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The Battle for Congress: John Nichols on How Anti-War and
Pro-Labor Candidates Could Help the Democrats Win Control
of Both Houses
The Battle for Congress: Tennessee’s Harold Ford Aims
to Become First Black Senator From the South Since Reconstruction
The Battle for Congress: Can Lamont Beat Lieberman Again?
A Look at Connecticut’s Senate Race
The Battle for Congress: John Nichols on How Anti-War
and Pro-Labor Candidates Could Help the Democrats Win Control
of Both Houses
Election Day is just two weeks away. It’s being described
as the most pivotal battle for Congress in over a decade.
Today, we spend the hour looking at some of the key contests
and issues that are shaping this year’s mid-term elections.
Democrats have significantly improved their chances of taking
control of both the Senate and the House. [includes rush
transcript - partial]
Polls now indicate four Republican incumbents in the Senate
-- Conrad Burns of Montana, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island,
Mike DeWine of Ohio and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania –
are likely to lose their seats. If the polls are accurate,
the control of the Senate will be decided based on the outcome
of tight races in Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. The Democrats
need to gain six seats to win control of the Senate.
Meanwhile the number of Republican House seats at risk has
nearly tripled since January. According to the Cook Political
Report, 48 Republican seats are now considered up for grabs.
That’s up from 18 at the start of the year. To take
back the House, Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats.
Overall, public support for the Republican-controlled Congress
is at its lowest level in fourteen years. According to an
NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey, just 16 percent of Americans
give Congress a favorable rating. And for the first time ever,
more than fifty percent of Americans now support Democratic
control of Congress.
We begin our coverage today with John Nichols. He’s
a political writer for The Nation Magazine, and associate
editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison,
Wisconsin, where he joins us on the telephone. Welcome to
Democracy Now!
- John Nichols, Political writer for The Nation Magazine.
He is also the associate editor of the Capital Times, the
daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. His new book is called
"The Genius of Impeachment."
The Battle for Congress: Tennessee’s Harold
Ford Aims to Become First Black Senator From the South Since
Reconstruction
One of the most closely watched races this election is in
Tennessee. Representative Harold Ford is running against Chattanooga
Mayor Bob Corker for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring
Majority Leader Bill Frist. The race has gotten increasingly
close in recent weeks. Democrats hope that this seat will
be one of the six seats needed to regain their majority. [includes
rush
transcript]
Harold Ford is a five-term Democratic Congressman who comes
from a political family – his father, Harold Ford Sr.,
served as a Congressman in the district currently represented
by his son. Seven other Fords have also held political office
in the state. If Ford is elected - he will be the first black
Senator from a southern state since Reconstruction.
Mike Wenger joins me now from Washington, DC. He is the Acting
Vice President for Communications at the Joint Center for
Political and Economic Studies.
- Mike Wenger, Acting Vice President for Communications
at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
The Battle for Congress: Can Lamont Beat Lieberman
Again? A Look at Connecticut’s Senate Race
Ned Lamont, a wealthy telecommunications executive, is trying
to pull off a second upset over Senator Joseph Lieberman after
defeating him in the Democratic primary this summer. Lieberman
is running as an independent but says he’ll caucus with
Senate Democrats if he keeps his seat. [includes rush
transcript]
Despite a celebrated victory in the primary, Lamont now faces
an uphill battle. The latest polls show him trailing Lieberman
by seventeen points.
Last night, the two frontrunners along with Republican Alan
Schlesinger held their final debate before the election. In
themes that have marked their respective campaigns, Lamont
criticized Lieberman’s support for the Iraq war and
other policies of the White House. Lieberman defended his
record and said Lamont’s call for a withdrawal timetable
of US troops from Iraq would lead to disaster. The debate
came hours after Lamont filed a complaint with the Federal
Election Commission accusing Lieberman of failing to account
for nearly $400,000 dollars in campaign spending in the days
before the Democratic primary.
For more on this race we go to Harford, Connecticut where
we’re joined by Bill Curry. He is a former Connecticut
state comptroller and state senator – and twice the
state Democratic nominee for governor. Curry served as a counselor
to President Clinton from 1995 to 1997. He now writes a weekly
column for the Hartford Courant.
- Bill Curry, a former Connecticut state comptroller and
state senator. He was the Democratic nominee for governor
twice. He now writes a weekly column for the Hartford Courant.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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