Ariz. Congressman Won’t ‘Cut-and-Run’ from DeLay
“As GOP stalwarts try to distance themselves from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Arizona’s Rep. Trent Franks has remained by his side.
“The embattled DeLay spoke at a Franks fund-raiser on Capitol Hill in December. Franks gave $4,200 to DeLay’s re-election committee in March, nearly six months after the then-Texas congressman was indicted by a grand jury on money-laundering and conspiracy charges. . . .
“‘Congressman Trent Franks isn’t going to cut and run from a friend when the going gets tough,’ said [Franks spokesman Sydney] Hay, a former 2002 congressional candidate.” (Arizona Republic)
The Permanent Campaign
“With less than two and a half months to go before the mid-term elections, political ad spending is on a record pace. The nonpartisan Campaign Media Analysis Group reports that from Jan. 1 to Aug. 13, $311 million has been spent on television spots by candidates, political parties and interest groups taking part in gubernatorial, Senate or House races. Thatâs a 150 percent increase from the amount spent during the same period in the 2002 mid-term elections.” (Wash. Wire)
Tribe Says Defendants Avoiding Being Served
“The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston filed a lawsuit in July alleging the men engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe’s casino.
“The tribe’s attorney says former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and associate Jon Van Horne have been ‘making themselves unavailable.’ The suit also names Michael Scanlon, Neil Volz, and disgraced lobbyiest Jack Abramoff.” (KGBT-4 (Tex.) TV)
White House Plans Katrina PR Blitz
“As next week’s anniversary of Hurricane Katrina triggers recollections of rooftop refugees and massive devastation along the Gulf Coast, the White House has begun a public relations blitz to counteract Democrats’ plans to use the government’s tardy response and the region’s slow recovery in the coming congressional elections.” (LA Times)
Trouble Mounts for KY Gov
“Indicted in May for allegedly orchestrating a statewide patronage scheme, [KY Governor Ernie] Fletcher won a courthouse reprieve earlier this month when a special judge ruled that he can’t be prosecuted for official misconduct while in office. But State Senator David Williams, a fellow Republican, pointedly notes that the ruling does raise ‘the specter of impeachment.’
“Yet that may be the least of the governor’s worries. With less than a year to go before the 2007 primary, Fletcher’s challenge is to keep from losing his job the old-fashioned way: in the voting booth. ‘There is a real chance he can lose the primary,’ said longtime political writer Al Cross, who now heads a rural journalism institute at the University of Kentucky. ‘He lacks the confidence, apparently, of most of the leaders of his party.'” (Time)
Evolution Major Vanishes From Approved Federal List
“Evolutionary biology has vanished from the list of acceptable fields of study for recipients of a federal education grant for low-income college students.
“Dr. [Lawrence M.] Krauss [of Case Western Reserve Univ.] said: ‘Removing that one major is not going to make the nation stupid, but if this really was removed, specifically removed, then I see it as part of a pattern to put ideology over knowledge. And, especially in the Department of Education, that should be abhorred.'” (NYTimes)*
Senator Apologizes to Student for Remark
“Senator George Allen of Virginia personally apologized to a volunteer for his opponentâs campaign on Wednesday for a perceived racial insult, addressing a misstep that has complicated his re-election campaign and raised doubts about his potential as a Republican presidential contender in 2008.” (NY Times, WaPo)
Jennifer Allen Attacks Jennifer Allen on George Allen
“[Jennifer] Allen’s personal reputation and the accuracy of Fifth Quarter [her book about growing up in her family, which includes Virginia Senator George Allen (R-VA)] is suddenly under attack….
“Who is this critic out to destroy Jennifer’s reputation? It’s none other than Jennifer Allen herself (who now goes by the name Jennifer Richard). With her book threatening to badly damage her brother’s presidential ambition’s, Richard is now recanting details of her score-settling account of growing up with George.” (TNR [sub. req.])
I.R.S. Warns of Tax-Collection Swindlers
“The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers on Wednesday of swindlers posing as debt collectors hired by the agency. The I.R.S. created the collection program to minimize that risk, âbecause we know what itâs like out there with regard to identity theft nowadays,â Collection Director Brady Bennett said.” (NY Times)
Christian Coalition Losing Chapters
“Three disgruntled state affiliates have severed ties with the Christian Coalition of America, one of the nation’s most powerful conservative groups during the 1990s but now buffeted by complaints over finances, leadership and its plans to veer into nontraditional policy areas. . . .
“The coalition, which claims more than 2 million members, was founded in 1989 by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and became politically powerful under Executive Director Ralph Reed before he left in 1997. Robertson, who turned over the presidency to Combs in 2002, has been criticized for provocative public statements, while Reed lost an election in Georgia last month after being linked to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.” (AP)
Corps Reviews Its Inquiry Into a Critic
” The Army Corps of Engineers is looking into how an Illinois manâs comments on a proposed bypass channel for fish led a corps official to suggest that the Federal Bureau of Investigation examine him as a possible terrorist, a spokesman for the corps said yesterday.
“The man, Jim Bensman of Alton, Ill., said he feared that people in the St. Louis district office of the corps pointed to him because he was a longtime critic of their policies.
“‘The only thing that makes sense is that this was done for political purposes,’ Mr. Bensman said.” (NY Times)
Menendez Campaign Questions Donations to Kean Jr. from Kean Sr.’s Employees
“Tom Kean Jr.’s U.S. Senate campaign has received at least $62,650 in donations from employees or board members of five companies and a foundation where his father, former Gov. Tom Kean, serves on the board of directors, a Star-Ledger analysis of federal campaign finance reports shows….
“Democrats said yesterday they don’t question the legality of the contributions, but suggested some of the donors may have been motivated by Kean Sr.’s role in deciding on their pay.” (Star-Ledger)
Kerry Slams Wal-Mart ‘Swiftboating’ of Democrats
“Senator John Kerry (D-MA), The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, spoke out today about efforts of Wal-Mart advocacy group member to tie prominent Democrats to Hezbollah guerrillas. Herman Cain, a member of the Wal-Mart advocacy group Working Families for Wal-Mart repeatedly used the term “Hezbocrats” in an op-ed he wrote for Townhall.com.” (Raw Story)
The Top 10 Corporate Democrats-For-Hire
“They claim to be ‘centrists,’ but these D.C. Dems — whose corporate agendas aren’t too different from Bush administration policies — are living proof that the system needs fixing.” (Alternet)
AT&T Goes on Court Offensive
“Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, chief privacy officer for AT&T, said a company investigation identified about 2,500 customers whose records may have been obtained by data brokers. The customers have been notified and access to their online accounts has been frozen.
“The company said data brokers pose as the customer to get confidential information that they use to set up unauthorized online accounts, which gives them access to account information including recent calling records.” (AP)
Padgett Field Gets a Little Thinner
“Dover Mayor Rick Homrighausen announced he would withdraw from the Sept. 14 Republican special primary election and support state Sen. Joy Padgett, who is backed by Ney and most of the 18th District’s GOP leadership.
“Homrighausen’s endorsement gives Padgett, of Coshocton, a base of support in the Dover-New Philadelphia area, in Tuscarawas County. It’s the most populous county in the district and the home of the Democratic nominee, Dover law director Zack Space.” (AP)
*Update: The Department of Education has since issued a statement, saying that Evolutionary Biology was always an eligible major.
