RNC Chief Ken Mehlman accepted political contributions from gay porn king?
Last week, you'll remember, the RNC, headed by Ken Mehlman, was running that race-baiting 'bimbo' ad against Rep. Harold Ford (D) down in Tennessee. One of the barbs in that ad was the claim that Ford had taken political contributions 
from "porn movie producers."
But it seems there is plenty of porn movie producer money to go around.
It turns out that the Republican National Committee is a regular recipient of political contributions from Nicholas T. Boyias, the owner and CEO of Marina Pacific Distributors, one of the largest producers and distributors of gay porn in the United States. This recent article on Marina Pacific's new marketing campaign form XBiz, a porn industry trade sheet, notes that, in addition to producing its own material, the "company acts as a distribution house to hundreds of lines, mostly gay, 40 of which can be purchased only through MPD."
The company actually seems to be a trendsetter in the industry. As Boyias recently noted, "We have always modeled ourselves after a Fortune-style company. They are the models of exceptional customer service. We have formed strategic alliances with our vendors and customers alike, offering them tools and marketing to assist them in succeeding with their business models. Our one-on-one interpersonal relationships have never been duplicated in the distribution industry."
Some recent releases include "Fire in the Hole", "Flesh and Boners", even a "Velvet Mafia" series.
FEC.gov lists Boyias as contributing to the RNC three times in 2004 and two times in 2005. The NRCC got a little too. But only $250.
The FEC records list Boyias as either "self employed" or as owner and CEO of NTB Inc. But the California Secretary of State's website lists Boyias' NTB, Inc as located at 7077 Vineland Ave, which turns out to be the same address where Marina Pacific is located. So I'm pretty sure we're dealing with the same guy.
So, Ken Mehlman, for porn producer money before he was against it, I guess.
(ed.note: Let me say, for the record, that I consider pornography not only a legal but a morally unobjectionable product. People in that industry have as much right to participate in the political process as anyone else. And it's difficult for the head of a political committee or a candidate in a political campaign to know the background of every contributor. But hypocrisy blows. And on this issue, as on others, Ken Mehlman's a hypocrite.)
--Josh Marshall
Jim Webb speaks at the launch of his GOTV effort and addresses Sen. Allen's new interest in literary criticism ...
This one's going to be down to the wire.
--Josh Marshall
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...
U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, who is seeking his third term in Congress, has mixed campaign activities and official government work in a manner that present and former staffers consider unethical or in violation of House rules, according to interviews with a half-dozen of them.Some of those interviewed described the practices as routine, others as sporadic, but all said they were disturbed by the conduct. The allegations primarily concern the use of taxpayer-funded congressional staff and resources to do work they viewed as part of Mr. Murphy's political campaign.
Standard operating procedure apparently.
--Josh Marshall
Good enough for Webb but not for Allen?
Greg Sargent has a run down here of the aspects of Sen. Allen's personal background he's not releasing records on -- the arrest records from the early seventies and the sealed divorce records down in Albemale County. Following the Allen campaign, the Post today devoted a full length article to scenes in Webb's novels -- stuff that's been in print for years and only became a story when the Allen campaign released a press release. They've tried on the Allen divorce stuff, even had a reporter out West on it for week or more. But apparently they won't discuss it since they can't get access to the records.
So there's that. The arrests records and the land deal story. The Allen campaign has opened the gates. Will anyone walk through?
The normal progression in a campaign is that when one campaign digs something up on the other and opens the debate up on new territory, once that story dies down the press scrutinizes the other candidate on related matters. What the Allen campaign figures here is that there's only time enough left in the campaign for this novel nonesense. By the time stuff cycles back to Allen we'll be past election day.
--Josh Marshall
Today I got an email from the RNC (I'm on their list) asking me to send in a text message to get my mobile phone on their alert list. I actually have a friend who has a company who provides this sort of service for some progressive organizations. But I'm wondering, Are the Dems doing this?
--Josh Marshall
We're darn near six years into this nonsense, but still the White House can beat the press corps like a drum. I'm referring to Cheney's comment that waterboarding detainees was a "no brainer," which the White House has managed to turn into a story about what Cheney really said or what he really meant by what he said.
There's no legitimate doubt about what Cheney said and what he meant. Cheney knows it. The President knows it. So do Tony Snow and the whole White House press corps. Yet we have this spectacularly silly dance--clever people being too clever by half: Snow and Cheney's staff cleverly parsing the interview, and the press cleverly trying to trip up the parsers.
The whole episode has been converted from a story about torture to another in the endless series of stories about the strange relationship between the press and this White House.
The Vice President's comments came in a radio interview on Tuesday. Jonathan Landay of McClatchy Newspapers was the first to report its significance in a story late Wednesday that was straightforward and direct, unburdened by the clever word games that would come later.
The Washington Post didn't run its first story on the interview until its Friday edition. Its follow-up piece today is headlined "Cheney Defends 'Dunk the Water' Comment." I don't know how denying he meant what he said constitutes defending his own comment, unless running fast and far in the opposite direction no longer constitutes a retreat. The story also describes what it calls "ambiguities in the waterboarding debate." The "debate" referred to is not about whether torture is moral or lawful, but whether Cheney actually meant waterboarding or merely a "dunk in the water."
The New York Times' first report on the interview didn't appear until today, in a story that deals almost exclusively with Snow's Friday press conference and the fallout associated with Cheney's remarks. It's a story about the White House "fending off" questions, as if the center of gravity in this historic departure from democratic norms were the White House press room instead of the dank corners of secret prisons or the solemn enclaves of our courts.
No thinking person believes Cheney was referring to anything other than waterboarding. The White House is unable to explain what else Cheney could have been referring to. Yet the leading papers are unable to cut through the malarkey.
I suppose the only thing we work harder at being in denial about than Cheney's comments is the fact that we have used waterboarding and other forms of torture. Every thinking person knows that to be true, too, and it shouldn't take Cheney's slip of the tongue to convince us.
--David Kurtz
No Foley report before the election--even though all witnesses have now testified before the House Ethics Committee.
--David Kurtz
Did Israel use weapons containing enriched uranium during this summer's Lebanon War?
Update: More here.
--David Kurtz
Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV) has finally released his schedule and phone records in response to allegations from a former aide that Porter illegally made campaign fundraising calls from his Washington and district offices.
Funny thing is the records don't exactly disprove the allegation. If anything, they seem to support the allegations, at least in part:
The records show that on one day, Porter made calls to donors and others at a time when his schedule says he was in his district office.But Porter said he wasn't actually at the office the entire time. At times, he would step out of the office to make the calls or leave to go to lunch or for other reasons, he said. He provided a receipt from a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes where he said he and his chief of staff, Mike Hesse, had lunch during the hours in question.
. . .
The call time on April 18 is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Porter's call records indicate he called seven people during those hours, including his daughter, his brother and several friends and donors. He said fundraising may have been discussed in some of those calls but, if so, he was not in the office; it was that day he says he dined at Sweet Tomatoes.
The Sweet Tomatoes defense? A new addition to the political scandal lexicon.
--David Kurtz
I caught the tail end of the O'Reilly v. Letterman slugfest last night. Pretty entertaining. Crooks and Liars has the whole segment.
--David Kurtz
How 'bout them Cards!
Update: We have some sour Tigers fans out there. From a TPM reader:
I don't want to hear about the Cards or any other baseball team on TPM. Let's keep the topics related to politics and skip your sports boosterism. It's annoying and guaranteed to bother all the Tiger fans, like me. I'll tune into a sports website for stuff like this. Thanks.
--David Kurtz
Always interesting poking through the FEC independent expenditure reports filed late on Fridays.
The NRCC, spending like a drunk sailor, reported laying out another $7 million.
Let me hit some of the highlights. These aren't the biggest buys from that $7 million pot, but the NRCC is spending money in places you don't expect to see the GOP having to marshall its resources:
CO-5: The NRCC has made what appears to be its first expenditure in this race, almost $150,000 for a seat which Democrats have never held. A SurveyUSA poll released October 19 showed Democrat Jay Fawcett down by 13 percentage points, but a Mason-Dixon poll released October 10 showed him tied with Republican candidate Doug Lamborn. If the spread were still 13, you wouldn't see the NRCC spending that kind of money here. The race is to fill the seat by the retiring moderate Republican Joel Hefley, who has refused to endorse Lamborn.NV-3: In yet another sign that GOP incumbent Jon Porter is in trouble, the NRCC has just put almost $400,000 into this race to attack Tessa Hafen.
NV-2: For every dime the GOP spends here, say a little prayer for Chrissy Mazzeo, the cocktail waitress who has accused Jim Gibbons, the GOP incumbent, of propositioning/accosting her in a Vegas parking garage on Friday the 13th. Gibbons is running for governor of Nevada, but before the Mazzeo encounter, the NRCC had not spent a cent on this open-seat race. Since then, it just spent almost half a million dollars, about $230,000 of that coming in the last couple of days.
Wyoming: Yes, Wyoming! Friday the NRCC made its first foray into the race for the lone House seat in blood-red Wyoming, with a $241,000 ad buy against Democrat Gary Trauner, who is challenging Rep. Barbara Cubin. A Mason-Dixon poll about 10 days ago showed Cubin up by 7 percentage points. But that was before she threatened to slap a man in a wheelchair. Shoot a man in the face. Threaten to slap a wheelchair-bound man in the face. It's been a tough year for Wyoming Republicans.
One other race that is reported to be tightening is the Nebraska 3rd in western Nebraska, where Coach Tom Osborne is retiring. The Dems have not held a congressional seat in central or western Nebraska since 1958, but there are indications that the NRCC is poised to put money into this race.
TPM readers on the ground in any of these districts, let us hear from you.
--David Kurtz
More outside money is flowing into the NV-03, where Tessa Hafen is mounting an unexpectedly stiff challenge to Republican incumbent Jon Porter. The Democratic 527 group, VoteVets, whose ads this year include this one about insufficient body armor in Iraq, spent a quarter of a million dollars this week for attack ads on Porter, according to FEC reports filed yesterday.
--David Kurtz
The fight is on in New Jersey. The RNC yesterday dropped $3 million into the Senate race for attack ads on Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).
--David Kurtz
Did Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, the GOP's write-in candidate for Tom Delay's old seat, break Texas election laws by campaigning inside a polling station this week?
Poll watcher Jane Borden Matcha said Sekula-Gibbs entered the polling place inside the First Colony Conference Center on Thursday."I was dumbfounded because she marched right up to me and said ‘Hi, I’m Shelley Sekula-Gibbs’ …and it was my understanding that candidates are not allowed in the polling place unless they're voting," Borden Matcha said.
. . .
"I had gone inside to go the bathroom," said Sekula-Gibbs. "I was definitely not campaigning."
Who can blame her for hanging out at polling stations? The poor woman has about the worst name imaginable for a write-in candidate. Actually, what I think she said was, "Hi, I'm S-H-E-L-L-E-Y space S-E-K-U-L-A hyphen G-I-B-B-S."
--David Kurtz
The current budget deficit? Clinton's fault.
So says Rep. John "Animal House" Sweeney (R-NY):
The deficit is actually a result of a recession that began in his administration. We are exponentially paying down the deficit in an accelerated time frame.
Mark Foley started trying to diddle pages during Clinton's administration, so I guess we should blame Clinton for that, too.
--David Kurtz
That splashing sound is the rats jumping overboard:
Corporate America is already thinking beyond Election Day, increasing its share of last-minute donations to Democratic candidates and quietly devising strategies for how to work with Democrats if they win control of Congress.The shift in political giving, for the first 18 days of October, has not been this pronounced in the final stages of a campaign since 1994, when Republicans swept control of the House for the first time in four decades.
. . .
An analysis by The New York Times of contributions from Oct. 1 to 18, the latest data available, shows that donations to Republicans from corporate political action committees dropped by 11 percentage points in favor of Democratic candidates, compared with corporate giving from January through September.
Republicans still received 57 percent of contributions, compared with 43 percent for Democrats, but it was the first double-digit October switch since 1994.
Hedging time.
--David Kurtz
Wal-Mart cuts ties with GOP hatchet man Terry Nelson, who helped produce RNC's bimbo ad in Tennessee Senate race.
--David Kurtz
Here, for those interested in sleuthing on the previous post, is the quotation from Rep. Hyde (R-IL) on the day in question from the Congressional Record.
Mr. HYDE. Mr. Chairman, it is kind of a sad day for me, and I will tell the Members why. Earlier in the day, standing back there I heard a dear friend of mine, a great Republican, say `I trust Hamas more than I trust my own government.' Those words hurt. That is a very tragic situation, because our Government is made up of a lot of people, including me and you, a lot of good judges, honest judges with families.
What Republican member of the 109th Congress would have said such a thing?
A week later (3/21/96) Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) said Hyde should reveal the name of the congressman who trusted Hamas more than the US government ...
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, the entire world has been shocked, appalled, and reviled by the latest wave of terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel. More than 50 innocent men, women, and children have been killed by suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.So I was similarly shocked and reviled to hear a comment made on the House floor last week in the course of debate on the so-called antiterrorist bill. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Hyde ], the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, said this: `Early in the day standing back there, I heard a dear friend of mine, a great Republican say, `I trust Hamas more than I trust my own Government.'
He went on to say those words hurt. Those words do hurt indeed. But who, Madam Speaker, who, Mr. Hyde , who on the Republican side really believed they could trust Hamas more than our own Government? Who among my colleagues truly believes they can trust a terrorist organization that sends suicide bombers to rob innocent children more than the U.S. Government?
Madam Speaker, the American people have a right to know who among their elected Representatives trusts Hamas more than the United States. Until that person steps forward, or is identified, a cloud hangs over each and every Republican Member of this House.
Lewis returned to the House floor the next day and said ...
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, there is a Member of this Congress, a Republican, who has told one of his colleagues that he `trusts Hamas more than he trusts our own Government.' That is an outrageous and morally repugnant statement, Mr. Speaker.Hamas is a terrorist organization that targets, maims, and kills innocent men, women, and children. Which Member of Congress thinks they can trust that sick and twisted group more than our own Government. Whoever believes this doesn't deserve the right and privilege to serve in this Congress.
Mr. Speaker, this anonymous Republican Member has disgraced him or herself and cast a cloud over the entire Congress. The Members and the American people deserve an explanation and an apology.
Who among you? Who among you believes such a thing? Step forward and explain yourself. The American people are watching and waiting. For shame, Mr. Speaker, for shame.
The congressman never stepped forward.
--Josh Marshall
Let's have a little fun.
Anyone remember this? Let's go back to 1996 and a March 13th AP article on the passage of a new anti-crime and anti-terrorism bill.
Here's one choice passage ...
Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, seemed incensed at the prevailing mood on the House floor. "I heard a dear friend of mine, a great Republican, say, 'I trust Hamas more than I trust my own government,' Hyde said in a reference to the terrorist group that has claimed responsibility for the recent wave of suicide bombings in Israel.He did not identify the other lawmaker by name.
Trusts Hamas more than the US government. A Republican member of Congress. Who could that be?
Any guesses? He's still in Congress. And his race is on the DCCC's Red to Blue list.
--Josh Marshall
You have to look long and hard for race ratings moving in a Republican direction. But here's one: Charlie Cook just moved the Maryland senate race from Leans Dem to Toss Up.
--Josh Marshall
Looks like PoliticalWire.com is hearing more about Sen. Allen's sealed records.
--Josh Marshall
If there's one thing you can say about the Corker-Ford race it's that it's really, really close. Five polls have come out in the last week. Two have Ford up, though one is a DSCC poll. Three have Corker up. Four of the five are either tied or have a one or two point spread.
--Josh Marshall
It must be contagious: Duke Cunningham's replacement, Brian Bilbray, has a Grand Jury investigating him over whether he falsified residency docs.
--Josh Marshall
More evidence of a Gibbons cover-up in Nevada.
What is it they always say, not the attempted sexual assault but the cover-up? Maybe that'll become the updated cliche.
--Josh Marshall
GOP candidate Roskam said he was for phasing out Social Security. Now he says he'll never cut it.
--Josh Marshall
The Allen campaign refuses to return our calls asking whether Sen. Allen will release his sealed divorce records. We're not the only news outlet asking, just the only one telling you how the Allen campaign is responding. Heck, one major national daily had a reporter out in LA for at least week trying to nail down the story. It's what every Washington insider is talking about: what's inside those sealed records down in Albemarle County. Now that the Allen campaign is about to go on the airwaves about sex scenes in Jim Webb's books, maybe you should know about this too.
--Josh Marshall
TPM Reader DF is seeing the same thing in Indiana ...
To echo your point on "the closer"Here in the hotly contested IN 9th, I received a slick, heavy card-stock letter-sized mailing from the DCCC accusing Sodrel (the Republican) of attempting to raise taxes on the working man. I was flabbergasted at how weak and ineffectual this expensive mailing was. Sodrel is a rubber stamp for Bush. He is a “stay the course” guy. He hemmed and hawed on Social Security reform. Did I mention he’s a rubber stamp for Bush? Even if the DCCC mailer is technically correct, who freaking cares? It was beyond lame. It physically hurt me.
The Republicans have a hematoma under their right eye called Iraq, and one under the left called Bush. Keep punching those damn things!
It is a little painful.
--Josh Marshall
Yep, they should be asking. Why haven't any of the major networks or national newspapers pressed the White House on why they scheduled the sentencing of Saddam Hussein two days before the US's midterm elections.
--Josh Marshall
This really is pretty unbelievable: NBC won't run ads for the Dixie Chicks documentary because, in the words of the NBC's commercial clearance department, "they are disparaging to President Bush."
Networks usually at least go to the length of coming up with a phony 'we don't run ads with a political message' excuse. But I'm not sure I've ever seen one say something like this. I would have thought that with the president's popularity so low some of the network's usual supineness and cowardice would be a little less evident. Would they not run political ads either?
--Josh Marshall
TPM reader TCB responds to TPM Reader DR.
The DCCC has 2 negative ads up in this market, one hitting Roskam for being in favor of banning books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Martin Luther King and one for voting with the NRA in favor of guns in schools.They’re both quite negative.
Why positive? Well, there are 8 candidates who are up in this market trashing each other. The positive stuff breaks through.
Here's the thing on negative ads. It's time for the closer to come in on this campaign. There's no question this campaign has been effectively nationalized. Both sides are playing on that terrain. But it's time for the closer to come in. And from the numbers I've seen from various states and districts, this is all about President Bush and Iraq -- with the awfulness of the Republican Congress, its irrelevance and corruption sort of second-tier, atmospheric issue. If I'm programming the negative ads, I front the disaster of Iraq and that voting for Republican X is another rubber stamp for President Bush. Another free pass to let the disasters keep coming. That's the deal closer.
Is book-banning like on anyone's radar? Maybe we get some ads about evolution too. A few good ad runs about driving the speed limit could put this one away.
Says another TPM Reader: "I have been watching the RNCC ads for Peter Roskam. They are, to say the least, distorted and blatant lies. What I can't figure out is why the DNCC isn't countering with ads as to how the RNCC treats our veterans. Ms. Duckworth lost both legs in Iraq and these ads are the thanks she gets from the Republicans. Democrats need to drill home the point 'Why does Peter Roskam and the RNCC chose to smear one of our decorated Iraq veterans?'"
--Josh Marshall
White House: Cheney didn't endorse water-boarding when he endorsed water-boarding.
Here's the best line though. Tony Snow: "You know as a matter of common sense that the vice president of the United States is not going to be talking about water boarding. Never would, never does, never will. You think Dick Cheney's going to slip up on something like this? No, come on."
You mean, Dick Cheney totally muff something out of mix of arrogance and incompetence?
Who could ever imagine that?
Late Update: Here are the exact words Cheney said. You decide whether to believe Tony Snow or your own lying eyes.
Even Later Update from TPM Reader EL: "In regards to Cheney slipping up, lets not forget we're talking about the guy who shot his friend in the face and was caught calling a reporter a "major league a$$hole" on tape and that's just what comes to mind, I'm sure there are a couple dozen other Cheney slip up's out there." I was thinking of some of the weightier screw-ups like, say, Iraq or some of these examples. (Do we forget that Cheney's the bumbler who headed up the pre-9/11 terrorism task force that forgot to meet until something like a week before 9/11? Doh!) But, hey, more bonehead screw-ups the merrier.
--Josh Marshall
What lengths have those connected to Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) gone to cover up his cocktail waitress incident?
Justin Rood gives a rundown here.
--Paul Kiel
TPM Reader DR from Duckworthland ...
I live in the Chicagoland Area. Last week, I saw two ads that for some reason a station played back to back. First was a Tammy Duckworth ad that was all about Tammy Duckworth. Then came a Peter Roskam ad that was all about Tammy Duckworth.Positive ads come off as fluff. Negative ads give people a reason to vote a certain way. In the ad I saw, the reason was that Tammy Duckworth is going to give social security money to illegal aliens.
Are Democrats afraid to go negative? Do the people making the ads realize how unpopular the Republican Party is right now? Here in Illinois, we are about to reelect a corrupt Governor. The only thing he has going for him is that he is not a Republican. In this environment, negative ads against Republicans will work. What are we waiting for?
People are already voting. The last-second blitzes should be going on now.
Roskam is really the worst of the worst this year. Do they let him squeak through?
--Josh Marshall
New "stay the course" ad -- special Joe Lieberman addition. It's a good one.
--Greg Sargent
WaPo's Grunwald: Pretty much all the sleaze advertising is from the GOP.
Michael can tell it like it is, why can't Howie?
--Josh Marshall
TPM Reader KS writes in in distress from Count Chocola country ...
The comments on TPM today about Social Security bamboolzement reminded me of a flyer I received in the mail from Chris Chocola's campaign last week. I am paraphrasing somewhat, but this is very close. It said, "Who Should Receive Social Security Benefits? A. American Citizens. B. Illegal Immigrants. C. Both.Joe Donnelly says 'C', which will cost Americans millions of dollars. Chris Chocola says 'A'! "
Of course we all know the real answer for Chocola is secret answer "D", none of the above. I am frustrated
that both the local media and Donnelly's campaign have seen silent on this. If Donnelly used Chocola's
phase-out words against him, I am sure it would have an impact on voters in my district.
As far as I can see, most every Dem campaign is missing the boat on this.
And of course the boat is sailing.
--Josh Marshall
I don't know whether others are noticing this. But in every election there's one big disconnect between the 'issues' that are getting the big play in tv shows and pundit commentary and the ones getting hammered on in flyers, tv ads and radio spots. And there's no question that this year, for the GOP, that 'issue' is race tinged ads about Democrats wanting to give free dollars to hordes of Mexican illegals. Scratch the surface of any competitive race out there. You'll find it.
--Josh Marshall
TPM Reader KH on Fox and Specter ...
Michael J. Fox did a campaign ad for Arlen Specter in 2004. I'd think that he owes Michael something now. I'm thinking that someone should attempt to get him on the record and demand that he speak up now. I've called Specter's Pittsburgh office, as I live here, and they say he has no plan to speak out that they are aware of. That is just plain wrong. Would you be willing to call his offices and try to find out if you can get an on the record statement?
Sounds like a good idea.
--Josh Marshall
More on the Reynolds race in New York from TPM Reader AJV ...
Josh, I live in Reynolds district and the reason I think he has pulled ahead is his Social Security bamboozlement TV commercials. He claims he wants to save social security and uses out of context comments from his opponent. They have Jack Davis saying "We need to increase the retirement age" and "those may need to be reduced down" referring to SS benefits. These commercials are everywhere. And Davis has not had a response ad to counter the claim. It's classic SS bamboozlement. And in our district, it plays big time. Also some background- last election the race was again Davis(D) vs Reynolds(R) and it was very close. So I thought the Foley thing would be the tipping point.
This is actually a big issue. And I've seen it in this race, the Roskam-Duckworth race in Illinois and other places. Roskam seems by far the worst offender. But I'm more than a little disheartened that the Dems haven't pushed back harder on this. The local press is entirely complicit in transparent lying from GOP candidates like Reynolds and especially Roskam.
Remember, Roskam is a strong supporter of phasing out Social Security and replacing it with private accounts. Is anyone hearing that in the Roskam-Duckworth race?
--Josh Marshall
On the rebound? I'd like to see some numbers from another polling firm to be certain. But it looks at least like Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), head of the NRCC, is pulling off something of a comeback after getting knocked out cold over the Foley fiasco. The two most recent polls, both by SurveysUSA, have him back on top by small margins after falling as much as ten points behind in several recent polls.
And following up on yesterday's post about how top of the ticket blow-outs in New York and Pennsylvania might help House candidates down-ticket, TPM Reader BY says the following ...
I think NY and PA are two different animals. In PA, you've got a Senate candidate running a full campaign with a lot of money. He's losing, but he's running. And Swann ... well, he's a classic "seemed like a good idea at the time" candidate. Great bio, well-spoken, but utterly clueless. But at least he's high-profile. So, I don't think PA GOP candidates will be totally on their own.NY, though ... the NY GOP has completely melted down. Imploded. I work for a Democratic candidate, and I can tell you that Republicans are just completely demoralized. There aren't too many signs out, almost no volunteers knocking on doors ... nothing. There's no cohesion in anything they do. I think what you'll see is that GOP reps who are running strong campaigns and have a long history in the district (Walsh, Sweeney, maybe King) will not under-perform too badly. But Kuhl will have trouble, Meier will get blasted, Kelly isn't the favorite even though she's the incumbent ... those folks will have trouble. And Walsh, Sweeney, et all really have to roll the rock up the hill all by their lonesome.
That sounds right to me. New York seems unique this cycle. Pennsylvania and Ohio may turn out to be blow-outs at the top of the ticket. But you've definitely got GOP senate incumbents in both states that really don't want to lose their jobs and are putting up a real fight. So they're going to push for wild GOTV on the ground.
--Josh Marshall
In the runup to election day, the administration panders to tax cheats. Is this what they call shoring up your base? That and other news of the day in today's Daily Muck.
--Justin Rood
Want to go on the record with your predictions for election day and discuss them with other TPM Readers? If so, click here.
--Josh Marshall
So now the Allen campaign has resorted to mining Jim Webb's novels for sex scenes.
If Allen really wants to play rough, maybe it's time for some Democrats to start going on the shows and asking about that sealed divorce records of Allen's. All those reporters have a pretty good idea of what's in there. But Sen. Allen (R-VA) just won't agree to let them see it.
It's almost like he's spitting in their face.
--Josh Marshall
There's a fight brewing behind the scenes at the House intel committee that deserves your attention. It kicked into high gear last week when ranking member Jane Harman (D-CA) released the summary of the committee's investigation into the corrupt practices of former committee member Rep. Duke Cunningham. As payback, Chairman Hoekstra (R-MI) yanked the clearances of one of the Democratic committee staffers and accused him of having leaked the Iraq NIE to the New York Times.
The accusation is one for which Hoekstra's staff now reportedly concedes the chairman has no evidence. Rep. LaHood (R-IL), who first leveled the accusation, went so far as to tell Fox News that the accusation was payback for Cunningham.
This has been kicking around for a few days. The staffer in question, Larry Hanauer, swore out an affidavit, stating that he played no role in the leak.
Then yesterday Chairman Hoekstra told the Democrats he wants to convene an investigation in which the Republicans alone choose an investigator and that investigator gets to look through the Democratic staff's phone logs, email, and review all other 'relevant' records all with a broad breach to uncover any "improper" conduct.
In other words, it's a witch hunt. You can see the Democrats' response below -- click the images for the full page.
The back story here is important. The Republicans are looking like they're going to sustain heavy losses on November 7th. One of the reasons is that the public is starting to get a clear view of the disaster they've created in Iraq and the broad sweep over corruption that pervades the entire Capitol. Hoekstra didn't like any of the Duke findings going public. He wanted Harman to agree to keep it secret. But she wouldn't. And there wasn't any legitimate reason why it shouldn't be made public. This is payback.
Most of what is happening to the Republicans right now is happening because too many facts -- about Iraq, about the corruption, and all the rest -- started to leak out. Some people wouldn't roll over anymore.
Keep an eye on this. It's a good prism into what we'll see over the next two weeks.
We will be bringing you more on this soon.
--Josh Marshall
Here's one of those questions I always wonder about.
If the Democrats have a big night on November 7th, two states where they could rack up a lot of House seats are New York and Pennsylvania.
Now, in both of those states you have Democratic gubernatorial and senate candidates who appear to be on track to score solid victories. In New York, Spitzer and Clinton look like they will crush their opponents. Perhaps getting as much two thirds of the vote. In Pennsylvania the margins won't be that great. But it looks like Casey and Rendell will win solidly.
So as we look at the polls for the individual House races how should we, or should we at all, factor in the fact that on the same day clear majorities of voters will likely vote Democratic at the top of the ticket.
Thoughts?
Late Update: Now that I think about it, I should have included Ohio in the tally. The senate race is still a going concern, though there's a poll out today that has a twenty point spread. But the governor's race looks like another blowout. And there are several House seats up for grabs.
--Josh Marshall
TPM Reader JT ...
I have to chime in here. I’m a neurologist and I work with patients like MJF every day. Neurodegenerative illnesses like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are not only devastating – they’re ugly to look at. Consequently, one of the biggest problems my patients face is isolation. Society does not like to see them. We especially don’t like to see it in good-looking young people like MJF. But I’m sorry folks –it’s real. Not only that, but you better get used to seeing it. While about 3 million people in this country are affected by neurodegenerative illness today, these diseases are age-related and the numbers of affected people will rise many times over in coming years as the U.S. population ages.
--Josh Marshall
What's Bob Corker's deal with Harold Ford's sex life? All Corker's ads seem to be about it. And just now when I went to Corker's website I couldn't help but notice how in the context of bashing Ford he has this Foleyesque reference to Harold as "an attractive young man."
--Josh Marshall
And while we're on the subject of counting... By our count, nine Republicans have called for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.
--Paul Kiel
How many members of the 109th Congress are under federal investigation? Hint: you can't count them on two (or even three) hands.
--Paul Kiel
Corker Camp pushes back on Jungle Drums.
Jungle Drums today, Jungle Drums Tomorrah, Jungle Drums Forevah ...
--Josh Marshall
Another stem cell research ad.
This one by Majority Action and aimed at Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA), the one who's running on the strangle-your-mistress platform ...
They've got it running against Sherwood, Drake (R-VA), Walsh (R-NY) and of course, how could we forget, Rep. Chris "the Count" Chocola (R-Land of Two Terms).
--Josh Marshall
Sign of the times watch. Embattled GOPer Clay Shaw is running a radio ad bragging on how well he got along with Bill Clinton.
--Josh Marshall
The anonymous source who first posted excerpts of the emails that got Foleygate rolling has been revealed -- and fired.
--Paul Kiel
I've always wondered whether Jean Schmidt (R-OH) might eventually be kicked out of the House just for being too stupid. Not likely given the general level of excellence in the body. But here's another good Schmidt story along those lines.
Schmidt's opponent Victoria Wulsin (D) just went on the air with an ad lambasting Schmidt's notorious statement from the House floor where she called congressman and Marine corps veteran John Murtha a coward. Didn't go over that well, if you remember. And after making up a few lies about it, Schmidt had to apologize.
Apparently the ad has the Schmidt camp worried. So they hit back hard by pointing out that the ad breaks House Rule V, which prohibits recordings of House proceedings from being used in political advertisements. "Her continued violation will land her in serious trouble with the House Ethics Committee," barked Schmidt spokesman Matt Perin.
Only, as the Wulsin camp pointed out, House Rules don't apply to people who aren't members of the House.
Doh!
Back to the drawing board for Schmidt.
--Josh Marshall
So let's see. John Kerry has ponied up $500,000. What about Evan Bayh? He's sitting on a ton of cash. Have we heard from him yet?
It's hard to imagine any Democrat taking a presidential contender seriously next year when they left the whole team hanging at the clutch moment.
Thoughts?
--Josh Marshall
TPM Reader PK checks in from Rhode Island ...
For the last week or so, Republican Senator Linc Chafee has been trying to turn the tide of his race by attacking Democrat opponent Sheldon Whitehouse as being soft on public corruption during his tenure as US Attorney and the state's Attorney General.It hasn't really been sticking, so yesterday, Chafee went for the Hail Mary. He held a press conference in front of the business owned by Antonio Freitas, the guy who wore a wire and worked undercover for the feds in 1998, eventually helping to bring down corrupt Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci. Chafee tried to paint Whitehouse as a crony of Cianci, saying that Freitas had told the feds not to let Whitehouse know he was working for them to get Cianci because Freitas didn't trust Whitehouse not to give him up.
Freitas went on to hold his own impromptu presser, peddling a tale about an unnamed "informant" in the Mayor's office who told Freitas that in 2001, Whitehouse had cut a deal with Cianci to send Freitas to jail in exchange for having Cianci appoint one of Whitehouse's pals as the new Chief of Police in Providence.
The problem with all of this is that Freitas has a bit of an axe to grind with Whitehouse. Freitas was convicted of domestic abuse on two separate occasions when Whitehouse was AG. In 2000, Freitas pleaded no contest to domestic assault after being charged with hitting his wife. In 2001, Freitas was arrested again for hitting his girlfriend. The arrest violated his probation and he was sentenced to four months in prison.
Here's the story.
Whitehouse came back strong in response, holding his own press conference in the afternoon, denouncing Freitas' statements as "utter nonsense" and blasting Chafee for standing with a repeat batterer and trying to minize his crimes in an effort to bolster his campaign.
This is going to hurt Chafee, who really looks like he's climbing into the gutter and hoping to toss enough dirt around to save his campaign. Whitehouse has run a series of very effective ads pushing the message that we must change the make-up of the Senate to stop Bush's policies.
Chafee's claims to be an independent voice who has voted against Bush are looking mighty hollow in light of the $500,000 the RNC dumped into his recent primary to help him win that tough contest. And Whitehouse has effectively reminded people of that through his ads.
For those who voted for Chafee because of his "good guy" demeanor, which I believe was an important factor in the support he received from independent voters, this latest attack is going to do more harm than good.
Have on an on-the-ground update from your neck of the woods? Let us know.
--Josh Marshall
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas -- if you can afford the hush money? That and other news of the day in today's Daily Muck.
--Justin Rood
TPM Reader HL also isn't crazy about Rush ...
I found the post-apology "Okay-he-wasn't-faking-it-but-he's-exploiting-his-medical condition" even more insulting to people with Parkinson's--and more dangerous--than his original faking conjecture. The faking suggestion (besides displaying ignorance, willful or not) merely insulted Michael J. Fox, not everyone with Parkinson's. The claim of exploitation is an attempt to shut up people with Parkinson's: anyone else can express their opinion about stem cell research, but if a person afflicted with Parkinson's shows their face in public to do the same, s/he's a shameless exploiter. According to Limbaugh's logic, the actual sufferers should just hide in their rooms and not freak us out with their unsightly condition. Do you see what I mean?
Yeah, I do. The man's a blight. As I said below, making fun of people suffering from a debilitating disease would send most folks into a career crisis. As TPM Reader DC says, "He's vile; a real pig and a terrible terrible commentary on the state of our national life."
--Josh Marshall
Kerry and Kennedy do the right thing ...
Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry are tapping their sizable campaign warchests in an effort to elect a Democratic Congress.The Massachusetts Democrats donated 500-thousand dollars apiece, half to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and half to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
I would have liked to have seen a million a piece. But that ain't bad.
And another point is important to make. Kerry has taken a lot of grief because he's sitting on a big pile of money and he's a very high-profile person in the Democratic party. But there a whole lot more money out there in campaign warchests of folks who aren't in anything like a serious campaign. So who else is going to put money on the table? We're under two weeks to go before the election and in only a few more days it'll be too late. Late money goes for ads. And the day before the election is just too late. So who will match Kerry and Kennedy?
--Josh Marshall
In an otherwise solid run-down of the Republicans' Jungle Fever campaign against Harold Ford, Robin Toner has this passage ...
The furor puts Mr. Mehlman in a difficult position. He has spent considerable time as the national chairman preaching the inclusiveness of the Republican Party and its openness to black candidates and black voters. He said in an interview Wednesday night that he did not believe that this would damage his Republican outreach efforts.Officials with the Republican independent expenditure committee, who include longtime allies of the Bush political circle, did not respond to requests for comment.
Please. It's not a difficult position, just a revealing one.
Like many in his position, on this issue Mehlman is a hypocrite and a liar. I doubt whether he has any strong racist dispositions himself on a personal level. It's just a tool he uses.
Again, let's be honest with ourselves. Racism is one of the key building blocks of Republican politics in the United States. Don't look at me with a straight face and tell me you don't realize that's true. That doesn't mean that all Republicans are racists. Far from it. It doesn't mean that a lot of Republicans don't wish the stain wasn't part of their party's recent political heritage. They do. But racism and race-baiting is the hold card Republicans take into every election. When times are good, guys like Mehlman 'reach out' to blacks and Latinos to try to take the edge off their opposition to the Republican officeholders. But when things get rough the card gets played. And pretty much every time.
This isn't surprising. It's expected.
For years on this site I've been saying that Democrats need to learn the meta-message behind Republican attack ads, especially on issues like terrorism and national security. Begging the refs to throw a flag in response to a vicious ad only telegraphs the message of weakness that was the aim of the attack in the first place. And in recent days not a few of you have written in to say, 'Josh, you always say Dems should not complain but hit back. So why are you turning the sites over to complaining full time about the Tennessee ads against Ford?'
It's a good question. And there's certainly a tension there, if not an outright contradiction. But here's my response.
I see the two cases as fundamentally dissimilar. When it comes to GOP race-baiting, calling them out, revealing them for who they are and what is they do, is fighting back. It's that simple. The dynamics of the issues are fundamentally different.
There are different visions in this country. There's one which for all its faults and shortcomings aspires to a national unity that transcends our many differences of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. and an equal share of dignity for all of us. Then there's the school of division and demonization. (Take a look at the ads GOP campaigns are running across the country. The issue of the day is keeping out the Mexicans.) That's the Ken Mehlman school, the tradition of Willie Horton ads and Jungle Music pasted over Harold Ford because these guys are afraid they may be about to lose an open seat in Tennessee, where they haven't sent a Democrat to the senate for almost two decades. It must be a reality that Mehlman appreciates with some measure of inner tension or conflict since gays have been the whipping boys of choice through much of the Bush years even as he himself has been, successively, White House political director, Bush Campaign Manager and head of the RNC. But then we all make our beds.
The point is that as vile as this race-hucksterism is, for my part I welcome the opportunity that Republican desperation provides,