U.S. Sen. James Jeffords will not seek re-election
By Christopher Graff, Associated Press Writer  |  April 20, 2005

MONTPELIER, Vt. --Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords, an independent who triggered one of the most dramatic upheavals in Senate history when he quit the GOP four years ago, intends to retire at the end of his term next year, officials in his home state and Washington said Wednesday.

Jeffords will make the announcement Wednesday afternoon in Burlington, three separate sources close to the senator told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Here.

"Terri Schiavo, the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman who became the centerpiece of a national right-to-die battle, died Thursday morning, nearly two weeks after doctors removed the feeding tube that had sustained her for more than a decade."

Yes, Cegelis is, or at least should be, the Democratic candidate. Here is her website. When Hyde announces his retirement, in a special election the lefty blogosphere will swarm to support her at a level even Chandler and Herseth would not recognize--Chris

We may not need redistricting to get rid of Henry Hyde after all. The Chicago Sun tells me today that:

"In a few weeks, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), the chairman of the House International Relations Committee who as Judiciary Committee chief wielded the gavel during President Clinton's impeachment, will announce that he will not seek another term."

I think this is good news for Dems in the House simply because such an ascerbic partisan will be gone.

I worry, knowing much more about Maryland (adopted home) and West Virginia (growing up home), that there are just as ascerbic candidates waiting in the IL wings to take his place.

What are the demographics in the district? Who are the Democratic contenders for the seat? How much money will it take? What are Democratic county parties like in that part of the world?

Chime on in folks...

AP is reporting that former President of the NAACP, Kweisi Mfume, has announced a bid for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Paul Sarbanes.

Sarbanes announced Friday that he would not seek a sixth term in 2006.

While it pains me slightly, Faux has a solid run down of Dem and GOP hopefuls.

Other Democratic candidates that will likely announce whether or not they are joing the race today or tomorrow include Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Rep. Chris VanHollen, Rep. Al Wynn, Rep. Ben Cardin, and Rep. Elijah Cummings.

GOP possibilities include Lt. Governor Michael Steele, Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, and State Sentor E.J. Pipkin. Pipkin failed in his 2004 race against Maryland's other Senator, Barbara Mikulski.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan, the presumed primary challengers for the Governor's race, have both stated they will not run for Sarbanes' seat.

[UPDATE I] Ehrlich and Steele contacted by the "powers that be" in Washington about jumping in the race for Sarbanes seat. "We were called by the powers that be yesterday [Friday] in Washington, and I have yet to talk to them. Mike has yet to talk to them," Ehrlich said on Stateline with the Governor.

[UPDATE II] State GOP Chair John Kane and Rep. Wayne Glichrest (R-01) are not considering running for the seat per Hotline: ""Kane said he himself would not be running" (Nitkin/Shaw, Baltimore Sun, 3/12). Kane said 3/11 that Steele prefers to seek re-election, with an eye toward running for GOV in '10. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-01) "has also taken himself out of consideration" (Roll Call, 3/14).

[UPDATE III] From the Boston Globe this morning we have two more exploratory committees: "But two of Maryland's Democratic U.S. congressmen, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and Chris Van Hollen, spoke up after Mfume's announcement Monday to say they are forming exploratory panels."

From the diaries. He will be missed--Chris

From Roll Call: "Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D), the longest-serving Senator in Maryland history, is expected to announce this afternoon that he will not seek a sixth term in 2006, sources said."

Washington Post has this:

Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes plans to announce this afternoon that he will not seek another term, Capitol Hill sources said, ending a 30-year career in the Senate and setting off a scramble among Maryland politicians who have long coveted his seat.

First elected to the Senate in 1976, Sarbanes, 72, is the longest-serving senator in Maryland history. Sarbanes has called a 1 p.m. news conference in Baltimore but has not confirmed what his announcement will be. Aides to other U.S. senators said the veteran politician will retire at the end of his current term in early 2007.

The announcement is likely to set off intense jockeying among Democrats and prompt several Maryland politicians to recalibrate their ambitions.

The Baltimore Sun has a more in-depth article with some quotes from Sarbanes' announcement and Democratic reaction in Maryland.

Since we've seen our first Senator at MyDD today it certainly caught my attention to read in the SF Chronicle that City Supervisor Chris Daly has created his own blog that is hosted by the Board of Supervisors' web site.

Kudos to Supervisor Daly for, as the Chronicle reports being "the first of the city's elected officials to create a blog."

The Chronicle later notes that, "Daly, an outspoken supervisor who got his start as a housing activist, has so far used his blog to discuss the city's budget crisis, the Giants' request for a large property tax reduction and to criticize The Chronicle's news coverage."

Interesting debate created by the article as it explores Daly's interaction with the City Attorney to determine what the 'rules' should be for an elected official's use of publicly financed internet sites for blogging.

Daly says, "The purpose of the Web site is to communicate my thoughts and ideas on issues clearly to the public without the interference of media bias."

The crux of the story for me came when I read that the City Attorney's office, after a request from Daly for clarification, said that the Supervisor "must abide by city laws that prohibit the use of public resources for campaign or personal activities."

More after the jump...

The Iranian government has waded into our debate about bloggers and journalists.

According to the BBC (here):

An Iranian weblogger has been jailed for 14 years on charges of spying and aiding foreign counter-revolutionaries.

Arash Sigarchi was arrested last month after using his blog to criticise the arrest of other online journalists.

Mr Sigarchi, who also edits a newspaper in northern Iran, was sentenced by a revolutionary court in the Gilan area.

Also of interest in the article:

Iranian authorities have recently clamped down on the growing popularity of weblogs, restricting access to major blogging sites from within Iran.

Chairman Dean's fight against national media and the debate over whether or not he is "good" for the Democratic party will never end. We've all seen several articles, including Dan Balz's fairly good MSM piece on the grassroots impact.

But there was heartening news Monday from the Lawrence Journal-World:

Howard Dean's popularity hasn't waned in Lawrence since his failed Democratic presidential campaign began more than two years ago.

A total of 895 tickets for his Friday appearance at a public rally for the Democratic Party at Liberty Hall were sold in about 2 1/2 hours Sunday.

When the tickets went on sale at noon, an estimated 100 people were standing in a line that stretched from the front door of Liberty Hall, 642 Mass., around the corner and east on Seventh Street to The Raven Bookstore.

This one article removes a great deal of the foreboding that I've felt since the race for chair began. The national debate on Dean will never end, and I still feel that many here and elsewhere on the net are still suffering from a serious case of Deaniac afterglow. What's key to me here is that the Lawrence, Kansas debate on Dean appears to be over, at least for the Dems. And they like him.

Thanks to mandyky for pointing the article out to me.