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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


BREAKING FROM THE RNC - MAJORITY RULES: "Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele faces an all-but-impossible path to reelection this month, as a majority of the RNC's 168 members indicate that they will not support the controversial chairman for another term. A weeklong canvass of the party's governing board by POLITICO revealed 88 members who have decided not to vote for Steele, either opting to support one of his opponents or simply ruling out Steele as a choice in the race. Fifty-five members, some of whom have endorsed one of Steele's challengers, have signaled that they will not support the chairman under any circumstances. An additional 33 pledged their support elsewhere. Just as telling, not a single member of the committee said that Steele was their second choice in the race - a grave indicator in a contest likely to be decided in multiple ballots. Further, whip counts kept by several of the chairman's opponents suggest the Anybody-but-Steele bloc could be even larger, including as many as 90 to 100 members. A winning candidate must gain the support of 85 members of the RNC." The race right now: Reince Priebus - 32 votes, Michael Steele - 16 votes, Ann Wagner - 13 votes, Saul Anuzis - 11 votes, Maria Cino - 6 votes. Former RNC political director Gentry Collins dropped out of the race last night, ahead of today's candidate debate. Read the full story here: http://politi.co/i8Zomd


POPPING TODAY - SNEAK PEEK: Cino will roll out her plan for revitalizing the RNC's get-out-the-vote operation this morning, charging that during Steele's tenure there has "not been an aggressive, nationwide voter registration program; and key state Victory Programs were either insufficiently funded or poorly executed." Some of the key components of Cino's battle plan: "Request state parties and territories to submit, in April 2011,18-month Victory Plans with their expected needs for the 2011/2012 cycle. Then we will work with state parties to develop monthly milestones. ... Implement Victory pilot programs in 2011 in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia for gubernatorial and state legislative races. ... Implement a dedicated nationwide voter registration effort, and expand the Party by bringing in new voters that share our values and beliefs." Here's the full memo: http://politi.co/fCemJG


POLITICO EXCLUSIVE - MEET THE NEW BOSS - Jonathan Martin: "Phil Cox, who managed Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's landslide victory in 2009, will serve as the next executive director of the Republican Governors Association, POLITICO has learned. A veteran campaign operative, Cox worked as a top aide at the RGA this past year while also running McDonnell's political account. He replaces Nick Ayers, who has filled the top staff role at the GOP governors' committee since 2007. ... When Ayers began as RGA's executive director, the committee commenced a four-year plan in which there was continuity among the senior staff. Though it hasn't been finalized, the same long-term strategy is likely to be put in place with Cox, who will serve under Texas Governor and new RGA Chair Rick Perry. 'Our goal is to significantly expand our majority,' Cox said in an interview, only saying that he wanted more governorships 'than we have now.'" More: http://politi.co/ehMCyr


As Dan Malloy pulls no punches, Lindsey Graham parses his words and Carol Moseley Braun gets her shot against Rahm, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


MONDAY STAKES: There are 399 days left before the Iowa caucuses. The Ames straw poll is 222 days away. At the very beginning of the 2012 cycle, here's who has the most to gain or lose in the week ahead:


(1) Ambassador Jon Huntsman, whose presidential buzz-inspiring interview with Newsweek means he'll replace Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour as the potential 2012-er to get picked apart this week; (2) New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who will have to gauge whether their winter weather woes are really over, or whether more political atonement is required; (3) Newark Mayor Cory Booker, whose media-friendly response to last week's snow revived chatter about the 2013 governor's race, which Booker can encourage if he wants to; (4) Virginia tea party leader Jamie Radtke, whose early entry into the race against Democratic Sen. Jim Webb gives her an opening to prove she's serious before former GOP Sen. George Allen formally announces; (5) America's new rock-star governors, from Susana Martinez on the right to Andrew Cuomo on the left, who have to start delivering on campaign promises in a tortuous political and economic environment.


*** A message from the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities: We agree with President Obama's goal of retaking the world lead in college graduation rates by 2020. America's private sector schools stand ready to do our part. Visit http://myeducationchoice.org today.THE CW ON HUNTSMAN: The former Utah governor's provocative comments to Newsweek - "I think we may have one final run left in our bones" - spurred a quick consensus about his extensive liabilities in a GOP nomination fight. Newsweek: "After a right-wing resurgence flooded Congress with Tea Party Republicans, the field doesn't appear particularly inviting to a moderate Obama appointee. ... Since he left for Beijing, the national media haven't just moved Huntsman to second string in the 2012 speculation game; they've dropped him from the roster entirely." The Salt Lake Tribune: "Huntsman was more circumspect in a recent sit-down with The Salt Lake Tribune, declining to talk at all about what he might do after serving abroad. In the void, however, speculation grows. ... The son of a billionaire, Huntsman carved a moderate path in GOP politics and exited the scene as so-called tea party activists began growing in power. In Beijing now for about 16 months, Huntsman has mostly steered clear of talking American politics." AFP: "At the time of Huntsman's appointment as ambassador to China, pollsters said this would likely mean he would give up the possibility of challenging Obama in the 2012 election and put his ambitions on hold until 2016. But if he does decide to run for the Republican nomination, his rivals could include the ultra-conservative Sarah Palin." http://bit.ly/hcyBez and http://bit.ly/gxwi3N and http://bit.ly/dS1BgP


FLASHBACK - POLITICO's Carol Lee, last May: "Huntsman still has his eyes on the political landscape back home and isn't shy about his possible interest in running for office. 'That's an option we will always hold open,' he said in a telephone interview from Beijing, where he said he expects the coming months to be a critical part of his time in China." http://politi.co/fESXw7


SHOTS FIRED - WILL VS. PALIN: Columnist George F. Will is the latest conservative luminary to sound the alarm about Sarah Palin's electoral prospects in 2012. Here's Will on ABC's "This Week": "The President's secret weapon may be the Republican nominating electorate... There is one person, high in the polls, Sarah Palin, who cannot be elected president because she cannot compete where elections are decided. In the collar counties outside Chicago, Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia- just can't compete there." http://bit.ly/i0aCNq


SOUTH CAROLINA SIREN: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham dubbed Mitt Romney the frontrunner in the GOP field during a Sunday appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." Said the South Carolinian: "Mitt Romney has got his problems as a candidate, but so does everyone else ... it's a changing environment. And the one thing you got to prove to the people of South Carolina, not only that you're conservative, but you can carry the day." http://on.msnbc.com/dTc4vr


THE PAWLENTY LEGACY: Soon-to-be-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton will use his first act in office to reverse one of outgoing Gov. Tim Pawlenty's stances against health care reform. Minnesota Public Radio: "Dayton ... will sign an executive order to pursue the federal health care funding during a public ceremony on Jan. 4, in the Capitol Rotunda. Dayton says the move will provide new or improved health care coverage to more than 95,000 Minnesotans. Gov. Tim Pawlenty rejected the early expansion option because of the additional state spending it requires. Pawlenty also opposes the federal health care overhaul that created the expansion." http://bit.ly/ft2L42


2011 CLIP-'N'-SAVE - Keep this list of 11 elections watching this year - even before the presidential fireworks get started - from the Houston Chronicle's Richard Dunham: "Chicago mayoral race: Can former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel come home again? ... Iowa Republican presidential straw poll: The most important vote in 2011 isn't even a real election. It's the Republican Party of Iowa's 2011 Iowa Straw Poll ... Kentucky governor's race: Can Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear hang on in a state that has become increasingly Republican in the past decade? ... Republican National Committee chairmanship: RNC Chair Michael Steele, the human gaffe machine, is being challenged by a large group of conservatives ... Mississippi governor's race: Two-term Gov. Haley Barbour can't run for re-election, but the Republicans seem likely to hold this seat.... Virginia state legislative races: Republicans are hoping to take back the state Senate and maintain their 2009 gains in the state House. ... San Francisco mayoral race: There will be two mayor's races in San Francisco in 2011. The first comes in January, when Mayor Gavin Newsom leaves his job to become California's new lieutenant governor.... Dallas mayoral race: Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, a Republican in a Democratic-dominated city, is considering a race for the Senate seat currently held by Kay Bailey Hutchison ... Phoenix mayoral race: Democrats took a shellacking in Arizona's midterm elections, but they are likely to mount a comeback in the mayor's race in the state's largest city. ... Louisiana governor's race: Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal is a heavy favorite for re-election. ... Louisiana lieutenant governor race: Democrats have a more realistic chance at winning the No. 2 job, which is elected separately." http://bit.ly/e7JkP5


CHICAGO WATCH - BRAUN HER OWN: Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun is now the only major black candidate in the Chicago mayor's race, giving her at least a sliver of hope that she can rally the African-American vote against Rahm Emanuel. AP notes there are plenty of clouds and silver linings here: "[N]ow that she is in the spotlight, Braun will have to answer questions about her qualifications, as well as problems that led voters to boot her from the Senate in 1998 after one term and why voters should hand City Hall's keys to someone who hasn't been elected to anything for years. ... Also in Braun's favor, said the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., is her ability to raise money - something experts say will be crucial, particularly in a race against the well-financed Emanuel. ... On Saturday, Braun did not mention Emanuel, or two other prominent candidates, former public schools president Gery Chico or City Clerk Miguel del Valle, by name. But in recent days she has signaled that she plans to portray Emanuel as an outsider and not a Chicagoan." http://apne.ws/dRLoqw


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I've spent a lot of time preparing people for how desperately bad things are. ... The state's in terrible, terrible, terrible trouble." - Connecticut Gov.-elect Dan Malloy, capturing the zeitgeist http://bit.ly/eD0yTK


*** A message from the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities: We agree with President Obama's goal of retaking the world lead in college graduation rates by 2020. America's private sector colleges and universities stand ready to do our part. The millions of students in our schools deserve the same resources and encouragement as those students in other higher education institutions. The sooner collaborative work among all sectors begins, the sooner the dreams of hopeful students can become realities, and our country can meet the demands of the 21st century. Visit http://myeducationchoice.org and tell Congress, "It's my education. My job. My choice."

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