Now that we've settled the Dems' House issue, how are the Repubs doing? __________ From www.hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com: "White rednecks" who "didn't show up to vote for us" partly cost GOPers their cong. majorities, Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL) told fellow Republicans today. And Putnam, seeking the post of GOP conference chair, chided ex-Chair J.C. Watts (R-OK) for ruining the conference's ability to serve its members. Three Republicans in the room independently confirmed to the Hotline the substance and context of Putnam's remarks. But Putnam's chief of staff insists that the remarks were taken out of context. Examining the 2006 midterms, Putnam blamed the GOP defeat on "the independent vote, the women vote, the suburban vote." He said that "heck, even the white rednecks who go to church on Sunday didn't come out to vote for us." Putnam used Watts' tenure as chair to contrast his own vision for the conference, saying the GOP needed a "bolder" vision than the type of strategy preferred by Watts. According to one Republican's notes, Putnam said that "JC Watts ruined the Conference by removing the member services functions that it offered until 1998" by turning it into only a communications and press vehicle. According to two Republicans, Putnam took the same swat at Watts during a Republican Study Conference session yesterday. A Watts associate confirmed that he had learned of Putnam's comments and that he was angered by them. Watts was not immediately available to comment.
