Boehner accuses of White House of ‘fast and furious’ cover up.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) went on MSNBC this morning and said that the only reason his reelection campaign is even close is because of the mountain of outside money that’s been poured into the state — $8.3 million according to NBC’s Luke Russert. But is it even close?
The PollTracker average currently shows an 8.6 point spread in Brown’s favor, with Brown’s average just shy of 49% and he’s trending up against opponent Josh Mandel. (See the trend chart here.) In a season where lots of Democratic senators are really vulnerable that doesn’t sound particularly close to me.
It’s final. Gary Kreep, notorious California birther, has been elected to a state judgeship. Even weirder, the man he defeated is named Garland Peed.
Coming off Scott Brown’s refusal to debate at the Kennedy Institute unless Kennedy’s widow agrees not to endorse a candidate, the Warren campaign is asking “What’s he afraid of?”
The big news today is the imminent House committee vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. Substantively, there doesn’t seem to be that much Congress has asked for that the Justice Department hasn’t given on the “Fast and Furious” scandal (though certainly there’s disagreement on that front, especially from Congressional Republicans). The real driver here seems more like base Republicans’ desire for a confrontation with Holder — with a lot of the heat over gun control conspiracy theories wrapped up into what is in itself a legitimate scandal. It’s a push the higher ups in the Congressional leadership have at key points resisted. But the momentum from GOP backbenchers is simply too great. And now it’s happening. Read More
Recent high-profile whistleblowers say the DOJ’s new leak probe has no credibility.
Unless there’s a last minute clamber from the ledge, the House oversight committee seems set to vote later this morning on holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over what Darrell Issa says is DOJ’s refusal to fully cooperate with his investigation into the botched gunrunning operation Fast & Furious.
Get up to speed on what is largely a political ploy here.
Following up on my ask below, TPM Reader GR reports in on the latest on the Massachusetts senate race and Brown’s demand that Ted Kennedy’s widow stay neutral in the race …
You asked what the response here in Massachusetts has been about Scott Brown’s refusal to take part in the exact same Kennedy Institute debate that he participated in back in 2010. First, full disclosure, I am low level Democratic Party official, a Warren volunteer and convention delegate, as well as a working class guy who actually drives a pick-up truck for work rather than campaign ads. That said, I am also a relatively objective guy whose nose is glued to the political goings-on in our area (except when I screw up the early life-details of a certain Arizona sheriff. I’m still really embarrassed about that. [cringe] Seriously.)