More than a week ago, the DCCC unveiled ads it is running in the districts of 28 Republican congressman, attacking them for their no votes on the package. Now the NRCC is hitting back, Politico reports:
In the ads, the National Republican Congressional Committee used the words of the targeted lawmakers against them and calls the bill a “wasteful pork barrel program that will cost taxpayers nearly a trillion dollars,” according to a preliminary script.
As Obama’s salesmanship seems to be increasing support for the stimulus, the ads are a gamble, banking on declining popularity for a stimulus that Republicans see as bound to fail. On the other side of the aisle, MoveOn has a radio spot attacking Cornyn’s missed vote on the package. The 2010 watch kicks into high gear today, with the bailout itself likely to remain an issue in Republican primaries.
Cornyn himself is looking ahead and thinks things are looking up for the GOP in 2010, with more Democratic seats seeming vulnerable. He makes some of the details of the new NRSC fundraising strategy clearer:Cornyn said that he’s encouraging GOP Senators to exchange lists of low-dollar donors and that the NRSC is working to communicate better with those donors on the Internet. . . A major component of Cornyn’s new strategy will be to motivate donors to contribute by giving them face time with Senators at various fundraising events.
Burris is one of those vulnerable senators, as Dems worry about his fundraising capacity but fear asking the Senate’s only African-American not to run would spark controversy. Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is touted as a potential replacement.
Early numbers are coming out for potential replacements for appointee Bonnie Newman in New Hampshire. Maybe neither Burris nor Newman should be Senators: A bipartisan group is hoping to amend the Constitution to put an end to gubernatorial appointees. Hey, it’s more work for consultants! Arlen Specter could be vulnerable in both the primaries and the general election, though so far no clear challengers have emerged. Finally, the national media is getting all a-twitter over Twitter. Time does a run-down of its popularity—and its fallout—in Congress while the New York Times says offers some guidelines for the uninitiated.