Free Republic

Check is part of criminal investigation into whether corporate money was illegally used in the 2002 state legislative elections By Laylan Copelin AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, February 25, 2004 When Jim Ellis, a key aide to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, was preparing to deliver money to an arm of the Republican National Committee, a DeLay ally in Texas had a blank check sent to Ellis with the amount to be filled in later. John Colyandro, executive director of DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority, said in a deposition that he had the blank check sent because Ellis had a...

It was hard not to like Terry McAuliffe when I- along with a contingent of black newspaper columnists - met him last week. Youthful, down-to-earth and wisecreacking, he met us at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington in his shirtsleeves. Democrats were still reeling from their election embarrassment, and McAuliffe - who's borne a lot of the blame for their losses - tried to explain to us what happened.

Baton Rouge, La-- Republican Gov. Mike Foster met privately with his party's Senate candidate, Suzanne Haik Terrel, but did not give his blessing to her runoff campaign against Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu.

I just wanted to congratulate all the people who helped put the Republicans in complete control of our government; this includes those Democrats who stayed home on election day. Here is what has been accomplished since Mr. Bush was appointed president and now that the Senate is controlled by the Republicans we can look forward to even more "prosperity." While Bush has been President: ..Unemployment has risen from 3.9 percent to 6.0 percent; ..42 states will or expect to make Medicaid Cuts; ..41.2 million people in America have no health insurance; ..Number of Americans living in poverty rises for first...

In the wake of his party's remarkable electoral performance, can George Bush now unlock America's political stasis? THE 2002 mid-term elections were an extraordinary success for George Bush. The Republicans have expanded their control of the House of Representatives and even regained the Senate. By the light of history, this was remarkable. During its first term, the party that controls the White House has never won back the Senate, and has lost seats in all but two of the past 34 mid-term elections. Had normal patterns prevailed, the Democrats should have done well, with the economy weak and the stockmarket...

=============================== NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037 World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org =============================== For release: November 6, 2002 =============================== For additional information: George Getz, Communications Director Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222 E-Mail: pressreleases@hq.LP.org =============================== Libertarians victorious in 21 local races, but ballot initiatives fall short WASHINGTON, DC -- Libertarians emerged from Election 2002 buoyed by a flurry of local wins and record-setting candidate performances, but disappointed by the defeat of three high-profile statewide initiatives. On the positive side, almost two dozen Libertarians were elected to local office, and Massachusetts LP candidate Michael Cloud...

WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE 2002 ELECTIONS? GO VOLUNTEER, AND ABOVE ALL VOTE!Due to volunteering in a Congressional Campaign in my State of Oklahoma, I have not been on here much in the last month. It is probably a good thing because some of what I have been reading last night and this morning make me want to scream! A lot of Freepers are volunteering in campaigns across this Country because we want to make sure Republicans Keep the House, Take Back the Senate, and win our State races. We are not moaning and whining about polls or what...

Partisan-in-chief GEORGE BUSH likes to pretend that he is above party politics: just a regular guy trying to do his best for the country. He has always made a great to-do about reaching across party lines: remember how he wooed Ted Kennedy over education reform. And he takes every opportunity to escape from Washington's partisan bickering for the bracing common sense of his Texas ranch. Don't believe a word of it. Mr Bush is as partisan a president as America has had. The laid-back Mr Bush is, in fact, a whirlwind of partisan energy. He has spent more time...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the election campaign entering its final two weeks, Democrats need a jolt of momentum to help them reclaim the House of Representatives from Republicans -- and so far they haven't found it.House Republicans are still favored to hold their six-vote margin of power over Democrats, who are hoping to shift the tide with a late-breaking wave of voter frustration over the economy or a strong get-out-the-vote effort.But analysts said the political landscape is heavily stacked for Republicans, with Democrats in desperate need of a near-sweep of the dozen or so races that are still too close...

Lautenberg camp sends his regrets on debate Torricelli earlier had agreed to face Forrester on "Meet the Press." But the new Senate candidate begged off. By Tom Turcol Inquirer Staff Writer Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Frank R. Lautenberg, seeking to avoid debates with Republican Douglas Forrester as long as possible, has refused to participate in a nationally televised debate this Sunday. Officials at NBC's Meet the Press confirmed yesterday that Lautenberg aides, after delaying a response for two weeks, informed them Tuesday night that their candidate would not debate Forrester. Sen. Robert G. Torricelli had agreed to the debate before...

<p>People who criticize politicians for paying too much attention to the polls may have a point.</p> <p>According to online wagering sites, would-be public servants could've predicted election outcomes a lot better by looking at the betting odds.</p> <p>With the 2002 congressional election mere weeks away, campaign managers may heed that advice by perusing the Iowa Electronic Markets, one of the operations with the most experience processing wagers on U.S. voting results.</p>

GOP Builds Fund-Raising Advantage By SHARON THEIMER Associated Press Writer AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais [20K] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush raised at least $8 million Wednesday night for Republican Senate candidates, adding to a GOP fund-raising lead that has left Senate Democrats at a 2-to-1 cash disadvantage heading into the final month before the election. The Republican reserves — roughly $34 million for the Senate GOP committee and $42 million for the Republican National Committee as September began — will let the party pump money into last-minute get-the-vote drives and advertising campaigns in tight races that could decide control of...

SEND A MESSAGE Vote for Riley lets DeLay know he's on the wrong track The movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn said movies were entertainment and messages should be sent by Western Union. The voters of the 22nd Congressional District southwest of Houston can send a much-needed message to Rep. Tom DeLay by casting their vote in the Nov. 5 general election for DeLay's opponent, Tim Riley. A lawyer, Riley has deep roots in Texas and holds mainstream Democratic views. He supports development of commuter rail for the many residents of the district who work in Houston. If elected, Riley would make...

<p>Before heading back to Washington this weekend, Sen. Jean Carnahan is firing off a few campaign shots. Literally.</p> <p>Carnahan, D-Mo., plans to shoot skeet Friday at an event on a farm in Missouri's Bootheel. It'll be the first time that she's fired a weapon in public during her U.S. Senate campaign, although Carnahan often has mentioned that she won a sharpshooter's medal in college and once outshot her security detail.</p>

<p>Republican nominee Jim Talent enters the final, 10-week stretch of the U.S. Senate campaign in a stronger position than the incumbent, Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., a new poll of Missouri voters shows.</p> <p>Of 801 likely voters polled statewide, 47.1 percent supported Talent, compared to 46 percent for Carnahan. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points, which makes the matchup "too close to call," said pollster John Zogby.</p>

I received a postcard today regarding a local political event. On this postcard it also said: Sign up to be a Team Leader at www.GOPTeamleader.com, the party's interactive and online resource for party activists and volunteers. I looked at the site briefly. It encourages phone calling and letters to the editor. It also has some basic information, aka talking points. The information about the political event is as follows. Please join senior Republican Party officials as we discuss the findings and implications of our year long 72 Hour Task Force top-to-bottom review of GOP grassroots activities. We need your help...

Kansas Republicans are at it again. Four years ago, the GOP race for governor was billed as a clash of the titans. Incumbent Gov. Bill Graves, the state's leading moderate, was battling David Miller, the state GOP chairman and Kansas' top conservative. Graves won big, but the race apparently settled little. On Tuesday, Republicans once again must choose between conservative and moderate candidates for governor. This time, the decisions don't end there. Besides the gubernatorial race, Republicans must pick between conservatives and moderates for attorney general, treasurer and insurance commissioner. Then there's the hotly contested 3rd District congressional race between...

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote today on whether women deserve equal rights in the United States and around the world. The key word is "deserve" - whether women actually get equal rights is a question not addressed by the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The committee should support the treaty, and send it to the full Senate for ratification. Sen. Gordon Smith is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and his vote will be crucial. As of Wednesday, the Oregon Republican had not decided how he will vote on...

DETAILS GEPHARDT AND McAULIFFE DON'T WANT PUBLIC (GEPHARDT PREDICTS 40 SEAT PICK-UP FOR DEMOCRATS IN ROLL CALL) The Democrats' hypocrisy is unbelievable. They're digging up ten year-old stock sales by President Bush that were completely cleared by the SEC, while they're under investigation for their own shady business dealings. When Dick Gephardt ran for President in 1988, he received an unsecured and unusual $125,000 loan from Federal City Bank. Terry McAuliffe, now the chairman of the Democrat party, ran the bank that gave Gephardt his sweetheart loan while working as Gephardt's chief fundraiser in his campaign! This violated Federal election...