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The leadership says they have the votes, but projecting an aura of confidence has been a key to their pressure strategy. Bart Stupak says Democrats are 16 votes short, but pessimism has been, well, part of his strategy. So I prefer to actually, you know, count the votes.

The Enumerated Powers Act (EPA) requires that every bill must specify its source of Constitutional authority. This would prove very embarrassing to Congress, because there is no Constitutional authority for most of what they pass.

Three House Republicans are scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning to "make public a national security threat on Capitol Hill." Reps. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Paul Broun (R-Ga.) will hold a 10 a.m. press conference in the Capitol on the homeland security issue. The congressional daybook schedule does not provide further details. According to a source familiar with the issue, the press conference will focus on a non-profit group that has "known terrorist ties."

Health Insurance: Driven by focus groups, the administration and Congress rail against insurance companies to get ObamaCare passed. So why have they been protecting the insurance companies from real competition?In a recent stop in North Carolina, President Obama told the crowd that our existing health care system "works well for the insurance industry, but it doesn't always work well for you." This shift from discussing what's in his plan to fighting the insurance bogeyman is no accident. In June, Joel Benenson, the president's chief pollster, told the Economic Club of Canada, where health care is a public scandal, that the...

"It is time to seek a new challenge in a different venue." Washington, DC - Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ) issued the following statement today regarding the election this fall: Serving Arizona in the United States Congress is the single greatest privilege in my professional life. It was a dream I had for years before my election in 1994, and I still get goose bumps when I look up at the Capitol dome as I walk to a vote. I grew up in the shadow of Senator Barry Goldwater's home (Be-Nun-I-Kin). My father, Stephen Shadegg, was Senator Goldwater's speechwriter and campaign...

November 15, 2006, 8:00 a.m. Leading the Minority into the MajorityTime for change in the House Republican leadership. By John Shadegg For months, voices inside and outside Washington had been warning Republicans in Congress to break away from our recent past or we would lose our majority. Last January when I was running for Majority Leader, I heard from long-time supporters that we had drifted away from our principles, particularly in the areas of fiscal responsibility and our promise to change the way Washington works. The drift had gone on for too long and the American people had finally...

In my column this morning I wrote about behind the scenes talk on Capitol Hill about potentially adding John Shadegg to the House leadership in an unelected, informal position. Clearly, from my column you can tell that I think those on the Hill who are pushing this idea are on to something. While some of the Red State team are gung ho on the idea, Blanton is not so sure: Make no mistake about it -- I engaged on behalf of Shadegg with zeal. But part of me thinks this is a bit like what the left did with Howard...

Growing opposition to Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.) among conservative bloggers threatens to generate political momentum against his campaign to permanently replace Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) as House majority leader, according to those who have studied the growing influence of alternative media in politics. A growing number of influential conservative bloggers are throwing their support behind Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), who is also running for majority leader, while Blunt is drawing negative reviews. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the third candidate in the race, is receiving a better reaction from conservative bloggers than Blunt. But Boehner has garnered fewer accolades in the...

FORGET MAGAZINES AND EDITORIAL PAGES. The only endorsements that really matter in the GOP House leadership contest are those from the members themselves, especially the members with clout. Two such Republicans are Jim Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Mike Pence, head of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), both of whom endorsed Arizona congressman John Shadegg this week. Shadegg, an erstwhile chief of both the RSC and (more recently) the Republican Policy Committee, remains a dark horse--but he's gaining steam. "The 'Big Mo' is on our side," says one pro-Shadegg Republican.The timing of Pence's public support came...

WASHINGTON--Ten years ago, the American people put Republicans in control of the House of Representatives for the first time in more than 40 years. It was a historic achievement, made possible because we stood for the principles the American people believed in: smaller government, returning power to the states, lower taxes, greater individual freedom and--above all--reform. Some Republican leaders in the House seem to have lost sight of those principles, though the American people still believe in them. Meanwhile, Americans are sick of scandals. To fully regain their confidence--and to retain and grow the Republican majority--we need to make a...

When John Shadegg announced from his hometown of Phoenix on Friday that he is running for House majority leader, it appeared that the two leading candidates to succeed Tom DeLay had peaked. The reason is that Roy Blunt and John Boehner both are regarded as K Street candidates, whose selection might not be prudent for a Republican Party enmeshed in scandal. Neither Blunt nor Boehner is burdened with DeLay's connection to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Like DeLay, each is closely associated with K Street (the capital's big and brassy lobbyist community). Unlike DeLay, neither is viewed by ardent ideological conservatives...

The following is a transcribed excerpt of "FOX News Sunday," Jan. 15, 2006. "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST CHRIS WALLACE: President Bush's agenda and the fate of House Republicans in the fall elections could be determined by a fight on Capitol Hill. It's the battle to replace Tom DeLay in the very powerful post of House majority leader. There are three candidates and they're our exclusive guests today, acting majority leader Roy Blunt, Congressman John Boehner, and Congressman John Shadegg. Congressman Blunt did what most frontrunners do. He insisted on being interviewed separately. Congressman, we'll start with you. Good morning. U.S....

E-mail Author Author Archive Send to a Friend Version January 13, 2006, 4:56 p.m. Shadegg for Leader Congressman John Shadegg of Arizona has jumped into the House majority-leader race. He is a decided underdog and is taking a personal risk by voluntarily giving up his leadership slot as head of the Republican Policy Committee to pursue the majority leadership. But fortune favors the bold, and so do we. At a time of an ethical crisis, when the Republican majority often seems to have lost direction, John Shadegg is the right man to clean house and restore the GOP majority...

NEW YORK - Arizona Rep. John Shadegg got a standing ovation from his delegation Wednesday when he announced that, partly because of their complaints, USA Today had withdrawn convention credentials for film maker Michael Moore.   Shadegg had instructed delegates to call USA Today to protest the paper's decision to hire Moore for the week. When a top executive called him to ask why he was mad at the paper, Shadegg said he responded: "You're just nuts if you think we're going to buy your paper, when you credentialed kind of the anti-Christ."   As delegates rose to their feet,...

Sen. John McCain says he won't be surprised if an influential conservative group that supports President Bush's tax-cutting plan targets him in attack ads. But Club for Growth President Stephen Moore says the group has no such plans. McCain remains among four Republican senators who have joined with Democrats in opposing Bush's $550 billion tax-cut plan. His appears to be a key swing vote with the president needing just two more to gain Senate approval. But the Washington, D.C.-based Club for Growth, which has been running TV spots attacking two other Republican holdouts, Sens. George Voinovich of Ohio and Olympia...

<p>A revving chainsaw kicked off a rally Monday outside the state Capitol that blamed environmentalists for Arizona's fire-prone forests.</p> <p>Although groups from the Audubon Society to the Center for Biological Diversity were the main targets, the crowd was also displeased with the U.S. Forest Service and wary of Gov. Janet Napolitano's plans for forest health.</p>

The prospect of Congressman Jeff Flake taking on incumbent John McCain in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate next year is intriguing. And there's at least a superficial plausibility to it. Flake is known to harbor, along with colleagues J.D. Hayworth and John Shadegg, aspirations to the Senate. Moreover, Flake is no careerist. He's likely to honor his term limit pledge, which would have him leaving the House in 2006 anyway. Flake's mostly a contrarian in the House and wouldn't be losing much by giving up two years there to take a chance against McCain in 2004. The term of...