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DEL.ICIO.USAn emerging Obama pattern
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This morning, Politico notes that Democrat Jim Martin wasn’t alone:
In the three Congressional races decided since Barack Obama defeated John McCain on November 4, the president-elect has kept his distance from the Democratic candidates.
While Obama did lend Georgia senate candidate Jim Martin some of his campaign staff, and cut radio ads for both Martin and Louisiana congressional hopeful Paul Carmouche, he has made no personal appearances in any of the races, even as his party stood a chance of gaining a filibuster-proof 60 seat majority in the Senate, and expanding what’s currently a 20-seat advantage in the House.
While there was little recent polling, Carmouche had led Republican John Flemming through much of the race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Jim McCrey in Louisiana’s 4th congressional district.
On Saturday, though, the Democrat fell just 356 votes short.
Even more surprising was the defeat of Democratic Congressman William Jefferson, who was widely believed to the frontrunner in his bid for a tenth term in the House, despite a 16-count corruption indictment.
Jefferson was defeated by Republican Ahn Cao, a 41-year-old moderate Republican and Vietnam refugee.
Comments
By Rarl Kove
December 8, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
I thought this was going to be a story on Mr. Obama’s pattern of appointing Clinton hacks. But Democrat losses work, too.
By Georgia Gal
December 8, 2008 1:04 PM | Link to this
Obama didn’t campaign for these people, in particularly Martin, because they really had very little chance of winning and Obama would’ve been hurt by these losses if he had really gone to bat for them (very much like Clinton and Gore were hurt after they campaigned for Wyche Fowler in ‘92 and Fowler lost in the runoff).
By Georgia Guy
December 8, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
Wasn’t William Jefferson (D-LA) the one that was caught with $90 grand in his freezer? Why would he have been expected to win anything? We republicans shun our indicted members; it is seen a s a feather in the hat for democrats.
By Copyleft
December 8, 2008 3:23 PM | Link to this
That must be why the Alaska race with Ted Stevens was so close.
By Georgia Guy
December 8, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this
The national Republican party stopped funding Stevens’ reelection bid. As did that state party of Alaska and Gov. Plain called for him to step down. Stevens chose to stay in the race. Jefferson, conversely, was still funded by the DNC and the LA Democrat party. There is a difference, Copyleft.
By Lost & Found
December 8, 2008 3:42 PM | Link to this
Guess what else they found in William Jefferson’s, (D-LA) freezer? They found a missing supply of Franken (D-MN) votes. It is the mother lode, from what has been reported.
By Aaron Burr V. Mexico
December 8, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this
Ah yes, those honest stalwart Republicans.
That’s why Republican representatives were praising blackwater as patriots during hearings earlier last year, you know, the ones getting indited?
How about Scooter Libby?
How about Republicans celebrating Oliver North?
Indictment is just as popular with the Republicans as it is with the dumber members of the Democratic party.
By Aaron Burr V. Mexico
December 8, 2008 4:57 PM | Link to this
It is not nice for to call Bill Clinton dumb. I realized that Clinton, rumored to be the smartest man in the world behind only his wife in smarts, would be offended by my previous post. I do realize that they only got Scooter on a trumped up process charge. No Fitzmas for any of us. As for Oliver North, he may have been a bad guy, once. But now he seems to honestly care about this country and her troops. It would also be unfair for me to not mention Tony Rezko , convicted felon, personal Realtor and supporter of Mr. Obama . Anyway, I just want to be fair to President Clinton. Not all indicted Democrat lawmakers are dumb.
By Marv Albert
December 8, 2008 8:26 PM | Link to this
Gawg put the female body on da’ earth for mankind’s pleasure, free the love and bite the nub’.
By someone
December 9, 2008 1:56 AM | Link to this
Jefferson hasn’t had DNC money since he was first indicted, he was even stripped of his committee assignments. Neither was done to Stevens, the Republicans refused to strip him of his Chairmanship, even after he was Convicted!
By someone
December 9, 2008 1:57 AM | Link to this
Jefferson hasn’t had DNC money since he was first indicted, he was even stripped of his committee assignments. Neither was done to Stevens, the Republicans refused to strip him of his committee assignments, even after he was Convicted!