The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) new web ad.

‘A New Direction. Now.’

Rahm Emanuel, the tough talking head of the Democrats’ Congressional Campaign Committee has announced that he will not serve another term in that capacity.

From The Hill:

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) will step down from the House Democrats’ campaign operation after the November elections to spend more time with his family, he told The Hill yesterday.

Emanuel has been a leading strategist, fundraiser, cheerleader and recruiter for House Democrats as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) since the beginning of last year. His uncommon pairing of cunning efficiency and profanity-laced outbursts has won him both plaudits and opprobrium, but nearly all Democrats concede that he deserves substantial credit for their rosy election prospects this year.

“I served one term, and my kids are all at a certain point. They’ve had it,” Emanuel told The Hill. “I’ll do whatever the caucus wants in the sense of helping the next chairperson in any capacity, but I will not serve as chairman another cycle.” He and his wife, Amy, have three children under 10.

Although most DCCC chairmen serve only a single term, many Democrats welcomed Emanuel’s presence and held out hope he would serve a second term.

Emanuel is a bad ass, no doubt. It is still to be determined whether his tough talk will be enough to help the Democrats take control of the House in 2006. I, for one, am disappointed with the “new direction” message that I’m sure he was part of creating. However, I’ve heard many stories about his interesting ways while serving in the Clinton White House (”Somebody in this room rat-fucked the president last night“) so I can only hope that he’s going to pull this one off for us!

Worth a read…

Memorandum
TO: Political Reporters, Interested Parties
FR: Bill Burton, DCCC Communications Director
DA: June 7, 2006
RE: CA-50 Special Election

“…They have got to be concerned about the Republican drop off and Democrats have got to figure they are still headed for a good year.”
–Stu Rothenberg, 6/7/06

In a race that unexpectedly became one of the most competitive in congressional history, Francine Busby sent a shot across the GOP bow and proved that even in the most reliably Republican district, the message of change and a new direction for the country is resonating with voters.

Despite the spin, CA-50 is a ruby red Republican district. Republicans have a 55,000-registered voter advantage over Democrats in the district. In 2004, CA-50 voted for President Bush with 55% of the vote, and re-elected Rep. Duke Cunningham with 58% of the vote. The closeness of this special election is a testament to Francine Busby’s candidacy and her message of change and new priorities.

After spending more than five million dollars, using national Republican leaders like George Bush, John McCain and Laura Bush, and running 12,000 gross rating points of false and negative ads, Brian Bilbray and the NRCC were able to pull out less than 50 percent of the vote in a very solidly Republican district.

“In an election cycle that is shaping up to be a change vs. the status quo contest, Francine Busby has shown that a strong change message can make even former members of Congress vulnerable in deeply red Republican districts,” said DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel.

CA-50 by the numbers

–Republicans have a 55,000-registered voter advantage over Democrats in CA-50.

–Francine Busby received 45% of the vote, outperforming John Kerry’s 44% in 2004. Bilbray and the NRCC combined outspent Busby and the DCCC by over $2 million, yet Busby was still able to cut into the reliable Republican base in the district.

–The NRCC outspent the DCCC by a rate of 2-1, meaning that national Republicans were forced to spend $5 million of their cash on hand on a seat where Republicans outnumber Democrats 3-2.

–The NRCC will have us believe they simply “spent what they needed to spend in order to win.” But can the NRCC continue to spend $5 million on Republican seats across the country and still have enough to hold on to endangered incumbents like Jim Gerlach, Deborah Pryce, Clay Shaw and Rob Simmons? If San Diego costs them $5 million, how much are Philadelphia, Columbus, Palm Beach and New London going to cost?
(more…)

Newsweek did a very interesting piece on Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), who is the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Rep. Emanuel served as a top White House advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998, first as Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then as Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy. After leaving the Clinton White House, Rep. Emanuel was elected to Congress and is now serving his second term in the House.

Emanuel, the former Clinton White House enforcer who is only in his second term in the House, is not a great spokesman for the party. All that coiled energy can make TV viewers nervous. But he thrives as an inside player, in touch with old-style operatives and the party’s Internet vanguard. As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, “Rahmbo” is essentially managing 40 House races from a war room a few blocks from the Capitol, helping with candidate recruitment, fund-raising and “rapid response.” One minute he’s ordering a colleague to plant an editorial trashing a Republican front runner in his hometown paper (”Write this down!”); the next, he’s telling one of his hand-picked candidates that the guy’s stump speech lacks passion (”If you think that’s inspiring, get out now”). Emanuel pulls it all off with a mixture of profanity and horse sense that gives Democrats the feeling they might not blow it this time.

The problem…overconfidence:

And that’s what worries him[Emanuel]: overconfidence. He knows that despite President Bush’s unpopularity, the odds still favor continued GOP control. “Voters used to choose their representatives; now representatives choose their voters,” he says, neatly summarizing how incumbents in both parties have persuaded state legislatures to redraw maps to all but end competitive elections. Gerrymandering has meant that the Democrats have little margin for error to win the 15 they need. “It’s like picking a lock,” Emanuel says.

This article highlights the insider political game that is being played right now in the run-up to the 2006 elections. The article does show that despite having an aggressive leader at the DCCC and having perceived political momentum, the election is still months away and Democrats will need to fight like hell to get where they want to go.