This week is a big week in the political life of House Minority Whip John Loughlin.

On Sunday, the Tiverton Republican was headed to Washington for a few pointers on how, in his own words, to “take on the most powerful, left-wing political machine in our country in the next election — the Kennedys.”

Sponsored by the National Republican Congressional Committee, the three-day, off-year “candidate school” includes a pep talk on “earning back our majority,” speech- writing tips by former President George W. Bush’s press secretary Ari Fleischer; and a briefing by Joe Gaylord, the senior political adviser to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, on how to organize a campaign.

Loughlin tells Political Scene that he is most looking forward to attending a U.S. House GOP caucus, an exciting prospect after caucusing on numerous occasions with Rhode Island’s tiny House GOP “in my car.”

But the trip may not be the high point of Loughlin’s week if, as he hopes, the fundraising report he files with the Federal Election Commission next week shows he out-raised the Democratic incumbent he hopes to unseat: U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy.

Federal campaign reports for the period that ended on June 30 are due by July 15.

Loughlin’s campaign treasurer, Mia Caetano Johnson, said: “I estimate we are just shy of $50,000 as of July 1, 2009,” with “no loans to date.”

Kennedy, who made a well-publicized return to Congress last week after a four-week timeout for unspecified addiction treatment, had only $214,574 cash on hand when he filed his last campaign report three months ago.

Loughlin, a three-term state lawmaker, has not officially declared his candidacy for Kennedy’s 1st Representative District seat. But he filed notice with the FEC on April 6 of his potential candidacy, so he could begin raising money, and then fired off two sharply worded fundraising letters to likely contributors in the state and across the country.

After mentioning several of Kennedy’s well-publicized scrapes, his court-ordered drug treatment and his voting record in Washington, Loughlin wrote: “My wife Susan and I are especially saddened that a man like Patrick Kennedy is being held up as a role model for our two children — and for your children ... just because of his last name. That’s why I’ve made the decision to run against Patrick Kennedy in 2010.”

Asked again last week whether he has, in fact, made up his mind to challenge Kennedy, Loughlin said: “We are pursuing the race,” but “I haven’t made an official announcement at this point.” He said he will probably declare his intentions early next year.

Langevin to head missile defense subcommittee

While we’re on the subject of Congress, Rep. James R. Langevin was named Thursday to become chairman of a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee that is responsible for the nation’s strategic missiles and related forces.

The Rhode Island Democrat will succeed the departing Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat, as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. President Obama recently appointed Tauscher undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

Langevin is a longtime member of the Armed Services Committee. This will be his first chairmanship of a subcommittee on the panel. He previously had served as chairman of a subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee.

“It is an honor to be chosen by my colleagues to continue the great work of my colleague Ellen Tauscher,” Langevin said in a statement. “I look forward to addressing the critical national security issues facing the subcommittee, from nuclear non-proliferation efforts to our space and missile defense programs.”

The Strategic Forces Subcommittee has jurisdiction over ballistic missile defense including the National Missile Defense shield; the Department of Energy’s defense capabilities and all nuclear weapons; space programs, and intelligence policy and national programs including the Defense Intelligence Agency.

GOP group polls R.I. public on federal stimulus

The Ocean State Policy Research Institute, a citizens group cofounded by First Lady Suzanne Carcieri, has launched a Web site that allows Rhode Islanders to vote on what they think of the way this state is spending its federal stimulus dollars.

The site — www.ristimulus.org — is a Rhode Island-specific version of the higher-profile www.stimuluswatch.org, which lets visitors vote on stimulus funding nationwide.

Here’s how the Rhode Island site works: you log onto and search projects by community or subject area (i.e., education, transportation, etc.). The site then allows you to read a description and vote on whether you find the project “most critical” or “least critical.” You can even add a comment.

Though OSPRI is ostensibly a Republican research and advocacy group, president William Felkner tells Political Scene that the site does not promote any one point of view.

“We don’t want to have any opinion about our projects. We’re just letting the citizens know what’s going on,” Felkner said. For example, “I’m not saying I know [what projects are] good for Warwick. I don’t live in Warwick.”

In recent months, as part of what it calls its “transparency train,” OSPRI has also placed various municipal spending records and state payroll records online.

“If people know where their money is going and how it’s being spent, I think they’ll be much more likely to become involved in the democratic process,” Felkner said.

Bench oath takings are set for Suttell, Rodgers

Swearing-in ceremonies for the state’s newest Superior Court judge and for the 51st chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court have been scheduled for this week.

On Thursday, Governor Carcieri will swear in Supreme Court Justice Paul A. Suttell as the head of the state’s highest court. The ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. on the steps of the State House.

Suttell will succeed Frank J. Williams, who retired in December after eight years at the helm of the state judiciary. Nominated by Carcieri on May 28, and then confirmed by the House and Senate in one whirlwind week in late June, Suttell, a onetime Republican legislator, inherits a court system with about 700 employees and a $102-million budget.

On Friday, July 17, the governor will administer the oath of office to Superior Court nominee Kristin Rodgers, the daughter of retiring Superior Court Presiding Judge Joseph F. Rodgers. The ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. in the State House rotunda.

Rodgers was chosen by Carcieri, from a list of finalists presented to him by the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission, to take the seat of Vincent A. Ragosta, who retired in May 2008.

Newport’s the venue for regional GOP conference

And finally, in case you haven’t gotten enough GOP news in this edition of Political Scene … the Republicans are coming, the Republicans are coming!

The National Republican Committee and its friends within the state GOP have announced that the Marriott Hotel in Newport will be the site of the Republican National Committee’s Northeast Regional Leadership Conference, Oct. 2-4.

Every election cycle, each of the four Republican National Committee regions holds an RNC Regional Conference. This year, Rhode Island is the host.

“Leaders from the Mid-Atlantic through New England will join with Republican grass-roots activists to discuss current political events, review campaign strategies for 2010, and receive campaign training,” state Republican Chairman Giovanni Cicione explains.

In addition to the region’s past and present Republican governors, the event planners promise “grass-roots training and presentations by several well-known national polling firms, national media strategists, and GOTV [get-out-the-vote] experts.”

The cost? “We have kept the conference registration cost very low at $125 to make it affordable for all GOP Party activists. This will include meeting rooms, opening cocktail party, two breakfasts and one lunch and materials. Other activities will be a la carte.”

jmulligan@belo-dc.com