October 12, 2007, 7:47pm
With Democratic Rep. Tom Allen in the race, Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces a tough battle next year for re-election to a third term representing Maine. She makes her case to voters in a video produced by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Categories: Maine, Susan Collins, Tom Allen, Senate 2008
August 3, 2007, 9:08pm
Congress is set to begin its annual congressional break this weekend, but a dozen Republican senators being tagged as obstructionists may not find it to be a relaxing vacation.
Americans United for Change and the Campaign for America’s Future today announced plans for a campaign aimed at calling attention to the tactics of those senators in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. An online video titled “The Plot To Bury Progress,” featuring actor Jason Alexander (George Costanza of “Seinfeld” fame), is part of the effort.
The campaign targets Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as “Senate Obstruction Leader” and lists 10 specific “obstruction votes.” The broader numbers for the year: 43 “filibusters” in seven months and 31 vetoes threatened by President Bush between May 1 and Aug. 1.
“The Republican minority in the Congress is now planning to use this August recess to rail against the ‘do-nothing’ Congress,” Campaign for America’s Future co-Director Robert Borsage wrote on the group’s blog. “Already the House and Senate minority leaders are trotting out laugh lines about the ‘post-office Congress’ that does nothing but name post offices and launch divisive witch hunts against the administration.
“This is akin to someone mugging the postman and then complaining that the mail isn’t delivered on time. In fact, the Bush White House and Republican minority have pursued a systematic and openly admitted strategy of obstruction.”
Categories: Senate, Virginia, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Producer's Picks, Mitch McConnell, 110th Congress, Republicans
May 16, 2007, 10:18pm
What’s the best way to criticize the commander-in-chief about his war policies? Catch him on tape saying that he will listen to his commanders on the ground and then get former commanders to say he didn’t listen.
At least that seems to be the thinking of VoteVets, which is running a series of advertisements that attack President Bush for his military strategy in Iraq. The ads feature two former major generals, John Batiste and Paul Eaton.
“Mr. President, you did not listen. … Mr. President, you have place our troops in peril,” Batiste said in the ads featuring him. “Our only hope is that Congress will act now to protect our fighting men and women.”
The ad featuring Eaton blasts Bush for not listening when commanders warned him of the dangers of invading Iraq. Eaton added: “Now our military is overcommitted and America is less secure. Mr. President, you’re being told we need serious diplomacy, not escalation, and you’re still not listening. If the president won’t listen, Congress must.”
The ads close with a direct message to a series of targeted Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rep. Tim Johnson of Illinois, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, and Rep. Jim Walsh of New York.
Batiste lost his job as a consultant for CBS News because of his role in the ads and was interviewed on MSNBC about his firing.
Another ad that features former Gen. Wesley Clark, a 2004 presidential candidate, is aimed at Sen. John Warner of Virginia and tells him to “protect America, not George Bush.
Categories: Virginia, New York, Arizona, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Producer's Picks, Susan Collins, Tim Johnson, Sen. John McCain, John Sununu, John Warner, AdWatch, Mike Rogers, Jim Walsh
May 16, 2007, 9:24pm
Susan Collins, R-Maine: “If [the Iraqis] are not making progress in meeting the benchmarks, then I think we should not release the reconstruction funds. This would have definite consequences, and I think it’s appropriate that we link it to reconstruction funds.”
Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.: President Bush “can’t ignore what I’m proposing. He’s going to have to sign it or veto it. … We need to have a real vote, a binding effort here, and that’s what I’m determined to try to get in the Foreign Relations Committee.”
Categories: Connecticut, Maine, Susan Collins, Iraq, Sen. Christopher Dodd
May 15, 2007, 5:25pm
Democratic Rep. Tom Allen announced that he will try to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine next year:
UPDATE: The National Republican Senatorial Committee has responded with an ad that picks apart Allen’s House voting record and concludes, “Maine can certainly do better than Tom Allen.”
(Hat tip to Rob Bluey of the Heritage Foundation, who also criticized Allen’s ad.)
Categories: Maine, Susan Collins, Tom Allen, Senate 2008
Subscribe to RSS