Vicious Republican Civil War In New Hampshire Making Carol Shea-Porter's Race For Re-election Less Arduous

Clueless 1 and Cluesless 2 slug it out in New Hampshire

When Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe defeated extremist Republican rubber stamp David Davis in the Tennessee GOP primary earlier this month, it sent shockwaves-- if not paroxysms of fear-- through the House Republican caucus. If Davis, who had taken just seven thousand dollars in donations from Big Oil, was vulnerable to the charge that he was doing Big Oil's bidding and allowing them to drive up the price of gasoline in return for their contributions (or bribes), then what did that say to the Republican incumbents who have been faithfully serving Big Oil and taking 10 times that amount-- like Adam Putnam (R-FL- $70,300), Charlie Dent (R-PA- $75,831) and Frank Wolf (R-VA- $77,682)-- or more than 100 times that amount, like Don Young (R-AK- $957,263), James Inhofe (R-OK- $1,090,023) and... John McCain (R-AZ- $1,642,810)?

Well, after Roe's Tennessee victory, the insurgent Republican in New Hampshire, John Stephen, went on the warpath against GOP ex-Congressman Jeb Bradley, who is trying to win the September 9th primary so he can challenge Carol Shea-Porter to a re-match of the 2006 race where she kicked his ass. Stephen has been attacking Bradley, a dependable rubber stamp and the Republican Establishment candidate, viciously tormenting him with ads about how he represents more of the same and how he was one of Congress' most notorious earmark supporters. It's hard to pin down exactly how much money Bradley has taken in from Big Oil, but it is easy to see that he voted for billions of dollars in giveaways to them in the form of unfair tax breaks. Stephen didn't wait. He's begun filling the New Hampshire airwaves with ads attacking Bradley (see below).

It's funny to watch because Bradley is just a hapless old-line conservative. Stephen is a radical right extremist. He goes after Bradley on energy... but not too much, because Stephen, of course, buys into all the worst of the GOP stay-the-course agenda: more tax breaks for Big Oil, Drill Here Now, and fake free market nostrums that have doubled and tripled the price of gas and heating oil. Watch:



The far right Union-Leader has endorsed Stephen over Bradley. But neither New Hampshire nor the U.S. can afford either one of these clueless kooks. As we've said before, Carol Shea-Porter has lived up to all the commitments she made to New Hampshire voters when they elected her in 2006-- far more than most incumbents. She's been an exemplary representative for New Hampshire and if anyone deserves re-election, it's Carol. She's been endorsed by Blue America and we urge all DWT readers to kick in and help combat the immense sums GOP front groups like "Freedom's Watch" are pouring into the district in the form of misleading, if not slanderous, radio and TV spots against Carol.