House Parliamentarian John Sullivan has nixed a campaign by Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) to have his fellow members wear buttons saying "Article 1" on the House floor.

The buttons are meant as a statement that the Founders intended for the Congress, and not the White House, to be the superior branch of the government. Sullivan's office ruled that wearing the buttons violates a House rule that forbids members from "wearing of badges by members to communicate a message."

Yarmuth sent the parliamentarian's office a sternly worded letter. "If a simple mention of the founding document of the country constitutes a message, how does it differ from the wearing of the American flag?" Yarmuth wrote, then asking rhetorically if a button saying "U.S. Constitution" would be banned from the House floor.

For some time now, political observers have doubted that Dem John Yarmuth would be able to dislodge GOP Rep. Anne Northup, thanks to her ability to bring home Federal money and to the whacky columns alternative publisher Yarmuth has penned. But now CQ Politics says Northup's grip on her seat may be "loosening," and it's just changed its rating of the race from "Republican Favored" to "Leans Republican":

Kentucky Rep. Anne M. Northup’s strong fundraising skills, lengthy legislative record — and especially her efforts as an Appropriations Committee member to deliver federal funds home — have enabled her over a five-term career to defy at least a slight Democratic lean in her Louisville-based 3rd District.

Those same factors made her the favorite this year, as Democratic primary voters gambled on alternative newspaper publisher John Yarmuth, whose years of columns have provided campaign fodder for Northup and Republican allies.

But Yarmuth has campaigned undaunted, and the 3rd District is affected by the toxic political climate hurting Republicans nationally.

While polls have varied greatly in this volatile political environment, one released by Survey USA Oct. 19 raised eyebrows in the 3rd: It showed the contenders running neck-and-neck, with 48 percent of respondents saying they supported Yarmuth and 47 percent backing Northup. Yarmuth’s slight lead was within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

Full CQ analysis here.

GOP Rep. Anne Northup rolled out an incredibly negative ad Friday running down Dem opponent John Yarmuth's record, claiming that he would abolish social security, lower the drinking age and legalize marijuana. The ad, called "Yarmuth's Record," is largely based on editorials written in the Louisville Eccentric Observer, an alternative newspaper that Yarmuth helped found in 1990 and ran up until he declared his candidacy earlier this year. Yarmuth responded to the ad by saying there was "not one accurate claim." Check it out for yourself .