Category: Congress

Sarah Palin Endorses McKinney (GA-12), McClung (AZ-7), Benishek (MI-1), More

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There are nine candidates on Mama Grizzly’s latest list of endorsed candidates, but these three caught my eye:

We can count on Ray McKinney to be a strong, independent voice for Georgia’s 12th Congressional District.  As Ray says, “If you like the way things are going now, vote for the other guy.” Ray’s opponent has skipped over 75 votes in Congress since 2005, and he’s ducking debates when Georgians want answers.  Had enough?  Join me in supporting Ray McKinney. Please visit Ray’s website at www.raymckinney.org and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. . . .

Ruth McClung is the smart choice for Congress in southwestern Arizona.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that our country is on the wrong track under the leadership of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid; but Ruth actually is a rocket scientist! Ruth’s commonsense fiscal approach to job creation and reining in reckless government spending is in sharp contrast to her opponent’s liberal record. In fact, Ruth is running against a four term incumbent who is so out of touch that he actually called for a boycott of his own constituents. It’s simple: The people of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District deserve better.  Please visit Ruth’s website at www.ruth4az.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. . . .

There’s a lot of talk about the race in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District.  Dr. Dan Benishek is the kind of commonsense voice we need in Washington to replace the retiring Bart Stupak. As a physician, he understands why Obamacare must be repealed and replaced with true health care reform. Dan is determined to work to get our country’s fiscal house in order. As a self-described “hunter and fisherman and proud member of the NRA,” he’s great for Michigan 1st District, which like Alaska, is home to outdoor enthusiasts who love their hunting and fishing. Please visit Dan’s website at www.benishekforcongress.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. . . .

Knowing people involved in these campaigns, I know what a huge breakthrough it is for them to get Sarah’s “you betcha.” Congratulations to them, and to the other six candidates on Governor Palin’s list.

UPDATE: Press release from Ray McKinney:

This is the second large-scale national endorsement for McKinney in recent weeks. Late last month, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich endorsed his campaign.
“People in this country are tired of watching the Democratic Party spend our money and over-regulate our businesses,” McKinney said. “People in the 12th District are tired of watching John Barrow help. Although I am proud that national figures such as Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich support my vision for America, I am much more excited about the many, many people I meet here in Georgia who say they’re going to vote for me on Nov. 2.”

I first met Ray in New Orleans at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, and did an analysis of his race in GA-12 last week. He’s got a hard-working grassroots campaign against a vulnerable incumbent in a district that was held by a Republican until 2004. Go give my buddy Ray $20 now.

UPDATE II: Raul Grijalva, whistling past the graveyard:

Grijalva said the endorsement further distinguishes the two candidates.
“It will bring her more money, but it creates an urgency among people who don’t want that philosophy in office,” he said. He said he’s comfortable being one of Palin’s targets.

Grijlava’s “philosophy in office” = boycotting his own state!

Charlie Cook just added five seats — including Grijalva’s — to his list of competitive districts, and the New York Times reports that Democrats are pulling out resources from three lost-cause districts. The battlefield appears to be shifting in the GOP’s favor, and a big factor is these Tea Party-backed candidates who had the guts to stick it out against long odds and push “safe” Democrats onto the defensive.

Republican Pulls Ahead in New AZ-7 Poll: Ruth McClung 39%, Raul Grijalva 37%

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Following up on yesterday’s post — and another early this morning at The American Spectator — here is the latest poll of Arizona’s 7th District:

New Poll Shows Democrat
Grijalva Faces Tough Re-Elect
Republican Challenger Ruth McClung
Within Striking Distance
PHOENIX, AZ – A recent survey conducted by Phoenix-based Summit Consulting Group, Inc. shows four-term Democrat Congressman Raul Grijalva in a surprisingly tough re-election campaign against Republican Challenger Ruth McClung.
An automated survey conducted between October 4th and 5th among 1,807 likely general election voters shows McClung clearly within striking distance of beating Grijalva in Congressional District 7 which encompasses a large swath of southwestern Arizona.
When asked the question,
“In the upcoming general election for Congress, do you plan on supporting Democrat Raul Grijalva, Republican Ruth McClung, or are you undecided?”The results were:
Raul Grijalva . . . . . . 37%
Ruth McClung . . . . . 39%
Undecided . . . . . . . 24%
Based on the results, McClung has locked down the Republican base, losing only 5% to Grijalva. She earns 18% among Democrat voters and a whopping 42% among Independents.
The sample included voters who have participated in the last two general elections and was in line with the current voter registration numbers. Democrats comprised 43%, Republican voters 24% and Independent, Party Not Determined and Other Party were 33% of the sample used.
The margin of error is +/-3%.

Publius Pundit has much more. There is now a Memeorandum thread and I hasten to acknowledge the key role played by Michelle Malkin in calling attention to Ruth McClung’s campaign.

Remember, as with Sean Bielat’s campaign here in MA-4, the McClung campaign in AZ-7 hasn’t been on anybody’s list of Top 100 Most Winnable Seats for the GOP. So when you see polls showing a district like this neck-and-neck . . . Dude.

No wonder George Soros sees a Republican “avalanche.”

RUTH McCLUNG for U.S. CONGRESS

WRKO ‘Debate’: Barney Frank Interrupts Himself to Complain About Interruptions

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BOSTON — Today’s WRKO radio debate between Barney Frank and Sean Bielat was mainly a lecture by Barney which could be summed up briefly: “You’re interrupting me! . . . Blame Bush! . . . You’re distorting what I said! . . . Predatory lending! . . . Stop laughing at me!”

It was blindingly obvious that the 4th District’s Democratic incumbent is not accustomed to defending himself or his record. Barney repeatedly filibustered, responding to simple questions with meandering stream-of-thought rambles that might have continued ad infinitum if no one had stopped him.

Because the host/moderator showed no inclination to try to keep Barney on track, Bielat would occasionally try to interject, prompting hissy-fit reactions from the 14-term congressman: “That’s the fourth time he’s interrupted me!” Barney even complained of being interrupted when one of his statements provoked a chuckle from his Republican challenger.

On his biggest vulnerability — his role in the mortgage mess with Fannie and Freddie — Barney repeatedly tried to change the subject to “predatory lending.” Of course, in the kind of no-down-payment no-documentation we-accept-Food-Stamps low-income mortgages that Barney encouraged and defended, it was more like predatory borrowing, but Massachusetts Democrats never let facts interfere with their arguments. Red Mass Group reacted to one of Frank’s fact-deficient defenses:

Barney blames Tom DeLay for his vote against a Republican bill that would have curbed the excesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Not convincing.

It was a frustrating hour, and I’m sure there were a half-dozen car accidents in metro Boston caused by rush-hour motorists driving into bridge abutments while shouting at their car radios: “You lying scumbag!”

Anyway, the “Bye-Bye Barney” Bielat money-bomb continues, and the Boston Globe has a great story today on how fired-up the Republican grassroots are in Massachusetts.

On the ‘Beat Barney’ Beat

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At 7 a.m. ET today, Sean Bielat is scheduled to debate Barney Frank on WRKO radio. Meanwhile, I’ve got a new article at The American Spectator:

NEWTON, Massachusetts — Brian Phillips was wearing flip-flop sandals Sunday at the nondescript office near the corner of Elliot and Chestnut streets that is headquarters for one of this fall’s most remarkable congressional campaigns.
Phillips is campaign manager for Sean Bielat, the young Marine officer who is challenging Barney Frank in one of the most solidly Democratic districts in the country. During his 29-year career in Congress, Frank has never faced such a formidable opponent and the surge of support for Bielat’s campaign has clearly rattled the incumbent. Ever since Scott Brown’s triumph in January, the GOP in this state has been fired up . . . and there is a sense among 4th District Republicans that the Democrats have been caught flat-footed.
“They’ve got no operation over there,” Phillips said of the Frank campaign. As Bielat told reporters at a Sept. 26 rally, “They have one campaign office. It’s always empty. We have three. They’re always full.”
Bielat’s Newton office wasn’t full Sunday morning, but it was open and in full swing, with at least three volunteers calling voters in a telephone canvassing operation that has already reached some 30,000 likely voters and, at a pace of more than 2,000 new contacts daily, could approach the 50,000 mark within a week. . . .

Please read the whole thing. BTW, there’s a Sean Bielat money-bomb until midnight.

HOLY COW! Republican AZ-7 Challenger McClung Now in ‘Dead Heat’ with Grijalva

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BOSTON — Just got back from Sean Bielat headquarters, where one volunteer said she’s starting to sense a “Scott Brown feeling” about the campaign against Barney Frank. Logged onto my e-mail and saw a tip to a Politico article about a race on the other side of the country:

Add Rep. Raul Grijalva to the growing list of Democratic worries this election season.
Party operatives say there’s increasing concern that the Arizona Democrat’s reelection bid could turn into a “sleeper” race for Republicans after Grijalva — responding to enactment of a tough new immigration law — called for an economic boycott of his own state amid a housing crisis and record unemployment.
Four Democratic sources from different parts of the country said that there is new attention to a race that was long considered in the bag.
And a recent poll, obtained by POLITICO, found that Grijalva and Republican challenger Ruth McClung, a real-life rocket scientist, were in a dead heat, even though Washington prognosticators have declared the deep-blue seat safely Democratic.
As they work to buttress their majority against a coming Republican storm, Democrats can ill afford to spend time or resources defending incumbents in seats where they should have a clear advantage. But the Grijalva seat potentially being in play is a sign of the increasingly expanding Republican playing field for the midterm elections. . . .

Read the whole thing. Folks, I cannot begin to explain how huge this is. The headline might as well be, In hoc signo vinces.

A couple weeks ago, when I first blogged about Ruth McClung’s campaign in AZ-7, it was basically as favor to an Arizona friend. Here was an excellent candidate running a g0od grassroots campaign and, as always, I love a scrappy underdog. Grijalva’s stupidity in calling for a boycott of his own state was so remarkable as to deserve another mention.

There was a chance for an against-the-odds upset but, honestly, I never expected to see a poll three weeks before Election Day showing a dead heat in AZ-7. Look at the data: Grijalva’s negatives are 47% against a positive of 39%, while Grijalva’s “deserves re-election” number is a mere 36% against 50% for “give new person a chance.” This is an incumbent in serious trouble.

To have these kind of results, when McClung reported a mere $16,000 cash on hand in early August — incredible!

Go give Ruth McClung $20 — do it now — but then come back while I tell you what this one poll, in one deep-blue district, means for the larger picture Nov. 2. Continue reading HOLY COW! Republican AZ-7 Challenger McClung Now in ‘Dead Heat’ with Grijalva →

MA-6 Update: Democrat John Tierney Tries to Distance Himself From His Wife

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BOSTON – Howie Carr in the Boston Herald calls the Democrat’s gangster brother-in-law an Armenian Whitey Bulger:

Patrice Eremian Chew Tierney, aka Mrs. John Tierney. Gets indicted for laundering millions in ill-gotten gains for her brother, a fugitive gangster, and when she gets caught, she tells the judge she’s depressed and gets fined $2,500. . . .
And what does John Tierney say on behalf of his felon wife?
“Today’s not about me.” . . .

Not about you, except that your mother-in-law contributed at least $4,800 to you while tending a bank account for her fugitive sons. Kevin Rennie notes that Tierney has changed his story:

The guilty plea contradicted earlier statements from the seven-term congressman that he and Patrice had nothing to do with the fugitive side of her criminal family. . . .

Read the whole thing. I just got off the plane at Logan Airport and got to my hotel here, and am due to have dinner with a local Republican operative in a few minutes. Please hit the tip jar.

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TwitterGate Update: Neal Rauhauser Switches Account to ‘Protected’ Status

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After my first post about TwitterGate, many of the “Beandogs” in Democratic campaign consultant Neal Rauhauser’s network were laughing as if it were all a big joke. Yesterday, I came back with a second post that connected the dots a bit more clearly — and highlighted Rauhauser’s status as a Daily Kos contributor.

In the comments of the second post this morning, Right Klik had linked numerous communications between Rauhauser and his “Beandogs,” both from his “StrandedWind” and “WingNutWatch” accounts.

In one of those Tweets, Rauhauser said, “my role is trainer, coordinator, develop methods, etc. If civil or criminal proceedings begin deposition is lawyer’s job.” In another key message, “Obamagician” — who had previously Tweeted that conservative blogger Greg Howard had “sexy, f***able children” — told Rauhauser, “Thx for you hard work.”

Such messages obviously lend credibility to the TwitterGate video’s suggestion that the “Beandogs” harassment against Howard and other conservatives on Twitter was carried out with Rauhauser’s knowledge, if not indeed as part of an orchestrated effort of which Rauhauser described himself as “coordinator.” And now look what we find:

Rauhauser has now switched his “StrandedWind” account to protected mode, and if you click on any of the messages from Rauhauser’s “WingNutWatch” account you get this:

Rauhauser deleted that account and protected the other, the kind of gesture a detective might say was indicative of “consciousness of guilt.”

The obvious question: If Rauhauser has nothing to hide, why is he hiding? Let me suggest an obvious answer: Rauhauser is becoming an embarrassment to his Democratic clients, especially Arizona 7th District Rep. Raul Grijalva.

Rauhauser had boasted of his relationship with Grijalva — who sent the consultant a “thank you” note — and like so many other previously “safe” Democratic incumbents this year, Grijalva is in the toughest re-election battle of his career. The Yuma Sun reported on Thursday’s debate:

Incumbent Democratic Congressmen Raul Grijalva admitted Thursday that it was a mistake to call for a boycott of Arizona after Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070.
“On my part it was a strategic mistake to call for the boycott,” he said. “I felt that it would have an impact on the leadership of this state … but the fact of the matter is that they’re not going to change their mind…”
One student, Lisa Griffin, informed the candidates that according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Yuma currently has an unemployment rate of 30.2 percent and asked them what they plan to do to usher more industry into the area, thus creating more jobs. . . .

Grijalva called for an economic boycott of his own state at a time when unemployment in parts of his own district is over 30%! Now imagine the horror of Grijalva’s staff when they saw this video exposing what their consultant Rauhauser had been up to since August:

When I first linked that video Thursday, it had gotten 288 views; as of this morning, it had nearly 5,000 views. If you Google “Grijalva” and “Rauhauser,” you see that this was becoming a big enough story that other journalists might be starting to ask questions. (Hey, Kossacks: You’re not the only ones who know how to use Google.)

Congratulations to Greg Howard, Patrick Read and others who helped compile the “Twittergate” research. That video dossier may not have connected all the dots, but if you show people enough dots, sooner or later the pattern becomes clear enough that only a blind man can miss it.

I’m leaving for Boston this afternoon to do some more shoe-leather campaign reporting. Please hit the tip jar.

UPDATE: The “besieged” Democrats now have their own Memeorandum thread.

UPDATE II: Linked by Dan Collins at Piece of Work in Progress.

UPDATE III: To understand just how desperate Democrats have become, check out Professor Donald Douglas’s post about how the Left used a “Nazi” smear against an Ohio Republican for his participation in a WWII historical re-enactment group.

UPDATE IV: Why is the Left getting so desperate? Even progressive poll analyst Nate Silver is now projecting that Republicans will gain 50 House seats Nov. 2. Small wonder that Democrats are trying to pull the Jedi mind-trick on the Rauhauser scandal.

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Beat Keith Ellison . . . For the Children!

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There are 435 congressional districts in America and even a stone political junkie can’t keep up with every campaign in the country. So I sometimes run across great candidates more or less at random:

Republican Joel Demos seems like he’s got a great sense of humor, and he’ll probably need it, because the 5th District of Minnesota makes San Francisco look moderate by comparison. Probably Ed Morrissey or some other Minnesotan could explain why this district is so mind-numbingly liberal.

Maybe “liberal” isn’t the right word. Dhimmi is more like it.

The incumbent Democrat, Keith Ellison, could very well be Osama bin Laden’s favorite member of Congress. Seriously: This guy is from what I call the Sirhan Sirhan wing of the Democratic Party. Pamela Geller has extensively chronicled Ellison’s ties to Hamas, ISNA and CAIR.

You might think, what with all these “progressives” portraying the GOP as a Zionist neocon imperialist conspiracy, Joel Demos must be sitting on a fat stack of Republican Jew money.

And you would be wrong. In fact, despite the Jewish-controlled media that Rich Sanchez warned us about, most people probably didn’t even know Keith Ellison had a Republican opponent. Red State’s Moe Lane did an interview with Demos, but that’s about it.

So here’s your chance to rectify this error. Give Joel Demos $20.

Yeah, I know. It seems like kind of a long shot, but look at this picture of Joel, his wife Jenny and their two cute little kids:

You’re looking at that picture and saying, “Oh, how sweet!”

Meanwhile, Keith Ellison’s supporters are looking at that picture and shouting: “Death to the infidel dogs!”

And you know something? Demos has been starting to get attention lately, by airing his clever ads during football games in Minnesota. So while Keith Ellison’s supporters are busy planning how to blow us to smithereens and impose sharia on the survivors, the normal red-blooded Americans in the 5th district are seeing this nice guy with his cute kids talking about the national debt.

C’mon: Give $20 to help elect Joel Demos.

Because if you don’t, the terrorists have won.

JOEL DEMOS for U.S. CONGRESS