Hello, this is Isaac of Free
State Politics, Maryland’s progressive community blog and member
of the 50 state blog network. For the past few weeks, one of us has
been compiling a digest of links from the blogs in the network,
highlighting important affairs going on under the national radar. I
didn’t see anyone put together a roundup for this week, however, so I
spent this morning taking care of it. Enjoy!

(P.S. My apologies to Square State, Fla. Politics, and Green Mountain
Daily for not including your contributions — for some reason, I
couldn’t access your sites this morning.)

See what’s happening on the state level below the fold…

Northeast

Connecticut's
Senate Minority Leader, Joe DeLuca (R), plead guilty last
week for possible mob-related activities, and My Left Nutmeg covered the local Republicans' attempts at damage
control.

After the telcos failed to gut net neutrality
in Congress last year, the fight has moved to the states; Downeasta at
Turn Maine Blue directs our attention to a possibly
successful net neutrality initiative in the Maine legislature.

At Free State Politics, we discussed whether Maryland Democrats should invest in winning
congressional seats even in the two strongly conservative areas of the
state, the western panhandle and the Eastern Shore.

At
Blue Mass Group, Bob and Charley
on the MTA take Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to task for
attempting to soften state testing requirements for high school
students.

At the request of Dean Barker, editor of
Blue Hampshire, former NH Democratic Party Chair
Kathy Sullivan writes about her effort to draft former Gov. Jeanne
Shaheen to run against John Sununu in the 2008 U.S. Senate race.

Hopeful at Blue Jersey writes to Sens. Bob
Menendez and Frank Lautenberg about their support last year for the
odious Military Commissions Act.

The Albany
Project urges Gov. Eliot Spitzer to keep pushing for campaign
finance reform in New York State, while Paul at The Daily
Gotham says the proposal for congestion
pricing in New York City would be more equitable than an increase in
subway fare prices.

Stanley of Keystone Politics notes the
announcement of Beth Hafer, daughter of famous Pennsylvania politician
Barbara Hafer, that she will run against Republican Rep. Tim
Murphy.

Clem of West Virginia Blue sounds the
alarm about Congress' attempt to give out massive subsidies to
carbon-spewing liquid coal technology, and highlights opposition to it
even in coal
country.

South

At Left in Alabama, mooncat investigates the
connection between the US Attorneys scandal and the prosecution of
former Governor (and Democrat) Don Siegelman.

In Georgia,
journalist Dale Cardwell is running against wingnut Saxby Chambliss
for U.S. Senate in 2008, but the folks at Tondee's Tavern aren't impressed.

BlueNC asks, "Who are our Progressive Senators?"

Burnt Orange Report implores the
Texas Democratic Party to step it up for the 2008 election, while
Scott at Texas Kaos reports on his success in getting the
Austin Democratic Party to put a referendum on Iraq on the primary
ballot next year.

Raising Kaine has been
covering the upcoming local legislative elections in Virginia, and here
are their endorsements.

Midwest

Illinois's state progressive blog,
Prairie State Blue, celebrated its
second anniversary this week.

Indiana continues to
grapple with the privatization of its toll roads: Thomas of
Blue Indiana comments on reports that highway
operators aren't paying local fire departments for cleaning up
accidents on their roads.

All those
rumors of Hillary Clinton skipping the Iowa caucus can be laid to
rest: according to desmoinesdem of Bleeding Heartland, she has been snatching up some of the top political
talent in that state.

The folks at Michigan
Liberal had a rip-roaring conversation about Rep.
John Dingell's attempt to weaken the states' ability to
regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Minnesota
Campaign Report interviews Richard Carlbom, former St.
Joseph Mayor and Political Director for Rep. Tim Walz's reelection
campaign.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt (R) has been trying to
curry favor with the anti-abortion movement by, essentially, buying
off one of their groups, reports Fired Up! Missouri.

Ken Blackwell, formerly Ohio's Secretary of State, is spouting
right-wing talking points from the perch of Townhall.com;
modernesquire at Buckeye State Blog smacks
them down. Meanwhile, Mark of As Ohio Goes attacks Rep. Zack Space's defense of
corrupt Dem William Jefferson.

Mal Contends of
Uppity Wisconsin relates
the story of a Wisconsin Vietnam veteran in a protracted legal battle
with the VA over disability benefits.

West

AZNetroots is talking up Bob Lord,
who is challenging longtime Republican congressman John Shadegg, and
is already beating him at fundraising.

Amidst a flurry of
activity in the California legislature, dday of Calitics reports that a single payer health care plan has passed the
state Senate, which will likely influence Gov. Arnold
Schwartzenegger's plans for health care reform.

Jay of
Left in the West details the efforts of right-wing front groups to use the myth of "voter
fraud" to deny voting rights to American Indians in Montana.

Marshall of Wasatch Watcher decries a school
vouchers proposal in Utah, which will be decided by referendum.

Over at Washblog, Noemie Maxwell interviews campaign finance reformer David Donnelly.

I’m at the DNC Western Caucus right now, and my internet connection is quite slow. Click here for the DNC Western Caucus Blog.  I’ll get some posts up shortly.  For now, here’s the 50-state roundup, posts from across the BlogPAC network.

Hello, I’m LP from New Mexico FBIHOP, part of the 50-State Blog Network.  The Network is a group of community blogs from around the nation that blog about local issues.  They also allow diaries, so you can write your two-cents on local issues as well. 

Every Friday, one of us compiles a Roundup of notable posts from the blogs on the network.  This week, I volunteered, and the following are stories that either I found by reading, were sent to me by blog authors or readers or just came to me in a vision.  If you want to help out,  Minnesota Campaign Report has graciously agreed to compile the State Blog Roundup on June 1. Please send recommended stories this upcoming week to: mncampaignreport [at] yahoo.com . To volunteer to compile a future round-up contact Clem G. at wvablue [at] gmail.com.

Oh, and as always, feel free to take this post and put it up on your blog.  Just attribute it to me or the 50-State Blog Network.  Thanks, and on to the Roundup!

Death and…

There are inevitabilities in life, death taxes and the Chicago Cubs losing.

• Blue Indiana has an interview with Jill Long Thompson, a former Congressional Representative “widely expected to announce her candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2008.”  They speak about an issue near and dear to all our hearts — gas prices.
• On the income tax front, The Albany Project tells us of the extremely out-of-whack tax situation in the empire state. 
  

  That’s right: Donald Trump pays just 2.85% more of his income to New York State than do the folks who clean the floors at the Trump Tower.

• In Pennsylvania, pandering politicians have pushed property taxes down at a rate so much, it is now more of a priority to them than their constituents.  At least, according to an article found by the folks at Keystone Politics.
• Over at Free State Politics, they tell us of Ike Leggett.  Leggett, you see, is a County Executive in Maryland and decided to torpedo a tax to help out the developers. 
• At Michigan Liberal, one diarist is pissed off and says it is Time to Fight Back.  Fight back against what?
  

  We have bled this state dry, State government is lean and understaffed; services across the state have been eliminated, and now they want to cut education to where schools will have to shut down, cut Medicare so people won’t get the healthcare they need and cut revenue sharing so cities will be able to provide less to their citizens.

  Amen.

• Some people just have a knack for headline-writing.  Washblog’s Emmettoconnell is one such person, in his post, “In Washington, We Tax Poor People.”  It takes a look at their anti-poor tax laws.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life…

As your mother always said, there is a silver lining to every cloud.

• The Minnesota Campaign Report looks at how the Democrats (the DFL) backing down on an issue isn’t the end of the world.  You win some, you lose some.
• Calitics looks at how Jane Harman, a California Representative, has changed since her time in office.  And, in a pleasant surprise it’s been for the better.  Harman has become more progressive on the issue of Iraq.
• The Burnt Orange Report tells us how and what it means that the state Presidential primary stayed in March instead of moving to Super Tuesday.  How can you avoid a post with this quote:
  

  So I’m spinning the March Texas primary as one big political orgy.

All Politics is Local… Even Presidential Politics

Presidential politics from the local perspective.

• If you are any sort of interested in the Presidential race this far out, you have to be reading Bleeding Heartland’s coverage of the Iowa caucuses.  The Iowa blog gives you the perspective from that important state.
• Sometimes, it isn’t a bad thing to agree with the Republicans, and Arizona’s AZ Netroots.  Take Russell Pearce in Arizona, who said the following of John McCain’s inability to, well, show up for work (as a Senator) while on a job interview for another (campaigning for President).
  

  “If he’s going to continue not to be there, then he ought to resign,” Pearce said during a news conference at the Capitol. “Otherwise show up for votes.”

• Sometimes it is hard to find news on the lesser-known candidates.  Trust me, I know, trying to cover Bill Richardson’s run for governor.  That’s why I am impressed by the job My Left Nutmeg has been doing in following the Presidential run of Chris Dodd, the Connecticut Senator.  Take a look at some of his stuff on their blog — you might find you agree with him more than you would have expected.
• At FLA Politics (that’s Florida), Mike lays into Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, giving us some questions he wishes Mitt would answer.  For some reason, I think Mitt would tap dance around those questions.

And I Run…

…I run so far away.  Those running for office.

• Texas Kaos gives us a post by Dan Grant, explaining why he is running for Congress in TX-10.  He is a Democrat we can all be proud of.
• Prairie State Blue gets the jump on a John Laesch running for Congress in Indiana’s 14th congressional district.  Laesch ran against Dennis Hastert last time, and will face a primary to see who gets to take on the Republican in 2008.
• Blue Grass Roots proudly says, “Kentucky’s Next Governor is a Progressive,” thanks to the primary win of Steve Beshear over Bruce Lunsford.  They don’t much like Lunsford over there at Blue Grass Roots.
• Another progressive hoping for higher political office is Tom Allen in Maine.  Allen stops by Turn Maine Blue to tell them why he deserves Maineians’ (no idea if that’s what you call them, but damn it sounds good) votes for Senate in 2008.
• Fired Up Missouri looks into the news that Kenny Hulshof is running for the position of President of the University of Missouri. And they’re not happy about it.
• A potential Idaho gubernatorial candidate reaches out to the powers of the internets, and the readers of 43rd State Blues, and asks for some help with the design of his website.  It’s all about cooperation, people.

The Environment

Not as many environmental stories as I though there would be.

• KnoxViews gives environmentalists some great news from Tennessee, telling us the Road to Nowhere is dead.  Read up about the Road to Nowhere here.
• West Virginia Blue has a special guest post, from the Chair of West Virginia for Democracy. He writes about the WV Public Service Commission and Allegheny Power’s attempt to ruin wild, wonderful West Virginia.  After all, who needs that pesky wilderness when there is money to be made?

GOPers are the Same Around the Nation

There just ain’t much diversity of opinion in the Republican party.

• An Ohio blog, As Ohio Goes, gets the scoop on the archaeological discovery of the First Republican politician.  Caution: post includes 95% of your daily recommended allowance of snark
• Sometimes, all it takes one sentence to get me to read a post.  Tondee’s Tavern has that sentence in this post:
  

  I didn’t know the Republicans in the 10th congressional district were just so damn gangsta?

  The story is about rival Republicans getting into a scrap about… political signs.

• At RI Future, Matt tells about a challenge to our corporate overlords Wal-Mart.  RI General Treasurer Frank Caprio sent a letter asking the SEC to investigate Wal-Mar on “whether Wal-Mart broke the law by not disclosing that Wal-Mart’s CEO’s son works for a business partner of Wal-Mart.”  Wal-Mart breaking the law?  Is there anyone we can trust?
• Buckeye State Blog (Ohio) asks a very profound question: should conceal carry be easier than voting?  Unfortunately for residents in that important swing state, “it’s bullets over ballots in good ol’ OH-IO.”
• Voter ID cards are a perennial favorite of Republicans everywhere.  In New Hampshire, according to Blue Hampshire, the state Senate voted to prohbit the Real ID card implementation.  Kudos to the NH state Senate.
• In New Jersey, Blue Jersey tells us that state GOPers are trying to avoid Pres. Bush like he has the plague.  Maybe I’m naive, but shouldn’t a sitting president’s own party NOT be ashamed to be seen with him in public?
• Who would vote against a movement to apologize for racial bigotry in the south during the late 1800s?  Blue NC tells us: North Carolina Republicans.  I don’t know what to say about that.

Not All Dems Are Good

I could have done a 50-state roundup just on posts about the Iraq vote.  But I didn’t. Here are some criticisms and complaints about our guys, though.

• We have St. Pete here in New Mexico. In Vermont, they have St. Patrick, and the Green Mountain Daily has some quotes from Patrick Leahy about the impeachment of Dick Cheney.  Let’s just say St. Patrick isn’t on board.
• Left in the West tells us of Montana’s bad political messaging on the immigration issue.  Montana Max Baucus and Jon Tester proudly reiterated right-wing frames.

Other

A bit of a copout, but these excellent posts couldn’t be categorized, and couldn’t be excluded.

• Square State (Colorado) tells us there is a middle ground between the free-market media (which gives us such gems as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh) and government-run media: public broadcasting.  The CEO of Colorado’s Public Television “smacks” those who forget about the benefits of public broadcasting.  Personally, being stuck in traffic during rush hour would be even more unbearable without some “All Things Considered” on the radio.
• Raising Kaine tells us about two large traditions on Memorial Day weekend, and both involve loud motorcycles.  “Run for the Wall” and “Rolling Thunder”.  It is an interesting read, even if you don’t know a Harley from a Vespa.
• Gay marriage is a major issue in Massachusetts as well as around the nation.  That’s why it is important to broadcast the gay rights groups’ messages throughout whatever channels necessary, as Blue Mass Group does for the group MassEquality.
• The Daily Gotham (NYC) takes a look at a very important issue to residents of the Big Apple: congestion pricing.  Basically, public opinion is split on the idea of charging fees to get into heavily congested areas of the city; London has already implemented such a program.
• Utah’s Wasatch Watcher blog sees an editorial by the Deseret News and just shakes their head in disbelief.  The editorial opines against paper ballots for, among other reasons, “The younger generation sees the outcry for the tangible comfort of paper ballots as a hallmark of the fuddy-duddy.”  Hmm.  I’m in the younger generation, and the only thing “fuddy-duddy” about that sentence is the phrase “fuddy-duddy.”