Several Republican lawmakers called on Sen. Larry Craig to resign yesterday, including John McCain. "My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn't serve," McCain said. As the New York Times' David Stout reports reports, the calls for his resignation came amid the Senate GOP leadership stripping Craig of his committee posts. Even the White House weighed in, saying it was "disappointed" by the controversy.
"The lack of party support for Mr. Craig seemed to signal a collective desire that he go away rather than offer Democrats another example of behavior lapses by Republicans," Stout writes.
Meanwhile, McCain released a new ad that's bound to draw some controversy of its own. "The opening shot of a new video about Sen. John McCain shows a young Navy pilot encased in a giant, clumsy-looking plaster cast," reports the Concord Monitor's Margot Sanger-Katz. "With his one free hand, he smokes a cigarette as he gives a foreigner interviewer his name, rank and serial number."
The ad depicts McCain as POW as well as other events from his years of military service. "In 12 minutes, it sketches the history of McCain's harrowing experiences during the bombing of an aircraft carrier and as a prisoner of war, drawing comparisons between his courage as a captive pilot and his abilities as a leader," Sanger-Katz writes. Because it's too long to air on TV, the ad is being distributed at campaign events on DVD and is posted on McCain's Web site.
Speaking at a firehouse in Pelham, South Carolina, Rudy Giuliani introduced his "first responder" committee made up of "firefighters, police, paramedics and other first responders intended to breathe life into the former New York City mayor's campaign," The State reports.
A former aide to John McCain, Todd Harris, will be Fred Thompson's new communications director, following the departure of Linda Rozette, the AP's Ron Fournier writes.
In an interview with Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson, Mike Huckabee positioned himself as the non-establishment Republican in the race. "My message is not 'Establishment Republican'. That's one of the reasons it's resonating with so many people because people don't want another 'Establishment' candidate," Huckabee said. "They know that that's a losing formula for us next year."
Speaking about Craig, Huckabee said, "Don't know exactly what the facts are, but if it turns out that he's not been honest and, you know, really has dishonored his position, then Republicans ought to be just as adamant about consequences for him as they would have been for Bill Clinton."
Wyoming Republicans announced yesterday that they would hold their primary on Jan. 5, 2008, making Wyoming the earliest primary of the season. Mead Gruver of the AP reports, "While the move puts Wyoming first in the accelerated primary process, it is not expected to stay there as states continue to jockey for position." The RNC says it will penalize any state that ignores party rules and moves to an earlier date.
More fundraising trouble hit Hillary Clinton yesterday after the Los Angeles Times reported that one of her top donors, Norman Hsu, is a fugitive. "Hsu said Wednesday that he would 'refrain from all fundraising activities' until he resolved an outstanding warrant for his arrest stemming from a 1991 criminal case in San Mateo County," the Times' Chuck Neubauer and Dan Morain report. Attention was brought on Hsu after the Wall Street Journal raised questions regarding his suspicious fundraising activity. Clinton, however, was not the only Democrat to benefit from Hsu's largesse and several said they would divest their campaigns of his contributions.
With Jimmy Carter by his side, John Edwards lashed out at President Bush's request for more money for the surge at a campaign stop in Georgia, reports NBC's Lauren Appelbaum. "What the Congress should do when they come back next week is make it absolutely clear, no timetable, no funding. And there should be no further excuses. The Congress needs to stand their ground," Edwards said.
Meanwhile, the Washington Times' Donald Lambro reports that it is unlikely Democratic candidates will heed their party's warning and avoid campaigning in states that move to an earlier primary date.
"The candidates have been quiet about the fight between Florida Democrats and the Democratic National Committee over the DNC's ban on holding any additional primaries before Feb. 5," writes Lambro. "But Democrats say the contenders have signaled through 'back channel' communications that they will probably participate in both contests anyway."
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