Moe Lane

This was known, by the way: Abercrombie is resigning in order to run for Governor.  He’ll be ending his term at the end of February:

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) announced today that he will be resigning from the House next month so he can run for governor, a move that sets the stage for a special election to fill his seat.

“I can now set the effective date of my resignation for February 28, 2010, which will enable state elections officials to plan for a timely and cost-effective special election for the First Congressional District to select a successor who will carry on the work of the people,” Abercrombie said in a statement.

Under Hawaii election law, the state’s chief election officer is tasked with setting the date for a special election, which would be held at least 70 days after the formal resignation.

Via The Caucus. This is a good pickup opportunity for the GOP: the NRCC recruited a good candidate (Charles Djou) and he’s been positioned to run for some time. Also, the Democrats are running two candidates. The actual nature of the special election hasn’t been determined yet, but we’re in a good position for this one.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

False modesty be damned.

I do not claim the scalp – that honor is collectively shared by the VRWC as a whole – but by God I will count coup on the man.  He’s going out the door, and he didn’t want to go, and his party’s leadership didn’t want him to go.  He’s going because a lot of people – including myself – kept reminding the Connecticut electorate that Chris Dodd was a corrupt suckweasel of a Democrat; and while as a Republican I may be worse off with Richard Blumenthal entering the race, as an American I’m better off with Dodd leaving it.

So good job to everybody else who helped take Dodd down, too.

Moe Lane

PS: So, who should be next on the list?

Crossposted to RedState.

No Surrender, Bruce Springsteen

I’m not saying that Springsteen’s recent habit of singing all of his old songs at half speed is always a bad idea; it’s probably a bad idea in this case, though.

Two questions: is it true? – and if it’s true, does it have anything to do with this?

Governor Ritter was embroiled in a separate controversy this year when he nominated his scandal-plagued chief of staff, who he is rumored to be having an extramarital affair with, to be the state’s top federal prosecutor. Stephanie Villafuerte abruptly withdrew her nomination to be Colorado’s next U.S. Attorney when the media exposed her role in illegally accessing a restricted database involving an illegal immigrant drug dealer who sexually assaulted a child after Ritter, then Denver District Attorney, gave him a probation deal.

No, that’s a completely different guy than Senator Max Baucus (D MT), who also tried to give his adulterous lover a job as a US Attorney. Apparently it’s becoming quite the fad among Democratic legislators these days.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

So much for a quiet day.

North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan said that he won’t seek re-election in 2010, handing the GOP an opportunity to pick up a seat.

Citing “other things I would like to pursue outside of public life,” the third-term senator made his announcement in a lengthy statement that touted his accomplishments in his 18 year career and hinted at his future plans, including interest in writing books and a private sector career in energy policy.

I giggled at this. Actually, I laughed like a loon. And then the toddler started laughing. And then my wife threatened me with death if I woke the baby. So I stopped laughing. But I kept grinning. Because Dorgan wasn’t on any of my 2010 pickup lists.

Moe Lane

[UPDATE]: AoSHQ sums it up nicely with their title.

Crossposted to RedState.

What a slow day today, eh, my firstborn?

Indeed, indeed it is…

KNOCK! KNOCK! (more…)

You think that you’re having a bad day at work?

Drug smugglers appear to have made a major slip-up, after huge quantities of cocaine were delivered to supermarkets in Spain hidden in boxes of bananas.

Try being a drug distributor who has to explain to his boss why almost two hundred pounds of cocaine is now available on Aisle 5.

Moe Lane

That dare comes from my wife, who has this annoying habit of finding the one piddling inconsistency in what is otherwise a veritable symphony of my plausible nonsense.  In this case, we were discussing weather patterns across the United States (and how it relates to jumping a dead car battery).  So.  Fine.  Texas is part of the East.  It’s on the Gulf of Mexico; that’s part of the Atlantic Ocean.  Hence, Texans are Easterners.

Texans may now declare kanly upon my House and hunt me down at their leisure.  I accept my fate; but what could I do?  She dared me.

Nine points.  In Masssachusetts.  And look here:

Both candidates get better than 70% of the vote from members of their respective parties, but Brown leads 65% to 21% among voters not affiliated with either of the major parties.

Rasmussen’s not pretending that this race isn’t a tough one for Brown, and neither will I: but I told a reporter yesterday that Coakley would have to win by at least ten points to keep national Democrats from getting nervous. Her being single-digits now should set off alarm bells for both parties…

See also Legal insurrection, Jules Crittenden, and Sisu.

Moe Lane

PS: Scott Brown for Senate.

Crossposted to RedState.

Just a random thought: in the process of apparently losing a state Senate special election in Virginia, Democratic candidate Dave Marsden (who is apparently doing his level best to appear ‘bipartisan’) put this letter to the editor up as part of his attempt to win.  Please note this sentence:

Virginia benefits most from the reasonable expression of many viewpoints, but we are in danger of becoming a one-party state.

Oh.  Oh, how quickly the tide rolls back out, too…

Moe Lane

PS: Speaking of which: Senator Webb.  James.  I know that there have been harsh words written about you.  I know that I have personally (and regretfully) written harsh words about you.  Unfortunate things are often said and written in the tension of close election campaigns.  But you will have another one of those in two years – and trends in Virginia are going against your adopted (and ill-fitting, really) party.  The target of your revenge has gone on to a dignified retirement.  The issue that triggered your defection has passed.

So have you really thought about where you see yourself being in 2013?

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

Steal My Sunshine, Len

Damned if I know why it gets stuck in my head.

Well, that’s annoying.  So I guess that I’m going to come up with a area or two of my own. Blocking one out in my head now: I’m thinking of calling it Dragon Age… (more…)