GOP has uphill climb for cash and candidates

An obscure federal agency, the Office of Special Counsel, said it would investigate several matters concerning the GOP, including whether a U.S. attorney was fired for political reasons. The office also intends to look at Bush administration officials' use of Republican National Committee e-mail accounts for government business, and political presentations by White House staff to Cabinet agencies. The office enforces the Hatch Act, which generally bars the use of taxpayer resources for campaign purposes.

Also, Democratic-led congressional committees authorized five subpoenas, escalating their investigations of White House and Justice Department activities. One of them could compel Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify on the prewar claim that Iraq had tried to buy uranium.

And in recent weeks, two GOP congressmen -- John T. Doolittle of Roseville and Rick Renzi of Arizona -- temporarily stepped down from spots on coveted committees after FBI raids that were part of separate corruption investigations.

Overall, Republicans now resemble "a beaten-down stock," said Cole, the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman. But he said he was optimistic about party fundraising and candidate recruitment.

"We're a heck of a good buy," he said, "if anyone knows how to evaluate the stock."

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michael.finnegan@latimes.com

Times staff writers Peter Wallsten and Janet Hook contributed to this report.