WASHINGTON  – Moderate Republicans to conservative Republicans: Turn down the volume – especially on Rush Limbaugh – and open your minds. The party’s future might be at stake.

Such warnings about the GOP’s right wing, along with finger wagging about a “shrill” and “judgmental” tone, marked the moderate response in the latest back-and-forth within the Republican Party.

Colin Powell and Tom Ridge argued on television’s Sunday talk shows that conservatives are steering the GOP too far to the right and not listening to other views within the party. Newt Gingrich, seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2012, agreed about broadening the base while political guru Karl Rove challenged
Powell to lay out his vision and “back it up” by helping elect Republicans.

“I believe we should build on the base because the nation needs two parties, two parties debating each other,” said Powell, the nation’s top military officer under President George H.W. Bush and secretary of state for President George W. Bush.

“But what we have to do is debate and define who we are and what we are and not just listen to dictates that come down from the right wing of the party,” he said.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Limbaugh, the king of talk radio, have openly mocked Powell as a Republican in name only, citing his endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain in last year’s presidential race.

Powell reaffirmed that he is a solid Republican and said the GOP must be more inclusive or risk giving Democrats and independents the chance to scoop up disaffected moderate Republicans. He detailed his presidential voting history – yes to GOP nominees Ronald Reagan through the younger Bush, but yes also to Democrats John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter.

“If we don’t reach out more, the party is going to be sitting on a very, very narrow base. You can only do two things with a base. You can sit on it and watch the world go by, or you can build on the base,” Powell said.

Fellow GOP moderate Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor and homeland security secretary under George W. Bush, said if the GOP wants “to restore itself, not as a regional party, but as a national party, we have to be far less judgmental about disagreements within the party and far more judgmental about our disagreement with our friends on the other side of the aisle.”

Gingrich, the former House speaker, insisted he didn’t want to pick a fight with Cheney. But he offered this advice: “I think Republicans are going to be very foolish if they run around deciding they’re going to see how much they can purge us down to the smallest possible base.”

Cheney, defense secretary when Powell was Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman during the Gulf War in 1991, has made clear that he would rather follow broadcaster Limbaugh than Powell into political battle over the GOP’s future. “I didn’t know he was still a Republican,” Cheney said in a television interview two weeks ago.

Limbaugh has called Powell “just another liberal,” said he should become a Democrat and charged that Powell endorsed Obama based on race. Powell and Obama are black.

In remarks to business leaders in Boston this past week, Powell took on such high-profile criticism, saying, “I may be out of their version of the Republican Party, but there’s another version of the Republican Party waiting to emerge once again.”

Rove, chief political strategist for the younger Bush, took the position that “if you say you’re Republican, you’re Republican.” But he wanted more than words from Powell.

“I don’t like this thing where people – and Powell is one them – who said, `Rush Limbaugh, shut up.’ We believe, as Republicans in the marketplace of ideas. Let that marketplace decide,” Rove said.

“I want Colin Powell to go out there and lay out his vision, and then I want him to back it up by finding people who share it and working like heck to get them – and that’s how you win the party.”

Like Cheney, Rove said he would pick Limbaugh over Powell, but said it’s moot. “Neither one of those are going to be people who are offering themselves for office. … This is a false debate that Washington loves.”

Intraparty squabbles would appear natural given the low standing of the Republican Party and George W. Bush’s administration in opinion polls. But Republicans who have suggested that the party moderate its views and even support some of Obama’s initiatives have been quickly targeted for criticism.

Ridge, an abortion-rights supporter who was on McCain’s short list of vice presidential picks but deemed too moderate by more conservative elements of the GOP, said he thinks “a lot of our commentators are being shrill.”

“Rush Limbaugh has an audience of 20 million people. A lot of people listen daily to him and live by every word. But words mean things and how you use words is very important,” Ridge said. “It does get the base all fired up and he’s got a strong following. But personally, if he would listen to me, and I doubt if he would, the notion is express yourselves but let’s respect others’ opinions and let’s not be divisive.”

Powell appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Ridge’s taped interview aired on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Gingrich spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Rove on “Fox News Sunday.”

RALEIGH, N.C. – Wake GOP Chairman Claude E. Pope, Jr. is assailing the Wake County Public School System’s (WCPSS) decision to send all students on year-round calendars to school on Memorial Day.  These tens of thousands of students, along with traditional calendar students, instead did not go to school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, a convenience holiday.

“Memorial Day, which was established in 1868, is a national holiday of remembrance of the millions of American patriots who have fought to protect this country’s freedom.  It is shameful that the WCPSS decided to make this special day a school day for Wake students who attend year-round schools,” said Pope.  “On behalf of the Wake County Republican Party, I urge parents to keep their children home from school so that they can honor our veterans with their families.

“Decisions by the school board and WCPSS like this once again illustrate that the needs of Wake parents and students are not a priority.  This is why the Wake GOP and PACs like Take Wake Schools Back are working hard to recruit and elect four new school board members who will make common-sense decisions and listen to parents,” Pope added.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – A North Carolina House member accused of drinking before speeding to work and then embracing a teenage female page says he’ll leave the Republican Party after fellow legislators participated in a probe of his conduct.

Republican Rep. Cary Allred of Alamance County said Thursday he was stabbed in the back by fellow Republicans and would switch next week from GOP to unaffiliated.

A report by the House sergeant-at-arms released Wednesday quoted several Republicans describing what they observed as Allred embracing the 17-year-old page. One Republican compared it to a “gruesome bear hug.”

Allred said he had one drink on April 27 before being stopped by a trooper on his way to Raleigh. He was cited for going 102 mph in a 65-mph zone.

WASHINGTON – Republican Party leaders are trying to avoid a public confrontation over a GOP-led effort to rename the Democratic Party the “Nationalist Socialist Democrat” party.

The Republican National Committee is slated to vote on several resolutions Wednesday. Leaders already have softened one that would have pointedly criticized Republicans who supported recent billion-dollar bailouts.

Party Chairman Michael Steele and others say the party should also drop the renaming resolution and focus on more serious problems. To avoid a party dispute over the renaming, they were trying to compromise on milder language that would simply criticize Democrats for what they call socialist tendencies.

The fight reflects a divide between Republicans who want a more centrist message and party hardliners.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina’s Republican legislators are urging Democrats who control state government to resume executions after a state Supreme Court ruling last week.

The state’s highest court ruled last week that the State Medical Board overstepped its power with a threat to discipline doctors participating in executions. That case, along with a tangle of other legal issues, has effectively froze death sentences for more than two years.

Republicans said Tuesday the General Assembly shouldn’t step in to further hold off death sentences from being carried out.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam of Wake County said Democrats should allow justice to be done and for executions to restart. He said some families of murder victims suffer until the sentence is carried out.

In an e-mail newsletter Friday, Former Congressman and Republican State Chairman Bill Cobey endorsed former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer for Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. 

Cobey, who served in Congress from 1985 until 1987, has long had a close working relationship with Fetzer “and is very familiar with Fetzer’s steadfast values and exceptional record of leadership,” the e-mail said.
 
“Tom Fetzer’s tenure as Mayor of Raleigh was the absolute best model of conservative principles being applied in a government leadership role that I have ever seen,” Cobey stated.  “Tom’s record of enacting the principles of limited government and low taxes into public policy is a direct reflection of his leadership, fundraising prowess and ability to effectively communicate our conservative message.  These are exactly the characteristics we need in our new NCGOP Chairman.”
 
According to the newsletter:

“Bill Cobey served as State Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party during its most successful years of the past decade, from mid-1999 until mid-2003.  During those years, two Republican U.S. Senators, Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, were elected to open Senate seats and Republicans gained a brief 61-59 seat majority in the North Carolina House before being robbed of that majority by the corrupt dealings of former Democrat House Speaker Jim Black.
 
“Cobey previously served as Athletic Director at UNC-Chapel Hill and in the administration of former Governor Jim Martin, first as Deputy Secretary of Transportation and then as Secretary of Environment, Health and Natural Resources.  He is regarded as one of North Carolina’s staunchest social and fiscal conservatives.
 
“I welcome Bill Cobey’s support and look forward to his help on the campaign trail,” Fetzer said.  “Like Congressman Cobey, I will always stand up for our conservative values and will work hard to help elect Republicans at all levels of government.  I am honored to have his support.”

The State Senate Wednesday elected eight members to the UNC Board of Governors.Twelve candidates were nominated and the top eight vote recipients were to be elected.

According to a press release from the GOP, Democrats have controlled the voting process so that the real election is conducted behind closed doors.

“Their method is to select the winners in a closed caucus; they then have the nominees who fail to make the cut ‘withdraw’ their names,” the press release said. “The vote on the Senate floor then proceeds with only eight names eligible for the eight seats. Any ballot marked by a Senate member that contains a name other than the pre-selected eight is disqualified and not counted.”

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) made the following statement:

“Yesterday’s vote on the State Health Plan illustrated how Senate Democrats fix a bill behind closed doors. Today, we saw how they manipulate the UNC Board of Governors election. This “Soviet” styled balloting is an affront to our Democratic system and to the people of North Carolina.”

These are the members elected to the board:

• John Blackburn of Linville currently serves as Chair of the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees, of which he has been a member since 2005. He is President and General Manager of Linville Resorts, Inc. Blackburn has served on the Crossnore School Board of Trustees, the Cannon Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, and was a co-founder of the Avery County YMCA.
• Peaches Gunter Blank of Nashville, Tennessee, is a current member of the UNC Board of Governors, where she was first elected in 2005. She is private consultant in healthcare issues who previously served as Chief of Staff and Deputy to the Governor of Tennessee, President of the Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, and as a senior policy staff member for Governor Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. She served for five years as Chair of the Board of Trustees of North Carolina State University.
• Laura Buffaloe of Roanoke Rapids is a current member of the UNC Board of Governors, where she was first elected in 2006. She is a retired educator who worked at Halifax Community College, serving as Dean of Instruction from 1998-2000 and Vice President of Instructional Services until her retirement in 2005. Buffaloe is a graduate of Elizabeth City State University and received her Doctorate in Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and has served on numerous civic boards.
• Phil Dixon of Greenville is a current member of the UNC Board of Governors, where he was first elected in 2005. He is a practicing attorney, who has represented local school boards for the past 21 years. Dixon has served as Chair of the Pitt-Greenville Chamber of Commerce and the Pitt County Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Developmental Disabilities Area Board. He is a graduate of Eastern Carolina University and received his law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.
• Paul Fulton of Winston-Salem is currently serving his second term on the Board of Trustees of UNC-Chapel Hill. He worked for Hanes and Sara Lee Corporations for 38 years and was President of Sara Lee from 1988-93, Dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School from 1993-97, and is currently Chairman of the Board of Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. Fulton served as a Trustee at Winston-Salem State University for 8 years, Co-Chair of the Carolina First fundraising campaign at UNC-CH, and as Co-Chair of the state’s Higher Education Bond Oversight Committee.
• Hannah Gage of Wilmington is the currently Chair of the UNC Board of Governors, where she was first elected in 2001. She is a businesswoman and retired broadcast executive who built and managed radio stations across the Southeast. Gage served as a Member and Chair of the UNC-Wilmington Board of Trustees, on the N.C. Coastal Land trust board, and on Southeastern N.C. Community Foundation board. She is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill.
• Franklin McCain of Charlotte currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He is retired from Hoest Celanese Corporation and is Chairman of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund North Carolina Committee. He received his undergraduate and Master’s degrees from North Carolina A&T and received worldwide acclaim as one of the four A&T students who took part in the Woolworth sit-in in 1960.
• Burley Mitchell of Raleigh is currently a member of the NC State University Board of Trustees. He was Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, on which he served from 1982-1999. Prior to that, Mitchell was a member of the Court of Appeals, Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, an Assistant Attorney General, and District Attorney. Mitchell is currently an attorney with Womble Carlyle in Raleigh. He graduated from NC State and received his law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.

The UNC-Board of Governors is the policy-making body legally charged with “the general determination, control, supervision, management, and governance of all affairs of the constituent institutions.” It elects the president, who administers the University. The 32 voting members of the Board of Governors are elected by the General Assembly for four-year terms.

David Robinson, chair of the Wake County Republican party, is no longer running for head of the N.C. GOP.

LOS ANGELES  – President Barack Obama, facing considerable resistance in Washington to his budget and stimulus plans, is shifting into full-blown campaign mode, using new and old presidential tools to rally Americans to his side.
 
On Wednesday and Thursday, Obama held two town hall meetings in California before adoring crowds that waited hours to see him. He scheduled a White House press conference for Tuesday, enlisted the grass-roots aid of his formidable online network of supporters, and planned an appearance on Jay Leno’s late-night talk show, by some accounts the first time an incumbent president has gone on such a program.
 
The strategy underscores his faith in his campaign skills, and the high stakes of his ambitious budget and stimulus agenda, whose failure would deliver a severe blow to his young administration.

All presidents use Air Force One and their powerful – and portable – pulpit from time to time to try to overcome resistance in Congress or key portions of the electorate.

Obama seemed to particularly relish his escape from Washington this week. He literally rolled up his sleeves in front of 1,300 cheering people Wednesday in Costa Mesa, Calif., and portrayed himself as a populist crusader against powerful interests that don’t care about them.

“Now, there are those who say these plans are too ambitious,” he said of his budget proposal, which would make dramatic changes to health care, energy, education and tax-and-spending priorities. “‘Obama’s trying to do too much,’ they say. ‘Just focus on Wall Street, focus on the banks.’ Well, I say our challenges are too large to ignore.”
 
The crowd roared its approval in a setting that had all the trappings of a fall campaign event, right down to someone shouting, “I love you, Obama!” and the president replying, “I love you back.”

Such valentines, however, won’t necessarily smooth Obama’s path when he returns to Washington. Congressional Republicans feel the administration blundered badly by allowing executives of the mostly nationalized AIG insurance firm to receive big bonuses, and it has emboldened their opposition to his budget and stimulus plans.

“The AIG situation underscores the fact that Washington isn’t doing anything to help our economy,” House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio said Thursday. “The president’s budget spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much from our children and grandchildren.”

Obama has problems within his own Democratic Party as well. Some powerful Democratic lawmakers oppose his bids to nip farm subsidies and leave employer-paid health benefits untaxed, among other things.

The White House is fighting back with nearly every arrow in its quiver. Obama’s 13-million-person e-mail list, which helped him win the 2008 election, is now essentially controlled by the Democratic National Committee. The group is mobilizing the force, asking supporters to lobby for Obama’s policies.

More so than in the past, Obama this week portrayed himself as a self-sacrificing man of the people, willing to forgo a second term if that’s what it takes to right the economy, make health care more affordable and modernize the nation’s energy policies.

“I didn’t run for president to pass on our problems to the next generation,” he told the Costa Mesa crowd. “I ran for president to solve these problems so that you’ve got a better shot at life.”