Q&A With Gov. Brian Sandoval (Part II)

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Gov. Brian Sandoval has cut a lower, less-partisan profile than many Republican chiefs executive.

But as a Hispanic Republican and the relatively popular leader of a Western swing state that sided with President Barack Obama last November, Sandoval might be uniquely qualified to offer his party political advice as it seeks to recover in the wake of the disappointing 2012 elections.

In part two of our discussion pulled from my wide-ranging interview conducted earlier this week in the governor’s private office in Nevada’s historic Capitol, Sandoval sounded off on how efforts to change U.S. immigration law might affect the GOP nationally, and what he really thought when 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney talked about “self deportation” as an immigration policy.

The governor revealed some of his thinking about the political landscape at home ahead of the 2014 and 2016 elections and discussed how the actions of the Congress and the White House, or lack thereof, have affected his ability to help Nevada recover from an economic downturn that was felt more acutely in the Silver State than perhaps any other state in the nation.

And we closed the interview with a short segment on Sandoval’s choice of footwear — and discovered a Capitol Hill connection.

Q. Over time, will the Senate immigration reform proposal help the image of the GOP with different ethnic demographics?

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Boehner Wants Debt Limit Talks With Obama

Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday that the White House should be prepared to negotiate with House Republicans on the debt limit – despite President Barack Obama’s insistence that he wants to extend it later this summer without strings attached.

“It’s easy to make a statement to that effect,” Boehner said of Obama at his Thursday morning news conference ,”but it’s just not reality.”

Of course, Boehner himself does not appear to have settled on exactly what he would be negotiating for, considering House GOP members emerged from Wednesday’s debt limit brainstorming session without a consensus on what to fight for.

Still, Boehner indicated that House Republicans would likely be seeking deeper spending cuts. “The fact is, that if the Treasury Department needs to pay the bills, the debt limit has to be dealt with, and should be dealt with in a responsible way,” he said. “[Obama] can’t continue to increase the debt limit without doing something about what’s driving the increase in the debt limit, and that is out of control spending.”

Boehner also took the opportunity to tout the House’s vote, set for later in the day, on a bill that would fully repeal Obamacare, the third of its kind since the GOP gained control of the chamber in 2011.

Standing beside the now-infamous, seven-foot “Red Tape Tower,” he gestured to the thousands of pages stacked on top of the other, tied with a red ribbon and balanced on a red hand-cart.

“These are the thousands and thousands of health care regulations,” Boehner explained. “And if we want jobs, we need to get rid of this, because this is getting in the way of employers hiring workers around the country.”

Boehner’s news conference also included mention of the two major scandals that have wreaked havoc on the Obama administration this week, namely revelations that the IRS inappropriately targeted conservative nonprofits seeking tax-exempt status and that the Justice Department seized records from Associated Press phone lines.

“Nothing dissolves the bonds between people and their government like the arrogance of power here in Washington,” Boehner said. “And that’s what the American people are seeing today from the Obama administration: remarkable arrogance.

“This house will stop at nothing to get to the American people the answers that they expect,” he continued. “But the best way to repair this damage is for the Obama administration to come forward with the truth — the whole truth — so that the American people will have all the facts.”

House GOP Still Struggling for Consensus on Debt Limit

They talked about balancing the budget in 10 years, repealing Obamacare, slashing spending and overhauling the tax code.

In other words, the House Republican meeting Wednesday afternoon to brainstorm a path forward for dealing with the debt limit basically consisted of “a laundry list of everything imaginable,” in the words of Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah.

That isn’t to say it was a surprise, or a disappointment. Leading up to the GOP leadership-convened conference, lawmakers said that they expected it to be a listening session rather than a strategy meeting on what demands they should bring to the negotiating table as a condition of raising the debt ceiling.

Policy Committee Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla., said Tuesday that he didn’t anticipate consensus around a single idea, but that perhaps “instead of 10 options, maybe we’ll come out with three or four.”

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Boehner’s Immigration Path: Slow Walk Could Be Key

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Unlike gun control, whether an immigration overhaul passes in the House is not reliant on first being successful in the Senate.

As Jonathan Strong reported Monday in Roll Call, the issue isn’t whether Speaker John A. Boehner backs a comprehensive rewrite of U.S. immigration law, but which legislative strategy the Ohio Republican favors. Will Boehner endorse a single vehicle modeled on a bipartisan compromise being negotiated by a working group of four House Democrats and four House Republicans?

Or, will the speaker defer to the whims of House Judiciary Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, R-Va., and House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, whose panels are set to review key portions of whatever deal the House “gang of eight” reaches? These two chairmen could exert major influence over whatever legislative product proceeds to the House floor, not to mention whether the chamber votes on one big bill or several smaller ones. Full story

Roskam Tax Day Q&A (Part II): ‘Comprehensive’ and ‘Immigration’ Won’t Fly in House

What are the prospects for an immigration overhaul in the House? Are Republicans relishing another debt ceiling showdown with President Barack Obama?

In the second part of our Tax Day Q&A with House Chief Deputy Majority Whip Peter Roskam, the Illinois Republican opens up about those subjects and others. As co-chairman of the House Korea Caucus, Roskam also offers his thoughts on the crisis on the Korean Peninsula. And he doesn’t mince words on his opinion of the president’s leadership.

We also couldn’t resist asking Roskam, serving his fourth term in suburban Chicago’s 6th District, that most basic of constituent questions: Cubs or White Sox? Read all the way through for his answer.

CQ Roll Call: On an immigration overhaul, what’s more likely, comprehensive legislation or running an overhaul through in pieces?

Roskam: The immigration issue is an interesting one. I’m of the opinion that it’s an issue that we’re best to break down into smaller components. It’s not a settled question at all, in terms of how you would approach it. But procedurally, you have a higher likelihood of passage if you focus in on borders first. Pass a borders piece, then you can pass what I characterize as the high-wattage visas, then the guest workers, then ultimately deal with the people that are here now. Full story

Can the Badger State Brat Pack Save the GOP?

From left: Priebus, Walker and Ryan all have prominent roles on the national GOP stage as the party plots a way forward.

Over on Roll Call’s homepage, I’ve posted a story on three Republicans from Southeast Wisconsin who are poised to wield enormous influence over the GOP during a critical period for the party.

House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, despite losing his bid for vice president last year, remains a key figure in GOP political and policy circles, and his leadership on fiscal matters could define what voters think of the party — and the candidates it fields up and down the ballot in 2014 and 2016.

Gov. Scott Walker rose to prominence nationally over the past few years as he implemented fiscal reforms in Wisconsin that curtailed the power of organized labor, which Republicans believe has been a drag on economic growth and states’ budget everywhere. Republicans in Washington and in the states have long sought to implement the reforms Walker achieved, but mostly failed. Whether the governor wins a second term next year could determine how lasting his policies are.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, is pushing ahead with the biggest overhaul of party apparatus in at least a generation, if not ever. After getting crushed by President Barack Obama’s data and field operations in last year’s presidential election, Priebus has taken it upon himself to put the party on better footing in next year’s midterm contests and the 2016 White House race. Whether he succeeds or fails could impact the GOP at the ballot box for years to come.

Oh, and there’s this thing about who might run for president.

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Mad Men: Madison Avenue’s Advice to the GOP

Ask the modern day “Mad Men” on New York’s Madison Avenue about the GOP’s efforts to rebrand and they point to the recent episode involving Rep. Don Young’s use of the term “wetback” as a missed opportunity.

Speaker John A. Boehner quickly demanded that the Alaska Republican apologize, but in the following days, his spokesmen did not even respond to emailed questions about whether Young would face any concrete punishment for using the racially offensive term in a radio interview.

“When someone does something like that, it should have been a clear censure,” said Peter Hempel, CEO of DDB New York. “There has to be consequences because otherwise people don’t know what Boehner stands for.”

“You need a high-powered Republican to step forward, authoritatively, and say, ‘That is not me.’ And they really need to throw Don Young over the side. They need to throw him under the bus,” branding consultant Rob Frankel said. “He would be the representative of the old guard. That’s the beauty of this whole thing.” Full story

The New GOP: Kids Before Conventions

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s latest effort at a new-look Republican Party will come in the form of a bill that would fund pediatric research in an unconventional way, the Virginian’s office announced Tuesday.

The Kids First Research Act would repurpose federal money used to finance the Democratic and Republican political conventions and publicly finance presidential campaigns and would instead use the resources to fund research into autism and other childhood diseases.

“Instead of spending millions of taxpayer dollars for presidential campaigns, these funds will be better spent helping find cures and treatments for pediatric diseases and disorders like autism,” Cantor said in a statement.

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The GOP’s Obsolete Talking Point

Lummis recently used a common GOP talking point on federal government borrowing that is actually outdated. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

In a column this week, Rep. Cynthia M. Lummis begins with a variation of a favorite GOP talking point.

“America’s Budget Made Simpler — The federal government now borrows $4.8 billion a day, every single day, to support its spending habit,” the Wyoming Republican wrote and tweeted.

The only problem is, that particular fact is no longer true.

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#Sequestered

I’ve been unexpectedly called away from Washington for a couple of weeks, so blogging here might be light during that time. But my CQ Roll Call colleagues have generously offered to pick up the slack during my sequester, so please keep stopping by.

Meanwhile, feel free to examine my recap from the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which concluded on March 16 with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s victory in the event’s presidential straw poll. (Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finished a close second.) There was much focus on the internal divisions that the conservative movement and the Republican Party are currently grappling with.

But it would be too simple to characterize conservatives, and the GOP, as a group at war with itself on the myriad issues currently before the country, whether it be immigration policy, same-sex marriage or how to approach fiscal matters. What I found at CPAC, more than anything else, were grass-roots conservatives trying to figure out which direction to take in the aftermath of a 2012 election cycle that was largely disappointing, and whom to follow on whatever path they choose. Full story

Exclusive: RNC to Revamp GOTV Operations

RNC Chairman Priebus on Monday will unveil the findings of the autopsy report he commissioned after the 2012 elections. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Republican National Committee is moving forward with a comprehensive overhaul of its antiquated voter turnout operation, including a focus on fixing a collection of broken state parties, CQ Roll Call confirmed Friday.

The effort will be directed by the RNC’s political department, under the supervision of political director Chris McNulty and a full-time state party director — a new committee position created as part of the get-out-the-vote overhaul. The modernized national field operation will focus on improving voter registration, identification and turnout through a “bottom-up” approach that reinvigorates the party organization at the precinct, congressional district and state levels.

Under this strategy, the RNC plans to immediately reform its training program for grass-roots activists to encompass the committee’s new attention on data gathering, technology and analytics with a complete revamp of its political education department slated to conclude by May 1. Similar to President Barack Obama’s successful formula, the RNC wants to transform its GOTV into an ongoing national program that relies on “peer-to-peer” contact where people live, work, worship, learn and buy their coffee.

“This is a big initiative in which we will be simultaneously revamping our grass-roots organizing infrastructure and voter contact programs from top to bottom while integrating a minority engagement structure to work in unison toward the goal of electing more Republicans,” McNulty told CQ Roll Call. “The key to the entire grass-roots infrastructure will be working with state and county parties toward a new and exciting bottom-up precinct team structure. All of this will be driven by the new and improved data infrastructure and analytics at the RNC.” Full story

CPAC: Paul, Rubio Offer GOP Alternate Visions of Uncertain Future

Paul said the Republican Party needs to evolve to appeal to the “Faceb0ok generation” of voters. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio on Thursday offered the Republican Party a glimpse of alternate futures in dueling speeches that revved up two distinct groups of conservative activists.

Speaking back to back to political activists attending the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Florida’s Rubio offered a broad vision more grounded in the three-legged coalition of social, national security and fiscal conservatives that has defined GOP governing since Ronald Reagan won the presidency in 1980.

Kentucky’s Paul focused his remarks on constitutional liberty and social libertarianism, specifically calling on the Republican Party to change and evolve from the “stale, moss-covered” party he said it has become into a movement that appeals to the younger “Facebook generation” of voters that he claims questions the viability of Social Security and wants the government to leave them alone.

“I think they were both good speeches,” said Wayne Morgan, a Washington, D.C., activist and consultant sporting a Ken Cuccinelli for Virginia governor sticker. “Rubio’s speech seemed to resound, I would say, with the whole crowd. Paul’s message of freedom, rights, small-government definitely hits most of this crowd.”

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Ryan’s Budget: ‘Means to an End’ Not ‘Root Canal Economics’

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

When you hear congressional Republicans insist over the next few months that the American people agree with their budget priorities, keep this in mind: They know better.

House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan introduced his committee’s fiscal 2014 spending plan Tuesday and amid all the focus on the fact it would balance Washington’s books in 10 years, in part by repealing the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), I was struck by a phrase the Wisconsin Republican repeated several times in his morning news conference: “means to an end.”

There is little difference between Ryan’s 2014 budget and the two previous proposals offered by the House GOP majority. But politically, the emphasis and messaging have been altered significantly. This new blueprint might appear to be about balanced budgets, tax reform and overhauling Medicare. In fact, many House Republicans will still focus on these items — it’s why they came to Congress. But what does Ryan want Americans to think about his budget? That it will make their lives better.

“We want people to know that this isn’t simply an accounting exercise, that this is an exercise in making a better country, and helping people who are in need, in getting a growing economy that produces more opportunity and upward mobility,” Ryan told CQ Roll Call after he unveiled his budget. “That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. It’s not an accounting exercise; it’s not root canal economics, it’s pro-growth economics that gets people the kind of opportunity that they’ve always known about in America growing up.

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Interview With Speaker Boehner: The Sequester Is Here to Stay (Part II)

Boehner acknowledged he likes a glass of Merlot from time to time, but he wouldn’t elaborate. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

In part two of Speaker John A. Boehner’s question-and-answer exchange with CQ Roll Call, the Ohio Republican dishes on hot-button issues such as the sequester — he suggests it’s probably here to stay — immigration changes, gun control and the fiscal 2014 budget.

But we also discussed the public’s perception of the ambitious, impatient House Republican majority that he leads and how he feels about a conservative activist community that expects much and criticizes nearly every concession the Ohioan makes to the reality that House Republicans alone do not control all levers of the federal government.

During parts one and two of our Q&A with Boehner, he was reasonably more candid given our focus on the myriad problems the Republican Party faces today and what he can do to help fix them. But in response to our final question of part two — one of a slightly personal nature, the speaker obfuscated.

Read all the way through and check it out for yourself.

CQ Roll Call: Has it been a challenge to battle President Barack Obama on the sequester when your conference was divided between those who think it’s fine and those who are concerned that it will have a negative effect on national security and military readiness? Have you concluded that the sequester is here to stay?

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Cantor Moving Legislation Aimed at Rehabing GOP Brand

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

With House Republicans taking fire from every angle, including inside their party, for failing to connect their philosophical principles to voters’ everyday concerns, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is taking action.

With the blessing of the leadership team and top GOP committee chairmen, the Virginia Republican is spearheading a host of legislation that is somewhat remarkable both in what it does, and does not, attempt to address. In the traditional sense, these bills are not focused on reducing the deficit, shrinking the national debt or limiting the size and scope of government. They are focused on using Washington’s power levers to influence public policy.

That effort began last week with the introduction of the SKILLS Act, legislation aimed at improving job training. Whether House Republicans handled the roll out of the SKILLS Act to maximize the public relations aspect of the bill is another story. The introduction was drowned out by coverage of the continuing resolution, an East Coast snow storm and Sen. Rand Paul’s, R-Ky., filibuster. But Cantor made clear that there is more to come on this front. Full story