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What a day for DoubleSpeak! This morning we scored an interview with Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia and were able to be among the first people to ask him about the Washington Post’s reports that he sits atop Senator Barack Obama’s shortlist for Vice-President.
We’ve posted over at HuffingtonPost’s OffTheBus but wanted to give some love to all you DoubleSpeakers out there too. Here’s the recap as described on the HuffPo:
Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia woke up this morning to a new reality. He is, as reported by the Washington Post, on the short list to be Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate.
Kaine’s monthly radio appearance to discuss local issues pre-scheduled for today on WTOP radio in Washington, DC, was cast in different, higher intensity light. Kaine was joined by his colleagues DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.
It was quite a scene with a catered buffet (which included an omelet station) and a throng of reporters waiting to get an answer to the question of the day: will Kaine be Obama’s Vice-Presidential pick?
Immediately following the radio broadcast, we were able to get a few minutes with the Governor and ask a number of questions about his personal reaction to the attention he’s receiving and to get his response to Sen. McCain’s recent attacks on Sen. Obama’s overseas trip.
Kaine on McCain’s campaign:
“It’s just desperation. They’re just looking for a handle to grab on and slow the momentum of this bus down. And, it’s a different strategy every couple of days. It really has the air of desperation about it.”
Kaine on Vice-Presidential Speculation:
“…I’m not going to make the case for myself because that’s not why I’ve endorsed Senator Obama…”
“And, it still seems unlikely to me, it’s nice being mentioned. My Mom likes it, you know, but look, I got on board in February of ‘07 because I knew the country needed a change in direction and from a good Democratic field– I thought the field was a good field– he just struck as the guy who could change the direction of the nation. I’m just so gratified by the way the campaign has been run and the chance we have nationally but also in Virginia.”
“It’s a little surreal. It’s surreal to be mentioned and again it’s nice to be considered but I know there’s a lot of folks they’re looking at– there’s a lot of different skills and attributes that they have to weigh– personal, geographic, political — a whole series of things. But, you know, I have grown to have tremendous confidence in Barack’s judgment, in the judgment of his team, in very hard moments along the campaign, you know, I’ve kind of been with him when things were going well and not so well but they’ve always, in a cool and deliberate way, made a good judgment, and I have no doubt that the pick they make is going to be a strong one.”
A very special thank you to our talented photographer Kate Sokolov who negotiated her way through the gaggle of reporters to get some great pics. We also want to thank Governor Kaine’s staff for allowing us great access during the WTOP interview and for granting us one of the only one-on-one interviews of the morning.
Inaccurate sample ballots describing Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Senate candidate Michael S. Steele as Democrats were handed out to voters in at least four polling sites in Prince George’s County this morning.The ballots were handed out by people who said they arrived by buses this morning from Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Erik Markle, one of the people handing out literature for Ehrlich, who is seeking reelection, and Steele, the current lieutenant governor who is campaigning to replace retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D), said he was recruited at a homeless shelter in Philadelphia.
A recently distributed guide for Republican poll watchers in Maryland spells out how to aggressively challenge the credentials of voters and urges these volunteers to tell election judges they could face jail time if a challenge is ignored.
Democrats said yesterday they consider the handbook, obtained by The Washington Post, evidence of a Republican effort to block people from voting Tuesday.
“The tenor of the material is that they are asking folks, if not directing them, to challenge voters,” said Bruce L. Marcus, an attorney for the state Democratic Party. “It’s really tantamount to a suppression effort.”
Advocacy groups including the National Campaign for Fair Elections, Common Cause and the NAACP, as well as a George Washington University professor who is an expert on voter suppression, agreed with that assessment.
This really makes me sick. The Republican Party spends more time and money trying to suppress our votes than they do discussing the issues and asking for support. I just hope the eyes of the world are watching on Tuesday in Maryland and around the country to ensure their underhanded tactics are uncovered.
I must say, Lt. Gov Michael Steele has had some clever ads. Most recently, he’s blanketing the airwaves with his “puppy” ad.
Well, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) slapped him down today with a great response ad. I am not sure on the size of the ad buy, but let’s hope this is being seen all over Maryland.
Tuesday’s primary election night in Maryland lasted into the wee hours of the night, but it is now official: Congressman Ben Cardin is the Democratic nominee and will take on Lt. Gov. Michael Steele in November’s general election.
Cardin defeated former Congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume to win the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes. Check out DoubleSpeak’s recent interview with Representative Cardin.
DoubleSpeak will follow this race intensely and we will bring you up-to date news, polls and analysis as we charge towards November.
“I know that we are united,” Cardin told the Associated Press. He said he and Mfume “ran a campaign that wasn’t about our election, it was about November’s election. We need to change the direction of the country. We had two people running who shared the same commitment.”
Mfume had appeared before his supporters shortly after 1:30 a.m. and all but conceded the race, calling Cardin his friend and saying that “he’ll be a damn good senator.”
Greg Giroux from Congressional Quarterly wrote up a great primary day primer on Political Wire. I’m running around like a mad-man today, so in the interest of time, I tip my hat to the good people over at Political Wire and encourage everyone to check out their great analysis. DoubleSpeak will have election night coverage later this evening and into tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.
Most of the remaining November matchups for governor, senator and U.S. House will be set Tuesday, when nine states will hold primary elections: Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
The marquee matchup is the Republican Senate primary in Rhode Island, where Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who frequently bucks GOP leaders, faces a stiff challenge from Cranston mayor Steve Laffey, who is more conservative. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is backing Chafee on the grounds that he is the only Republican who could possibly prevail this year in Rhode Island, which usually votes Democratic. Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island Attorney General, is expected to easily win his party’s primary.
The other major Senate primary Tuesday is in Maryland, where Democrats have a large field of candidates in the race to succeed retiring five-term Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes. Rep. Ben Cardin and former Rep. Kweisi Mfume are the best-known Democrats, while Republicans are behind Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. In the contest for governor, Republican incumbent Bob Ehrlich and Democrat Martin O’Malley, the mayor of Baltimore, are unopposed in the primaries. In Cardin’s Democratic-leaning 3rd District, the crowded Democratic field includes state Sen. Paula Hollinger, former Baltimore health commissioner Peter Beilenson and lawyer John Sarbanes, who is the retiring senator’s son. In the 4th District, which is anchored in inner suburbs of Washington, D.C., Democratic Rep. Albert Wynn faces a primary challenge from lawyer Donna Edwards.
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Rep. Ben Cardin, Democratic Candidate for Senate
Maryland 3rd Congressional District
David Wasserman, Editor, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball
University of Virginia’s Center for Politics
What a difference a poll makes. Two polls, same race, very different results.
A recent Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies poll had Congressman Ben Cardin leading Kweisi Mfume by an impressive 13 points. However, a new Survey USA poll just released today has Mfume up by 4 on Cardin.
Hmmm, we’ll find out soon enough who will win this critical primary in Maryland. Check out DoubleSpeak Episode Eight featuring an interview with Mfume and stay tuned for Episode Nine which will feature Congressman Cardin.
As I sit here and post, I’ve seen two Steele ads. The Lt. Governor will be tough to beat and Democrats in Maryland are going to have to coalesce quickly and work hard to win in November.
There is an interesting dynamic playing out in Maryland’s 4th district. Al Wynn (D), who has represented the district since 1993 is being challenged by a Donna Edwards (D), a political newcomer who is a very solid candidate and who has been steadily gaining momentum ever since she whooped Wynn in a one-on-one debate some weeks back.
This morning, Donna Edwards was endorsed by the Washington Post. Please take a moment to read the endorsement and send it around to as many Marylanders as you can.
Excerpt from Washington Post Endorsement:
On the war in Iraq, Ms. Edwards has scored points by attacking Mr. Wynn as Maryland’s Joseph I. Lieberman — a supporter of the war portrayed as too close to the Bush administration. Mr. Wynn backed the war at the outset, but he has since recanted, saying he was misled by bad intelligence. More to the point of today’s debate, both candidates are calling for a U.S. withdrawal, a scenario that we believe would leave chaos in its wake.
Mr. Wynn insists he has been a successful pork-barrel politician; we suspect Ms. Edwards, razor-sharp and relentless, would be at least as effective. We disagree with her on some important issues, but we are convinced she would be the more forceful, principled and effective representative. And while her insurgent candidacy is an uphill battle, it should put Mr. Wynn on notice that voters expect quality representation in Congress, not just a local political boss.
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Kweisi Mfume, Democratic Candidate for Senate
Maryland
