By GottaLaff
Via an e-mail alert. I'm getting lots of those today.
Can an investigation of C Street be far behind?
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury looking into the aftermath of Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign’s extramarital affair with a staffer.
By GottaLaff
Rushpublics Eating Their Own can be fun... if you're a Democratic spectator:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee will back Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) in his battle against the Club for Growth and conservative challengers. [...]And we wouldn't want to rile up them Tea Baggers. You know how they get when a bee gets under their Tea Bonnet.
“The NRSC and Sen. Cornyn fully stand behind Sen. Bennett,” said Brian Walsh, spokesman for the committee. [...]
The Senate Republican campaign committee has pledged it would stay neutral in open-seat Republican primaries this election year.
The committee is backing Bennett because he is an incumbent. [...]
Supporting Bennett could subject the campaign committee to criticism from conservative activists, another reason why GOP officials may be hesitant to spend much money to protect him in a conservative primary.
By GottaLaff
After outraising its Democratic counterpart for two straight months, the National Republican Senatorial Committee lagged behind the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in September by $2.7 million. [...]Mo. Men. Tum.
“Despite the troubling economic conditions, Democrats across the country are energized and united heading into the mid-term elections, which is reflected in the continued strength of our fundraising numbers,” DSCC Executive Director J.B. Poersch said.
By GottaLaff
NBC News reports that the NRSC has committed $750,000 to help Norm Coleman (R) pay his legal bills in his fight with Al Franken (D) over Minnesota's empty U.S. Senate seat. This all but confirms the strategy that Republicans would rather have an empty Senate seat than one filled by a Democrat.Pfft! To hell with Minnesotans and their ludicrous allegiance to the rule of law, fair elections, and accurate recounts. Who cares how they feel when blocking health care reform and other trivial issues is their extra special Rushpublic priority.
"It's worth pointing out that this $750,000 isn't chump change."
Meanwhile, a new Rasmussen Reports poll finds that most Minnesotans believe Coleman should concede to Franken, 54% to 41%.
By GottaLaff
This is pretty much all they know how to do: Attack. They have no constructive ideas of their own:
Republicans are increasingly trying to create a wedge between President Obama and Candidate Obama in a growing campaign to undermine his ambitious agenda.
In advance of his primetime news conference Tuesday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee unveiled an ad, entitled, “Change We Can Believe In?” that attacks Obama for flip-flopping on spending, taxes, earmarks and his handling of the lavish bonuses for AIG. The internet ad takes Candidate Obama sound bites and contrasts comments made by broadcast journalists suggesting the opposite.
Please note the insertion of a Keith Olbermann clip into the succession of sound bites. Ooooo, see? Even Keith has turned on Obama. That confirms it. Obama must be a really bad president.
These attacks represent a new front for Senate Republicans, who are building a financial and political infrastructure for the 2010 mid term elections, which they believe will be a referendum on the Obama agenda. In the past week, Senate Republicans have rolled out an organized assault:
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has accused Obama of trying to “Europeanize” the country.
• Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said Obama’s budget will “bankrupt” the country.
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) believes the president is not standing up to Democratic leaders in Congress “and has let the culture of Washington continue, and it’s actually gotten worse.”
• Sen. Charles Grassley accused Obama of going back on his campaign promises on closing the revolving door for lobbyists and limiting signing statements.
• NRSC chairman John Cornyn says the administration is “engaged in a permanent campaign” and “seems to disdain” governing. [...]
“The NRSC talking about change is as credible as Paris Hilton teaching Sunday school,” said Eric Schultz, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. [...]
The NRSC is not making an ad buy, but it sent the ad to reporters Tuesday morning, will be broadcast to the 3 million people on its e-mail list, and will likely get some attention on cable news shows.
So business as usual. No need to spend money when they can rely on good old cable to run and rerun their ads ad nauseam for free.
The Party of No = the Party of No Ideas = Fine by us.
By GottaLaff
Jim "Justice Ginsburg will die in 9 months" Bunning, is none too happy with "Big Bad John" Cornyn. As Jim Ward would say, "Thank you for playing 'Republicans Eating Their Own'":
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) warned that he would sue the NRSC if it supported a primary challenge against him, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.Shh. Nobody say a word while these two are talking to each other. It would be rude to interrupt them, and we certainly wouldn't want this conversation to end any time soon.
Though the committee's head, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), has said they will support Bunning, the Kentucky senator isn't buying it.
Said Bunning: "I don't believe anything John Cornyn says. I've had miscommunications with John Cornyn from, I guess, the first week of this current session of the Senate. He either doesn't understand English or he doesn't understand direct: 'I'm going to run,' which I said to him in the cloakroom of our chamber."
I'm no fan of Harry Reid, but starting up on him over the stimulus bill now seems a bit premature. Guess I shouldn't bitch if they're wasting their money like this.... Via Taegan.
National Republicans are using their first television ad buy of the 2010 election cycle to criticize Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in his own backyard, a Republican source tells CNN.
The NRSC will begin running an ad today in the Reno television market and purchase ads on Nevada web sites criticizing Reid for voting for last year's $700 billion bailout and now supporting President Obama's stimulus plan.
By GottaLaff
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) on Wednesday said efforts are ongoing to persuade Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) to run for his state’s open Senate seat.And so it blows...
Oh man, Al Franken is gonna win big time. Guffaw.
Jonathan Martin noted with some amusement a new video from the NRSC video featuring celebrities you may not have heard of, plus Pat Boone in a swimming pool, attacking Al Franken.
A reader adds an odd note: One of those "celebs," Victoria Jackson, a Saturday Night Live vet (though no Franken admirer) voices rather strong feelings about Barack Obama on her website. (ed note- website may cause you to faint from thin oxygen)
By GottaLaff
Senate Update - Courtesy of the NRSCHappy Wednesday!John Ensign (R-NV), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as in "in charge of getting them elected", has ceded the Senate races in New Mexico and Virginia.
He told the WSJ that:“You don’t waste money on races that don’t need it or you can’t win.”
By GottaLaff
Christopher J. Ward, former treasurer, was a bad, naughty boy. But Chairman Tom is so proud! Why? Because Chairman Tom and his staff, says he, were right on top of things! They were the Discovererererers, the Reportererers and the Bustererers! And what a crack team of law-and-order Republicans they were! Too bad Republican donors don't quite see it that way:Outside lawyers for the National Republican Congressional Committee confirmed Thursday that a former employee allegedly stole an estimated $725,000 from the campaign committee between 2001 and 2007, although the exact amount is still unclear.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, because of joint fundraising it did with the NRCC, also lost an estimated $28,000 to Ward's illicit activities, and at least five other campaign committees and leadership PACs that he worked for have already reported that he allegedly diverted at least $47,000 from their accounts.
That brings the total GOP losses to Ward to nearly $800,000.
[NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.)] said the Ward investigation has diverted needed resources into an investigation, and raised unwanted questions from donors about the committee's operations. [...] Cole tried to spin the situation as a credit to himself and his staff, who first confronted Ward on his failure to get an outside audit of the committee's books. Oklahoma Republican said he was proud "that we're the ones that found it, we're the ones that reported it, we're the ones that fixed it."It doesn't take much to fill the NRCC with pride these days, does it.
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