senate
Strike Two for Cornyn
Following up on the news of Sen. Kit Bond’s (R-Mo.) retirement — that’s two Senate seats in one week for which the GOP has lost its preferred candidate. The first was Florida, now wide-open (possibly even leaning Democratic) with former Gov. Jeb Bush out of the race.
Perhaps Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the chairman of the [...]
Missouri’s Kit Bond Throws a Senate Seat Into Play
Bad news for Republicans is trickling out of Missouri, where Kit Bond, the four-term Republican senator, is retiring. What would have been a relatively safe seat in 2010, in a state McCain narrowly carried (with less than 50% of the vote), will now be open.
Bond is one of only two statewide Republican officials, the other [...]
Burris Win Could Spell Trouble For Franken
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune points out today what we did yesterday: Senate Democrats — having made state-based election certification a mandatory condition for seating Illinois appointee Roland Burris — might be waiting awhile for the arrival of Minnesota Democrat Al Franken. From the Star-Tribune:
Democratic leaders made Burris’ claim on the seat contingent on his ability to [...]
Reid: Stevens Shouldn’t Get Jail Time
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tells Politico that he thinks former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) — convicted on seven felony counts of failing to disclose gifts worth about $250,000 from an Alaska energy firm on his Senate disclosure forms — should not serve jail time.
Reid explains that Stevens, 85, is a throwback from [...]
Fate of Burris Still in Limbo
Following a 45-minute meeting with Roland Burris, Senate Democratic leaders said Wednesday that several steps remain before they’ll decide whether to seat the former Illinois attorney general to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the upper chamber.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters in the Capitol that Senate rules dictate that Burris must have the [...]
Reid’s Office Won’t Confirm AP Report on Seating Burris
The office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is denying that Democrats have agreed to seat Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, as The Associated Press reported this morning.
“I do not know where that came from,” a Reid spokesperson wrote moments ago.
Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Democrats’ No. 2 [...]
Report: Reid Caves; Burris to the Senate
From The Associated Press: Senate leaders have caved in their efforts to block Roland Burris from replacing President-elect Barack Obama in the upper chamber. Burris had been appointed to the post last month by Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who’s facing charges that he tried to sell the seat following Obama’s promotion.
Democratic leaders feared that [...]
When You’ve Lost Powerline…
The deeply flawed Wall Street Journal editorial on the Minnesota Senate recount was too much even for the bloggers at Powerline, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”-based Website whose lawyer/writers pinned Dan Rather to the wall back in 2004. Scott Johnson writes:
There was no noticeable partisan division among the board. I reject any imputation of misconduct [...]
Hah! I Totally Blocked Your Fist With My Face!
This Benjamin Sarlin piece on right-wing delight at Al Franken’s Senate win in Minnesota is … strange.
“Al Franken is a very tempting target because he is so outrageous,” said Republican strategist Brad Blakeman. “It’s similar to Joe Biden—we hope that Al Franken is the gift that keeps on giving.”
We’re talking about Vice President-in-two-weeks Joe Biden, [...]
Restoration Denied!
According to the speaker of Florida’s state House, Jeb Bush is passing on a 2010 Senate run.
“He said it just wasn’t the right timing,” [Marco] Rubio said, recounting a phone call he received this afternoon from the former Florida governor and presidential brother.
Bush, who left office in 2007, cited his desire to explore other professional [...]
