Oh, Hell Nah - Rush Limbaugh says no to Mitch Daniels.

Conservative talker Rush Limbaugh is really not feeling the Washington Post article about Mitch Daniels, Republican governor of Indiana being a viable candidate against incumbent Democratic president Barack Obama. Limbaugh is even comparing Daniels to Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who was defeated in a landslide election in 2008.

 

 

Mitch Daniels: The man who could reshape the Republican field

By Chris Cillizza, Published: May 8

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels continues to keep the political world waiting, saying recently that he will announce “within weeks” whether he will run for president in 2012.

The Republican’s decision — which could come as soon as Thursday at the Indiana Republican Party’s spring dinner, where his wife, Cheri, will be the keynote speaker — could have an impact well beyond just one man saying yes or no, however.

The GOP presidential race has been defined by relative chaos — and weakness — among the field.
That was reinforced at last week’s first presidential debate of the season, which, aside from former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, featured a handful of long shots and no-shots debating such topics as the legalization of marijuana — and even heroin.

Daniels is regarded (and regards himself) as a candidate of considerable gravity, willing to focus on making tough choices about the nation’s financial future even if that conversation is politically unpopular. (At a February speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, he said that “purity in martyrdom is for suicide bombers.”)

A Daniels candidacy probably would be taken as a sign that the games are over for the Republican Party, that it is time to buckle down and organize to beat President Obama.

“He will turn a race that is about less serious politics into a race about more serious policy,” argued Alex Castellanos, a Republican media consultant who is not aligned with any candidate heading into 2012. “Daniels is the adult in the room saying the party is over, it’s time to clean house. That contrast in maturity is how a Republican beats Obama.”

The president has acknowledged as much about Daniels, telling an Indiana television station that the governor is “a serious person” before adding: “I have some significant philosophical differences with him.”
Should Daniels opt not to run, on the other hand, the unpredictability that has ruled the race would almost certainly continue unabated.

A field without Daniels — as well as Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who in a major surprise last month decided against running — would mean a race that remained in considerable flux as candidates considered sideshows at best (Donald Trump, anyone?) dominated headlines and complicated GOP efforts to convince the public that the party can present a credible alternative to Obama.

“So far, the most recognizable Republican candidates are unable to seriously begin to define the Republican debate for president,” said former congressman Tom Reynolds (N.Y.). “That will keep the GOP presidential sweepstakes looking like it is still trying to find its way.”

To be sure, Daniels’ entrance into the contest shouldn’t be overstated. He would force a more sober tone but almost certainly wouldn’t end the circus-like atmosphere entirely either.

Obama is already moving to capi­tal­ize on the uncertainty of the Republican lineup.

Publicly, he is casting himself as the one person who, in matters of domestic and foreign policy, is willing to take on the major problems that face the country.

Behind closed doors, his fundraising operation is humming as the campaign seeks to meet — and probably beat — the $750 million that Obama raised as a candidate in 2008.

And next month will be a big one for the Republican presidential race. The next GOP debate is set for June 13 in New Hampshire, and just three days later the Republican Leadership Conference will open in New Orleans, a gathering that will feature virtually every candidate mentioned for national office.

Given all that, what Daniels decides may well serve as a telling signal of whether Republicans are ready to get serious about beating Obama.

Hide The Jewelry, Cause The GOP In The House!

GOP leaders tout wins as referendum on the Democratic leadership

The Washington Post - Felicia Sonmez

Fresh off sweeping wins in Tuesday's midterm elections, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Governors Association Chairman Haley Barbour said Wednesday morning at a Capitol news conference that their resounding victories were a referendum on Democratic leadership.

Democrats, meanwhile, cast their defeat at the ballot box as the result of Americans' continuing frustration with the pace of economic recovery as well as a flood of spending by outside groups.

Republicans' across-the-board wins "sent a very loud message" that voters want a "smaller, less costly and more accountable government here in Washington, D.C.," Boehner said.

McConnell told reporters that the election showed that "choosing the president over your constituents is not a good strategy," and that voters "appreciated us saying no to the things the American people indicated they were not in favor of."

Barbour added that even Tuesday's governors' races were a referendum on the way things are going in Washington.

The trio addressed reporters one day after Republicans captured the House with gains of more than five dozen seats. In the Senate, Democrats narrowly avoided the doomsday scenario of losing their majority, and in gubernatorial races, the GOP saw big wins, although the Democratic Governors Association managed to win the governor's mansions in Hawaii, Connecticut and Vermont.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen noted, as Republicans did, that Democrats' losses came about due to voter anger -- but he argued that voters were frustrated not with the Democratic leadership but rather with the still-struggling economy.

"Last night's election was a perfect political storm born out of the understandable frustration felt by the American people in response to high unemployment caused by the worst financial crash since the Great Depression," Van Hollen said. He added that "the record amount of secret money spent by right-wing outside groups turned this political storm into a category 3 political hurricane."

Boehner said that he spoke with President Obama Tuesday night and that the two "discussed working together." Boehner also said that he received a "very nice voicemail" from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and that he expects the coming transition in leadership to be "very smooth."

The Republican leader said that his party stands ready to work together with the president and Democrats when their goals align with the interest of the American people.

"We'll work with the administration when they agree with the people and confront them when they don't," Boehner said, citing spending, trade, debt and nuclear power as areas of possible bipartisan cooperation.

Notably absent from the news conference was Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who addressed reporters separately in a conference call earlier Wednesday.

"Last night was historic. It was important. But it was also sobering in many respects," said Steele, cautioning that "with this victory comes an enormous responsibility."

Steele, who is said to be considering a bid for a second term as RNC chairman despite a steady stream of calls for his ouster, also talked at length on the conference call about his own committee's role in the GOP's victories Tuesday.

But he also cast the party's wins as an "enormous moment" for the grass roots and that "no single person or committee does this alone."

Other party committees and conservative-leaning outside groups touted their respective roles in Tuesday's sweeping wins as well.

Guy Harrison, executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which saw the biggest gains of the day, told reporters on a conference call Wednesday morning that the NRCC's role Tuesday was crucial in the defeats of longtime Democratic incumbents such as Reps. Ike Skelton (Mo.) and John Spratt (S.C.).

"I think there are a lot of people who can take credit for this," Harrison said, adding that "the fact is, our candidates would not have won without the help of the NRCC." Harrison also credited Boehner in particular for helping Republicans make gains in suburban districts and throughout the leader's home state of Ohio.

Meanwhile, the leadership of American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, two conservative-leaning outside groups that played heavily this cycle, said in a roundtable with reporters Wednesday that their groups were instrumental in many big important GOP wins. The two groups raised more than $70 million total, much of which came from donors who opted against contributing to the beleaguered RNC.

American Crossroads Political Director Carl Forti said that the two groups had poured a total of more than $36 million into 13 Senate races and 18 House races since April. Forti noted that by being active in races such as the Kentucky and Missouri Senate contests, the groups freed up the National Republican Senatorial Committee to spend its resources on races in Democratic-leaning states such as Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Forti added that the groups "made a committed effort to expand the playing field in the House" by advertising in districts that were long thought to be safely in Democratic hands.

Asked whether the RNC could have done things differently this cycle, Mike Duncan, chairman of American Crossroads and a onetime chairman of the RNC, demurred.

"We're all part of a team," Duncan said, adding, "This is not about credit."

Sarah Palin, Going Rouge? Steve Schmidt: Not Even Close!

CBS interviews former campaign adviser to John McCain's failed presidential bid, Steve Schmidt. He's airs out the best-selling author and former Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. The former Alaskan governor who's been in the media lately became the darling of "Tea Party Movement", and a possible bid to run in 2012. Schmidt sets the record straight.


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