The Note: Denny's Grand Slam (cont'd.)
— -- WASHINGTON, Oct. 10
Things that Speaker Hastert's spokesguy Ron Bonjean knows that 473 members of the Gang of 500 "know":
1. Hastert's staff has for years been aware of Mark Foley's bad behavior.
(Bonjean knows that 69% of the Republican members of the House -- the Conference -- "knows" this too.)
2. There are still serious discrepancies between the accounts of senior House leaders about what they knew and when they knew it (and who didn't do what).
(Bonjean knows that 92% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
3. In settling discrepancies between the Speaker and his staff, on the one hand, and other congressional Republicans, on the other, it is safe to assume that the latter group is always telling the truth.
(Bonjean knows that 54% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
4. The Bonjean Strategy is to run out the clock by hiding behind the on-going investigations to avoid answering any hard questions -- and assume no big shoes will drop -- before the midterm election.
(Bonjean knows that 86% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
5. Below the iceberg tip, the identities and roles of many more closeted (or semi-closeted) gay Republicans connected to the Foley matter explains a lot more than the general public knows about what happened (and what didn't happen).
(Bonjean knows that 98% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
6. The House leadership's many muscular press releases on North Korea are the cure for what ails the GOP (for one news cycle at least).
(Bonjean knows that 100% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
7. What Bonjean sometimes tries to pass off as cutesy incompetence is in fact stark stonewalling.
(Bonjean knows that 30% of reporters "knows" this too.)
8. The full Gang of 500 will read every national poll for the foreseeable future -- no matter what the data says -- as proof that the Foley scandal will cost the Republicans the House, and maybe the Senate.
(Bonjean knows that 71% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
9. Hastert is almost half as good a television spokesman as Howell Heflin.
(Bonjean knows that 32% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
10. NRCC topper Tom Reynolds is electorally dead -- and distracted.
(Bonjean knows that 69% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
11. The dysfunctional handling of this crisis tells a larger -- and accurate -- story about the ability of the current Conference leadership to work together and get things done, in good times or bad.
(Bonjean knows that 38% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
12. Democrats will take control of the House, and maybe the Senate.
(Bonjean knows that 50% of the Conference "knows" this too.)
Ron Bonjean knows these things.
Now: Who will tell the Speaker, who is doing two public events this morning on the economy in Aurora, IL. Quick: name the national news organizations who will staff those events and guess the weight of the security men who will be there?
The political highlight on President Bush's schedule is a 5:35 pm ET fundraiser for Republican Mac Collins in Macon, GA. Collins is running against Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) in one of the nine competitive House seats currently held by the Democrats.
Earlier in the day, the President and First Lady participate in a panel discussion on school safety at the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, MD. Mrs. Bush speaks at 12:30 pm ET and the President speaks at 1:15 pm ET.
The President also has a 9:00 am ET meeting at the White House with Alan Garcia Perez, the president of Peru.
Sen. John McCain plans to hold an 11:00 am ET press conference in Southfield, MI to discuss North Korea's reported test of a nuclear device, and to reemphasize the need for a strong American national defense. The presser will take place immediately following a town hall event he is holding with Mike Bouchard, the Republican running against Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to hold a 2:30 pm ET conference call with reporters on North Korea. According to the DSCC's Phil Singer, the call "focuses on how the North Korea development raises serious questions for Repubs on why they haven't pressured the White House to articulate a strategy for dealing with North Korea or demanded that the White House come up with a plan for victory in Iraq that enables the nation to deal with burgeoning threats like the one in North Korea or backed Democratic efforts to enhance our ability to detect nuclear weapons if they are smuggled through the ports. . ."
Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) attends a breakfast for Democrat Carol Shea-Porter, who is running against Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-NH), from 9:00 am - 11:00 am ET at the home of Jane and Curtis Hoffman in Rye, NH. Murtha later stumps for Democrat Peter Welch, who is running against Republican Martha Rainville at 12:30 pm ET in Burlington, VT.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) hosts an event with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic candidate for governor, at a residence in New York.
Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker and Rep. Harold Ford Jr. debate at 7:00 pm ET at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, TN. On Monday, the Corker campaign circulated comments from Ford in which he said following Saturday's Memphis debate, "I ain't gonna be as nice on Tuesday in Chattanooga."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R-NY) was due to speak at an ABNY Breakfast with Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) at the Hilton at 8:15 am ET in Manhattan, before going to Brooklyn to keynote a Department of Correction Graduation Ceremony at 10:00 am ET. He returns to Manhattan for speeches at the New York Information Technology Center at 5:00 pm ET and an exhibit opening at the American Institute for Architects New York Chapter at 5:45 pm ET.
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-MN) holds a rally with Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Senator David Vitter (R-LA), and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). In the evening, Kennedy squares off against Democrat Amy Klobuchar in a 7:00 pm ET debate at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.
Gubernatorial candidate John Faso (R-NY) attends a fundraiser hosted by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the St. Regis Hotel at 5:30 pm ET in New York City.
Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) discusses education and healthcare at a leadership summit on race hosted by the New Detroit Coalition at the Detroit Marriot Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI at 12:00 pm ET.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) begins his first of two days of campaigning with Democrats in New Hampshire. First, he speaks at Keene State College; he then headlines a Keene, NH event for Democrat Paul Hodes, who is running against Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH), at 3:00 pm ET. At 6:00 pm ET he joins the Hillsborough County Democrats for a Spaghetti Dinner at 6:00 pm ET in Nashua, NH. Tomorrow he campaigns with Shea-Porter, the Democrats' House candidate in New Hampshire's first congressional district, and New Hampshire Stonewall Democrats in Manchester, NH.
Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH), the Democratic candidate for governor in Ohio, speaks about the economy at 1:15 pm ET and later holds a rally with Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) at 5:30 pm ET in Columbus, OH.
Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) stumps for Democrat Chris Carney, who is running against Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA), at 5:00 pm ET. Carney released his second television ad yesterday which invokes allegations of abuse on the part of Rep. Sherwood from his former mistress.
Democrat Jim Webb, who has been hammered by the Allen campaign for authoring an article many years ago entitled "Why Women Can't Fight," received the endorsement of the the Virginia Educators Association at 11:00 am ET in Richmond, VA.
Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) and Republican Lynn Swann participate in a taped debate tonight in Philadelphia, which will air at 8:00 pm ET and again at 9:00 pm ET on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
The House and Senate are in recess until after the election.
The Way to Win, the the new book from Mark Halperin of ABC News and John F. Harris of the Washington Post, featuring interviews with Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove on political strategy, turns one week old today.
