GOP Leaders Warn Of Election Disaster

Politico: Sniping And Selfishness Decried As Wary Republicans Fear November Nosedive

(The Politico)  This story was written by John Bresnahan.

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Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money.

The double shot of bad news had one veteran Republican House member worrying aloud that the party’s electoral woes - brought into sharp focus by Woody Jenkins’ loss to Don Cazayoux in Louisiana on Saturday - have the House Republican Conference splitting apart in “everybody for himself” mode.

“There is an attitude that, ‘I better watch out for myself, because nobody else is going to do it,’” the member said. “There are all these different factions out there, everyone is sniping at each other, and we have no real plan. We have a lot of people fighting to be the captain of the lifeboat instead of everybody pulling together.”

In a piece published in Human Events, the Republicans’ onetime captain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, warned his old colleagues that they face “real disaster” on Election Day unless they move immediately to “chart a bold course of real reform” for the country.

And in a closed-door session at the Capitol, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told members that the NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to “save them” in November if they don’t raise enough money or run strong campaigns themselves.
Although a top House Republican brushed aside Gingrich’s broadside as “hype from a has-been who desperately wants to be a player but can’t anymore,” the harsh words from Cole were harder to ignore.

“It was a pretty stern line that he took with us,” said one House Republican.

Cole, on the defensive in the wake of special election losses in Louisiana and Illinois, pointed his finger Tuesday at his Republican colleagues, telling them that they had been too stingy in helping fund party efforts. He also complained that the Republicans ran weak candidates in both Louisiana and Illinois - a charge Cole made despite the fact that, as NRCC chairman, he could have played a major role in choosing the party’s candidates if he hadn’t made the decision to stay out of GOP primaries.

In his meeting with members, Cole distributed a document showing that even former Republican political guru Karl Rove had badmouthed Jenkins, according to GOP sources. It’s not clear whether Cole meant it as a criticism of Rove or of Jenkins.

But Cole’s overall message was clear, said members who sat through the meeting: “If you’re not out doing your own work, and you’re waiting for the NRCC to come in at the last minute and save you, it ain’t gonna happen.” That’s how one lawmaker characterized Cole’s talk, adding that the NRCC is “not going to have the resources” to help all members “and Democrats will have a lot more money.”

Republicans are suffering a crisis of confidence after the two special election losses. There’s talk that House Minority Leader John A. Boehner and other GOP leaders could be ousted if the party suffers double-digit losses in November.

Gingrich’s broadside did little to calm the GOP jitters.

While Gingrich softened his blow by circulating it privately to the GOP leadership on Monday - a day before it was publicly released - his language was still strong, and his message was seen as a broad attack on Boehner, Cole and the rest of the Republican leadership.

“The Republican loss in the special election for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District last Saturday should be a sharp wake-up call for Republicans,” Gingrich wrote. “Either congressional Republicans are going to chart a bold course of real change or they are going to suffer decisive losses this November.”
Gingrich said Republicans cannot rely on the popularity of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, to carry them to victory in November. And he warned that attacks on Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former pastor, could backfire.

“The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti-Rev. Wright or, if Sen. Clinton wins, anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail,” Gingrich said. “This model has already been tested with disastrous results.”

The NRCC ran TV ads tying Cazayoux to national Democratic figures in the Louisiana special election, only to see Democrats grab control of a House seat that had been in the GOP column for more than three decades.

Gingrich, who was pushed out as speaker following GOP losses in the 1998 midterm elections, advocated “an emergency, members-only” meeting of House Republicans in order to hash out a new reform agenda before Memorial Day. He also called for a “complete overhaul” of the NRCC.

Gingrich said that if the GOP leadership would not go along with his plan, “then the minority who are activists should establish a parallel organization dedicated to real change.” He offered nine policy proposals designed to achieve that goal, including repealing federal gas taxes, reforming the Census Bureau and declaring English as the official language of the United States.

Boehner tried to put the best face on Gingrich’s message. His spokesman, Michael Steel, said that Boehner “certainly agrees - and has said repeatedly - that Republicans can only succeed this year by being agents of change and reform.” Steel said Republicans have to convince voters that they can “fix” Washington and that, in the coming weeks, they will be “laying out Republican policies that embody the sort of changes we need.”

But there is no question that Gingrich has identified a nervous undercurrent among House Republicans that could morph into full-fledged panic if the GOP loses a special election next Tuesday in Mississippi. Republican Greg Davis is squaring off against Democrat Travis Childers for the House seat held by former Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who was appointed to the Senate to replace retired Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.).

With internal polls from both parties showing the race as a tossup, the GOP is putting on a full-court press. The White House has dispatched Vice President Cheney to Mississippi to campaign on Davis’ behalf. And Wicker, Lott, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will hold events for Davis this weekend and early next week, according to GOP sources.

House Republicans will hold a rally with President Bush on Wednesday morning, with all 199 members invited to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to show solidarity with the president, according to GOP sources.

[jack3213]

Democrats are Done. If they care at all about the American people they should both concede. Those who favor Clinton- when she finally quits- will vote for McCain. There is no way Obama will win the general. Common sense people..lets get on with it so McCain can get started on the changes we all want!

[dodaz-2009]

oh well,...

[missingamerica]

"We have a lot of people fighting to be the captain of the lifeboat instead of everybody pulling together."

I bet the Republicans miss "the good old days" when they all toed the Party line and screwed America together.

[jesse1115]

It is time for the democratic party to unify.

Negative statements from Clinton''s supporters that Obama can not win are incorrect, defeatist, and counterproductive for democrats. Obama has an amazing energetic campaign, a true vision for change, vast fund raising capabilities that empower small donors, youth, eloquence, charisma, popularity with independents, a record of integrity, the correct stance on issues, etc.

Clinton should be considered as a vice presidential option. Her supporters have earned that much for her. In that position she can continue to fight for them, a promise she has made often. I encourage her supporters to reach out to her and guide her into making the right decision. She should listen to you.

We can not afford four more years of GOP policy. McCain appears to be a decent man, but he no longer seems to know who he is, and his policies will be destructive. I believe that the American people know this.

Obama is the one to lead us.

[getcentered]

Newt Gingrich is one of the worst Americans..he IS the politics of division. Newt deserves a pie in the face.....F-newt..........F-Republicans......

Dems in 08 ....there is no debate.....

[truthyness]

Hillary Supporters....MUST SEE!!

YOU WON''T REGRET IT!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5W5jyPQ3_I


HILLARY''08

PASS IT ON!!!!

[enn1]

Republicans in trouble... you think.. after 8 years of profiling how not to run a government, deficits, cronyism, ineptitude and not a mission accomplished...you think ? It is time to come home and smell the stink of how you have neglected that oath of office / our constitution for 8 years. The worst parts about it , the saddest part, is that he is still in command, still the President, and does not know how to solve even the basic of problems affecting our country.

[libh8er]

I bet the Republicans miss "the good old days" when they all toed the Party line and screwed America together.
Posted by ibsteve2u at 12:16 PM : May 07, 2008

UBanImbecile2ME

[guy-fawkes08]

Anyone who votes for a Party instead of a candidate is either an idiot, or a traitor. On the other hand, anyone who votes Republican and is not a rich, White, amoral and unethical bigot is a fool.

[jasonmcj]

Wow, you Hitlary supporters are some sore losers. This article isn''t even about her..oh wait, yes it is...she is a Republican.

[jasonmcj]

Obama will bury McCain in the general. This isn''t you fathers election, old timers. You are on the losing side now.

[jasonmcj]

McCain policies are horrible. Why would anyone want more Republican rule?

[hifihifi-2009]

"House Republicans will hold a rally with President Bush on Wednesday morning, with all 199 members"

Fantastic! A photo-op for losers on the way out. If the Republicans need help, Bush is the last guy anyone should turn to. It''ll be interesting to see who avoids it like a plague.

[sonejones]

What does reforming the census bureau have to do with the countries ills? English is already the official language of the U.S..What is so telling here is that we have come full circle from Barack Obama''s statement about dissastisfaction leading people to a more conservative mind set (which is what he said) that we now see the rich and powerful exhibiting the same natural human tendecies as the "poor" when they feel threatened. The pyschosis of the white mind is quite frightening. Reality is the world is changing and as a minority race on the planet you need to come up with a more inclusive agenda and not the subtle race pandering that seems prevelant in the U.S. mindset and policies. No civilizations lasts forever. You can take it or let it alone.

[groginohio]

telling them that they had been too stingy in helping fund party efforts.

Is it possible, I mean at least slightly possible, that the Republicans have proven only too well that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem", especially when they''re at the controls?

258 days till the end of the Bush administration.

[elevando]

This presidential election just being a guise for a straight up popularity contest (just like all presidential elections), it is reasonable to say that McCain is in trouble against Obama. McCain needs to offer the country more direction, while showing his diplomatic skills on the world stage.

McCain could kill two birds with one stone by going on another diplomatic trip while the Dems iron out their differences. I would suggest that he visit some Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and China and talk about the US economy and their interdependance on the Asian economy.

[exaag]

The last thing this country needs is a Democrat Congress and a neo-soviet/socialist Obama. The last time we combined a democrat congress with a brainless liberal "outsider" was when Carter was in power. The result was a ruined economy (remember stagflation?) , a grossly underfunded and under-equipped military, gas lines, massive unemployment, a completely ineffective CIA, soviet expansion,and, of course, "malaise". The Democrats retook Congress two years ago, and have not kept a single promise. When the Democrats took over, the economy was booming and unemployment was under 5%. After two years of Democratic control of congress, the economy is in recession, there is no energy plan, and all the Dems can do is conduct investigations and enforce personal vendettas. Although no-one gifted with any measurable intelligence would ever vote Democrat, (most Dems are mental infants who need a nanny government to change their diapers and wipe their noses)the GOP cannot rely upon a sudden upsurge in voter intellect. The GOP gets lied about every night on the network news, and it is time the party started fighting back. Perhaps a solid defeat in November will rid the party of its dead-wood patricians and open the door to Republicans with values rather than country-club memberships.

[john8674]

I''ve been a republican for the better part of 17 years. You could see the decline of this when Pesident G.W. Bush selected *** Cheney for VP. Where was the vision in that? Cheney was never electable as a candidate. Secondly, our government was establish as for the people, by the people. When I think of the GOP, I see old, white men (not a true reflection of the great melting pot). There must be a sense that this party provides opportunity for leadership to those of various races and backgrounds and has an attitude of inclusiveness for this party to continue. We need to get rid of the dirty politics and just work on convincing our contituents that our plans are better for all.

[wmb57]

Other countries do have official languages, either by law or in practice. We are one of the few that spends as much on providing documents and translators for a variety of languages. It is to much of a burden on the tax payers. Beyond that the more diverse our population is in language the less we communicate together. Hardly a good way for a democracy to function.


he census is used to set districts for Representatives, and for setting some districts in States for States and local government. Further the census is used to provide statistics that are used by court cases in various affirmative action, EEOC, voting rights laws. In some cases a prison can make a district be considered mainly one race or ethnic group or another. In some cases undocumented can have the same effect, or can add extra representatives to a State. These statistics are then used to show that a district is not providing equal opportunity, when in fact equal opportunity may exist except in the case the law would not give them the right to vote anyhow.

Further the census has enough information that they were able to assist the federal government with targeting Arab-American areas after 9/11, as they have in the past with various groups.

The census needs to be changed and our rights need to be protected.

[austinang-2009]

"English is already the official language of the U.S."

No, it''s not. There is no official language in the U.S.

[meboard]

Gosh, my hart goes out to the RNC. Such bad things happening to such nice group of a-holes!

[hifihifi-2009]

"House Republicans will hold a rally with President Bush on Wednesday morning, with all 199 members"

Fantastic! A photo-op for losers on the way out. If the Republicans need help, Bush is the last guy anyone should be turning to. It''ll be interesting to see who avoids that like a plague.

[hotpaulie]

I can''t wait till november...republicans are going to get what they deserve!

[quetzalcrist]

G.O.P...
Should be Changed to D.O.A. come November,
im going to buy myself a piqata and celebrate the day after....

[homespunlady]

Saw this one coming well before the NEOCONS decided to skewer one of their own that had MORE SENSE than they had - Congressman Ron Paul. The irony is that even though he''s a REAL fiscal conservative and a defender of the CONSTITUTION rather than DESTROYING it as King George has tried to do - the anti-GOP emotions may even cause him more problems than HIS OWN PARTY has.
NEOCONS - the CANNIBALS of the political system.
Great job there CONS - destroyed the Republican Party more effectively FROM THE INSIDE than anybody or anything else could.

Sorta reminds me of that heartwarming moment when King George said "Heckuva JOB Brownie". BLECH!!!!

[fibonacci_]

We are witnessing the slow demise of power of the fundamentalist Christian brain right. A load of low IQ idiots who nonetheless are quite good at lobbying.

[ricknuber]

exaag:

"The last time we combined a democrat congress with a brainless liberal "outsider" was when Carter was in power. The result was a ruined economy (remember stagflation?) , a grossly underfunded and under-equipped military, gas lines, massive unemployment, a completely ineffective CIA, soviet expansion,and, of course, "malaise"."

So, tell us what the effects on our economy of an intellectually insipid Republican president and a rubber-stamp congress have been? It sounds exactly like what you just attributed to Democrats. You''re either willfully ignorant or just another partisan robot. We''re in more trouble after 7 years of Bush than we were after 4 of Carter. At least he successfully brokered a peace deal for Israel with Egypt, which has held up since.

[homespunlady]

Anybody else see the "coming out of the woodshed" speech King George gave this morning?

[scorpio59er]

By the time the elections roll around, we should be fully into The Great Depression II: America in the Wake of Dubya.

[homespunlady]

exxag - the bout of Stagflation during Carter''s term was due to the BILLS for the VIETNAM WAR coming due.

Carter inherited the mess from his predecessors and dealt with it like surgery - short drastic action that averted a long term malaise.

With the IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN/whoever ticks off the CONS next expenditures, and the gutlessness of our CURRENT crop of Politicians (on BOTH SIDES of the aisle); I would expect the SAME ECONOMIC MESS except THIS TIME when the BILLS COME DUE it''ll be BY FAR MUCH WORSE, hit sooner and take DECADES rather than a couple of uncomfortable years to work it''s way through to ANY kind of recovery!!!

What little economic cushion this nation built PRIOR to King George has BEEN SQUANDERED in a breathtakingly short span of time and then all the CONS can do is insist on SQUANDERING FASTER!!!

[emelder]

Newt is just watching out for Newt. You all better learn to get along with Barack ... cause he''s going to be the one leading America ... don''t panic ... it''s gonna happen and you all CAN work together to solve some of our most pressing problems. Stay out of it Newt ... you''re over!

[lvdragonlady-2009]

Well well well, the GOP has to come up with some kind of ''radical'' change plan....lol lol lol
After the damage shrubie has done, only the diehard GOP members would believe anything that they come up with....
And look - they are talking about ''change'' all of a sudden..........rofl lmao
Wonder where they got that idea??

[quetzalcrist]

GOP. the next great Evolutionary Extinction...

[trillion1]

When the GOP had complete control they had two choices. Help America or help themselves. The mess we''re in was awhile coming.

[the74blaster]

warned his old colleagues that they face %u201Creal disaster%u201D on Election Day unless they move immediately to %u201Cchart a bold course of real reform%u201D for the country.

Wow! Do they actually think we are going to believe them after the unwavering support of King George? They have an agenda that favors rebuilding Iraq and letting Americas middle class crumble.

The GOP is going to get the beating they deserve in November! My only question is will they be the second or third largest party in congress in 2009.

[Razzl]

Well, ol'' Newt has part of it right--the GOP is headed for the dustbin of history. But his prescriptions for how to head that off miss the mark--Republicans need to loudly distance themselves from Bush and make the case to their constituents that "I''m one of you, and this guy Bush is just an aberration who we''ll get over". Cheney shouldn''t be dispatched to fundraisers, he should be dispatched in the public square. The public isn''t going to respond to any Republican initiatives right now, the GOP just needs to get its surviving deck chairs distanced from Bush in the public mind.

Fortunately for us and unfortunately for them, the GOP guys in Congress are so clueless that they can''t possibly figure out what they''re doing wrong in time to fix it...

[prinzowhales]

The Republican problem started when they were exposed as lying b*stards under Reagan...but the party faithful refused to see the "vast right wing conspiracy" in which Republican leaders would pass off rhetoric for substance. After 12 years of utterly corrupt Republican rule, Americans installed a Democrat for 8 years of utterly corrupt Democratic misrule.

The Republicans would sing the song of freedom, small government, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense, responsible foreign policy with no entangling alliance and self-responsibility...but what they actually did was build up the state and serve the interests of a small coterie of plutocrats.

The leaders should resign and the party faithful should rent a clue.

[neobrian-2009]

The CONS Sold out the USA
Now,they have NO ONE to blame but Themselves
Power,Greed.Corruption !

[bgwinnett]

Bring defeat on I say, current GOP policies belong in the past. The party needs some "creative destruction" and this therefore could be a good election to lose.

[cfin5]

The two dem candidates are demopublicans, and the rep in the lead is a republicrat. What''s the diff? I''m sticking with Ron Paul even though he''ll probably lose. He''s the best American I''ve ever seen run for office and it will be my privilege to do my part to help my country out. But if he removes his name from the ballot, I will vote for Chuck Baldwin of the "CONSTITUTION PARTY" (constitutionparty.com) as I am a constitutionalist. I will not vote for a CFR candidate so they can take away my rights which would make me an accomplice to my own demise,.....yours too! They''ll do it with out my vote this time. No more "lesser of three evils" this time.

[jerr11]

Newt shouldn''t have to worry.

Knowing these neocons, they''ll come up with something in October.

Like a surprise guest appearance by Bin Laden.

If all elese fails, expect a replay of Ohio 04.

Karl Rove''s election motto:

If you can''t beat ''em, steal ''em!

[prinzowhales]

cfin5--Chuck Baldwin is a good choice...have they already had their convention? We had good news in the 4th congressional district of NC--Lawson won the primary...He is a Paulista. I''m going to wait for the Libertarian convention and the Greens...

There are a lot of honest, decent candidates out there on the left and right of the traditional spectrum--its quite refreshing to hear them. This would be a great election if Clinton, Obama and McSwine--Rockefeller''s three candidates--would just drop out.

[j-whitman]

By November the GOP''''s going to look like it got ran through a paper shredder --- It will just be a paper mache exihbt in a museum of old relics

[prinzowhales]

ttinsley--Bush has no legal ability to suspend the elections...if he does, it will be time to give him his just deserts...his ''Ceaucscu moment''...for he will have finally and irredeemably betrayed the Constitution and Republic.

[cfin5]

cfin5--Chuck Baldwin is a good choice...have they already had their convention? We had good news in the 4th congressional district of NC--Lawson won the primary...He is a Paulista. I''''m going to wait for the Libertarian convention and the Greens...

There are a lot of honest, decent candidates out there on the left and right of the traditional spectrum--its quite refreshing to hear them. This would be a great election if Clinton, Obama and McSwine--Rockefeller''''s three candidates--would just drop out.

Posted by Prinzowhales at 06:24 PM : May 07, 2008--------Yes. The Constitution Party has recently nominated Chuck Baldwin as their candidate. The best and fairest way to govern Americans of any faith, including atheists, is by doing what the Constitution and Bill of Rights says, not what some national party says it says. Isn''t the allegorical interpretations of the same why we are all at each others throats these days?.....I and many others just want to be Americans the way the Founding Fathers prescribed, not what a CFR member in the democratic or republican party "envisions" what we should be.

[veteran72]

"What kind of peace do we seek? Not a PAX Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children -- not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women -- not merely peace in our time but peace for all time."

John F. Kennedy (1963)

It''s hard to remember an intelligent person once occupied the White House. Someone that, while maybe not perfect, spoke of our Constitution and Rule of Law as if they mattered. When History looks back on these last 8 years, what will be written will be a Horrific Story of War Criminals, Mass Murderers, Torturers, and Subverters of the Constitution and Rule of Law, that held the Opinion of the Majority of Americans, as well as their Lives and Interests, in total Disregard and Disdain. What we wanted and Demanded from them was something they could not have cared less about.
The GOP should become the Pariah of American Governance, Perged COMPLETELY and TOTALLY from our culture. They deserve nothing less.

[tryhonesty]

Well said "veteran 72"! I could not agree more!

[wolfi101]

If the GOP had really wanted to stay in office, they should have listen a little more to the American people''s woes and concerns.

During the past eight years, our hopes have shrunk, our economy is faltering, and we are engaged in two separate wars, while our rights have diminished.

This was not the America I was born into. The GOP needs to take a vacation from government for awhile and rethink their political goals and ambitions. Maybe they can spend some time meeting a few of our injured veterans or foreclosure victims.

[tawpdawg11]

"GOP Leaders Warn Of Election Disaster"

Ya think?

McBush and the GOP are staring up into a growing tsunami bearing down on them.

Due to the extended race for the Democratic nomination, MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of new voters have registered and participated on the democrats side. Once the nom is settled, they will come together in a perfect storm that will set America back on a sane course. McBush may not win a single state. Who would vote for more of the Mcsame we"ve been put through?

Oh, and I would like to personally thank that great American, Rush Limbaugh, for his contribution in this growing tsunami via OPERATION BACKFIRE.

Perhaps a new moniker is in order, El Rushbo. How about LANDSLIDE LIMBAUGH! Yes.....it is PERFECT! .HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! .Single-handedly turns the general election into a ROUT! Good ol LANDSLIDE LIMBAUGH. Remember to be careful what you wish for, LANDSLIDE.

Thank you sir......with all that talent lent to you by GAWD-D it is now clear EXACTLY where God stands.

Dear God: Thank you for giving us LANDSLIDE LIMBAUGH. Amen.

LANDSLIDE LIMBAUGH...........................~


Short-sighted, simple-minded, arrogant, pompous OAF!

Leader of the GOP.........you GO Rush!

[jesterbelle]

Woody Jenkins%u2019 loss to Don Cazayoux in Louisiana on Saturday

I heard about this election.How the republicans spent a ******** of money trying to paint the guy with Obama,and Obamas'' pastor.It didn''t work,LOL!Thanks to George Bush,you could run a cigar store indian in any race against a republican,and it would win.ROTFLMAO!