GOP Names 2012 Senate Targets

Republican campaign committee names top 2012 Senate targets
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has its eye on five key races it hopes will pave the way for the GOP to take the majority in the upper chamber in 2012. NRSC Executive Director Ron Jesmer said in an interview with CNN.com published Wednesday that the committee believes there is "fertile ground" for Republican gains in Montana, Virginia, Nebraska, Florida and North Dakota. Jesmer said that Centrist Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson (D) is in "serious trouble and kind of in a league ...

Getting Below the Surface
We of course know that the November 2, 2010, Elections were historical on many different levels. The Republican gains of 63 seats in the House and 6 in the Senate dwarf the Republican Revolution of 1994 and double the historical average gains in the Senate for a party out of power. These gains were made despite a cash-strapped Republican National Committee (RNC), strategic decisions by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to spend $8 million in the long-shot California Senate race...

Top Ten Virginia political stories of 2010
Lest we forget all that was 2010, the Bearing Drift team identified the following stories in 2010 as being critical to Virginia politics. If you were abducted by space aliens last Dec. 31, read this “Cliff’s Notes” version and you’ll be right back up to speed. 1. GOP landslide Republicans regained in Virginia everything that they lost in 2008. Well, at least numerically. The Virginia GOP delegation held a majority in the 110th Congress with 8 Republicans to 3 Democrats o...

GOP presidential hopefuls paying attention to Nevada
Nevada was a political afterthought for Republicans in the 2008 Presidential Election. Caucus votes were nonbinding, meaning delegates could change their minds about whom to support, so Candidates focused on other more influential states rather than risk wasting time and money in Nevada. But that strategy seems to be changing, with the state GOP deciding to make caucus votes binding. Now that Nevada can boast real political juice, Republicans toying with the idea of presidential bids are scoping...

Ezra Klein: Who speaks for the Republicans?
When the inevitable showdown between the revived Republican Party and the Obama White House occurs, who will speak for the Republicans? In 1994, they had Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich, both of whom were nationally credible leaders, at least at the time. But looking through Gallup's "most admired" poll, Republicans haven't coalesced around any similarly serious names -- or really anyone at all. The most admired man in America, by a wide margin, is Barack Obama. Three of the four most-ad...

FABULOUS: Ben Nelson, the whore of the Senate, trails badly in 2012 matchup
The people of Nebraska remain disgusted by Ben Nelson, the whore of the Senate, and what he did on Christmas Eve 2009 when he sold his vote for ObamaCare to the White House for a massive infusion of pork…turning the people of Nebraska into welfare queens.  Since then, whenever Nelson and his family have gone out to eat in restaurants, Nebraskans have shouted “whore”, “slut”, and other pejoratives at him…and his face has been plastered all over the state d...

Right Turn: Liberal fixation with Palin continues
Ezra Klein glances at the Gallup Poll showing that there is no single Republican figure around whom the base has "coalesced." Yet he declares: The closest thing the GOP has to a Bob Dole or a Newt Gingrich -- both of whom were credible national voices in 1994 -- is Sarah Palin, whose interests and messages frequently diverge from those of the Republican Party and who polls very poorly among the broader populace. Ezra does not point to any empirical or anecdotal evidence to support ...

Jim DeMint: Sarah Palin Akin to Ronald Reagan
South Carolina Republican Senator and Tea Party favorite Jim DeMint recently paid Sarah Palin the highest compliment in conservative America: Palin has "done more for the Republican Party than anyone since Ronald Reagan." Republicans, especially ambitions ones, usually clamor for the Reagan analogue. Palin has had it bestowed on her by a Senator with Tea Party credentials.  DeMint made his comment to Politico while assaying probable and potential Republican 2012 Presidential Candidates...

Christine O'Donnell, crook
By Michael J.W. Stickings Yes, she's back in the news. Not as a self-aggrandizing liar or an evolution-denying fool or an anti-sex fanatic or a self-aggrandizing liar or an anti-gay bigot or a clueless anti-American theocrat or a self-aggrandizing liar or an anti-Chinese warmonger or a shameless panderer or a moronic and supremely unqualified Candidate for Senate but as a criminal: Defeated Tea Party Candidate Christine...

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday
From the GREAT STATE OF Maine... And Then Things Got Kinda Nutty Republicans, I'm afraid a tut-tut is in order. Not to put too fine a point on it, but...during the Third Quarter of 2010 you behaved rather badly. You nixed a defense authorization bill for the first time in 48 years. You blocked the DISCLOSE Act, which would've added a layer of transparency to political campaigns. You soiled yourselves over a proposed community gathering place in Lower Manhattan. (Can't have those scary American...

Christine O'Donnell campaign spending under investigation by Feds
Baltimore -- Federal authorities have launched a Criminal Investigation to determine whether failed U.S. Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses, according to a person familiar with the investigation. This Story Christine O'Donnell, ex-Senate candidate, subject of federal campaign funds Probe Despite record spending, politicians still have $400 million in campaign funds Big Bank Accounts In 2012, Democrats plan to fight cash with cas...

Kent Conrad Will Have A Tougher Time Defending His Votes To North Dakotans Going Forward
Grover Norquist has an interesting analysis of the 2012 election scene in general up at The American Spectator, and suggests that Senator Kent Conrad will either retire or lose re-election in 2012. His reasoning? Conrad is going to have a harder time justifying his liberal votes in Washington DC while being the state’s only Democrat member of the federal delegation. One factor that has allowed a state like North Dakota, which voted 63 percent for Bush in 2004, to repeatedly elect two hard-...

Remarkable Run Ends for Team North Dakota
Senator Byron L. Dorgan, at left, and Senator Kent Conrad, right, helped campaign for Representative Earl Pomery in October. By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN NYT WASHINGTON — By now, Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Senator Kent Conrad and Representative Earl Pomeroy — best friends and Democrats who spent the last 18 years serving as North Dakota’s entire Congressional delegation — are the stuff of so much political lore in their home state, it can be hard to separate the tall tales from reality.

Redistricting Isn't on the Empire State Republicans' Minds
If you read between the lines of this New York Times article on redistricting in New York, you can see that if the process were guided by population shifts, it probably would eliminate two Democrat seats. But the partisan divide in the State Legislature is more likely to eliminate one Republican seat and one Democrat seat: Congressional Districts are redrawn every 10 years to reflect the nation’s population shifts. Last week, state lawmakers learned that the New York delegation would shr...

A Final Word on the Speaker's Race ... and Beyond
I really had intended for my last post about Baseball to be my last post of 2010. However, when I saw Dave's post alerting us that the date has now been set for the Republican Caucus vote for Speaker of the Texas Legislature, my mind started racing and I thought I would share these thoughts to summarize much of what I've been trying to say on this website since May, 2010, and to create a bridge to the battles to come. As I've said before, I don't support any of the three announced Candidates for...

Snow systems storm across U.S.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A cold front brought rain, snow and frigid temperatures to Arizona, prompting freeze warnings for Thursday and possibly Friday, forecasters said. Further north, a pair of snowstorms was forecast to deliver a wallop to the northern Plains, with the second system expected to be an all-out blizzard, AccuWeather.com reported. Northeastern South Dakota to northwestern Minnesota would bear the brunt of the snowstorms, which forecasters said would combine to dump more...

Christine O'Donnell Denies Misusing Campaign Funds
Former Delaware Senate Candidate and Tea Party affiliate Christine O'Donnell denied allegations Thursday that she misused campaign funds. "There's been no impermissible use of campaign funds whatsoever," O'Donnell told "Good Morning America" Thursday. "You have to look at this whole thug politic tactic for what it is. ... I'm confident that we will be cleared of any charges. Reports indicate federal authorities have launched a Criminal Investigation to look into whether O'Donnell illegally use...

O'Donnell Denies Misuse of Campaign Money
(Baltimore) — Failed U.S. Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell denied Thursday that she had inappropriately used any campaign funds, defending herself a day after the disclosure of a Criminal Investigation into her spending. The Delaware Republican appeared on several network morning shows after it was revealed that federal authorities have launched the Probe to determine whether she broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses. (See more on Christine O'Donnell.) "There...

O'Donnell: Spending accusations are 'thug' tactics
FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2010 file photo, Delaware Republican Senate candid... Baltimore (AP) - Failed U.S. Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell said Thursday that accusations she misspent campaign funds are politically motivated and stoked by disgruntled former campaign workers, defending herself a day after the disclosure of a Criminal Investigation into her spending. The Delaware Republican appeared on several network morning shows after it was revealed that federal authorities have launched...

Christine O'Donnell denies misuse of campaign money
Baltimore — Failed U.S. Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell said Thursday that accusations she misspent campaign funds are politically motivated and stoked by two disgruntled former campaign workers, defending herself a day after the disclosure of a Criminal Investigation into her spending. The Delaware Republican appeared on several network morning shows after it was revealed that federal authorities have launched the Probe to determine whether she broke the law by using campaign ...

FBI Probing Christine O'Donnell's Campaign Spending
Thursday, December 30, 2010 By Ben Nuckols and Matthew Barakat, Associated Press In this Sept. 14, 2010 file photo, Delaware Republican Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell addresses supporters after winning the Republican nomination, in Dover, Del. Senate hopeful O'Donnell has a simple message in her campaign ads - "I'm you." Three weeks to the election, many Delaware voters have their doubts. (AP Photo/Rob Carr, File) Baltimore (AP) - Federal authorities have laun...

Crist leaving office after political blunders
Tallahassee, Fla. | Outgoing Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will linger in some short-term memories for his failed independent Senate run and his pardon of dead rock star Jim Morrison. People thinking longer term will recall a Governor who persuaded Republicans and Democrats to work together but blundered away his potential for success at the national level. Mr. Crist, who leaves office Tuesday, enjoyed widespread popularity for much of his term. He built a reputation as a national leader on climat...

Affirmative-Action Rule Complicates RNC Chair Race
How do you run a campaign when you could be disqualified, through no fault of your own, moments before balloting begins? That's a question a number of contenders are weighing as they vie for co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. The possibility that the GOP may elect a woman as national party chairman for just the second time in its history is raising that prospect for Candidates for the party's often-overlooked No. 2 post. That's because RNC rules require the co-chairman to be of t...

States Jockey Again to Vote First in 2012
Charles Dharapak/Associated Press Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his wife Cindy arrive for his post Primary Election victory party in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. Until recently, there had been hope among the potential Presidential Candidates — and the reporters who cover them — for a more leisurely start to the 2012 election-year madness. That hope seems to be fading. Officials in both Iowa and New Hampshire are talking once again about moving their ...

The Most Interesting Senate Race of 2012? It Might Be Virginia
Chris Greenberg/Bloomberg News; Win McNamee, via Getty Images Former Republican Senator George Allen of Virginia and Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, could face off in a 2012 rematch. Will Virginia be home to the most competitive and politically interesting Senate race in 2012? Already, there are the makings of a blockbuster rematch between Democratic Senator Jim Webb and the man he beat in 2006, Republican George Allen, by only about 9,000 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast. For Mr...