June 2001

TeamGOP Home Daily News via Email Get TeamGOP.com news every day. Enter your email address in the field below. News Archive July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 Questions? Feel free to email us with your questions, comments, and concerns.

Senate Space Wars Erupt 6/28/2001 9:36 AM As office space wars are breaking out throughout the chamber, one Senate real estate squabble has been settled. After weeks of mulling his options, new Majority Whip Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will seize Minority Whip Don Nickles' (R-Okla.) prime leadership office space - located within steps of the Senate floor - as early as next week. The move is expected to take place once the Senate completes its work on the patients' bill of rights, the supplemental appropriations bill and the chamber's organizing resolution, Nathan Naylor, Reid's spokesman said. Read the article Waiting in the Wings for Thompson's Decision 6/28/2001 9:34 AM While Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) privately decides whether to seek re-election, both parties are busy preparing for what one GOP strategist called the "increasing likelihood" that he'll opt to retire in 2002. Thompson is being watched closely these days by nearly every House Democrat from the Volunteer State atop their party's list of potential successors, as well as by fellow Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Thompson's decision is key to the NRSC's goal of retaking the Senate in 2002. The Watergate attorney turned actor ranks among a small group of Senators whose re-election would appear all but assured, but whose retirement could spark a highly competitive and costly battle in a swing state. Read the article Hastert: I'm Not Leaving (Speaker Also Blasts McCain Over Reform Tactics) 6/28/2001 9:32 AM Dispelling rampant speculation that he plans to retire, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) insisted in an interview yesterday that he has no intention of leaving Congress at the end of this term or at anytime in the near future. "The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated, as Mark Twain would say," Hastert told Roll Call. "Like most Members of Congress, I'm not thinking about retirement. We've got a lot of work to do here first." Unlike some of his lieutenants, who accused Democrats for starting the whispering campaign in order to inject a sense of instability among House GOP leaders, Hastert laid the blame at his own feet. Read the article Florida's Harris Attacks U.S. Report as Partisan 6/27/2001 11:04 PM Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris lashed back at her critics yesterday, accusing a majority of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights of producing an inaccurate and partisan report on voting procedure shortcomings in Florida last November that she said was designed as "a battle plan for politicians interested in wielding the sword of racial division." Harris, honored by Republicans and assailed by Democrats for her role in the bitter dispute over the outcome of the 2000 presidential election in Florida, made the charges in a written statement she submitted to the Senate rules committee. The panel held a hearing yesterday on a Civil Rights Commission report this month that concluded the presidential election in Florida last year was marked by "injustice, ineptitude and inefficiency" and that faulted Harris, Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and local elections officials for the failures. Read the article Conservative Mayor Wins GOP Primary For N.J. Governor 6/27/2001 9:15 PM A conservative mayor won the Republican nomination for governor tonight, easily defeating a moderate former House member in a race with the ideological direction of New Jersey's GOP on the line. Bret Schundler, the mayor of Jersey City, defeated Bob Franks, who served four terms in Congress. Franks did not join the race until April, after acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco withdrew over critical news coverage of his business dealings. Read the article Bush Kicks Off Fund-Raising Summer 6/27/2001 9:14 PM In a Republican version of a date-for-a-day auction, donors who pledged at least $25,000 for the party's congressional fund-raiser got to pick a lawmaker to dine with Wednesday night. The dinner, which raised more than $20 million, opened what party officials say will be a summer of fund raising by President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on behalf of Republican congressional candidates. Bush thanked donors profusely in an 18-minute speech that touched on his policies on tax cuts, education and defense. Read the article Rove's Strategies to Woo Hispanics Working for Bush 6/26/2001 6:13 PM President Bush's popularity is growing with Hispanics, and it's the result of careful work through a lacework of communications strategies, policy initiatives, high-level appointments and foreign visits -- masterminded not by the president's policy mavens but by his chief political strategist. In an interview in his White House office, Karl Rove, who guided the Bush presidential campaign, gleefully points to a Gallup Poll completed a week ago finding that Hispanics now give a 59 percent approval rating to Mr. Bush -- up sharply from the 31 percent he won of the Hispanic vote in November. This is crucial because the Hispanic vote is not only the fastest-growing ethnic bloc in America, but it could be pivotal in states like California, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Read the article Mayors, Rosa Parks OK Faith-based Initiatives 6/26/2001 6:12 PM President Bush yesterday enlisted civil rights icon Rosa Parks and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in his fight to give religious groups the right to provide social services, a plan that is stalled in Congress by liberal Democrats. Critics denounced the move as an assault on the constitutional separation of church and state. But Mr. Bush said his "faith-based" initiative will help inner-city children overcome the "evil" that permeates their lives. Read the article Bush Nominates Bonner to Customs 6/26/2001 6:10 PM President Bush on Tuesday nominated a former federal judge and chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration in the early 1990s to take over the U.S. Customs Service. Robert Bonner is currently a partner with the Los Angeles-based law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher. Read the article Virginia GOP in Search of Latino Candidate 6/26/2001 5:54 PM The Republican Party, intent on keeping control of the Virginia House of Delegates, has come up with three potential Hispanic candidates to run against an incumbent Democrat in the redrawn 49th District, where minorities are a majority of the population. The new district includes three of the most ethnically diverse communities in Northern Virginia -- Del Ray in Alexandria, Arlandria in Arlington County and Culmore in Fairfax County. The district's population is 42 percent Hispanic, 27 percent white, 20 percent black and 11 percent Asian. Local and national party officials yesterday said they believe a Latino delegate would better look out for the interests of the residents who live in what is one of the poorest areas in Virginia. Read the article Burton to Waxman: 'Surprised at Sudden Interest in Ethics' 6/25/2001 6:02 PM Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform Dan Burton, Republican of Indiana, responded on Monday to a request from Democratic colleague Henry Waxman of California to investigate reports that President George W. Bush's advisor Karl Rove had contacts with companies, such as Intel, in which he owned stock. The link below is the text of the letter sent by Burton to Waxman. Read the article Senator Bond Plans to Wed Kansas City Native 6/25/2001 6:00 PM Sen. Kit Bond is engaged. Bond, R-Mo., plans to marry Linda Pell, a political consultant for the Senate GOP who grew up in the Kansas City, Mo., suburb of Gladstone. "She is the light of my life and my most wonderful and best friend," Bond, 62, said in a statement issued from his office Monday. The wedding will be sometime next spring, at Washington's National Presbyterian Chapel. A reception will follow in Mexico, Mo., which will be their primary home. Read the article With Primary Looming, New Jersey's GOP Parts 6/25/2001 5:55 PM Bret Schundler, the renegade Republican who three times won the mayoralty in overwhelmingly Democratic Jersey City, appears to be on the verge of defying the state's GOP establishment and winning Tuesday's gubernatorial primary. The 42-year-old Harvard graduate, who combines hard-right conservative stands on abortion, school vouchers and gun control with a record of striking policy and political achievements in gritty, majority-minority Jersey City, is running ahead of former U.S. representative Bob Franks, 49, who was handpicked by New Jersey Republican leaders to take over the post vacated by Christine Todd Whitman, according to public and private polling. Read the article Aides Eager to Step From Shadow 6/24/2001 10:32 PM "I thought it would be easy to step out from behind the curtain," says freshman Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) explaining his decision in 1999 to enter the Congressional race to replace his former boss, Rep. John Porter (R), in Illinois' 10th district. Kirk, who was Porter's chief of staff from 1987 to 1990, provides a perfect example of the pitfalls and pluses of former staffers who seek to follow in their bosses' political footsteps. Entering the Republican primary, Kirk was given little chance by political observers who saw a field chock full of self-funding candidates. The race had 11 candidates; six of them were millionaires. Read the article Sununu Senate Bid Could Be Problem For House GOP 6/24/2001 10:31 PM Lost in Rep. John Sununu's high-profile flirtation with a Senate primary challenge to Sen. Bob Smith (R) in New Hampshire is the competitive open-seat race his departure would create in the 1st district. Although Sununu has yet to indicate his plans, one definite Democrat and four potential Republican candidates are already maneuvering to replace him in the event of an open-seat battle in the Manchester-based seat. Read the article Lott Warns Hastert On Dealing With Daschle 6/24/2001 10:29 PM Gearing up for what promises to be a fierce end-of-the-year appropriations showdown, Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) warned Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and President Bush last week about the danger of trusting Senate Democrats on spending bills, according to Senate GOPsources. The sources said Lott made the comments during a private powwow he called with Hastert and the President last Tuesday. It was the first joint meeting of the three Republican leaders since Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) left the GOP and threw control of the Senate into Democratic hands. Read the article Ashcroft Heads to Florida 6/24/2001 10:25 PM Attorney General John Ashcroft was to meet with law enforcement officials, Cuban-Americans and other immigrants during a four-day trip to Florida beginning Sunday. Ashcroft was scheduled to address the annual gathering of the National Sheriffs' Association in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. The group was the first law enforcement organization to support the former Missouri senator for attorney general. In Miami, Ashcroft plans to tour the Drug Enforcement Administration office on Monday and hold an informal luncheon meeting Tuesday with leaders of the Cuban-American community, a Republican force in Florida politics. Read the article Many Bush Appointees Worked for Father 6/24/2001 10:24 PM Two out of five of President Bush's top appointees worked in his father's administration, and nearly three-quarters have worked in the federal government before, a magazine reports. Four out of five of the top appointees are white, and 42 percent worked for the Bush campaign, according to an analysis of 300 top appointees by the weekly National Journal. The list includes people Bush nominated or said he would nominate to top White House and executive branch posts, including Cabinet secretaries and their chiefs of staff. Among the most notable is Vice President Dick Cheney, who served Bush's father as defense secretary. Read the article Largent Leads GOP to Victory in Oklahoman's Last Game 6/22/2001 4:46 PM Powered by Rep. Steve Largent's (R-Okla.) virtuoso swan-song performance, the Republicans steamrolled the Democrats 9-1 Thursday night in the 40th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game before almost 3,000 people at Prince George's Stadium. The victory gave the GOP its 26th win over the Democrats, and pulled them party ahead 2-1 in the current best-of-five series. With a strong infield defense gobbling up anything hit on the ground, Largent threw another complete game, scattering six hits while striking out eight Democrats without yielding a walk. Read the article Rumsfeld Says New Defense Strategy By Late Summer 6/21/2001 3:51 PM Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Congress on Thursday he expects to recommend to President Bush by late summer a new U.S. defense strategy and new approach to sizing the military. Rumsfeld said he has not yet decided on a new defense strategy but has drawn some preliminary conclusions with senior military officers on how to improve the strategy that has guided U.S. defense planning for more than a decade. "We need to prepare now for the new and different threats we will face in the decades ahead -- not wait until they fully emerge," he said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Read the article Rumsfeld Seeks Joint Chiefs Chair 6/21/2001 3:49 PM Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has narrowed his choices of potential candidates to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and will make a final recommendation to President Bush soon, officials said. The current chairman, Army Gen. Henry H. Shelton, is due to retire Sept. 30 after serving two two-year terms, and the White House hopes to get Shelton's successor confirmed by the Senate this summer. Although Rumsfeld has considered asking a retired general or admiral to take the post, he most likely will recommend an active-duty officer, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Read the article House GOP Back To 6-Seat Majority 6/21/2001 3:37 PM Randy Forbes (R) narrowly won the race to succeed the late Rep. Norm Sisisky (D-Va.) on Tuesday, restoring the House GOP majority to the six-seat margin that existed before another Forbes bolted the party in 1999. In a swing-district special election characterized by both parties' efforts to project modest expectations, Forbes beat fellow state Sen. Louise Lucas (D), 52 to 48 percent. The contest, which saw more than $5 million in spending and featured racially tinged media attacks and heavy commitments by both national parties, ended with about 38 percent of registered voters in southeastern Virginia's 4th district casting ballots. Read the article U.S. Attorney in California Favored for Top FBI Job 6/19/2001 11:03 PM President Bush is leaning toward naming San Francisco U.S. Attorney Robert S. Mueller III as the next director of the FBI, but officials have some reservations about whether Mueller has the "star power" needed to turn around the troubled agency, administration sources said yesterday. A White House official said Bush's advisers like Mueller and that he will be selected "unless someone else falls out of the sky." Still, administration officials are keeping open the possibility that another candidate could be considered, noting that they do not expect to announce a decision this week. "President Bush thinks very highly of Mr. Mueller," a senior White House official said. "He has not yet made up his mind." Read the article Republican Forbes Wins Virginia Race for Open Seat in Congress 6/19/2001 11:00 PM Republicans expanded their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday as Randy Forbes defeated Democrat Louise Lucas in a special election to fill an open seat from Virginia. With all 239 precincts reporting unofficial returns, Forbes had 70,926 votes, or 52 percent to 65,194 votes or 48 percent for Lucas. Voter turnout was about 38 percent. The closely watched special election was marked by negative advertising, racial tension and heavy spending by the national parties. Read the article Russian President Putin Says He and Bush Reached 'High Level' of Trust at Summit 6/18/2001 5:52 PM Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he and President Bush do not agree on the security threats their countries face, but reached "a very high level" of trust during their weekend summit. In a 2-hour interview with American reporters, Putin said the American president was a "very attentive listener" during the meeting in Slovenia and that Bush was interested in discussing the big picture of global problems. He also said Bush was "a nice person to talk to." Putin said he and Bush agreed at their meeting Saturday to work together to identify security threats. Read the article Bush Celebrating Successful Trip 6/18/2001 9:48 AM President Bush´s trip to Europe has earned him high marks from both Republicans and Democrats, who say he exceeded expectations and achieved most of his goals. The trip represents a major political victory for Mr. Bush, who again has defied his critics. "I think he did well. And I think that, much like hecklers at a political rally in America usually help the person behind the podium, critics overseas usually cause a circling of the wagons in America. ... There will be a rallying of forces behind the president," Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said yesterday on CNN´s "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer." Read the article Outgoing LA Mayor Undecided on Run for California Governor 6/18/2001 9:46 AM Outgoing Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan is "absolutely flattered" by repeated calls from the White House urging him to run against incumbent Democratic California Gov. Gray Davis next year, but has not yet decided whether he will do so, a spokesman said on Sunday. President Bush has asked Riordan twice to consider a bid for governor, once in a phone call and again in person during a visit to Los Angeles, Peter Hidalgo, Riordan's press secretary told Reuters. The push for Riordan to lead a Republican challenge for the governorship comes as activists gear up for a major advertising campaign blasting the Davis administration's handling of California's energy crisis. Read the article GOP Hires Consultant to Aid Campaign Of Jeb Bush 6/15/2001 10:51 AM Worried about Gov. Jeb Bush's reelection prospects next year, the Republican National Committee has hired veteran political consultant Randy Enwright to keep an eye on Florida. "It's the first time one state has been given their own political person," RNC spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe said today. "He has an intimate knowledge of the Florida political scene." Publicly, the governor welcomed the unprecedented move. "We'll take all the help we can get," said Bush, who announced last week he would seek a second term. Read the article Justice's Antitrust Chief Confirmed 6/15/2001 10:50 AM Senators on Thursday confirmed Charles James' nomination as assistant attorney general, making him the new head of the Justice Department's antitrust division. James, who has reputation for conservatism on antitrust matters, will now take over the government's lawsuit against Microsoft Corp., the biggest antitrust case left over from the Clinton administration. The 46-year-old Washington lawyer becomes the first black to head the division permanently. He was acting assistant attorney general in charge of it for several months in 1992 during the first Bush administration. Read the article Will Nickles Take on Lott? 6/15/2001 9:28 AM Over the next few days, Senate Minority Whip Don Nickles (R-Okla.) is expected to vacate the majestic office on the second floor of the Capitol that he has occupied for most of his tenure as the GOP's number two leader in the chamber. In the wake of the party switch by Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), new Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is taking over Nickles' prime real estate. Nickles, meanwhile, will have to settle for Reid's old digs on the first floor of the Capitol. As Republicans begin dealing with life in the minority, however, many Senators are consumed by another real estate question:Is Nickles planning to supplant Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) from the big office down the corridor from the Senate floor? Read the article GOP Reaches Out To Elizabeth Dole 6/15/2001 9:23 AM Bracing for the possible retirement of Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Bill Frist (Tenn.) has approached Elizabeth Dole to gauge her interest in a 2002 Senate bid, key GOP sources said this week. Dole, 64, a 2000 presidential aspirant and the wife of former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), was "interested but non-committal," even though recent GOP polls showed she remains highly popular in her home state, party insiders said. Frist's efforts to reach out to Dole as well as other potential GOP candidates, such as Rep. Richard Burr, reflect the increasing concern among Senate Republicans that Helms may retire at the end of his fifth six-year term. Last month Helms, 79, said he would announce his plans by September. Read the article Ailments Keep Senator Strom Thurmond in D.C. 6/14/2001 4:33 PM America's senior senator, 98-year-old Strom Thurmond, doesn't get back to South Carolina much anymore. The Republican lawmaker has been spending most of his time in Washington lately because hip problems and other ailments make it hard for him to travel. He has been forced to skip speaking engagements in his home state, which he hasn't visited since Christmas. Aides say Thurmond's degenerative hip problems make it difficult to walk or sit comfortably on airplanes for very long. Read the article New Jersey Governor's Race Exposes GOP Split 6/14/2001 4:31 PM After almost eight years under GOP moderate Christie Whitman, the question now in New Jersey is which Republican Party will advance to the governor's race. Conservative GOP candidate Bret Schundler is anti-abortion, for school vouchers and against what he calls intrusive gun-ownership laws. His opponent for the Republican nomination, Bob Franks, is a moderate four-term congressman who supports abortion rights and environmental causes. "Quite frankly, you're seeing a struggle for the heart and soul of the party," said Republican consultant David Murray. Read the article Armey of One Takes on Carnivore 6/14/2001 4:29 PM One year after hearings in which the Clinton Administration vigorously defended the FBI's email-tapping Carnivore surveillance system, Rep. Dick Armey, R-Texas, is asking the new attorney general to reopen the debate. House Majority Leader Armey sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft Thursday that questions whether Carnivore - since renamed DCS-1000 by the Department of Justice under Janet Reno - violates the personal online privacy of U.S. citizens. He referred to a Monday Supreme Court ruling in which justices found that police must have a search warrant to use heat-seeking technology to determine the contents of an individual's residence. "It is reasonable, then, to ask whether the Internet surveillance system formerly known as 'Carnivore' similarly undermines the minimum expectation that individuals have that their personal electronic communication will not be examined by law enforcement devices unless a specific court warrant has been issued," Armey wrote. Read the article Cupid in Chief: Romance Blooms Among President Bush's Staffers 6/14/2001 4:26 PM Much has been said about President Bush "rallying the armies of compassion." Too little has been said about President Bush rallying the armies of passion. There is nothing conservative about the way romance is blossoming in the White House and among Bush campaign veterans in the administration. Place a call to Heidi Nelson, a Bush campaign policy adviser now with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and her message tape says: "I'll be out of the office until mid June, getting married." Bride met groom in Austin, where Ted Cruz was also a Bush policy adviser (he's heading over to the Federal Trade Commission after the Caribbean honeymoon). Read the article GOP Weighs Creating House Seat for North 6/13/2001 2:58 PM Republicans are trying to carve out a congressional district in Virginia for Oliver L. North. This time it does not appear that the bitter left-right Republican split of 1994, which cost the former White House national security staffer a Senate seat, will play a role. The plan calls for Mr. North, the retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who became a national hero for many Americans during the Iran-Contra congressional hearings in the late 1980s, to go up against incumbent Democrat Rick Boucher in a district that Mr. North carried in his 1994 senatorial race. Read the article Virginia Election Generating National Interest 6/13/2001 11:26 AM Forced to surrender control of the Senate after James Jeffords' bitter public defection, the Republican Party is going all out in an attempt to regain national bragging rights by winning a special congressional election in Virginia. Two state senators, Democrat Louise Lucas and Republican Randy Forbes, are competing in the June 19 election to succeed Rep. Norman Sisisky, a conservative Democrat who died in March. The race is an early test for National Republican Committee chairman Jim Gilmore in his own back yard. The Virginia governor has pledged $500,000 in RNC money to Forbes' campaign, which is expected to spend as much as $3 million. Forbes had raised $486,736 and Lucas $429,264 as of May 30, according to Federal Election Commission filings. That does not include money spent on their behalf by the national parties. Read the article Armey Apologizes to Watts for Hearing Remarks 6/13/2001 11:24 AM House Majority Leader Rep. Dick Armey, R-Texas, apologized Tuesday to GOP Conference Chairman Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Oklahoma, for describing as "nonsense" Watts' recently announced plan to hold hearings on spiking energy prices. Armey explained that he misunderstood the purpose of the hearings when he made the remark. He said he now understands the inquiry will examine "what really happens in the real world when people try to impose price controls." "I'm sorry I didn't understand better before I ad-libbed last week," he said. "But J.C., I think, has thought this through and has a clear understanding of what he's trying to accomplish, and I applaud him for his initiative." Read the article New Hampshire Senate Race already Sizzling 6/13/2001 11:22 AM Some New Hampshire Republicans are so intent on holding on to Sen. Bob Smith's seat that they are abandoning the outspoken and eccentric lawmaker in favor of a candidate they believe has a better chance of getting elected. Well before the November 2002 election, a growing divide exists between Smith's backers and those who say his sometimes outrageous antics could provide a lift to what could be the strongest Democratic challenge in decades. Smith's critics are siding with U.S. Rep. John E. Sununu, who they believe stands the best chance of beating the likely Democratic candidate, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. Neither Sununu nor Shaheen have said if they plan to run. Both Smith and Sununu are conservatives and agree on most of the issues, so the race comes down to electability, said David Carney, a GOP consultant who is leading the effort to get Sununu in the race. Read the article R.I. Senator Chafee Considers Defecting From GOP 6/13/2001 11:18 AM Another U.S. senator may follow Vermont's Jim Jeffords out of the Republican Party -- but only if the GOP regains the majority. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., told Fox News he would defect "if some issues that I feel strongly about are not addressed." After Senate Republicans held their weekly closed-door lunch, Chafee said he is worried that the issues Jeffords raised when he left the GOP are being "minimized." He also said the Republicans are becoming more combative now that they are in the minority, and that he wants the party to change right away. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, was quick to point out that the GOP has been in the minority for only a week so it's a bit early to make snap judgments. Read the article Conservative Announces Run for Illinois Governor 6/12/2001 12:02 PM Republican state Sen. Patrick O'Malley says he will run for governor next year and is prepared to battle the incumbent in a GOP primary if necessary. "Make no mistake; I seek the office of governor to be governor. I'm not maneuvering to run for another office," O'Malley said Monday. "And my candidacy does not hinge or rely on anybody else's candidacy or non-candidacy." O'Malley has disagreed with Gov. George Ryan on such issues as taxes and the death penalty moratorium. Yet O'Malley, who had signaled his intention to run earlier this year, used his Statehouse news conference to put the spotlight on trust. Read the article Bush says McVeigh's Execution was 'Justice' for Bombing 6/11/2001 10:45 PM The execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was an act of justice, not vengeance, President Bush said Monday as he headed to Europe, where protesters are expected to demonstrate against capital punishment in America. "I understand there are some in Europe that support the death penalty. A lot of people don't," Bush told a group of European reporters in a round-table interview Monday morning shortly before McVeigh was killed by lethal injection. "The positives in our relationship with NATO and the European Union and individual countries far outweigh, far outweigh some of the negatives that occur because we don't agree on every issue. And that's my attitude going to Europe." Read the article Bush Nominates 2 for Ambassador 6/11/2001 10:24 PM President Bush chose a career diplomat Monday to serve as U.S. ambassador in the Congo and a banker with experience advancing U.S. economic interests in Asia as ambassador to Singapore. In a statement, the White House announced Bush's intention to nominate Aubrey Hooks to the posting in Africa. From 1996 to 1999, Hooks was ambassador to the Republic of the Congo. After the embassy in Brazzaville was closed for security reasons, he became charge d'affaires in the Central African Republic. Read the article GOP Makes Nomination Request 6/11/2001 10:22 PM Republicans, the Senate's new minority, formally asked Democrats to guarantee consideration by the full Senate of President Bush's appointees to the Supreme Court or appeals courts, officials involved in discussions said. The request, conveyed Monday, also said all other judicial nominations should receive timely reviews, the officials said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Republicans suggested legislation to streamline Senate consideration of all presidential nominations, to the judiciary or to executive branch positions. Read the article House GOP Resolves to Stay the Course 6/11/2001 9:15 AM Facing a Democratic-controlled Senate for the first time since Republicans captured Congress in 1994, House GOP leaders are eschewing any talk of compromise, vowing instead to serve as the conservative bulwark for President Bush's agenda. Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and his colleagues, although speaking of the need for bipartisanship, have promised to press ahead with Democratic initiatives on such issues as health care and the minimum wage. Republicans say these measures would encounter fierce resistance in the House. Read the article Hastert Serves as 'Listener' 6/11/2001 9:11 AM Minutes after the gavel dropped to close business in the Senate on Tuesday, marking the end of Republican rule, new Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., had a GOP visitor from the other side of the Capitol. The next day, as Democrats consolidated their control of the Senate, the same burly figure slipped down Pennsylvania Avenue for a long tête-à-tête with President Bush. He was overlooked during a week in which attention focused on the Democrats' takeover of the Senate, but that was just fine by House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The veteran Illinois Republican has always preferred to work behind the scenes. And he got right down to it, initiating the conversations and building the bridges that he will need to navigate a changed political landscape. Read the article Bush Trusts Foreign Policy Tutor - Condoleezza Rice - with World 6/11/2001 9:09 AM Perhaps no other U.S. official has faced down both Boris Yeltsin and Ariel Sharon. As a member of the National Security Council staff in 1989, Condoleezza Rice physically blocked Yeltsin, who was the Soviet opposition leader at the time, from seeing the first President Bush without an appointment. More recently, as national security adviser to the second President Bush, Rice told Israel's new prime minister that his desire to sell early-warning planes to China was a nonstarter. When Sharon persisted, Rice said coolly that if he continued raising the matter, the meeting was over. The old Israeli warrior was left gasping, witnesses say. Read the article Vice President Cheney Visits Florida 6/10/2001 8:45 PM In his first visit to Florida since the disputed election that won the White House for him and President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney met with Hispanic business leaders Saturday before attending a GOP fund-raising dinner. Accompanying Cheney at the two events was Gov. Jeb Bush, who on Friday announced he would seek re-election. "It's always fun to come back to Florida; it occupies a very special place in our families' history," Cheney said, prompting laughter. "I didn't think you would bring that up," Gov. Bush said, in jest. Read the article Bush Aide Pledges Senate Cooperation 6/10/2001 8:43 PM President Bush's chief of staff pledged cooperation and an "open door" policy with Democrats now running the Senate while saying Sunday their version of a patients' bill of rights would be vetoed. Bush would not sign a bill that would allow patients to sue HMOs or other health plans in state courts, where there are no limits to monetary damages, and set a $5 million cap for cases in federal court, aide Andrew Card said. That bill, supported by Democrats and their GOP allies, is planned by Majority Leader Tom Daschle as the Senate's first order of business after finishing with education legislation, perhaps by week's end. Read the article Largent to Resign House Seat 6/7/2001 3:20 PM Rep. Steve Largent, R-Okla., who came to Congress as part of the Republican revolution of 1994, intends to resign his House seat on Nov. 29 to run for governor. A statement prepared for release late Thursday said Largent decided to make his move because his constituents "need full-time representation in Washington in the months ahead." Largent's seat is reliably Republican, and his successor will be chosen by special election at a date to be determined. His decision to remain in Congress until the end of November, coupled with the likelihood that his successor will be a Republican, means the GOP will be at full strength as it debates and votes on legislation. Read the article Bush Signs Tax Cut Bill 6/7/2001 1:25 PM President Bush signed into law Thursday the bill that was the centerpiece of his campaign for the White House %u2014 a $1.35 trillion tax-cut package. At the ceremonial White House signing, Bush said it was "about time" some of the projected $5.6 trillion budget surplus was returned to taxpayers. "A year ago, tax relief was said to be a political impossibility. Six months ago, it was supposed to be a liability. Today, it becomes a reality," Bush said to applause. Read the article Reagan Papers on Hold for Now 6/7/2001 1:24 PM The Bush administration is holding up release of 68,000 pages of presidential records that offer an insider's view of how decisions were made in the Reagan White House. The confidential memos, letters and briefing papers passed among Ronald Reagan and his top advisers were to have come out in January -- 12 years after Reagan left office, as established by post-Watergate laws. But the White House counsel's office asked the National Archives to delay the release until at least June 21 so government lawyers can look at the files that researchers and others are waiting to dig through. White House officials say the Reagan documents are the first that would have been released under a presidential records law passed in 1978. They say care must be taken to make sure it's done right. Read the article Badillo's in NYC Mayoral Race 6/7/2001 1:23 PM Former Rep. Herman Badillo entered the race for mayor Thursday, emphasizing his political experience and blasting his Republican rival, billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg, as lacking the skills to run the city. "He needs a large number of consultants because he doesn't have the experience," the former congressman said. "I am very lucky. I don't have any money, but I have lots of experience." Badillo, 71, switched from Democrat to Republican several years ago. Read the article Changing of the Guard 6/6/2001 5:39 PM The now Democratic-controlled Senate is officially open and ready for business. But whether Republican President George W. Bush will have a smoother run with split-party power than did predecessor Bill Clinton is anybody's guess. In a historic midsession change of command, the Senate convened Wednesday under Democratic leadership for the first time since 1994. New Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., called for bipartisanship, while outgoing Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., emphasized that Republicans were still a powerful influence in Congress. Read the article Bush Honors D-Day Soldiers 6/6/2001 5:38 PM The Virginia hamlet of Bedford, a community of 3,400, lost 23 of the 35 soldiers it sent overseas on D-Day, the highest per capita loss of any U.S. town. So it is fitting that Bedford is the site of the National D-Day Memorial, which President Bush visited Wednesday on the 57th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. "Our shared values and experience must guide us now," Bush said. He traveled to the memorial with Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., 98, who participated in the 82nd Airborne Division landing at Normandy. Read the article Hulshof, Emerson Bow out of Senate Consideration to Seek Re-election 6/5/2001 11:09 PM Two Republican members of Congress bowed out of Senate consideration Monday, renewing attention on former U.S. Rep. Jim Talent as the best-known possible GOP challenger to Democratic U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan. Reps. Kenny Hulshof and Jo Ann Emerson said they would seek re-election next year, Hulshof speaking to reporters across his dining room table in Columbia and Emerson confirming her plans in an interview with a Cape Girardeau radio station. Their announcements left Talent, a St. Louis County native who narrowly lost a bid for governor last year, as the subject of most GOP Senate speculation. Read the article GOP Conference Chair Wants Hearings into Energy Prices 6/5/2001 12:02 PM A high-ranking Republican congressman joined a chorus of congressional Democrats Monday in calling for hearings into rising energy prices although he said he does not think energy companies are price gouging. "I believe there is a need to get answers from energy companies with respect to the price of gas and electricity, mergers of companies and the supply of oil and gas in the United States," GOP Conference Chairman J.C. Watts, R-Oklahoma, said in a statement. Read the article Bloomberg to Run for NYC Mayor 6/5/2001 12:00 PM Media mogul Michael Bloomberg entered the city's crowded mayoral campaign Tuesday morning, skipping the typical public announcement and running a flurry of television ads instead. "My name's Mike Bloomberg, and I'm running for mayor," Bloomberg told viewers. In shirt sleeves and tie, he pitched his business acumen as a credential for his candidacy. "My experience has taught me how to get things done. Bring people together. Solve problems. Be honest. Shoot straight," said Bloomberg, founder and CEO of Bloomberg LP, a major global financial information company. Read the article Virginia Congressional Race an Indicator of Election 2000 Fallout 6/5/2001 11:59 AM The untimely death of a congressman in this corner of south-central Virginia has given politicians of both parties an opportunity for which they otherwise would have had to wait until next November: A taste of the fallout from election 2000. In a special election set for June 19, Democrat Louise Lucas, an 18-year veteran of Norfolk's naval shipyards and an African-American, and Republican Randy Forbes, a corporate attorney, will have a go at the 4th Congressional District seat occupied by Blue Dog Democrat Norman Sisisky for 18 years. National leaders have been watching the race closely as a bellwether for the 2002 general election, George W. Bush's mid-term report card from the voters. The district is 40 percent African-American, but the moderate-leaning voting patterns make it competitive. Read the article McCain: I Won't Leave GOP 6/3/2001 10:39 PM Before a closely watched weekend get-together with the Senate Democratic leader, GOP Sen. John McCain declared Saturday he has no intention of bolting the Republican Party or running for president in 2004. The meeting with South Dakota's Tom Daschle at McCain's 13-acre ranch in Arizona's scenic red rock country comes amid speculation McCain might be considering a third-party challenge to President Bush. Only late last month, McCain chastised GOP leaders for being too rigid and immature. Bush telephoned McCain at the ranch Saturday to wish him well, said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe. The spokesman said he was not certain whether the call came before or after McCain issued a statement, but that the senator assured Bush directly that he has no plans to leave the Republican Party or to run for president. Read the article Jeffords May Affect 2002 GOP Strategy 6/3/2001 10:38 PM Less than an hour after Sen. James Jeffords defected from the Republican Party and cost GOP senators their chairmanships, New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici was asked about retiring. "I'm running" for a new term, he replied swiftly. Domenici, who wields power as head of the Budget Committee, is one of nine soon-to-be former committee chairmen whose terms expire next year. Like many of them, he is a safe bet for re-election in a seat that would otherwise be competitive. Republicans hope they run again, and Domenici, 71, and many others already have reaffirmed plans to do so. Democrats, recalling their own painful recent past, wish otherwise. Read the article Virginia Attorney General Nominated Republican Gubernatorial Candidate 6/3/2001 10:34 PM Mark Earley won a convincing victory Saturday over John Hager to capture the Republican nomination for governor at the party's state convention. Earley, the state attorney general, won the right to face Democrat Mark Warner in the fall and the burden of keeping the governor's office in GOP hands for a third straight term. Earley clinched the nomination by a ratio of about 3 to 1 delegate votes, according to Republican officials involved in the counting. A total of 4,318 was needed to win. Read the article