On Pace To Lose The Minority
By Rep. Tom Cole Posted in 2008 — Comments (39) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
It took House Speaker Nancy Pelosi less than 100 hours to prove to voters across the country what the consequences of a Democrat majority really were – and the poll numbers prove it. Americans across the country are fed up with the failed leadership of the Democrats, while Republicans in the U.S. House have every intention of making our stay in the minority as brief as possible.
With 202 members, the largest Republican minority in over 50 years, we are within striking distance of the majority. And we are playing to win.
As we head into 2008, we will be looking at a fairly broad playing field, from seats either in districts that President Bush won or Sen. John Kerry (D-Ma) won by a slim margin, to seats where the sitting Democrat hasn’t had a tough race in awhile. We will look first at the 61 seats currently held by Democrats in districts that President Bush carried in 2004, but we won’t stop there. We plan on targeting every seat in which a Democrat member is out of line with the views and values of his or her district.
Read on . . .
Candidate recruitment is going extremely well, and I believe we are on pace to field the largest number of top-notch Republican candidates in a decade. The potential candidates are showing great interest in running for Congress, and I’ll be meeting with them over the next several months to help them get started. Contrasted with the DCCC’s disingenuous practice of throwing darts at a Congressional map and calling them “targets,” the NRCC has candidates in place, preparing to run.
While the DCCC is entitled to their own opinion, they are not entitled to their own facts. The truly worrisome fact for the DCCC is Chris Van Hollen’s admission that the DCCC has already reached parity at such an early stage of the ’08 cycle in terms of incumbents in need of protection versus candidates challenging Republicans. In fact, the DCCC has already seen a number of their “target” races begin to move off the table, particularly in cases like Illinois where their grand hopes of mass-Republican retirements have already dwindled, or in the case of IL-6, where Tammy Duckworth passed on a highly-anticipated rematch against Peter Roskam.
Just six months into the Democrats’ failed leadership in Congress, the NRCC has already recruited strong candidates in more than enough seats to win back the majority. We have a lot of talent out there, especially in districts where a Republican incumbent lost in 2006. Many good, quality candidates have been in line waiting for their turn to run. This pent-up ambition is a good problem to have.
As the Democrat-led Congress continues to lose the confidence of the American people, we except the number of top-tier Republican challengers to grow. This broken promise Congress has already begun to motivate Republican activists around the country, and when all is said and done, we expect to be engaged in a full-scale competitive battle for the majority in Congress.
To advance conservative principles and a Republican agenda, we must win back the majority. We have a plan, and with your help, I know we will have a successful 2008 – one that clearly puts us on pace to lose the minority. Thanks for letting me stop by.
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On Pace To Lose The Minority 39 Comments (0 topical, 39 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
...forget IN-08. You'll be tempted to dump dollars into it. Don't. Spend them elsewhere. They will be wasted dollars.
Don't ask me why, but Brad Ellsworth is very popular here and he's really not doing anything to harm his popularity. I think his '06 victory was a bit slanted by the Democratic buzzsaw. But I also think he'll be in Congress as long as he wants to be.
Moreover, the GOP in this district is in shambles.
Congressman Cole,
Congratulations on your knew roll as GOP Congressional Campaign Lead. Thank you for joining us here today.
I have two questions.
1) You mentioned a line of good people waiting to run for these seats. How do you identify them and get them slotted in winnable districts?
2) Have you, or your leaders in the House GOP given thought to maybe letting them have a shot at some of our less auspicious members of the GOP caucus in a primary, rahter than protecting some of our weaker members, and letting those seats flip Democrat?
I'd rather see Gore get oxed than my ox get gored.
I mentioned last week at my pen and pad, but it’s worth noting for the RedState community, that in keeping with our policy not to pre-primary endorse, we continue to recruit top-tier challengers in districts across America, but refrain from endorsing individual candidates. Like I mentioned in my post, the DCCC is throwing darts at a board, and attempting to create races in places where they know they can’t win. While they waste time and resources doing so, we will continue to recruit candidates who have been waiting in the wings. There is pent up ambition nationwide, and eager Republican candidates ready to run – and we are equipped and excited to take full advantage of that.
Below are some of our candidates thus far.
GA-8: Rick Goddard
IL-8: Steve Greenberg
CT-5: David Cappiello
CA-11: Dean Andal
NH-1: Jeb Bradley
FL-16: Gayle Harrell, Tom Rooney and Hal Valeche
NY-20: Sandy Treadwell, Richard Wager and Michael Rocque
NY-19 Andrew Saul
TX-23: Quico Canseco
KY-3: Erwin Roberts
KS-2: Jim Ryun and Lynn Jenkins
MN-1: Dick Day/Randy Demmer/Brian Davis, Mark Meyer
WI-8: John Gard
The NRCC already has or expects to have challengers emerging in the near future in districts such as AZ-8, AZ-5, IN-8, MI-1, OR-5, NY-24, TX-22, PA-10, GA-12, as well as in several others.
Thanks for stopping by, Congressman.
After regaining control of the House for the first time in decades by promising to reduce the size and scope of government, Republicans had twelve years of opportunity to follow through. It would be difficult to find a standard by which those twelve years could not be deemed a failure in that respect. Do you plan to make that successful pitch again on a national scale? If so, how can we make the case that the Party is serious this time?
Yes there was a lapse here and there, but the party did what it was supposed to. Read less of Porkbusters and more of the actual numbers, comparing with spending under Democrats, if you want the whole story.
Run like Reagan!
But I wonder if some like myself aren't merely satisfied with being "better" than the Dems on spending. I think growing government at a slower pace then the opposition isn't to spectacular of a goal. When I think party of smaller government I ideally (and probably unrealistically) hope for someday to actually see a reversal in the growth of the federal budget as a reflection of actually "reducing" the size of the whole enterprise.
"Cowards cut and run, Marines never do"
...a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...
---Thomas Paine---
Thanks, congressman. It helps when the Democratic majority is an unmitigated disaster and the GOP has recruited excellent candidates. Pelosi and Co. made it look like 1992 all over again. Thanks to her, too.
Keep us posted.
And I think the odds of a GOP takeover of the House are good.
I just can't see the American people giving unified control of government to the Dems, especially in the age we're in. Doing that would be begging for massive tax hikes and likely terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.
So if you assume that the GOP Presidential candidate starts as an underdog, and then factor in how badly the Dems have failed at managing Congress this year, and then consider the long odds of the GOP taking back the Senate, I think you have a recipe for the GOP to pick up the 20 or so seats they need to retake the House.
It'll be interesting to see what ultimately ends up happening.
...what is the word on Lynn Swann running for Jason Altmire's seat?
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
He recently told the NRCC that he was not interested.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07194/801580-181.stm
Hart is running again for Congress.
Congreesman Cole, what do you think is the likelihood of finding good challengers for PA-8, PA-11, PA-12 or PA-17? I realize some of these may be longshots, but if you can recruit the correct people, as with PA-11, we may have a good shot a one or two of these
TX17 - Recruit Van Taylor to come back for more and this time overtake Chet Edwards in a Presidential election year in this solidly Republican district
TX22 - Recruit Harris County Commissioner Paul Bettencourt or Houston City Councilman Michael Berry to destroy Nick Lampson
TX23 - Recruit Henry Bonilla to take back his seat and take out that Hugo Chavez mini-me, Ciro Rodriguez.
TX25 - Recruit former state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn to "shake up Washington" and shake up that creep Lloyd Doggett
TX27 - Recruit US Ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza, to take out Solomon Ortiz
Texas will go ate least +1 GOP, but with the above recruiting achievements, Texas could go +5. Let's do this!
Strayhorn ran for governor as an indepedent in 2006 (finishing third) and was Mondale's campaign chair in Travis County in 1984. She may, or may not, be a Republican, but she is certainly no conservative.
While the DCCC is entitled to their own opinion, they are not entitled to their own facts.
How are you going to prevent the character assasination coming down the pike by the democrats and their ilk(including Larry Flint , who says he has 20 republican congressman and at least 2 senators in his bullseye)?
....Needs to run for the Senate again in Maryland. If he gets in there's hope for the GOP in this blue state of Governor Martin "Don't believe a word of my platform" O'Malley, Stymie Hoyer, Senator Baggy Pants, and Senator what'shisname.
He has served in the number two job. Maybe he should be going for that next time. Perhaps Ehrlich should run for Senate.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
Mr. Cole,
Wisconsin's 7th Congressional district has been held by ultra-liberal Dave Obey for the last 40 years. While Obey is one of the top 5 most liberal members of the house the district is actually quite socially conservative and could be classified a swing district. In 2000 Gore edged Bush by a few thousand votes though the percentage was tied 48-48, and in 2004 the same thing happened 49-49.
In 2006 for the first time in 12 years we had a serious candidate take on Obey; Nick Reid, formally of the Heritage Foundation and Rep Jim Ryun's office. Reid raised more money than any other candidate to challenge Obey and ran a professional campaign. But the House leadership and the national party ignored Reid and his campaign and allowed him to be out-gunned by 700k by Obey.
WI-7 is a geographically large and rural district, but the media markets that service it are small and by national standards cheap. Sending a million bucks to this district will get you two or three times more advertising time that it would in larger media markets.
Reid has run a campaign and has some name ID, and Obey has drawn national ridicule for his adherence too the corrupt earmarking process, and retreat and defeat policies. Will you step in and help Reid beat him?
I'd love to see a Republican House and Senate to welcome in President Giuliani or President Thompson.
---
(Formerly known as bee) / Internet member since 1987
Member of the Surreality-Based Community
I agree, the House is VERY vulnerable to retaking, and we should go for the throat.
It's war -- so when can we start shooting back at the enemy Democrats?
Tom Harkin is beatable in Iowa. He is so far to the left. You try and run moderates against him. The time is right to run a tough minded conservative who is willing to attack the Senator on his record. He receives 80% of his money from outside interest groups. I didn't like the fact that you ran Ganske against him. Winds of change is in the air in Iowa.
Thanks for stopping by, it is an optimistic outlook.
Now, any idea when the House leadership will start giving these candidates something to run for rather than the Democrat something to run against?
What I'm saying is: Is there a hopper full of legislative proposals that will be opened upon the House in '08 that the Dems will be forced to oppose, obstruct or vote down?
...Unqualified support for the troops, and their mission. Failure is an
option only for Democrats.
...keep the Bush Recovery going by making the Bush tax cuts PERMANENT.
...Border security first, visas and temporary workers second.
...transparency for earmarks.
--furious
"I find your lack of faith disturbing." -- Darth Vader
...but please, more Jeb Hensarling's and fewer Duke Cunnigham's. It's an uphill but winnable fight -- the double-standard ethics the Democrats and their media enablers apply to Republicans only makes it harder.
--furious
"I find your lack of faith disturbing." -- Darth Vader
turned out to be and it will be smooth sailing!
Just one question. Could you please explain the fundraising situation as is applies to targeted seats? The MSM is running with stories that the vulnerable Dem incumbents are out raising their vulnerable R counterparts. At the end of the day, will there be enough resources to strong challenges with our strong challengers?
-----------------------
Develop alternatives to existing policies and keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable. Milton Friedman
While I'm aware that Congress's approval numbers are at record lows, it seems to me that the country is still sour on the GOP and I'm a little worried we may not be able to shake that off for awhile.
Then why the majority of voters are willing to vote a Democrat for congress (again) in 2008? Rasmussen.
Why do more voters approve of Democrats in congress (31%) than those who approve Republicans in congress? (21%) Harris poll
People aren't tired of a Democratic majority, they are tired of both sides. There isn't much difference anymore.
In order for Republicans to get and keep a majority, they need to act like Republicans instead of politicians. They need to listen to the people who elected them to represent them instead of acting like politicans.
We are past the point where people just vote Republican because the other option is Democrat, people will stop voting because there isn't any difference. They are going to have to get past the usual sound bites and actually prove they mean what they say in order to change minds. Actions speak louder than words.
Congressman--
Thanks for the all the hard work you're doing on behalf of real conservatism and also as head of the Republican Party's efforts to take back Congress.
That said, what recruitment efforts are we making to take back OH-18, a rural, eastern-central Ohio district that is quite red? It's currently represented by Zack Space, a Democrat, but was represented (before he was found out to be a criminal...) by Bob Ney.
As an Ohioan, I believe that this is a winnable race for a strong Republican challenger.
than Fletcher coconspirator Roberts in KY-03, RINOS Jeb Bradley and Andrey Saul in NH-01 and NY-19 and David Cappiello in CT-05 who openly supports the Defeatocrat plan to cut and run in Iraq. I would also like to recruit someone other than Gard, who is disliked by most in Wisconsin to run in WI-08.
And that plan is ?
It's obvious the people are fed up with all of DC, not just whiny democrats. You guys need to go back to 94 if you really want to win.
A second contract is what the people want, as apparently a politicians word means very little to the people today.
The contract:
1. Complete the fence in 2 years.
2. Reduce spending by 10%.
3. Complete a national ID card system in 4 years.
4. Reform medicare costs by 10%.
5. Enforce current illegal immigration laws.
6. Allow new refineries to be built.
7. Pass legislation to drill in Alaska and offshore.
8. Pass legislation to subsidize production in oil shale, ethanol, solar and nuclear energy.
9. Pass legislation to increase tariffs on far east countries imports.
10. Subsidize US steel companies.
This, while not a perfect list; would make '08 a walk in the park. I just wish someone had the guts to carry a banner like that for the good of the country again.
Or if you want give me a couple million, i'll move to a good district and carry it for you.
It's worse than that.
8. Spend
9. Tax
10. Spend
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
It would be helpful if you could provide some names of prospective candidates. Thanks