Bunning Run Out Of The Senate

Jim Bunning had a very good chance of being defeated for re-election, and the GOP knew it. So they systematically set about to deny him the funds he would need to compete. And they were very successful. So now he's cashing out.

Blaming GOP leaders for freezing him out on fundraising, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) is bailing on his Senate campaign and won't run for re-election next year.

The move comes as a great relief for Washington Republicans concerned about Bunning's prospects in the midterm elections, and Bunning blasted fellow Republicans, saying they had "done everything in their power" to force him out.

It does leave a formidable legacy for the former baseball pitcher, being run out of Washington by his own party.

Though Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway has a good profile statewide, I would guess that Bunning's departure makes this a more likely Republican seat in 2010. Democrats should focus on other pickup opportunities.

Against Listening: The Key To Political Success

Rush Limbaugh today admits that listening is a scam.

LIMBAUGH What if I decided I needed to go on a listening -- you know what, folks, instead of the Rush to Excellence tour, we're gonna go on a Rush listen tour.

I'm gonna show up in your town, I'm gonna set up a microphone that you use. And I'm gonna sit there and say nothing. And I'm gonna listen to you. And I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna put together a great radio prog --

What do you think would happen? Not very many people would show up, and if I actually did listen, it would be a disaster because you can't take the advice of 20 million people, or 5,000, regardless of whatever the number is. And if you're a politician, you can't take the advice of 58 million people. This whole notion of listening, it's just -- it's a scam.

Of course he holds listening in low esteem. That kind of bold disregard for the opinions of anyone has led the Republican Party onto the brink of irrelevance.

(Bunning) said: “Do you realize that under our dynamic leadership of our leader, we have gone from 55 and probably to 40 (Senate seats) in two election cycles, and if the tea leaves that I read are correct, we will wind up with about 36 after this election cycle.

So if leadership means anything, it means you don’t lose … approximately 19 seats in three election cycles with good leadership.”

Which isn't working out for their party so well, but does do wonders for the institutional power of Rush Limbaugh, as he alienates the rest of the country and captivates only the attention of those who unthinkingly agree with him. He can't very well listen to them because they only parrot him. So this all works out very well for the Rush Limbaughs and Mitch McConnells of the world, but not so much for the GOP. I say they go for it. Listening is overrated.

Jim Bunning In Bigger Trouble Than The '64 Phillies

As a Phillies fan, Jim Bunning will be forever linked in my mind with the team that lost a 6 1/2-game lead with 10 games to play and blew the pennant 45 years ago. As a political junkie, he will be linked in my mind with his claim that his Italian-American opponent in 2004 "looked like one of Saddam Hussein's sons.", Fortunately, the people of Kentucky have noticed that Bunning is a loon, and they are not inclined to send him back to Washington as their representative in 2010.

Wow. Look at these Public Policy Polling numbers of the Kentucky Senate race. Senator Jim Bunning has just tanked in both approval and head-to-head match-ups. First, his "approval":

"Only 28% of Kentucky voters approve of Jim Bunning's job performance, our newest survey finds. 18% have no opinion and 54% say they disapprove of his work. That's the highest level of disapproval for any of the 18 Senators across the country PPP has gauged approval for since last summer. The previous worst before this Kentucky survey was 40% for Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas."

As for the head-to-head match-ups, generally an incumbent is considered endangered if he can't get above 50%. What's it called when an incumbent can't get above 40?

Jim Bunning 33
Ben Chandler 47

Jim Bunning 33
Jack Conway 42

Jim Bunning 34
Crit Luallen 42

Jim Bunning 36
Dan Mongiardo 43

Mongiardo, by the way, is the olive-skinned Lt. Governor of Kentucky who Bunning called an Ay-rab five years ago. And he's definitely running again. If Ben Chandler decides to run, I don't think he'd be beaten.

Very quietly, 2010 is looking as good for Democrats in the Senate as 2008. Obviously the political winds could shift, but at least three seats (KY, PA and NH) look very good for Democratic pick-ups, while Missouri, Florida and Ohio will be very contested Republican-held open seats. Roy Cooper can probably win over Richard Burr in North Carolina as well. And there aren't that many Democratic seats, save maybe Chris Dodd in Connecticut, that are threatened. We could see as high as 65 Democratic Senators by 2011.

KY-Sen: Must Be Some Poll Results

Jim Bunning commissioned a poll for his re-election campaign. He paid $20,000 for it. And he's not showing it to you or anyone else.

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., has conducted a poll on his 2010 bid for election to a third term, but he isn't making the results public.

"Let's say I did the polling," the senator told reporters on a conference call this morning.

What does that mean?

"That means it's none of your g--d--- business," Bunning said, who then followed up with a laugh. "If you paid the 20 grand for the poll, you can get some information out of it."

This is going to be so much fun to watch.

Kos should commission a poll on this race ASAP.

Conservative Losing-Team Slap-Fights

There ultimately will be no "conservative crackup" - a party espousing authoritarian and business-friendly policies will always exist. But there are fissures - and pretty much due to personality rather than ideology. For example, Rush Limbaugh gets personally upset when politicians challenge his "I want Obama to fail" mantra. Tim Pawlenty is personally hurt by national Republicans urging on Norm Coleman to continue fighting the Minnesota election despite impossible odds, because his state isn't getting what it needs. And another example is Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning, who the party wants to ease into retirement because, well, he's crazy and would lose a re-election fight, but who is too stubborn to go quietly:

But Bunning, a famously irascible former pitcher enshrined in baseball's Hall of Fame, is digging in. He insists he will run despite lackluster fundraising and is rebuking those who suggest he shouldn't.

McConnell has not publicly asked Bunning to retire, but he has ducked questions about the race, saying he will wait until Bunning makes his intentions clear. Bunning, who has said over and over that he is running, said later that McConnell must have "had a lapse of memory."

He has had even harsher words for Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is leading the GOP's re-election efforts for next year. Cornyn had similarly deflected comment on the race, prompting Bunning to say Cornyn "doesn't understand English."

Bunning did not appear to be mollified when Cornyn said he supports the Kentucky senator. "I don't believe anything John Cornyn says," Bunning said.

That comment came around the same time that word leaked that Republican Kentucky state Senate President David Williams met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which Cornyn heads. Bunning told reporters Tuesday that he would have grounds for a lawsuit against the committee if it backed a GOP challenger to him in the 2010 primary.

Bunning first threatened to sue the NRSC if they didn't support him. Then he apparently made an even more substantive threat:

WASHINGTON — Already in conflict with his party’s leaders, Sen. Jim Bunning has reportedly said privately that if he is hindered in raising money for his re-election campaign he is ready with a response that would be politically devastating for Senate Republicans: his resignation.

The Kentucky Republican suggested that possible scenario at a campaign fundraiser for him on Capitol Hill earlier this week, according to three sources who asked not to be identified because of the politically sensitive nature of Bunning’s remarks.

The implication, they said, was that Bunning would allow Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, to appoint his replacement — a move that could give Democrats the 60 votes they need to block Republican filibusters in the Senate.

“I would get the last laugh. Don’t forget Kentucky has a Democrat governor,” one of the sources quoted Bunning as saying.

“The only logical extension of that comment is, ‘(Make me mad) … enough and I’ll resign, and then you’ve got 60 Democrats,’ ” said another source who was present at the event.

Bunning is already backing away from the statement. But you can see how a strong daddy conservative with a runaway ego would say such a thing. Just like in sports, when you're a losing team, all the petty jealousies and angry backbiting comes out. I'd say it's unlikely that Bunning bolts, but he'd probably be thrilled to screw Mitch McConnell and the GOP. It's all a game to them, anyway.

Sincerity

Jim Bunning caused a stir over the weekend by announcing that Ruth Bader Ginsburg would be dead in nine months because of her pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg returned to work today, and Bunning received a torrent of criticism. So he promptly gave the qualified apology capped by spelling the Supreme Court Justice's name wrong:

“I apologize if my comments offended Justice Ginsberg,” Bunning said. “That certainly was not my intent. It is great to see her back at the Supreme Court today and I hope she recovers quickly. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.”

Nice guy. No wonder his own party is dying to get him out of his own re-election race.

Maybe The Greatest Senate Floor Debate Of All Time

Robert Byrd gives Jim Bunning exactly the respect he deserves.

Oh, the full dialogue from the blogpost below according to WaPo's Paul Kane (and other reporters in the gallery) who heard the full shouting match between Sen. Robert C. Byrd and Sen. Jim Bunning, shouting from their seats across that aisle at each other:

Bunning: "Regular order!"

Byrd: "Who said that?"

Bunning: "I did."

Byrd: "Who are you?"

Bunning: "I'm a senator."

Byrd: "You're a great baseball man."

Bunning: "I'm a senator; I have the same rights as you."

Byrd: "Yeah, man, you're a senator." [Ends by laughing hysterically at Bunning.]

I'm guessing this is about the pro forma sessions that Harry Reid has been insisting upon to block the President from any recess appointments. Which are fully legal, by the way. But that's besides the point. Jim Bunning isn't fit to shine Robert Byrd's shoes, and Republicans in general have pretty much no credibility to discuss the "rules" after what they've done the past 7 1/2 years.