The World Around You

Swing State Project moved two of our Alabama races one position more Democratic on their rankings and Alabama’s 3rd is now on the watch list. It will take some new polling numbers to move AL-03 up even further on the radar, and it’s not an easy district to poll. My strong suspicion is that Josh Segall is only narrowly behind Mike Rogers at this point, and will continue to close on Rogers over the rest of the summer.

# AL-02 (Open): Likely Republican to Lean Republican

Republicans may have gotten their preferred choice for this race in state Rep. Jay Love, but he was battered heavily in a divisive primary against Wiregrass-area state Sen. Harri Anne Smith. Democrat Bobby Bright’s campaign smartly went up with a bio ad in Dothan, his birthplace, this past Wednesday in an effort to sway Smith supporters. Bright will likely have the airwaves largely to himself for a short period - at least while Love refills his coffers from the expensive and nasty primary. Love, who shares a geographic base with Bright, still has a clear edge in this R+13 district, but it is no longer a commanding one.

# AL-05 (Open): Tossup to Lean Democratic

Republicans were initially quite giddy when longtime Democratic Rep. Bud Cramer retired, leaving his R+6.5 district for the taking, but candidate recruitment and fundraising are tilting the landscape in northern Alabama back to the Democrats. Democrat Parker Griffith, a state senator from Huntsville, significantly out-raised Republican Wayne Parker in the last quarter. Coupled with a divisive Republican runoff that drained Parker’s reserves, Griffith now holds a 5-to-1 CoH advantage in this traditionally Democratic district. Griffith has been airing ads portraying himself as a statesman ready to fill the chair of Bud Cramer, and most observers agree that he is a cut above Parker, who lost this district twice in the ’90s.

Swing State Project:: SSP’s Competitive House Race Ratings (7/22/08)

The Josh Segall for Congress campaign launched a site that will be of great use to the citizens of Alabama’s 3rd congressional district in understanding how they have been represented over the last several years by Congressman Mike Rogers. I’ve been very impressed with the Segall campaign throughout this cycle, and this website is yet more evidence that they know what they are doing in bringing down a Republican in a district that leans Republican.

I particularly liked this part of the press release:

“By all indications, Mike isn’t a bad guy, but I do believe that he’s become a part of the system in Washington that puts politics over people. Folks are sick of politics as usual in Washington; they want common-sense solutions to everyday problems. I’ll bring common-sense solutions to Congress, and that’s the choice voters have on Election Day,” Segall continued.

montgomeryadvertiser.com - Segall launches site critical of Rogers’ Record in Congress

…who also had alleged affairs, which became internet fodder. Publius IX does a great job of laying out the two ways the Troy King story could play out…and so far it looks like we are headed down the same path as Sen. Kerry and Alexandra Polier, as opposed to Clinton and Lewinsky.

The writer is 100% correct, until the mainstream media has something to latch onto that they cannot ignore (either a news event or a mid-level news report), we won’t see the story there.

Left In Alabama:: Whence the Troy King Stories?

I understand where Dan is coming from, and respect his change of heart, but I see things a little differently. Part of what blogs do is discuss what people are talking about, no matter the credibility of the information.

There have been many stories over the four years I have been doing this, that broke on the blogs first, and where you had better information in the blogosphere than in the MSM. In this case with Troy King, we had rumors that were bigger than the reality…but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t put the information that we were hearing out there.

Those who claimed they knew the whole truth were overstepping, but most of us were very cautious in saying what we knew (very little) and what we didn’t know (a lot). This is what bloggers do…in Alabama, or anywhere else.

Troy King should not resign | Daily Dixie

The rumor mill has churned long enough that the outline of the truth seems to finally be emerging. As I suspected, the whole homosexual angle was a too good to be true, but it does appear that Troy was caught in a relationship outside of his marriage and divorce is likely. Resignation may or may not be on the table.

Hypocrite he is…

The word on Troy King | Daily Dixie

It can’t be…it’s too good to be true…Troy King and misconduct? Troy King resigning?

I will reserve my dance of joy until it’s official…but my heart skipped a beat when I read this post…thanks for the heads up mooncat.

Left In Alabama:: Attorney General Troy King Resigns?

UPDATE: Thursday morning, and still no official word…maybe it is too good to be true.

Mooncat does a great job of outlining the specifics of the bickering going on in the race for the Republican nomination in Alabama’s 2nd CD. I love every minute of it, because every minute they spend bickering is a minute that Bobby Bright can use to prepare for the fall campaign.

Left In Alabama:: AL-02: Republican Whining

Dan got credentialed for the Republican National Convention…go on Dan! I agree with the approach he wants to take…should be a lot of fun.

Credentialed | Daily Dixie

Josh Segall continues to surprise people with his fundraising prowess. Rep. Mike Rogers is in serious trouble…which is great news for the people of the 3rd District. Alabama has a real chance at having a Democratic majority in it’s congressional delegation, and more importantly adding two strong, competent representatives to its ranks. Replacing Terry Everett and Mike Rogers with Bobby Bright and Josh Segall would be a huge step forward for Alabama and I am excited at the opportunity it presents.

Left In Alabama:: AL-03: Segall Video and Fundraising Tease

Leave it to the Alabama State Department of Education to come up with any reason to not comply with federal requirements…like, gas prices are too high to allow people to transfer out of poor performing schools.

State seeks U.S. waiver on some school transfers- al.com

Rep. Artur Davis is going to run for governor of Alabama…he is leaving no doubt. An interview with Congressional Quarterly on Thursday is just the latest indication of his desires. He has said he will announce his intentions officially in a period of months. And I have said, he will have no stronger supporter than me.

Similarities between Davis and Obama range beyond their membership in the 43-member Congressional Black Caucus.

Davis’s parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother and mother, an elementary school teacher, raised him in the west end of Montgomery. Obama was raised in Hawaii by his mother and maternal grandparents. Both Davis and Obama attended Harvard Law School, where Obama graduated two years before Davis. That is where the two first met.

After a stint on Wall Street, Obama worked as a community organizer on Chicago’s hard-pressed South Side. Davis returned to Alabama, where he served the state as an assistant U.S. attorney.

Each man also lost a 2000 Congressional primary: Davis lost to his predecessor, Democratic Rep. Earl F. Hilliard; Obama lost to current Democratic Rep. Bobby L. Rush . Two years later Davis defeated Hilliard, a five-term incumbent who had accrued little influence and was weakened by ethics scandals; Obama won a seat to the Senate in 2004.

“Both of us ran against veteran members of Congressional Black Caucus,” Davis said. “His candidacy even then was about the right things. Barack Obama ’s story is a story of someone who faced a huge setback at around the age of 40 and managed to come back. No one could have imagined that Barack Obama eight years later would be the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States.”

CQ Politics | Alabama Dem May Make Historic Bid for Governor

This has flown under the radar, but Alabama’s Senator Jeff Sessions is one of a gang of 14 congressional members who have not endorsed or publicly supported Senator McCain in the presidential election. The only other senator in the same position is Chuck Hagel, who has made clear his problems with McCain’s stance on the war.

Republican members who have not endorsed or publicly backed McCain include Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Reps. Jones, Peterson, John Doolittle (Calif.), Randy Forbes (Va.), Wayne Gilchrest (Md.), Virgil Goode (Va.), Tim Murphy (Pa.), Ron Paul (Texas), Ted Poe (Texas), Todd Tiahrt (Kan.), Dave Weldon (Fla.) and Frank Wolf (Va.).

The question must be asked….why is Senator Sessions withholding his support?

TheHill.com - New Gang of 14 won’t back McCain