Weekly House Cleaning
A DCCC News Roundup
#RyanRealityCheck
Paul Ryan kicked off his Speakership with big dreams and lofty ambitions that were promptly crushed thanks to the House Freedom Caucus and the rise of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. The DCCC has launched RyanRealityCheck.com to highlight Ryan’s missteps, broken promises, failures and hypocrisies.
Yesterday’s preview from POLITICO is here: “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched what it’s calling the first-of-its-kind accountability website centered on Speaker Paul Ryan, which will be a clearinghouse for the campaign arm’s statements, commentaries and “reality checks” for his public comments, interviews and news conferences. The link is www.RyanRealityCheck.com, and www.draftspeakerryan.org and www.draftspeakerryan.net also redirect here.”
Check out today’s two new posts!
THE PRESIDENTIAL SHINE
Donald Trump dominated in Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii on Tuesday night. Now that he is the inevitable Republican nominee, all eyes turn towards Speaker Ryan, Chairman Walden and vulnerable House Republicans to see how they attempt to spin, distract and message their way out of the latest stage of their November nightmare. One thing is for sure, the negative impact of Donald Trump on House Republicans and others down-ballot is undeniable.
Following Trump’s commanding wins on Tuesday, Chairman Luján’s take on the state of the race appeared in The Hill:
“With Donald Trump moving closer and closer to becoming the Republican nominee and Hillary Clinton demonstrating overwhelming support on the Democratic side, we have a snapshot of a general election match up that will provide a clear contrast for voters and yield big Democratic victories up and down the ticket,” Luján said.
Trump Whiplash Alert! Speaking to a local Oregon radio station Monday, NRCC Chairman Greg Walden had lots of compliments for Donald Trump Trump is “rewriting the whole book on campaigning?” This was a dramatic shift from Walden’s comments in December to POLITICO that Trump’s rhetoric “puts, certainly, competitive seats in jeopardy.” You also have to wonder: what is Greg Walden referring to in this Trump campaign rewrite? As far as we can tell, Donald Trump’s guidebook for campaigning includes instructions to insult Hispanics, trash women, mock people with disabilities and denigrate POWs.
It’s clear from this story in The Hill that the NRCC and others are frantically throwing spaghetti at the wall, attempting to message test their way out of the Trumpocalypse.
And then there’s Kevin McCarthy. Donald Trump confuses him: http://dccc.org/kevin-mccarthy-confused/
THE DIRT FROM THE DISTRICTS
CA-21: Civil rights attorney Emilio Huerta officially filed to run for Congress, promising to make Central Valley voices heard in Washington. [CLIP]
CA-07: Scandal-ridden Republican Sheriff Scott Jones cleared up his position on the anti-immigrant new GOP-standard bearer: “I would definitely support Trump if he were the nominee.”
CA-25: In the wake of the Flint water crisis, California voters were reminded of that time Steve Knight went ‘totally AWOL’ during the disastrous Porter Ranch gas leak.
CA-52: Republican Denise Gitsham’s “ambiguously ethnic” comments at CPAC were not only offensive, but added fuel to the fire in the messy San Diego Republican primary, turning former 2014 NRCC pick Carl DeMaio on the 2016 NRCC candidate. And let’s not forget the fact lobbyist Gitsham was at CPAC to remind its Tea Party audience, “I’m one of you.” Perfect fit for San Diego!
NV-03: During a ‘feisty’ Republican primary debate, the audience turned on establishment politician Michael Roberson, who continued to duck press questions about Donald Trump. Even Roberson’s outsider primary opponent Danny Tarkanian expressed his skepticism Roberson would have the backbone to debate again, so the Famous NV Dems Chicken joined the hunt to recover said backbone.
PA-8: Fitz Bros Had a Bad Week: Questions regarding potential Hatch Act violations dogged Brian Fitzpatrick, as multiple news outlets continued reporting on the controversy. Embattled candidate Brian did little to assuage reporters’ concerns throughout the week and continues to not answer basic questions on the allegations.
PA-7: Pat Meehan is obviously still fuming over Berks County Republicans’ endorsement of his primary challenger. Though this endorsement occurred more than a week ago, Meehan supporters are remaining steady in their efforts to invalidate the endorsement, as Berks County Republicans remain firm in their decision. Here is some advice for Congressman Meehan: spend more time with your constituents.
VA-10: After Sen. Marco Rubio lost the Virginia Primary, Barbara Comstock entered complete denial mode. Her latest plan is to ignore Donald Trump’s rise and pretend that Sen. Marco Rubio still has a chance to win the Republican nomination for Presidency – contrary to all information that shows otherwise. Though Comstock officially launched her campaign this week, most people just wanted to know if she would stand by Donald Trump, if he were the Republican nominee. Donald Trump’s racially offensive rhetoric has offended Northern Virginia’s diverse community, yet Comstock has remained silent. In hopes of recovering her moral backbone, notices were issued this week to help the Congresswoman find her integrity when comes to supporting the leading Republican.
FL-26: Sen. Marco Rubio’s anti-immigrant record is so unpopular in South Florida that Republican Carlos Curbelo was forced to manufacture his own phantom version of Marco Rubio on Spanish radio. In this interview, Curbelo claimed that Sen. Rubio “is not anti-immigrant… Marco Rubio risked his political career for Immigration Reform…” But in reality, Senator Rubio currently opposes comprehensive immigration reform, DACA/DAPA, and supports a 700 mile wall on U.S. Mexican border.
TX-23: Donald Trump’s unpopularity among Hispanics in Southwest Texas puts Will Hurd’s reelection prospects in unprecedented peril. Columnist Gilbert Garcia noted in the San Antonio Express that the combination of Trump’s unpopularity and the likelihood of increased Democratic turnout work against Hurd. Still, Congressman Hurd won’t say whether he’d support Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee.
ME-02: Bruce Poliquin hides under his desk (again): Even after Maine GOP voters caucused to choose their preferred presidential candidate last Saturday, Congressman Bruce Poliquin continues to dodge questions on which contender he supports. This isn’t any surprise, given his history: Poliquin refused to comment on racist remarks made by Maine’s governor (and his mentor) Paul LePage, and awkwardly refused to confirm/deny a fundraiser Boehner threw for him last year.
If Maine voters have learned anything about Bruce Poliquin’s M.O., it is that he hides under his desk when it comes to the tough questions. Bold leadership, huh.
NY- all: Trump putting NY House Republicans between a rock and a hard place: Former Tea Party gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino is on a terror as he “bullies” New York House Republicans into endorsing Trump – and reports to the press the explanations for why they won’t. Representatives Katko, Stefanik, Reed, Zeldin and Donovan have a tough decision ahead: denounce Trump’s reckless rhetoric and upset his Republican base support that they’ll need on Election Day, or stay silent and end up turning away just about everyone else. Good luck.
NY-01: “Little Lee Zeldin?”: Here’s an interesting question – Since Donald Trump likes to slam Marco Rubio as a “total no-show in the U.S. Senate,” would he say the same about his biggest fan on Long Island – Congressman Lee Zeldin? We ask because Zeldin also ditched two-thirds of congressional hearings focused on ISIS and Syria. By the laws of the Trump transitive property, Trump’s no-show attacks on “Little Marco” must also translate to “Little Lee.”
NY-24: Katko opposes raising minimum wage: This week, Central New York House Republican John Katko made his stance clear on gradually phasing in a $15 an hour minimum wage: he is against it. Not only does Katko’s position hurt hardworking families (52,000 low-wage workers in his district would immediately benefit from just a $10.10 minimum wage), he is also squarely at odds with his district (a majority of Upstate New Yorkers support gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour).
Just like defunding Planned Parenthood four times and refusing to close the suspected terrorist gun loophole, Katko once again demonstrates that he falls in line with House Republicans when it matters the most to Central New York families.
AZ-01: In an attempt to keep dodging difficult questions after it was revealed that Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu not only knew, but lied about abusive disciplinary methods used during his tenure as headmaster of a school in Massachusetts, Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Director of Administration Tim Gaffney barred ABC15 investigative reporter Dave Biscobing from entering a public press conference being held by the Sheriff. Opponents slammed Babeu for his blatant disregard for the first amendment.
AZ-01: In an unusual turn of events, Arizona House Speaker David Gowan requested the state attorney general investigate him for seeking travel reimbursements for days he did not work and was attending campaign events. Gowan started by claiming his use of state funds and state paid for cars was “appropriate,” then reimbursed the state $12,000 and blamed staff for “lack of communication,” and now is saying the “errors were errors and nothing more” but wants the investigation to “preserve the public trust.” But Gowan seems particularly concerned about the accusations that he may have committed a criminal offence.
MI-07 & MI-08– It was a Weepy Wednesday for Congressmen Tim Walberg and Mike Bishop, as they woke up to learn that Donald Trump had decisively won their state’s Republican primary. It’s a good thing Mike Bishop said he’d vote for Trump – even though Walberg continues to follow establishment Republicans’ lead of dodging and diving, by still refusing to tell reporters who he voted for on Tuesday.
MN-02 – The Star Tribune wrote on how having Donald Trump at the top of the ticket will doom all down-ballot Republicans, including Rep. Erik Paulsen. Meanwhile Washington Establishment Republicans not-so-subtly unveiled their strategy in MN-02: “Anybody but Tea Party frontrunner Jason Lewis.”
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