NRCC Weekly Rundown: Biden announces GITMO to close by January, Gretchen Driskell hates dogs, Anna Throne-Holst lies about her record, and more!

August 26, 2016

run-down

And here’s this week’s edition of the NRCC Weekly Rundown:

National: At a press conference in Sweden on Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden announced that the Obama administration would implement their plan to close GITMO and bring the terrorists detained there to facilities on U.S. soil before leaving office in January. Obama’s dangerous plan is broadly supported by Democrats including Scott Peters, Morgan Caroll, Rick Nolan, and John Delaney.

National: More news dropped on the Hillary Clinton email scandal this week, with the FBI providing an additional 15,000 work-related emails to the State Department for release. These 15,000 emails represent a 50% increase over what Clinton voluntarily turned over.

National: A new report detailed how rural America was disproportionately feeling the negative effects of Obamacare. In 2017, seven states will be left with a single health insurer, as will large parts of several other states, including Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

AZ-01: We’re 73 days out from the election, and not only has Tom O’Halleran not commented on Obama’s $400 million ransom payment to Iran, he has also refused to tell voters where he stands on the administration’s misguided Iran nuclear deal. If anyone sees O’Halleran, can they try to find out where he stands on any national security issue?

CA-07: Two new polls this week show that Ami Bera’s campaign finance scandal has taken toll. Both polls, taken before Bera’s father was sentenced to prison for election fraud, show the race as a statistical tie, with Bera leading by just a point. Questions continue to swirl around Ami Bera, as well as Raul Ruiz, Scott Peters, and Michael Eggman, over what they knew about the now convicted felon fundraiser.

FL-18: The NRCC released a new digital ad hitting natural disaster profiteer Randy Perkins for his career built on profiteering off natural disasters.

MD-06: John Delaney has stood loyally with President Obama on his misguided nuclear deal with Iran. But Delaney has been surprisingly quiet about Obama’s $400 million ransom payment. Will Delaney speak out against this reckless action? Doesn’t look like it!

MI-07: Gretchen Driskell apparently hates Kentucky dogs. For her website, instead of going the normal route and taking pictures in the district she hopes to represent, Driskell photoshopped herself into an image stolen from the website of adorable Kentucky dog Madison. But Driskell photoshopped poor Madison out of the picture! What does Driskell have against dogs?!

 MN-08: Nancy Pelosi’s Super PAC, House Majority PAC, went on the air with a misleading attack ad, in an effort to distract from Rick Nolan’s extreme far-left record on national security. In their rush to get the ad on TV, the group repeated an old DCCC lie from 2014 that has already been debunked by Minnesota Public Radio.

NY-01: Anna Throne-Holst released her first general election ad this week, and started off with a bang, lying about her record of tax hikes. Throne-Holst bragged about “holding the line” on taxes, but, in reality, raised Southampton taxes by 13.7% during her time as supervisor.

NY-19: Ahead of her big fundraiser with the Soros family, the NRCC began a series this week detailing Zephyr Teachout’s Super PAC hypocrisy. Volume 1 detailed Teachout’s donations from Super PAC mega-donor Daniel Berger, and Volume 2 looked at donations received from Super PAC mega-donor Donald Sussman.

PA-08: Despite being a former history teacher, Steve Santarsiero sure doesn’t seem to know his American history! Santarsiero was called out for celebrating the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment by tweeting out an iconic picture of British suffragettes.

TX-23: Former congressman Pete Gallego has been doing his best to avoid talking about Iran and President Obama’s $400 million ransom payment. This should be unsurprising given his history of embarrassingly incoherent answers to questions about national security.

VA-10: Rep. Barbara Comstock provided a stark contrast to Lavish Luann Bennett last weekend. While Bennett was drinking wine in Napa with Nancy Pelosi, tweeting pictures from the UK, and whining that she needed time off, Comstock was attending local events and meeting with voters at events all across the 10th District.

 

NEWS AND NOTES:

Second poll finds Bera and Jones deadlocked in CA-07

Democratic Rep. Ami Bera and his Republican opponent, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, are essentially tied according to another new GOP internal poll conducted for Congressional Leadership Fund. Among registered voters, Jones had 46 percent support and Bera had 45 percent. The poll echoed a survey done for the NRCC and the Jones campaign that showed Bera with a nominal 1-point advantage. Here’s the full polling memo: READ

GOP internal poll shows double-digit lead for Gallagher in WI-08

Republican Mike Gallagher is leading Democrat Tom Nelson by double digits in the race for an open swing seat in Wisconsin, according to an internal poll released by Gallagher’s campaign. Among likely voters, Gallagher leads Nelson, 52 percent to 36 percent. READ

Did Jacky Rosen flip-flop on Iran nuclear deal?

The National Republican Congressional Committee accused a Nevada Democratic candidate of flip-flopping on an important national security issue — the nuclear deal with Iran. In a recent blog post, the NRCC claims Democratic House candidate Jacky Rosen, a former Henderson synagogue president, is flip-flopping on support for the arrangement. READ

NRCC looks to link Alcee Hastings to Randy Perkins in CD 18

“It’s troubling that Randy Perkins would enlist the help of a disgraced judge in his latest radio ad, but that’s what we’ve come to expect from a natural disaster profiteer like Perkins,” Chris Pack, a spokesman for the NRCC, said towards the end of last week. “Floridians are sick and tired of corrupt public servants, but for some reason, Randy Perkins thinks they will actually inspire people to vote for him.” READ

Why a California congressman’s 83-year-old dad is going to jail

It’s one of the oddest and most emotional cases of election fraud in recent memory. A California congressman’s father pleaded guilty to illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to his son’s congressional campaigns, without his son’s knowledge. On Thursday, 83-year-old Babulal Bera was sentenced to one year and a day in prison, less than three months before his son Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) tries to win reelection in a competitive Sacramento area district. READ

Annette Taddeo: Woes Pile Up for This ‘Middle Class’ Girl …

Poor Annette Taddeo. She may be the CD 26 candidate the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee anointed in the primary, but she sure could use a lift right now. She’s had a couple of very bad weeks. READ

COFFMAN: VA undermines trust, accountability by refusing to disclose report on hospital construction failures

In other words, the VA continues to hide the full report and the summary memo from public disclosure to taxpayers and veterans alike. On March 25th, I wrote VA Secretary Robert McDonald to urge him to release the complete AIB report to all members of Congress and the American people — he refused. READ

Elise Stefanik: Q&A on women in politics

We need to have more women in elected offices at all levels. I find that in Congress I have some of the most effective working relationships with women across the aisle. I also find that when there are more role models for young girls to look up to, they are more likely to see themselves in that position. One part of this job that I didn’t know I was getting into is serving as a role model, specifically for young girls. READ

DC Metro’s Plan To Make System Safer Rewritten After Inspectors Find Its Not Safe

“It is appalling to hear more bad news regarding the ongoing safety struggles at Metro,” Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Virginia Republican, said in a statement earlier this month. “It is damning that the FTA had already identified track problems and highlighted their concerns to Metro about the area outside the East Falls Church station prior to the July 29th derailment.” READ