Democrats Worried, Max Out to Lincoln, Dorgan

Thu Oct 22 — 2:32pm

National Democrats are worried about the shifting political landscape in the country. Their concern is seen in the DSCC's recent maxing out to both the campaigns of Senators Lincoln and Dorgan.

Roll Call has more.

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Reid Mishandles "Doc Fix" Bill

Thu Oct 22 — 2:22pm

Numerous news organizations noted bad news for Senator Reid on his mishandling of the "doc fix" bill.

· Las Vegas Sun: “Reid is hyper-skilled at knowing almost precisely how each member of his Democratic caucus will vote on an issue. That is why it left Washington shaking its head Wednesday afternoon when the so-called doctors’ fix bill went down in defeat.”

· New York Times: “The Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, needed 60 votes to proceed. He won only 47. And he could not blame Republicans. A dozen Democrats and one independent crossed party lines and voted with Republicans on the 53 to 47 roll call.”

· Los Angeles Times: “But the setback for Reid represented a warning about the unpredictable road ahead for the far more controversial and expensive propositions at the core of President Obama's healthcare overhaul.”

· Wall Street Journal: “In a defeat for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), who had pushed the Medicare bill, Democratic leaders failed to advance a plan that would have halted years of payment cuts to doctors under Medicare's reimbursement schedule.”

· The Hill: “The setback immediately raised questions among fellow Democrats over Reid’s handling of healthcare reform strategy and gave Republicans an opening.”

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Vitter leads Melancon in latest poll on Senate race

Thu Oct 22 — 12:27pm

Great news for Sen. David Vitter in Louisiana from a statewide opinion poll released Tuesday that shows him with a double-digit lead in his 2010 re-election bid over Democratic challenger Rep. Charlie Melancon.

Senator Vitter had 47.6 percent to Melancon's 35.8 percent, with 16.6 percent undecided, according to the survey conducted last week by Southern Media and Opinion Research of Baton Rouge.

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More Than Half of Nevada Voters See Harry Reid as Weak Leader

Wed Oct 21 — 2:24pm

A new poll out today from the "Progressive Change Campaign Committee," a group dedicated to pushing for government-run health insurance, finds that more than half of Nevada voters see Harry Reid as a WEAK leader. Politico’s Glenn Thrush writes: "The poll, which found Reid trailing both of his possible GOP challengers by single digits, was conducted by Research 2000, the same company that polls for the Reno Gazette and Daily Kos. R2000 used person-to-person interviewers with a statewide sample size of 600 voters. The results have a 4 percent margin of error. When voters were asked 'Do you think Harry Reid is a strong leader or a weak leader?', 52 percent said Reid was 'weak.' A dismal 35 percent had a favorable opinion of the majority leader, who is currently struggling to merge competing health care plans produced by a pair of divergent Senate committees. Fifty-four percent rated him 'ineffective.'"

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Fundraising In Open Senate Races Trending GOP

Wed Oct 21 — 1:52pm

John Mercurio with National Journal reports today that fundraising in open Senate seats is going the Republicans’ way.

"To the many warning signs Democrats face in the 2010 midterm elections, add this: New fundraising reports show Republicans outraised Democrats in the third quarter in all eight open Senate races on next fall's ballot. Reasons for the GOP's success vary in this narrow, but important, category. While it isn't the only indicator of party strength and momentum, fundraising in races without incumbents does offer an unfiltered prism through which to gauge the enthusiasm and organization of each party's base. And for now, by that measure, the GOP's base is more organized and enthusiastic -- at least, about opening their wallets...'I think it's a combination of things,' said Brian Walsh, a National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman. 'One, we have solid, well-qualified candidates. Two, the mood on the ground is trending in the direction of the Republicans, or against the Democrats.... The grassroots is re-energized, and a number of folks who voted for Obama, lots of them independents, are realizing that this is not what they signed up for.'"

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Reid's Woes

Tue Oct 20 — 2:50pm

There's more shady news today about Senator Reid...

The Hill reports on a backroom deal where Reid pressured doctors to “ease up” on their push for medical malpractice reform, which has long been supported by medical professionals but reviled by the trial lawyers who have donated generously to Reid over the years.

Politico offers up an article about the 100k in lobbyist donations that Reid has received.

...and the Las Vegas Sun examines the limited impact of political advertising in Nevada.

Bad news all around for the esteemed Senator!

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Video: Senator Cornyn Calls Out Reid

Mon Oct 19 — 2:03pm

Click below to see a video clip of Senator Cornyn on Face the Nation yesterday where he called out the massive costs associated with the proposed health care bill. more

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Money Winners: GOP Senate Candidates

Mon Oct 19 — 1:57pm

Politico’s Josh Kraushaar looks at the winners and losers in the third quarter fundraising race and at the top of the “winners” list – Republican Senate candidates.

Here's a snippet:

Republican Senate candidates. The political energy unleashed by the August recess turned out to be very lucrative for leading GOP Senate candidates.

 

In every open seat Senate race, Republicans outraised their Democratic opponents—sometimes by lopsided margins. Their strongest showing came in Ohio, where former Rep. Rob Portman has built up a $5.1 million warchest – over three times as much as his leading Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher.

more

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Reid, Biden Tout Stimulus

Fri Oct 16 — 10:00pm

This afternoon Joe Biden and Harry Reid shared the stage together and touted the $787 billion "stimulus" package.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports:

Reid said he's confident the stimulus is helping to spur an economic recovery. He described meeting with five top economic advisers [from around] the world.  "They said the only money in the world is in Washington and you better spend a lot of it or you're going to have the world in a depression," Reid said.  "Was everything we've done perfect?" Reid asked. "No. But I have no doubt what we did has saved the world (economy)."

It’s worth noting that while Senator Reid and Senate Democrats were “saving the world,” Nevada’s unemployment rate has increased since the passage of the stimulus package from 10 percent in February to a 30-year high of 13.2 percent in August 2009.

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Vitter Raises $, Melancon Hangs with Obama

Fri Oct 16 — 3:03pm

The Shreveport Times reports:

Republican Sen. David Vitter has more than twice as much cash on hand as his Democratic opponent, Rep. Charlie Melancon, according to finance reports released Thursday in a race expected to be one of the more competitive Senate showdowns of 2010.....

....The National Republican Senatorial Committee criticized Melancon for touring the New Orleans area Thursday with President Barack Obama. Melancon endorsed Obama in his bid for president in 2008. Obama lost the state to Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

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