2010 Elections, Political News

The National Republican Senatorial Committee today launched a new ad attacking Sen. Michael Bennet as a liberal tied with President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, bringing its independent expenditures total in Colorado to more than $4 million. In a twist, the NRSC ad on behalf of Weld Co. District Attorney Ken Buck uses clips from the Denver Post’s Oct. 15 endorsement of Bennet over Buck. While the newspaper concluded Bennet was the better option among the two, it took Democrats to task for moving “the country to the left.”

Read more:
With New Anti-Bennet Ad Starring Pelosi And Obama, NRSC Tops $4M In CO Spending

Before introducing President Barack Obama at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser in Minneapolis Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) bemoaned the massive amount of money that shadowy conservative third party groups have poured into this year’s election. “Everything was going great and all of a sudden secret money from God knows where – because they won’t disclose it – is pouring in,” Pelosi told about 100 donors at the fundraiser, according to a White House pool reporter in attendance. The fundraiser, held at the 119-year-old Van Dusen mansion on the National Register of Historic Places, was expected to raise $600,000, Democrats said. Guests dined and VIPs were greeted by Obama in a photo line for the cost of $50,000 per couple.

See original here:
Nancy Pelosi Bemoans "Secret Money From God Knows Where"

President Barack Obama will hit Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois and Ohio in a final election weekend blitz, Democrats announced this morning. The president will help incumbent Democrats in top Senate and gubernatorial races before heading back to Washington to wait for election returns Monday Nov. 1 and on Election Day. Next Saturday Oct. 30 — as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert hold rallies on the National Mall — Obama will stump for Democrats in Philadelphia, Bridgeport, Conn., and Chicago. Sunday Oct. 31, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will hold a rally in Cleveland. The idea is to help fire up the Democratic base in hopes of high turnout, and also to shore up support in key battleground states that will make the difference in 2012 during Obama’s reelection campaign. Obama was most recently in Seattle (see Kyle Trygstad’s report from the ground here ) campaigning for Sen. Patty Murray. He’ll stump today in Nevada for Majority Leader Harry Reid and in Los Angeles for Sen. Barbara Boxer this weekend.

Go here to see the original:
White House Plans Campaign Blitz On Final Weekend

President Barack Obama is gearing up for an exhaustive campaign schedule over the next two weeks that includes 17 events in nine states, as well as his first campaign appearance with his wife since 2008. On Friday, Obama will head to Wilmington, Del., for a fundraiser for Democratic Senate candidate Chris Coons, who is running for the seat vacated by Vice President Joseph Biden. The president will travel to Boston on Saturday, where he will attend a rally and fundraiser for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. On Sunday, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will headline fundraisers together in Cleveland and Columbus. The Cleveland event is a fundraiser for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and the Columbus fundraiser is for the Democratic National Committee. The president and first lady will also attend a DNC rally in Columbus, which will mark the first time they have campaigned together since 2008. On Oct. 20, Obama will head to Portland for a fundraiser and rally for Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Link:
Obama Gets Ready for Two-Week Campaign Dash

President Barack Obama stumped for Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat vying this November for Obama’s former Senate seat, on Thursday evening in Chicago. The fundraiser at the Drake Hotel and a dinner for Giannoulias later in the evening at a private Chicago residence were expected to raise up to $800,000, which was to be split between the Senate candidate’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to pool reports. Giannoulias introduced Obama to the crowd of about 400 as “my friend, my mentor, one of the greatest fighters I’ve ever encountered.” The president returned the compliment and encouraged the crowd to get out and vote. “Alexi is my friend. I know his character. I know how much he loves this country. I know how committed he is to public service,” he said.

View original post here:
Obama Revs Up Chicago Crowd for Giannoulias

Louisiana state Rep. Cedric Richmond (D), who is seeking to knock off Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R), will feature President Barack Obama in his first general election campaign commercial on Sunday. Richmond’s new ad is set to run during the New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers football game that will appear locally on Fox. Obama will emphasize Richmond’s commitment to the New Orleans community and his record in the state legislature in the ad, according to a release from Richmond’s campaign. “New Orleans needs Cedric Richmond in Congress, and so do I,” Obama says in the ad.

The rest is here:
Richmond Features Obama in First Ad

President Barack Obama on Saturday reached out to his African-American supporters by invoking the “foot soldiers” of the civil rights movement during a speech aimed at motivating his base ahead of the November elections. “Every time we’ve made epic change, from this country’s founding to emancipation to women’s suffrage to workers’ rights, it hasn’t come from a man. It’s come from a plan. … That’s what we need again,” Obama said at the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner in Washington, D.C. “I need everybody here to go back to your neighborhoods and your workplaces, to your churches and barbershops and beauty shops. Tell them we have more work to do. Tell them we can’t wait to organize. Tell them that the time for action is now,” he said. The president acknowledged that many people “may not be feeling that energized or that engaged right now” when it comes to voting in the midterm elections. But he warned that Republican gains in Congress would undercut the goals he shares with the CBC. Looking back over the past year and a half, Obama praised CBC members for their role in a “historic legislative session” and said they have helped to deliver some of “the most significant progress in a generation.” But Obama emphasized that more work needs to be done to boost the economy, particularly given how the recession “came down with a particular vengeance on African-American communities.” — Jennifer Bendery

Go here to read the rest:
Obama to CBC: ‘Time for Action Is Now’

The same day he stumped for Democrats in Connecticut, President Barack Obama formally endorsed state Rep. Bryan Lentz in Pennsylvania’s 7th district, which is among the most competitive races in the state and largely considered a bellwether for other swing districts across the country. Lentz is facing former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan , a top Republican recruit in the suburban Philadelphia district. Meehan has outraised Lentz this cycle and reported a $300,000 cash-on-hand advantage at the end of June. “With so much still left to be done, and too many families struggling to get by, we need to keep America moving forward — which means I need you to support Bryan Lentz for Congress,” Obama said in a statement released by the campaign. “You can go door to door to ask folks to support Bryan. You can make calls to voters in your area, and make sure they get to the polls. And you can spread the word about the importance of voting for Bryan Lentz to your family, friends, and neighbors.” At this time, the endorsement was limited to the statement. The president has no specific plans to visit the district on Lentz’s behalf, although “we would absolutely welcome his continued support if the White House offered it,” according to Lentz spokesman Sean Coit. “I’m extremely honored by President Obama’s endorsement,” Lentz said in a statement. “After focusing my campaign on job creation and economic development, my first priority as a member of Congress will be to work with the President and other members of Congress to get our economy back on track.”

Continued here:
Obama Backs Lentz in Pennsylvania Open Seat

Rep. Scott Murphy (D) would easily defeat Republican challenger Chris Gibson if the election in upstate New York’s 20th district were held today, according to a Siena College Research Institute poll released Friday morning. Murphy earned the support of 54 percent of likely voters in this swing district, while Gibson, an Army veteran, garnered 37 percent, based on a survey of 603 likely voters taken Sept. 12-14. The poll had a 4-point margin of error. That’s despite what the pollster calls “a sizable enrollment edge” for Republicans in a district that President George W. Bush won by 8 and 7 points in 2000 and 2004 respectively. However, President Barack Obama carried the district by 3 points in 2008. Murphy won this seat by a little more than 700 votes in a 2009 special election to replace now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D).

Read this article:
Poll: Murphy Has Large Lead Over Gibson in N.Y.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) may not be ready to announce whether he will run for Chicago mayor, but he is already talking tough about taking on another potential candidate — Rahm Emanuel. “I know what it takes to compete against Rahm,” Jackson said Thursday of President Barack Obama’s chief of staff. Jackson said he knows Emanuel, the former House Democratic Caucus chairman, “very well” and ran through a laundry list of past campaigns that he has watched Emanuel run. These included Congressional campaigns — “some with positive messages, some with negative messages” — and presidential campaigns for both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton, Jackson said. “I saw these guys dissect people and then reinvent them and then take people who woke up one day thinking they were this way and went to bed knowing they were something else. So these guys are professionals,” Jackson said.

Excerpt from:
Jackson Jr.: I Know What It Takes to Run Against Emanuel