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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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July 14, 2009
TUESDAY'S CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP....Today's installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn't generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers. * Despite being utterly humiliated by a sex scandal, Sen. John Ensign (R) of Nevada said yesterday that he will not only ignore calls for his resignation, but will also seek re-election in 2012. He added that he intends to "work to earn" voters' respect. * A new Quinnipiac poll shows New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine trailing Republican Chris Christie by double digits, 53% to 41%, with just four months to go. * Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) of Pennsylvania is giving up his House seat to run for governor next year. * As expected, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna said yesterday that he intends to end his Senate campaign, in order to make way for Rep. Mark Kirk (R), who threatened to skip the race unless McKenna got out of his way. * Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) officially kicked off her gubernatorial campaign yesterday, setting up a primary fight with incumbent Gov. Rick Perry. Hutchison ends the exploratory phase after having raised over $6.7 million in the first half of the year. Perry's campaign said the governor has more than $9 million cash on hand, but raised less over the same period. * New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is gearing up for her Senate campaign, but since she's never sought elected office, voters are still getting to know her positions on the issues. State GOP Chairman John Sununu said yesterday Ayotte is "more conservative than the press has made her out to be," including being "pretty conservative" on social issues and "extremely conservative" on fiscal issues. Sununu also said he believes Ayotte opposes abortion rights. * To the disappointment of the NRSC, Pennsylvania state Sen. Jane Orie (R) will not take on former Rep. Pat Toomey in a Senate primary. —Steve Benen 12:00 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (13)
Comments
I would really like to see a more investigative piece on Ensign, there has to be something more there then a lurid affair. You pay to make things go away, not to announce it. Posted by: Ned Pepper on July 14, 2009 at 12:20 PM | PERMALINKTexas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) officially kicked off her gubernatorial campaign yesterday. . . . This is gonna be good. Hutchison is not terribly popular in this state, but Rick "Secesh" Perry seems to be much less so, and he's now locked into running to the right of her in the primary. Hutchison, I think, is widely thought of as something of a RINO within the Texas GOP, but she's not obviously batshit crazy, either. So the Republicans will have some hard choices to make, come next spring. Still, the Dems here have a tough road ahead. There are potential candidates with real governance cred (John Sharp, I'm lookin' at you), but it's an uphill battle. If I had to predict the next governor of Texas, I'd have to give Hutchison a slight edge. But either way, the Texas Constitution gives the governor relatively little real executive power; most real power lies with the Lege in any case. Posted by: Andy on July 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM | PERMALINKI expect a positive hecatomb of incumbent governors next year. Corzine's the tip of an iceberg. Posted by: Davis X. Machina on July 14, 2009 at 12:34 PM | PERMALINKI have been having a hard time understanding WHY Hutchison wants to leave a safe Senate seat to take on the governorship of a hard-to-govern state! Posted by: phoebes-in-santa fe on July 14, 2009 at 12:37 PM | PERMALINKPhoebes-in-Santa-Fe, it is true that Texas is a hard state to govern. But it is also true that the governor doesn't really do the governing. The way the power structure is set up in Texas, the lieutenant governor and the legislature are the real sources of power, while the governor is more of a figurehead. Kind-of explains a lot about the Bush presidency, doesn't it? Posted by: The Caped Composer on July 14, 2009 at 12:47 PM | PERMALINKCaped, yes, I knew that about the Texas governorship/legislature, which is why I am surprised that she wants to take on the job. She has a safe Senate seat where she actually does have power. And, NOTHING can really explain GWB. What a loser. Caped Composer is correct in that the Texas Governor has little real power, apart from his/her political appointees and the whole "bully pulpit" thing. As for Hutchison, it's long been known that being governor is her dream job -- not U.S. senator. Not sure exactly why, but her move here is not unexpected, nor is it something she's doing on a whim. She (rightly) sees Perry as vulnerable, and (IMO) has been smart to bide her time until now. As for Kay Bailey as governor, I won't vote for her -- although I might cross over for a little Operation Chaos-type action in the primary -- but I think Texas could do worse. In fact, we have, for well over a decade now. Posted by: Andy on July 14, 2009 at 1:01 PM | PERMALINKIsn't Ensign's attitude the same sort as by Dick Cheney et al in the Republicon apparatus? Do as you please, have no regrets, try to con voters into liking you anyway? Some "party of personal responsibility." And he even got his parents to help pay off his mistress! Posted by: N e i l B on July 14, 2009 at 1:11 PM | PERMALINKI think I have heard this one.....A boy goes to his father and asks for ninety six thousand dollars for sex......... Posted by: JoeSixPack on July 14, 2009 at 1:19 PM | PERMALINKThe attitude of the C Street cabal is that no Republican ever gives up power just because they got caught in some slimey scandal. (Palin obviously didn't get the memo or didn't bother to read it if she did.) The problem for them is that they will keep fielding damaged candidates that should provide easy pickings for others (hopefully Democrats). So, whatever. Evil eventually destroys itself. Always has, always will. What I find scary is the notion that Hutchison actually represents some sort of moderation of right wing thought, as compared to Perry. Relatively speaking, yeah, I guess so, but based on her Senate record, not a chance. At least while being a hard core ideologue, she manages not to sound batshit crazy. They call this "settling," should she win. Posted by: Fallsroad on July 14, 2009 at 1:22 PM | PERMALINK* Despite being utterly humiliated by a sex scandal, Sen. John Ensign (R) of Nevada said yesterday that he will not only ignore calls for his resignation, but will also seek re-election in 2012. He added that he intends to "work to earn" voters' respect." I guess the era of shame has officially passed. It's nice to know you do not have to have any morals or ethics to be a Republican and that nothing short of a felony conviction will bar you from office.(oops Ted Stevens) Never mind Posted by: John R on July 14, 2009 at 1:35 PM | PERMALINKPost a comment
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