2010 elections

Will The GOP Be Riven By Power Struggles Post Election?

Brian Beutler | October 29, 2010, 8:37AM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) with members of the GOP leadership

In the early days of the 111th Congress, many observers assumed that between repeated electoral defeats and an angry constituency, the existing guard of GOP leaders would not survive into the 112th -- that a power struggle would ensue and new top dogs would emerge. But in the days before the election, that doesn't appear to be the case. Over the course of the last two years, John Boehner has, against expectations, consolidated his power. And GOP sources say they expect a more or less ordinary transition if the Republicans win back the majority.

"The leadership races operate without the same pressure of external forces that normal campaigns and elections operate under," says a former GOP leadership aide. "Blog posts, articles, public profile with the media, etc., don't impact the folks voting in the conference on leadership the way they might in a normal election setting."

Translation: the right flank of the caucus, and conservative activists, might be clamoring for new blood, but this decision will be made transactionally, via secret ballot, and the current leadership team will likely survive.

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Young Guns

Meet The GOP's Young Bums: TPM Rounds Up The GOP's Worst Next Big Stars

Eric Lach | October 20, 2010, 11:41AM

Clockwise from top left: Blake Farenthold, Rich Iott, David Harmer, Allen West

Republicans promote their "Young Guns" Congressional candidates as "the best opportunity to move our country in the right direction." Founded in 2007 by Reps. Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan, the "Young Guns" program aims to recruit and promote "a new generation of conservative leaders." But before even getting to Congress, a number of this year's "Young Guns" and "Contenders" have found themselves fending off scandals, struggling to explain past actions and in one particular case, being outed as a ducky pajama enthusiast.

Let's review some of the most embattled "Young Guns."

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Republicans

Republicans Scrub Nazi-Impersonating House Candidate From Young Guns Website

Brian Beutler | October 9, 2010, 4:21PM

Rich Iott

That didn't take long.

We learned yesterday that the Republican running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) has the unique hobby of donning an SS costume to honor fallen Nazis. Until last night, the GOP included the candidate, Rich Iott, on a list of promising potential members called Contenders -- a notch below their so-called Young Guns. Now he's gone, without a trace.

You can get away with a lot in conservative politics these days, but it turns out spending your weekends dressed as a Nazi, celebrating the brave Waffen 5th SS Panzer Division is still a bridge too far.

Screengrabs of the cached version of the Young Guns site from October 3, and the site as it currently reads, appear below. Click on them to enlarge.

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Pledge To America

GOP Young Guns: Balance Budget With Cuts To Amtrak Sleeper Cars, Child Nutrition (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 7, 2010, 2:00PM

On the one hand, the GOP wants to extend the Bush tax cuts indefinitely, at a cost of $4 trillion over the next 10 years. On the other hand they hint at -- but ultimately shy away from -- Medicare or Social Security cuts, the biggest chunk of domestic federal spending. Then on the third hand, they say they want to balance the budget.

As we've pointed out, the broad non-specific cuts they do propose would necessitate slashing federal spending on schools, cops, and medical research. But on PBS last night, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), a Young Gun leader, and rising star in the GOP, laid out some budget items.

"Anybody who rides a first class ticket on Amtrak...when you buy that sleeper car, the tax payer spends $364 subsidizing your ticket, so you can have your bed drawn down," McCarthy said, proposing to save much less than one percent of the federal budget by skimping on high-end train service.

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