In an interesting bit of news, the AP reports that official Census figures depict a decline in voter turnout, as a percentage of population, in 2008:
Census figures released Monday show about 63.6 percent of eligible voters, or 131.1 million people, cast ballots last November. Although that represented an increase of 5 million voters, the turnout was a decrease when taking into account population growth. In 2004, the voting rate was 63.8 percent.
According to the data, more older whites opted to stay home compared with 2004, citing little interest in supporting either Barack Obama or John McCain.
Could the lower turnout among older whites suggest a small opportunity for the GOP in future elections?
Congressman Mark Kirk has officially announced his campaign for Obama’s former Senate seat:
Kirk says Illinois has become a laughingstock since Democrat Roland Burris was appointed to the Senate seat by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who’s accused of trying to sell that seat.
During an interview on Chicago’s WLS Radio on Monday, Kirk said he’s announcing his candidacy and hopes to “restore ethics and integrity to Illinois government.” Kirk says Burris hasn’t been able to be effective in Washington because of the controversy over his appointment and it’s time to change that.
Although Kirk voted for cap-and-tax, he may represent the IL GOP’s best chance at taking the seat.
Gov. Palin has offered a statement on Bowe Bergdahl’s imprisonment:
“Todd and I are praying for Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, his family, and all of his fellow soldiers who are putting their lives on the line to defend our freedom and protect democracy abroad,” Governor Palin said. “The capture of Private Bergdahl and the bombings in Jakarta prove that we have not defeated terrorism, and that radical extremists will stop at nothing to attack Westerners and our ideals.”
More than 7,000 soldiers and airmen stationed in Alaska are currently deployed overseas.
“Our men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform have the best training and experience of any military in the world,” said Lt. Gen. (AK) Craig E. Campbell, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard. “We know that when we deploy that anything can happen, and we pray that PFC Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers can find him quickly and reunite him with his family.”
The special inspector general for TARP, Neil Barofsky, has found that federal spending on the approximately 50 programs dedicated to fighting the recession would total $23.7 trillion (yes, that’s $23,700,000,000,000) if they reach their maximum levels:
Barofsky’s estimate means that if each federal agency spends the maximum potential amount involved in these 50 different initiatives — if the Federal Reserve ends up spending $6.8 trillion on its programs. If the Treasury Department spends $4.4 trillion, if the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation spends $2.3 trillion, and so on — then the numbers add up to a total of $23.7 trillion.
For the entire world’s sake, let’s hope the final sum for this batch of spending falls FAR short of this.
Update: I owe Gov. Palin and everyone on the site an apology. As commenter alaska jake informed me, PFC Bergdahl’s home base resides in Alaska, making Palin’s statement perfectly logical and appropriate. My now-removed commentary on the statement reeked of ignorance and distaste, so again, I apologize.
July 20th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
“Kirk said he’s announcing his candidacy and hopes to “restore ethics and integrity to Illinois government.” ”
Yeah, they all say that.
And then they get arrested.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Kirk’s got a real shot at the seat, although he’ll have to work very hard in his first term if he is elected.
The tricky thing for wannabe GOP Senators running in blue states in 2010 is that they will face re-election in a Presidential year which will be more favorable to the blue opponents (although its not as bad if Obama has two terms).
The interesting implication is for Dem Senators who first won in red states in 2006, facing re-election in 2012. The likes of Tester (MT), Webb (VA) and McCaskill (MO) will have an uphill battle.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
If I typed my response to you, I would be banned from cyber-space.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
“Kirk’s got a real shot at the seat, although he’ll have to work very hard in his first term if he is elected.”
I don’t think so:
Kirk, no Kirk, whatev…Giannoulias favored
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2009/07/kirk-no-kirk-whatevgiannoulias-favored.html
It looks like the will he or won’t he wheel of Mark Kirk’s political fortune has landed on a Senate bid- for today anyway.
When we polled Kirk against Alexi Giannoulias in April they were knotted up at 35, but most of the numbers within the survey boded well for the Democrat:
-Giannoulias was winning over a slightly higher percentage of moderate Republicans (11%) than Kirk was of moderate Democrats (7%). When you have a state with a significant Democratic lean to begin with that’s not a good equation for the Republican.
-While only 17% of conservative Republicans (Kirk’s strongest base) were undecided, 23% of liberal Democrats and 35% of moderate Democrats (Giannoulias’s strongest bases) were.
-Among moderate independents (Giannoulias leaning) 37% were undecided but among conservative independents (Kirk leaning) only 28% were.
There’s no doubt Kirk is the strongest candidate Republicans could possibly have put forward for this seat. But the fact that the best he could muster in April was a tie when a significant swath of the undecideds were Democratic leaning means he’s definitely starting out from behind.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Palin’s statement came about because Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl’s home base is Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage.
Alaska is home base for more than 7000 soldiers, which represents more than 1% of the state’s entire population. Palin has always been a good friend of Alaska’s soldiers and veterans, and her statement in this case is both genuine and typical. Not everything she does is strictly for political points.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Incidentally, Lt. Col Craig Campbell, quoted in the Palin article above, will be our new Lt. Governor once current Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell replaces Palin.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Quick correction. . .Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl’s home base is Ft. Richardson Army Base in Anchorage, not Elmendorf AFB (which is also in Anchorage).
July 20th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Kirk is a liberal Republican. He has voted against every bill to protect life, including partial birth abortion. He was one of 8 Republicans to vote for Cap and Tax.
He’s probably one of the 5 most liberal Republicans in the House, and I won’t be sorry to see him lose. Republicans like him in the Senate are a cancer.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Yep. And he is a liberal Republican that would not vote for Reid as majority leader. We had more liberal Republicans in the senate when we had a 55-seat majority in 2005. And we got Roberts and Alito.
Even if Kirk would vote for the Cap and tax bill if he got to the senate – we wouldn’t have to worry about it…because he wouldn’t have a CHANCE to vote for it if a GOP senate majority leader never allowed it to come up for a vote.
So, you know what? Give me a goddamned liberal Republican in the senate over a Barack Obama or a Burris.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Adam,
He would be more than a vote for leadership. He would also have the chance to gut conservative principles in committee, compromise away Republican principles for the sake of “bi-partisanship” be a favorite of the media as the face of “reasonable Republicans” and by example, promote clones like him in Illinois and across the country. And once installed, he’s our problem unless he’s defeated by a Democrat, retires, or dies.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
That’s a chance I’m willing to take – if the alternative is being completely shut out of the process – as we are right now.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
You never vote for someone like Kirk if you are in TX, SC, AR or the like. But Illinois? Look at Illinois! Can we honestly ever do better than someone like Kirk in Illinois?
July 20th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Let me apologize to Kristofer and alaska jake. I don’t personally believe Palin made the statement for political reasons. That’s why I said “I hate to invoke political motivations” and “she could very well have made the declaration out of genuine compassion”. I had no idea Bergdahl’s home base resides in Alaska. I sincerely apologize and fully retract what I wrote, and I will edit the post to remove it. Again, I apologize. I was wrong.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Adam,
I guess it’s a question of what’s worse, another liberal Democrat from a liberal state, or a useful idiot for life (who will one day chair a committee), a stooge for the MSM and the Democrats. Don’t get me wrong, I can see the virtue of electing moderates in parts of the country, and will be rooting for Guiliani in NY. But not Kirk. Not in my state.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Adam,
“Can we honestly ever do better than someone like Kirk in Illinois?”
We had Peter Fitzgerald just a few years ago.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Touche.
But like NY, IL has lurched rapidly to the left since the 1990′s. Fitzgerald’s 3-point win in 1998 would be even more difficult to pull off today.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
You know that Wormtongue character in Lord of the Rings who poisoned the king’s mind?
That would be Mark Kirk in our caucus.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
#13, Tony,
Don’t say sorry! Just the other week, I incorrectly stated the NYT’s smeared Rudy in 2007 in a false story, where in fact it was Politico (Aron corrected me).
July 20th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Tony,
That has to be the most heartfelt mea culpa I’ve ever read here. You’ll never make it in politics with that kind of integrity!
July 21st, 2009 at 12:38 am
Abu Mansour “the American,” a Shabab Al-Mujahideen Commander in Somalia, Slams Pres. Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYSYn3C-GhU
July 21st, 2009 at 12:41 am
Yeah Tony. . .Don’t sweat it man, honest mistake and, I would also add, a logical question if you didn’t know the facts about his home base. (For obvious reasons the soldier’s capture has been the lead story on the local news here for days.)