Boehner Rubs His Crystal Balls

From The Hill:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is backing off his bold prediction that Republicans will gain seats this November.

A confident Boehner told reporters in April that once voters heard the Republican message, the GOP would put on a strong showing in the fall.

“I think we are going to gain seats this year. Period,” he said at the time.

Six weeks and three special-election losses later, a spokesman for Boehner attempted to tamp down expectations.

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Party Animals

From The Hill:

The Republican Party is making a concerted effort to get real after Tuesday’s crushing special-election loss in Mississippi, but the challenge will be agreeing on how to move forward with a new agenda.

The GOP is in a state of upheaval after Democrat Travis Childers’s stunning 54-46 runoff win over Republican Greg Davis in a very conservative district, and it immediately stopped trying to mask that fact after Tuesday’s result was clear.

But despite the stiff dose of reality — and House GOP Leader John Boehner’s (Ohio) Tuesday suggestion that sizable changes could be on the way at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) — little changed immediately Wednesday as Republicans moved past what they hope will be their last competitive special election before November.

…snip…

[NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.)] said the GOP’s recent special-election problems have more to do with a deficiency in the party’s message and a loss of confidence in its ability to deliver.

Ummmm, I think that people got the party’s message loud and clear from these guys….

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PAC of Thieves or Thief of PACs?

From Congressional Quarterly:

The man at the center of a burgeoning fiscal scandal involving the National Republican Congressional Committee served as treasurer for dozens of political fundraising committees, and lawmakers are quickly distancing themselves from him.

At least 10 members of Congress have dropped Christopher J. Ward as treasurer of their re-election campaigns or political action committees.

In front, left to right: Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Senator John Ensign (R-NV)
In back, left to right: Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY), and Rep. James T. Walsh (R-NY)
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Ain’t This Rich?

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 — Confronting an enormous fund-raising gap with Democrats, Republican Party officials are aggressively recruiting wealthy candidates who can spend large sums of their own money to finance their Congressional races, party officials say.

At this point, strategists for the National Republican Congressional Committee have enlisted wealthy candidates to run in at least a dozen competitive Congressional districts nationwide, particularly those where Democrats are finishing their first term and are thus considered most vulnerable. They say more are on the way.

My secret source gave me a photo of some of the possible Republican candidates for the next election cycle.