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


FIRST IN SCORE - THE DEPUTY: The National Republican Congressional Committee has chosen Jeff Burton, a veteran of House Minority Whip Eric Cantor and Texas Rep. Mike Conaway's offices, to serve as the committee's deputy executive director for the 2012 cycle. A native of Southern California, Burton was field director for Rep. Darrell Issa's first campaign in 2000 and managed Conaway's first congressional race in 2004. He went into government with Conaway, becoming the congressman's chief of staff through 2009, and was director of outreach for Cantor. Burton will replace Johnny DeStefano, who's leaving the NRCC for a post in Speaker-to-be John Boehner's office.


MORE - STAYING THE COURSE: Much of the NRCC team that won the House this year will remain intact going into 2012: eCampaign director John Randall, research director Jon Black and coalitions director Mike Bober are all re-upping for the next cycle. The NRCC announced last week that executive director Guy Harrison is staying on and press secretary Paul Lindsay will become communications director.


RNC EXCLUSIVE - WAGNER GETS WEST VIRGINIA: Former Missouri Republican Party Chair Ann Wagner will pick up a pair of key endorsements in her bid to lead the RNC today, from West Virginia RNC Committeeman Jim Reed and Committeewoman Donna Lou Gosney. Their support pushes Wagner's endorsement total into the double digits - and perhaps more importantly, they give her the backing she needs in order to be nominated for the chairmanship. Currently, only Wagner and Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus have the public support to pass that test, which requires candidates to have two-thirds support from three different state delegations. (Wagner's three are West Virginia, Missouri and Tennessee, while Priebus has Wisconsin, North Dakota and Mississippi.) Gosney explained her choice of Wagner thusly: "Ann Wagner is the whole package. We need new leadership that can lead us towards victory in 2012. We need an RNC Chair with Ann Wagner's experience, integrity and stature who can raise money, lead and win."


POPPING THIS MORNING - LOCAL HERO: The Empire State's entire GOP congressional delegation is endorsing former Deputy RNC Chair Maria Cino in her run for chairman, giving the Buffalo native a symbolic lift as she begins to gain traction in the race. In a statement, New York's three sitting Republican members - Peter King, Chris Lee and Tom Reed - and five members-elect praise Cino's "exemplary political career running winning campaigns." "Maria's national political experience is unparalleled," the members write, citing her work turning around the NRCC in 1994. "Saddled with a historic debt, an expensive convention to plan, and a total rebuilding of our Victory programs, we are confident that Maria can once again save our party." Cino rolled out her first three endorsements from committee members over the weekend, from Delaware's Priscilla Rakestraw, Minnesota's Evie Axdahl and New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox.


As Haley Barbour recalls the '60s, the bleeding continues for Louisiana Democrats and Minnesota debates the meaning of T-Paw , here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


MONDAY STAKES - We're in the final sprint before Congress (maybe) goes home and 2011 begins. Here's Morning Score's final snapshot this year of the politicians and operatives who have the most to gain or lose in the week ahead:


(1) Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, who has tempted a primary challenge in 2012 by supporting the DREAM Act and the START treaty, and won't get much in return if neither measure ends up passing; (2) West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who's expected back in Washington after skipping town for the DREAM Act and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" votes this weekend, and will want to change the subject away from those no-shows; (3) RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who has done little to combat a wave of intra-party criticism since he launched his reelection campaign last Monday, and desperately needs to convince the committee that he's actually a viable candidate; (4) Ambitious Connecticut Democrats, including Reps. Chris Murphy and Joe Courtney, who have to figure out how to handle independent Sen. Joe Lieberman's victory lap on "Don't Ask" repeal, as they mull 2012 Senate bids of their own; (5) Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, whose new profile in the Weekly Standard will throw the 2012 buzz machine into action - again - and put the spotlight on Barbour's assets and liabilities as a potential candidate.


SPEAKING OF - REQUIRED READING - "The Boy From Yazoo City," from the Weekly Standard's Andrew Ferguson: "President Barbour? All year he has been deflecting questions about his presidential ambitions, saying he wouldn't consider the topic while he concentrated on the business at hand-a big Republican win in November. ... In interviews Barbour doesn't have much to say about growing up in the midst of the civil rights revolution. 'I just don't remember it as being that bad,' he said. 'I remember Martin Luther King came to town, in '62. He spoke out at the old fairground and it was full of people, black and white.' ... What role Yazoo City's segregationist past might play in Barbour's presidential campaign is hard to say. ... An even bigger issue, though, might be Barbour's lobbying. Political reporters as a rule are highly suspicious of lobbyists, and Haley Barbour was one of the best lobbyists Washington has ever seen. ... 'People will tell you there are a lot of handicaps,' he said. 'I'm governor of a very poor state. They'll say that's a handicap. People will tell you it's a handicap to be from the South. I had an office in Washington for 19 years, working as a lobbyist. I have an accent. People will tell you those are handicaps. ... But I don't think so.'" http://bit.ly/hdCquk


THE 2012 TIMELINE - IN NEW HAMPSHIRE - The Republican nomination fight is only just getting started in this early primary state and it could unfold differently than in previous cycles, the Union Leader's John DiStaso reports: "State Republican Chairman John H. Sununu said that after visiting the state throughout the summer and fall to help the local ticket, potential presidential hopefuls are just taking a collective breather during the holidays and will probably return by late January, if not before. ... Activists are excited for the next campaign to begin but will be slower than in the past to commit, he said. ... Today, former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, outgoing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum appear ready to run. As far back as last summer, Pawlenty's political action committee hired a New Hampshire consultant, former McCain activist Sarah Crawford. But other potential candidates, especially conservatives, after initial visits, are holding back, waiting for Sarah Palin. Her organization has made few, if any contacts, in the state so far. On the Democratic side, New Hampshire Obama activists have heard nothing Granite State-specific about the restart of a presidential campaign." http://bit.ly/ids9oX PLUS - YOU WILL KNOW THEIR NAMES: First, the Des Moines Register gave you a guide to the top 50 Republican recruits for the 2012 cycle. Then, South Carolina strategist Wes Donehue did the same for his state. Now, the newly launched political site NH Journal has compiled its list of the names presidential prospects should call if they're "serious enough to start building a team." Here's a clip-'n'-save version of the "Operatives and Strategists" list:


Charlie Arlinghaus - Arlinghaus is a veteran of Republican Party politics and campaigns. He also heads the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy .. Mike Biundo ... the undisputed leader of Frank Guinta's successful Congressional campaign. Brett Bosse ... Guinta's comms guy... Jamie Burnett ... headed up Rich Ashooh's campaign ... Liz Christofferson ... ran John Stephen's recent campaign for Governor. ...Paul Collins ... Sen. John E. Sununu's right hand man ... Sarah Crawford ... a veteran of the McCain battles in '00 and '08 ... Mike Dennehy ... wins presidential campaigns in New Hampshire ... Steve Duprey... may be pegged to be the state's Republican National Committeeman. ... Tom DeRosa ... political director for the state GOP. ... Jay Flanders ... Chief of Staff to Senate President Peter Bragdon ... Jeff Grappone ... Communications Director for Kelly Ayotte ... Erin Hass ...Her expertise helped guide Mike Downing through a crowded six-way primary ... Patrick Hynes ... ran online outreach operations for John McCain in 2008 and serves as a consultant to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's PAC ... Periklis Karoutas - Periklis showed that he can step into a difficult situation and make the best of it after joining Bill Binnie's campaign for US Senate ... Rich Killion ... deserve[s] much of the credit for making that such a competitive race. ...Andy Leach ... soon-to-be former Executive Director of the state party...Kerry Marsh ...has worked for everyone and everything Republican since when she was in college ... James McKay ... His company, Norway Hill Associates, has worked with or for nearly every Republican player in the state. ... Jim Merrill ... shepherded Ovide Lamontage's oh-so-close second-place finish against Kelly Ayotte ... Jayne Millerick ... a former Chair of the state party ... BJ Perry ... ran the Republican victory program in 2010 ... Samantha Piatt ... runs the political machine that Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas has developed ... Tom Rath ... was a senior advisor to Romney in '08 and is expected to be so again in '12 if Romney runs ... James Sununu ... is being recruited by many Republicans to run for Chairman of the state party ... Deb Vanderbeek ... former Congressman and current State Sen. Jeb Bradley's right hand ... Rob Varsalone ... returned to save Kelly Ayotte's Senate campaign from brutal attacks in the primary ... Ryan Williams - The State Party mouth piece this past cycle ... Chris Wood - 'Woody' has been involved in over a dozen or more political cycles in New Hampshire ... Will and/or Jen Wrobleski - Will most recently managed Ovide Lamontagne's US Senate campaign and is a staunch conservative activist. Jen is a past Executive Director of the state GOP ... Paul Young ... has been a senior advisor on five presidential campaigns over the years, beginning with Jack Kemp." Read on for "Interest Group Leaders" and "Grassroots Activists" - right here: http://bit.ly/f497N8


HEADLINE OF THE DAY: "Newt Gingrich, serious this time, mulls a bid for president," from Paul West of the Los Angeles Times: http://lat.ms/eK155n


TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT TIM PAWLENTY: The Star-Tribune offered up a point-counterpoint on the outgoing Minnesota governor's legacy, with one author painting him as an ideological extremist and the other calling him the state's fiscal savior. Both takes are useful for out-of-state readers, as Pawlenty begins to shape his 2012 narrative. Dane Smith, for the prosecution: "Pawlenty ratcheted ever more extreme and ideological in his second term. He courted the rigid interest groups that influence presidential selection and neglected the few moderate initiatives he launched in his first term." Jason Lewis, for the defense: "It's hard to imagine any of his predecessors...mustering the political courage to sustain a series of gubernatorial vetoes in the last legislative session to rein in the spenders. ... His resolve has been the difference between Minnesota and a California-style budget debacle." http://bit.ly/hohzTI and http://bit.ly/f8l8H3


THE OTHER CHAIRMAN - NOT RULING IT OUT: As Virginia Sen. Jim Webb weighs whether to run for a second term in 2012, DNC Chairman and former Gov. Tim Kaine isn't directly addressing whether he'd consider running in Webb's place. The Washington Post's Ben Pershing: "'Chairman Kaine worked hard to elect Jim Webb to the Senate in 2006, and he fully intends to do so again in 2012,' said DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse. He wouldn't comment further on Kaine's future plans. Democrats who know Kaine well said privately they believe he would rather serve in President Obama's Cabinet and is not interested in the Senate. But they also noted that Obama and Kaine have a close relationship, so it might be difficult for Kaine to say no if Obama asked him to run for Webb's seat." http://wapo.st/einzNP


JUST LIKE LINCOLN - NOT IN A GOOD WAY: Montana Sen. Jon Tester's weekend vote against the DREAM Act has drawn harsh blowback from a key constituency that helped the Democrat win his first term in 2006 - the liberal netroots. Markos Moulitsas, the founder of Daily Kos, blasted shortly after the Saturday vote: "I feel personally betrayed. ... I will take every opportunity I get to remind people that he is so morally bankrupt that he'll try to score political points off the backs of innocent kids who want to go to college or serve their country in the military. To me, he is the Blanche Lincoln of 2012 -- the Democrat I will most be happy to see go down in defeat. And he will." http://bit.ly/iaYKXe


GOING SOUTH - DEFECTION IN LOUISIANA: Democratic state Rep. Noble Ellington's switch to the Republican Party flipped the state House of Representatives into official GOP control for the first time in more than a century. From the AP: "GOP Chairman Roger Villere confirmed the switch Friday. 'For more than 100 years the Louisiana House of Representatives has remained under Democrat control, but today that has all come to an end,' Villere said in a statement." http://bit.ly/gKvJHK


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Bobby Jindal is the best politician that Louisiana's ever seen. And that's not a compliment." - Democratic state Sen. Joe McPherson http://bit.ly/gVL4h7

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