Free Republic

The Service Employees International Union on Sunday reported spending nearly $1 million on an independent expenditure television campaign praising eight House Democrats for backing a health care bill earlier this month. Here's how the SEIU spent $998,000 among the eight districts: Baron P. Hill, Indiana's 9th district ($162,000); Dina Titus, Nevada's 3rd ($157,000);

Susan Crabtree of The Hill has the scoop: "Two junior Democrats are urging their leaders to open an investigation into the Countrywide VIP mortgage program. Rep. Paul Hodes (N.H.), who is in his second House term, and freshman Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.) called on the House Oversight and Government Reform panel to initiate an investigation into Countrywide Financial's 'Friends of Angelo' VIP program and whether it was used to gain influence over federal officials. They made their case for the investigation in a letter to Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), the panel's chairman, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member....

Republican Kelly Ayotte leads Democrat Paul Hodes by eight points in an early look at New Hampshire’s 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. The first Rasmussen Reports survey of the race to fill the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Senator Judd Gregg shows Ayotte ahead 46% to 38%.

Rep. Paul Hodes (D) begins his New Hampshire Senate bid with a small lead over a prospective opponent, according to recent poll results. Hodes led former GOP Sen. John Sununu 42 percent to 36 percent, with 22 percent of survey respondents saying they were undecided. Sen. Judd Gregg (R) has announced he is retiring at the end of his term, creating an open-seat contest in 2010. Hodes is the only announced candidate so far in the race. Sununu, who lost re-election in 2008, has not publicly expressed interest in running for Granite State’s other Senate seat, but many local Republicans...

A new survey of New Hampshire voters from Public Policy Polling finds that Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes is the strongest early Senate candidate for 2010, although the field of commonly discussed candidates is pretty evenly matched. Hodes has the best net favorability of the quarter polled at 42/34. Former Republican Senator John Sununu and Democratic Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter each receive a +3 rating from state voters with the former at 46/43 and the letter at 43/40. Former Republican Congressman Charlie Bass gets the poorest reviews at 33/37. Hodes leads hypothetical contests against Sununu 46-44 and against Bass 40-37. Shea- Porter...

I received Lit from Paul Hodes, my congressman today. On the inside bottom right corner, there is a picture partially obscured by "a brilliant quote" from Hodes himself. In the picture I can see the feet of 8-9 people that I assume are actually soldiers. The are holding the Flag... Upside down. This is just disgusting. Does anyone know anything about this picture? Wish I could scan this an post it.

It’s Paul Hodes, a freshman from New Hampshire who cast one of the 218 votes that pushed Pelosi’s withdrawal bill over the finish line — barely. Here’s video from Granite Grok of a few of his constituents having a word with him about that. Their points are all familiar; the novelty is watching a leftist having to sit there squiriming and respond without being able to call them a bunch of chickenhawks and storming off. Levin and Schumer said yesterday that if Reid really thinks he and Feingold are going to answer Bush’s veto by cutting funding, he’s kidding himself....

CONCORD – Families with loved ones serving in Iraq lashed out at U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes, questioning how he can claim to support American troops while backing a deadline for bringing them home. Hodes recently joined a majority in the House in voting for an Iraq spending bill that set a timeline for a troop withdrawal. He spent one hour Saturday meeting with military families, many of whom became angry when he tried to explain his position. One woman stormed out of the session after Hodes said he didn’t know whether the spending bill would have passed without the millions...

...The interest in coins comes as sophisticated investors are increasingly looking for assets outside of the U.S. stock market, which many market observers expect to post only modest gains during the coming year. In buying rare coins, individuals not only acquire a collectible asset, but they are also getting exposure to precious metals. The prices of gold and silver, from which many popular U.S. coins are made, are both rising smartly. The Internet and coin-grading services are playing a part in drawing a new breed of coin investors. The Internet allows collectors to buy and sell rare coins at locations...