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WASHINGTON – With Illinois now possibly headed to a special election to determine the holder of President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn isn’t yet willing to say publicly that he’s begun to reach out to potential Republican candidates, but he’s perfectly happy to play coy.

“Well, I probably wouldn’t be talking to you about that if I was,” a smiling Cornyn told PolitickerTX.com Wednesday afternoon when asked if he had begun to reach out to would-be candidates.

Obama’s seat had been all but guaranteed to stay in the Democratic column until Tuesday, when Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested for trying to sell Obama’s seat to the highest bidder. U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Illinois legislative leaders have called for a special election to fill the seat, fearing that anyone appointed by Blagojevich would be seen as tainted. The state legislature is slated to meet next week to vote on a special election bill.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Houston), recently selected to head the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called on Democrats Tuesday to come forward and lift the "stain of corruption" he claims was caused by the arrest of Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich for allegedly attempting to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat.

"The serious allegations laid out by federal prosecutors today raise more questions than answers surrounding those who have been seeking this Senate seat, as well as those working to keep it under Democratic control," Cornyn said in a statement.

With an appointment from Blagojevich, as was expected, Republicans would have had no hope of picking up the seat. But if the Illinois legislature opts to pass a law setting a special election to fill the seat — as Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) suggested Tuesday — Republican candidates could then enter the race.

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) announced Tuesday that his chief of staff, Guy Harrison, will serve as the executive director of the NRCC and will run the day-to-day operations. Harrison has worked with Sessions for 14 years.

In addition, the committee also announced that Johnny DeStefano will serve as deputy executive director. DeStefano is the political director for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), and plans to stay on in that capacity. His appointment is likely a signal that Boehner, who backed Sessions heavily for the NRCC chairmanship, wants to be more personally involved with the committee this cycle.

Texas' Congressional Democrats sent a letter last week to President-elect Barack Obama, his transition team and the Department of Defense, pushing for recently defeated state Rep. Juan Garcia (D-Corpus Christi) to become secretary of the Navy.

PolitickerTX.com reported Garcia as a candidate for the position three weeks ago, but little has been heard since. However, recent rumblings of discontent from Hispanic leaders over the lack of Latino representation in the Cabinet might boost Garcia's chances.

"We believe that he has the proven record of accomplishment as an Officer in the United States Navy, a corporate attorney, White House Fellow, and member of the Texas House of Representatives and respectfully challenge anyone to find a more qualified individual for this key position," the Democrats wrote in the letter.

The Committee for a Livable Future, headed by U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) boasted an impressive win-loss record in races that the Portland congressman steered money toward, and in some cases, helped campaign for.

Former U.S. Rep. and House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Denton) became one of the first public officials to endorse the potential Texas gubernatorial bid of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Dallas in a letter posted on Hutchison's new campaign Web site Thursday.

Armey, who was the Majority Leader from 1995-2003, and one of the leaders of the oft-called "Republican revolution" of the 1990s, struck back at recent attempts from those supporting Texas Gov. Rick Perry to paint Hutchison as not being a true conservative.

"Kay continues to carry the conservative torch," Armey wrote. "Her lifetime American Conservative Union rating is 90 percent. Her Americans for Tax Reform rating is 95 percent. I fought tirelessly for the conservative principles of lower taxes, less government, and more freedom... and I could always count on Kay Bailey Hutchison to stand up for Texas."

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Newly elected members of Congress listen to panelists discuss the current economic crisis

CAMBRIDGE - Forty newly elected members of Congress gathered Thursday morning to hear some of Massachusetts' finest economists discuss the current crisis and possible remedies.

And one thing became clear very quickly: No one knows a surefire way out of the mess.

The forum took place at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government as part of its four-day conference this week for recently elected members of Congress. It featured panelists with economic expertise from the Kennedy School, Harvard's economics department and Harvard's law school.

Jeffrey Frankel, an economics professor at the Kennedy School and former member of President Bill Clinton's council of economic advisors, summed up the tone of the meeting in his opening remarks.

"No one thoroughly understands the economic crisis," Frankel said.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is pushing former Laredo Mayor Saul Ramirez and U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Mercedes) for positions in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

The San Antonio Express-News reports that Ramirez is backed for secretary of housing and urban development, while Hinojosa is on the list for secretary of education.

"There is no doubt that Rick Noriega and Ramirez are being discussed," U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio), the chairman of the Caucus task force on nominations, told the Express-News.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is pushing state Rep. Rick Noriega (D-Houston) for secretary of veterans affairs, the Houston Chronicle reports.

With only one Latino selected for President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet so far, Hispanic leaders have become frustrated in recent weeks at the lack of Hispanic representation in the Obama administration.

To that end, U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio) and U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) sent a letter Tuesday to Obama's transition team, recommending Noriega and 13 other Hispanic politicians for various posts within the Cabinet.

Baca told Bloomberg News that Caucus members would "definitely be disappointed" if only one Latino was chosen for the cabinet. Bloomberg reports that Baca "warned that Obama's legislative agenda could be jeopardized if the president-elect doesn't nominate additional Hispanics."

The national political landscape has changed, but in general, it isn't change we can believe in, it's change that everyone should have seen coming.

For the first time since Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, a credible case can be made that the United States is now a center-left country instead of a center-right country.