2010 Mid-Terms

[nacho]

Ah, the local elections.  Which, as everyone here knows, I think are more important than the presidential elections since these are the ignorant fucking monsters who put highways through our living rooms and ban Charlotte's Web.

Our Maryland moment:

If, as expected, former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announces in coming days that he is running again, he apparently won't have the Republican field to himself.

Political newcomer Brian Murphy -- or more accurately, Murphy's campaign manager -- called Monday to let us know that he is out there as well and won't be deterred by Ehrlich's entrance into the race.

"I think I'm the best person to work with the private sector and change the anti-business climate in Maryland," said Murphy, 32, a former commodities trader with Constellation Energy who now owns an investment group. "Spending is out of control, and there's a credibility gap in Washington and Annapolis."

Monday was the first time Murphy had alerted The Post to his candidacy. He said he has spent weeks reaching out to the grass roots in the state party.

"I'm out there. I'm credible," Murphy said.

Murphy has yet to file. His campaign manager, Meghan Mueller, said Murphy plans to do so in coming weeks, once he has a lieutenant governor candidate nailed down.

Murphy said that aside from his own money, he expects to raise about $250,000 in coming weeks for his bid. Ehrlich, as a point of reference, has said he expects to raise about $10 million.

Murphy, a Chevy Chase resident, said his fledgling political career was inspired by the political legacy of conservative Republican Jack Kemp. He noted that if elected, he would be 33 years old when he is sworn in -- a year older than Democrat Bill Clinton was when he became governor of Arkansas.

I've sort of given up hope for the governorship.  Maryland's Democrats have become weak and diseased.  It's like watching some inbred patrician family's slow decay into madness.

[Matt]

Democrats in general are weak and diseased.

[nacho]

Ah.... Don't cry for me, Maryland!

[RottingCorpse]

I don't even know what's up for the mid-terms in VA. We just got a new governor so that's out.

The big local story is Mayor of DC, right? Since everybody hates Fenty, people can't understand why no one's running against him.

[nacho]

Nobody's running against him because, despite the fact that his approval ratings are about to dip into the 30's, he was mysteriously able to raise more money in the first week of January than has been raised during the entire lead-ups to the last two elections. 

Thank god he owns all those crack houses, eh? Who can run against someone who can get an extra million with a snap of his fingers?

[nacho]

Well, well... The Linda Cropp spot must be possessed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_C._Gray

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray will enter the mayoral race tomorrow, close sources tell LL, ending months of deliberations.

Gray will file papers with the city campaign finance office shortly before 2 p.m.; he will address a small group of supporters outside the Frank D. Reeves Center afterward, the sources say. A larger campaign kickoff will follow at a later date.

Gray's entry represents the first serious threat to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's re-election; several head-to-head polls done in recent months show Gray leading Fenty or in a statistical dead hear. It also means that Gray, 68 67, is forfeiting a sure re-election to another four-year term as chairman, opening up a scramble among his council colleagues for the seat.

[nacho]

And he gaffes within the first five minutes!

    Good afternoon everybody. I am absolutely delighted to be here filing my papers to run for mayor of the District of Columbia. For those of you who don't know, and I'd be happy to repeat it as many times as I do, I'm a native Washingtonian, I'm a graduate of the public schools of the District of Columbia, I went to George Washington University. In essence, I am a dyed in the wool homey. I absolutely love this city and I'm delighted to be able to step up to provide additional leadership in the District of Columbia. I look forward to a wonderful campaign, I look forward to connecting with everybody I possibly can in the city. The reality is, we can do better in the District of Columbia. We can do better. We can do better. And we will be talking about the ways in which we can do better during the course of this campaign. The campaign starts today. It started at 2:22 p.m. today. We look forward to continuing to do the business of the city but most of all connecting with every voter that we possibly can to get our message out about why I will be the best candidate for mayor in the District of Columbia.

At that point, WRC-TV's Tom Sherwood asked, "What's that message?"

Said Gray: "We're gonna talk about all that as the campaign unfolds. As you all well know, there will be plenty of opportunity for us to talk about the issues; we will talk about any issue that anyone wants to talk about. But today is a day for celebration. Today is an opportunity to think upon the fact that we've filed, and we will talk about all of the issues later."

[RottingCorpse]

Jesus . . . what a moron.

[nacho]

And official...

Former Maryland governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) said Tuesday that he will try to win his job back in November, confirming plans for a much-anticipated rematch with Gov. Martin O'Malley, the Democrat who defeated him in a bitter contest four years ago. Ehrlich said he plans an official announcement April 7 in Montgomery County, setting up a fight for a second term between two of the state's dominant political personalities, both of whom are fierce competitors and don't particularly like each other.

[Cassander]

Here in Louisiana there's only one major race, Senator David "yeah, i used the DC Madam that later killed herself and still got re-elected without really even apologizing and have spent the last four years still pounding on and on about family values" Vitter is facing a Blue Dog democrat House congressman who had his guts run through the ringer on the healthcare bill.  Vitter's going to win again and continue to waste oxygen and space in Congress by filing crazy bills about firing Scud missiles at mexican immigrants or something.