Midterm Roundup
VA-SEN: Have YOU Heard George Allen Use the N-Word? Operators are Standing By!
Welcome to Day 4 of the 2006 George Allen N-Word Telethon! In addition: Welcome to the 3rd multi-day George Allen media event of this election season to which the Midterm Roundup has felt obliged to welcome people. The NY Times reports: “Another acquaintance of Senator George Allen said Tuesday that she heard him use a racial slur in 1976, contradicting a statement he made Monday in an effort to tamp down similar accusations.”
Ellen G. Hawkins “who described herself as a rural Virginia housewife and an active Democrat, said in an interview Tuesday that she heard Mr. Allen use the slur repeatedly at a party on election night in 1976. She said Mr. Allen used the term while deprecating the intelligence of the black players on the Washington Redskins football team, which Mr. Allen’s father coached. Recalling remarks about its star running back, Larry Brown, Mrs. Hawkins said that Mr. Allen ‘started in effect bad-mouthing him, saying what a shiftless you-know-what’ he was.”
Mr. Allen’s campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, called Hawkins’ account, “another false accusation.”
So that’s number 4 on the list, along with Dr. Ken Shelton, anthropology professor Christopher Taylor, and Virginia professor and political analyst Larry Sabato, though Sabato has admittedly based his accusation not on firsthand experience but on “very credible testimony” from other, undisclosed sources. Also, are we not counting Capital Hill Blue’s Doug Thompson? Thompson alleges on his website to have heard Allen utter the N-word several times in person, but his story hasn’t appeared in any major news outlet as far as the Roundup can tell.
Hey, what about Jim Webb? Has he ever used the N-word? AP reports: “Democratic Senate challenger Jim Webb declined to say definitively Tuesday whether he had ever used a common derogatory term to describe blacks, stepping carefully after watching his campaign rival confront charges of racism.” Webb wrote a novel, Fields of Fire, which includes occurrences of the n-word as part of character dialogue, but spokeswoman Jessica Smith quoted Webb as saying, “I have never used that word in my general vocabulary or in any derogatory way.”
WaPo’s Marc Fisher doles out his take on the whole affair. His conclusion: “I am by nature suspicious of people who suddenly appear with untold stories of bad deeds from long ago. But in the natural cycle of news stories, there is a force that builds behind stories that connect to the pre-existing misgivings citizens have about our elected leaders. … The racist trappings, the anti-Martin Luther King holiday position, the support for Confederate heritage causes, the noose in his office, the rebel flag he put up--it had all been reported over the years. So too had there been some early reports about Allen's Jewish heritage. All of that fuels the current fire. All of that lends credibility to those who are now speaking out.”
Hotline has an old article that its editor in chief Chuck Todd wrote for Washingtonian that provides some relevant insight into the unique relationship between Allen and Larry Sabato: Pundit vs. Candidate: Does Sabato Know Allen Too Well?
And Greg Pollowitz at Sixers writes about a debate Sabato moderated between then candidate George Allen and Senator Chuck Robb in October of 2000. At the time, despite Sabato apparently being aware of Allen’s race issues, he didn’t bring it up in the debate. Pollowitz remarks, “Sabato had his chance to bring up Allen's past and he sat on it. Sabato decided then, when he had every opportunity to bring it up, that it was not worthy of a Senatorial contest. What's changed?”
The Midterm Roundup might just interject an opinion of its own here. The argument that the current allegations against Allen are somehow invalidated by the fact that they weren’t brought up earlier is completely illogical. Maybe those now coming forward were not motivated in the past because Allen was not as prominent a politician (even as a governor and a senatorial candidate in 2000 Allen was by no means the name he is now). Maybe the story has snowballed in such a way that previously reticent people are impelled to come forward simply by the sort of media inertia that has defined this race ever since Macaca. Maybe these allegations are politically motivated and calculatingly timed. And yes, maybe these allegations are outright lies. But whatever the case, to automatically conclude that the allegations are fabricated or false – or definitely true, for that matter – is just logically unsound.
WI-GOV: Where’s the Money Lebowski?
Back at the end of August, Wisconsin’s Election Board ruled that Representative and gubernatorial nominee Mark Green (R) must return $468,000 in campaign cash he had received from political action committees not registered in Wisconsin. But the Green campaign basically denied they had broken any rules and hey, even if they had, the money in question was already spent.
The case ended up in court, where on Monday a Dane County judge upheld the Elections Board order that Green divest himself of the money. Now the Green campaign has vowed that it will appeal directly to the state Supreme Court to rule on the issue as quickly as possible, bypassing the Court of Appeals. And that whole “we already spent the money” argument seems to be out the window – Green promised to place the $467,844 in question in a separate account and not spend it pending the Supreme Court ruling.
Mark Graul, Green's campaign manager, expects the campaign to spend some $7 million by Election Day (they had $3.7 million on hand when the Board originally ruled in August), so $467,844 lost would by no means cripple the campaign. But Robert Kasieta, a Democratic appointee to the Elections Board, is arguing that Green’s campaign should have been allowed to transfer only $43,128 – the maximum a campaign committee can give candidates for governor – when Green in fact transferred $1.3 million from his federal campaign account to his state account in August. Meaning Kasieta will argue before the Board that Green divest about $775,000 in addition to the $467,844.
It is unclear at this point whether the 7 justices on the state Supreme Court will even agree to hear the case, and if so how long it would take to decide. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s PoliticsWatch blog reports that former Justice Bill Bablitch believes deciding the case before the November 7 election is entirely feasible.
While Green would still have ample funds at his disposal even with the most expensive of rulings against him, the real damage done here may very well be on the public relations front, not the financial one. This race is tight enough that a violent sneeze during a debate could swing things – the latest Rasmussen poll shows Governor Jim Doyle (D) leading Green by only 3 points.
The Tucson Citizen with an apt metaphor: “Maybe you know this guy. He's drunk, walks into your house late at night, breaks something, tries to put it back together but makes a bigger mess. Then he leaves loudly and knocks over a trash can, waking neighbors as he disappears into the night. That's how the National Republican Congressional Committee entered and then left the race to replace retiring Republican congressman Jim Kolbe.”
Last week the NRCC canceled about $1 million in advertising support for Randy Graf, essentially conceding that they no longer had any interest or faith in their ability to challenge for the seat, not so long ago viewed as one of the most competitive in the country. Democrat Gabrielle Giffords holds a solid 12 point lead in the latest poll. The Hill has more with Graf takes second NRCC snub in stride.
Elsewhere in Arizona…
The Citizen reports “Republican gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil said the state's recently dedicated 9-11 memorial is an insult to America because of wording either included or omitted and that Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano should tear it down.” The Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts has an op-ed about the monument fracas: Munsil is right about monument; he is also wrong. She writes, “It seems to me if we want to tell the story of Sept. 11, we would tell of the horror, the resilience, the resolve. Munsil's right about that. But his ‘gotcha’ press conference cheapened his message. To say that Napolitano is responsible for the content of the memorial seems as calculating as some of the statements on the memorial itself.”
PA-SEN: You Wouldn’t Like Kathryn Jean Lopez When She’s Angry
What happens when Kathryn Jean Lopez’s alma mater, The Catholic University of America, allows Rick Santorum challenger Bob Casey on its campus to give a speech? KJL’s head explodes, that’s what.
Lopez writes in an op-ed for the National Catholic Register, “You may argue though that CUA was technically within its rights having Casey on campus.” For the record, the Midterm Roundup would never dare argue such a ludicrous thing. Sure Casey is pro-life, but this godless caitiff supports public funding of contraception and the over-the-counter-sale of Plan B! He should not be allowed out of a jail cell, let alone onto a college campus to propagate his putrid perfidy.
Lopez writes that unless CUA is using the Casey speech “misstep” to teach about contraception and the moral obligations of Catholics in public life, then “they don’t owe just Santorum an apology, they owe their students and every American Catholic who ever put a dollar in the collection basket for CUA an apology, too.” You hear that CUA?
In other news from the Pennsylvania Senate race…
Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli was booted off the ticket on Monday after a judge ruled that Romanelli is at least 8,900 names short of the required 67,070 by law. Romanelli submitted over 90,000 signatures, but many of them were found to be invalid. But wait! He still has a shot – a case remains pending before the state Supreme Court over just how many signatures Romanelli actually needs. If he wins the long shot appeal the 67,000 number suddenly becomes 15,949 and Romanelli is back in business. Time is running out though. The Department of State told the courts that fall ballots for statewide races must be set by October 4.
Plus – Bob Casey has been dodging recent debates with Santorum. Casey was a no-show Monday for a debate sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and also didn't appear earlier at a Pennsylvania Cable Network debate with Santorum and Carl Romanelli. Perhaps Casey is hesitant to jeopardize his big lead in the polls and content to coast with Romanelli apparently out of the picture. Or: Casey's spokesman, Larry Smar, said Casey didn't come to the Monday debate because the chamber’s national affiliate has aired pro-Santorum TV ads. The Santorum campaign’s website notes that Casey has declined future debates as well.
Justin Rood over at TPMmuckraker provides a quick rundown of just how much damage Katherine Harris could potentially wreak across the state of Florida this November. Forget about her assuredly lost Senate campaign. With the negative vibe she creates and her inability to draw moderate Republicans to the polls, she could assist in Democratic victories in the gubernatorial race as well as the 13th and 22nd district U.S. House races.
MD-SEN: It’s a Doggy Dogg Race
Yesterday Election Central noted a new ad put out by the DSCC against Senate nominee Michael Steele (R) in response to his puppy ad, criticizing some of Steele’s positions and concluding, “Michael Steele: he likes puppies; but he loves George Bush.” But of course, this ad played right into Steele’s plan, as his original ad predicted that Democrats would soon be attacking him. And he was prepared with a prompt response – hours after the DSCC’s ad came out Steele released “Real Differences.” “You knew they were coming – nasty ads from the Washington crowd,” Steele begins the ad. He then looks over to his black and white terrier, which growls adorably. “We don’t think much of that.”
The Midterm Roundup has it on good authority that for his next ad, Steele will say to the camera, “You don’t love me, you just love my doggystyle” and then morph into a Doberman pinscher.
“…So here’s someone else to speak for me. Oh, wait, this guy is talking about Bob Menendez’s corruption too. Well maybe if Bob Menendez wasn’t so corrupt. Again, if only Bob Menendez wasn’t so corrupt… but he, Bob Menendez, is… corrupt, that is. Talking about Bob Menendez here… did I mention he’s corrupt?”
Senate nominee Tom Kean, Jr. (R) released his first radio ad of the fall season on Monday. The only talking Kean Jr. does in it is the approval message at the beginning and end. Larry Giancolo, a Hudson County Democrat supporting Kean Jr. does the talking, complaining about the corruption in the home county of incumbent Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez. “I think that if he does for the state of New Jersey what he's done for Hudson County, I think we're in trouble. Hudson County being the most corrupt county probably in the whole country,” Giancolo says in the ad, which began airing statewide on Tuesday.
On Tuesday the Kean Jr. campaign released another new radio ad that will begin airing later this week entitled “Enrichment.” Ahh, that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Yeah – it’s all about Bob Menendez “abusing the power of his office to personally enrich himself with our tax dollars.” Throughout the ad a foreboding voice repeats the line “Bob Menendez, under federal criminal investigation” 4 times, like a corruption incantation. The “federal criminal investigation” refers to federal investigators reportedly subpoenaing records from the nonprofit agency that rented a building from Menendez back in 1996. For more details on this case and to determine for yourself what exactly it amounts to, the Midterm Roundup encourages everyone to check out this rigorous dissection of the case over at Blue Jersey.
What matters here though isn’t whether Kean Jr.’s ethics idée fixe is justified – what matters is whether or not it is convincing voters. And it appears to be doing so. Menendez has been trailing Kean in the latest polls, despite New Jersey being a blue state in an anti-GOP environment. Perhaps most damaging to Menendez is that Kean Jr. has found some external forces to do his corruption meme-ing for him: former state Senator and Menendez associate John Lynch (D) pleaded guilty to taking bribes a couple weeks ago (a case that did not involve Menendez in any way), and former Governor Jim McGreevey (D) released his book The Confession this month, in which he dishes on the political machinations and maneuverings of New Jersey Democrats over the past few years. McGreevey’s appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, The View and other TV programs assuredly only reminded voters of the mess he left behind when he resigned in 2004 with his “I am a gay American” speech.
One thing is certain – if a Republican wins New Jersey the Democrats have no shot at the Senate. None.
On Monday Kean Jr. and Menendez met for a quasi-debate, appearing back-to-back though not facing each other directly, before members of the Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey. The main issue was the war in Iraq, over which the 2 differ considerably. And of course, the personal attacks continued as Kean Jr. hit Menendez on the Union City property renting issue. While the Black Ministers' Council does not make political endorsements as a group, Pastors may make individual endorsements that can be key to turning out voters.
Here’s a quick recap of a few other debates that went down Monday night, in case you missed them:
CO-07: O’Donnell vs. Perlmutter
In the hunt for Colorado’s 7th district seat left open by gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez (R), State education chairman Rick O'Donnell (R) and state Senator Ed Perlmutter (D) jousted rhetorically “over which man could best bring a change of direction for the country.” The conclusion? Looks like Perlmutter is a better changer than O’Donnell – about 17 points better.
MA-GOV: Healey vs. Patrick Gets Heated Early and Often
Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey (R) and former assistant U.S. attorney general Deval Patrick (D) shared the spotlight with their 2 less prominent opponents – convenience store chain owner Christy Mihos (I) and Grace Ross, the Green-Rainbow Party candidate – in a heated debate over the Big Dig, among other issues like immigration, education, and taxes. Mihos in fact was the most cantankerous of the contestants. Amidst a criticism of Healey and Governor Mitt Romney’s (R) failure to take charge of the massive state highway project Mihos said, “Two people are dead today because you did nothing,” – referring to a woman who died when a tunnel collapsed in July and a man who died when an ambulance transporting him took 50 minutes from Logan Airport to the Boston Medical Center (though officials said afterward that the delay may not have contributed to the man's death). Patrick is currently considered the frontrunner over Healey.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports: “Democrat Dina Titus and Republican Jim Gibbons got nasty and personal Monday night in the first of four debates scheduled for the gubernatorial candidates, both criticizing each other's integrity, truthfulness, voting records and campaign finance discrepancies.” The debate, taking place at the University of Nevada, Reno campus, elicited boos, cheers, groans, and catcalls throughout from the crowd of mostly students.
NC-13: Vernon Robinson, You’ve Done it Again!
Underdog House candidate/quack Vernon Robinson (R) long ago won the Midterm Roundup’s award for “Most Comically Ridiculous Ads Issued by a Candidate, House or Senate.”
But now Robinson’s ad reputation is approaching pantheon status. Of course a couple weeks ago Election Central noted a Robinson ad that depicted an illegal immigrant flipping the bird and another grabbing his own crotch. Now Hotline has spotted the latest Robinson doozy, in which he highlights his opponent Representative Brad Miller’s (D) predilection for sex research: “Brad Miller voted to spend your money to study the sex lives of Vietnamese prostitutes in San Francisco… Brad Miller spent your money to study the masturbation habits of old men… Brad Miller even spent your tax dollars to pay teenage girls to watch pornographic movies with probes connected to their genitalia.” Vernon Robinson, you have won the Midterm Roundup’s humble reverence.
TX-GOV: Now That’s What I Call a Kinky Body!
Blech, the Midterm Roundup apologizes for that awful headline. Former Minnesota Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura on Monday kicked off a campaign tour with Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman (I) in San Antonio. Ventura’s surprising 1998 victory as a third-party candidate in the Minnesota governor's race is serving as something of a model for Friedman. Friedman is using Ventura’s same campaign director, Dean Barkley, and same ad man, Bill Hillsman.
And now it’s time for… Political Campaign Team or WWF Tag Team?® That’s right, it’s the Midterm Roundup’s very own play-at-home game where you the reader get to choose: is this a picture of 2 politicians on the campaign trail, or a picture of a WWF wrestling tag team? Good luck!
Picture #1 – politicians or tag team?
Picture #2 – politicians or tag team?
Picture #3 – politicians or tag team?
Picture #4 – politicians or tag team?
Picture #5 – politicians or tag team?
Picture #6 – politicians or tag team?
Picture #7 – politicians or tag team?
Answers: #1 – tag team! #2 – politicians! #3 – tag team! #4 – politicians! #5 – tag team! #6 – politicians! #7 – trick question! politician as member of tag team! (that’s Ventura with the cape)
IYI (If You’re Interested)
HI-SEN: New GOP Senate Hopeful in Hawaii Has Little Time to Work With (CQ)
MO-SEN: Missouri Dems count on minimum wage, stem cells to topple Talent (The Hill)
OH-18: GOP Scandals Dog Ohio Candidate (WaPo’s Chris Cillizza and Jim VandeHei, reporting amidst their Ohio River Ramble)
TN-09: Race Is Top Issue in Bid to Represent Memphis (NY Times)
NATIONWIDE: New Campaign Ads Have a Theme: Don’t Be Nice (NY Times), along with Election Central’s NRCC Spokesman: "You Haven't Seen The Majority Of The Negative Ads Yet"
NATIONWIDE: Political Attrition Takes Toll on Dems (AP, reporting on the “Fighting Dems,” only a handful of whom have a legitimate shot to win their races)
NATIONWIDE: Parties get bang for the buck in early spending (The Hill)
NATIONWIDE: Local campaigns ignore detainee debates (The Hill)
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