Free Republic

As Ace puts it, "More of this. More of this. Nothing but this for the next 32 days. The election hangs on this single issue. The public believes Republicans caused this disaster, and we'll lose based on that misperception. The Democrats actually caused it -- but Republicans, beginning at the top off the ticket, are inexplicably shy about saying so. MORE OF THIS. MORE OF THIS." --Be patient, video takes a few to load.

A must see: Video at link

PETITION NRCC Working to get a Democrat Elected Florida District 22, a district with more registered Republicans than Democrats, was won by a mere 6,000 votes in 2006 by Democrat Ron Klein. The current Republican candidate, Lt. Col. Allen West, has attempted to get support from the NRCC- but those attempts have been met with ridicule and obstinance. Let's be clear: Allen West's campaign hasn't asked for money. No, they have only asked for the donor list of district 22, and an event with Gov. Charlie Crist. The answer was a resounding no. Why? Because the NRCC and Republican leadership...

A new playbook for House Republicans urges them to run essentially as independents, showing empathy for voters, emphasizing local issues and ignoring many traditional party campaign practices. The advice for House candidates is part of an effort to minimize Republican losses in a year when voters are exasperated by the economy, the Iraq war and President Bush: “Encourage Republican candidates to establish themselves in a personal manner, emphasizing local issues whenever possible.” “Candidates have to have a positive alternative vis-à-vis their Democratic opponents.” “Work to develop an issues matrix that is different than in years past and also shows a...

Democrat Dirty Laundry SPIN CYCLE: On the Campaign Trail, Democrats Promised to Severe Ties with Special Interests House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): "We are committed to immediate change to lead this country in a new direction, to put an end to business as usual, and to make certain this nation's leaders serve the people's interests, not special interests." ("A New Direction for America," Page 21) RINSE CYCLE: Democrats Have Risked America's Economic and National Security to Deliver Paybacks to the Trial Lobby "House Republicans, business lobbyists and tort reformers launched a last-ditch effort Wednesday to scrap a tiny provision involving...

Allen West is a true military leader. He’s also a dedicated public servant who decided to spend a year teaching high school in the district before announcing his candidacy. Most importantly, he brings vast knowledge and well thought out solutions to key issues, ranging from small business development to healthcare and pragmatic solutions to the mortgage crisis and job creation. The fact that he’s African-American just goes to show that the GOP is the party of people of all races who share in common sense. That the NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) has failed to pay proper attention to this...

...This week, as the Democratic contest winds down, CBS News' Brian Goldsmith talked with Republican National Committee Deputy Chairman Frank Donatelli about his party’s prospects for November’s elections. (snip) CBSNews.com: Getting back to the environment, the highest wrong track number ever recorded in opinion polls, the highest disapproval rating ever recorded for a sitting president. How big is the magnitude of the problem? Frank Donatelli: Well, the political environment represents the starting point is what I would say. And it's fair to say that, in 2008, we start off, just on a generic basis, behind by five or ten points....

All week long, you and I have been blasting the bereft Beltway GOP leadership for their empty sloganeering and Obama-esque change obsession. Now, the NRCC is hearing it directly on its website. Reader Fritz e-mails that the comments section in the NRCC blog post by chairman Tom Cole is sizzling hot with aggravated grass-roots conservative feedback. Go check it out. A sample: This is not the message I am looking to support. The message of the Replican Part should be fundumentally different than the Democrats. We don’t need to “fix” the government. We need the Federal Government to do wnat...

Be bold, be bold, but not too bold, Mr. Fox in an old English fairy tale. US Rep. Tom Cole (OK), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), acknowledging that “a large segment of the American people doesn’t have confidence” in the GOP, urged his party’s candidates for Congress to put forth a bold agenda for change. In a telephone conference call with reporters today, he cited the example of presumptive GOP nominee John McCain for establishing his own identity and running substantially ahead of a generic Republican in opinion polls. Cole said voters like candidates “who are bold,...

After losing their third special election loss in recent weeks, Mike Allen says there are "whispers among some House Republicans" about trying to replace Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) with Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), "who was NRCC chairman from 1998 to 2002." In addition, Allen says House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) "also has to watch his back" since House conservatives are "especially restive." Cole, as Marc Ambinder notes, pushed the panic button last night "warning his incumbents and challengers: change or die."

<p>The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- of the organization's funds into his personal accounts, GOP officials said yesterday, describing an alleged scheme that could become one of the largest political frauds in recent history.</p>

WASHINGTON - The committee in charge of running House Republican campaigns said Thursday that a former treasurer "deceived and betrayed" the group, which is missing hundreds of thousands of dollars — and possibly more — due to fraudulent acts conducted over the past several years. The National Republican Congressional Committee told federal authorities that it overstated the amount of cash it held at the end of 2006 by nearly $1 million. A year later, the committee's annual report to the Federal Election Commission — which again was handled by the ex-treasurer — overstated the actual funds on hand by $740,000....

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) challenged Republicans on Tuesday to get off their “dead asses” and start raising money for the National Republican Congressional Committee. And the Republican leader wasn’t the only lawmaker berating his GOP colleagues to raise more money for the committee’s March 12 fundraising dinner: According to sources in the room, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) also used a closed-door session at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday to challenge Republicans to raise more campaign cash. The normally upbeat Cole told Republicans that if they don’t start raising more...

NRCC probe scares GOP By: Patrick O'Connor and John Bresnahan February 6, 2008 07:49 AM EST Top House Republicans were told in recent days that a former employee of their campaign committee may have forged an official audit during the contentious 2006 election cycle and that they should brace for the possibility that an unfolding investigation could uncover financial improprieties stretching back several years, according to GOP sources briefed on the members-only discussions. The National Republican Congressional Committee has retained a forensic auditor to review its accounting for the last several election cycles, the sources said. The NRCC’s accounting problems...

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole sent me an email today. I wasn't particularly touched. It merely had the Subject line: Season's Greetings! and the card below. Mr. Cole, do you mind mentioning the REASON for the Season? This is the kind of secular stupidity that alienates your base, Sir. Merry Christmas! The check's not in the mail.

Attention wealthy people interested in politics: the Republican party wants you. As the New York Times noted today, the party that wants people to pull themselves with their own bootstraps expects the same of people running for Congress. It has little choice since The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has raised $56 million with $29.2 million at its disposal compared with the $40.7 million raised by the National Republican Congressional Committee, which as a cash balance of $2.5 million, the paper said. While having self-funded candidates seems like a dream come true for the GOP, there is a downside. People who...

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) reported raising $2.6 million in August for its efforts to coordinate the party’s 2008 national campaign for Senate seats. In doing so, the DSCC continued to outperform its partisan counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), according to monthly reports filed late last week with the Federal Election Commission. There was some consolation for the GOP side, as the gap between the two committees was smaller than it has been in most of the months since the Democrats claimed control of the Senate in January. The Republicans’ Senate campaign unit raised $2.4 million in...

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee outraised the National Republican Congressional Committee for the second straight quarter, and has nearly 10 times the cash on hand of its Republican counterpart. NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) announced Thursday that the committee raised between $13 million and $14 million for the second quarter, and had around $2 million cash on hand at the end of June. Meanwhile, the DCCC raised about $17 million for the quarter, and banked $19 million at the end of June. The sizable cash-on-hand gap between the two committees partially reflects the NRCC’s desire to pay off a sizable...

I just received the following e-mail from the National Republican Congressional Committee. It seems they have seen the light and are living under the cross, at least for now. NRCC Supporters Rep. Tom Cole, MC Chairman, National Republican Congressional Committee House GOP Firmly Against Senate Immigration Bill June 28, 2007 Late Tuesday night, the House Republicans sent a strong message to America that it will stand firmly against the comprehensive immigration legislation currently proposed in the U.S. Senate. The House Republican Conference voted overwhelmingly to express disapproval of the Senate's bill. I wanted you to be one of the first...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: With the weather in the Washington-Baltimore area clearing, President Bush returned from Camp David today by Marine One. The Democrats and their fellow travelers in the media continue to manufacture "scandals," while at least a couple of Congressional Republicans can always be counted on to stab the President (and the country) in the back -- and a contingent of so-called conservatives here on FR and elsewhere always manage to find fault with the man. Yet the President keeps on going on. President and Mrs. Bush did get some good news last week: Methodist panel backs...

US authorities have arrested a man on suspicion of transferring funds abroad to finance training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a New York district attorney said. US resident Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, 53, whose nationality is not known, is accused of having agreed to transfer 152,000 dollars abroad supposedly to buy night vision glasses for a camp in Afghanistan. Also known by the alias Michael Mixon, he was arrested on Thursday and was to be charged with attempting to finance terrorism, international money laundering, and material support to terrorism, as well as conspiracy and wire fraud. According to the...

JOHN WHITE, REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS IN THE THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MARYLAND RECEIVES LATE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM GOP Annapolis, MD, November 1, 2006 -- John White, Candidate for Congress in MD's Third Congressional District today announced his campaign has just received a significant cash infusion from the GOP. In thanking MD GOP Chairman John Kane, Governor Robert Ehrlich, and RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, Mr. White stated, "Our campaign has gained significant momentum in the last few weeks. Wal-Mart's announcement for the new $4 prescription program in MD, and the Common Causes's CNN story on special interest money in our...

Now, these were posted at another site I frequent and supposedly are NRCC internals. Some look a bit out of whack to me, or at least outdated, especially Montana. Anyway, take a look.

McCain backs Minuteman Graf; Giffords wants Hastert to resign The Business Journal of Phoenix - October 8, 2006 by Mike Sunnucks The Business Journal Arizona Sen. John McCain has endorsed conservative Tucson congressional candidate Randy Graf despite a split between the two on immigration and the Mexican border. Graf is also a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a controversial group that patrols U.S. border and wants tougher immigration controls. The Minutemen have opposed McCain's approach to immigration, including a guest worker program. Graf faces an uphill climb against Democratic rival Gabrielle Giffords in a southeastern Arizona U.S. House...

Based on what you know now, do you approve, or do you disapprove, of the job New York congressman Tom Reynolds has done in response to contact between congressmen and teenage pages? Approve 20% Disapprove 66% Not Sure 14 500 Adults, +/- 4.2% MOE Partisan breakdown: 41% Republican29% Democrat23% Independent

Karl Rove Offers Pep Talk to Arizona GOP by Patrick McNamara Posted Oct 02, 2006 TUCSON, ARIZ.—In hopes of keeping Arizona’s 8th District in Republican hands, White House adviser Karl Rove came to town last Friday with this message: Democrats can’t be trusted to fight the War on Terror. At the fundraising event organized by the Arizona Republican Party, Rove—the man President Bush calls “the architect”—derided the Democratic congressional leadership for a “cut-and-run philosophy on terror.” “We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can walk out on Iraq—without having won—and not embolden the terrorists,” Rove told the crowd of Arizona...

I thought this link would be of value regarding the AZ district 8 election. If you go to the link http://tray.com/cgi-win/x_IndepExp_SQL_By_State_Date.exe?DoFn=&Count=20060901&sYR=2006 You will find the following from about 8/22 to 9/22: 1. The NRCC spent about 100,000 dollars supporting Huffman. 2. The DCCC spent about 200,000 dollars opposing Huffman and about 0 dollars opposing Graf. 3. The Minutemen have spent about 45,000 supporting Graf 4. After the primary, the RNCC spent about 16,000 supporting Graf and about 70,000 opposing Giffords. From this I conclude that the Democrats wanted to run against Graf and not Huffman. The Republicans wanted Huffman to...

  PUBLISHED ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2006: Primary School Lessons from last week's election By JIM NINTZEL Why did Randy Graf kick Steve Huffman's ass in the Congressional District 8 GOP primary? Huffman had plenty of advantages in this race: The backing of the business community, a campaign war chest packed with more than $670,000 (we'll be really interested in seeing the final spending figures when he files his next Federal Election Commission report), six-figure support from the National Republican Congressional Committee, the endorsement of outgoing Congressman Jim Kolbe and the general perception that he was the moderate alternative to...

WASHINGTON - Republicans signaled retreat Thursday in their battle to retain an Arizona congressional seat, dropping plans for nonstop television advertisements through Election Day on behalf of GOP contender Randy Graf. Officials in both parties said private polls show Graf trailing Democratic rival Gabrielle Giffords in the race to replace Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe (news, bio, voting record), who is retiring after 22 years in Congress. The maneuvering shows the intense district-by-district competition for control of the House, with the two parties adjusting tactics frequently to take changing circumstances into account. Democrats must gain 15 seats this fall to capture...

The source here is highly questionable, (the DCCC's weblog) but the allegation is troubling: "The NRCC, having gone out on a limb to get a more moderate candidate through the primary and failed, has just given up on ... nominee Randy Graf. We have just gotten word that they have cancelled everything on the air from October 3rd forward." If this is true, I'm ashamed of the NRCC

Graf Receives Wide Support from National GOP (Tucson, AZ) Randy Graf, the Republican nominee to replace retiring US Congressman Jim Kolbe, was pleased to announce that the national Republican Party and its leaders have come together to support his campaign. After winning the Republican Primary for the Eighth Congressional District of Arizona on September 12, 2006, Randy flew out to Washington, D.C. the following day to meet with national party leaders who have pledged their support and promised to help Randy’s campaign collect the needed resources in order to win the general election on November 7, 2006. Among those who...

Shootout at the Not-So-OK Corral What We Learned From Randy Graf's Win by Rep. Tom Tancredo Posted Sep 15, 2006 A funny thing happened in Arizona's 8th District primary election on Tuesday. A conservative former state legislator, Randy Graf, faced off against the hand-picked candidate of the retiring incumbent, liberal Republican Jim Kolbe and the entire Republican establishment. The Kolbe clone had the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which had decided that Graf was "too conservative for his district.” The Republican voters in the 8th District of Arizona told the NRCC and Jim Kolbe to take a hike...

NRCC Pushes Moderate in Ariz. Primary by John Gizzi Posted Sep 11, 2006 The National Republican Congressional Committee has spent more than $200,000 in the last two weeks on television spots in Arizona’s 8th U.S. House District boosting the candidacy in the contested September 12 primary of Arizona State Rep. Steve Huffman, handpicked successor of retiring Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe. Like Kolbe (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 74%), Huffman is pro-abortion and supports the guest-worker program for illegal immigration favored by the Bush Administration and many Senate Democrats. Almost incredibly, NRCC-crafted ads dub Huffman “the conservative choice” of the U.S....

Republicans are planning to spend the vast majority of their sizable financial war chest over the final 60 days of the campaign attacking Democratic House and Senate candidates over personal issues and local controversies, GOP officials said. The National Republican Congressional Committee, which this year dispatched a half-dozen operatives to comb through tax, court and other records looking for damaging information on Democratic candidates, plans to spend more than 90 percent of its $50 million-plus advertising budget on what officials described as negative ads. The hope is that a vigorous effort to "define" opponents, in the parlance of GOP operatives,...

--Advertisement-- --Advertisement-- Evolving wisdom and original reporting from the staff of the Hotline « WH 08: "Run, Tom, Run" | Main | The Big Number: 30 » September 08, 2006 House Race Hotline Update: Huff Over Huffman An unusual GOP primary is taking place 9/12 in AZ 08, where the NRCC is attacking front-runner Randy Graf while the DCCC is rooting for him. Graf has a loyal base of support because of his hard-line stance on immigration. But many GOPers fear he's unelectable in the general. Instead, they're spending over $100K to back state Rep. Steve Huffman, who fits...

National GOP has no business in local race Our view: Its support of Huffman in the primary is a mistake that has backfired Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.09.2006 The National Republican Congressional Committee should have stayed out of the GOP primary race in the 8th Congressional District. Its support of candidate Steve Huffman sends the wrong message that national party leaders know better than locals who would be the best candidate for Congress. The NRCC's move also has harmed local party unity and opened up Huffman to attacks within the Republican Party and from Democrats. If Huffman wins the...

WASHINGTON - An Arizona congressional race has sparked a rift between Rep. Tom Tancredo and the Colorado Republican Party. Tancredo, a Littleton Republican, is backing a fellow, hard-line opponent of illegal immigration, Randy Graf, in Tuesday's GOP primary in an open-seat race. Much of the national Republican establishment has lined up behind another candidate, Steve Huffman. This week, the Colorado Republican Committee sent Huffman a $5,000 contribution, Federal Election Commission records show. The Colorado contribution angers Tancredo, who has used his profile on immigration to boost state Republicans recently. "He's definitely not happy about it," spokesman Carlos Espinosa said Friday....

Poll: Giffords, Graf lead District 8 contenders By Daniel Scarpinato arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.07.2006 A week out from the primary election, Democrat Gabrielle Giffords and Republican Randy Graf have comfortable leads over their 8th Congressional District rivals, according an Arizona Daily Star-sponsored poll of likely voters. The poll, conducted by Zimmerman & Associates and Marketing Intelligence, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points and polled 800 likely voters Sept. 1-4. Election Day is Tuesday. It also found Republicans are more likely to cross party lines than Democrats in the general...

Ads grow vitriolic in pivotal race Roughly a week after the National Republican Congressional Committee announced that it would be running more than $122,000 worth of ads supporting moderate Republican candidate Steve Huffman, who's locked in a competitive primary race in Arizona District 8, the Democratic Congressional Committee has also leapt into the advertising fray with an ad lambasting Huffman's eight-year record in the State Legislature. p>"When it came time to secure our borders, Steve Huffman was missing," says the Democratic ad, citing Huffman's absence during votes to fund border security technology and fix the immigration system. "If we can't...

For Immediate Release September 6, 2006   Contact: R.T. Gregg (520) 887-2984    Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Endorses Randy Graf(Tucson, AZ) Randy Graf, the leading Republican candidate to replace retiring US Congressman Jim Kolbe, was proud to announce that his candidacy was endorsed today by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California. Congressman Rohrabacher is currently serving his ninth term in Congress and represents the 46th Congressional District of California, which includes the Pacific Coastline of Orange County and Los Angeles from Huntington Beach to the Palos Verdes Peninsula.Congressman Rohrabacher currently serves as Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the...

TUCSON, Ariz. -- As Republican leaders work to retain control of Congress, a number of primaries around the country are pitting their party's conservative base against its moderates. One such fight can be found in this socially moderate border district, where the National Republican Congressional Committee has spent more than $200,000 to help Steve Huffman -- a state representative who favors abortion rights and federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research -- win Tuesday's primary.

Huffman's foes in primary blast national GOP support By Josh Brodesky arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.06.2006 Republican congressional candidate Steve Huffman's primary opponents said Tuesday morning that a flurry of recent advertisements paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee supporting him have interfered with the election process. It was reported last week that the committee had decided to spend more than $122,000 on television advertisements, now airing, in support of Huffman. "I have never seen such an attempt to fix an election," said Mike Hellon, who is seeking the District 8 Republican nomination along with Randy...

WASHINGTON -- Arizona Republicans in a crowded House primary denounced the national GOP Tuesday for taking sides in the race. "They're idiots," one candidate said. The National Republican Congressional Committee last week backed a candidate in the primary, launching a $122,000 advertising campaign for state Rep. Steve Huffman. The party contends Huffman is a moderate candidate who could win the district in November. On Tuesday, Huffman's four GOP opponents took the unusual step of holding a joint news conference and delivering a message to the National Republican Congressional Committee. "Stay the hell out of southern Arizona," said Mike Hellon, one...

JOINT STATEMENT ISSUED BY FRANK ANTENORI, RANDY GRAF, MIKE HELLON, AND MIKE JENKINS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 2006 "Today, we, four of the five Republican candidates for Congress in Arizona's Eighth District take a bold step to jointly declare our unified outrage at the highly unusual actions taken by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to openly support one candidate, Steve Huffman, in this Republican primary. On March 30, 2006, RNC Chairman Ken Mehiman visited Tucson to attend a local party fundraiser. During his visit, Mehlman held a private meeting with the five declared candidates for Congress or their...

Writing in Sunday's Washington Post, Marc Ambinder observed, “Both parties have well-financed internal agitators who yank tight the chains of ideological discipline -- think of MoveOn.Org on the left and the Club for Growth on the right ... The Republican base is fracturing around fiscal probity, immigration and cultural issues.” He's right. And it seems the Republican Party committees are actually working around-the-clock to expedite the process. It has been much noted that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has spent millions of dollars against conservative Steve Laffey in Rhode Island. But now, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has...

8th District Republican candidates forum Campaigning tactics a sore spot for some By Daniel Scarpinato arizona daily Star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.31.2006 Voters are "going to see an awful lot of Steve Huffman" over the next two weeks, congressional candidate Randy Graf said at a forum Wednesday night, citing rival Huffman's advertising support from national Republican Party leaders. The comment came after the National Republican Congressional Committee made the unusual move of deciding to spend more than $122,000 on local advertising to promote Huffman in the District 8 GOP primary. "They're going to try to re-create Steve Huffman,"...

THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE. ARIZONA: NRCC BACKS GOP CENTRIST IN OPEN CD-8 PRIMARY. Retiring eleven-term Congressman Jim Kolbe (R) is strongly supporting State Representative Steve Huffman as his successor -- and now Kolbe has some powerful allies in his vocal efforts to derail the candidacy of former State Representative Randy Graf. The National Republican Congressional Committee spent $122,292 to purchase TV time for a spot in support of Huffman scheduled to start airing later this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal also reported the individual leadership PACs of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader John Boehner and...

WASHINGTON - The Association of Trial Lawyers of America on Tuesday launched a $500,000 television and radio ad campaign in five congressional districts blaming GOP lawmakers for not seeking lower prices for the Medicare prescription drug program. The ad campaign targets Republican House members from Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio and North Carolina. The ads accuse the lawmakers of blocking provisions that would have required Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for the best prescription cost. In a series of radio ads, the association also criticizes the lawmakers for accepting contributions from the oil and gas industry, suggesting that their...

...[n]ational Democrats aren’t too worried about losing the seat, citing the district’s safe Democrat rating, Murtha’s record, and his long-term incumbency. Jon Delano, a one-time Democratic congressional candidate who is now a political commentator for KDKA TV in Pittsburgh, said beating the 16-term incumbent would be tough for any candidate,... “Most of his time isn’t spent in the district talking about the war in Iraq, he’s handing out checks,” Delano said. “Because of his national image, people outside this region might think all Jack Murtha talks about is the War in Iraq. Locally, he’s identified far more with helping entities,...

WASHINGTON- National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Tom Reynolds today reacted to a front page report in The Wall Street Journal: "Today, I am calling on Alan Mollohan to resign from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. "It is no wonder that Mr. Mollohan and Democrat leaders have stalled for so long in getting the Ethics Committee up and running. "I believe it would be prudent at this point for Mr. Mollohan to resign from the Ethics Committee until this investigation is completed."