ARI CONSIDERS; REDRAWING HEATHER; ROMNEY BASHED REAGAN; FBI LOOKS AT MURPHY.
December 19th, 2006
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.ARI CONSIDERS; REDRAWING HEATHER; ROMNEY BASHED REAGAN; FBI LOOKS AT MURPHY.
Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer (R) -- a lobbyist and former longtime GOP congressional aide -- is considering a 2008 run for Congress against newly-elected Congressman John Hall (D) in New York's CD-19, according to Human Events and The Hotline ... Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is the new DCCC Chair for the next election cycle ... New Mexico Democrats have had enough of losing close fights to Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R), so they're ready to take a page from Tom DeLay's playbook. According to Roll Call, State Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino (D) plans to introduce a bill that would redraw the state's congressional districts before the 2008 election. The plan would significantly increase the number of Hispanic and Native American voters in exchange for shifting a large GOP agricultural community into CD-2. Dems currently control the NM House and Senate. Governor Bill Richardson (D) said he'd be "willing to consider" the proposal ... Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) says he intends to serve out the new term he won last month at the polls. However, speculation is flying that he plans to resign well before the end of his next term. If true, that would set up a special election. State Representatives Pat Lindner (R), Tim Schmitz (R) and Linda LaVia (D), and State Senator Chris Lauzen (R) are all reportedly interested in running if a special election occurs ... KDKA-TV reported the FBI is investigating Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA) to determine if he had his congressional staffers perform campaign work on government time. Both Murphy's spokesman and the FBI declined to comment on the report ... Forget Mitt Romney's pro-gay rights comments from 1994, as that is so two weeks ago. National Review is much more worked up now, and so apparently are other conservatives, over another Romney line from a debate against Ted Kennedy during that same campaign. "I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush," said Romney, in response to Kennedy's barbs that Romney was a conservative. The magazine says Romney now has "serious repair work to do" if wants to survive the early primaries.
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