POLITICAL TIDBITS CATCH UP…..
Capito vs. Manchin….The New York Times quotes Rep. Shelley Moore Capito saying”I’m continuing to look”…..NYT nor Capito indicated if her look goes beyond 2012… ..Senator Rockefeller must defend his seat in 2014. Readers of www.phillipsbillboard.com recall when Capito told MetroNews Talkline she decided not to participate in the U. S. Senate special election “.…the U. S. Senate is a place I would like to be someday.”
Fancy holiday parties have been ended by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin…..he ask invitees to bring food products to share with those in need at this season…..the true spirit of Christmas….hometown friends say this is the caring Earl Ray Tomblin known to them.
Potential gubernatorial candidate has it backwards…..in an email to various lists after a Charleston Daily Mail story she may run for Governor…..former SOS Betty Ireland suggested recipients to call and discuss…..thought candidates made the calls seeking opinions and support.
President Obama’s tax cut extension decision yesterday likely has two objectives….the first to reinvent him and secondly to show bipartisanship…..it is early and he was not real flexible the last two years…..Washington chatter says his supporters believe a bipartisan emphasis makes him look politically weak.
Ronald Reagan in working with Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev had the philosophy “trust but verify”…..bet Obama is keeping check on his new friends in the Republican leadership.
Moving Back In…..looks like soon to be former Congressman Alan Mollohan is preparing for a comeback bid in 2012…..he has attended more ribbon-cuttings, local Democratic meetings, groundbreaking and other high profile events…..likely more since his May defeat than the last several years…..his Republican replacement David McKinley is a survivor & fighter….plus he is creating a strong staff and will be a favorite of the NRCC.
All appears quiet in the House Republican caucus in Charleston…..now that they put their interest in a special election in a letter vs. a formal petition to Governor Tomblin…..not sure how many signers…..old and new members…..but heard it was not unanimous…..remember Republicans don’t like to spend money…..hard to think they want to spend $12 million for another special election…..wonder why they favor an early election for Governor…..any chance they are working with House Speaker Thompson…..also a candidate for Governor…..not likely but politics makes strange…..
Don’t look for the Senate Democratic caucus next week to be quiet…..Senator Jeff Kessler has lead a move to put himself in the pro-tem position…..no question he sees the advantage to his long announced campaign for Governor….which has not gotten off the ground…..such a change could cause havoc in the Senate…..leading to committee chairs being replaced…..moving VIP Senators from the front row…..don’t look for the likes of Senator Walk Helmick who is Finance Chair to go quietly…..and others who have worked hard in the current positions given them by Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin.
Holiday Cheers…..Mike Stuart GOP Leader told The Charleston Gazette his plan for success is candidate recruitment…..political observers believe state Republicans could have benefitted from the wave of GOP success in November…..if they had put candidates on the ballot at all levels…..West Virginia Day in 2009 phillipsbillboard urged Republicans to conduct an inventory for potential candidates…..and offered a menu of where to look…..wrote about it again 7/15/09.
Seen pushing a grocery cart in a Charleston market newly elected Senator Joe Manchin and Gayle are likely setting up housekeeping again…..being a member of the most exclusive club in America…..the U. S. Senate…..is not like living in the Governor’s Mansion…..BTW Senator Manchin has been warned his every vote will be scrubbed as he faces re-election in 2012…..remember “a day is a year” in politics.
Why would State GOP Chair Mike Stuart make such an early commitment for a successor to RNC Chairman Michel Steele…..he was listed last month among the supporters of Saul Anuzis, Michigan National Committeeman…..does Stuart still plan to move state headquarters across from the Governor’s Mansion…..would this be a sign he plans to focus on the 2012 Senate race rather than the next Governor?
The holidays are here but politics never stops…..remember 2008 when Iowa held their presidential caucus on January 3rd.
