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One of my favorite quotes that Bill Simmons ever wrote was from last year, when the Colts were 12-0 and many were calling Tony Dungy the best coach in the game.
It was something like this: “I think Dungy’s demeanor is a little strange, as he’s top of the heap and he still seems quiet and nonchalant. Can you imagine if Brian Billick was 12-0. He’d be in a bomber jacket, smoking a cigar and demanding that people call him “Ace.””
To his credit, Billick won a Super Bowl, but it was against one of the worst teams (The Doug (actually it's Kerry, the hair is the confusion) Collins led New York Giants, who were rumored to be stealing signals and calls, and also rumored to have been forced to lay down in the SB to avoid punishment) and did so by having one of the greatest defenses in history, while he considers himself an offensive genius (he was behind the Cunningham, Moss, and Carter offense of the 98 Vikings that went 15-1and then crapped the bed against the dirty bird falcons, denying us what would have been the best Super Bowl match up ever against the 14-2 defending champ Broncos), the 2000 Ravens had trouble scoring on offense, but that’s the nature of a guy like Billick, to take credit when it comes his way.
He still swaggers with abnormal confidence, even as his team fails to make the playoffs two years in a row, and still hasn’t gotten anything out of their QB of the Future time and time again.
This is a guy that needs to be taken down a few pegs. And taken down often.
Seeing as I watch the NFL network about as much as I watch MTV’s video channels, it’s hard to miss the collective arrogance in most of Hip Hop today.
It’s bordering on suffocating, as each new rapper that hits with a single suddenly acts like he’s the Don of all Dons, referring to themselves in Gotti-esque terms and appearing in videos and shoots in Tony Montana style.
Side note, can we please address the Tony Montana fascination. I get it, he comes from the Street and makes his millions. But along the way, he kills his best friend, tries to sleep with his sister, argues for 20 minutes about money laundering, and then dies. What part of that translates from the Streets? At least in Godfather 1 and 2 Michael lives.
You gotta wonder, what the end game is for most Rappers?
Pac, Biggie, Jam Master J " dead.
Shyne, C-Murder, possibly Cassidy " in Jail.
Jay Z can’t stay retired, even though he is worth +300 mil.
Run wants to stay in the light, and takes the reality outlet.
Eminem quits, only to remarry and re-divorce, but I guess, he is likely to stay gone.
Unlike their Rock forerunners who stayed rich and busy by touring to the now wealthy and desperate-to-feel-young boomers, most rappers either suck live (so that’s out) or plan on making money off clothing lines. It may be out of a lack of information on my part, but is there any rap group out there that has that road-warrior tour mentality of a Metallica, Springsteen, or Pearl Jam. I can think of the Roots, maybe, but is there a Grateful Dead or Phish of the hip-hop world? Sure it's totally lame to be putting out album's like David Gilmore's On an Island or making songs for Jaguar when you used to be in The Police, and of course to be touring to women who have popped out kids who find your music totally hilarious, but it's better than an office job.
I guess it’s something we will find out soon enough, as Jay Z heads into the 40/40 club for his 40th Birthday in 3 years.
The rise of the prominence of Elder Statesman in rap is something I’m actually looking forward to, as it may be the time some of them are forced to open up their writing to new topics. It could be downright hilarious or it could be the shot in the arm that progresses the medium to another evolution. It may be a huge factor in the What’s Next for hip hop in the coming five years.
And it could very well spell the end of hip-hop as we know it, as each new wave of talent will struggle to get dominance, only to cede the throne 2 years later. Jay " Z was around for 10 plus years, which seems like an eternity compared to his contemporaries. Only LL has been around longer and in a high level of fame, but also was able to stay big because he actually made the leap to film and TV (anyone else remember In Da House, yeah I thought not). Change is coming, and it might involve the lack of former stars. Can you imagine an artist like Young Jeezy turning 35/getting married? Who is going to take care of his entourage? MTV needs, no must, film moments like this. Shit, DMX has some 70 or so in his click, how much longer can he keep them around before the well dries up for him. Dumb as they were, Motley Crue got the notion of having girls instead of guys around; all they had to pay for was booze and prophylactics for one or two girls.
Back to Billick for a bit, as I see a lot of him in Rick Ross; the way both of them interview is not so much a Q&A style, but a Q& Testify mode of conversation, where they present answers as fact, they don’t fail because of their product, they fail because of others (if they fail). I’ll also note here that Rick Ross takes his handle from the man who purportedly introduced Crack to LA, which is the rap equivalent of Franz Ferdinand calling themselves Joseph Stalin instead.
Rick Ross is in this month’s Vice Magazine talking about Cops and his life as a Boss. Part of it is interesting as he does actually have a real background in this (opposed to Tupac, who did the whole Gansgta act in reverse), and he does drop some MIA lingo about deals, but for most of the article, he preaches about the issue of the Conspiracy law, and how it punishes people who didn’t actually commit crimes, they only talk about it. (Attempted murder, what is that. Do they give Nobel Prizes for Attempted Science " Sideshow Bob)
The interviewer brings up Shyne and Lil Kim, as two stars who went to jail instead of implicating others, and Ross runs with it for a bit. He’s a big fan of the Stop Snitching movement, which bothers me more than any of the other trends in hip hop today. While it made him an ever bigger star in the hood, it severely hurt Carmello’s rep to Madison Ave and to the League Officials (he was just as much a force for the dress code as AI was because of the video).
The Stop Snitching idea is terribly damaging as it only serves to keep the criminals and thug mindset in power, and it also tacitly promotes the lifestyle by preventing checks and balances against it.
And I go back to Rick Ross and the Scarface thought, because I don’t see where he or other rappers are going to go in 10 years when their career window closes. In Out Of Sight, Clooney asks Ving Rhames: “Have you ever heard of a guy who actually got the last big score?” The way Rick Ross talks and acts, I get the notion he has no intention of changing, he’ll stay on the other side of the law as long as he can, possibly to his death.
And the biggest corollary I can think of is that of a bully on the schoolyard. Bullies are bigger and stronger, and smart or not, they do not tend to be academic types. Eschewing book smarts for street smarts, they succeed by intimidation and thrive on fear. The practice of Stop Snitching is just another way to keep the bully in power, by tying their safety to a notion of cultural identity, making one not just a rat for doing so, but going against your own if you want a better life for your community. A bully can only get so far in life on their own, they have to depend on others to keep them in power. Kim Jong is doing it through torture and oppression; dealers do it by claiming they are part of the fabric of where they deal. Rick Ross is doing it by pushing his criminality as a part of his ethnic roots. Musicality be damned, as long as the moneys coming in for a hustler, the art seems to fall by the wayside.
Bullies always fall from power in the end. They never stay at the top because eventually people turn away, or someone removes them from power. The former course has been eliminated by logic along the “Don’t hate the player, hate the game” philosophy, but the latter option has a near equal success ratio, as it’s going to take a Nirvana vs. Hair Metal-esque revolution to get rid of the Bling Heavy rap world, and it’s got to come from within hip-hop. I don’t see this as a likely occurrence, not because of the artists themselves, but because of the delivery system (the labels) and the increasingly splintered music world.
As little as 8 years ago, people didn’t download music. Individuals did, but people didn’t. It’s all part of the Culture of Choice, and Klosterman may have nailed Hey Ya as the closest thing to a universal single since Napster, and also noting that 50 people he knew had never heard of the song or the artist. When you notice that High School Musical is atop the Billboard list and yet I know 99% of the people I work with haven’t heard of it, it’s easy to note that there are so many places to get music these days, the odds of meeting people here in the States who even know of an artist you like is going to diminish every year. The hipster’s are going to go nuts, because no one will have heard of anything.
Odds are that by the time Rick Ross makes two more albums, he’ll be irrelevant to the music scene. Not on talent, but on the simple shelf life of all music acts.
And if you the reader are wondering why I am once again writing about Hip Hop, the short answer is because I like to write about it, I find the whole world fascinating, mainly because it’s the most dominating force in the music world today, or at least the most heavily covered/broadcast.
The longer answer involves me wondering why the hell rock music isn’t as prominent, or in another way, why are so many of the major American acts so feminine. Why the hell are Panic! At the Disco and Fallout Boy going against Yung Joc and Rick Ross. Can’t we at least put Wolfmother or the Rakes up there? And why do we as rock fans turn on our bands and yet rap fans barely do? I mean is there a Non-Union equivalent of INLY somewhere who hates on Cam’ron like I do Tom DeLounge?
And I came upon the starting point for all of this. Or at least I am going to pin the blame on this one person, truth be damned.
Listening to Alanis Morrisette today, I came to the conclusion. This was the flashpoint. I think her raw anger and feistiness scared the living shit out of every white male. We knew that we couldn’t keep being the same type of male, and we tried to turn sensitive because the 80’s movies we watched told us the nice guys finished first and the fear of getting the revenge treatment from an Alanis spurred us on.
This whole shift might have been laid in the groundwork of grunge, but at least that rocked, something you can’t say about… most every band since 1997. Radiohead doesn’t rock, The Strokes are almost anti-rock, The Rapture, The Firey Furnaces, and Arcade Fire are intellectual sad bastard music, even if they rock in moments. We’re left with The Darkness, Tenacious D, and Andrew WK, which means we are almost laughing with them as we rock. Wolfmother is close, but they need to get a single beyond Woman to start going. Back to the Culture of Choice thing, maybe it’s just the numbers playing out, it’s harder to sell to the widely split 70% than it is the united 13%. We have more nerds like me than their community does.
Whatever. We’ve got bullies on one side and AV geeks on another. Can’t anyone evolve? I am pretty sure Alanis isn’t going to date Dave Coulier again and write another album about her breakup.
Where does this end and, once again why do I care.
I think this sums it up.
Actually that was supposed to be a clip of the older, Black Tri Lams coming to the aid of their nerd fraternal brothers at the end of Revenge of the Nerds. The Link has changed. That moment in the film is essential to my growth and views. but you know what, that clip works abot 50% and I'll keep it in. Ending be damed.
On Tuesday, 8/8, CO, MI, MO, and CT are having their primaries. The GA-04 runoff happens on Tuesday as well.
Notice to all Dems: Check out 100 Actions
Democrats' label of the GOP-run Congress as 'do-nothing' is a key dispute in campaigning
Huckabee (R): GOP at Risk on Immigration
Youth Give Bush Poor Grade, Hurting Republican Hopes, Poll Says
Congress is Full of Former B-List Candidates
Senate Republicans Turn Bearish on 2008
AR
AR-GOV: Hutchinson touts Republican Party’s legacy in state
Beebe (D): Hutchinson flip flops on minimum wage increase
CA
Corruption Update: Californian Republicans Deep in the Muck
CA-04: Sacramento Bee Nails Doolittle Directly To Abramoff. dengre follows up on this story.
CA-GOV: Columnist: Angelides playing catch-up in what could be close election Post-primary Angelides campaign is stalling.
CO
CO-04: Want to know the latest on this race? Check out Mustgrave Must Go.
CO-GOV: African-American political leaders withholding support of Ritter (D), citing concern over his handling of shootings by Denver police officers
CT
CT-SEN: Who's Responsible for the Lieberman Meltdown? Mark Schmitt on how the local progressive infrastructure and messaging is as important as or more important than the netroots impact on this race. The areas where bloggers make the most impact tend to be places where it can amplify existing progressive infrastructure and messaging. It's not unique to this race.
FL
Voters Shift Balance The ever-changing electorate in FL.
Miami Herald poll 8/6 release: Aside from stem cell research, Florida voters deeply divided on key issues
Converted GOP lawmaker gets lots of party help in campaign
FL-22: GOP playing the seniority card, I see. I don't blame 'em for using that one; everyone does. HRH 8/7:
Speaker Dennis Hastert, in Ft. Lauderdale to raise money for Rep. Clay Shaw (R) 8/3, said Shaw has a "very good chance" to become chair of the Ways & Means cmte in 1/07. Hastert, who also spent an hour meeting with mayors in Shaw's CD, "didn't voice a preference" in the committee contest, but noted Shaw's authorship of the '96 welfare bill and his tax work in calling him a "very good candidate."
FL-GOV: Miami Herald poll 8/6 release: "Crist far in front; Davis' lead thin"
Positive media puts Crist (R) ahead
July fundraising numbers for FL-GOV.
GA
GA-04: 15 Reasons to Quit Cynthia McKinney- A Local Perspective.
IL
IL-06: Roskam (R) tries to tie Duckworth (D) to Blagojevich (D)
IL-GOV: Indicted GOP insider aids feds' probe of state
IN
3 Indiana races represent worry for GOP
IN-02: New DCCC Ad Says Chocola Is Drenched In Big Oil
IA
IA-03: Boswell (D), Lamberti (R) take jabs in debate
Lamberti (R) supporters want their candidate to take Boswell's words out of context
IA-GOV: Yepsen: Would-be governors' plans may be bigger than state revenues
Nussle, Culver would expand veterans' benefits
Culver outlines education plan
KY
KY-03: DCCC doesn't plan ads for Yarmuth
KY-GOV: There isn't a race until 07, but with Fletcher (R) in so much political trouble, the jockeying has begun. SoS Trey Grayson (R) says he may run.
ME
ME-GOV: Abortion,gay rights might not turn vote; Jobs, taxes more likely to decide governor's race
MD
MD-03: Does the Jewish Republican candidate have a shot at the MD-03 seat? by Sharon in MD
MD-GOV: O'Malley, Ehrlich make last-minute fundraising pleas
MD-SEN: Md. Democrats Look to Seize Senate Race's New Spotlight
MA
MA-GOV: Class warfare attacks in this race
Critics tag Patrick's corporate role
Candidates pour millions into ad blitz
MI
MI-07: MI-07: Republicans Eat Their Own, by Dump Terry McAuliffe
MI-SEN: Hotline 8/7 has the script of a statewide TV ad for GOP primary frontrunner Mike Bouchard (R). Mikayla Bouchard is his daughter.
MIKAYLA BOUCHARD: "You know those commercials where the daughter talks nice about her dad running for the Senate? This isn't one of them. My dad's Mike Bouchard. He used to be a state Senator, where he passed tough anti-crime laws and tax cuts to create jobs. People call him a commonsense conservative... great if you're looking for a Senator. Not so great if you're on a date." MIKE BOUCHARD: "I'm Mike Bouchard and I approved this message. Isn't this fun?"
MI-GOV: DeVos Ducks Mercury Contamination Position
Dick DeVos: Cheap Labor Conservative, by k9disc
Hotline 8/7 has the script of another DeVos ad:
MAN: "Now I've been two months looking for a job. This last month we had to dip into our savings to pay for healthcare. A thousand bucks a month. But I can't do that very long without saying 'Crap, I gotta move.' Nobody seems to be serious about all the work that's been leaving this state. The next governor they need to be serious about bringing work into this state to take care of the people that are voting them into that office." DeVOS: "Before anything else, the next Governor's gotta get Michigan back to work."
MN
MN-SEN: Rasmussen (R) poll 8/7 release: Klobuchar (D) 50%, Kennedy (R) 38%, Fitzgerald (I) 5%
As Republicans question Amy Klobuchar's record as Hennepin County attorney, metro-area colleagues say that shehas been effective and that prosecuting cases herself isn't a key part of the job.
MN-GOV: Hatch (DFL) running uber-frugal campaign Apparently, it's shocking that a canidate drives himself to events.
Rasmussen (R) 8/7 release: Gov. Pawlenty (R) 46%, AG Hatch (D) 36%
MO
MO-SEN: Talent trying to mislead African-American voters. He's also pushing for a "Till bill" (named after Emmett Till).
Senator Talent's Brand Of Bipartisanship... is not so bipartisan.
MT
MT-SEN: Even Burns' staff are jerks LOL at the title of the editorial Kos linked to. "The jerk from Montana" Has anyone on the Webb campaign staff asked what Sen. Allen thought of his fellow GOPer dissing VA firefighters?
Tester: 'Burns sold out'
NYT proflies MT-SEN. NYT article thinks this race is defined more by local issues than Burns' ties to Abramoff.
NE
NE-SEN: Tax reduction for Nelson on acreage scrutinized
NH
Will NH Dems hold the majority in the state Senate after the Nov. elections?
NH-02: MissLaura takes another look at Rep. Bass (R) and his challenger Paul Hodes (D)
NJ
NJ-SEN: Menendez faults GOP on port security
Hotline 8/7:
A Public Opinion Strategies (R) poll; conducted 7/31-8/2 for state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R); surveyed 500 likely voters; margin of error +/- 4.38% (release, 8/4). Tested: Kean and Sen. Bob Menendez.
General Election Matchup
Kean (R) 39%
Menendez (D) 38%
Fav/Unfav
Kean 37%/18%
Menendez 34%/23%
NM
NM-01: Treasurer's office scandal: Ex-agency chief (R) insists AG Madrid (D) alerted to scheme Madrid is challenging Heather Wilson (R).
NY
NY-AG: Siena Research Inst. poll: General Election Matchups:
Green (D) 41%, Pirro 37%
Cuomo (D) 50%, Pirro 35%
NY-24: Stu Rothenberg:
The 24th district is a Republican-leaning seat that includes all or part of 11 counties. The district, which roughly resembles the letter “j,” stretches from northern New York through Utica, down to just north of Binghamton and back north until it ends west of Syracuse.
President Bush carried the district by about 3,000 votes (1 percent) in 2000 and by a more substantial 17,000 votes (6 percent) in 2004. But despite that increase, almost everyone I talk to about this year’s Congressional race sees it as competitive.
What makes this contest so unusual is that both parties have exceptionally good candidates.
Republican Ray Meier, 53, served as city attorney in Rome, N.Y., before his election to the Oneida County Legislature. He served there for five years before being elected Oneida County executive. He held that office for another five years.
In 1996, Meier, a graduate of Syracuse University and Syracuse University College of Law, was elected to the New York state Senate, where he represents Oneida and two other counties not in the 24th district. He chairs the Social Services, Children and Families Committee.
Democrat Michael Arcuri, 47, is the Oneida County district attorney and has served in that office since he was first elected in 1993. A graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and New York Law School, Arcuri announced his candidacy for Congress a few weeks before Boehlert announced that he would not seek a 13th term.
Both men are poised and articulate. Each has a healthy respect for the other. Meier is confident, well-versed in government and politics, and seems a bit more mature. Even critics note Arcuri’s good looks and personable style.
Arcuri, who will run on the Democratic, Working Families and Independence party lines, presents himself as a moderate who is “similar to Boehlert.” Like the retiring Republican, he opposes Bush’s position on federal funding of stem-cell research, is pro-choice, favors increasing the minimum wage and opposes a ban on gay marriage. He says he differs from his party on issues such as a constitutional amendment on flag burning (he’s for it) and gun control (he opposes new restrictions).
Meier is a mainstream Republican, which puts him somewhat to Boehlert’s right. He’s more socially conservative than the outgoing Congressman or Arcuri - Meier favors research on adult stem cells but opposes research on embryonic stem cells - which should allow him to appeal to those conservatives who couldn’t stomach Boehlert. He is running on both the Republican and Conservative lines.
The question is whether Meier can hold all of the moderates who backed Boehlert. His asset in that quest is his personal style.
NY-29: Eric Massa (D) on defending Rep. Murtha and why it matters
NY-GOV: Hotline 8/7:
Spitzer, "apparently eager to disagree with his opponent" in the TV debate, "shocked members of his own staff by saying he was against using marijuana for medical purposes." [...] Spitzer spokesperson said he is not "ideologically opposed, but scientifically opposed" because Spitzer's brother, a neurosurgeon "has told him other drugs work better"
NY-SEN, NY-GOV: Sienna Reserach Institute poll 8/7 release: Spitzer, Clinton kicking ass.
NC
NC State Senate District 42, by Blue South
OH
New Registration Rules Stir Voter Debate in Ohio
OH-18: Ney's Replacement is a Piece of Work, by YellowDogSammy. GOPers are lining up behind state Sen. Joy Padgett (R)
OR
OR-04: HRH 8/7:
A Grove Insight poll; conducted 7/19-7/23; surveyed 400 '06 general election voters in OR 04; margin of error +/- 4.9% (release, 8/2). Tested: Rep. Peter DeFazio (D) and '04 nominee Jim Feldkamp (R).
General Election Matchup
DeFazio 61%
Feldkamp 23%
Fav/Unfav
DeFazio 68%/20%
Feldkamp 18%/13%
DeFazio as Rep.
Excellent 27%
Good 38%
Only Fair 20%
Poor 7%
OR-GOV: Hotline 8/7:
Atty/'02 GOV candidate Ron Saxton (R) said 8/4 he won't support a state spending limit 11/06, "despite earlier indications he might back" the plan. Saxton statement: "The best spending limit is a governor who himself acts as a spending limit." Saxton's manager said he won't campaign against the measure either, and refused to say how Saxton would vote on it.
PA
PA-SEN: Rendell confounds party - again - in Senate race SHUT UP, ED!
Casey, Santorum do battle on the farm
Casey speaks in Selinsgrove
Santorum softening image, analysts say
PA-GOV: Columnist: Swann letter looks kind of like a Hail Mary pass
GOP complains that Rendell visits Philadelphia too often. Rendell's spokeswoman reminds GOPers that Rendell's wife works in Philly.
Hotline 8/7:
An Allentown Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll; conducted 7/31-8/3; surveyed 550 PA regis. voters; margin of error +/- 4% (Micek, Allentown Morning Call, 8/6). Tested: Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and ex-Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann (R).
General GOV Election Matchup
Rendell 51%
Swann 35%
Other/undec 14%
Fav/Unfav
Rendell 54%/30%
Swann 31%/18%
RI
RI-SEN: Wife of Convicted GOP Official Hired by Chafee Campaign
Hotline 8/7 has the script of a Chafee ad:
CHAFEE: "I'm Lincoln Chafee and I approved this ad to tell you where I stand. First, I believe that neither Republicans nor Democrats are always right. I angered Republicans when I voted against the war in Iraq. And Democrats when I voted for legal reform. I make my decisions by listening, reasoning, and then bringing people together to get things done for Rhode Island. It's how I got millions to improve our bridges and roads. I delivered record dollars for our medical centers and schools. And I wrote the law to clean up brown fields. My goals: Restore a climate of civility, decency, and hope back to our country. Work together to push stem cell research so we can find a cure for Alzheimers, Parkinson's and cancer. And to find creative solutions to issues such as our dependence on foreign oil. I'm Lincoln Chafee and if you believe what I believe I'd appreciate your vote"
SC
Chief economic adviser (R) pans GOP nominee for Treasurer HT OnCall.
SD
SD-AL: GOPers falsely charge Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D) of getting pregnant by her chief of staff
TN
TN-SEN: Millionaire Corker (R) Opposes Minimum Wage...Then Says He Supports It THREE WEEKS LATER
Are TN GOPers divided? Well, Ford needs to run assuming that the GOP is united behind Corker.
A day after primaries, Ford, Corker hit the ground running
Newsweek asks if Dems will pick up TN-SEN Time profiles Ford's (D) campaign this week, too.
Ford Launches New Television Ads Promoting Tennessee Agriculture As Answer
Hotline 8/7 got its hands on a poll done for this race:
A Voter/Consumer Research poll; conducted 7/23-25; surveyed 500 likely voters; margin of error +/- 4.4% (Hotline sources, 8/7). Tested: Ford and Corker.
General Election Matchup
Ford 35.4%
Corker 48.6%
Leaning towards Ford 3.5%
Leaning towards Corker 4.9%
Don't know/refused 7.6%
TX
TX-22: Houston-area GOP Gears Up for a DeLay Campaign
[Harris County GOP Chairman Jared] Woodfill said the Harris County GOP, the biggest of the four county organizations that overlap in the suburban Houston 22nd district, already was functioning as a de facto opposition campaign to Lampson. [...]
In addition to the 50,000 automated phone calls that have been dropped in the district, a heavy voter-registration drive is under way. That effort will soon transition into the more traditional get-out-the-vote ground game usually handled by a candidate's campaign team - although such portions of a campaign generally are run in concert with county, state and national party organizations.
Another staple of any campaign, direct mail, also is being developed by the Harris County GOP so that a DeLay campaign could hit the ground running should the former Member seek re-election. Meanwhile, the county organization has unveiled a petition drive to secure volunteers to work on such a campaign. [...]
If the Supreme Court appeal fails and DeLay does run for re-election, Republicans in the 22nd are going to have their work cut out for them.
DeLay is still dogged by his connection to disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, as well as a still-unresolved indictment for violating Texas election law.
Additionally, he could be hurt by his failed attempt to declare himself ineligible for the ballot, which involved moving his legal residence to Alexandria, Va. Texas election law stipulates that a Congressional candidate must be a state resident to run for office. (That law was ruled unconstitutional by the district court and upheld on appeal by the 5th Circuit.)
Further complicating DeLay's task, Lampson has a significant financial advantage, closing the second quarter with $2.1 million in the bank, compared to $641,274 for the former Majority Leader, who announced in April his intention not to seek re-election. He resigned his seat on June 9, and has been spending much of his war chest on legal fees, and much of his remaining funds are believed to be earmarked for his lawyers.
[...]
If the Supreme Court appeal is unsuccessful, running another Republican as a write-in candidate is not a viable option, Woodfill said.
That appeal was in fact unsuccessful.
TX-23: With the new map in place, the folks at Burnt Orange Report have an early list of the Dems who may run against Bonilla (R)
VT
VT-GOV: Fundraising numbers:
Gov. Jim Douglas (R): $241K CoH
ex-state Sen. Scudder Parker (D): $105K CoH
VA
VA-SEN: Sen. George Allen turns to Plan B Allen's hypocrisy.
Hotline 8/7:
"On paper" Webb is the "ideal challenger to" Allen, but his chances of winning have been downgraded by Cook Political Report editor Charlie Cook. Cook: "You want former congressmen or elected officials who have experience in raising money and campaigns. [And Allen] is not going to be beat."
"Webb is banking on a fresh face, an unscripted speaking style, a compelling personal story, and Allen's support" for the Bush admin's Iraq policy to persuade voters to dump Allen. Webb: "I'm a realist on foreign policy, moderate on social issues, and a populist on economic issues." VCU prof. Robert Holsworth, who moderated the Webb-Allen debate said Webb is not a "natural" campaigner. Holsworth: "During the debate I was struck by how Webb seemed to point out their areas of agreement"
WA
WA-07: Bill Clinton raises funds for Rep. Jim McDermott (D). Recap here.
WI
WI-05: Feingold, Reid fundraise for Sensenbrenner (R) foe
Sen. Russ Feingold (D) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are lending a hand to language professor Bryan Kennedy (D) in his second bid to oust Sensenbrenner, who is wrapping up his 14th term, in the Badger State’s 5th district.
[...]
He began July with just a little more than $80,000 in the bank, while Sensenbrenner’s kitty was filled with almost $790,000.
2008
Steve Soto on the Clintons and media coverage
ARG focus groups in NH don't like Hillary
Edwards wants immediate Iraq withdrawal
Pataki, Clinton Trade Barbs over '08 Aspirations Given how both are polling in NY, I say points for Team Clinton.
Newsweek Q&A: Democratic Senator Russ Feingold discusses populism, dissent and why he expects a midterm election surprise
Hagel: Iraq Is ‘A Hopeless, Winless Situation’
Hotline 8/7:
In SC for the NGA meeting, Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) told a crowd on 8/4 that they need to "turn out the votes" for a same-sex marriage amendment ban and show that marriage "still means something." He was the keynoter at "A Celebration of Classic Marriage" in Charleston. The event was sponsored by the Palmetto Family Council and First Foundations, Inc. Gov. Mark Sanford and AG Henry McMaster also attended
Hotline 8/7:
McCain "is gunning" for 9/11 "conspiracy theorists. He's "penned" a "scathing forward" to "Debunking 9/11 Myths," a "new book from Popular Mechanics that uses science to blow away" theories like those that say American air defenses were ordered to "stand down" on 9/11. McCain calls the tales "ugly, unfounded accusations of extraordinary evil against fellow Americans" that insult the cops and firefighters who responded that day
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) pens an op-ed defending McCain's immigration policy.
Pataki courts SC GOPers and NH GOPers
Pataki Offers National Energy Plan
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