Best Swag of the Season

by: Gavin

Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 22:11:12 PM EST

We're giving one away to anyone who donates $5 or more online before the end of December, which of course includes donations made through  everyone's favorite ActBlue page, ActBlueHampshire.

Republican dirty tricks against their own. I'm shocked! Shocked!

by: Gavin

Fri Nov 16, 2007 at 12:55:30 PM EST

Among the questions was whether a resident knew that Romney was a Mormon, that he received military deferments when he served as a Mormon missionary in France, that his five sons did not serve in the military, that Romney's faith did not accept blacks as bishops into the 1970s and that Mormons believe the Book of Mormon is superior to the Bible.

"It started out like all the other calls. ... Then all of the sudden it got very unsettling and very negative," said Anne Baker, an independent voter from Hollis, N.H.

This provides a nice contrast with the democratic presidential candidates as they discuss mostly substantive differences on national TV and in public stump speeches, and even videos that have a "paid for" at the end of them.  I'm not a fan of all the negativity that's been going around, but at least we usually know from whom it's coming, even here on BH.

Buckey on Mukasey confirmation

by: Gavin

Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 18:36:47 PM EST

Lebanon, NH --Jay Buckey, Democratic candidate  to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate, said that Michael Mukasey's appointment today as Attorney General is a disappointment for anyone who values the Constitution and common sense.

"I couldn't believe that he refused to condemn water boarding," said Buckey, a former flight surgeon in the Air Force Reserve. "Most commonsense folks would look at that and say, 'Gee, if it were done to me, I'd consider it torture.' It doesn't take a constitutional scholar to figure that out."

Buckey said that he doesn't question Mukasey's intelligence or qualifications, but he's concerned about  the Attorney General's  backbone, and he would have voted against Mukasey's confirmation. New Hampshire's current Senators, Republicans John Sununu and Judd Gregg, voted to confirm Mukasey.

Buckey Responds to Republican Attack

by: Gavin

Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 20:09:37 PM EDT

CONCORD - A new Rasmussen poll released today shows a five point gap in the US Senate race.  The poll which is posted on RasmussenReports.com shows Jeanne Shaheen leading Senator John Sununu by only five points, 48% to 43%.

The poll also shows that 50% of New Hampshire residents support the General Petraeus report calling for a gradual reduction of US forces in Iraq. 

"This poll shows how out of touch Jeanne Shaheen, Katrina Swett, Jay Buckey and the angry left wing democrats are on the war.  Voters are not supporting a rash surrender in Iraq, but rather a thoughtful measured approach similar to that supported by Senator John Sununu," said today by New Hampshire Republican Chair Fergus Cullen.

Even if one is willing to forgive the grammatical weirdness in the last sentence, statements like this cannot go unchallenged.  The Buckey Campaign has issued the following press release:

Senate Candidate Jay Buckey Responds to NH Republican Attack

Lebanon, NH - "John Sununu voted for the Iraq resolution and, back in 2003, when showing leadership on Iraq would have made an importance difference, John Sununu didn't step forward," said US Senate candidate Jay Buckey.

  "The facts and his record don't support the notion that Sununu would provide real leadership now," said Buckey. "As citizens, we want our senators to look at the facts, assess them critically, and make good decisions. We don't need them to follow the president uncritically, as John Sununu has done on Iraq."

Union Leader: Shaheen will run -- Buckey to stay in

by: Gavin

Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 01:08:35 AM EDT

Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen will be a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008, the New Hampshire Union Leader has learned. The Democratic former three-term chief executive is expected to issue a statement today addressing her political plans. While it's unclear exactly how the statement will be phrased, sources say Shaheen has decided to seek the seat held by Republican John E. Sununu, who defeated her in a bitter 2002 contest.

DiStaso the same article in Politico, which gives a good rundown of the race.

Earlier today Buckey sent out a press release reaffirming his commitment to the Senate race. Here's the text:

Senate Candidate Jay Buckey Reaffirms Senate Race Commitment

Lebanon, NH - "My Senate campaign is focused on the war in Iraq, America's need for a new energy policy, and the crucial economic issues facing our country," said US Senate candidate Jay Buckey.  "It isn't contingent on whether others get into the race. I'm committed to the campaign and to winning the Senate seat from John Sununu." There has been speculation that former governor Jeanne Shaheen might enter the Senate race. "I look forward to a vigorous discussion of the important issues in a primary, and I'd welcome Jeanne Shaheen into the race if she decides to do that."

Jay Buckey is a physician, scientist, and former astronaut who has also served as a Major in the Air Force Reserve. "We face serious challenges -- getting out of Iraq responsibly, solving our energy problem, dealing with terrorism, providing universal health care, and making global trade work for regular people," Buckey explained. "We need leaders who will address these challenges head on."

Buckey releases 3 new policy papers

by: Gavin

Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 17:14:48 PM EDT

Energy
Iraq
Global Trade

Buckey sent a letter to supporters a few minutes ago announcing the new papers.  Here's the text:

Bush administration official predicted everything that would happen in Iraq

by: Gavin

Sat Aug 11, 2007 at 00:13:22 AM EDT

(props to "Vladimir Putin" at reddit for finding this.  Also note that my headline may be incorrect depending on which branch of government the VP's office is in)

Yearly Kos with Jay Buckey (and pics)

by: Gavin

Sat Aug 04, 2007 at 00:40:07 AM EDT

More info in the comments.

Joe Trippi Comes Out For Jay Buckey

by: Gavin

Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 17:50:31 PM EDT

Ever since I read Joe's book he's been sort of a hero of mine.  I can't say how exciting it is to have him say some nice things about Jay.  Joe's understanding of the internet as a real place and another extension of offline communities are unparalleled.

There is something refreshing about candidates with different backgrounds. After all, our representatives should be, well, representative. That is one reason I was pulling so hard for Senators Tester and Webb in the last cycle - the Senate needs different resumes.

One candidate I have my eye on this cycle is Jay Buckey, running for Senate in New Hampshire. Jay is a medical doctor, a professor at Dartmouth, a former Major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and an astronaut - he completed 256 orbits of the Earth aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

"Manly Mitt" Runs Away -- Twice?

by: Gavin

Sat Jul 28, 2007 at 14:59:05 PM EDT

Basically, Mitt thinks that questions that have been vetted by CNN are going to be "disrespectful."  He's also turned his back on the valuable snowman demographic, by saying that "I don't know that it makes sense to have people running for president answering questions posed from snowmen."

He's essentially saying that the internet community is not serious, that we shouldn't have any fun in politics, and it also seems that he's afraid of getting the tough questions that youtubers would certainly submit.  Whether CNN would actually let the more challenging questions through is another matter.

Buckey Supports Shea-Porter Signing Statements Bill

by: Gavin

Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 00:04:00 AM EDT

Getting rid of the Bush use for signing statements is incredibly important.  As long as a President can use signing statements to effectively nullify parts of bills, the legislative branch's power is severely infringed.

"We need to restore balance to our government," said Jay Buckey, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from New Hampshire.  "I support Carol Shea-Porter's recent proposal to ban the use of Presidential Signing Statements as the basis for legal decisions."

More of the release below.

The Late Primary Effect by the numbers

by: Gavin

Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:24:25 PM EDT

Last night I put together the data from the 2006 senate races, specifically how it affected the success or failure of incumbents.  It turns out to be a pretty small sample size because only 6 incumbents were actually ousted, but it does seem that there's a difference.  A shorter period after the primary seemed to favor the incumbents.

First I took all the 2006 senate races, and matched them up with their primary dates.  I used the primary runoff election dates for those states that had a runoff in the primary.  Since we're interested in the advantage or lack thereof for incumbents, I eliminated all of the open seats, as well as Connecticut, which didn't really fit into my analysis.  I also eliminated states which have different systems such as conventions.

I then divided the results into two groups:  elections won by incumbents and elections won by challengers.  Simply averaging the election length for each group shows that incumbents with shorter post-primary election seasons were more likely to be elected.  Incumbents who won had an average campaign length of 112 days.  Challengers who won had an average campaign length of 135 days.

Another way to look at the data is to divide it into two categories:  short campaign periods of 91 days or less, and long campaign periods of 134 days or more.  There are no lengths in between those two lengths, so the data divides nicely into these categories.

In "short campaigns" incumbents won 10-2.
In "long campaigns" incumbents won 11-4.

To put it another way, challengers won 17% of short campaigns and 27% of long campaigns.

Buckey Officially Announces

by: Gavin

Thu Jun 14, 2007 at 12:27:25 PM EDT