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Posts Tagged ‘DGA’

RGA’s underwhelming gains

Friday, November 5th, 2010

With an epic wind at Republican’s backs and more than $100 million poured into the governors’ races, Steve Benen and Dave Weigel explain why Tuesday night’s results produced “underwhelming gains” for the Republican Governors Association – an outcome Haley Barbour himself called disappointing.

RGA’S UNDERWHELMING GAINS….
Steve Benen 

In U.S. House races, Republicans not only reclaimed the House majority, but they exceeded most expectations with a net gain of 60 (and counting). Senate wins weren’t quite as impressive — the GOP gained six seats, which was below expectations, not especially historic, and far short of what was needed for a majority.

But what about the governors’ races? Going into Tuesday, this was supposed to be a breakout year for Republican gubernatorial candidates — the RGA had effectively replaced the RNC as a fundraising powerhouse, and chairman Haley Barbour of Mississippi intended to dazzle the political world with huge wins. Larry Sabato projected net gains as many as nine.

Like the Senate contests, the party seems to have under-performed in the gubernatorial races, too. Dave Weigel notes that the victory in Florida was “huge” — I still can’t wrap my head around the notion of electing a criminal to run a large state — but the rest of the cycle proved underwhelming for the Republican Governors Association.

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Haley Barbour’s Okay Night

ByDavid Weigel

As Haley Barbour basks in the glow of the Republicans’ best round of gubernatorial elections in 16 years, is it fair to point out that his Republican Governors Association’s wins were actually on the low end of expectations? Yes, the RGA won 9 governor’s mansions, and that’s huge. Florida, in particular, was an important, tricky won. But look at the expectations at the start of the night…

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Fox’s rabbit hole

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

How deep does the rabbit hole go at Fox news? Pretty deep, apparently. Rupert Murdoch finally admitted to Politico that News Corp, parent company of Fox, gave $1M to defeat Ohio’s Democratic governor and put one of its own hosts in control of one of the most important states for 2012.

The DGA has already filed a complaint detailing how the media giant appears to have illegally contributed to former Wall Street banker John Kasich’s campaign. Expect that complaint to be amended.

Though Murdoch claimed that he always expected the $1 million contribution to the Republican Governors Association would be made public, his company disguised the initial contribution as a gift from News America. Now, the biggest question for Mr. Murdoch: If you spend $1 million to defeat Democratic governors, how much are you willing to spend on “polls” to go along with your “news” to help Republicans win in November?

Kasich inspired News Corp.’s RGA gift

News Corp.’s $1 million gift to the Republican Governors Association was the result of Rupert Murdoch’s personal friendship with former Fox News host and Ohio gubernatorial hopeful John Kasich, Murdoch told POLITICO Wednesday night.

Murdoch, who was in Washington to receive an award from The Media Institute, brushed aside concerns that the gift, which was unusually large and one-sided for a media company, might hurt Fox’s credibility as a news organization that reports on politics.

“It doesn’t reflect on Fox News,” he said. “It had nothing to do with Fox News. The RGA [gift] was actually [a result of] my friendship with John Kasich.”

Last month, the Democratic Governors Association filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission accusing Fox News of making an illegal in-kind donation to Kasich by running a chyron featuring Kasich’s website while he was on “The O’Reilly Factor” soliciting donations, the Huffington Post reported.

But the DGA has also made hay of the controversial gift, using it as a rallying cry to raise $1 million of their own.

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NYT: In Governors’ Races, Some Hope for Democrats

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

With four weeks left until the midterm elections, DGA Chair Gov. Markell made the case today that governors’ races could be the bright spot for Democrats this cycle, with the DGA on offense in key races across the country. Despite the national trends, polls in marquee pickup opportunities like California, Florida and Texas demonstrate voters are responding to the common-sense, job-focused messages of Democratic governors and candidates over the soaring fringe rhetoric of Republicans.

Catch the full speech here.  

In Governors’ Races, Some Hope for Democrats

By JEFF ZELENY

Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said Tuesday that a $1 million contribution from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to help elect Republican governors had turned into “a galvanizing moment” for Democrats.

“When we told our supporters about the Fox donation,” Mr. Markell said, “they exceeded that amount in small contributions to us within a matter of days.”

Four weeks before the Congressional elections, as Republicans work to win control of the House and Senate, the strategy of the Democratic Party is rooted almost exclusively in defense. That’s not necessarily the case in races for governor, where Democrats are waging aggressive fights in all corners of the country.

California, Florida and Texas were among the states that Mr. Markell pointed to where Democrats were taking the offensive, seeking to win governorships there from Republican control.

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ABC News: Dems on offense

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

In a volatile election year with the wind at Republicans’ backs, the Democratic Governors Association is going on offense across the country. From Florida to California – and, yes, deep in the heart of Republican territory in Texas and Georgia – the DGA is launching aggressive and historic campaigns to pick up governorships now in Republican hands. With Democrats running ahead or in striking distance in key states, the DGA’s Executive Director, Nathan Daschle, tells ABC News why Republicans who had pledged to hold as many as 38 governorships may be hard to reach for comment come election night.  And some of them are already getting harder to reach…

Democratic Governors’ Association: ‘We Can Go on Offense’

September 28, 2010 2:33 PM

News’ Rick Klein reports:

While Democrats are generally have the notion that they’ll suffer significant setbacks in races across the country this fall, the Democratic Governors’ Association is launching new rounds of ads in three of the nation’s largest states: California, Texas, and Florida.

All of those states now have Republican governors – and Democrats think they have a shot in all three, Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic governors’ group, said on ABC’s “Top Line” today.

“We do think we can go on offense this year. There are no fewer than nine states where we think we have a chance of picking them up from Republican governors,” Daschle said.

“All these states currently have Republican governors, and all of these places are where the Democrat is either winning or in striking distance,” Daschle continued. “And the reason this is important is because it says something about this electorate. It says what we know the polls are already confirming: This is not a pro-Republican electorate. This is an electorate that might still have some dissatisfaction with politics as an institution. But they’re just as eager, particularly at the state level, to like the Republican as to like the Democrat.”

Democrats now control 26 of the 50 governors’ offices. But that number appears likely to drop after this fall, with Democrats in particular trouble across a wide swath of the Midwest.

Daschle said polls show Democrats getting closer in states including Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. And he said Democratic gubernatorial candidates would exceed expectations this year.

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RGA money straight from Fox and Ailes

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Despite News Corp.’s public protestations that their unprecedented $1 million gift to elect Republican governors is legitimate, Michael Wolff rips apart their defense. The money is really from news division head Roger Ailes, he explains. 

No wonder Ailes doesn’t have the courage to use a disclaimer for his coverage of governors races, or invite DGA Executive Director Nathan Daschle to appear on any of his programming to discuss the contribution.

Who’s Really Giving Away Rupert Murdoch’s Money?

Aug 19, 10 | 8:05 AM   by Michael Wolff

The notable thing about Rupert Murdoch donating a million bucks to the Republican Governors Association is not that he’s risking general censure and opprobrium with this donation, but that he’s donating money at all. Murdoch hates the idea of giving away money for nothing. The simple public relations idea of courting goodwill by donating an infinitesimal part of your wealth to a charity of your choice is anathema to Murdoch. He thinks the rich guys who do it are phonies. He’s always irritated with his 102-year-old mother for supporting Australian charities—in this regard he rather thinks she’s a phony.

Nor does he like giving money to politicians. He thinks they’re greedy, believes the money is never well spent, and, to boot, that he supports them enough already.

So WTF?

Just say a little bird told me … the money doesn’t come from Rupert.

The company is claiming the donation has nothing to do with its news side, going so far as to audaciously say, “There is a strict wall between business and editorial.” The “corporate side” made the donation, News Corp.’s hapless spokesman insists. But the central advocate for giving the dough has been none other than Fox Chief Roger Ailes.

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Governor Jack Markell Meets, Listens to Workers

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Markell gains valuable knowledge by visiting employees 

By Logan B. Anderson 

Delaware State News DOVER — To be a better leader, Gov. Jack A. Markell believes it’s important to listen to every mem ber of his team — not just his 16 cabinet secretaries, but the people that actually do the work of state government.

This week Gov. Markell contin ued the practice he started last year of going out, meeting and talking with state employees.

“I am so convinced that many of the best answers about state government reside in the brains of the people that do the work every day,” Gov. Markell said. “Anything I can do to encourage them to speak up or to e-mail or submit some thing on the Web, I think is impor tant. I think that is why I think these meetings are productive.”

On Monday, Gov. Markell made stops at the Department of Labor and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. On Tuesday he visited with workers from the Office of Management and Budget’s Division of Facilities Management and the Division of Revenue, among others. 

“I try to spend a lot of my time doing three things — I try and visit schools when they are in session, I visit businesses and I visit state agencies,” Gov. Markell said. “I think it is important that I continually get out, meet as many state employees as I can meet and hear what is on their minds.” 

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Something’s missing

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Nearly every major media outlet covered the unprecedented $1 million contribution the Republican Governors Association received from News Corp, the parent company of Fox News. But wait…can you guess which big media player is missing from this list?

Fox Parent’s Donation Causes Stir [Politico] “News Corp.’s $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association isn’t business as usual – in either size or style. And it’s got media analysts and political pros wondering just what News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch – the man behind Fox News and the Wall Street Journal — is up to now…Democrats charged that the million-dollar donation, first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, was proof positive that Murdoch’s claim that Fox News is ‘fair and balanced’ is a myth. ‘They’re bankrolling the GOP,’ the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, Nathan Daschle, said of News Corp. Some Democrats said it would be impossible for Fox to continue to claim objectivity.” http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41191.html

Fox News parent firm gives $1 million to GOP group [AP] “The parent company of the Fox News Channel has donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association and helped the GOP group more than double its fundraising in the second quarter of the year. The RGA helps elect Republican gubernatorial candidates…DGA executive director Nathan Daschle said that with the News America contribution, ‘Fox has crossed a bright line.’ ‘Fox can no longer pretend that it is a ‘fair and balanced’ news organization when Rupert Murdoch greenlights a million dollar contribution to defeat Democratic governors,’ Daschle said.” http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=7614887

News Corp. defends $1M gift to Republican Governors Association [WP] “Rupert Murdoch, who has never been shy about making his political views known, has voted with his sizable checkbook. Murdoch’s News Corp. has made a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association, triggering swift criticism from Democrats that a contribution of that magnitude casts a shadow on his media properties, particularly Fox News. Murdoch’s News Corp. has made a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association, triggering swift criticism from Democrats that a contribution of that magnitude casts a shadow on his media properties, particularly Fox News. ‘For a media company — particularly one whose slogan is ‘fair and balanced’ — to be injecting themselves into the outcome of races is stunning,’ Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, said Tuesday. ‘The people owning Fox News have made a decision that they want to see Democratic governors go down to defeat. It’s a jaw-dropping violation of the boundary between the media and corporate realm.’” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/17/AR2010081704338.html

News Corp. Gives $1 Million to GOP  [WSJ] “News Corp., owner of the Fox network, Fox News and newspapers including the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, gave $1 million in late June to the Republican Governors Association, making it one of the largest corporate donors to the GOP group this election season. The donation, disclosed in Internal Revenue Service filings, marks a shift for the media giant, which traditionally has given smaller sums to candidates and committees and spread them relatively evenly between the two parties.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703824304575435922310302654.html

News Corp. Gives Republicans $1 Million [NYT] “With Republicans hoping to recapture a number of statehouses in November, the media conglomerate headed by Rupert Murdoch is inserting itself into the races in bold fashion with a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association. The contribution from Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation, which owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and other news outlets, is one of the biggest ever given by a media organization, campaign finance experts said… Officials at the governors’ association did not respond to requests for comment. The contribution, first reported by Bloomberg News, was made in June and is included in the Republican group’s most recent second-quarter filings.” http://mail.dga.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://links.mkt2079.com/ctt?kn=12%26m=3209357%26r=MTUwNTIxODI3NTMS1%26b=0%26j=MTkxNTc4MTMxS0%26mt=1%26rt=0

Fox News Parent News Corp. Gives $1 Million to GOP [CBS News] “Fox News parent company News Corp. has given $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. A spokesman for News Corp., which also owns the New York Post and other media properties around the world, said in an email to Politico’s Ben Smith that the company ‘believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy.’ The Republican Governors Association’s most recent disclosure filing is here. The News Corp. donation is listed under ‘News America Inc.’ The news was first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek.” http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20013876-503544.html

Fox Won’t Return Top Dem’s Request To Discuss Its $1 Million GOP Donation [Huffington Post] “A top official with the Democratic Governors Association said on Tuesday that Fox News has declined repeated efforts to put him on air to discuss the decision of the network’s parent company to donate $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. In a brief interview with the Huffington Post, Nathan Daschle, the executive director of the DGA, said that he has tried on numerous occasions to go on Fox News to discuss the donation made by News Corp. None of his entreaties have been answered as of 3:30 p.m on Tuesday.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/17/fox-news-wont-return-requ_n_685318.html

DROPPING AN ALREADY-THIN PRETENSE…. Try To Contain Your Surprise. [Washington Monthly] “News Corp., which owns Fox News and the New York Post, gave $1 million to Haley Barbour’s Republican Governors Association this year, according to the RGA’s most recent filing.  The company’s media outlets play politics more openly than most, but the huge contribution to a party committee is a new step toward an open identification between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the GOP. The company’s highest-ranking Democratic executive, Peter Chernin, recently departed…On a related note, anyone want to lay odds on whether Fox News’ on-air broadcasters, reporting on gubernatorial races, disclose that the same company paying their salary is also helping finance the Republican candidate they’re covering?” http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025237.php

 A Fair and Balanced $1 Million [Daily Kos] “News Corp., which owns Fox News and the New York Post, gave $1 million to Haley Barbour’s Republican Governors Association this year, according to the RGA’s most recent filing. The company’s media outlets play politics more openly than most, but the huge contribution to a party committee is a new step toward an open identification between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the GOP. The company’s highest-ranking Democratic executive, Peter Chernin, recently departed.” http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/17/893852/-A-fair-and-balanced-$1-million

Murdoch’s News Corp. Donates $1 Million To Republican Governors Association [Talking Points Memo] “News Corporation, the Rupert Murdoch media empire that serves as the parent corporation of Fox News and other properties, is now throwing its monetary weight around in politics with a big contribution to the Republican Governors Association. As Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports, News Corporation donated $1 million to the RGA, which is able to take in unlimited corporate contributions. This is, of course, in addition to the massive in-kind contributions that the company makes to the GOP on a daily basis.” http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/17/893852/-A-fair-and-balanced-$1-million

Isn’t that something, Fox Noise Recusing Itself From Coverage Of All The 2010 Governors’ Races? [Down With Tyranny] “You have to wonder if those wonderful folks at Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp… really thought this through when they decided to give $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, a gift that seems to have startled even Politico superhack Ben Smith…Obviously this means that NewsCorp ‘news’ subsidiary Fox Noise won’t be covering any gubernatorial races in this election cycle. I mean, how can they? At least not without preceding each such on-air piece with a disclaimer along the lines.” http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2010/08/isnt-that-something-fox-noise-recusing.html

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White has $3M advantage over Perry

Friday, July 16th, 2010

White has $3 million advantage over Perry in Texas governor’s race

 By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News

  AUSTIN – Democrat  Bill White beat 10-year incumbent Rick Perry in the latest round of fundraising and goes into the fall campaign with a $3 million advantage.

 In his bid to unseat Perry, White raised $7.4 million since the March primary. The Republican governor collected $7.1 million.

 But spending demands on Perry in the fractious GOP primary against Kay Bailey Hutchison have left him trailing in cash on hand as the nominees look to the November general election.

The former Houston mayor has $9 million in his campaign treasury while Perry has $5.9 million in the bank.

“Momentum is building,” White campaign spokesman Katy Bacon said. “People want somebody in Austin who will work for Texas, not a career politician who’s in it for himself.”

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the governor’s fundraising underscores wide public support for Perry’s re-election.

The latest period covers money raised since the March primary.

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Nathan Daschle: Freedom Fries, Take Two

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Nathan headshot

I’m impressed.

I thought that the Republican Party had hit its high-water mark for absurdity when several governors, led by the 2012 presidential aspirant Rick Perry of Texas, threatened secession.

But last week, Perry’s potential rival, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the Republican Governors’ Association chairman, put Perry’s secession talk to shame. Barbour launched a new anti-government campaign in the spirit of Guy Fawkes — the 17th- century terrorist who tried to assassinate King James I and blow up the Houses of Parliament.

The irony that this comes from the governor of one of the states most dependent on federal funding seems lost on the GOP.

I can’t make heads or tails of the advice that Republican consultants must be giving their gubernatorial candidates.

(more…)

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