Congress
From NBC's Ken Strickland
North Carolina Congressman (and superdelegate) Brad Miller today will endorse Obama, according to his office.
Miller represents the 13th district, which includes Raleigh and Greensboro.
Miller met with Obama today.
*** UPDATE *** So with Miller's endorsement, here's NBC's delegate breakdown:
PLEDGED: Obama 1590, Clinton 1426
SUPERS: Clinton 273.5, Obama 261
TOTAL: Obama 1851, Clinton 1699.5
There are now 260.5 undeclared superdelegates.
*** UPDATE II *** Here's a statement from Miller: "I will cast my vote as a delegate in Denver for Senator Barack Obama. The decision was not easy. Senator Clinton has run an impressive campaign, and has spoken eloquently to the concerns to working and middle class American families. She is one of the great leaders of this generation."
"Senator Obama understands that he has the chance not just to win the election this year, but to be a great president. Americans know that Republican policies have failed because their ideas are wrong. Americans know that our government has not acted to use Franklin Roosevelt's words, as trustees for the whole people, but have taken the side of powerful economic interests on every issue. Americans want a fundamental change in course."
"Senator Obama seized that opportunity."
"If Senator Obama and Democratic candidates up and down the ticket win this year and then deliver next year, we can build a consensus that will last a generation."
From NBC's Mike Viqueira
Obama was a very popular figure on the Democratic side of the US House today.
He strode onto the floor during a vote when the place was packed and was immediately greeted by wave after wave of Democratic well-wishers, both Clinton supporters and Obama supporters alike, as well as undecideds.
Escorted by Rep. Steve Rothman, who served as a kind of body man, Obama first made his way along the back aisle where he shook hands and slapped backs. One member, Tim Ryan, snapped a picture with a cell phone. Pages rushed over and asked for autographs.
After running the initial gauntlet, he ended up in a place called "The Murtha Corner," where for years Rep. John Murtha has held court with cronies during votes. At first, Murtha -- a Clinton man -- appeared not to see Obama as the senator stood not two feet away greeting well-wishers. Obama was compelled to put a hand on his shoulder, at which point Murtha rose and offered a hearty smile. The two men then engaged in an extended conversation.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Ken Strickland
As attention turns from state primaries to undeclared superdelegates in Congress, there were no bombshells today in the US Senate. Reporters swarmed around senators to see if yesterday's results would draw undecided Super D's into the Clinton or Obama camps. Or if Obama supporters would demand the New York senator immediately drop out of the race. It didn't happen.
Instead, Obama supporters engaged reporters with discussion of mathematics, saying there is no reasonable way Clinton can secure the nomination. They said Clinton had the right to continue running a campaign, but raised questions as to why she would.
Some Clinton supporters were perplexed. "I'm very loyal to her," said Senator Dianne Feinstein. But the California senator said she wants to talk to Clinton to understand the campaign's way forward when the delegate numbers are leaning against them.
"I'd like to talk to her --see what her view is on the rest of the race, what the strategy is," Feinstein told reporters. "I think this is reaching a point now where there are negative dividends from it in terms of strife within the party. And I think we need to prevent that as much as we can."
CONTINUED >>
From NBC’s Mike Viqueira
Been talking to several House Democrats a.k.a. superdelegates this day. Bottom line: things are, for the most part, status quo in terms of commitments, at least for the time being.
Clinton has asked several uncommitteds to come meet with her this evening at around 8 or 8:30, after votes on the housing bill now being considered on the House floor. Location TBD. I talked to three such members, who said that they are going to take a pass, simply because they have heard several times from both candidates personally over the course of the past week, and there is nothing more to be said.
Another uncommitted said he was going to go out of a sense of courtesy. Keep in mind that these folks are inundated with calls from the respective campaigns and that, for the Clinton side, operatives like Harold Ickes come up every Wednesday to talk to people privately.
Another uncommitted said his office received a call from the Obama campaign asking for a meet tomorrow. Per NBC’s Mark Hudspeth, Obama will indeed be in DC tomorrow.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mike ViqueiraHouse Democrats today announced that they will vote to send
President Bush and his successor $184 billion to spend on the war, plus a couple of other items that are politically popular but have not been requested by the president and may be veto bait.
The "emergency" package, to be considered on Thursday of this week, gives the president much of the $108 billion that has asked for the remainder of this year, plus $66 billion that would sustain the war effort into the first months of a new administration.
But the House will also be voting on an extension of unemployment benefits, the establishment of a new GI Bill for educating veterans, $500 million more in international food aid, and money for Louisiana levees. These items will be hard for many Republicans to oppose, though the president has not asked for any of it to be included in the war spending package.
CONTINUED >>
From NBC's Mark Murray
Former GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich sounds the alarm after Republicans lost a second-straight special election in a GOP-held seat. "The Republican loss in the special election for Louisiana's Sixth Congressional District last Saturday should be a sharp wake up call for Republicans: Either Congressional Republicans are going to chart a bold course of real change or they are going to suffer decisive losses this November."
"The facts are clear and compelling. Saturday's loss was in a district that President Bush carried by 19 percentage points in 2004 and that the Republicans have held since 1975. This defeat follows on the loss of Speaker Hastert's seat in Illinois. That seat had been held by a Republican for 76 years with the single exception of the 1974 Watergate election when the Democrats held it for one term. That same seat had been carried by President Bush 55-44% in 2004."
Gingrich offers some suggestions for the GOP leadership -- like repealing the gas tax and paying for it by cutting discretionary spending; overhauling the Census Bureau (?); establishing a one-year moratorium on earmarks; and making English the official language of the US government -- and he concludes:
"No Republicans should kid themselves. It's time to face up to a stark choice. Without change we could face a catastrophic election this fall. Without change the Republican Party in the House could revert to the permanent minority status it had from 1930 to 1994... It's time for real change to avoid a real disaster."
From MSNBC.com's Andy MertenORLEANS, Ind. -- Amidst the candidate rallies, surrogate speeches, and national media invasion here, down-ballot Hoosier candidates are also preparing for Tuesday’s primary and November’s general election. Former Rep. Mike
Sodrel (R) is one such congressional hopeful, looking to reclaim Indiana’s 9th district seat, which he lost to Baron
Hill in the 2006 Democratic takeover.
Despite the current lack of state press coverage of congressional races and the inherent disadvantages in fundraising and brand identification that GOP House hopefuls face this year, Sodrel does have two potential advantages in 2008: He’s running in a district that slants overwhelmingly Republican in recent presidential election years (
Bush carried the 9th with 59 percent in 2004) and his opponent has publicly endorsed Obama.
Sodrel, who is running unopposed in Tuesday’s primary, said he was “surprised” when Hill announced his backing of Obama on Wednesday, as he believes Democrats in his district will turn over heavy support for Clinton this week.
“In the primary there’s no question that people in this district are in favor of
Hillary,” he said over a bacon cheeseburger during an interview in a diner in this town of just over 2,000, after marching Orleans’ annual spring parade along with a posse of campaign volunteers.
Citing the Wright ruckus and
Obama’s “bitter” gaffe, Sodrel said Obama has created a “rural backlash,” adding that primary voters here will likely base their decisions Tuesday on the personality differences between the two presidential hopefuls, as “their policies are very close.”
“If he had done it immediately, at square one, then I think they probably would’ve accepted it,” he said of Obama’s public divorce from his former pastor on Tuesday. “But he just waited too long. I think most of them perceive now it’s just a political move.”
As for his own race, the congressional hopeful was reluctant to say he’ll use the top of the Democratic ticket as a talking point against his opponent, but also doesn’t believe that President Bush will hinder his chances. Though he anticipates some state Democrats running an anti-Bush campaign this fall, he doesn’t think voters will be swayed but such appeals. “People are bright enough to know that this president will not be serving another term.”
From NBC's Ken Strickland
Clinton's and McCain's separate proposals for suspending the gas tax this summer will very likely run out of gas shortly after hitting the Senate floor later this month. Because it takes 60 votes to pass any controversial bill in the Senate, McCain and Clinton will easily fall short. Democrats would loath to support virtually any proposal from the presumptive Republican nominee, and support for Clinton's measure is lukewarm among her own Democratic colleagues.
When Democratic leaders unveil their energy/gas price legislation later this week, Clinton's provision is NOT expected to be part of it. Why? Since Obama is against the Clinton plan, leadership doesn't want play favorites. Instead, Clinton will likely get a chance to offer her proposal as an amendment. Equally notable is the divide among Senate Democrats -- and the leadership itself -- over whether suspending the tax makes economic sense. A perfect example is Sen. Patty Murray, a Senate leader and Clinton supporter, but who opposes the gas-tax holiday.
As for McCain's plan, GOP leaders didn't include it in their energy bill when they introduced it last week, saying instead it focuses is on oil production. But even if all 49 GOP senators faithfully lined up behind McCain to support it, they'd need more than a handful of wayward Democrats to reach what would likely be the 60 vote threshold for passage.
Then there's the windfall profit tax idea, which Clinton and Obama both support. Well, it's is running on fumes, too. The last time a similar measure came up in November 2005, it couldn't even draw in 40 Democratic votes. While gas prices have increased dramatically since then, you'd be hard pressed to find 20 Republicans who'd vote with Clinton and Obama on almost anything.
From NBC's Mark MurrayA smart take from Hotline: "
Obama survived one critical test this weekend. No, not the Russert interview. The LA-06 special, a closely watched election where GOPers poured tons of money on ads trying to link conservative Dem Cazayoux to Obama in an attempt to nationalize the race. It didn't work out as planned. To be sure, GOPer Jenkins was a flawed candidate, making this an imperfect test of Obama's down-ballot strength. The 5/13 special in MS-01, which features a stronger GOPer, will be a better indicator. Even so, if Obama can't be used effectively as a wedge: 1) when he's at his weakest and 2) in a CD carried by Bush w/ 59%, what does this say about GOP chances to hold their open seats in more competitive districts?"
The New York Times: “The Democratic victory in a special House election in Louisiana this weekend was interpreted by leading Democrats on Sunday as a sign that Republicans would fail in their efforts to damage Congressional candidates by tying them to national figures and presidential contenders. Party officials said the victory by Don Cazayoux in a Baton Rouge-area district over the Republican candidate, Woody Jenkins, showed that the economy and other concerns remained more important to voters than whether Mr. Cazayoux (pronounced KAZH-oo) would be an ally of Senator Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker. The election marked the second time this year that Democrats have taken over a seat in a Republican stronghold.”
“Even as Democrats rejoiced Sunday at having snatched a Louisiana congressional seat long held by Republicans, observers warned it doesn't necessarily mean voters are spurning the GOP. And the victor's hold on the seat could be shaky, one analyst said” of Don Cazayoux’s victory in Louisiana. "Democrats have a hard time winning in Louisiana, except when Woody runs," said Bernie Pinsonat of Southern Media and Opinion Research. "I think Cazayoux got the only Republican opponent he could have beaten."
Woody Jenkins, whom Cazayoux defeated, is a “solid Christian conservative,” but “is a polarizing figure known for displaying plastic fetuses to gain attention to his strong anti-abortion stance.”
