White House Throws Weight Into State Races

It's a fairy tale, but it's just politics as usual

(NEWSER) - The story from the White House is that Bill Clinton, on Rahm Emanuel's behest, offered Joe Sestak an “unpaid advisory position” to drop out of the race against Arlen Specter. It's an obvious lie—come on, would Sestak even consider dropping out for so little?—and Joe Klein of Time is outraged. Not because it's a serious crime, but because dancing around the truth “may keep this way-overblown story in the news.” More»

Perry and KBH face off; Tea Party mounts challenge in Fla.

(NEWSER) - The 2010 primaries will see the GOP repairing its identity and soul-searching among Democrats. The 10 most important races, according to Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post :

1. Texas governor, R: Rick Perry is running for an unprecedented third term, and voters seem to approve. But Kay Bailey Hutchison is a popular, crafty, and well-funded opponent.
2. Florida Senate, R: The looming battle between Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is being closely watched as a bellwether of the rift between GOP moderates and the insurgent Tea Party movement.

Attack ad targets Brady for supporting mass euthanization of pets

(NEWSER) - Illinois' Democratic governor isn't doing much to change the state's reputation for bare-knuckle politics. An attack ad from Pat Quinn targets Republican rival Bill Brady for sponsoring a bill to "mass euthanize sheltered cats and dogs in gas chambers," with text appearing on screen over footage of whining puppies being dumped into a metal bin. More»

Parties jockey for positioning ahead of 2012

(NEWSER) - Most of the hyperventilating surrounding the 2010 election has focused on who will control Congress, but Washington seems a lot more interested in who will win the governor races—all 37 of them. Both parties are spending like mad on these races, the New York Times reports, because who wins will be crucial when it comes time to redraw congressional districts next year, an opportunity that comes around only once a decade. More»

'Call me a pain,' says man who wants to impeach Obama

(NEWSER) - Darrell Issa makes it his business to be the fly the Obama administration can’t swat. The ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee is an admitted attention hog, and he brings that attention to whatever issues will most annoy the White House, writes Mark Leibovich in a profile for the New York Times . “There is an expression here on Capitol Hill,” says Issa. “Don’t ever get between a member and a camera.” More»