George Alan Reker’s announces his resignation from the National Association of Research and Therapy of of Homosexuality, the “ex-gay” organization.

It’s almost word for word like Larry Craig. Genuinely sad. Pathological on many levels. But sad on so many levels of human suffering, with Rekers as both victim and victimizer.

For years we’ve been chronicling various conservative direct mail operations that get right-wingers ginned up to send in money because the UN is going to confiscate their lawn furniture or force their daughters to have mandatory abortions. But once they have the money, virtually all of it goes back to the direct mail operators rather than giving it to Republican candidates or agitprop or anything else. So if you’re an easily agitated conservative who wants to make sure you contributions are actually going into political work rather than lining someone’s pockets, we’ve devised this special ‘Winger Survival Guide for the 2010 season.

Colbert: “She’s going to be distracting all the other justices with her squealing over Justin Bieber.” Watch.

It’s a low blow in Alabama Republican politics to call someone an evolutionist, so a GOP candidate for governor who was hit with that charge is fighting back hard to prove his creationist cred.

But the the real irony here is that the attack ad calling Bradley Byrne an evolutionist is largely funded, albeit indirectly, by the state teachers’ union, which has an old beef with the guy. So they’re attacking him from the right via the disingenuously named True Republican PAC. Quite a story.

It seems clear that the larger GOP energy in West Virginia and anti-incumbent tide played the major role in Rep. Allan Mollohan’s (D) primary defeat last night. But a longstanding series of ethics investigations also clearly weighed him down. Ben Frumin reviews TPMMuckraker’s coverage of Mollohan’s mucky background.

Stewart: Kagan is ‘Exactly Like Harriet Miers — Except For The Dumb Part’. See the video.

Elena Kagan begins making courtesy calls to senators on the Hill today. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Democrats have their work cut out for them this year. But things could be even worse if there weren’t so many GOP direct mail groups raising tons of money but spending little if any of it on GOP campaigns.

Justin Elliott has unearthed the latest example: AmeriPac. So far in this cycle they’ve raised $1.3 million and spent thirteen hundred on campaign related spending.

Orrin Hatch has one really big thing going for him. He’s not up for reelection until 2012. If he was, it looks like he’d probably getting the axe like his senate colleague Bob Bennett did over the weekend. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that among this year’s delegates to the state Republican convention, fully 71% would have backed a candidate other than Hatch. And among the state’s voters generally only 35% support him. Read More

Two new polls of the Democratic Senate race in Pennsylvania are out this morning. Unlike the Muhlenberg poll that Josh mentioned last night, the two new polls aren’t tracking polls. Here’s what they show:

Quinnipiac: Specter 44, Sestak 42 (Undecided 14).

Franklin and Marshall: Sestak 38, Specter 36 (Undecided 15). Read More