The Afternoon Inbox/C.W. Brain Dump
Posted: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 3:57 PM by Chuck Todd
From NBC's Chuck Todd
Ok, so I've only been able to share my inbox and scattering political thoughts on a weekly basis instead of daily. I swear, I'll do this more often. In the meantime, here are some remainders from the weekend both from the internet and my head:
-- The Future Of The GOP: The New Yorker's Goldberg, in his "letter from Washington" examines the problems facing the GOP electorally in '08 and beyond. Three distinct voices stick out in the piece. First, there's Karl Rove, who is still unfailingly optimistic about the fact that there is a still a center-right majority in the country. Two growth areas he points to demographically include what he believes is an amazing growth in home-computer-based businesses (he claims 700,000 people make their primary livings off of EBAY) and then the yearn for spirtuality. "So the power of the computer has made it possible for people to gain greater control over their lives. ... If you look at the traditional mainstream denominations, they're flat, but what's growing inside those denominations, and what's growing outside those denominations, is churches that are filling this spirtual need, that are replacing sterility with something bibrant, something that speaks to the heart of the individual."
-- Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich is the second loudest voice in the piece and takes a direct shot at Rove by calling the '04 campaign "manically dumb": "All he proved was that the anti-Kerry vote was bigger than the anti-Bush vote. The Bush people deliberately could not bring themselves to wage a campaign of choice" (i.e. on ideology or ideas). He then compared Bush to Jimmy Carter on the compentency issue.
-- What If God Talked To Tom DeLay? Finally, the third intriguing voice that sticks out in the piece is Tom DeLay, who is very pessimistic about '08: "We don't have a good shot at winning 2008. I'm not saying we don't have a shot, but it's not good." But the real kicker with DeLay is this money quote: "God has spoken to me. I listen to God and what I've heard is that I'm supposed to devote myself to rebuilding the conservative base of the Republican Party."
-- So long Sara Taylor. The longtime Bush WH political aide has left the White House. She swears she's going to stay out of '08. We'll see. We'll be watching; Her Iowa background is going to be in GREAT demand. If she does stay out of the presidential race, look for her to make an impact as an on-the-record GOP analyst for some media outlet(s).
-- Senate '08 Recruiting Watch: Democrats may have been dealt two blows today. First in Texas, Dem Rep. Nick Lampson was a rumored candidate to challenge GOP incumbent John Cornyn. Lampson seemed like a natural candidate since the House district he represents is one that leans Republican. Lampson probably only won it due to the Tom DeLay fatigue. That said, a key aide indicated Lampson would indeed seek re-election (to the relief of the DCCC... or maybe not since saving him will cost upwards of $5 million). As for Cornyn, he strikes me as the Jon Kyl of '08 for the DSCC. On paper, he looks potentially vulnerable (mediocre job rating, not that well known etc.) but the Democratic bench in Texas is lean and it will likely take a self-funder for the national party to truly get interested in this race.
-- As for the other setback, there is speculation that a key endorsement nabbed by active candidate Steve Marchand (he's being backed by one-time Congressional candidate/state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark) means ex-New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is leaning against seeking a rematch against GOP incumbent John Sununu. Frankly, while I trust my source implicitly in New Hampshire on this, I continue to hear that Shaheen is more open to a bid every day. Remember, because of the presidential campaign distraction, a New Hampshire Senate candidate can actually wait longer to get in, particularly one as well-known as Shaheen.
-- Battle for the House: No Democratic candidate for the House got more national attention last year than injured Iraq War vet Tammy Duckworth. And yet, she lost. Well, she's contemplating a rematch with Republican Peter Roskam in the conservative Chicago suburban district, banking that in a presidential year, a Democrat could over-perform in Henry Hyde's old district.
-- Confidentiality agreements for Hill staffers? Yikes! It's an idea some Hill offices are apparently pondering for fear of everything that happens on Cap. Hill ends up on a Facebook or MySpace page. But, seriously, isn't this a violation of the public's right to know?
-- Romney's sky-high Iowa expectations. Doesn't a story like this one in today's Boston Globe mean that Romney HAS to win the Ames straw poll? In fact, if Romney starts tossing around huge money for this thing, won't that also guarantee that Giuliani (and even other top tier candidates) decide to pass on the straw poll?
