Blogger Conference Call, Ken Mehlman, RNC Chairman
Just got off of a conference call with RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman…some quick impressions:
The opening statement was short and seemed a bit defensive, and the initial couple of questions in the Q&A were answered curtly, but Mehlman warmed up to his usual energetic self by the end. In the opener, Mehlman stressed two things: (1) the historic tendency of exit polls to overstate Democratic support, and (2) the fact that voter fraud allegations are a time-honored part of the Democratic playbook, so take all these initial reports with a grain of salt.
Our old friend Erick Erickson asked about the large number of reports he was receiving about voting problems in Pennsylvania, and the answer was very short, without elaboration: yes, we’ve heard them. A couple of questioners brought up Pennsylvania and Maryland, but there was no news to report (in general, there was not much news to report – as I mentioned in another post, exit polling data is under a tight embargo until 5:00 p.m. Eastern).
Jim Geraghty asked what was the most ‘challenging’ bit of news, and Mehlman responded just the whole environment, calling it extremely difficult. Another questioner, John Little, I believe, asked whether Mehlman agreed that the political class has let us down lately and was in need of reform.
Perhaps surprisingly, Mehlman agreed that reform is on the agenda, referencing one of my favorite anecdotes (Woody Allen’s observation that relationships are like sharks, they have to move forward or they die – in this case, the shark being the Republican Party), and this Fred Barnes piece.
I wanted to ask about TX-22, but the conference call ended before my turn came up (should have pushed those buttons sooner!). Another questioner did bring it up, though, and a lot of people think the GOP may pull this one out, yet (that’s Tom Delay’s old seat, if you’re not aware).
Scott Hanna of WDAY asked if Mehlman agreed with Rove that there was a discernible fallout from the Kerry ‘joke’…the answer is, of course, that he did, and he referenced the recent Pew Survey as providing more than anecdotal evidence of that.
So, for what it’s worth, there ya go…
Forgot to mention that Evans-Novak finally looked at IN-7 in their final pre-election report. “The polls showing Julia Carson in serious trouble are not to be believed.” Wrong. Believe them. Julia may squeak this out, but no one in Indianapolis is claiming to know what’s going to happen here. I have about five or six races that the Republicans need to surprise in to hold the House (not that I expect them to), and this is definitely one. TX-22 is another. Mike Sodrel has staged a serious comeback against Baron Hill and now looks to hold this seat. If he loses, then that might signal a long night for Republicans.
wonkette on msnbc-
“I have been told by some republicans that they have written Allen off.”
they might tell her that to try and get her attention, but who gives up on a guy who is tied or better, in red state the day before the election?
if her gop insiders are writing off VA, then there are 6 other close races that they have written off…
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