Blogometer Update: House Edition

DK at fills us in on what the National Education Association has been up to. He notes "major independent expenditures" in three districts:

[T]he NV-3 held by Republican Jon Porter is looking like it's in play. To aid the effort, the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education has dropped $378,000 into that race.

In the AZ-5, the NEA is getting serious about knocking off Rep. J.D.

Hayworth, with a $491,000 push. And in the NM-1, where Patricia Madrid and Heather Wilson are in a tight race, the NEA has put down $200,000. The point here is not to document every last dime being spent, but to get a sense of when the battle is being joined, who is engaging in the fight, and where the stakes are the highest.

DK is nice enough to note at the bottom that "the NEA, the teachers union, is siding with the Dems in these races."
John Aravosis at doesn't mince words: he wants "anti-gay bigot" Marilyn Musgrave, the incumbent GOP Rep. from Colorado's 7th, outta there.

Seeking donations for Dem challenger Angie Paccione, Aravosis rails, "Let's give the religious right a black eye they'll never forget."

Paccione is taking on Republican Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, the author and chief sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment - i.e.

, the legislation that would amend the US Constitution to make it anti-gay. This race is extremely competitive and Paccione has a real chance to take down Musgrave, the religious right darling and close friend of George Bush who thinks gay marriage is the most important issue in America (seriously).

The GOP's Club for Growth lads are leery as hell that Dem challenger Larry Grant is "within striking distance" of fellow challenger for the vacant district, Republican Bill Sali.

Now with, as mcjoan at reports, The Idaho Stateman endorsing Grant, the C for G has gone into action, "pumping in an emergency transfusion of $180k for oppositional TV ads against Grant...

" per James at .
CfG does its usual ad rantorama, mixing "misleading information" and things taken out of context, "cheating the public out of their need for trusted, abundant, accurate, factual information." Grant isn't standing for it, if is any proof.

Is it possible, in these heady times of GOP unpopularity, that a Democratic incumbent could blow a huge lead to a car salesman who's gotten zero support from the Republican home office? Not only is it possible, but "an unexpected buzzsaw" is happening right now in Indiana's 7th, where Eric Dickerson--who once trailed by 20 points--has overtaken incumbent Julia Carson. Captain Ed at the has more:

The national party has done nothing for Dickerson, who has prided himself on the independence of his candidacy.

However, the GOP may soon look to this race to help them keep control of the House, and the national media may discover this race rather soon. Keep an eye on Indiana.

Singer writes that now comes "a potentially groundshaking allegation" from Porter's own staff.

"[T]he Representative made several fundraising phone calls from his official office -- a big no-no that could have legal as well as political ramifications."
But are the Democrats leaping onto this opening? Singer doesn't get the warm fuzzy yet:

To begin, this is a race that the DCCC should be focusing on.

Now one might argue that Hafen's fundraising prowess, perhaps aided by her work in the office of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, would make any DCCC expenditure in the district superfluous, and there was probably some credence there before this news story came out. But given the nature of these allegations, the DCCC must seriously consider putting money into Nevada 3. Remember, an attack ad from the DCCC would almost certainly be more effective than one paid for and approved by Hafen simply for the fact that Hafen would likely be better served by remaining above the fray on this issue.

Singer says he'll be "keeping an eye" on forthcoming expenditures.
Josh Marshall at finds it "amazing that Rep. Curt Weldon is still even in this race.

" Marshall quotes Philadelphia Daily News on the latest audaciousness from ole himself:

Sestak described how he'd gone to elementary school at St. Kevin's, right next door, and to Cardinal O'Hara High School, just down the road, before signing up for the Naval Academy during the Vietnam War. "Unlike others, I decided I did want to serve my country," Sestak said.

That was apparently a bit too pointed for Weldon, who got a teaching deferment to avoid the Vietnam draft and never served in the military. Weldon said he had put himself in harm's way as a volunteer fireman, stuck between an oil tanker and a refinery fire. "Have you ever faced a similar situation, Joe, or are you always in the admiral's quarters, drinking out of your wine goblets and being waited on by your sailor servants?

" Weldon asked.

"Most officers in the Navy get their first commission as an admiral, right?" asks Marshall.

"How is this goof still in Congress?"
Weldon's going to need more than a to endure the slam from Sestak himself in a new ad from his campaign that is among the most effective of the election year so far. See for yourself .

Bob Geiger at remarks, "Watch this ad a few times, Democratic Veterans...

[T]his is how Democrats need to deal with this crap. Kudos to Sestak and his campaign."
Apparently Weldon-itis has speared to the 10th, where Republicans sent out a mailer more or less blaming a Democrat for the Iraq war.

Take 's word for it at National Review:

...

[A]n RNC mailing targeting Chris Carney, a naval reserve officer and Democrat challenging Republican Phil Sherwood in upstate Pennsylvania, accuses Carney of starting the Iraq war by demonstrating a link between Saddam and multiple terrorist groups. nbspp; This mailing is shameless. Carney was a reservist activated and sent to the Pentagon.

He had reams of old reports and raw data dumped on his desk and was asked to review it. He did his service. That he raised questions about links and meetings that the CIA couldn't answer, well, that says a lot more about the analysis wing at the CIA than about anything else.

...

It is even more disturbing that, as their source, the RNC mailing used a 2004 article by the former "Middle East intelligence correspondent" of the Lyndon LaRouche movement. His source? Karen Kwiatkowski, a former Pentagon Morocco desk officer whom the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence suggested was a fabricator in a 2004 report.

"Republicans are better than Democrats on national security and terrorism," continues The Corner. They wrap: "Note to Pennsylvania Republicans: laying the Ned Lamont populist card is both counterproductive and irresponsible.