Posted on 05/14/2005 11:12:38 AM PDT by aculeus
WASHINGTON -- Members of the inner circle of high-ranking House Republicans privately agree that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York is an absolute lock for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination and will not be easy to defeat in the general election.
The same lawmakers believe the Republican race to oppose Clinton is wide open but regard Sen. George Allen of Virginia as having the edge over Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee. The consensus among them is that Allen is a better candidate than Frist and will the advantage over him in GOP primaries. The House members see little or no prospect for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. John McCain of Arizona or Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
The Clinton-vs.-Allen forecast by the leading House members duplicates the National Journal's poll of insiders from both parties.
LOTT'S DEAL
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's efforts to broker a compromise on judicial confirmations angered Majority Leader Bill Frist, but in fact he never was close to completing a deal with moderate Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson.
Lott was trying to show that every effort had been made to negotiate a settlement before Republicans attempted to use the "nuclear option" (a phrase coined by Lott) to force a majority vote on judicial confirmations. Nelson, who is up for re-election next year in conservative Nebraska, wants to separate himself from other Democrats.
Internal Senate Republican politics are at stake. With Frist not seeking re-election in 2006, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell is heavily favored to succeed him as majority leader. However, Lott is a long shot to seek and regain his old leadership position.
AMBASSADOR TO EU
Veteran Washington lawyer and Republican activist C. Boyden Gray recently sat down with Howard Kohr, executive director of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in an effort to counteract Jewish opposition to Gray as U.S. ambassador to the European Union.
Neo-conservatives inside the administration have advised President Bush that Gray would be a poor selection to go to Brussels. According to sources close to the situation, White House national security aide Elliott Abrams has opposed Gray in writing.
Gray was White House counsel in the first George Bush administration and has led citizens' efforts for the confirmation of George W. Bush's judicial nominations.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE POLITICS
Diminishing Democratic support for efforts to curb unregulated campaign spending by "527" organizations are reflected in the withdrawal by co-sponsors of the bill that would close the loophole in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act.
Of the eight original Democratic co-sponsors of the loophole closer, four have withdrawn: Reps. Timothy Bishop and Michael McNulty of New York and Reps. Xavier Becerra and Barbara Lee of California. In a House floor statement, Becerra expressed a "growing discomfort" that the bill "may actually limit voices too dramatically without offering other alternatives." Three Republicans are co-sponsors.
Of more than $600 million in 2004 unregulated 527 contributions, a big majority of the money -- roughly two-to-one -- was spent supporting John Kerry and other Democratic candidates and trying to boost Democratic voter turnout.
CORRECTING BILL THOMAS
After the U.S. Capitol was evacuated last Wednesday, a Capitol police officer shouted, "Stay there!" to a portly lawmaker who was prematurely trying to return from a holding area to the abandoned building. It was Rep. Bill Thomas of California, the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The policeman's admonition caused consternation among lawmakers who witnessed it, because nobody speaks harshly to the hot-tempered, imperious Thomas. In this case, however, Thomas just smiled and followed directions.
Police gave Speaker Dennis Hastert a specially guided path out of the Capitol, but other House members -- including Thomas -- were on their own.
©2005 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
townhall.com
"Good Grief i pray we are not stuck with Hillary in 08 can you picture 4 - 8 years of that witch destroying this country?"
She is presently a defendant in a felony prosecution. Might be hard to run from the clink..
I'm firmly 100% in Allen's corner I'll be his number 1 supporter in Woodstock, GA if he runs in 2008.
I'm chomping at the bit to write checks to George Allen 2008.
I was simply trying to push the recognition of how unique Reagan was and the attempts to paint whoever as the next Reagan don't do justice to "The Great Communicator" and are unfair comparisons to the person in question.
Your right, remember the historical trends the Liberals were counting on in 2004 ? for example ? the Boston Red Sox haven't won the would series in all them years, and the last time they won, it was a Democrat who won the election that years, so ? Historical Trends can not always be counted on, or reliable.
I like Pawlenty...if not in 2008, in 2012.
speaking of that, i'm going to start a strategery thread to get all available freepers and conservatives to spend 2 weeks to a month in Florida or Ohio or New Mexico just before the election.
we already know this is these are the crucial battleground states that we MUST win. So we need to plan ahead. i bet i can get mama_bear to travel to Ohio :o)
McCain knew in his heart that Kerry was going to lose. Plus, he may be drifting more and more leftwards and away from the GOP.
lol! not to worry, though. by the time the GOP is finished with her (IF they do their jobs), she sure won't look like a conservative christian.
plus, i think those video tapes will be resurrected of her arguin with Slick Willie--not a very classy sight.
Good grief, when are you guys going to drop the superstitious "historical trend" baloney. it's absolutely meaningless for reasons cited above (please see post 51).
the "historical trend" argument seems to be as vacuous a superstition as reading the horoscope.
by all "historical trends", Dubya NEVER should have won re-election. but, guess what, he did. and george allen will clean hitler's clock.
not only that, but "historical trends" were no the trend until they became the trend.
so by the logic of the "trend" apologists themselves, certain events never should have become trends since they were not a trend before they became trends.
that is to say, the events that constitute any particular "trend" were once not a trend. but since these events were once first time events, then they were not likely to happen (given the reasoning of the "trend" apologists) since they would have been unlikely historical "firsts" at one time.
confusing? yes. the "trend" argument is full of confusion.
me, too. i missed that. maybe they are on the cspan.org website! if anyone finds them, please link them here.
Yup... must have been a Carl Rove plan to have his dad as the legendary couch... and the historical win/loss pattern and GOP candidates.
As long as it's only on TV.
The GOP needs a candidate like President Bush: a candidate that is a leader, strong on defense, pro-tax cuts and pro-Ownership Society.
Nothing short of a fatal health problem will keep that b*tch from running.
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