August 2008 Archives

(H/T: Mark Tapscott, Editorial Page Editor for The Washington Examiner)

The Tuscaloosa News, just posted an article based on a recent speech Trent Lott gave at the local Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. During the speech, Lott said he knew in his heart earmarks were wrong. He also acknowledge that Republicans, who feasted on the orgy of congressional pork, are now paying the price.

Here are the key paragraphs:

Lott was known as one of the "Princes of Pork" while he was in Congress for his ability to bring home the bacon to Mississippi and he said that also caused some friction with McCain.

"John used to harass me because I would get earmarks -- or pork barrel projects -- in Mississippi," he said. "And I would say, 'Well, yes, John, I'm a senator from Mississippi and we're the poorest state in the nation.'

"But we're not anymore, that pork paid off."

Then Lott made a couple of admissions I found startling.

"But you know what, in my heart I knew he was right," he said of his pork barrel ways. That's no way to do business, we shouldn't be doing all that earmarking -- it got completely out of control.

"It got out of control with Republicans and that's why we are being punished a little bit," he added. "Because we forgot how we got there, what we believed in, the principles that after 30 years put us in the majority, gave us the White House, the congress, the senate, the house. And then we ran out of ideas...

"But that was an aberration, that's not who we really are."

It is, however, an aberration from which Democrats across the nation, from the top of the ticket on down, are counting to make hay this election cycle.

Read the full article here.

Earlier this week, Red County contributor Media Lizzy interviewed Congressman Eric Cantor for her BlogTalkRadio show, Heading Right.

FROM LIZZY:

Guerrilla House or Great Leadership? Yesterday, Members of the US House GOP defied Speaker Nancy Pelosi - even after she turned the lights off while Chief Deputy (Minority) Whip Eric Cantor, R-VA, was speaking. Congressman Cantor called in to discuss the Economic Crisis in America - and the American Energy Plan.

By Clare Venegas

Pork-lovers beware: Rep. Jeff Flake is watching.

Should a fellow Congressman decide to slip an earmark into a spending bill, Rep. Flake might call them to the floor to publicly defend it during "The Flake Hour," the time after every spending bill that Flake calls on earmark sponsors to justify the waste of taxpayer dollars.

Or they might find their pet project the subject of Flake's Friday email blast for the "egregious earmark of the week," which always concludes with a humorous quotation. Case in point: Flake said, of a $13.4 million earmark compensating Suffolk County, Massachusetts fishermen for "economic losses" from "fishing limitations": "Give a man an earmark and you have fed him for today."

He and Rep. John Campbell (CA-48) have led the way speaking out against Democrat Charlie Rangel's nearly $3 million earmark to build his "Monument to Me" on the City College of New York campus.

Flake's courageously public fight against earmarks apparently angered his colleagues so much that he was pulled from the Judiciary Committee in 2007 for "bad behavior." One source said the decision was influenced by Appropriations Committee members who resented Flake's outspoken opposition to earmarks. If speaking out against earmarks is "bad behavior," then Republicans everywhere should call their congressmen to behave even worse.

In January, Flake wrote a letter to House Republican Leader Rep. John Boehner requesting to be assigned to one of 29 Republican seats on the Appropriations Committee. Flake asks the simple question, "Wouldn't it make sense to have at least one Republican member of the Appropriations committee who doesn't earmark?"

Boehner should answer with a resounding YES. But if he and other Republican leaders ignore reform-minded members like Flake, then it's time to change leadership and Flake's name should be on the short list.

We Republicans are really at a crossroads. When the big money folks start openly advocating that we "set aside ideology and focus on finding good, electable candidates" we are in serious trouble. Isn't the entire point of the party system to identify qualified individuals who are willing to aggressively advocate on behalf of one value system who then compete against those who represent another value system?

This was just posted over on the Total Buzz blog by Martin Wiskol:

OC Group Trying to Reverse GOP's California Fortunes

Former state GOP Chairman Duf Sundheim leaned on several big-money guys in OC to launch "California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow." The group plans to set aside ideology and focus on finding good, electable candidates for statewide office. One name that has come up for governor: Meg Whitman, former chief executive officer of eBay. After all, the GOP has won just four of the 24 statewide races held since 1998.

Read the complete story on the Sundheim's group, whose Orange County members include George Argyros, William Lyon, Michael Hayde, and Larry Dodge.

Here is the corresponding newspaper article written by Martin Wisckol and his associate Ronald Campbell:

Local GOP donors at core of new party strategy
Wealthy Republicans set aside ideology and focus on finding candidates who can win.
By MARTIN WISCKOL and RONALD CAMPBELL
The Orange County Register

When former state GOP Chairman Duf Sundheim decided to launch an unusual plan to get Republicans elected in California, he turned to big money men in Orange County.

He rallied together nine donors at $100,000 each. Six are from Orange County, including the New Majority political action committee and four of the New Majority's key members.

Why did the Palo Alto lawyer lean so heavily on the Orange County-based New Majority?

"They tend to see things as they are and say, 'Why not try something different,' " said Sundheim, chairman of the state party from 2003 to 2007. "They are creative and they get things done."

Exhibit No. 1 might be Arnold Schwarzenegger. The New Majority lent critical early backing to Schwarzenegger's campaign. Despite criticism from grassroots Republicans that the new governor was not a GOP purist, Sundheim stuck by Schwarzenegger throughout his term as state chairman.

But Schwarzenegger was a rare win for Republicans in this heavily blue state.

The GOP has won just four of the 24 statewide elections since 1998. Sundheim said the genesis of his new group came in October 2006, when he was trying to raise money for lieutenant governor candidate Tom McClintock and secretary of state candidate Bruce McPherson. He says surprisingly few potential donors even knew the two were running. Both lost.

"In the future, I want to make sure people like this have the money and resources to get the ball over the line," said Sundheim, who started organizing the group last year.

Sundheim emphasized that the group - California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow or CRAFT - does not have an ideological agenda other than to elect Republicans.

The New Majority is natural fit for such an effort. The group has focused on being a voice of moderation in the party, emphasizing diversity and practicality. It downplays social issues like abortion and gun-control, which can energize the GOP base but scare off middle-of-the road voters.

Sundheim said his group will not be making donations to candidates, nor will it be running independent expenditure campaigns. Rather, it will be talking to potential candidates, and encouraging those it thinks have a chance. It will pay for surveys and focus groups. It will make sure potential candidates know where to turn for help in terms of consultants and fundraisers. It will sponsor candidate seminars, and take other steps to make sure strong candidates know what they're doing.

Read the rest of the story over at the Orange County Register, here.