You've got to read this, folks!
Despite sending signals he was considering retirement, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) insisted to reporters that he still plans to run for re-election in 2010, Roll Call reports.
Bunning said "that the only way he would abandon his re-election effort would be if he did not meet his fundraising goals later this year."
"Bunning's anemic early fundraising has been a major reason why some party officials have hoped he would opt for retirement and give someone else the opportunity to try to hold the Senate seat next year. Some senior GOP officials on Capitol Hill have even described the irascible 77-year-old Senator as a political dead man walking."
Well, folks, we absolutely must make sure this man stays in the race! First, he's simply too priceless, too full of unintended humor to let him just leave the stage. Second, we can beat this guy! It won't even be all that hard. Third, after "Operation Chaos" we frankly owe the Republicans this one. They're drowning, so the least we can do is toss them an anvil.
Senator Bunning is just this side of insane. In all fairness, he does sometimes make more sense than the rest of his caucus. I humbly offer the following examples:
Do you realize that under our dynamic leadership of our leader, we have gone from 55 and probably to 40 (Senate seats) in two election cycles, and if the tea leaves that I read are correct, we will wind up with about 36 after this election cycle. So if leadership means anything, it means you don't lose... approximately 19 seats in three election cycles with good leadership.
I don’t believe anything John Cornyn says. I’ve had miscommunications with John Cornyn from, I guess, the first week of this current session of the Senate. He either doesn’t understand English or he doesn’t understand direct: ‘I’m going to run,’ which I said to him in the cloakroom of our chamber.
He also referred to his fundraising last quarter as "lousy." Folks, that just cannot stand. Believe me, we should drop him like a bad habit once it's clear he'll actually run, but he needs encouragement. Hell, even if he somehow wins (which ain't happening) I'd rather we deal with Bunning in six years than some other Republican, one who isn't some crazy old man.
Now, I've just gone to his website to see how one actually goes about donating to his campaign. It ain't exactly obvious. After some Googling I believe I've found it.
Here we go.
I know this seems a bit odd. I absolutely do not want him to be re-elected. Ben Chandler, Jack Conway, and Daniel Mongiardo are all far better folks, and one of them will beat Jim Bunning if given the chance. Let's give them the chance.