More Republican Carelessness and Hypocrisy

Sometimes the NRSC takes it upon itself to appear ignorant, sloppy, or like it just doesn't care where its money comes from. Back in February, the Guru highlighted the case of Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari (a.k.a. Michael Mixon), who was an NRSC "Inner Circle Leadership Committee" member and, as it turns out, was also indicted on charges of financing a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. Whoopsy. Well, today, the Miami Herald reports on the NRSC holding a fundraiser at the home of a woman who is facing deportation and might just qualify as one of those "illegal" immigrants I so often hear conservatives railing against:

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who backs stricter controls on illegal immigration, was to raise money Monday in Miami at the home of a Peruvian woman who pleaded guilty a decade ago to passport fraud and is fighting for the right to stay in the country.

The fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which Ensign chairs, comes at a time when undocumented immigrants across the country live in fear of what they say are stepped-up orders to deport those here illegally.

The hostess of the Coral Gables reception aimed at bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars for the GOP: Eve Rosen, who is awaiting an immigration judge's ruling as to whether the mother of two and wife of Wayne Rosen, a prominent Miami developer, can remain in the United States, where she has lived for more than a decade.

The Rosens declined to comment for this story. A spokeswoman for Ensign said Monday the committee was unaware of Eve Rosen's status and was "looking at it now."

GOP Senators thought that replacing Liddy Dole with John Ensign would cure their ills. But the NRSC continues to get smoked in fundraising, still has no strong Senate recruits to point to, and continues to shoot itself in the foot and make itself look foolish with incidents like this. Well done, NRSC.

Meanwhile, as the NRSC shoots itself in the fundraising foot, the DSCC and Democratic Senators are being proactive in shoring up their resources to protect and expand their Senate majority. Compare that with GOP Senators' recent history of extreme stinginess.

Oregon: Blue Oregon's Alworth and DKos' mcjoan highlight '98 OR-GOP Gov. nominee Bill Sizemore's lengthy letter illustrating "The Case Against Gordon Smith" (also found here). In the letter, Sizemore, who has hinted at considering a primary challenge to Smith, rails against what he sees as Smith's un-conservative voting record. The letter should be useful in further deflating Smith's Republican base.

Maine: The unofficial Tom Allen for Senate blog posts under the headline "Announcement Expected":

WCSH expects Tom to announce soon! No word yet on when, but they quote someone as saying the race is shaping up to be one of the biggest potential pickups for the Dems in 2008.

Can we expect a formal announcement in the near future? Stay tuned.

Political Wire offers more hypocrisy from the GOP Presidential front:

Rudy Giuliani "in his campaign appearances this year has stated that he personally abhors abortion, even though he supports keeping a legal right to choose. But records show that in the '90s he contributed money at least six times to Planned Parenthood, one of the country's leading abortion rights groups and its top provider of abortions," The Politico reports.

No, not at all dishonest and hypocritical.