The new November 4, 2005 print edition of the Rothenberg Political Report is on its way to subscribers. Here is a sample from the current issue. New Mexico 1: Repeat DefenderBy Nathan L. Gonzales First District Cong. Heather Wilson (R) is no stranger to Democratic target lists. Since her initial election back in 1998, Democrats have consistently targeted…
So now what? The president has had a horrible year. But he’ll still be in the Oval Office for another three years. So how does he turn things around, assuming of course that he doesn’t just want to chop wood and cut brush? I asked a number of veterans of past Washington, D.C., wars about George W. Bush’s…
I have already written that the 2006 election cycle offers Democrats an excellent opportunity to make serious gains in the House, possibly even the 15 seats they need to win a House majority. A Democratic wave seems likely to develop. That said, some of the early assertions being thrown around about how many competitive House races there will…
A fight on Capitol Hill over immigration reform now appears inevitable, even though it carries considerable risk for the GOP. Rank-and-file Republicans are up in arms over illegal immigration into the United States, and they are demanding legislative action. Nothing illustrates the division within Republican ranks on the issue more clearly than the very different approaches being taken…
For the first time in a dozen years, the political environment looks right for generic party advertising. But tight finances and the difficulty in getting party committees to agree on a single message could dampen interest in a strategy that worked well in 1980 and 1982 but poorly ever since. If that last paragraph seems vaguely familiar, you…
This week’s CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll numbers aren’t startling because they weren’t different from others we’ve seen recently. The president’s job ratings are bad. Congress’ job rating is low. A majority of Americans think the country is headed off on the wrong track. But while National Republican Congressional Committee operatives have acknowledged the national mood is sour, they gamely…
Once upon a time, there was a Congress. And that Congress was made up of leaders and followers. The most important among them were the majority leaders, their whips and, in the House of Representatives, the Speaker. And the leaders were powerful men (yes, Virginia, they were always men in the old days) who marshalled their troops on…
Last week, The Hotline published an interesting collection of responses to the question, “Should media outlets, including The Hotline, run informed ballots of head-to-head match-ups?” “Informed ballots” are ballot tests asked after those being polled are read descriptions of candidates and/or their accomplishments and positions.The question arose after I e-mailed Hotline editor Chuck Todd and suggested that he…
One Supreme Court justice down, one Supreme Court justice to go. For Republicans, the next Supreme Court fight isn’t just another test of President Bush’s salesmanship or the party’s muscle in the Senate. It isn’t merely an opportunity for conservative interest groups to rally evangelicals, social conservatives and the business community. And it isn’t only a rare opportunity…
With House Republicans resigned to the idea that they will spend this cycle defending their own turf rather than targeting takeover opportunities, much of the focus will be on Democratic efforts to knock off GOP incumbents and win open seats held by retiring Republicans. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to reach the magic number of…