Redstate

Posted at 3:35pm on Jun. 19, 2008 Tom Cole Is Doing Something. Just Not Winning.

By Erick

Doesn't Tom Cole have better things to do? Like winning?

The head of the NRCC is seeking a Congressional apology to Indians for their treatment by the white man.

Cole offered his proposed apology as an amendment to H.R. 1328, the "Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2007." That multibillion-dollar proposal, introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and 57 other members, has not been scheduled for a vote yet.

I will reprint the entire amendment here because it's a fascinating, and noteworthy, proposal. I will point out that Cole specifically states that nothing in the amendment authorizes reparations to Native Americans from the U.S. government.

Can we further amend the legislation to apologize to the American people for the deaths of all the children due to Roe vs. Wade?

Can we also get an amendment from Tom Cole apologizing for his crummy handling of the NRCC?

How about an amendment letting me gamble at Indian Casinos with free room and board? Hey, I'll contribute some reparations at the blackjack tables?

This is pathetic.

Posted in Congress | NRCC | Oklahoma | Tom Cole — Comments (13)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:52am on May 14, 2008 Going Old Testament on the House GOP

Their Deserved Walk in the Wilderness

By Erick

"Not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times - not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

"So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But you—your bodies will fall in this desert. Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' "

Numbers 14:22-23, 28-34

We've talked a lot here about the GOP being in the wilderness. That metaphor comes from this Old Testament passage. The Lord sent the Israelites into the promised land and the Israelite scouts reported back with fear and trembling that they'd never be able to defeat the occupants of the land. The Lord had provided many signs and wonders, yet the Israelites doubted.

In punishment, the Lord said the Israelites would wander for forty years until all the present generation of sinners who doubted him had died off. And here we find a parallel of the Republican Party and why I yet again must advocate bloody purges.

Read on . . .

Posted in 2008 | house republicans | John Boehner | Roy Blunt | Tom Cole — Comments (54)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:35am on May 14, 2008 Clean House at the NRCC

By The Directors

After losing three consecutive special elections in Republican-leaning districts in Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi, House Republicans need to make a decision: They can continue on this course until November and embrace disaster or they can clean house and bring a new direction to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Conservatives have been voicing their frustration with NRCC Chairman Tom Cole for more than a year. In fact, it was last May when Cole shocked conservatives with this outrageous quote in the Washington Post regarding the 2006 election losses: "Oh, I don't think the problem was spending. People who argue that we lost because we weren't true to our base, that's just wrong."

Over the course of the past year, the NRCC has been rocked with a major financial scandal, lackluster fundraising and a rash of retirements. Now the committee is facing the prospect that it can't even win in a Mississippi district that gave President Bush 62% of the vote in 2004 or a Louisiana seat that the GOP has held for more than three decades.

Cole doesn't deserve the blame for all that went wrong in the three special elections. But as the chairman of the GOP's congressional campaign arm, he does have to take responsibility. And the responsible thing for him to do is pass the torch to someone new.

Changing the campaign chairman at this late stage won't solve all of the GOP's problems, but it will demonstrate that the party is serious about change -- something Minority Leader John Boehner emphasized in his comments about the Mississippi loss.

"The results in MS-01 should serve as a wake-up call to Republican candidates nationwide," Boehner said. "As I've said before, this is a change election, and if we want Americans to vote for us we have to convince them that we can fix Washington."

Boehner can start by politely asking Cole to step aside. The two have feuded dating to last fall about the NRCC's direction. They have apparently since patched up their differences, but last night's results are likely to only revive those old tensions. That's not a healthy relationship heading into one of the busiest times of the year.

Cole's resignation isn't the only matter the GOP needs to address. The party must unify around Sen. John McCain's anti-earmark pledge. Veteran earmarxists such as Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and new appropriators like Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) need to stop talking and start acting. Only by taking significant steps toward fiscal responsibility can the GOP stave off some of the damage.

The same goes for the war on terror and domestic issues ranging from energy exploration to market-based health care. Now is not the time to play it safe. Republicans need new ideas and new leaders. Replacing Tom Cole is one way to start. New leadership elections would be another way. We know they won't actually do it. Republicans do not do such things. And this failure of bold leadership in the face of adversity will bring about what we all know will happen in November: compounded losses. So be it.

Posted in 2008 | Tom Cole — Comments (41)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 10:00am on Apr. 29, 2008 Give me a freaking break, Tom Cole

By Erick

Sigh. Is it any wonder the GOP is about to get swept out to sea in the House of Representatives?

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. said that even though Alaskans might be lukewarm about the Republican on the presidential ticket, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the state is so red that it won't matter when it comes to the congressional race. McCain will "provide cover" for Republican candidates in Alaska, including Rep. Don Young, Cole said. . . .

"But so far as I know, nobody's been charged with anything and I think that becomes really critical. At the end of the day, I've served with Don Young. I believe he's an honorable man. I don't have any doubt about it."

You know, if Mississippi 1 is not enough handwriting on the wall, the GOP deserves what it gets. Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I like Tom Cole. But I think he is at worst delusional and at best spinning to make up for dismal candidate recruiting this year.

I mean, heck, he defended Rick Renzi (R-AZ) too.

The embattled Renzi said months ago that he would not seek reelection this year but vowed to serve out the rest of his term. In February, after Renzi was indicted on 35 federal charges, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pressed for him to step down.

In the zeal to protect incumbents, the GOP seems hell bent on throwing the party under the bus. Obama must be advising them, considering he's an expert at throwing people under the bus.

Posted in 2008 | Death of the GOP | Don Young | NRCC | Rick Renzi | Tom Cole — Comments (37)/ Email this page » / Read More »