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Insider Report: McCain's Big Guns; Ann Coulter Probe Special From NewsMax's Most Informed Sources
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Chilly GOP Reception for McCain in Iowa Sen. John McCain faces a tough battle in January's crucial Iowa caucus — he enjoys little support among county chairmen in the state that kicks off the nomination race. Of Iowa's 99 county chairmen, 63 responded to interview requests from the influential Washington, D.C.-based publication Roll Call, and 42 of them said likely caucus-goers in their area are not inclined to support McCain. Fifteen chairmen said opinions on the Arizona Republican are mixed, and only six chairmen said there was strong support for McCain in their area. "I never cared for John McCain and I don't trust him," said Bonnie Hall, chairwoman of the Boone County GOP northwest of Des Moines. "I think he's perceived as too middle of the road, too moderate, and you never know where he's coming down. He's very unpredictable."
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When asked which Republican hopeful is creating the most excitement among grass-roots activists, most of the chairmen who responded named former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who reportedly will make winning Iowa a key part of his campaign for the nomination in 2008. "Because Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus is so important in the presidential nominating process, McCain's showing in the Hawkeye State could prove crucial to his 2008 chances," according to Roll Call. McCain skipped Iowa when he sought the GOP nomination in 2000 and concentrated on winning the New Hampshire primary. He won in New Hampshire but lost the nomination to George Bush. The county chairmen who do favor McCain cite his foreign policy views in general, particularly his support for President Bush on the Iraq war and the war on terror. Activists who oppose McCain point to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation, which has made it more costly for county parties to advertise in local media; his support for a guest-worker program to deal with illegal immigration; his opposition to the construction of a fence along the Mexican border; and his stance against farm subsidies, Roll Call reports. "Personally, I have no use for him," said Andrea Roys, chairwoman of the Fayette County GOP. "He tries to appeal to the media and make himself liked — and is a RINO [Republican in name only] as far as I am concerned." Editor's Note:
2. McCain Lines Up Big N.Y. Financial Support Sen. John McCain has scored an early victory in the race to line up major financial backers in the New York area — the backyard of Rudolph Giuliani, his potentially strongest rival for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. McCain has enlisted as one of his national finance co-chairs Lewis Eisenberg, a multimillionaire from New Jersey who served as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee. Eisenberg was sought after by Giuliani, according to a 140-page White House strategy playbook belonging to the former New York City Mayor, which was recently leaked to the press. The playbook outlined Giuliani's secret fund-raising and campaign plans, and was inside a piece of luggage that disappeared while Giuliani was on the campaign trail for 2006 candidates. The playbook was eventually returned, but by then, it had been photocopied, and the document was leaked to the New York Daily News. The document included Eisenberg on a list of "prospective leadership." Another prominent New York-area financier, Henry Kravis, was also on Giuliani's list, but he too has joined McCain's finance committee. McCain's heavily Jewish finance committee also includes Mark Broxmeyer, a Long Island real estate magnate; Dr. Ben Chouake, president of the New Jersey-based pro-Israel political action committee Norpac; and Barbara Sobel, wife of entrepreneur and major GOP fund-raiser Clifford Sobel, the Jewish publication Forward reports. Members of the New York-area finance committee have pledged to raise at least $50,000 each, according to Chouake. New York-area Republicans "are not big radical ideologues [so] who are these guys going to go for? Either they go to Giuliani or they go to McCain," said David Twersky, director of international affairs for the American Jewish Congress. "This is a very good sign for McCain, that he is getting Republican establishment moderates." Chouake told Forward that he favors McCain because the Arizona senator would be best able to deal with Iran, which has threatened to annihilate Israel. McCain has also lined up Jay Zeidman — former White House liaison to the Jewish community — to help with fund-raising operations. But Zeidman's father Fred Zeidman, a major George Bush donor, has not ruled out supporting former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination, according to two GOP sources who spoke with Forward. "I think a lot of the smart money is going to go Mitt's way," one Republican operative said, "because they feel that Giuliani is unelectable and McCain is going to have some type of problem . . . and people don't trust him ideologically." Editor's Note: 3. Egyptian Weekly: Execute Bush A mainstream Egyptian weekly magazine is calling on Americans to execute President Bush for the "murder" of Iraqi civilians. An article in the Jan. 6 edition of Roz Al-Yousef, obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institute, reads in part: "Regardless of whether the number of dead among innocent Iraqi civilians is 30,000, as Bush himself has said with his big mouth, or 665,000, as the American [Johns] Hopkins University reported, or 794,000, as the expert David Rush [Tufts University epidemiologist] reported, the important question at present is this: 'If Saddam Hussein was executed for the murder of 148 Iraqi citizens, how many times should Bush be executed for having murdered all these sons of the Iraqi people?'" The issue's cover features a manipulated photo of Saddam's execution, with his head replaced by President Bush's head. The article also contains this entreaty: "Worthy American citizens . . . I am not appealing to the murderers, thieves, invaders, occupiers, liars, and racists among you, or to those who have undertaken to serve as agents of Israel. I am appealing only to the honorable and conscientious among you, explaining why we are asking you to execute Bush himself." Editor's Note: 4. Embattled Broadcasting Board Chief Tomlinson Resigns Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Governors, is stepping down from his job and plans to write a book about his career in public broadcasting. President Bush nominated Tomlinson to serve another term on the board, which manages Voice of America radio, but the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not act on the nomination. Controversy has surrounded Tomlinson since his tenure on the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. President Clinton appointed him to the post in 2000, and President Bush elevated him to the chairman position in September 2003. He came under attack from liberals over his efforts to bring what he termed political balance to the left-leaning network. Investigators probed whether Tomlinson violated any rules when he quietly hired a researcher to report on the political leanings of guests on Bill Moyers' PBS program "Now," which critics said was consistently anti-Republican. Tomlinson's term as chairman ended in September 2005, and he resigned from the board two months later. Controversy arose anew over his position on the Broadcasting Board of Governors. A State Department inspector-general probe ordered by Democratic lawmakers accused Tomlinson of improperly placing a friend on the payroll and running a horse-racing operation from his government office, The Washington Times reported. The Justice Department has not sought to pursue the charges, which Tomlinson has called "patently untrue." Now Tomlinson is stepping away from his position on the board and looking forward to writing his book. "I think it's a good story that will help the public understand how Washington operates," he told the Times. "There's been a criminalization of political differences." He said the book will offer him an opportunity to "bring to light the injustices done to me." During Tomlinson's tenure, the Broadcasting Board of Governors successfully launched an Arabic language satellite TV network that broadcasts in Iraq and other Muslim countries, and news operations that broadcast signals to Iran, Afghanistan, and Cuba. Editor's Note: 5. Voter Fraud Probe of Ann Coulter Going Nowhere An election official in Palm Beach County, Fla., is having a tough time finding a law enforcement agency to probe conservative pundit Ann Coulter's alleged voting fraud. Police in the town of Palm Beach issued a report in December saying the the "Godless: The Church of Liberalism" author could be charged with one felony count for signing a voter form claiming she lived at her realtor's home instead of her actual residence, according to the Palm Beach Post's "Page Two" columnist Jose Lambiet. She reportedly could also face a felony charge for providing the same wrong address when obtaining her driver's license, and a misdemeanor for knowingly voting in the wrong district. But the author of the police report said his department didn't have jurisdiction because government clerks working outside the town signed off on the paperwork, according to Lambiet, who writes: "[Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Arthur] Anderson is looking desperately for a law-enforcement agency willing to investigate."
After the town police declined to further investigate, Anderson met with a county sheriff's deputy, but that department said it "will get back to him," Lambiet writes. Coulter's address "change" is not unusual though. Many celebrities use another address then their actual home for their voting record, usually for security reasons. Editor's Note: 6. DeLay Book 'Embargoed' Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's new book "No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight" is being kept tightly under wraps before its publication date in March. According to its publisher, Sentinel, "It's embargoed. Nothing will be released until the pub date, March 20." But the publisher did offer this about the book, which is co-authored by Stephen Mansfield: "DeLay comes out swinging, with lots of behind-the-scenes details about his two decades in Congress, his current legal troubles, and what he really thinks about President Bush and other major figures." The book will have a foreword by Rush Limbaugh. Editor's Note: 7. We Heard . . . THAT Matt Lauer says the best interview he's ever done during his 10 years on "Today" was with an embattled Hillary Clinton. In an interview with Time magazine, Lauer said the Jan. 27, 1998 exchange with Hillary was best "because of the convergence of events that were happening at the time. It was a few days after the Monica Lewinsky story broke. I fully expected Mrs. Clinton to cancel. She was a scorned woman whose husband had just been exposed for cheating. "[The interview] went extraordinarily well and resulted in the often quoted 'vast right-wing conspiracy' [comment]. But it required as deft a touch as I ever have had to use." Lauer didn't mention that in the interview, Hillary firmly denied that her husband had an affair with Lewinsky. THAT Kansas Senator and potential presidential candidate Sam Brownback has been endorsed by the leader of a pro-life group with thousands of members in Iowa — site of the first Republican caucus in 2008. Kim Lehman, president of Iowa Right to Life, said: "While other candidates are in the process of defining and refining their position at the start of this campaign, Sen. Brownback has been principled, consistent, and unwavering in his support for the right to life." Brownback filed papers in December to set up an exploratory committee to gauge support for a presidential bid. If he runs, a strong showing in Iowa early in the campaign could give him a big boost in the quest for the GOP nomination. Lehman has agreed to serve on Brownback's Leadership Committee. THAT Pope Benedict XVI has finished the first part of what he plans as a two-volume work on "the mystery of Jesus Christ," and it will be published in the spring. In a preface to the book — to be titled "Jesus of Nazareth" — the Pope explains that it represents his own "personal research," and should not be regarded as authoritative church teaching. Pope Benedict began writing the book before his April 2005 election and has continued working on it since then, according to the Catholic World Report. The Pope's publisher Rizzoli says the book combines rigorous scholarship with "great passion." Editor's Notes:
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