I wish the quote above were about John McCain, but alas no, it's yet another twist in the funniest saga in the GOP these days (although I think Big Bad John's Video is in close running for the title of funniest aspect of the Republicans this year).

No, this is about NY-13, Vito Fossella's old seat.

In a campaign season with 435 House races vying for attention, and new seats becoming competitve every day, it's hard to keep the spotlight on any one particular race.  But kudos to our Republican friends in Richmond County who've managed to drag out a storyline that's kept people's attention for nearly three months.  

(more below the fold)

Given what happened yesterday, I feel it's important I repost my earlier diary on who are the GOOD Democratic challengers when it comes to FISA.  I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.

First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill.  (For the Senate, I'm only including those who voted against cloture yesterday for the bill.)  They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.

Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.

Last night at midnight was the filing deadline for the second quarter. Our campaign did very well, receiving an average online donation of $40. But then we noticed something this morning - - My opponent's average online donation was $700.

Many Democrats in the 13th, myself included, have been bowled over by the force of the local conventional wisdom. Even here at Kos, the CW is that Democratic councilman Mike McMahon will enable the flip of the 13th seat that Dems have fought for so long here on Staten Island.  My wife and I were beginning to buy into that, entertaining thoughts like: "Shameful what they did to Steve Harrison!  He doesn't stand a chance now - when will he drop out"?

In the last couple days, there have been several posts across the blogosphere citing what various candidates running for Congress have said on FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms.  But so far, it's been all over the map.  I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.

First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill.  They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.

Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.

I can't seem to find this diaried anywhere else, so here goes:

Mike McMahon, the Staten Island Democrat running for Vito Fossella's scandal-marred seat, has caught some flak on Dailykos for an Iraq position attributed to him by a member of the Staten Island Conservative Party. I have commented previously that McMahon should be allowed to speak for himself. Well, it turns out that he did back in early June, but it received very little press coverage. I think you'll like what you read. More below the fold.

The NY-13 Conrgessional Race keeps getting stranger and stranger. As of right now there are 2 Democrats, Steve Harrison and Mike McMahon (Mike McMahon is an apparent DINO who is also being considered by the Conservative Party because he convinced them he supported Bush's War) one Libertarian, and no Republican. The NY-13 district is proving to be the unlucky 13th for the Republicans.

Update at end with some speculation.

I have already posted about the NY 13th Congressional Race and how the DCCC is endorsing in a primary and someone who is pro-Iraq war but now they are spreading rumors about the candidate who is not their annointed one.

The most recent additions to the DCCC's Red to Blue List:

Ethan Berkowitz (AK-AL)
Paul Carmouche (LA-04)
Gerry Connolly (VA-11)
Joe Garcia (FL-25)
Martin Heinrich (NM-01)
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01)
Frank Kratovil (MD-01)
Bob Lord (AZ-03)
Betsy Markey (CO-04)
Raul Martinez (FL-21)
Mike McMahon (NY-13)
Glenn Nye (VA-02)
Harry Teague (NM-02)
Dina Titus (NV-03)

Most of these are top-tier races, or very strong second-tier races, and none are especially surprising except perhaps for MD-01 (where there's a real opening for Democrat Frank Kratovil, but still, its PVI is just under R+10).

They have also listed 20 "emerging races", perhaps a preview of future instalments of the Red to Blue list.

Sam Bennett (PA-15)
David Boswell (KY-02)
Colleen Callahan (IL-18)
Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03)
Jill Derby (NV-02)
John Dicks (FL-09)
Judy Feder (VA-10)
Nick Leibham (CA-50)
Dan Johnson (NC-10)
Mike Montagano (IN-03)
Jill Morgenthaler (IL-06)
Tom Perriello (VA-05)
Bob Roggio (PA-06)
Steve Sarvi (MN-02)
Dennis Shulman (NJ-05)
Josh Segall (AL-03)
Michael Skelly (TX-07)
Annette Taddeo (FL-18)
El Tinklenberg (MN-06)
Vic Wulsin (OH-02)

This list is a mix of surprisingly strong candidates running in exceptionally difficult districts, and of slightly less high-profile candidates running in favorable, winnable districts. It's a solid list as well, and I'd look for at least a few of these candidates to move up.

Race tracker wiki: AK-AL LA-04 VA-11 FL-25 NM-01 AZ-01 MD-01 AZ-03 CO-04 FL-21 NY-13 VA-02 NM-02 NV-03

Apropos of nothing: Vito Fossella is pulling out all the stops to stay out of jail on his now-well-publicized drunk driving charge.

He hasn't just lawyered up, he's recruited a crew of private dicks to help him out. In fact, he has the same crack team of PIs that O.J. Simpson hired.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - What does Rep. Vito Fossella have in common with O.J. Simpson, Patty Hearst and John Gotti?

The Staten Island GOP lawmaker has hired the same ex-NYPD gumshoes.

Well, I must say, that's quite a client list.

Told of the big-city Mickey Spillane-types sniffing around his case, laid-back Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney Randolph Sengel chuckled.

"Great," deadpanned the veteran prosecutor, upon learning of the duo's celebrity client list.

In Sengel's 28 years as a prosecutor, rarely has he seen a DWI defendant hire private eyes. "That's pretty unusual," he said yesterday.

I guess our man Vito is pretty serious about avoiding jail time. Serious enough to have signed the O.J. Dream Team.

Race tracker wiki: NY-13

MA-Sen: The GOP never learns, it seems.

Having lost their Golden Boy Jim Ogonowski through his embarrassing failure to scratch together enough signatures to qualify for the Republican ballot, the Massachusetts GOP has turned to their newest and greatest savior, Harwich businessman Jeff Beatty, in their latest quixotic attempt to upset Senator John Kerry.

I guess the logic is that since their first candidate collapsed so magnificently, Beatty can't be any worse. At least the man is on the ballot.

Unfortunately, their big gun is now a man whose chief claim to fame is losing his 2006 race for Congress by nearly 40 points to Rep. Bill Delahunt.

He's raised all of $1 million for his campaign, which isn't bad, except Kerry has about $14 million. But Beatty is unconcerned:

Beatty has already raised $1 million, including $6,000 he loaned his campaign, and estimates it will take between $10 and $15 million to run an effective campaign.

Beatty's hoping to tap into national GOP funding pipelines -- part of the reason he plans to attend the (Boston) McCain fundraiser.

This would probably work a lot better if the national GOP funding pipelines weren't bone-dry...but hell, who am I to give this Beatty cat advice?

Anyway, you'd think the embattled NRSC wouldn't bother looking twice at a guy like Beatty, a tremendous underdog in a blue state against a four-term incumbent Senator. But Massachusetts Republicans are undaunted:

Not so, according to state Republican Party Chairman Peter Torkildsen. He said he'll lobby the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which gives money and other assistance to GOP Senate candidates, to support Beatty.

"We will make the case that we want them to support Beatty's campaign," Torkildsen said. "You're always running as an underdog as a Republican in Massachusetts, but John Kerry is very unpopular. He has high negatives."

It really is too bad for them that the polling data couldn't agree less, but such is life.

But I encourage them to beg the NRSC for their nonexistent millions to be spent on a hopeless race.

NM-Sen: Like many Democratic Senate hopefuls, Tom Udall is an ardent supporter of the GI Bill, and his campaign posted a diary yesterday containing a letter he wrote to the President urging his support.

The GI Bill is not only good for our veterans, it's good for our economy.  The greatest generation made America what it is today, largely on the backs of returning GI's receiving a four year college education through the original GI Bill.  But the benefits haven't kept up.  Post 9/11 veterans, many of whom have been through multiple tours of duty, tours of duty that were often extended, deserve those same benefits.

We need as many people as we can get to push for passage of this bill if there's any hope of changing the President's mind.  That's why we're asking you to add your name to the letter.

OR-Sen: The DSCC's latest "Road to Victory" video features Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley and his fight to get rid of pay day lending in Oregon:

House Races

LA-07: It seems that we can add another exciting longshot race to the map, as Louisiana State Senator Donald Cravins, Jr. appears poised to enter the race for Congress as a Democrat, against Republican incumbent Charles Boustany.

Cravins says he is "99.9 percent sure" he is jumping into the fray and is taking meetings with national Democratic interests. In a region that leans increasingly to the right, it appears to be a difficult task on paper, although the political history of the 7th Congressional District and Cravins’ own ideology reveal some cracks in that preconception.

It had been rumored some time ago that Cravins (along with fellow State Sen. Lydia Jackson and State Rep. Michael Jackson) might forge independent runs for Congress this year as a protest against the DCCC and Louisiana Democratic party's alleged reluctance to recruit black candidates for Congress. So the news that Cravins is running as a Democrat, and has DCCC support, is particularly welcome.

He’s the only game in town in the 7th District, as far as Democrats. Former state Rep. Gil Pinac of Crowley has decided against running, as has Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach. Kyra Jennings, the Southern regional press secretary for the DCCC, confirms that the national party is courting Cravins and willing to pump resources into his bid. "We have reached out to him, and we think he would be a strong candidate," she says. "Voters want someone who is connected to their communities, and I think Congressman Boustany has shown time and time again that he is out of step with the district."  

If a diehard Democrat wanted to question Cravins’ loyalty, they could. In recent months he has threatened to run against Boustany as a non-party candidate. And he wasn’t alone; state Sen. Lydia Jackson of Shreveport and state Rep. Michael Jackson of Baton Rouge have floated the idea of dropping the Dem from their names to run for Congress as well. For now, Cravins says his own ponderings are done, and he will run as a Democrat. He rejects the notion that it all might have been just a game to get the attention of the DCCC. "When a black candidate runs in a majority-white district, it seems that the state party always backs away," Cravins says. "They say they don’t want to waste their resources. That’s the perception, and it was all about strategy for me. I wasn’t going to get beat up."

I'm excited Cravins is getting in the race. LA-07 is a major longshot at this point, but he's as serious a candidate as we could ask for. And with Cravins running here, Paul Carmouche running in LA-04, and Democratic Reps. Don Cazayoux and Charlie Melancon already in Congress, we're showing an inspiring new ability to fight in some of the reddest areas of the South.

LA-02: More Louisiana news: Democratic State Rep. Cedric Richmond will challenge troubled incumbent Congressman "Dollar Bill" Jefferson.

While Richmond, 34, did not mention Jefferson during a 20-minute address, he repeatedly referred to the need for change in a district where many neighborhoods still look much as they did after Hurricane Katrina ravaged them.

"These problems will not fix themselves," he told supporters at the Basin Street Station. "What we need is real leadership and we need it right now."

In his only veiled reference to Jefferson's legal problems, he told the crowd, "I promise -- and I want to be clear about this -- I promise to serve you with the utmost integrity."

Richmond pledged to support a speedy end to the war in Iraq, full federal financing for 100-year hurricane protection and expanded oil exploration in the continental United States as long as a percentage of the oil industry's profits are earmarked for coastal restoration.

IL-10: Swing State Project has an internal poll from the campaign of Mark Kirk, showing Kirk leading Dan Seals, 53% to 32%.

The good news is that Kirk's reelects are relatively low, and Seals' name recognition is as well. From Swing State Project's James:

You can take this with as many grains of salt as you wish, but as it stands now, Seals has room to grow, even according to this poll. His name recognition is 30 points lower than Kirk's, and it remains to be seen whether Kirk can withstand a vigorous campaign by Seals combined with Obama's presence at the top of the ballot in this D+3.6 district. Holding on, despite his early lead, will be a formidable task.

NY-13: The New York Times reports that NYC Democrats have rallied around the candidacy of Democrat Michael McMahon in his battle for the nomination against attorney and 2006 Democratic nominee Stephen Harrison:

Democratic elected officials are clearly trying to make sure that City Councilman Michael E. McMahon has the upper hand in his campaign for the party’s nomination for the Congressional seat now held by Vito J. Fossella, a Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn.
Mr. Fossella’s fellow members of Congress from New York City — all Democrats — put out a statement endorsing Mr. McMahon for the seat being vacated by the congressman.

Last month, Mr. Fossella announced that he would not seek re-election in November. The congressman’s decision not to run followed his arrested on May 1 on charges of driving while intoxicated. The following week, he admitted that he had fathered a daughter, who is now 3, in an extramarital affair.

Race tracker wiki: NY-13 IL-10 LA-07 OR-Sen NM-Sen MA-Sen

In the past 3 months, Democrats have increased their House majority as they picked up a remarkable 3 seats in a series of special elections organized in Illinois’s 14th district, Louisiana’s 6th district, Mississippi’s 1st district. What is particularly remarkable is that all three of these districts leaned heavily Republican; in 2004, George Bush had won them respectively with 55%, 59% and 62%. Each defeat increased the chaos of the Republican caucus as the NRCC started to settle in panic mode. After the loss of MS-01 on May 13th, Tom Cole, the chairman of the NRCC, issued a remarkable statement calling on Republican incumbents to brace for the worse and find individual ways to deal with the onslaught.

These rankings were first posted on Campaign Diaries.

Yesterday was the first day of the petition season to get my name on the ballot for NY-13 and our dozens of volunteers, all determined to Get America Working Again, knocked on hundreds of doors and spoke to their neighbors and friends about our message of hope and determination.

The Republican search for a candidate ends with ... Francis H Powers.  With their first, second, third, and perhaps even fourth tier candidates balking at running and with the party near broke the Republicans have turned to the finest counterpoint to the "elitist" Democrats.  A rich investment banker.

http://www.silive.com/...

Not much detail yet, but Staten Island's DCC has voted Councilman McMahon the Democratic nominee for Vito Fossella's seat.

It's just fun to see the national disarray in the Republican party seep down to our level here on the Island. The heavy hitters have bowed out. The local republican party chair is holding auditions for Fossella's house seat.

[I was having Internet troubles yesterday, which is why the roundup is going up today. My apologies! -brownsox]

NC-Sen: Still more exciting polling news out of North Carolina's Senate race: Republican Elizabeth Dole leads Democrat Kay Hagan by just two points, 45% to 43%.

Meanwhile, the venerable Cook Political Report has moved their rating of North Carolina's Senate race to "Likely Republican". Current momentum is certainly with Hagan, and it's already a close race, so there's every reason to feel good about our chances. In fact, I think this ranking is slightly conservative: Swing State Project has moved their ranking of NC-Sen to "Leans Republican", and I'd have to go along with that.

MS-Sen: Meanwhile, in the wake of dueling polls showing a tight race in Mississippi (one of them showing Democrat Ronnie Musgrove leading by 8 points, the other showing Republican Roger Wicker up by four), Cook has moved their ranking of MS-Sen all the way from "Likely Republican" to "Toss Up".

Having a top-tier Senate race in Mississippi is remarkable, and having that race called as a tossup nearly six months before the election is even more so. I think Cook's ranking may be very slightly generous-I'd call the race "Lean Republican", but it makes a good bit of sense.

NH-Sen: Rasmussen has released their latest poll out of New Hampshire, and it shows Democrat Jeanne Shaheen leading Republican incumbent John Sununu by seven points, 50% to 43%. In April, the numbers looked almost the same, with Shaheen leading 51% to 43%.

The polling numbers, particularly from Rasmussen, have been exceptionally stable, and they've consistently shown Shaheen with a substantial lead. I don't think she has this race locked down, not by a long shot, but what's not to like about a consistent lead?

OR-Sen: Well, that didn't take long; the Dark Side is already astroturfing Oregon papers with ads attacking Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Merkley.

An anti-union group run out of a Washington, D.C., lobbyist’s office has taken out full-page ads in Oregon’s two biggest daily newspapers questioning Senate candidate Jeff Merkley’s support for a change in how unions are formed.

The ads in The Register-Guard and The Oregonian Thursday argue against the "card-check" method of winning employee approval for unionizing private workplaces. Merkley, a Democrat, supports federal legislation allowing the card-check approach, while the Republican senator he is challenging, Gordon Smith, has opposed it.

Meanwhile, Merkley and his primary opponent, Steve Novick, held a unity event yesterday morning, enabling Oregon Democrats to turn their attention to the common cause of taking out Gordon Smith.

House Races

UT-02: Jim Matheson drinks your milkshake. He drinks it up!

Dan Jones and Associates. 5/13-19.

From the Deseret Morning News:

Matheson continues to drive Utah GOP leaders nuts with his 2nd District popularity.

Bless him.

NY-13: In the fight to save the seat of disgraced incumbent Vito Fossella, the GOP is now 0-for-2 in recruiting. The island's great Republican prize, Richmond County DA Daniel Donovan, opted out of the race first, only to be joined by county clerk Stephen Fiala:

Republican County Clerk Stephen Fiala has taken his name out of the running to replace Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) in the House of Representatives.

"My best judgment has led me to the decision not to run for Congress," Fiala told the Advance.

Fiala said he was concerned about his ability to raise money for the race and looking down the road, said he believed that the congressional district would be redrawn to favor a Democrat after the 2010 census.

This leaves State Senator Andrew Lanza as the leading GOP candidate should he decide to run. That's just fine by New York Democrats, who are fighting to gain control of the State Senate.

Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Diane Savino also will not run, which should help us avoid a primary and a State Senate opening.

AL-02, AL-03, AL-05: The Democratic tide has spread well into "red Alabama", as the Press-Register Reports. We have two, perhaps three hot House races in the state, including two pickup opportunities. I'd consider both of those long shots, but viable nonetheless, AL-02 especially.

But the 2nd Congressional District in Alabama's Wiregrass region is emerging as a surprise battleground.

Republicans have held the seat since 1965. After his first election in 1992, Everett never faced a serious challenge. In 2004, Bush carried the district, which includes Dothan and part of Montgomery, with 67 percent of the vote.

Between the two major parties, a total of nine candidates are now jostling for a chance at the seat in the June 3 primaries. But Democrats claimed a coup earlier this year when Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright chose to run under their banner after being courted by both parties. Campaign disclosure reports show that Bright is already attracting contributions from national party power-brokers such as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

After the Democratic pick- ups in Louisiana and Mississippi, a Bright victory would "absolutely represent the next step in this march," said John Anzalone, a Montgomery pollster who is working for Bright and was also involved in the other two campaigns.

Bright had initially lagged in the fundraising game, but he has picked it up of late, as Swing State Project reports. National Democrats are very excited about Bright's candidacy.

Meanwhile, in the 5th District, things are looking good in our attempt to hold the seat of retiring Democrat Bud Cramer, despite the district's R+6.5 PVI.

Democrats have also scored some breaks in the race for the conservative-leaning 5th Congressional District, which Cramer has represented since 1991. Republicans have long eyed the seat as a prime pick-up opportunity.

While both parties face contested primaries, the presumed Democratic front-runner is state Sen. Parker Griffith, a wealthy retired oncologist from Huntsville who has already secured Cramer's endorsement. The best-known candidate in the Republican field appears to be Wayne Parker, an insurance agency executive from Huntsville who twice lost to Cramer in the 1990s.

In the 3rd District, young Democrat Josh Segall is waging a surprisingly strong campaign against incumbent Republican Mike Rogers. Kossacks clammyc and thereisnospoon conducted a BlogTalkRadio interview with Segall today, as a matter of fact, so check that out to find more about one of the best dark-horse candidates this cycle.

OR-05: As Swing State Project and Daily Kos had done previously, the Cook Political Report has changed their rating of OR-05 to "Leans Democratic", a reflection that they have about as much faith in Mike "I Don't Know What Cocaine Looks Like" Erickson, as we do.  

CA-11: Dean Andal, chief challenger to Democratic incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney, has had an impressively bad time fundraising these last few months. In the month and a half since last filing, Andal has raised a grand total of $11,000.

That's eleven thousand whole dollars! This, despite having spent the vast majority of his time in the State Assembly hangin' with lobbyists, and having high-profile friends like John McCain to help him out.

Andal's sitting on over $500K on hand, so he isn't exactly broke. But the fact that he just raised $11K in six weeks, and just over $100K in 2008, has to be some comfort to Jerry McNerney.

Race tracker wiki: NC-Sen MS-Sen NH-Sen OR-Sen UT-02 AL-02 AL-03 AL-05 NY-13 OR-05 CA-11