2012 fundraising: Congressional races get more attention from GOP

No matter what any Republican thinks of the Presidential candidates, they need to be put aside the idea that they can stay home and not vote because they are mad.  Every last Republican needs to get out to support our Senate and House candidates.  If the trend continues for Obama like it has for a few weeks, we are going to need the House and Senate even more if Obama wins a second term.  That will be the firewall because who knows what he would do not facing election.  We hope that he would get even lazier.

Many Republicans share a renewed recognition, however, that the House is likely to be their party’s strongest bulwark against another four years of Democratic rule in the executive branch. If Obama continues to look more formidable as the economy improves, the party has to ensure that it doesn’t risk a shut-out by placing too much emphasis at the top of the ticket.

Those words on Politico are so true.  Republicans cannot afford to spend all their energy on the Presidential race which has so little enthusiasm for the front runner as evidenced in exit polling and how close most state races are for Romney.  There is no way to sugar coat it that conservatives have not warmed up to Romney and a good portion never will.  


Because of that lack of enthusiasm at the Presidential level after one nasty campaign thanks to Romney and his Super PAC, Republicans need to get the donors and the grassroots working in the House and Senate campaigns.  It is so vitally important that Republicans maintain control of the House in fairly large numbers and work as hard as we can to Take the Senate.  It is doable but we have to make sure that the Presidential campaign doesn't soak up all the funding and dampen enthusiasm even more.  After all the negative campaign commercials I have witnessed in my state which doesn't compare to FL or OH, I have no enthusiasm for the Presidential race and all the shenanigans that have been pulled on behalf of Romney.  


You need look no further for a prime example than look at Virginia where Republican voters stayed home in huge numbers after that debacle -- Governor McDonnell and his desire to help Romney win IMHO blew it big time.  Now it is time to get Republicans energized for George Allen for Senator.  He should have been our nominee in 2008 IMO but was taken out in the Senate general election with dirty tricks and voter fraud.  


All this negative advertising ($12.5 spent by Romney on negatives ads in Ohio) is not helping the Republican brand.  In fact, this primary is turning into epic fail with different rules for one state like Oklahoma compared to Florida.  The absolute disgust I feel about this orchestrated primary by the RNC for Romney is not going to get in the way of my enthusiasm to win back the Senate and keep our conservative House seats we won in 2010.  


Campaign ads are off my radio and TV so I am extremely happy today.  I just want other states to follow the same rules for proportioning delegates that Oklahoma is facing.  You would think the RNC would have all the states on the same page.  


I am so glad that RNC is not running the National Republican Congressional Committee or the National Republican Senatorial Committee or our chances of winning there might not be as good.  Cong Pete Sessions (R-TX) along with the Young Guns Program headed by Cong Eric Cantor (R-VA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) did a great job in 2010 in taking back the House.  They already have named some of the candidates who have gained Young Gun status which will be highlighted on here in the next few days.


The grassroots can make it happen in 2012 so don't let this nasty primary get to you -- just ignore it and move over to your House and Senate races.  They need and appreciate the help of the Republican grassroots who make up a good portion of the state/county tea parties in some states.

2012 fundraising: Congressional races get more attention from GOP

By ALEXANDER BURNS and MAGGIE HABERMAN | 3/6/12 5:13 AM EST

Republican fundraisers and strategists alarmed at the course of the 2012 presidential campaign are increasingly focusing their attention on congressional races, as the party’s chances of unseating President Barack Obama appear to grow more remote. 

Thanks to a long, damaging nomination fight and shifts in the Senate landscape, top Republican donors are becoming more concerned about their ability to hold seats in the House and recapture the majority in the upper chamber. 

Gone is the triumphalist thinking of a year ago, which imagined the GOP extending its 2010 wave and easily installing a Republican president. Even among Republicans who believe that remains possible, few think it is likely — or easy to achieve. Conservative commentator George Will gave voice to these concerns in his Sunday column when he urged his party to retrench and shore up congressional candidates. 

Leading Republicans are now pondering how best to head off a successful Obama reelection campaign that keeps the Senate in Democratic hands and allows the president’s party to gain ground in the House. 

“There’s little doubt that there is increasing focus on the House and Senate, given the fact that if you look back a year ago, I think most Republicans and most business people said, ‘We’re going to beat Obama because he’s going to beat himself and we just need a decent candidate,’” said Tom Bell, a top Republican donor and former Chamber of Commerce chairman. 

Bell, a Mitt Romney bundler who lobbied Mitch Daniels last year to run for president, said a “long primary cycle and all the debates” had been a reality check on GOP exuberance. 

“It’s pretty obvious that there is a significant portion of conservative voters who aren’t completely comfortable with Mitt,” Bell said. “If the presidential contest is going to be very close … We’d better make sure that we’ve got the House and in a perfect world we’d get the Senate too.” 

 Excerpt:  Read More at Politico

Congress Cuts Its Budget, Takes First Step to Repeal Job-Killing Health Care Law, & More

We will be bringing you the weekly emails from the Speaker of the House John Boehner as the Republicans are now officially in the majority in the House after being sworn in on Wednesday. This is a great idea so that everyone can be kept in the loop on what is happening in the House instead of relying on some members of the media.

Email from Speaker of the House John Boehner:

Congress Cuts Its Budget, Takes First Step to Repeal Job-Killing Health Care Law, & More

January 7, 2011 | Speaker Boehner Press Office | Permalink

Welcome to the first weekly email from the office of the new Speaker of the United States House of Representatives: John Boehner. The 112th Congress opened for business this week, and lawmakers moved quickly to enact reforms aimed at making it easier to cut government spending and remove barriers to job creation. Here’s what was happening in the House this week:

Taking the First Steps Towards Repealing the Job-Killing Health care Law

The new majority took the first steps toward repealing the job-killing health care law. If fully implemented, ObamaCare would destroy more than 1.6 million jobs, cost taxpayers more than $2.3 trillion, and add more than $700 billion to the deficit.

Several House leaders and committee chairmen released a report on the heath care law that passed last year over the objections of the American people. Entitled ObamaCare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Health Care Law, it outlines the impact the new law is having on American jobs and our national budget. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Cutting Spending & Changing the Way Congress Works

The House adopted new reforms that make Congress more open and accountable, and make it easier to cut spending. For example, all bills will now be posted online at least three days before a vote. And any proposed spending increases must be offset by spending cuts – not tax hikes.

A coalition of reform-minded groups, including Americans for Tax Reform, praised the reforms as important tools for cutting government spending.

The House cut $35 million from its budget, keeping a promise made in the Pledge to America.

Lawmakers read the U.S Constitution aloud on the House floor for the first time in history.

Also This Week: Boehner Elected Speaker, 112th Congress Sworn-In

Boehner delivered his opening remarks in which he said, “The people voted to end business as usual, and today we begin carrying out their instructions.” [VIDEO]

We posted video of Boehner’s reunion with 10 of his 11 brothers and sisters at Andy’s Café – the tavern in southwest Ohio where he worked for his father, mopping floors and waiting tables. [VIDEO]

House Republicans broadcast the opening session of the 112th Congress live on Facebook – another first.

These emails will be changing in the weeks and months ahead to make them easier to read and use, so please don’t hesitate to contact us here if you have ideas on how we can improve them. Thank you in advance.

- Speaker Boehner’s Press Office