Why Are Democrats Going to Lose When They Are More Popular?

There is a fascinating disparity in these 2010 elections. When asked which party will cope better with the issues facing this country over the next couple of years, Democrats win 42-38%. When asked who will handle the economy better, Democrats win 44-37%. When asked which party you approve of more in Congress, Democrats win 36-30%. Yet, they're about to get wiped out.

Why? Obviously, it has nothing to do with the Republicans because they are the only thing that has lower approval ratings than the Democrats. A gigantic 67% of the country disapproves of the Republicans on Congress (a Congress they're about to hand them). Nearly every poll shows general disdain for the Republican Party.

So, if it's not that the voters like the Republican Party or find their answers to our problems particularly appealing (they lose on almost every issue in the polls), what is causing this possibly enormous electoral shift? I think the answer is two-fold.

The first is obvious - voters are throwing the bums out. The Democrats are the party in power and they are paying the price when the country is in bad shape. This is Politics 101. People don't like what's happening, they vote out whoever is in office. That's democracy and it also makes some intrinsic sense generally (though in this case, it makes no sense since they are putting back in power the people who caused the problems in the first place).

Secondly, it's because the Democrats didn't deliver. They said there was going to be big change and that they were going to take care of the middle class. And they didn't. I'm not saying that because I disagree with the size of the stimulus, or gays in the military or whether we had the public option or not. This is not about whether we had sufficient change on specific issues (that's a good debate for another time).

No, this is about broader issues. Did you deliver for the average American voter or did you deliver for Wall Street? Come on, look at the numbers. Wall Street is backing to make record profits and bonuses and we're at nearly 10% unemployment. People aren't stupid. They got robbed. The system didn't get fixed. It's still rigged in favor of the rich and powerful.

Some liberals, progressives and Democrats will accuse me of party treason for saying that. They're right, I don't give a damn about the parties. In this day and age, I would never vote for a Republican in a national election because they have shown themselves to be a completely owned subsidiary of the rich and the powerful. They have demonstrated gross incompetence and are purposely derelict in their duty to the voters. But that doesn't mean I have to be excited about the Democrats. Who is excited by Blanche Lincoln? Other than corporations who bought her years ago.

The Democrats said they were going to bring change - and they didn't. That is their fundamental error. And that is why they are being voted out right now. But knowing how Washington works, they will not get that through their thick skulls. Instead, they will probably go further toward the jackals on the right after this election. They will cater to big business, Wall Street and the top 1% of this country even more after this election - and then wonder why people don't trust them.

I have a crazy suggestion for you guys, which I am sure the Washington establishment will hate with every fiber of their being - why don't you fight for us, the average American voter, over the next two years and see how that works out? Why don't you take on the powerful and punch them in the face (politically)? Why don't you take the fight to the Republicans and tell them you are going to stop the banks from robbing us no matter what happens? Why don't you tell the Washington media to shove it next time they suggest you work with the Republicans in cutting taxes for the rich and balancing the budget on the back of the poor and the middle class?

But you won't. You know it, I know it and the American people know it. You will bow your head and call populism a dirty word and keep catering to the lobbyists and the donors in a desperate attempt to appease them more than the Republicans do.

The system is broken. No one represents us. The special interests and the corporate interests have bought all of the politicians. So, when the American people throw the bums out, they are right. Unfortunately, this time around they are going to replace them with far, far worse bums. But they are going to learn that lesson the hard way. And next time, they'll throw them out again. And they'll keep doing that until one of the parties gets it through their heads that the Washington establishment does not represent the American people. They represent the powerful. And the more you cater to them the more the American people will hate you. And vote you out of office.

Watch The Young Turks Election Coverage Here

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Why Are Democrats Going to Lose When They Are More Popular?

There is a fascinating disparity in these 2010 elections. When asked which party will cope better with the issues facing this country over the next couple of years, Democrats win 42-38%. When asked who will handle the economy better, Democrats win 44-37%. When asked which party you approve of more in Congress, Democrats win 36-30%. Yet, they're about to get wiped out.

Why? Obviously, it has nothing to do with the Republicans because they are the only thing that has lower approval ratings than the Democrats. A gigantic 67% of the country disapproves of the Republicans on Congress (a Congress they're about to hand them). Nearly every poll shows general disdain for the Republican Party.

So, if it's not that the voters like the Republican Party or find their answers to our problems particularly appealing (they lose on almost every issue in the polls), what is causing this possibly enormous electoral shift? I think the answer is two-fold.

The first is obvious - voters are throwing the bums out. The Democrats are the party in power and they are paying the price when the country is in bad shape. This is Politics 101. People don't like what's happening, they vote out whoever is in office. That's democracy and it also makes some intrinsic sense generally (though in this case, it makes no sense since they are putting back in power the people who caused the problems in the first place).

Secondly, it's because the Democrats didn't deliver. They said there was going to be big change and that they were going to take care of the middle class. And they didn't. I'm not saying that because I disagree with the size of the stimulus, or gays in the military or whether we had the public option or not. This is not about whether we had sufficient change on specific issues (that's a good debate for another time).

No, this is about broader issues. Did you deliver for the average American voter or did you deliver for Wall Street? Come on, look at the numbers. Wall Street is backing to make record profits and bonuses and we're at nearly 10% unemployment. People aren't stupid. They got robbed. The system didn't get fixed. It's still rigged in favor of the rich and powerful.

Some liberals, progressives and Democrats will accuse me of party treason for saying that. They're right, I don't give a damn about the parties. In this day and age, I would never vote for a Republican in a national election because they have shown themselves to be a completely owned subsidiary of the rich and the powerful. They have demonstrated gross incompetence and are purposely derelict in their duty to the voters. But that doesn't mean I have to be excited about the Democrats. Who is excited by Blanche Lincoln? Other than corporations who bought her years ago.

The Democrats said they were going to bring change - and they didn't. That is their fundamental error. And that is why they are being voted out right now. But knowing how Washington works, they will not get that through their thick skulls. Instead, they will probably go further toward the jackals on the right after this election. They will cater to big business, Wall Street and the top 1% of this country even more after this election - and then wonder why people don't trust them.

I have a crazy suggestion for you guys, which I am sure the Washington establishment will hate with every fiber of their being - why don't you fight for us, the average American voter, over the next two years and see how that works out? Why don't you take on the powerful and punch them in the face (politically)? Why don't you take the fight to the Republicans and tell them you are going to stop the banks from robbing us no matter what happens? Why don't you tell the Washington media to shove it next time they suggest you work with the Republicans in cutting taxes for the rich and balancing the budget on the back of the poor and the middle class?

But you won't. You know it, I know it and the American people know it. You will bow your head and call populism a dirty word and keep catering to the lobbyists and the donors in a desperate attempt to appease them more than the Republicans do.

The system is broken. No one represents us. The special interests and the corporate interests have bought all of the politicians. So, when the American people throw the bums out, they are right. Unfortunately, this time around they are going to replace them with far, far worse bums. But they are going to learn that lesson the hard way. And next time, they'll throw them out again. And they'll keep doing that until one of the parties gets it through their heads that the Washington establishment does not represent the American people. They represent the powerful. And the more you cater to them the more the American people will hate you. And vote you out of office.

Watch The Young Turks Election Coverage Here

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KCRWs Left Right & Center: Guns & Scotus, The DUDE

Surprise visit from The Dude: the real one, who inspired The Big Lebowski (Jeff Dowd) www.jeffdowd.com. He's a big fan of Left, Right & Center and dropped by to do KCRW's Guest DJ Project http://www.kcrw.com/music/kcrw-guest-dj- project. Meantime, on today's show we talk about Guns and SCOTUS; North Korea Nukes; Oil; Democratic Unity and Obamacons. Visit our new blog for links to articles mentioned http://leftrightandcenter.vox.com/; special guest right is Jim Antle, associate editor of the conservative mag, The American Spectator. Listen to today's show here: http://www.kcrw.com/media-player/mediaPl ayer2.html?type=audio&id=lr080627sco tus_on_gunsn_kore

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Senate 2008 Guru's Week in the Senate Races

This week saw the release of August fundraising numbers, with the DSCC continuing to outpace the NRSC, $2.58 million to $2.36 million.  The NRSC continuing to get beat in fundraising month after month may be why they seem willing to exploit any fundraising opportunity, however crass and tasteless it may be.

Speaking of fundraising, Senate 2008 Guru started a new ActBlue page: the Expand the Map! ActBlue page, focusing on Senate races in states that don't typically have competitive Senate races, but could see strong competition with enough resources.  The page's inaugural campaigns are Idaho's Larry LaRocco and Oklahoma's Andrew Rice.  The first-day goal on Friday of ten contributions for both candidates was met, and we're closing in on our weekend goal of twenty contributions apiece.  With today being the last day of the third fundraising quarter of 2007, please contribute if you can!  These relatively early dollars coming in help demonstrate these campaigns' viability and competitivity.  So if you can chip in $100, that's great.  If you can chip in $5, that's great!  But, please do chip in if you can!

Also released this week were Survey USA's September poll numbers.  While Mitch McConnell's (51-40), Norm Coleman's (46-45), and Gordon Smith's (48-42) poll numbers all remained in the danger zone, the lowlight of the month was Pete Domenici's poll numbers plummetting to an atrocious 41-54.  You read that right: 41-54.  It looked like Domenici's descent in the polls as a result of his role in the Attorney Purge scandal had levelled off in the low 50's.  We'll see next month if the low 40's is an aberration or Domenici's new norm.

With Senate Republicans still stuck in the mud, it's no wonder that vulnerable political targets like Norm Coleman and John Sununu "routinely turn down" cable news interview requests.  I guess these vulnerable Republicans are too cowardly to stand up and defend their votes in favor of prolonging Bush's Iraq War and their myriad other votes putting them out-of-step with their constituents.  And here are many other stories affecting the Senate races this week:

Alaska: Hays Research conducted a poll finding that only 40% of Alaskans view Ted Stevens positively while 38% view Stevens negatively.  Further, only 43% of Alaskans said that they were likely to vote to re-elect Stevens while 45% said that they were unlikely to vote to re-elect him.  Very bad news for Stevens, especially in light of the fact that GOP Gov. Sarah Palin, perhaps the most popular elected official in the state, is leaning on Stevens to be more forthcoming with voters about his various scandals and investigations.  And that is all the more perilous for Stevens as the far-right conservative Club for Growth is seeking a primary challenger for the pork-loving Stevens.

Nebraska: Former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub backed out of the crowded Republican primary about two weeks after entering the scrum.  Nevertheless, incompetent NRSC Chair John Ensign seems to have insured a nasty primary between former Gov. and chronic quitter Mike Johanns and state Attorney General Jon Bruning when it became public that Ensign was urging local GOP leaders to help push out other opponents like Bruning in favor of Johanns.  Heckuva job, Ensign.  And it's not like Bruning hasn't already displayed a willingness to take the fight right to Johanns.  Meanwhile, as we continue to await former Senator Bob Kerrey's decision, he has laid out his current position on Iraq: "downsize the military commitment" but do not cut off funds.

Georgia: Lieutenant General David Poythress, Georgia's retiring adjutant general and a former Georgia Secretary of State and Labor Commissioner, is being eyed as a possible Senate challenger to Spineless Saxby Chambliss in 2008.  If it can't be Max Cleland, it would be great to have another military man lay out for Saxby what a coward Chambliss really is.  Also, the Athens Banner-Herald's political blogger called Chambliss out for his hypocrisy on voting against more rest time for soldiers when Chambliss himself took four deferments to get out of service in Vietnam.

Idaho: Larry Craig had his day in court this past week, but the judge says a ruling will not come until the end of this coming week at the earliest.  As such, Craig is not resigning (for the time being) and will continue his Senate work as scheduled.  GOP Gov. Butch Otter has a short list of possible replacement appointments ready to go, but he may not get the chance to use it as observers see Craig leaving rhetorical wiggle room to possibly serve out the remainder of his term regardless of the decision in his court case or to even actually consider running for re-election in 2008.  I think Craig should stick it out in order to send a message to a Senate Republican caucus that would throw him under a bus while welcoming back prostitute-lovin' David Vitter with thunderous applause.

Maine: Following a manufactured scandal in Susan Collins' 1996 Senate run in which she worked with a reporter to portray her opponent's very typical opposition research effort as a seedy witch hunt, and another manufactured scandal earlier this year in which Susan Collins wildly overreacted to the Maine Democratic Party having a staffer record her public appearances (ooh, the horror!), the Collins camp is now working to manufacture yet another dishonest political attack, trying to portray Congressman Tom Allen's impressive 98% voting record as something less than outstanding.  Collins would much rather focus on the rate of votes rather than the substance of votes, which puts her far to the right of mainstream Maine.  Meanwhile, the Rockland Courier-Gazette slammed Collins for her continued support for Bush's endless Iraq War, noting that "Collins has strayed so far into the camp of President George W. Bush that she can't free herself," and calling Collins' votes "destructive to the country and the state."

Texas: Daily Kos commissioned a poll by Research 2000 finding that John Cornyn held a 51-35 advantage over State Representative and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega. The 51-35 figure is not too dissimilar from the 53-30 figure Rasmussen Reports released almost two weeks ago, which is pretty good considering most Texans probably have never heard of Rick Noriega yet. The Research 2000 poll also found that 40% of voters would re-elect Cornyn, 15% would consider another candidate, and 35% would vote to replace Cornyn. Those numbers are very promising.

Kentucky: Another week, another opportunity for the Kentucky media to call Mitch McConnell out for "utter hypocrisy" and "selective outrage." And now the far-right conservative Club for Growth is sniffing around the Bluegrass State for a primary challenger for McConnell.

North Carolina: According to an Elon University poll, voters said that the top four issues that would "influence their vote for U.S. Senator" were The Iraq War (78%), Economy (76%), Health Care Costs (75%), and Immigration (73%).  And what were the voters' satisfaction levels with Elizabeth Dole on those four issues?  Very poor: 32% for The Iraq War, 39% for Economy, 32% for Health Care Costs, and 28% for Immigration.  Elizabeth Dole will have a very hard time defending her record if less than 40% of voters are satisfied with her on issues that about 75% of voters will be basing their vote on.

Minnesota: Senate candidate Al Franken offered a powerful op-ed in the Star Tribune this week discussing how ridiculous it is for the Senate to actually debate over the MoveOn.org ad, with Norm Coleman continuing to play politics over the issue, while our soldiers continue to fight and die in Iraq.

Tennessee: Businessman and gubernatorial son Mike McWherter took another step toward a challenge to Lamar Alexander as McWherter formed a Senate exploratory committee.  Also, it came out that www.MikeMcWherter.com was reserved back in May, just in case.

Oregon: The Oregon Democratic Party this week examined Gordon Smith's lousy records on making education affordable, global warming and Big Oil, and, in light of his company's third fine for illegally dumping wastewater into a nearby creek, environmental protection, including a lifetime 26% rating from the League of Conservation Voters.

New Jersey: Stu Rothenberg concluded that Republicans have "no reason for even a shred of optimism" in a race against Senator Frank Lautenberg.

New Hampshire: Sprintin' John Sununu was the only New England Senator of either Party to oppose the hate crimes amendment (that even New Hampshire Republican colleague Judd Gregg supported), yet again demonstrating how out of touch Sununu is with Granite State voters.

Michigan: 2002 GOP MI-Sen nominee Rocky Raczkowski is considering giving it another go.  Also, GOP state rep. Jack Hoogendyk is considering a challenge to Senator Carl Levin.  The political mood in 2002 favored Republicans even more than the 2008 political mood is shaping up to favor Democrats.  Nevertheless, Levin crushed Raczkowski 61-38 in '02.

For daily news and updates on the U.S. Senate races around the country in 2008, check out Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.

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Senate 2008 Guru's Week in the Senate Races

Unfortunately for those of you looking for some exciting news - it's more of the same:

  • July fundraising numbers are in; and, once again, the DSCC significantly outpaced the NRSC, $2.9 million to $2.2 million.  Starting off August, the DSCC had $20.6 million cash on hand (and saw its debt drop to $4 million after some repayment), while the NRSC had only $6.5 million cash on hand.
  • Survey USA's August poll numbers were released for several Senators.  While not-really-vulnerable Senator Tom Harkin saw a comfortable 57% approval, Norm Coleman (47-44), Pete Domenici (52-41) and Mitch McConnell (50-43) languished in and around the 50% danger mark, and Gordon Smith saw his lowest approval rating yet at 46-44.
  • Republicans remain so divided over the political ramifications of Iraq that they are spending millions of dollars to politically attack their own.  The right wing's "Freedom's Watch" is spending $15 million to slam, primarily, a bunch of Republicans, including Senators up for re-election in 2008: Pete Domenici, Susan Collins, Norm Coleman, John Warner, Gordon Smith, Elizabeth Dole, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Hagel, Saxby Chambliss, and Lamar Alexander.
  • Via a thorough look at fundraising and recruitment achievements so far in 2007 and to this point in 2005, I have concluded that, as ineffective an NRSC Chair as Elizabeth Dole was, John Ensign is shaping up to be even more ineffective.
  • Conservatives have more suggestions on how to enhance the image of the Republican Party, so suggests conservative pundit Fred Barnes:

Transforming a negative image hardened over a period of years is no easy task. Still, there's a lot Republicans can do. First, they should clean house of Republicans caught up in scandal. Forcing two or three House members and at least one senator to retire would involve more than friendly persuasion and no doubt provoke strong resistance. But the effort would attract national attention--favorable attention, for a change.

Not a bad idea, Fred.  But who to start with?  Scandal maven Ted Stevens?  His Alaskan colleague and, apparently, real estate investor Lisa Murkowski?  Pete Domenici for his involvement with the Attorney Purge scandal?  Prostitute-lovin' David Vitter?  Where to begin?

I know.  Yawn.  If that sounds familiar, wait 'til you see the developments in the states:

Maine: If you think Susan Collins faced copious embarrassments last week, this week brought more of the same.  The Collins camp last week tried to kick up a big fuss over the Maine Democratic Party sending a staffer to video record her public appearances.  Shocking, I know.  Well, it turns out that Collins has a history of manufacturing scandals and actually coordinating with local media stories that intentionally exaggerate facts and mislead voters regarding the actions of political opponents.  In her first Senate race, back in 1996, her camp was in close contact with reporter John Day to produce a story about her Democratic opponent hiring an "investigator to dig dirt on Collins." All her Democratic opponent did was hire a staffer to conduct opposition research, one of the most commonplace activities in any political campaign.  But the story portrayed the tactic as so unseemly, and it ran so close to Election Day, that it made an impact.  Of course the Collins camp denied coordinating with the reporter, but, after the election, that was proven a lie.  Yet another incident reinforcing "Two-Faced" Susan Collins' pattern of double talk and duplicity.  At least some members of the Maine media are calling Collins on her chicanery.

But that wasn't all for Susan Collins this week.  It also came out that there appears to be a major conflict of interest between the Collins camp and the Bangor Daily News that has gone unreported during this election cycle.  Not only is a current staffer at Collins' Bangor office married to the executive editor of the Bangor Daily News, but that executive editor is also Collins' former press secretary.  Funny, I don't see a disclaimer mentioning this in the article that the Bangor Daily News ran on the Maine Democratic Party (though the BDN intimated in its reporting that it was Tom Allen's campaign) having a videographer taping Collins' public appearances (or any other BDN articles discussing Collins, for that matter).  Must be pretty nice for Susan Collins to have a former employee (and the spouse of a current employee) making editorial decisions about the coverage she receives.

Oregon: Not only is Gordon Smith's approval at a low point of 46-44, as mentioned above, but in the first poll taken with Jeff Merkley's name in the mix, Smith only scores a 38%.  Given that the two-term Senator must enjoy a sizable name recognition advantage over the new Speaker of the Oregon House, this is awfully bad news for Smith.  In other news, it bothers me deeply when the few remaining supporters of Bush's Iraq War remain unable to separate support for the well-being of the troops from support for the war.  As such, it is really weak (but expected) that Oregon Republicans are dishonestly trying to turn Speaker Merkley's vote back in 2003 for a resolution in the Oregon House meant as a show of support for our troops into some sort of declaration of support for the war, as though it somehow exonerates Gordon Smith from his election cycle conversion on Iraq. Dishonest and shameful.  Jeff Merkley has supported the troops all along. Gordon Smith has supported Bush's Iraq War all along, up until his election cycle came up and his rhetoric had to disingenuously shift to prepare for a re-election bid. Very big difference.

Colorado: "Backwards" Bob Schaffer could be self-immolating before our eyes. First, Schaffer says that the questionable contributions in his potential-votes-for-contributions scandal can't be a conflict of interest because the alleged favorable vote occurred on the Board of Education, while the contribution was to his Senate campaign. Ummm... yeah. Completely unrelated. The more Schaffer tries to defend himself, the guiltier he comes off. And then, Schaffer didn't even show up to the Board of Education's "Code of Ethics Discussion." Wow. Quite a hole Schaffer is digging.  If that wasn't enough, he further embarrassed himself and his campaign when he intimated that he still wasn't an official candidate, later explained by aides as Schaffer misspeaking.  To put the cherry on the sundae, Schaffer is watching his base divide and his support erode as "sportsmen, a traditionally Republican-leaning voting bloc in Colorado that swung blue in 2006's gubernatorial contest, are warily responding to 2008 Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer's ties to the energy industry."

Nebraska: This week offered more signs that Chuck Hagel's Senate retirement was imminent.  The Lincoln Journal Star, the Omaha World-Herald, and the Washington Post all gave their write-ups on former Senator Bob Kerrey moving closer to a possible Senate bid, announcing that he has given the trustees of the New School University, his current employer, a heads-up that it is a possibility and that a decision is likely in the next couple weeks.  Kerrey says that he is "more and more certain" that Hagel will retire from the Senate and that he will decide his plans before Hagel announces his intentions.  Does he know something we don't?  Along those lines, Republican state Attorney General Jon Bruning is turning his attention away from Hagel and toward Republican U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns. Should we be expecting both a Hagel Senate retirement and Johanns Senate race entry soon?

Kentucky: More of the same for Mitch McConnell this week.  The Washington Times highlighted his eroding base of support.  1995 GOP Gubernatorial nominee Larry Forgy sounded even more like a primary challenger.  Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Horne sounded even more like a Democratic challenger.  Powerful ads slammed McConnell on Iraq.  And, perhaps as a result of all of this, McConnell was too much of a coward to take calls from his constituents when appearing on local talk radio.  And there is your Republican Senate "leader."

Alaska: It was only a matter of time until an Alaskan Republican called for Ted Stevens' resignation:

A Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives is calling for U.S. Rep. Don Young and U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens to step down at the end of their current terms.

State Rep. Mike Kelly said it's a move needed to restore Alaskans' confidence in their government.

Described as a conservative, Kelly happens to be correct.  The best way to remove the stench of corruption is to remove the individuals who are doing the stinking.

Texas: It looks like John Cornyn broke an explicit campaign promise when he voted against SCHIP - in other words, voting against expanding and increasing health care coverage for sick children.  Not only is Cornyn bad for children (and people who like promises kept), but he is also bad for veterans.  But even Cornyn doesn't want to be seen with former Texas Governor George W. Bush:

Q. Will you ask the president to appear with you on the campaign trail?
A. I will probably ask the president to help me do some fundraising, but probably not on the campaign trail. ... We've talked about his poll numbers.

For John "Net Negative Approval" Cornyn to be belittling someone's poll numbers certainly says something.  Meanwhile, State Representative and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega is gaining institutional support in his bid to unseat Cornyn.

Virginia: Rumblings of a Jim Gilmore for Senate campaign in 2008 are getting louder. A Gilmore-Tom Davis Republican primary would be bloody fun to watch. I'm sure that Gilmore hopes that a Senate campaign would be better regarded than his term as Governor was.

Oklahoma: Jim "In Denial" Inhofe in the same article vilifies the "Hollywood crowd" that will allegedly be funnelling money to Oklahoma to unseat him in his 2008 re-election bid and, at the same time, announces his support for Hollywood's own Fred Thompson for President, saying Thompson is the "only one" of the Republican Presidential candidates who can beat Hillary Clinton.

South Carolina: The South Carolina Republican grassroots and conservative netroots continue their disapproval of Lindsey Graham.

Alabama: Democratic State Senator Vivian Figures made her official announcement entering the 2008 Senate race against Bush rubber stamp Jeff Sessions, asking of Sessions (and answering), "Has he made our schools better? Has he lowered the cost of health care? Has he even made insurance affordable? No. No. No." We'll see if it resonates in the inevitable polling to come.

Tennessee: Following businessman/gubernatorial son Michael Ray McWherter and former TN-Dems Chair Bob Tuke, Nashville attorney Mike Doherty has indicated that he is considering a 2008 Senate challenge to Lamar Alexander.

Idaho: Democratic former Congressman, and the only announced candidate at present for the 2008 Senate race in Idaho, Larry LaRocco offers this video look at one of his latest jobs in his Working for the Senate campaign, discussing the needs of Idaho's families and the value of unions in our workforce. As it turns out, this weekend was LaRocco's 61st birthday and his and his wife's 40th wedding anniversary.  And you can personally ask Larry LaRocco questions during his latest liveblog session on Daily Kos this Wednesday (August 29th) at 2pm Eastern, 1pm Central, Noon Mountain, 11am Pacific.

Minnesota: These two videos offer much insight into the state of MN-Sen:


For daily news and updates on the U.S. Senate races around the country in 2008, check out Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.

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