Ari's Blog

Check out this great article in the Las Vegas Sun:

The rules of the political game have changed for Democrats - as evidenced by Tuesday's primary in Connecticut. And Sen. Harry Reid could see it coming 18 months ago.

In Connecticut on Tuesday, party elder Sen. Joseph Lieberman was upset by upstart anti-war millionaire Ned Lamont, with the help of a legion of new activists.

Lieberman was rejected by Connecticut Democrats because he was seen as too cozy with President Bush and the Republican power structure. He seemed oblivious to the partisanship that has gripped Washington since at least 2000, when he was the party's vice presidential nominee.


Today's Washington Post Crossword Puzzle
R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence

"It is vitally important to our national security for us to move away quickly and decisively from dependence on conventional oil and its products, since two-thirds of the world's proven reserves are in the Middle East. The policies in the Clean EDGE bill that encourage advanced vehicles and transportation fuel choice would take us a substantial distance along the path toward that objective's becoming a commercial reality."

Navin Nayak, Program Director, Environmental Alliance

"For the past five years, President Bush and this Congress have pushed an energy policy focused on rewarding big oil at the expense of all Americans. This bill sets things straight by securing America's energy future first and putting big oil at the back of the line."

Tom Buis, President, National Farmers Union   Read More »
According to a new poll by Harris, George Bush's job approval rating has dropped to 29%.

In addition:
"Roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults say "things in the country are going in the right direction," while 69% say "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." This has been the trend since January, when 33% said the nation was heading in the right direction. Iraq remains a key concern for the general public, as 28% of Americans said they consider Iraq to be one of the top two most important issues the government should address, up from 23% in April."
   Read More »
Hat tip to the DSCC

"There're some dumb ideas in this." - GOP Sen. Conrad Burns, overheard as congressional Republicans announced their plan to help cover the high cost of gasoline [Houston Chronicle, 4/29/06 ]

"It just embarrasses me that Republicans are leading the effort, and it's just pure election-year politics." - Rush Limbaugh on the GOP's gas price plan [St. Paul Pioneer Press, 4/29/06]

"No one in Congress has a clue to what is going on when it comes to the oil markets, but [Maria] Cantwell has a better handle on it than anyone else." - Tim Hamilton, a petroleum industry consultant who heads a trade group representing independent gas station owners in Washington state Tacoma News Tribune, 4/30/06]   Read More »
From the DSCC this morning, our first guest blogger at the Candidates Table, Sherrod Brown is leading Mike Dewine:

A Feldman Group poll out today shows Sherrod Brown leading Mike DeWine 45% - 44% while a new Cleveland Plain-Dealer poll out this weekend reveals that less than one out of every two voters surveyed have a favorable opinion of DeWine. DeWine "has a 41 percent favorable rating, and that's always dangerous for an incumbent," said Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research who conducted the P-D poll. DeWine's problems are further complicated by a bad relationship with his conservative base, something punctuated by the symbolic conservative primary challenges he face tomorrow.

In other news, DeWine got slammed for being among Congress' top recipients of oil and gas contributions and for failing to use his post as head of the Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel to probe how oil industry consolidation has led to rising gas prices. In its GOP Senate endorsement, a local newspaper gave DeWine a reluctant endorsement, rebuking him for the state's loss of high-paying jobs, a health care crisis and the collapse of Ohio's public school system.
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