Poll: Stephen Colbert's sister has good chance at winning House seat
- 53% of likely GOP voters are expected to vote for former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford in a runoff election against attorney Curtis Bostic to determine the Republican Party’s nominee for the House seat.
- 47% of the registered voters in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District are projected to choose Democratic candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch in a potential match-up against Sanford, whose own 45-point estimate falls within the poll’s margin of error. No word on whether Colbert Busch has ever been to Argentina. source
“I think you will see — again I can’t release any names to you yet, but next Wednesday I think those of us who are concerned about this issue … we’re finally going to get some answers.”
—Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz • Discussing an upcoming House oversight committee hearing which many GOP members believe will expose new information that the Obama Administration has previously tried to keep quiet. Sources say that previously unidentified witnesses, with firsthand knowledge of the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, will reveal new information about the events which claimed the lives of four Americans. source
Random Dead Presidents Fact of the Day: 5.22.12
Michigan’s John Dingell has spent more time in the U.S. House of Representatives than anyone in history and, if he remains in office until next June, will break the record for longest-serving member of Congress ever (he’s currently in third place behind Robert Byrd and Carl Hayden).
The Democratic Congressman, who will celebrate his 86th birthday in July, is the current Dean of the House. Dingell’s father, John Dingell, Sr., served in the House from 1933 until his death in September 1955. The 29-year-old John Jr. succeeded his father in December 1955 and is currently seeking his 30th term in the House. Let me repeat that: if (or, most likely, when) Dingell is re-elected in November, it will be his THIRTIETH term in Congress! Between John Dingell, Jr., and his father, the Dingell family has represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives for almost 80 years.
Due to Dingell’s longevity in Washington, it is likely that no living American has met as many Presidents as the Michigan Congressman. During his nearly 57 years in the House of Representatives, Dingell has met and worked with 11 Presidents in an official capacity: Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. In addition to the Presidents that he has worked, Dingell also had the opportunity to meet several Presidents during his father’s two decades in the House: Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry Truman.
While there are probably a handful of people in history who met more Presidents than Dingell — John Quincy Adams, for example, is believed to have met every President from George Washington to Andrew Johnson (17 in all) — I would venture to bet that no American alive in 2012 has met 14 Presidents like the Dean of the House of Representatives, John Dingell of Michigan.
Facebook Live With House Republican Leaders - Monday, September 26 @ 6:00 PM (EST)
TODAY @ 6:00 PM (EST) House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are hosting a Facebook Town Hall.
Post your questions here: http://on.fb.me/pKrJCd
This is a great opportunity to reach out to the Republican Leadership to let them know that GEAR UP works and to ask them to continue supporting this bipartisan program.
In The House
While a stint in the United States House of Representatives is a fairly common job that you will find on the resumes of our Presidents and Vice Presidents, it usually is not a stepping stone directly into the Presidency or Vice Presidency. In fact, if the Republican ticket featuring Mitt Romney and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan win in November, Ryan will be the first incumbent member of the House in 80 years to take office as President or Vice President.
Only one incumbent House member has been elected President: James Garfield of Ohio in 1880. Five incumbent members of the House of Representatives have been elected Vice President: Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky (1836), Schuyler Colfax of Indiana (1868), William Almon Wheeler of New York (1876), James Schoolcraft Sherman of New York (1908), and John Nance Garner of Texas (1932). Colfax and Garner are also the only incumbent Speakers of the House to be elected President or Vice President.
Overall, 18 Presidents served in the U.S. House of Representatives at one point in their career, including James K. Polk, who remains the only Speaker of the House to serve as President. John Quincy Adams served in the House AFTER he was President. John Tyler, who served in the U.S. House early in his career, was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives shortly before his death.
Although we haven’t had an incumbent House member elected Vice President since 1932, Paul Ryan might take some comfort in the fact that, throughout our history, a whopping 24 Vice Presidents served in the House at some point in their lives (25 if you count Daniel D. Tompkins who was elected to the House but resigned before taking office in order to accept an appointment to the New York State Supreme Court). Not only that, but four of our last five Vice Presidents (Bush 41, Quayle, Gore, and Cheney) were House alumni.
"Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives"
amazon.comI’m only halfway through it, but I highly recommend Robert Draper’s new book, Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives (BOOK•KINDLE). It is a revealing look at the House of Representatives during this infuriating 112th Congress that took office in January 2011. Draper is a first-rate political reporter and his book on George W. Bush’s Administration, Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush (BOOK•KINDLE) was just as good as this latest release. I’ve had a hard time pulling myself away from Do Not Ask What Good We Do since I started reading it this afternoon. It’s out now from Free Press and I definitely suggest checking it out.
It's neck and neck in the race to represent South Carolina's 1st Congressional District
- 47-46 the lead former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford holds over his opponent, Democratic candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch, one day before the election that will determine which candidate will represent the state’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Just two weeks ago, Sanford trailed Colbert Busch by 9 points. Guess that Larry Flynt endorsement went a long way, huh? source
Invigorating Exhaustion
Quickly becoming the motto of this summer’s activities, I find myself sometimes tired but excited at the end of my days. This past week certainly met the bill of this motto. As if a constant friend when the House finds itself in session, busyness can reach into much of the waking hours of the week. From the floors votes to the committee hearing to increased constituent phone calls, being in session increase the busyness of everyone associated with the House. Additionally, it is also during session that some of the best opportunities for interns arise. For me, one such opportunity came Tuesday evening when David Barton, President and Founder of Wallbuilders gave an exclusive evening tour of the Capitol. For those not familiar with Mr. Barton, the uniqueness of his tours arise from his unparalleled knowledge of the spiritual heritage of our nation and its founders. I furiously took down notes as hours breezed by like minutes. With the tour concluding on the floor of the House itself, my excitement rivaled that of a six year old hearing the passing of a neighborhood ice-cream truck. I pray I always maintain that sense of excitement and joy.
The rest of the week provided more opportunities for excitement as I attended hearings and sat in on a bill mark-up session. I also found myself given one of my first direct assignments from the Congressman himself. Though probably a small task in the overall scheme of things, I attended to it with great diligences with the belief that excellences often begets more assignments.
While the weekend often provide a refuge from the week’s busyness, the House can permeate this barrier with a simple request. For me, the request came when I was asked to drive the Congressman on a few weekend events. Ecstatic to receive such a request, my Saturday morning plans of sleeping in late were quickly substituted with a packed agenda beginning for me at 4:35 a.m.
As the days demand more and more, I find myself filled with a deep sense of excitement. My efforts this summer do not represent the labors of filling a resume, though helps with that. My efforts do not represent an attempt to find future employment though it could open future doors. My efforts represent a deep desire to impact the course of a nation. As the writer of Psalm 42 wrote, “Deep calls out to deep.” With every step, I find myself walking out a deep calling to serve others. And through tiring myself each day I find myself reinvigorated anew.
U.S. Approves New Sanctions on Iran
israelnationalnews.comU.S. Congress passes new package of sanctions punishing banks and insurance companies that help Tehran.
