Pete Sessions seeks 2nd term as NRCC Chair

From Politico:

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) announced Monday that he’s not seeking to be House majority whip in the new Congress and would angle instead for another term as head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, clearing the way for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to ascend to majority whip.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), the presumptive speaker, also is tasking Sessions to lead a group that will help develop the newly elected House GOP freshmen. The news was first reported by ABC News.

“Our Republican Conference needs Pete Sessions’s steady hand of leadership next Congress, and I am very pleased that he has decided to seek another term as NRCC chairman,” Boehner said in a statement. “Additionally, I’ve asked Pete to take the lead for new-member development.”

So, once again, Pete Sessions will be in charge of throwing the annual Las Vegas strip club fundraisers, recruiting Nazi sympathizers and, on top of that, he'll be in charge of instructing the new crop of teabagger insurgents in the ways of Congress. Break out the popcorn--it's going to be an entertaining couple of years.

Pete Sessions backs Nazi Reenactor

From Burnt Orange Report:

When the GOP picked Pete Sessions to chair the NRCC, residents of the gerrymandered 32nd congressional district wondered, "Has the Republican Party completely lost its mind?" We broke out the popcorn, sat back, and waited for the GOP to implode. Pete Sessions' latest lapse in judgement: backing a candidate who likes to dress up as a Nazi.

It's Rich Iott, running against incumbent Marcy Kaptur (Oh-9) who told the press that being a Nazi reenactor is a "father-son bonding thing." So, naturally, Pete Sessions recruits him into the "Young Guns" program. What else do you expect from someone who thinks the Taliban is a good role model?

Pete Sessions chickens out over Log Cabin appearance

Last week, we learned that Pete Sessions and John Cornyn had accepted an invitation to speak at tonight's annual dinner of the Log Cabin Republicans. Sure, Sessions and Cornyn are against gay marriage and the idea of gays serving openly in the military, but they are both united in their support of the rights of gay people to give money to the Republican Party.

But today, Pete Sessions has gotten cold feet, according to Dallas Voice: Dallas Congressman Pete Sessions gets cold feet about tonight's Log Cabin dinner. Supposedly, he need to attend an urgent meeting of the GOP caucus. Dallas Voice says:

Well isn’t that a convenient excuse? We’re sure Sessions’ no-show has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, also slated to appear at the Log Cabin dinner, are being villified on right-wing websites for accepting the invitation.

...We called Sessions’ D.C. office to get further explanation about his decision to back out...But not surprisingly, Sessions spokeswoman Emily Davis mysteriously became unavailable after we identified ourselves as being from the gay paper, and she hasn’t gotten back to us.

Dems to NRCC: Return your tainted cash

In today's Dallas Morning News, we learned that our new performing arts center is named for someone being investigated by the SEC:

SEC accuses Sam, Charles Wyly of secrecy, insider trading

The suit is the first formal accusation of wrongdoing against the Wylys after more than six years of subpoenas, grand jury investigations, congressional hearings and copious speculation about when the legal shoes might drop.

"The cloak of secrecy has been lifted from the complex web of foreign structures used by the Wylys to evade the securities laws," the SEC said in a statement, calling the Wylys' accounting an "elaborate sham system of trusts and subsidiary companies."

The suit names Wyly attorney Michael C. French of Dallas and stockbroker Louis J. Schaufele III of Dallas as cogs in an intricate global financial network that sold $750 million worth of stock.

And we got lots of email from our readers today alerting us that Pete Sessions and the NRCC were recipients of the tainted funds. From The Atlantic:

These Guys Owned the GOP, writes Marcus Baram at The Huffington Post: "Charles and Samuel Wyly, along with their wives, have donated $2.5 million to more than 200 Republican candidates and committees over the past 20 years, including over $1.3 million to the Republican National Committee, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. The top recipients of their largesse have been Texas Republicans. George W. Bush received at least $100,000 raised by the Wyly clan during the 2000 presidential election. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson has received $30,400 from the family; Rep. Pete Sessions, $29,000. Other Republican senators who've received their donations include John Cornyn of Texas, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, John Thune of South Dakota and Kit Bond of Missouri. Sam Wyly also funded the Swift Boat campaign that torpedoed Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign."

And, from Wall St. Journal:

Friday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a national fund-raising arm for the party, said the National Republican Congressional Committee should return $160,000 it received from the Wyly brothers over the past two decades.

The Wylys, now in their 70s, made their name through computer, retail and hedge-fund ventures over four decades. They have been active in Republican political circles and, together with their wives, have donated nearly $2.5 million to more than 200 federal-level Republican candidates and committees during the past 20 years, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Now that the Wyly Brothers are in trouble, will Pete Sessions send them a love letter?

Pete Sessions joins Tea Party Caucus

Good news! Pete Sessions has joined the Tea Party Caucus

Both Texans in the House Republican leadership have jumped aboard the new Tea Party Caucus: Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions and Round Rock Rep. John Carter both announced today that they are joining the group, founded by tea party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

Sessions chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee. Carter is GOP Conference secretary. Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana also signed up, so far, so that's half of the elected House GOP leadership.

Since they're anti-incumbent, we hope Pete Sessions will be campaigning soon to throw himself out of office.

National Review: Sessions, Cornyn "halting to the point of being embarrassing"

From National Review Online:

Congressional Republicans who don’t think the party needs an agenda should consider the performance of Rep. Pete Sessions and Sen. John Cornyn on Meet the Press over the weekend. Asked about their affirmative program, the leaders of the GOP campaign committees in the House and the Senate sounded a very uncertain trumpet — indeed, one that was halting to the point of being embarrassing.

Sessions talked of balancing the budget, although without daring to mention anything close to a specific, and of reading bills before they pass. Out of desperation, Cornyn was forced to say he’d like to see the work of Obama’s fiscal commission before addressing spending. If GOP consultants who are advising the party to avoid embracing a substantive agenda prior to the November elections get their way, this will be the pitiful Republican dance for the next three-and-a-half months...

...Republicans should have confidence in their ideas. If they can’t offer an alternative to Obama...they should be in a different business.

NRCC struggles to explain what Sessions said yesterday

We Sessions Watchers should be used to interpreting Pete's rambling non-sequiturs by now, but we have to admit being stumped by one part of his Meet The Press appearance, where he seemed to be advocating a return to the fiscal policies of George W. Bush. Democratic Party pundits say he wants to return to the Bush policies, but the NRCC is vehemently denying that Sessions wants to go back to the Bush agenda:

Democrats are simply misrepresenting the facts. As the transcript reflects, Pete Sessions was clearly referencing the exhaustive report that was presented to the president by the Business Round Table, in which they stated that the 'cumulative effect' of President Obama's proposals have significantly hindered economic growth in this country.

Here's the quote in question that has both sides trying to figure out what he said:

We need to make sure that we allow employers, which was in that 52-page report that was presented to the president of the United States by CEOs in this country, we need to go back to the exact same agenda that is empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminish it.

We, at Sessions Watch, would like to welcome the rest of the nation to our world. One of the many reasons we want him out of Congress is his inability to articulate a direct thought without resorting to stump speech platitudes. Grammatical incorrectness aside, what does he mean, specifically, by "empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminish [sic] it"?

And we still want to know what's the deal with that blimp. :)

Tom Pauken: Pete Sessions is "not up to the job"

According to Tom Pauken, Pete Sessions should be removed as NRCC chair. From Dallas Morning News:

Although Republicans are poised to make serious gains in November, Pauken says Sessions – chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party's House campaign arm – should be replaced after the midterm elections.

"He's not up to the job," Pauken said, arguing that no matter how well the GOP does this fall, Sessions should be replaced by "a smart conservative who knows what needs to be done."

With all due respect to Mr. Pauken, we disagree that Sessions should be replaced after the midterm election. We think he should be replaced on Election Day. :)

Pete Sessions takes his rambling non-answers to Meet the Press

This morning, Pete Sessions was on Meet the Press, alongside his counterpart in the DCCC, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, and fundraising chairs for the Senate, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and our own John Cornyn.

David Gregory learned what we've come to expect from Pete Sessions, that he has a "pretty gauzy agenda" when asked for specifics about what he'd do differently from what Democrats are doing. Sessions spoke in his usual roundabout manner, giving campaign platitudes instead of specifics; he said Republicans would "read the bill" when they get back to power (even though they passed such bills as the Patriot Act without reading it) and that "we'd live within our means," even though they ran up plenty of debt when they were in charge.

Republicans all over the country must be scratching their heads this morning, wondering how he ever got put in charge of building the party.

TN-08: Pete Sessions takes sides in GOP primary

From Hotline on Call

The NRCC raised eyebrows on Monday by taking sides in a contested primary, elevating one contender to the highest level of its recruiting program while leaving 2 other well-funded challengers behind.
Stephen Fincher (R), a farmer and gospel singer who bolted to a fast fundraising start, has been named a "Young Gun," the top tier of the NRCC's recruiting ladder. Top GOP leaders in DC have been impressed with Fincher's abilities and his story since the moment he entered the race for Rep. John Tanner's (D-TN) seat....

...But the Young Guns designation could prove more troublesome than valuable for Fincher. Kirkland manager Leatherwood blasted NRCC chair Pete Sessions for supporting Fincher.

"The same Pete Sessions who voted for TARP and then came to Tennessee to raise money for Mr. Fincher is leading this effort to save Mr. Fincher's embarrassing campaign," Leatherwood said. "Between his false negative attacks, his love of subsidies and his hypocrisy, Mr. Fincher is falling right in line with all the other Washington politicians who have sold us down the river."

GOP Strip Club Fundraisers--why the double standard?

Thanks to the Sessions Watch reader who brought this story to our attention; it's not exactly news that Pete Sessions organizes fundraisers at Las Vegas strip clubs, but it's noteworthy GOP leadership has said nothing about it. Why are Republican leaders calling for Michael Steele to resign over the "strippergate" scandal and not demanding the same of Pete Sessions?

Lone Star Project wants to know Why is Pete Sessions getting a pass? (The link takes you to the article and a video with footage from one of the Las Vegas strip clubs Sessions patronizes--the video is not family friendly or "work safe," but it doesn't auto-start, so the link is okay if you don't press that "play" button).

Libertarian candidate John Jay Myers has also jumped into the fray, making his own YouTube burlesque video; it's pretty tame compared to the Lone Star Project video, but I'll still just post the link instead of embedding: Dear Pete Sessions, John Jay Myers fan Christina takes on Pete.

Pete Sessions campaigns for Jon Barela in New Mexico

Again, no editorial comment, just a note for future reference:

Sessions To Campaign for Barela in New Mexico

Excerpt:

National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Pete Sessions of Texas will be making an appearance in New Mexico this weekend as the "special guest" at a breakfast rally for GOP House candidate Jon Barela...

...Barela, former chair of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, faces an uphill battle to unseat freshman Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) in the Democratic-leaning district, and has put up only modest fundraising numbers...

Pete Sessions accidentally slams NRCC pick

Hoo-boy, we tried to warn 'em about Pete Sessions, but they picked him, anyway, to chair the NRCC. Now, they're having to put up with the same incompetent leadership we've "enjoyed" for so many years.

Pete Sessions has flip-flopped on Parker Griffith (AL-5) again. In our previous article, Pete Sessions was against Parker Griffith before he was for him, we highlighted the attack ad the NRCC ran when Griffith was a Democrat. Then, Griffith changed parties and Pete Sessions lavished praise on him saying, "Congressman Griffith’s party affiliation may have changed, but his conservative principles, values and commitment to Alabama families has never wavered."

Now, Pete Sessions has sent out a fundraising letter to Republicans in AL-5 slamming Parker Griffith, apparently forgetting that Parker Griffith switched parties and is now backed by the NRCC:

In a fundraising letter, NRCC chair Pete Sessions lets donors in AL 05 know their "Democrat in Congress has been falling in line with Nancy Pelosi's destructive liberal agenda." The only problem is the NRCC is backing that incumbent, Rep. Parker Griffith (R).
"We're airing hard-hitting ads against your Democrat Member of Congress, and it's making an impact!" the letter reads...

..."Airing TV ads in your part of Alabama gets expensive over time, and we need to make sure we can apply serious pressure on your Representative throughout the 2010 campaign season," Sessions wrote.

Pete Sessions: More hope than "change"

Under Pete Sessions' leadership, the NRCC is being outspent 6 to 1 by Democrats. From Dallas Morning News:

Republicans are riding high after a huge Senate win in Massachusetts, and many now talk openly of taking back the House in November.

There's just one big problem: money.

The party's House campaign arm, run by U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, has struggled to raise funds, leaving Democrats with a 6-1 advantage...

..."This is a serious deficit," said former Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, one of Sessions' more successful predecessors as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "If the numbers persist like this, you're not going to win anything."...

...Sessions could not be reached for comment, and staffers at the committee declined to discuss the matter.

Pete Sessions was against Parker Griffith before he was for him

Thanks to our Sessions Watch readers in Alabama who sent this latest bit of flip-floppery; when Parker Griffith (AL-5) was running as a Democrat for Congress, the NRCC ran this ad against him:
The NRCC effort failed, and Parker Griffith won; but today, the conservative Democrat switched parties, and is now a Republican. So now, Pete Sessions is lavishing praise on Parker Griffith:

Sessions: Congressman Griffith’s party affiliation may have changed, but his conservative principles, values and commitment to Alabama families has never wavered

So...if he had conservative principles all along, what's with the ad claiming he has "shameful conduct and can't be trusted"?

Another NY-23 brewing in Connecticut?

From MSNBC:

CONNECTICUT: "In a move that would shake up two political races, the state Republican chairman is publicly asking state Sen. Sam Caligiuri to run against Democratic incumbent Rep. Christopher Murphy in the 5th Congressional district." Caligiuri is currently running for Sen. Chris Dodd's seat, but "has been lagging far behind in the money-raising race against the top-tier, big-money Republican candidates" including Linda McMahon, former ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley, and Fairfield County investor Peter Schiff.

Former aide to Rep. Rob Simmons and Afghanistan vet Justin Bernier, currently campaigning for Murphy's House seat, issued a statement contesting Healy's involvement in the race: "The situation in New York's 23rd congressional district showed us what happens when party insiders play favorites,'' Bernier said in a statement. "I am confident that the Republicans in the Fifth District of Connecticut will make the right decision in this nomination process." Bernier has already received the support of the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Pete Sessions.

No one on the Sessions Watch team has an opinion on this race, but we found it interesting that, once again, Pete Sessions seems at odds with a state's Republican party chairman.

Pete Sessions hold $1,000/plate fundraiser for Ed Martin

From St. Louis Today: GOP House campaign honcho hosts $1,000 dinner for Ed Martin

CLAYTON — Texas Congressman Pete Sessions, head of the committee charged with electing Republicans to the U.S. House, is in town tonight, hosting a high-dollar fundraising dinner for Capitol Hill hopeful Ed Martin.

Sessions, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, will headline the event tonight at Luciano’s Trattoria in downtown Clayton.

The price is $1,000 a plate, or $5,000 to also attend a VIP reception, which will be hosted in a private residence in the nearby Plaza in Clayton, a luxury condo tower.

Current congressman Roy Blunt, Todd Akin and Blaine Luetkemeyer are expected to attend.

Martin, former chairman of the St. Louis Elections Board, is attempting to unseat Democrat Russ Carnahan in a district that is considered reliably Democratic. (Just ask the previous inhabitant, Dick Gephardt.)

Whether Sessions’ personal visit is a sign that Martin’s stock as a challenger is rising or just a courtesy he extends to many candidates is tough to say.

No further comment from the Sessions Watch team, just cataloging this endorsement for future reference.

NRCC fundraising down under Sessions' leadership

From Politico:

If Republicans hope to make a play for dozens of Democratic-held House seats, they’ll need a well-stocked campaign account to fund all their candidates. But right now, after spending money in two contentious off-year special elections, the National Republican Congressional Committee has a long way to go to raise enough money to compete across the national map.

The National Republican Congressional Committee ended September with just $4.3 million in the bank, less than one-third of the $14.7 million banked by its Democratic counterpart. So far this cycle, NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions hasn’t improved the fundraising fortunes of the committee — he’s raised $10 million less than his predecessor, Rep. Tom Cole, did at this same point in the past election cycle.

And the committee took an additional financial hit in the New York 23rd District special election, spending nearly $1 million on a race in which the GOP nominee, Dede Scozzafava, ended up quitting and then endorsing the Democratic candidate. Worse, the NRCC’s decision to support Scozzafava’s campaign has played a role in alienating conservative donors.

In related news, Florida Republican State Senator Eric Eisnaugle has decided not to run against Alan Grayson for his seat in Congress (FL-8). The other Republican contender in that race is Armando Gutierrez, who is causing the GOP to be "concerned":

But GOP operatives in Washington and the district say he is running a destructive primary campaign, and national and local leaders are doing just about anything they can to avoid having him as their nominee.

“He’s offending a lot of people,” said attorney Will McBride, who opted out of the race last week. “He’s rubbing people the wrong way. He needs to be a little more professional in his approach to reaching out to local leaders in our party.”

Numerous others confirmed the widespread bristling at Gutierrez’s early maneuvers.

“He’s pissing people off a lot,” said a leading local GOP operative...

Pete Sessions delivers NY-23--to Democrats!

The Democrats on the Sessions Watch team would like to thank NRCC Chair Pete Sessions for giving another Congressional seat to the Dems--NY-23, which has been a Republican district since the 1890s. Thanks, Pete, for delivering a district that's eluded Democrats for 100 years. We literally couldn't have done it without you.

The Republicans on the Sessions Watch team would like to remind the NRCC that this blog did try to warn you that Pete Sessions backs candidates with an uncanny ability to raise money for the other side.

And the team as a whole gives our bipartisan thanks to the NRCC once again for raising Pete Sessions' profile. Now, the whole country is watching him, which makes our job easier.

For those who haven't been following this race, here's a brief summary:

• NY-23 became vacant when President Obama picked Republican Congressman John M. McHugh to be Secretary of the Army.

• The local Republican Party chose Dede Scozzafava as their candidate, and Doug Hoffman won the backing of the Conservative Party of New York. Democrats chose Bill Owens.

• The NRCC spent a huge amount of money in this race on Scozzafava's behalf, some of it on attack ads--not against the Democrat, but against Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate.

• The Conservative Party candidate started getting support from members of the Tea Party movment, so much support that Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the race--and on Halloween, of all times--and started making robo calls for Democrat Bill Owens.

• The tally so far (with 93% precincts reported): Bill Owens is declared the winner, with 49% of the vote; Doug Hoffman came in second at 45%, and the GOP candidate came in last with 6% of the vote.

And what does Pete Sessions have to say about the election result? True to form, he refuses to take any responsibility himself, and blames someone else--in this case, the Republican Party of New York state:

On the heels of the GOP’s second special election loss in New York this year, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Wednesday morning that Empire State Republicans need to adopt a more open candidate selection process.

“After two special elections in New York, there is no doubt in my mind that the candidate selection process lacks openness and transparency and should be changed to a primary system so voters can have a say in who their respective parties nominate,” he said in a statement...

Pete Sessions and Poker, Part 2

On our way to looking up stuff about Dede Scozzafava, the Sessions Watch team found something interesting--Pete Sessions' top donor for the 2010 cycle so far is Poker Road, which leads us back to a question D Magazine asked last election cycle "What's the Deal With Pete Sessions and Poker?"

Take a look at Pete Sessions' list of individual contributors--of the top 20, the first 9 are connected in some way with poker. Five in the $2300-3000 donation range list their occupations as "Self Employed/Professional Poker Player, and list their residences in Las Vegas. Among others in the top 9 include the Poker Room Manager for the Bellagio in Las Vegas, who gave him $2,500, and Joe Sebok, CEO of Poker Road, an internet gambling site.

And poker benefits our district because...? And gambling fits in with Pete Sessions' Eagle Scout image because...?

UPDATE: Speaking of Las Vegas, Sessions Watch would like to thank a reader (who prefers to remain anonymous) for sending this picture of Pete Sessions enjoying himself at Forty Deuce strip club in Las Vegas.