicly criticized Obama's jobs bill. The Hill reports Democrat Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is giving the president "the silent treatment."

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are simply fed up.

Just like in 2010, incumbent Democrats are avoiding Obama like the plague. Democrats in Virginia's state legislature even told Obama to stay away from their districts.

In early October, Michael Goodwin described in the New York Post a picture of "an isolated man trapped in a collapsing presidency" whose only happiness can be found "on the campaign trail, where the adoration of the crowd lifts his spirits."

But even that respite is starting to evade him.

At his May 2008 campaign rally in Tampa, Fla., it was standing room only in St. Pete Times Forum -- a venue that seats 21,500. For a June fundraiser in Miami only 980 people were willing to purchase tickets for the 2,200-seat Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts.

In 2008, thousands came to see candidate Obama at the Mellon Center in Pittsburgh. After three years of his presidency only 300 cared to hear him speak at a South Side union hall.

Where Democrats in 2008 were "fired up," even the idea of voting in 2012 leaves them depressed.

Even the president admitted: "It's not as cool to be an Obama supporter as it was in 2008, with the posters and all that stuff."

Rasmussen and Zogby have Herman Cain leading Obama by two points.

Evolving Strategies shows Cain, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry could beat him.

Asked about the power of the GOP field of candidates, CNN reported Vice President Joe Biden saying; "It's strong enough to beat both of us."

A month ago, Politico reported Democrat strategist James Carville offering a single word of advice for the struggling president: "Panic."

Considering the steady disintegration of Obama and the entire Democrat party since then, perhaps next time Carville will be inspired to offer two words of counsel -- give up.

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Republican Debate: 3 Things that Surprised This Democrat (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | As a registered Democratic voter, I've never watched a Republican debate. So it was with trepidation that I tuned in to the Google-sponsored Republican debate on Thursday. The debate went pretty much as expected: Texas Gov. Rick Perry talked about job creation, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich reiterated his belief that "people should not get money for doing nothing" and Ron Paul reminded us all that he basically wants to get rid of the federal government.

But there were three things that stood out for me.

Michelle Bachman changed her tune on Gardasil. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., in attempting to make Rick Perry look bad, slammed the governor for signing an order that required middle-school girls in Texas to get vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV). Bachmann claimed the vaccine, Gardasil, was linked to mental retardation, a claim which medical experts dismissed as bunk, according to the Associated Press. When asked about her assertion that the vaccine was dangerous, Bachmann said, "I didn't make that claim nor did I make that statement."

Herman Cain wants a national sales tax. His so-called 9-9-9 plan proposes a nine percent business flat tax, a nine percent personal income tax and a nine percent national sales tax, also known as a Value Added Tax (VAT). This is surprising to me because many countries in Europe, Sweden for example, countries that some Republicans might call "socialist," have a VAT.

The crowd booed a U.S. soldier. Openly gay soldier Stephen Hill, who is currently serving in Iraq, asked the potential candidates their feelings on the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Some members of the crowd loudly booed the soldier. Instead of thanking the Hill for his service to our country and reprimanding the crowd for being disrespectful, former senator Rick Santorum answered the question by saying, "Sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military," and that, if given the chance, he would reinstate the policy because it gives gay soldiers some unnamed "special privilege."

Did watching this debate make me want to vote Republican? Absolutely not, but it did show me exactly who President Barack Obama will be up against. The responses to the questions were basically what I expected -- canned, safe and extremely conservative--but it was the moments in between the questions that truly showed what this field of Republican presidential hopefuls are about.

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Obama Proves He's a Typical Tax-and-Spend Democrat (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | President Barack Obama today removed all doubts about his tax and spend roots proposing $1.5 trillion in new taxes over the next decade on the wealthiest Americans, while proposing a similar amount of cuts.

The problem with Obama's proposal is that is cannot pass. Since it generates revenue, the Constitution requires the bill to originate in the House of Representatives. The Republican majority in that chamber will never pass a bill like that. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has been clear throughout the year that there will be no new taxes passed by the Congress and was quick to condemn the new tax proposal shortly after Obama's speech.

Multiyear budget cuts are a political fantasy in Washington. No action of this Congress is binding on another Congress, so any deal to cut spending in future years would have little weight after the next Congress is elected. Budget cuts projected over a 10-year span are simply political theater that would never see the light of day by time they roll around.

Obama said deficit savings cannot be accomplished by budget cuts alone. Wrong!

Every budget submitted to Congress has the opportunity to reflect significant budget cuts. But Obama is especially astute at creating programs that have future effective dates either when he is safely re-elected to a second term or so far into the future that it would have no effect on his presidency. Those aren't the type of cuts the federal budget needs right now.

Obama clearly punted on the issue of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid reform. His proposal would trim provider-related reimbursements, but not touch beneficiary costs or benefits. There can be no meaningful reduction in deficit spending without looking at these type of mandatory spending programs regardless of how politically hot they may be.

Some of Obama's proposals warrant consideration. He forecasts $1.1 trillion in savings from ending the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It's about time. The U.S. has never fought a war for 10 years -- sustaining that fight has broken the U.S. treasury. If he can bring the troops home - and avoid handing out foreign aid to the same countries -- he will accomplish that part in future savings.

Congress will have to consider these proposals -- not just the super committee charged with finding budget cuts before Thanksgiving. Because of that, there is no chance it will ever become law.

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Democrat fundraising site still accepting Weiner donations (Daily Caller)

C.J. Ciaramella C.j. Ciaramella – Fri Jun 24, 12:18 am ET

Anthony Weiner may be gone, but you can still donate to the erstwhile congressman’s re-election campaign, if you’re kinky like that.

ActBlue, an online clearing house for Democrat fundraising, still has active donation sites for Weiner, and his official Web site still has a contribution page, where fans can support Weiner, “Fighter, Reformer, New Yorker.”

So far, Weiner’s ActBlue page has raised $146,372 for the congressman’s non-existent re-election campaign. How much of this was raised after Weiner’s Twitter indiscretions came to light isn’t clear, but at least some of it was.

An ActBlue page called “Breitbart Has Won NOTHING: Donations for Weiner” has raised a fearsome $35 from two contributors.

“In the beginning, I reacted solely because that dishonest slime Andrew Breitbart was maliciously attacking yet another liberal,” the page’s creator writes. “That’s STILL what pisses me off – Breitbart thinks this was a ‘victory’ and all the chatter about being ’shocked’ and ‘disappointed’ in Weiner only fuels Breitbart.”

So go ahead and donate, never-say-die Democrats. Maybe Weiner will send you a thank you message on Twitter.

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Democrat ad attacks Republicans ahead of New Hampshire debate (Daily Caller)

As the 2012 Republican presidential candidates meet in New Hampshire tonight to debate who’s more conservative, it appears there will be an uninvited guest – namely, the Democrats.

As the debate plays out, an ad from a liberal health care reform group will continue its second day of heavy airtime in the Boston market. The Medicare ad, from Protect Your Care, attacks the Republican candidates where they could be must vulnerable in the near future. The simple 30-second ad ends with a simple message: “Stop the Republican Plan to Cut Medicare.”

Tim Pawlenty and the other hopefuls are expected to hit Mitt Romney hard over the former Massachusetts governor’s own health care plan. Romney must simultaneously defend his plan while proving his own conservative credentials. It’s the Paul Ryan budget plan, however, that will have every serious contender walking a fine line between praising the idea of the plan and not opening themselves up to Medicare-focused attacks from Democrats and groups like Protect Your Care.

Democrats are concerned enough about other issues — like an unimproved economy — to start attacking all the Republican candidates very, very early in the process. It’s a curious strategy and, as if the debate ad blast wasn’t enough, former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will also be in New Hampshire tonight offering a rebuttal of the Republican debate.

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Democrat Leaders Join Forces and Finally Call for Weiner's Resignation (ContributorNetwork)

NBC has reported that, despite the response on Friday by Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Anthony Weiner's scandalous behavior and the initial efforts of DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz to downplay the significance of Weiner, Wasserman Shultz, Pelosi and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Steve Israel released statements within minutes of each other today calling for the disgraced congressman's resignation.

Where Democratic leaders had previously ridden the Weiner fence, revelations that a 17-year old girl was among the many females who have been receiving personal communications from the congressman has officially inspired enough panic to motivate a hasty, unified decision.

According to an exclusive report by Fox News, police in New Castle, Del., are investigating their discovery of direct online communications between Weiner and a 17-year-old girl.

According to the report by Jana Winter, two New Castle County police officers arrived at the high school junior's home on Friday while foxnews.com was speaking with a family member. After being asked to step outside, the 17-year old was seen walking up the driveway. Because she is a minor, her name is being withheld. However, when fox.com inquired, the 17-year old said, "I'm doing OK."

According to Jennifer Preston of the New York Times, Weiner's spokeswoman, Risa Heller said, "According to Congressman Weiner, his communications with this person were neither explicit nor indecent." However, Heller did not provide copies of the messages.

Of course, that Weiner first denied the "bulging underwear" photo was him then lied to say his Twitter account was hacked, any denials from Weiner or those in his camp would understandably be considered suspect.

Preston also reported that a family member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, characterized the messages as "harmless" but did express concern. While the family was aware of the exchanges between Weiner and the girl before the scandal erupted, they assumed all of their conversations had taken place on a public Twitter feed.

However, according to the New York Times, Weiner started following the girl's personal profile page two days after she signed up for his Twitter feed. After seeing her profile message that she hopes to be president someday, "How hip am I talking to a future president?" Weiner responded directly.

A group of conservatives who had been following Weiner's Twitter feed became concerned, firing off public Twitter warnings and even contacting the 17-year-old girl directly. Only after the minor told Weiner she was being bothered did he apologize and stopped following her on Twitter. But a month later, after an online shout-out by Weiner for more followers, the girl reminded him she used to follow him. On May 16, fully aware that the girl was a minor, he started following her again and a relative told the Times that Weiner exchanged messages with the girl for almost two weeks after that.

After being caught sending shirtless photos to a woman he met on Craigslist, Republican Rep. Chris Lee stepped down. Democrat, Kathy Hochul won a special election in New York's 26th congressional district to replace Lee. In the wake of the historic drubbing in the 2010 midterm elections, Democrats like Wasserman Schultz hailed the victory as a turning point for their party.

As quoted by ABC, "The reason that we believe that this is an indicator that we will continue to make progress and retake majority of the House and re-elect the president is that the voters got a glimpse of what it would be like under Republican control," Schultz said last month . "And they don't like it."

Today's frenzied response by Democrat leaders reveals their final grasp that, on top of President Barack Obama's tanking poll numbers, the sexcapades of Weiner may have given their "hailed turning point" a seriously official 180.

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Key House Democrat urges Anthony Weiner to resign (The Ticket)

Anthony Weiner's political future looks increasingly in doubt.

Two more Democrats—Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania—called on the embattled New York Democrat to resign.

Schwartz is notable because she's a top official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she oversees candidate recruitment for House Democrats. She's the first member of the House Democratic leadership to call on Weiner to resign.

"Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress," Schwartz said in a statement to Politico's Jonathan Allen. "In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign."

Her comments came as yet another explicit photo that Weiner allegedly sent to one of his online paramours was posted online.

As The Ticket previously reported, former Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine, who is running for Senate in Virginia, was the first member o the party to publicly urge Weiner to step down.

So far, the New York congressman has remained silent—though he's reportedly making apologetic calls to his fellow Dems in hopes of surviving the scandal.

(Photo of Weiner: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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Key Democrat Calls on Weiner to Quit (The Atlantic Wire)

Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz called on Anthony Weiner to quit Congress Wednesday, saying "having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress. In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign." Schwartz has an important recruitment position with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, so her statement "is widely regarded as a sign that the party leadership has decided it's time for Weiner to leave the House," The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza writes. Two other Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Mark Pryor and Rep. Mike Michaud, have said Weiner should go, as has former Democratic National Committee chair Tim Kaine. Weiner says he's staying put because he hasn't broken any laws.

Democrats want the story to go away, but it will be difficult to get rid of him with out a full House vote to expel him. Yet even as Weiner is refusing to walk away from his seat, some of his staffers are looking for other jobs, Politico's Jonathan Allen reports. Some liberal websites are coming to the New Yorker's defense, like ActBlue, which says it's seen an increase in $40 donations for Weiner. But one pro-Weiner page on the site, titled "Breitbart Has Won NOTHING: Donations for Weiner," has pulled in a single $25 contribution.

One more reason Weiner is struggling is that he hasn't made many allies. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Post's Cindy Adams, "Notice, nobody's defended Anthony. Like Spitzer, he had no friends."

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Okla. Democrat Boren says he won't seek new term (AP)

By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, Associated Press Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press – Tue Jun 7, 6:13 pm ET

MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Rep. Dan Boren, Oklahoma's only Democratic member of Congress and the son of one of its most powerful men, said Tuesday that he won't seek a fifth term in office next year because he's tired of campaigning and wants to spend more time with his family.

Boren, a 37-year-old conservative Democrat who comfortably won re-election last year, said at a news conference in his hometown of Muskogee that he's proud of his Congressional record and that he was picked three times to represent Oklahoma's 2nd District, which has long voted Republican in presidential elections.

"Most importantly I consider myself to be independent and bipartisan. I've always tried to vote my district," he said.

Boren began his political career in 2002 by winning a seat in the state House of Representatives, enjoying name recognition that few other candidates in the state could hope for. His father, David Boren, served as governor and senator before taking his current job as president of the University of Oklahoma.

After two years in the Legislature, Dan Boren set his sights on Congress and was elected to his current seat, which was left open when former Democratic Rep. Brad Carson ran for Senate.

Boren said Tuesday that he's not ruling out a future run for political office, and said he'd love to be governor one day, as his father was, but that he wouldn't run against Oklahoma's current governor, Republican Mary Fallin. He also said he won't endorse anyone vying for his seat in the next election.

Voters in Boren's eastern Oklahoma district, which extends from the foothills of the Ozark Mountains to the Red River in the south, have consistently backed him, and he would have been favored had he sought re-election. His decision not to run hurts the Democrats' chances of retaking control of the House in 2012 and it depletes of the ranks of the so-called Blue Dogs — the centrist Democrats from conservative districts.

Boren's predecessor, Carson, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he plans to run again for his old seat next year.

"I think I'm going to," Carson said. "It's still roughly the same district. The country has changed a bit. There's more polarization now."

Carson said he plans to begin organizing his election campaign and will make a formal announcement later. He also said a slate of strong Democratic candidates would give the party a chance to retain the eastern Oklahoma seat.

"We could possibly see a Democratic primary for that race," Collins said. "I'm certainly not going to write that race off."

Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Wallace Collins said he was surprised to learn Boren would not seek re-election, but understood the family considerations that led to the decision.

"He's got two young children and wants to be with his family more," Collins said. "It was no doubt a tough decision."

Collins said several Democrats may run for the seat, including Carson, who won the seat in 2000 and 2002 but lost his 2004 Senate bid to Republican Tom Coburn.

Republican Party Chairman Matt Pinnell said he, too, was surprised to learn of Boren's pending departure. Pinnell said Boren's absence from the campaign will give the GOP an opportunity to take control of the only Oklahoma congressional seat not held by a Republican.

"We are already aggressively talking to candidates," Pinnell said. "It is obviously a great opportunity for eastern Oklahoma to elect a Republican."

___

Associated Press writers Tim Talley in Oklahoma City and Henry C. Jackson in Washington contributed to this report.

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Key House Democrat urges Anthony Weiner to resign (The Ticket)

Anthony Weiner's political future looks increasingly in doubt.

Two more Democrats—Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania—called on the embattled New York Democrat to resign.

Schwartz is notable because she's a top official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she oversees candidate recruitment for House Democrats. She's the first member of the House Democratic leadership to call on Weiner to resign.

"Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress," Schwartz said in a statement to Politico's Jonathan Allen. "In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign."

Her comments came as yet another explicit photo that Weiner allegedly sent to one of his online paramours was posted online.

As The Ticket previously reported, former Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine, who is running for Senate in Virginia, was the first member o the party to publicly urge Weiner to step down.

So far, the New York congressman has remained silent—though he's reportedly making apologetic calls to his fellow Dems in hopes of surviving the scandal.

(Photo of Weiner: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

View the original article here

Key Democrat Calls on Weiner to Quit (The Atlantic Wire)

Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz called on Anthony Weiner to quit Congress Wednesday, saying "having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress. In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign." Schwartz has an important recruitment position with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, so her statement "is widely regarded as a sign that the party leadership has decided it's time for Weiner to leave the House," The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza writes. Two other Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Mark Pryor and Rep. Mike Michaud, have said Weiner should go, as has former Democratic National Committee chair Tim Kaine. Weiner says he's staying put because he hasn't broken any laws.

Democrats want the story to go away, but it will be difficult to get rid of him with out a full House vote to expel him. Yet even as Weiner is refusing to walk away from his seat, some of his staffers are looking for other jobs, Politico's Jonathan Allen reports. Some liberal websites are coming to the New Yorker's defense, like ActBlue, which says it's seen an increase in $40 donations for Weiner. But one pro-Weiner page on the site, titled "Breitbart Has Won NOTHING: Donations for Weiner," has pulled in a single $25 contribution.

One more reason Weiner is struggling is that he hasn't made many allies. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Post's Cindy Adams, "Notice, nobody's defended Anthony. Like Spitzer, he had no friends."

View the original article here

Okla. Democrat Boren says he won't seek new term (AP)

By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, Associated Press Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press – Tue Jun 7, 6:13 pm ET

MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Rep. Dan Boren, Oklahoma's only Democratic member of Congress and the son of one of its most powerful men, said Tuesday that he won't seek a fifth term in office next year because he's tired of campaigning and wants to spend more time with his family.

Boren, a 37-year-old conservative Democrat who comfortably won re-election last year, said at a news conference in his hometown of Muskogee that he's proud of his Congressional record and that he was picked three times to represent Oklahoma's 2nd District, which has long voted Republican in presidential elections.

"Most importantly I consider myself to be independent and bipartisan. I've always tried to vote my district," he said.

Boren began his political career in 2002 by winning a seat in the state House of Representatives, enjoying name recognition that few other candidates in the state could hope for. His father, David Boren, served as governor and senator before taking his current job as president of the University of Oklahoma.

After two years in the Legislature, Dan Boren set his sights on Congress and was elected to his current seat, which was left open when former Democratic Rep. Brad Carson ran for Senate.

Boren said Tuesday that he's not ruling out a future run for political office, and said he'd love to be governor one day, as his father was, but that he wouldn't run against Oklahoma's current governor, Republican Mary Fallin. He also said he won't endorse anyone vying for his seat in the next election.

Voters in Boren's eastern Oklahoma district, which extends from the foothills of the Ozark Mountains to the Red River in the south, have consistently backed him, and he would have been favored had he sought re-election. His decision not to run hurts the Democrats' chances of retaking control of the House in 2012 and it depletes of the ranks of the so-called Blue Dogs — the centrist Democrats from conservative districts.

Boren's predecessor, Carson, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he plans to run again for his old seat next year.

"I think I'm going to," Carson said. "It's still roughly the same district. The country has changed a bit. There's more polarization now."

Carson said he plans to begin organizing his election campaign and will make a formal announcement later. He also said a slate of strong Democratic candidates would give the party a chance to retain the eastern Oklahoma seat.

"We could possibly see a Democratic primary for that race," Collins said. "I'm certainly not going to write that race off."

Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Wallace Collins said he was surprised to learn Boren would not seek re-election, but understood the family considerations that led to the decision.

"He's got two young children and wants to be with his family more," Collins said. "It was no doubt a tough decision."

Collins said several Democrats may run for the seat, including Carson, who won the seat in 2000 and 2002 but lost his 2004 Senate bid to Republican Tom Coburn.

Republican Party Chairman Matt Pinnell said he, too, was surprised to learn of Boren's pending departure. Pinnell said Boren's absence from the campaign will give the GOP an opportunity to take control of the only Oklahoma congressional seat not held by a Republican.

"We are already aggressively talking to candidates," Pinnell said. "It is obviously a great opportunity for eastern Oklahoma to elect a Republican."

___

Associated Press writers Tim Talley in Oklahoma City and Henry C. Jackson in Washington contributed to this report.

View the original article here