It didn’t take long for lobbyist and career political insider Mark Critz to get sick of being back in Pennsylvania.

According to reports, after being wined and dined by a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that is getting desperate for credible candidates, Critz is leaning towards running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 12^th District despite being rejected by voters last November.

With President Obama intent on making Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House in 2014, it looks like Washington Democrats are counting on Mark Critz selling Western Pennsylvania on the Obama/Pelosi agenda of big government and an out-of-control bureaucracy that has all too frequently become a tool for abuse.

NRCC Comment: “It didn’t take long for Mark Critz to get sick of Western Pennsylvania and start longing for the Washington D.C. good life. National Democrats are counting on Critz to get back to Washington to help them put Nancy Pelosi back in the Speaker’s chair and double down on President Obama’s misguided, job-killing agenda.” – NRCC Ian Prior

The post Mark Critz already sick of Pennsylvania appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Today, Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Israel will be in Philadelphia for a fundraiser to benefit Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked candidate for Pennsylvania’s 8^th District – Kevin Strouse. Meanwhile, while they’re fundraising with liberal backers, residents of Bucks County are still wondering who exactly Kevin Strouse is. What are his positions? Why does he think he’s qualified to represent a district he’s never even lived in?

To help Strouse acclimate to his brand new home, and to help him figure out the answers to some of these pressing questions, the National Republican Congressional Committee will deliver a “Welcome to Bucks County” gift basket to his fundraiser. The basket contains items that will help Strouse transition from D.C. to Bucks County. Included are the following:

-Philadelphia Phillies hat

-Philadelphia Eagles eye stickers

-Bucks County street map

-Bucks County pen

-Bucks County tin for storing souvenirs

-Brochures highlighting the many tourist attractions in Bucks County

“While Kevin Strouse may choose to have his first campaign event outside of his district in Philadelphia, he has a lot of catching up to do in order to learn about Bucks County and the rest of the 8^th District,” said NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior. “It’s going to take more than support from Nancy Pelosi and the DCCC for Strouse to make a coherent argument as to what makes him uniquely qualified to represent a district he knows nothing about.”

The post Welcome Wagon! NRCC Welcomes Handpicked Pelosi Candidate Kevin Strouse to Bucks County appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Why would he turn against the coal industry and vote for a carbon tax and other massive tax hikes on the coal industry?

Why would he vote against the Keystone Pipeline?

Why has Nick Rahall gone so far to the left that he thinks unions and New York Democrats are “right wing?”

The Answer: Because Nick Rahall has fallen under the sway of Raul Grijalva, author of the Progressive Budget that Rahall supports, and outspoken opponent of the Keystone Pipeline.

Perhaps it will be easier to understand Rahall’s anti-coal and anti-energy philosophy by watching this video from his friend Congressman Grijalva.

Or perhaps not.

The post The Mad Scientist Behind Nick Rahall’s Turn Against Coal appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Bucks County Tourist and Congressional candidate Kevin Strouse will be looking for a beach in Bucks County to get through his first summer reading assignment – The Obamacare Playbook.

Nancy Pelosi has just released a 78-page messaging playbook that will help Strouse sell some Obamacare snake oil to voters. The playbook includes suggestions like “hiring an Obamacare coordinator” and having Obamacare events throughout the district to try and prop up the unpopular law.

Notably absent from the playbook are events where IRS officials explain how they will enforce the law.

NRCC Comment: “Bucks County tourist and Congressional candidate Kevin Strouse hasn’t said a single word about Obamacare since announcing his candidacy and now we know why – he was waiting for Nancy Pelosi to give him the Obamacare playbook. Unfortunately for voters in Bucks County, the snake oil that Strouse and Pelosi will be trying to sell is long on fantasy and short on truth.” – NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior

The post Kevin Strouse’s Summer Reading appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

First Nancy Pelosi, Carol Shea-Porter, and the rest of the Congressional Democrats passed Obamacare.

Then, everyone found out what was in it.

Now, Pelosi has released a 78-page Obamacare playbook and enlisted Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster to spend their time in New Hampshire selling some Obamacare snake oil to their constituents.

Yes, you heard that right. The most unpopular Congressional leader has enlisted New Hampshire’s two unpopular Congresswomen to hire an Obamacare coordinator and have special “Obamacare events” to try and prop up a law that’s even less popular than they are.

Maybe Shea-Porter and Kuster can also bring someone from the IRS to explain how Obamacare will be enforced.

NRCC Comment: “The unpopular Nancy Pelosi has enlisted the unpopular Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster to spend their summer promoting the unpopular train wreck that is Obamacare. Unfortunately for Granite Staters, the snake oil that Shea-Porter and Kuster are trying to sell will be long on fantasy and short on truth.” – NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior

The post Carol and Annie’s Snake Oil Store appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Is it time for John Tierney to retire? After all, he isn’t doing much for his taxpayer-funded $174,000 salary these days.

Back in March, he walked out of a committee hearing when he didn’t get his way.

Then on Wednesday, while Tierney’s fellow delegation member Steve Lynch used his position on the House Oversight Committee to demand that the I.R.S. provide answers or face a special prosecutor, ethically-challenged Congressman John Tierney asked no questions and excused himself from the hearing.

If John Tierney can’t exercise oversight over the I.R.S., he should not be on the House Oversight Committee. It’s really that simple.

NRCC Comment: “John Tierney owes his constituents an explanation as to why he excused himself in the middle of a Congressional hearing on the I.R.S.’s targeting of citizens for their political beliefs. If Tierney doesn’t believe that this is an important matter that deserves his attention, he should immediately remove himself from the Committee on Oversight & Government reform and give serious thought to finding a job where attendance is optional.” – NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior

The post John Tierney should step down from House Oversight Committee appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Well this is a bit awkward.

A month after the DCCC’s handpicked candidate moved to Bucks County to run for Congress, another Democratic candidate is taking him to task for being the handpicked candidate of Washington D.C. Democrats.

That’s right, Shaughnessy Naughton, who just moved from Philadelphia to “the apartment on the side of her parents’ home in Point Pleasant,” is calling out Strouse for just moving to Bucks County from Washington D.C. Meanwhile, both tourist candidates hide behind vanilla websites, hoping to hide their support for Nancy Pelosi’s agenda and her goal of one-party rule in Washington.

Meanwhile, with local Democrats having no idea who Kevin Strouse even is, it looks as though the DCCC should have waited to put Strouse on its “Jumpstart” program; every day it’s looking like their efforts in PA-08 more closely resemble a false start. This sure has all the makings of yet another epic 2014 DCCC fail.

NRCC Comment: “While Kevin Strouse and Shaughnessy Naughton fight to see which Bucks County tourist can help Nancy Pelosi become Speaker of the House in 2014, lifelong Bucks County native Mike Fitzpatrick is working hard for Pennsylvanians to grow the economy and to keep Washington D.C. bureaucrats accountable.” NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior

The post False Start: Bucks County tourists battle for Democratic Nomination in PA-08 appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Well, Elizabeth Esty has done it again. In case you missed her Friday afternoon bad news dump, Esty returned another $1000 in money from energy executives because of a lawsuit alleging that those executives were treated favorably by the agency that Esty’s husband Dan heads up.

Of course, it only took her two weeks to return the money after those same questionable contributions were reported by the Hartford Courant. And that story was a follow up to the story that, under pressure from the NRCC, Esty returned $3,500 from still more energy executives that were regulated by her husband Dan’s agency.

Yet, despite the appearance of conflict and impropriety, as well as an NRCC paid effort highlighting the influence of special interests on her, Elizabeth Esty continues to hide behind spokespeople and well-planned news dumps.

Sorry Elizabeth, that is simply not good enough.

NRCC Comment: “With this latest scandal, Elizabeth Esty has sunk from a Congresswoman with terrible judgment to a full-fledged, scandal-ridden politician. She owes it to her constituents to return every cent she has taken from the energy industry, to stop hiding behind her spokespeople, and to explain why she continues to put questionable special interest campaign cash ahead of basic integrity.” – NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior

The post Stop Hiding Elizabeth! appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Michael Jackson had the moonwalk.

 
Michael Jordan had this dunk.

 
Maverick and Goose had the high-low five.

 
Now, after four months in Congress, Annie Kuster has developed her own signature move – the Kuster Shuffle. And it’s about to go viral.

For those not familiar with the Kuster shuffle, it goes a little like this.

Step 1: Find out about a negative breaking news story that may involve you or require your comment.

Step 2: Hide.

Step 3: When the media finds you, shuffle away like this:

 
Kuster’s first debuted the Kuster Shuffle when she was confronted about her failure to pay $40,000 in property taxes, but she is prone to break it out during times of crisis when her constituents demand answers.

Fortunately, the NRCC has developed the perfect defense to the Kuster Shuffle. For example, this week Kuster avoided talking about the IRS profiling scandal for several days, only making a statement after the NRCC sent out a press release demanding a response.

Wonder what if she’ll make a statement on her own about Benghazi and the AP scandal . . .

The post The Kuster Shuffle – It’s All the Rage appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.

Over the past few weeks, Pennsylvania’s small businesses and families have learned just how much of a train wreck Obamacare will be. And apparently Democrats have finally read it, because they are now afraid of what’s in it and how it will impact their electoral success in 2014.

Unfortunately, Democratic candidate Kevin Strouse seems to have missed the memo. While claiming on his new website to support Pennsylvania’s middle class families and small businesses, he fails to stand up for them by failing to oppose Obamacare and its devastating effects.

It sure looks like Strouse is perfectly happy to keep Obamacare in place, despite the havoc it will create for Pennsylvania’s middle class families, young people, seniors, and small businesses.

“Try as he may to hide his intentions, Kevin Strouse’s support for the train wreck that is Obamacare shows that his priorities lie with Nancy Pelosi and her ultra-liberal agenda, not the hard working families and small businesses of Pennsylvania’s 8th District.” – NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior

The post Kevin Strouse’s Obamacare Problem appeared first on National Republican Congressional Committee.