Missouri: Graves Hits Barnes for 'San Francisco' Values

Roll Call
Matthew Murray
May 13, 2008

Rep. Sam Graves (R) recently began airing his first television ads of the election cycle, criticizing his Democratic challenger, former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, for attending a fundraiser Monday at the residence of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

?In San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi?s throwing a party for Kay Barnes,? says a narrator at the beginning of the ad, as images of bohemian dancers and party-goers flash across the screen. ?A ritzy California fundraiser celebrating Barnes? San Francisco-style values.?

?Yes, to same sex marriage,? the narrator says of Barnes? stance. ?Yes, to abortion. Yes, to amnesty for illegal immigrants.?

?Kay Barnes is raising hundreds of thousands of dollar?s from West Coast liberals by promoting their values, not ours,? the ad closes. ?Big city mayor Kay Barnes and Nancy Pelosi celebrating their San Francisco values.?

The ad began airing on cable and broadcast outlets in northwestern Missouri last week.

According to the event?s invitation, Barnes was one of 10 Democratic challengers to benefit from the Pelosi fundraiser.

The list included: New Jersey state Sen. John Adler (D), who is running to replace retiring Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.); Ohio state Sen. John Boccieri (D), who?s running to replace retiring Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio); former software executive Darcy Burner (D), who?s again challenging Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.); and Illinois state Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson (D), who is running to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.).

Also feted: ex-Florida state Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D), who?s challenging Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.); Iraq War veteran Ashwin Madia (D), who is running in retiring Rep. Jim Ramstad?s (R-Minn.) district; former Capitol Hill staffer Dan Maffei (D), who is running to replace retiring Rep. Jim Walsh (R-N.Y.); marketing consultant Dan Seals (D), who?s again taking on Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.); and former Nevada state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus (D), who?s making a run at Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.).

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/53_136/atr/23591-1.html

Pro-Family Group Endorses Barletta's House Bid

Pocono Record
Staff Report
May 13, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C.? A national conservative pro-family organization has endorsed Republican Congressional candidate Lou Barletta.

Eagle Forum PAC supports the outspoken Hazleton mayor in his 11th Congressional District race against incumbent Democrat Paul Kanjorski.

"I am happy to endorse Lou Barletta," said Eagle Forum founder and president, Phyllis Schlafly. "Lou's championing of the illegal immigration issue has been truly inspiring. His fight to protect his community from the crime and overcrowding caused by illegal aliens highlights the need for stronger enforcement of our immigration laws."

The Eagle Forum was organized in 1970s and was formerly known as Stop ERA, a group opposed to the equal rights amendment. A constitutional amendment, guaranteeing equal rights for women, was approved by Congress but didn't receive approval from enough state legislatures to win ultimate adoption.

Eagle Forum is opposed to legal abortion and supports an English-only curriculum in public schools.

"America knows where Lou Barletta stands on protecting our borders," Schlafly said. "More than ever, we need experienced local leaders like Lou to stand up for our families and communities."

Eagle Forum PAC says it supports candidates who are committed to a conservative philosophy of limited government, national sovereignty and traditional values.

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS/805130328/-1/NEWS0901

3rd Dist. Race Pulls Bush to Kansas

Wichita Eagle
By Jeannine Koranda
May 13, 2008

TOPEKA - President Bush is scheduled to attend a luncheon raising money for congressional Republican candidate Nick Jordan later this month.

The Kansas Republican party sent out a save-the-date e-mail Monday for the private lunch reception May 29 at the Bucyrus home of Dalton and Christine Hermes, who own Hermes Landscaping in Lenexa.

Jordan's campaign office referred all questions about the event to the White House press office.

The White House has not announced the president's schedule for late May, said White House spokesman Blair Jones.

The money raised at the lunch will go to the Jordan Victory Fund, a joint effort between Jordan's campaign and the Kansas Republican Party, said GOP executive director Christian Morgan.

The cost to attend the luncheon was not available.

Jordan, 58, from Shawnee, has served in the state Senate since 1995. He was originally appointed to replace Gus Bogina, who resigned.

Jordan is running for the third congressional district seat against Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat who was elected in 1998. The northeast district includes Johnson and Wyandotte counties and part of Douglas County.

Republicans are targeting the 3rd District, as well as the 2nd Congressional District seat held by Topeka Democrat Nancy Boyda, Morgan said.

Federal Election Commission records show that as of March 31, Jordan had raised $388,091 and Moore had raised $982,268.

The proposed visit would be the president's second visit to Kansas this month. On May 4, he gave a speech at Greensburg High School's graduation ceremony.

http://www.kansas.com/news/legislature/story/402172.html

Bradley's Radio/TV Ads Take Aim at Shea-Porter

Manchester Union Leader
John DiStaso
May 13, 2008

Republican 1st District U.S. House candidate Jeb Bradley sharply criticizes Democratic incumbent Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and ignores his primary foe in television and radio ads launched yesterday throughout the district. 

Bradley's campaign ads debuted on the airwaves on the same day his GOP congressional primary rival, John Stephen, formally announced his candidacy in a seven-stop bus tour.

However, Bradley's ads do not mention Stephen or the primary campaign, but instead focus on Shea-Porter and the general election.

Bradley says in a 30-second television ad that Shea-Porter ran for Congress promising change, but, "the change we got was hardly the change we expected."

He says she voted for "higher taxes, bigger government, even voting against supporting our troops in combat. That's not the change we need." The ad is airing on WMUR.

In his 60-second radio ad, Bradley begins by saying, "Let's face it, nobody likes to lose," in a reference to his loss to Shea-Porter in 2006, after serving two terms in the House. Shea-Porter defeated Bradley, 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent.

Bradley says he was "narrowly defeated" in his reelection bid because "voters wanted change." He then questions whether voters "really want a congresswoman who would vote to raise our taxes and increase the size of government," and, "even worse, vote against supporting American troops in combat.

"I don't think so," Bradley says.

A spokesman for Shea-Porter's campaign was not immediately available to respond.

Bradley's television ad was produced by the "Merrimack+Potomac Group," a subsidiary of the Manchester-based firm Griffin York & Krause.

Stephen has been a candidate for the U.S. House since last August, but yesterday formally announced his candidacy with a 12-hour bus tour with stops in Glen, Conway, Laconia, Somersworth, Portsmouth, Raymond and Manchester.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Bradley%27s+radio%2fTV+ads+take+aim
+at+Shea-Porter&articleId=9773e40e-7f86-401c-9e05-775d06fac2e4

NH: Bradley Takes On Carol Shea-Porter In First Ads Of Congressional Campaign

Portsmouth Herald
Staff Report
May 12, 2008

Wolfeboro -- 1st Congressional District Candidate Jeb Bradley today launched the first television and radio ads of the campaign, The Right Kind of Change.

The ads, debuting this morning on WMUR TV and radio stations across the 1st District of New Hampshire, feature Jeb Bradley discussing Carol Shea-Porter?s votes for higher taxes and bigger government and her votes against small business and our nation?s troops.

?I will fight to cut taxes, to help working families and small business and will always support our veterans and the troops that are keeping America safe,? Jeb says in the ad. ?With your help, we can make sure the change we get in Washington, is the change we want for New Hampshire.?

To view/listen to the ads, simply go to www.jebforcongress.com . 

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/NEWS/80512028/-1/NEWS06

New York: January Poll Showing Kuhl Ahead Is Leaked

Roll Call
Josh Kurtz
May 13, 2008

For the second time in a week, a weeks-old poll showing a Republican Member who was recently placed on Roll Call?s list of 10 most vulnerable House incumbents in far better shape than many pundits and political professionals believe has been leaked to the media.

The poll on the re-election prospects of Rep. Randy Kuhl (R) was conducted by GOP polling firm McLaughlin & Associates Jan. 27 and 28. It showed Kuhl leading his Democratic challenger, former Navy officer Eric Massa, 46 percent to 26 percent, despite the fact that he beat him by just 2 points in 2006.

The poll of 300 likely voters had a margin of error of 5.7 points.

Last week, after appearing on Roll Call?s 10 most vulnerable list for the first time, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) released a poll from mid-March showing him with a 21-point lead over business consultant Dan Seals (D).

In a memo, McLaughlin & Associates suggested that Kuhl will do well to attach himself to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). In the poll, taken when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) was still considered the strongest Democratic presidential candidate, McCain led Clinton in a trial heat, 47 percent to 36 percent, and his favorable ratings were far superior to Clinton?s. Kuhl?s 29th district is one of the few Republican strongholds in the Empire State.

?It is important to point out that Randy Kuhl has already defeated Eric Massa in 2006, and there is no reason to believe after looking at the numbers that the outcome will be any different come this November,? the pollster concluded.

But since the poll was taken, Kuhl?s fundraising has sputtered, and Massa has surpassed the incumbent. Through March 31, Massa had $565,000 in his campaign account to Kuhl?s $366,000.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/53_136/atr/23593-1.html

Republicans Nominate Sullivan to Challenge Courtney in the 2nd District Congressional Race

Journal Inquirer
By Stacey A. Silliman
May 12, 2008

WINDHAM ? Amid chants of ?Joe must go!? ringing throughout the packed room at the Elks Lodge on Saturday Republican Sean Sullivan formally accepted his party?s nomination for the 2nd District congressional race against Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep Joseph D. Courtney.

Sullivan, who lives in Ledyard and is the former commander of the Groton submarine base, made nautical references throughout his 20-minute address. He said he believes Congress needs a change of course after a year of ?the do-nothing course.?

?They have cut the engines of government and put the ship of state adrift and all while big problems are about to run us over,? he said of Congress.

While noting that government ?can do some things? Sullivan said he believes the more government does, the less it does well. He told delegates that he would support building infrastructure for education, energy, and transportation.

?Infrastructure gives people the tools to get the job done,? Sullivan said. ?Government should give people the tools, then get out of the people?s way.?

Sullivan, whose family ? including his parents Dorothy and Eugene ? were in attendance, also cited his leadership experience as a member of the military, a parent, foster parent, and former Big Brother volunteer as part of his belief that he would be a better member of Congress than Vernon incumbent Courtney.

Leadership was the theme for the day, according to convention Chairman Michael F. Doyle of New London. He and the other four nominating speeches, which included Rep. Pamela Sawyer, R-Bolton. and Enfield Republican Town Committee Chairwoman Mary Ann Turner, also spoke glowingly of the need for a change in leadership at the congressional level.

After the convention ended, delegate David Olsen of Somers said of Sullivan, ?He?s the type of leader we need from Connecticut. I think his chances are excellent, especially if the college community gets behind him.?

Sullivan?s own speech included many attacks on the present Congress and Courtney?s voting record as well as agreement with presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, about health care reform but did not include mention of Republican President George W. Bush.

Ann Harford, a selectwoman from Ellington who was also a convention delegate, said Sullivan would be competitive with Courtney once people have a chance to meet him.

?I think he?s a fantastic candidate. As soon as people start learning who Sean is, he?ll do OK,? she said as the convention was winding down.

Acknowledging the challenge Sullivan is facing as he tries to unseat an incumbent with 10 times his campaign coffers, Harford and Turner both said a grassroots effort was in order.

?Maybe it?s the marketing person in me, but I know you don?t need a lot of money to get the word out,? Turner said.

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/05/12/connecticut/doc4828438a68605511492749.txt

Carney is Prodded to Sign on to Surveillance Bill

Times Leader
Bill O'Boyle
May 8, 2008

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri is trying to get U.S. Rep. Chris Carney to become the first Democrat to sign a discharge petition that would force the Foreign Intelligence Security Act to the House floor.

Carney, D-Dimock Township, is on record supporting the Senate bill: He is one of 21 Democrats who wrote a letter of support for the proposal to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 28.

House Republicans have targeted Carney in their effort to force consideration of the intelligence surveillance legislation favored by the Bush administration.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 outlines procedures for requesting judicial authorization for electronic surveillance and physical search of persons engaged in espionage or international terrorism against the United States on behalf of a foreign power. An overhaul of the bill, the Protect America Act of 2007, expired Feb. 16. Since then, efforts to track and monitor foreign-to-foreign communications between suspected terrorists abroad have been curtailed.

?If Mr. Carney is sincere in his view that fixing the terrorist loophole in our intelligence laws is of vital importance ? and that failing to do so will ?place our national security at undue risk? ? he?s in a unique position to fix it,? said Chris Tucker, communications adviser in Blunt?s office. ?All we?ve asked him to do is remain consistent with his previous pronouncements ? .?

Carney was in session Tuesday. His spokeswoman Rebecca Gale said the issue was ?not something to be turned into a political game.

?Publishing personal correspondence is in poor taste for issues of national security,? she said.

?Our office has always been willing to work in a bipartisan way to do what is best for the country.?

His Republican challenger, Chris Hackett, urged Carney to sign the petition and ?drop his partisan approach that threatens our security, and join those who are attempting to force a House vote on the FISA bill.?

Hackett said national security should be a top priority.

?It?s most unfortunate that Chris Carney says he?s for a tough terrorist surveillance bill, but when he has the chance to actually do something about it, he takes a pass,? Hackett said.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/20080508_08-CARNEY_ART.html

Holden Stumps for Transportation Plan

Kansas City Star
Kit Wagar
March 23, 2001

Gov. Bob Holden told Kansas City business and labor groups Thursday that his plan to raise sales and gasoline taxes must beapproved this year if Missouri hopes to fix its crumbling transportation system. "Now is the time; transportation is the issue," Holden said.

"The question is whether we have the will and the leadership to get it done. I believe we do."

Holden's plan was endorsed Thursday by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Building and Construction Trades Council, Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields and Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes.

The plan involves raising state taxes and fees by $620 million a year to improve roads, bridges, river ports, airports, rail transport and interstate highways.

The state sales tax rate would be increased by 5/8 of a cent and the state gasoline tax would rise by 3 cents, from the current 17 cents to 20 cents a gallon. Vehicle registration fees would increase by 33 percent.

Holden said the dangerous condition of many state roads imposes a huge cost on the public through highway deaths and emergency medical care. Bad roads and transportation hubs cause Missouri to lose many opportunities for business development, he said.

Missouri, he said, cannot afford to let the crossroads of the nation move to Kansas or Illinois, both of which have expanded their road construction programs. The plan, which must be approved by voters, also would revamp the state highway commission to give representation to each of the state's nine congressional districts.

It also would create the position of transportation secretary to oversee the state's Department of Transportation. Most of the plan is included in a bill approved last week by a House committee. Holden said he was encouraged that several Republicans had supported the measure.

If the tax plan becomes a partisan issue, it is dead, because Democrats won't support it if Republicans plan to use the tax increase as an issue in the 2002 elections, he said.

Republicans ought to support the plan, Holden said, because it includes several of their proposals. The idea for greater accountability through the creation of a transportation secretary had been advocated by House Minority Leader Catherine Hanaway, a St.Louis County Republican.

Blue Dogs Bark at Spending in Supplemental

Roll Call
By Steven T. Dennis and Emily Pierce
May 7, 2008

House Democratic leaders? plan for a nearly $250 billion war supplemental Tuesday ran into resistance from some Blue Dog Democrats, who opposed including a $51 billion GI bill entitlement for veterans as a violation of pay-as-you-go budget rules.

Several Blue Dogs told Roll Call that they would not vote for the spending package unless the GI bill costs were offset. Blue Dogs have repeatedly had their attempts to uphold PAYGO principles shredded in recent months, including bills extending alternative minimum tax relief and the first stimulus package, which added hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit.

?How does it help veterans to borrow Chinese yuan to pay for veterans? benefits?? asked Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.). ?This is the dawn of a huge entitlement program that we haven?t funded. It?s irresponsible. The argument we?re getting is just because the Senate is going to be irresponsible, we should beat them to the punch.?

Cooper also warned against the continuing erosion of PAYGO.

?You start serving dessert, and everybody wants a slice,? he said.

Rank-and-file lawmakers, meanwhile, grumbled that many of the stimulus items that they had sought were excluded from the war supplemental slated to come to the floor Thursday, including enhanced food stamp benefits, aid to states, transportation spending, summer jobs and much more. House Democrats have angered Republicans by bypassing the committee process, leading to procedural protest maneuvers by the GOP on the House floor.

Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) said Democrats had said no to 110 requests for spending add-ons, many of which he supports, because they were trying to come up with a bill that would be signed by Bush, who has set a firm spending limit on the war-spending measure.

Obey said it would have been a waste of the House?s time to put together a package of veto bait, and he acknowledged that there was a concern that including other measures would shift the focus from the merits of that spending and onto Democrats holding war funding hostage.

?There is no pork in this bill,? Obey contended.

The war bill will cost nearly $250 billion with the GI education provisions included, alongside an $11 billion boost to unemployment insurance benefits and a $184 billion package of war and hurricane relief largely requested by President Bush. A little more than $3 billion was shifted from war spending to other priorities, including emergency foreign food relief and base closing costs.

Members of the Out of Iraq Caucus, meanwhile, said they were pleased that they would be given separate votes on a timetable for withdrawal, war spending and an economic package, but continued to be frustrated at the unwillingness of a majority of Members to cut off funding.

?If I had the ability to end this war, stop the funding, I would,? Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said. ?Am I frustrated that the war is still going on? Absolutely.?

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) expressed disappointment that the bill would fund the war halfway through next year, while money for domestic priorities, such as food stamps and infrastructure spending, were left out.

?We think food stamps and infrastructure should be in there,? she said. ?People are hungry.?

Lee blamed the war for hurting the economy. ?I?m just sorry that we can?t end this and begin to bring our troops home. I think we need to do what the American people sent us here to do. End it.?

In deference to Out of Iraq members, Obey outlined an amendment that would include a timetable for withdrawal starting immediately and ending in December 2009 alongside other war restrictions. But that amendment is expected to be just for show and stripped out before the bill is sent to the president.

One piece that could survive, however, is a requirement that Iraqis pay for more of their own reconstruction given the profits they are making from skyrocketing oil prices.

Obey acknowledged that while a majority of Democrats favor ending funding for the war, a majority of the Congress does not. Obey said that he had a responsibility to the institution to let the House work its will.

The Appropriations chairman added that he is already working on another supplemental focused on domestic spending, but that package, expected in the coming months, appears likely to draw a veto threat.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the GI bill should be paid for ?long term,? explaining that it would be written in a way that would avoid a technical violation of the House?s PAYGO rule. But that clearly wasn?t good enough for some conservatives.

?It violates the principles that we believe in,? said Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.), a Blue Dog co-chairman. ?You ought to find the offsets. ... I?m not going to vote for a mandatory program that?s not offset.?

Blue Dogs were discussing Tuesday night whether to vote against the rule on the war bill, which would be an extreme step and challenge to the leadership. Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), another Blue Dog co-chairman, said they want a separate GI bill that is paid for.

On the GOP side, House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) attacked Democrats for diverting funds from the war effort to ?finance their reckless spending bonanza? while ?trying to play armchair quarterback to direct our generals on the ground.?

Senate Democratic reaction to the House bill was mixed given that their leadership has not yet decided how or whether to alter the measure when it comes to the Senate floor, possibly next week. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has apparently decided to keep his options open by permitting a Senate Appropriations Committee markup to go forward on Thursday afternoon.

?Sen. [Robert] Byrd [D-W.Va.] is well within his rights to have the Senate Appropriations Committee express its views on the House?s supplemental amendments,? Reid spokesman Jim Manley said. ?We hope Senate Republicans permit the Senate Appropriations Committee?s amendments to receive votes on the Senate floor when we turn to the supplemental.?

Though the committee sent out an official notice of the markup, the meeting appeared to be in limbo as several Senate appropriators noted that it might not happen as planned.

?It?s scheduled but this is the Senate. It could get canceled,? Senate Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray (Wash.) said.

Murray indicated that the tight time frame for getting a bill passed by Memorial Day could force the chamber to try and move more expeditiously, but that the current plan was to hold a markup.

Even if the markup occurs, the committee product has no guarantee that it will be used as a substitute amendment for the House provisions.

Several Democratic aides said it remains to be seen whether Members of the panel will curb themselves in terms of adding domestic priorities ? as the House did ? or throw cash at everything from wildfire suppression to crumbling infrastructure. That question was central to leadership?s original desire to sidestep the Senate Appropriations panel during this process.

And aides in both parties warned that if the committee adds much more than what the House has produced, Republicans would likely balk and prevent those provisions from garnering the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

However, many members of the panel were already showing signs of restraint.

?Given seven years of the Bush administration, we have a long list of priorities that are in need of getting done,? Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said. ?But we?re going to have to work through this in a way that gets the bill signed, and we understand that. It?s a matter of working with the House and having a responsibility to complete legislation.?

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans said they could probably live with the extension of unemployment benefits included in the House bill, but suggested that they expect the president to veto the bill if the GI bill provisions are not altered. Republicans continued to insist that the GI bill be pared down to reduce the cost and address questions about whether military retention would suffer.

But Democrats said they have no reason to tinker with the bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and backed by 57 Senators, including 10 Republicans.

Webb said he believes he would be able to get 60 votes for the measure when it hits the Senate floor, and he practically dared the president to veto it.

?If the president really believes that these people are the next ?Greatest Generation,? then we ought to give them the same thing the World War II generation got,? Webb said.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/53_133/news/23480-1.html