Abortion

'Dear Doctor Governor ... ': Women Protest On GOP Govs' Facebook Walls

Pema Levy | March 21, 2012, 12:07PM

Bob McDonnell

As Republican-led states take on anti-abortion legislation, women frustrated with the laws are voicing their anger in a very public way: on their governors' Facebook pages. Some comments are earnest, but many seize on the notion that the measures suggest men know what's best for women's health.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a mandatory ultrasound law this month that is proving unpopular even after some of its more extreme provisions were removed. McDonnell is probably getting a good sense of that unpopularity from his Facebook wall, where women are taking issue with his supposed expert knowledge of women's health.

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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.

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PA-SEN

Poll: Toomey Leads By 4 In PA-SEN

Marc Kilstein | September 20, 2010, 11:06AM

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) and former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA)

The Times Leader is out with a new Pennsylvania statewide poll and things appear to be looking up for the state's Democratic nominees. In the race for Senate, Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak trails Republican former Rep. Pat Toomey by four points, 40%-36%. In the state's gubernatorial race, Democratic nominee Dan Onorato finds himself down only one point, 38%-37%, to Republican State Attorney General Tom Corbett.

These findings show each race as tight as they've been in recent months' polling. Since this is the first poll conducted for The Times Leader, there are no polling results for direct comparison. A September 13 Rasmussen poll found Toomey up 49%-41% in the Senate race, and an earlier September 11 Fox News poll gave the Republican nominee a 47%-41% advantage over Sestak. The September 13 Rasmussen poll also showed Corbett up double-digits on Onorato, 49%-39%, while the Fox poll produced an equivalent 10-point lead for the Republican, 50%-40%.

The TPM Poll Average for both races still show the Republican nominees comfortably ahead-- in the Senate race, Toomey leads 46.6%-39.8%, while Corbett finds himself on top of the gubernatorial race, 47.3%-37.6%.

The margin of error for the latest survey is ±4.0 percentage points.

For the latest on the closely-watched Senate race, check out TPMDC's full coverage here.

Rand Paul

Republicans To Unemployed: Why Won't You All Just Get Some Jobs Already?

Jillian Rayfield | July 14, 2010, 8:30AM

Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul (R), Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and an unemployment line in the 1930s.

Jim Bunning and Tom Coburn blocked the extension of unemployment benefits. Jon Kyl called supporting the unemployed a "necessary evil." There's even been talk from one Republican that Congress is creating a nation of "hobos."

So here's TPM's round-up of Republicans hating on the jobless for...well, for being jobless.

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Health care lawsuits

Getting Wacky Out There -- Health Care Lawsuits Spark Calls For Impeachment And Twitter Throwdowns

Christina Bellantoni | April 1, 2010, 10:58AM

Clockwise: Michigan AG Mike Cox (R), Georgia AG Thurbert Baker (D), South Carolina AG Andre Bauer (R), Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) and Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli (R)

Passing health care reform may have sometimes seemed like a circus. The shenanigans surrounding lawsuits attempting to declare it unconstitutional are starting to look like the sideshow.

Lawsuits are popping up in 15 states, dividing top officials and creating confusion among citizens who want to know how their Medicaid may change. But they also have thrust attorneys general seeking higher office and national notoriety into the spotlight. There have been calls for a Constitutional convention, impeachment and even Twitter throwdowns.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox (R) tweeted last night that Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) was wrong that he was backing down from the lawsuit.

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Health Care

GOP Hopefuls Use Health Care Repeal -- And Court Challenges -- To Establish Conservative Cred

Eric Kleefeld | March 25, 2010, 10:18AM

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-M), Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

We can add a new item to the list of Republican litmus tests that has included taxes, abortion, guns and gays: How staunchly do you support repeal of health care reform? If you're a Republican seeking higher office, this is indeed an important question.

It has become clear that the stronger somebody opposes the health care bill, the better one's chances are for political advancement as a Republican. The GOP leadership has thus far adopted "repeal and replace" as their mantra, which will likely be the standard line throughout the election. (Just how much of it would be repealed, and what would replace it, is still not quite so clear.) In addition, challenging its very constitutionality is another way to burnish one's conservative credentials with the party's base even more.

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Jim Gerlach

GOP Rep. Gerlach Quits PA-GOV Race, Could Potentially Save Party From Open-Seat Problem

Eric Kleefeld | January 7, 2010, 7:01PM

Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA)

House Republicans may have gotten some good news today, with Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Gerlach dropping out of the gubernatorial race -- and possibly saving the party from dealing with a highly vulnerable open seat.

Gerlach had been badly trailing state Attorney General Tom Corbett in all the polls for the Republican nomination. Gerlach's district is a blue district that voted 58%-41% for Barack Obama in 2008, and 51%-48% for John Kerry in 2004. Gerlach himself has had close races throughout his time in Congress -- his best result was winning 52.1% of the vote in 2008 -- but if Gerlach runs again it would intuitively seem to be better for Republicans than dealing with an open blue seat.

It is not immediately clear whether Gerlach will actually run for another term, which would shut down the campaigns of the four local Republicans who had already been running. But a GOP source expressed some optimism to us: "If Jim Gerlach gets in, he'll hold the seat."