Et tu, Rob Portman? Ye of sensibility and rectitude? Ye of maturity and political resolve? Despite inquires from the Cincinnati Enquirer and Plain Dealer, Portman's campaign won't directly answer the question of whether the candidate believes that President Obama is a citizen. (Obama is.) So now, we're up to five Republican Senate candidates -- major ones, not including J.D. Hayworth in Arizona for the moment -- who have flirted with Birtherism.
Several of these candidates have later corrected their initial hesitation, but it is precisely that initial hesitation that contains so much information about what Republican candidates fear right now. No doubt that Portman and Marco Rubio know that Birtherism is bullshit. The gap between their private beliefs and how they articulate them publicly is fairly wide. I'm not a fan of stories that begin with X "refuses to denounce" Y -- I usually skip them. I make an exception here because the accusation is so reckless, so tied to race and culture, and so stupid that those who try to Wink at the Birthers are adding potency to a poison that everyone is forced to gulp.
Poison. You don't normally see our mainstream media using terms like this. It is dangerous poison.
As the days of Republicans obstructing legislation in the Senate continue to pass, momentum has built to change the rules of the filibuster. Talking Points memo has a story up talking about how Harry Reid is suggesting it's time to make a change and our Senator had this take:
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) added in his remarks that Democrats need to "crystallize" obstruction and showcase incidents like the Bunning blockade to highlight the real effects parliamentary tactics have on voters.
At the very least if they don't change the rules, they should make Republicans actually stand up and filibuster. Not play the games that they are. And Democrats need to clearly spell out what is going like the Senator says, because they can't continue to lose the messaging battle and expect to win at the ballot box. I would hope Senator Menendez, in his role leading the DSCC can push other members to make sure they are highlighting the obstruction on a more regular basis until permanent changes are made.
Senator Bob Menendez appeared on MSNBC the other day with Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd for the Morning Rundown show. When asked about what his members will say to the argument that using reconciliation for healthcare is an end run, which it's not but the media continues to perpetuate, he said:
Look, no matter how hard we tried, no matter how hard the President tried, the Republicans just weren't serious about solving the problems of millions of Americans that get denied health insurance because they have a pre-existing condition, of tens of millions of Americans that have no insurance whatsoever, and all the rest of us who have insurance and the price keeps going up, even though we get denied more and more when we make a claim with insurance companies.
You can see the segment here:On the campaign side, Menendez talked about how the DSCC will be supporting Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas in the primary, who now has a challenge from a Progressive candidate. He said they always support incumbents, but don't broadcast their strategy of what they will do to help out. Lincoln turned around and started attacking the public option, voiced her opposition to cap and trade and painted Washington as children in her latest ad. While Washington may be acting like Children, Lincoln is one of the people throwing dirt in the sandbox.
The Washington Post had an extensive story yesterday about Senator Menendez and his role leading the DSCC. The story went into looking at the Massachusetts debacle and found an anonymous White House official ready to air some dirty laundry:
One senior administration official, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the White House's grievances, acknowledged that there was plenty of blame to go around, especially in the failure to notice how intensely Republican voters were motivated. But the official also argued that Menendez bore a larger burden because it was his job to protect the seat.
"I don't understand how they could have missed how fundamentally unsound the candidate was," said the administration official. "They shouldn't have been surprised by it."
The anonymous source continued saying that his predecessor would never have allowed it to happen:
"Chuck Schumer would have been a rabid dog if he had one race in America and he wouldn't have rested, even if he had a 40-point lead," said the official, who argued the committee needed an A-team on the ground sooner. "They chose not to do that because it was a comfortable lead and they wanted to save their resources for what they thought were going to be really tough races."
But of course once the dirt was shoveled on Menendez, the official on the record comment completely contradicted the anonymous comments:
"That's not a view I share," said David Axelrod, White House senior adviser, adding that there was plenty of blame to go around. "I don't think any one institution or person bears a preponderance of responsibility for that. They have a very good staff over there, they do a very good job. This is not a case where you can say this was their fault."
While I agree with Axelrod that everyone shares blame, he's pretty much trying to close the gate after the horses have gotten out at this point. For his part, Menendez said the anonymous comments weren't helpful:
"Finger-pointing here is not only irresponsible, it risks misreading the political environment right now."
The bottom line is the DSCC is charged with paying attention to make sure that just this situation doesn't occur. Coakley shouldn't have been able to go dark for weeks after the primary and when they went off the reservation, the campaign should have been reigned back in. They can say Coakley wasn't the best candidate or who they would have wanted, but you have the candidate you have at that point. They tried to get more involved but at that point it was to late. Massachusetts needs to serve as a wake up call and an opportunity to be better prepared for the difficult road ahead. It's going to be a tough climate out there, but turning the attacks inward isn't going to make that job any easier. They all should have seen this coming and they all should work together to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Senator Bob Menendez appeared on the Rachel Maddow show last night to discuss the State of the Union and the state of play going forward. Rachel started asking him about a memo regarding driving a wedge between the tea party movement and Republican party.
He said it's a question of whose side you are on. He talked about the GOP sitting on their hands over the bank fee, contributions in elections and regulatory reform. He said they don't stand with the average citizen. Rachel questioned about Blue Dog defections sapping the strength of the argument, but Menendez said that he suspects these are issues that the Blue Dogs will have to be on board with. I'd say that remains to be seen. Menendez says this election needs to be a contrast. You need to define yourself, define your opponent and give the voters a choice. He then talked about strategies for both the primary and general. You can see for yourself:
While the decision of Byron Dorgan to not seek re-election to his Senate seat complicates things for Senator Menendez in his role leading the DSCC, Roll Call says it may put him in line for bigger and better things in the Democratic Leadership. The retirement creates an opening for the head of the Democratic Policy Committee and the Senator seems to be on the short list:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will appoint Dorgan's successor. As a result, lawmakers will not campaign among colleagues for the gavel but instead make quiet entreaties to their leader.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is considered a likely candidate. During his career in the House, Menendez headed the Democratic Caucus. Reid appointed Menendez to the Finance Committee in January 2009, a move colleagues interpreted as a reward for his agreement to lead the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) this cycle.
One Democratic aide said the likelihood of Menendez landing the job depends on whether Reid promised him special consideration, in addition to the Finance appointment, in return for running the DSCC. The aide said Menendez's claim would also hinge on his track record as campaign chief, a job that got a little harder with the retirements of Dorgan and Sen. Chris Dodd (Conn.), as well as tough challenges in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
It appears that if Menendez can help the party hold their own in the 2010 Senate contests, he could be in line for bigger and better things within the leadership of the Senate Democrats. He may want to pay attention to Massachusetts before he gets to the November races because that special election appears to be much closer than many would prefer or expect.
The news this week that North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan and Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd will not run again for re-election only complicates things for Senator Menendez in his role leading the DSCC. The Dodd news could actually prove to make the seat more secure for Democrats, but the Dorgan seat will be an uphill climb to hold. Here's what the Senator had to say about things yesterday:
DSCC chair Robert Menendez, the chief of Dem efforts to hold the Senate, acknowledged that the party faces a "challenge" next year, and declined to predict whether Dems would hold their super-majority.
But Menendez pushed back hard on the emerging media meme that the Dem retirements spell doom for the party, arguing that the GOP is defending six open Senate seats. Menendez also refused to concede that Byron Dorgan's Senate seat is a certain pickup for the GOP, as many argue, vowing a vigorous contest for it, though he conceded that Rep Earl Pomeroy, the most sought after Dem candidate, wasn't running.
Along with the Dorgan and Dodd seats for the Democrats, the Senator had more to say about the prospects for the GOP maintaining their seats:
"I would say the optics of having six Republican open seats is more significant," Menendez insisted, when asked to comment on the Dems' chances in the wake of the news about the retirements. "They have to run the table to be even at the end of the day,"
He added five of the races in those states - Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Kansas - are "very competitive," and vowed that Dems would benefit from the "bloody" GOP primaries underway in them.
They do have to run the table, but the climate may be a difficult one for Democrats to compete in. Follow me below the fold because there is plenty more to look at.
The DSCC has all but written her [Brunner] off, however, and the establishment has turned to [Democrat Lee] Fisher. In fact, Brunner said when she spoke with DSCC Chair Bob Menendez in Sept., he first told her that he "didn't want to see a Democratic candidate at the end of the primary with zero dollars," and he followed up that his organization would go into the state to work against a candidate perceived as "being negative in the primary or not raising enough money."
Brunner said she responded: "If you do that, the women of Ohio will never forgive you." Menendez, she said, retorted: "I know you're not scared of me, and I'm not scared of you."
I'm glad there's a primary and that Ohio Democrats will have a chance to choose the best candidate. Brunner has done a lot of good work and if many activists think she'd be a better candidate I take that seriously. That said, I don't really sympathize with Brunner here. First of all, I don't see how making these complaints public is going to help her. Furthermore, Cleveland's Plain Dealer wonders why she's talking to the National Journal instead of an Ohio outlet. It seems like she is showing bad judgment as she finds herself losing, threatening the DSCC and complaining in the press. Second, I can hardly expect Bob Menendez of New Jersey to think money isn't important. How am I supposed to be shocked and outraged?
Still, it would be nice someday to hear that Menendez, Rahm Emmanuel, or anyone in the DC power structure threatened conservative Democrats even once. It's all seems awfully one-sided, and so they shouldn't act so surprised the liberals on-line are in full revolt.
Just in case Senator Bob Menendez missed it, here's a poll from Public Policy Polling that he should show to his colleague, Senator Olympia Snowe.
Asked how they would vote in a primary contest between Snowe and a more conservative challenger, just 31% of likely Republican voters say they would pick Snowe while 59% say they would go for the conservative alternative...
Snowe's overall popularity is still decent, with 51% of voters approving of her to 36% disapproving. That owes to a 60% approval rating with Democrats and a 51% mark with independents.
I think asking her to join the Democratic caucus would be just what both sides in Maine want. How about it, Mr. DSCC Chair?
Politico had a story yesterday talking about how the NRSC will be trying to score political points against Democats up for re-election during the healthare debate:
The NRSC already has its eyes on Democrats up in 2012 - and plans to bombard Democrats who sit on the Finance Committee with attacks on their votes on controversial amendments during the Committee deliberations beginning Tuesday. Its top 2012 targets on the Committee: Nelson and Conrad, as well as Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
That news didn't sit well with Senator Menendez:
Menendez accused the Republicans of playing politics, and he's surely one who would know, given that he chairs the NRSC's counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
"...Senate Republicans have absolutely zero interest in reforming health care," Menendez said through the DSCC. "If Republicans think the health care crisis is just a game or political opportunity, they clearly have not learned the lessons of the past two elections."
NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh responds: "When you consider that the DSCC has issued literally dozens of press releases and fundraising appeals attacking Republicans on health care in recent weeks, these remarks are ironic and unfortunate to say the least."
Didn't this whole story start with the fact that the Republicans were going to try to play politics with the process of legislating and governing in committee? But of course to the NRSC it's only the Democrats playing politics. For New Jersey, whether it's on the politics of the DSCC or the policy of the Finance Committee, Senator Menendez finds himself in the middle of everything.
Politico had a story yesterday talking about how the NRSC will be trying to score political points against Democats up for re-election during the healthare debate:
The NRSC already has its eyes on Democrats up in 2012 - and plans to bombard Democrats who sit on the Finance Committee with attacks on their votes on controversial amendments during the Committee deliberations beginning Tuesday. Its top 2012 targets on the Committee: Nelson and Conrad, as well as Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
That news didn't sit well with Senator Menendez:
Menendez accused the Republicans of playing politics, and he's surely one who would know, given that he chairs the NRSC's counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
"...Senate Republicans have absolutely zero interest in reforming health care," Menendez said through the DSCC. "If Republicans think the health care crisis is just a game or political opportunity, they clearly have not learned the lessons of the past two elections."
NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh responds: "When you consider that the DSCC has issued literally dozens of press releases and fundraising appeals attacking Republicans on health care in recent weeks, these remarks are ironic and unfortunate to say the least."
Didn't this whole story start with the fact that the Republicans were going to try to play politics with the process of legislating and governing in committee? But of course to the NRSC it's only the Democrats playing politics. For New Jersey, whether it's on the politics of the DSCC or the policy of the Finance Committee, Senator Menendez finds himself in the middle of everything.
Update by Hopeful: The call has been moved to 4pm Tuesday, Sept. 8
From an email sent out yesterday by the DSCC:
The 2010 Senate races are really heating up now.
From Democratic Rep. Charlie Melancon jumping into the Louisiana race against Sen. David Vitter, to upcoming special elections, the map is constantly changing. Keeping up-to-date on the latest political machinations is crucial as we make plans to defeat the "Party of No" and expand our Senate majority. President Obama's change agenda depends on it.
That's why we at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee wanted to let you know about a unique opportunity to hear from DSCC Chairman Robert Menendez. Senator Menendez will be holding a conference call at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, and we want you to take part.
During the call, you'll get the inside scoop on the state of the races, key DSCC initiatives and our strategy for winning next November. It's the kind of information we all need to know as we gear up to bring down the forces of obstruction in the U.S. Senate.
I hope you will join Chairman Menendez on Thursday, and thanks for your support of the DSCC. We couldn't do it without you.
With the seats in New York, Illinois and Florida, coupled with the situation in Massachusetts and the Vitter seat in Louisiana, there will be plenty to cover. If you want to know what's going on from the point of view of the DSCC, this call is probably for you.
As President Obama and Sen. Reid have said, we're very confident that Arlen Specter can do very well in the Democratic universe and do exceptionally well in the general election universe. Rep. Sestak has an excellent background and he has every right to consider the race. I think he's looking at it and making his own decisions. He's got a great position in the House, and he is developing seniority there, and he'll have to make those considerations at the end of the day.
In fact, Congressman Sestak has declared his intentions to run and now it remains to be seen whether the party will try to prevent people from supporting his effort. He talked about lessons learned and about trying to take more of a long range approach rather than focusing on the short two year term:
I've been talking about creating some longer term institutional opportunities so that when we reach out to young professionals - the ones who were engaged by Obama - they aren't going to be the $30,400 giver, but they can be the $5,000 giver. And if you get enough $5,000 givers, you start adding up to some real money. More importantly, you get them engaged in the process, and then we turn them into givers to the party and also contributors back in state in terms of engagement with our candidates.
They also turned to Menendez's Cuba position and where it conflicts with the intentions of the Obama Administration:
I applaud the president on the family reunification efforts as I have said. I disagree with some of the other provisions, particularly doing them unilaterally. For example, there's no place in the world that you send money to your family and it costs you more than 3 or 5 percent to do so. If you send money to family in Cuba, the regime takes 30 percent. So it seems to me that instead of unlimited remittances, we could have done something that allowed remittances to take place if [Cuba is] willing to lower the usurious rate charged to Cuban Americans. That's our disagreement - a little bit more of the how versus the what.
Overall, the Senator really seems to try and manage expectations for 2010 talking about where they stand and what they plan to do. The article is a good read.
Many assumed the Republicans would try to make a stand and rally their base in relation to the Supreme Court nominee, but the Democrats are doing the same. From an email sent out by Senator Menendez on behalf of the DSCC:
Despite all of her qualifications, Republicans stand ready to obstruct. On Tuesday, de facto party spokesman Rush Limbaugh went so far as to accuse President Obama, and Judge Sotomayor, of racism. "Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist and now he's appointed one ... Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court," he said.
With statements like that from Limbaugh, we can expect to have a fight on our hands. You can be assured, however, that the DSCC, the branch of the Democratic Party solely dedicated to electing more Democrats to the Senate, is working hard every day to elect senators who will give President Obama's nominees a fair hearing. It's what America expects of us.
From an article on Pittsburghlive.com, we get news about the Pennsylvania US Senate race and the effort to get Joe Sestak to back down from challenging Arlen Specter in the primary:
Word out of Washington, D.C., is that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the political wiseguys from the Obama administration plan on "visiting with" Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Joe Sestak.
Their objective is clear: Get him off the stage and out of a primary race against incumbent (and now Democrat) Sen. Arlen Specter.
"I have received a call" from DSCC chairman Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Sestak said, "but we keep missing each other."
So the battle lines are drawn: Sestak is not inclined to be pushed out of the race, and Menendez's marching orders from the White House are to shove, not just push.
From the Albany Project, we get comments from Senator Menendez about the decision of Congressman Steve Israel not to seek the seat currently held by Seantor Kirsten Gillibrand:
"Steve Israel is a terrific Congressman, and the people of Long Island are lucky to have him as their fierce advocate in Washington. New Yorkers have one of the strongest Congressional delegations in the country and clearly Senator Gillibrand is making them proud as their new Senator. She's working around the clock, traveling the state, delivering for New York, and given her strong track record thus far, looks to be well-positioned for 2010. The DSCC looks forward to continuing working with her to make sure she well-prepared for her race."
They read a little more into the Senator's statement and what it might mean for the race going forward:
But there are plenty of interesting tidbits in that statement from Menendez that pertains to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who benefited greatly from Israel deciding not to run yesterday. Sen. Menendez saying that Gillibrand is "well-positioned for 2010" and that the DSCC "looks forward to continuing working with her" shows that the DSCC might be hoping to avoid a primary.
"The president asked me to continue my leadership in Congress" and "not run for the U.S. Senate this year," the five-term Long Island congressman said in a written statement.
The field-clearing overture in New York is Obama's first known foray into the Democrats' candidate selection process for the 2010 congressional elections, and indicates that the White House is prepared to take an aggressive stand to protect the party's majorities in Congress.
Reports say that, the President got inolved at the urging of Senators Menendez and Schumer. They have apparently expressed concern that a tough primary could make the seat vulnerable to a Republican takeover bid in 2010. Menendez is going to have his hands full with the Senate races across the country this cycle.
In his role as DSCC chair, Senator Menendez is readying for the Florida US Senate campaign, where it has been rumored that Governor Charlie Crist will throw his hat into the ring. We get this preview from the Lakeland Ledger in Florida:
"Clearly to me, Gov. Crist would be jumping ship after steering his state into a complete economic shipwreck," said U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey and chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "We will use his thin and abysmal record as governor should he run for Senate."
Menendez is going to be busy with all of these seats coming up trying to maintain control of the Senate and expand the Majority. He's already had early fundraising success, but there are potential speed bumps ahead with this Florida race, the Illinois seat and the new Democrat in Pennsylvania.
I don't really know that this is even an issue, but the Auditor takes a look back at statements by Sen. Bob Menendez surrounding Arlen Specter wondering what he know of the switch and when:
Asked about Specter during an April 13 Statehouse meeting with reporters, Menendez -- head of the Senate Democrats' campaign efforts for 2010 -- said he was watching Specter's upcoming re-election fight "very closely" but didn't pounce.
"Senator Specter has a problem already, obviously, in his own party," Menendez said then, noting that "a couple hundred thousand moderate Republicans" had switched their registration to Democrat in Pennsylvania last year.
"I do believe there is an opportunity in Pennsylvania to pick up a seat, and we are looking at a range of candidates and talking to a lot of candidates," Menendez said. "If we get a good candidate, I think there is a good opportunity."
Then they look at the reaction last week from Senator Menendez following the announcement of the Specter switch which was not surprisingly glowing:
"This one's a game-changer. Specter's move immediately improves the prospects of President Obama's bold change agenda," Menendez wrote in a chest-thumping e-mail blast to supporters.
The note featured an eerily familiar quote from Specter: "Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."
Asked whether Menendez knew in advance and was keeping his own counsel about Specter's stunning switch, his spokesman, Afshin Mohamadi, declined to comment.
I'd be shocked if Menendez DIDN'T know. He needs to coordinate the actions of the Senate committee and would have to know who his candidate would be I would think. Follow me below the fold for some bumps that remain in the road and let's look at whether Menendez may have a bigger fight on his hands.
Join us and sign the petition at www.StopFakeReform.com. You'll be joining dozens of progressive bloggers - including several of us - and more than 2,500 signers, more every minute.
We're sending it to our Senator, Bob Menendez, because he is in the position to make great change, as Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which he chairs. We call on him to follow the example set by our president.
President Barack Obama pledged not to accept PAC and lobbyist contributions. That puts him way ahead of the curve in Washington in terms of making efforts to avoid conflict-of-interest, or the appearance of conflict-of-interest, which is itself an issue for weary voters who fear the worst from the cozy relationship between, for example, corporate interests and those who make decisions every day who those corporate interests want to influence.
But Obama stands alone there. At least so far. DSCC and DCCC, the two campaign committees responsible for electing Democrats to the Senate and Congress respectively, still accept contributions from PACs and lobbyists.
Except on June 18, when the Dems have a star headliner coming in to help them rake in cash: Barack Obama. And for that one day, they're giving up PAC and lobbyist money.
