Never watched Bret Baier before. Never will again. Worst. Anchor. Ever.

by a vote of 149-86 for House Majority Leader. Some freak out, while others say no big whoop. Meanwhile GOP elects racist Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) to whip the minority and reelects Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) to run the minority in the House, since that went so well for them last time.

Talk about propaganda…

White House strategist Karl Rove is predicting that the GOP will keep both the House and the Senate in November’s election. Granted, it’s his job to be the sunny optimist and to put a good face on all of the scandal and corruption taking place in the White House and in the Congress. Just remember, this is propaganda. They are scared and they are going to lose their majority in the House and Senate in under 20 days.

For the GOP’s favorite rag, The Washington Times:

White House political strategist Karl Rove yesterday confidently predicted that the Republican Party would hold the House and the Senate in next month’s elections, dismissing fallout from the sex scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley.

At a luncheon with editors and reporters at The Washington Times, Mr. Rove — who is widely credited as the architect of the party’s historic 2002 midterm election gains — said Republicans are beginning to make significant headway in defining their party’s differences from congressional Democrats, especially on national security.

“I’m confident we’re going to keep the Senate; I’m confident we’re going to keep the House. The Foley matter has impact in some limited districts, but the research we have shows that people are differentiating between a vote for their congressman and a member from Florida,” Mr. Rove said, referring to the Republican who resigned last month after his sexually explicit online messages to former congressional pages were discovered.

The crooked GOP leaders are planning something big. There will definitely be an ‘October surprise’. That is why it is so important to call your local campaign office and get to work today!

Maybe they will find Osama on Nov. 5th…I wouldn’t put it past them.

Now that the One Minivan Tour has rolled into America’s Dairyland, it’s worth taking a quick peak at three of the hottest races in Wisconsin this fall.

GOVERNOR: A hard-charging challenge from hard-right Congressman Mark Green notwithstanding, Governor Jim Doyle still leads by a few points according to the latest Republican poll. Democrats won’t be able to rest easy before Election Day, because this one is definitely coming down to the wire.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Democratic Dane County Commissioner Kathleen Falk is one of the talented and articulate players in Wisconsin politics. Nevertheless, Christian fundamentalist Republican nominee J.B. Van Hollen is running a strong race for the GOP. Touting his prosecutorial experience, endorsements from law enforcement (including seven “Democratic” County Sheriffs), and some labor groups, Van Hollen is threatening to become the most reactionary Top Cop in Wisconsin history. A recent poll gives Falk the lead, but this race could also have voters and activists up ’til the wee hours on Election Night.

CONGRESS, 8TH DISTRICT: Democratic Doctor and Businessman Steve Kagen is running a great campaign to pick up a much-needed seat for the Democrats in this Green Bay-based district. GOP Assembly Speaker John Gard is the repugnant Republican version of D.C.’s Denny Hastert and the Culture of Corruption. Among recent shenanigans, John Gard forced anti-death penalty Republicans to be suspiciously absent from the Assembly Floor when voting to place an advisory referendum on the issue on this November’s ballot. One Republican chalked up her absence to a nasty bout of diarrhea contracted at an unnamed pizza parlor! John Gard needs to go down, and various polls have suggested Kagen has a small lead.

All of these swing state races will be very close, so if your wallet isn’t already empty for this cycle, help these Wisconsin candidates win today! And stay on the lookout for the Wisconsin episode coming soon.

By: Alex Madorsky

There were many interesting races in Wisconsin last night.

Brutal primaries on both sides of the aisle in the Attorney General’s race have been resolved. Incumbent Democrat Peggy Lautenschlager lost renomination to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. In addition to other controversies, Lautenschlager plead guilty to driving while intoxicated in 2004. A very sad end to a promising political career, but Democrats should be excited by Kathleen Falk’s experience and strong progressive record. Former U.S. Attorney J.B. Van Hollen, a hard-core Christianist who has likened abortion to pre-meditated murder, defeated immigrant-bashing Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher for the GOP nomination. Van Hollen will try to paint Falk as an out-of-touch Madison liberal with no experience as a prosecutor.

In the Green Bay-based 8th Congressional District being vacated by Mark Green to run for Governor, Dr. Steve Kagen defeated former Brown County Comissioner/ex-Republican Nancy Nussbaum and businessman Jamie Wall in the Democratic Primary. Kagen will battle Assembly Speaker John Gard, Wisconsin’s own Tom DeLay, for the seat in November. The NRCC anticipated Kagen’s victory, as they are already running sleazy, misleading attack ads against him. Kagen’s outsider message and career as an allergist and businessman should compare favorably to John Gard’s life as a career politician; Gard has never held full-time employment outside of the State Capitol’s walls. Although the district leans Republican, this is a great opportunity for Democrats to win a new House seat in November.

By: Alex Madorsky

Nancy Pelosi = bad ass?

Time Magazine writes a great profile of the woman who may just be the Speaker of the House in a couple of months. Pelosi has been an outspoken leader for Democrats and has, it seems, mastered the inside legislative strategy in the U.S. House.

From Time Magazine:

The 66-year-old San Francisco lawmaker is an aggressive, hyperpartisan liberal pol who is the Democrats’ version of Tom DeLay, minus the ethical and legal problems of the former Republican House leader. To condition Democrats for this fall’s midterm elections, she has employed tactics straight out of DeLay’s playbook: insisting other House Democrats vote the party line on everything, avoiding compromise with Republicans at all cost and mandating that members spend much of their time raising money for colleagues in close races. And she has been effective. House Democrats have been more unified in their voting than at any other time in the past quarter-century, with members on average voting the party line 88% of the time in 2005, according to Congressional Quarterly. That cohesion enabled Democrats to hasten President Bush’s slide in the polls when they blocked his plan to reform Social Security by allowing retirees to eschew guaranteed benefits in favor of private accounts. Bush’s approval rating remains depressed–38% in a TIME poll last week–and the Democrats are in their best position to win the House since Republicans took control of it in 1994.

If Democrats are successful in November, it will be mostly the result of Americans’ increasing frustration with the Iraq war and with the perception that Bush and congressional Republicans have bungled everything from Terri Schiavo to Hurricane Katrina. But Pelosi has made sure Democrats didn’t break the Republicans’ fall. And if Democrats win back the 15 seats they need to form a majority, Pelosi will be richly rewarded. She would almost certainly become the first woman to be House Speaker.

Let’s all work to make sure that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are able to take control of the House in 2006.

Congressman Dave Obey is a Wisconsin original. Active in Wisconsin politics since his college days in the late 1950’s, Obey speaks to voters in an unvarnished style that originated before the ascendancy of professional political consultants and spin doctors. The name of his campaign committee says it all: A Lot of People for Dave Obey. First elected to Congress in a 1969 Special Election, Dave Obey has become overwhelmingly popular in a competitive district that stretches from his hometown of Wasau all the way to the Minnesota border and Wisconsin’s beautiful Northwoods; no Republican even bothered to run against him in 2004. Dave is also a mean bluegrass-harmonica player.

Obey is never afraid to speak the truth about the corruption and incompetence of his House Republican colleagues. He’s in a position to be a great reformer as the Chairman-In-Waiting of the powerful House Appropriations Committee if Democrats can recapture the House in 2006. Now Obey is barnstorming the country with Democrats like Iowa 1st Congressional District nominee Bruce Braley, stumping for a hike in the federal minimum wage without sham Republican tax cuts added on.

House Republicans, especially those on the Appropriations Committee, have turned the important process of funding government programs into a means of self-enrichment and influence peddling. Dave Obey would be an Appropriations Chairman Americans can be proud of. Just another reason its time for a change this November.

By: Alex Madorsky

From the Cincinatti Enquirer via Political Wire:

Seems like the most famous Democratic Iraq war vet, Paul Hackett, isn’t ready to hang up his boots yet. Rumors are swirling that Hackett could jump in the race to unseat Rep. “Mean” Jean Schmidt, who narrowly defeated him in a special election last year. Her Democratic challenger, Victoria Wulsin, might willingly bow out, since Hackett has stronger name recognition.

Schmidt–dead last in Congressional seniority–is best known for calling decorated Marine and sixteen term Congressman Jack Murtha a coward on the House floor. Needless to say, that didn’t go over very well.

In retrospect, Hackett should have been in this race ever since the special election rather than flirting with a Senate primary. This is an exciting prospect.

Chris Bowers over at MyDD has done his first comprehensive assessment of the 2006 House Congressional races and he has high hopes for Democrats. In Part I, he turns to 12 seats (AZ-08, CA-50, CO-07, CT-02, CT-04, FL-22, IA-01, IN-09, KY-04, NM-01, PA-06, and TX-22) where the Democratic challenger leads in cash and in the polls. While Chris might be just a bit optimistic, he believes we could pick up all 12 seats.

If Democrats move a national vote deficit of 2.5% to an advantage of 9.5%, there will not be a single seat that they won in 2004 that they will lose in 2006, barring some major scandal or something. The election environment could change, of course, but this forecast is for right now. I forecast all twelve of these seats switching to D’s, and no Republican pickups at all. That would make the House 220-215.

In Part II he also discusses 8 races (CT-05, IL-06, MN-01, NV-03, PA-08, OH-01, OH-15, and WA-08) where help from the netroots, the blogosphere, and grassroots fundraising could make the difference. There are some tremendous candidates here so please go read these valuables posts and consider sending some money towards these Democratic Congressman-to-be. You can even start on our Get Involved page.

Winning these first 12 seats combined with the final 8 would put Democrats in control of the House, with subpoena powers and the ability to once again move our national agenda in a positive direction.

On a side note, stay tuned for Nick Lampson who is running against Tom DeLay in the Texas 22nd on DoubleSpeak very soon.

in quest to replace Tom Delay as House Majority Leader. Yes, we like his name. House Republicans seemed to have problems as there were more votes cast than members on the first ballot.