Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Murtha calls ethics reform 'total crap'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, running in a bitter race against Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, for House Majority Leader, told a group of conservative Democrats that the ethics reform legislation that Democratic leaders have made a top priority was "total crap."
Despite dismissing the reforms, Murtha told the group he would support them because the presumptive Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California., was behind the effort. One member told CNN that Murtha, referring to the lobbying reform bill Pelosi has advocated, said "even though it's total crap I'll vote for it and pass it because that's what Nancy wants." Three members of the Blue Dog Coalition, who support Hoyer and wanted to remain anonymous, tell CNN that Murtha made these comments at their Tuesday evening meeting. Murtha was invited to address the group in advance of Thursday’s leadership elections. Rep. Hoyer also made a pitch to the group. A majority of the 44 member Blue Dog Coalition has publicly backed Hoyer’s leadership bid. One Democrat described members as having a "stunned reaction" and added, "this goes beyond Blue Dogs -- for any Democrat, corruption was an issue. It was the number one issue in the exit polls." -- CNN's Andrea Koppel and Deirdre Walsh
McCain to form exploratory committee Thursday
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, will file papers Thursday to form a presidential exploratory committee, a McCain spokesman told CNN Wednesday.
McCain has also established a website, www.exploremccain.com, to drum up support for a possible White House bid. McCain, who assumed an active campaign role in the 2006 midterm election cycle, said he will use his exploratory committee to "continue my conversation with the American people." "Over the past year, I have traveled the country campaigning with candidates running for local, state, and federal office and I've been constantly proud to stand with Republican candidates in supporting a secure homeland, fiscal responsibility, ethics in government, and common sense conservative principles," McCain said in an email to supporters. "With the formation of John McCain 2008 - The Exploratory Committee, I will continue my conversation with the American people over the direction of the Republican Party and the future of our country." The Arizona senator has said previously he would make a final decision on whether to run for president early next year after consulting with his family over the holidays. McCain plans to lay out his vision of the Republican Party in two speeches Thursday to conservative groups in Washington. -- CNN's Candy Crowley and Mark Preston
AP: Thompson intends to form presidential exploratory committee
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said Wednesday he intends to form a committee to explore a possible run for the White House in 2008.
"I intend to do so after the first of the year," Thompson said in reference to creating an exploratory committee. Thompson served as Health and Human Services Secretary during President Bush's first term. The Republican was in Iowa, where he met with about 100 members of a group called Iowans for Wellness and Prevention. The state holds the first votes of the presidential nominating process. Issues, such as health care, along with his appeal as a Midwesterner, make him a potentially viable candidate, Thompson said. McCain endorses Shadegg
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, lent his political clout to the House Minority Whip contest Wednesday.
McCain formally endorsed his Arizona congressional colleague Rep. John Shadegg, who is battling Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri for the no. 2 House GOP post. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Ahead on CNN
4 p.m. ET, The Situation Room
-Democratic strategist James Carville and Bay Buchanan, chairperson of Team America PAC, will weigh in on Sen. Trent Lott's, R-Mississippi, political comeback.-Rep. John Shadegg, R-Arizona, will discuss his bid to become the House Minority Whip. 5 p.m. ET, The Situation Room -Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, who will become the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will discuss today's Iraq hearings. -Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, will discuss his successful bid to become Senate Minority Whip. -Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, R-Maryland, will discuss his views on the future of the GOP-Conservative commentator Bill Bennett will assess the new Senate leaders. Lieberman: Withdrawal would be a 'very serious mistake'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Joe Lieberman, may have agreed to caucus with the Democrats in the next congressional term, but the Connecticut independent made it clear Wednesday he would not hold the party line on a call for phased troop withdrawals.
"Both general Abizaid and Ambassador Satterfield were quite clear and to me convincing, that for congress to order the beginning of a phased redeployment, a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq within the next 4 to 6 months would be a very serious mistake and would endanger ultimate the United States," Lieberman told reporters after the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Iraq. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, who is to become the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee when Democrats take control of the chamber in January, said Tuesday a phased withdrawal is the only way Iraqi forces will take responsibility for their country. Lieberman's comments are a sign his defeat in the Connecticut Democratic primary has not weakened his hawkish stance on Iraq. Connecticut Democrats voted Lieberman out of the party in August, opting for vehement antiwar candidate Ned Lamont. Lieberman, running as an independent candidate, defeated Lamont in the general election. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Three '08 hopefuls take advantage of Senate Armed Services Committee seat
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate Armed Services committee hearing on Iraq Wednesday was a chance for three potential White House hopefuls to showcase their tough talk on the war torn country as they consider their political futures.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, all sit on the committee and were highly critical of the Administration's policies Wednesday. "Hope is not a strategy," Clinton said. "Hortatory talk about what the Iraqi government must do is getting old. I mean I have heard over and over again that the government must do this, the Iraqi army must do that. Nobody disagrees with that. The brutal fact is it is not happening." McCain, who has long called for more troops to be sent to Iraq, sharply criticized Gen. John Abizaid's belief that current troop levels are sufficient. "[The situation] is not encouraging to those of us who have heard time after time that things are progressing well, that we are making progress etc. because we are hearing from many other sources that that's not the case." McCain told Abizaid. "I am disappointed that you are advocating the status quo here today which I think that the American people said in the last election is not an acceptable condition for the American people." Bayh expressed doubt the Iraqi military is able to secure the war torn country. "We look at the functioning of the government in Iraq and I have to tell you too often they appear to be operating as members of their tribe, or their sect, or their ethnic group first rather than as Iraqi's first," the Indiana Democrat said. "I mean they say the right things, but when the going gets tough and they have to make the right decisions they sort of retreat in their corner and they're just not able to find their common ground. I find that troubling." A Senate Armed Service Committee seat offers the three senators a prominent pulpit from which they will repeatedly espouse their views on the divisive issue heading into 2008. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Money, political standing belie Clinton's indecision on 2008
NEW YORK (AP) -- Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's professed indecision about a presidential bid seems a bit disingenuous.
After all, she has millions in the bank, a national network of supporters and an unrivaled team of political strategists. Not to be trumped by other potential candidates/authors, the former first lady plans to rerelease her best-selling book, "It Takes a Village." Fresh off her landslide Senate re-election victory, the New York lawmaker has been inundated with questions about her political future. Although polls show her the front-runner for her party's 2008 presidential nomination, Clinton insists she's just starting the process of making a final decision. Trauner not decided on recount
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- The final state canvass shows Representative Barbara Cubin winning a seventh term, but Democratic challenger Gary Trauner is still holding out the possibility of a
recount. In a telephone interview from his home in Wilson, Trauner says he's got 48 hours to make a decision on a recount and he hasn't decided whether to do so or not. Under state law Trauner must ask for a recount no later than Friday. The recount would be conducted in all 23 counties, and Trauner would have to pay for it unless the recount changed the result of the election. The State Canvassing Board certified the election results Wednesday. While the race remained very close to the end, it still wasn't close enough to trigger an automatic recount. New GOP leadership roster
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- While Sen. Trent Lott's, R- Mississippi, triumphant return to the GOP leadership stole the headlines Wednesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the incoming Senate Minority Leader, announced the rest of the GOP leadership as well.
Minority Leader: Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky Minority Whip: Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi GOP Conference Chairman: Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona GOP Conference Vice Chairman: Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas Policy Committee Chairman: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas National Republican Senatorial Committee: John Ensign, R-Nevada Lott, Alexander tight-lipped after GOP leadership elections
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Both Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi and Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee were tight-lipped after the Senate GOP caucus handed Lott the No. 2 spot over Alexander by one vote.
Lott declined to answer questions about his triumphant return to the leadership nearly four years after he got tossed for praising the 1948 segregation-based presidential bid of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-South Carolina. "I'm gonna shock you" by not answering those questions he told a crowded news conference. But just behind Lott, out of site of the cameras, Alexander quietly told reporters the difference in the race may have been the desire of his Republican colleagues to see Lott return full cycle from the Thurmond scandal. "I think senators, like most Americans, like a comeback," Alexander said. "He deserves great credit for that." As he left the news conference, Lott was asked by NPR reporter David Welna if he had any "further reflections" on Thurmond's presidential race, Lott chuckled nervously and said, "Oh, no. None at all. Strictly looking forward." -- CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett Republican Rep. Cubin wins 7th term in Wyoming, state canvass
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin won a seventh term, defeating Democratic challenger Gary Trauner, officials announced Wednesday after a final state canvass of last week's vote.
The race was close, but not close enough to trigger an automatic recount. The State Canvassing Board, made up of Wyoming's top five elected officials, certified the results Wednesday showing Cubin with 93,336 votes, or 48.3 percent, to Trauner's 92,324 votes, or 47.8 percent. Libertarian Thomas Rankin got 7,481, or 3.8 percent. The numbers were unchanged from those submitted by county canvassing boards on Monday. Trauner, a businessman from Wilson, has said he would be satisfied with the outcome from the canvassing board as long as there were no problems that might call the results into question. Abizaid optimistic 'we can stabilize Iraq'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Gen. John Abizaid said Wednesday he is optimistic that "we can stabilize Iraq."
Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, made his comments during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Abizaid, who visited the region last month, said he was encouraged by what he saw. "While sectarian violence remains high and worrisome, it's certainly not as bad as the situation appeared back in August," he said. "I wouldn't say that we have turned the corner in this regard, but it's not nearly as bad as it was back in August, and I was encouraged by that." Abizaid said U.S. officials are considering a range of options in Iraq. "It goes all the way from increasing our U.S. combat forces all the way down to withdrawing our U.S. combat forces," he said. Lott proves he has more than one political life after Whip victory
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, proved that political lives can have second acts after his GOP colleagues elected him minority whip Wednesday. Lott beat out Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander for the position.
"I'm honored to be part of this leadership team to support Mitch McConnell and all my colleagues to a job that I've always really loved the most - count the votes," Lott told reporters after the GOP leadership elections. "All Mitch is going to want me to do is find a way to count the magic 60 or the magic 51 and I'll do my very best in that effort." Lott's return to the Senate leadership is a dramatic comeback after his forced resignation from the Senate Majority Leader post four years ago following comments many deemed racially insensitive. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Boehner: Time to rebuild 'Republican brand'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Majority Leader John Boehner, who is vying for the top GOP spot when his party goes into the minority in the next Congress, said Wednesday the GOP must rebuild 'the Republican brand' if it hopes to regain its majority.
"To regain our majority in 2008, House Republicans need to get back to our core principles and rededicate ourselves to the reform mindset that put us in the majority 12 years ago," Boehner wrote in an editorial appearing in Wednesday's edition of "The Hill" newspaper. “We must rebuild the Republican coalition by focusing on reform ideas because they will not only win broad-based support among House members, but among the American people." Boehner is competing for the House minority leadership position with Reps. Joe Barton of Texas and Mike Pence of Indiana. The GOP caucus is set to hold their House leadership elections Friday. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Levin: 'No military solution in Iraq'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Claiming there is no military solution in Iraq, Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN Wednesday U.S. forces should begin a “phased reduction” from the war-torn country in four to six months.
"There is no military solution," Levin told CNN. "Only a political solution-- that we've got to force the Iraqis to accept that by telling them we're going to begin a phased reduction of our forces in four to six months." Levin's comments come as the Senate Armed Services committee is set to hear testimony Wednesday from Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East. David Satterfield, the State Department's senior adviser on Iraq, CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Maples are also expected to testify Wednesday before the committee. Related: Top general to face Iraq questions -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Lott gets minority whip post
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Trent Lott was elected by his fellow Republicans on Wednesday as the Senate minority whip by a one-vote margin.
This returns Lott to the GOP leadership for the first time since he stepped down as majority leader in 2002 following a flap over comments he made at Sen. Strom Thurmond's birthday party. Lott edged Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. Sen. Mitch McConnell was unopposed in his bid for Senate minority leader. -- CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett
Bush, Putin discuss Iran, nuclear weapons over lunch
MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- President Bush, eager for Russian help in ongoing nuclear disputes with North Korea and Iran, tended to the sometimes frosty Washington-Moscow relationship Wednesday by paying a quick call on President Vladimir Putin.
Bush paused to visit the Russian leader for an hour and a half at an airport stopover on his way to Asia for an eight-day trip that includes stays in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. Bush has meetings scheduled with several important allies, including Putin, on the sidelines of a summit of Pacific Rim leaders in Hanoi, Vietnam, later this week. But only Putin rated a social call as well. Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Alexei Gromov as saying the two presidents discussed the Iranian nuclear program, the situation in the Middle East and nuclear nonproliferation. Full story Gillespie emerges as front-runner for Virginia state party chair
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie has emerged as the front-runner to become the next state GOP Chairman in Virginia, several informed Republican sources tell CNN.
Contacted Wednesday morning, Gillespie told CNN in a telephone interview, "I care about the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Republican Party and I want to help them both. The state parties are as important as the national party." Gillespie said it was up to state Republicans to choose a new leader. But several GOP sources, including two actively involved in Virginia, said the veteran GOP operative was the clear favorite to lead a party increasingly concerned about Democratic gains -- and the prospect that a once reliably-red state could now fall into the blue column in the 2008 presidential race. State republicans are likely to pick a new chairman next month; the current chairwoman announced after the midterm elections that she is stepping down. The urgency stems from the defeat of GOP senator George Allen this year -- which came in the wake of last year's Democratic win in the governor's race. "We have a bigger problem than we have cared to admit," said one of the GOP activists pushing for Gillespie to take over the state GOP. "Some of it is changing demographics, but some of it is us not doing the necessary work to build and expand." Gillespie is a former democrat who switched to the GOP when a congressman he was working for more than a decade ago switched parties. He went on to become a top GOP aide and strategist on Capitol Hill, a top deputy at the RNC under former chairman Haley Barbour, and a top adviser to the bush white house political operation. He also served as a senior adviser to the Allen senate campaign. Republican activists in the state say they are also hearing talk Allen may run for governor in the next election, although two sources close to Allen suggested this was little more than "guessing and speculation" given Allen's recent statement indicating he would not disappear from the political scene once he leaves the senate in January. Allen was governor before being elected to the senate. -- CNN Senior National Correspondent John King
Queen Elizabeth II to visit White House
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip will venture to the White House in May for an official state visit, the White House announced Wednesday. The good-will trip will mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia, which was founded on May 14, 1607.
Recount gives Democrat Joe Courtney the win in Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A painfully thin lead for Democrat Joe Courtney on election night last week shriveled to an even narrower victory following a recount in all 65 towns in Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District.
With the roller-coaster recount that uncovered vote-counting flaws in several towns, Courtney eked out a 91-vote victory over three-term Republican Rep. Rob Simmons, according to results tabulated by 65 town clerks and reported to The Associated Press. On election night Nov. 7, he led by 167 votes of nearly 250,000 votes cast. Bush's trip to Vietnam revives Iraq comparison
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's recent acknowledgment that the war in Iraq was comparable to the Viet Cong's psychologically devastating Tet Offensive in 1968 was hardly the first time a parallel has been drawn between the Iraq and Vietnam conflicts.
Questions about a "quagmire" have haunted the president's Iraq policy since before a single bomb fell on Baghdad. But this week, amid an intensifying discussion at home about the future of the war, Bush gives the comparison debate another kick by walking among Vietnam War relics on a four-day visit to the communist nation created after American troops departed 33 years ago. The president left the White House on Tuesday night, planning to stop briefly in Moscow and then in Singapore before arriving in Hanoi on Friday for a state visit and a massive summit of Pacific Rim leaders. He also spends a day in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. Lott confident he has enough votes
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, expressed confidence Wednesday that he has enough votes to become the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, telling CNN it's just a matter of holding his supporters together.
"It's like herding cats, you know?," Lott said. Lott, who stepped down for the Senate majority leader post four years ago after comments many deemed racially insensitive, has quietly campaigned for the minority whip position against Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. The GOP caucus is expected to vote on the position sometime Wednesday morning. -- CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash
Lott quietly campaigns for a return to a Senate leadership role
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ousted Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott is plotting a return to the Senate's center of power with a quiet but intense campaign against Sen. Lamar Alexander for the vote-counting job of minority whip.
Alexander, who has been campaigning for the post for 18 months, said in a statement that he has commitments of support from most of the members of the GOP caucus, which was meeting Wednesday to choose new leaders. "We need some new faces and some fresh themes," Alexander, R-Tenn., told reporters. Lott, R-Miss., relished his deal-making duties as majority leader but stepped down in 2002 under pressure over remarks that were interpreted as racially insensitive. He has long hinted at making a comeback bid. With the midterm elections finished and another candidate for the post, Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, failing to win re-election, Lott is casting himself as the more experienced candidate and the better choice for a job that will be crucial in a Democratic-controlled Senate split 51-49. GOP Congressmen campaign online for leadership posts
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Though Friday's elections are closed-door, secret ballot affairs, Republican House members vying for minority leadership posts are going online with their campaign pitches. All week, conservative bloggers -- who have been demanding a voice in this process -- are interviewing candidates via conference call, asking questions submitted by blog readers.
So far, interviews with both candidates for Minority Whip -- Representatives Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) -- have been posted online, along with Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who is running for House Minority Leader. Challengers to those currently in leadership are more popular with conservative bloggers, many of whom have called for a wholesale leadership shake-up after last week's defeat at the polls. Participant Redstate.com has a front page banner urging support for Pence and Shadegg. Also scheduled to be interviewed was Rep. Jack Kingston, (R-Ga.) running for Republican Conference Chair. Rep. Kingston has gone above and beyond with his online bid: posting a video on YouTube with his reasons for running, and sending the short film to his Republican colleagues "because so many of you guys haven't been returning my calls." -- CNN Internet Reporter Abbi Tatton
CNN Political Ticker AM
For the latest, breaking political news, check for updates throughout the day on the CNN Political Ticker. All politics, all the time.
Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... Meanwhile, Sen. Mitch McConnell is "expected to become Minority Leader without opposition" in this morning's secret ballot, Roll Call reports. President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) EXPERTS CHALLENGE "PHASED REDEPLOYMENT" PLAN: Anthony C. Zinni, the former head of the United States Central Command and one of the retired generals who called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, argued that any substantial reduction of American forces over the next several months would be more likely to accelerate the slide to civil war than stop it... Instead of taking troops out, General Zinni said, it would make more sense to consider deploying additional American forces over the next six months to "regain momentum" as part of a broader effort to stabilize Iraq that would create more jobs, foster political reconciliation and develop more effective Iraqi security forces. New York Times: Get Out Now? Not So Fast, Experts Say 57 PERCENT OF AMERICANS THINK DEMS DON'T HAVE A PLAN FOR IRAQ: Amid new talk of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill and at the White House, Americans are divided on whether the new Democratic-controlled Congress and President Bush can work together on their top priorities. The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll shows Americans in the aftermath of last week's power-shifting election remain divided over the country's direction and on their hopes for bipartisan cooperation... Of those surveyed, 47 percent said they were confident the president and congressional Democrats could work together to address national problems; 51 percent said they were not confident... 57 percent of all adults in the AP-Ipsos poll said Democrats do not have a plan for Iraq; 29 percent said they do. AP via Yahoo! News: Poll: Most doubt Dems have plan for Iraq MORE POLL RESULTS (pdf via Ipsos.com) ABIZAID TO FACE ARMED SERVICES: Senate Democrats impatient to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq will inject a new political dynamic into the debate over the war beginning today as they question the military's top Middle East commander for the first time since their party swept into control of Congress this month. Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, will face questions on the violence in Iraq and what it means for the roughly 145,000 U.S. troops there during scheduled testimony today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, senators from both parties said. Senior Democrats and Republicans on the committee are deeply divided over basic issues such as troop levels and strategy and whether Iraq is already in a state of civil war. Still, they are united by a concern for American forces. Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.), for example, said he will quiz Abizaid on the risks that U.S. troops could face if embedded with Iraqi units under an Iraqi chain of command. Washington Post: U.S. Commander in Iraq to Face Democrats Eager for Troop Cuts IRAQ STUDY GROUP INTERVIEWS CLINTON, ALBRIGHT, BLAIR: The bipartisan commission examining strategic options for Iraq reached out on Tuesday to top Democrats from the Clinton White House - beginning with former President Bill Clinton himself. The Iraq Study Group interviewed at least four other members of the Clinton administration: both of Mr. Clinton's secretaries of state, Madeleine K. Albright and Warren Christopher; the former ambassador to the United Nations, Richard C. Holbrooke; and the former national security adviser, Samuel R. Berger. The group also spoke Tuesday by video link with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain. New York Times: Blair, Clinton and Democrats Hold Meetings With Iraq Panel NEXT GOP SENATE WHIP STILL UP IN THE AIR: With this morning's vote on the next Senate Minority Whip still nip-and-tuck, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday that he was using the last hours of campaigning to make sure Senators who already had committed to him were not switching to the insurgent campaign of Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.). "I'm spending almost all of my time on that," Alexander said of his efforts to reinforce support Senators lent him before Republicans lost control of the chamber last week. Alexander is set to square off against Lott this morning for the No. 2 GOP leadership slot, a position for which both Senators have been furiously campaigning in recent days. Republican Senators will convene in the Old Senate chambers to decide the outcome, along with cementing the rest of their leadership lineup for the 110th Congress. Roll Call: Lott, Alexander Battle to the End HOUSE GOPERS "INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED" WITH MINORITY LEADER CHOICES: House Republicans in search of someone to lead them out of the minority wilderness are growing increasingly frustrated with their choices in the leadership elections as Senate Democrats yesterday swiftly approved a slate of top leaders... Most insiders say Rep. John A. Boehner, the Ohio Republican and current majority leader, is favored to win the top spot, but Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana Republican, has been widely praised by conservatives off the Hill as a fresh face. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois has declined to run for the leader position. Some Republicans have expressed reluctance to return Mr. Boehner to leadership after last week's disastrous elections, and some are opposed to Mr. Pence for forging a compromise on immigration that critics dismissed as "amnesty." Washington Times: House GOP scrambles for leader MURTHA SAYS HE'S GETTING THE "SWIFT BOAT" TREATMENT: Rep. John Murtha, the anti-war congressman who is the likely new House speaker's pick for majority leader, fended off what he called "swift boat-style attacks" on his ethics record Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Democrat also blasted his rival for majority leader, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, for siding with President Bush on Iraq. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who as the House Democratic leader is in line to be the next speaker, has backed Murtha against Hoyer, who is currently the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives. Democrats are slated to vote Thursday on who will take the chamber's leadership posts when the Congress reconvenes in January. CNN: Murtha decries 'swift boat-style' attacks on ethics SCHUMER GETS "VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE CAUCUS" TITLE: Senate Democrats rewarded Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) yesterday for his success as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) by giving him a specially created leadership position. In return for the new title of vice chairman of the caucus, which ranks third among Democratic leaders, Schumer has agreed to serve another two years as chairman of the Senate Democratic fundraising committee. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) announced after a closed-door meeting of the Democratic caucus yesterday that Democrats had created the new position, which puts Schumer below only Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the incoming majority whip, and Reid, but means he outranks the Democratic conference secretary. The Hill: Schumer, the victor, wins new leadership position MARTINEZ PICK RILES SOME REPUBLICANS: President Bush's decision to back Sen. Mel Martinez to help lead the Republican Party, a move intended to appeal to disaffected Latino voters, drew sharp criticism Tuesday from some of the party's core conservatives, who disdain the Florida lawmaker's support for liberalized immigration laws. The decision to name the Cuban-born Martinez as Republican National Committee general chairman served as an acknowledgment that the GOP had lost ground among Latinos... Martinez supported legislation to create a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for many immigrants who are in this country illegally; Bush and many Latinos also backed versions of that plan. But the legislation that passed the Senate this year created a firestorm of opposition among conservative Republicans and much of the House GOP leadership, who derided it as amnesty for lawbreakers. Los Angeles Times: Conservatives wary of choice to lead RNC ABRAMOFF GOES TO PRISON FOR FL CASINO DEAL: After years of using expensive gifts, campaign donations and exotic trips to win access to the White House and Congress, Jack Abramoff's illegal dealings won him an open door from a final government agency Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Abramoff was to report to federal prison to begin serving a nearly six-year prison sentence for a fraudulent deal to buy a fleet of casino ships in Florida. He also is awaiting sentencing for corrupting government officials and their staff members... If it were up to the Justice Department, however, Abramoff wouldn't be heading to prison - at least not yet. He could hold the key to a sweeping corruption case involving Congress, members of the Bush administration and their aides, and prosecutors said putting their star witness behind bars would impede the investigation. AP via Yahoo! News: Lobbyist Abramoff to report to prison K STREET DEMS SUDDENLY VERY POPULAR: Republicans do not cede control of Congress for nearly two months, but money, power and influence are already beginning to change hands. The political economy, at least here in the capital, is humming for Democrats. Democratic lobbyists are fielding calls from pharmaceutical companies, the oil and gas industry and military companies, all of which had grown accustomed to patronizing Republicans, as the environment in Washington abruptly shifts... The Republican Party lost its grip on Congress and is now bracing to lose its hold over K Street, the bustling corridor that has become synonymous with the lobbying industry. The so-called K Street Project, an effort engineered by Republicans to dominate the trade, is unraveling, and Democrats say they intend to pass sweeping reforms rather than reverse the project for their benefit. New York Times: As Guard Changes in Congress, Lobbyists Scramble OHIO UNIVERSITY TO TAKE NEY'S NAME OFF BUILDING: First, Bob Ney lost his job as a congressman. Now, he's on his way to losing another classic political honor - having a building named after him. Ney, a six-term Republican from Ohio, will be sentenced Jan. 7 for his role in providing favors to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ohio University has begun the process of removing Ney's name from the Robert W. Ney Center for Health and Physical Education at its campus in St. Clairsville, near the West Virginia border. The building was named after Ney in 1997 because, as a state senator, he helped secure the $5.5 million in state funding to construct it. USA Today: University urged to take Ney's name off building HUCKABEE LASHES OUT AT REPORTERS OVER GIFT REGISTRY: Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday ripped news reporters for writing about gift registries in his and his wife's names for a housewarming party for their recently purchased halfmillion-dollar home in North Little Rock. The registries are on the Internet at Target and Dillard's Web sites under "weddings." It's the "Janet Huckabee and Michael Huckabee's Club Wedd Registry" at Target and "Welcome to the wedding registry of: Janet Huckabee and Michael Huckabee" at Dillard's. The governor accused news media of being "tools" for Arkansas Times Editor Max Brantley, who runs a blog that discussed the registries and who has been a longtime critic of Huckabee. Huckabee said the registries weren't any different from gift lists for a wedding shower or a baby shower. He said anyone, when told that the affair was put on by his wife's friends, should have no problem with the registries. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Huckabee on registry reportage: For shame DEMOCRAT WINS CT RECOUNT: The studious Democratic lawyer from Vernon appears to have clinched a win in the 2nd Congressional District. And it took only 168 hours and 49 minutes after the polls closed on election night to receive the news. A protracted recount in each of the district's 65 towns ended late Tuesday when the tiny Windham County town of Ashford concluded its review, and Joe Courtney learned he had knocked off three-term Republican incumbent Rob Simmons in what was probably the nation's tightest congressional contest. Courtney was in Washington at the Capitol Tuesday evening, seated in the elegant Hall of Statuary at a candlelight dinner, just steps from the grand rotunda. The dinner was hosted by Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is expected to be named House speaker. At 8:49 p.m., word filtered down from Ashford to Courtney's press secretary, Brian Farber, that the recount was over, and their guy had won. Hartford Courant: 'Landslide Joe?' FROM "ORLEANS" ROCKER TO FRESHMAN REP: For more than three decades, John Hall has occupied a very specific role in the soft-rock band Orleans: guitarist, songwriter, and insufferable policy wonk. Hall was the one who, faced with a roomful of fans, would "launch into dissertations about the statistics of how much plutonium was being produced," recalled the band's longtime bass player, Lance Hoppen, 53. The fans, he added, did not always share Hall's enthusiasm for the minutiae of energy policy. "It was like, 'All right, we get it,'" Hoppen said. Hall, 58, may have finally found his audience. He has spent the last two days in Washington with the rest of Congress' 2007 freshman class, learning House protocol and catching up on sleep. Last week, he pulled off one of the most dramatic political upsets in the country, defeating Sue W. Kelly, a six-term Republican incumbent, by 4,300 votes in New York's 19th Congressional District. Los Angeles Times: Rocking a GOP district's boat to the House CONGRESSWOMAN FOR A MONTH: Shelley Sekula-Gibbs was sworn in as a congresswoman on Monday night and already she's a lame duck. Because of a weird electoral quirk, her brief term in office expires next month... Tom "The Hammer" DeLay, the former House majority leader who was indicted on money-laundering charges, resigned from Congress last spring after winning the Republican primary. Last week, voters in DeLay's old district, the 22nd, got to cast two votes for Congress. The Texas voters elected Sekula-Gibbs to fill the remaining portion of DeLay's term -- but they elected Democrat Nick Lampson to succeed DeLay in the Congress that takes office in January, a race that Sekula-Gibbs had to run as a write-in candidate. Washington Post: Lame-Duck Texas Rep. Gets Down to Work Without DeLay |
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• Hagel to announce decision on presidential bid Monday• Does Tiger Woods have a political future? • AFL-CIO makes push to keep unions united behind one presidential candidate • Obama: "No place for politics" in voter intimidation • Muslim congressman talks up 'American values' in State Department outreach • Year of the 'smaller' Pig • Pataki joins law firm • Bush 'sad' about Libby's conviction • House Dems urge colleagues to fund a withdrawal from Iraq • Romney recruits from the Sunshine State ARCHIVE
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