First off, I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We all know the traditional blah-blah about family, togetherness and hope - but it's all true, and having my extended family in one place yesterday was a treat.
Now, with that out of the way, there's some good news from Maine that I'm not sure has been reported (I'll delete this if it has). Olympia Snowe (R-ME) is up for reelection in 2006, and up until recently has not drawn any major opposition. Now, however, two Democrats - a well-known attorney and the State Senate Majority Leader - are gearing up for a sleigh ride on Mount Snowe (haha, lame joke, haha). Read on to find out who they are, and what their chances are.
There has been a Democratic candidate for some months now -Jean Hay Bright. However, Ms. Bright has repeatedly run for office before and has lost every time; this makes her unlikely to gain much notice against Snowe. Two other Democrats are now running (one certainly, the other likely)for Snowe's seat:
The first is ERIC MEHNERT (http://www.mehnertformaine.com). Mehnert is an attorney specializing in civil rights, with his "base of operations" in Orono, Maine. According to his website, he's won numerous cases protecting the rights of mentally disabled persons as well as sexual harassment plaintiffs and other civil rights cases in the state. Mehnert also has served in Massachusetts as Chief of Enforcement of the Commission Against Descrimination, serving from right after 9/11 to 2003. He later worked for John Kerry in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential campaign.
Mehnert's announcement speech included the following "gems":
(On Iraq)
"The Maine Men and Women who serve in our Armed Forces deserve our loyalty and respect. They are prepared to give the last full measure to protect our freedoms. I will not stand by while their courage and dedication places them in harms way for a War based on false pretenses which does little to defend America but much to diminish its Stature and Prestige before our allies and the other members of the United Nations with whom we have pledged to work. We must have clearly defined military objectives for our troops and we must have an exit strategy to bring them home."
(On Olympia Snowe)
"No matter how much we admire our current Senators, the fact remains that they belong to the party which has led the Nation into our current crisis. Just last week, I listened to the Senate Majority Leader state that he expected that Ms. Miers would be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice by all fifty-five Republican Senators. What he is saying is that no matter how much we in Maine like to believe that our Senators act independently, the fact is, they are being compelled by the current Administration to vote in a way which the Republican President dictates. The nation and this State, need, no demand, a Democratic Senator in office to critically weigh the actions of the Administration and ensure the rights of our Citizens are protected."
Major quotations featured on his website are from JFK's "liberalism" speech, a quote by Thomas Jefferson and the "Test of a Nation's progress" quote by FDR.
Mehnert also has a major article criticizing Snowe for voting to suspend Habeas Corupus at Guantanamo Bay. It's very eloquent, and can be found at http://www.mehnertformaine.com/...
The second candidate is MICHAEL BRENNAN, the State Senate Majority Leader. He's running as long as Congressman Tom Allen (D-ME01) does not, which would only occur if Snowe were to retire (not likely at this late stage). Brennan has served as Senate Majority Leader since 2004 and has been in the House and/or Senate since 1992. He represents Portland (the biggest city in Maine) and Westbrook in the State Senate.
Brennan has not officially announced his candidacy; however, he has filed with the FEC for a federal campaign account and announced he would not seek reelection to the State Senate in 2006. He also hasn't set up a campaign website, but has a State Senate website at http://www.mainesenate.org/...
From what I can glean from various articles, he led the fight in Maine to limit its participation in NCLB, is against the death penalty and supports universal health care (based on his work in the State Senate). He backed the expansion of rights for same-sex couples (it passed this year) and has supported extensive reneweable energy exploration in the state.
(http://www.cjcj.org/... http://www.schoolfunding.info/... and http://www.environmentmaine.org/...)
The chances of Senator Snowe losing are very slim, as her approval rating is 79% according to last month's SUSA poll. However, both Mehnert and Brennan should be commended for stepping up to the plate and giving it a try. Should one of them get lucky, after all, they could get a place in the US Senate. And if they don't, they will have at least provided a viable alternative for Maine voters in 2006.