The Fix

Dennis Moore retires

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:51:00 -0500

Kansas Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore will leave the House in 2010, a decision that hands Republicans a golden opportunity for a pickup next year. Brandon Naylor, communications director for Moore, confirmed the news, which was first reported by the Kansas City Star's Steve Kraske, and said that the Congressman would be releasing a statement on his decision later this morning. Moore's decision is an interesting one given that he was being only lightly targeted by national Republicans after weathering a series of brutal battles earlier in the decade. Regardless of the "why", Moore's departure makes his eastern Kansas seat a major Republican target next year. President Barack Obama narrowly won the seat with 51 percent in 2008 and then President George W. Bush carried it by 11 points in 2004. Republicans, surprised by the announcement, were unsure of what the field would look like to replace Moore although the first

Morning Fix: Obama convenes the Cabinet

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:25:41 -0500

1. President Obama meets with his Cabinet this afternoon at a critical time -- on both the domestic and foreign fronts -- for his administration. Obama won a victory over the weekend with the Senate's vote to bring his health care bill to the floor for debate but statements by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) among others on the Sunday talks shows suggest that trouble lurks -- most notably over whether or not a public option will make the final version of the bill (if, of course, there is a final version of the bill). Internationally, Obama's decision on Afghanistan is expected any day -- make sure to read the Post's Mike Shear's terrific piece on the ever-shrinking calendar -- but it has become increasingly clear that the time the president has taken to make the decision has actually complicated things. Wrote the Post's Dan Balz in his Sunday Take: "The

Live Fix Chat: Palin, health care and Bill Simmons!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0500

We chatted live on Friday with Fixistas from around the country about politics, the universe and everything. Among the hot topics: more analysis of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (if that's possible), a look at some of the best Senate races of 2010, and an update on the Fix's quest to become the "homeless man's Bill Simmons". A few of our favorite questions are below. The full transcript is here. Have a great weekend and drink a gingerbread latte for us! Gainesville, Va.: Hello Chris, Thank you for taking my question. Do you think that Sarah Palin is sacrificing a Presidential run in 2012 for the sake of promoting her book and other self interests? I get the feeling that she knows she doesn't have a snowball's chance in 2012 and this book and promotion are a vehicle for generating an income. She does have knack for taking advantage of

Friday Line: Ranking Republican leaders

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:14:00 -0500

The Republican Governors Association held its annual meeting earlier this week in Austin, Texas, a gathering where -- for the first time in recent memory -- the GOP had something to celebrate: the twin victories of Govs.-elect Chris Christie (N.J.) and Bob McDonnell (Va.) earlier this month. Of the gathering, the Post's Dan Balz wrote: "Republican governors wrapped up a two-day pep rally on Thursday with an expression of confidence that the political winds have begun to shift in their direction, thanks to what they called a backlash among many voters against the policies of the Obama administration." Jonathan Martin of Politico quoted Gov. Jim Douglas (Vt.), a sometime-ally of President Barack Obama, insisting that "the American people believe that the folks in Washington are overreaching, that the pendulum is swinging too far." While these sorts of gatherings always take on the feel of a high school pep rally before

Morning Fix: GOP leaders hesitate to embrace Palin

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:45:26 -0500

1. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's (R) repeated refusal to say that Sarah Palin is "qualified" to be president of the United States during an interview Thursday night with "Hardball" host Chris Matthews is illustrative of the problems the former Alaskan governor can -- and likely will -- cause the party. Asked by Matthews whether Palin was qualified -- in the wake of a Washington Post/ABC poll that showed more than six in ten Americans didn't believe she was -- Barbour responded: "Well, constitutionally, she sure is." Despite repeated proddings from Matthews, Barbour would go no further. Why? There's undoubtedly some parochial political concerns involved since Barbour fancies himself a potential candidate in 2012 and doesn't want to be seen offering too fulsome of praise for a would-be rival. But, the broader point is that Barbour, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a past chairman of the Republican National

Senator Giuliani?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:10:00 -0500

Is former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani weighing a Senate bid? Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount of the Washington Post After months of relative quiet regarding the political future of former mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), the New York newspapers have exploded this afternoon with reports that not only has he decided not to run for governor in 2010 but that he plans to enter the Senate race against Kirsten Gillibrand instead. Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Giuliani, released a statement insisting that no decisions -- about the Senate or governors races -- have been made; "When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own," added Comella. According to conversations with several Giuliani insiders, the Mayor has not made up his mind yet although a run for either governor or Senate is not likely. Interestingly, a Senate bid appears

The most important number in politics today

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500

10 That's the number of points separating Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio in their Republican primary fight for the seat of retiring Sen. Mel Martinez (R), according to anew survey conducted by Research 2000 for the liberal Daily Kos blog. Crist leads Rubio 47 percent to 37 percent in the survey, a huge change from January when Crist held a wide 57 percent to 4 percent edge over Rubio (state Attorney General Bill McCollum took 11 percent) in a similar Research 2000 poll. A Quinnipiac University poll released in late October showed a similarly rapid narrowing of Crist's margin from 29 points in August to just 15 last month. That Rubio has made up so much ground without spending any real money on voter contact -- television or radio ads, direct mail etc. -- should be very worrisome to Crist as it seems

The "Going Rogue" tour -- by the numbers

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:57:00 -0500

With so much attention being paid to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's book tour, we decided to put our political nerd cap on -- ok, fine, we always wear it -- and go inside the numbers of where she's stopping and why. All told, Palin is making 31 stops in 25 states. Florida will see the most of Palin (three stops) while she will make two appearances each in Idaho, Indiana, Ohio and Texas. Palin will make not a single stop in populous states like California or Illinois. The conventional wisdom that Palin is largely sticking to Republican-friendly areas is accurate if you look at the 2008 presidential performance of the counties in which she is stopping. (A full list of counties and the presidential results in each are after the jump.) Of the 31 counties, just 11 were carried by President Barack Obama last November. Obama's best performance

Morning Fix: Stupak as Democratic anti-hero

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

1. Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, the author of an amendment to the House health care bill that would ban federal funding from being used for abortions, has become a whipping boy of fellow Democrats on the campaign trail of late. New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes, who is running for retiring Sen. Judd Gregg's (R) seat next November, sent out an e-mail to his supporters Wednesday asking them to sign a petition insisting that the Stupak amendment be stripped from the final bill. (It is not currently in the Senate's version being carried by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.) "This amendment goes further than any other federal law in restricting a woman's right to choose," writes Hodes. "That's why I voted against it and that's why I'm fighting to ensure it is not included in the final bill."Cheryle Jackson, the president of the Chicago Urban League and a Democratic candidate

The most important number in politics today

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:50:00 -0500

48 That's President Barack Obama's job approval rating in the latest Quinnipiac University poll, the first time one of the rare times he has dipped below the critical 50 percent in a national survey since taking office in January. Already too much and too little -- simultaneously -- is being made of the Q poll numbers. Too much in that one poll is just that -- a single snapshot in time that should be seen as a portion of the overall political picture not mistaken for the picture itself. A look back at recent Quinnipiac data suggests not all that much has changed in terms of Obama's standing with the public. Way back in early August, Quinnipiac showed Obama at 50 percent approval and 42 percent disapproval -- numbers that are a near facsimile of the 48 percent/42 percent score in the most recent poll. And, when the Q

Who's the best member of Congress ever?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:13:00 -0500

West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd (D) became the longest serving member of Congress ever today -- marking 51 years in the chamber. That astonishing record got us to thinking about the long history of those who have served in the House and the Senate and who -- among the thousands and thousands who have paced the floor -- is the single best legislator of all time? There are a handful of those regularly mentioned in that conversations -- Sens. Lyndon Johnson (Texas), Ted Kennedy (Mass.) and Henry Clay (Ky.), Rep. Sam Rayburn (Texas) -- but we want to hear the opinions of Fixistas too. Post a video response below or offer your nomination -- and why -- in the comments section. The best video nomination will get its own post later this week. $ (function () { var ytd = new Ytd(); ytd.setAssignmentId("3106"); ytd.setCallToAction("callToActionId"); var containerWidth = 350; var containerHeight

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Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:13:00 -0500

Short Takes: Jindal stockpiling cash for '11

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:45:00 -0500

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. AP Photo/Bill Feig Eyebrows in Washington were arched --if not fully raised -- from a story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune earlier this week that detailed Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) aggressive fundraising schedule in advance of his 2011 re-election race. Jindal spent Monday raising cash in Houston and then traveled to Michigan yesterday to fundraise for that state's Republican party. As the Times-Pic reports, Jindal has kept up a very active travel schedule in recent months, hitting Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Connecticut, New York, California and Mississippi. Advisers to Jindal caution not to read too much (or much of anything) of national import into Jindal's level of activity in recent months, insisting that his only goal is to raise massive amounts of cash for his re-election bid in 2011. Those sources note that while Jindal ended last year with $3.5 million in the bank and

Morning Fix: The sticky wicket of Afghanistan

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:34:31 -0500

1. The sticky policy and political wicket that is Afghanistan is highlighted in two national polls released over the last 24 hours . The two surveys -- one by the Washington Post/ABC and the other by CBS/New York Times -- showed President Obama's approval numbers falling on his handling of the issue and the American people deeply divided on the right course in the country. In the CBS survey, 38 percent approved of the president's handling of Afghanistan while 43 percent disapproved -- a nine-point jump in disapproval since mid-October. In the Post poll 52 percent of Americans believe the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting (as compared to 44 percent who say it was) while there was deep division over whether the president should send a larger number troops to the region (46 percent) or send a smaller force (45 percent). What these numbers make clear is that

IL-Sen: Alexi the unelectable?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:45:00 -0500

Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is "deeply flawed" as a candidate against Rep. Mark Kirk (R) in next year's Senate race and "his nomination would put Barack Obama's former Senate seat in extreme jeopardy for the Democrats," according to a pollster for a rival Democrat. Geoff Garin, who is conducting the polling for former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman, detailed Giannoulias' alleged flaws in a polling memo obtained Tuesday by the Fix. At the center of Giannoulias' weakness, according to the memo, is his family's bank and its ties to disgraced developer Tony Rezko. When the poll sample was read a paragraph of information about Broadway Bank and Rezko -- a paragraph that said the bank had "close financial ties" to the developer, had given him $11 million in loans and and had granted him "preferential treatment" by allowing him to bounce nine checks worth $500,000 -- roughly three-quarters expressed

The most important number in politics today

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

1 That's the number of issue areas where a majority of political independents approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News national survey. Only on international affairs does Obama get majority support with 57 percent of independents offering approval for the job he is doing. The rest of Obama's approval scores among independents on the seven issues tested in the poll range from fair to borderline poor. Forty six percent approve of his handling of "the threat of terrorism" while 45 percent said he has done a good job on the economy. Obama's job approval ratings are weaker among independents when it comes to health care (41 percent), Afghanistan (39 percent) and the budget deficit (37 percent). While Obama maintains a positive job approval among independents (50 percent approve/47 percent disapprove) the broad skepticism toward how he is handling some of