The NRCC Blog

Instead of siding with the majority of Americans who favor immediately expanding domestic oil production, House Democrats are attempting to ~~deceive the American publicby offering a do-nothing proposal that~~is ~~already the law of the land.~~ deceive the American publicby offering a do-nothing proposal thatis already the law of the land. Not only is the Democrats' "use it or lose it" proposal a redundant ploy to escape from offering a sensible and useful energy plan, but it is simply bad ~~policy. xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /~~

~~The~~ policy.

The Department of the Interior already has the ~~authority to invalidate~~ authority to invalidate any lease of federal land by energy companies, although Democrats would like voters to think otherwise. ~~Yesterday, the scientific community~~ ~~offered its opinion~~ Yesterday, the scientific community offered its opinion on the Democrats' flawed bill by sending a letter to House Leadership detailing the long technical and legal process required before any drilling can even occur:

"Once a lease is awarded, geologists begin an intensive assessment. They collect new geological, geophysical, and geochemical data to better understand the geology in their lease area.... If there is no evidence of a suitable trap, the explorer will relinquish the lease and walk away."

Despite the knowledge that this long and time-consuming process must take place after land is leased but before it is drilled, Democrats are ignoring the facts in an attempt to further skirt their duties and provide real, sensible solutions to the nation's energy ~~problems.~~ problems. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, meanwhile, has also put a dent in the Democrats' "use it or lose it" proposal because of problematic side effects, namely significant losses in federal revenue:

"CBO has determined that a bill sponsored by House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall that would prohibit companies from having future oil and gas production leases unless they act in 'due diligence' toward producing on current leases, as defined by the Interior secretary, 'slows down the process' and would result in lost federal revenue, Rahall said." (CongressDaily, 6/24/08)

This Democrat-led Congress has long been at odds with a vast majority of Americans by refusing to face the reality of the nation's energy crisis, and it seems now that everyone except the Democrats have recognized the inane affects that this ill-conceived bill would ~~have.~~

~~Click here~~ have.

Click here to read the full letter from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Americans are expressing an increasingly loud demand for immediate action to relieve their pain at the pump. As a recent Fox News poll points out, 76 percent of Americans support immediately increasing domestic drilling for oil as a way to combat skyrocketing gas prices. A majority also supports oil exploration in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) and an increase in domestic nuclear power. The American people are speaking loud and clear - it's time for action in Washington.

"House and Senate Republicans are leading an almost daily drive for legislation to lift the federal moratorium on offshore drilling, increase oil shale development in the Rocky Mountain West and open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration." (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/23/08)

Meanwhile, Democrats continue their failure of leadership on the matter:

"House and Senate Democratic leaders are unlikely ever to let these drilling proposals reach the floor." (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/23/08)

Key Democrats voted twice last week against debating a bill that would have lowered the cost of gasoline by increasing domestic refinery production, even though 75 percent of Americans are calling for just that (House Roll Call 423 and 435). Democrats are demonstrating how out-of-touch they are with Americans as week after week they block responsible and effective Republican solutions to America's energy crisis. Unfortunately for the Democrat-led Congress, the numbers don't lie. Americans are clamoring for lower gas prices and increased domestic energy production and Democrats have placed themselves directly at odds with the voting public. How much longer will the people have to wait for Nancy Pelosi's do-nothing Democrats to deliver results?

State Senator David Cappiello headed to the floor of the Connecticut State Senate today for a special session, leading a charge to make gas prices more affordable in the state which has the third highest gas prices in the nation. Equipped with over 26,000 petitions signed by the people of Connecticut, Cappiello is pushing for a bill that will end hidden gas tax increases. Meanwhile, his opponent, Rep. Chris Murphy, continues to stand idly by in Washington while people in his home district and across the country are feeling the hit of high gas prices.

Rep. Murphy is standing in the way of domestic energy exploration. Murphy has repeatedly voted alongside his Democrat leadership to block the House from debating amendments aimed at reducing the cost of gas. Meanwhile, David Cappiello is not taking Connecticut's $4.35 per gallon gasoline lightly - he's offering the people of Connecticut useful, real-world solutions, fighting to eliminate unfair taxes, and helping to relieve the taxpayers' pain at the pump.

Click here to hear David Cappiello's proposal to lower gas taxes in the Nutmeg State.

(Source: http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/sbsavg.asp)

$4 Gasoline: Will the Democrat-led Congress Ever Fulfill Promise of Relief?

Over the weekend, our nation's gas prices hit an astonishing all-time high of $4 per gallon, and so far, Democrats in Congress have done nothing to address America's growing energy crisis. On the campaign trail, Democrats promised voters that they had a plan to fix our country's high gas problem - and that was when gasoline cost $2.33 per gallon. Now, less than 2 years and $1.67 per gallon later, Americans are paying through the nose for gasoline, and thanks to the inaction of the Democrat-led Congress, they aren't going to be getting relief at the pump anytime soon.

Here is the effect across the nation of the Democrats' inaction on energy issues:

(Source: AAA, Daily Fuel Gauge Report)

This Democrat-led Congress has repeatedly ignored the 57 percent of Americans who support expanding domestic energy exploration to help achieve our energy independence. Last week, Democrats banded together to block responsible solutions to America's energy crisis in favor of partisan loyalty and at the expense of every American:

Ignoring the fact that the cost of gas has risen more than 71% since the Democrats took control of Congress, Democrats voted twice to block the House from debating any amendment aimed at reducing the cost of gas (House Roll Call 370 and 380).

The Houston Chronicle editorialized that "Across the nation, school districts are limiting field trips and, in some cases, canceling classes one day a week because they can't pay the doubled cost of operating school buses," yet Democrats opposed allowing public schools to use funding to pay for burdensome energy costs that have risen more than 50% since January 2007 (House Roll Call 378).

Finally, just before Congress recessed for a long weekend, Democrats voted against educating the public on the side effects of rising gas prices (House Roll Call 385).

As the state of the economy remains the number one issue on Americans' minds today, Democrats have offered no solutions, just empty rhetoric. How much longer is our nation going to have to wait until the Democrats realize that turning a blind-eye to skyrocketing gas prices is simply not the solution? How much higher will gas prices have to rise before the Democrat-led Congress listens to the voters' calls for relief?

###

It's been five days since Rep. Paul Kanjorski's (PA-11) stunning remarks surfaced in which he said that the Democrats sold the American people a bill of goods when they promised to end the war in Iraq while campaigning in 2006.

On Thursday, a video clip from 2007 was made public on YouTube in which Kanjorski stated that the Democrats "stretched the facts" when it came to their proposal to withdraw from Iraq simply to retake the majority in the House (view clip):

"I'll tell you my impression. We really in this last election ﾖ when I say we, the Democrats ﾖ I think pushed it as far as we can, the envelope. Didn't say it, but we implied it ﾖ that we, if we won the congressional elections, we could stop the war. Now anybody who is a good student of government would know that wasn't true. But you know the temptation to want to win back the Congress, we sort of stretched the facts ﾖ and people ate it up."

"Coming on the heels of this Memorial Day weekend, one would think that Paul Kanjorski has an apology to offer up given his disgusting comments," said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain. "For a sitting member of Congress to essentially state that our military men and women fighting overseas are merely pawns for the Democrats' political game is both pitiful and disgraceful. For Paul Kanjorski to admit that Democrats campaigned in '06 on a fraudulent agenda to end the war, not only exposes his own calculated efforts to fool the voters of his district, but it also raises the question of whether this was a coordinated effort by the Democratic Party as a whole."

With Paul Kanjorski touring the 11^th Congressional District during this week's recess, he should be asked the tough questions and be forced to apologize on behalf of Democrats nationwide for perpetrating fraud on the American public.

With three public events on his schedule today, there should be plenty of opportunities for Paul Kanjorski to offer up an explanation for his offensive remarks:

10:30am Millennium Circle Portal on the river behind the Irem Temple Mosque in Wilkes-Barre

3:30pm Hazleton Elementary Middle School

7:00pm Exter Borough Meeting

This weekend marks Memorial Day, a day in which Americans should pause and remember all those brave men and women who have served in our armed forces and who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom. In towns all across the country, the main streets turn into parade routes as Americans remember those whose blood was shed on unseen shores -- whether in the Argonne Forest, on Omaha Beach, at the 38th Parallel, on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, or in Baghdad.

Author James Michener quoted an unknown admiral in his book Bridges at Toko-Ri, "where do we find such men?" to which President Reagan answered, "where we've always found them in this country. On the farms, in the shops, in the stores and the offices, they are just the product of the freest society man has ever known."

May 17th marked Armed Forces Day in the U.S. which honors those who are currently serving in the military, whether apart of Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, or stationed somewhere else abroad. Please join with me in not only honoring those who have given their lives for freedom but also in honoring those who continue to serve our great country. We are proud of their sacrifice and their sense of duty and patriotism.

To join us in honoring America's soldiers, we ask that you add your comments to our special Memorial Day page. You can add your comments below. Many proud Americans have already added their comments and I hope you will join them.

May God Bless us as we remember our soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend America and our freedoms.

May God bless them.

Sincerely,

Tom Cole, M.C.
Chairman

Democrat Dirty Laundry

SPIN CYCLE:
On the Campaign Trail, Democrats Promised to Severe Ties with Special Interests

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): "We are committed to immediate change to lead this country in a new direction, to put an end to business as usual, and to make certain this nation's leaders serve the people's interests, not special interests." ("A New Direction for America," Page 21)

RINSE CYCLE:
Democrats Have Risked America's Economic and National Security to Deliver Paybacks to the Trial Lobby

"House Republicans, business lobbyists and tort reformers launched a last-ditch effort Wednesday to scrap a tiny provision involving trial lawyer taxes from a much larger bill that would extend many popular tax credits backed by K Street.

"Opponents say the measure, which would change the period during which lawyers could file their trial expenses for a business tax deduction, is a tax break for the trial bar that will cost more than $1.5 billion over 10 years."

"Larry Akey, a spokesman for the Institute for Legal Reform, said his group would fight the provision, while its affiliated organization, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, dispatched a letter that included criticism of the trial lawyer tax change.

"'We are frankly appalled that in the current economic conditions that a bunch of wealthy trial lawyers would ask taxpayers to help them fund their frivolous lawsuits,' Akey said.

"'Obviously the trial bar is counting on the notion that there are a number of good tax provision extensions in this particular piece of legislation and so are trying to slip by an entirely new tax break for themselves,' Akey said. "

"And a source at the Republican Conference quoted House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) as saying that he had to give Democrats credit for knowing how to 'unabashedly reward their friends.'"

"Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y.) took to the House floor to defend the proposal."

"A GOP lobbyist working the issue said the tax change gives Republicans an opportunity to expose Democrats' hypocrisy when it comes to special interest legislation.

"'The Democrat leadership promised to drain the swamp, but instead they've chosen to reward their richest donors through legislation,' the lobbyist said."
(Roll Call, 5/22/08)

Although the majority of 2nd District Democrats cast their vote for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, today Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN02) announced that as a Democratic party super-delegate he would be supporting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Rep. Donnelly made his announcement via a press release from his official congressional office. Although Donnelly has been emphasizing lately in the local press that he is only interested in working on district issues while he's in Washington, apparently he's very much interested in fulfilling party obligations while on taxpayer time. Also of interest is the fact that Donnelly chose to endorse Sen. Obama only aftercampaign contributions from the Hope Fund PAC run by Obama. he received $7,500 in

Donnelly cited Obama's ability to build "bipartisan majorities" and his work for affordable health care as some of the reasons behind his endorsement. It does appear that Sen. Obama will have a difficult task building bipartisan majorities since he was rated as the most liberal member of the United States Senate by National Journal and has received accolades from some of the most liberal groups in American politics.

Joe Donnelly's support for Sen. Obama's nationalized health care proposal illustrates the choice that 2nd District voters will face this fall. Canada, Germany, and other nations have nationalized their health care systems with disastrous results. The only people who win in a government controlled health care system are the bureaucrats. Standing in contrast to these proven policies of failure is Luke Puckett, the Republican candidate running against Joe Donnelly. Puckett is advocating for a market based solution to the rising cost of health care, a solution that puts consumers first and unleashes the ingenuity of the American people in a way that Barack Obama and Joe Donnelly seem to fear.

GILLIBRAND CAUGHT TRYING TO PULL FAST ONE WITH LATEST MAILER (NY-20)
Glens Falls Post Star, May 11, 2008: "...Republican congressional candidate Alexander 'Sandy' Treadwell accused U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand of using hyperbole...'Congresswoman Gillibrand sees the big hole in America's immigration policies and that's why she's working hard to fix it,' proclaims the glossy mailer the federal government paid $35,000 to print and mail out to homes in the 20th Congressional District. The mailer discusses legislation Gillibrand...cosponsored that would increase the number of federal border patrol agents and expand an electronic program employers use to verifying immigration status of workers, among other provisions. Treadwell said Gillibrand is being insincere because she would not support a motion that would have brought the legislation to an immediate vote by the full House. 'She's taking credit for a bill as a cosponsor, but at the same time she's doing nothing to get the bill to the floor to a vote,' Treadwell, a former state secretary of state from Lake Placid, said in a telephone interview after issuing a press release on Friday." (more)

CAPPIELLO GETS NOD, SETS SIGHTS ON MURPHY (CT-05)
WTNH, May 10, 2008: "Today, hundreds of Republican political activists from around Connecticut spent part of their Saturday at congressional district conventions. Republicans in the 5th District are promising an aggressive battle to take the seat back from the Democrats. Sen. David Cappiello of Danbury had everything go his way today as 5th District Republicans selected him as their candidate for Congress. He had been introduced by former longtime Congresswoman Nancy Johnson...Cappiello says his opponent, Rep. Chris Murphy, has broken too many promises. 'He promised two years ago he was going to fix the crisis, the gasoline crisis, it's gone up 56%, the cost of gasoline,' Cappiello said...Johnson says Cappiello is the Republicans best hope of recapturing the district she held for 24 years. 'Thanks to President Bush, Cappiello has already raised a million dollars for his campaign against Chris Murphy, assuring the battle for the 5th District will be a high profile race again,' she said." (more)

HILL: ENVIRONMENT CAN WAIT UNTIL AFTER ELECTIONS (IN-09)
Evening News & Tribune, May 10, 2008: "Ninth District Rep. Baron Hill, D-Seymour, was surprised to see billboards popping up around Southern Indiana, which challenge his record on the environment. According to the organization Greenpeace USA, the billboards are meant to call attention to Hill's record of support for weak fuel economy efficiency standards, the coal industry and his inaction on global warming legislation...Hill sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which he said has plans to move forward with environmental issues after the November election...Yet [Edyta] Sitko feels each day that passes is a loss that impacts the environment, therefore the organization went ahead with the three billboards, two of which are along Interstate 65." (more)

ESCH CAUGHT PLAGIARIZING (NE-02)
Omaha World Herald, May 9, 2008: "House candidate Jim Esch acknowledged that part of a posting on his campaign's Web site was taken verbatim from a Brookings Institution report on the housing crisis...Esch said the mistake occurred as the campaign was rushing to respond to a housing proposal from Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. Esch said an aide sent him the Brookings passages to help craft a posting on his Web site...Compounding the error, he said, footnotes that were included in his policy director's e-mail were lost when Esch copied the text onto his Web site posting...Esch lost to Terry, a five-term incumbent, in 2006." (more)

THE BLIP:
FRESHMEN DEMS FEAR DOWNBALLOT DRAG
The Weekly Standard Blog, May 9, 2008: "Sixteen Freshmen Democrats sent a letter to the superdelegates right after the North Carolina and Indiana primaries -- by which time it was pretty apparent that they were campaigning against the eventual nominee. On the one hand, you could argue that by waiting until after those primaries failed to 'change the game,' they risked nothing. On the other hand, why alienate Obama at this point -- unless you really were worried that he would be far worse for your re-election chances than Clinton? This brings full circle the conventional wisdom on Barack Obama's ability to help down-ballot candidates. In the very districts that are most marginal -- most at risk -- Democrats would rather run with Hillary Clinton heading the ticket than Obama. And don't forget that Democrats have been dreading for years the prospect of running with Clinton. A lot has changed in the last few months." (more)

Kay Barnes has supported gas taxes in the past, and now she wants to take her agenda to Washington, putting further strain on hard-working Americans who are struggling with the rapidly rising cost of gas. With a record of supporting higher taxes on gas, and with no feasible solution of her own, Kay Barnes is showing she is out of touch with the people of Missouri's 6th Congressional District.

Kay Barnes did her fair share of pointing fingers this week on energy prices, but should have put the blame where it belongs. When the Democrats in Washington first took control of Congress, Missourians were paying $2.10 for gas. But, Kay Barnes' party in Washington broke its promise to lower gas prices and now Missouri families are paying an average of $3.46 for gas.

Barnes has "very obviously" indicated that she will be beholden to the Democrats' tax-hiking agenda in Washington, as she has already taken nearly $40,000 from liberal leaders in Washington:

$14,000 from father of the Mother of All Tax Hikes, Chairman Charlie Rangel
$4,500 from San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi
$4,000 from Democrat Leader Steny Hoyer
$2,000 from Democrat Whip Jim Clyburn
$9,500 from former DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel
$5,000 from DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen

"Kay Barnes already has a record of supporting gas taxes and has shown no sign of changing her ways in the future," said NRCC spokeswoman Julie Shutley. "Barnes has made it clear to the voters of Missouri that she intends to support the Democrats' liberal agenda of sitting back and doing nothing as gas prices spiral out of control."

(Sources: http://fec.gov; AAA Fuel Gauge Report; Kansas City Star, 3/23/01; Kansas City Star, 5/6/08)

POLL SHOWS SHEA-PORTER IN DANGER (NH-01)
Politico, May 5, 2008: "...The Granite State poll also contained some encouraging news for House Republicans. It showed Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) trailing her potential Republican rival, former GOP Rep. Jeb Bradley, 45 to 39 percent, in a head-to-head matchup. She only wins 43 percent of the vote against a lesser-known Republican opponent, former state Health Commissioner John Stephen. The fact that Shea-Porter is polling well under 50 percent (the sign of political health for an incumbent) against both Republicans should be worrisome for Democrats, especially given the strong national environment for the party. Shea-Porter has been among the party's weakest fundraisers and faces a credible Republican challenger in November.Shea-Porter also suffers from a relatively low net favorability rating: only 39 percent of voters view her favorably, while 28 percent view her unfavorably. Her plus-11 net rating is down 15 points since February. 'If the New Hampshire state motto is "live free or die," then Carol Shea-Porter's enthusiastic support for higher taxes and bigger government are a political death knell,' said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain." (more)

DEMS DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM PELOSI
Roll Call, May 6, 2008: "...some vulnerable Democrats interviewed last week hemmed about a possible Pelosi visit to their district. Most said they will run on their own records ﾗ rather than that of party leaders...Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) said he 'has not asked for any surrogates to come to my district, and I don't intend to.'...In the air, [Pelosi] will star as a bogeyman in Republican ads...[Don] Cazayoux put some distance between himself and Pelosi by suggesting last week he would consider supporting someone else for Speaker...Ed Goeas, a Republican strategist and president of The Tarrance Group, said Pelosi will provide GOP candidates 'value-added' in their races. He pointed to results from the Harris Poll in February that showed Pelosi's negative ratings have jumped 12 points, to 57 percent, while her positives have dropped 13." (more)

MILLER-MEEKS MAKES AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE NO. 1 PRIORITY (IA-02)
Keokuk Daily Gate City, May 5, 2008: "Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks was standing outside Senator Grassley's office in Washington D.C. with several other doctors. She said she felt there would be no action on Medicare disparity after meeting with Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Mount Vernon.) It was at that point she said she might run for Congress. She decided to run as a Republican...Being a doctor, Miller-Meeks has a big interest in health care. Last Monday she performed surgery in the morning before hitting the campaign trail. She said changes need to be made in the single payer healthcare system that has continually decreased payment to providers and hospitals to control costs and ultimately ration care and limit innovation and technology..." (more)

CHENEY TO STUMP FOR DAVIS (MS-01)
Associated Press, May 5, 2008: "Vice President Dick Cheney will appear in heavily Republican DeSoto County next week to campaign for the GOP's Greg Davis the day before a special election to fill an open congressional seat. Davis faces Democrat Travis Childers in a May 13 runoff in the 1st District, which stretches across 24 counties in northern Mississippi. 'The vice president intends on working hard this cycle to return a Republican majority to Congress,' Cheney spokesman Jamie Hennigan said Monday in confirming his boss' May 12 appearance...Davis, 42, is mayor of Southaven, a fast-growing community in DeSoto County, just south of Memphis, Tenn.Davis campaign spokesman Ted Prill said the Cheney appearance at the DeSoto Civic Center will help 'energize our base.' 'Greg is happy to stand on stage and have the support of the leaders of his party. Travis Childers cannot run far enough away from Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.' Childers has criticized Republican efforts to tie him to Clinton and Obama, who are running for president; and Pelosi, the House speaker." (more)

SWEETLAND CAMPAIGN TAKES SHAPE (NY-25)
Syracuse Post Standard, May 6, 2008: "Republican congressional candidate Dale Sweetland's campaign picked up steam Monday as his most formidable Republican opponent, Assemblyman Bob Oaks, withdrew from the race and endorsed him. Sweetland also pocketed the endorsement of the man he hopes to succeed - 10-term incumbent Rep. James Walsh, R-Onondaga. 'This is a winnable race,' said Sweetland, the former Onondaga County Legislature chairman...Sweetland promised to run an issues-oriented campaign promoting common-sense solutions to the economic difficulties people are facing...Sweetland said donors have been steadily calling him since Thursday night, when the Onondaga County Republican Committee voted to endorse him over the other three Republicans...Onondaga County Republican Chairman John DeSpirito III said Sweetland's goal is to raise $500,000 by July. Walsh pledged to hold a fundraiser for Sweetland in Washington and to use his connections to raise money." (more)

THE BLIP:
PELOSI ON "VIOLATING" CAMPAIGN PROMISES: "GET OVER IT"
Politico, May 6, 2008: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is about to lead her party into a major showdown over Iraq funding by violating two Democratic campaign pledges in one fell swoop. To the critics, whether anti-war activists or House Republicans, Pelosi has made her feelings clear: Get over it...she is expected to break one promise ﾗ her 2006 pledge for a more open and inclusive committee process...Democrats are using the Iraq bill as leverage for billions of dollars in domestic spending priorities...Explaining the threatened tantrum, Jo Maney, spokeswoman for Republicans on the House Rules Committee, said: 'You said you were going to do something and you didn't. They are using process for political objectives.'...In her campaign pamphlet in 2006...Pelosi declared that 'bills should be developed following full hearings and open subcommittee and committee markups, with appropriate referrals to other committees.'" (more)

Associated Press, May 6, 2008: "Democrats are finding more excuses to ignore the promise they made when they took over Congress that they wouldn't pass laws increasing the budget deficit.
Now they're willing to do it again for a $13 billion extension of unemployment aid and a doubling of education benefits for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan...Deficit hawks in both parties worry that the stimulus bill opened the door to further deficit-swelling legislation. They view the rule ﾗ dubbed 'PAYGO' in inside-the-Beltway slang for pay-as-you-go ﾗ as a key bulwark against Congress' propensity to spend outside its means...The GOP approach on an AMT [Alternative Minimum Tax] fix has forced House Democrats to abandon paying as you go or else face the ire of taxpayers who would otherwise be hit by the AMT's average $2,000 tax increase..." (more)

Barack Obama isn't the only extreme liberal trying to elect Travis Childers to Congress. Washington's liberal elite - from California to Massachusetts to Miami -- have made a significant investment in the hope of adding Childers to the Pelosi-led liberal army.

Childers has accepted over $16,000 in campaign contributions from Washington liberals who support same-sex marriage, partial-birth abortion and outrageous tax increases just like Barack Obama. With over $16,000 in contributions from politicians who don't share Mississippi values, it looks like Travis Childers already owes a lot of favors to national Democrats:

$4,000 from Miami liberal Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
$2,000 from Democrat Rep. Dennis Cardoza
$2,000 from California liberal Rep. Jane Harman
$2,000 from House Democratic Senior Whip Rep. Mike Honda
$2,000 from Nancy Pelosi's best friend and Education and Labor Chairman Rep. George Miller
$2,000 from Democrat Rep. Charlie Melancon
$1,000 from Ways and Means tax-hiker and Massachusetts liberal Rep. Richard Neal
$1,000 from Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton

Democrat leaders have effectively put a price tag on Travis Childers' support for their liberal agenda in Washington. Will Travis Childers hide from the truth of receiving thousands in liberal cash just like he did with Obama's endorsement? It appears that Travis Childers has a lot more in common with Barack Obama and liberals in California and Miami than his false and misleading TV ads claim.

(source: www.fec.gov)

TO: Interested Parties
SUBJECT: Dina Titus - Not the Right Fit for Nevada

Democrats are scrambling after Democrat recruit Robert Daskas dropped out of the race against Rep. Jon Porter in Nevada's 3rd District. Democrats are currently urging Dina Titus, who was defeated in 2006 in the Nevada gubernatorial race, to take on Jon Porter. A second loss, back-to-back, would be career ending for Dina Titus, and reports from Nevada today show that Titus might not pack as much punch as Democrats are hoping.

√ "In addition, Sen. Titus doesn't currently live in the district and would be at a substantial fundraising disadvantage. She also has an extensive, 20-year liberal track record in Carson City, which Rep. Porter and the GOP will have no problem mining. They've already started." (Las Vegas Review Journal, April 30, 2008)

√ "Instantly, the dynamics of the 3rd Congressional District race changed, from Porter's facing a prosecutor without a record to his possibly facing a well-known candidate with...baggage from her unsuccessful 2006 race for governor." (Las Vegas Sun, April 30, 2008)

√ "Although Nevada Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus (D-Las Vegas) has not yet declared for the 3rd Congressional District seat now held by Republican Rep. Jon Porter, the National Republican Congressional Committee has already begun attempts to define her candidacy as 'out of touch' and potentially 'disastrous for Democrats.'" (PolitickerNV.com, April 30, 2008)

Dina Titus has a record that speaks for itself:

√ Titus supports giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants

√ Titus voted for 25 different tax increases, including raising sales and property taxes.

√ Titus voted for the largest tax increase in Nevada's history.

The fact that Democrat leaders are wooing her into the race is just another indication that Dina Titus will take the same liberal record she has in the Nevada legislature to Washington.

√ "Democrats are trying to woo Titus into the race and praising her abilities as a candidate. Though she did not return calls from the Sun on Tuesday, in an e-mail to supporters, Titus said she has received calls from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Shelley Berkley and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging her to enter the race." (Las Vegas Sun, April 30, 2008)

Dina Titus lost in 2006 during a Democrat tidal wave. With her record and political baggage, her candidacy for Congress will be over before it even begins.

The longer the chaos of the Democrat presidential primary plays out, the more a liability Barack Obama becomes to congressional candidates running on the Democrat ticket this year. Evidence that the bloom is off the Obama rose is Travis Childers' adamant denial he accepted an endorsement from Obama.

Childers, a candidate in the open seat of Mississippi's 1st Congressional District, told reporters, "Senator Obama hasn't endorsed my candidacy. I have not been in contact with his campaign nor has he been in contact with mine..." (WREG, April 28, 2008)

However, an email from Obama's presidential campaign sent April 22nd encouraged supporters to make phone calls and turn out voters for Childers in the special election runoff.

"Today we can give Travis the boost he needs to finish strong," read the Obama email, "and show that our movement is dedicated to change up and down the ballot." (Obama email, WREG, April 28, 2008)

See the story by WREG here.

Childers isn't the only Democrat distancing himself from Obama. North Carolina Governor Mike Easely, a superdelegate, endorsed Hillary Clinton today over the odds-on favorite to win the state's primary, Barack Obama.

With less than a month until the Mississippi election to fill the open congressional seat, the question to Travis Childers is, "If not Obama, who? Hillary?" Former President Bill Clinton lost the state of Mississippi in 1996, and President George W. Bush won the state in 2000 with 59% of the vote and again in 2004 by an even wider margin of 62%. No matter how you slice it, Democrat Travis Childers isn't going to pick a candidate favorable to his district unless he endorses John McCain.

In the heart of Indiana's 2nd Congressional district, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline on Tuesday was $3.75 a gallon. For premium, motorists had to shell out $3.95 a gallon. The price of gasoline has risen over 55% since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007 declaring that they had a solution for the high cost of fuel.

So far, Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN02) has responded to the high price of gas by holding a press conference at a gas station just outside of South Bend saying he has sent a letter to President Bush requesting that 20 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve be sent onto the market and that the SPR stop taking any more deliveries until prices go back down.

According to Donnelly, if the SPR followed through on his plan by releasing 20 million barrels of oil onto the market, prices would drop by about $0.25. That's a pretty optimistic number considering that our nation uses a little over 20 million barrels of oil a day. There are 365 days in a year, Joe Donnelly wants to give us one day of relief from high gas prices, that's not a genuine and meaningful solution, Joe.

Donnelly has yet to embrace the idea of a federal gas tax holiday over the summer driving season and he has voted time and again to raise taxes on oil companies and block our use of domestic oil and gas reserves that are just waiting to be tapped into. Like his liberal San Francisco Speaker, Joe Donnelly prefers to talk about the problem of high energy costs and blame "big oil" instead of providing solutions.

Another bit of energy relief policy that Donnelly is a proponent of is the "Federal Price Gouging and Prevention Act." This bill imposes significant civil and criminal penalties on those who charge "unconscionable excessive" prices for fuel. According to the Heritage Foundation, the effects of this bill would be roughly the same as an all out price control on fuel sales. By vaguely defining what counts as price gouging, Congress creates an environment in which gas retailers must constantly assess whether or not their market driven prices could fall under the vague definition of price gouging that could land them on the wrong side of a federal court case.

Taken all together, Rep. Donnelly's proposals to lower the cost of gasoline represent the very worst of the energy policies of the 1970s. After four years of absolutely terrible economic and energy policies, Americans selected Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter. Let's hope that after two years of inept Congressional leadership, Americans will once again select common sense over political hot air and real solutions over political platitudes this November.