U.S. Senate

Congressional Democrats will now try to gather enough votes to impose a different plan from Petraeus' on the President. There’s no reason to believe they'll succeed.  read more »

Rob Portman announced his resignation as President Bush's budget director today, which set off speculation that the 51-year-old Ohioan is preparing to re-enter electoral politics. Portman served six-terms as the representative of the Cincinnati area before joining the administration in 2005, and according to the AP's write-up he made it clear today that he is considering a future bid for Governor or the U.S. Senate.

So which will it be and what are his chances?  read more »

Easy victories can be dangerous to the politicians who achieve them, a lesson that Hillary Rodham Cl  read more »

For reasons of varying comprehensibility, nearly all of the U.S.  read more »

The Democratic Senate leadership is going to be announced in a matter of minutes, and it's likely to be another good day for Chuck Schumer. Schumer told me last week that he would "likely" accept Harry Reid's request that he stay on as chair of the committee to elect Senate Democrats through 2008. --Jason Horowitz UPDATE: It's done. Schumer is now the Vice-Chair of the Democratic Conference -- the third-highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate -- and still head of the DSCC.

Here's part of his statement:

"As a member of the new Democratic leadership, I will have a voice in our policy decisions, our legislative priorities, and the direction of our party. We must make sure the middle class has a strong voice in Washington and there are some very concrete things we can get done for them right away, like restoring the $4,000 college tuition tax credit, and allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices."

Schumer was also promoted to Chair of the Joint House-Senate Economic Committee (JEC).

Continuing its tradition of always picking the statewide winner, New Jersey's Bergen County sided with Robert Menendez over Tom Kean for the U.S. Senate. The result from New Jersey's most populous county:

Menendez 100,359 Kean: 88,460

-- Steve Kornacki

Family problems have plagued KT McFarland's campaign for months, so maybe it should come as no surprise that yet another family scandal has perhaps delivered the knockout blow to her weak campaign for U.S. Senate.

"This past Saturday, my 16-year-old daughter, Camilla, was caught shoplifting from two stores in Suffolk County, NY. She was arrested, arraigned and charged with two counts each of Petty Theft and Possession of Stolen Goods," reads the statement that just dropped in our mailbox. "I therefore am suspending my campaign activities until further notice. I will resume active campaigning only when I am certain that my daughter is okay and getting the help she needs."

Magazines and tabloids have already dedicated plenty of ink to the the abuse McFarland allegedly suffered at her father's hand, not to mention the gay brother she apparently turned her back on as he died of AIDS. We'll see if her campaign can survive this.

(Full statement after the jump)  read more »

--Jason Horowitz

How Joe Lieberman Beat Himself    read more »

Azi reports that KT McFarland is seeking another line to run on. -- Josh Benson UPDATE: From an email from Mike Tracey, "petition coordinator" for the McFarland campaign:

Help Petition for KT!

Thank you for signing up to volunteer for KT McFarland's campaign for US Senate! With your help, we are going to defeat Hillary Clinton and elect KT.

Beginning next Tuesday, July 11th, we will be petitioning to get KT's name on a second ballot line. This petition is extremely important to our election success. In order to do this, we need you to help us obtain signatures from people in your area. If you are able to help us collect signatures in your area, please reply to this e-mail (with your mailing address and phone number so we can send you petitions and contact you) or give us a call at ...

After dropping out of the US Senate race Wednesday, William "The Revolution Is Coming" Brenner has endorsed KT McFarland, at least according to McFarland's website.

But when we reached Brenner, he told us that the news of the endorsement was "not totally correct. I think that both John Spencer and KT McFarland are both excellent candidates."

"At this point in a primary you can't endorse."

He explained that it was all an honest misunderstanding that could have come from his involvement with the Sullivan County committee, which advises him and has for the most part supported McFarland.

McFarland's campaign was taken aback by Brenner's apparent change of heart.

"He sent us the letter yesterday," said press secretary Morgan Ortagus-Dobbs, who faxed over a copy of a letter Brenner apparently wrote to Marc Humbert which states "I think it will take a strong woman of congressional background such as KT McFarland to defeat Hillary Cliton [sic] therefore I am supporting KT. [sic] McFarland and withdrawing my campaign for U.S. Senate."  read more »

A mess.

- Jason Horowitz

So we're back, and it doesn't look as if we've missed too much. (Spitzer's still ahead, right?)

All the action over the last few days, it seems, has been in New Jersey, where the government remains shut down by a staring contest over taxes between the governor and the assembly, a big-ticket U.S. Senate race has turned brutally personal and an Oxford-educated proponent of school vouchers has officially taken over one of the poorest cities in the country.

The one area in which New York stands to forge ahead, as far as the action goes, is in the judicial arena, where the Court of Appeals is expected to produce a decision today on gay marriage. The New York Court of Appeals isn't considered to be quite as liberal as New Jersey's highest court - which is also expected to render an opinion on the subject fairly soon - so the legal and political impact both locally and nationally could be that much greater if gay marriage wins the day.

Any predictions on the decision? On the impact it could have on the statewide races? On how it might affect the upcoming judicial appointments? And on how the New Yorkers entertaining certain ideas about 2008 -- Hillary Clinton, George Pataki, Mike Bloomberg and especially Rudy Giuliani -- might handle it?

-- Josh Benson

RudyBlogger noticed (via this website) the following passage as part of a Rick Santorum bio on Rudy Giuliani's campaign-y website.

Rick Santorum believes in a culture of life. He led the charge in the U.S. Senate to pass legislation to ban partial birth abortion, and also worked to pass the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which recognizes the basic rights of all children born alive.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but in Giuliani's bio on the Solutions America website - and in the section dealing with his record as a public official - there's no mention of his own, considerably more liberal position on the issue.

-- Josh Benson

Westchester businessman Mark Greenstein's campaign for U.S. Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton died today much as it had lived--with few people noticing.

The 42-year old educational test-prep entrepreneur, who described himself as the "non-liberal challenger" for the Democratic nomination, launched his campaign a mere two-and-a-half months ago, on March 31. On that day, he declared his desire "to be a national senator," and vowed to stand up to "sellout liberals" who had "emasculated" the Democratic party. But somehwere along the way, he seems to have gotten tired of standing. Earlier today he issued a release saying he would be returning to his test-prep business full time, the AP reported.

This was not Mr. Greenstein's first political dalliance. In 2000, he ran against Al Gore in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. He got 75 votes.

Alas, Mr. Greenstein, we never knew thee.

- Lizzy Ratner

If and when Queen Latifah runs for U.S. Senate, she'll have the Carolyn Maloney endorsement locked up. Read all about it in People magazine. (Seriously.)

Bill Weld quits the race for governor, reports the Times.

Robert Menendez will face Thomas Kean, Jr. in the New Jersey election for U.S. Senate.

The Post reports KT McFarland will soon be urged out of the Republican primary race for Senate.

Newsday teams up with NY1 on a poll showing Eliot Spitzer ahead by 50 points. —Nicole Brydson

The Times reports on the Republican choice for governor: John Faso.

Robert Menendez opens his campaign for U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

The Post reports that Hillary Clinton and Peter King have sent the first of many New York postcards to Michael Chertoff.

The Daily News reports that a Quinnipiac poll rates President Bush the worst since WWII.

—Nicole Brydson

The Republican primary for U.S. Senate may not be generating all that much excitement, but over at Urban Elephants they are trying to change that by injecting a little more fundraising competition between the candidates.

Scott Sala posts:

UE will run a "Donation Contest" from March 20 to May 30, 2006 - just in time for the GOP State Convention. There is no prize but pride.

Dubbed Urban Elephants Challenge 1, the contest will determine whether John Spencer or KT McFarland will garner more campaign contributions from the faithful readers of UE.

—Nicole Brydson

On Saturday, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson will attend the Women of Color for Change breakfast at Albany's Desmond Hotel, where Eliot will give the keynote speech.

In the city, Libertarian candidates Jeff Russell and Steve Greenfield--both running for U.S. Senate--will discuss peace and war, and the Independence Party holds a discussion on what else? Itself (pdf).

On Sunday morning, the 14th Congressional District Caucus will hear from Eliot at the NYU Medical School, right before he receives endorsements from a number of West Side Officials, including Jerry Nadler, Scott Stringer and Chris Quinn.

Then, up in Albany, John Faso and KT McFarland will address the New York State Young Republican Leadership Conference.

On Monday, John Spencer and KT will face off in a forum at Glens Falls Civic Center and Bill Weld will address the Log Cabin Republicans of New York City.

—Nicole Brydson

Truck driver Merrill Keiser, Jr. is floating a few very controversial ideas in his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Ohio. Controversial is probably the least accurate way to describe his positions, and yes, Keiser is running in the democratic primary. He has said, "he wouldn't be against making homosexuality a felony punishable by the death penalty."

More from the Advocate:

He also suggested making "conversion to Christianity" part of the "war on terror," to "teach Muslims the error of their choice in religion." Keiser added that if a person believes in evolution, he or she "has no rights."

Does this make John Spencer a moderate?

—Nicole Brydson

Just when you thought Spencer had the Senate seat in the bag, a challenger from the center right:

"Nine months ago, my daughter Fiona, a student at the United States Naval Academy, reminded me that service to one's country is both an honor and an obligation. She challenged me to return to public service, to re-apply the skills and expertise I acquired while serving three U.S. Presidents on behalf of our state and nation.

"Today, I accept my daughter's challenge by announcing that I am running to be my party's nominee for the United States Senate from the State of New York. Toward that end, I have formed an exploratory committee, which I expect to upgrade to a full Senate campaign committee in the coming days."

Now we get a few more months, at least, of Hillary saying, "I'd love to engage my challenger, but the GOP really needs to figure things out first."

Also: Will GOPers buy that McFarland's time in the Reagan Pentagon PR apparatus makes her a national-security expert today?

Full statement after the jump.  read more »

In an email to his board members obtained by The Politicker, the head of New York State's leading gay rights group describes Hillary Clinton as a "disappointment" on same-sex marraige, and suggests gays and lesbians stop giving money to her campaign.

In the February 10 email, marked "confidential," Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the influential, well-funded Empire State Pride Agenda, says he's refusing to "lend my name and sell tickets" to a gay-oriented fundraiser for Hillary's reelection.

"Let me begin by stating that I believe Hillary Clinton has served the people of New York well in the United States Senate and that she deserves re-election," he writes. "My vote for Senator Clinton will come despite her regrettable statements on the issue of marriage for same-sex couples and her current support for DOMA."

She is, he writes "a complete disappointment and does not deserve an LGBT fundraiser."

Reached this afternoon, Van Capelle confirmed that he'd sent the email but declined to elaborate on it.

These are the shifting sands of the same-sex marriage issue. A few years ago, Howard Dean was a hero for signing separate-but-equal civil union legislation. A generation of Democrats is basically committed to protecting "traditional marriage," and trying to make up the difference in the politically active, donor-rich gay community with support for a wide range of domestic-partner benefits, along with legislation on everything from hate crimes to AIDS research. And increasingly, that's not enough for gay Democrats.

In that context, Van Capelle's letter marks something of a turning point for mainstream gay rights groups: Marriage is now make-or-break.

"This year Eliot Spitzer, David Patterson, Alan Hevesi, Andrew Cuomo, Mark Green, Sean Maloney and others are running for statewide office and are in favor of marriage equality for gays and lesbians. When our struggle is over, they will be recorded as being on the right side of history and as of now Hillary Clinton will not be with them," Van Capelle writes, adding:

"Supporting an LGBT fundraiser for Hillary Clinton will actually hurt our community. It will send a message to other elected officials that you can be working against us during this critical time and not suffer a negative pushback from the gay community. We have become a community that throws money at politicians and we demand nothing in return. And that's what we get -- nothing. It's the wrong message to send."

In a glass case by a window in Joseph Bruno’s antechamber are three handguns.  read more »

In a glass case by a window in Joseph Bruno’s antechamber are three handguns.  read more »

Ex-Politicker intern Azi, whose own blog is buggy today, notes that Jeanine's favorite qualifier is missing from the latest affirmation of her senate race: "I remain a candidate for US Senate, but I greatly respect the opinion of the county chairs and their confidence in my abilities as a statewide candidate."

Meanwhile John Faso isn't so into this "weighted vote" stuff, calls the 23-23 result a "tie," and adds, "I am enormously grateful for today's victory."  read more »

And this from conservative hopeful Pat Manning to the county GOP chairs down the hall: "All I'm saying is 'go home.'"

From the AP: Albert Pirro issued a statement late Monday afternoon that did not deny the report, but said ''any private conversations I have had were solely intended to support Jeanine's political aspirations.''

All in all, a banner day for one Fredric Uberall Dicker.  read more »

UPDATE: Here are their full statements. Al: "Any private conversations I have had were solely intended to support Jeanine's political aspirations. My wife made it very clear on Friday that she is a candidate for US Senate, and I fully support her decision." Jeanine: "Any discussions my husband may have had were with my best interest at heart. Any other suggestion is ridiculous."

Over on Vinnie Gentile's campaign Web site, the candidate seems to be sharing space with "John. F. Kennedy for U.S. Senate," as portrayed by someone looking quite a bit like union guy and onetime Council candidate Kirk Swanson. Not quite sure what to make of this.  read more »

When asked if she has decided to run for President, Senator Hillary Clinton has a stock response: Sh  read more »

Apprehended again in dubious ethical circumstances, Bill Frist has assured the nation that he is fau  read more »

The Senate has passed a resolution apologizing to the relatives of almost 5,000 Americans known to h  read more »

When four bombs went off in London on July 7, three in the Underground and one on a bus, there was a  read more »

When four bombs went off in London on July 7, three in the Underground and one on a  read more »

Rejoice Steve Minarik. You have a candidate!

CNS News reports that one William A. Brenner has emerged as the "anti-Hillary candidate" for U.S. Senate.  read more »

Ann Lewis, meanwhile, is trembling. Indeed, her latest plea for money for Friends of Hillary includes this:

"We know that our opponents will examine these filings, hoping for any sign of weakness that they can exploit. We can't let that happen! "They may have their 'swift boat ads' ready to launch - but we have something more powerful: your support. With your help, we can demonstrate that we will have the resources to fight back against whatever may be coming our way."

The verdict of the court of public opinion is still out, but the National Arbitration Forum has weighed in on Hillary's side.

New York's junior senator just won the rights to www.hillaryclinton.com away from a cybersquatter.

The arbitrators found that:

"Complainant, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is an internationally known political figure who has received world-wide press coverage since at least 1992 when her husband was elected President of the United States. Complainant is a best-selling author and has written four novels including, 'It Takes a Village: and Other Lessons Children Teach Us,' which was published in 1996 and has sold 622,000 copies, and 'Living History,' which has sold 1.68 million hard copies and 525,000 paperbacks since its 2003 publication. On November 7, 2000, the people of New York elected Complainant to the United States Senate. Complainant's campaign began in 1999 and received substantial media coverage as the top senate race in the country."  read more »

We briefly toyed with the idea of trying to get hold of www.politicker.com through this procedure, but it turns out to cost a few thousand dollars more than we're willing to pay. (The guy who owns that domain would have sold it to us for less, but that would only encourage him.)

Meanwhile, we've worked out a private non-aggression pact with the other Politicker blog, a conservative West-Coast site that still (curses!) beats us on Google.

In the spirit of Andrew Sullivan, we're inaugurating the Brecht Award for ridiculous and/or lame press releases. We hope you'll submit your own favorites as you run across them.

In the meantime, our first nominee is ... Adam Brecht himself, a former Al D'Amato aide challenging Hillary for her Senate seat:

"ADAM BRECHT, U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE, BLASTS SEN. CLINTON FOR PLAYING IN FLORIDA WHILE NEW YORKERS BATTLE SNOW

NEW YORK, January 24, 2005 -- Adam Brecht, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York, criticized Senator Hillary Clinton's decision to spend the weekend in Florida -- first partying at Donald Trump's wedding in Palm Beach, then on to Key West -- while real New Yorkers were socked by a major snowstorm.

We have a snowbird Senator who heads to Florida when the going gets tough in New York," Brecht said. "I guess she doesn't know many of her constituents -- for example, those without heat -- don't have that luxury.

Brecht, 37, spent the weekend in New York, shoveling snow with everyone else."  read more »

We await your nominations for future Brecht Awards!

NY1 News is reporting that Governor Pataki won't challenge Hillary Clinton for Senate next year.

He's not utterly Shermanesque in this exchange, but pretty close:

Pataki: I do not want to be a United States Senator. I have a job that I am very proud to have and very grateful to the people of New York because they've given me this tremendous honor of being their governor.

Carter: So you're stating for the record tonight that you will not run for U.S. Senate?  read more »

Pataki: I certainly have no expectation that I will run for the Senate in 2006 and 2008, or any time thereafter.

Now the field of credible challengers is down to an increasingly unlikely one.

Political Animal, by David Mizner. Soho Press, 293 pages, $24.  read more »

"The frenetic pace of modern life can lead to an obscuring or even a loss of what is truly human.  read more »

During the memorable Democratic primary for the U.S.  read more »

By now, they are-unbelievably-a common sight: New York City police officers carrying heavy weaponry,  read more »

After a colorless, by-the-book campaign that offered little hint of the fiscal perils awaiting the s  read more »

Not so long ago, acertain member of the United States Senate summoned the press to denounce  read more »

The leader of the Democratic Party in the U.S.  read more »

Charles Schumer ducked into his usual seat, 11A, next to the emergency exit on a small, partly empty  read more »

The plague of lawyers that has descended on Florida is hardly a sign of a coming political apocalyps  read more »

So now we know who will be taking Daniel Patrick Moynihan's place in January. Depressed yet?  read more »

The Gentleman from New York: Daniel Patrick Moynihan , by Godfrey Hodgson, Houghton Mifflin, 452 pag  read more »

Sandra Combs, a computer programmer who lives in New Rochelle, N.Y., got an unusual telephone call o  read more »

For the sake of his health and his personal life, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ought to spend some time re  read more »

For all its blowhards, highbrows and mega tuition bills, New York City academia doesn't necessarily  read more »

It's official: The U.S. Senate has a new poster boy for bad behavior. It's Senator Robert G.  read more »