Search

This article reports that the White House now begins its campaign to get the presidency of George W. Bush back on track, in the aftermath of the withdrawal of the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court and the five-count indictment of Vice President Richard Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby. Compared with other second-term presidents at this point in their tenure, Bush's approval ratings fall far below average. So, it is the nomination of 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Samuel Alito to replace Miers that begins the president's attempt to boost his sagging approval ratings. Still, this pick represents a strategy of necessity, not one of choice.

The article focuses on the steps taken by the U.S. government for campaign spending. In theory, the Supreme Court settled the dispute over spending limits in its landmark 1976 Buckley vs. Valeo ruling. The court upheld caps on contributions, which still stand, but found that limits on campaign expenditures violated the First Amendment. Attempts to re-impose limits were struck in court. But in 1997, Vermont enacted severe limits on how much state candidates could spend per election, $300,000 for a gubernatorial candidate, $4,000 to $6,500 for state Senate candidates.

The Associated Builders and Contractors Inc's. (ABC) political operation began the 2004 election cycle with a budget of $2.4 million and a willingness to gamble early in Republican primaries. The construction industry group, which boasts 23,000 corporate members, opens a two-day conference today featuring several top Senate candidates. Ned Monroe, political director of ABC informed that the group communicates with the company executives about its endorsed candidates and can reach another million employees with nonpartisan voter guides.

The article reports that out of the 36 seats of the U.S. House which were rated as most competitive in the elections by the "Cook Political Report," only 14 are rated to have an even contest, while the remaining 22 are considered leaning either Republican or Democratic. Five of the seats with even contest are in Texas, reflecting the political upheaval prompted by the Republican-driven redrawing of congressional districts by the state legislature. Democrats need a net gain of 13 seats to claim a majority in the House, but seven even contest seats involve either endangered or retiring Democrats, while five are currently represented by Republicans.

It has been about two months since Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts became the de facto 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, so perhaps it's a good time to stop and assess the state of play. Democrats are happy they got a nominee quickly and with minimal divisiveness within the party, but the honeymoon is over and they realize Kerry is not necessarily the best candidate in the world. Some early data from the National Annenberg Election Survey suggested George W. Bush campaign's March television advertising had not been particularly successful in raising doubts about Kerry, even in the 18 states where broadcast — as opposed to a much lighter national cable television buy — advertising aired.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is touting its "dream team" of minority candidates in key races around the country. But under the radar, Republicans are fielding a number of strong black candidates for the House in 2004, aiming to fill a void left by the 2002 retirement of Representative J.C. Watts, Republican of Oklahoma. To date, 105 blacks have been elected to the House of Representatives. Of that number, 27 have been Republicans. However, only four black Republicans have been elected in the past 100 years. Considering very few black Republicans have received much national attention in recent cycles — or much of the vote, for that matter — Republicans could be slowly making inroads.

The article provides information on political developments in various U.S. states regarding the race for seat in the U.S. House, as of March 2004. In Florida Democratic Representative Allen Boyd nabbed a challenger who is receiving significant national help. Several administration officials, including First Lady Laura Bush, have stumped for state Representative Bev Kilmer. The district gave President George Bush 53 percent of its vote in 2000, but Boyd has always been easily re-elected. Kentucky is an old favorite Democratic target, but Republican Representative Anne Northup always seems to endure.

For decades, Medicare, along with Social Security, has been known as the third rail of politics—"Touch it and die." Today, it seems that piece of political folk wisdom has been turned on its head. Republicans and Democrats are clinging to Medicare so tightly it looks like a giant tug-of-war, with the program's 41 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries squarely in the middle. Even in the face of public opinion polling showing the new law is not exactly what Medicare recipients were hoping for, Republicans are determined to use last year's Medicare coup—passing a major overhaul few thought possible—to their advantage in this year's elections.

Taking a page from their successful 2000 campaign playbook, Republican and conservative political operatives in the U.S. are planning to essentially exclude energy and environmental issues from President George W. Bush's broad campaign platform, confident that they will not play a significant role in this year's election. To be sure, Bush will not completely abandon either issue. But neither issue is expected to become a major theme of Bush's campaign, and most sources predict the GOP will spend little energy attempting to deflect criticism from environmentalists or Democrats.

With the U.S. Congress and the country sharply divided as a potentially rancorous election year gets under way, President George W. Bush during his State of the Union address returned to the scene of perhaps his greatest bipartisan triumph — proposing a series of new education initiatives for the Congress to consider. Since he joined hands with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ranking member Edward Kennedy and other Democrats early in his term to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, many of the president's initiatives have fractured the Congress. White House officials are concerned that not enough voters are fully aware of the program, which Bush hopes will clinch his re-election.

Way back in 2003, there was some talk from the U.S. Democrats about repealing parts of the two major tax cut bills that have become the focal point of criticism and praise for U.S. President George W. Bush's economic policies. Presidential aspirant Howard Dean was proposing to scrap the Bush tax cuts completely and redirect the savings to healthcare spending and paying down the deficit. In 2004, while the debate over repealing tax cuts continues to be popular in the presidential campaign trail, the tone of Democrats in Congress is shifting.

Joseph Hoeffel, member of the U.S. Democratic Party in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is making an energetic bid for Republican Senator Arlen Specter's seat in 2004, but experts say Hoeffel's chances of winning depend heavily on the outcome of primaries on both sides of the aisle. On the Democratic side, Hoeffel — a three-term member of the U.S. House from the Philadelphia suburbs — will need to get past Charlie Crystle, a software entrepreneur in his mid-30s from Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Crystle has said he does not intend to self-finance his campaign, although he appears to possess the resources to do so. Crystle, who has been driving a van around the state to meet voters, has positioned himself as a political outsider who can apply business principles to politics. But while observers say Crystle might have a future in Pennsylvania politics once voters get to know him, they predict he will be at a disadvantage running against Hoeffel. Hoeffel, by contrast, is the consensus candidate among Democratic insiders and is well liked in Philadelphia's populous suburbs.

Eight freshmen GOP House members targeted for competitive races in 2004 showed considerable fundraising gains in their latest filings at the U.S. Federal Election Commission, averaging over $172,000 in the third quarter, according to reports submitted last week. Each of the freshmen won in 2002 with 55 percent of the vote or less, and Democrats are expected to make a major push to win over these seats. Democrats and other observers say the top GOP freshmen targets are representatives Rick Renzi of Arizona and Max Burns of Georgia. Renzi also reported $442,000 in loans to himself from last election cycle, in which Renzi funneled money into his campaign to defeat businessman George Cordova, who will not seek a rematch.

Congressional representative Darrell Issa of California, showed all the energy of a statewide candidate anxious to take on the twice-elected governor of the nation's largest state. Democratic state governor Gray Davis has seen his popularity plummet as California has suffered an energy crisis and a fiscal crisis that left Davis and state legislators struggling with a $38 billion budget deficit. While Issa has emphasized his record, Issa's campaign has also had to field questions about his early adult years.

Focuses on political developments in various U.S. states in lieu of the 2004 elections, as of April 3, 2003. Prospects of Democrats in Pennsylvania; Attempts made by Republicans in Maryland; Political candidates of Democratic Party in Indiana.

Reports that only four weeks before Election day in November 2002, Republicans believe they have found momentum that will help a number of endangered Republican senators retain their jobs after elections. Turnaround by Senator Trent Lott in regaining hold on the post of Senate Republican leader; Events that led to Republicans gaining momentum in the election campaign of the November elections.

Focuses on the decision of U.S. Democrats to replace Republican party Senator Robert Torricelli by former Senator Frank Lautenberg on November 2002 elections. Issues to be considered by Lautenberg in his election campaign; Discussion over Republican party's decision to withdraw Torricelli's name from the state elections; Efforts and achievements of Lautenberg in previous elections.

Reports on the involvement of Washington's most powerful pressure groups in the House and Senate elections. Election strategies planned by various groups like the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Club for Growth and the Alliance for Retired Americans; Campaigning and expenditure plans of outside groups; Campaign plans of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The article reports that the U.S. Federal Election Commission on Thursday proposed revisions to its definition of which activities constitute coordination between campaign committees and candidates. Regulating coordination between candidates and political committees was a key goal of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which stated that any coordination would be considered an in-kind contribution to a campaign and therefore subject to federal limits. The agency's original definition of coordination included any communication, such as a campaign advertisement, that expressly recommended the defeat or election of a candidate, or republished material produced by a campaign.

This article reports on the warning given by Business-Industry PAC (BIPAC) strategists that incumbents tucked into seemingly safe seats, regardless of party, face a volatile electorate in 2006, and voters are looking for candidates to engage them on issues, even if they cannot deliver immediate solutions. BIPAC President Gregory Casey said that there are significant numbers of voters who are disenchanted with how candidates relate to them on matters of economic security such as health care and Social Security. He said that the business community should communicate with their employees early in the election cycle and help them become politically active by giving them information about issues and how to vote early or by absentee ballot. On the issue of overhauling Social Security, Casey said that voters would credit supporters of personal accounts with promoting a possible fix to keep the program solvent, even if the issue failed to move in the U.S. Congress.

This article reports that as state lawmakers gear up for next year's gubernatorial and legislative races, several U.S. states have revised or are considering revising campaign finance laws to curb the influence of so-called 527 groups. Campaign finance watchdog organizations said that states are worried that these groups, which gained prominence in federal elections after the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002, might exert unchecked influence on state races. A spokeswoman for the Public Disclosure Commission, the state agency that regulates campaign finance, said that Washington state enacted a measure this year to prevent 527s from claiming an exemption by defining which ads are covered by state disclosure laws. The speaker said that a group called the Voter Education Fund ran ads attacking a candidate for attorney general before the primary but refused to reveal the source of its funding, claiming exemption because it was a 527 organization.

This article reports that Democrats of the U.S. would use Wednesday's indictment of House Representative Tom DeLay, to maximum political advantage in their bid for his Houston-area district and in their campaign to win the House. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) declined to offer immediate comment on DeLay's indictment, but DCCC Executive Director John Lapp, in an e-mail to potential donors, said that the party is focused on ousting Tom DeLay and his cronies. He urged recipients to boost DCCC fundraising before the end of the third quarter, which closes on Friday. Democrats have repeatedly called DeLay's ethics into question and used the controversy to criticize other vulnerable GOP incumbents.

This article focuses on the efforts of the Democrats to recruit candidates for the 2006 election cycle. The U.S. House Democrats say their stepped-up efforts to recruit candidates have yielded contenders for at least 40 GOP-held districts, but they continue to face the perennial challenge of proving their roster of candidates is sufficient to put the House majority within reach. Chris Van Hollen, who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's 10-member recruitment team, said his tally includes Democrats who have filed FEC paperwork to run for Republican-held open seats or against GOP incumbents. Fielding strong candidates is central to Democratic efforts to win the net 15 seats needed to claim a bare majority.

This article focuses on the concern whether the Central America Free Trade Agreement will turn out to be a viable campaign issue for the elections in the U.S. The Agreement, though, might be a catchier issue to sell to disgruntled voters, particularly in areas that have suffered serious job losses in the last decade. It certainly doesn't help free traders that the acronyms rhyme. It might help those writing the attack ads, though. Regardless of the outcome of the CAFTA vote, which was beginning at presstime, labor officials have warned Democrats and Republicans with large union constituencies that a pro-CAFTA vote will put them in the crosshairs in 2006. The issue is a test of unions' strength and their capability to influence voters. It also will be a test for Democrats and whether they can make labor a viable campaign issue.

The article reports that another important benchmark in determining which races will be competitive in 2006 has passed: second-quarter filings with the U.S. Federal Election Commission. No matter how great or qualified a challenger, races are won by those who raise significant chunks of money, and freshman are particularly vulnerable. They lack name recognition and generally have to raise huge sums to protect vulnerable seats during their first and second re-election campaigns. In the last quarter, the usual suspects performed as they usually do, particularly the underperformers who have tempted fate with low fundraising numbers but have found ways to pull through in the past.

This article reports that in Pennsylvania, the campaign of state Treasurer Bob Casey, who is challenging Senate Republican Conference Chairman Rick Santorum, reported raising nearly $1.9 million in the second quarter and ended the period on June 30, 2005 with over $1.5 million on hand. Vying for the Tennessee seat being vacated by retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Democratic Representative Harold Ford stated that he plans to report raising $700,000 in the second quarter and ending the period with about $1.8 million on hand.

This article reports that veterans of former U.S. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle's unsuccessful re-election effort have launched an aggressive Internet-based campaign against Senator John Thune in South Dakota, taking a page from the freshman senator's 2004 election playbook. Former Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand and campaign aides Jeremy Funk and Todd Epp have been posting information for over a month on the financial woes of Dan Nelson Automotive, which is owned by longtime Thune friends and advisers Dan Nelson and Chris Tapken.

This article reports that the U.S. House sponsors of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) took aim at legislation they say would undermine not only their law but also campaign finance reforms dating back to the days of Watergate. Representatives Mike Pence and Albert Wynn have argued that their bill, approved by the House Administration Committee earlier this month, would remove restrictions placed by BCRA on individual contributors and political parties that led to the excesses of so-called 527 groups in the year 2004, which were able to finance multi-million-dollar independent expenditure campaigns.

This article presents information related to free enterprise fund that seeks to draft former Grand Old Party (GOP) James Rogan into a race to succeed GOP Representative Christopher Cox in Southern California's 48th District. There is not yet a vacancy and the prospective candidate has all but dismissed his candidacy, but the Free Enterprise Fund plans to press forward with its efforts. Rogan, in a separate interview, said he is honored to be mentioned, but is not interested. He quipped that such interest might have prevented his defeat in his 2000 re-election battle for a Pasadena-based seat.

The article reports that television and radio advertisements for the year 2006 cycle are up and running, even though it is still 18 months until Judgment Day. They are mostly attempts to pressure members at home on topics like the transportation reauthorization bill or "getting the U.N. out of the U.S." It is early for this kind of advertising and could be a continuation of the rise of so-called 527 groups that first bloomed during the 2004 election. The long-term impact of such advertising remains to be seen, but the ads could be a factor in competitive races if the charges continue and wear down members' bases.

The article reports that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney plans to attend an event today in Scottsdale, Arizona, to help raise money for Republican Representative Rick Renzi, who still carries $350,000 in loans from his first campaign. Renzi's first quarter fundraising report shows his campaign is already in the black. As of March 31, the campaign reported $442,000 on hand, after raising $325,000 in the first three months of the year. Renzi's campaign has maintained that the loans were permissible and they should be treated as his personal assets.

The article reports that central to the job of a political analyst is to assess the partisanship and voting patterns of a state or congressional district, the strengths and weaknesses of the incumbent if one is running and of the other candidates in the field, the availability of resources and any other circumstances that might become important in the contest, and then weigh the importance of each of these factors. After almost three decades of watching congressional elections, the author has developed a sense of what works and what does not work, when exceptions to patterns occur, and why.

The article reports that for activists bent on getting big money out of politics, the recent push to rein in so-called 527 groups could end in either triumph or disaster. The skirmish over 527 legislation, in fact, is emerging as a pivotal moment in the ongoing campaign finance wars. On the one hand, groups such as Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center now enjoy powerful new Grand Old Party allies on Capitol Hill and in the White House. On the other, some of the 527-related measures on the table would actually relax restrictions on large contributions and roll back strict limits enacted with the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.

The article presents first-quarter campaign finance reports and the fundraising records of targeted incumbents, who will be heading into the 2006 mid-term election in the U.S. states. Republican Anne Northup has been targeted since day one in her Louisville, Kentucky, district, but has managed to hang on. In all of her races since her first in 1996, Northup has outspent her challenger nearly two to one. Despite solid wins in 2004 and 2002, she raised plenty of money in the first quarter, and had $389,000 on hand. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay surprised political observers last year, garnering 55 percent against a little-known challenger in Texas.

The article reports that the U.S. State lawmakers are proposing various new measures to strengthen campaign finance disclosure laws and curb lobbyists' influence at a time when ethical standards are coming under increased scrutiny on Capitol Hill. But experts who track ethics legislation say many of these bills are being spurred by individual state dynamics, not congressional accusations. Leah Rush, director of state projects for the Center for Public Integrity, said state legislation is more likely to be tied to misconduct by local lawmakers, or the election cycle.

The article reports that it was an unusual moment when Senator Barack Obama, only the third black popularly elected to the U.S. Senate, allied himself with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, Senator Robert Byrd. That this happened at all, in the form of a letter from Obama posted at MoveOn.org seeking contributions to Byrd's re-election campaign, caused a one-day wave of wonder in usually blasé Washington. Both Obama and Byrd opposed the Iraqi war early on and now share concerns about the seemingly endless and dangerous occupation of the fractured country by U.S. troops.

The article presents information on the political campaigns of various Senators. The whine of allegations and criticism surrounding embattled U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is at a high pitch. Now, there is negative coverage expanding past the investigations and congressional travel. Republican Representative Rob Simmons is a top target for Democrats, and the Public Campaign Action Fund is already running ads at home against him. Republican Representative Doc Hastings, the new chairman of the Ethics Committee, has faced criticism at home over his lack of action on allegations against DeLay and over his donation to DeLay's legal defense fund.

The article informs that stung by recent redistricting defeats in Texas and Georgia and mindful of losses sustained after the 2000 census, veteran Democratic strategists are turning their attention to trying to win the state legislatures and governorships needed to position the party for the redistricting battles of 2010. Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Michael Davies, whose committee helps elect Democrats to state legislatures, said his party in 2000 focused too late on winning legislative races and countering GOP legislative efforts that resulted in net congressional gains for Republicans. Most states do not have an independent redistricting commission, and one-party control of the legislature and governorship can spell doom for the other party.

The article reports that U.S. President George W. Bush is likely to find mostly receptive audiences when he hits the campaign trail today and Friday to continue his "conversations" on Social Security. However, Bush's latest swing, Kentucky and Alabama today and Tennessee and Louisiana Friday, will bring him through states that voted for him in his two presidential campaigns and should already be open to his proposals. Democrats have been pounding vulnerable GOP lawmakers about whether they back Bush's "privatization" plan, but Representative Anne Northup, said her Louisville-based district includes Democrats, manufacturing jobs and minorities, and is a microcosm of the groups Bush is courting.

The article discusses President George W. Bush's approval ratings. Bush's approval ratings jumped from 51 to 57 percent in three weeks. Such an increase seemed plausible given the positive reception to his February 2, 2005 State of the Union message and, more importantly, that the Iraqi elections appeared to have gone much better than expected. Indeed, television network news coverage of these developments bordered on the euphoric; print coverage was more cautious and a bit skeptical; and that made these numbers believable.

This article informs that taking political cues from the last election cycle, House Rules Chairman David Dreier is positioning himself to take a leading role in shaping immigration policy this Congress. After getting hammered in the weeks leading up to the 2004 election by a group of anti-immigration conservative activists and shock-jock radio hosts in his district, Dreier took a significant and much-discussed hit at the polls and has since worked to clarify his position. Dreier served as a leadership proxy during the debate over the intelligence overhaul bill last Congress.

The article informs that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's chairmen for business PAC fundraising and candidate recruitment each said Monday they want to attract early money and talent in order to position the party for gains during the 2006 election cycle. U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley of New York, who heads the DCCC Business Council, said he wants the DCCC to make a strong showing in its first quarter fundraising reports to demonstrate Democrats can raise the money to win seats next year. Launching his fundraising effort among Washington PACs, Crowley said he has scheduled a series of industry breakfasts through March, including sessions with the agriculture, financial services, accounting and healthcare sectors.

The article reports that U.S. President George W. Bush has a tone problem. Although polls say the speech went over pretty well domestically, it definitely bombed abroad. Normally, Americans shrug off that kind of response, assuming they are just misunderstood. Kind of hard to sell a product to people who abhor your marketing campaign. The idea that the American president has a private line to the author of liberty just is not flying. The only good thing about Bush's tone problem is that it makes him relatively transparent.

The article analyzes the outcome of the United States 2004 Presidential Election. With the conclusion of the Presidential election, the Republicans have emerged as the leading party, winning by a majority of 232-203 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the process, the Republicans have picked up a gain of three seats in the House. Before the Nov. 2 general election, the expectations were that there would be little change in the House, which either side might pick up one to three seats, and that Republicans were seen as more likely to gain than lose seats.

The article reports that draped in the warm embrace of nine U.S. Judiciary Committee Republicans, Senator Arlen Specter, was virtually assured Thursday of his elevation to the panel's chairmanship, despite the ferocious opposition of conservative activists who mounted a nationwide campaign to try to deny him the seat. Current U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, whose tenure as chairman is term-limited, said Republicans on the panel expressed "unanimous support" for Specter's succession to the chairmanship. Although the committee majority's verdict on Specter all but guarantees his ascension, the U.S. Senate itself must formally vote for it when the 109th Congress convenes in January.

The article focuses on Georgia politicians who say that GOP Representative Max Burns remains the state's most vulnerable incumbent while GOP Representative Phil Gingrey and Democratic Representative Jim Marshall have moved down the list of vulnerable incumbents nationwide. Burns' campaign manager Tim Baker said that Democrats have targeted Burns since he won the heavily Democratic 12th District in 2002, and Burns has been working and campaigning vigorously. He said Burns has raised $2 million for the campaign and will run ads a full eight weeks before the election.

The article focuses on a statewide television advertisement that featured New York's" ground zero."Senator Patty Murray, immediately chastised George Nethercutt after his campaign launched a statewide television ad that featured New York's "ground zero" and suggested Murray is an apologist for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Nethercutt, who is challenging Murray for her Senate seat, ran an ad that included recorded comments Murray made during a classroom session with students in December 2002. The ad was Nethercutt's fifth spot, but it was hardly unexpected as Murray's comments were made nearly two years ago.

The article provides information about the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of the U.S. New campaign finance regulations, the prominence of early voting and the intensity of the 2000 election have motivated many groups that want to influence federal elections to abandon the last-minute television blitz in favor of larger, smarter and more focused voter contact programs. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act requires most ads broadcast 60 days before the general election to be paid for with money raised under federal contribution limits.

The article focuses on the subliminal messages that are send to the Americans so often. The alarm first rang in 1957 when a study was announced that claimed, falsely, it was later learned, that moviegoers could be spurred to the concession stand if the phrase "eat popcorn" was repeatedly flashed on the screen for brief moments noticed only by the unconscious mind. Another wave of hysteria in 1973 caused the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to notify the public early the following year of its dim view of subliminal ads. Controversy over hidden messages erupted during the 2000 election with the split-second appearance of the word "rats" in a Republican campaign commercial assailing prescription drug plan.

The article presents information about the aggressive campaign for the hearts and minds, and votes, of rural residents by the U.S. President George W. Bush and the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. While Kerry is not expected to win the rural vote, his focus on farm prices, health care and similar topics might cut the gap enough in rural areas of battleground states to give him a chance to carry the statewide vote in some of those crucial contests. Bush carried the rural vote in 2000 and a recent poll of rural voters in swing states shows him with a comfortable lead among those voters at this stage of the 2004 campaign.