Alex Isenstadt's blog

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-Irvine) acknowledged in an interview today that his outspoken support for the $700 billion bailout package could cost him his shot at the chairmanship of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

But that’s not going to make him change his position that a rescue plan in at least some form needs to pass.

Campbell said he was aware of reports that RSC members not backing the bailout had concerns about his position, but if that keeps Campbell from winning the chairmanship, he said, “I’m ok with that.”

Campbell said he felt strongly about his position. As RSC chair, he said, members would need to know that he would stand by his positions.

The Republican Study Committee is a caucus of conservative members. Campbell and at least several other members, including U.S. Reps. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), have been reportedly in consideration for caucus chair, a post currently held by U.S Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).

WASHINGTON – National Republican Congressional Committee chair Tom Cole is set to launch a three-week national tour of competitive house races, beginning with stops in two hotly contested districts in California.

While the schedule is still tentative, according to an NRCC source familiar with the plans, the trip will bring Cole to California’s 11th and 4th Congressional Districts on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, respectively. The 11th district matchup features Republican Dean Andal challenging U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton), while Republican Tom McClintock is battling Democrat Charlie Brown in the 4th district.

Cole, a third term congressman from Oklahoma who is in his first stint as the GOP House campaign chief, is a top fundraising draw for House candidates across the country.

WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. House candidate Tom McClintock said in an interview Tuesday evening that his campaign was prepared for heavy spending on the part of national Democrats in his race.

“We’re ready for them,” said McClintock. “Prudence requires planning. We have, and we’re ready.”

McClintock, a state senator from Southern California, is running against retired Air Force officer Charlie Brown in a conservative Northern California district that has been historically unfriendly to Democrats. But on Tuesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee waded into similarly Republican trending districts in Kentucky and Maryland. And while the DCCC has yet to air advertisements in the 4th Congressional District, it has reserved time in the local media market.

“We’ve planned all along on the assumption that they would end up being in the district,” he said. “We’ve assumed that $1 million and as much as $2 million of DCCC money will enter this race.”

WASHINGTON – With just one week before Congress is scheduled to break, Capitol Hill is filled with House candidates looking to raise funds ahead of Election Day.

Tom McClintock, who is running in California’s open 4th Congressional District, is among those making the rounds on the Washington cash circuit. The Republican state senator will be the beneficiary at the Capitol Hill Club in an event Tuesday evening headlined by House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, House Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma.

The reception will fetch checks tallying $5,000, $2,500 and $250, according to a fundraising invitation. Twenty to 30 donors are expected to attend.

McClintock is facing off against retired Air Force officer Charlie Brown in November, a Democrat who narrowly lost to retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Roseville) last cycle.     

Meg WhitmanST. PAUL, Minn. -- Former eBay CEO and potential 2010 gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was spotted on the convention floor of the Xcel Energy Center when the balloons began to drop following John McCain's acceptance speech.

When asked by PolitickerCA.com if McCain's speech was effective, Whitman said: "I think so. ... It was specific, inspiring, and terrific."

DENVER - One of the state's highest ranking conservative Democrats said today that Attorney General Jerry Brown, a potential 2010 gubernatorial candidate who was once widely seen as a lion of the left, had re-emerged in recent years as a pragmatic moderate.

Brown "has become more moderate over his career," said U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Atwater), a three term congressman from the Central Valley who is a member of the conservative House Blue Dog Democrat coalition.

Cardoza, who is here to attend the Democratic National Convention, suggested that Brown had shown strong leadership during his tenure as mayor of Oakland and as Attorney General, a post he has held for nearly two years.

DENVER - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) hosted an event at the Grand Hyatt today in support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s top “Red to Blue” recruits.

The event, billed as a “Political Briefing and Campaign Update in Support of Red to Blue Candidates” was co-hosted by a wide array of House leaders including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Caucus Vice Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.) and DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), according to the invitation.

The DCCC’s Red to Blue fundraising program aims to benefit challengers and open seat candidates in competitive races. 45 candidates have been named to the program.

DENVER – Coming from San Francisco, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is no stranger to protesters, and today, the 10-term congresswoman took on the protestors at the Democratic National Convention here.

At an outdoor press conference focused on renewable energy, Pelosi was interrupted by about 20 protesters wearing John McCain t-shirts and chanting their support for oil drilling.

“Drill here! Drill now!” they yelled.

“What you see before you are the handmaidens of big oil,” Pelosi said. “These drill-now people reflect the goals of the people in the White House.”

DENVER – Democrats hold a 37-vote edge over Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, and this cycle analysts predict almost universally that the party will expand its edge this fall.

But when it comes to the question of just how many seats Democrats will pick up, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is mum. When PolitickerCA.com posed the question to Pelosi today in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt, the 10-term congresswoman continued her path to the elevator.

“She usually says she doesn't like to predict a number, just that our Democratic majority will be increased,” Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said in an email.

Democrats gained a 236-199 majority over Republicans in the 2006 mid-term elections. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan Washington tip sheet, currently estimated that Democrats will gain another 12 to 17 seats this cycle.  

DENVER – It’s not that Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), the powerful chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, doesn’t want to expand the Democrats’ majority in the House.

He just thinks picking up seats in the Senate is more important.

“I think it would give us a much more comfortable margin in the House and that will be helpful in getting legislation through,” said Waxman when asked of the possibility of picking up 15 seats in the chamber. Today, the party holds a 37-seat majority over Republicans in the House and Washington odds makers estimate that Democrats will pick up another 12 to 17 seats this fall.