Richard Lugar, one of the last actual statesman of the Republican Party, lost his primary run to a wingnut. I was never one of Lugar’s fans, but he did at least understand that the point of being a Senator is to govern. Unfortunately, he and the rest of the G.O.P. have pretty much converted the filibuster to a “no” vote, but even that wasn’t good enough in Indiana. He got clobbered but big! It does open an opportunity for a Democrat named Joe Donnelly. I don’t know anything about him.
Lugar didn’t back out graciously.
He and I share many positions, but his embrace of an unrelenting partisan mindset is irreconcilable with my philosophy of governance and my experience of what brings results for Hoosiers in the Senate. In effect, what he has promised in this campaign is reflexive votes for a rejectionist orthodoxy and rigid opposition to the actions and proposals of the other party. His answer to the inevitable roadblocks he will encounter in Congress is merely to campaign for more Republicans who embrace the same partisan outlook. He has pledged his support to groups whose prime mission is to cleanse the Republican party of those who stray from orthodoxy as they see it.
Expect the Democrats to make hay of that statement in the general.
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Yet another state champions homophobia.
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Mitt Romney might be trying to distance himself from his own health care plan, but he’s ready to take credit for the Auto-maker bailout. Apparently he didn’t get the GOP memo.
John Kerry said it best: “I just – he cannot be serious.”
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There’s already polling discrepancy in the Presidential race. The tracking polls actually have Romney up, but Obama is ahead by 7 points in the latest Reuters poll and up big in key swing states.
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The Marin Independent Journal has a series of decent articles on the Congressional Candidates.
The series is continuing. Haven’t found the article on Huffman yet, so it probably hasn’t been published. But the Journal is endorsing Huffman. No surprise there.
Fred doesn’t heart Jared Huffman!
I will be voting for Norman Solomon. I’ll write up a post on my choice later in the week.
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The Second District Supervisor candidates finished something like their seventh or eighth debate last night, and you can tell that both of them are getting burned out answering the same questions. Meanwhile, Richard Marks was kind enough to summarize a recent First District debate. And none of the three candidates is impressed with WalMart apparently!
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Maybe the candidates aren’t the only people burned out on the debates. No election news at the Lost Coast Outpost in days!
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My work took me through Fortuna today. Man did Clif get his signs up! Estelle has some signs on the main drags – some large signs and some window signs, but she seems to have opted to omit yard signs this time around. Anyway, on the residential streets there are one or two Pick Clif signs on just about every block, at least in the flats where I was driving. Somebody did a lot of work in one day, as yesterday was the first day they were allowed by Fortuna law.
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Lastly, a few notes about lawn sign combos. Sometimes the lawn you share says something about your candidacy, other times it’s a source of confusion. I haven’t seen any lawn combos in the Second District yet, but in the First and Third I’ve noted that Solomon signs tend to accompany Cheryl Seidner signs – no surprise. One lawn on Harris hosts both Rex Bohn and Jared Huffman. Before making any judgments, I’ve seen two lawns with both Jared Huffman and Mark Lovelace and one lawn with Solomon and Lovelace.
Of note, I have yet to see a yard sign of any Congressional candidates other than Huffman and Solomon. What gives?
27 comments
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May 9, 2012 at 6:25 am
Fred Mangels
Didn’t see any real disagreements in the 1st district supervisor race on TV the other night. Might the 2nd district race be the same?
May 9, 2012 at 8:00 am
Eric Kirk
Oh no! There are some very sharp differences in the Second District.
In the meantime, an update on sign combos. In Arcata this morning I saw two Susan Adams signs, one accompanying a Mark Lovelace sign (which makes the most sense since he has endorsed her. I saw another Lovelace/Solomon combo just down the street. And lots of Huffman signs, probably more per capita than Eureka.
And as to why I haven’t reported on Monday’s debate in detail when I was in the KMUD studio for the pledge drive, basically, I ran into some people I hadn’t seen in awhile and got distracted keeping up with them. From what I had heard, it was mostly the same answers to the same questions, with the same usual suspects of partisans giving mini-lectures before asking the same questions. I did note that both candidates seemed tired and almost punchdrunk by the end of it.
May 9, 2012 at 8:03 am
Eric Kirk
And check out this quote this morning at TPM:
“I have a mindset that says bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view,” Mourdock said on Fox, according to Politico. “You know, I’ve said many times through this campaign that one of the things I hope to do is to help build a conservative majority in the United States Senate and continue to help the House build a Republican majority and have a Republican White House and then bipartisanship becomes having Democrats come our way. So that’s what we’re working towards and I think in the days ahead, Mr. Lugar will join our effort.”
May 9, 2012 at 8:32 am
Cove dude
“From what I had heard, it was mostly the same answers to the same questions..”
One notable exception to this was Estelle changed her response on the Tooby Ranch questions. She is parroting Clif now and saying she will work to bring this to an acceptable conclusion, instead of saying she will vote to stop the lawsuit. Has she finally educated herself on the issue.
May 9, 2012 at 8:46 am
Charley
This was the most engaging second district ‘debate’ I’ve heard, because people asked their own questions and got to follow up on non-answers, which sometimes eventuated in actual answers. It’s a clear improvement over the League of Women Voters hyper-controlled format that you’ve criticized in the past. Still, wouldn’t an actual debate be nice? Heaven knows many positions are debatable.
May 9, 2012 at 9:02 am
Eric Kirk
Oh, I have no problem with the format Charley. I would actually like to see a format where they ask each other questions. But I think it would have gone better for the candidates had it taken place three or four debates ago. It sounded to me like they were debated out.
Cove Dude – I missed that. I guess I should give the whole thing another listen.
I did hear the question on Richardson Grove, but I didn’t understand Estelle’s response. I’m not clear whether she supports the proposal or not. She said that her position has evolved, but I’m not sure how. That might be another one of those questions she got tired of answering.
May 9, 2012 at 9:46 am
Anonymous
I saw an Andy Caffrey bumper sticker in Arcata the other day.
I have also seen Stacey Lawson yard signs.
I think it’s funny that Dan Roberts became a conservative because the liberals took over San Francisco State!
May 9, 2012 at 10:44 am
Cove dude
“I did hear the question on Richardson Grove, but I didn’t understand Estelle’s response. I’m not clear whether she supports the proposal or not”
Estelle doesn’t want you, nor anyone else, to understand her response. She is carefully parsing and couching her words so it sounds like she is against the project for those who aren’t paying close attention, but also sounds like she is for the project for those who aren’t close paying attention. To use Charley’s words, it was a non-answer.
She wants you to know that she loves Redwoods.
May 9, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Anonymous
Clif should win this. I really hope so anyway.
May 9, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Cove dude
Many people in the Cove are voting for Estelle. One recurring reason is “she is from here”. Someone needs to help them change their mind. Any takers out there.
May 9, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Eric Kirk
Letters to the editor and phone banking. Contact the campaign you support. They’ll put you to work.
May 10, 2012 at 7:52 am
gpf
Many people in the Fortuna are voting for Clif. One recurring reason is “he is from here”. Fortunately, many of them have changed their mind.
Many have discovered that although “he is from here”, Clif has strings that are pulled from Arcata.
Many are concerned about his lack of qualifications, his inability to supervise staff, and his unquestioning obedience to staff.
In addition, many people in Fortuna who voted did not vote for Clif in the last 3-way election, and these same people will vote on June 5, and not for Clif.
May 10, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Eric Kirk
A Clif supporter in Fortuna contacted me to correct me with regard to the signs. Estelle does have the regular yard signs and she (the Clif supporter) counted them on at least two lawns in Fortuna so far. But she is confident that Clif will win “handily” in Fortuna. Carlotta and Rio Dell remain “mysteries” to her.
Meanwhile, I confirmed that there are regular lawn sized signs for Estelle’s campaign. I saw one in Ernie’s storefront window today.
About three of Clif’s signs have been removed from lawns mysteriously, but so far nothing like past campaigns.
On another topic I’ve received various compliments from both Clif and Estelle supporters for my Indy letter, the latter appreciating my tone though they disagree with the analysis. Thank you for the compliments. I will be writing another letter for the Redwood Times. If you can bat twice, why not take the opportunity?
Lastly, Clif’s fundraiser in Briceland this Saturday afternoon. Contact his campaign for details. Beforehand, he will be knocking on doors in Redway. Feel free to stop him and talk to him if you see him.
May 10, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Eric Kirk
Oh, one more thing about signs and sign combos. Reportedly, a lawn in Ferndale contains signs for Clif, Rex Bohn, and Jared Huffman. That’s probably the most interesting combo yet.
And tonight I got a robocall polling for Stacey Lawson’s campaign, asking my first and second preference for that race and inquiring as to the effectiveness of her advertising and the impact of the media coverage on her. Of all the candidates, for some reason she has faced the most angry attacks with a website dedicated to tearing her down. What’s with that?
Anyway, she’s my third or fourth choice. As I said, I’ll be voting for Solomon.
May 11, 2012 at 6:46 am
gpf
On another topic I’ve received various compliments from both Clif and Estelle supporters for my Indy letter…
Eric, please post the indy letter here.
May 11, 2012 at 8:35 am
Eric Kirk
It’s on another computer, but I’ll do that.
By the way, if you want to italicize quotes use the <'s with the i's.
May 11, 2012 at 9:34 am
Anonymous
By the way, if you want to italicize quotes use the <'s with the i's.
huh?
May 11, 2012 at 10:57 am
Jane
The xenophobia really isn’t productive. And it is a rather childish political stance in my opinion. There are good things being done in Arcata, Fortuna, Eureka, and in southern Humboldt. There are some not good things too. But mostly we have a whole lot of things in common between all the areas. Southern Humboldt has been more hurt by its xenophobia than helped. Sometimes southern Humboldt is its own worst enemy and could use other ideas.
May 11, 2012 at 11:05 am
HUUFC
Senator Richard Lugar is 80 years old, and in the Senate for 36 years. He hasen’t lived in his home state since the middle 70′s. As an elder statesman he shares the respondsibility for the $16 trillion debt and $1.5 trillion deficit at the federal level. He shares it with our Senators Fienstein and Boxer and our Rep. Thompson. The voters finally got tired of it all and are going to replace him. Time will tell if Donnelly is any better.
I don’t know anything about him either and and unaware if he is a
” wing nut”. I do know what Lugar has done.
May 12, 2012 at 10:11 am
Eric Kirk
On my letter, this morning my son was reading the Independent and I told him his should read my letter. So he flipped to the letters page and said, “Geeze Dad, you took up three columns! You talk as much on paper as you do in real life!”
For the record, I didn’t “take up” three columns. It started at the bottom of one, filled the second, and ended at the top of the third.
But…. he’s right.
May 12, 2012 at 10:48 am
Eric Kirk
The Pacific Sun endorses Solomon, while devoting a nice paragraph to each of the candidates.
http://www.pacificsun.com/news/show_story.php?id=4335
May 12, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Jane
A link to your letter please Eric?
May 12, 2012 at 9:20 pm
gpf
Eric says “About three of Clif’s signs have been removed from lawns mysteriously, but so far nothing like past campaigns.” (Sorry Eric, I learned some HTML I forgot it. You’re going to have to suffer through some ‘analog’).
It’s been my observation in the Fortuna area and nearby that a lot of Clif signs are being placed helter skelter…on highway (noted on 36) road and street sides. For sure Clif has one on property in Fortuna without permission (Clif’s outlaw 2×4 alongside a permitted Estelle 4×8). Now it’s up to this old woman to take down the Clif sign and of course she doesn’t want to do that so this Clif sign stays, without the permission of the landowner. Undoubtedly, many property owners in Fortuna would simply take down the Clif sign.
There is a fair amount of desperation in the Clif camp, and for good reason. What impresses me is the amount of respect being shown by both sides That says a lot of good about both Clif and Estelle and we are very fortunate to have such great people to live with in Humboldty County..
May 12, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Eric Kirk
The three signs were on one block, reported by one of the residents who requested a sign. All three have been replaced.
The Highway 36 signs are all on private property by invitation of the owners.
I’ve only seen one Clif sign in a public right-of-way. I’ve seen numerous Estelle signs on public right-of-ways. And numerous Jared Huffman signs as well, including two facing the freeway in Rio Dell, although I suspect CalTrans will remove them. I would suggest to all of the campaigns that those are wasted signs. The only real value of a sign is to indicate the endorsement of the property occupant or owner.
I think that once the signs went up in Fortuna, Clif supporters breathed a sigh of relief. It does look like he’s going to take Fortuna with a substantial lead. But I doubt they’re going to take anything for granted.
Meanwhile, I saw another sign combo on I Street in Eureka today – Cheryl Seidner and Estelle Fennell. But it’s not that unnatural of a combo even if the Gang of Thirty others see it differently.
May 12, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Eric Kirk
Jane – sorry, the Indy isn’t online. It’s on my computer in Garberville, but I won’t be back there for a few days.
May 17, 2012 at 5:07 pm
salmon girl
I’d like to read your letter too, missed it last week. After reading the humcpr rag cover to cover for the first time, including the candidate forum I became truly alarmed at the prospect of Estelle being my supervisor. They quote Ayn Rands “property rights uber alles crap” estelle gave a bunch of “wrong answers” sure wish I could vote for Cheryl Seidner
May 17, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Eric Kirk
Acccch! I forgot to put it on a thumb drive. Right now, my office computer is offline. I’ll be back in there on Saturday.