Once upon a time in America people were scared.  McCarthy was on the rise.  HUAC held sway with its kangaroo court and ran roughshod over people's lives.  The Commie threat sent the masses scurrying.  Fifth columnists were under every bed and in every other broom closet.  They were infiltrating our schools, our institutions, our courts, our movies, our drinking water.  

Grown men who had stood up to Nazis quaked in fear at the thought of being called out as Communist sympathizers.  Premature anti-fascist was not a label of distinction.  It was code for "early Commie sympathizer" or worse.

But before McCarthy went mad and took on the Army, before television brought the monster into people's living rooms, before Judge Welch issued his famous "have you no dignity" comment... there was a woman from Maine named Margaret Chase Smith.  She saw the threat up close and personal.  She knew it was a menace that had to be addressed.  So on June 1st, 1950 she chose to speak...

I speak as a Republican.  I speak as a woman.  
I speak as a United States Senator.  I speak as an American.

This is pretty amazing.  The McCain campaign thinks that it can steal one electoral vote in Maine's 2nd District. So what is their strategy? Send in Mr. Joe Sixpack Todd Palin.

Over the years, Daily Kos has frequently called out issue groups for endorsing Republicans. These groups do that to show their bipartisanship, choosing Republicans who, despite casting the occasional decent vote on the issue, will ultimately move us backward by voting for Republican leadership in Congress and the agenda that entails. The Sierra Club has done it repeatedly. NARAL has done it. And, yeah, Planned Parenthood has done it.

This week, Planned Parenthood undid one of their mistakes. Having backed Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins in 2002, they've switched their endorsement to Democratic Rep. Tom Allen. The Collins Watch blog lays it out:

And because Planned Parenthood backed Collins in 2002 (and frequently endorses Republicans) its support for Allen represents a serious, non-partisan challenge to Collins' carefully-cultivated "moderate" image.

The landmark nature of the decision underscores just how far Collins has strayed on abortion, privacy and related issues over the last several years:

--This is the first time Planned Parenthood has backed the challenger to a senator it had previously endorsed.

--This appears to be the first time Planned Parenthood has backed a Senate challenger over an incumbent who identifies as pro-choice.

When you're reminded that Collins voted to confirm Alito to the Supreme Court, and other horrendous Bush judicial nominees to other seats, you have to say "about f'ing time." But it wasn't a foregone conclusion that Planned Parenthood would break with their previous practices like this. Kudos to them for doing so. And it should be a boost for Allen, who's never slipped out of contention but has never seemed to gain the kind of traction he'll need.

(Collins Watch contributed to this diary)

Today it was announced that Planned Parenthood endorsed Tom Allen for Senate. From their press release:

"We need a leader who will represent the interests of the thousands of Mainers served by Planned Parenthood," says Chris Quint, PPNNE Action Fund's Director of Public Affairs in Maine. "We need someone in the Senate who understands prevention and who will support quality, affordable health care and health information for women, men, and teens. And now, with the makeup of the Supreme Court and the lower courts highly influenced by the retrograde policies of the Bush administration, we need a leader who acknowledges the significance of the judiciary at every level. Planned Parenthood wholeheartedly agrees that Tom Allen is that leader."

What is remarkable is that Planned Parenthood had endorsed Allen's opponent, GOP incumbent Susan Collins in 2002. This is the first time Planned Parenthood has backed the challenger to a senator it had previously endorsed.

There's more:

Susan Collins was asleep at the switch when it came to overseeing contracts awarded to the likes of Haliburton, KBR, and Blackwater during the first three years of the Iraq war.

The problem is, she never held hearings, despite widespread evidence of waste, inefficiency and fraud!

With billions of dollars of taxpayer money on the line, along with our soldiers well being in Iraq, she played along with the Bush administrations requests for ever increasing amounts of money to be funneled to contractors, some with direct business links with Vice President Dick Cheney

When it comes to watching over billions in taxpayer funds, Susan Collins just does not have any track record to look back on. She refused to exercise oversight, and turned a blind eye to waste and corruption.

In the move "swing Vote" the Presidential election comes down to one vote. In real life, it could actually happen- but that vote would be in... Maine?

I am a Cubs fan, so until last night, I spent the last week being cautiously optimistic.  So, after Wed and Thursday - I have come back and embraced my inner Cubdom doom and gloom.  It was just too good to last, Sox Fans and Cubs Fans saying non-committal words of encouragement to each other rather than our usual bile, daring to hope of a subway series and a Obama Presidency all in the span of a few weeks.  

Walking down Michigan Avenue, it occurred to me - Chicago could have one hell of an October and November - subway series, hometown hero becomes President - at last, at last hope.  Or, it could be a heartbreaker.  I am a Cubs fan.  So I am looking, looking at the Electoral Map and thinking, McCain could pull this out with New Hampshire and one single district in Maine.  

Does McCain think he can win Maine? No, he think he can get 1 of Maine`s 4 EV...

Whenever Vladimir Putin rears his head, his brow has a habit of bumping up against the kitchen window of the Governor's residence in Alaska. Of course that's what Sarah "One Hearbeat" Palin has informed us over and over again. We all know that proximity to Russia is as week as an excuse for "foreign policy credentials" as any of us can come up with, but the GOP continues to use this Geography-as-reason tactic. Clearly our calling their bullshit on this one has had little effect, but after a quick bit o' calculations, I've realized the McCain/Palin camp has made an embarrassing error in their math.

By bringing up "scary" Putin, Palin is referring specifically to a the wheels of power, but not of troops, weapons or any other actual imminent threats. Her argument then boils down do the seat of Alaska's government and it's leader, Palin is nearer to the seat of Russia's government and it's (defacto) leader, Putin.

Sarah Palin happily sleeps at night in her bed (while charging the Alaska taxpayers a per diem) with a huge smile on her face as visions dance through her head of her at the eastern edge of the Bering Straight standing in a "Superman" pose, valiantly defending America from Putin on the western edge of the Straight angrily shaking his fist (and of course raising his head into our airspace).

Hi.  It's your old pal the Badger.  Perhaps the greatest thing about DKOS is all the great reports from the ground.  They give me a sense of what is really going on in different areas of this great country--much more so than polls, and certainly more so than TradMedia reports.  I love reading your accounts of canvassing, phonebanking, holding parties, and your discussions with friends and neighbors.  So please take a second to look at what myself and a few good Mainers did this morning.

Susan Collins, Bush's representative in Maine, or Maine's representative in the Senate?

A local TV reporter in Portland Maine who would neither give up nor get side-tracked when interviewing John McCain has done more than most national TV journalists have ever managed in such interviews - helped us glimpse that there are no clothes on the emperor. McCain is so obvious that the effect is utterly bizarre.

This very short clip [less than 1 1/2 minutes] is included at about 15:15 in the September 12, 2008 broadcast of Bill Moyers' Journal. Apparently the McCain interview was broadcast in Maine on September 11th. Transcript [as best I could] - below the jump.

A local TV reporter in Portland Maine who would neither give up nor get side-tracked when interviewing John McCain has done more than most national TV journalists have ever managed in such interviews - helped us glimpse that there are no clothes on the emperor. McCain is so obvious that the effect is utterly bizarre.

This very short clip [less than 1 1/2 minutes] is included at about 15:15 in the September 12, 2008 broadcast of Bill Moyers' Journal. Apparently the McCain interview was broadcast in Maine on September 11th. Transcript [as best I could] - below the jump.

Sign this t.v. reporter up for CNN!  He actually asks McCain some tough questions.  

Apparently, McCain has been feeling under pressure for avoiding reporters the last few weeks, so he thought he could get some fluff, softball questions by appearing on an interview with a local Maine television news station.  Was he wrong.  I would hate to be the person who scheduled McCain for an interview on this show.  I'm sure he's going to a get a good and up close view of McCain's infamous temper.  

Local Maine t.v. reporter grills McCain on Palin

With his first question, the interviewer, Rob Caldwell (thanks to ablington for the name), goes right for the jugular - he asks, why won't Palin answer questions from reporters?  McCain respond by saying that she'll be doing numerous "conversations" with reporters soon.  Conversations?  Over tea and crumpets?  Sounds like Palin will be doing the Entertainment Tonight, Country Music Network, and Tonight Show circuit.

More below.  

Sign this t.v. reporter up for CNN!  He actually asks McCain some tough questions.  

Apparently, McCain has been feeling under pressure for avoiding reporters the last few weeks, so he thought he could get some fluff, softball questions by appearing on an interview with a local Maine television news station.  Was he wrong.  I would hate to be the person who scheduled McCain for an interview on this show.  I'm sure he's going to a get a good and up close view of McCain's infamous temper.  

Local Maine t.v. reporter grills McCain on Palin

With his first question, the interviewer, Rob Caldwell (thanks to ablington for the name), goes right for the jugular - he asks, why won't Palin answer questions from reporters?  McCain respond by saying that she'll be doing numerous "conversations" with reporters soon.  Conversations?  Over tea and crumpets?  Sounds like Palin will be doing the Entertainment Tonight, Country Music Network, and Tonight Show circuit.

More below.  

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/8-10. Likely voters. MoE 4% (10/22/07 results)

I polled this back in October of last year, and seeing the bleak numbers, moved on to other races. This was an attempt to see if Allen had closed the gap in the past 10 months or so, and unfortunately, the answer appears to be "no".

These results are generally in line with the Pollster.com composite, which is Collins 54, Allen 41.1.

In the presidential, the state is still an Obama landslide, Obama 52, McCain 38. Full crosstabs below the fold.

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/8-10. Likely voters. MoE 4% (10/22/07 results)

I polled this back in October of last year, and seeing the bleak numbers, moved on to other races. This was an attempt to see if Allen had closed the gap in the past 10 months or so, and unfortunately, the answer appears to be "no".

These results are generally in line with the Pollster.com composite, which is Collins 54, Allen 41.1.

In the presidential, the state is still an Obama landslide, Obama 52, McCain 38. Full crosstabs below the fold.

Can Maine afford Susan Collin's "blank check" policies in Iraq? She has consistently supported Bush administration funding requests, while leaving out a timetable for the return of our troops.

Can Maine afford Susan Collin's "blank check" policies in Iraq? She has consistently supported Bush administration funding requests, while leaving out a timetable for the return of our troops.

Cross posted at Turn Maine Blue

Yesterday I found myself at the home of Patty Carton and John Newlin, hosts of the Yes We Can! Country Fair, in a rural area of Brunswick. Along with pony rides and horse drawn wagons, there were many games of skill and athletic events (including archery and a tennis ball slingshot) for the kids. And politics for the older kids.

I was there for the speeches, but was happy to run into my old friend Geoff, who was manning the slingshot. Also there were Sen. Sherrod Brown, Rep. Tom Allen, ME-1 candidate Chellie Pingree, Tom Andrews (head of Win Without War) Maine Senate President Beth Edmonds, Maine Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings, as well as House Whip Sean Faircloth and local legislator Stan Gerzofsky.

Make the jump: