This has not been a good past 48 hours for National Republican Campaign Committee chair Pete Sessions. In fact the past two days have been horrible. Perhaps Sessions should fly out to Vegas for one of his risque fundraisers . Badump Tish
First The earmarks flap
Then the recruiting flap where he fails to get top prospect John McKinley to take on Jim Himes (CT-04).
And now we are finding out there are all kinds of holes in his Young Guns Project . Well if you call it Young Guns – not sure that some of his catches count as “Young”.
Keep up the good work Pete and you might be left with just the wignuttiest of the wignuttery in Congress. No complaints here. But the NRCC might want to second guess its decision to put you in charge. Well you are probably taking the rest of the boys to Vegas for another Leadership PAC fundraiser so I’m sure they are just looking forward to a couple of lap dances and craps.
1. Strike One
earmarks have become “a symbol of a broken Washington to the American people
So it’s probably no surprise that He doesn’t tell us on his website that in 2008 he steered 1.6 million to a company doing some research on a blimp. The company has no experience in government contracts, no experience in building airships or blimps and it just by the way employed a former Sessions staffer as a lobbyist. And the best part that former staffer turned lobbyist has a criminal record.
Oh and by the way this father son team (The Fergusons) that own this company – contributed $5,000 to Sessions Leadership Pac in 2007.
Wonder if they were at the Vegas Risque fundraiser.
And not only was this former staffer Plesha convicted on a gun charge but he also has a criminal record from some FEC violations related to lying to investigators about creating some false mailers.
Oh and see Pete here while Jeff Flake talks about earmarks today
2. Strike Two
Sessions announced on Tuesday
There are people proactively coming to us. We are doing far less recruiting and more catching.”
That’s a day before
“Republicans’ hopes of ousting freshman Democrat Jim Himes in Connecticut’s 4th District suffered a serious blow, as heavily recruited GOP state legislator John McKinney has taken himself out of the running.” [CQ Politics, 7/30/09]
Maybe you should be doing more recruiting then Pete.
3. Strike Three
Oh and then we just found out from this article that Sessions thinks that Mississipi State Senator Alan Nunnelee (see below) is running in Alabama against Freshman Parker Griffith (AL-05). h/t to Left in Alabama for this discovery
A few top candidates who entered their races in the last month have yet to be placed on the list but could be soon. Sessions said, for instance, that Alabama state Sen. Alan Nunnelee, who just announced he would challenge Rep. Parker Griffith (D-Ala.), would soon be a part of the program.
Way to be on top of it sport. Nunnelee has announced to run against Blue Dog Travis Childers (MS-01). The one that the NRCC ran the same candidate against in a Special Election and then a few months later again in the General and lost both times.
Not sure that this Nunellee guy (see below) really qualifies as a “Young Gun” either
But as Swing State Project points out that being young is not really a requirement of the “Young Guns” program
And let’s leave aside the issue of calling 62 year-old Steve Pearce and 56 year-old Steve Chabot “Young Guns” for the moment.
You are outtttttttttttt of there buddy. See ya in Vegas.
he can’t really be made the issue in individual Congressional campaigns other than his own. It’s a good (and of course valid) talking point, superbly done by you, and can have some marginal effect, but most people around the country will never know who he is.
On the other hand, his shady dealings and ineffectiveness might be a good issue in his own reelection campaign. What kind of opposition has he drawn in his own district, so far?
i don’t think Sessions is in much trouble. But perhaps this could be a situation like where we put the pressure on Tom DeLay and eventually he got put out.
Thats a first!