(This got buried earlier. Bumped. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
According to the Dallas Morning News the National Republican Campaign Committee has withdrawn it's reserved advertising buy as a demonstration of retreat in efforts to unseat the 20-year incumbent, Chet Edwards, in Congressional District 17:
The Republican Party has scrapped plans for a costly last-minute TV blitz on behalf of congressional nominee Bill Flores.
Democrats said the move signals that Republicans are giving up hope of unseating Rep. Chet Edwards. But Flores disagreed, saying that it means he's in such good shape, the national party can devote its resources elsewhere.
This is a story you're not hearing much of around the country-Republicans beginning to conduct candidate triage in which the NRCC and other Party entities are retreating in many congressional districts in order to conserve resources and invest in seats that Republicans have a better shot at winning. Pundits and talking heads love to pontificate right now about just how many seats Democrats are going to lose in the House. At times you hear 50+, and other times you hear as much as 100. I suppose we'll know on Election Day, won't we? One seat that Republican's were counting on though-Chet Edwards-may just be ok. That should give D's across the country some cause for hope.
What might prevent this massive tsunami of Teapot extremists being elected as Republicans across the country are a few nuggets that some aren't thinking about:
Republicans have begun candidate triage. CD-17 is an example of the NRCC beginning to retract its initial investment, retreat, and move on to fight somewhere else. As we close in on November 2nd Republicans are forced to hone strategy down to where they are most likely to win and target districts they are within the polls margin of error. All of that costs a lot of money, which is something the NRCC has trailed its DCCC counterpart for all of 2010. In other words, you're seeing Republicans beginning to create their own electoral firewall of what they are capable of winning versus what they are quite likely not to win. Which brings me to point #2.
Money. Democrats have consistently outpaced, despite gloomy predictions from talking heads, Republicans in raising money this election cycle. That is certainly a stark contrast to where Democrats found themselves in 1994, which is the mid-term election cycle pundits love to compare 2010 to.
Field operations. The fact is that Democrats have become really good at voter targeting, communicating, and turnout. Arguably the Democratic field machine is more superior then the Republican one given the electoral success that Democrats have enjoyed since 2006. Those successful election cycles have allowed Democrats to perfect their field machine over time, while Republicans have been sent time and again for the last four years back to the drawing board to try and figure out how to compete in the field. Rest assured that Republicans are not capable of activating a field program and turnout machine in every single competitive congressional district across this nation. And where they may have a field program and turnout machine they still must compete with those on the other side of the political aisle which have become pretty good.
Platform. Oh yeah, that thing Republicans need to actually communicate to voters about what you would do differently than the last decade of tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation of the market system, gutting of public education, ravaging the healthcare system, growing the divide between rich and poor, and otherwise causing the catastrophic economic mess this country now finds itself in. Hardly a Contract for America, right?
Leadership. Who leads the modern GOP? John Boehner? No, I don't think so--although he is set to become Speaker should Republicans take back the House, he hardly is the spokesperson for the Republican Party. Michael Steele? Naw. Mitch McConnell? Hardly. Sarah Palin? Yeah. Glenn Beck? Yep. Rush Limbaugh? Oh my-uh huh, I think so. The entertaining wing of the modern Republican Party is what has usurped the perceived leadership that encompasses the GOP. Voters are realizing that although Palin-Beck-Limbaugh might be quite the three stooges comedy skit, it doesn't inspire much confidence in leadership or policy.
The fact is that as we close in on November 2nd voters are beginning to take stock of the fact that the Rand Paul's, Sharron Angle's, Joe Miller's, Bill Flores's and Christine O'Donnell's of the world aren't capable of governing and are so fringe and extreme from the center of this country that one can only conclude that extreme has become mainstream in the modern Grand Ole' Party.
Right now the Progressive powerhouse is doing a national voting campaign to figure out who to support as a Grassroots allstar. For any race that wins it will be a huge bump for the campaign. I urge the list readers to consider helping each of the 4 campaigns who filled out the questionnaire for support and asking your friends to do the same. Brining the fight to a place like TX - 03 and forcing Sam Johnson to work because he has a credible opponent this year is worth the time to make the vote. http://www.grassrootsallstars....
July 16th the first round wins, the top 10 then get pitted against one another to make it to the top two.
Note - Grier Raggio is on there but his votes do not count due to him not filling out the DFA questionnaire
Why this is important?
The winner of the 2010 Grassroots All-Star Competition will receive:
The title of "2010 DFA Grassroots All-Star"
At least one national fundraising e-mail from DFA Chair Jim Dean to over one million members with the commitment to raise $20,000 from DFA members nationwide.
In-state crowd-sourcing emails for volunteer events with a commitment to raise 500 volunteer hours from DFA members in the All-Stars' home state.
At least one national volunteer e-mail to over one million DFA members with the commitment to deliver at least 200 national phone bankers.
A $5,000 contribution from Democracy for America PAC.
Appearances by DFA Chair Jim Dean at available campaign events
Lets help the TX congressionals and put them in the running by voting and asking our friends to vote. It's a major bump to their campaigns!
BOR recently featured a story based on a press release from the DCCC on Mike McCaul's "Vote against the troops before Memorial Day". I asked the DCCC why they made this press release in a race about which they have been largely silent since Jack McDonald dropped out. The answer: "WE SEND THEM OUT FROM TIME TO TIME IN ANY DISTRICTS THAT WE THINK COULD BE COMPETITIVE".
On a related note: On Memorial Day, I made the Keynote speech at the Burleson County Courthouse in Caldwell, a county I might have won in '06 except for Mccaul showing up just before early voting began with a $200K Homeland Security grant for the local Volunteer Fire Department. McCaul made his speech in hard Republican Washington County. When our campaign volunteer videographer gets back from his family summer vacation, we'll be posting a video contrasting the two speeches, and superimposing how McCaul voted, just three days before his speech. The contrast will be startling. It's what makes this district competitive: McCaul says one thing and does another. I need your help to expose this to the voting public!
Congratulations to Grier Raggio and his hard working campaign for making the DCCC's "Emerging Races."
See http://politicalwire.com/archi...
Making this list means that Raggio and CD-32 are recognized as a race where we have a fighting chance and that Grier will receive resources from the DCCC.
Chief among these resources is greater support from donors around the nation that now know this race is one of the keys races where financial donations can make a key difference.
First, TX-32, formerly held by Martin Frost (D) but lost to Pete Sessions (R) in Tom DeLay's mid-decade redistricting is listed as a Tier 2 "emerging race". Democrat Grier Raggio will be the Democratic nominee in a district that has been trending more Democratic over the past decade but still eluded Dallas County party activists cycle after cycle. Raggio is legitimate candidate and liked by locals so it's great to see the 32nd District make it on the DCCC's list.
The other notable district is TX-10 which is notable for its absence as a targeted race ever since Democrat Jack McDonald withdrew from running last month. Formerly a top target by the DCCC, it appears that Democrat Ted Ankrum will be carrying the party banner in the 10th District without much support from the national committee as expected.
While there are few competitive congressional races for either party thank to redistricting, having a couple dozen targeted GOP seats is a good sign in limiting the overall losses the party is expected have this November.
The politics of fear is alive and well. One of our very own congressmen, Republican Louie Gohmert (TX-1), has actually suggested a a new terrorist attack in New York City would be welcomed by Democrats as a means of creating jobs.
That's right, an elected official has stated a political party wants an act of terrorism and Americans to lose their lives so the United States can create more jobs.
Of course, Gohmert made his first radical and ridiculous statement on the Republican Party Network Fox News.
As if that wasn't enough, he then went on the House floor and attacked the President and community organizers as he patronized the American families who lost friends and loved ones on 9/11.
Gohmert's incentive and outrageous statements haven't gone unnoticed. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a statement responding to Gohmert.
"Congressman Louie Gohmert's outrageous comments not only insult the victims of 9/11 and their families but also offer the latest evidence that the Republican Party has been taken over by right-wing extremists. House Republicans should immediately condemn Congressman Gohmert's offensive remarks.
"Whether they're attending 'tea party' rallies featuring Holocaust imagery, comparing health insurance reform to terrorism, or staying silent about plans to burn public officials in effigy, the tenor from House Republicans grows more alarming by the day.
"It's long past time for the House Republican Leadership to speak out against this disturbing pattern of increasingly extreme rhetoric from their ranks and engage in the constructive search for solutions that America's many challenges demand."
Gohmert's insane accusations and unfounded rants are not becoming of any elected officials. He owes the people of Texas, families of 9/11, and his district a real and heartfelt apology. You can contact Mr. Gohmert here if you would like to ask him why he is pandering to the fanatical wing of his party and why he is focused on the politics of fear.
A couple of weeks ago, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Executive Director Jon Vogel stated that TX-10 and Michael McCaul were in the top 10 targeted seats in the nation. Combined with the work done the past two cycles in-district, and the over $300,000 McDonald raised in the first quarter, there is good reason to finally have the tenth so high up on the DCCC's radar.
McDonald is looking to repeat that amazing first quarter, having stated in a meeting with activists in Austin this week that fundraising continues to be strong. The reaction from those activists at the gathering was very positive, given his responses, both in his willingness to engage on a broad cross-section of social and policy issues from a back and forth debate over health care options, choice, economic development, and positive statements on equal civil rights and a willingness to engage, work with, and support county party operations.
McDonald is still in exploratory mode, largely until business leadership issues are settled; he is chairman and CEO of Perficient, a publicly-traded company headquartered in the District that is one of the nation's top information technology consulting firms. An official campaign launch is scheduled for the coming months.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a piece for National Journal's CongressDaily, listed the TX-10 Congressional District as one of the best opportunities for Democrats to pick-up a seat in Congress in 2010.
This should come as little surprise to anyone that has been following the race -- which we've been doing closely here at BOR. A quick scan through the TX-10 tagged posts here at BOR gives you a recap of what's going on in the district:
This is clearly an impressive start and is probably going to make any other Democrats who were considering jumping in this race think twice. Perhaps the report may even inch incumbent Mike McCaul towards a bid for Attorney General.
District 10 encompasses two media markets and is among the most expensive districts in the state. Larry Joe Doherty raised over $1 million last year and still lost by double digits. We are going to need a lot of money (and a great candidate, of course) to have a good shot at winning this district. It is early, but I think McDonald has the potential to provide both.
Congressman Mike McCaul raised only $ 97,795 this reporting period and spent $ 81,515.80 leaving him with just $ 62,431.80 left in the bank. Wait, wait, it gets better. McCaul still has $ 511,252.56 in debt.
Mike McCaul is looking more and more vulnerable every campaign season.
In reference to last Friday's post, I wanted to post the district specific radio ad that the DCCC is running in TX-10 against Mike McCaul. Listen to it below or visit it on the DCCC's blog.
It's interesting to read through the comments on the last post to see people's reactions on a whole host of issues that apparently are unresolved regarding TX-10. Here are a couple of my thoughts on it.
There's a lot of interest in learning and hearing more directly from Democratic candidate Jack McDonald. That's great, and Matt actually sat down with him already and has an interview that he's going to write up and post here on BOR. Along those lines, we're going to explore maybe getting some video from McDonald as well since there is a difference in reading an interview and seeing the candidate talk himself.
In another good sign for TX-10 being on the political radar, the insider publication "The Hill" wrote up a rather lengthy piece on the district. It's worth a read.
I really think it's time to get over any feelings of "the DCCC didn't help last time so why did it take until now for them to pay attention". You're all right, and you can join the grassroots supporters in-district in 95% of all congressional districts around the country that feel the DCCC didn't get involved sooner or with more money. Me? I consider it welcome support after all the hard work that people have done in TX-10 the last few cycles.
Of course, if there are still things that need to be said about TX-10 from last cycle that will benefit us strategically in the race this cycle, the comments as always are open.
