Free Republic

The roller-coaster mood swings of Republican strategists are surging back with growing confidence that the fall elections won't be the disaster for the party that Democrats are predicting. Buoyed by President Bush's two-week bump up in the polls, a congressional victory in California, and new polling that finds Republicans holding their own or challenging in races Democrats have focused on, some strategists are reviewing their earlier expectations of major losses in the House, Senate, and statehouses. A recent surprise poll that has Republicans hopeful came in the Michigan gubernatorial race where Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is now behind GOP challenger...

Karl Rove is a master of high-stakes brinksmanship, as he has proven time and time again. But his latest venture may be his riskiest yet. Rove is betting that he can reframe the war in Iraq as a battle between courageous Republicans and pusillanimous Democrats. The stakes: Congress. (And subpoena power.) Rove believes that this strength vs. weakness rhetorical construct, combined with continued attacks on the media, will be enough to counterbalance whatever negative news about the actual war continues to emerge between now and the mid-term elections. The actual war remains one in which people die every day, sometimes...

As each house of Congress began its own Iraq War debate, the unpopular war continued to have the curious effect of hurting those it should help, and helping those it should hurt. Democrats may be accused of wanting to "cut and run" in Iraq, but the fact is that they "broke and ran" in the debate. The Republican advantage here comes with the recent death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and the discovery of intelligence information that suggests al Qaeda feels it is losing in Iraq. On the Senate side, Democrats blundered themselves into a minefield, with Republicans bringing up the...

Gretchen Wilson and Josh Gracin were among the performers appearing Monday night (June 19) in Washington at a fundraiser that generated $27 million to be used by Republican candidates in the November elections. President Bush provided a speech for more than 5,000 supporters attending the President's Dinner at the Washington Convention Center. The event raised money for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Have you heard that strange sound at night lately? No, it’s not cicadas. That’s the Democrat bubble deflating, a phenomenon that recurs more frequently than every seventeen years, and sounds like this: Pssssssssssssssssss. The Democrat bubble gets almost no press coverage, even though the media loves to report about other bubbles. Most Americans are certainly familiar with the stock market bubble of the late ’90s, as well as eager media reports for years of a looming real estate bubble, so far more imagined than real. But few people are aware that a political bubble has been forming this year and...

Will President Bush's current unpopularity translate into a Democratic recapture of either the House or Senate this fall - or a victory in the 2008 presidential election?Probably not.Despite widespread unhappiness with the Republicans, it is hard to envision a majority party run by Howard Dean, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.Why?All sorts of apparent and not-so-apparent reasons. First, recent events and trends have complicated Democrats' talking points about George W. Bush's purported failings.The so-called "jobless" recovery has seen low unemployment rates comparable to the Clinton boom years.Last September, many people blamed what they viewed as a stingy federal government...

Just days before his Republican primary election, U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon is seeing more than $134,000 flowing into his war chest, much of it from organizations known to favor cheap immigrant labor. The pro-immigration groups have given Cannon, R-Utah, at least $58,200 in the past 12 days alone, a review of federal campaign reports shows. That includes at least $30,000 from agricultural interests — such as the California Farm Bureau and the Dairy Farmers of America. Additional money is coming from businesses known for hiring inexpensive labor —including Wal-Mart and the National Roofing Contractors Association.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin will decide whether Republican officials can name a nominee to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the Nov. 7 general election ballot. On June 15, Republicans removed the suit, which Democrats filed in Travis County district court to block GOP officials from selecting a new nominee, out of state court and in to the U.S. District Court for the Western District in Austin.

President Bush suggested last night that Republicans must remain in control of Congress for the country to effectively combat terrorism and keep the economy healthy, speaking at a $27 million fundraiser meant to provide a needed boost to the campaign war chest of congressional Republicans. "The most important responsibility we have in Washington is to defend the people of the United States," he said. "When this country sees a threat, we must deal with it before it fully materializes." Bush addressed about 5,000 of the GOP's strongest supporters at the "President's Dinner," the largest fundraiser of the year for the...

Senate and House Democrats, optimistic about their election-year prospects, have more money in the bank for the midterm contests than their Republican counterparts. Some four months before the voting, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has $33.5 million cash on hand compared to $18.3 million for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the groups said Tuesday. The Democrats raised $4.7 million in May; the Republicans collected $4.3 million in the month. "Our fundraising success reflects a deep desire for change and recognition that the best way to get things back on track is by electing more Democrats to the Senate," said Sen....

With Congress poised to extend, for another quarter-century, certain "temporary" provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, it's worth pondering some of the political mischief taking place these days in the name of "voting rights." Take New York's 11th Congressional District, a safe Democratic seat covering several neighborhoods in Brooklyn. The seat is currently occupied by Major Owens, a black Democrat who has held it since 1983 and is retiring this year. One of the four candidates to replace him is David Yassky, a white Democrat who represents some of the same Brooklyn neighborhoods as a city councilman. Mr. Owens...

The political grass roots closest to the soil — precinct chairs — are enjoying some time in the sun because of their role in selecting a Republican congressional nominee to succeed Tom DeLay. Most of the time, precinct chairs labor anonymously in the unglamorous elective positions that typically are won uncontested if anyone seeks them at all. But for now, the precinct leaders have one of the hottest jobs in local politics. "We've been discovered," said Harris County precinct chair Kathy Haigler. "We are the lowest level of public officials that exist. We are the last ones on the ballot....

UT 3: Immigration Dominates GOP Radio Debate By Michael Teitelbaum | 7:15 PM; Jun. 19, 2006 | Email This Article Correction: An earlier version of this article incompletely characterized John Jacobs' description of his relationship with a Chilean couple to whom he gave money. Immigration dominated today’s debate between Utah Rep. Chris Cannon and John Jacob, who is challenging him in next week’s primary. The hour-long debate was aired live on Salt Lake City public radio station KCPW, and can be heard here in its entirety. Jacob called the race a referendum on immigration policy and ask Cannon if he...

Scandal Woes Could Benefit Jefferson, Analysts SayRandy Hall Staff Writer/Editor (CNSNews.com) - Losing his seat on the influential Ways and Means Committee and being investigated in a federal bribery probe could actually benefit U.S. Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), political analysts told Cybercast News Service. "Oftentimes, being an embattled Louisiana politician can actually be a benefit," said Pearson Cross, assistant professor of political science at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. "If anything, I think voters in the state's 2nd District are going to see him as 'put upon,' that he was unfairly stripped, and I'm certain he's going to spin it...

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Karl Rove, the political mastermind George W. Bush called Boy Genius, was wont to draw an analogy with the election of 1896, in which the Republican William McKinley drubbed William Jennings Bryan. McKinley's election ushered in a 35-year era chiefly characterized by G.O.P. dominance; so, too, Rove argued, would Bush's hasten the progress toward an era of virtual one-party rule. And Rove's bold prediction seemed plausible. Over time, the Republicans have increased their margin in Congress and reversed years of Democratic dominance in statehouses and State Legislatures. The conservative columnist Fred Barnes declared in 2003...

When is a loss really a win? It's a common practice, trying to spin a political defeat into a victory. But in the case of the race to fill Randy "Duke" Cunningham's seat in the House of Representatives, the silver lining might not be that hard to find. snip NOW PAC organizers worked on the Busby campaign, reaching out to voters across the county. The NOW PAC put Hays in San Diego prior to the April 11 Special Election, and sent her and another organizer Monely Soltani there again in late May to work on the run-off vote, held concurrently...

The door has been left wide open for Democrats to take over Congress, but they haven’t been able to walk through it. President Bush’s polls have been low, events in Iraq until recently have been discouraging, Republican scandals have been in the air, and the GOP has become the party of earmarks and spending. Pundits have expected the Democrats to nationalize the elections with a strong message to counter these Republican failings, but so far they have totally failed. Not that the Democrats don’t have a message. They appear to be calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, higher taxes, a...

How quickly things can change. For months Democrats have been basking in the glow of President Bush's dismal approval ratings, ongoing investigations of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and a White House in disarray and seemingly helpless to respond to the steady stream of bad news in Iraq. There has been giddy speculation by some Democrats about retaking control of one or both houses of Congress, and more than a few stories have popped up recently reporting that Democrats are already hard at work making plans for when they regain majority status in November. But a string of events over the...

Minutemen Condemn Congressman Pence's Amnesty Proposal Sierra Times PHOENIX, AZ (June 15, 2006) – Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”), released the following statement in response to the reported “endorsement” by the Minutemen of Rep. Mike Pence’s so-called “compromise” amnesty proposal: “The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in no way, shape, manner or form endorses Rep. Mike Pence’s current amnesty proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives. “The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and its leadership represent the U.S. citizen volunteers who from their first operations in Tombstone AZ five long years ago, have stood vigilant mission after...

President George W. Bush praised Rep. Heather Wilson as an independent-minded woman during a Wilson campaign fundraiser in Albuquerque on Friday. While about 300 Wilson supporters gave the president an enthusiastic welcome inside the Albuquerque Hyatt Regency, about 200 protesters outside called for Bush's impeachment and Wilson's ouster in the fall election. "Heather is an independent soul and that's what you want," Bush said in a speech that lasted more than 20 minutes. "She's strong on her beliefs, she's strong on her convictions." He described Wilson, R-N.M., as compassionate, smart and dedicated to her district. Bush touched on his recent...