Will It Be A Wave?

So yeah, I’m finishing up my last year of law school, taking a couple classes, representing a criminal defendant in Rockville for Criminal Justice Clinic, working part-time at a firm in Fairfax, trying to keep up with some Democratic party duties, and all the while we’re going to have a baby any day now. Those are my excuses.

But I found a few minutes this morning and I’d like to riff off of something Ben posted this morning. Ben has posted his early predictions for the legislative elections and they look awfully weird to me. They’re weird because all the talk I’ve heard and all the polling I’ve seen indicate that this election is shaping up as a wave. It’s clear that Ben is not reading this election as a wave. In fact, his prediction has barely changed in months. Sure- his predictions point to a successful year for Democrats, but nothing spectacular. A wave is something different. A wave is when bad candidates, vastly outmatched candidates, and candidates in awful districts, win. A wave brings in not only those toss-up competitive races in Democratic-trending districts with sufficiently financed candidates that Ben didn’t include like Barker and Janet, it also sweeps in people like Donahue, Brown, Pollard, Del Toro, Brennan, Rishell, Martinez, Bouchard and Schultz.

Will it be a wave? My thinking right now is yes.

Apologies

I hope to get back to regular posting at my blog sooner rather than later but with a baby on the way in the next few weeks and a thousand various obligations crammed in before that point I just haven’t had the time. I promise to post as much as I can. Believe me, it’s not for lack of blogging fodder. Just look at this report released today, and this continuing narrative of Republican hypocrisy.

Great Quote

I know this is a couple weeks old but I found this old gem and just had to share:

“‘I think it is really early for the delegate to be counting his chickens before they hatch,’ said the state’s Republican Party spokesperson Shaun Kenn[e]y.”Hmm, maybe you can clarify Mr. Kenney, just when would it not be early to be counting unhatched chickens?

Wow, and this is the Communications Director for their party?

The Worst Presidential Campaign That Never Happened

Now that we’re closing in on labor day weekend it’s clear that Fred Thompson is either not a candidate- or the worst candidate of the field. This guy had a real shot to sweep in and take out the weak Republican field but instead, over the last 3 months, Thompson has lost his momentum, the media’s interest, and (I would argue) the interest of many impatient Republican activists. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has only further solidified his status as the default frontrunner. Besides winning the Ames straw poll, he has widened his lead in early states and has largely kept his feet out of his mouth.

And now out of Ames, Thompson will have new trouble consolidating support at the “consensus conservative” because while it doesn’t appear that Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will earn sufficient support to be a true contender, he has garnered enough momentum to cleave off a significant chunk of the vote Thompson would be counting on.

Short of an announcement that Thompson has hired Karl Rove as his new campaign manager, Fred is done. Sorry Chris.

Horserace Update: 1) Mitt Romney 2) John McCain 3) Rudy Giuliani 4) Mike Huckabee

I’m Back

I’m back from vacation and much more caught up on everything that piled up while I was gone. So, first my summary of what happened while I was gone:

• Romney won the straw poll. I think this DOES have significance no matter the spin, no matter how much he paid per vote.
• Rove dropped out of the WH. I wonder if this was push (looming DOJ scandal) or pull (big offer from a WH hopeful). I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

August is again a slow month. Did I miss anything else?

Ahh, Corolla

I’m probably lying on the beach with a book and a Budweiser right now. See ya in a week.

Wow

Who knew Chris Dodd could be this awesome?

Afternoon Clips

• Better pay for police and firefighters!
• Connolly sticks his foot in his mouth. That’s the way to get the $900 million Gerry!
• National polls do not matter in presidential primaries- Pollster.com has some very interesting blog posts on the issue:
  • Turnout
  • Timing

The FCC Opens Up A Small Piece of The Airwaves

Under the pressure of an intense lobbying effort by content providers, namely Google, the FCC voted today to require the winning bidder on a newly available slice of sky to permit “open access”. This should allow for other companies to offer services and content without having to go through one or another major cellphone company. With this renewed competition, innovative companies like Google can, in fact, offer their services in a wireless format right alongside them.

Though the FCC could and should have gone farther and allowed “wholesale” access like they once did with land-based telephone networks- this is a great first step to break the stranglehold these 2-3 companies hold over both the consumer electronics and software industries. This should be a first step toward a revolutionary change, particularly in the ways we use the internet.

Morning News

• YES! Read this column.  And read this diary at RK.
• Watch what happens here tomorrow. This will determine a lot about the future of the internet, telecom, and technology in general. Go Google!
• Great profile of Elizabeth Edwards in the Washington Post.
• I had a blast at the White Stripes concert this weekend despite the fact that Jack White struggled with some audio foul-ups. Thanks Dan!
• In case you missed this over the weekend:Looks like the federal funding for the Dulles rail project won’t happen anyway. So what exactly was that rush about Gerry?
• Won’t be long now.