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Election 2014 Tag

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 10, 2014 9 Comments
Even with the DSCC's withdrawal of their $1.8 million ad buy for Mary Landrieu, the bayou state continues to be inundated with campaign ads. Greg Giroux of Bloomberg Politics highlighted two ads. The first, an ad by Freedom Partners Action Fund. Funded by the Koch brothers, Freedom Partners takes aim at Landrieu's campaign contributions that have benefited the anti-energy crowd and worked against Louisiana's economic intersts: The second is an ad released Sunday by Landrieu's campaign. Giroux explains:
Landrieu introduced an ad Sunday that makes Cassidy look bumbling as it accuses him of voting to "cut Social Security benefits." It refers to Cassidy's vote in April for a budget blueprint by the Republican Study Committee, a group of anti-spending lawmakers, that would balance the budget in four years rather than the 10 called for under a proposal by Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan. The RSC plan failed on a 133-291 vote.
Ironically, the ad that tries to portray Cassidy as "incoherent" is itself, incoherent. Take a look:

Posted by Casey Breznick on November 09, 2014 3 Comments
It's been nearly a week since the Republican midterm election wave---(see also, tsunami, deluge, shellacking, take your pick)---so I think it's appropriate to reflect on some key House races we've been covering since the summer. First up is Carlos Curbelos's successful flipping of Florida's 26th district out of the hands of Democrat Joe Garcia, a tried-and-true liberal Democrat and right-hand man to the Obama-Pelosi-Reid political agenda. Curbelos is easily described as a moderate Republican whose stance on immigration in particular is a little questionable, but overall seems to be on board with the minimize-government-maximize-freedom conservative brand. Here's an excerpt from Curbelo's victory speech:
“We are celebrating an electoral victory, but we cannot forget that the American people remain frustrated and disillusioned with their government. Here in our community, and throughout the country, Americans are seeking leaders who will put the cause of a stronger, greater nation before their personal political interests.”
This GOP pickup was key considering that in 2012 the district flipped in the opposite direction. The original GOP House Rep. for FL26, David Rivera, was defeated by Garcia in 2012 while he was in the midst of a campaign finance scandal. Curbelos surged from a unknown Miami-Dade School Board Member in a lean Democrat district to clinching 51.50% of the district's votes. Of course, the question is whether Curbelos won this election or whether Garcia simply lost, particularly because of his affiliation with President Obama.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 08, 2014 15 Comments
Louisiana has some crazy election rules and so rather than a decisive Cassidy victory Tuesday night, the battle for the bayou Senate seat will drag on for another month. December 6 to be precise. Things have probably looked better for Landrieu. Two days ago, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) decided to cut some of their ad buys for Landrieu. Politico reported:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is canceling at least some of its advertising reservations for Sen. Mary Landrieu ahead of the December runoff in Louisiana.

The committee canceled buys planned from Monday through December 6 in the Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans markets, three sources tracking the air war told POLITICO.

“Mary Landrieu is a proven run-off winner and we support her 100 percent,” said DSCC spokesman Justin Barasky. “We are going to make ongoing determinations on how best to invest in the race. We made the initial reservation when there were concerns that the rates would skyrocket but they have stabilized, giving us more flexibility to make week-to-week decisions.”
The DSCC made a similar move in the race between Alison Lundergan Grimes who was looking to unseat Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell. They pulled ad buys in mid-October. McConnell went on to win by more than 15 points. Yesterday, someone in Landrieu's camp thought it was a good idea to hold a press conference, print out signs, and demand to know where Republican challenger, Bill Cassidy was during the rebuilding of the VA hospital following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And thus the "Where Was Bill" campaign was launched. ... only to crash moments later:

Posted by New Neo on October 22, 2014 9 Comments
Ouch, this must hurt:
President Obama delivered a blow to Democratic Senate candidates looking to distance themselves from his flagging approval ratings Monday... “The bottom line is though, these are all folks who vote with me; they have supported my agenda in Congress; they are on the right side of minimum wage; they are on the right side of fair pay; they are on the right side of rebuilding our infrastructure; they’re on the right side of early childhood education.” Obama went on to say that his feelings weren’t hurt by Democrats who were reluctant to campaign with him. “These are folks who are strong allies and supporters of me, and I tell them, I said, ‘You know what, you do what you need to do to win. I will be responsible for making sure our voters turn out.’” The president’s remarks appear tailor-made for Republican attack ads in states like Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Kentucky and Alaska, where GOP candidates have painted their Democratic opponents as rubber stamps for the administration’s policies.
What's going on here? Does Obama want those Democrats to lose? There are three possibilities. The first is that he doesn't realize how toxic he's become. He's isolated in the White House with his devotees, and that plus the depth of his narcissism protect him. Long story short, he actually thinks these sorts of statements are helpful. The second is that he's just trying to rally his base and get them to vote, saying (wink, wink) that these candidates distancing themselves from him is just a ruse, and that they'll be good and loyal liberals once they're safely elected.
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