Posted on 10/26/2010 4:08:06 PM PDT by counterpunch
In anticipation of major GOP gains in next weeks elections, House Republican leaders have put together a list of experienced Washington hands to help fill top staff positions for the surge of newly elected outsiders. Leading the effort are Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The leaders have put together a list of about 75 to 80 potential chiefs of staff, including current and former Capitol Hill staffers and lobbyists who have been recommended or have inquired about working for an incoming Member, according to several Republicans familiar with the document.
There will be a lot of new, energetic Republicans coming to town some of whom will have staff, others who will begin to assemble their teams, Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said in an e-mail. Theres a lot of important work to get done right out of the gate, so its important that newly elected Republicans have access to experienced, competent staff so that they can hit the ground running.
One former GOP staffer said leadership has been actively, but informally, seeking individuals to fill the chief of staff positions for new Members from tough districts. The goal is to help the freshmen navigate Washington and to guide them through future election cycles.
Every election cycle, the NRCC offers to assist our new members by providing a résumé file of qualified staffers, NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain said in an e-mail.
Several Republican lobbyists said it is important for GOP leadership to assist incoming lawmakers with filling senior-level staff positions, especially for those who could face tough re-election races in 2012.
You want to be sure that the newbies, when they hit town, do not necessarily bring their campaign staff to run their Congressional offices, because in some cases they are totally ill-equipped, one veteran Republican lobbyist said. Winning an election is one thing, running a Congressional operation is another. A lot of these folks are really, really new to politics.
A Republican strategist agreed, saying Members who come from swing districts benefit from having a staffer who already knows the ropes on the Hill to keep them from making mistakes.
The strategist said the leadership recommendations are less about controlling the new Member than about making sure they dont struggle for the first four or five months.
GOP leaders are also expected to take an active role in making sure incoming committee chairmen have acceptable staff directors leading the panels. With the potential for new leadership at the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Appropriations panel, the Steering Committee is expected to vet potential chairmens choices for the most senior staff level, according to several Republican lobbyists.
Those are very important committees, one former GOP leadership aide said. They do the lions share of the work in the House. Theres no doubt leadership would have an interest in who would be the staff director.
A Republican aide confirmed leaderships interest in having staff that works well with Boehner to move the agenda forward.
Obviously, having effective committee staff is crucial for the entire Republican Conference, so it is an issue the Steering Committee may consider, the aide said.
Boehners desire to influence key committee hires is not unprecedented.
In 2007, Boehner and then-National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole clashed when Boehner asked Cole to fire top staffers after a series of problems plagued the campaign committee.
Cole refused the request, and Boehner later backed current NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) in his successful race against the Oklahoma Republican for the 2009-2010 cycle.
Democrats have also aided new Members choose their chiefs of staff.
As recently as 2008, Democrats helped the new class to fill top staff positions, a senior Democratic aide said.
Rather than having a list of potential staff at the ready, the Democratic Caucus, led by then-Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), helped incoming lawmakers find an appropriate match, the aide said.
After it was clear they had won their race, there was a series of conversations about what they were looking for in a chief of staff, the aide said.
Democrats had a résumé bank of sorts, but they often went outside of it if no one fit the Members criteria, the aide said.
It was one of the top priorities that we filled immediately, the aide said, noting that Democrats plan on facilitating a similar search to help their new Members after the midterms.
The professional staffers need to go. They are as much a part of the problem as the incumbents.
So, what are these insider staff members doing right now, and what jobs have they held over the past 2-4 years? Obviously, they weren’t working for GOP Congressmen. The GOP is going to get 60+ new Congressmen, and you mean to tell me, the old guard has staffers just sitting in the dugout ready to play? Whoever these staffers are, they are probably the biggest GOP flunkies available. They are the perfect staffers to leak to the press, etc., etc. Probably a bunch of Meghan McCain wannabees.
A partial list of ‘elites.’
http://republicanwhip.house.gov/newsroom/2009/04/national-council-for-a-new-america-formed.html
Our National Panel of Experts:
Governor Haley Barbour
Governor Jeb Bush
Governor Bobby Jindal
Senator John McCain
Governor Mitt Romney
(snip)
Sincerely,
John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, John Carter, Pete Sessions, David Dreier, Kevin McCarthy, Roy Blunt
Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, Lamar Alexander, John Ensign, John Cornyn, John Thune, Kay Bailey Hutchison
//
Gingrich Joins Cantors Effort To Remake GOP
I trust Cantor about as far as I can throw Chris Christie.
Oh, I get it---newly elected GOP congress critters, most of which are Tea Party backed, are supposed to leave the people who worked hard on their campaigns behind and accept professional good ol' boy "minders" who can coopt them into the beltway system?
No dice!!!
Jay Bookman Trent Lott on Tea Party candidates: As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them
I’ve sent this article and emailed Ron Johnson’s campaign for his position. Waiting on a reply. My guess is he will tell them to pound sand.
LOL, they are not listening are they.
And every time I see Dick Armey (self-appointed Prince of Tea), I want to throw up. I know what folks like him will do to the entire tea party movement.
The economy sucks even for GOP insiders. Pleeze give them jobzzz
I think there is one key component the GOP still doesn’t get.
We’re here to take our Party back, we understand that is the beginning of taking our country back.
As much as they are talking about the democrats being tossed out of office by Tea Party type candidates etc.
Many are missing the point that we chose to not create a third party, but we chose to take out Party back!!!
When you take that into account, if we overturn the House and potentially the Senate...
It is a referendum on the Washington elites of both parties.
Ruling Class GOP Looks to Get Staff Hooks into Tea Party Newbies
See all the lovely names in maggief’s post, including Mike Pence. What and why?
Maybe we need a Tea Party rally on the Capitol lawn on the first day of the new congress to remind them why they are there.
I agree. Use what is necessary or salvageable from the current crop but don’t give them any power. Their experience is valuable. Their decisions are not.
Thanks very much for the transcript, Al B.!!! I heard Rush today.
I find it interesting that Boehner isn’t even questioning whether he will be speaker.
No, it is not time for a third party, but if the enemy insists on cutting off his own arm...let him. We've overturned the primaries for what we hope will be Candidates of the People. We voted some off the ballots. Remember this is a grass roots movement and when we started out...it was to take our Party back first. And there in rests the core of the issue, it is OUR party, not theirs.
It is time to step up contacts with the GOP elites and let them know...we can really be the party of no, no more. We are turning the page on them and they better learn to speed read and improve their comprehension or the next two years are going to be h*ll to pay.
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