From the House Race Hotline for Monday, June 29, 2009

Global Warming Hot Seats

Monday, June 29, 2009


GOPers have had a field day attacking Dems in conservative CDs (like MD-01's Frank Kratovil and VA-05's Tom Perriello) who voted for the Dem energy bill 6/26, which passed the House without the help of 44 other Dems. -- Perriello acknowledged that vulnerable Dems "are going to take a political hit" for supporting the measure, and he's certainly in that category. Kratovil's enviro-friendly CD may insulate him a bit from attacks, but in a CD that went for John McCain with 59%, this vote will hurt. Even Alan Grayson (FL-08), who appeared to have won a $50M hurricane center for his CD in exchange for his vote, took some flack at home. -- Still, is GOP trouble brewing, too? You didn't need to see Min. Leader John Boehner's statement that the bill was a "pile of s--t" to know that GOPers are angry about this bill. But the "tea party"-inspired grassroots are angry enough that they're talking about primary challenges to some of the eight GOPers who voted for the bill. Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) seems to be a particular target of these attacks, even though one state senator has already rebuffed calls to run. -- Vulnerable Dems have been on the defensive since the vote, but so will some of those GOPers who backed the bill. If Gene Taylor's (D-MS 04) is right, it all may be in vain, too. Taylor told The Hill: "A lot of people walked the plank on a bill that will never become law."

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