Republicans are on offense, expanding the playing field – while Democrats are struggling on their own turf. In the memo, Chairman Walden reveals a peak at some never-before-seen polling on some of the most competitive races in the country.

Roll Call covered it this morning: “National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden signaled that he plans to stay on offense in 2014 with the aim of expanding his party’s 17-seat majority… ‘The question facing Democrats is how, if they are struggling on their home court, will they ever win the Republican-leaning districts they need to regain the majority?’ Walden wrote to his colleagues.”

You can read Chairman Walden’s memo HERE

The post Must-Read Memo: Democrats struggling on their own turf appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

The successful campaign targeted four Democrats for their continued support of ObamaCare: Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01), Ron Barber (AZ-02), John Barrow (GA-12), and Colin Peterson (MN-07).

Watch the video here:

The post VIDEO: Newsmax TV Features NRCC Mobile Billboard Campaign appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

“I won’t hesitate to oppose my own party or the president when it’s right for my district.”

Sure, Ann.

A look at some of her recent votes:

• Voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House
• Voted to keep her cherished ObamaCare (Roll Call #154, 5/16/13)
• Voted against a balanced budget that bans taxpayer-funded first class travel for Members of Congress (Roll Call #88, 3/20/13)

Of course, that’s when Kirkpatrick actually shows up to vote.

Kirkpatrick’s claims of standing up to her own party belong in the same category as advertisements for ocean front property in Arizona – sounds good but in reality, it’s just a mirage.

Oh, and now that you’ve got the song stuck in your head, might-as-well play it for your coworkers:

The post Ann Kirkpatrick’s Got Some Ocean Front Property For Us In Arizona appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

As MSNBC reported this morning, the NRCC is running paid Facebook and StumbleUpon ads beginning today, calling on House Democrats to give back the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash they’ve taken from the scandal-ridden IRS.

That’s right – at the same time the agency was targeting conservative organizations, Democrats, including the DCCC, were gleefully cashing checks totaling over $700,000 from the IRS’s union.

NRCC COMMENT: “No wonder Democrats want higher taxes – their campaigns are funded by the IRS. Despite their faux outrage over the IRS scandal, House Democrats have tried to keep secret that they’re campaigns were funded by the agency now embroiled in scandal. It’s time for Democrats to give back this tainted money.” – NRCC Spokesman Daniel Scarpinato

MSNBC: EXCLUSIVE: NRCC hits lawmakers over IRS cash. The GOP’s House campaign arm will start running paid Facebook and StumbleUpon ads calling on Democrats to return contributions they may have received from the IRS union. From the NRCC release: “The IRS has been embroiled in controversy all week for improperly investigating conservative groups. But as the agency was targeting these organizations, Democrats were gleefully cashing checks totaling over $700,000 from the IRS’s union and the National Republican Congressional Committee is ready to hold them accountable for their hypocrisy.”

Selected Democrats and Campaign Organizations Who Received Contributions From The IRS’s Union:

Barack Obama, DCCC, DNC, AmeriPAC, Joe Baca, Ron Barber, John Barrow, Ami Bera, Tim Bishop, Cheri Bustos, Lois Capps, Jim Clyburn, Jim Costa, Peter DeFazio, Suzan DelBene, Bill Enyart, Elizabeth Esty, Bill Foster, Lois Frankel, Pete Gallego, John Garamendi, Joe Garcia, Alan Grayson, Steven Horsford, Steny Hoyer, Steve Israel, Bill Keating, Ann Kirkpatrick, Annie Kuster, David Loebsack, Dan Maffei, Sean Patrick Maloney, Jim Matheson, Mike McIntyre, Mike Michaud, Patrick Murphy, Rick Nolan, Bill Owens, Nancy Pelosi, Scott Peters, Collin Peterson, Nick Rahall, Raul Ruiz, Brad Schneider, Kurt Schrader, Carol Shea-Porter, Kyrsten Sinema, Louise Slaughter, John Tierney, Tim Walz, Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Above Democrats And Organizations Took Over $700,000 In Campaign Contributions From The National Treasury Employees Union. (OpenSecrets.org, Accessed On 5/16/13

The National Treasury Employees Union Represents IRS Employees. “NTEU-represented agencies: Internal Revenue Service.” (“About NTEU, National Treasury Employees Union, Accessed On 5/16/13)

According To A Report From The Treasury’s Inspector General, “Ineffective Management” At The IRS Led To The Recent Scandal. “Ineffective management at the Internal Revenue Service allowed agents to improperly target tea party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax exempt status, an internal Treasury Department report said Tuesday. Lax managers allowed the practice to go on for more than 18 months, said the report from the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.” (“Inspector General Says Ineffective Management At IRS Allowed Agents To Target Tea Party Groups,” Associated Press, 5/14/13)

The Associated Press Reported That Senior IRS Officials Knew Of The Targeting In 2011. “Senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew agents were targeting tea party groups as early as 2011, according to a draft of an inspector general’s report obtained by The Associated Press that seemingly contradicts public statements by the IRS commissioner.” (“IRS Targeted Tea Party Groups Earlier Than 2012,” Associated Press, 5/11/13)

The post House Democrats Need To Give Back Tainted IRS Cash appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

“The banner ads will be featured on over 100 websites popular among women and geo-targeted to be viewed by residents in 20 Democratic-held congressional districts targeted by the GOP for 2014. The House Republican campaign operation is increasing its use of niche digital ad marketing for the upcoming election cycle. They used a similar strategy targeting Democrats on the unpopular automatic spending cuts known as sequester in March.”

Here’s a look at one of the ads:

For parents who are balancing working outside the home with taking care of their children and families, this is an important issue that has an impact on their daily lives. This digital campaign allows us to highlight how House Democrats are forcing women to choose between work and family on forums they use every day.

The post USA Today: “GOP presses its agenda on ‘mommy blog’ sites” appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

This, after Israel bragged how he was showing Democrat recruits the film “300” in an attempt to get them jazzed about running.

Then there’s reality.

Perhaps the film “Left Behind” is a more fitting metaphor for Israel’s current state of affairs.The Democrats, in fact, have seen a series of high-profile recruitment fails that have been pretty embarrassing. It’s no wonder Israel is trying to ease the members who elected him this morning – just last night Israel had his latest flop in Minnesota.

A look at the DCCC’s disastrous recruitment record:

FAIL: MN-02: Just yesterday, one of Israel most prized recruits, Sona Mehring announced she was dropping out of her race – only three week into her run. The DCCC touted Mehring in a recent YouTube video that Israel cites in today memo.

FAIL: IA-03: Earlier this month, the much-touted Mike Sherzan dropped out of his race.

FAIL: IA-03: Just two weeks after Sherzan opted out, the Democrats second choice in this district –former State Sen. Staci Appel – did the same thing.

FAIL: CA-21: Last cycle Democrats attempted unsuccessfully to recruit Michael Rubio in CA-21. They tried again this time and instead Rubio opted for a lobbying gig with Chevron.

FAIL: CA-21: After Rubio opted out, Democrats looked to Leticia Perez – who went for a state Senate bid instead, leaving them with no viable candidate in one of their top targets.

FAIL: CA-31: Another real problem for Democrats: Last cycle, they recruited Pete Aguilar here – who went on to loss his primary. Well, what do you know – former Congressman Joe Baca has announced he’s challenging Aguilar in the Democrats No. 1 national target – a major headache for the DCCC.

With Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi campaigning as the Democrats’ national ticket in 2014, it’s no wonder Democrat recruits are dropping out of races left and right. These Democrat candidates are as fearful of the Obama-Pelosi agenda as American families and seniors are.

The post Didn’t They See The Movie??? appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

In a recent interview with Arizona Public Media, reporter Christopher Conover asked the Arizona Democrat: “Is there any realistic hope that we’ll get a budget deal that both sides can at least agree to vote on…”

Kirkpatrick’s response: “The Senate passed a bipartisan budget… so I’m hopeful.”

A couple of problems… the Senate budget Kirkpatrick is referencing was not bipartisan. Not a single Republican voted for it – maybe because it included more than $1 trillion in tax increases and huge increases in spending.

Secondly, despite being “hopeful” about that Senate budget, she actually voted AGAINST it in the House.

So what on earth is Ann Kirkpatrick talking about?

One thing is for sure – in Congress, Kirkpatrick has been part of the problem, voting for ObamaCare, the wasteful stimulus and against the only budget that actually balances.

Either Kirkpatrick is thoroughly confused about what she’s voting on – or she’s just not being honest with Arizonans. My guess is both.

The post Honestly, Ann? appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Steve Israel said this just a couple of weeks ago: “In 2012, President Obama was completely focused on his own re-election, as he should have been. But for 2014, he will be able to focus on Congressional races, and he has already made early commitments that are unprecedented and transformational. President Barack Obama has agreed to eight events just in 2013 for House Democrats…”

But now there’s some serious Monday morning quarterbacking.

After Steve Israel said over the weekend that “to have a legacy in 2016, (Obama) will need a House majority in 2014,” the White House freaked.

“The White House was very nervous about that story,” Chuck Todd reported this morning.

And then today, Jay Carney told reporters that winning the House for Democrats is “not a focus of his, particularly, at this point.”

So which one is it?

Maybe this: Could it be that the White House has figured out that not only is President Obama not particularly popular in the districts they want to win, but voters of all stripes might be a little sick of the never-ending campaign?

The post Who is the White House fooling? appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

As the Arizona Republic reported this week, since being sworn back into office, Kirkpatrick has already missed 16 votes in the House – more than half of her total votes to date and likely the worst voting record in the entire Congress.

According to her Facebook and Twitter, however, Kirkpatrick was available to attend President Obama’s inauguration ceremony.

Why did she miss these votes? Kirkpatrick won’t say. It’s time for some answers.

Arizonans deserve to know why Kirkpatrick has already missed more votes than she’s cast. Kirkpatrick was elected to represent Arizonans. Not only is she falling short of that duty, but she won’t explain her absence to the people who elected her.

The post Time for answers: Why isn’t Ann Kirkpatrick showing up for her job? appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Matheson is up to his same old tricks – trying to hide his support from national Democrats.

Despite symbolically voting against making Nancy Pelosi Speaker today, Matheson and Pelosi were close as could be during his last campaign. The former Speaker pumped $14,000 into Matheson’s 2012 reelection bid.

 That’s right: $14,000!!

Not only that, but Matheson has already voted for Pelosi when it mattered most: Four times in fact. In 2009, 2007, 2005 and 2003.

NRCC COMMENT: “Jim Matheson can’t fool Utah families anymore. His loyalties to Nancy Pelosi run deep. Why else would she have funneled $14,000 into Matheson’s campaign coffers.” – NRCC Spokesman Daniel Scarpinato

P.S. – Today the NRCC invited Jim Matheson to retire before Utah voters kick him out in 2014. View the brochure here.

The post Just take the dough and vote no appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.