RNC Candidates Firm Got Clients Stimulus Funds

Kaufman: RNC Still in Shock
Ron Kaufman, the Republican national committeeman for Massachusetts, tells National Review Online that most people on the committee are still processing the fact that Chairman Michael Steele is unlikely to be reelected. “Most members of the committee two months ago believed that Steele would get reelected,” says Kaufman. “It’s just gelled in their minds in the last couple of weeks that he won’t get reelected.” Accordingly, they need more time to consider their...

Is Reince Priebus Shovel Ready in Race For RNC Chair?
Reince Priebus is currently being touted as a front-runner to replace current RNC Chair Michael Steele. But Priebus’ leading role among a select group of high-powered Wisconsin attorneys targeting clients to assist them in maximizing stimulus dollars, at the same time the anti-stimulus RNC employed him as interim General Counsel, raises some troubling questions, not just for Preibus, but for the Republican Party as a whole. Michael Best Creates Economic Stimulus Team Press Release Feb

Do Ayes Have It on Dont Ask Repeal?
By Nathan Hodge Proponents of overturning the Military’s ban on gays serving openly in the military are counting noses in anticipation of a key Senate vote, and they think they are on track for Repeal. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would repeal the policy, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The measure now goes to the Senate, where it must pass a 60-vote procedural hurdle before it goes to the floor. Activists are counting on a handful of Republicans &

Priebus draws more early support than Steele in RNC chair race
He may have the edge in surprise after he shocked many with his decision to run for a Second Term, but RNC chairman Michael Steele may already be on shaky ground for retaining his current job. Former Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus is mounting a serious bid to unseat Steele and currently holds the edge headed into the Jan. 14 meeting where the next chairman will be chosen. According to a whip count from The Hotline, 13 RNC delegates have publicly declared their support for Priebus, whereas...

Coleman Won't Run but Not Endorsing Steele, Either
The Senate on Wednesday voted 66-37 to proceed to the debate on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Former Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.) won’t run against Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele but won’t endorse him either. Coleman told Roll Call in a telephone interview Wednesday morning that he would honor a commitment he made to Steele not to seek the position if the chairman opted to run for a Second Term. But Coleman cautioned his decision not to challenge Steele s...

GOP watch: The Crying Game
Gail Collins wonders how Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton would have been perceived if they cried openly like Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner has. “The most arresting moment [in the “60 Minutes” interview] came when Boehner told Stahl he can no longer make visits to schools, or even look at the little kids on the playground, because he immediately starts crying. That had me alarmed. I thought there was going to be some terrible story about an ailing child that would then force m...

Matt Finkelstein: Judge Who Struck Down Health Reform Recalls "20 Years Of Active Service To The Republican Party"
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled that a key provision in the Affordable Care Act requiring individuals to own Health Insurance is Unconstitutional. Hudson's opinion, which has even conservative legal scholars questioning his logic, did not come as a surprise given the Bush-appointed judge's known "roots in Republican politics." In his 2007 memoir, Quest for Justice, Hudson recalled how his " 20 years of active service to the Republican party " helped him land a seat...

Answering a False Attack
I should note at the outset of this post that I do not have very strong feelings one way or the other about Reince Priebus, who is currently seeking to replace Michael Steele as RNC chairman. This post is not really intended to be an argument that Priebus is the best Candidate for the job. It is merely intended to set the record straight on a spurious attack on Priebus that is making the rounds in the blogosphere, typified by this post at National Review. The argument goes that since Priebus&#...

Priebus shrugs off photos tying him to Steele
Washington (CNN) - Hoping to remind Republican National Committee members of his close ties to Controversy-prone Chairman Michael Steele, rivals of Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus are circulating photos of him and Steele palling around together in happier times. Titled "Dream Team," the photo gallery is an attempt to depict Priebus as a loyal sidekick to Steele, whose tenure at the RNC has been sullied by gaffes and Fundraising Scandals. Priebus helped manage Steele's last campaign a...

Priebus's Supporters Fend Off Attacks
Steve King, the Republican national committeeman for Wisconsin and a supporter of Reince Priebus, says the accusation that Priebus assisted legal clients on applications for stimulus funds is false. “There’s absolutely not a scintilla of truth to the charge here,” King says. “Some element of the firm must have put out some marketing thing. They’re a general corporation firm. Somehow that erroneously got hooked up to Reince’s personal thing. But he has never be...

RNC Candidate's Firm Sought Stimulus Funds
First Volt Sale? A Prius Trade-in Green pols say that Electric Cars are the future. Many auto analysts counter they are a tree-hugger niche -- like . . . Go Rising Treasury Bond rates are all the buzz on Wall Street. Over the past six weeks, bond rates have moved . . . Go A Federal Judge in Virginia has ruled that the Individual Mandate in ObamaCare is Unconstitutional. The “Minimum Essential Coverage Provision” . . . Go NYT’s Special Pleading for Editor’s Wife? Scient...

See Who the Six Senate RINOS Are
Six Republican senators voted on Wednesday against an amendment to permanently extend the expiring Bush-era Tax Cuts. A group of GOP Centrists voted down a measure sought by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) to set in stone current Tax Rates. Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.), Susan Collins (Maine), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and George Voinovich (Ohio) all bucked DeMint on a procedural vote to suspend Senate rules and allow for the amendment. You must login to comment. The ...

Current Senate Has Few Real Fiscal Champions
I have been reviewing two legislative movements in the Senate to get an idea of where the Tea Party stands when it comes to representation. Unfortunately, the news is not very good. On the issue of Earmarks, a select member of Senators resisted the temptation to add their own pet projects to the pork-laden omnibus bill. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the following Senators requested zero earmarks: Of those on this list, it’s worth noting that Manchin, Coons and Kirk were no...

Votes in Place for Senate to Pass DADT Repeal, But Outcome Still Unclear
The House passage of the standalone bill that would effect a legislative Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell leads to the worst words in the English language: “The bill now moves to the Senate.” But there’s some reason for optimism. First of all, check out the roll call of the 250-175 House vote. Supporters actually picked up 20 votes relative to the last time this went through the House, as part of the defense authorization bill. Where 5 Republicans supported the bill...

Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell picks up more support
The number of Republican Senators supporting a Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has now reached four: Scott Brown, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Olympia Snowe. This should be enough for passage. Currently, there are 58 Democrats in the Senate, and 42 Republicans. On December 9th, only two Democrats, Joe Manchin and Blanche Lincoln, did not vote in favor of repeal. As such, with four Republicans in support, even if Senators Manchin and Lincoln are once again either opposed and / ...

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Have Time For It
The good news: Joe F'ckin Lieberman may have actually come through on wrangling the votes for repealing DADT. Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is backing the standalone Don't Ask, Don't Tell bill in the Senate, ABC News reports. Brown's vote puts the number of Senators publicly supporting the Repeal bill at 61, enough to secure Cloture on the bill and move it to almost-assured passage in the full Senate. Brown joins Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME) in publicly supporting the measu...

House Passes Standalone Don't Ask, Don't Tell Bill
Update: The House passed the standalone bill around 5:23 by a vote of 250-175. The bill now moves to the Senate for final consideration. The sponsor of the standalone Senate Bill, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Tweeted shortly before the vote that Sen. Olympia Snowe had agreed to support the standalone bill. This afternoon's vote on repealing the Military's ban on Openly Gay servicemembers is not the first for the House this year. But it may be the most important. Representatives are voting now o...

House repeals gay military ban UPDATE
The House voted 232-180 to adopt rules to consider the stand-alone bill repealing the ban on open Military service by gay people. It's probably close to a vote on the bill itself, which will follow an hour of debate. About a dozen Democrats were among those opposing the rule. A vote against the rule was a vote against the bill. The cowardly Rep. Mike Ross, voted against the rule. So did Dr. No, Rep. John Boozman . Rep. Marion Berry did not vote, apparently still not back in Washington. An absenc...

House votes to repeal DADT; Senate has the votes as well
The House of Representatives has voted 250-175 to Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In the Senate, Republican Olympia Snowe has joined her Maine colleague, Susan Collins, in support of repeal. An earlier Repeal effort, tied to a defense spending bill, failed by three votes to reach the magic number of 60. Snowe makes 58. I’m seeing reports that Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Scott Brown of Massachusetts will also vote for the stand-alone measure, which puts the total at...

DADT Repeal Actually Going To Happen, If Lieberman Can Stop Time Itself
Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is backing the standalone Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell bill in the Senate, his office confirms to TPM. So is Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The pair join Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Olympia Snowe (ME) in publicly supporting the measure, giving it more than enough votes to secure the 60 needed for Cloture, the first step before a final vote that would almost assuredly come down on the side of Repeal. So if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can find time for t...

Who (and what) could still trip up DADT repeal
Somewhat amazingly, it now seems more likely than not that the Military's widely loathed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy will be repealed in the coming days. This outcome was hard to imagine just a week ago, when -- not for the first time -- Repeal proponents were unable to muster 60 votes to end a GOP-led Filibuster of a Defense Authorization bill that included Repeal language. But immediately after that failed Cloture vote, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins announced their plans to file a new, st...

Votes In Hand for DADT Repeal as Murkowski, Scott Brown Pledge Support of Standalone
Lisa Murkowski will support Repeal of the Military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy and specifically, the standalone bill that executes the legislative repeal, according to her spokesman. Murkowski’s spokesman specifically references the passage of the Tax Cut bill and the “glide path” to funding the government as clearing the way for support. “Sen. Murkowski will support a stand-alone Repeal of the DADT law,” said Murkowski spokesman Michael Brumas...

On Joe Lieberman.
It looks like DADT Repeal has the votes to pass the Senate: Proponents of repealing the Military's ban on Openly Gay servicemembers have enough votes in the Senate to get it done this year. The only thing standing in the way of ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell now is time. Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is backing the standalone Don't Ask, Don't Tell bill in the Senate, his office confirms to TPM. So is Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The pair join Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME) in pu...

Will The Senate Have Time To Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
If Don't Ask, Don't Tell is going to be repealed by Congress this year, it will be because the Senate found the time to do it. That's what the long battle to end the Military's ban on Openly Gay servicemembers has come down to: a Republican Senator, and the number of days before Christmas. Unfortunately for proponents of Repeal, how those two factors play out is very much an open question. Yesterday, the House passed a standalone DADT repeal bill -- the second repeal Legislation to leave the ...

Who (and what) could still trip up DADT repeal
Somewhat amazingly, it now seems more likely than not that the Military's widely loathed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy will be repealed in the coming days. This outcome was hard to imagine just a week ago, when -- not for the first time -- Repeal proponents were unable to muster 60 votes to end a GOP-led Filibuster of a Defense Authorization bill that included Repeal language. But immediately after that failed Cloture vote, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins announced their plans to file a new, st...