The national Republican Party has mailed a fundraising appeal suggesting Democrats might use an overhaul of the health care system to deny medical treatment to Republicans, The Associated Press reports. A questionnaire accompanying the appeal says the government could check voting registration records, “prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health care rationing system.” It asks, “Does this possibility concern you?” Katie Wright, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said the question was “inartfully worded.” But she said people should worry because government officials would have access to personal financial and medical data. “The RNC doesn’t try to scare people,” said Wright. “We’re just trying to get the facts out on health care. And that’s what we do every day.” Jon Vogel, executive director of the Democratic House campaign organization, called the GOP letter “shameless fear-mongering.” In a fundraising e-mail of his own seeking to raise $100,000 by Aug. 31, Vogel wrote the Republican accusation was “just a preview of the falsehoods, fabrications and outright lies Republicans will be pushing when Congress returns in September.” The allegation is the latest instance in which some critics of the health care effort have made inflammatory unfounded claims — such as conservatives who claimed the legislation would create “death panels” that they said could lead to euthanizing elderly people. The suggestion that Republicans might not receive care is included in a “Future of American Health Care Survey” containing 13 questions, most of which are critical of the Democratic health care effort. The technique, referred to as a “push poll,” is used often in political campaigns by both parties and is designed to spread negative information, not to sample public opinion. Another question asks, “Do you believe it is justified to ration health care regardless of whether an individual has contributed to the cost of the treatment?” The survey is accompanied by a two-page letter signed by Michael Steele, chairman of the national Republican party. The letter accuses Democrats of “moving swiftly to bring European-style socialized medicine here,” but makes no mention of the possibility that Republicans might be denied coverage.

In the fourth day of her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, Republican lawmakers tried painstakingly to rattle U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, seeking to squeeze from her anything that would reveal that she is the liberal, activist judge they say she is. No such luck. Sotomayor, whom President Obama and Democratic senators have painted as a cool-headed jurist whose long tenure as an appeals court judge proves her commitment to the Constitution, was unflinching. While acknowledging regret for her highly publicized comment that a “wise Latina” trumps a White male’s decision-making skills, Sotomayor vowed loyalty to the law and denied an agenda to create new ones. Most members of the GOP have conceded that her appointment to the high court is virtually unstoppable and have relinquished the notion of a Republican filibuster. Some conservative lawmakers, understanding that there is little reward in bashing the judge – many of them realizing that they risk alienating themselves from Latino voters in the general election – have even praised Sotomayor in recent days. For example, South Carolina’s Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, who originally noted that the judge’s public comments prior to her nomination “bugs the hell out of me,” said Wednesday, “to be honest with you, your record as a judge has not been radical by any means. … “It is my belief that you are going to be a great Supreme Court justice.” California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has been laudatory of Sotomayor throughout the process, said Thursday, “I think you’re a walking, talking example of the best part of the United States of America.” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), one of Sotomayor’s champions in the Senate, has said he plans to put her confirmation to a vote as early as next Tuesday.

Rush Limbaugh has a problem with leading Black Republicans. In recent weeks, he’s blasted his own party’s chairman, calling Michael Steele “gutless” and too weak to challenge President Obama. And now, the acid-tongued shock jock is hurling barbs at perhaps the most respected Black Republican in America, telling his estimated 20 million listeners to his radio show that former Secretary of State Colin Powell is really a Democrat in a GOP costume. Read what else he said.

Michael Steele should resign, fellow party member says. The first Black Republican National Committee chairman can’t get a break these days. Not from radio propagandist Rush Limbaugh and not even from one of three fellow Black Republicans on the 168-member committee. North Carolina’s Ada Fisher recently e-mailed members of Steele’s staff asking that the former Maryland lawmaker “step aside in the best interest of the party and let us elect another chairman.” Fisher says she has “never seen such ineptness in our GOP leadership,” despite Steele’s chairmanship having lasted for only weeks. She also criticized Steele’s public back-and-for with Limbaugh over who leads the party these days. Steele called himself the “de facto” leader after Limbaugh suggested there was a lack of vision. He later backed down from his comments and praised Limbaugh.

 Ex-convict-Ku Klux Klansman David Duke, the former Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, says the new African-American chief of the GOP is a “racist” and an “Obama Jr.,” who will run “rank-and-file” Republicans out of the party. Michael Steele, who formerly served as the lieutenant governor of Maryland, is the first Black person chosen to head the Republican Party, of which Duke was a longtime member. Read about what Duke said about Steele here.

  The Republican Party, refusing to be outdone by their staunch political rivals, landed a Black head honcho of their own. They chose former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele to lead the Republican National Committee, bumping out the incumbent chairman and three other challengers. He’s the first African American to head the GOP. “As a little boy growing up in this town, this is awesome,” said Steele, who has been outspoken about his party’s failure to reach out. “We’re going to say to friend and foe alike: We want you to be a part of us, we want you to with be with us, and for those who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over,” Steele said. It took six rounds of voting before Steele was able to capture the victory.

Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele has been elected Chairman of the Republican Party. On a sixth ballot, Steele won 91 to 77 over South Carolina Republican Party chairman Katon Dawason. “It’s time for something completely different and we are going to bring it to them,” said Steele, who ran for Maryland’s U.S. Senate in 2006. He is the first African American to hold the position. Another African American, Ohio’s Ken Blackwell, ran for the GOP top spot but dropped out after the fifth ballot.

Do you think Republicans elected the best man or are they just responding to Barack Obama’s win on the Democratic side?

Obama will showcase his economic team. President-elect Barack Obama is set to introduce his economic team on Monday, including Timothy Geithner, 47, the acclaimed president of the New York Federal Reserve he wants as his treasury secretary and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary, his transition officials confirmed over the weekend. Obama hopes the team can craft an economic-stimulus plan that puts 2.5 million people to work in jobs that would improve the nation’s infrastructure – roads and bridges – and jumpstart green initiatives, such as the building of wind farms, solar panels and fuel-efficient cars. “I’ve already directed my economic team to come up with an economic recovery plan that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011,” Obama said Saturday before describing the plan as, “big enough to meet the challenges we face.” By some estimates, the plan could cost as much as $700 billion; however, the Obama team says it hasn’t even had time to put the plan the president described in his radio/Internet message Saturday on paper yet. Republican lawmakers on Sunday didn’t totally diss the idea, but said the devil is in the details. Meanwhile, Obama said he hopes to sign a stimulus package into law immediately after taking office Jan. 20, 2008. To be able to do that, some lawmakers want the president-elect and President Bush to sit down now to start work on the stimulus plan. Independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, of Connecticut said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday that if the incoming and outgoing presidents don’t put their heads together now, any stimulus package Obama has in mind might not take hold until the second quarter of next year, “and that’s too long.”

Repub. leaders say Obama is “off to a good start.” The top Senate Republican said on Friday that Democratic U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is “off to a good start” with regard to his Cabinet picks and steps he’s taking to ease the financial crisis. He also said Republicans can’t wait to bid President George W. Bush farewell. “Our members, in one way, are kind of relieved by the departure of an administration that became unpopular and made it very difficult for us to compete,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told Capitol Hill reporters. Former presidential contender Mitt Romney said on Sunday that he also thinks the Obama team is making the right moves to end the nation’s economic strife.  Obama won the White house and gave Democrats a larger Congressional majority on Nov. 4 in part because of the nation’s widespread disapproval of Bush. Obama, who inherits a global financial crash and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has vowed to work with Republicans to try to overcome the bitter partisan divisions that have stymied Congress.

Obamas seek perfect school for their girls. This week Michelle Obama visited schools in search of the perfect place for “First Family daughters” to attend.  While no decision has been released, on Monday Michelle Obama visited two private schools: Georgetown Day School and Chelsea Clinton’s alma mater, Sidwell Friends School. Read the rest here.

Steele is likely to seek  the top GOP post.  Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, has decided to run for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, reports FOX News. The Black Republican reportedly is talking with Newt Gingrich to win the former House speaker’s endorsement, FOX News says. Steele declined to comment, but a source close to him said Steele could announce his candidacy today. The source also contradicted a report in Tuesday’s Washington Times that Steele and Gingrich were competing for the RNC post. “There is no fight,” the source said. “This tension between Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich is totally fabricated and, in fact, Gingrich and Steele are working together to create a new strategy for the direction of the GOP.” In a statement issued by the former House speaker, Gingrich said he was not interested in the RNC chairmanship.

Gustav is making waves for Republicans.

Sen. John McCain has called for the Republican Party to scale back its convention in Minneapolis , citing Hurricane Gustav’s potential to inflict “a great national disaster” on the people in the Gulf Coast region.

MoveOn.org targets McCain VP pick. The activist political group, which has an uncanny knack for getting on a Republican politician’s last nerve, has turned its sights on Sen. John McCain and his recently announced running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Saying that the American people “need to see” the facts about the new GOP veep, MoveOn.org has taken the Republican Party’s biggest charge lodged against Sen. Barack Obama and turned it against Palin: an apparent lack of experience. The woman McCain has chosen to be “one heartbeat away from the presidency” is “a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of [ Wasilla , Alaska ] a town of 9,000 people.” The liberal-leaning political group, established in the aftermath of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, notes that Palin, who hopes to rein in some of the former Clinton-supporting women who aren’t too hip on Obama, is a staunch opponent of abortion, even in the case of rape and incest. It also points out that Palin was a strong supporter of Pat Buchanan, who has been publicly flogged on more than one occasion for racially insensitive comments. In other examples of extremism, MoveOn.org notes, Palin does not believe humans are responsible for climate change. “How closely did John McCain vet this choice?” the group asks on its Web site. “He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.” But what MoveOn.org doesn’t acknowledge is that the 44-year-old governor, the first woman ever to get a major-party nomination as vice president, helped create a new sub-cabinet group of advisers to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions within Alaska . In late-July a state poll showed her with an 80-percent approval rating.