Political digest 2

Some political bits and pieces of interest:

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich called it a wake-up call. Last week, a Democrat candidate for a special election for a Congressional seat nearly upset the Republican incumbent in what everyone considered a safe seat for the R's. The Democrat, Paul Hackett, a war critic and Iraq war veteran, had gained a lot of support from liberal bloggers and the national Demos took notice. Gingrich says this could be a wake-up for Republicans that all is not safe in the House, where elections are 15 months away. Voter dissatisfaction with decisions from Washington -- and a government controlled primarily by Democrats at the time -- led to the Republican sweep in 1994 and made Gingrich Speaker.

A spokesperson for former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani said this week that he would not run for New York governor in 2006. Duh. Does anyone doubt he is running for president?

John Roberts, the president's nominee to the Supreme Court, amended his statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, disclosing that he had worked as a cosmetics-industry lobbyist. Turns out he did some legal work and not actual lobbying. Still, it's these type loose threads that sometimes seem to get clipped off and sometimes get pulled and lead to an unraveling of the entire sweater.

More Roberts revelations: The Los Angeles Times reported that Roberts worked pro bono and behind the scenes in the mid-'90s to advise gay rights activists on legal strategists. Apparently Roberts' legal strategy helped the activists work for a landmark Supreme Court decision that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Ultraconservatives might get worked up over these issues, and it sets up even more fireworks for the hearings. On the right, Sen. Sam Brownback, eying the nomination in 2008 and a favorite of conservatives, might be able to score some points by saying Roberts is not conservative enough. Yet, who is more conservative who can also get confirmed? Roberts is headed for the court, but now it appears he may not be as much of a right-wing evangelical as some first thought. It seems that he is more interested in neutral application of the law in some situations.

Bob Novak, a Washington columnist and CNN contributor, got ticked off at James Carville on the set of "Inside Politics," swore and left the set. Not his best day. Maybe he is just too stressed about the situation with the Valerie Plame investigation and the special prosecutor's investigation.

Florida Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the state's former secretary of state who presided over the "election" there of George W. Bush in 2000, is determined to be the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006. The Bushies don't want that, fearing she is too polarizing and her role in 2000 would hurt the chances of taking that seat from Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat. The speaker of the state house said this week he would not run against Harris. She darn well could be the candidate and could win. This one is among the few top Senate races to watch next year, and Florida's politics continue to have a huge influence nationwide -- in fundraising and in presidential contests.

-- Ellensburg, Wash.