Tag: U.S. Senate
Cook: Where’s the Adult Behavior and Respect for Office?
Increasingly we are seeing more members, in both chambers and both parties, leadership as well as rank and file, who seem to have little sense of customs, traditions, and responsibilities of the institutions that they have been given the honor or privilege to serve. We are seeing more and more behavior and tactics that truly bring disgrace on the institution. Much of the same can be said about this White House as well …. There is nothing new about divided government; it has been the rule more than the exception for much of modern history. But how it is handled has changed — we aren’t seeing adult behavior from any of the three corners of this House-Senate-White House triumvirate.
— Pundit Charlie Cook.
Median Length of Service in Senate Down to Six Years from 11
6
The median years of service in the U.S. Senate, which “has plummeted from 11 to six in the past four years, because so many newcomers have replaced Senate icons, according to the Roll Call Blog. In the House, 46% of House members have completed fewer than three terms, “a generally accepted benchmark for being labeled a ‘junior member.'”
Palin’s Potential Senatorial Bid Lacks Visibility
I would think she would want to at least speak briefly to the new head of the Alaska Republican Party. But no, never met the lady. Never spoken to her. I have seen her once.
— Alaska Republican Party Chair Peter Goldberg, on Sarah Palin’s announcement that she is considering a U.S. Senate run, Alaska Public Media reports.
Large Majority Wanted Senate to Pass Gun Bill
65%
Of Americans say the U.S. Senate should have passed the measure that would have expanded background checks for gun purchases,a new Gallup Poll finds, while 29% agree with the Senate’s failure to pass the measure.
Reactions Mixed to Senate Gun Vote
47%
Of Americans express negative feelings about the Senate vote that halted gun control legislation last week, while 39% have a positive reaction to the Senate’s rejection of gun control legislation that included background checks on gun purchases, according to Pew. Overall, 15% say they are angry the legislation was voted down and 32% say they are disappointed, while 20% say are very happy the legislation was blocked and 19% say they are relieved.
Why Baucus Is Retiring
I just don’t want to die with my boots on.
— Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), quoted by the Billings Gazette, explaining his decision to retire in 2014 and not run for re-election.
Billionaires Choose Husband of Sonny Bono’s Widow to Be Florida Senate GOP Nominee – Former Sen. LeMieux Drops Primary Bid
Yesterday, Politico.com reported that Newt Gingrich’s former sugar daddy, the casino mogul and Israel-firster Sheldon Adelson, was donating $1 million to a super PAC for Rep. Connie Mac — who, non-Floridians should note, is a man — in his bid to become the Republican nominee in the race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat.
Mack has also been endorsed by the astroturf billionaire front-group Freedomworks, as well as the GOP nominee and quarter-billionaire Mitt Romney.
Today, Roll Call reports that former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux is dropping his primary. LeMieux released a whiny video in which he indicates that he was shoved out of the race by a shadowy group he refers to as the Florida GOP “establishment.”
Rep. Mack is married to Rep. Mary Bono, the widow of Sonny Bono, the late ex-husband of Cher. Mary Bono now holds the U.S House seat representing Palm Springs, Calif., that Sonny held before he was killed in a skiing accident in 1998.
In Upset, Tea Party Birther Queen Orly Taitz Is Trounced in Bid to Unseat California Sen. Dianne Feinstein
One disappointing result for Democrats from Tuesday’s California primary is that they will be denied the spectacle of having an even bigger tea party bozo on the ballot for U.S. Senate this fall than the bozos in the 2008 Senate races, Sharron “Second Amendment Remedies” Angle in Nevada and Christine “I am Not a Witch” O’Donnell in Delaware.
One possible reason for her change in fortunes is that Taitz, who has made her name demanding that Pres. Obama release his birth records, made news on the day before the election because she had failed to submit her campaign finance records.
Tea party birther queen Orly Taitz had been the odds-on favorite to take on the incumbent, Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the fall. But Taitz came in a disappointing fifth on the ballot, with just 3.1 percent or 113,563 votes.
There was no Republican elected official, high-ranking party member or GOP establishment candidate in the race. Instead, Feinstein will run against a political unknown, Danville autism activist Elizabeth Emken, in November.
The voting on Tuesday was the first in California’s new “jungle primary” system in which candidates’ party affiliation are not shown on the ballot. Feinstein faced 23 other candidates, 14 of whom were Republicans. The senator won 49.3 percent of the vote (1.8 million votes), while Emken received 12.5 percent (454,937 votes).
Taitz had the highest name recognition by far among the challengers. One possible reason for her change in fortunes is that Taitz, who has made her name demanding that Pres. Obama release his birth records, made news on the day before the election because she had failed to submit her campaign finance records.
What was she hiding? Possibly a poor showing in attracting donations. Records show that Taitz had been forced to lend own campaign $280,000 last month.
