Just to let you know we’ve got live election results coming soon from what have unquestionably been two of the most entertaining state primaries this season.
At 8 PM we’ll be bringing you live results from Florida where there are hot and fairly crazy races for nominations for Senate and Governor. In the Democratic primary, Kendrick Meek leads gazillionaire yachtsman Jeff Greene in the race to see who can be the Democratic nominee and sit on the sidelines as Charlie Crist runs the race as the de facto Democratic nominee. On the GOP side, longtime GOP officeholder Bill McCollum tries to get his dignity back from upstart moneybags Rick Scott.
And then at 10 PM it’s Arizona where there’s been a lot of suspense over just how big a margin J.D. Hayworth is going to get his butt beaten by John McCain. Finally, there’s the Republican primary in Arizona’s 3rd district. That’s the battle to see who gets the nomination to succeed Rep. John Shadegg (R). In truth, we have no idea who’s going to win that one because there haven’t been any public polls. But Dan Quayle’s son Rufus Ben Quayle is in this race going up against a bunch of other GOPers to get this nomination because it brings with it a virtual certainty of getting elected in November. This race, among other things, has been a stand-out for totally over the top ads, a few of which you can see here.
Then of course there’s Alaska, which closes at midnight eastern.
Why Sarah Palin is about to lose big time in tonight’s primary election in Alaska.
Is Imam Rauf the Muslim Shirley Sherrod?
And do I need a calendar to remember who to hate next week?
Recovery Act buoying economy up from catastrophic territory into the territory of the merely awful.
Irrefutable argument for going back to policies of previous administration.
TPM Reader ML picks up the conversation …
You’re right, it can be both, but it’s important to remember just how much you’re asking of Imam Rauf when you talk about mismanaging the media strategy, because (again) you’re right, he *is* just a guy with a non-profit and an idea, and you’ve got to keep in mind the timeline.
This thing only barely entered the national media consciousness towards late May when it first went up for a vote before Manhattan Community Board No. 1 (this was all the way back when Mark Williams talked about the “terrorists’ monkey god”). It was still barely on the radar a few weeks later when the Right started making a stink about Rauf’s ties to the flotilla, and still hardly an issue come early July when goptrust.com had that awful, terrifyingly jingoistic anti-Park51 commercial rejected by CBS.
Sen. Harkin to hold hearings on new decision putting stem cell research into doubt.
You may have heard that Moldovan authorities have today arrested five people for trying to smuggle/sell about four pounds of Uranium. What I’m a little unclear on just what we’re talking about. It’s being referred to as ‘yellowcake’ uranium. And the thing is that ‘yellowcake’ is very, very lightly refined uranium. To make nukes you need many tons of the stuff — and the ability to do the refining. And even to make a dirty bomb, I’m not sure that would really do that much for you.
It’s a little unclear at this point just what we’re talking about. The reporters or even the police authorities may be speaking loosely. But on its face, 4 pounds of ‘yellowcake’ just doesn’t amount to much.
Tea Party Leader calls for Americanism-based Cordoba House center in Mecca.
Throughout the controversy over the Cordoba House / Ground Zero Mosque / Park51 project, there’s been a steady backdrift of criticism suggesting that, quite apart from the ideological controversies, the project just hasn’t been well run. Some say that the organizers have had a poor media strategy or, frankly, have had close to none; or that they didn’t canvass the idea well with the rest of the Muslim community in New York City.
Others point out that whatever you think about the controversy, which in some respects has become global, there’s hardly even a project. What you have really is a developer who owns a building and a Imam with a non-profit and a concept. While the crazies are going on about the project being funded by the Global Anti-American Jihad, Inc., the truth is that it actually isn’t funded at all. They haven’t started raising money yet. These points have been made in various ways in the Times, Politico and the Post. And here’s a post by Hussein Rashid at religiondispatches.org that covers some of the same ground. Read More