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Posts Tagged ‘Nathan Daschle’

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.

Continue reading…

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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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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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Daschle in Politics Magazine: Strong candidates mean good opportunities in 2010

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

“Politics” magazine profiles our very own Executive Director, Nathan Daschle, about 2010 and the national political climate. Pointing to strong Democratic candidates and strategy, Daschle noted that there are a number of places where the DGA can play offense:

Now that Bill White is running for governor in Texas, we can go on offense in the three biggest states—California, Texas and Florida. In all of these races, we have an even or better than even chance of a pick-up. And Texas and California will play such a large role in redistricting that who wins those races will be very important for the next decade. On top of that, we have a number of opportunities to pick up New England states—Rhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut. Minnesota, Nevada and Arizona are prime pick up opportunities, too. On top of that, there are a number of other races that we’re going to look at very closely, which we think may evolve into top opportunities. Georgia is one of those. Alabama is another.

Read the full interview here.

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Nathan Daschle: GOP like “house divided” while Democrats are “bringing about much needed change”

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

DGA Executive Director Nathan Daschle challenged the “GOP comeback” in the Huffington Post, saying that the GOP is fighting itself and that Americans aren’t yearning for the failed policies that brought us this economic downturn. “Unlike the intellectually robust Republican party of 1993, this group of Republicans has narrowed their ambitions to a single word: ‘no.’ No to finally lowering our skyrocketing health care costs. No to pulling our nation from the economic crisis they created.”

Nathan also pointed out the good work that Democratic governors are doing:

While the GOP fights its civil war and searches for its soul, Democrats will continue with what we have set out to do: bring about much needed change and usher in a new era of hope and prosperity. With the President not even a year into his Administration, Democratic Governors are working with him every day to create jobs and make life better for all Americans. At the same time, Democratic Governors are demonstrating that our brand of management works at the state level as well as it does on the federal level. The nonpartisan Governing Magazine just named Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley the best Governor in the country. Five of the seven states with AAA bond ratings have Democratic Governors. To the chagrin of the pessimists, our Governors are proving that it is possible to cut budgets while preserving investments in education and health care that are the foundation of prosperity for the next generation.

Read the full post here.

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Nathan Daschle on ABC’s TopLine

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

The DGA’s Executive Director sat down with ABC’s David Chalian and Rick Klein to talk about the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections.

As Nathan told David and Rick: “A lot of people want to look at these races and say: ‘What does this mean for President Obama and for the Democratic party?’ I think the must more compelling analysis is what does this mean for the Republicans? “The party out of power has won (the Virginia) seat every election since 1973.  They won New Jersey every election since 1985. Going into this year, there’s a five-election streak.  And the party out of power has won both of these races.  If this Republican Party fails to win both, that will tell us a lot about where they are. That will tell us about their ideas, about their leaders, and about whether Americans want a Republican comeback.”

Nathan’s segment begins around -06:18.

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