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By James Hohmann (
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jhohmann@politico.com ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

EXCLUSIVE - OVER 60 HOUSE REPUBLICANS COMMIT TO ATTEND SUPER PAC KICK-OFF:The Congressional Leadership Fund,the first GOP Super PAC dedicated solely to House races, is seeing huge early buy-in from Republican leadership and rank-and-file members. More than 60 House Republicans have committed to attend a kick-off event at the Capitol Hill Club next Wednesday night. They will join these special invited guests: Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, Chief Deputy Majority Whip Peter Roskam; NRCC deputy chair Greg Walden. Here is the list of participating members:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=698a8ad88c016959d27318d0ee3f168768b9b4f117685496c485d4c3e9b91f82 .

These names should help raise big money for a group that plans to act as a counterbalance to House Majority PAC, which is backed by Democratic leadership (including Nancy Pelosi). Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who is chairing the CLF, says the 60+ number should send a message to Democrats who think they will win the House: "We will raise the resources necessary to ensure that we maintain a GOP House that will reject the big spending, big taxing, big government ideology that has undermined our nation's economy."

EXCLUSIVE - HOUSE MAJORITY PAC RELEASES 12 POLLS IN 12 REPUBLICAN DISTRICTS:The House Majority PAC has conducted 12 polls in 12 targeted Republican House districts where the redistricting process has been completed. The groups says the polls, conducted by Public Policy Polling between October 19-23, show that the unpopularity of Republicans give them a host of real opportunities to pick up the 25 seats they need to take back the House. Their key takeaway is that some long safe Republicans now find themselves in districts where they are underdogs. Alixandria Lapp, executive director of House Majority PAC, argues that the polls show "Republican control of the House is in serious jeopardy."

Here is the percentage of voters polled who would "like to reelect" the following members in their new districts: 43% for Rick Crawford (AR-1), 44% for Tim Griffin (AR-2), 43% for Dan Lungren (CA-7), 38% for Jeff Denham (CA-10), 42% for Elton Gallegly (CA-26), 43% for Mary Bono Mack (CA-36), 42% for Brian Bilbray (CA-52), 42% for Bob Dold (IL-10), 41% for Judy Biggert (IL-11), 33% for Tim Johnson (IL-13), 39% for Bobby Schilling (IL-17) and 43% for Sean Duffy (WI-7). "Congressional Republicans have become very unpopular, very fast, across a very wide variety of districts and that's going to make dozens of incumbent GOP members vulnerable for reelection next year," PPP director Tom Jensen
concludes. Here is his three-page memo, which includes more results:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=698a8ad88c01695914f754307e06b715d20e55ec6220b191ff90d82b6a4dd07f .

*** As Romney plays defense but takes the lead in the early states, Bachmann mails it in and Connie Mack changes his mind, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

PERRY TO DITCH SOME DEBATES - A RETURN TO HIS TEXAS REELECTION STRATEGY:Perry will commit to the Nov. 9 economic-focused debate on CNBC but nothing after that. The debates have obviously not been good to the Texas governor, and the campaign floated the idea of picking-and-choosing the rest of the debates to spend more time in the early states. 'There are somewhere around 18 debates pending," Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan said. "There is no way to do all of them, particularly as the elections are rapidly approaching in Iowa and New Hampshire." Wayne Slater, a dean of the Austin press corps, offers context: "The strategy of avoiding debates and steering clear of the media is a practice that
he's pursued in Texas in recent years...While the strategy may have helped him win reelection in Texas, it left Perry unprepared to vigorously engage political opponents and deal with tough questions from reporters, newspaper editorial boards and citizens who disagreed with his ideas."
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WAFFLING IN OHIO - CLARIFICATION ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING COSTS ROMNEY ANOTHER NEWS CYCLE:In June, the former Massachusetts governor indicated support for a state law that restricts bargaining rights for public employee unions with a Facebook posting. At a Republican phone bank near Cincinnati on Tuesday, Romney said he hadn't been following the initiative and was not taking a position. On Wednesday, he said he supports it '110 percent.'The string of comments, while not nearly as sexy as John Kerry's $87 billion gaffe, embodies why so many conservatives say they are reluctant to get behind Mitt Romney. Mitt boosters note that technically this is not a flip-flop. True, that it is more of an
equivocation. But for true believers who want an outspoken conservative in the White House, the failure to speak out boldly on Tuesday could suggest a lack of backbone and the willingness to go full bore on Wednesday then came across as pandering. This episode is a reminder that running a cautious, poll-driven, general-election-like campaign before locking up the nomination has its drawbacks.

DEMS HAVE A FIELD DAY - DNC, AMERICAN BRIDGE POUNCE WITH WEB VIDEOS:The Democratic National Committee is releasing a web video this morning as part of their WhichMitt.com initiative to highlight the episode. A DNC official emails Score to say he thinks this could break through with regular voters because it fuels the narrative that Romney is "a convictionless politician who's willing to say anything in his decades long effort to seek higher office." Democratic Super PAC American Bridge juxtaposes footage of Romney on Tuesday against Romney on Wednesday, interspersing negative local news coverage in Ohio, in a separate video. Bridge calls this "perhaps Romney's fastest & most transparently
political flip yet." American Bridge:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=acd585d182277e032212914a399c4d9c7b18f5cdbdf766a7984630e1774c90be . DNC:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=acd585d182277e038970d94ca5f04678b0bbe618759fd48f328ef1922f97f8f9 .

MY ENEMY'S ENEMY IS MY FRIEND - PERRY IS OBAMA'S NEW BFF:The dual offensiveover Ohio, with harsh comments from the Perry campaign, demonstrated the extent to which the Texas governor and Democrats have common interests right now. "The thing that is unique about Romney, though, is that if you close your eyes and have somebody read the attacks on Romney it would be impossible to know if it's coming from Perry, [Rick] Santorum, the DNC, [Democratic strategist Bill] Burton or [Obama spokesman Ben] LaBolt: that he doesn't believe anything, that you can't trust him, that he's a flip-flopping weasel," a Democrat strategist says. "The fight he's having in the primary is the fight he's gonna have in
the general." The story leading POLITICO's site this morning:
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MAKE IT STOP - PERRY HAS "NO DOUBT" OBAMA IS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN:"Texas governor Rick Perry clarified Wednesday that he has no doubt that Barack Obama was born in the U.S., saying that he was only kidding around when he voiced doubts in a TV interview earlier this week," writes Adam Smith in the St. Pete Times, who conducted the interview.
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PERRY OPPOSES CONFEDERATE LICENSE PLATES IN TEXAS - HOW WILL THIS PLAY IN SOUTH CAROLINA?"The plate has been proposed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an ancestral history group involved in previous dust-ups over displays of the flag in state buildings and on state monuments," Jason Embry writes in the Austin American-Statesman. "The state Department of Motor Vehicles is considering the plate. A vote could come next month after one in April ended in a 4-4 tie, officials said. The members of the DMV board are Perry appointees...The license-plate proposal put Perry in a tough spot. While many oppose the plate, a similar plate has already been approved in South Carolina, site of a key
Republican presidential primary in January." The NAACP was planning to make a really big deal of this soon. "We don't need to be scraping old wounds," Perry said in Tampa.
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EARLY STATE POLLING - ROMNEY LEADS OR TIES IN FIRST FOUR STATES: "According to CNN/Time/ORC International polls released Wednesday, the former Massachusetts governor continues to be the overwhelming front-runner in New Hampshire, holds a lead over the other GOP presidential candidates in Florida, and is basically tied for the top spot with businessman Herman Cain in Iowa and South Carolina," Paul Steinhauser writes. "But the surveys indicate that many Republican voters are still far from decided."18-pages of crosstabs from CNN:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=acd585d182277e03a8d32d9c4780cbfcbbf11ef7b4e05383928553045e23108e . The write-up, which has the top lines:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=acd585d182277e03850aae09f49069584f05c63fb8b7adea5009b4dad3022b3e .

BLACKWELL ENDORSES PERRY -PREVIOUSLY CO-CHAIRED BACHMANN SUPER PAC:Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a popular name on the conservative speaking circuit, endorsed Perry yesterday. He had formed a pro-Bachmann super PAC in August. That should say a lot about the dynamics of the race. Columbus Dispatch:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=acd585d182277e034ddab6bad46ea20a82e3e2c7b44fcf6bfdcd26f9cd2cffce .

TEXAN BACKS ROMNEY - LAMAR SMITH CHAIRS HOUSE JUDICIARY, WHICH OVERSEES IMMIGRATION LAWS:"Smith, R-San Antonio, said his endorsement of Romney 'does not lessen my regard for Gov. Perry.' 'Last May, three months before Gov. Perry announced his candidacy, I contributed to Gov. Romney's campaign and committed to supporting him,' Smith said.The San Antonio Express News:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=acd585d182277e03f1f20fd57ba8603c20ff0df782493f227a7414bc27959e01 .

MAILING IT IN - BACHMANN SUBMITS PAPERWORK TO GET ON NEW HAMPSHIRE BALLOT:Today's Union Leader mocks Bachmann. "We all know what Michele Bachmann thinks of New Hampshire," John DiStaso writes. "She 'reaffirmed' her 'commitment' (we're being a bit sarcastic, folks) to New Hampshire yesterday by literally mailing in her first-in-the-nation primary paperwork to the Secretary of State. And after her state staff quit, her national campaign made it clear that her focus is on Iowa. (Former Bachmann state campaign manager Jeff Chidester and several other departed staffers are already entertaining offers from several other campaigns.)"
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MORE SERIOUS IN IOWA - PUTS WOOLSON IN CHARGE:"Republican strategist Eric Woolson will be the Iowa campaign manager for Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign," the Des Moines Register reports. "Since late September, Woolson, of West Des Moines, has led communications and media work for Bachmann.Before that, Woolson handled Iowa communications for Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota until he dropped out of the presidential race Aug. 14.Until now, two volunteers have organized Bachmann's Iowa effort."
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MORE NEW HAMPSHIRE - CAIN PLANS TO OPEN MORE OFFICES:A Score reader forwards a planning email former New Hampshire GOP chair Jack Kimball sent to Cain supporters yesterday afternoon that says the campaign plans to add additional offices beyond the ones in Manchester and Portsmouth. [Note: That does not mean it will happen.] "We are receiving stock items such as bumper stickers, yard signs, literature, and campaign buttons," Kimball writes. "All supplies will be ramped up shortly and we will be fully stocked going into the final days of the primary." Kimball is focused on building Cain support along the Seacoast, in Rockingham, Strafford, Belknap and Carroll counties.

ROMNEYCARE HAUNTS ROMNEY, CONT. - MASSACHUSETTS STILL HAS HIGHEST HEALTH COSTS IN THE COUNTRY:"Romney himself has admitted that his law didn't reduce costs - putting him in the awkward position of promising to do at the national level what he couldn't accomplish in his own state," Jennifer Haberkorn, who covers health care for our Pro subscription service but wrote this outside the paywall, writes. "Romney never touted containing costs as the main objective of his Massachusetts health reform. Rather, he wanted all residents to have insurance. But on the day he signed the reform plan into law in 2006, Romney did claim that cost containment was one of the goals...So far, Romney's fellow
Republicans haven't attacked him for costs. They've largely focused on the law's similarities to Obama's health reform law."
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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Cain, Gingrich and Santorum speak at an education forum in New York City. Then Cain flies to Arkansas for a Lincoln Day dinner. Paul goes to a house party in Hollis, N.H., tonight. Buddy Roemer is traveling across Louisiana, including a planed stop at the state fair in Shreveport.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO:It's a pretty boring day at the White House-he's focused on governing and has a meeting with the prime minister of the Czech Republic-until 6:45 p.m., when the president sits down for dinner with winners of that campaign contest.

FLORIDA SENATE - CONNIE MACK JUMPING IN:"After passing on a bid earlier this year, GOP Rep. Connie Mack has decided to enter the U.S. Senate race in Florida," Dave Catanese reported late last night. 'Connie Mack is entering the Senate race. He is making calls and assembling a team. He will have more to announce in weeks to come,' Mack adviser David James said last night. Mack had backed State Sen. Leader Mike Haridopolos, but he dropped out of the race. None of the three other candidates has emerged as the clear frontrunner.
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MASSACHUSETTS SENATE - DEM FIELD CLEARS FOR WARREN AS KHAZEI DROPS OUT:"Alan Khazei, at one point favored to win the Democratic primary to challenge US Senator Scott Brown next year, is withdrawing from the race," the Boston Globe reports. "The social entrepreneur has struggled to sustain his campaign given the immense excitement, political heft and financial support that has coalesced around Elizabeth Warren, who entered the race in September." The announcement is at noon.
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MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE - OLVER RETIREMENT AVERTS DEM CIVIL WAR:"Longtime U.S. Rep. John W. Olver will retire at the end of his term, an announcement that came yesterday just as Beacon Hill lawmakers were set to unveil a potentially divisive congressional redistricting plan and eliminate a district," the Boston Herald reports. "'Olver's wife has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer...Olver's retirement means western Massachusetts will lose political clout but that the state's nine other congressmen probably won't lose their day jobs."
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DEMS PLAN TO USE THIS IN ATTACK ADS NEXT FALL - OPERATIVE TELLS US IT IS "AN UH-OH VOTE FOR HOUSE REPUBLICANS":"House Democrats failed in their attempt to block a bill that they say allows a stake in the largest U.S. copper mine to an Iranian-affiliated mining company," according to a report in JTA, a global Jewish news service. "The bill, backed by Arizona's Republican delegation, would swap public lands in Arizona with lands owned by Resolution Copper, allowing for the establishment of the largest copper mine in the United States. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday mounted a vigorous offense against the bill, saying that Resolution Copper was owned by London-based
Rio Tinto, and that that company is partnered with the Iran Foreign Investment Company in mining uranium in Namibia."
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CABLE CATNIP - VIRGINIA STATE HOUSE CANDIDATE ADMITS LESBIAN AFFAIR WITH STUDENT: "A conservative independent seeking a House of Delegates seat from Appomattox says when she was a junior high teacher 40 years ago she had an affair with a female student but that she was a 'different person' back then," the AP's Bob Lewis reports. "In an Associated Press interview on Wednesday, Linda Wall confirmed her sworn 2006 testimony in a lawsuit in which she admitted to 'sexual relations with a minor' in the early 1970s when she taught physical education in Prince George County. The 61-year-old Wall said the affair was a long-ago, youthful mistake, not who she is now...She credits a Christian
conversion years ago with turning her from drugs and changing her sexual orientation. She also has lobbied Virginia's General Assembly on behalf of the conservative Family Foundation, a staunch opponent of gay marriage, adoption by same-sex couples and abortion."
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Do not speak to him unless you are spoken to." - A memo sent to Herman Cain's staff about traveling in a car with the candidate, per a New York Times story about his dysfunctional and chaotic campaign
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