Good morning folks,
Carl Levin’s Senate seat is turning red. You read that correctly.
Democrats have an expensive problem to solve in Michigan. Instead of Senator Carl Levin cruising to re-election, Democrats now face a very costly open-seat battle, with a very weak bench, in a state that consistently elects Republicans statewide in non-Presidential years.
The Detroit Free Press reports that a poll conducted by Carl Levin’s pollster – EPIC-MRA – reveals that the race is tied and that Lynn Land is both more recognized and more popular than Democrat Gary Peters. Land holds a 28-10 fav/unfav, while 55% of Michiganders don’t know who Gary Peters is. Further, Barack Obama’s job-approval ratings have dropped severely in Michigan, to a 39% positive rating and a 60% negative.
This poll is hardly an outlier. A recent Mitchell Research poll showed Terri Lynn Land leading Gary Peters 39-36% and a July Poll conducted by Denno Research showed a 39-39% tie.
The Michigan Chronicle recently called Terri Lynn Land a “fundraising powerhouse” noting that Republicans are lining up behind the “formidable former GOP Secretary of State who won re-election twice and obviously has mass appeal, including among women voters.”
Further, Republicans are gearing up. Michigan is home to one of the best Republican state parties in the country. In August, a massive grassroots initiative saw volunteers fan out across Michigan, passing out walk cards to spread the word neighbor to neighbor about Gary Peters’ reckless record in Washington. Volunteers reached more than 5,000 homes in just a day, and explained to friends, families and neighbors that Congressman Gary Peters – who represents Detroit – has been invisible while Detroit and its people fight tooth and nail to survive. That fact is that while businesses have closed, jobs have vanished and families struggled, Peters has stood by silently offering no solutions or hope.
Terri Lynn Land is very well positioned to win in Michigan in 2014.
Seize the day,
Brad Dayspring
@BDayspring
Brook Hougesen
@Brook_H
2014 BATTLEGROUND SONAR
(KENTUCKY) Struggling to get Kentucky support, Obama & Reid’s most prized candidate calls on Hollywood liberals to finance campaign
The distractions of Hollywood influence became an issue for George Clooney’s father, Nick, who ran and lost as a Democrat in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District in 2004. His defeat was blamed, in part, on controversy surrounding the help he received from his son. At the time, a spokesman for Clooney’s Republican opponent accused Nick Clooney of relying on his famous son because he “can’t raise the money on his own.” Nathan Smith, who’s hosting the will.i.am fundraiser for Lundergan Grimes, dismissed suggestions that the pop star’s appearance could fuel Republican attacks on the candidate.He noted McConnell has controversial ties of his own to various interest groups, and has also had his own big-money fundraisers in Hollywood and elsewhere. “It’s not like McConnell’s not open to the same attacks. That won’t hold water in Kentucky,” he said.
(KENTUCKY) McConnell leads effort to dismantle ObamaCare
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) submitted an amendment Wednesday evening to the energy efficiency bill under consideration that would delay the health care law’s individual mandate for a year. It would also codify the White House’s one-year delay of the employer mandate, which Republicans believe may be legally murky.
WASHINGTON POST FACT CHECK says McConnell “repeatedly sought to repeal or dismantle the law”; says other claims is an attempt to ”invent a fictional McConnell”
(GEORGIA) Michelle Nunn Rakes in Liberal Special Interest Funds in Washington
Republicans are taking a whack at Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Michelle Nunn for hosting a D.C. fundraiser on Tuesday featuring onetime presidential candidate Howard Dean. ”Michelle Nunn is a vote for the wrong team, so its no wonder Howard Dean is screaming for her,” says the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
(SOUTH DAKOTA) Poll shows Weiland struggling in senate race
We’re more than a year away from the election, but a new poll shows how the race for U.S. Senate in South Dakota is shaping up between two candidates…52% said they were likely to vote for Republican Candidate Mike Rounds. 38% said they were likely to vote for Democrat Rick Weiland. The Harper Poll says the seat is rated one of the two most likely to flip control in the 2014 mid-term election.
(NEW JERSEY) Rand Paul calls on Booker to discuss real issues; less time on T-Bone
Explaining his decision to campaign for Republican nominee Steve Lonegan on Friday, Paul jabbed at Booker as a politician with “an imaginary friend with imaginary problems” — an allusion to stories Booker has told about a Newark drug lord named “T-Bone,” whom he has said he befriended. Booker has described “T-Bone” as an “archetype” of Newark, and according to the conservative National Review the Democrat has told at least one associate that “T-Bone” is a composite figure. “If Cory will introduce me to T-Bone when I get there, I’d love to meet T-Bone. If T-Bone’s not real, maybe we need to get Mr. Booker to talk about real problems,” Paul told POLITICO in an interview.
POLLING BRIEF
CBS-New York Times 9/6-9/8
Should U.S. Take Lead in Solving International Crisis: Yes 45%, No 49%
Should the U.S. Try to change a dictatorship to a Democracy where it can, or stay out? 28% change, 62% stay out
30% favor airstrikes on Syria, 61% oppose
79% say Obama Administration hasn’t clearly explained U.S. goals in Syria
76% say their member of Congress’ vote on Syria will be an important evaluator of performance
ON THE TWITTERS
@jimgeraghty - @JoeNBC Turnout in Colorado special elections were 75 and 60 percent of “regular” 2010 turnout. High for a special election.
@GeorgiaTipsheet - Photo shows Michelle Nunn dining, not watching, during Obama’s address on Syria: http://bit.ly/15QOSpv #gapol #gagop #gadems #gasen
@PounderFile - Good poll numbers for Republicans in the Michigan gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races http://is.gd/FG7ueB
NATIONAL RADAR
(WALL STREET JOURNAL) Lois Lerner’s Own Words
Congress’s investigation into the IRS targeting of conservatives has been continuing out of the Syria headlines, and it’s turning up some news. Specifically, emails we’ve seen between former Director of Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner and her staff raise doubts about IRS claims that the targeting wasn’t politically motivated and that low-level employees in Cincinnati masterminded the operation. In a February 2011 email, Ms. Lerner advised her staff—including then Exempt Organizations Technical Manager Michael Seto and then Rulings and Agreements director Holly Paz—that a Tea Party matter is “very dangerous,” and is something “Counsel and [Lerner adviser] Judy Kindell need to be in on.” Ms. Lerner adds, “Cincy should probably NOT have these cases.”
(ASSOCIATED PRESS) AFL-CIO Steps up Pressure for Health Law Changes
The AFL-CIO is ramping up pressure on the Obama administration to change parts of the health care overhaul law that could impair benefits for millions of union members. The nation’s largest labor federation approved a strongly worded resolution on Wednesday that says the Affordable Care Act will drive up the costs of union-sponsored health plans to the point that workers and employers are forced to abandon them. Some individual unions have complained about the law’s impact for months, but the resolution marks the first time the AFL-CIO has gone on record embracing that view. It comes from one of the president’s major boosters just as the administration is rolling out a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to encourage Americans to sign up for health care exchanges starting Oct. 1.
Health costs likely rising for many self-employed
Costs worry woman, 26, who wants health insurance
Middle class family braces for higher premiums
(DAILY BEAST) Levin: Kerry’s Statements On Syria “Unhelpful”
Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is not happy with John Kerry. Josh Rogin reports. Secretary of State John Kerry, along with other administration officials, has been making statements on the Syria crisis that are “unhelpful” and have muddied President Obama’s case for a strike, according to Democratic Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin. President Obama himself is not responsible for the confusion over his Syria policy and the various explanations of how significant the strike he is planning against Bashar al Assad would be, according to Levin. The Michigan senator said that several staffers, including Kerry and Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken, have said things that have confused and hurt the president’s case, he said.
(BLOOMBERG) Obama Said to Ban New Coal Plants Without Carbon Controls
New coal plants would need to install expensive equipment to limit climate-change emissions under a proposal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is close to issuing, according to people familiar with the plan. The EPA agreed to revise a similar proposal from last year in response to opposition by utilities and coal producers who said it would effectively kill coal as a power source. The new version will be structured differently, though offers little solace to plant operators, according to the people who have been briefed by officials and asked not to be identified before the public release.
(POLITICO) PPP reveals it suppressed Colorado poll
Public Policy Polling admitted Wednesday that it decided to not release a poll earlier this week showing a Colorado lawmaker being recalled by a wide margin, saying the firm did not believe the results. State Sen. Angela Giron was voted out 56 percent to 44 percent, along with the state senate leader John Morse, in a recall election Tuesday night that was triggered by their support of gun control measures. On Wednesday, the left-leaning polling firm released results from a poll it took over the weekend, which showed Giron being recalled 54 percent to 42 percent, a 12-point spread that matched actual results. PPP said it withheld the poll, not believing the margin.