NRCC Weekly Rundown: Hillary gets destroyed in New Hampshire, hilarity ensues after DCCC releases Red to Blue list, Annette Taddeo makes up endorsements, and more!
And here’s this week’s edition of the NRCC Weekly Rundown:
National: The DCCC released their first round of Red to Blue candidates this week. The NRCC pointed out the continued failure of the program, and noted that 5 of the 16 Republican Freshmen listed as targets last year were no longer being targeted.
National: New Hampshire voters went to the polls for the first-in-the-nation primary, and Hillary Clinton was dealt a stunning defeat, losing to socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders by 22-points, throwing the Democrat primary into chaos.
National: President Obama gave up all pretense of attempting to govern in his last year in office, proposing a budget that reads as a liberal fantasy, complete with an oil tax that would raise prices at the pumps by $.25 per gallon, billions of dollars in new spending, and a further expansion of ever unpopular Obamacare.
CA-10: Michael Eggman is confused as to which district he lives in or is running in, sending out emails talking about being “here in California’s 44th district.”
CA-25: Carpetbagging attorney Bryan Caforio touted his local “support” this week despite not receiving the endorsement from local Democrats and receiving ZERO donations from residents of the 25th.
CA-52: Rep. Scott Peters must be panicking after Hillary Clinton’s resounding defeat in New Hampshire. Just last week, Peters went on the record attacking Sen. Bernie Sanders and worrying about what having a socialist at the top of the ticket would mean for his own campaign.
FL-26: After being called out earlier in the week for making up fake endorsements in her primary against former Rep. Joe Garcia, Annette Taddeo spent Thursday touting her designation as part of the DCCC’s Red to Blue program. What she failed to mention is that she was given the same designation in her last losing campaign for Congress…and lost by 16 points.
MI-08: Tax-evading actress Melissa Gilbert, once touted by the DCCC as a top-tier candidate, was demoted to the bottom tier of races when the DCCC released their Red to Blue program designations this week.
NE-02: Rep. Brad Ashford kicked off his campaign this week, and the NRCC wondered aloud if he would be heading to New Hampshire to campaign for Hillary Clinton’s struggling campaign, which he has endorsed.
NY-18: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney skipped a day of work, including a vote on funding for the National September 11th Memorial, to volunteer for Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign in New Hampshire.
PA-08: Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf delivered his annual budget address this week, proposing a $2.7 billion tax hike. This leaves State Rep. Steve Santarsiero with a decision: will he support this liberal tax plan to appeal to primary voters or vote against it to appeal to general election voters?
VA-10: LuAnn Bennett seems to be having trouble renting her D.C. Ritz-Carlton condo, which has been listed at $7,500 per month for over two months. This leaves one to wonder whether Bennett actually intends to move out of her luxury Downtown Washington home and into Virginia.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Congressman Jeff Denham Asks Where’s the Justice for California Families?
“Our committee has offered a number of predation bills, including one of my own, all of which have been ignored by this Administration,” said Rep. Denham. “We’re pissed off. We’ve got people that are out of jobs. It’s affecting our entire communities, and it feels like the Administration continues to ignore the fact that we’re struggling through a record drought. Last month we pushed out 200,000 acre feet of water in pulse flows without addressing predation. 700,000 acres of farmland will go fallow this year. That’s 1,500 jobs that will be lost. In my community that’s 400,000 families – enough water for an entire year for 400,000 families. READ
Hurd: ‘Devil is in the details’ on IT budget plans
“The devil is always going to be in the details,” Hurd said. “Agencies need to incorporate modernization into their individual budgets. This is not going to be something they only have to deal with right now. This is constantly going to be an issue, and they need to be prepared to do that.” READ
MacArthur bill to preserve 9/11 memorial passes House
A bill by U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-3, to preserve the September 11, 2001 memorial at the World Trade Center in New York City passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday night, MacArthur’s office announced. READ
Rep. Knight asks Congress for Porter Ranch hearing
Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) asked for a congressional hearing Tuesday on the cause of the Porter Ranch gas leak, which has forced thousands from their homes. Knight, whose district includes much of the Porter Ranch area, sent a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railways, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Chairman Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) asking him to examine policy around underground natural gas storage facilities, such as the one in Aliso Canyon that has been leaking since October. READ
Zeldin To Introduce Legislation To Help Vets With PTSD
Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin is introducing legislation that would create nationwide “peer to peer” counseling for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s based on a program he helped create while in the New York State Senate that’s already up and running. Zeldin said the program in New York has helped more than 1,500 veterans struggling with PTSD. READ
Rep. John Katko gets top marks in national education group’s annual report card
In one organization’s view, U.S. Rep. John Katko gets an “A” for his education record. The National Education Association gave Katko, R-Camillus, the high score based on votes cast in 2015. The group focused on 14 votes in the House of Representatives, including measures that would restore standards for paraeducators and prevent states from being punished if a large number of students opt out of standardized tests. READ
Democratic activists involved in helping stall Rep. Ami Bera’s party endorsement are not going away.
On Monday, the group calling itself Sacramento Democrats for Truth said in a letter to Bera, D-Elk Grove, they were “troubled” by campaign contributions he received from people who they said were “closely connected” to foreign investment funds and foreign governments. The group wants his office to produce details about his travel abroad, and donors controlling more than $1 million in overseas assets. READ
McSally speaks out following decision to delay A-10 retirement
U.S. Representative Martha McSally is speaking out following the Obama Administration’s decision to delay the retiring of the A-10. “This is an economic driver for our community here,” said McSally. “$1.5 billion from Davis-Monthan, when you add in all the economic impact, and we can’t afford to have any degradation to our base.” READ
3 Republican lawmakers ask to see Iran’s ‘democracy in action’
Seeking to keep tabs on what they called a “fanatical regime,” three US lawmakers applied Thursday for visas to Iran to observe this month’s elections, visit nuclear sites and meet with Revolutionary Guards. Republicans Mike Pompeo, Lee Zeldin and Frank LoBiondo hand-delivered their applications to the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, and wrote to the Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, seeking their assistance. READ
Hurd Wants Tougher Iran Sanctions
“If we do not enforce consequences, Iran will continue violating Security Council resolutions,” Congressman Will Hurd said. “Not only are we allowing a greedy state to inch closer to nuclear capability, but we’re encouraging other countries like Russia to stretch the limits of their actions around the globe.” A new bill requires the administration to guarantee that no person or back in backing the Iranian Nuclear Program before lifting any sanctions. READ