Free Republic

As many as 70 House seats are in play this election cycle, DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen said Thursday as he sought to downplay a rift between House Dem leaders and the WH. "It's between 60 and 70 seats in play. That includes Democrats and Republican seats in play," Van Hollen said on MSNBC Thursday morning, maintaining the midterms will be a choice between Dems and GOPers.(snip) Van Hollen maintained that Dems still have a few targets this Nov., pointing to seats being vacated by Reps. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Mike Castle (R-DE). He also cited seats held by Reps....

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) is already practicing for her new job. Once the American people vote her party out of power and, in effect, vote her out of the Speaker's job; Madame Pelosi is evidently ready to begin a new career as one of those tacky carnival fortune tellers/con artists who claim to see nothing but great fortune in your future as they're picking your pocket. Imagine the rubes on the midway's delight when they hear things like what she told potential Democratic donors today.

The Democratic Party is moving faster and more aggressively than in previous election years to dig up unflattering details about Republican challengers. In House races from New Jersey to Ohio to California, Democratic operatives are seizing on evidence of GOP candidates' unpaid income taxes, property tax breaks and ties to financial firms that received taxpayer bailout money. In recent weeks, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has circulated information to local reporters about Republican candidates in close races. Among the claims: -- That Jim Renacci of Ohio once owed nearly $1.4 million in unpaid state taxes. -- That David Harmer of...

The Democratic Party is moving faster and more aggressively than in previous election years to dig up unflattering details about Republican challengers. In House races from New Jersey to Ohio to California, Democratic operatives are seizing on evidence of GOP candidates' unpaid income taxes, property tax breaks and ties to financial firms that received taxpayer bailout money. In recent weeks, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has circulated information to local reporters about Republican candidates in close races. Among the claims: -- That Jim Renacci of Ohio once owed nearly $1.4 million in unpaid state taxes. -- That David Harmer of...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is asking supporters for contributions to help prevent the "subpoenas and investigations" that would result from a GOP majority. In a fundraising letter for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Pelosi says if Republicans take back the House, they'll initiate "endless investigations against President Obama" and "bring back the days of Ken Starr and the politics of personal destruction." "Remember a Republican-controlled Congress that devoted more time to subpoenas and investigations than to solving our country's problems?" Pelosi asks. "There is far too much at stake for our country now to allow it to happen again." Rep....

According to a new Gallup poll, Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents are much more enthusiastic about voting in the upcoming mid-term elections than they have been in previous years while Democrats' enthusiasm has dwindled to a new low by comparison. But rather than trying to improve the product they're trying to sell, the Democratic Party has decided to respond the way they always do - throw money at the problem.

The importance of the 2010 mid-term elections, not only to elect or re-elect a local member of Congress or governor, but also to further the progressive direction of the country, is not widely understood. Only a few, most notably the labor movement and its allies, have already drawn up plans for mobilization. And while the Democratic National Committee, along with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (as well as their opposing counterparts on the Republican side), have always sought to increase their number of seats in the House and Senate, there has hardly ever been...

President Obama has been happy to beat up on Wall Street "fat cats," but tonight he'll be even happier to take their money. The President is slated to headline a superswank, $50,000-per-couple fund-raiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at Manhattan's gilded St. Regis hotel on Fifth Ave.The high-dollar affair will feature fine French food, a bevy of Wall Street titans and 23 Congress members - including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).Not everyone is thrilled that Obama and Pelosi are looking to use New York as a campaign ATM at the same time that they are trying to rein in Wall...

While some try to rehabilitate the corruption laden reputation of the late Congressman John Murtha (D-Pennsylvania) by naming a Navy ship in his honor, voters in his district are poised to rehabilitate their representation in Washington. The latest poll shows Republican businessman Tim Burns leading his Democratic challenger in the May 18 special election former Murtha aide Mark Critz 46% to 40%. And in typical 'Desperate Democrat' fashion, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has responded with one of the most misleading political ads you'll ever see.

Wow, this is lame. The DCCC is getting involved in Hawaii's special House election, except that the Republican candidate, Charles Djou, is about as menacing as a Care Bear. So their line of attack is . . . for signing a pledge not to raise taxes. Djou signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge, stating that he opposes any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar-for-dollar by further reducing tax rates. The DCCC contends Djou is "protecting tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas." And every other company, and every other individual. You...

House Democrats plan to revive the political ghost of former President George W. Bush in their bid to retain the majority this fall, according to Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the head of the party’s re-election efforts. Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, on Tuesday signaled House Democrats will try to repeat their success in the last two election cycles by once again running under a change banner. "This time we will make the case that supporting a Republican is simply turning back the clock to Bush economic policies, the same policies that got us into this...

When you get an invitation from the city's hottest lobbyists for a dinner in honor of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, expect to pay. But even with the promise of dinner prepared by "celebrity women chefs," ticket prices ranging from $5,000 to $30,400 are enough to choke on. "Whatever," Democrats will say as they fork over the money to attend the exclusive fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at the home of überlobbyists Heather and Tony Podesta. And the truth is, this is now an annual event. Several top Dems plan to attend the February 9 soiree, including DCCC Chairman...

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has come up with a novel way to energize the base and capitalize on the left’s antipathy to Fox News—a “Fact Check Fox” State of the Union rapid response team staffed by grassroots activists. “This group of Democratic Party activists will stand at the ready to counter the lies and distortions that erupt from the rightwing media and Republican spin doctors like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck following President Obama's State of the Union address on Wednesday night,” reads the email, which will be sent out Wednesday to its 4 million-plus list. “You will receive...

Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said THIS about Ted Kennedy's Senate seat...“Why would you hand the keys to the car back to the same guys whose policies drove the economy into the ditch and then walked away from the scene of the accident?”

WASHINGTON – An already difficult situation for Democrats in Congress is worsening as the 2010 political season opens. To minimize expected losses in next fall's election, President Barack Obama's party is testing a line of attack that resurrects George W. Bush as a boogeyman and castigates Republicans as cozy with Wall Street. Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who heads the House Democrats' campaign arm, said his party wants to remind voters who was on their side at a difficult time. "The Republican Party in Washington today is no different than the Republican Party that ran the Congress before," he said....

Democrats have lost yet another touted recruit, this time in Kansas. State Sen. Laura Kelly (D) just announced her withdrawal from the race to face Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.). She becomes the fifth formidable recruit to bow out in recent weeks. “I have been forced to make a decision between honoring the pledge I made to the people in my Senate district and my firm conviction that the people of the 2nd congressional district deserve a truly independent voice in Congress," Kelly said in a statement. “This has been a very hard decision, but it is the right one.” Kelly...

Democrats have lost yet another touted recruit, this time in Kansas. State Sen. Laura Kelly (D) just announced her withdrawal from the race to face Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.). She becomes the fifth formidable recruit to bow out in recent weeks. “I have been forced to make a decision between honoring the pledge I made to the people in my Senate district and my firm conviction that the people of the 2nd congressional district deserve a truly independent voice in Congress," Kelly said in a statement. “This has been a very hard decision, but it is the right one.” Kelly...

DCCC goes after Palin and 'lunatic fringe' By Eric Zimmermann - 11/30/09 03:52 PM ET The DCCC is using Sarah Palin as a bogeyman to raise money, calling her book a "lie-riddled work of fiction." An excerpt from a fundraising email DCCC Executive Director Jon Vogel sent to supporters today: You and I know that the only thing dead on arrival whenever Sarah Palin grabs a microphone is the truth. Only now, her lie-riddled work of fiction called "Going Rogue" is selling like gangbusters - and it's up to us to give it a proper response. The media is closely...

As you head out over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house for a fine Thanksgiving turkey, consider yourself forewarned that cousin Cathy and Aunt Alice, the family flaming libs, have been armed with Democrat talking points to stoke the fire in the annual Thanksgiving political brawl.   Control issues much?  The downloadable cheat sheet gives a list of potential myths the family conservatives might trot out and supplies the family liberals with "facts" for effective "myth-busting." First off, the term myths, as used by liberals, requires an Inigo Montoya retort: " You keep using that word. I do...

Here is the Rat's cheat sheet. Is it a surprise that it is called a "cheat" sheet. Rats can't do anything honestly.