Going Our Separate Ways

Someone who's been living in a cave for the last few months would only have to read two stories in today's HRH to appreciate where the enviro. currently stands.

-- In NY-24, GOPers got a glimmer of good news in what was otherwise their worst week of the cycle. Construction CEO Richard Hanna (R) announced his bid last week, giving the GOP a ray of hope against Rep. Michael Arcuri (D). But don't expect an "R" anywhere near his camp. literature; he'll be running an indie-minded campaign. For one of the few CDs in NY that Pres. Bush won in both '00 and '04, it's an interesting, but necessary, distancing act.

-- And in NH-01, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) finally has decided to lean on the DCCC and join the Frontline program. With lackluster fundraising (she was one of four freshmen to be outraised in the 1stQ), and low poll numbers (ex-Rep. Jeb Bradley (R) leads in at least one survey), it was a neccesary move. But it's a huge change from earlier in the cycle, when she considered being tied to the cmte a radioactive move. All the sudden, it's not so bad to be tied to her nat'l party.

-- It may be a coincidence that both moves happened in the wake of the MS-01 GOP disaster. But they both correctly amplify the events of the last week.