20070618 RNC’s WEAKLY REPORT

RNC’s WEAKLY REPORT

June 18^th, 2007

Democrats Plagued By Week Of Disappointment, Defeat, Gaffes

And Politics As Usual

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Latest Poll Finds Americans Disappointed By Democrats In Congress:

Public Approval Of Congress Is At "Its Lowest Level In More Than A Decade." "Fueled by disappointment at the pace of change since Democrats assumed the majority on Capitol Hill, public approval of Congress has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll." (Noam Levey, "Approval Of Congress Lowest In A Decade," Los Angeles Times, 6/12/07)

"Just 27% Of Americans Now Approve Of The Way Congress Is Doing Its Job, The Poll Found, Down From 36% In January, When Democrats Assumed Control Of The House And The Senate." (Noam Levey, "Approval Of Congress Lowest In A Decade," Los Angeles Times, 6/12/07)

"And 63% Of Americans Say That The New Democratic Congress Is Governing In A 'Business As Usual' Manner, Rather Than Working To Bring The Fundamental Change That Party Leaders Promised After November's Midterm Election." (Noam Levey, "Approval Of Congress Lowest In A Decade," Los Angeles Times, 6/12/07)

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), The First Woman To Hold That Position, Has Also Failed To Impress Many Americans. Only 36% Approve Of The Way She Is Handling The Job, The Poll Found." (Noam Levey, "Approval Of Congress Lowest In A Decade," Los Angeles Times, 6/12/07)

Rep. David Obey (D-WI) Was Forced To Abandon His Slush Fund For Earmarks:

"House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) Yesterday Opened The Earmarking Process To Public Scrutiny After Taking A Drubbing Over Plans To Keep Member Projects Under Wraps Until Bills Have Passed Both Chambers." (Mike Soraghan and Jackie Kucinich, "Obey Shines Light On Earmarking Process, But GOP?Labels Move A Hollow Gesture," The Hill, 6/12/07)

• Obey's Original Plan Would Have Made Passage Of Earmarks "All But A Done Deal." "Obey originally said House earmarks would be kept secret until they were inserted into the conference bill. By then, members cannot change them and can only vote up or down on the bill. Since the passage of earmarks is then all but a done deal, critics refer to it as 'air-dropping.'" (Mike Soraghan and Jackie Kucinich, "Obey Shines Light On Earmarking Process, But GOP?Labels Move A Hollow Gesture," The Hill, 6/12/07)

• "Critics Of The Move Say It Will Create A 'Slush Fund' Of Pork-Barrel Spending With Little Transparency Or Accountability." (Eric Pfeiffer, "Hill GOP: Earmark Reforms 'Gutted'," The Washington Times, 6/13/07)

Wisconsin State Journal : "In Six Months David Obey Has Gone From Hero To Villain." (Editorial, "Pork-Barrel Reform Should Stay On Track," Wisconsin State Journal, 6/7/07)

FLASHBACK: In 2006, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Called For Greater Transparency In The Earmarking Process. Pelosi: "[A]nything that is in any bill, any provision, whether it's an earmark or not, should be -- there should be transparency, so that ... before members vote on the bill, there should be an appropriate time for people to be able to read it, that it be a matter of public record." (Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Press Conference, 3/17/06)

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Requested Free Taxpayer-Funded Travel For Adult Children Of Members Of Congress:

"Pentagon Officials Are Bracing For A Fight With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Over Her Desire To Allow Lawmakers' Adult Children To Tag Along On Taxpayer-Funded Travel For Free." (Mike Soraghan, "DoD Braces For A Fight With Pelosi," The Hill, 6/14/07)

"Pentagon Officials Say The Policy Is That The Treasury Must Be Reimbursed At Commercial Rates For Children Who Accompany Members On Such Trips, Often Called Codels." (Mike Soraghan, "DoD Braces For A Fight With Pelosi," The Hill, 6/14/07)

• Assistant Secretary Of Defense For Legislative Affairs Robert Wilkie: "We were told that the Speaker would expect that members' children (of married and unmarried [members of Congress]) would not have to reimburse the Treasury ... We expect future challenges from the House leadership on this policy." (Mike Soraghan, "DoD Braces For A Fight With Pelosi," The Hill, 6/14/07)<>

"[M]ost Executive-Branch Officials Either Do Not Bring Family Members On Military Aircraft Or Reimburse, [Former Assistant Secretary Of Defense] Stanley Said." (Mike Soraghan, "DoD Braces For A Fight With Pelosi," The Hill, 6/14/07)

In A Phone Call With Liberal Bloggers, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) Called Military Leaders "Incompetent":

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, The Outgoing Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff, 'Incompetent' During An Interview ... With A Group Of Liberal Bloggers..." (John Bresnahan, "Reid Labels Military Leader 'Incompetent'," The Politico, 6/14/07)

• "Reid Made Similar Disparaging Remarks About Army Gen. David Petraeus, The Top U.S. Commander In Iraq..." (John Bresnahan, "Reid Labels Military Leader 'Incompetent'," The Politico, 6/14/07)

Chicago Sun-Times Reported That Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Provided Political Favors To Tony Rezko After Claiming He Had "Never Done Any Favors For Him":

"As A State Senator, Barack Obama Wrote Letters To City And State Officials Supporting His Political Patron Tony Rezko's Successful Bid To Get More Than $14 Million From Taxpayers To Build Apartments For Senior Citizens." (Tim Novak, "Obama's Letters For Rezko," Chicago Sun-Times, 6/13/07)

The Letters Show That Obama Did Do A Political Favor For Rezko Who Was Indicted On Federal Charges Last Fall. "Obama's letters, written nearly nine years ago, for the first time show the Democratic presidential hopeful did a political favor for Rezko -- a longtime friend, campaign fund-raiser and client of the law firm where Obama worked -- who was indicted last fall on federal charges that accuse him of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking state business under Gov. Blagojevich." (Tim Novak, "Obama's Letters For Rezko," Chicago Sun-Times, 6/13/07)

Letters Contradict Earlier Statements By Obama. "The letters appear to contradict a statement last December from Obama, who told the Chicago Tribune that, in all the years he's known Rezko, 'I've never done any favors for him.'" (Tim Novak, "Obama's Letters For Rezko," Chicago Sun-Times, 6/13/07)

NOTE: Obama Gave The Son Of A Rezko Business Associate An Internship In His Senate Office. "In addition to a land deal, Sen. Barack Obama's ties to indicted dealmaker Antoin 'Tony' Rezko include an internship the Senator provided the son of a contributor at the request of Rezko, an Obama spokesman confirmed ..." (Frank Main, "Internship Also Links Obama, Rezko," Chicago Sun-Times, 12/24/06)