NRCC Weekly Rundown: #ConfidentAmerica, Rick Nolan’s Partisan Record, and More Dem Recruiting Fails

December 4, 2015

Here’s your latest NRCC Weekly Rundown:

Paul Ryan’s Vision for a #ConfidentAmerica

Speaker Paul Ryan delivered his first major address in his new role at the Library of Congress yesterday, in which he shared his plan for the upcoming year and how House Republicans can set a new agenda to help Americans feel confident, both at home and overseas.

Read the full text of his remarks here.

Rick Nolan’s Hyper-Partisan Vote against Research Funding for Childhood Diseases

Rick Nolan may try to talk a big game, but the facts don’t back him up. Over the weekend, Nolan tried to brag to an audience about his support of research funding, claiming he always “step[s] up and cast[s] a positive vote for that” sort of legislation whenever he gets the chance.

Except that’s not the case. Nolan opposed the important Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which provides funding for a wide number of childhood diseases. The bill was fully paid for by shifting funds away from public financing for political conventions. It should come as no surprise that the hyper-partisan Nolan voted against the bipartisan bill that passed with an overwhelming majority in the House, Unanimous Consent in the Senate, and signed in to law by President Obama.

ANOTHER DCCC Recruiting Fail

The DCCC has made a habit this cycle of embarrassing recruiting efforts, and looks like VA-10 is no exception. After failing to convince four other candidates to run earlier this year, it looks like Democrats are settling on LuAnn Bennett.

While any Democratic candidate in VA-10 would be a rubberstamp for the Obama-Pelosi agenda, Bennett stands out: She doesn’t actually live in in the district, let alone Virginia. Instead, she calls the Ritz Carlton in Washington, D.C. her home. Bennett’s potential candidacy is already perceived as a doomed effort. The local Sun Gazette has handicapped the race, calling Republican Barbara Comstock “the odds-on favorite” and Bennet “a 5:1 underdog.”

This is yet another recruiting failure for the DCCC in a year full of them. Last week, their slim hopes in KY-06 shrunk even more when radio host Matt Jones passed on running. In IL-12, Democrats are stuck with C.J. Baricevic after coming up short in at least two other recruiting efforts. Similar story in nearby IL-13: Democrats only managed to recruit little-known Mark Wicklund, a former Macon County Board member, while perennial losing Democratic candidate David Gill has said he will run as independent, inevitably fracturing the liberal vote. Meanwhile, the DCCC struck out in NV-03 when their three top choices said no. And CA-21 has been an ongoing soap opera for Democrats, who were turned down by four potential candidates; it looks like third-tier candidate Daniel Parra is their only option at this point.

Other News and Notes

Freshmen Republicans Carlos Curbelo in FL-26 and Steve Knight in CA-25 saw their first bills signed in to law.
Texas Congressman Will Hurd, the only member of Congress who is a former CIA operative, pushed for an increase in spying operation against ISIS. “We’re not doing it at the level we should be doing it,” he told Newsweek. “That works and we need to be doing more of it.”
After touring a local family business experiencing premium increases, New York’s Dan Donovan reiterated that “Obamacare is squeezing the middle class.”
A transportation bill from NY-24 John Katko will restore funding to Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (Centro) bus services.