When Karl Rove refused to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions, I began to worry that it might be difficult to find him--even if they wanted to.  Could it be too late, or even worse, "off the table".

What if he's already in Paraguay?  Ah, not to worry.  Welcome releif arrived in my email.  I was "reassured"  to see  his pudgy white visage on this cool website  They have already collected about 50,000 signatures for the HJC, encouraging them to do their constitutional job and bring him in for a little oathy chat.  The website looked legit.  Our emptywheel, Marcy Wheeler was there.  I signed the petition and wrote the committee a little note of encouragement.  Then, fertilized by all the BS from Karl, one more idea  blossomed.

Note and idea lie below the fold

Talking to candidates and staffers at Netroots Nation, you can't possibly miss the sense of optimism. And we as Democrats should be optimistic -- there are races out there that you would never have predicted to be competitive, but here we are, looking at possible victory.

But there's something else, too. Even as longshot races are looking good, people on top-tier races know they can't take anything for granted. In her Senate race in New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen has had consistent leads in polling for months now. But when I talked to her daughter Molly (who is blogging her mother's race), she emphasized that they know they have a fight. They know that, in a rematch of the race that saw the blatant lawbreaking of phone jamming in 2002, they face an opponent who will go somewhere below dirty. So no matter what the polls say, the Shaheen team knows they need to keep fighting every day for this victory.

Talking to Orange to Blue candidate Dan Seals I got the same message: It's not just that he knows he's facing a tough race. It's that he doesn't want to see Democrats screw up. Seals clearly feels the optimism of the year, but also the sense of urgency that this election is so important for the future of the country and the world. The stakes are too high to give anything less than the best.

We can't take anything for granted. And we're lucky to have great candidates who know that and are putting in the hard work to win it.

Race tracker wiki: NH-Sen IL-10

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 7/14-16. Likely voters. MoE 4% (5/12-14 results)

If 2008 election for Congress were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Ethan Berkowitz, the Democrat, and Don Young, the Republican?

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Mark Begich, the Democrat, and Ted Stevens, the Republican?

If the election for President were held today, who would you vote for if the choices were between Barack Obama, the Democrat, and John McCain, the Republican?

Full cross-tabs are below the fold.

It's been two months since the last polls, but the numbers are fairly static, bobbing around well within the margin of error. Obama has lost three points, Begich has lost three points, and Berkowitz has gained one. Of course, even if it's just float within the MoE, it looks nicer when the numbers are trending in our direction. There's no doubt that this Senate race will be particularly tight.

This is a dirt-cheap state to advertise in. The cheapest, or second-cheapest, depending who you ask and how they count it, and the most efficient place to spend your money according to one of Poblano's analysis.

Note, Don Young is facing two challengers in the GOP primary (August 26), so root for the corrupt old bastard over challengers Sean Parnell and Gabrielle LeDoux, and pray that federal investigators don't swoop in with premature indictments before the primary. Be particularly glad that the anti-Young vote is being split in two. Young will need just a plurality to survive.

Democrat Ethan Berkowitz is also facing a primary against Diane Benson, the 2006 nominee. Berkowitz has so dominated the money race (with an 8-1 disparity on CoH) that I've failed to see a reason to include Benson in this polling. That may be a bad call on my part -- the most money doesn't always win. But one other data point has kept me skeptical of her chances: The Benson campaign released a poll last year taken between 10/27-11/2 that showed her trailing 29-21. There's been no subsequent polling released in the race, which doesn't necessarily mean the Benson campaign is hiding bad news (they could be trying to lull Berkowitz to sleep), but still means the only public poll on the race showed her at 21 percent with little money available to help drive those numbers up.

Still, these matchups aren't necessarily the matchups we might see post-primary day, but are the most probable. I hate late primaries.

New Mississippi numbers coming within the next two weeks.

On the web:
Orange to Blue ActBlue Page (Begich is an O2B candidate)
Mark Begich for Senate
Ethan Berkowitz for Congress
Diane Benson for Congress

Race tracker wiki: AK-Sen AK-AL

cross-posted at Bleeding Heartland

If Congressman Steve King hadn't already won the "jackass award," someone would need to give it to him for the way he behaved at a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week.

It's no secret that King isn't interested in the Congress serving as a check or balance on executive power. As we saw just a few weeks ago, King believes former White House spokesman Scott McClellan could have "done this country a favor" by keeping his mouth shut about alleged lawbreaking and lying in the Bush administration.

Apparently not satisfied with his efforts to sidetrack the McClellan hearings, King used one parliamentary trick after another on Tuesday to prevent Democrats on the Judiciary Committee from effectively questioning Douglas Feith, the former number three Pentagon official.

Summer is upon us and the blistering heat of Kentucky's political process is about to kick into full swing. Democrats have incumbents in John Yarmuth and Ben Chandler, and are contesting all but one of the current Republican seats. Now with summer arriving in Kentucky, the fight is on!!

Here is what those numbers mean:

Right now we may be in a situation where winning is losing. Big time losing. During a disaster be it earthquake, hurricane or other, there is little or nothing you or anyone else can do except hang on, duck or hide. Economic disasters take years to develop and this one is just beginning.

The stock market crashed in 1929, but it was not until 1933 that the full extent of the economic and consequent social disaster became clear to everyone but the most dogmatic conservatives. Progressives swept the 1932 elections and FDR and the Progressives could do just about anything they wanted to change America from a "top down" system of wealth is power to a "bottom up" system of people power.

Democrats came to power at a time when proper government actions could actually make a difference, a big difference, for the future.

Not so much today. Both the 128/23 numbers and the timing are against us. Today the financial meltdown is just beginning. Realistically there is actually nothing we can do to even slow down the developing economic disaster, much less turn things around. Do we really want to be in charge as this country pays the price for 30+ years of Republican top down worship of wealth and power?

Though Winston Churchill may have been right at the time he said "History is written by the victors," that may no longer be the case.

That was a time before the age of the Internet, C-SPAN, citizen journalists, and 24 hour news shows. As a civics and history teacher, Churchill's statement has long made me skeptical of how much we can believe of what we read and see reported by our media and leaders. As a candidate for Congress in North Carolina's 8th District, I have recently had a personal reminder to be vigilant.

My opponent Robin Hayes, who many of you may recognize as one of the 10 richest members of the entire House or Senate, has been experimenting lately with some revisionist history of his own about jobs and the economy, his support of oil interests, and his reversals on bad Free Trade deals.

Then there is this video I'm sure Robin Hayes wishes didn't exist.

The original version of this essay contained a huge number of references.  Check on georgefearing.com in the near future for the annotated version.

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives rarely presides over proceedings in the House chambers, but instead delegates this prerogative to a Member of the same political party. In the early morning of November 22, 2003, House Speaker Dennis Hastert delegated his presiding officer role to a loyal attendant, my congressman, Doc Hastings.

At exactly 3 a.m., Saturday, November 22, 2003, Richard "Doc" Hastings (R-WA), presiding over the House of Representatives, announced that time for debate on President Bush's Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act had expired. "Members will have 15 minutes to record their votes," Hastings declared. Nevertheless, Hastings’’ forecast missed the mark as Hastings reneged on his deadline and delayed the vote’s ending so that Republican leadership could manipulate votes.

At the end of fifteen minutes, the vote was 210 in favor and 224 opposed to the Medicare drug bill. 17 Republicans voted to defeat the measure. Hastings, at the prompting of Republican leaders, refused to end the vote, however.

Max Linn, a democratic candidate for Congress in FL-10, is in trouble once again for portraying his association with Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency. FL-10 has put forth some suspect candidates for the Dem. nomination in the past (See Samm Simpson, pro-life, Ron Paul supporter) But Max Linn truly takes the cake.  With the polls for the Florida democratic primary set to close on the night of August 26th, lets hope that its not Max Linn or Samm Simpson as the last man or woman standing.

It's well known around these parts that the past few years have seen me change form a frequent critic of the DCCC to one of its biggest supporters. Chris Van Hollen has proven himself to be an aggressive chairman and he is not satisfied to sit back and defend the majority we already have and is working to expand it. They have raised a lot of money and recuited strong candidates all over the country, even ib some of the more Republican parts of South Florida. The only problem is that Red-to-Blue Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz continues to undercut challengers to three right wing Republicans, epsecially Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

At one point, the GOP was bursting with enthusiasm about gaining back their long-lost and well-deserved House majority, and high on their target list for this goal were seats like North Carolina's Republican-leaning 11th District, now represented by freshman Democrat Heath Shuler.

Except that their candidate has now suspended his campaign.

Republican Congressional candidate Carl Mumpower has suspended his campaign to unseat incumbent Heath Shuler, saying he’ll eliminate about 80 percent of formal campaigning until at least half of the Republican leaders in the 15 counties in the 11th Congressional District commit to core party principles.

"I’m not going to be doing any fundraising or advertising—there won’t be any active campaigning for the Republican Party," Mumpower said this morning. "I’ll put things on hold until I get party officials to commit to the principles and to the process of holding elected officials accountable."

"Core party principles".

And let no man be so churlish as to assert that the real reason Mumpower dropped out was because he had a lofty $906.90 cash-on-hand. That's nine hundred and six dollars, ninety cents.

Another GOP recruiting debacle.

Race tracker wiki: NC-11

Boo-hoo for the insurance weasels.
Boo-hoo for the Prince of Petulance.

Go House!  (Override was by larger measure than original passage.)
Go Senate!

FINAL VOTE: 70-26 in the Senate!!!  

Update: Senate Roll Call (h/t histopresto)

House Roll Call (h/t Llarian)

From the comments:

Why this is important for our veterans and their families.

Why this is important for people suffering from mental illness.

I'm going to be at Netroots Nation for the next several days, so the House and Senate Roundup will be on break from now until Monday. We'll continue to post horserace news when we can, of course. -brownsox

LA-Sen: Rasmussen shows Louisiana's senior Senator, Democrat Mary Landrieu, with a five-point edge over her Republican opponent, John Kennedy.

Rasmussen. 7/9. MoE 4.5%. (5/28 numbers in parentheses)

Given the Presidential poll in Louisiana which showed Obama trailing by twenty points, this is a very promising sign for Sen. Landrieu. The crosstabs give more reason for optimism:

Landrieu picks up 83% of the African-American vote but also manages to win 44% of the White vote. In the Presidential race, Obama draws very little support from white Louisiana voters.

The incumbent Senator attracts 74% of Democrats and has a thirty percentage point lead among unaffiliated voters. Kennedy wins 82% of the Republican vote.

If Landrieu can maintain 44% of the white vote, she will win this race. Her margin among African-Americans is only likely to increase, especially with Obama on the ticket. Her 30-point edge among unaffiliated voters is also formidable, though that may decrease as the campaign wears on.

CO-Sen: Another good poll out for Mark Udall; this one, from Public Policy Polling, shows him beating beleaguered Republican Bob Schaffer by nine points.

This is the fourth successive poll which gives Udall a 9-10 point lead. Particularly with Schaffer scandals coming out of the woodwork, it looks as though Udall is starting to pull away.

Udall and Schaffer had their first debate last night, as well. Unsurprisingly, one of the clearest differences between the candidates was with regard to Iraq. Witness Schaffer's position:

Perhaps the clearest distinctions between Schaffer and Udall came when they were questioned on the war in Iraq. Schaffer defended the decision to invade Iraq as both bipartisan and made with the best available information. He said, "The war is not Iraq. Iraq is one battlefront in a larger war."

And Udall's:

Noting that he among a minority of lawmakers who voted against the initial war resolution, Udall said events have shown he was right to fear that invading Iraq would mean taking the eye off the ball in Afghanistan.

"My proposal — a proposal I share with many Republicans and many Democrats — is that we make a responsible and honorable exit from Iraq. No timelines; missions-based."

"Bring our soldiers home. Finish the job there, and reinvest here at home," Udall said.

OK-Sen: A stellar fundraising quarter for Orange to Blue candidate Andrew Rice culminates in this report: $451,000 raised for the quarter, with nearly $750,000 cash-on-hand despite having spent fairly heavily on radio ads.

This was the Rice campaign's best quarter so far.

There's no word yet on what Jim Inhofe raised, but he had roughly $2.2 million on hand at the end of Q1.

AK-Sen: Meanwhile, fellow Orange to Blue candidate Mark Begich brought in over $1 million in the second quarter. In a state with just 626,000 residents, that's an impressive haul, and will go a long way in advertising.

Ted Stevens has not reported his fundraising numbers from the second quarter, but it's very possible that Begich outraised him.

The Begich haul came from over 4,000 individual donors, 3,000 of which contributed in amounts of $100 or less. In an uncommon move, the Begich campaign is making all their donations public, not solely the donations over $200 (they are doing this in the interest of transparency in government).

NE-Sen: Our third Orange to Blue Senatorial candidate, Scott Kleeb, outraised Mike Johanns last quarter.

This despite the fact that Johanns is a former Governor and Agriculture Secretary, with no end of connections.

Democratic Senate candidate Scott Kleeb seems to be finding fundraising traction in this heavily Republican state, bringing in nearly $700,000 in the latest reporting period and besting Republican Mike Johanns for the first time.

Johanns reports nearly $683,000 raised between April 1 and June 30.

Due in part to the contested Democratic primary, Johanns still has a hefty lead in cash-on-hand, but it's remarkable that Kleeb was able to beat him last quarter.

ME-Sen: Incumbent Republican Susan Collins, however, did outraise her Democratic challenger, Tom Allen...but just barely, by a total of $56,000.

Collins raised $1.06 million in the financial reporting period from April 1 to June 30. The Collins campaign reports it had raised $6.58 million this cycle and had more than $5.13 million on hand.

Meanwhile, Allen’s campaign reported raising just over $1 million in those three months. Allen had $3.13 million in cash on hand.

Allen's fundraising has consistently been strong for a challenger, as his Q2 filing indicates. Hopefully he will continue to steadily close the polling gap between himself and the incumbent.

NC-Sen: Big ups to the Senate Guru for catching this story:

Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) might have played a role in saving military bases in North Carolina, but her campaign ads for a time had a distinctly French feel.

Dole’s campaign has released at least two versions of its second television ad. The first features a brief shot of a military airplane flying directly overhead, while the second replaces the shot with a different plane flying across the sky.

Turns out the first plane was a French-built Dassault Super Etendard, according to Damian Kemp, the Aviation Desk Editor at Jane’s, which publishes a well-known aviation reference book.

Dole’s campaign didn’t announce the change, but it was noted last week by the liberal Senate Guru blog.

Sacre bleu!

House Races

NE-02: Democrat Jim Esch raised $219,000 in Q2. This was the most ever for a Democratic candidate in the district for a single quarter.

Via a campaign press release:

"People of the second district are hungry for change, from failed leadership and an ineffective congressman," said Joe Sibilia, Communications Director for the Jim Esch Campaign.  

"With nearly 93% of our donors coming from the state of Nebraska, it’s no wonder Lee Terry is scrambling to raise money from sources outside the state.  His level of support here is decreasing dramatically."

CA-04: Meanwhile, Orange to Blue candidate Charlie Brown had his best quarter yet, bringing in over $357,000. This is despite the strongly Republican tilt of the Fourth District.

Brown's Republican opponent Conservative Icon Tom McClintock hasn't filed yet, but given that he had a hotly contested primary last quarter, it's likely Brown will enjoy a big cash-on-hand edge over his opponent.

Conservative Icon Tom McClintock, by the way, appears to be preparing for a loss this fall. Or if he does get the job as Congressman, it doesn't look like he wants to keep it long:

In California's wonderful world of term limits, the future is now for any officeholder looking at the imminent -- or not so imminent --end to a political career. And in the state's version of musical chairs, those politicians already are figuring where to jump when the music stops.

Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, for example, has taken the Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared" to heart by opening 2010 campaign committees for both lieutenant governor and the state Board of Equalization, even while he's running for a North State congressional seat in November.

I wonder how well that will go over with the good people of California's Fourth District (in which McClintock does not live, of course).

TX-07: Democrat Michael Skelly is out with his first ad. It's awfully cute:

On the web:

Orange to Blue ActBlue Page

Appearing earlier today on C-Span, Representative Jerrold Nadler stated that in a "just system" that was not politically charged we would have already impeached President George W Bush for war crimes.

Nadler has overseen many hearings on the administration's torture policies and has concluded that the administration acted unlawfully and committed "impeachable offenses". While this may not come as a hugely controversial finding to the KOS community, it is no doubt interesting to hear a U.S. Representative not named Dennis Kucinich making this argument on a platform like C-Span.

Watch the clip below and weigh in with your own feelings:

Have you ever wondered about the seemingly endless scandals that have become an everyday attribute of Conservative rule?  Have you ever been appalled by the incompetence smothered with a thick coating of self righteous greed?

Have you ever thought that these endless scandals can’t be an accident, or random coincidence?  

Well, wonder no more. It is by design.

In August, Thomas Frank will have a new book out.

It is called "The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule" and it helps to explain why there is so much failure and corruption when Republicans are in charge—it is part of their plan.

The August issue of Harper’s Magazine has an essay adapted from the book. This is perfect reading material on the way to or from Netroots Nations or whenever you can get your hands on a copy.

To the jump...

The Albany Times Union yesterday debuted the first article in a series chronicling the growth of the Capital Region’s suburbs in the last half century and the effect it is having on the present day.  Yesterday’s cover story gives the editorial introduction, and today’s page prints comments from the TU’s blog.

Now, with the price of gas above $4 a gallon, some wonder if the Capital Region, and the rest of the country, is at a crossroads. Can the growth of suburbia continue? Can the region maintain its high quality of life if existing trends continue? Will fuel become so pricey people can no longer afford commutes from the outlying suburbs?

As I read the article and the comments, I couldn’t help but notice that these questions have great relevance to the Democratic primary for Congress in the 21st district.  Indeed, some are exactly the same questions being asked of the four Democrats running for the seat.

Complete analysis below the fold...

DEP Rejects Permit Application for PA Waste / Boggs Township Landfill.

I'm pleased to report the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has rejected the permit application filed by PA Waste LLC to construct a 5,000 ton per day municipal waste landfill in Boggs Township, Clearfield County. As county commissioner, I've been working over the past 4 years, first with Rex Read and Mike Lytle, and now with John Sobel and Joan Robinson McMillen, to oppose the construction of this landfill in Clearfield County.

NC-Sen: Coming off of last week's news that Kay Hagan raised $1.6 million in Q2, Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole is out with her own Q2 numbers.

They can't be inspiring for Republicans.

First off, the incumbent and former NRSC chair (one would think that would give her a leg up, no?), barely outraised Hagan for the quarter, bringing in $1.7 million.

That's a lackluster result for Dole, regardless. But worse for North Carolina's senior Senator is the fact that due to her statewide advertising blitz in June, she actually has less money on hand than she did at the end of Q1. Her $3.2 million bankroll has dwindled to $2.7 million as of last report. Hagan, meanwhile, has $1.2 million in the bank, despite having spent a good bit of change to win her contested primary in May.

Given the pace of Hagan's fundraising, and the DSCC's heavy cash advantage over their Republican counterparts, there's a genuine opening for Hagan to close the polling gap between herself and Dole over the next few months. Dole's profligate spending in Q2 has in fact given Hagan a golden opportunity to catch her.

CO-Sen: Bob Schaffer's Big Oil scandal is looking pretty bad, I must say.

For those unfamiliar with the scandal, you can find more here. In short, Schaffer helped broker an deal between Aspect Energy and the Kurdistan Regional Government, in violation of State Department wishes. It was not received well by the Iraqi government.

Notes on the scandal: two foreign policy experts, Rand Beers and Larry Korb, have come out against the deal.

Two foreign policy advisers ripped GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer Friday, saying an oil deal his company negotiated in a region of Iraq jeopardized the safety of American troops.

The pair — dismissed by the GOP as liberal hit men — also said the contract violated U.S. policy against cutting deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Schaffer should have known that because of his experience in Congress.

Liberal hit men, eh? Who are these folks, anyway?

"I think there is a serious question about who Bob Schaffer is," said Rand Beers, former senior member of National Security Council staff who worked for every president since Ronald Reagan.

Beers and Larry Korb, former assistant secretary of defense under Reagan, criticized Schaffer and Aspect Energy during a conference call arranged by Schaffer's Democratic opponent, Mark Udall.

Yes, these Reagan cabinet officials really sound like partisan hit men to me. But Schaffer's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, is graceless as ever:

"Beers worked on John Kerry's campaign. What does that tell you? They masquerade as nonpartisan, objective foreign policy experts but they are hit men paid by the left," he said. "These two creeps have no credibility."

OR-Sen: Jeff Merkley enjoyed his best quarter yet, by far, in Q2, as far as fundraising goes. The Merkley campaign brought in a total haul of $1.42 million over the past three months.

This is roughly triple what the campaign raised in Q1. In fact, their online donations for Q2 ($420,000) nearly match their total Q1 take.

Quite a decent haul for the Merkley campaign; let's hope they can keep this pace going.

Update: Smith has reported raising $1.35 million, meaning Merkley outraised him this quarter. Excellent news.

NE-Sen: There is no greater contrast between Republican Mike Johanns and Democrat Scott Kleeb (an Orange to Blue candidate) than on than on issues of climate change.

Democratic U.S. Senate contender Scott Kleeb believes the battle against global warming amounts to a "moral test" for mankind, while Republican Mike Johanns believes Kleeb goes "way too far" on the issue without regard to the economy and science.

Kleeb says the evidence suggests that greenhouse gases are causing the climate to change, while Johanns says it remains "contested science."

The two men's responses to climate change highlight their sharp differences on energy policy and global warming. The gulf between them on these cornerstone issues, such as oil drilling in Alaska, could be one of the hottest topics on the U.S. Senate campaign trail.

Johanns says he would place a high priority on supporting new oil exploration and drilling, including off-shore drilling and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Kleeb says he would place a high priority on developing "green" energy solutions such as solar, wind and ethanol.

On the one side, you have "contested science". On the other, you have a "moral test".

Johanns prioritizes more drilling, furthering our reliance on oil. Kleeb prioritizes the development of alternative energy sources.

Enough said.

House Races

PA-03: While this race has been on the back burner for some time, it may not stay there for long. A Democratic poll shows kathy Dahlkemper leading Republican incumbent Phil English by one point:

While this race has definitely been on the radar so far, it's quite surprising to see numbers this strong for Dahlkemper, who has been a decent but not spectacular fundraiser, and has never previously held elected office. English's job approval numbers are awful - 35% approving, 52% disapproving - and if they are accurate, he's in bigger trouble than previously imagined.

MN-03: GOPer Erik Paulsen pulled in an impressive $600,000 in Q2.

For a few days, this was a major source of concern for Democrats eager to pick up this swing district. MN-03 is a wealthy area, but even so, $600K is an impressive take for a House race.

Well, it seems that anything Paulsen can raise, Democrat Ashwin Madia can raise better.

Madia brought in $693,000 in the second quarter, a stunning haul that certainly inspires confidence. The NRCC and various third-party groups (including the shadowy Freedom's Watch) will be involved here, and now we know Madia will have the financial resources to fight them off.

TX-07: Democrat Michael Skelly pulled in $412,000 in Q2, in an R+15.6 district.

He also contributed $200,000 of his own money to his campaign. This follows a mammoth first quarter in which he raised $700,000.

Skelly now has nearly twice the cash-on-hand of incumbent John Culberson, with over a million dollars in the bank, for a race that isn't even top-tier (given the extreme redness of the district).

This is genuinely impressive fundraising work for a suburban Houston Democrat.

NE-02: Sour grapes appear to have poisoned the heart of former Democratic candidate Richard Carter.

Carter had been in the race in this Omaha-based district to take out Republican incumbent Lee Terry, but after getting drilled in the primary by 2006 candidate Jim Esch, Carter has now endorsed Terry.

From New Nebraska Network:

Lee Terry is the prototypical lock-step partisan who's given George W. Bush everything he could possibly want to carry on this war without end.  That's everything Richard Carter once stood against.  And, now, that's precisely the sort of policies and approach to which he's pledged his support.  There's no doubt that's a terrible loss - for Second District voters, for Carter's supporters, but - most importantly and most tragically - also for Carter himself.

NNN goes on to table numerous quotes from Carter himself regarding just how dreadful a Congressman Terry has been:

Question: How do you differ w/Terry on military issues?

Richard Carter's response:
"I understand them."

Question: How do you feel we can improve upon the Iraq policy supported by Lee Terry?

Richard Carter's response:
"By removing him from office.

This is my favorite, though:

Question: Do you have any comment about the article that ran in the Omaha World Herald on Friday?  Terry gives wrestling guru verbal body slam?....Is this the way you would represent NE-02?

Richard Carter's response:
"I just wish Lee would have been as upset when Miers and Bolten refused to appear (to answer a Congresional subpoena). When this issue was brought up, Lee threw a temper-tantrum with the rest of the House republicans and walked out.

So, no, I would not represent NE-02 like a child."

Apparently, this is not the case.

On the web:

Orange to Blue ActBlue Page