Republicans

CENSORSHIP! Dems Cry Foul Over GOP Interference With Medicare Mailers

Brian Beutler | June 15, 2011, 11:15AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

A bitter, behind-the-scenes fight over the GOP's Medicare phase-out plan has bubbled out into the open, and now Democrats are openly charging Republicans with censoring their communications with constituents.

Several House Democrats are petitioning House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), in a letter first reported by Roll Call, to step in and stop Republicans on the House Administration Committee from blocking Democratic Medicare mailers.

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VA-11

Dem Rep. Connolly Wins VA House Race, GOPer Fimian Concedes

Eric Kleefeld | November 9, 2010, 12:43PM

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA)

Freshman Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has narrowly won re-election, and his Republican opponent Keith Fimian has conceded the race.

The most recent figures show Connolly winning by 981 votes, or a margin of 0.43% out of about 225,000 total ballots. Connolly was first elected in 2008, defeating Fimian to pick up an open GOP-held seat, and has now survived a Republican wave year that took out three other Virginia Democrats: Fellow freshmen Tom Perriello and Glenn Nye, plus longtime Rep. Rick Boucher.

"A recount only seeks to arrive at an accurate tally of all votes cast. In our race, we have not seen any obvious errors in the results," Fimian said in a press release. "And while we believe that there are a small number of ballots containing votes that have not yet been counted, we are confident based on the canvass that it is not enough to change the outcome of this contest."

2010 elections

Two Virginia Dems Go Down -- And It Could Get Worse

Eric Kleefeld | November 2, 2010, 8:56PM

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA)

It's looking like a bloodbath tonight for Virginia Democrats, with two incumbent Congressmen already going down to defeat -- and possibly more on the way.

The Associated Press reports that Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher of VA-09, who was first elected in 1982, has lost re-election to Republican Morgan Griffith in this southwest Virginia district, after many years of its voters splitting their ticket between Boucher and Republican candidates.

Meanwhile, freshman Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello (D) of VA-05, who upset Republican incumbent Virgil Goode in 2008, has lost to Republican Robert Hurt.

That's not all: Two other freshman Dems, Glenn Nye and Gerry Connolly, both of whom picked up seats from the Republicans in 2008, are currently trailing in their seats. With 44% of precincts reporting in VA-02, Nye trails Republican Scott Rigell by 53%-43%. In VA-11, Connolly trails his 2008 Republican opponent Keith Fimian by a narrower 50%-48%, with 30% of precincts reporting.

Late Update: ABC and CBS have called VA-02 for Rigell. That's three Democrats losing in Virginia, with a possible fourth on the way.

Bush Tax Cuts

Meet The Democrats Who Want To Preserve Tax Cuts For The Rich

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2010, 8:46AM

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

As he presses Congress to let the Bush tax cuts for wealthy Americans expire, President Obama has two goals in mind: achieve a significant policy victory; and give struggling Democrats a wedge issue ahead of the November elections. But a significant number of those Democrats are saying they don't want the help -- and that number may be enough to force Democratic leaders to punt on the issue.

Rep. Michael McMahon (D-NY), who is fighting to preserve the top-bracket tax cuts for at least a year, says he has somewhere between 25 and 50 members on his side. "I think the difference is there," he told TPM after a House vote yesterday afternoon.

McMahon is a signatory to a letter authored by Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) and others designed to pressure leaders to give wealthy Americans another tax break. His view represents a political and policy consensus shared by a significant, and vocal faction of the Democratic party -- a consensus that party leaders are doing little to weaken.

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Joe Biden

Biden Tells Two Swing-Seat Dems At Fundraiser: "You Got Some Tough Votes Coming Up"

Eric Kleefeld | September 25, 2009, 1:02PM

Vice President Joe Biden

Vice President Biden last night helped raise money for three freshman House Democrats from Virginia -- Gerry Connolly, Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello -- and very prominently noted that two of them are from swing seats that could be in real danger in 2010. From the Washington Post pool report:

VPOTUS noted that two of the three Democrats in attendance - U.S. Reps. Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello - would face difficult challenges in their more rural, southern Virginia districts.

"I don't have to tell you that you're in a very competitive state," he said. "You got some tough votes coming up." He noted that the third Virginia House Democrat - U.S. Rep. Gerry Connelly - had a "few liberals" in his left-leaning Northern Virginia district. He called the triumvirate "independent minded" and "damn competent," but united on several core Democratic Party themes, including energy policy and health care.

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