Month: July 2009

SecState Clinton has 3 million in war chest.

Fascinating.

WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton says running for office isn’t on her “radar,” but she still has an eight-person political team and sports two overflowing campaign war chests.

Her team transformed the former Democratic White House contender’s massive campaign debts into a $3 million mountain of political cash, according to federal fund-raising records through the end of June.

[snip]

By comparison, Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is up for reelection next year, had just three people on staff last quarter.

Via Andrew Malcolm, who likewise finds this fascinating.  Also, before you ask: Clinton was and is not allowed to pay herself back for the money she lent her own campaign.  That’s gone forever. Continue reading SecState Clinton has 3 million in war chest.

Kay Bailey Hutchison will resign seat to run for Governor of Texas.

I find some of the rhetoric going on between Senator Hutchison and Governor Perry to be already a bit harsh, so here are the bare bones of the story:

Hutchison told WBAP-AM (820) host Mark Davis that she would officially kick-off her campaign in August.

“Formal announcement: I am in. Then the actual leaving of the Senate will be sometime — October, November — that, in that time frame,” she said.

It was her most definitive statement yet that she would leave the Senate in the middle of her third term.

This being a Senate seat, there will be an appointment made by the Governor, followed by a special election for the remaining two years of Senator Hutchison’s term.  As the disclaimer below makes clear, my recommendation for Governor Perry is to appoint Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams for the position, on the grounds that Williams is a). a solid conservative; b). prepared (thanks to his role as Railroad Commissioner*) to be a powerful voice on energy policy; and c). actively running for the spot.  Oh, and d). he’ll be talking at the RS Gathering.  Continue reading Kay Bailey Hutchison will resign seat to run for Governor of Texas.

They postponed the Energy markup yet *again*.

After all that sturm und drang and haggling over the price on the Blue Dogs’ part, I just got told that the start of the Energy committee’s markup’s been delayed until at least tomorrow.  36/23 Dem/GOP partisan breakdown and Henry Waxman still can’t run a committee to save his life.

Alas, not being able to do the simplest legislative things will do little to destroy his career: the things that Beverly Hills voters find truly inexcusable have very little in common with the rest of the country, or indeed observed sentient life.  And I include dolphins, orangutans, Border Collies, and several breeds of parrots in that category.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

McDonnell/Deeds 55/40, curse it.

[Another UPDATE]: Yeah, yeah, yeah: I mucked the name up thoroughly.  Sue me.

I say ‘curse it’ because if McDonnell had been just one point lower the title could have been

McDonnell/Deeds: 54/40, no fight.

Anyway, more details here (via @PatrickRuffini). August should prove interesting…

Moe Lane

PS: McDonnell for Governor. Contribute here.

Crossposted to RedState.

Marion Berry (D, AR-01) not up to keeping his story straight.

It’s sad when a sitting US Congressman loses his ability to remember the basic details of the shenanigans he went through to bring in the cash.  Via Boot Berry, this classic moment of what we call a Kinsley gaffe:

To those without video: it’s of Berry first confidently denying that he personally gets farm subsidies (in 2007), then (yesterday) momentarily forgetting that he denies personally getting farm subsidies, cheerfully admitting that he personally gets farm subsidies, then visibly stopping and going to himself Wait a second.  I’m supposed to pretend that I don’t personally get farm subsidies.  It’s the stop-and-wait-and-visible-oops moment that makes this video: by all means, watch it.

And then check out his opponent Rick Crawford.  Because if Berry can’t even keep up on this, him returning to private life seems best for all concerned.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Gratuitous Hat Tip post.

There are enough blogwars going on right now that I decline to add to their number, particularly since Liber Ex Machina might actually have a point (I’m studiously ignoring that it might have been due to Shatner’s other recent spoken-word shenanigans, mostly because I don’t feel like getting mad at the man).  So here is Liber Ex Machina’s precious hat tip.

I write this smiling.