Republican National Committee

The Republican National Committee took out a five million dollar line of credit to help incumbent senators in tough re-election battles, the AP reported Wednesday.

Recent rumors suggest former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R-Prince George's County)  -- the current chair of GOPAC -- may have his sights on the Republican National Committee's chairmanship, but a spokeswoman for Steele says the rumors are coming from the mouths of others, not Steele himself.

"He hasn't talked about it," Belinda Cook, GOPAC's special assistant to the chairman, told PolitickerMD.com. Cook says Steele has been focusing on getting John McCain elected and hasn't mentioned the idea.

ST. PAUL -- Former Gov. Mitt Romney wrote his primetime speech from beginning to end and the Republican National Committee did not change much in the vetting process, according to Romney's staff.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Romney, told PolitickerMA.com that Romney drafted the entire speech himself. The speech was submitted to the RNC for review, Fehrnstrom said, but they did not make any "substantive changes."

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has accomplished in less than a week what John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and the rest of the once-expansive GOP field failed to do in a full 18 months of campaigning: She has energized, even thrilled, the conservative base of the Republican Party.

Palin's selection as McCain's running mate is the ubiquitous buzz of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The combination of an historic pick, thanks to her gender; an ideological sister in arms, thanks to her conservative record; and a sense of momentum she has brought to what has at times felt like an unfocused campaign makes Palin practically irresistible to delegates, donors and activists gathered in the Twin Cities.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki: Getty Images PhotoMINNETONKA, Minn. -- Former New York Gov. George Pataki mostly put aside politics Monday morning while addressing the Pennsylvania delegation over breakfast, telling those gathered he expects to see Gulf Coast residents show the same courage that was on display in Pennsylvania and his home state after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"Senator McCain wants us to not focus on politics but focus on people and country," Pataki said. 

His comments were in line with many of those made at the breakfast, where state party Chairman Bob Gleason earlier urged everybody to concentrate on trying to help residents in the way of Hurricane Gustav instead of campaigning.

The former governor continually referenced 9/11 during his speech, saying Pennsylvanians came together after one of the hijacked planes that day crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa. 

"I'm very confident will see that today and tomorrow in the gulf" as Hurricane Gustav approaches, he said. "Yes, in a sense it's a day for politics, but it's also a day for prayer and thought."

The Republican National Committee has dug up some video of former Weather Underground leader William Ayers praising U.S. Sen. John Kerry, which finally puts to rest the contentious issue of.... whether Ayers knows who Kerry is?

This is getting silly, but Ayers is the 'gotcha' boogeyman of 2008. Earlier this week, the Obama campaign was pushing info of Ayers' links to South Carolina Republican Mark Sanford.

The Republican National Committee announced Wednesday that various top Republicans will lead the party's national convention in St. Paul at the end of August.

House Republican leader and U.S. Rep. John Boehner (R-West Chester) will serve as permanent chair of the convention. Senate Republican leader U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will serve as temporary chairman.

Deputy permanent co-chairs for the convention include Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer; David Roederer of Iowa; Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.; former New Hampshire State Chairman Steve Duprey; Kathleen Shanahan of Florida; and Michigan National Committeeman Chuck Yob.

A Democratic polling firm has U.S. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) beating her 8th Congressional District challenger state Sen. Pres. Tim Bee (R-Tucson) by 25 points. A Bee internal poll only has her up by seven, and under the 50 percent threshold. With no third opinion, the truth remains elusive.

Pres. Bush hosted a fundraiser for Bee in Tucson on Friday, which the campaign estimates brought in $500,000 to be split among his campaign, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Pima County Republican Party Federal Fund. At the same time, Bee released a poll, conducted by Margaret Kenski, a highly-regarded Republican pollster, that shows Giffords holds a seven point lead over Bee, 47 percent to 40 percent, with 13 percent undecided.

Former Gov. Mitt RomneyFormer Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has chosen not to seek contributions to help pay off the $45 million he loaned to his campaign, the Boston Globe reports.

Romney is drafting a letter to the Federal Election commission that will reclassify the loans as contributions, the Globe articles states. The $45 million will be the largest sum of money ever donated to a campaign by a primary candidate.

The Globe speculates that the move will unite the Republican Party behind presumptive nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Romney has instructed his donors to contribute to the Republican National Committee, which will use the funds in its efforts to help McCain, instead of to his campaign to help pay off his loans.

Oh, puppies: Steele's 2006 U.S. Senate ads won critical praise, but not the electionThe Republican National Committee is preparing a $3 million ad-blitz in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin through it's latest 527 independent expenditure group.

The ads, which will attack Barack Obama on energy issues, will be created by Brad Todd of On Message Inc. -- the man who brought you the 'Michael Steele loves puppies' series in 2006.