congressional seat

Now it’s Hawaii’s turn to have a special election:

In the midst of a gubernatorial campaign, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) announced Friday that he will be resigning from Congress, necessitating a special election to fill out the remainder of his term.

“This is an extremely difficult decision for me, but I must do this to continue with the direction I’ve chosen for the future,” Abercrombie said in a statement. “Accordingly, I’ve concluded that I must resign my congressional seat and allow someone to be elected who will carry on the work of this office.”

Leave it to Cheney to find a way to exploit the devastation in the Middle East:

Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday pointed to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as fresh evidence of the ongoing battle against terrorism that underscores the need to keep President Bush's Republican allies in control of Congress.

"This conflict is a long way from over," Cheney said at a fundraising appearance for a GOP congressional candidate. "It's going to be a battle that will last for a very long time. It is absolutely essential that we stay the course."

Cheney's visit to Tampa helped raise about $200,000 for the campaign of Gus Bilirakis, a state legislator who is running for the Tampa Bay area congressional seat his father, Michael, is vacating.

"Gus is going to remember that the first order of business is to protect the American people and to support the men and women who defend us in time of war," Cheney told the audience at a $500-a-ticket fundraising reception. "There's still hard work ahead in the war on terror."

Cheney said that as Republicans make their case to voters in the midterm elections, "it's vital that we keep issues of national security at the top of the agenda." He faulted Democrats in Congress who have pushed for a timetable for withdrawing Americans from Iraq, saying that would send the wrong message to terrorists.

Yes Mr. Cheney - because we all know about Bush's "Roadmap to Peace". I believe history shows which party has a better track record when dealing with problems in the Middle East and how effective their diplomacy is. That sure as hell isn't Bush's party.

Mort Meier, 73, a retired bond underwriter from Hamilton, announced
Monday he will challenge new House Majority Leader John Boehner of West
Chester for the Ohio 8th District Congressional seat this fall. In a
statement released by Dan Gattermeyer, chairman of the Butler County
Democratic Party, Meier said was motivated to come out of retirement "to
help increase the strength and restore the reputation of America." Meier,
who did not return a call for comment, attacked Boehner's ties with
lobbyists and pledged not to accept any contribution of more than $5 from
any individual, group or corporation. He ran unsuccessfully against Boehner
in the GOP primary 15 years ago, and switched to the Democratic Party in
2000.

This is really good news. I got the privilege of signing the petition for his
candidacy tonight. I don't know that much on Mr.Meier yet but intend to find out
so I can report back. Boehner is not a popular person here in OH-8 so this
should be a good race and hopefully come out with a win for the Democrats.

I just finished watching a debate between Jean Schmidt and
Paul Hackett, the two running for the 2^nd congressional seat of Ohio.
After seeing this, I really see the even darker, and more blinded side of the
Republican – Jean Schmidt.

Paul Hackett, who returned from Iraq this past spring, was
stationed in Fallujah helping to train Iraqi forces. As a Major in the Marines,
he has the inside perspective we need in Washington when it comes to this war.
He identified the problems facing the troops when it comes to training the
Iraqis and has suggestions on how to improve them.

Jean Schmidt on the other hand does not agree with her
opponent. She feels all Mr. Hackett is doing is parroting the Democrats points
of views on the war. She says this while continuously mimicking the President’s
address to the nation verbatim. She feels we are doing everything right and Iraq
is on course. Of course the fact that she attends the funerals of local fallen
soldiers makes her an expert on this matter, as she indirectly stated on
Hardball Friday Night (see the clip at
Crooks and Liars).

The most ironic part of the entire debate was on the issue
of social security. Paul Hackett sees a system that isn’t broken but rather
“bent”. He feels the biggest improvements would come in more responsibility of
our government not to use social security as a “slush fund”. He also stands firm
on the ground that the cap should be raised on social security since every
American has an obligation to its people.