Republican Mike Erickson, candidate for the nomination in Oregon's 5th District, has come under heavy fire lately from primary opponent Kevin Mannix, with rumors afloat that Erickson used to hold wild cocaine parties on his boat.

Well, Erickson flatly denies these scurrilous allegations; he's not only never used cocaine, but

"I've never used cocaine. I wouldn't know what it looks like," Erickson said, adding that he has never used illegal drugs or tobacco.

He doesn't know what cocaine looks like? He's never seen  Beverly Hills Cop? He's never cooked with baking soda?

I had to snort at that one.

Call me a skeptic, but Erickson's denial just doesn't pass the smell test.

It would have been a bit more plausible if he just denied knowledge of the coke parties. Something like "If there's been cocaine use here, well, it's been happening right under my own nose."

Anybody else got a clever pun? A not-so-clever one?

In all seriousness, this is one of the most ridiculous statements we've seen yet this cycle. Either Erickson is a bald-faced liar, or a first-class moran. It's his choice as to which he'd rather be.

And please submit all coke-related Erickson jokes below!

Race tracker wiki: OR-05

Today's edition was a bit lighter than the recent run on delegates, with Californian Congressman Pete Stark being the only delegate endorsement of the day.  Apparently nobody wants to be relegated to the Friday afternoon news dump.  Nonetheless, advantage Obama as he continues to pull away from Clinton.

Congressman Stark said, "Senator Barack Obama has captured the imagination of Americans in a way we’ve not seen for decades.  He’s inspired millions of young people to register to vote and join the ranks of our Democratic Party, he’s consistently opposed the war, he advocates universal health care, and he delivers a message that transcends party politics at the same time.

"I have the greatest respect for Senator Clinton and for her many years of service, but I believe the time has come to unify our party.  The outcome we need in November is a Democratic President.  To achieve that, we must turn our focus squarely on Senator McCain and his quest to continue another four years of the failed Bush agenda.

"Barack Obama is the person we need as the next President of the United States of America.  I’m excited to help him achieve that goal."  

If there's any governor's mansion in the country the Republicans want to gain in November, it's Washington's. This year's race is a rematch of 2004, with poor loser Dino Rossi trying to capitalize on the sour grapes the state and national Republicans still feel over their 133 vote loss that came after three vote tallies and a failed Republican court challenge. That election was also probably the reason for the firing of USA John McKay, who refused to open a federal criminal investigation into voter fraud allegations.

So there's a lot at stake for Republicans in this. And it's not looking too good for Rossi at the moment. On the heels of reports that she doubled Rossi's fundraising in April, raising well over a million dollars (1.3m) to his $641K, comes some very encouraging polling from Rasmussen.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Washington voters shows Gregoire leading her Republican challenger, Dino Rossi, by eleven percentage points. It’s Gregoire 52% Rossi 41%.

In late March, Gregoire was up by just a statistically insignificant single percentage point. In February, Rossi had a one point advantage. Four years ago, the 2004 election between the same two candidates was one of the closest elections in the state’s history.

Gregoire is supported by 86% of Democrats and has a has a nine-point lead among unaffiliated voters. Both those figures reflect significant improvement for Gregoire since March. Rossi earns the vote from 88% of Republicans, up slightly from 85% in the previous poll. The incumbent Democrat now leads among both men and women.

One of the factors behind Gregoire's surge is that she's finally able to campaign and fundraise after the "session freeze" which prevents Washington lawmakers from fundraising during the legilslative session. The freeze allowed Rossi to amass $2.7 whlie she was stymied, but given her totals for April, and her polling, she should have no problems on the money front. Another factor to consider is Obama's eleven point lead in the state over McCain.  

The Republicans are going to be hell-bent in getting revenge on Gregoire this year, and shouldn't be taken lightly. But it's definitely going to be an uphill battle for them.

Race tracker wiki: WA-Gov

Speaking to the NRA today, John McCain called Obama's foreign relations plans "reckless."  The McCain quote (courtesy of from Ben Smith at The Politico):

Earlier today, Sen. Obama made a few remarks I would like to respond to. I welcome a debate about protecting America. No issue is more important. Sen. Obama claimed all I had to offer was the ‘naive and irresponsible belief’ that tough talk would cause Iran to give up its nuclear program. He should know better. I have some news for Sen. Obama: Talking, not even with soaring rhetoric, in unconditional meetings with the man who calls Israel a ‘stinking corpse’ and arms terrorists who kill Americans will not convince Iran to give up its nuclear program. It is reckless to suggest that unconditional meetings will advance our interests.

It would be a wonderful thing if we lived in a world where we don't have enemies. But that is not the world we live in, and until Sen. Obama understands that reality, the American people have every reason to doubt whether he has the strength, judgment and determination to keep us safe.

Barack fired-up that rapid response team and wasted no time hitting back (via press release):

"What's reckless is continuing the Bush-McCain foreign policy that has cost us thousands of lives and a trillion dollars in Iraq, strengthened Iran, enabled Hamas to take Gaza, took our eye off al Qaeda, failed to capture Osama bin Laden, failed to finish the job in Afghanistan, and left us less safe and less respected in the world. No amount of utterly predictable fear-mongering and tough talk can change the fact that John McCain is running to continue the most disastrous foreign policy in recent American history," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Holy shit --- that was a WWF style smack-down of McCain.  Can you smell what Barack is cooking?

Coming Up on Sunday Kos ....

• DarkSyde will review Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life, a fascinating new book from best-selling science writer Carl Zimmer about lifestyles of the slimy and infectious.
• brownsox will conduct an autopsy on the vaunted Permanent Republican Majority, now reduced to a regional minority.
• DHinMI will suggest a candidate to be Barack Obama's running mate.
• Devilstower will explain why your prejudice is worse than my prejudice: race, sex, and the presidency.
• DavidNYC will ask, "Could Barack Obama really win... Mississippi?" The answer may surprise you.

The long standoff over Bush's FEC nominee, Hans von Spakovsky--Bush's chief operative on voter suppression--has ended with a win for the Dems. Spakovsky has withdrawn his name from consideration.

The move follows Harry Reid's offer earlier this week:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that President Bush has two options to break the ongoing standoff with Democrats over nominations to the Federal Election Commission: either withdraw the controversial nomination of Hans von Spakovsky or force Senate Republicans to agree to votes on individual FEC nominees.

"Despite your commitment that you would accept and agree to individual votes on each of the pending nominations, including Mr. von Spakovsky's, Republican Senate leaders indicated last week that they intend to continue to block such votes," Reid said in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.

Here's Reid's statement on today's news:

"I welcome the President's decision to withdraw the controversial nomination of Mr. von Spakovsky.  It is an action I have repeatedly urged the President to take for more than six months.  Democrats stood united in their opposition to von Spakovsky because of his long and well-documented history of working to suppress the rights of minorities and the elderly to vote.  He was not qualified to hold any position of trust in our government.

"His withdrawal today is a victory for our electoral process.  With Mr. von Spakovsky now removed, I anticipate that we will be able to swiftly put a functioning FEC in place.  That too is what the American people deserve."

(More discussion in Matt Keener's diary.

John McCain talks straight, but he acts crooked.  Mr. Reform strays from the straight path by following crooked lobbyists for their money, money that comes from corporations and brutal foreign governments.  

McCain's been embarrassed several times the last few weeks by lobbyists connected to his campaign.  Last week he was forced to fire two lobbyists who had worked for the brutal military junta in Burma/Myanmar, the oppressive goons who are killing people through their refusal to let aid workers in to the country and help the millions of Burmese affected by the cyclone.  This morning we learned about a lobbyist working for McCain who also worked for the governments of Serbia and Qatar.  

McCain also had to dismiss one of his top operatives in Virginia, Craig Shirley.  Shirley's has long been involved in shady dealings on behalf of the GOP, including hyping the orchestrated "rescue" of US soldier Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Iraq, and the scurrilous Willie Horton ad used against Michael Dukakis in 1988.  Shirley was simultaneously an official with McCain's campaign and involved in an independent campaign against Democrats.  The McCain campaign is spinning his dismissal as a matter of principle, when in fact Shirley was breaking the law by being on both sides of what should be a divide, the candidate campaign, and an independent operation that is legally prohibited from coordinating its activities with the campaign.  

Most of these lobbyists are mid-level operatives who are primarily relied on to collect checks.  But in a campaign jammed full of lobbyists, one lobbyist stands above all others: longtime McCain advisor Charlie Black.  Charlie Black's mitts haven't only been all over grubby money from corporate special interests.  As MoveOn shows, one of John McCain's top supporters has taken blood money:

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

Late Night Snark--now with EZ-GRIP handles:

"Anybody go down to the Crawford ranch for the big Jenna Bush wedding over the weekend? ... That was so sweet, because at the reception, President Bush danced with his lovely daughter. It's the first time he has led in eight years."
---David Letterman
-
"It’s going to be a relatively small wedding with only her family’s loved ones---the CEOs of the five major oil companies."
---Jay Leno
-
"This week, New York City Congressman Vito Fossella was arrested for drunk driving, then caught having an extramarital affair, then exposed for having a secret child with his mistress. Or, as it's known in Washington, the trifecta."
---Seth Meyers
-
"The price of stamps is going up next week from 41 cents to 42 cents. 'Aw, that's cute,' said oil."
---Amy Poehler
-
"In a recent speech, Barack Obama said he has visited all 57 states. After hearing this, President Bush said, "Ha Ha! He forgot Alaska and Hawaii."
---Conan O'Brien

And here's one for those who call Democrats out-of-touch elitists:

-
"This is an impressive crowd---the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base."
---George W. Bush
-

Nice tux, oh Man of the People.

Oh, and Barely Political dug up some more (not work-friendly) Bill O'Reilly footage. Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

You would have to have had your head up your ass to be the Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the first four years of the Iraq war and not have seen the need to hold hearings on contractor abuses pretty much every damned day.

But that's just what Susan Collins did.

In all those years, with all those stories about Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater, and what have you?

One friggin' hearing. What a champ.

Race tracker wiki: ME-SEN

NM-Sen: As mcjoan wrote earlier, Democrat Tom Udall is kicking all kinds of ass in the Senate race. He has a monster lead, 25+ points, over both his Republican opponents, Heather "Nipplegate" Wilson and Steve Pearce.

Udall started the race with a wide lead, and as the race has carried on, it has only expanded. Pearce, and especially Wilson, were considered formidable opponents before the race began, but it is currently looking like a potential blowout reminiscent of Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar's crushing victory over Mark Kennedy in 2006.

Best of all, Pearce leads Wilson in the GOP primary. Pearce is the further-right candidate, so he cedes "moderate" ground to Udall. It's a bad break for Wilson, but look on the bright side; she'll have plenty of time to devote to keeping the airwaves safe from loose nipples.

ME-Sen: More splendid news; Democratic Rep. Tom Allen is slowly, but surely closing the gap in his Senate race against Susan Collins. The latest Rasmussen numbers:

Rasmussen. April numbers in parentheses.

Collins is one of the most popular Senators in the country, due to her "moderate" image. She represents the only hope for GOP candidates in the fall; to win by distancing themselves as much as possible from the national party. And even so, Allen is steadily gaining on her, and is within 10 points with plenty of race to go.

Say it with me; everything's coming up Democrat!

KS-Sen: And now for the most shocking poll of all, another Rasmussen poll: Incumbent Senator Pat Roberts leads Democratic challenger Jim Slattery by only 12 points. This is in a state where no Democrat has been elected to the Senate since (wait for it) 1932, and against a challenger who hasn't run for office since 1994.

Rasmussen. 5/13. MoE +/- 4%

There's a long way to go before November, and Slattery's already competitive. Having entered the race late, Slattery has yet to begin campaigning in earnest, though his fundraising is going very well. Roberts enjoys 60% approval according to the Rasmussen poll, and yet manages just 52% against Slattery.

These Rasmussen polls are just shocking.

WA-Gov: Rasmussen has one last piece of beautiful news: Washington's Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire, who won a narrow (and hotly contested) victory over Republican Dino Rossi in 2004, has opened up a double-digit lead in their rematch:

Rasmussen.5/12. MoE +/- 4%. 3/27 numbers in parentheses.

That lead has gone from one point to 11 points in less than two months. Obama also enjoys a double-digit lead over McCain in the state.

NJ-Sen: Rep. Rob Andrews stands alone among New Jersey's Democratic establishment in thinking he'd make a better senator than incumbent Frank R. Lautenberg.

Andrews' colleague Frank Pallone has some particularly harsh words for him:

Seven members of Congress and the mayor of Trenton spoke at the press conference at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) headquarters, reaffirming their support for Lautenberg and repeating charges that Andrews touts the GOP line and therefore, is wrong for New Jersey.

"On too many occasions he (Andrews) sided with Bush and the Republicans," Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. of the 6th District said, later adding that he "often wondered" that if New Jersey didn’t lean Democratic, whether Andrews would change his party affiliation.

Meanwhile, Lautenberg's colleague Robert Menendez has the highest praise for him:

Menendez said Lautenberg has "taken on" special interests, opposed the war in Iraq, and voted in support of his own beliefs even when they weren’t politically popular.

"New Jersey needs a proven, effective progressive Democrat who consistently stands up to the Bush Republicans," Menendez said. "That Senator is Frank Lautenberg."

Here's a note to Andrews; it is pure folly to try and wage a primary challenge from the right, in a blue state, during a year which marks a Democratic ascendancy as this one does.

House Races

TN-09: Things look very bright for progressive Democratic incumbent Steve Cohen, as he has a 52-point lead over primary challenger Nikki Tinker.

Seems like there's something to be said for going to Washington and doing right by your district. Who knew?

KS-02: More primary polling here, as Republican Jim Ryun, legendary track star and former right-wing Representative, faces off against the moderate GOP candidate, former Kansas Treasurer Leeroy Lynn Jenkins.

Ryun not only has a huge 44-point lead, but his lead has actually expanded in the last year, despite Jenkins being fairly well-known in the district. I guess Jenkins is trying to keep her powder dry, but it may be time for her to start trying to take down Ryun.

Because incumbent Democratic Rep. Nancy Boyda defeated Ryun once already, and because Ryun, as the far-right candidate, presents the starkest contrast between himself and Boyda, I think it's probably best for us that Ryun win this primary. This is a tough district and Boyda will have a fight on her hands either way, but I certainly won't cry if Ryun emerges as the candidate.

KS-04: Alex Parker of the MTV Street Team has put together a nifty video featuring 30-year-old State Senator Donald Betts, now running for the U.S. House against incumbent Todd Tiahrt. Check it out.

As a state senator, Betts already has a considerable base of political support in Wichita. It's a decidedly uphill race for Betts against Tiahrt in a strongly Republican district, but the race is not hopeless; both Governor Kathleen Sebelius and former Democratic Attorney General Paul Morrison won the district in 2006.

IN-02: Businessman Luke Puckett, though backed by the NRCC, had quite a bit of trouble winning his primary...against a man who spoke at a neo-Nazi meeting earlier this year.

'04/'06 candidate Tony Zirkle (R) said he's "willing to talk to any group that invites him," and that's why he spoke to a weekend gathering in Chicago of the Amer. National Socialist Workers Party. The "occasion was a celebration" of the 119th anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler. Zirkle stood at a podium "in front of a larger-than-life portrait" of Hitler, "flanked" by an American flag and a Nazi flag.

During a 4/21 presser, Zirkle said he accepted the invitation to "spread his anti-pornography message." He said he's "misunderstood," and that his "real mission" is to "rid the country of pornography." To "punctuate his message," Zirkle "shredded an original copy" of a '69 Penthouse magazine.

But an "account of the gathering" says "Zirkle spoke on his history" as a state's atty in IN, "prosecuting Jewish and Zionist criminal gangs involved in trafficking prostitutes and pornography" from Russia.

Puckett lost to this Zirkle fellow in 5 of the district's 12 counties. Anyone want to take bets on how he performs against Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly?

Race tracker wiki: NM-Sen NJ-Sen ME-Sen KS-Sen WA-Gov

Really there are no depths of viciousness or lawlessness that the modern self-styled conservative won't embrace and even guffaw about. Today at the NRA gathering, Republican Mike Huckabee joked about an (imaginary) attempt on Barack Obama's life. The pretext for raising the specter of assassination? Nothing more than a loud sound he'd heard offstage:

"That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak," said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. "Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor."

Think of that, this audience laughed about shooting the likely Democratic nominee for president.

This is about more than Mike Huckabee, with his bizarre habit of threatening to use violence in the political arena. This is about a Republican establishment that encourages, rewards, and lionizes those on the right who use threats of violence to expand the boundaries in public discourse of the "acceptable" demonization of Democrats. Where will it end?

+++

See also this diary by Steve Singiser.

It's sad to say that this can't even be called "stunning hypocrisy," because hypocrisy has become par for the course for John McCain.

From last month, McCain's reaction to former President Carter's plan to meet with Hamas:

It is a grave and dangerous mistake for an American leader to meet with a terrorist organization like Hamas...The very idea that a former President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief would meet with a terrorist organization demands a clear stance from all presidential candidates. Refusing to take a stand, as Senator Obama has done, is not the strong leadership we need today. If Senator Obama is not decisive enough to condemn former President Carter, how can he be strong enough to deal with the threat they pose to America and to our allies?

...and during a conference call with conservative bloggers:

I think that the people should understand that I will be Hamas’s worst nightmare.

I think it is very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States. If Senator Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly.

But two years ago, during an interview with James Rubin, was this exchange:

Q:  Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"

MCCAIN:  They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that.

It seems that McCain has shelved that "new reality" on dealing with Hamas in the interest of furthering a chosen line of attack against Barack Obama.   Unprincipled and hypocritical, and of course, completely in line with his goal of carrying out George Bush's third term.  And in fact, following Bush's attack yesterday on Obama as an "appeaser," McCain took the opportunity to expand on Bush's remarks:

And the belief that somehow communications and positions and willingness to sit down and have serious negotiations need to be done in a face to face fashion as Senator Obama wants to do, which then enhances the prestige of a nation that's a sponsor of terrorists and is directly responsible for the deaths of brave young Americans, I think is an unacceptable position, and shows that Senator Obama does not have the knowledge, the experience, the background to make the kind of judgments that are necessary to preserve this nation's security.

When John McCain said that he was "fine" with staying in Iraq for 100 years, he proved that he doesn't have the judgement to be the Commander in Chief, and with his hypocritical attacks on Barack Obama over Hamas, he proves that he doesn't have the character either.

• Matt Welch, author of McCain: The Myth of a Maverick -- isn't buying the line about McCain getting the U.S. out of Iraq by 2013, as he parses exactly what the presumptive nominee said in his speech yesterday.
• Gary Hart takes on  John McCain:

  If John McCain seriously believes we are at war with al Qaeda in Iraq, that alone is such a serious error in judgment as to rank him with George W. Bush at his worst and therefore disqualify him from any chance to govern this country.

  This isn't a typical Democrat versus Republican story; Hart and McCain have been tight friends for decades, with Hart serving as an usher at McCain's wedding.

• Alan Keyes is gearing up to start his own third party.
• Chinese bloggers are bucking the state controlled media and breaking the real news in China, thanks to a website hosted by Watson Meng in Durham, NC.

  The site, Boxun.com, relies on a host of bloggers and citizen journalists — mostly in China — to break stories, often faster than state-controlled Chinese media or foreign news services. The site is banned in China, but Chinese people can skirt that Internet censorship through proxy servers hosted in the United States.

  Posting on Boxun (pronounced "bow shwin") is not without risks. Numerous contributors, including three in the past several weeks, have been jailed in China.

  "It's really aggravated the [Chinese] government because it takes stuff outside and puts it on display internationally," said Bob Dietz, of the New York nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists. "For us, the site is required reading."

• In other news from China, it is estimated at five million people are now homeless in Suchuan Province as a result of the earthquake.
• The Georgia bar owner that created the offensive "Curious George" Obama shirts may have received a little more publicity than he would have liked. The numerous reports caught the attention of publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt  - who said they are not amused and are considering legal action.

  "Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did not nor would we ever authorize or approve this use of the Curious George character, which we find offensive and utterly out of keeping with the values Curious George represents," said Richard Blake, the company's spokesman.

SUSA. 5/12-14. MoE 2.3%

The undecideds in this poll are amazing, just 4% agasint Pearce and 3% against Wilson, an remarkably tiny margin six months before an election. Udall's appeal is practically universal:

Udall leads among both men and women, young and old, white and Hispanic, regardless of opponent. 1 in 4 Republicans cross over and vote Democrat; 1 in 10 Democrats cross over to vote Republican.

Udall is unopposed in NM's June 3 primary, while Pearce and Wilson duke it out. SUSA identified a subset of Republican likely voters in this poll. The race is within the margin of error of 4.8%, with Pearce leading 49-46. Again, there's just a 2% undecided. Pearce has gained 12 points since the Republican race was last polled by SUSA six months ago. Wilson has lost 10.  Neither has been able to secure outgoing Sen. Domenici's endorsement, and won't before the primary. Pearce is calling himself the only "true conservative" in the race, while Wilson is tryng to pas herself off as a moderate, "common sense" Republican.

Which has brought the Club for Growth into the mix with a $200K ad buy attacking Wilson for supporting S-CHIP.

So this should be fun. The NM Republicans appear to be on track to nominate the CfG's guy, the extremist who would be weakest against Udall. This one is looking very good for the Dems. Pajama Pete's long Congressional tenure is at an end, and it's looking more and more like Heather Wilson's is, too. Just the icing on the cake.

Race tracker wiki: NM-Sen

Obama hits back:

WATERTOWN, South Dakota (Reuters) - Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama said on Friday President George W. Bush's "failed policies" had strengthened U.S. enemies like Iran and Hamas.

Responding to Bush's comment on Thursday that those who want to talk to Iran were like Nazi appeasers before the Second World War, Obama accused Bush of "exactly the kind of appalling attack that's divided the country and that alienates us from the world."

Obama did a terrific job of tying the albatross of Bush around the neck of McCain:

"If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate that I'm happy to have any time, any place, and that is a debate that I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for," Obama said in a campaign speech in South Dakota.

View it:

I've never done any favors for anybody — lobbyist or special interest group — that's a clear, 24-year record. - John McCain

That clear, 24-year record keeps getting muddier:

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain secured millions in federal funds for a land acquisition program that provided a windfall for an Arizona developer whose executives were major campaign donors, according to a USA Today report.
McCain, an Arizona senator, inserted $14.3 million in a 2003 defense bill to buy land around Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, in a provision sought by SunCor Development, the largest of 50 landowners near the base, the newspaper reported on its Web site Thursday, citing public records.

Upset with a state law that restricted development around the base, SunCor representatives met with McCain's staff to lobby for funding, USA Today reported, citing the company's president at the time, John Ogden.

The Air Force later paid SunCor $3 million for 122 acres near the base -- three times its assessed value and twice the military's estimated value, the newspaper said.

Of course this isn't the first time John McCain has helped provide a windfall for SunCor Development, a company headed by Steven Betts, who also happens to be a Trailblazer for McCain's presidential campaign.  But thank God for that clear record of never doing favors for anyone.  

Okay, so I want to give props to the NRCC for admitting they have a problem:

"Clearly, we have got problems that are deep and serious in terms of how we are going to do in the fall elections," [Tom] Cole said.

That's progress. But then we hit the snag, as Cole further explains what those "problems" are:

"Having said that... we haven't lost as a party because of the ideological agenda on the other side. The obvious challenge we face is we had somebody running as a Republican, pro-life, pro-gun, who wants to cut taxes, wants to control spending. That's not particularly in step with where the Democratic majority is. So, that is going to create some opportunities for us. I think those issues clarify and reinforce [our agenda]."

First of all, does Cole really think that wanting to "control spending" is a Republican trait? If so, how come Bill Clinton balanced the budget while Mr. 27% and his Republican Congress has given us record deficits?

Nope, balancing the budget is definitely not a Republican trait. It's a Democratic one.

Second of all, guns are no longer a Republican issue. The NRA won. Democrats have given up on guns and have moved on. I know Republicans don't want to acknowledge that victory because it strips them of a once-useful wedge, but really, when you have Clinton and Obama fighting over who is more pro-gun, you know we've moved on.

So what's left? "Cut taxes"? Sure, everyone wants to cut taxes. The question is who gets those cuts and who shoulders the heavier tax burden. Republicans think oil companies need tax breaks, Democrats think lower and middle class families deserve them.

So that leaves abortion. And yes, on that issue, the two victorious Democrats in Louisiana (Don Cayazoux) and Mississippi (Travis Childers) actually buck their party. I'll add another one that Cole ignored -- immigration. On the border issue, these guys are downright regressive.

But that doesn't make them Republicans. Because if it does, then these positions shared by Cayazoux and Childers are now Republican positions:

• End the war in Iraq (Cazayoux, Childers)
• Stop new free trade deals (Cazayoux, Childers)
• Support SCHIP (Cazayoux, Childers)
• Eliminate subsidies to big oil (Childers)
• Protect social security (Cazayoux, Childers)
• Improve educational opportunities (Cazayoux, Childers)

This was the same lame spin that Republicans used to try and rationalize Jim Webb's victory in Virginia in 2006, before quickly dropping that approach as Webb's economic populism took center stage. Cazayoux and Childers appear to be economix populists in the Jim Webb mold.

What infuriates Republicans to no end is that these two Democrats effectively nullified GOP efforts to run on their pet social issues. Decades of winning elections on the abortion issue hasn't made abortion illegal in the country, nor has decades of anti-gay hysteria stopped the growing spread of tolerance, fairness, and equality. Heck, I doubt Republicans want to win those issues, given how quickly they're losing guns as a wedge issue now that they've won that battle.

With those social issues off the table, what's left? The kind of stuff that truly can make a material impact on people's lives -- health care, education, jobs, social security, and Iraq.

And no matter how much Republicans try to counter with the usual boogeymen (which now includes Obama, Wright, Pelosi and Kerry), it's not working. Democrats have clear advantages on bread and butter issues as well as the war in Iraq, even in the reddest of districts.

That's why Cazayoux ad Childers won. Not because they ran as Republicans, but because they ran on Democratic issues after taking the usual Republican wedge issues off the table.

Race tracker wiki: MS-01