10.17.10 -- 11:23PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (71)

Didn't Know You Could Do That

At a Joe Miller for Senate campaign event today in Alaska, members of Miller's private security team 'arrested' journalist Tony Hopfinger of the Alaska Dispatch. Hopfinger later told local TV news station KTUU that he was asking questions when he was told by Miller's security detail that he was under arrest and placed in handcuffs. The security guards kept Hopfinger in custody pending the arrival of Anchorage police. But when police arrived they released Hopfinger and said no charges would be filed.

William Fulton, one of Miller's security guards, released a statement claiming that Hopfinger became belligerent and menacing to the candidate while asking about the scandal surrounding Miller's work as city attorney for Fairbanks North Star Borough in 2007 and 2008. The security guards were apparently part of a team provided by "Drop Zone", the Anchorage-based private security firm hired by the campaign.

Miller said last week that he would no longer answer press questions about his personal or professional background.

--Josh Marshall

10.17.10 -- 9:42PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (7)

Bow Down to Aqua Buddha

Because it's 2010 and it had to happen, two candidates in one of the top Senate races in the country squared off tonight in an angry, knock-down drag out debate over a "false idol called Aqua Buddha."

Evan has our just-filed report on tonight's Kentucky Senate debate.

--Josh Marshall

10.17.10 -- 8:17PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (5)

Reports from the Field

Our Evan McMorris-Santoro is covering the Kentucky Senate debate tonight. And it apparently got really nasty really fast, in large part in reaction to Conway's Aqua-Buddha fusillade over the weekend. We'll have a report shortly.

--Josh Marshall

10.17.10 -- 4:15PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (6)

Personal Best?

At the playground this morning with my kids I ran into a TPM Reader who raised an interesting point: Even if Christine O'Donnell doesn't win on November 2nd, will she at least score a personal best?

Remember, this is the third consecutive cycle in which O'Donnell has run for Senate. In 2006, she lost in the Republican primary but then ran as a write-in, garnering 4% against Tom Carper. Then she ran again in 2008 getting 35.3% of the vote against Joe Biden, who of course was also running for Vice President.

So 35% is the mark she needs to beat.

Notwithstanding all the trials of her campaign, it's difficult to imagine that in this election year O'Donnell can't exceed her personal best against a relative unknown like Chris Coons (who's actually not that unknown in the state). Going back to July she's only twice polled below 35% against Coons, though one of those two was just a few days ago. And she's polled over 40% three times -- though each of those was a Rasmussen poll and the highest was 42%. (See all the polls here.) So the polling trend shows it's possible she could actually underperform her 2008 personal best, though it seems unlikely.

--Josh Marshall

10.17.10 -- 2:15PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (21)

War Games

TPM Reader AS shares an interesting perspective on Vietnam War reenacting ...

To your general question, pretty much every war has its reenactors. For a sampling, take a look at this dude's pics from "Marching Through Time" held at Marietta Mansion. These 'timeline' events are sort of a military history mall. If you'd like to read a somewhat sympathetic, though still objective treatment of the WWII reenactors, I can recommend War Games. In fact, Jenny Thompson would be a good person to interview on this story. http://www.amazon.com/War-Games-Inside-Twentieth-Century-Reenactors/dp/1588341283 I've actually spent some up-close-and-personal time with Vietnam War reenactors. I worked on a documentary (still unfinished) about the topic for a year or so with a group of guys who live in PA, DE and NJ, and I came away with a much more nuanced perspective than I anticipated.

Read more »

--Josh Marshall

10.17.10 -- 1:51PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (6)

War Reenacting, Pt. 2

I want to thank everyone for the enlightening and illuminating emails we've gotten about war reenacting. And please keep them coming. I had asked whether war reenacting wasn't limited, at least in the main, to the era of wars between the Civil War and World War II. But this is far from the case. We've gotten reports of everything from Vietnam War reenacting, to reenacted Roman Legions marching down the Appian Way to English Civil War reenacting down to Viking raid reenacting (curious about that last one -- who plays the raided monks?). It still seems right that it's bigger in the US than in Europe, but the disparity actually seems to be substantially less than I might have thought. And there may not be any difference at all. All told, there's a ton of reenacting going on -- and, as you'd expect, for reasons ranging from amateur history research to camaraderie and ideological nostalgia. We'll have more on this later.

--Josh Marshall

10.17.10 -- 12:52AM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (96)

War Reenacting

We've seen some controversies this year with war reenacting. There's Nazi reenacting; the much more ubiquitous cult of Civil War reenacting. But in addition to touching controversy, these wars seem to fall into a relatively narrow span of time. Is there any Vietnam War reenacting? Or thinking more broadly as to time -- any time Punic War reenacting in Tunisia or Italy? Agincourt? Siege of Vienna? Crimean War? I guess suspect there might be some Napoleonic War reenacting.

In all seriousness, I'm curious which eras of conflict do draw a reenacting crowd and which ones it occurs to no one ever to relive. My hunch is that the phenomenon covers a relatively narrow band of time in which regularized uniforms and small arms played key roles. But this is pure speculation. Who can enlighten me?

--Josh Marshall

10.17.10 -- 12:05AM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (40)

Pale Hordes

Sharron Angle tells Latino students she's really concerned about the Canadian border too.

--Josh Marshall

10.16.10 -- 11:48PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (30)

Loving This Response

Yesterday we noted the NBC News report that South Florida Tea Party fav (FL-22) Allen West has been chumming up to "the Outlaws", a motorcycle gang tied to murder, arson, drug running and various other pastimes.

Now in an interview with The Hotline West responds that the whole thing is a nonstarter because if Lisa Myers had done "her research, she'd know that the Outlaws do not accept blacks, Jews or gays."

So even if they kill people and run drugs, they won't let blacks like Allen West join them in doing it. So end of story.

--Josh Marshall

10.16.10 -- 10:28PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (72)

Jack's In It To Win It

Earlier this afternoon I noted this boffo, over-the-top ad Jack Conway just debuted against Rand Paul, calling Paul's religiosity into question. And it's hit a nerve. Rand's campaign has hit back claiming "Jack Conway stepped way over the line and released a shameful and despicable ad that questions Dr. Paul's Christian faith." Paul himself declared: "I am a pro-life Christian, and I have never written or spoken anything that would indicate otherwise."

The claims contained in Conway's ad are somewhere between cartoonish, outrageous and hard to refute. (It's not easy to explain how you can be a devotee of Ayn Rand and a "pro-life Christian.") But watching the ad you get the distinct sense that Jack Conway has not reconciled himself to losing this race.

And now there's more.

Read more »

--Josh Marshall

10.16.10 -- 4:47PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (13)

Pentagon Memo To Troops: Don't Start Telling Us You're Gay Yet

Pentagon sends memo to members of the Armed Forces telling them to stay in the closet a bit longer, notwithstanding the court yelling stopping enforcement of DADT. Read the memo here.

--Josh Marshall

10.16.10 -- 2:52PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (231)

You've Gotta See This Ad

Jack Conway's trailing Rand Paul down in Kentucky. But he's not out of it yet. And there are some signs he's starting to turn the corner. (The current TPM Poll Average is Paul 46.9%, Conway 41.7%.) But this ad ... man, this ad. Whew. To be clear, I'm not saying it won't, or couldn't, be effective. But it registered for me as somewhere between a hokey Tea Party ad and an SNL spoof. It takes off on the 'Aqua Buddha' controversy.

Video below the fold. Just watch.

Read more »

--Josh Marshall

10.16.10 -- 2:10PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (8)

The Big Money

Forget paying rent with campaign money. Now she can buy the whole house. Christine O'Donnell's campaign raises $3.8 million in one month.

--Josh Marshall

10.15.10 -- 10:03PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (38)

Not a Nazi Dresser, But ...

Okay, first we had a Tea Partier who was coven-curious. Then we had one in Ohio who likes dressing up in an SS uniform and going out in the forest and pretending he's a Nazi named Reinhardt. Now NBC has found another one down in South Florida who's been hanging out with a motorcycle gang called the Outlaws who are involved in drug running, arson and murder. But hey, who's judging.

And unlike Christine O'Donnell and Rich Iott, this guy, Allen West, has a pretty good shot at winning.

If the Dems can just surface a couple dozen more of these stories in October, we could be looking at Speaker Pelosi next year.

On the other hand, drug-running biker gangs are in the Constitution.

--Josh Marshall

10.15.10 -- 6:32PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (20)

Making Voting As Hard as Possible (for some people)

Want a heads up on what's coming down the pike on the voter suppression front for November 2nd.

Our Ryan J. Reilly looks at the "voter integrity" seminars the Republican National Lawyers Association is holding around the country.

--Josh Marshall

10.15.10 -- 6:15PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (12)

Oh No You Don't

State insurance commissioners crack down on insurance companies who say they're going to stop offering kids-only insurance policies in response to the new regulations included in Health Care Reform law.

--Josh Marshall

10.15.10 -- 4:07PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (15)

Today's Top Polls

As you know, at our TPMPolltracker site we have a database of basically every political and most issue opinion polls in the country, along with trend graphs for every contest. But as we come down to the wire, we're rolling out a temporary 'Today's Top Polls' feature you'll see every day at the top of the Editor's Blog. The number of polls will likely expand as we get to election day. And the approach is pretty straightforward. The editors will be choosing what we see as the most important half dozen or so polls each day, and often changing through the day. In general, I'll be looking for the close races where we get new results, especially if they suggest a new trend.

Click on the red 'race id' tag to go to the full poll data set and graph for that particular race -- "Washington Senate", etc.

Let us know if you think we've missed a particularly important poll. And of course, hit TPMPolltracker to see every last freaking poll released up to the hour, if you're that hardcore.

--Josh Marshall

10.15.10 -- 3:54PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (7)

It's Not Just An Internship--It's An Adventure

TPM is currently interviewing for our Winter intern cycle. TPM interns have gone on to jobs at The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, Yahoo, The New Republic, Slate, The New York Sun and sundry other cool places as well as frequently getting hired at TPM.

TPM interns are probably as intimately and rapidly involved in the preparation and production of news coverage as interns at any other news organization. And that ranges from work on the news section of the front page to research for our stories to video editing to bylined articles. To learn more and find out how to apply, click here.

--David Kurtz

10.15.10 -- 2:27PM // RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (19)

Wow, That Was Fast

Watch as Fox News takes a false alarm and its own "scoop" and breathlessly turns them into evidence of an imminent threat of a terrorist attack -- all in the span of 5 minutes.

--David Kurtz