Josh Kraushaar reports that Republican Rep. Zach Wamp (Tennessee-3) will not run for re-election in 2010 for his House seat but will instead run for Governor.  Former Senator Bill Frist, who was seen as a possible candidate, has already announced that he will not seek the Republican nomination for Governor of Tennessee in 2010.

Wamp has an 85% rating from the National Right to Life for the 110th Congress and a 92% Lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union.

Kraushaar speculates that Wamp’s seat should be easy for Republicans to hold on to since it is a heavy Republican district.

My two cents: Rep. Wamp seems like a fine choice for Governor of Tennessee.  His election wouldn’t send me into ecstasy, but it would certainly be an improvement for the people of Tennessee over current Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen.

Democratic Senator Dirty Harry Reid (Nevada) has a mess on his hands.  Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is close to naming someone to fill President-Elect Obama’s Senate seat.  The man is former Illinois Attorney General and Comptroller Roland Burris.  Dirty Harry has already claimed that Burris will not be seated by the US Senate but I would like to wonder out-loud how the African-American community will feel about Dirty Harry refusing to seat the man who would become the only current African American Senator?  

Special thanks goes to the Illinois Democratic legislature who refused to avoid this mess by having a simple special election to fill the seat.  When will the good people of Illinois wake up and realize that Democrats are a plague on their house?

This can end up two different ways both of which can greatly benefit Republicans.  Dirty Harry can refuse to sit the man who would become the only current serving African American Senator in the US Senate and leave himself down one Democratic vote for the near future as well run the risk of upsetting the African American community.  Or Dirty Harry can sit Burris and give the Republicans a minimum of two years of Corrupt Democratic Congress propoganda, as well as a nasty 2010 Illinois Democratic Primary and a good chance of a Republican pick-up of the seat in the general election.

Democrat Paul Carmouche has conceded to Republican Representative-Elect John Flemming.  Flemming will take over the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Jim McCrery (Louisiana-4).  Flemming held a strong Republican district by 350 votes.  Hopefully that margin will increase as Flemming begins to run as an incumbent.  I, for one, would like to congratulate John Flemming on his victory.  He is a solid Pro-Life vote.  Also…thank you Paul Carmouche for accepting defeat and not pushing for a costly recount.

From the diaries by Erick

J. Taylor Rushing is reporting today that Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) is going to seek to slow down the pace that is being set for the Eric Holder (President-elect Obama’s pick for Attorney General) confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he is the Ranking Minority Member.  He has called Democrat Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (Vermont) pace “not realistic”.  Specter notes Holder’s involment in the pardon of Marc Rich as being a concern.  Specter has not said that he would oppose Holder’s nomination, but he does want more time alloted for the hearings.

Rushing writes that some Republican Senators are privately expressing concern that Leahy might be rushing Holder through the confirmation process.

My two cents: I hope Specter gives Leahy hell and grills Holder on the Rich pardon.

As has been widely reported on Redstate state today Republican Rep. Don Young (Alaska) has stepped down as Ranking Minority Member of the House Natural Resources Committee.  This does not come as a huge shock for it was reported on Redstate yesterday that Republican Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (Ohio-8) was going to try and force him from the post. 

Republican Rep. David Camp (Michigan-4) won the GOP Conference’s endorsement over Republican Rep. Wally Herger (California-2) for Ranking Minority Member of the House Ways and Means Committee.  This was not a shock, but Herger did have senority over Camp.  Look for Rep. Camp’s name in the news with the gavel of that committee belonging to ethical challenged Democrat Rep. Charlie Rangel (New York-15).

Republican Rep. John McHugh (New York-23) will take over as Ranking Minority Member of the House Armed Services Committe.  He beat out Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Maryland-6) and Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry (Texas-13).  This was not a shock either for McHugh has senority over both Bartlett and Thornberry.

Democrat Rep. Edolphus Towns (New York-10) will take over as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  He will succeed Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman (California-30) who recently took over the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Jared Allen speculates that Towns was not who Democratic House Leadership wanted for the gavel, but Towns did a great job of whipping his support and didn’t leave much room for anyone to challenge him.

My two cents: I am thrilled Young gave up the top spot on Natural Resources.  I was hoping Herger and Thornberry would win their races but oh well.  Finally, I’m not sure why Democratic Leadership didn’t want Towns, but hopefully that will blow up in the Democratic Caucus.

Michael O’Brien speculates that we may have not seen the last of retiring Republican Rep. Vito Fossella who was recently sentanced to jail for five days for a DWI.  Fossella is holding a thank you gathering for his supporters this weekend and O’Brien speculates this may be a testing of the waters to see if he would have the backing to compete in an attempt to win back his seat from Democrat Representative-Elect Michael McMahon (New York-13) in 2010.  Along with the DWI Fossella has admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock.

My two cents: If Republicans are going to earn back Americans’ trust we can’t do it with men like Fossella.  I think he should stay retired.

John Bresnahan writes that the Republican Steering Committe might put up Rep. Spencer Bachus (Alabama-6), who is the Ranking Minority Member of the House Financial Services Committee, for a “No-Confidence” Vote.  The vote would take place today or tomorrow and Bresnahan’s sources indicated that a vote was likely.  Bachus was a proponent of the bailout and has been criticized by many Republicans for his support.  If Bachus received a vote of No-Confidence it would open up the possibility of another Republican member taking over as the Ranking Minority Member of the House Financial Services Committee.  Bresnahan lists Rep. David Dreier (California-26) and Rep. Steven LaTourette (Ohio-14) as two likely candidate, but added that neither Dreier or LaTourette has been interviewed by the committe about whether or not they would want the job.

Bresnahan also adds that his GOP sources have indicated that Republican Rep. Don Young (Alaska) might face a challenge for his position as Ranking Minority Member of the House Natural Resources Committee.  Young is currently involved in numerous federal corruption probes.  It makes it difficult for Republicans to call on Democrat Rep. Charlie Rangel (New York-15) to give up his gavel as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee for his ethical problems while at the same time letting Young keep his spot.

My two cents: I generally like Rep. Bachus and wouldn’t mind keeping him as Ranking Minority Member of the House Financial Services Committee.  Rep. Young on the other hand MUST GO!  We can’t begin to clean up the Republican Party’s image as long as people like Young are able to keep their committee assignments.  Heck I think Republicans should kick Young out of the Caucus.  I would fully support any member that would challenge Rep. Young for his spot as Ranking Minority Member of the House Natural Resources Committee.  I think Republican Rep. Jeff Flake (Arizona-6) would make a good Ranking Minority Member of the House Natural Resources Committee…

It appears that the Illinois legislature will be gathering on Monday to consider passing a bill for a special election to fill President-elect’s Obama’s Senate seat.  The bill would take two days to pass.  This is the option that the Senior Senator of Illinois Dick Durbin (Democrat) has been pushing for.  This option would keep Governor Blagojevich from naming a person to fill Obama’s vacated seat.  Emil Jones who is the outgoing Illinois Senate President (and a possible candidate for the seat) has said that he will call the Senate to session to consider the bill, but has not said when the Illinois Senate will reconvene.

Article Link: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/illinois-house-to-consider-special-election-2008-12-09.html

Republican Rep. Peter King’s (New York-3) office has confirmed that he is indeed preparing to make a run at Hilary Clinton’s Senate seat in 2010.  King is one of the three New York House Republicans that survived the 2008 congressional elections.  He did that while actually increasing his campaign war chest.  It currently stands at 1.2 million as of November.  King currently serves as the Ranking Minority Member on the House Homeland Security Committee.   If he won election in 2010 he would serve for two years and then have to run again in 2012 for a full six year term.  King has a lifetime rating of 76% by the American Conservative Union and a 100% rating by the National Right to Life Committee for the 110th Congress.

My two cents:  I welcome Rep. King to the 2010 Senate dance in what will hopefully be a big Republican year.  He is certainly a better option than Senator Clinton and I am assuming he will be a better choice for New Yorkers than whoever Democrat Governor Paterson (New York) appoints to fill Hillary’s seat.  Finally, I personally like him better than the former Republican Mayor of New York CIty Rudy Giuliani who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2010 Senate Race.  Don’t get me wrong, I will support Giuliani if he is the nominee, but I would prefer King.

Article Link: http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/king-considers-n.y.-senate-bid-2008-12-09.html

There are three Republican Congressional Members that are positioning themselves to take the top spot on their side of the aisle for the House Armed Services Committee.  They are Representative John McHugh (New York-23), Representative Roscoe Bartlett (Maryland-6), and Representative Mac Thornberry (Texas-13).  McHugh is the most senior member member on the committe and that goes a long way, especially in the Republican Caucus, and for that reason he has to be considered the front-runner.  Bartlett is third in senority on the committee and Thornberry is the low man on the senority totem-pole amongst the three.  All three have been fairly quiet about the post and each is meeting privately with other members of the Caucus and each will meet with the Republican Steering Committee.  The Steering Committe has 33 votes and one needs 17 for a favorable rating.  The Republican Caucus will have to ratify any decision the Steering Committee makes.  The post has been one of bipartisanship in recent years, but it makes sense that the Republicans might want someone who would tow the party line a little harder in the upcoming Congress so as to show the clear differences between Republicans and Democrats on military policy and wars.

My two cents: Indiana_Patriot supports Rep. Mac Thornberry for Ranking Minority Member of the House Armed Services Committee.  He is a true Conservative who came to Congress in the 1994 Republican Revolution.  He has worked hard on defense and homeland security issues and he has championed missile defense as well as called for better coordination of military space programs.  Finally he has a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 95% that eclipses the other two with Bartlett at 93% and McHugh at 74%.

Article Link: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/three-battle-to-lead-gop–on-house-military-panel-2008-12-08.html

Just in case you haven’t heard Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (DEMOCRAT) was arrested this morning on a host of charges which includes shopping President-Elect Obama’s Senate Seat to the highest bidder.  One would think that common sense deems that a man arrested for shopping a Senate seat would not get to name a person to that Senate seat.  However, it appears that Governor Blagojevich will still make the appointment unless he resigns, pleads guilty, or is impeached in the near future.  The Illinois legislature, which has impeachment powers, will not convene until next month.  Illinois Democrat strategists suggest it would be unlikely that Governor Blagojevich would resign.

I guess this means that Governor Blagojevich will continue to contemplate who he will name to the seat.  If Blagojevich was to be removed/resign the choice for the Senate appointment would fall to Lt. Governor Pat Quinn (Democrat).  Lt. Governor Quinn has already called on Govenror Blagojevich to explain himself.

My two cents: I would think that anyone named to the seat by Governor Blagojevich would have insurmountable political baggage based on his appoinment alone to have a chance of winning the seat outright in 2010.

Article Link: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/appointment-process-thrown-into-disarray-by-gov.s-arrest-2008-12-09.html

Governor Kathleen Sebelius (Democrat) has pulled her name from consideration in an Obama Cabinet.  Her name has been mentioned as a possibility for Secretary of Labor, Education, or Agriculture.  She cited Kansas’ deepening financial crisis as the reason for her pulling her name from consideration.

Why is this important?  Sebelius is THE hope Democrats have for capturing retiring Senator Sam Brownback’s seat in the 2010 elections.  If she doesn’t take an Obama cabinet post there is a good chance she will run for Brownback’s seat.  Rep. Jerry Moran (Kansas-1) has already announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the seat and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (Kansas-4) has also been mentioned as a possible Republican nominee for the seat.  Senator Brownback’s future plans are unclear put he has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for Kansas Governor in 2010.

Article Link: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/sebelius-out-of-cabinet-running-2008-12-08.html

Caroline Kennedy’s cousin has reported that Caroline is interested in being appointed to Hilary Clinton’s Senate Seat, which will have to be vacated before she can assume duties as Secretary of State in the incoming Obama administration.  Kennedy is being pushed as someone who would work hard on education issues in the U.S. Senate.

My two cents: The only work that should be done in the U.S. Senate for education is making sure that the federal government doesn’t get involved in it.  If Ms. Kennedy wants to do something about education she should run for Governor of New York or the New York Statehouse.  Education is a state matter NOT a federal one.  Also, there is already one to many Kennedy’s in the Senate.  I shudder to think of all the Kennedy’s that would come out of the woodwork to support Ms. Kennedy in a 2010 election.

Article Link: http://www.indystar.com/article/20081207/NEWS01/81207002/1008/NEWS05

It’s official, Mary Jo Kilroy (Democrat) has won the the 16th District seat in Ohio.  This House seat was previously held by Deborah Pryce (Republican).  This pickup by the Democrats gives them a 79 seat majority in the House of Representatives.

Article Link: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kilroy-win-gives-dems-79-seat-majority-2008-12-07.html

Just in case you didn’t think Rep. Mike Pence (Indiana-6) was awesome check out this press release.

Washington, Dec 2 - House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN) endorsed U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert’s (R-TX) tax holiday plan today. Gohmert’s plan would put $350 billion of the $700 billion bailout still available to Secretary Paulson toward a tax holiday from both personal income tax and FICA tax for Americans during January and February of 2009.

My two cents:  If the U.S. government is going to get involved in “bailing out” peope who would be better to bail out than the American taxpayer?  Rep. Mike Pence understands that “bailout” money doesn’t grow on trees…it comes from taxpayers’ pockets.  Kudos to the new Number 3 in House Republican Leadership for standing up for the American Taxpayer.

Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) came out today in support of federal help to save the domestic auto industry.  He thinks that action is preferable to inaction.  That directly contradicts my own feelings about federal government which can easily be summed up as: Government works best when it works least.  There is not widespread support for bailing out the auto industry in Washington and the fact that Senator Bayh seems to support some type of federal bailout only proves yet again that he is just like all the other liberals in Washington that think they have to save Americans from themselves.  Senator Bayh likes to portray himself as a moderate, centrist, Democrat…but make no mistake about it, there is nothing centrist or moderate about a man who wants to use your hard-earned taxpayer dollars to bail out businesses with failed business plans. 

Article Link: http://www.indystar.com/article/20081204/NEWS05/812040481/1008/NEWS05

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican-Texas) has taken one step closer to running for the Texas Governorship by establishing an exploratory committe today.  She transferred one million dollars from her Senate campaign to start the committee.  It has been speculated for awhile that she would challenge sitting Governor Rick Perry (Republican-Texas) in the 2010 race.  She has already relinquished her leadership position as Chairwoman of the Republican Policy Committee and the creation of an exploratory committee can be interpreted as a much more aggressive move in the direction of being a candidate for the 2010 Governor’s race.  It is unclear if she intends to resign from the Senate if she does indeed jump into the Governor’s race.

My two cents: This has all the makings of one bloody, ugly primary.

Link to the story: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/hutchison-sets-up-run-for-texas-governor-2008-12-04.html

From the diaries by Erick

Speaker Pelosi could very well be playing with a ticking time bomb. I am not saying that the House Democrats are likely to blow but the possibility is certainly there. Lets take a look at some things that have transpired since the election…

I must say that following the most recent election I was impressed with the way in which Speaker Pelosi, for the most part, kept battles from being fought for leadership posts and committee chairs. There was however one fight she allowed to happen and I think this is where she might have started to want to get nervous. She allowed a fight for the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee which did have Rep. John Dingell (Michigan-15) for a chairman. Rep. Henry Waxman (California-30) won a tough fight for the gavel and in the process freaked out centrist Democrats, as well as Democrats that are particuarly found of the senority system (this includes the Congressional Black Caucus). Centrists were already nervous about the shift left the Caucus Leadership had taken and they were shook up even further when Waxman, who is seen as more liberal than Dingell, took the gavel.

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TheHill.com is reporting that Charlie Brown has conceded in his race against Tom McClintock to represent California’s 4th Congressional District. This is the seat that Rep. John Doolittle retired from. This is not a gain for House Republicans but it does mean that there will not be one more new vote for Speaker Pelosi in the upcoming Congress.

Link to article:

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/brown-concedes-to-mcclintock-2008-12-03.html

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was one of the 40 some governors that recently met with President-elect Obama. It seems that he is on board with a federal stimulus package that would send money to states like Indiana specifically for use in building up infrastructure projects such as bridges, highways, roads, etc.

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