Monday clips

Back from the Turkey Platter

That six day stretch with no posts that ended yesterday was my longest spell without writing in at least the five years since I started taking this thing seriously. Here's some of what I read and digested, besides turkey, over the break:

This harsh piece at Down With Tyranny about doings at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC or "D Trip" in Beltway shorthand) includes as one of its key players a name familiar to Iowa pols:

I bet you've never heard of Ralston Lapp Media, Global Strategy Group, Dewey Square Group or GMMB... unless you're an Inside the Beltway politico, steeped in Democratic Party politics. Then you know them quite well; you have to to do business in DC. Let me start with Ralston Lapp, a K Street media company whose website's front page justifies itself with a Washington Post quote from another year: "One of the principal architects of the Democrats’ takeover of the House." Among their clients this year were Arizona Blue Dog Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Blue Dog Ben Chandler, each of whom eked out a narrow win against a reactionary opponent. Another client, Jerry McNerney (CA-11), is slightly ahead as votes are still be tabulated almost three weeks after election day. Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23), another of their 2010 clients, was defeated by Quico Conseco 49-44% (just half of Rodriguez's 2008 voters turning out for him 3 weeks ago). Here's a list of checks reported to the FEC from the DCCC's I.E. Committee to Ralston Lapp Media...

(long list)

I don't have the Ralston Lapp fee structure, but I've been told that they probably get a 15% commission on any advertising created, although my guess is that they share that percentage with the media buying firm.

One of the two partners in Ralston Lapp is John Lapp, somewhat better known as a longtime DCCC insider.

Iowans, of course, know Lapp from the Tom Vilsack re-elect in `02, followed immediately by the Dick Gephardt caucus campaign in `03-04. Lapp's most recent Iowa work was with Team Conlin.

The piece isn't so much a hatchet job on Lapp as it is an indictment of the whole system that pumped hundreds of thousands, even millions, into the (often losing) campaigns of Blue Dogs who abandoned the President and Speaker on all the tough votes, while leaving progressives who took those tough votes twisting slowly, slowly in the wind.

A Daily Kos piece on the death of the California Republican Party - remember back in the Reagan era when that was part of the GOP electoral college firewall? The problem for Golden State conservatives is demographic, as Pete Wilson bet the ranch on xenophobia:

Everyone who isn't in denial knows what the California GOP must do to survive:

Drop the demagoguery about illegal immigrants because it scares off the fast-growing Latino electorate.

With a brief shout-out to Our Own Steve King in the last line.

To keep Krazy King kompany, The Ten Scariest Members of the House freshman class.

A Tea Party waiting to happen: Dick Lugar (you 2000 had to look it up, 1996, caucus Republicans remember him from the Asterisk Zone in the polls) is the next Mike Castle, doomed to primary death.

A clip-n-save guide to the main vulnerabilities of the top ten likely GOP presidential contenders. Romney's weak spot is listed as health care, not religion.

Of course, I made my prediction last week, and at Kos brooklynbadboy concurs:

Now, if Romney couldn't beat an unprincipled, untrusted McCain, or an unknown, low-budget Huckabee, how is he going to beat a well-funded, nationally known true believer like Palin? Romney could try and outflank an evangelical megachurcher like Palin with culture warrior stuff, but does anyone believe they're going to trust a Mormon over one of their own? Especially one who has been all over the place on abortion? With Tea Partiers, Neocons and evangelicals naturally aligning for Palin, the path for Romney to win will have to involve tearing her down. He couldn't do it to Huckabee after investing $50 million of his own money and years of effort in Iowa.

So this brings us to the likely matchup, Obama v. Palin.

45 2/3 states AND we win back the House AND we save all those senators who won squeakers in `06 like McCaskill and Tester and Webb. You betcha.

Still looking for folks to join me Friday Night at 11 for the Godfather.