W A S H I N G T O N, Aug 2: 95 Days Until The Election....
—Once upon time, the storyline of the 2002 midterm elections was going to be "popular wartime president and vice president barnstorm the country talking about homeland security and national security, and raising buckets of money for Republicans candidates everywhere, who would go on to defy the normal midterm pattern and give the President bicameral control of Congress."
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NOW upon a time, it's clear that at least as much political climate-setting is taking place on corporate responsibility and economic insecurity.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney still plan to barnstorm the country, including during August, straight through November, but the Democrats are doing their best to take the edge off these local stops by making the White House duo as toxic as possible. Their sometimes tacky but all time-honored tools of the trade: funny mascots, protests, and tireless working of the (often easily persuadable) local press corps.
Make no mistake: Bush and Cheney still are going to raise a ton of money (nothing can take the edge off of THAT for the Democrats). But as the president and Vice President head to, say, California, Democrats are working to marry up the national economic and corporate climate with the particulars of any local Republican vulnerabilities.
Today's examples: California, Maine, and Mississippi.
And in the case of California and GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon, well, this effort wouldn't be all that hard for Democrats to pull off even without the help of enterprising reporters turning up blind quotes from ticked off Administration officials that arguably just exacerbate the whole problem for them.
In case you missed it amidst the swirl of other corporate accountability news, businessman Simon's investment firm got hit earlier this week with an $87 million judgment on fraud charges, including $65 million in punitive damages. Simon himself was not named in the lawsuit.
Apparently Simon did not give a heads-up on the imminent ruling to the White House, which — until now, at least — had been highly supportive of Simon's bid against Gov. Gray Davis (D), and which had been planning on a couple of presidential visits to the state on Simon's behalf.
Vice President Cheney also is expected to make a California trip very soon, although we're not sure he ever necessarily planned to appear with Simon.
The sharpest Z's in the national political press corps get the scoop.
The Washington Times ' Z. Hallow says, "A Republican official close to both the Simon campaign and the White House said angry administration officials called the Simon campaign yesterday to complain that the Simon team never alerted the Bush political team in Washington about the lawsuit."
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"Mr. Bush had three visits scheduled this month to help Mr. Simon raise money, and Vice President Dick Cheney had one trip scheduled, but those visits 'now look iffy,' the official said."
"However, two senior White House officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, separately insisted that no such calls were made. They said the White House remains supportive of Mr. Simon and is confident he can win."
"One California Republican said the news surprised and angered the Bush White House, which has been giving all-out support to the Simon campaign."
And the Los Angeles Times Z. Barabak leads, "Fretful Republicans from California to Washington were reassessing their commitment Thursday to the gubernatorial candidacy of Bill Simon Jr."
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"Strategists for Democratic incumbent Gray Davis redoubled their attack on Simon, launching a new statewide television ad criticizing his business ethics and accusing him of dodging taxes … More significant was the silence emanating from the White House and national Republican Party leaders."
"'The bottom line question is [whether] everyone is walking out now,' said one GOP official. 'I don't think anybody knows the answer to that. That question has not been answered yet, yes or no.'"
"The White House, meantime, was gauging the political damage to determine whether President Bush should proceed with plans for a California swing and a joint fund-raising appearances with Simon later this month."
"His planned visit puts Bush in an awkward position as he attempts to bolster his party in California and his own credentials on corporate accountability."
"And uncomfortable as it may be, some say Bush has little choice but to follow through and honor his commitment to Simon. Invitations have already gone out for this month's events, hosted by businessmen Alex Spanos and David Murdock."
"Invitations for the Murdock event ask for contributions of as much as $100,000 for 'preferred seating' and two photographs with Bush at Murdock's Ventura farm."
President Bush is scheduled to make a fundraising stop for moderate GOP Senator Susan Collins in Kennebunkport while vacationing up there this weekend. The Boston Globe 's Kornblut looks at why Collins' Democratic opponent, former state Senator Chellie Pingree, has reason to look forward to the event. "Despite Bush's sound approval ratings nationwide, there is a sense that his coattails are somewhat shorter now than they once were."
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Shorter? We're not sure he ever had them. Anyway …
"Pingree, a former state senator, has already incorporated the language of 'corporate accountability' into her rallying cry … And as Bush prepared to visit Maine on behalf of Collins, Pingree sounded unafraid to link the president with the moderate incumbent, a tactic that would have seemed ill-advised just a few months ago."
"At the same time," Kornblut notes, "despite Republican skittishness about the effect corporate scandals will have on the midterm elections, there is little concrete proof so far that the tidal wave of fraud has affected Bush's popularity or tarnished the GOP as a whole, as some Democrats had initially hoped."
And thirdly, with his rich "Brandon, MS" dateline, the Wall Street Journal 's Rogers churns out another must-read on how corporate scandals and their thematics just might be shaking up the Mississippi House race between two redistricted incumbents, one Republican and one Democrat, in the shadows of WorldCom's headquarters.
That vast DCCC press operation will love it when they see the GOP's Big Dog adopting their very worldview (sort of): "Haley Barbour, the former Republican national chairman, … says the House contest has become 'a little bit of a microcosm of the whole country' this election year. 'It's a race that Republicans ought to win,' he says. 'The question is whether there's enough economic concern to shift some votes.'"
"If populist thrusts begin showing results here for Democrats," Rogers goes on to say, "they could open up a second tier of rural races in Alabama, Oklahoma and southern Illinois, where the party must make gains to win back the House in November, and where populist economic themes might work. "
TO BE SURE, Part One: Democrats still could overreach here, and Republicans are being very aggressive about pushing back on Democrats' own vulnerabilities on this issue.
TO BE SURE, Part Two: even so, and while this may not be fair, it's true that Republicans … simply … get … more … flack … on this issue, and also, they control the White House.
Republicans are engaged in a two-pronged defense strategy that is somewhat conflicting and internally inconsistent: 1) aided by thorough opposition research from the national party committee, individual GOP candidates are trying to fight fire with fire, producing data on Democratic money ties to questionable businesses, yet at the same time, 2) they are insisting that the house isn't burning by denying any nexis between corporate campaign contributions and policy positions. One effort may serve to dilute the other.
Though the rate of unemployment held at 5.9 percent through July, ABCNEWS' Schindelheim notes that economists had hoped for an increase in 68,000 jobs. The economy added only 6,000.
The last thing the White House needs is a huge dip in the market, which would fuel "double-dip recession" and "jobless recovery" questions on the weekend shows.
Alison Mitchell goes a bit more abstract with a nice New York Times overview on what is so very key: how the congressional agenda affects the 2002 outlook. "With an eye to the fall elections, Democrats are keeping the issue of corporate malfeasance front and center and accusing Republicans of being the party of special interests and big business … "
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"Republicans are running against the Senate Democrats as obstructionists who must be removed from the majority in order to pass President Bush's agenda."
"To some extent, every issue is being judged by whether it furthers or blunts these two lines of argument."
"As a result, the session — which still has a bankruptcy agreement, pension protections, election overhaul, a domestic security department and spending bills in the balance — might yet end in a burst of new legislation or a partisan implosion."
George W. Bush wanted to run for president on changing the tone in Washington, Social Security reform, tax cuts, defense spending, education standards set from Washington, and tort reform.
Somewhere along the way (you figure out why), the man who famously likes to run on a compact, clearly defined list of priorities expanded it to include selective additional stuff, including (you figure out why) a prescription drug benefit and a patients' bill of rights.
"An administration official said the senators were told Bush would meet with them only 'if such a meeting would be productive.'"
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For the latest advertising developments and GOP predictions of electoral mayhem for the Torch, see below, except for this must-read: this morning on Imus, Senator Joe Lieberman, we're pretty sure for the first time, was goaded by the host into saying that yes, the Ethics Committee should release the investigative file on the case
Homeland security chief Tom Ridge seems to have further carved out the line in the sand on civil employee protections.
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From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: Israeli troops supported by more than 100 armored vehicles have moved into the Palestinian city of Nablus in response to a deadly bomb attack in Jerusalem. They had been encircling the city since March, and moved into the center and surrounded the Old City in the early hours on Friday. Two Palestinians were killed in the city, while another was shot dead in a nearby village. In the continuing crackdown on militants, Israel's attorney general has approved the expulsion from the West Bank to Gaza of two relatives of Palestinians who were responsible for the attacks against Israeli civilians. The two men have appealed to Israel's Supreme Court against the order.
Israel also is implementing its new policy of destroying homes belonging to the families of suicide bombers. In Hebron, troops blew up a house belonging to the family of a Palestinian who killed two Israelis in an attack in Jerusalem last November and in Tulkarm, soldiers destroyed the house of a member of Hamas who killed three Israelis in an attack in the coastal city of Netanya in March 2001.
Jackie Calmes' sassy Wall Street Journal Washington Wire leads with Bob Rubin, and she finally gets Citigroup to cough up this: "A spokeswoman says Rubin 'had no knowledge or involvement in the Enron-related transactions.'"
The Wire also has a good summary of the fruits of somebody's oppo work on Clinton Administration coziness with Enron.
Why do papers let legal or business reporters write political stories? Sometimes they do just fine, as the New York Times ' Steve Labaton does today in looking at the politics of the corporate criminal indictment dodge, but is he really the best person to write this: "For an administration eager to show off its enforcement efforts, the more difficult questions may come later. How, for instance, will the White House deal with results of the investigations of companies like Halliburton, which Vice President Cheney once headed, and Enron, which had long associations with the Bush family? If Halliburton or Enron is ultimately not found to have violated any rules, will a political perception form that prosecutors went easy on those companies because of their ties to the White House?"
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The proud FOGs (that's "Friends of George") who owned the Rangers with the POTUS write to the New York Times to defend the financial terms of the president's windfall from the sale of the team.
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The Washington Post writes up Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson's $1 million to $5 million profit from exercising his Providian Financial Corp. stock options in July of last year. "The value of Providian's stock plummeted in early September, about two months after Thompson exercised his options, when the company surprised investors with more problem loans than expected."
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"Thompson's spokesman, Mark Corallo, said Thompson's understanding when he took office was that ethics requirements dictated the sale of the stock. But according to the ethics agreement Thompson entered into when he became deputy attorney general, he was not required to do so, government ethics officials say. Instead, he could maintain control over his holdings but had to recuse himself from matters involving the company."
Whether you think Paul Krugman is crying crocodile tears over the prospect of a double-dip recession or not (and we know what Ed Gillespie would say about that), the Note agrees with the following analysis, relying heavily on a quick review of our "Economics 101" textbook, and (more seriously) our talks with politicians and business people around the country: "Bear in mind also that government officials have a stake in accentuating the positive. The administration needs a recovery because, with deficits exploding, the only way it can justify that tax cut is by pretending that it was just what the economy needed. Mr. Greenspan needs one to avoid awkward questions about his own role in creating the stock market bubble … "
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"But wishful thinking aside, I just don't understand the grounds for optimism. Who, exactly, is about to start spending a lot more? At this point it's a lot easier to tell a story about how the recovery will stall than about how it will speed up."
Some of the nation's top political reporters covered Al Gore's labor summit yesterday.
The following labor leaders showed up to greet the man: AFL-CIO Treasurer Richard Trumka; Edward Sullivan, president of the AFL-CIO's building and construction trades department; Gerald McEntee, president of American Federation of State, Country, and Municipal Employees; Morton Bahr, president of the Communications Workers of America; Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union; Douglas H. Dority, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers; Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association; Jim Williams, president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades; and Bill Samuel, a longtime senior adviser to Gore on labor policy.
For more, check out our Kate Rakoczy's on-the-scene dispatch:
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"The D.C. lunch meeting marked the first time since the 2000 election that the former vice president had met and thanked the labor leaders for the work they did for him in that campaign," the Washington Post 's Balz writes. "His failure to reach out to them more effectively has left hard feelings in a group that will be crucial to him if he decides to run again in 2004."
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"Gore acknowledged the unhappiness, according to several participants, and said that was one of the reasons he had organized yesterday's gathering, which was paid for by his political action committee."
"At the mention of the DLC event, Gore, according to one account, said with a smile, 'Oh, was there a meeting in New York? I must have missed that.'"
David Lightman nicely captures Gore's efficient exit: "Gore said nothing about anything. Once the clock struck 2, he whooshed down a flight of stairs, strode purposefully into his waiting car, rolled up the tinted window and didn't even make eye contact with reporters."
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This morning, after joking about a conjoined Chris Dodd/Joe Lieberman ticket, Imus asked about The Pledge:
Lieberman: "I made a pledge and that's still where I am, so that obviously I'm thinking about running if he doesn't run. The sooner he decided, the better it will be to make a decision."
Imus: "If he runs, you don't run?"
Lieberman: "Yeah."
Imus: "As a Democrat, would you be happy to have him run again?"
Lieberman: "Yeah, I would."
Save some time on Sunday (or Monday, for those of you whose life circumstances require you to wait) to read Joe Klein's New Yorker exposition on the Democratic Leadership Council meeting.
Herr Anonymous writes about such matters with an authority not dissimilar to the way Sid Blumenthal writes about "Western European Leaders I Have Known and Tutored;" Mark McKinnon writes about "Texas Republicans and Democrats I Have Known and Supported;" and Jake Siewart writes about "Aluminum Cartelists I Have Known and Strategized With."
Meaning: Joe Knows Centrist Democrats.
(Speaking of Mr. Siewart, we are pretty sure that he is also the answer to the following two trivia questions: 1) which sitting White House press secretary is the only one ever to live in a group house in Adams Morgan?; and 2) which former White House press secretary is the only one to host a very lovely party for the outgoing press secretary of the former President under which they both served at a Chinatown apartment above a sweat shop?
So long, Julia Payne, and hello Jim Kennedy, starting today.
It's not often that anyone sees Al Gore and Hillary Clinton together. Indeed, some might argue (overinterpreting, perhaps) that at least one of them devotes some energy to staying away from the other.
Maybe it was the mellow, nostalgic setting, but the two did appear on stage together at the Clinton/Gore alumni association gathering at George Washington University Wednesday night. The standing room only crowded numbered about 300. Sources say that Senator Clinton, whose husband was not present, gave the opening remarks, with Gore up on stage with her, nodding his head to all the "remember whens … " Gore achieved a nice mix of funny and serious, talking about issues Democrats should campaign on in 2002, and encouraging the crowd to get involved in the midterm elections. He shook hands all around both before and after his remarks, and hung out for awhile afterward.
It should be Noted that Gore's candidate in Tennessee's 4th district, state Senator Lincoln Davis, won his crowded primary yesterday after leveling "corporate greed" charges against his top rival.
Does Alison Mitchell know something Gore doesn't? Check out the way she IDs a man who usually likes to keep a lowish profile: "'Politics is about offense and defense,' said Carter Eskew, a former strategist for Al Gore, 'and it's about choosing your moments.'"
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The Washington Times editorial page, looking at Commerce Department data released this week, cries foul over Gore's charge that Bush inherited a strong economy: "What Mr. Gore hyperbolically considered 'the strongest economy in history,' it turns out, was on the brink of a recession at the end of 2000."
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On fast track, Senators Daschle, Kerry, and Lieberman voted for it; Senators Biden, Dodd, and Edwards voted against.
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The Raleigh News & Observer's Wagner looks at the tough time certain members of textile-reliant North Carolina's delegation had in casting their votes. "On Thursday, Senator John Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat, became the second member of the delegation to switch sides on the issue. Edwards voted against giving Bush 'fast-track' authority, citing several provisions intended to help the textile industry that had been dropped from the original Senate version of the trade bill that he voted for this spring."
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"Edwards voted in favor of the Senate's version of the fast-track bill in late May after adding an amendment to help the industry."
"An Edwards provision that would have increased financing for community college retraining programs was removed. As a result, Edwards concluded 'the bill coming out of the conference committee hurt North Carolina,' said his spokesman, Mike Briggs. Edwards declined a request Thursday to discuss the bill."
Some reporters may have noticed an uptick in the legislative activity out of Edwards' office lately — on patients' rights, on privacy, and on the environment. Wagner plays it straight:
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Edwards seems to get the substance (and the politics) of the privacy issue, something the New York Times will keep suggesting is of growing interest to citizens (and voters) until it actually decides an election …
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… and the Times makes Edwards big in their patients' bill of rights story, although Dr. Pear says that Edwards, along with McCain, is passing on taking a partisan shot at the White House, which is becoming a theme that some hyper-partisan Democrats don't like.
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Boston Globe columnist Scot Lehigh noted that of all the wannabes who addressed the DLC earlier this week, only Senator John Kerry got his picture on the front page of the New York Times for his unique critique of the president on foreign policy. "A campaign that has foreign policy as a principal concern plays to the disadvantage both of newcomers like Edwards and of old domestic policy warhorses like Gephardt."
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"(The only other candidate who has done remotely as well in recent weeks is Vermont's Governor Howard Dean, who has started to establish himself as a straight-shooter.)"
Joe Lieberman's attempts to find a compromise on the stock options issue makes the Washington Wire.
Imus this morning couldn't understand why Lieberman wouldn't give an unequivocal "yes" to whether his committee will call Citicorp's Bob Rubin, giving the Senator the toughest round of questioning this side of upper Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The highlights:
Lieberman: "He may be one guy we'll talk to … "
Imus: "Why would it be may?"
Lieberman: " … There is some evidence that has been public that Bob Rubin did call somebody in the Treasury Department in the final weeks before [Enron declared bankruptcy]. That is under active investigation. Our committee is going to do the hearings in the fall … if he have any reason that it will be constructive … to call any of those people … the best evidence that the committee has … shows no connection between Rubin and the loan deals."
Imus: "It sounds political … "
Lieberman: "I'm just telling you. Have a little patience. We're on the case. It's a long story."
Imus: "Will Robert Rubin be appearing before your committee before the November election?"
Lieberman: " … We hope to have the committee's work finished before November."
The Wall Street Journal attacks Dick Gephardt in an editorial making a more full-throated defense of personal savings accounts to save Social Security than most GOP candidates of the 2002 cycle are making.
The Boston Herald reports that the Democratic National Committee convention site selection panel — or part of it, anyway — is returning for another look: "national Democratic VIPs are coming for a second visit to consider Boston's bid for the 2004 party convention."
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"The committee weighing where to host the convention has reportedly raised concerns about a lack of press workspace, and the fact that few minority officials are involved in Boston's planning process."
"The visit next Wednesday by eight members of the committee's operation team comes just one month after Mayor Thomas M. Menino wined and dined them, offering to spend $49.5 million on the convention."
"The team is expected to spend a lot of time at the FleetCenter, addressing logistical questions such as the location of media pavilions and transportation to and from hotels for the 35,000 delegates, political operatives and reporters."
Come Sunday, the Republican National Committee's site selection panel is scheduled to visit New Orleans.
Soft-money accounts at the Republican and Democratic campaign committees are bulking up this summer, as a Congress preoccupied with the first midterm election of the 21st century takes up corporate reform and the bread-and-butter basket of appropriations bills.
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These summer months are hot for another reason: beginning November 6, and barring a court order, many of these soft-money conduits — by which donors can contribute unregulated and unlimited sums of money to political parties — will be shut down, and donors will have to find less direct ways to contribute to the party organization of their choice.
Our analysis of receipts and disbursements for the month of June shows that the parties combined took in more than $20 million in soft money. Much of that money came through state party transfers, owing to increased political activity in a dozen battleground states. An exact accounting could not be made because the disclosure documents often number in the thousands of pages. We have all the relevant and interesting numbers.
We know we should take this a tad more seriously, but we are all hot and bothered with nostalgia to read a post-Howell Raines' New York Times ed board lead editorial with icy, high-horsed denunciation of Hillary Clinton — in this case (a must-read) for her closed-door clash with Senator Feingold about who lives in the "real world" when it comes to campaign finance laws. LINK
The last paragraph is, as Lloyd Bentsen would say, a doozy: "Senator Feingold had an icy reply for Mrs. Clinton's caustic comments about his efforts to salvage campaign reform, saying, 'I also live in the real world, senator, and I function quite well in it.' Americans prefer the world of Senator Feingold. It is also the law of the land."
Democrats and Republicans both claim to have focus groups that show, respectively, that Torch will be fine and that Torch is in big trouble. Maybe they could get together and do some joint one, and end the Note's cognitive dissonance.
Given how remarkable the new "repentant Torricelli," Nixon/Checkers-like TV ad is, we can't really explain why the New York Times writes it up a like a wire story, at a length and with a tone as if Torricelli's first TV spot of the cycle were about prescription drugs.
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Torricelli also gets called "resolute" in the Newark Star-Ledger's news article, and Democrats and Republicans cited are uniform in their praise. "David Norcross, a Republican National Committee member, said Torricelli is probably right to confront the ethics ruling. 'It isn't going to go away. Torricelli's best bet is to convince people — as the ad tries to do — to elect him anyway,' Norcross said. 'He's a resilient campaigner, but he's got a mountain to climb this time.'" LINK
Political reporters who have been despairing over a lack of stuff to cover now that recess is upon us, don't fret. The campaign committees will be quite busy this month, as previewed for you in a pair of pen-and-pads.
Come Monday, newlyweds and Democratic message maestros Jim Jordan and Howard Wolfson, whose communications talents are often repressed by their more managerial responsibilities as executive directors of the Democratic Senate and House campaign committees, respectively, will hold a joint pen-and-pad briefing at 2:00 p.m..
Those who fondly recall Wolfson and Jordan operating in 24/7 spin mode last cycle as Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign communications director and as the DSCC's communications (as well as political) director, respectively, can close their eyes and skip mentally down memory lane as they listen to the two expound on Democratic themes of the midterm elections.
This briefing, which has been in the works for a couple of weeks, will be preceded today by an 11:30 am pen-and-pad with GOP House campaign committee chief Tom Davis, a communications marvel in his own unique right. (Hey Mitch, please get in on the act here; we think you and the Chairman would be great together … )
The Washington Post 's Broder becomes the latest of his peers to write up the member-vs.-member Democratic primary which just might deprive the House of its longest-serving incumbent, John Dingell, who is running against more junior Rep. Lynn Rivers. "Dingell represents the traditional blue-collar, union-oriented, largely male-dominated and culturally conservative coalition forged in his father's New Deal era. Rivers is backed by the academic, cause-oriented, environmental, anti-gun, abortion rights and largely female groups that have come to play a dominant role in the party."
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"Tipper Gore flew in Monday to drum up votes" for Dingell. "In an interview, Gore acknowledged that it was unusual for her or her husband to intervene in a primary between Democratic incumbents or to oppose a female abortion rights supporter. But the former vice president's wife said she had explained to Rivers that 'John took Al under his wing when we came to Congress in 1976, and this is a matter of friendship and longtime loyalty.'"
"Rivers counterpunched by enlisting Sarah Brady, wife of former White House press secretary James Brady and leader of a national campaign for stricter gun controls."
The ad war between Rivers and Dingell is getting nastier and nastier.
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Hilliard/Davis, Part Two? The pro-Israel community and the Muslim-American community are lining up against each other in yet another Democratic House primary in which an incumbent who voted against the pro-Israel resolution last May, Cynthia McKinney, is being challenged by former state judge Denise Majette. The Washington Post s' Edsall writes it up.
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And the Wall Street Journal reminds us: "Rep. Hilliard's defeat last month in Alabama emboldens pro-Israel donors to target Georgia Rep. McKinney, another Congressional Black Caucus Democrat who opposes U.S. Mideast policy. She draws Arab-American aid, but better-financed pro-Israel groups back Denise Majette, a former state judge — just as they helped Hilliard foe Artur Davis. Majette's campaign expects to raise $1 million before the Aug. 20 primary. Both Majette and Davis are African-Americans."
There's a new poll out there showing Majette narrowly beating McKinney, but the methodology belies the result: the sample size is very, very small.
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Not that we don't think the race could be close: Majette has earned her media, and has raised money to pay for some more, and McKinney is running aggressive ads that don't befit a safe incumbent.
Remember that document some Republicans were assembling of names of lobbyists who contributed to Democrats, so as to deny them access and government jobs? The Washington Post 's VandeHei updates his reporting. "The Senate ethics committee, reacting to a controversial document being assembled by Republican activists, plans to warn senators today not to use political affiliation as a basis for deciding who gets access to them or their staffs, a source familiar with the effort said last night."
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"The letter will be co-signed by the committee's top Republican, Senator Pat Roberts (Kan.)."
Both Republicans running as the "maverick true conservative" choice for Senate and governor lost yesterday — perhaps an exception to the rule of late, or perhaps an indication that there never was a trend to begin with.
Lamar Alexander defeated Rep. Ed Bryant to win the Republican Senate nomination last night; Democratic Rep. Bob Clement easily won his party's primary. Alexander promised to use his clout to bring more money to the state, and Clement immediately questioned Alexander's corporate fraud credentials.
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"Clement has said that if he runs against Mr. Alexander in the fall, he will examine his financial dealings, though the Clement camp would not yet give specifics," the Washington Times reports. "Democrats in many campaigns this fall are trying to use the issue of corporate responsibility and painting the Republicans as too close to business."
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Rep. Van Hilleary claimed the GOP gubernatorial nod and immediately challenged his Democratic opponent, former Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen, to pledge not to institute a state income tax.
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Another hitch for Bill Simon: Simon said in a deposition back in May that he could not remember being told that he took "a $1.2-million hit from his failed gamble on a pay phone company" at the time it took place. "Simon's apparent disengagement from matters with a profound impact on his personal finances and his family's investment firm came to light in his testimony on the pay phone deal," interprets the Los Angeles Times ' Finnegan and Rabin. "He said that not only did he know virtually nothing about the pay phone investment, he also was unsure how much of his family's firm belonged to him."
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"Asked if he was a hands-on manager, Simon replied: 'Well, you know, I guess we could talk about what you mean by "hands-on." But I would look at it as not particularly hands-on, in terms of individual investments.'"
Not the least because she's Katherine Harris, her sudden, abrupt, surprising, etc. resignation will continue to influence state politics and the press for at least several weeks. Democrats hate her, the media is wary of her, and many Republicans wish she'd go away. We don't say that to be mean — go ahead and ask Republicans in Florida what they think.
State Democrats vowed to look into whether Harris illegally occupied her office while campaigning, especially from July 16 to August 1, when she was effectively ineligible to hold office. Republicans may hold off challenging the candidacy of Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who faced a similar ballot access question of his own.
And the Sarasota-based House seat for which Harris is running is by no means as safe for her as before.
The Miami Herald has a good accounting of the legal mess: "Florida's 'resign-to-run' law dictates that an elected official seeking another elective office must give written notice of plans to resign their current job at least 10 days before filing papers to run for the new one."
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"The resignation must be effective by the time they assume the new office so they don't hold two elected posts simultaneously. Harris, if elected, would report to Congress on Jan. 3, four days before her secretary term ends. The law is also designed to alert potential candidates that an incumbent will not seek reelection."
"Should candidates not file a notice — as was the case with … Harris — the law calls for their immediate resignation upon qualifying to run for a new office."
"Harris' failure to understand the law her office is in charge of administering provided fresh fodder for critics, particularly Democrats who have sought to discredit her since the 2000 presidential recount."
The Sarasota Herald Tribune says that one of Harris's likely Democratic opponents, TV personality Candice Brown McElyea, will go to court today to try and block her candidacy on the grounds that it was illegally established. LINK
The NAACP and Volusia County, FL have settled a voter discrimination complaint.
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Janet Reno set a "presumptuous" date for an Elton John fundraiser: September 18, more than a week after the Democratic primary. LINK
This coming week's New Yorker has a Peter Boyer piece on "The New Texan," which is of course a reference to David Beckwith's favorite Texan, Democratic Senate nominee Ron Kirk.
Here's a little paragraph to tease you, and to get your mind to racing: "Will Kirk's sharp fundraising team be able to raise any more Northeast salon cash off of it?":
"But Texas loves politicians with big personalities, as I was reminded when Kirk told me that he is reading the third volume of Robert A. Caro's L.B.J. biography, 'Master of the Senate.' Caro depicts Johnson as being one of the greatest political dealmakers who ever lived. 'If you pick it up and you're running for Senate,' Kirk remarked, 'you say, 'That's why I'm doing this thing!'"
To take the edge off all the gushy East Coast press coverage, Republicans are confident that they can make vice-like hay out of Kirk's years as a business lobbyist, and what they will say are new examples of his flip-floppy positions on trade and business.
A couple of Democrats gleefully forwarded the news this morning that GOP Senator Bob Smith has hit the airwaves with a TV ad attacking primary rival Rep. John Sununu on that particularly quirky New Hampshire mix of taxes and the environment, as well as that new nonpartisan polling suggesting Shaheen is increasing her showing versus both Republicans, and that the two warring GOPers are tied.
We'll see whether any politicians claim credit for this: tool manufacturer Stanley Works announced early Friday that it won't be re-incorporating in Bermuda, after all.
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After Republican Senate nominee and Rep. Lindsey Graham held a press conference earlier this week to praise President Bush's signing of the corporate accountability bill, Democratic Senate nominee Alex Sanders hit Graham with "two votes that Graham cast March 20 in the House Education and Workforce Committee, one against requiring prompt disclosure of insider trading and the other against timely reporting of accounting irregularities in pension funds."
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Graham said Sanders took his votes out of context and that "he voted against both measures because complying with them would be unreasonable. Current laws are adequate to deal with both issues, he said."
A new radio ad launched by Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges levels the charges that GOP nominee Mark Sanford is "a multimillionaire from South Florida, with a 3,000-acre plantation near Charleston," and "worked on Wall Street." "Born in South Florida, Sanford worked for the investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. Campaign spokesman Will Folks said Sanford owns a farm near Charleston, but Folks didn't know its size."
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We forgot to tell you yesterday that Bob Novak "got" Paul O'Neill (the good and the bad) perfectly yesterday.
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Including this: "Leading Republicans and eminent financiers are stressing the president's — and the nation's — need for a new spokesman. They have no ready replacement but agree on a model. They all want 'another Rubin.' While conservatives disagree ideologically with Bill Clinton's secretary of the Treasury (and some cry for him to be called to testify on his tangential role in the Enron scandal), they yearn for Robert Rubin's hauteur and mastery."
The Washington Post 's Mike Allen notes that Commerce Secretary Evans' policy adviser is "on the early edge of a wave of expected departures of core campaign aides who put in their month in Florida during the recount, then came to Washington. As they got engaged or had children or started worrying about tuition, they talked of heading home. Then the Sept. 11 attacks made it bad form to bail out."
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"Now, a new life cycle is starting for the administration. Inner-circle, behind-the-scenes types such as [Don] Trigg are starting to leave."
"Two headhunters who specialize in the administration said they are beginning to see a customary momentum for departures."
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks into Attorney General Ashcroft's financial disclosure form.
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Chuck Lewis, get out your binoculars: the Wall Street Journal 's Washington Wire says: "Some Pioneers — Bush's early big donors — are invited to his ranch this month."
The Washington Post 's DeYoung wonders aloud whether Secretary of State Colin Powell has squeezed in some singing lessons between diplomatic missions, judging from the difference between his performance at last year's "cabaret night" and this year's.
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— 10:00 am, hearing in Judicial Watch's lawsuit for the Cheney energy task force records, followed by news conference with Larry Klayman, US District Court, DC
— 10:30 am, Senate Minority Leader Lott briefs
— 10:40 am, President Bush has a photo op with the US Men's World Cup soccer team, Oval Office
— 11:30 am, Republican House campaign committee chairman Tom Davis holds pen-and-pad, Republican National Committee headquarters, DC
— 11:30 am, President Bush departs the White House for Kennebunkport, ME
Newly listed events are italicized.
— Aug. 3: 5th Annual Iowa antique tractor hunt, Pomeroy, Iowa
— Aug. 3: 13th Chowderfest, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire — Aug. 4-6: RNC site selection committee visits New Orleans
— Aug. 6: Michigan primary; Kansas primary; Missouri primary
— Aug. 6: President Bush physical examination expected — Aug. 6-8: RNC site selection committee visits Tampa-St. Petersburg
— Aug. 7: last day for Ohio ballot measures to be presented
— Aug. 8: Vice President Cheney headlines fundraiser for House candidate John Swallow, Salt Lake City
— Aug. 8-10: International Association of Firefighters convention, Las Vegas — Aug. 8-10: RNC site selection committee visits New York — Aug. 8: Winning Margins PAC event for Texas Senate candidate Ron Kirk, DC
— Aug. 8-11: Democratic National Committee meets, Las Vegas
— Aug. 8-18: Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, Iowa
— Aug. 10: Sen. John Edwards keynotes Magnuson Dinner, Washington state
— Aug. 10: Sen. Pete Domenici leads "Campaign Caravan" of GOP candidates across New Mexico — Aug. 12: DCCC Texas Fund dinner, with candidates Ron Kirk and Tony Sanchez, and Rep. Martin Frost in attendence
— Aug. 13: Colorado primary
— Aug. 13: Sen. Joe Lieberman addresses American Postal Workers Convention and headlines Sen. Paul Wellstone fundraiser, Minneapolis
— Aug. 13: President Bush hosts economic summit, Waco, Texas
— Aug. 13: Ex-UNC coach Dean Smith hosts birthday fundraiser for Erskine Bowles, Chapell Hill
— Aug. 14: Lynne Cheney's birthday.
— Aug. 14: SEC deadline for company heads to certify financial statements for 2002
— Aug.14-15: Sen. Joe Lieberman visits Iowa
— Aug. 16-18: Sen. John Edwards visits Iowa and Iowa State Fair — Aug. 16-18: Congressional Black Causus Weekend, Grand Casino Hotel, Robinsville, Mississippi
— Aug. 18: Sen. Joe Lieberman appears at Hillsborough County Democratic Picnic, Manchester, NH
— Aug. 19: Bill Clinton's birthday
— Aug 19: Tipper Gore's birthday
— Aug. 19: Sen. Joe Lieberman headlines fundraising events for Senate nominee Chellie Pingree and gubernatorial nominee John Baldacci in Maine
— Aug. 20: Georgia primary
— Aug. 21: New Hampshire campaign finance reports due
— Aug. 23-24: Florida Republican Party state executive committee meeting, Orlando
— Aug. 23-24: Michigan Republican Party state convention
— Aug. 24-25: Michigan Democratic Party state convention
— Aug. 25: Sen. Joe Lieberman headlines fundraiser for Rep. Eliot Engel, Westchester, NY
— Aug. 25-27: Southern Governors Association's 68th Annual Meeting, New Orleans
— Aug. 26: Jury selection begins in John Walker Lindh trial
— Aug. 27: Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidates debate
— Aug 27: Alaska primary; Oklahoma primary
— Aug. 27-28: FEC hearings on BCRA regulation proposals, DC
— Aug 28. Saint Anselm college hosts American Political Science Association short course on the 2004 New Hampshire primary and The Invisible Primary
— Aug. 29-Sept. 1: American Political Science Association annual conference, Boston
— Aug. 29-Sept. 2: 13th Annual Midwest Polka Fest, Humboldt, Iowa
— Sept. 2: 6th Annual Rubber Ducky Regatta, North Woodstock, New Hampshire
— Sept. 3: Nevada primary
— Sept. 6: Congress meets for special session in New York City
— Sept. 7: Delaware primary
— Sept. 9: First Lady Laura Bush chairs Kennedy Center's "Concert for America," DC
— Sept. 10: Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina and New York primaries (Florida: Democratic primary for governor; New Hampshire: Republican primary for Senate and primaries on both sides for governor; North Carolina: Democratic and Republican primaries for Senate; New York: Democratic primary for governor); Arizona primary; Connecticut primary; District of Columbia primary; Maryland primary; Minnesota primary; Rhode Island primary;
Vermont primary; Wisconsin primary
— Sept. 11-14: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 32nd Annual Legislative Conference, DC — Sept. 13-14: Georgia Republican Party "Road to Majority" conference, Augusta
— Sept. 22: 4th Annual Great North Woods Lumberjack Championships, Berlin, New Hampshire
— Sept. 17: Massachusetts primary (Democratic primary for governor)
— Sept. 27-29: California Republican Party convention
— Sept. 30: Jury selection begins for trial of Zacarias Moussaoui
— Sept. 30: Discovery ends in McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative).
— Sept. 30: 401(k) statements begin to roll out.
— Oct. 4: Al Sharpton's birthday
— Oct. 5: Tri-state's Largest Chili Cook-Off, Dubuque, Iowa
— Oct. 5: Sen. Chris Dodd keynotes Ohio Democratic Party dinner — Oct. 12: Sen. John McCain hosts Saturday Night Live, New York
— Oct. 13: Iowa State Hand-Cornhusking contest, Kimballton, Iowa
— Oct. 15 (tentative): Zacarias Moussaoui trial begins
— October 26: New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's birthday
— Nov. 4: Laura Bush's birthday
— Nov. 4: Deadline for opening briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative).
— Nov. 5: Election Day
— New SEC disclosure rules go into effect
— Nov. 17: Vermont Governor Howard Dean's birthday.
— Nov. 18: Deadline for opposition briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative).
— Nov. 20: Delaware Senator. Joseph Biden's birthday
— Dec. 4: Oral arguments begun in McCain-Feingold lawsuit. (tentative)
— Dec. 9: South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle's birthday
— Dec. 11: Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's birthday
— Dec. 13: Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's birthday
— Dec. 26: California Governor. Gray Davis's birthday
— Jan. 30, 2003: Vice President Dick Cheney's birthday
— Jan. 31, 2003: Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt's birthday
— Feb. 24, 2003: Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman's birthday
— March 11, 2003: Georgia Governor Roy Barnes's birthday
— March 31, 2003: Al Gore's birthday
— June 15, 2003: Senate/House/key adviser personal financial disclosure forms due
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