What about Pete?

So one of the things I wondered about regarding the "nation of whiners" thing was whether or not Pete Olson, the CD22 challenger who once worked for Phil Gramm, would be asked to comment on Gramm's remarks now that John McCain has decisively defenestrated him. (Of course, McCain said that Gramm "didn't speak for him" on the same day that Gramm was visiting the Wall Street Journal to do exactly that. But that's another post.) Apparently, Rep. Nick Lampson wondered the same thing. From a press release:

Pete Olson, candidate for Texas's 22nd congressional district, continues to remain silent as the furor continues over his mentor and campaign advisor Phil Gramm's comments that America is "a nation of whiners" in a "mental recession." Even John McCain has now stepped forward to strongly denounce Gramm's comments. Yet, Olson's silence signals approval of these comments.

"The fact is, Pete Olson is a Washington insider who carried Phil Gramm's water as the former Senator did more than any other lobbyist to slow our economy," said Anthony Gutierrez, campaign manager for Congressman Nick Lampson. "Maybe the fact that Pete Olson has been working with Gramm to create economic catastrophes such as the recent mortgage meltdown explains why he is hesitant to distance himself from Gramm's comments. I imagine he does not want to draw attention to this fact or disclose what happened at his meetings with his former boss and current lobbyist Phil Gramm surrounding economic policy decisions that put millions of Americans in risk of foreclosure."

Yeah, I'm thinking Olson won't be in any rush to talk about it. I wouldn't if I were him. 'Course, I wouldn't have had anything to do with Phil Gramm, either, but that's the way it goes.

In other Congressional news, we have fundraising numbers for CD07.

Congressman John Culberson, R-Houston, was first out of the gate today with the statement that he had raised "a stellar $390,000" for his Nov. 4 election contest against Democratic newcomer Michael Skelly.

But Skelly, a wind power exec, may have eclipsed the star. His campaign reported $412,000 raised for the same period, plus a $200,000 donation from Skelly himself.

Culberson reported $550,000 in the bank at the end of June. Skelly reported more than $1 million, continuing his unusual and nationally noted advantage over an incumbent.

Another nice showing by Michael Skelly, outraising Culberson for a second straight quarter. The DCCC isn't targeting CD07 yet, but at the rate Skelly is going, he won't need them to be able to blanket the TV airwaves.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on July 11, 2008 to Election 2008