Congratulations, Anne Northup

No surprises that Anne Northup handily won the Republican nomination to run for her old seat in Congress. Here's an excerpt from her victory speech, courtesy of Jefferson Poole.

It’s so important that our community have a real choice in that election, and I believe I will give our community that choice. Two years ago, the electorate decided it was someone else’s turn to carry the ball. But elections are all about asking the question: how has that other team done, and how has our own Representative done?

On the national front, two years ago this Congress made a lot of promises, among them a national energy plan, because as they said, paying $2.00 for a gallon of gas was simply unacceptable. I guess the fact that gas is now near $4.00 per gallon will tell you how that worked out. And they still do not have a plan that produces even one more drop of oil. We need to do something that makes sense-- find new energy alternatives like coal, nuclear, wind, solar, drill our own oil, and become energy independent. That’s what Americans do when they have a problem, they attack it head on with good old American know how and common sense, and that’s what we need to start doing in Washington.

On the local front, we’ve lost a lot. Big projects so important to the future of our community have simply folded up and disappeared. The East End Bridge, ready for construction when I left office, has now totally stopped. A new state of the art VA Hospital, one that would put our city in the forefront of medical care for our deserving veterans, has now been bumped down on the federal priority list. Hundreds of other community projects important to our neighborhood health and development are struggling or have disappeared. This campaign is about our community’s best chance to send our strongest advocate back to Congress.

We need someone who can get things done. We need leadership. For 10 years, we talked to every part of this community, and were able to forge partnerships between agencies in our Capitol and the community leaders in our city to provide help, development, and direction to them. This community cannot wait two more years for progress.

My opponent will try to make this race about the past. He’ll use George Bush’s name as many times as possible because it worked for him during the last campaign. Well you know what? That President’s name isn’t on the ballot this year. This Congressional election is about how Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats have done for the last two years, and how John Yarmuth has done for the last two years. The question we have to answer is, are we better off as a community than we were two years ago.

Democratic registration will always outnumber Republicans in this district. And Anne is once again facing a national backdrop that is not conducive to Republican victory. She is, however, tenacious -- a theme her mailers reiterated. Europeans like to grouse that America really only has one political party, that there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats. This race demonstrates the falsity of that assertion.

We're grateful that Anne has offered the voters a conservative alternative to the failed liberalism (resuscitated as "progressiveness") of John Yarmuth.

Theineman Goes Negative

Chris Theineman's latest robo-call attacks Ann Northup as a lackey for the oil industry. Theineman complains that Northup voted against a law to prohibit price gouging and gave tax breaks to the oil companies, then accepted big contributions. He comes awfully close to making an allegation that he surely does not believe.

Northup's direct mail piece, which arrived yesterday, offered a sensible energy policy that addresses the demand side of the equation. She proposes easing the regulatory burden on building new refineries, and she's right about that -- we haven't built a refinery in this country for 30 years. She would also allow drilling in Alaska and the Gulf.

Chris "I Am's" Important Info Arrives!

My mail lady delivered Chris Thieneman's "important information," and I have never seen such a manly piece of campaign literature.

It features a big head shot of Chris. He seems to be under attack by cicadas. But upon closer examination the little green things are pictures of mint, the logo from the Mint Jubilee, which he founded.

Here's his slogan: "A Tough Man for Tough Times." It took me a while to get it -- ThieneMAN for CongressMAN.

Even more peculiar is what Chris neglected to include. He never mentions that he's the guy who saved us from the ill-conceived library tax. This was a huge accomplishment, of which he should be justly proud. But there's not a word about it.

And he never states that he's running in the Republican primary; the R-word is missing. It's unclear whether Chris is keeping his party affiliation on the down-low or if he still hasn't decided. Chris, if you're unwilling to admit that you're a Republican , then you're not.

Chris I Am, Also Ran

I just received my second robo-call from Chris Thieneman. He wanted to make sure I'd read the important brochure he sent me last week -- the one that, like Greg Fischer's financial disclosure form, got lost in the mail. He further wanted to alert me to the fact that he will be sending me more important information. It was more pomposity than I can take on a Monday morning.

The kicker was his disclaimer, in which he identifies himself and says "I AM (!!!!) running for Congress." Unfortunately, he neglected to tell me which party he seeks to represent today, and I've had a hard time keeping up.