Nevada's Congressional Delegation a Disgrace - Primary Challenge for Berkley?

Yesterday, Congress caved in to Bush's demands and passed a war funding bill without any timetables for withdrawal from Iraq. As a little Swiss newspaper puts it: "Capitulation of the Democrats."

In the end the House passed the bill 280-142 with 86 Democrats voting for the bill and 140 against. The Senate passed Bush's war funding by an even wider margin with 80-14. Here the majority of Democrats supported the bill, with 11 Democrats voting against (including Sen. Sanders) and 36 caving to Bush (not counting Lieberman).

Now, here comes the best: every member of Nevada's congressional delegation voted for the bill and essentially against a timetable of getting out of Iraq. You'd expect this from Sen. Ensign, Rep. Porter, and Rep. Heller as they're all Republicans. But to have two Democrats, Sen. Reid and Rep. Berkley, representing Nevada who voted against ending the war is not only a disappointment but a disgrace.

Especially, when you consider that the majority of Americans want a timetable according to the latest CBS/New York Post poll (pdf!):

Do you think the United States should or should not set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq sometime in 2008?

Should 63%
Should not 34%

And this is not just Democrats and Independents (61-34) talking here. Already, 42% of Republicans want a timetable. I'm dumbfounded to think that Reid and Berkley don't get this.

There's been talk in the blogosphere of targeting some of these Democrats, like Berkley, in primaries next time around.

That Berkley's increasingly in trouble becomes apparent in this take from MSNBC:

Will anti-war activists force Democratic incumbents to spend money to defend themselves in primaries next year — or could the party actually get stronger candidates as a result of contested primaries?

[...]

Five-term veteran Shelley Berkley, who represents Las Vegas and environs, said Thursday afternoon, “My district is pretty evenly divided. I haven’t done polling, but according to other polls it’s apparent that more than 50 percent now oppose the Iraq war in my district or in Nevada.”

So her vote for the additional finding will go against the wishes of the majority of her constituents, but she explained, “I’m on record as saying I’m not going to leave the troops stranded. As angry and dismayed as I am with the Bush administration having created a debacle, I’m not going to take it out on the troops.”

She predicted, “By September, there will be enough Republicans who will have expressed their concern to the president; it will be a bipartisan effort to moderate his position.”

She also forecast that “as we get closer to election time, more and more Republicans will see that Mr. Bush is not on the ballot, they are.”

And what about the potential threat of a Democratic primary challenger against her? “I don’t foresee that happening. I’ve been very candid about my position.”

She recalled, “I was in anti-Vietnam war protests in college.” She said the U.S. exit from Iraq, when it happens, “will be much more complex than the helicopter on the roof of the embassy” – a reference to the Saigon evacuation in 1975. “This is very complex. It is so much more complex than just ‘get out tomorrow.’”

“As we get closer to election time, more and more Republicans will see that Mr. Bush is not on the ballot, they are.” Oh, this is just hillarious! Maybe Rep. Berkley should realize she'll be on the ballot as well. I have my doubts if a primary challenge will work against the Democratic Party machinery but a serious challenger would undoubtedly have support from the netroots.

Shelley Berkley should seriously reconsider her voting pattern regarding the war (among other things).

Ensign Lowering Expectations for 2008

The ensignificant Senator from Nevada readily admits to the Washington Times that he expects a net loss in the 2008 Senate contest. Of course, he doesn't quite say it like that:

"The odds are that we are going to have more risks than they will, and it turns out that we do have more risks," he said.
He singled out five Republican seats that are in danger in Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon and New Hampshire, compared with two vulnerable Democratic incumbents in South Dakota and Louisiana and long-shot possibilities in Iowa and Montana.

Keep in mind that Democrats consider Iowa and Montana relatively save. Ensign also claims to have cleaned house and to have reorganized the NRSC. Wonder if that happened before or after some staffer at the NRSC floated the idea of an Ensign presidential run...

"Open Congress" Launched

After Congresspedia, the Sunlight Foundation has launched another great tool: Open Congress

Open Congress is an awesome tool for anyone interested in what goes on in Congress. Here you can actually learn more about bills, members of Congress, committees, etc.

You can find out that Dean Heller actually voted 'Aye' on a resolution to support "the goals of International Women's Day", that Dianne Feinstein is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, that the top contributor to both Harry Reid and John Ensign is MGM Mirage, that Barbara Boxer recently sponsored a "bill to provide all low-income students with the same opportunity to receive a Pell Grant by suspending the tuition sensitivity provision in the Pell Grant program", and that John Doolittle most often votes with Rep. Jean "Mean" Schmidt of Ohio.

This is an awesome tool, try it.

John Ensign Rather Golfs Than Debate The War

Every cynical blogger in Nevada guessed that John Ensign was probably out golfing when he missed the vote on the Iraq war debate last Saturday. Call us cynical no more:

A spokesman for Ensign confirmed Tuesday that he played golf with his son in Nevada rather than attend the weekend session called by Senate Democrats. Ensign criticized the vote as nothing more than "political posturing" that he had no interest in joining.

Want a comment from a political science professor?

"The irony here is in the past he's been criticized for playing too much golf and having a good tan," Herzik said. "But if you're going to criticize - 'You're out on the golf course instead of the floor of the Senate for this historic vote' - he'll say, 'What historic vote? It was a sham.'

"His position is valid. Whether or not it's popular, that's another question," Herzik said.

What Lisa Mascaro forgot to mention in her article, although it's pretty apparent, is that Herzik is a Republican. One who obviously doesn't have much respect for the political instutions of this land, for the people of Nevada or for the troops.

To top it all off, here's Harry Reid's response:

In Carson City on Tuesday, Reid himself said: "Maybe you haven't heard about our pact?" It was a reference to an agreement he and Ensign have to not criticize each other publicly.

Good Lord!

NRSC Working on Democratic Landslide in 2008

What one "deluded Republican staffer" can cause by thinking his boss might make a good President... First of all, I have to thank him/her for getting me five blogger minutes of fame and 1,000 visitors in one day.

Looking at my stats throughout the past 24 hours was quite revealing. First of all: it's true. All of Washington reads Wonkette. I'm surprised anything at all gets done in DC. You could probably fire half the staffers in DC and not a soul would notice.

Among the thousand visits to this post were at least nine (see below, times are MET) by the National Republican Senatorial Committee which started this whole thing. Seems like they have nothing better to do. If they keep up working like this (and with the ensignificant Senator running the show this seems likely) they will practically ensure a Democratic landslide in the 2008 Senate elections.

(Un)Surprisingly, this wasn't John Ensign's first time on Wonkette. He was featured prominently last year under the headline "Senator John Ensign: This White Man Can Jump". No wonder, Wonkette would like to see him run...

Wonkette Endorses John Ensign For President - It's The Hair!

Breaking News: Ensign receives first endorsement for presidential bid!

Wonkette just practically endorsed Nevada's favourite golfer for President. Why? It's the hair:

Someone at the NRSC has a brilliant plan for the Republicans: the dude who nearly lost to Jimmy Carter’s son should run for President. We like it! Ensign has such nice hair…

I jokingly thought about the possibility of former Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn (R) replacing Cheney as Vice-President. Why? He's out of a job and W just likes western governors (think Kempthorne of Idaho (Interior Secretary), and Leavitt of Utah (HHS Secretary).

But never in my wildest dreams, or nightmares for that matter, would I have imagined to hear "John Ensign for President". Great thanks for that go out to the "Single Most Deluded Republican Staffer".

PS: Here's a look at the hair...

Vote for Jack Carter Again! Tomorrow!

After the "John Ensign for President" idiocy coming from the National Republican Senatorial Committee yesterday, it's time to have some real fun and vote for Jack Carter again.

The website Calculusman.com is having its annual Democratic Nomination Competition. In the first round one can choose from a wide array of candidates, tomorrow's vote (Friday, Feb. 9) includes former Senate candidate Jack Carter. You can rate the candidates from 1 (least favourite) to 5 (most favourite).

Vote for Jack and give him a 5!

"John Ensign for President" - The NRSC Thinks So

What do bloggers do all day? They look at their site stats. And don't let any blogger tell you otherwise. We're obsessed.

Therefore, it took me only a little more than an hour to find the following gem. Apparently, someone at the National Republican Senatorial Committee got a little ahead of his duties. To all who haven't heard: John Ensign is the new Liddy Dole, meaning he'll be responsible for recruiting candidates for the 2008 Senate contests. Now, we have to wonder whether the ensignificant Senator and his staff are taking their duties seriously or whether the Hair-Do is standing in front of his staff all day asking: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

And the staff must have shouted: "John Ensign for President!"

And so they ventured out in the world beyond the seven blogs to find the seven dwarfs who might agree with them.

Today, at 12.57pm pacific, 3.57pm eastern and 9.57pm middle european time, someone at the National Republican Senatorial Committee searched for "John Ensign for President."

John McCain and Rudy Guiliani watch out!

For details click the screenshot below.

Update: Wonder what the hair is all about? Have a look!

John Ensign To Be The New Liddy Dole - Republicans Hand The Senate To Dems In 08

It's official, the ensignificant Senator from Nevada will be the new head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee which is responsible for recruiting and supporting Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate. This election cycle Liddy Dole was responible for that and you know how that turned out - can you say Majority Leader Reid?

Anyhow, things are gonna get much worse this time around. The Hair-do, as Ensign is known in Nevada, hasn't gotten much attention in the national press yet, cause, well, he hasn't done anything. He's been golfing under the radar. I'm pretty sure nothing much will change as he's only the face of the operation and surely, Republicans must have some qualified guys running the NRSC.

Or not:

Ensign said his chief of staff, Scott Bensing, would serve as NRSC executive director, political consultant Mike Slanker would be political director and Slanker's wife and business partner, Lindsey, would be NRSC finance director. The pair run Nevada-based November Inc., which does political consulting for many Nevada GOP candidates.

This oughta be fun. So, some Nevadan political consultant and his wife will run the show? Geez, what's the plan here? Give Democrats another ten seats in the Senate next cycle?