UPDATE 5/8: Please check below the fold for new revelations in the case of New York Republican Representative Vito Fosello, whose actions have suddenly put yet another GOP congressional seat into play. [end update]
In light of his lackluster Q1 fundraising, the MN-01 Republican congressional candidate endorsed by his party at the end of March stated that he thought national party leadership would come to his aid financially.
A flurry of recent articles suggests that scenario could be growing increasingly unlikely.
Yesterday, Politico reported GOP leaders warn of election disaster. Dire news for incumbent House Republicans included such gems as:
Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money. . . .
. . .And in a closed-door session at the Capitol, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told members that the NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to “save them” in November if they don’t raise enough money or run strong campaigns themselves. . . .
. . .Cole’s overall message was clear, said members who sat through the meeting: “If you’re not out doing your own work, and you’re waiting for the NRCC to come in at the last minute and save you, it ain’t gonna happen.” That’s how one lawmaker characterized Cole’s talk, adding that the NRCC is “not going to have the resources” to help all members “and Democrats will have a lot more money.” . . .
If the NRCC can't help its endangered incumbent members who are unable to put together sufficient war chests, we can only wonder about pie-in-the-sky thinking on the part of a candidate who faces a primary battle with thousands of dollars less than his better known primary opponent. Neither Republican still standing had a cash on hand balance approaching $100,000 at the end of March, while Walz had $1 million in the bank and no debts.
And then there's today's report, House GOP rallies at White House:
Seeking to put a spate of bad news behind them, House Republicans headed over to the White House on Wednesday morning, as members gathered for a rally with President Bush. . . .
. . ."It was a lovefest," said Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) of the meeting with Bush.
Bush was introduced by House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and then took questions from members for about 45 minutes, according to GOP aides.
Given that George W. Bush is proving to be the most unpopular American president of modern times, we're hoping word of the bonding spreads from Preston to Pipestone, from Lake City to Luverne and all points in between. That nice picture of Boehner and Bush should help.
CQ Politics reports in GOP tries to regroup:
Losses in two recent special elections combined with prospects for a tough contest next week sent House Republicans scrambling for change — both in words and deeds.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner told his caucus behind closed doors Tuesday that Americans won’t vote for Republicans until they fix their “brand” and convince voters they will fix Washington, according to members who were present.
An open question is whether that effort might also include changes at the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is led by Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma.
Boehner has been unhappy with candidate recruitment and fundraising and angry about the embezzlement of funds by an insider.
Earlier this year, the NRCC discovered unauthorized wire transfers and belatedly learned that audits had not been conducted on its accounts for several years.
The committee ended 2006 with about $990,000 less than its balance sheet showed and ended 2007 with $740,000 less. The FBI is investigating.
Meanwhile, incumbent members have resisted paying their dues to the committee, and many retiring members have been slow to offer to transfer their excess cash — both signs of a lack of faith that victory can be had in November.
The trail of special-election defeats has fed discontent with the NRCC, the bluntest of which came from Newt Gingrich (1979-99), the former Speaker who helped win a Republican majority in 1994 for the first time in 40 years. . . .
Writing in Human Events, Gingrich noted that
The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail.
This model has already been tested with disastrous results.
This tactic is what we've seen in the First, with little traction. And
stabs at Gingrich's proposed direction--such as the suspend-the-gas-tax
gimmick--have been met with derision in the district's larger dailies.
The Post Bulletin and Mankato Free Press editorial headlines are representative: Voters can see through politicians' gas-tax ploys and Gas tax holiday a bad idea all around. The cartoon in this post ran in the Post Bulletin's op-ed pages.
Today, Politico's Crypt reports tales of how Boehner launches panel to steer NRCC:
Desperate to unify his splintered party before the next election, House Republican Leader John A. Boehner has organized a small group of GOP colleagues to advise the National Republican Congressional Committee. . . .
. . .Republicans in the House are reeling after losing two seats already this year in a pair of special elections, including one occupied by their former speaker, retired Illinois Rep. Dennis Hastert. The news could get worse for the GOP if Democrats pull out a narrow win next week in a heavily Republican seat in Mississippi.
The Crypt keepers also relate how another Republican seat is suddenly in play now that the Fossella arrest could cost GOP seat. The Republican road to November is looking increasingly like the more miserable and scary sections of U.S. Highway 14.
UPDATE 5/8: This statement from Vito Fossella just came to our attention. Fossella was arrested on DWI charges;questions had arisen over his relationship with the woman who bailed him out. The statement:
Statement by Congressman Vito Fossella May 8, 2008
"I have had a relationship with Laura Fay, with whom I have a three year old daughter."My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry.
"While I understand that there will be many questions, including those about my political future, making any political decisions right now are furthest from my mind.
"Over the coming weeks and months, I will to continue to do my job and I will work hard to heal the deep wounds I have caused."
Steve LaTourette should never use the term “lovefest”.
If you don’t know the story of LaTourette, he’s a poster child for corruption in office (and in his personal life) – Ethics and Earmarks !
Susan LaTourette never moved to Washington with her husband when he was elected to the House of Representatives in the Republican sweep of 1994. Instead, she chose to stay at home, in suburban Madison, Ohio, with their children. Then one day, she was startled to receive his telephone call to tell her "he had a girlfriend and wanted a divorce." LaTourette's affair with a Washington lobbyist was exposed by the Hill newspaper in 2003.
LaTourette told the Hill she never really knew where her husband lived in Washington. "I think Washington corrupts people," she said. "He was a wonderful husband and father, the best I ever saw, until he went there. I told him I was trying to get him out of the dark side -- all that power and greed and people kissing up to them all the time. Now he's one of them. All they care about is getting reelected. I hate them all."
The father of four and husband of 21 years voted for President Clinton's impeachment, but he has also joined moderate Republicans on a number of issues, including support for hate crimes legislation.
The Washington lobbyist and her background have gone unmentioned in previous published accounts of the affair. But two sources close to Susan LaTourette, the congressman's wife, have told Salon that the lobbyist is Steven LaTourette's former chief of staff, Jennifer Laptook, whose work as a vice president for the firm Van Scoyoc Associates consists of pushing the interests of various Ohio-based clients before the staff of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on which LaTourette sits. He is also chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
The affair began when Laptook was on LaTourette's staff. Immediately upon leaving his office in March 2003, she was hired for the lucrative business of influencing LaTourette's committee. Touting her qualifications, the Van Scoyoc Web site states: "As chief of staff, Laptook was responsible for advising on all legislative issues, particularly those that came before the committees on which Congressman LaTourette serves. Laptook worked intimately with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff, on which the congressman is a senior member."
Ollie Ox says: Excellent observations, my wise friend!
Posted by: MinnesotaCentral | May 07, 2008 at 07:55 PM