Elections

http://liebermania.blogspot.com

By Jeff Cohen, www.CommonDreams.org

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

The wise old Chinese proverb on who is to blame for repeat gullibility was famously mangled by our Embarrasser in Chief: "Fool me once, shame on -- shame on you," Bush stammered, with that deer-in-the-headlights look. "Fool me -- you can't get fooled again!" The video of that golden Bushism can bring down the house on The Daily Show.

By Council for a Livable World

Eight critical Senate contests will have a significant influence on the direction of American policy in Iraq and hopefully will speed up the return of American troops.

In every one of these elections, there is a clear-cut contest between an Iraq war supporter and a war opponent. Defeating these Iraq war supporters would have an enormous political impact. Members of Congress would be affected, as would all candidates for President.

By David Swanson

On Monday, July 17, 2006, at Fox News headquarters in New York City, Rupert Murdoch hosted a fundraiser breakfast for Hillary Clinton. Then he rushed off to a fundraiser lunch for John McCain, and Hillary rushed off to announce her unqualified support for Israel's and Bush's war policies.

Hillarupert Murdoclinton strikes some people as an unusual combination. I'm sure someone could create a funny cartoon out of that name and a merger of their two smirking masks.

By Ed Tibbetts, http://www.qctimes.net

Republicans are most afraid of Democrats when they stand their ground, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., told about three dozen people in downtown Davenport on Sunday.

Not enough Democrats are doing it, however, he added.

Feingold, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, made a series of stops along the Mississippi River this weekend, giving activists an opportunity to see one of President Bush’s most pointed critics.

By trillian | http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com

Cross posted at Daily Kos

Fighting Dem Carl Sheeler Live Blogging - What Makes Carl Run? by Fighting Dem Vets [Subscribe] Sun Jul 16, 2006 at 09:58:12 AM PDT
What Makes Carl Run? Carl Sheeler (RI-Senate)

I suppose this question could be asked of any candidate in any primary race. But why has it so persistently come up in the Rhode Island Senate race? Part of the answer is in the following. Lincoln Chafee, the first term Republican incumbent (the most vulnerable of candidates), is running a neck to neck race with a "Reagan Republican" challenger in the GOP primary. For this and other reasons, the DC Political Report gives this race a five star (most competitive) rating with a likely Democratic win. This alone should make the Democratic field for the campaign a crowded one. Yet there are only two serious candidates left: Carl Sheeler and Sheldon Whitehouse. Other candidates have dropped out or are simply out of play. Whitehouse has a larger treasure chest than Chafee, he has greater name recognition as an ex-Attorney General and former candidate for Governor of Rhodes Island, and he is supported by the Democratic establishment who fear a repeat of the race in 2000 where a contentious primary battle among Dems paved the way for the Lincoln Chafee win.

By Associated Press

Dubuque, Iowa - Voter unrest over the war in Iraq has elevated foreign policy issues to a rare level of importance in Democratic politics and is the top concern at the moment, potential presidential candidate Russ Feingold said Saturday.

"At the moment, it is probably the most defining issue," the Democratic senator from Wisconsin said. "Whether or not it will be in the middle of the election is not clear."

By Mark Leibovich, New York Times

Washington - On his increasingly difficult path to re-election, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman keeps getting kissed. And not lovingly.

Kisses mock Mr. Lieberman, the incumbent Democrat, all over Connecticut - on signs, on buttons, even on giant parade floats. They commemorate the one President Bush appeared to plant on his cheek after last year's State of the Union address, a symbol, in the eyes of Mr. Lieberman's liberal critics, of an unforgivable alliance in support of the Iraq war.

Hillary's Secret '08 Strategy Revealed (Heaven Help Us)
By Arianna Huffington, http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Hillary Clinton has a strict rule prohibiting her friends and advisors from talking publicly about her running in 2008. Turns out, it might a good rule.

In today's on-the-one-hand-and-on-the-other front page WaPo story on Hillary, a "close advisor" to Clinton breaks the keep-it-zipped-on-08 decree -- with jaw-dropping results.

Numbers are growing in several polls
By CRAIG GILBERT
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=459268

Washington - When Democratic voters in the state of Washington were polled last month about the 2008 presidential race, their top choice was Hillary Clinton.

No shock there.

The surprise involved another Senate Democrat.

Wisconsin's Russ Feingold was named by 11% of those surveyed, behind only Clinton (31%), Al Gore (19%) and John Edwards (12%), three far more prominent political figures.

By Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy In Focus
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0708-28.htm

The U.S. Congress failed in recent weeks to take even symbolic steps
to encourage a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, even though the
majority of Americans support an end to the war. Many anti-war
advocates are hoping that the mid-term U.S. elections in November will
push Congress into Democratic hands and thereby increase the chances

Lieberman Files Forms for Independent Run

Joe Lieberman Files Papers Allowing Him to Petition Way Onto Ballot in Nov. if He Loses Primary

HARTFORD, Conn. Jul 10, 2006 (AP)— U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman filed papers Monday that will allow him to petition his way onto the November ballot if he loses the primary election, his campaign said.

The three-term Democratic senator faces a tough Aug. 8 primary challenge from businessman Ned Lamont. Lieberman, whom fellow Democrats have criticized for his support of the Iraq war and a perceived closeness with President Bush, is popular among many unaffiliated and Republican voters in Connecticut.

By Michael Smith, http://www.timesonline.co.uk

RELATIVES of soldiers killed in Iraq are setting up a political party to take on government ministers at the next general election.

The party, to be called Spectre, is expected to be launched in Manchester in September to coincide with the Labour party conference.

Reg Keys, one of its founders, said it would also contest by-elections.

Keys, whose 19-year-old son Tom was one of six Royal Military Police redcaps killed by a mob of Iraqis in the town of Majar al-Kabir in June 2003, stood against Tony Blair in the general election, winning 10% of the vote.

By Paul Rogat Loeb

This isn't the first time Joe Lieberman's placed loyalty to his career above
all other allegiances. Afraid that Connecticut's Democratic voters will
reject him in the primary, he's now hedging his bets by planning to run as
an independent if he loses. "I have loyalties that are greater than those to
my party," he says, and tries to make this sound noble.

Lieberman made a similar choice in the 2000 election. He hedged his bets

By Dan Ellsberg

According to recent opinion polls, most Iraqis don't believe that we're making things better or safer in their country. What does that say about the legitimacy of prolonged occupation, much less permanent American bases in Iraq? What does it mean for continued American armored patrols such as the one last November in Haditha, which, we now learn, led to the deaths of a Marine and 24 unarmed civilians?

By Carl Sheeler

No taxation without representation was the cry of young American colonists seeking to make their own mark away from the global superpower England. They declared independence, with Rhode Island first to do so. As a war broke out because the crown could not keep its influence, the British military expected to be welcomed by the rank and file who were neither rich nor land owners with no voting rights. Initially, the general populace held little interest in the battles based more on economics than freedoms. It was not until many a colonist home and person were fouled did the back of their indifference break. These non-natives of this land, but nevertheless tenants of this country, fought, as what the British would deem insurrectionists ("insurgents") who would dare to fight the crown's rule.

By Ed Kociela
http://www.thespectrum.com

Even though mid-term elections are still five months away and the run for the White House is two years after that, I've already got my candidate.

Let me introduce my nomination for President of the United States: From the great state of Texas, Mr. Willie Nelson.

Hear me out on this one, OK?

Willie has written a new book called, "The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart."

By Ann Wright

I got a call today from Gold Star Mom Becky Lourey from Minnesota whom many of us met for the first time at Camp Casey in August, 2005. Becky's son Matt was killed in Iraq on May 26, 2005. Lourey, one of the most liberal state senators in Minnesota, had been one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Iraq. She circulated a petition opposing the U.S. decision to go to war unilaterally. She publicly sparred with Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld during her trip to Washington for the funeral ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery.

From Kansas to South Carolina, Republican moderates are turning their backs on the neocons and defecting to the enemy
By Paul Harris, THE OBSERVER , TOPEKA, KANSAS

The squat, bunker-like building in a south Topeka suburb does not look like a place to turn US politics on its head. Nor does Mark Parkinson, a tall, affable man, look too much like a revolutionary. But here, deep in the American heartland, are the warning signs of a political earthquake.

http://www.tasinifornewyork.org/donate

Hillary Clinton has Rupert Murdoch, the pro-war media mogul, and Tom O'Gara, a fundraiser for George Bush, hosting fundraisers for her in the coming days. We only have you: the people who want to take back the Democratic Party from those who lead us into immoral wars and turn our government over to the lobbyists and their powerful clients.

Tomorrow marks the final day of our quarterly major fundraising period. If you haven't contributed, today is the day. If you've contributed before, we need your support, from $20 to $2100-- today is the day.

Want to make Congress more progressive and accountable?
The Maryland 4th District is one of the most liberal in the country. Yet their Representative voted with Bush on Iraq and the bankruptcy bill, sided with the phone and cable companies, and -- for good measure -- supported Wal-Mart instead of its workers. Donna Edwards is a savvy, experienced, progressive leader, fighting for health care, the environment, social justice and net neutrality.

http://www.lastchancedemocracycafe.com

One really cool thing about blogging is that we bloggers are free to pontificate on any subject we want, regardless of whether we have the slightest clue as to what we’re talking about. This expertise-neutral attribute is, of course, particularly valuable to certain conservative bloggers, who, obviously, would otherwise be condemned to eternal silence.

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) enthusiastically endorses Jonathan Tasini for U.S. Senate in New York. Tasini, former President of the National Writers Union, is running on a platform supporting immediate withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, universal health care ("Medicare for All"), a Fair Trade policy that ensures environmental protections and workers' rights, and a massive national effort to invest in alternative energy.

Here.

ImpeachPAC, a federal PAC funding pro-impeachment candidates for Congress, endorsed Dr. Bill Durston in his race for California's 3rd Congressional District against rightwing Republican Dan Lungren.

Dr. Durston served in Vietnam with the Marines 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company, and he received the Navy Commendation medal for bravery under combat. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine and has practiced in Sacramento for over 20 years. He was President of the Sacramento chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility from 2003 until this year.

By Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers

WASHINGTON - When are the Democrats going to get their act together?

Surely, they are not going to let President Bush's political guru, Karl Rove, snooker them in the mid-term November election campaign as he did in the last two presidential elections.

What is he going to pull out of the hat? Soft on terrorism? Gay marriage? Flag burning? 9-11?

By Joshua Holland
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/themix/38043

It's troubling when big-'D' Dems stand against small-'d' democracy -- but they seem to be trying to keep a peace candidate off the ballot.

The last thing Melissa Bean, the freshman Rep from Illinois' 8th CD, wants to see leading up to November's election is Bill Scheurer.

Scheurer, whom Bean defeated in the 2004 primary en route to becoming the first Democrat to take the seat since the New Deal era, is running as an independent this time around. His platform is simple: get out of Iraq, balance the budget and provide universal health coverage -- in that order.

http://www.johnbonifaz.com

JOHN IS RUNNING FOR SECRETARY OF STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS - LET'S HELP HIM WIN!

You've heard about our victory at the convention, you've read about our expanded campaign team, but what you probably didn't know is that today is John's 40th birthday!! Helping to get John more visibility in front of as many voters as possible is just one way we can show our appreciation and celebrate John's big day.

www.tasinifornewyork.org

"Today, Hillary Clinton voted to prolong the violence and killing in Iraq. By voting against an amendment co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, Russ Feingold, Barbara Boxer and Patrick Leahy, my opponent clearly showed that she is out of step with the views of Democratic primary voters in New York. More American men and women will die, as will thousands of Iraqis, because of this vote and the Senate's failure to agree to bring this war to a quick end."

www.tasinifornewyork.org

In the past week or so, as people are in the streets all across the state petitioning to get Jonathan on the ballot, we have seen the power and influence of our campaign. As Jonathan's campaign grows, the popularity of the incumbent sinks.

Jonathan has just been endorsed by the New York State Peace Action and Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. More important, people everywhere are eagerly signing our petitions because they want a Senator with principles who will represent the majority of Democrats in the state.