Mike's Election Guide (15 page)

Following the lead of Wayne Allard (and the trend in the southwest to go with the Dems), Republican Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico is retiring. Domenici has been around forever—and up to no good. He supported the Bush tax cuts. Then he voted to make it harder for people to file for bankruptcy. And one of his latest acts of mischief was allegedly pressuring U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to step up the investigation of a corruption probe of New Mexico Democrats prior to the November 2006 election. Iglesias was fired six weeks after the phone call; he was one of 9 U.S. attorneys fired that year for what is widely assumed to have been political reasons.

And who better to replace Domenici than Mark Udall’s cousin—New Mexico congressman, Democrat
Tom Udall
. This Udall also voted against the Iraq war. A strong environmentalist, he authored legislation to establish a nation-wide renewable energy standard in which utility companies would be required to generate a certain portion of their electricity from clean and renewable sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal. As Attorney General, he instituted an environmental enforcement division and led preservation efforts in the state. Rep. Udall also sponsored the Healthy Workforce Act of 2007, aimed at providing tax credits to employers who implement employee wellness programs.

Would you believe me if I told you that his opponent, just like his cousin’s in Colorado, is an oil man?! Yep, Republican Congressman Steven Pearce came from oil and then sold his oilfield services company in 2003 for $12 million, proving that he’s not only an oil man, he’s stupid. Imagine if he had sold it
now?
He voted against the Alternative Energy Tax Incentives Bill in March 2008 and opposed expanding government-funded healthcare to 6 million uninsured children. He opposed increasing the national minimum wage to $7.25 (or $15,000 a year). People don’t need $15,000 a year to live on! Oh, and he voted for the war. Let’s send Steven Pearce back to the oil business. What better time to continue his abuse of the American people!

VIRGINIA

Mark Warner

The Republican Senator and former Mr. Elizabeth Taylor has decided to retire this year. Though voting the wrong way most of his Senate career, he will be remembered for standing up to George W. Bush during the last couple years over the war in Iraq.

Running on the Democratic ticket to replace him is former Virginia governor
Mark Warner
. Under Mark Warner’s stewardship as governor, Virginia was hailed as “the best managed state in the nation” by
Governing Magazine
and the top state for educational opportunities for children by
Education Week Magazine.
Virginians gave Warner a 75 percent job approval rating when he left office as governor of Virginia in 2006. What politician gets that at the end of his term? The amazing thing is that when Warner took the helm, the Commonwealth had a $6 billion budget gap. Now, what kind of governor would leave Warner and the state with such a mess? Well, none other than Warner’s opponent in this year’s Senate election, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore.

In a showdown between former Virginia governors, Jim Gilmore belongs in the flyweight division. Having burned through Virginia’s budget (and leaving it to Warner to set the state right again), Gilmore now wants a key to the vaults of the U.S. Treasury. What else does Happy Jim Gilmore have up his sleeve? A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, immediate drilling for oil in ANWR, and putting conservatives on the bench.

Hopefully, Gilmore’s agenda will disappear as fast as Virginia’s taxpayers’ money did when he was governor.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Jeanne Shaheen

New Hampshire’s Republican incumbent senator, John E. Sununu, is younger than Barack Obama, but he votes in a way that would make his old man, John Sununu, George Bush I’s chief of staff, proud. He has voted against incentives for clean energy, against extending tuition deductions for college, and against expanding the child tax credit to more children. This last bill would not have cost the American people any more in taxes; the bill would have offset the additional expenses by closing tax loopholes for hedge fund managers (you know, the guys who are barely scraping by on their multimillion dollar pay checks) and delaying implementation of a tax break for multinational corporations. Well, whenever anyone suggests making the rich pay for something, that’s like waving a red cape in front of Sununu’s face. Screw the kids if my donors can’t upgrade their yachts this year!

But it’s not just the little ones that Sununu has it in for. According to the New Hampshire Alliance for Retired Americans, Sununu voted 9 out of 10 times against senior citizens on issues that affect them.

To the rescue rides the former three-term governor of New Hampshire, Democrat
Jeanne Shaheen
. She was well-liked when she ran the state and had a record of increasing health coverage for uninsured children, expanding access to public kindergarten, and protecting women’s reproductive rights. As governor of New Hampshire she signed a repeal of the state’s law making abortion a felony. Jeanne Shaheen also understands one of the most pressing issues facing many young families: “The majority of parents work, and it’s long past time our nation came to terms with this dynamic,” Shaheen says. “We need to make quality child-care affordable and give parents the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children are safe.”

When Jeanne Shaheen ran against Sununu in 2002, he narrowly defeated her for the Senate seat. All indications are that New Hampshire voters won’t make the same mistake twice.

MINNESOTA

Al Franken

Poor Norm Coleman. He’s the only person to benefit from the death of one of the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate. When Sen. Paul Wellstone’s plane went down while he was campaigning only weeks before the 2002 election, Coleman and the right-wing pundits mocked Wellstone’s funeral and, remarkably, rode that mean-spiritedness all the way to victory. Coleman is a Bush flunky through and through, voting with W. 90 percent of the time and staunchly supporting the Iraq War.

Presented now with a chance to redeem themselves—and to prove once again that Minnesotans have a great sense of humor (this
is
the state that elected a professional wrestler as governor in the ’90s)—the voters of Minnesota can elect the Democrat
Al Franken
as their new senator come November. Not many Senate candidates can list
Saturday Night Live
on their résumés, but Franken brings a lot more than sharp satirical skills to the political table. He’s a policy wonk, he does his homework, and his agenda includes climate-change legislation, universal healthcare, and withdrawing troops from Iraq. He’s also a wrestler. A real one. In high school in Hopkins, Minnesota, he was on his varsity wrestling team, and 35 years later he still had the moves to put a heckler at a Dean rally in a wrestling hold. Imagine Franken in the Senate. It’s just too cool, isn’t it? Each day can begin with the Pledge, a prayer, and a bit of stand-up from Al. If any Republicans get out of line, Al can put them in a half nelson. Will the state that gave us Bob Dylan, the Coen Brothers, and Garrison Keillor please send Al Franken to the Senate? I think it’s finally time for the Al Franken Decade.

OREGON

Jeff Merkley

Voters in Oregon used to elect Republicans who were to the left of most Democrats. Back in 1964, Oregon Senator Wayne Morse cast one of the two votes against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which sent the U.S. whole-hog into Vietnam. Sen. Mark Hatfield was another strong anti-war senator from Oregon who voted against the first Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq.

But there is still one relic in the Senate from the Pacific Northwest, Oregon Senator Gordon Smith. Forgetting to retire this year like Allard and Domenici, Smith is running for re-election. And why not, when the oil and gas industry have kicked nearly $300,000 to you? Smith made his own fortune in that great American contribution to the world of fine cuisine—frozen food. His company, Smith Frozen Foods, has been fined by the DEQ at least three times for illegally discharging polluted wastewater into nearby waterways. Facing possible defeat in 2008, Smith has had an election year epiphany on climate change, announcing his support for capping greenhouse gas emissions—after twice voting against similar bills.

Let’s hope the brains of Oregonians aren’t filled with too many frozen peas come November. Because there is an excellent alternative to Gordon Smith on the ballot: Democratic challenger
Jeff Merkley
. Currently serving as the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Merkley has taken Oregon down one of the most progressive paths in the nation. The Eugene
Register-Guard
described the 2007 session of the Oregon House under Merkley’s leadership as “the most productive in recent memory, with important achievements in the areas of education funding, civil rights, consumer protection and budgetary stability.” Merkley opposes the war, supports universal healthcare, and will take action to combat global warming. He will be a huge addition to improving things in the U.S. Senate.

MAINE

Tom Allen

It’s tough to have to say goodbye to a Republican we like a lot of the time. But, as when we had to bid farewell to liberal Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island in 2006 (because in the end, it is all about which party can get 60 votes), we will have to bid a gracious adieu to Senator Susan Collins of Maine in this election. Collins is considered by many colleagues on her side of the aisle to be a Republican in name only, as she is pro-choice, pro-stem cell research, and doesn’t always make tax cuts her highest priority. Nonetheless, Senator Collins voted for the war in Iraq, and as we said with Hillary, that’s the deal-breaker.