Yesterday, Patrick Casey tried to put a good face on the woeful state the Republican Party finds itself in concerning its prospects in the House of Representatives. The best that can be said is that while '08 looks like another blood-bath in the making, perhaps a second drubbing will convince the GOP to change its ways.

No doubt about it, Republican prognosticators are not happy at what the tea leaves are telling them. From today's Politico:

Top Republicans are privately bracing for the possibility that they could lose additional House seats in next year's elections as a result of untimely retirements, ongoing scandals and unexpectedly gloomy fundraising forecasts, according to several members and aides.

House members up for re-election in competitive districts are throwing in the towel. Why? Because the NRCC is broke. Nobody's donating. Even members of the military have increased their donations to Democrats. And it's the same story in the Senate. An unfortunate combination of retirements, scandal, and the Iraq war are poised to make 2008 another losing year for the GOP.

It's safe to say that the National Republican Congressional Committee is in a bit of chaos this morning. The NRCC is losing the money battle with its Democratic counterpart - by about $9 million in the latest campaign fund-raising cycle. And they're getting killed in the all important cash-on-hand battle - $22 million for the Democrats to $1.6 million for the Republicans. I believe that much of this has to do with the fact that the Republican base is fed up with the party, and won't start to give money to the cause as they have done in the past until the GOP cleans itself up. But if the party as a whole hasn't learned its lesson from 2006, it looks like it's starting to. The best way to get someone's attention is through money - or the lack of it.

Roll Call has an article up, Cole Pressured on NRCC Staff (sub. req.), that shows that House Minority Leader John Boehner has noticed the problems with fund-raising, and is starting to call people at the NRCC to account for it. The Politico also has a good article on the subject this morning, telling us that if Boehner forces the issue and cans the two people on the NRCC staff that he feels is most culpable for the NRCC's lack of success, its chairman Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma would resign in protest.

That might be the best outcome for all concerned. It appears as if Boehner is starting to realize that the Republican Party's problems are mostly internal, rather than external. GOP Congressional leadership should be looking at its membership and start pressuring problem incumbents to announce their intention now not to seek re-election, or face opposition in the primaries from the national party. That's probably not going to happen with Cole in charge of the NRCC.

The GOP needs to get new conservative candidates involved in about 40 to 50 Congressional races next year. That's the only way for the party to take advantage of the current extraordinarily high disapproval ratings for the Democratic led House. Only new candidates, without the old-boy network ties of many current GOP representatives, can make the argument that a vote for them is a vote for change - not more of the same. Perhaps this move by Boehner shows that he, indeed, is starting to "get" it.

The nonpartisan nonprofit organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has just released its list of the most rotten to the core politicians in congress. Titled, "Beyond Delay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)" the list is full of old favorites and a few new surprises.

Members of the Senate:
Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Mitch McConnel (R-KY)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Members of the House:
Ken Calvert (R-CA)
John T. Doolittle (R-CA)
Tom Feeney (R-FL)
Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
William Jefferson (D-LA)
Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Gary Miller (R-CA)
Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
Timothy Murphy (R-PA)
John Murtha (D-PA)
Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Harold Rogers (R-KY)
David Scott (D-GA)
Don Young (R-AK)
Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Heather Wilson (R-LA)

Dishonorable Mention:
Larry Craig (R-ID)
David Vitter (R-LA)

If you want to know the ins-and-outs of what makes you eligible for the list, you can have a look-see here.
Pretty much what you'd expect. Graft, graft and more graft.

Not many details as yet:

The aide said the body of the 68-year-old Republican was found by staff members who went to his apartment after he failed to show up for work. There was no immediate word on the cause of his death. Gillmor's office did not respond to a reporter's call.

Gillmor, who represented Ohio's 5th District in the Bowling Green area of the state, was first elected to Congress in 1988

Gillmor was a fairly staunch conservative on most issues. Amazingly, his Wikipedia page already has news of his death posted.

Gillmor served in the Judge Advocates corp in the Air Force and was a lawyer after he resigned his commission. He served on several top committees in the House.

An interesting portrait of GOP Congressman Walter Jones in today's Politico. A staunch Christian conservative, until recently Jones was best known nationally as the man who championed the name change in the House cafeteria of French fries to "Freedom fries." But that was then.

For the past two years, Jones has been sounding downright liberal. Along with Denis Kucinich, he sponsored a measure to set a certain date for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. But that's not all:

Jones' politics have become increasingly at odds with a Republican party that he believes has lost its moorings. Although he voted to authorize the war, he has since become one of its most vociferous opponents. He was one of only two House Republicans to vote against expanding the scope of the administration's anti-terrorist surveillance program. And he thinks Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is downright incompetent, and believes vice-presidential aide Scooter Libby should have served some jail time -- "at least a day or two."

Jeez. What's next? A formal apology to the French? Of course, while I agree with just about every one of Mr. Jones' new-found views, it all spells potential trouble in terms of re-election. His district, home to the suspiciously-French-sounding Camp Lejeune, is, to put it mildly, "military friendly." In fact, it was in a small local diner called Cubbies where Freedom Fries made their debut. Here live many of the 28-percenters, the die-hard supporters of GWB. So we may be witnessing the final few months of Mr. Jones' congressional career. Alas.

Reporting from Ohio, where Republican Deb Pryce will is retiring.

Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce of Upper Arlington will announce Thursday that she will not seek re-election to the congressional seat she has held since 1993.

Pryce has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. in Columbus. Although a Pryce aide declined to say what she will announce, Republican sources say she will not run next year.

Pryce, 56, has been a fixture in the U.S. House since her election in 1992. Republican sources say if she does not run, former Ohio Attorney General James Petro might seek the seat. Petro today declined comment.

OH-15 was one of the huge battlefields of 2006. Pryce spent $4.6 million, her opponent, Franklin county commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, spent nearly $3 million. Perhaps she didn't want to go through that again. Or maybe she has a realistic view of the GOP's chances of taking back the majority in 2008 and has decided that she doesn't want to spend another two years in the minority.

In either case, she won't be the last GOP congresssman to resign this cycle, which will make it even tougher for the GOP to get the majority. The senate is also stacked against the GOP this cycle, so if they want to prevent the Democrats from controlling DC, it's going to be all about the presidency.

The Republicans could do worse than make Rep. Jack Murtha the poster boy of what they're trying to defeat in 2008. Over the past few days, Bob Novak has used his sources on Capitol Hill to give us a look at who House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls on when things get a bit touchy with the ethics and earmarks subject on the House floor -- good old Jack Murtha. He's apparently now referred to openly by his nickname: "King Corruption":

Republicans returning to the House floor on Friday morning Aug. 3 after their walkout the night before were surprised to find as presiding officer the Democrat they call "King Corruption": Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, master of earmarks and backroom deals.

...Murtha's performance as non-partisan presiding officer ran true to form. On a voice vote, Murtha ruled for Democrats when obviously more Republicans were on the House floor. He subsequently ordered a roll call vote, though members rising in support clearly fell short of the 44 required. After that ruling was challenged, Murtha declared: "The chair's decision is not subject to question."

Nice guy. And one ripe for defeat. Now we fast forward to this morning's Novak column in the Washington Post, House of Corruption?, for an update on the fight against secret earmarks attached to unrelated appropriations bills in the House. Incidentally, this is an embarrassment for both parties, not just Democrats.

After speculating whether this was 1968 all over again for the Democrats, I think we now have exhibit A. Cindy Sheehan has formally announced as an independent gunning for Nancy Pelosi's seat.

From AP:

Citing her son as inspiration, a tearful Cindy Sheehan announced her candidacy Thursday for the U.S. House of Representatives.

...Last month, she announced her intention to run against Pelosi if the speaker didn't move to impeach Bush by July 23. On Thursday, she said Pelosi had "protected the status quo" of the corporate elite and had lost touch with people in her district, most of whom, she said, want American troops out of Iraq.

...Sheehan admitted she has no funds for a campaign, but planned to immediately get started raising money. Without giving further specifics, Sheehan said she wouldn't accept money from corporations and would run on a platform of universal health care. Sheehan said she also wants to make college affordable and improve ethics in the legislative and executive branches.

So maybe now the Democrats will actually believe the conservatives and others who suggested that Cindy Sheehan is an unhinged woman trading on the goodwill of her dead son. Just who was it that fed the media reputation, who booked her on all those talk shows? Who funded her camp in Crawford? Talk about pigeons coming home to roost.

AP via Yahoo News:

The House handed President Bush a victory Saturday, voting to expand the government's abilities to eavesdrop without warrants on foreign suspects whose communications pass through the United States.

The 227-183 vote, which followed the Senate's approval Friday, sends the bill to Bush for his signature.

Late Saturday, Bush said, "The Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, has assured me that this bill gives him what he needs to continue to protect the country, and therefore I will sign this legislation as soon as it gets to my desk.

Nothing focuses the mind of congress critters like the possibility of a terrorist attack when this bill is undone.

Poor kids, to be specific. In other words, kids whose parents do not have the means to afford private insurance. The White House wasted no time and promised to veto the bill. A slippery slope, they say. Once you start insuring uninsured kids, it's only a matter of time before Stalin, Marx, Mao, and Lenin will rise from the grave and take away every luxury that capitalism still affords us. House Republicans, unlike their Senate counterparts, were also vehemently against what they decried as an unwelcome sign of creeping socialism:

But in the end, the Democrats has weapons that were just too powerful--a promise to insure 5 million more children who otherwise would have no access to health care, adding to the 6 million children already covered--and the backing of Republican and Democratic governors, the American Medical Association, AARP, the March of Dimes, the Catholic Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and even cyclist Lance Armstrong. And the prospects are good in the Senate, where a key Republican, Orin G. Hatch (Utah) said, "It's difficult for me to understand how anyone wouldn't want to do this."

You better believe it. Especially with Lance Armstrong on board. But seriously, we already have 6 million kids covered under the current plan. So if, as some Republicans insist, we look at this from a purely ideological point of view, shouldn't they be suggesting that we strip those kids of their coverage? Dennis Hastert put his opposition to the new bill this way, "Folks, that's the bottom line: It's a government-paid health care." How scary is that?

Representative Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), once the leading Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, has been under a federal corruption investigation for well over a year. The case concerns allegations that he has illegally used his office to profit handsomely to the tune of several million dollars using non-profits as front groups. His problem created such a big stir last year, when the Democrats were in the middle of successfully waging the "Culture of Corruption" campaign against the Republicans, that he was forced to step down from his ethics post by fellow Democrats.

When the Democrats won the House this year, Mollohan was given the chairmanship of the Justice and Science Sub-Committee of the House Appropriations Committee. That created a situation where the good representative would ironically be in charge of funding the agencies that are investigating him, the Justice Department and the FBI. A leftist Soros funded group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), knowing the damage that could be done to the Democrats by this, freaked.

On November 30, 2006, CREW called for Reps. Mollohan, Lewis and Doolittle to recuse themselves from participating in the consideration of appropriations to the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

There was an article posted on CQ.com Thursday that I think was meant to mock Republicans, but might be thought of as suggesting a great way forward for both the House and the Senate:

Much of the rest of America might have been sneaking peeks on a workaday afternoon at the new 759-page Harry Potter best seller, but House Ways and Means Committee Republicans settled into their own long read after lunch on Thursday when they forced a delay of the markup of the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act by exercising their right to have the 481-page bill read out loud

One of the biggest complaints I have about Congress is that most of the time they have no idea what they are voting on. Senators and Representatives don't write these bills -- their aides do. Most of the time, when questioned, individual Congressional members admit that they haven't read the bills being voted on. Add to that non-transparent earmarks and pork spending, and it's easy to see why the legislative process, more often than not, is a disaster either in process or waiting to happen.

This move by the Republicans was obviously a political tactic designed to buy more time to review the bill. But it's actually not a bad idea to do it all the time. If this type of public reading was mandatory for every bill that gets voted on, along with their amendments and all clearly defined final earmark attachments, perhaps it would limit the thousand page spending behemoths that get passed literally minutes after being introduced on the floor. Pardon my libertarianism, but less bills passed means less government in our lives.

When more bloggers regularly read bills than do the elected representatives that actually vote on them, we've got a serious problem.

CQ.com is reporting that the House just passed another 'important' Iraq bill:

In its latest war vote, the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to bar the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

The bill (HR 2929), passed 399-24, says "it is the policy of the United States not to establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of U.S. armed forces in Iraq." The measure would bar Congress from appropriating any funds for such bases.

The article goes on to say that the "no permanent bases" vote has previously passed 6 times, and is already law in the 2007 Defense Authorization Act. Good grief, what a waste of time...

If Congressional Quarterly was really on the ball, they could have pointed out that the US military doesn't unilaterally have permanent military bases in foreign countries. That's because any military base, such as those in Germany and South Korea, are the result of joint agreements between the United States and the host country. Any time a country says that we don't want a US base anymore, it's US policy to leave. The government has often used the word "permanent" when describing forces based overseas, but it really is a misnomer. If South Korea wanted us out tomorrow, all they'd have to do is officially ask. We'd stay in the region, of course, and might even decide to have a large presence off the Korean coast, but we'd be forced to close the base.

Cindy Sheehan is bitter. It's been a classic example of what the media will do with people who they need for a purpose and then kick to the curb when they're finished. They anointed her the leader of the "peace movement" and followed her every move. From Crawford, Texas to Washington D.C., Sheehan was exulted and enabled. She actually seemed to believe the press about herself. The ultimate hard-left blog Daily Kos allowed her to post her thoughts at will.

But then a funny thing happened. They tired of her antics and you started seeing less flattering stories printed. The public as well grew weary of her and wished she would just go away and grieve. We felt for her, but she took it to an extreme. Kissing Hugo Chavez was the last straw for a great many people.

Eventually, she "retired" from the movement for a short time and did what we had hoped. But instead of getting her life together, it seems that she seethed and turned on the Democrats who once lauded her when she was "Mother Sheehan" dogging the president.

Interesting. According to The Politico, 70 House liberals (read Democrats) have sent a letter to President Bush telling him that they are going to do everything in their power to block funding of the Iraq war:

Seventy House members, nearly all liberal Democrats, vowed today that they would not support any more funding for Iraq military operations unless tied to a complete withdrawal of combat troops.

I wonder why they didn't send a letter to Nancy Pelosi? This is exactly what the Democrats, led by Ted Kennedy, did at the end of the Vietnam War. And, contrary to John Kerry's ridiculous protestations on C-SPAN two days ago, that led directly to well over 2,000,000 execution style-deaths in the immediate region, re-education camps (which Kerry approved of) with at least an additional 100,000 dead, and about up to 3,000,000 boat people with a few hundred thousand more deaths.

Oh, and voters haven't trusted Democrats on national security since. Good plan, libs.