Rudy Hires The "Harold, Call Me" Media Firm
Rudy Giuliani's campaign has hired the Dallas-based media firm Scott Howell & Company — the same firm that produced the infamous "Harold, Call Me" ad in the 2006 Tennessee Senate race. The ad, in case you don't remember, featured a bare-shouldered blonde white woman saying she met black Democratic nominee Harold Ford at a Playboy party, and the ad ended with her saying, "Harold, call me."

Michigan Senate Dem Leader Declares Against GOP Congressman Walberg
In Michigan, Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer has announced that he will challenge freshman Republican Congressman Tim Walberg next year. Running in a traditionally Republican district, Walberg was only narrowly elected in 2006 over a token Democratic opponent after he'd defeated moderate incumbent Congressman Joe Schwarz in the GOP primary. "He's really been a servant of the Bush-Cheney administration and the extreme special interests in Washington," Schauer told the Associated Press.

Florida Dems Threaten Lawsuit Against National Committee
Five Florida Democrats — Senator Bill Nelson and Representatives Alcee Hastings, Kendrick Meek, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Kathy Castor — have written a letter to the Democratic National Committee in which they threaten a lawsuit if the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee votes this weekend to impose sanctions against the rogue state's planned January 29 primary, ahead of the national parties' officially blessed date of February 5. "If true — and, if the DNC strips Florida of all or some of its delegates to the national convention — we would ask the appropriate legal officials to determine whether this could violate any state or federal laws governing and protecting individual voting rights," they wrote.

Democratic National Committee To Meet To Sort Out Primary Mess
Amid the chaos of the developing primary/caucus calendar, Iowa Governor Chet Culver (D) is vowing that his caucus will remain the first contest in the nation — and urging sanctions against states like Florida and Michigan. "I think there need to be consequences for those states that don't abide by the party rules," said Culver. "And historically, that has always helped us set the calendar. Without rules, it would be impossible to ever settle on a calendar."

Republicans Seek To Counter Liberal Online Fundraising Success With "Rightroots"
Aware that they're getting badly outpaced by liberal online fundraising successes, Republicans are trying to redress the balance with a new organization called "Rightroots." The organization "was established to counter the political left's strength in online fundraising as manifested by ActBlue, a well-designed and influential site that helps Democratic candidates and their supporters raise campaign funds online," CQ Politics reports. "Rightroots' organizers see the site as a convenient 'one-stop shop' for Republican users who might have trouble finding the Web sites of individual GOP candidates."

Fox News/Black Caucus Debate Cancelled
The proposed Fox News/Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate for September 23 has been postponed indefinitely — in all likelihood cancelled. The frontrunners had all indicated they would not be participating in a Fox News debate, and only three candidates had accepted: Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. It's too bad — a full-length debate with those three sure would have been fun to watch.