Former House Speaker and maybe presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be the star at a fundraiser tomorrow morning for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Gingrich will be at a $250-a-head breakfast at the Davenport Hotel, said Lonny Leitner, McMorris Rodger's campaign manager. He said the fundraiser is part of the congresswoman's Victory Club, events that feature high profile Republicans.

Gingrich will be in Spokane to speak at the Northwest Medical Information Symposium, which is being put on by Inland Northwest Health Services. He is there in his role as founder of the Center for Health Transformation. The center was an outgrowth of Gingrich's post-Speaker consulting business.

At CONELRAD (thanks for the tip boingboing) Bill Geerhart has published a fascinating, thorough and footnoted history of the Daisy Ad, one of the most controversial political ads ever. There's even an interview with the Daisy Girl herself.

The spot was and still is a masterpiece of manipulation, juxtaposing the playful innocence of childhood with the protocol and horror of war. The simplicity of the message was made all the more effective because the 1964 campaign took place less than two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis and within three years of the Berlin crisis in which President John F. Kennedy rattled the nation with his remarks on the importance of civil defense. In other words, the "end of the world" was not an abstract concept for most Americans during this period of the Cold War. It was a very real possibility.

...

The "Daisy" story is a tale of how a group of dedicated men from various backgrounds in government and advertising came together to sell a "product" — the President of the United States. These professionals succeeded spectacularly in their primary objective (no matter that Lyndon Johnson turned out to be defective merchandise), but they also created an indelible icon of the Cold War in the process.

To see how it happened, click here and read the whole thing.

The Hill reports on the growing popularity of congressional tele-town halls. (Last month I wrote about Congressman Dave Reichert's use of the technology.) The Hill says:

Telephone town halls are much more pleasant, efficient and effective," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "They [lawmakers] love them ... they can get thousands of people potentially participating ... it's a great way to make a personal connection."

However, Sabato said, this useful tool also further removes the member from his or her constituency.

"It is one more step back from the people ... real emotions, from real people," said Sabato. "They already have 18 to 20 staff members as a cordon around them and everyone knows that mail is rarely seen by [a member of Congress]."

That's what the government says about the phone message former Alaska state Rep. Pete Kott left for oil field services executive Bill Allen:

Uncle Bill. Pete Kott here. Just calling to wish you happy new year. Haven't talked to you in a while, you been traveling. Things start tomorrow. Just want to get what our instructions are. So give me a call or I'll talk to you tomorrow. Have a good night. Bye.

The Anchorage Daily News reports today on Kott's trial for bribery, conspiracy, extortion and wire fraud.

Grainy videos captured through an FBI-planted bug in the Veco suite show the men chummy, drinking and boastful at times of seeming victory, then full of despair when legislation didn't go their way. Numerous calls intercepted on Allen and Smith's cell phones also were played for jurors.

The Daily News has audio of the phone message and another call on its Web site this morning. Someone who knows Kott well wonders where he came up with that faux good old boy accent he uses when talking to Uncle Bill. The pledge that "We'll git er done" just isn't the way Kott usually talks.

King County Republican Party Chairman Michael Young lent the party $15,000 last week so it could pay a fine levied by the Public Disclosure Commission. The party paid the $22,500 fine the next day, according to PDC records.

I was tipped to the loan by Richard Pope, the Republican turned Democrat (at least for this fall) who filed the PDC complaint alleging that the King County GOP had failed to accurately report donations and expenditures. A PDC investigation backed up Pope's claims, and in May the party agreed to a $40,000 fine. Of that, $17,500 was suspended in exchange for agreeing to outside audits, no further violations and other stipulations.

Young told me this morning he loaned the money because of a "cash-flow situation." He says the party is in the midst of a fundraising effort and that money on hand is committed to other functions and "I didn't want to interrupt party operations."

Young said he thinks he'll be repaid, but he's not too worried about it.

"Maybe I'll decide to become a major donor to the party."