(CNN) – Jenny Sanford, the wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, said Friday she is filing for divorce.

She said in a statement that "the dissolution of any marriage is a sad and painful process."

"This came after many unsuccessful efforts at reconciliation, yet I am still dedicated to keeping the process that lies ahead peaceful for our family," the statement said.

The Sanfords have lived apart since June, when the governor admitted to an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman.

The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the divorce filing.

(Updated with additional information and Gov. Sanford's reaction after the jump)

After Mark Sanford made a nationally televised admission about his affair, there was a flurry of calls for the governor to resign and multiple investigations by media organizations and the state Ethics Commission into whether Sanford tapped taxpayer resources for personal use.

In November, the South Carolina Ethics Commission charged Sanford with 37 violations of the state ethics code.

The commission will hear arguments involving those civil charges from Sanford's legal team early next year. The state attorney general is still evaluating the ethics complaint to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued.

Several Republican state legislators drafted an impeachment resolution against Sanford, accusing him of "dereliction of duty" for disappearing from the state last summer without informing his staff or the the lieutenant governor.

But that measure was essentially killed by a special House Judiciary Subcommittee on Wednesday, which instead recommended censuring the governor for his behavior.

Sanford has said repeatedly that he will not step down from the state's top office.

Jenny Sanford's full statement:

Statement from First Lady Jenny Sanford

Columbia, S.C. – December 11, 2009 – As so many of us know, the dissolution of any marriage is a sad and painful process. It is also a very personal and private one. Because Mark and I are public figures, we have naturally had less privacy with which to deal with our difficulties than do other couples. Indeed, I know it will soon become known so I choose to release this brief notice that I am now filing for divorce. This came after many unsuccessful efforts at reconciliation, yet I am still dedicated to keeping the process that lies ahead peaceful for our family.

I remain thankful to so many across this state and nation for their words of encouragement and prayers during this difficult time. Please know the boys and I are doing well and are blessed with the incredible support of friends and family and bolstered by our faith and the unfailing love of our God above.

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Update: In response to the announcement, Gov. Sanford released a statement Friday taking "full responsibility for the moral failure that led us to this tragic point."

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
MARK SANFORD, GOVERNOR

Columbia, S.C. – December 11, 2009 – With regard to Jenny's public statement, Governor Sanford had the following to say:

"While it is not the course I would have hoped for, or would choose, I want to take full responsibility for the moral failure that led us to this tragic point. Jenny is a great person, and has been a remarkable wife, mother and First Lady. She has been more than gracious these last six months and gone above and beyond in her patience and commitment to put the needs of others in front of her own. While our family structure may change, I know that we will both work earnestly to be the best mom and dad we can be to four of the finest boys on earth.

"I will join with her in asking the press to respect our shared desire for privacy as we quietly move forward. We respectively ask for your prayers."

-###-
-#####-

Washington (CNN) – Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, said Friday that he will formally announce his retirement from Congress this weekend so he can focus on his run for governor next year.

Abercrombie has scheduled a press conference for Sunday.

"I cannot claim the Governorship should be a cornerstone of our democracy and not make the campaign for it the center of all my efforts," Abercrombie said in a statement posted on his campaign Web site.

The 10-term congressman said he already shared his decision with the White House, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other members of Hawaii's congressional delegation. Abercrombie's move will trigger a special election to fill the remainder of his term.

Five other House Democrats are seeking higher office and will leave the House at the end of the 111th Congress. Three House Democrats are retiring with no plans to run for elected office.

The Hawaii governorship is current controlled by Republican Linda Lingle, who is prevented by law from seeking another term in 2010. The Democratic Governors Association sees the Hawaii race as one of their best chances to pick up a seat next year.

Republicans argue that retiring House Democrats are avoiding tough re-election bids next year.

Washington (CNN) – House Democrats are pushing back against GOP claims that Rep. Brian Baird's decision to not seek re-election signals that the party in power is in store for a drubbing in 2010.

With his announcement Wednesday, Baird, a six-term Congressman from Washington state, became the third Democrat this year to announce plans to retire. Six other House Democrats are leaving at the close of the 111th Congress to seek another office.

The National Republican Congressional Committee heralded Baird's decision as a sign that "Democrat incumbents are feeling the ground shaking underneath them" as they head into the next cycle.

Not so fast, argues Ryan Rudominer of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Rudominer pointed out that at this time in 2007, roughly one year before the GOP took a beating for the second straight election cycle, 15 House Republicans had announced their retirement. Three more Republicans had chosen to leave their seats in pursuit of higher office.

"All year long, national Republicans have predicted a tidal wave of Democratic retirements and just like they falsely predicted winning last month in a seat that had been Republican since the Civil War, we haven't seen anything like the number of Republican retirements at this point last cycle," Rudominer said in an e-mail.

Though the political landscape looks good for House Republicans next year, Democrats have not seen the same wave of retirements that occured before Republicans famously took back the House in 1994, when 28 Democrats chose not to seek re-election.

But Ken Spain, communications director for the NRCC, insisted that Republican victories in the the Virginia and New Jersey governor's races have incumbent Democrats starting to re-think their futures.

"Democrats can spin their retirement problem all they want, but they know deep down that members of their caucus are looking at the same abysmal poll numbers as everyone else and wondering if it is better to retire now or lose in November," Spain told CNN.

Mark and Jenny Sanford have been living apart since he revealed an affair last summer.

(CNN) – Will South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford be watching Wednesday night when his wife Jenny sits down with Barbara Walters in her first television interview since her husband admitted to an extramarital affair in June?

The governor isn't saying.

Speaking to reporters in Charleston shortly after a House panel rejected an impeachment measure against him, the Republican was asked his thoughts on Jenny's TV appearance. He chose his words carefully.

"She has been real grace under fire," he said of his wife. "And I think she has made a lot people in this state and this country quite proud."

Pressed on whether he plans to watch, Sanford grinned.

"You will never know," he answered.

Washington (CNN) – Rep. Brian Baird, D-Washington, announced Wednesday that he will not run for a seventh term next year, making him the third Democratic congressman to retire and effectively end a career in elected public service.

"This is not an easy decision to be sure, but I believe it is the right decision at the right time," Baird said in a statement, where he also promised to serve out his term "with the same level of commitment I have always given the people" of the 3rd Congressional district.

Two other Democrats, Dennis Moore of Kansas and John Tanner of Tennessee, previously said they were retiring with no plans to run again. Six other House Democrats will leave at the close of the 111th Congress to seek another office.

President Obama won Baird's district in 2008, but President Bush won it in 2004.

The National Republican Congressional Committee cheered Baird's decision as a sign that Democrats would rather "throw in the towel" than face difficult re-election bids next year.

"With this being the third retirement by a swing-district Democrat in as many weeks, it is clear that the Democrat incumbents are feeling the ground shaking underneath them," said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain in an e-mail to CNN. "As the unemployment rate remains unacceptably high and Democrats continue on with their out-of-touch agenda, independent voters are rightfully fleeing the Democratic Party."

Mark Sanford and his legal team won a big victory on Wednesday.

(CNN) – A South Carolina House panel voted down a resolution Wednesday to impeach Gov. Mark Sanford, but the embattled Republican faces one more procedural hurdle before his survival in office is guaranteed.

In their final meeting to consider the impeachment resolution, members of the special House subcommittee called Sanford's behavior "reprehensible," "arrogant" and "indefensible" - but six of the seven lawmakers on the panel concluded that the Republican's behavior does not rise to the constitutional level of impeachment.

Sanford has been under scrutiny since June, when he left the country for five days to visit his Argentine mistress without informing his staff or the Lieutenant Governor of his whereabouts.

Under House rules, the measure will also be considered by the full Judiciary Committee, but it's unlikely the committee would come to a different conclusion than the subcommittee.

Lawmakers will still considering a bill to censure Sanford.

David Plouffe managed Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

(CNN) – Barack Obama's former campaign manager is taking sides in a high-profile Democratic primary.

David Plouffe sent a fundraising appeal Wednesday to supporters of Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, the frontrunner for the state's Democratic Senate nomination, calling Fisher "a champion for Ohio workers."

Fisher has garnered support from the party establishment in his bid to replace Sen. George Voinovich, who is retiring next year. But before Fisher can take on the likely Republican nominee, former Bush administration budget director Rob Portman, Fisher must first defeat Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in the Democratic primary. Brunner trails Fisher in statewide polling and has struggled to raise money since announcing her candidacy.

But Plouffe is keeping his eye the general election. He wrote that Portman's policies under Bush cost Ohioans jobs and helped spark "the worst economic recession in our lifetimes.

"If Karl Rove was the 'architect' of Bush's campaigns, then Portman was the 'architect' of Bush's economic agenda," he wrote in the e-mail. "We can't go back to the same failed policies that got us where we are today. And that's why we need Lee Fisher."

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, needs to apologize for comparing GOP critics of health care reform to opponents of the Civil Rights Act. Steele called it "an ignorant statement," in an interview on CNN's "The Situation Room."

"The reality of the country right now is, you're seeing played out in large measure the arrogance of power," Steele said, appearing with Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine. "Where Democrats feel that they can come to well of the Senate, say whatever they want to say, do whatever they do, and there's not a daggone thing you can do about it, America. 'You can't stop us.' Well, I'm here today to say you can."

Kaine countered that sharp words are coming from both sides of the aisle, pointing out that Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, recently described Medicaid as "a medical ghetto."

"That's language that probably isn't appropriate either," the DNC chair said.

Steele took aim at an administration plan, outlined Tuesday by President Obama, to help small businesses. The RNC chairman claimed that any boost the plan would give to small business will be counteracted by a growing tax burden, regulatory burden and new health care laws being enacted by Democrats. "It's not real," Steele said of the jobs plan. "That's the reality of it."

Kaine said Republicans have no plan except "to be against anything the president is for" and boasted that the stimulus package has "saved or created 1.6 million jobs." His Republican counterpart called the 1.6 million figure "imaginary."

Steele also elaborated on his plan to publish a new book in January about the Republican Party. Asked about the upcoming book, Steele said it will focus "the future of this country and our party."

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spoke about Mike Huckabee's clemency decision and a potential third party run in 2012.

Washington (CNN) – Sarah Palin said in a recent radio appearance that Mike Huckabee made a "horrible decision" nine years ago to commute the prison sentence of the man suspected of killing four police officers in Washington, but she added that her "heart goes out" to the former Arkansas governor.

In an interview last week with conservative radio host Lars Larson, Palin called the murders "tragic" and "unfathomable."

"It was a bad decision obviously, but my heart goes out to Huckabee," the former Alaska governor said. "I love him, and I feel bad for him to be in this position. But I feel even worse for the victim's families in this situation. I do feel bad for Huckabee, but it was a horrible decision he made."

Huckabee has said he regrets the decision to commute the sentence of the suspected shooter, Maurice Clemmons, but said he thinks he made the right assessment at the time. Palin said she had never pardoned or granted clemency to prisoners when she served in Juneau.

"I don't have a whole lot of mercy for the bad guys," she said. "I'm on the good guys' side."

Pressed on her political ambitions, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee would not rule out a third party run at the White House in 2012.

"That depends on how things go in the next couple of years," she said. "It really does depend. There are enough Republicans who are realizing, 'Oh whoops, some of us liberal republicans have screwed up.' And I'm not including myself in that group, but some liberal Republicans have screwed up."

Palin said her decision rests on whether or not the GOP does a better job of appealing to its conservative base.

"If the Republican Party gets back to that base, I think our party is going to be stronger and there's not going to be a need for a third party, but I'll play that by ear in these coming months, coming years," she said.

Harry Reid is being targeted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Washington (CNN) – Republicans on Monday were quick to pounce on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, for comparing the battle over health care to the battle over the legacy of slavery.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee purchased a Web ad on the popular Drudge Report asking readers: "Do you agree with Harry Reid?"

Those who click on the ad are taken to an NRSC Web site called "Health Care Task Force," which asks readers to sign a petition and "stand up to Harry Reid and his insulting remarks."

Reid, who is in danger of losing his re-election bid next year, made the remarks Monday morning on the floor of the Senate.

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans can come up with is this: slow down, stop everything, let's start over," Reid said.

"If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said slow down, it's too early, let's wait, things aren't bad enough."

Harry Reid is being targeted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Washington (CNN) – Republicans on Monday were quick to pounce on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, for comparing the battle over health care to the battle over the legacy of slavery.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee purchased a Web ad on the popular Drudge Report asking readers: "Do you agree with Harry Reid?"

Those who click on the ad are taken to an NRSC Web site called "Health Care Task Force," which asks readers to sign a petition and "stand up to Harry Reid and his insulting remarks."

Reid, who is in danger of losing his re-election bid next year, made the remarks Monday morning on the floor of the Senate.

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans can come up with is this: slow down, stop everything, let's start over," Reid said.

"If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said slow down, it's too early, let's wait, things aren't bad enough."

Sanford's legal team scored a victory on Thursday.

(CNN) – A special House panel considering an impeachment measure against South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford decided Thursday that their review will not include most of the state ethics charges filed against the governor last month.

South Carolina state lawmakers voted to throw out 28 of the 37 civil charges filed by the state Ethics Commission, most of which involved Sanford's purchase of business class tickets with taxpayer money and his use of campaign funds.

State House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison, who is overseeing the special impeachment panel, said the ethics charges do not rise "to the level of serious misconduct or a serious offense" that would merit removing Sanford from office.

Harrison's subcommittee is still evaluating Sanford's use of state-owned aircraft along with the original impeachment resolution, which focuses on whether Sanford broke the law by secretly leaving the state in June to visit his mistress.

One of Sanford's attorneys, Ross Garber, applauded the decision.

"It is appropriate that the committee dismissed the bulk of the allegations against the Governor," Garber said in a statement released by the governor's office. "These allegations clearly did not rise to the level of serious crimes and serious misconduct in office required to justify impeachment of a governor for the first time in the history of South Carolina."

Harrison said the panel will meet again next Monday to decide whether to send an impeachment resolution on to the full Judiciary committee.

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, a Republican who is running to succeed Sanford next year, is still evaluating the Ethics Commission report to decide whether the state will pursue criminal charges.

UPDATE: Sanford's personal attorney Butch Bowers said he is "pleased" with the vote.

"This decision confirms that Governor Sanford has followed the letter and spirit of the law," Bowers said in a statement. "We look forward to resolving this matter quickly and showing, as the Committee's actions today demonstrate, that this administration has been a consistent ally of the taxpayer."

McCain had some harsh words for the AARP.

Washington (CNN) – The John McCain of 2009 is singing a different tune than the John McCain of 2008.

On Thursday, the Arizona senator hammered the AARP on the Senate floor and on his Twitter account for supporting a proposal by Senate Democrats to cut millions from Medicare to help pay for health care legislation.

"I call on seniors to cut up their AARP cards and send them back to them!" McCain tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Endorsing Democrats in the health care fight seems to have changed McCain's thinking on the AARP, the nation's most influential senior lobby. During his 2008 presidential bid, the Republican nominee praised the group's leadership in some key policy battles.

"I say God bless AARP for everything they are doing, not only for the present generations of Americans, but for future generations," McCain told an AARP audience in September of last year. "That's your duty, that's your strength, and that's why I love to see you at every town hall meeting. And that's why I always try to let you talk."

McCain thanked the group for working with him on what he called "the big fights," citing tobacco legislation and campaign finance reform. "This organization has been an incredibly valuable contributor to the important discourses I just mentioned, and it's been there for decades, for decades," he said at the time.

Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for McCain, said his objection to AARP is based on what the group is doing now, not what they did in the past.

UPDATE: John Ashbrook, a spokesman for the Senate Republican Communications Center, points out that the AARP changed course from some of their past positions on Medicare cuts.

During the Clinton administration's push to reform health care, for example, the AARP expressed concerns about cutting Medicare as a way to pay for legislation.

'If we're talking about Medicare cuts alone as a way of financing health reform, we would fight that with all our strength - we've gone as far as we can go down that road," John Rother, the AARP director of federal legislation and policy, told the Los Angeles Times in 1993.

(CNN) – The political arm for the nation's Democratic governors named Delaware Gov. Jack Markell its new chairman Wednesday, entrusting him with protecting 19 seats in 2010 as he also tries to help elect Democrats win 18 seats currently held by Republicans.

Markell takes the reins of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) from Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Markell, who was elected in 2008, heads into a critical midterm election where control of redistricting is on the line.

"The American people haven't forgotten who drove the country into the ditch," Schweitzer said at a news briefing. "If their story is we're going to go back to the good old days of Bush and Cheney, they're going to lose more elections in this cycle than any in history."

Huckabee granted clemency to Maurice Clemmons in 2000, when he served as governor of Arkansas.

(CNN) – The Arkansas coordinator for Mike Huckabee's political action committee resigned Tuesday, citing the former Arkansas governor's decision nine years ago to grant clemency to Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of murdering four police officers in Washington state.

Jason Tolbert, who runs a conservative blog, served as Arkansas state coordinator for HuckPAC in a volunteer capacity.

"My departure was with a heavy heart but was done after serious prayer and consideration," Tolbert wrote on his Web site. "Some have asked about the timing. As most could imagine, the recent news of the last two days along with the response did play a role in this decision but was not the sole factor."

Huckabee said Tuesday he takes "full responsibility" for the clemency decision.

"I acted on the facts presented to me in 2000, the former GOP presidential hopeful said in a statement. "If I could have possibly known what Clemmons would do nine years later, I obviously would have made a different decision. But if the same file was presented to me today, I would have likely made the same decision."

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has not weighed in on the so-called 'purity test.'

Washington (CNN) – An ally of Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele claimed Tuesday that the so-called "purity test" being circulated by some RNC members is a publicity stunt designed to "stick it" to Steele after he defeated other candidates for the chairmanship in last January's election.

"You've got a few backbenchers who are unhappy," said Shawn Steel, an RNC member from California and one of the chairman's top supporters on the committee. "They don't have the power they once had under the previous chairman, and that's what motivating this. This is an attempt to stick it to Chairman Steele by the losers."

The resolution, still in draft form when it was leaked to reporters late last month, would prohibit party funds from going to GOP candidates who disagree with elements of a proposed 10-point ideological platform. The proposal has sparked a pointed debate between conservatives who want candidates to adhere to strict principles and moderate Republicans who want to broaden the party's appeal.

Citing e-mail exchanges with his fellow committee members, Steel estimated that almost 80 percent of the RNC opposes the purity test. "This resolution will fail," Steel told CNN. "It will absolutely fall on its face. The resolution was just to stir the pot. It's for reporters."

Steel made similar assertions in a Politico op-ed Tuesday about the resolution and alleged that the resolution's chief sponsor, Indiana committeeman Jim Bopp, Jr., is frustrated because he lost a legal contract with the RNC once Steele became chairman.

Contacted by CNN, Bopp called that claim a "flat out lie" and said he is still representing the RNC. Bopp said he isn't sure why Steel is targeting him with "personal attacks," but suggested that his fellow committee member "feels he is losing the argument and the only recourse he has is personal attacks."

Bopp stressed that the resolution "has nothing to do with Michael Steele."

"It has to do with the desire of RNC members to take every reasonable step to re-establish our conservative bona fides, and put out money where our mouth is," Bopp said.

Palin is beginning the second part of a nationwide book tour.

(CNN) – An aide to Sarah Palin downplayed reports Tuesday about the former Alaska governor's use of a private jet during certain legs of a national bus tour to promote her memoir, "Going Rogue."

While it's not unusual for political figures to fly from state to state before hopping on a bus to head to events, Palin is taking heat for using a private jet for some of her travels, with one report claiming that the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee flew in style while leaving her staff behind to ride the bus during long journeys.

But Jason Recher, who is traveling with Palin and coordinating logistics for the tour, said that's not true.

Palin was joined by her family and a handful of staffers on each flight leg, said Recher, who noted that the jet was paid for by Palin's publisher, Harper Collins. He said the publisher originally wanted all of the book tour travel to be by plane, but Palin lobbied for a bus tour.

The private jet transported the Palin entourage for several legs of the tour, including from New York City to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the beginning of the tour last month. The bus then took them to book signings in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania before the group boarded the plane to Rochester, New York. The private plane was also used for flights from Rochester to Roanoke, Virginia; from Fayetteville, North Carolina to Birmingham, Alabama; and from Birmingham to Jacksonville, Florida.

Palin also took to the skies to visit with Billy and Franklin Graham in Montreat, North Carolina on November 22, but not on Harper Collins' dime. Instead, she was picked up in Roanoke on Franklin Graham's provate plane and flown to Billy Graham's mountaintop home. That plane took Palin on to Fayetteville after the private visit.

Recher calculated that Palin and the people traveling with her spent about 24 hours total on board the "Going Rogue" bus during the first seven days of the book tour.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has not weighed in on the so-called 'purity test.'

Washington (CNN) – An ally of Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele claimed Tuesday that the so-called "purity test" being circulated by some RNC members is a publicity stunt designed to "stick it" to Steele after he defeated other candidates for the chairmanship in last January's election.

"You've got a few backbenchers who are unhappy," said Shawn Steel, an RNC member from California and one of the chairman's top supporters on the committee. "They don't have the power they once had under the previous chairman, and that's what motivating this. This is an attempt to stick it to Chairman Steele by the losers."

The resolution, still in draft form when it was leaked to reporters late last month, would prohibit party funds from going to GOP candidates who disagree with elements of a proposed 10-point ideological platform. The proposal has sparked a pointed debate between conservatives who want candidates to adhere to strict principles and moderate Republicans who want to broaden the party's appeal.

Citing e-mail exchanges with his fellow committee members, Steel estimated that almost 80 percent of the RNC opposes the purity test. "This resolution will fail," Steel told CNN. "It will absolutely fall on its face. The resolution was just to stir the pot. It's for reporters."

Steel made similar assertions in a Politico op-ed Tuesday about the resolution and alleged that the resolution's chief sponsor, Indiana committeeman Jim Bopp, Jr., is frustrated because he lost a legal contract with the RNC once Steele became chairman.

Contacted by CNN, Bopp called that claim a "flat out lie" and said he is still representing the RNC. Bopp said he isn't sure why Steel is targeting him with "personal attacks," but suggested that his fellow committee member "feels he is losing the argument and the only recourse he has is personal attacks."

Bopp stressed that the resolution "has nothing to do with Michael Steele."

"It has to do with the desire of RNC members to take every reasonable step to re-establish our conservative bona fides, and put out money where our mouth is," Bopp said.

Democrat Chad McGowan is hoping to unseat Republican Jim DeMint next year.

(CNN) – The Democrat who wants to be South Carolina's next United States Senator might not see eye to eye with President Obama if he's elected next November.

In fact, Chad McGowan - a Rock Hill trial attorney who national Democrats see as their best hope to unseat conservative Republican Jim DeMint - appears to oppose the bulk of the White House's economic agenda, including the stimulus package and "a government takeover of healthcare."

McGowan's campaign outlined those stands Tuesday in a statement disputing the DeMint team's claim, made Monday, that McGowan supports Democratic health care reform legislation in Washington.

"DeMint's folks get their facts from the same place they've gotten their imaginary economic figures," McGowan spokesman Tyler Jones said in an e-mail to CNN. "The accusation that Chad McGowan has endorsed President Obama's health care plan is blatantly false. And Chad is on the record opposing the stimulus, opposing the bailouts, and opposing a government takeover of healthcare.

"This is the second time in as many months DeMint and his folks have outright fabricated Chad's positions," Jones continued. "Those games may work in Washington, but they won't work here in South Carolina. Instead of making up positions, Chad will continue to present real ideas to fix our economy, create jobs and help South Carolina's hard working middle class families."

That McGowan might not march in lockstep with other Democrats in Washington isn't exactly a surprise: He told CNN in October that he was once registered as a Republican and voted for Lindsey Graham in last year's Senate election. McGowan also called himself "a gun person."

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint has earned a national following among conservative Republicans.

(CNN) – The Democrat hoping to unseat Jim DeMint next year took direct aim at the conservative South Carolina senator for the first time on Monday, accusing him of putting "personal political ambitions" ahead of his constituents.

Chad McGowan, a trial attorney who formally entered the 2010 race in October, pounced on a remark DeMint made on a recent conference call with supporters that was printed Sunday by McClatchy newspapers.

"All of you all over the country - please remember that Senate seats are not about a particular state," DeMint said on the call, according to McClatchy. "They're about our country. Every vote I take is not about South Carolina. It's about the United States of America."

McGowan has avoided confronting DeMint directly since jumping into the race, but he said in a statement he was "disappointed" by the comments.

"It's the same story over and over," McGowan said. "Jim DeMint and his personal political ambitions come first. In times like these, we need TWO Senators who care about South Carolina, who advocate for South Carolina, and who produce for South Carolina. If we had that, we would be making real progress on some of the problems we face in our schools, employment, and crime."

He also knocked DeMint for spending time making endorsements in prominent Republican primaries around the country. The Republican has thrown his support behind conservative Senate hopefuls Marco Rubio in Florida and Chuck DeVore in California.

"An election in California or New York doesn't matter to the man or woman in South Carolina who can't find a job," McGowan said. "This is a question of priorities."

DeMint response after the jump

UPDATE: DeMint campaign manager Luke Byars responded to McGowan in an e-mail to CNN.

"Senator DeMint votes for freedom and what is in the best interest of the United States of America and that is always in the best interest of South Carolina," Byars said. "While Senator DeMint put forward a jobs plan that would have helped thousands of South Carolina businesses and families by lowering taxes, this personal injury lawyer would have joined his liberal friends in Washington on the failed stimulus that have left South Carolina at record high unemployment.

"And he just announced his support for Obama's government takeover of health care that would kill more jobs, raise taxes, raise health premiums, and put Washington bureaucrats between South Carolinians and their doctors."

Mike Huckabee commuted Clemmons' sentence when he was governor of Arkansas in 2000.

(CNN) – Mike Huckabee took to the radio airwaves Monday to explain why, as governor of Arkansas in 2000, he commuted the nearly 100-year prison sentence of Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of murdering four police officers in Washington state.

Clemmons was sentenced to 95 years in prison in 1989 for a host of charges, including robberies, burglaries, thefts and bringing a gun to school. Huckabee cited Clemmons' young age - 17 at the time of his sentencing - when he announced his decision to commute the sentence, according to newspaper articles. Clemmons was paroled in August 2000, after 11 years in prison.

On the Monday morning episode of "The Huckabee Report" - the Republican's daily radio commentary - he pointed to "a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state" as the reason Clemmons was allowed to re-enter society. Repeating what he said in a statement released Sunday night, Huckabee noted that the Arkansas parole board granted Clemmons' parole after he received the commutation.

"He was arrested later for parole violation, taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him," Huckabee told listeners. "It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior, but was not kept incarcerated by either state."

Huckabee, who is considering a making second presidential run in 2012, also spoke to Fox News radio about his decision.

"If I could have known nine years ago, looked into the future, would I have acted favorably upon the parole board's recommendation? Of course not," he said. "One of the things that is horrible and just, again, one of the realities you have to confront is the criminal justice system is far from perfect, and in this case it failed miserably on all sides."

RNC members have drafted what's being described as a 'purity' resolution.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - One of Republican National Committee members who helped draft resolution that would prevent moderate candidates from receiving party money said Tuesday that the measure is not intended to challenge to the leadership of Michael Steele, the RNC chairman.

"I think it's sufficiently broad so as not to handcuff him," Nebraska committeeman Pete Ricketts said of the so-called "purity" resolution, which first leaked to reporters Monday.

The resolution, sponsored by Indiana committee member Jim Bopp Jr., proposes a ten-point ideological platform for the Republican party and would require GOP candidates to adhere to at least eight of those points. If not, a candidate be prohibited from receiving financial assistance from the RNC.

Bopp told CNN Monday that the resolution will help Steele avoid criticism from the right-wing of the party. "This resolution will establish standards so that he won't feel obligated to support every Republican and not feel criticized," he said.

Ricketts said the resolution was sparked in large part by the contentious special election in New York's 23rd congressional district, in which a third party candidate, Doug Hoffman, entered the race as an conservative alternative to the moderate Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava. Conservative activists nationwide rallied to Hoffman's side, eventually driving Scozzafava from the race, which was ultimately won by Democrat Bill Owens.

"NY-23 crystallized for us some of the issues the Tea Party people had with Republican party," said Ricketts, one of the resolution's ten co-sponsors. "We felt like we needed to send a message that we are the party of conservative values. This resolution is one way to demonstrate that we mean what we say."

Ricketts disagreed with the suggestion that the measure is an attempt to purge moderate voices from the GOP.

"It's just the opposite," he told CNN. "What it says is that we are a broad party, that we understand people are not going to agree with us on every issue."

He said the resolution, which could be introduced at the RNC Winter Meeting in Hawaii come January, is still "a work in progress."

Mark Sanford, a Republican, has refused to resign in the face of criticism from his own party.

(CNN) – A panel of South Carolina lawmakers who gathered Tuesday to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford voted to broaden the scope of their inquiry to include 37 new ethics charges against the Republican.

Those civil charges were revealed Monday by the South Carolina Ethics Commission, which had conducted a three-month investigation into Sanford's use of state finances. The governor and his legal team now face a hearing before the Ethics Commission to determine if Sanford broke any state laws by charging the state for first- and business-class flights, using state-owned aircraft for political travel and tapping into campaign funds for personal use.

The lawmakers, members of a special subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee that met for the first time Tuesday, decided to include the ethics charges in their review and scheduled four more meetings of the subcommittee for December.

The group will review the Ethics Commission report over Thanksgiving and decide if the charges should be included in the impeachment resolution, which accuses Sanford of "serious misconduct" for leaving the state in June to visit his Argentine mistress without leaving in place a chain of command.

The seven lawmakers - four Republicans and three Democrats - listened to sworn affadavits from key players in the scandal and entered into the record news reports from June highlighting Sanford's absence from the state.

Rep. Greg Delleney, one of the Republicans who drafted the impeachment measure, appeared to warn Sanford against fighting an impeachment effort, should the subcommittee decide to move forward.

"Impeachment is a political process, it's not a legal process," Delleney said at the meeting, which was attended by Sanford's attorneys. "There is no appeal from an impeachment process. Impeachment is final. Impeachment is solely the constitutional power, duty and responsibility of the South Carolina House of Representatives."

Delleney said governors can be impeached regardless of whether a crime was committed.

Ross Garber, one of Sanford's attorneys, called the impeachment hearing "an extraordinary and extremely rare process. In a statement released after the meeting, Garber said that the governor's "temporary absence from the state in June" does not merit his removal from office.

"As was pointed out in the hearing this afternoon, the state Constitution ensures that the chain of command in state government is not threatened because the Lt. Governor is automatically transferred command in the event of an emergency during the governor's temporary absence," Garber said.

Palin has signed 20,000 books, aide estimates.

Washington (CNN) – Sarah Palin has signed 20,000 copies of "Going Rogue" during her nationwide book tour, a staffer traveling with the former Alaska governor estimates.

Palin will have visited 13 cities and traveled 4,000 miles by the end of Tuesday, with 80 percent of that travel done aboard the "Going Rogue" bus, according to Jason Recher, an adviser to Palin during her vice presidential bid now assisting with book tour logistics. Recher ticked through the statistics while riding the bus to Palin's stop at The Villages retirement community in central Florida.

He said Palin has sold 700,000 copies of her memoir so far.

"She is truly enjoying it," Recher told CNN. "I think she'd rather spend her time talking to folks like this rather than going to to fundraisers or talking to donors. She'd rather be signing books and meeting people than being a politician."

Recher said Palin is paying attention to some of the media coverage about her tour, but added: "We don't have time to sit around listening to people in Washington and New York."

Palin chatted with Sen. John McCain by phone last Friday while traveling through Ohio, Recher said, the first time the two have spoken since the book hit stores.

"He told her he really liked the book," Recher said, noting that Palin sent the McCains five copies of the book. He said McCain and Palin agreed that the back-and-forth sniping between former McCain and Palin advisers over the last several weeks "is not relevant to everyday people's lives."

After three Florida stops Tuesday, Palin will travel to Richland, Washington to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family before resuming the tour.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum will visit the crucial primary state of South Carolina in December.

Washington (CNN) – Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum doesn't appear to be shy about his 2012 intentions.

The Republican, who was thumped by 18 points in his 2006 re-election bid, has met with conservative activists in Iowa, delivered a speech to a Right to Life dinner in Michigan and has stepped up his public criticism of President Obama.

Now he's headed to another early primary state: South Carolina.

Santorum will campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Gresham Barrett in Bluffton, Spartanburg and Greenville on December 8 and 9. Barrett, currently a member of Congress, is one of five candidates seeking the GOP nomination for governor.

"I'm also looking forward to visiting with South Carolina families to discuss the issues that matter to them and the future of this country," Santorum said in a statement announcing the trip. "Too much is at stake to sit back and not participate in the critical discussion of how to address these issues."

Sanford is also facing a possible impeachment effort.

(CNN) – The South Carolina Ethics Commission has charged Gov. Mark Sanford with 37 counts of violating state ethics laws, according to a complaint released by the commission on Monday.

The complaint follows a three-month investigation into Sanford's use of taxpayer money.

Sanford is accused of using tax money to purchase business-class airfare on domestic and international flights, flying on a state-owned aircraft to political gatherings or events "which involved no official business," and spending campaign funds for personal use such as purchasing a ticket to attend President Barack Obama's inauguration in January.

South Carolina law requires state officials to purchase the lowest fares available for flights, and bars the use of state aircraft for personal use.

Sanford's office did not respond to requests for comment about the charges.

The governor, once a rising star in the Republican party before he revealed an extramarital affair in June, will now face a hearing along with his legal team before a three-member ethics panel. Cathy Hazelwood, general counsel to the state Ethics Commission, told CNN that no date has been set for the hearing.

After arguments are presented, the panel will determine if Sanford broke any state laws. The ethics case involves civil charges that are punishable by fines, and Sanford can appeal decisions up to the state Supreme Court.

Only the state attorney general, Henry McMaster, can decide to pursue criminal charges against the governor. McMaster is currently reviewing the allegations to determine if any laws allegedly were broken.

The new charges compound Sanford's political problems, which have been simmering for months as investigators scrutinized his finances.

State legislators already have filed an impeachment resolution against the governor for leaving the state this summer to visit his Argentine mistress, without installing a proper chain of command or informing his staff. A special House subcommittee will meet in Columbia on Tuesday to formally consider the resolution for the first time.

State Rep. Greg Delleney, a Republican and one of the sponsors of the impeachment resolution, said he expects the subcommittee to look over the ethics commission results during the
Thanksgiving holiday and decide whether to adjust the measure to include material from the ethics complaint.

Delleney said he thinks Monday's report will give new momentum to the impeachment push.

"The sheer volume of the violations might be useful in bringing some more representatives over to the side of impeachment," Delleney told CNN.

If the special subcommittee decides to move forward with impeachment, the resolution will be passed onto the Judiciary Committee, which will then vote on whether to bring it to the floor of the legislature when lawmakers return to the state capital of Columbia in January.

For Sanford to be forcibly removed from office, two-thirds of the South Carolina House and and two-thirds of the state Senate must vote to impeach him.

The chief sponsor of a resolution that delineates conservative principles espoused by former President Reagan says the resolution would insulate RNC head Michael Steele from conservative criticism.

Washington (CNN) - Conservative members of the Republican National Committee are circulating a new resolution that calls on party members to stand up to President Obama's "socialist" agenda and would prohibit RNC funds from going to GOP candidates who disagree with elements of a proposed ten plank ideological platform.

The language of the proposal is still being tweaked ahead of January's RNC Winter Meeting in Hawaii, where it could be submitted for a vote before the full committee.

Jim Bopp, Jr., an RNC committee member from Indiana and the chief sponsor of the resolution, said the goal of the resolution is to "re-establish the party's conservative bona fides."

"This would establish standards for candidates and hold them accountable to RNC's conservative platform," he told CNN. "We are open to diverse views, but you do have to agree with us most of the time."

Bopp said such standards would insulate RNC chairman Michael Steele from the kind of conservative criticism he faced last month for supporting a moderate Republican, Dede Scozzafava, in the special election in New York's 23rd congressional district.

"I think he has been unjustly criticized for supporting the Republican candidate in New York," Bopp said of Steele, whom he opposed during the chairman's race last Winter. "This resolution will establish standards so that he wont won't feel obligated to support every Republican and not feel criticized."

RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho had no comment on the resolution.

"The deadline for submitting Resolutions for the RNC Winter Meeting is more than 30 days away," Gitcho said in an e-mail.

"At this point, we do not what resolutions will be submitted nor what the final language of any resolution ultimately submitted may be."

If approved in its current form, the resolution would be the second RNC document this year to formally accuse the Obama administration of pushing socialist policies. The committee approved a resolution in May calling on Democrats to "stop pushing our country toward socialism."

Full text of the resolution after the jump:

Proposed RNC Resolution on Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of CandidatesWHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan believed that the Republican Party should support and espouse conservative principles and public policies; and

WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan also believed the Republican Party should welcome those with diverse views; and

WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan believed, as a result, that someone who agreed with him 8 out of 10 times was his friend, not his opponent; and

WHEREAS, Republican faithfulness to its conservative principles and public policies and Republican solidarity in opposition to Obama's socialist agenda is necessary to preserve the security of our country, our economic and political freedoms, and our way of life; and

WHEREAS, Republican faithfulness to its conservative principles and public policies is necessary to restore the trust of the American people in the Republican Party and to lead to Republican electoral victories; and

WHEREAS, the Republican National Committee shares President Ronald Reagan's belief that the Republican Party should espouse conservative principles and public policies and welcome persons of diverse views; and

WHEREAS, the Republican National Committee desires to implement President Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of Candidates; and

WHEREAS, in addition to supporting candidates, the Republican National Committee provides financial support for Republican state and local parties for party building and federal election activities, which benefits all candidates and is not affected by this resolution; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Republican National Committee identifies ten (10) key public policy positions for the 2010 election cycle, which the Republican National Committee expects its public officials and candidates to support:

(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama's "stimulus" bill;

(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;

(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) We support workers' right to secret ballot by opposing card check;

(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;

(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing, denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership; and be further

RESOLVED, that a candidate who disagrees with three or more of the above stated public policy positions of the Republican National Committee, as identified by the voting record, public statements and/or signed questionnaire of the candidate, shall not be eligible for financial support and endorsement by the Republican National Committee; and be further

RESOLVED, that upon the approval of this resolution the Republican National Committee shall deliver a copy of this resolution to each of Republican members of Congress, all Republican candidates for Congress, as they become known, and to each Republican state and territorial party office.

Chief Sponsor:
James Bopp, Jr. NCM IN

Sponsors:
Avie Axdahl NCW MN
Donna Cain NCW OR
Cindy Costa NCW SC
Demetra Demonte NCW IL
Peggy Lambert NCW TN
Carolyn McLarty NCW OK
Pete Rickets NCM NE
Steve Scheffler NCM IA
Helen Van Etten NCW KA
Solomon Yue NCM OR

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is the chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

Washington (CNN) – In the early days of his campaign for governor in Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell hired veteran GOP pollster Glen Bolger to take the pulse of the state's notoriously independent-minded voters.

Bolger asked voters if they'd rather elect of governor who would work with President Obama to implement his plans for the economy, or a governor who would serve as a check on Democrats in Washington.

Fifty-five percent wanted a governor who planned to stand up the president, Bolger discovered, while just 35 percent desired someone who would help the White House. It wasn't what he'd expected to find.

"I was kind surprised by that result, because I thought people would say that's not really a factor in the governor's race," Bolger said, noting that McDonnell won the race by a similar margin. "But people saw it as almost like Democrats are oversteering too much in one direction, and they wanted correction."

After dismal election cycles in 2006 and 2008, Republicans are hoping that signs of discomfort with President Obama's agenda will translate into big gains in governor's mansions around the country next November. They point to off-year wins this month in Virginia and New Jersey as early proof that a backlash against Democratic overreach in Washington is underway.

Full story

Sanford impeachment measure to be formally considered.

(CNN) – A special House committee in South Carolina will formally consider an impeachment resolution against Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next Tuesday, the Republican chairman of the committee told CNN Friday.

The resolution, filed by a handful of House Republicans earlier this week, will be examined by an ad hoc committee of seven lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

The group will meet for the first time next week, after Sanford provides the legislature with the results of a state Ethics Commission investigation into the governor's travel expenses, Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Harrison said.

The first meeting of the special committee on Tuesday will likely focus on Sanford's infamous trip to Argentina this summer, which led to revelations of an extramarital affair and calls for his resignation. Harrison said the group will then spend the Thanksgiving holiday poring over the Ethics Commission report before meeting again in December to include any additional language in the resolution.

The measure currently states that Sanford committed "serious misconduct" by secretly leaving the state in June without informing his staff or establishing a chain of command.

Harrison said "the game plan" is for the four Republicans and three Democrats in the group to finalize the language in the resolution before passing it on to the full Judiciary committee, which will then vote in January on whether the measure should be sent to the full House.

Harrison noted that he spoke to House speaker Bobby Harrell, a fellow Republican, on Monday night to discuss the plan.

For Sanford to be removed from office, two-thirds of South Carolina's House and the Senate must vote in favor of impeachment.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell on Wednesday declined to weigh in on Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson’s recent claim that Islam is not a religion, but “a violent political system.”

McDonnell, though, stressed that he reached out to Muslims and visited mosques in Virginia throughout the governor’s race and will continue to do so when he takes office in January.

Muslim groups have called on McDonnell to condemn the remark because Robertson is a longtime political benefactor of the Republican, who won a blowout victory in this year’s closely-watched gubernatorial election.

McDonnell attended law school at CBN University (now Regent University), founded by Robertson, and has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the televangelist along with appearing on his show, “The 700 Club.”

“I’ve got probably 15,000 donors to the campaign and I can’t stand and defend or support every comment that any donor might make,” McDonnell said in response to a question from CNN at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting near Austin. “I think people are entitled under the First Amendment to express whatever opinions that they may have, but I can only say that as governor of Virginia, I intend to have an inclusive administration where we bring people across the political and religious system to help us govern.”

Robertson made the comments on his show on November 9 after the shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas. The suspected gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, is a Muslim who was critical of U.S. military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan

“Islam is a violent, I was going to say religion, but it's not a religion. It's a political system,” Robertson said. “It's a violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination. That is the ultimate aim.”

When asked if he believes Islam is “a violent political system,” McDonnell said no, but he did not condemn Robertson.

“I think that there are people in various religions that do some violent things and they should be judged according to their acts,” he explained. “But I have believed that there are people of all the great religions, that can be enormously helpful in our multicultural Virginia to help them to benefit us in the state.”

(Updated Friday morning)

Palin wasn't exactly a welcome presence in Virginia and New Jersey during both governor's races.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell, the soon-to-be-governors of New Jersey and Virginia, both deflected questions Wednesday about why Sarah Palin did not appear with the two Republicans during their respective campaigns.

Christie said he only had three GOP heavyweights visit New Jersey during his campaign - Rudy Giuliani, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney - and each came for a specific reason.

“I had a long standing relationship with Mayor Giuliani,” Christie explained. “Gov. Pawlenty and Gov. Romney both faced the same type of crises financially in their state when they took over that we did.”

McDonnell said his campaign had reached out to Palin nearly a year ago to campaign in Virginia, but said she was overwhelmed with requests at the time. When she stepped down as governor of Alaska in July, McDonnell said, their visitor lineup had already been set - a full four months before election day in Virginia.

“We thought she was a good leader for the party as the governor of Alaska and had some good reforms in the state, but she was in such incredible demand frankly for the longest time we were not able to work out anything for her to come in,” he said. “And then after she decided to leave office we had pretty much already arranged all of the folks that we had for the home stretch for fundraisers, including several current and former governors, and so we pretty much had our strategy set at that point.”

Christie and McDonnell made the comments at a news conference held during the Republican Governors Association's annual meeting near Austin.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell on Wednesday would not disavow Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson’s recent claim that Islam is not a religion, but “a violent political system.”

McDonnell, though, stressed that he reached out to Muslims and visited mosques in Virginia throughout the governor’s race and will continue to do so when he takes office in January.

Muslim groups have called on McDonnell to condemn the remark because Robertson is a longtime political benefactor of the Republican, who won a blowout victory in this year’s closely-watched gubernatorial election.

McDonnell attended law school at CBN University (now Regent University), founded by Robertson, and has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the televangelist along with appearing on his show, “The 700 Club.”

“I’ve got probably 15,000 donors to the campaign and I can’t stand and defend or support every comment that any donor might make,” McDonnell said in response to a question from CNN at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting near Austin. “I think people are entitled under the First Amendment to express whatever opinions that they may have, but I can only say that as governor of Virginia, I intend to have an inclusive administration where we bring people across the political and religious system to help us govern.”

Robertson made the comments on his show on November 9 after the shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas. The suspected gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, is a Muslim who was critical of U.S. military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan

“Islam is a violent, I was going to say religion, but it's not a religion. It's a political system,” Robertson said. “It's a violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination. That is the ultimate aim.”

When asked if he believes Islam is “a violent political system,” McDonnell said no, but he did not condemn Robertson.

“I think that there are people in various religions that do some violent things and they should be judged according to their acts,” he explained. “But I have believed that there are people of all the great religions, that can be enormously helpful in our multicultural Virginia to help them to benefit us in the state.”

Parnell on Palin book: 'I have enjoyed it'

Cedar Creek, Texas (CNN) – Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Thursday he has read "significant portions" of Sarah Palin's new memoir and called it "a great re-telling of her story thus far."

Parnell, who succeeded Palin in Juneau when she resigned her office in July, said he read parts of the book during his flight from Alaska to Texas, where he is attending the Republican Governors Association's annual conference. Palin did not send him a copy of the book, he said.

"It's such a conversational tone, and there is so much in there that I have lived with her, except for the presidential campaign," Parnell told CNN. "I have enjoyed it."

But Parnell said Alaskans have moved on from the drama of the 2008 campaign and are now primarily concerned with local economic issues.

"Most of our focus has returned to our state issues, the gas line, resource development," he said. "People are just concerned about their jobs, just like here. People are focused on the economy.

Palin wasn't exactly a welcome presence in Virginia and New Jersey during both governor's races.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell, the soon-to-be-governors of New Jersey and Virginia, both deflected questions Wednesday about why Sarah Palin did not appear with the two Republicans during their respective campaigns.

Christie said he only had three GOP heavyweights visit New Jersey during his campaign - Rudy Giuliani, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney - and each came for a specific reason.

“I had a long standing relationship with Mayor Giuliani,” Christie explained. “Gov. Pawlenty and Gov. Romney both faced the same type of crises financially in their state when they took over that we did.”

McDonnell said his campaign had reached out to Palin nearly a year ago to campaign in Virginia, but said she was overwhelmed with requests at the time. When she stepped down as governor of Alaska in July, McDonnell said, their visitor lineup had already been set - a full four months before election day in Virginia.

“We thought she was a good leader for the party as the governor of Alaska and had some good reforms in the state, but she was in such incredible demand frankly for the longest time we were not able to work out anything for her to come in,” he said. “And then after she decided to leave office we had pretty much already arranged all of the folks that we had for the home stretch for fundraisers, including several current and former governors, and so we pretty much had our strategy set at that point.”

Christie and McDonnell made the comments at a news conference held during the Republican Governors Association's annual meeting near Austin.

Republican Bob McDonnell captured the Virginia governor's mansion back from Democrats earlier this month.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell on Wednesday would not disavow Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson’s recent claim that Islam is not a religion, but “a violent political system.”

McDonnell, though, stressed that he reached out to Muslims and visited mosques in Virginia throughout the governor’s race and will continue to do so when he takes office in January.

Muslim groups have called on McDonnell to condemn the remark because Robertson is a longtime political benefactor of the Republican, who won a blowout victory in this year’s closely-watched gubernatorial election.

McDonnell attended law school at CBN University (now Regent University), founded by Robertson, and has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the televangelist along with appearing on his show, “The 700 Club.”

“I’ve got probably 15,000 donors to the campaign and I can’t stand and defend or support every comment that any donor might make,” McDonnell said in response to a question from CNN at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting near Austin. “I think people are entitled under the First Amendment to express whatever opinions that they may have, but I can only say that as governor of Virginia, I intend to have an inclusive administration where we bring people across the political and religious system to help us govern.”

Robertson made the comments on his show on November 9 after the shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas. The suspected gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, is a Muslim who was critical of U.S. military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan

“Islam is a violent, I was going to say religion, but it's not a religion. It's a political system,” Robertson said. “It's a violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination. That is the ultimate aim.”

When asked if he believes Islam is “a violent political system,” McDonnell said no, but he did not condemn Robertson.

“I think that there are people in various religions that do some violent things and they should be judged according to their acts,” he explained. “But I have believed that there are people of all the great religions, that can be enormously helpful in our multicultural Virginia to help them to benefit us in the state.”

Palin's daughter Piper, pictured above to Palin's right, traveled with the former Alaska governor throughout the 2008 campaign.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In her new memoir, "Going Rogue," Palin accuses two national reporters of trying to corner her young daughter Piper on the street in Juneau for an interview several months after the presidential campaign ended - a charge both the journalists and a former Palin campaign aide reject.

Palin writes in her book that after the race ended, "members of the national press continued to hang out in Alaska sniffing for tabloid stuff."

"In one early press conference we noticed that our local reporters were flanked by a couple of reporters from the Lower 48 who'd been hanging out around Juneau in search of material for their own Sarah Palin book," Palin writes. "We never shut our doors to anyone, so people of all kinds attended these press availabilities. But glancing along the side wall, I recognized these particular folks as the same ones who had cornered Piper on her walk home from Harborview Elementary School and talked to her for who knows how long about who knows what."

According to Palin, Piper returned home and told her mother: "Mom, remember those reporters who came on the campaign plane with us? You know, the ones Nicolle [Wallace] said didn't like us very much? They just interviewed me on the sidewalk." Palin adds after the incident, Piper was no longer allowed to walk to or from school by herself.

The journalists in question - Scott Conroy and Shushannah Walshe, authors of the newly-published book "Sarah from Alaska" - deny Palin's characterization. Both traveled with Palin on her campaign plane throughout her 2008 vice presidential bid, and the precocious Palin daughter frequently visited with the press corps and became friendly with them, a fact Palin boasts about in her memoir.

Conroy and Walshe said in a statement Tuesday that in the course of reporting for their book, they conducted 190 interviews, including sit-downs with Palin's parents and her husband Todd.

"We did not, however, interview Piper Palin, nor did we corner her on her way home from school," Conroy and Walshe told CNN in a statement. "Contrary to Governor Palin's recollection of having seen us both at a press conference, Scott has never attended a press conference in Alaska."

Wallace, who advised Palin on media strategy during the campaign but fell out favor with the candidate, also rejected Palin's version of the story. She said it would have been impossible for Piper to have used her by name in a discussion about the campaign reporters in question, because Wallace never spoke to Piper about them.

"I have never met Shushannah and Scott and had never seen Shushannah until I saw her on TV yesterday," Wallace said in an e-mail to CNN. "Couldn't have picked either of them out of a line up and never heard their names or had any idea who they were until after the campaign ended."

Conroy and Walshe tell their version of the story in their book, which was released earlier this month. On happening to bump into the reporters in Juneau, they write, Piper "seemed excited to chat briefly with us about her return to Alaska." An hour later, they received an angry phone call from Palin's deputy press secretary, Sharon Leighow, accusing them of "cornering Piper at her bus stop for comment."

"We don't appreciate you being here, and we don't appreciate you stalking the governor as you have been," Leighow said, according to the authors.

Palin's daughter Piper, pictured above to Palin's right, traveled with the former Alaska governor throughout the 2008 campaign.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In her new memoir, "Going Rogue," Palin accuses two national reporters of trying to corner her young daughter Piper on the street in Juneau for an interview several months after the presidential campaign ended - a charge both the journalists and a former Palin campaign aide reject.

Palin writes in her book that after the race ended, "members of the national press continued to hang out in Alaska sniffing for tabloid stuff."

"In one early press conference we noticed that our local reporters were flanked by a couple of reporters from the Lower 48 who'd been hanging out around Juneau in search of material for their own Sarah Palin book," Palin writes. "We never shut our doors to anyone, so people of all kinds attended these press availabilities. But glancing along the side wall, I recognized these particular folks as the same ones who had cornered Piper on her walk home from Harborview Elementary School and talked to her for who knows how long about who knows what."

According to Palin, Piper returned home and told her mother: "Mom, remember those reporters who came on the campaign plane with us? You know, the ones Nicolle [Wallace] said didn't like us very much? They just interviewed me on the sidewalk." Palin adds after the incident, Piper was no longer allowed to walk to or from school by herself.

The journalists in question - Scott Conroy and Shushannah Walshe, authors of the newly-published book "Sarah from Alaska" - deny Palin's characterization. Both traveled with Palin on her campaign plane throughout her 2008 vice presidential bid, and the precocious Palin daughter frequently visited with the press corps and became friendly with them, a fact Palin boasts about in her memoir.

Conroy and Walshe said in a statement Tuesday that in the course of reporting for their book, they conducted 190 interviews, including sit-downs with Palin's parents and her husband Todd.

"We did not, however, interview Piper Palin, nor did we corner her on her way home from school," Conroy and Walshe told CNN in a statement. "Contrary to Governor Palin's recollection of having seen us both at a press conference, Scott has never attended a press conference in Alaska."

Wallace, who advised Palin on media strategy during the campaign but fell out favor with the candidate, also rejected Palin's version of the story. She said it would have been impossible for Piper to have used her by name in a discussion about the campaign reporters in question, because Wallace never spoke to Piper about them.

"I have never met Shushannah and Scott and had never seen Shushannah until I saw her on TV yesterday," Wallace said in an e-mail to CNN. "Couldn't have picked either of them out of a line up and never heard their names or had any idea who they were until after the campaign ended."

Conroy and Walshe tell their version of the story in their book, which was released earlier this month. On happening to bump into the reporters in Juneau, they write, Piper "seemed excited to chat briefly with us about her return to Alaska." An hour later, they received an angry phone call from Palin's deputy press secretary, Sharon Leighow, accusing them of "cornering Piper at her bus stop for comment."

"We don't appreciate you being here, and we don't appreciate you stalking the governor as you have been," Leighow said, according to the authors.

Palin helps RGA get discount on 'Going Rogue'.

(CNN) - Sarah Palin helped the Republican Governors Association get a discount on "several thousand" copies of her new book so the group can use them as a fundraising tool, RGA chairman Haley Barbour said Tuesday.

Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, said Palin has been "very gracious as a former governor" and helped the group negotiate a bulk purchase price.

"We purchased them at a great discount, at the publisher's price, God bless her," Barbour said during a conference call with reporters ahead of the RGA's annual conference in Austin, Texas.

"I suspect we are going to raise a whole lot of money with this," Barbour predicted. "Hopefully we'll have to re-order."

Palin is speaking in Missouri in December.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Reporters won't be allowed to cover Sarah Palin's convocation speech at the College of the Ozarks in Missouri on December 2, according to the school.

Elizabeth Andrews, the college's communications director, called the decision "mutual."

"This was per the agreement that the College of the Ozarks had when had when we booked governor Palin for the convocation," she told CNN. "This didn't come from our end or theirs. It was a mutual consent kind of thing."

Andrews said the agreement is not unusual for the school, a Christian college in southern Missouri. She said past events with prominent speakers have also been closed to the press.

"This isn't the first time this has happened," she explained.

Free tickets were distributed when the appearance was first announced in November, but were quickly snatched up. Before the speech, Palin will be signing copies of "Going Rogue" in Springfield, Missouri, about an hour away from the college.

Palin's book will be released Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sarah Palin's new memoir, "Going Rogue," contains plenty of second-guessing about the way John McCain's presidential campaign was conducted.

But Palin writes that the campaign's biggest mistake may have been not making a greater issue out of Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

"I was told not to discuss Obama's pastor of twenty years, Jeremiah 'God Damn America' Wright," Palin writes in the book. "I will forever question the campaign for prohibiting discussion of such associations. All the more since these telltale signs of Obama's views, carefully concealed with centrist campaign-speak, have now been brought into light by his appointments and actions in office."

Though much of the book is devoted to re-hashing the internal squabbles that took place within the McCain campaign, it's clear Palin does not hold Obama in high regard.

Looking back at the first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi, Palin writes that Obama won - but only because reporters were smitten with the Democrat. Nine out of 10 reporters, to be specific.

"The debate went on as planned, and John did great," Palin writes. "The postgame analysis in the media, though, was that the coolheaded Obama had won the night, displaying a firm grasp of the facts, while John, they tried to convince voters, had seemed irritable and condescending. Granted, 90 percent of the newspeople covering the debate were liberal."

Palin would be 'catastrophic' for the GOP, Plouffe said.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Barack Obama's former campaign manager and John McCain's former campaign manager agree: Sarah Palin would be "catastrophic" for Republicans if she is the party's presidential nominee in 2012.

Steve Schmidt, McCain's former campaign head, first made the assertion in October, telling a Washington audience that the GOP "could have a catastrophic election result" if Palin wins the Republican nomination.

David Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager, echoed Schmidt's remark in a newly published interview with The New Yorker.

"I think it would be catastrophic for them to nominate her," Plouffe said, according to the November 16 issue of the magazine. "A lot can change, but I doubt she'll run. Right now, in terms of her ability to sell books and get speaking fees and just go out there and be a prominent voice in the Republican Party, she's at a pretty high level. But if you run a race you're going to get nicked up and you may fall from grace."

Looking at the possible GOP lineup in 2012, Plouffe also advised against betting on the usual suspects like Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee. He said to keep an eye out for a fresher face.

"We ought to learn from the Obama experience that someone can come out, not someone you've never heard of but someone who you just didn't think would run for president," he told the magazine.

Another former Democratic presidential campaign manager, James Carville, appeared on CNN's "American Morning" Monday and mischievously urged Palin to seek the White House.

"I think the most important thing is, run, baby, run," Carville said. "Look, this kind of entertainment can't be beat. I'm serious. It's fun talking about this. She's a complete hoot. She's got a charming - she's got an interesting story. You know what I mean."

Lindsey Graham is taking heat in a new ad.

Washington (CNN) - An energy advocacy group is launching another television ad in South Carolina taking aim at Sen. Lindsey Graham for his support of energy legislation that would include a cap-and-trade program.

The 30-second spot is the latest salvo in an ongoing campaign against the Republican by the American Energy Alliance, a group funded in part by oil and gas companies that has spent roughly $375,000 over the last month knocking Graham on South Carolina's radio and TV airwaves.

The newest ad comes one week after Graham was censured by the Charleston County Republican Party for supporting the legislation, the latest indicator of the senator's difficult relationship with grassroots conservatives in his home state.

"Energy is the lifeblood of our economy, from home to work to play," a narrator says in the ad, as viewers are shown images of basic everyday tasks that require electricity, oil and gas. "Energy fuels us.

"So why would Senator Lindsey Graham support a new national energy tax called cap and trade, which could sign increase electricity bills, gas prices, and cost American jobs? Call Senator Lindsey Graham. Tell him you're turned off by his support for cap and trade."

Patrick Creighton, a spokesman for the American Energy Alliance, said the group is spending $75,000 to air the ad across the state.

"We're not going to let up," Creighton said. "As long as we have the resources we're going to continue campaigning in South Carolina. We just think the senator is offering a way forward that's just smoke and mirrors."

A spokesman for Graham did not respond to a request for comment on the ad. Graham has said he would only support cap-and-trade legislation as part of a bipartisan compromise that would include provisions to expand nuclear energy and offshore oil and gas drilling.

Pelosi will be burned in effigy at a Tea Party rally in Virginia next week, the event's organizer told CNN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The organizer of a "Tea Party" protest in Virginia says he intends to move forward with plans to burn House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tom Perriello in effigy next weekend at a rally to protest Democratic health care legislation.

The event is scheduled for next Saturday in Danville, which borders North Carolina and sits at the southern end of Perriello's congressional district. Perriello, a Democrat, narrowly won his House seat in 2008 and is considered a top target of Congressional Republicans in next year's midterm elections.

When news of the rally surfaced Friday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen condemned the plans as "shocking and despicable."

But Nigel Coleman, the organizer of the Tea Party, told CNN he doesn't see what all the fuss is about. The attention, he said, should be on the Democratic plans to overhaul the health care system.

"We're not going to actually set Perriello on fire or Mrs. Pelosi on fire," Coleman said. "But we have been trying to months to get our point across just how vehemently we are opposed to this health care legislation. For the House vote to come so close and to know that Mr. Perriello is on the other side, it's a kick in the stomach that a lot of people couldn't take."

Coleman said none of Perriello's potential Republican challengers have been invited to the event, which he expects will draw about 100 people.

"Something shocking and despicable is how they've handled this health care legislation," Coleman said, responding to Van Hollen's statement. "Going behind closed doors, writing a bill that is going to fundamentally change what America is. More people are going to be killed by this health care legislation than this bonfire."

Pelosi will be burned in effigy at a Tea Party rally in Virginia next week, the event's organizer told CNN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The organizer of a "Tea Party" protest in Virginia says he intends to move forward with plans to burn House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tom Perriello in effigy next weekend at a rally to protest Democratic health care legislation.

The event is scheduled for next Saturday in Danville, which borders North Carolina and sits at the southern end of Perriello's congressional district. Perriello, a Democrat, narrowly won his House seat in 2008 and is considered a top target of Congressional Republicans in next year's midterm elections.

When news of the rally surfaced Friday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen condemned the plans as "shocking and despicable."

But Nigel Coleman, the organizer of the Tea Party, told CNN he doesn't see what all the fuss is about. The attention, he said, should be on the Democratic plans to overhaul the health care system.

"We're not going to actually set Perriello on fire or Mrs. Pelosi on fire," Coleman said. "But we have been trying to months to get our point across just how vehemently we are opposed to this health care legislation. For the House vote to come so close and to know that Mr. Perriello is on the other side, it's a kick in the stomach that a lot of people couldn't take."

Coleman said none of Perriello's potential Republican challengers have been invited to the event, which he expects will draw about 100 people.

"Something shocking and despicable is how they've handled this health care legislation," Coleman said, responding to Van Hollen's statement. "Going behind closed doors, writing a bill that is going to fundamentally change what America is. More people are going to be killed by this health care legislation than this bonfire."

Sen. John McCain spoke to reporters in Arizona on Friday.

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain has already received a signed copy of Sarah Palin's new memoir "Going Rogue," but the former Republican presidential nominee hasn't read it yet.

"I've just received a signed copy from her yesterday, so I will read it with interest," the senator told reporters Friday in his home state of Arizona.

While the book contains a healthy dose of score-settling aimed at former McCain campaign aides, the senator stressed that he was "proud and honored" to have had Palin as his running mate.

"One of the things about campaigns that lose, there's always mistakes made and the campaign that wins is always the perfect campaign," he said. "I'm proud of the campaign we ran. I'm proud of Sarah Palin and we continue to have a great and wonderful relationship. So, I'm very proud of the campaign we ran and I have moved forward."

When asked if the book has become "a nuisance," McCain responded no. "It is the usual background noise," he said.

He also responded to a question he has heard over and over again since the campaign ended: Can Palin be a viable presidential candidate herself in 2012?

"Sure," he said. "I think there are a number of viable candidates out there. I think that Sarah Palin is obviously one of them and we'll start through the process in about a year or so of selecting our nominee, but I think she's a very strong force in the Republican Party. I can't predict who's gonna get the nomination but I certainly think she would be competitive."

Palin will visit the Army base in early December.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sarah Palin will travel to the Fort Hood Army post in early December as part of her national book tour, Palin's publisher confirmed to CNN Friday.

The December 4 visit will come roughly one month after a mass shooting on the base that left 13 people dead and 38 wounded.

The stop, which had not been previously announced, is scheduled for the same day Palin signs books at a store in in the Dallas area.

The former Alaska governor is also making an appearance at Fort Bragg in North Carolina during her tour.

The visit was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

McCain wants suspected terrorists tried in military tribunals.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John McCain hammered the Obama administration Friday for its decision to try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in a civilian court in New York.

Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi will all be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - a short distance from the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

McCain said in a statement that he is "extremely disappointed" by the decision and argued that the suspects "should be treated as war criminals and tried for their crimes through military tribunals."

"I have worked tirelessly with my colleagues in Congress and with the Obama Administration to make our military tribunals system better able to dispense justice efficiently and fairly while protecting secure information," McCain said. "If military tribunals are suitable for the terrorists who attacked our sailors aboard the U.S.S. Cole, as the Obama Administration has decided, then military tribunals are certainly the right venue to try the Al-Qaeda terrorists, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who murdered thousands of innocent civilians on September 11, 2001."

He added: "Today's decision sends a mixed message about America's resolve in the fight against terrorism. We are at war, and we must bring terrorists to justice in a manner consistent with the horrific acts of war they have committed."

Palin wrote on her Facebook page that the AP got parts of her book wrong in their report.

(CNN) – Sarah Palin's memoir has leaked, but the former Alaska governor is telling supporters - and potential customers - to be cautious about the early reviews.

"As you probably have heard, the AP snagged a copy of my memoir, Going Rogue, before its Tuesday release," Palin wrote Friday on her Facebook page. "And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book."

"Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it!," she wrote. "Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Senator John McCain. We can't wait to hit the road and meet so many on the book tour! See you in Michigan first ... "

Inglis said 'hard-right' conservatives have told him that they are willing to let people who don't have health insurance 'die on the steps of the hospital'.

(CNN) – A Republican congressman with a reputation for frustrating members of his own party is now saying he's exasperated with the "hard right" element of the GOP.

South Carolina Rep. Bob Inglis, who is facing a primary challenge from four Republicans, told the Greenville News on Thursday that the Reagan coalition of social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and moderate Democrats is "running on fumes." He described the struggle now going on within the Republican party as one between the "religious right" and the "hard right," and said he can't identify with the latter.

"I'm concerned about abortion," Inglis told the paper. "It's very much a concern to me. The hard right really doesn't care about abortion. They just want you, government, out of their pocketbook, by golly."

According to the paper, Inglis said "hard-right" conservatives have told him that they are willing to let people who don't have health insurance "die on the steps of the hospital" to make a point about the problem of "free riders."

"As a religious right guy, I'm thinking there was a guy named Jesus who had some things to say about these kinds of concepts," Inglis added. "And I don't want to live in a society that lets a few test cases die on the steps of the hospital. I can't go there."

Sarah Palin's book is officially scheduled for release next Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A former senior campaign adviser to John McCain is rejecting Sarah Palin’s claim that she was billed for the costs of vetting her before she was selected as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Palin’s book “Going Rogue” is set to hit the bookstores next Tuesday, but the Associated Press reported the claim Thursday after purchasing a copy of the book before the sale date. The AP reported that Palin writes about the legal fees she began to accumulate after returning to Alaska once the campaign ended, most of which were the result of having to defend herself from ethics charges.

The AP said that Palin writes about receiving a bill for about $500,000 from the McCain campaign to pay for expenses relating to the vetting process that took place before she was named as the vice presidential nominee.

"That is one hundred percent untrue," said the McCain official, who would only speak on the condition of anonymity in deference to McCain. "All those bills are from her personal attorney Thomas Van Flein, mostly relating to the Troopergate investigation and other ethics investigations. It is not legal to pay for those investigations out of general election funds, even if the campaign was so inclined."

Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton would not confirm the accuracy of the AP report.

"The book remains embargoed," Stapleton said in an e-mail to CNN. "The Governor will appear on Oprah first to discuss the book's contents.”

The Oprah interview, which was taped Wednesday, will air in its entirety next Monday. The memoir officially hits stores the following day, and Palin kicks off her much-anticipated book tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Wednesday.