Constitution Party backed candidate trying to get GOP nod…

A candidate who says he is backed by the Constitution Party is trying to get the Republican nomination for Congress in Texas. Trish Choate writes on GoSanAngelo.com that Michael Barrett is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Mac Thornberry. Thornberry was first elected to Congress in 1994.

Choate writes, “Michael Barrett of Nocona Hills plans to challenge Thornberry, but he’s shooting for the nomination from the Constitution Party instead of the Republican Party… Barrett, 54, said Constitution Party members approached him and have promised financial support.” Choate quotes Barrett saying the Republican party has “gone too much to the middle”.

SOURCE:

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/dec/03/area-congressmen-file-for-re-election-in-2010/

Independent for Congress interviewed about Palin’s book…

Independent for Congress is mentioned in a newspaper article about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s book. Dean Moore, and independent running for Missouri’s 7th Congressional District (the Southwest corner of the state), was interviewed in a newspaper article about people lining-up to get Sarah Palin’s book signed.

Chad Livengood writes on News-Leader.com, “Dean Moore… said Palin's life experiences resonate well with people in the Midwest. ‘She's the polar opposite of Nancy Pelosi… The kind of person who thinks very highly of Nancy Pelosi isn't going to catch this fever.’

The mention of Moore was buried at the end of the article about the Palin event in Springfield, Missouri. Moore is trying to win the seat being vacated by Representative Roy Blunt. One more note, Dean Moore is not the only more running for the seat, Republican Darrell Lee Moore is running as a republican in the race.

SOURCE:

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20091203/NEWS01/912030366/1007/Chance-to-meet-Palin-energizes-supporters

Close to buying an election - the value of a vote?

The campaign spending results are in for the New Jersey Gubernatorial race. The numbers show the value of a vote. If a candidate is unpopular enough even spending gobs of money is not enough to buy an election – but it is pretty close. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine lost his re-election bid by about 4% of the vote.

Here is how much the three major candidates spent in the race, and the amount of money they spent per vote they received:

Governor Jon Corzine $27,000,000 - $25.60/vote

Governor-elect Chris Christie $11,400,000 - $9.88/vote

Independent Chris Daggett $1,600,000 - $11.70/vote

Governor Corzine’s big spending brought him close to winning re-election but even spending more money than his competitors combine did not give him the win. Does these stats show a need for campaign finance reform, or does it just show Corzine was as incompetent running an elections as voters believed he was in running the state?

On a side note, the Associate Press is reporting that Governor Corzine spent $131,000,000 of his own money running for office since 2000. Governor Corzine has run for Governor twice, and U.S. Senate once.

SOURCE:

http://www.politickernj.com/matt-friedman/35180/gubernatorial-campaign-spending-down-30

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9218487

Independent poised to be on ballot to replace Ted Kennedy…

Independent Libertarian Joe Kennedy is poised to be on ballot to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy, a member of the Libertarian Party, is running as an independent because Massachusetts state law makes it cheaper to run as an independent versus a party-backed candidate.

Kennedy says on his website, “Our original goal was 13,500 signatures / 10,200 validated signatures. Not only did we exceed both goals but we BLEW THEM AWAY… I want to thank everyone for their efforts and urge you more than ever to spread the word.”

Candidates needed to get 10,000 signatures to qualify. The primary election for the race is December 8, 2009 with the general election on January 19, 2010.

SOURCE:

http://joekennedyforsenate.com/

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elespeif/senatorincongressma.htm

Bernake on Hold…

Bernake placed on hold, for re-nomination. CBS MarketWatch is reporting Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is placing a hold on the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Senator Sanders was quoted saying, “the American people did not bargain for ... another four years for one of the key architects of the Bush economy.” Senator Sanders was also critical of not providing enough credit to small and medium-sized businesses.

SOURCE:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sen-sanders-to-place-hold-on-bernanke-nomination-2009-12-02-2153530?siteid=bnbh