Articles of Interest 5-13-2008

175 Days until Election Day

MORNING UPDATE:

LOWERING GAS PRICES… With gas prices inching toward the $4 a gallon mark, House Republicans announced Monday that they are backing legislation that would suspend the 6 percent sales tax on gas purchases through Labor Day in an effort to boost the state’s tourism market.

HOOGENDYK FILES 30,000…Jack Hoogendyk filed over 30,000 signatures yesterday to put his name on the ballot to run for the United State Senate as our Republican nominee.  Congratulations to Jack and thanks to all that helped.

McCAIN’S ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY SPEECH…McCain seeks out a “third way” on environmental policy…looking for reasonable and practical approaches.

OBAMA IS COMING TO TOWN…details developing, but lets give him the kind of welcome he deserves.  I’m sure he’ll be driving in with high CAFE standard hybrids.

JEWISH VOTE IN 2008…Attorney General Mike Cox will be hosting a discussion Thursday, May 22nd with the RJC at the law firm of Trott & Trott…more below.

GOP LEGACY BRICK…make a permanent contribution to the Michigan Republican Party’s building fund, to insure we have a home for a long time to come.  See more information below.

WALL OF HONOR…we are honoring Michigan Republicans who have served our party in the past…remembering those who have built our party…more info below.

THE REST OF THE STORY:

- Obama in Michigan… On Wednesday, he will hold a town hall style event in Macomb County – home to the Michigan’s Reagan Democrats movement – and then lead a rally that night in a Grand Rapids arena. Ask about CAFE and our domestic auto industry…who will pay our bills, pay the pensions, provide the health care, and ensure our middle class lifestyle if you destroy the domestic auto industry?
   
- The Importance of the Jewish vote in 2008 with Attorney General Mike Cox.  The RJC event will be held, Thursday, May 22nd at 5:30pm at the Law Firm of Trott & Trott, 31440 Northwestern Hwy, Suite 200, Farmington Hills, 48334.  For more information or to join the RJC, renew your membership, or to RSVP please contact Eric Axel, by phone: 202-638-2909 ext.107  or email: grassroots@rjchq.org   

- LEGACY BRICK..Give a Gift that Will Last a Lifetime!
The Michigan Republicans moved their headquarters to the Secchia-Weiser Republican Center in 2006 and plan to install a legacy site to honor those who have served the party and the citizens of Michigan.  The legacy site will create a well-deserved tribute to honor Michigan’s past, present, and future Republican leaders!  Buy a brick to celebrate, to inspire, or to commemorate friends, family, or yourself!  They are a great way to honor others in memoriam, birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion.  Your honoree will receive a certificate commemorating their personalized brick.  Choose from our four different options and be a part of the Michigan Republican Party Legacy!

To order your personalized Legacy Brick please visit www.migop.org/legacy, or contact Erin Meteer, Major Donor Program Manager at emeteer@migop.org.

- WALL OF HONOR…Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2008 Michigan Republican Party Wall of Honor.

Last year marked the inaugural year for the Wall of Honor and we recognized 43 Republican activists from across the state. To submit a nomination this year, or to review the nomination criteria, please download a nomination form at http://www.migop.org/WallOfHonor/.

Saul Anuzis

STATE STORIES

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/POLITICS01/805130376/1409/METRO

Hoogendyk to challenge Sen. Levin

Mayor Kilpatrick's mother faces two Democratic challengers to her seat in Congress.

Gary Heinlein /

Detroit

News

Lansing

Bureau

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

LANSING

-- Republican State Rep. Jack Hoogendyk turned in more than 30,000 nominating petition signatures Monday, making official his candidacy to be a giant slayer -- or sacrificial lamb -- against 30-year veteran U.S. Sen. Carl Levin.  Hoogendyk was among major party candidates who must file by 4 p.m. today for a long list of offices, including one U.S. Senate and all 15 U.S. House seats, the 110-member state House, county offices and judgeships.  Like Hoogendyk, state Sen. Martha Scott of

Detroit

has decided to challenge an entrenched incumbent. Scott filed nominating petitions Monday at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in

Detroit

against U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the mother of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.  Former state Rep. Mary Waters of

Detroit

, who works in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, also is running against Cheeks Kilpatrick, who is in her 12th year as a congresswoman. All three are Democrats, and winning the Aug. 5 primary is tantamount to winning the election in the heavily Democratic district.

http://forums.detnews.com/redesign/blogs/dcblog/index.cfm?blogid=486

Reps. Knollenberg and Walberg races rated more competitive

Posted by Deb Price on Fri, May 9, 2008 at 10:20 AM

The non-partisan Cook Political Report has changed its ratings of what are expected to be

Michigan

's two hottest congressional races.  The battle between freshman Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, and state Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, has moved from "lean Republican" to "tossup." That fight is for the 7th Congressional District, which is in the south-central part of the state.  Meanwhile, Joe Knollenberg, the eight-term Oakland-area congressman who is a senior Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, has been moved from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican." He's being challenged in the 9th Congressional District by former

Michigan

lottery commissioner Gary Peters.  "(The Knollenberg seat) appears to be one of Democrats' better opportunities to knock off a veteran incumbent," said House analyst David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report.  "Democrats have held the mind-set that this year some of their top opportunities to gain seats will be in districts where they really did not give an incumbent a serious run for their money in 2006.... They have a stronger candidate in Gary Peters."  Wasserman cited Peters' strong fund-raising, and also that the 9th district tracks similarly to how the country voted in the 2000 and 2004 presidential races.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805100317

Port Huron

to host federal water hearing

By NICHOLAS DESHAIS

Times Herald

• May 10, 2008

Rep. Candice Miller will be in town Monday and she's bringing the federal government with her.  Not the entire government -- just a U.S. House subcommittee hearing chaired by Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn. "It's a wonderful and incredibly unique thing to have the chairman of the transportation infrastructure committee coming into my district," Miller said Friday. Miller, the Blue Water Area's congresswoman, sits on the committee. "He shares my advocacy for the Great Lakes and for protecting the

Great Lakes

."

The hearing is part of the water resources and environment subcommittee -- part of the transportation committee -- and will focus on the effects harmful nutrients have on the

Great Lakes

.  "We'll really be focusing on water quality in the

Great Lakes

. Not only the monitoring system but all the phosphorus that we are having a lot of problems with as well," she said. Miller was integral in securing funding to construct a monitoring system along the St. Clair River and into

Lake St. Clair

.  Harmful nutrients, specifically phosphorous, come from many sources, including urban and agricultural activities.  The principal source of the nutrients is fertilizer, but household detergents also contribute.

"Dishwashing detergent is almost all phosphorous,"

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/METRO03/805130362/1409/METRO

Macomb

faces more red ink

Jim Lynch / The

Detroit

News

First-quarter tax revenues overestimated, county now on pace to run $4M deficit, says finance director.  MOUNT CLEMENS --

Macomb

County

officials knew this would be a tight budget year, but it's shaping up to be worse than expected.  Results from the first quarter of the year are in and property tax revenues are below 2008's year-to-date expectations. If the early-year results hold steady through year's end, the county may be forced to eat further into its rapidly dwindling rainy-day fund.  Today, Finance Director David Diegel will deliver his report on revenues and expenses for the first quarter. It's a report that does not bode well for a county that has run operating deficits the past few years.  In October 2007, when officials developed the recommended 2008 budget, a 2.5 percent increase in property tax revenues was projected over 2007, Diegel wrote in a recent memo to commissioners. "We are now being told that the previous projection was too high," he wrote.  The 2008 property tax projection has now been revised downward by $1.5 million for an increase over 2007 levels of 1.8 percent, he said. 

Macomb

County

began running operating deficits in 2004, when it spent $2.7 million more than it generated. In 2005 that number increased to $9.1 million and in 2006, it was $7.2 million.

http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS01/805130306

Calhoun GOP names candidates

Nick Schirripa • The Enquirer • May 13, 2008

A day before the filing deadline, the Calhoun County Republican Party introduced an almost full slate of Republican candidates for state and county seats up for election this year.  County party Chairman Scott Durham introduced 13 candidates Monday for several county board seats, all five county executive seats and two state races.  Incumbents Sheriff Al Byam, Clerk-Register Anne Norlander, Treasurer Ann Rosenbaum and Drain Commissioner Blaine VanSickle all are seeking re-election. 

County

Prosecutor

John Hallacy has announced his candidacy for

county

District Court

judge. Assistant Prosecutor Dan  Buscher said he's running to succeed Hallacy after 14 years in the prosecutor's office.  County Commissioner Greg Moore and Commissioner Jase Bolger each are seeking state House seats that will be vacated by term-limited incumbent Republican representatives; Moore in the 62nd District to replace his boss, Battle Creek's Rep. Mike Nofs, and Bolger to succeed Rep. Lorence Wenke of Richland Township.  Battle Creek City Commissioner Susan Baldwin also announced her candidacy in the state 62nd House District, which means she will face

Moore

in the August primary.  On the Democratic ticket, county board Chairwoman Kate Segal is running against Tim Nendorf.  As of Monday, Bolger didn't have any Republican opposition, but Democrat Phyllis Smith of

Vicksburg

has filed to run in the 63rd.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS01/805130322

Stage set today for move on mayor by council

Council plan: Try for ouster ourself and ask governor

BY ZACHARY GORCHOW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • May 13, 2008

The Detroit City Council has crafted a two-track path to ousting Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick by scheduling votes for today to launch the process of removing Kilpatrick while also asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to expel him.  Council members, by 5-3 votes Monday, agreed to put the dual process up for formal votes today both out of necessity -- they lacked enough votes to advance just one of the removal methods -- and as a hedge in case one bogs down.  "We had to have both," said Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, a fierce critic of the mayor.   If approved, the measures would launch simultaneous -- and historic -- ouster proceedings in response to Kilpatrick's handling of police whistle-blower lawsuits that ended in an $8.4-million settlement last October.  A majority of council members previously called on Kilpatrick to resign after learning he had failed to tell them of the role damaging text messages played in his decision to settle the suits at taxpayer expense.  Council members who voted Monday to consider both ouster measures were: President Ken Cockrel Jr., Sheila Cockrel, Brenda Jones, Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson. Voting no were President Pro Tem Monica Conyers, Martha Reeves and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi. Barbara-Rose Collins was at the meeting but absent during the votes.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/METRO/805130386

Detroit

City Council to vote on Mayor Kilpatrick ouster options

Members look at removing Kilpatrick themselves, asking Granholm to step in.

Christine MacDonald / The

Detroit

News

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

DETROIT

-- A fragile majority of City Council members could be poised today to launch a double-barreled effort to topple Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick by starting their own impeachment-like process and petitioning Gov. Jennifer Granholm to oust him.  The possibility emerged as a compromise late Monday among members who are mostly united in their desire to boot Kilpatrick, but have bickered lately over how to do so. But the alliance of five council members is tenuous.  There appears to be more support -- six members -- for a vote today to censure the mayor, who faces perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct-in-office charges for the text-message scandal that has gripped City Hall since January.  "I don't think we will know (the outcome) until the votes come down," said Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. "I still have a lot of questions. ... I'll be spending the night thinking about it some more."  He is among five on the nine-member panel that Councilman Kwame Kenyatta counts as "solid" votes to proceed with in-house removal, also known as forfeiture, while seeking action from Granholm. But Cockrel said he's not sure he'll support what could be a lengthy and expensive forfeiture process through the city charter. If that happens, Councilwoman JoAnn Watson could withdraw her vote to petition Granholm because she advocates forfeiture.  Kenyatta was the first on the council to push a resolution demanding that Kilpatrick resign, which passed 7-1 in March. He's confident the City Council will pursue both tracks and won't just stop at censure, a public rebuke that wouldn't directly affect the mayor's job.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS01/805130320/1001/NEWS

Council set to vote on ousting

Detroit

mayor

Granholm may be asked to step in under

Mich.

law

Corey Williams • Associated Press • May 13, 2008 • From

Lansing

State

Journal

DETROIT

- The Detroit City Council has spent weeks debating options and various paths it should take to strip "mayor" from before Kwame Kilpatrick's name.  That talk could lead today to action when the nine-member group will vote on two resolutions aimed at forcing Kilpatrick from the office he's held for six years.  One resolution calls for the council to proceed with forfeiture of office proceedings, while a second asks Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove Kilpatrick under state law for misconduct in office.

A third resolution calls for publicly censuring the mayor."An extreme situation like this calls for an extreme measure," council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said.  "I do support taking it to the governor. That could potentially save a lot of time and a lot of money."  Today's votes would follow more than three months of council scrutiny into a text-messaging sex scandal involving Kilpatrick and his role in a confidentiality agreement that led to an $8.4 million whistle-blowers' settlement.  Kilpatrick and former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty face a June 9 preliminary examination on charges of perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS01/805130323/1001/NEWS

Lansing

budget lacks unions' $3.3M concessions

City Council adopts fiscal document; labor leaders offer no negotiation details

Susan Vela •

Lansing

State

Journal • May 13, 2008 • From

Lansing

State

Journal

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and the City Council have solutions for addressing a $6 million deficit.  All they need now - since Lansing City Council adopted a budget Monday - is labor's OK to Bernero's $3.3 million in wage, health insurance and pension concessions or support for the council's proposals totaling roughly the same dollar amount.   Union representatives aren't hinting at where they stand on the deficit strategies put forth by both sides.  "No comment," said Mike Parker of the city's Teamsters Local 580, which has about 250 members who do clerical, technical, code compliance, waste water treatment and supervisory work.  Other union representatives didn't return calls.  However, there's still a lot that can happen. The city's next fiscal year starts July 1, and the mayor still can veto parts of the budget that was approved Monday.  "It's all part of the charter process," said Jerry Ambrose, the city's finance director. "There's no decision made about that at all."  Bernero said Monday he is "99 percent" satisfied with the council's budget. "The structural deficit must be addressed," he emphasized before council and a large audience. "I'm very pleased to see that City Council has acknowledged this fundamental truth and has offered their own suggestions.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/METRO/805130382

Protecting

Michigan

's water wonderland

Rules on water use by farms, firms draw fire as diversion pact debated

Gary Heinlein /

Detroit

News

Lansing

Bureau

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

LANSING

-- State lawmakers are carefully maneuvering

Michigan

toward joining a historic international compact reserving

Great Lakes

water for the states and Canadian provinces around them.  The compromise they also seek would set state rules governing water use within

Michigan

. And it's those rules, rather than the compact, that pits environmentalists against businesses, the state House against the Senate, and Democrats against Republicans.  "We're getting closer," said Sen. Patricia Birkholz, R-Saugatuck. "I expect something to pop in the next week or two."  Birkholz and Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, are the chief negotiators because they are leaders in their respective chambers on environmental issues. Both are being lobbied heavily by special interest groups.  The Michigan Farm Bureau and Manufacturers Association say too much regulation could further damage the state's fragile economy by impeding businesses. But the Michigan Environmental Council and other green groups want strict protection for streams, lakes and fish.  As Birkholz and Warren seek a balance that protects

Michigan

water while capitalizing on the economic potential of its abundance, the clock is ticking. There's a sense that the

Great Lakes

states and provinces should waste no time approving a compact that protects the lakes from dry states and regions that covet their water.  "At a time when we're struggling, our natural resources -- notably the

Great Lakes

-- are a great source of strength to us," said Richard Studley, vice president of the state Chamber of Commerce.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/POLITICS01/805130387

Obama jump-starts effort in

Michigan

Wednesday's stops in Macomb, Grand Rapids are 1st to state since July.

Gordon Trowbridge /

Detroit

News

Washington

Bureau

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Barack Obama's fence-mending in

Michigan

begins Wednesday, with the likely Democratic presidential nominee's first visit to the state in 10 months.  Obama, who has been criticized here for his tough talk on the domestic auto industry and for removing his name from the January primary ballot, will make appearances in

Macomb

County

and

Grand Rapids

, part of a two-week itinerary that reflects the

Illinois

senator's increasing focus on the general election. While

West Virginia

voters hold their primary today, Obama will be in

Missouri

, another fall swing state.  In

Macomb

County

, the campaign appears to be addressing one of its most pressing weaknesses head-on. 

Macomb

is widely seen as home to "Reagan Democrats," working-class whites who abandoned the Democratic Party in the 1980s. Hillary Clinton, who remains in the primary race despite delegate counts that make her chances slim, has consistently won those voters this year.  "I think the campaign acknowledges that in order to win

Michigan

and win the White House, he needs to be able to win over the more conservative Democrats outside of the urban beltway," said state Sen. Tupac Hunter, an Obama supporter.  Former Rep. David Bonior, a Macomb County Democrat who endorsed Obama last week, said he was working Monday to help the campaign schedule a town-hall event in the county.  "

Macomb

County

has often been the bellwether of the state, and it can go either way," said Bonior, who had managed John Edwards' 2008 campaign.  Talks were held Monday on adding a visit to an auto plant to Obama's schedule on Wednesday, most likely a Chrysler plant, but nothing had been finalized.

NATIONAL STORIES

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/us/politics/12vote.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1210597951-SJmBWsdw/Ud+Gvn0ElTxPg&oref=slogin

Voter ID

Battle

Shifts to Proof of Citizenship

By IAN URBINA

Published: May 12, 2008

The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in

Missouri

are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote.  The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters had to prove their identity with a government-issued card.  Sponsors of the amendment — which requires the approval of voters to go into effect, possibly in an August referendum — say it is part of an effort to prevent illegal immigrants from affecting the political process. Critics say the measure could lead to the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of legal residents who would find it difficult to prove their citizenship.  Voting experts say the

Missouri

amendment represents the next logical step for those who have supported stronger voter ID requirements and the next battleground in how elections are conducted. Similar measures requiring proof of citizenship are being considered in at least 19 state legislatures. Bills in

Florida

,

Kansas

,

Oklahoma

and

South Carolina

have strong support. But only in

Missouri

does the requirement have a chance of taking effect before the presidential election.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuyBenson/2008/05/11/constitutional_empathy

Constitutional "Empathy"

By Guy Benson

John McCain delivered an important speech at

Wake

Forest

on Tuesday, but how many Americans even heard about it? Much of the media was too busy obsessing over the latest twist in the Democratic primary to pay McCain's remarks much attention. As the press breathlessly declared Hillary Clinton's demise (again) and wildly celebrated—er, objectively reported—Barack Obama's solid win in

North Carolina

, conservatives were showering McCain with positive reviews on a crucial issue: The federal judiciary. Republicans who remain unsold on McCain should take heed.   My friend Hugh Hewitt likes to quip that there are seven reasons to embrace John McCain—the war, and six Supreme Court justices over the age of 68. The line often gets a laugh, but it's no joke. Stemming the tide of judicial activism, which systematically strips the American public of its right to decide policy issues at the ballot box, is an urgent priority. The next president will likely nominate several justices to the nation's highest court, as well as hundreds of other federal judges around the country. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama should be entrusted with this responsibility. Each is beholden to leftwing special interest groups like the People for the American Way (evidently "American Way" means "governance by liberal fiat"), and each has demonstrated a knee-jerk hostility to exceptionally qualified jurists who happen to offend their leftist sensibilities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/us/politics/13mccain.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

McCain Differs With Bush on Climate Change

By ELISABETH BUMILLER and JOHN M. BRODER

Published: May 13, 2008

PORTLAND

,

Ore.

— Senator John McCain sought to distance himself from President Bush on Monday as he called for a mandatory limit on greenhouse gas emissions in the

United States

to combat climate change.  Mr. McCain, in a speech at a wind power company, also pledged to work with the European Union to diplomatically engage

China

and

India

, two of the world’s biggest polluters, if they refuse to participate in an international agreement to slow global warming.  In the prepared text of his speech, e-mailed to reporters on Sunday night and Monday morning, Mr. McCain went so far as to call for punitive tariffs against China and India if they evaded international standards on emissions, but he omitted the threat in his delivered remarks. Aides said he had decided to soften his language because he thought he could be misinterpreted as being opposed to free trade, a central tenet of his campaign and Republican orthodoxy.

But he took a shot at Mr. Bush.  “I will not shirk the mantle of leadership that the

United States

bears,” Mr. McCain said pointedly. “I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges.”

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90KBGK02&show_article=1&catnum=3

McCain urges free-market principles to reduce global warming 

May 12 05:33 PM

US

/Eastern

By GLEN JOHNSON

Associated Press Writer

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - John McCain broke with the Bush administration and Republican Party orthodoxy Monday as he not only declared global warming real, but reached out to Democrats and independents with a free-market solution that includes capping carbon-fuel emissions.  The GOP presidential contender also prodded

China

and

India

—two major emitters of the greenhouse gases blamed for the planet's warming—to join the effort, although he muted planned talk of tariffs against them in favor of "effective diplomacy" to encourage their compliance.  An aide later said the

Arizona

senator didn't want to be interpreted as being "at odds with his commitment to open trade."  McCain was less restrained in his approach to President Bush, who broke a 2000 campaign pledge to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions and who also backed off signing the

Kyoto

global warming protocols shortly after taking office.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10288.html

For McCain, distance from Bush is key

By ROGER SIMON | 5/12/08 6:33 PM EST 

This year, John McCain is going to have to do what he failed to do in 2000: Beat George W. Bush.  But wait, isn’t McCain going to be running against Barack Obama or (possibly) Hillary Clinton this year?  Yes, but only in one sense. In another sense, McCain’s burden this year is as much about convincing voters that he is not a continuation of the Bush presidency as it is about beating his Democratic opponent.

“John McCain unfortunately is burdened by a not very good economy, by an ongoing war in Iraq and by Bush’s poll numbers in the high 20s,” Ken Duberstein, Ronald Reagan’s former chief of staff, who is very well-connected in Republican circles, told me Monday. “McCain can’t be in a position of defending the last eight years.”  How serious is the problem for McCain? A USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday states: “George W. Bush may do as much damage to John McCain’s chances of being elected as Jeremiah Wright does to Barack Obama’s.”  The poll found “38 percent of likely voters saying McCain’s association with Bush makes them less likely to vote for McCain, while 33 percent say Obama’s association with Wright diminishes their likelihood of voting for Obama.”

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1739593,00.html

How Green Is John McCain?

Monday, May. 12, 2008 By BRYAN WALSH

Perspective is everything in politics, and after nearly eight years of President George W. Bush's disastrous environmental policy, Atilla the Hun would have looked green by comparison. Certainly Senator John McCain falls into that latter category. The presumptive Republican nominee was an advocate for taking action on global warming back when President Bush was still calling for more research into the problem. McCain hasn't been shy about touting his green credentials on the campaign trail — especially now that he has the Republican nomination sewn up and needs to appeal to independents worried about global warming. At the same time, McCain has been wobbly on environmental issues as a legislator — his lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters is 24%, while Democratic Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both score 86%. So, when the McCain campaign announced that he would spend much of this week addressing the environment, starting with a speech on climate change Monday afternoon in Portland, Ore., it was worth asking whether this pitch is mostly about politics — or whether McCain is really serious about taking on climate change.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1739251,00.html

McCain's 7 Steps to Beating Obama

Monday, May. 12, 2008 By MICHAEL SCHERER

Sometimes you don't need the secret memo, a Deep Throat source, or the combination to the safe to get the story. Sometimes it's lying right there in front of you, a series of fragments ready to be pieced together.  Such is the case when it comes to John McCain's general election strategy for defeating Barack Obama. For weeks now, the

Arizona

senator's campaign has been laying its cards on the table, spelling out a strategy for November. Here's a look at seven of their key strategies.  1. Paint Obama as a False Messiah  The big debut for this message came on the night of the

Virginia

and

Maryland

primaries. Mike Huckabee was still in the race, but the McCain campaign wanted to pivot towards the general election. So at an Alexandria Holiday Inn, McCain offered these words: "I do not seek the presidency on the presumption that I am blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need." The code was not hard to break. McCain was calling out Obama as an unfulfilled prophet, built up on lofty rhetoric and personal charisma. McCain's advisors have been hammering the theme ever since, privately speaking skeptically of Obama's big crowds and "Yes We Can" ritual chants. "The lofty rhetoric," said Steve Schmidt, McCain's message man, on a recent flight. "It's nonsense." This will not let up. McCain's campaign calculates that it must put a dent in Obama's powerful aura to keep a Republican in the White House.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/05/ronpaulgop.html

Ron Paul's forces quietly plot GOP convention revolt against McCain

Virtually all the nation's political attention in recent weeks has focused on the compelling state-by-state presidential nomination struggle between two Democrats and the potential for party-splitting strife over there.  But in the meantime, quietly, largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in

Minnesota

at the beginning of September.  Paul's presidential candidacy has been correctly dismissed all along in terms of winning the nomination. He was even excluded as irrelevant by Fox News from a nationally-televised GOP debate in

New Hampshire

.  But what's been largely overlooked is Paul's candidacy as a reflection of a powerful lingering dissatisfaction with the

Arizona

senator among the party's most conservative conservatives. As anticipated in late March in The Ticket, that situation could be exacerbated by today's expected announcement from former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of

Georgia

for the Libertarian Party's presidential nod, a slot held by Paul in 1988.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/the_general_election_map.php

The General Election Map

12 May 2008 08:33 am

Here's the first Atlantic Election Map of the cycle based on interviews, reportage, polling and guesswork. In this map, I've pushed as many as tossups as I can possibly justify: Virginia, and Nevada to McCain, and Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire to Obama; these five states, with their 56 electoral votes, are tossups masquerading as leaners, so for all intents and purposes, our map has eleven states and 128 electoral votes up for grabs. As polling and information warrant, watch for these states to move out of the lean column and into the tossup column.

McCain's base states + his leaners: 245 electoral votes.

Obama's base states + his leaners: 221 electoral votes.

McCain's base states -- 175 electoral votes.

Texas (34), West Virginia (5), Georgia (15), South Carolina (8), Kentucky (8), Tennessee (11), Alabama (9), Mississippi (6), Louisiana (9), Arkansas (6), Wyoming (3), Idaho (4), Utah (5), Arizona (10), Alaska (3), Oklahoma (7), Kansas (6), Nebraska (5), South Dakota (3), North Dakota (3), North Carolina (15)

Tilt McCain states -- 70 electoral votes.

Indiana (11) -- competitive House and GOV races; Obama's college force multiplier; state borders IL

Virginia

(13) -- polling shows McCain with lead; McCain will over performing in Tidewater; Obama will overperform in NoVA. Probably will be tossup by the summer as Mark Warner's popularity will stoke Dem enthusiasm.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/house-gop-looks-for-rebound-week-2008-05-11.html

House GOP looks for rebound week

By Jackie Kucinich 

Posted: 05/12/08 12:01 AM [ET]

Beleaguered House Republicans kicked off a week in which they hope to coalesce around a single agenda with a memo from their leadership that details some of the conference's plans.  The memo argues that

Washington

is broken and that Democrats are taking the country in the wrong direction.  “To the American people, we say that Republicans will deliver 'the change you deserve,'” said the memo, which was sent to every member of the GOP conference. It highlighted a “positive agenda” of issues House Republicans plan to promote this week, although it gave few details.  The memo said Republican Conference Vice Chair Kay Granger (

Texas

) will unveil a blueprint Wednesday that will outline challenges the party believes American families face. It also promised that Republicans would announce a new energy policy the week of May 19.  The memo comes after another tough week for his conference. The GOP lost a Republican seat in a

Louisiana

special election on May 3, and then saw Rep. Vito Fosella (R-N.Y.) ensnared in a scandal after his arrest for drunk driving in

Virginia

. Days after his arrest, Fosella admitted to an affair and an out-of-wedlock child, and it is unclear whether his political life will survive the week.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26462

History Gives Hope to Republicans

by William Moloney

Posted: 05/12/2008

Rockefeller vs. Goldwater in 1964.  McCarthy vs. LBJ in 1968.  Muskie vs. McGovern in 1972.  Reagan vs Ford in 1976.  Kennedy vs Carter in 1980.  Hart vs Mondale in 1984.  As history buffs would know each of the above Presidential primary contests was in varying degree long, expensive, emotive, distracting and a delight to the opposing party which invariably triumphed in November usually by a landslide.  Today Republicans watching the Clinton-Obama slugfest  are weeping- tears of joy.  In a year in which every indicator points to a Republican disaster of potentially monumental proportions, history offers hope to the GOP.  If we date the modern era from  JFK’s assassination and the subsequent cultural –political “blow-up” that was the Sixties our Presidential elections offer some fairly clear and consistent lessons about who wins, who loses, and why.  The first- as described above- is that the party having a truly divisive primary season always loses.  Secondly, beginning in 1964 the winning candidate is always from the Sun Belt:

Texas

(4),

California

(4),

Arkansas

(2) and

Georgia

(1).   Third, the Democrats only win when they nominate a Southerner (LBJ, Carter, Clinton) because sons of

Dixie

“seem” centrist (i.e.  not liberal) and electorally they break up the otherwise solid Republican South.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10295.html

GOP at risk of losing

Deep South

seat

By JOSH KRAUSHAAR | 5/13/08 5:00 AM EST 

TUPELO, Miss. — This northeast Mississippi city, best known as Elvis Presley’s birthplace, has become the site of a desperate last stand by House Republicans who want to keep their already-reeling caucus from truly being all shook up.  After losing two special elections in conservative-minded districts over the past two months, the GOP is now at risk of losing a seat in the heart of the Deep South — and is pouring all its resources into hanging on to it, including a rare campaign trail appearance by Vice President Cheney on Monday.  A third loss in Tuesday’s 1st District special election would prompt new predictions of electoral doom in November, hurt the party’s already flagging morale and usher in a new round of public finger-pointing among an already fractured GOP leadership.  Southern Democrats, turned off for decades by the party’s liberal-leaning leaders in

Washington

, seem to be coming home. This special election comes one week after Rep. Don Cazayoux (D-La.) picked up a House seat in the

Baton Rouge

area that Republicans had held for three decades.  “You offer Southerners a conservative Democrat on the issues and a fiscal conservative, then I think they’re understanding it now,” said Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.), who campaigned alongside Democratic nominee Travis Childers on Sunday. “They were fooled for about 12 years. What happened in 1994 is going to happen in reverse.”  The increasingly frantic hopes of the GOP rest on Greg Davis, the mayor of the

Memphis

suburb of

Southaven

, who is running against Childers to succeed former congressman and now-Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).  The lineup of Republican heavy hitters dispatched in the campaign’s final week illustrates the stakes.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26460

HUMAN EVENTS Exclusive: Boss Hoyer to Take the Stand

by Jed Babbin

Posted: 05/12/2008

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) will testify tomorrow afternoon in an unprecedented hearing before the Select Committee investigating how the Democrats violated House rules to produce a fraudulent result on August 2, 2007.    According to a “notice of hearing” obtained by HUMAN EVENTS, and as explained to us by House sources, Hoyer – along with Cong. Michael McNulty (D-NY) – will be the first members to testify in such a hearing in the history of the Congress.   Members often testify in behalf of bills they introduce or in behalf of presidential nominees they favor (or against those they oppose). But it is only in the rarest occasion do they face potentially hostile questions, in ethics committee hearings. Tuesday’s hearing before the “Select Committee to Investigate the Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007” will be the first time in the history of the House that members of Congress have faced such an inquiry and been subjected to questioning by members of the opposing party.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10262.html

How to end a presidential campaign

By BEN SMITH | 5/12/08 4:22 AM EST 

There are 50 ways to leave your lover, 13 ways of looking at a blackbird, and at least six ways to drop out of a presidential race. With Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign running on empty with little hope of victory, the

New York

senator's allies and independent observers alike have begun to consider which one she’ll choose.   Clinton is balancing a range of considerations: her bank account; her political future and the party’s; her need to win back Obama’s supporters, particularly African-Americans; and her need to keep faith with voters in her own (nearly) half of the party, many of whom have grown to dislike her rival.   And so her options range from swift and gracious (although time is running out on that one) to the political version of Custer’s last stand: taking a losing hand to the Democratic National Convention in August. Each has its benefits and its drawbacks, but together they’re what’s left of

Clinton

’s options.

And hey, it’s working for Ron Paul.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121064130293987055.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy

Carrying Fight Into Convention

Can Bruise Party in November

By JUNE KRONHOLZ

May 13, 2008; Page A6

It was 1976. Gerald Ford, the sitting president, had won 16 of 27 Republican primaries and led in the party's delegate count. But Ronald Reagan carried the nomination battle into the convention anyway.  Why won't some candidates concede?  Hillary Clinton's chances of winning the Democratic nomination are increasingly remote, with even a blow-out victory in Tuesday's

West Virginia

primary unlikely to make much difference. Still, the

New York

senator has vowed to continue campaigning until the nominating process ends June 3 in

Montana

,

South Dakota

and

Puerto Rico

.  Political analysts say office seekers who hang on, even long after the race seems futile, may be hoping to position themselves for a later run or to reshape the party more to their liking. They may be bargaining for the vice presidency, feel pressure from supporters or believe there is an off-chance they will get lucky.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/NATION/27690189/1001

Clinton

's records vanished after warning of 'very serious' problems

By Jerry Seper

Hillary Rodham Clinton's Rose Law Firm billing records, found in the White House residence in January 1996 two years after they had been subpoenaed by government regulators, disappeared shortly after the first lady was warned that the firm's billing problems were "very serious" and the then-ongoing Whitewater investigation could result in criminal charges, newly obtained records show.  More than 1,100 pages of grand jury testimony, investigative reports, memos, charging documents, chronologies, narratives and draft indictments, previously undisclosed but now being "processed" at the Library of Congress, say Mrs. Clinton knew considerably more about the firm's billing problems and their potential ramifications than she publicly acknowledged at the time.  According to the documents, given to the Library of Congress by the estate of Sam Dash, former ethics adviser to Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr, Mrs. Clinton also knew that her former Rose partner Webster L. Hubbell was both the focus of the firm's billing concerns and a federal conflict-of-interest investigation, in which he was suspected of lying in a sworn statement to regulators about the firm's representation of a failed Arkansas savings and loan.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26478

Clinton

Campaign Fights On

by Martha Zoller

Posted: 05/13/2008

Hillary Clinton is mad as hell that she has to fight this long for her assumed and rightful place as the nominee of the Democrat Party for president. People around her cannot believe that the lead she had is gone, the money advantage she had is gone and the experience she brings to the table makes no difference to half the primary voters.  She can’t believe she is in second place with very little hope of winning the nomination.  Mary Matalin, Republican mainstay and wife of Democrat mainstay James Carville, used to think that a good candidate could win out over a bad campaign.  After watching Hillary Clinton’s campaign unravel before her eyes, she’s changed her mind. Even she believed that Hillary was the one to beat.  But with Democrat primary voters increasing by the millions and Obama ahead in the popular vote, earned delegates and now super delegates, it’s pretty testy at Clinton, Inc.  Last week, a

Clinton

insider finally said what they were all thinking, “How could this guy (Obama) with no experience be where he is today.”  They even raised the question, “Do you think

America

is ready for a black president?” The worst part for this insider and the

Clinton

campaign is Obama is presenting himself as the next Jack Kennedy. 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10290.html

Can the sisterhood save Hillary?

By JEANNE CUMMINGS | 5/13/08 5:06 AM EST 

Can the sisterhood save Hillary Rodham Clinton again?  Once again, women are rallying to her eleventh-hour call for aid, especially of the financial sort. But, barring a miracle, the

New York

senator’s historic bid to become the first female president is in its final acts.  So why press forward?  First,

Clinton

’s passionate supporters can ensure that she leaves the presidential stage with dignity, surrounded by friends.

Just a day after the debilitating results in the

North Carolina

and

Indiana

primaries, the

New York

senator sought help at a fundraiser dubbed by her campaign “Generations of Women for Hillary.”   And, as has been the pattern, the 1,500 mostly women who attended came through, not just meeting the goal of generating $500,000 for her campaign but doubling it.  Even the sight of a couple of loud protesters couldn’t erase the obvious relief and excitement of the candidate, who sponsored the event along with her daughter and mother. As the last heckler was escorted out of

Washington

’s Omni Shoreham Hotel,

Clinton

quipped that she hoped “they paid” before they were booted.   Second, her supporters can put the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign on notice that they need to be assuaged before the November general election.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/campaign_creates_a_new_clinton.html

Post-Crucible

Clinton

By E. J. Dionne

May 13, 2008

WASHINGTON

-- Hillary Clinton still has a lot to win this year, but not the presidency and not the vice presidency.  With Barack Obama having effectively secured the Democratic presidential nomination, it is hard for the

Clinton

camp to focus on her successes in this contest. But

Clinton

now possesses strengths she did not enjoy when the campaign began.  She is, more than ever before, her own person, having emerged decisively from the shadow of her husband. Indeed, she did far better when Bill Clinton played a supporting role than when he was out front, notably during the disastrous

South Carolina

primary. There is now a Hillary Clinton constituency in the Democratic Party distinct from the one the former president built.  Cartoonists and satirists mocked Hillary Clinton's incarnation as a fighter for blue-collar voters. Yet those who know her well think the fighting Hillary is closer to her self-image -- as someone who has had to overcome many blows in life -- than the inevitable nominee who wove a web of entitlement around herself and ran on experience, much of which was derivative of her husband's.  The Hillary Clinton of the late primaries dispelled this portrait, campaigning more on empathy than resume, and more on the problems of today's economy than on her husband's economic achievements.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10230.html

Obama's long country road

By DAVID MARK | 5/12/08 6:32 PM EST 

The current high spirits in the Obama campaign could be tempered in coming weeks when