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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.

Continue reading… 

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…

continue reading… 

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Circular firing squad

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Looks Charlie Baker, the Republican Governors Association, Independent Tim Cahill and former Cahill consultant John Weaver are engaged in a good, old-fashioned circular firing squad. The latest shot was fired by Cahill, who revealed today in a lawsuit that the RGA was engaging in a massive effort to mislead voters and illegally coordinate with Baker.
 
Aside from the tragicomedy of it all, the latest revelations seem to prove what we’ve suspected all along: Charlie Baker is another classic politician who would rather win elections than do the right thing and play by the rules.

Cahill files lawsuit alleging dirty political tricks in Mass.

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

In a new, politically explosive lawsuit, independent gubernatorial candidate Timothy P. Cahill accuses his former top strategists and aides of conspiring to sabotage his candidacy, saying they orchestrated the desertion of his running mate and plotted to give damaging information and internal campaign tactics to the team of GOP rival Charles D. Baker and the Republican Governors Association.

Drawing on a collection of emails, the Cahill suit, which was filed this afternoon in Norfolk Superior Court, says that Baker campaign manager Tim O’Brien and RGA staff members were actively soliciting negative information on Cahill from the former operatives, for use in the closing weeks of the governor’s race.

The suit accuses Cahill’s former strategists, most of whom resigned from the Cahill campaign two weeks ago, of engineering the dramatic move last Friday by Paul Loscocco, a former Republican state lawmaker who was Cahill’s running mate, to abandon the ticket and endorse Baker at a high-profile press conference. The suit contends that the strategists were working to get Loscocco off the ticket while they were still on Cahill’s payroll — and a full two weeks before Loscocco made his startling switch.

“Paul will be given/offered a substantive lifeline,” one of the strategists, John Weaver, wrote to an associate, John Yob, and Adam Meldrum, Cahill’s campaign manager at the time, on Sept. 18. “Up to him to take it or not.”

Cahill’s attorneys asked  the court for an immediate restraining order to prevent Weaver, a well-known national Republican political strategist, Meldrum, Yob, and former political director Jordan Gehrke, from giving any confidential information and documents to Baker and the Republicans.

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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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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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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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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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Gov. Jack Markell: They want 30

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

“If we have 30 Republican governors I see it very difficult for this president to get re-elected.”  -Nick Ayers, Republican Governors Association Exec. Director

And that, my friends, is the crux of the RGA’s strategy in 2010. If they can win 30 governors’ seats, they believe they can use those offices to defeat President Obama and stop progress.  

If they can win those 30 races, they believe they will have the power to redistrict away any chance of a Democratic majority for at least a decade.

To my mind, that means those are 30 seats we simply cannot let them win.    

The Democratic Governors Association is fighting hard for each and every one of those races that Republicans are targeting.  

We must stop the GOP from winning 30 governors’ seats, and in turn, stop them from defeating President Obama and taking away our Democratic majorities.

Help the DGA by contributing $10 before Sunday’s May 30 deadline.

In the six months since I became chair of the Democratic Governors Association, I have been so proud of the boldness and vision of governors across our country in confronting the extraordinary challenges facing the American people.  

And I’m proud of the major accomplishments we’ve made with President Obama: creating jobs, investing in schools, and broadening access to healthcare.  

I can’t stand the idea that we could lose it all because we did not have the resources to fight in that handful of states.

They need to be stopped from reaching their 30 seat mark. Help us meet our fundraising goal by midnight May 30. Will you make a contribution of $10 now to help us fight for those 30 by May 30?

There are Republicans running right now who are some the most extreme candidates I’ve seen during my career. People like Rand Paul, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky, who made headlines last week when he suggested that the Civil Rights Act went too far when it banned businesses from discriminating by race.

This kind of thinking will set our nation back decades, especially if one of these extreme candidates wins a statehouse.      

I am absolutely confident that we will win these races in November — if you can help us by donating now. Donating today will give us the funds we need to put people and resources in place to campaign in the coming months. If you believe we need to finish the good work we’ve started, then the time to act is now.  

Make sure we have the resources we need to protect those seats, protect President Obama’s re-election, and protect our future.  

Donate $10 to the DGA by midnight May 30. Our nation is on the road to recovery. Help us to keep it there.

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It’s gone from bad to bull

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

It’s been a bad week for Charlie Baker, Tim Cahill and the Republican Governors Association in Massachusetts – and that’s not a load of bull.

Boston Herald: Charles Baker blows dough on gimmicks

Vowing to be tight-fisted with taxpayer dough, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Charles D. Baker has played the party animal on the campaign trail – blowing almost $200,000 on lavish galas featuring goofball romps such as an inflatable jousting arena and a mechanical bull.

All told, Baker has burned through more than $2 million since August but has little to show for it – outspending his rivals even as he slipped further behind Gov.Deval Patrickin a poll released yesterday.

Baker’s campaign splurges include:

  • $1,500 on an inflatable gladiator-style jousting arena, complete with padded poles to knock an opponent off a platform. The convention party package also included a green screen photo booth so GOP delegates could have their pictures taken standing between virtual images of Baker and running mate Sen. Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield) as a keepsake.
  • $1,000 on a mechanical bull for his convention bash at Worcester’s Union Station, which Baker reportedly rode but campaign reps refused to confirm.
  • $4,000 on balloons and confetti for the convention.
  • $196,000 in catering, room rental and event fees related to parties and fund-raisers, including $6,000 on a holiday soiree for 800 at the swanky nightclub The Estate across from the Common.
  • $1,500 on the New Black Eagle Jazz band for a fund-raising event in February.
  • $6,985 in lunches and snacks for staffers and friends, including a $1,300 spread at the Cape Cod Yarmouth House in January.

Continue reading…

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When does RGA hit the panic button?

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

One day after the Republican Governors Association announced they are doubling down on a Massachusetts ad buy, new polling suggests the buy is having a serious impact. It’s just the opposite impact of what they wanted. Gov. Deval Patrick has gained 10 points since the last poll. Keep buying, we say.

In the meantime, their base is furious that they’re spending any money in Massachusetts, especially on the heels of their public New York debacle with their own recruit, Steve Levy.

RealClearPolitics has the details:

MA Gov Poll: Patrick Surges As Cahill Sinks
Posted by Mike Memoli

Rasmussen’s latest poll of the Massachusetts governor’s race (500 LVs, 5/10, MoE +/- 4.5%) shows Gov. Deval Patrick (D) surging to a 14-point lead over Charlie Baker, as independent candidate Tim Cahill’s numbers have sunk into the low teens.

General Election Matchup
Patrick (D) 45 (+10 vs. last poll, 4/5)
Baker (R) 31 (+4)
Cahill (I) 14 (-9)
Und 10 (-5)

The Republican Governors Association has been pummeling Cahill, the state treasurer and a former Democrat, in paid television media. But rather than consolidating the anti-Patrick vote, it arguably has led voters back to the incumbent. The numbers are even more notable given that Baker clinched his party’s nomination in mid-April; he’s since shaken up his campaign team.

Patrick’s job rating has only slightly improved since April; 48 percent now approve of his performance while 50 percent disapprove, a three-point improvement in his net job rating. President Obama’s numbers showed greater improvement, now standing at 63 percent approve and 37 percent disapprove, up from 56-44 last month.

RCP classifies the race as Leans Democrat.

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NY-GOV: Is Levy Really A $10 Million Dollar Man?

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

The Republican Governors Association has gone silent after New York gubernatorial candidate Steve Levy claimed Friday that the organization plans to spend as much as $10 million to support his campaign.

Levy told the New York Post’s Fred Dicker that RGA Executive Director “Nick Ayers, one of the high-up persons for (RGA chairman) Haley Barbour,” made the money pledge in a meeting that included state GOP chairman Ed Cox.

While the RGA reported having $31 million in the bank at the end of last quarter, even with that ample war chest a $10 million commitment would represent an enormous investment in an election cycle with featuring 37 gubernatorial races, including some in expensive—and more competitive—states such as California, Texas, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Last year, the RGA spent $5.5 million in Virginia and $7 million in New Jersey to help elect Govs. Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie.

The RGA did not return a phone call or an e-mails seeking comment. Levy did not respond to several requests for an interview.

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