Lucas --Remember all of those laughable promises Republicans made during the campaign to change their ways if they got elected? So far, they've put a "Prince of Pork" in charge of spending, chosen an outsourcing supporter to lead the tax writing committee, and at least nine incoming Republican Freshmen have hired K Street lobbyists as their top aides. Sound familiar? As the DCCC's new Executive Director it is my pleasure to bring you our special edition of @Stake where we give incoming House Republicans something they'll be getting a lot of over the next two years -- a healthy dose of accountability. Meet Your New (Old) GOP They're not even sworn in yet and the incoming House Republican Freshmen class is already looking a lot like the same old GOP that voters fired in 2006. Here is a quick recap of the incoming Republican House Committee Chairman:
- Representative Hal "Prince of Pork" Rogers to chair the House Appropriations Committee, who pushed through 135 earmarks at a cost of $246 million in the past two years alone.
- Representative Dave Camp, someone best known for protecting tax loopholes that reward big corporations for shipping American jobs overseas, to Chair the Ways and Means Committee.
- Representative Spencer Bachus, chief Republican negotiator of the tea-party hated TARP bailout to lead the House Financial Services Committee.
Check out TV clips from MSNBC Countdown, CNN AC360, and ABC News on the Republicans' hypocrisy.
Setting Our Sights On 2012 Targets
It's not even 2011 yet, and the media is already putting Republicans on notice that we have an opportunity to make this the shortest GOP House majority in history. As a recent story in Politico points out, more than 50 of the new Republican lawmakers won with less than 55 percent of the vote and there will be no shortage of "irresistible" GOP targets this cycle.
Check out the full Politico article on our prospects of retaking the House in 2012.
Voice Your Outrage at Republicans Despicable Vote on Social Security
Just one week after voting to give millionaires a tax break that increases the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars, House Republicans voted in droves against giving seniors $250 to cover their Social Security cost of living increase. Let's hold their feet to the fire.
It's not even 2011 yet and our campaign to win back our Democratic House Majority is already in full swing. Stay tuned for the next edition of @Stake for all the late breaking news and thanks again for everything that you do in this grassroots fight!
Robby Mook
DCCC Executive Director