Sensenbrenner challenger Kennedy gets major newspaper endorsement!

[undeterred]

Editorial: It's time to send the congressman home
From the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 28, 2006

Two years ago, we recommended Jim Sensenbrenner for another term representing Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District. Today, we simply cannot. Sensenbrenner has been wrong on too much, from an immigration policy that puts him at odds with much of his own party and the business community to failure to exert meaningful oversight over White House domestic spying policies.

We recommend his opponent, Democrat Bryan Kennedy. He will be a competent, thoughtful congressman who can restore a sense of dignity and balance to the 5th District. It's time for that after years of folly from Sensenbrenner.

Sensenbrenner has too often been an obstructionist to good policy. Given the reins of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, he had a chance to lead for the common good during a congressional session when few representatives had even a notion of what that meant. Too often, he didn't.

Sensenbrenner was wrong on immigration. His enforcement-only plan included making felons of undocumented immigrants and a useless 700-mile fence that will do nothing to solve this national problem. Worse for Republicans, his obstinacy split his own party and cost it a rare opportunity to significantly broaden its base.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=524167

:applause: :woohoo: :kick: :woohoo: :applause: :applause: :woohoo: :kick: :woohoo: :applause:

[eyesroll]

1. Thanks for the GD post!

This is amazing news, because the Journal Sentinel NEVER endorses challengers. They're not necessarily more likely to endorse Republicans than Democrats overall, but they outwardly assume incumbents deserve re-election unless they REALLY mess up. Looks like F. Jim did. :woohoo:

[undeterred]

2. thanks for breaking the news!

I am so happy! :applause:

[goddess40]

3. I'd love to see that McCarthy wanna be get the boot

He is a truly disgusting person - that stunt he pulled during the hearing where he turned off the mikes and the lights was one of the lowest.

[Cha]

49. Yeah, too bad the endorsement

of Bryan Kennedy didn't mention that!

[UTUSN]

4. K&R for sending TEX to the disposed-of pile n/t

[pacalo]

5. A major kudos to the Journal Sentinel!

Not only did they point out that he was an obstructionist & abused his power as House Judiciary Committee Chairman, they consider him obstinate. Time to restore a sense of dignity, is right.

[low_phreaq]

6. Might this be a good addition to the googlebomb/balm project?

Would this article be good to get out there as both a negative for Sensenbrenner and a positive for Kennedy? I don't think I saw this district on the googlebomb/balm project list. Anybody know how to add this on there?

[dragonlady]

7. Oh, yes!

:toast:

[HereSince1628]

8. Now THAT is something of an October surprise!

Who'd a thunk it?

[babylonsister]

9. Just IMAGINE! Wonderful news! nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. Excellent news! How's Kennedy doing in the polls?

I would LOVE to see Sensenbrenner go DOWN!

[undeterred]

12. No one is polling on this race, because its never been considered "in play"

Kennedy's internal poll from late August was 41-49. Sensenbrenner has behaved as though he doesn't need to do anything, the seat is his. Kennedy and his people have worked very hard at this campaign, and I think it will pay off. Sometimes its good when the pollsters ignore you, you can sneak up from behind. I've been working on his campaign since March and I believe Kennedy will win.

[buddysmellgood]

11. In early October, Kennedy was within 9 points of Senator Pig. It will be

interesting to see what kind of a bump he gets from this.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. Excellent...

I just donated to your good candidate last night.




http://www.bensonforcongress.com/

[undeterred]

14. thank you!!

[Blue_In_AK]

15. You're most welcome...

We're running a grassroots campaign here, too, so I understand how exciting it is when you get some good press. Ou candidate is on the rise, too. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

[undeterred]

16. wow, she looks like a great candidate

I will look for good results in the wee hours on election night!

[Blue_In_AK]

18. Thanks.

You would LOVE her. She is just what is needed in Congress...a truth warrior. She has been optimistic and upbeat and clear with her message from the very beginning of her campaign when everybody thought her cause was hopeless against 16-term porker Don Young http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12054520/the_10_worst_congressmen/3. He has millions in his war chest, almost all contributions from Outside corporations and Big Oil; Diane's campaign funds have been over 80 percent from individual Alaskans. She is the real deal.

[Toots]

32. How are things looking in Alaska

I heard your Representative won't even do any campaigning within the state. Are people starting to think he may be a bit arrogant and possibly vote for a change? Have there been any polls done there? I try to stay up on Alaska because I really like your state.

[Blue_In_AK]

38. We are having a surge of grassroots support

The problem is that Don Young has a couple million in his campaign war chest, which the "experts" seem to think will make him unbeatable. His arrogance toward the Alaska people is really infuriating.

You may be interested in these two articles which appeared in this morning's paper, showing the money disparities. I think it's very telling that the vast majority of Don Young's campaign money has come from Outside interests while almost all of Diane's contributions have come from individual Alaskans.

Young's most generous supporters from Outside. (It seems that Don has confused AK with AR)
http://www.adn.com/news/politics/elections/story/8356267p-8251767c.html

Benson banks on grassroots support
http://www.adn.com/news/politics/elections/story/8356266p-8251756c.html

We Benson supporters are a feisty bunch, though, so we're certainly not giving up. She is such a far superior candidate and I think a lot of ordinary Alaskans are catching on to that fact.

This is why I keep begging for support here at DU. Alaska is a huge state; campaigning here is probably more expensive than anywhere else. This is truly a David and Goliath race.

[midnight]

17. Can you imagine us being represented by a thoughtful

competent congressman. You have my vote Byran Kennedy. May there be justice on November 7th, 2006.

[postulater]

19. Bottom 10 reasons to re-elect Sensenbrenner

10. He has helped restore royalty to our government. For over 200 years we have been without a king. Now that Congress has given up overseeing the President and now that the Supreme Court is filled with our guys, we finally have our king back. Why did our ancestors ever want to govern themselves anyway,

9. He’s a millionaire like most of us, so he knows how to protect our revenue streams. He realizes that the Iraq war is a fight for oil and has nothing to do with WMD, democracy, or terrorism. He won’t let Iraq’s oil fields fall back into the hands of those we can’t control and he’ll make sure we keep permanent bases there so our kids can vacation there when they get drafted.

8. He saves us lots of money. When he travels he gets corporations to cover his expenses so he doesn’t have to bill the taxpayer (not that we really pay any taxes or anything). All it costs is a little favoritism in how he votes now and then.

7. He has been an excellent obstructionist to good policy. As long as he is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee we can count on him to keep any legislation damaging to our interests from ever reaching a vote. Heck he won’t even let the rest of the committee members have a meeting without him to discuss things that might expose things only certain people should know.

6. We can be sure that when Bush gets a blow job or does some other horrible thing like lie us into a war he’ll be the first in line to call for impeachment just like he did for Clinton.. Because he is a man of honor not a cheap partisan.

5. He masterminded the 700 mile border fence to keep out immigrants. Something like this could be useful to keep those unsavory Milwaukeeans out of our suburban neighborhoods. Heck maybe we can even put one up along our border with Illinois to keep those Bears fans out. While we’re at it we can mine Lake Michigan, lots of illegals enter Wisconsin by boat too.

4. If we send back 12 million immigrants, then our kids can get those landscaping jobs they have been trying to get since a college degree won’t get them a job..

3. Wisely he opposed the funding package for Katrina victims, saying that he feared poor accounting practices would result in fraudulent waste. He knows that it is much easier to be the recipient of that waste when the money is first sent to Iraq where there is even less oversight.

2. He doesn’t see the need to regulate gun dealers, he knows that the more guns in the hands of criminals, the more they will shoot themselves and the fewer we will have to deal with.

1. He stood up for patriots by voting for the Patriot Act, anybody who thinks they need any liberty or privacy is not a real patriot and deserves to be monitored.

1A. He hasn’t been arrested for bribery or improper relations with minors yet.

OK so it's eleven, which one should I cut out?

[dragonlady]

21. Don't cut a word

LOL, this is great!

[midnight]

22. Hey can anyone explain why that College degree

won't get our kids a job, but removing the immigrants from the country will.

[Justice Is Comin]

20. Now that's a flash bulletin to add to the flyers you guys are doing

such a great job with up there.

This could even go in neon colors.

Congratulations on the super great endorsement!

[midnight]

23. Please keep this post kicked for Bryan.

And of course those of us who would love to have Byran as our Congressman. Thanks

[BlooInBloo]

24. Nice! Does Kennedy have a realistic chance?

[krispos42]

26. Sensenbrenner has historically been a very strong performer

James Sensenbrenner was elected to the U.S. House in 1978 with 61 percent of the vote. He was re-elected to six consecutive terms and faced no Democratic opposition in 1990.

He won re-election in 1992 with 71 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Ingrid Buxton. He was unopposed for re-election in 1994.

In 1996, he was re-elected with 75 percent of the vote against Democrat Floyd Brenholt. Sensenbrenner was re-elected in 1998 without major party opposition.

He was re-elected in 2000 with 74 percent of the vote and again in 2002 with 86 percent of the vote. In 2004, he was re-elected with 67 percent of the vote.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/pre-election/state_districts/WI.html?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

But with the rising Blue Tide, the newspaper endorsement, and Sensenbrenner's portrayals in Rolling Stone and The Daily Show, maybe we can pull it off.

[undeterred]

30. Sensenbrenner is filthy rich, and that goes a long way

in averting anyone from challenging him.

The people of WI-5 haven't had a choice like this in years. There are plenty of people who would vote for a good alternative if they had one. Bryan is their chance to vote for Democracy.

[krispos42]

40. Excellent! I hope so

Buying a seat every year is disgusting. I was not aware he was rich. I was afraid my PC might catch some STD if I went to his site...

[ginnyinWI]

50. His money is from Kimberly-Clark

in case anybody feels like boycotting.

[undeterred]

52. They have a disclaimer about that on their website

http://www.kimberly-clark.com/

It says he is simply a shareholder and not an heir, as I have heard so many times. :shrug:

[undeterred]

35. Yes.

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[krispos42]

25. There is also a Brian Kennedy (R) running in Iowa's 1st CD

Ted Kennedy is in Massachusettes, and Minnesota 6th CD Congressman Mark Kennedy (R) is running (and losing badly- ha ha!) for Senate.

Too many damn Kennedys out there.

Shit, I sound like Rush Limp-Bough...

Anyway, Bryan Kennedy (5th WI) DOES NOT HAVE A WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE!!!

Bryan Kennedy, according to Wikipedia, is a software designer and businessman.

I've sent an email to Kennedy. Wiconsin Kennedy, I mean. Hopefully they take care of it while there's still time.

[dragonlady]

27. Kick, and don't forget,

victory over a puffy authoritarian doesn't come cheap. Bryan still needs some money to make it happen. Here's the site for donations: http://www.actblue.com/page/bryankennedy



:kick: :kick: :kick:

[LTR]

28. I wish I could vote for him

Unfortunately, I live roughly 200 feet from the border of his district.

My district is represented by Gwen Moore, who's seat is very safe. This district is solidly Dem.

[undeterred]

29. 200 ft!

Well, you've got me beat. I'm about 30 miles outside the district in solidly Dem Madison, where we have Tammy Baldwin, whose seat is safe. I wish I could vote for him too.

[KharmaTrain]

31. The Journal Endorsing A Democrat???

I knew I felt the earth shaking to the north the other day. Add to that the endorsements of Democrats in Illinois by the Chicago Tribune and we're seeing the disenchanted and demoralized "Repugnica" establishment against the status quo.

Kennedy has run a very good campaign despite a lack of media attention and going up against one of the most bombastic Repugnicans and one of the most dangerous. While I'd like to see Sennsenbrenner retired, there's a part of me that would love to see him bristle as he's gaveled to shut up by John Conyers (John has more class than to cut off his microphone).

[ginnyinWI]

51. They did endorse Kerry two years ago.

They waited until the last minute, and it looked like they'd endorse nobody--then they gave Kerry the nod.

[ClassWarrior]

58. It's been known to happen... but more in their journalistic past...

...and not their tabloid present.

NGU.

[GCP]

33. Excellent expose of him in the current Rolling Stone

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12054520/the_10_worst_congressmen/2

"Sensenbrenner's iron-fisted rule of the judiciary committee was on nationwide display last year during a televised debate over reauthorization of the Patriot Act. When Democrats began discussing the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo, the chairman abruptly ended the meeting and cut off their microphones. When Democrats refused to leave the room, Sensenbrenner's staff pulled the plug on C-Span and turned out the lights. As The Daily Show host Jon Stewart put it, "He literally took his gavel and went home."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Sensenbrenner's abuse of power "disgraceful." But Democrats should take heart: The GOP chairman is an equal-opportunity bully. "He treats us all equally," says Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.). "He treats us all like dogs."

Sensenbrenner, whose $10 million fortune stems from his great-grandfather's invention of the Kotex sanitary napkin, won $250,000 in the lottery in 1997. He also enjoys the perks of office: No congressman has racked up more frequent-flier miles on junkets sponsored by corporate lobbyists. While he was enjoying the good life last year, Sensenbrenner took time out to make life tougher on working families, winning approval for a bill that makes it harder for Americans overwhelmed by debt to declare bankruptcy. The congressman refused to consider an exemption from the bill's restrictions for victims of Hurricane Katrina -- and even voted against the aid package designed to help them recover from the disaster.

What a fuckin' prince :sarcasm:

[undeterred]

43. these things should piss off true conservatives as well as liberals

[GOPS Worst Fear]

34. Don't Forget Sensenbrenner was the one who shut off the Mics..

Whn the minority congress wanted to have open meetings..

[krispos42]

41. And he took his gavel and went home in a huff

Spoiled brat that he is.

In this case, 'brat' is short for 'bratwurst', 'cuz you KNOW he's fully of fat and other bad things that are not good for you at all, and should be thoroughly grilled sometime in the near future.

[leesa]

36. Wow! That's great news for Kennedy! And they were paying attention

to the lack of oversight on warrentless wiretapping!!!

[undeterred]

37. Amazing, isn't it?

Huge move for this newspaper. Great compliment to Bryan Kennedy and his campaign that he is trusted more than a 28 year incumbent.

[ClassWarrior]

39. Bryan can beat F. Jim with your help. Help him put this endorsement on TV.

Donate at the web site in my sigline below.

Never Give Up.

[undeterred]

42. kick!

:kick: :patriot: :kick: :patriot: :kick: :patriot: :kick: :patriot: :kick: :patriot: :kick: :patriot:

[ClassWarrior]

53. Back atcha!

:kick:

NGU.

[Annces]

44. Yey

That man is wicked.

[Art_from_Ark]

45. So let me get this straight

After supporting this Joe McCarthy wannabe during his "years of folly", the newspaper editors are finally seeing the light?

Better late than never, I guess...

[bridgit]

46. couldn't have happened to a bigger jerk...maybe...

:rofl: :bounce:

[undeterred]

47. Only 2 bigger jerks in Congress- Boehner and Hastert

[bridgit]

48. oh i know, half way through my post i had to add an escape hatch...

x( :rofl:

[undeterred]

56. well, there's a lot of competition

but in WI Sensenbrenner is an embarrassment

[LeftHander]

54. WOW! K&R...nt

[undeterred]

55. Its really gonna happen.

:) :hi: :)

[WI_DEM]

57. That's terrific! Let's hope it helps.