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Regional Politics
Mountain States Going Blue?
National Journal: "Arizona is in play for Democrats in 2008, part of a shift in previously safe Republican states that is redrawing the electoral map and reordering the campaign plans of presidential candidates in both major parties. In the Mountain West, Arizona isn't the only fast-growing state now up for grabs. So is Colorado. And two neighboring states that were already closely divided -- Nevada and New Mexico -- will benefit from the extra attention that Democrats will pay their region."
Washington Watch
Hatch Participates in Hearing
Sen. Orrin Hatch participates in a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee regarding mine safety issues and meets with families of the victims of the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster (see press release).
Bennett Tailings Proposal Approved
The Senate votes to support an amendment by Sen. Bob Bennett "that would expedite a plan by the U.S. Department of Energy to move the uranium tailings in Grand County, Utah, away from the banks of the Colorado River, a vital natural resource in the region" (see press release).
Cannon Signs Earmark Petition
Rep. Chris Cannon signs onto a discharge petition "designed to force the House Democratic leadership to allow a vote on ... legislation sponsored by Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) that would ensure [that] all taxpayer-funded earmarks in all congressional bills are publicly disclosed and subject to challenge and open debate on the House floor" (see press release).
Thomas Jefferson and the Mormons
In 1820, the year of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, Jefferson wrote to a friend, “The genuine and simple religion of Jesus will one day be restored; such as it was preached and practiced by Himself.” (From Mike Winder’s Presidents and Prophets: The Story of America’s Presidents and the LDS Church)
Today in Political History
October 3, 1922: Rebecca L. Felton, Democrat from Georgia, is appointed to serve out the remaining term of Sen. Thomas E. Watson, becoming the first woman to be seated in the U.S. Senate. (Source: NBC5)
October 3, 1990: Germany reunites after 43 years of "East"/"West" separation.
October 3, 1993: U.S. Army Rangers are ambushed in Mogadishu, Somalia. 18 Americans killed, 84 wounded. (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart, blushing, whispered the first word of love; it is the home that God has given you that by striving to perfect yourselves therein you may prepare to ascend to him.”
-- Giuseppe Mazzini (Source: Quote Garden)
Campaign Tip
7 Legislative Newsletter Suggestions
1. Put the essential message(s) into the headlines and visual images
2. Prioritize accomplishments and feature only the most important.
3. Headlines and subheads should make statements, not just label topics.
4. Select photographs that convey impressions of the source, not that just memorialize events.
5. Caption your photos with informational copy.
6. Minimize the use of jargon, acronyms and government-ese.
7. Edit,edit,edit.After you have written the copy for your newsletter, your work is only half done. (See Political Resources.com for more information about each suggestion.)
National Politics
Best Stories From …
-- Wall Street Journal: "Presidential hopeful John Edwards's campaign appears to be flagging. The Democrat and former U.S. senator from North Carolina collected only $7 million over the last three months, not much more than the $5.2 million raised by lesser-known rival New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and significantly trailing the $19 million reported by Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois."
-- The Politico: Columnist Roger Simon: "Fred Thompson has a folksy, good old boy persona on the stump, but it may not last much longer. When I asked him if he is an 11th Commandment man -- Never speak ill of a fellow Republican -- he responded, 'I am more of a 12th Commandment man: Don't speak ill of them until they speak ill of me. And then really speak ill of them.'"
-- Washington Post: Columnist E.J. Dionne: "Astonishingly, 26 Republican senators broke with President Bush's Iraq policy last week. But you may not have noticed this, and it's not your fault. Sen. Joe Biden's resolution calling for a federal solution to the Iraq mess --sometimes known as 'soft partition' -- got almost no attention even though it passed 75-23."
-- The Hill: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nixes a Democratic plan to raise taxes to pay for the $150 billion bill for the Iraq war in 2008.
Lighter Side
EVER WONDER…
…Why the man who invests all your money is called a broker?
…Why the time of day with the slowest traffic is called rush hour?
…Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin? (Tea Leaf) |
