Archive for the ‘elections’ Category

You know the folks who spend all their time laughing.

Via Glenn we see this from ABC (all emphasis mine):

Chris Coons changed his previous position on the Bush-era tax cuts this morning telling me that he would support extending all of the tax cuts for everyone for “several years.”

“I am committed to extending the Bush tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans for everybody making up to $250,000, but I would extend them for everyone,” the Democratic candidate for Delaware’s Senate seat told me on “GMA.”

“I’d be willing to extend them for several years for all Americans, of whatever income if that also allows us to reach a bipartisan compromise that makes real progress in offering tax relief to small and medium businesses, to the home owners exception, to research and development,” he said.

That contradicts President Obama’s position and Coons’ own campaign website, which states “High-Income Bush Tax Cuts Should Expire on Schedule.”

The key take-aways from this?

1. The MSM has been making fun of Christine O’Donnell’s debate performances for the last three days. Yet this morning, after Delaware voters saw those same debates that the MSM laughed at it is Chris Coons NOT Christine O’Donnell who feels compelled to change positions.

2. Does a candidate 12 days before an election flip-flop on a key position if he is actually up 10+ points in a race?

3. What does it say about President Obama’s popularity that less than a week after he visits Delaware his candidate Chris Coons feels the need to run away from the president’s position.

I think O’Donnell wins this race as part of the big red wave as long as she doesn’t make the mistake of forgetting the people who got her there.

Update: Instalanche: Thanks Glenn and further along the lines of political reality check this out from my latest piece for the examiner:

The President of the United States is the most powerful man in the world. He won Massachusetts by 24 points yet 3000 people were bussed in from all over the state to attend. Boston is a city of over 600,000 the metro area is 4.5 million and it’s been voting democrat for 60 years yet the campaign didn’t have the confidence that they could draw on a Saturday three weeks before an election?

Coons flipped after an Obama visit, NRO reports Obama will be in Connecticut two days before election day. Will that leave Blumenthal enough time to run away from him?

Update 2: On GMA O’Donnell stands behind her 1st Amendment remarks while the Washington Post and the Widener law school itself have to edit their reports wholesale. Who are the idiots here?

Claire Freda has been a city council member for a long time, I talked to her at the Karyn Polito event in Leominster last Wednesday

Sorry about the lighting, the Dessert bar lighting was horrible for Video:

We talked for quite a while, If I’m correct about what’s coming, it will be interesting to get her reaction Nov 3rd.

The NYT has put up its story on Ladd Ehlinger and the Barney Frank ad. One piece of it that I noticed:

Mr. Bielat’s line, to appear at the end of the ad, was supposed to go something like: “I don’t need to dance around the issues. I’m a Marine.” But Mr. Bielat said he did not feel comfortable linking his military service to a political ad in a way that felt “like a non sequitur,” so he improvised.

How honorable is Sean Bielat? He was unwilling to use his Marine service as a prop. How many pols think that way?

Here are a pair of behind the scenes clips first the green screen area

That’s the NYT crew and RS McCain as they cover Ladd

When the ad comes up I’ll put it up with the last three behind the scene clips.

Update: One change since the film was made, it is no longer a “longshot” ah how the news cycle changes

I talked to Joe at the end of the press conference on October 18th

I’ve heard Joe’s complaint repeated over and over again when I am writing and even when I’m just at the diner having a bite. It’s the new people getting involved that makes all the difference