Cornyn and Thune Contradict themselves on earmarks -- just part of being a Member of Congress?

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeOpenSecrets:

"Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota (who is one of the young up-and-comers viewed as a potential GOP presidential candidate) conducted a press conference Wednesday in which they blasted an omnibus spending bill likely to pass Congress soon.

Yet, the two of them have requested a combined 71 earmarks in the bill, according to OpenCongress.org. (Here's the Center for Responsive Politics' list of all Thune and Cornyn-sponored earmarks in 2010.)"

Transition causes Twitter upheaval: What becomes of @SpeakerPelosi?

Transition causes Twitter upheaval: What becomes of @SpeakerPelosi?: "Lame-duck dynamics are playing out on more than just the House floor — for a view of the upheaval that is the post-midterm transition season, look at political Twitter. Defeated incumbents' accounts have mostly fallen silent, while some incoming freshmen are [http://twitter.com/ScottRTipton] opening a window on new member orientation [http://twitter.com/KarenBassTweets]. And some leaders are communicating under titles that, come January, will have to be scrapped along with the 111th Congress’s directories.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “@SpeakerPelosi” [http://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi] Twitter handle, for example, will soon be an anachronism. And her replacement, Speaker-designate John Boehner, will be able to trade up (he currently tweets at @JohnBoehner and @GOPLeader). [http://twitter.com/johnboehner and http://twitter.com/GOPleader]"

POLL: Republicans lead widely; Dems in danger but race for the House tight

TheHill.com: "In a poll of 12 hotly contested races that could decide who controls the House in the 112th Congress, Republican challengers are beating freshman Democrats in 11 — and in the last one, the race is tied.
But The Hill/America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) poll also detected a glimmer of light for Democrats; not one of the 12 Republican challengers has reached 50 percent, and half of them have leads so small that they are within the margin of error."

Related articles

• Poll: Dem leads Republican in open Del. House seat (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• New The Hill Poll: 12 Freshman Democrat Held Districts Show Major GOP Gains (chicagonow.com)
• The Hill: Democrats Could Lose House But It's Not Over Yet (themoderatevoice.com)

Citizens United finds niche after landmark case

AP: The decision has contributed to an explosion in political advertising by outside groups, so far most of them allied with the Republican Party, that have flocked to raise big money from individuals and companies and flooded into some of the most competitive races across the country.

Bossie, however, is sticking with his movies - conservative documentaries that are critical of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress or that champion conservative icons and causes.

How the Republican Establishment Is Raising So Much Money

TIME: "Ohio is hardly unique. From Washington to Florida this election season, candidates risk being drowned out by a flood of advertising from a robust new network of little-known conservative political outfits. 'Shadow Republican groups formed by longtime party officials and party operatives are raising and spending hundreds of millions of dollars in this election,' says Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21, a nonpartisan campaign-finance-reform group, 'most of which is going to come in the form of secret undisclosed contributions.'"

Inside the Republican Money Machine

WSJ.com: "Campaign finance watchdogs and the media were never terribly concerned when liberal groups were drubbing conservatives in independent expenditures. Now they profess shock that millions are being spent to boost Republican candidates and the names of wealthy donors aren't disclosed.
In any event, four of the top five independent groups—the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, Services Employees Local 1999, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee—support Democratic campaigns. The lone conservative group in the top five is the Susan B. Anthony List. Based on data released by the Federal Election Commission, however, the overall gap has narrowed: As of Sept. 18, money spent on behalf of Democratic candidates from all reported sources totaled $389,023,152, only slightly more than the $377,689,336 for Republicans."

NRSC Spending $1.2M In WV - Hotline On Call

The NRSC is going up with an ad in West Virginia on Friday, a sure sign that Republicans believe their chances in the state are on the rise. The ad, which is backed by a $1.2M buy, hits on the campaign strategy businessman John Raese (R) has already been using: Tie Gov. Joe Manchin (D) to Pres. Obama.

via hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com

Related articles

• Gov Manchin (D CAND, WV-SEN) values real estate values over miners' lives. (redstate.com)
• In WV, Popular Governor Manchin Hindered by the D Next To His Name (blogs.abcnews.com)

Republicans Better at Social Media

HeadCount: According to a study, Republicans are much more adept at connecting to their base via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

While Democratic U.S. Senate candidates have a little less than 300,000 followers on Facebook, their Republican counterparts have 1.43 million “fans.” On Twitter, 520,000 people follow Republican candidates for Senate, whereas only 90,000 follow Democratic candidates.

Related articles

• Republicans Dominate Democrats in Social Media (fastcompany.com)
• Study: Voters Expect Politicians to be Active on Social Networks...Are they Listening? (socialtimes.com)

GOP's big money men return

POLITICO.com: After reducing their check writing during the latter days of George W. Bush’s presidency and John McCain’s 2008 failed campaign to succeed him, wealthy conservatives have been re-energized by the 2010 midterm election, giving to GOP candidates and campaign committees as well as the independent groups that back Republicans in unprecedented amounts.