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Alberto Gonzales, who became the country's first Hispanic Attorney General under former President George W. Bush, is admonishing his fellow GOPers for calls to scrap the birthright citizenship provision of the 14th Amendment.

In a Washington Post op-ed, which will run in the paper Sunday, Gonzales argues "a constitutional amendment will not solve our immigration crisis."

Gonzales also references his "apolitical and saintly 78-year-old mother" who he says openly "wonders whether the Democrats are keeping this issue on the table for political reasons, hoping that Republicans will propose enforcement measures that alienate Hispanic voters."

The former AG also accuses Republicans and Democrats of lacking the will to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The 14th Amendment became a hot topic on the midterm campaign trail after Republican leaders in Washington called for hearings to look at possible ways to change it. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) all backed that call.  

The White House is ready to deploy first lady Michelle Obama on the midterm campaign trail, but expect her to leave the partisan knocks to other surrogates.

The Chicago Tribune's Peter Nicholas has some details on White House plans to use the first lady to stump for Democratic candidates this fall. 

Her campaign schedule won't be a heavy one, the White House said Monday. She makes public appearances about three days a week, and any campaigning she does for the midterm election will be within that time frame, a White House official said in an interview.

The first lady's itinerary won't be set until Labor Day, when the White House political team determines travel plans for the president and vice president, the official said. The idea is to deploy all three in ways that avoid overlap.

Michelle Obama will deliver a campaign speech that is largely upbeat. She won't castigate individual Republicans, said the White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The first lady is no doubt in demand on the campaign trail as several Democrats facing tough races this fall have publicly expressed a desire to have her campaign with them.

A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that Michelle Obama is more popular than her husband and Democratic leaders in Congress.

A full 50 percent of the poll's respondents viewed Michelle Obama favorably. Just 19 percent viewed her unfavorably, while 31 percent had no opinion.

In contrast, President Obama's negatives stand at 41, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's at 45 percent and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's at 31 percent.

George W. Bush, who was president during 9/11, isn't talking about the proposal as GOP leaders denounce the plans.

Republican candidates across the country are seizing on the debate over whether or not to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque near New York's Ground Zero.

A whole new slate of Republicans came out against the project Monday and are working to muscle the issue into their own campaigns by calling on their Democratic opponents to weigh in after President Obama expressed support for the project over the weekend.

Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott (R) appears to be the first candidate to go up on the airwaves with an ad hitting the plans. 

In a 30-second spot provocatively titled "Obama's mosque," Scott aims his criticism at the president. "Barack Obama says building a mosque at Ground Zero is about tolerance," Scott says in the ad. "He's wrong."

The ad will run statewide in Florida, according to Scott's campaign. 

In a move that is likely to embolden Republican critics of the plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) broke with the president Monday over plans for the mosque. In a statement, a Reid spokesman said the senator "thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else."  

The campaign of Reid's Republican opponent, Sharron Angle, has been pushing Reid to stake out a position on the mosque since Obama weighed in on the debate over the weekend. Angle is against its construction and has said Reid "has a responsibility to stand up and say no."  

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Monday that Republicans are politicizing the issue and warned that the party would pay a price for it come November.

"I think it's incredibly dangerous for them to move down this path and it undermines a lot of their other arguments about the Constitution and the preservation of the Constitution and the importance of the Constitution and all of the rights that are derived from it," Menendez said at a news conference in New Jersey, according to the Star Ledger. "If they constantly talk about the motto of 'let's save our Constitution,' well here we go, let's save it."

The mosque issue is also being inserted into congressional campaigns across the country. In Ohio, Republican hopeful Bob Gibbs came out against the plans Monday and called on Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) to make his position clear. 

In North Carolina, a Republican challenger to Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) announced Monday that he plans to travel to New York next month to attend a protest against the proposed mosque, which is scheduled for the afternoon of Sept. 11.

That's an event that could hold some political risk for Republican candidates who attend. Since the 9/11 attacks, the day has traditionally been one free of campaigning or political posturing. 

Meanwhile, the pressure on New York's two Democratic senators to weigh in is increasing. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have not made their positions clear. And the National Republican Senatorial Committee hit Schumer on the issue Monday. 

Pollster John Zogby says for Republicans, the issue is "all about making waves" and notes that it's likely to further energize the base for the fall.

"It riles up conservatives and keeps them riled up," Zogby said. "Meanwhile, it also is angering liberals, Jews, and African Americans — all key Democratic constituencies — all of whom need something to get them out to vote for Democrats."

AP polling now shows 32 percent of independents wanting Democrats to hold on to Congress in November's midterm elections.

The chairman of the NRSC believes the mosque set to be built near Ground Zero will be a campaign issue this fall.

A state lawmaker in New Hampshire resigned from the legislature Thursday after posting comments on his Facebook account that alluded to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) death.

From the Associated Press:

Rep. Timothy Horrigan of Durham posted a comment Wednesday that a "dead Palin wd [sic] be even more dangerous than a live one" and she "is all about her myth & if she was dead she cdn't [sic] commit any more gaffes."

Horrigan apologized Thursday and resigned. He is also discontinuing his reelection campaign. The state Democratic Party chairman calls the remarks "out of line."

Another New Hampshire Democrat has also been criticized this week for a Facebook comment about Palin, the former governor of Alaska. 

House candidate Keith Halloran apologized Thursday for posting a death wish for Palin in response to a post about the plane crash that killed former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. 

This year's elections are most comparable to the congressional contests in 1980, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) suggested Thursday.

Those facing reelection — some in primaries as early as Tuesday — rushed home to campaign, raise money and film commercials.

Republicans believe their messaging on voters' top concerns is priming them for "solid gains" in this fall's elections, according to a new RNC poll.

GOP candidates enjoy solid electoral indicators, pollster Whit Ayres wrote in a memo to the Republican National Committee (RNC), as well as an advantage over Democratic messaging on the economy, the deficit and national security issues.

"With less than 100 days to go until Election Day, a recent survey of likely voters conducted July 18-21 for the RNC shows that the environment is still ripe for solid Republican gains in November," Ayres wrote in a memo summarizing the results of a poll his firm had conducted for the RNC.

Ayres cited an enthusiasm advantage for Republicans, and said he found a 16-point advantage among independents for Republican candidates in a generic matchup against Democrats.

The GOP also benefits from their issues being more salient. Ayres said that "jobs and the economy" were voters' top issue, and urged Republican candidates to tie as many issues as possible to the economy.

"Other issues will certainly have a role in the campaign, but if candidates and surrogates are unable to discuss them in the context of their impact on 'jobs and the economy' then they risk the appearance of missing the point of the voters’ chief concern," the pollster wrote.

Ayres also advised Republicans to emphasize the need for "preventing tax hikes" and reining in spending, while running against bailouts and a "culture of Waste in Washington"

The memo said that, in a head-to-head matchup, Republican rhetoric was resonating more with independents than was Democrats' rhetoric.

56 percent of independents, the poll found, agreed with a Republican message about jobs, taxes and the stimulus, while 37 percent were inclined to agree that Democrats' signature stimulus had worked, and that it was the GOP who was only holding up more progress.

Ayres said he'll present the findings in full when RNC members meet in Kansas City, Mo., this month for a regular party meeting.