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Happy Hour Roundup
Thompson Declaring Next Week
As we reported earlier, Fred Thompson's undeclared campaign will finally declare next week. His itinerary, according to his campaign's conference call today with bloggers: On Wednesday night he will miss a Republican debate in New Hampshire, instead doing one last "testing the waters" tease on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Then at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, he will declare his candidacy with a video Webcast. Then on Thursday he'll file his official campaign papers and begin touring, and on Thursday night he'll greet supporters nationwide via conference call.
Wyoming GOPer: We're Trying To Break The Primary Calendar
Wyoming Republican Party official Tom Sansonetti gave the Associated Press an amazing insight as to why his state party has moved to hold their delegate-selection conventions on January 5, a whole month ahead of the officially sanctioned date. "Ultimately the goal here is to look beyond 2008 and fix the system, because the system is broken," Sansonetti said. "All this jumping around is because the states feel disenfranchised by letting Iowa and New Hampshire call the shots."
Poll: Romney Leads In Iowa — GOPers Support Humanitarian Positions
A new poll by Republican firm McLaughlin & Associates, conducted on behalf of the anti-poverty ONE campaign, showed Mitt Romney leading the GOP field in Iowa by a huge margin. Mitt has 35%, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 12% and in a three-way statistical tie for second with Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee, who each have 11%. Also, the poll finds overwhelming support, at two thirds or higher, for such humanitarian pursuits as reducing worldwide poverty, hunger and diseases.
Huckabee Pleased With Post-Ames Campaign
Mike Huckabee told IowaPolitics.com that his campaign has been going great since his surprise second-place finish at the Iowa Straw Poll, with larger crowds at his events, money coming in, and millions of hits registering on the campaign Web site. "A lot of this is coming from our effort in Ames," Huckabee said.
Homeless Advocacy Group Challenges Candidates To Spend Night On Streets
An advocacy group called National Coalition for the Homeless has extended an intriguing challenge to the presidential candidates: Learn what it's like for the homeless by spending one night on the streets. “For candidates, their short stints as faceless indigents would help them better understand the impact of public policy decisions on those who live in the streets,” said NCH acting director Michael Stoops. It's hard to imagine the Secret Service, let alone the campaign consultants, ever consenting to something like this.
Rangel Attorney Makes Small Request Over Large Sum
Phu Huynh, attorney for House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel's (D-NY) campaign, has asked the Federal Election Commission for permission to spend $64,500 in campaign funds on the chairman's official portrait. "Portrait artists determine fees based largely upon reputation, but the size of the subject and detail required also factor heavily in the pricing," wrote Huynh, justifying the large price tag. His legal reasoning may well get Rangel the permission. But he's hardly being flattering toward his client, is he?
Just in:
Coma Patient Advocacy Group Challenges Candidates To Spend Night in a Vegetative State
August 30, 2007 7:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fred Thompson's undeclared campaign will finally declare next week.
On Sept. 6th, just in time to avoid filing requirements until after the first primaries. How convenient. Just like Land Hudson said in his complaint.
Not that anyone on the tv mentioned that during all the stories about Thompson today.
August 30, 2007 8:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love that so many states have finally realized that you have to take on Iowa and New Hampshire if important states are ever going to matter. Go Wyoming! Onward Florida! Come on Michigan!
As someone who lives in California-- and therefore has a vote that doesn't count either in the primary or the general-- I have a personal interest in this.
August 30, 2007 8:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
On Sept. 6th, just in time to avoid filing requirements until after the first primaries. How convenient.
At 12:01 AM on Sept. 6th. Thanks for pointing this out, I knew that was fishy.
August 30, 2007 11:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hate to state the obvious but it appears that Fred Thompson needs a job . . . He has just been wandering about the country aimlessly.
He has a law degree and played a lawyer on TV. He has far more job-reltated experience for the AG than most of the folk that Bush would consider . . .
August 31, 2007 12:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Fred Thompson just doomed Rudy's campaign.
Romney will benefit from this bigtime
August 31, 2007 9:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Somebody whose state(s) have no dog in the fight needs to say it, so I'm appointing myself.
This pissing and moaning, and flagrant rule breaking, from pols (and its all pols, not voters) in other states about the supposedly privileged positions of New Hampshire and Iowa is bunk and we are risking something important by subverting these two states roles in the process.
New Hampshire's citizens in particular have shown over and over again that the nation is well-served by giving them first crack (or one of the first cracks) at the candidates. New Hampshire voters put ten times more effort into informing themselves about the candidates and assessing their character than people in any other state in the Union do or ever would. The state's small size, small population and participatory traditions make it possible for them to assess the candidates, their character, and the differences between the person running and the cardboard cutouts presented by the campaigns, in a way people in few other states could or would.
The press spends a lot of time gawffawing about the sense of entitlement to personal contact New Hampshire voters have, but they rarely draw attention to how seriously those voters take the job. They can be swayed by regional bias for more local candidates, just like anybody else, but, by and large they've shown that they understand that being first (kind of) carries duties and responsibilities rather than just an opportunity to lobby for local pork.
I would remind everyone that New Hampshire Republicans were the ones who had the good sense to give a thumbs down to George W. Bush in 2000, because they had the opportunity to gauge the man rather than the image presented by Rove and his team.
As to Iowa, it's a state with a tradition of civic-mindedness and the caucus system winnows out people who are paying a lot of attention from the ones who aren't. Although they can be a tad parochial on farm issues, I think letting people from a place that so strongly identifies itself with farming have disproportionate influence adds something important to the process. I'm not going to go all weepy about farming and connection the land and the Jeffersonian ideal and blah blah blah, but there is something to it, something fundamental the American character that's worth listening to every four years.
As to Florida, well, it seems like the politicians down there have been going out their way for at least a decade to prove that their state's resemblance on the map to a giant thorn in the nation's ass is not coincidental (no offense intended to Georgia). Michigan? You say your state deserves to be first because you think you're entitled to have candidates pander to you more than they do? That's what you got? No soup for you!
And Wyoming? Do you really think it makes sense to have a state your size and low, low population density be early? Its one thing to ask candidates to drive around New Hampshire to meet eight or nine people, but damn, barrel around Wyoming to meet the same number? Even without speed limits, that's crazy. Besides, um, hello, you give us Cheney and think we should listen to you? Back to the end of the line.
August 31, 2007 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink