Occupy Wall Street

Republicans Learn How To Spin Occupy Wall Street

Igor Bobic | December 1, 2011, 10:09AM

Yahoo News' Chris Moody knocks it out of the ball park with his latest report from Orlando, Florida, where the Republican Governors Association met with top GOP message-man-turned-Yoda Frank Luntz. The crux of their meeting? Learning how to wiggle out of uncomfortable moments whenever questioned about the politically inconvenient Occupy Wall Street movement.

Staring down a crazed youth angry about inequality? Don't panic, says Luntz. Instead, follow this handy-dandy guide guaranteed to help pacify your subject, explain that things actually aren't all that bad, and that Republican policies can make it better.

Read more »

Hypocrisy

Republican Governors Quietly Accept Federal Dollars -- While Attacking Federal Spending

Brian Beutler | April 20, 2011, 9:17AM

Govs. Rick Perry, John Kasich (R-OH), Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Tom Corbett (R-PA)

Republican governors stormed into state houses this January after campaigning against federal spending, and various so-called state bailouts. They won in part by painting a slanted picture of fiscal mismanagement by their Democratic predecessors.

That rhetoric -- and the rhetoric of their more senior Republican peers -- continues to this day, and occasionally translates into genuinely puzzling acts of malgovernance. Florida Governor Rick Scott, for example, turned down $2.4 billion in federal funds to build a high-speed rail line from Orlando to Tampa.

But in other ways, their failure to publicly embrace additional federal commitments during tough economic times has left them behind the eight ball, politically. As the costs to their states of providing needed social services has risen, and their revenue has fallen, they're looking for sub rosa ways to take the money without catching flak from their bases.

Read more »

2012 elections

Report: Rick Perry To Head Up Republican Governors Association

Eric Kleefeld | November 12, 2010, 3:56PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), who just won re-election, is set to take the leadership of the Republican Governors Association, the campaign group tasked with helping to elect GOP governors across the country, Politico reports:

Perry recently released a book taking aim at the federal government and both the subject of the tome, "Fed Up!," and his promotion of it have increased speculation that he's eyeing a presidential bid.

But his appointment to helm the RGA heading into 2011 - when three states will hold governors' races - amounts to the first concrete evidence that the Texan is serious when he says he has no interest in pursuing the White House. It would be nearly impossible to raise money for the committee and help direct the gubernatorial contests in Louisiana, Mississippi and Kentucky while simultaneously running for president.

There is possibly an even more important question here. By taking part in a truly national organization to strengthen the Republican Party across the whole country, does this mean Perry has truly given up on secession?

Read more »

2012 elections

Report: GOPers Begging Haley Barbour Not To Run For President

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 14, 2010, 8:57AM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

Faced with the prospect of squaring off in 2012 against the first African American president, some Republicans are begging the Governor of Mississippi to stay out of the running. According to Politico's Mike Allen, "a handful of well-known Republicans" will reach out to Gov. Haley Barbour (R) and "urge him, for the good of his party, to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee rather than the party's nomination for president, as he currently plans."

Barbour, who is currently head of the Republican Governors Association -- the "largest pot of party money" on the GOP side, as Allen reports -- will be tempted away from a run at Obama with two tasty plums. First, the argument "that he could make an immediate impact on his party at a critical juncture." Second? "Barbour would get a plum job like ambassador to London" if the Republicans win in 2012.

Barbour, of course, has already served as RNC chair once. He ran the party's headquarters in Washington from 1993-1997. Despite the fact that Bill Clinton was in the White House, the years are remembered fondly by Republicans thanks to the 1994 GOP midterm elections sweep. In comparison to the RNC of today, the era is nothing but salad days for Republicans. Current RNC chair Michael Steele has become something of a laughingstock for political observers, and his tenure has not produced the same kind of fundraising results Barbour brought to the RGA after taking over for avid hiker/South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

Read more »

News Corporation

Murdoch's News Corp. Donates $1 Million To Republican Governors Association

Eric Kleefeld | August 17, 2010, 12:14PM

News Corporation, the Rupert Murdoch media empire that serves as the parent corporation of Fox News and other properties, is now throwing its monetary weight around in politics with a big contribution to the Republican Governors Association.

As Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports, News Corporation donated $1 million to the RGA, which is able to take in unlimited corporate contributions.

This is, of course, in addition to the massive in-kind contributions that the company makes to the GOP on a daily basis.

(Via the Huffington Post.)

Read more »

CO-GOV

McInnis Vows To Stay In CO-GOV Race: 'I Am In It To Win It'

Jillian Rayfield | July 15, 2010, 4:27PM

CO-GOV candidate Scott McInnis (R)

Despite rumors that the Colorado state GOP was preparing for the possibility of Scott McInnis dropping out of the race following a plagiarism scandal, the gubernatorial candidate wrote on his Facebook page today that he is "in it to win it" and will stay in the race.

Read more »

Republican Governors Association

Republican Governors Association Has Biggest Fundraising Quarter Ever

Eric Kleefeld | July 1, 2010, 9:47AM

Haley Barbour

The Republican Governors Association has announced a very strong fundraising quarter, taking in $19 million from April through June -- their largest fundraising quarter ever -- with $40 million in cash on hand for this year's statehouse races.

From the RGA's press release: "The RGA's previous largest fundraising quarter occurred in the 4th quarter of 2009, when it raised $11.9 million. This quarter RGA raised $18.9 million. The RGA's former mid-year fundraising record was $15.1 million. RGA is at $28 million this year - almost double the earlier record. In 2006, the last comparable election year, the RGA raised $28 million for the entire year." (Emphasis in the original.)

Keep in mind that governorships covering a huge majority of the country's population are up for election this year, in addition to the high-profile races for Congress. And this year's gubernatorial races are even more important than they were four years ago, for a simple reason -- the governors elected this year will play a direct role in the redistricting that will come after this year's Census.