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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Sarah Palin’s second book due out in November.

Is Harry Reid back in this thing? A new poll (albeit one from a Dem firm) shows Reid now ahead of Sue Lowden in the aftermath of chicken-gate.

I’ll wait to see the next Rasmussen poll. If he shows Reid even in shooting distance I’m thinking Lowden may be toast.

Survivors from the exploded oil rig out in the Gulf arrive on shore after 27 hours on a rescue boat. Transocean, the owner of the rig, takes them to a hotel in New Orleans. Want to leave the hotel? All you have to do is sign this little form saying you haven’t been injured and didn’t see anything wrong that might have caused the accident. That’s what some of the rescuees are now claiming.