1. Drill now.
2. Build a fence now!
3. No Lawyers for terrorist!
Posted on 06/27/2008 8:21:17 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
A new playbook for House Republicans urges them to run essentially as independents, showing empathy for voters, emphasizing local issues and ignoring many traditional party campaign practices.
The advice for House candidates is part of an effort to minimize Republican losses in a year when voters are exasperated by the economy, the Iraq war and President Bush:
“Encourage Republican candidates to establish themselves in a personal manner, emphasizing local issues whenever possible.”
“Candidates have to have a positive alternative vis-à-vis their Democratic opponents.”
“Work to develop an issues matrix that is different than in years past and also shows a deep empathy towards the voters.”
The advice, from consultants to the National Republican Congressional Committee, was presented this week to House leaders, including NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.).
The assessment is contained in a 15-point PowerPoint presentation provided to Politico and first reported by David Espo of The Associated Press.
The review was an effort to distill lessons learned from unexpectedly deep Republican losses in special elections in Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The assessment was provided by the NRCC Audit Committee, formed at the behest of House Republican leader John A. Boehner of Ohio.
The review found that the losing Republicans failed to successfully establish “themselves and their local brand in contrast to the negative perception of the national GOP.”
“Traditional Republican messages essentially did not work in these campaigns,” the analysis says. “Nationalizing these elections as a choice between a traditional Republican and a traditional Democrat did not work in this political environment.
“Democrats ran candidates that were a reflection of their districts.”
The GOP is DOA.
The most important thing I could add to the list is, “Never let them know you are an INCUMBENT Rinocrat.”
I voted to drill ANWR years ago wouldn’t hurt either.
ROTFLMAO! What’s the matter? Sad that the big govt “Compassionate conservatism” philosophy is electoral poison? Here’s some free advice - can the “spend other people’s money for Jesus” philosophy and bring bring back the small govt “leave me alone coalition.”
1. Drill now.
2. Build a fence now!
3. No Lawyers for terrorist!
Good.
Branding politicians...excellent idea, actually.
Tell the American people the republican party, led by John McCain, intends to open up additional supplies of energy to alleviate the energy crisis that is ravaging our economy. Tell them the democrats have made it clear they intend to block the needed energy and that they favor the drastic changes to our lives being caused by high energy prices.
Punchline: The only way out of this energy crisis is to remove the democrats from control of Congress and elect John McCain to lead our country to greater energy independence.
The only race I'm remotely interested in this election cycle is Domenici's Senate seat.
The GOP can take a hike as far as I'm concerned. The party squandered every opportunity handed to it since 1994.
Immigration? Sure glad that isn't an issue. The GOP has become the stupid/scared party.
Maybe they could try a new marketing scheme along the lines of "Just Like Mike". Call it "Just Like Dems"
You’re right.
But that you even have to say it in response to this foolishness from the national GOP shows how bankrupt the GOP really is.
This election is theirs to lose. The Dems have served up their failures on a silver platter. This election is a slow pitch awaiting a full swing that can be hit outta the park.
So, sit back and watch how the GOP,instead of pressing their advantasge, rolls over and plays dead, hoping the Dems will throw thema bone or two in the next Congress.
Pitiful, really.
Reagan conquered the Soviet Union; Communism has conquered the United States.
The left has won by default. The American experiment has ended.
Rove did a great job...
Of destroying the GOP...
What’s worse is the geniuses in the party think all these losses are because they are too far right... They are completely clueless. What fools...
The end of this nation as with all nations will be determined by God. It’s not over until it’s over.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
That seems to be the problem rather than the solution.
When Ronald Reagan recovered America’s greatness from the disaster of the Carter presidency, he had millions of “the Greatest Generation” around and productive to make it happen.
At the end of the Obama/Reid/Pelosi disaster, we will have millions of spoiled whiny bankrupt baby boomers ready to end what little productivity they’ve added to America. They will expect to live off bankrupt government programs.
In short, our nation now lacks the political will and political sense to do the hard things that need to be done.
I see a very tough time ahead, and don’t see enough tough people to get through it.
So finally we have a third party.
Sadly,it’s being created by the same elite clowns of rhe Republican party who destroyed the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan.
Oh yeah, one other thing while I’m on my negative rant.
Indeed, God will determine the end of our nation. Considering our nation turned it’s back on him, what do you expect him to do? What did he do to the kingdom of Judea after the death of Solomon, when the Hebrews turned away from God?
Every time a nation turns away from the Lord, look what happens to it.
OK, sorry to dump on you, hiredhand. I’m not picking on you personally and you don’t deserve it. I can see you’re a good conservative religious person. I will pray for you that you keep your faith. We’ll all need it.
In 1994, the GOP ran honestly. (No details needed.)
The "Class of 1994" was elected on a narrow, clearly defined platform, which included a balanced budget, and especially term limits.
Term limits.
And so in the late 1990's, they produced a balanced budget (which, of course, Wet Willie and the Forces of Perversion took credit for), and then, having delivered said balanced budget, they term-limited themselves out and left Washington DC for the civilized parts of the USA.
They left over the years 2002-2004, and were replaced by The Opportunists, who ran on the then Honorable Brand of "Republican".
Thanks, Whores, for 2006.
OK, the brand is damaged, but not by Republicans. Just by the Opportunists of post-2000.
Fortunately, the Democrats are like the old French royalty, aka the House of Bourbon, of whom it was said (after the Revolution): they had forgotten nothing and learned nothing. What a target-rich environment there is in 2008, for a political party that has a clue.
The word "Senator" comes from the same old root as the word "Senile", as in Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
John McCain??
Sometimes the Republican party seems to be trying to steal the moniker "Stupid Party" from the Democrats.
How else would you run an election, than as a reflection of the district you are trying to win? The idea that in this environment anybody would have tried the "he's a Democrat" routine is shocking, and makes me wonder about the intelligence of our candidates.
Now, I think by this november, we COULD have a nationalized election on energy, ethics, and the economy, but again the Republicans seem to be too stupid to realise that they've been handed a gift. The Democrats won both house and Senate 2 years ago, and there isn't a SINGLE thing that has gotten better since then -- except the Iraq War, the ONE thing the democrats said they were going to give up on.
The only thing John McCain seems to want to lead us into is an economic bear trap called "cap-and-trade."
That the dems, along with their allies, the driveby media, are working as the fifth column for the enemy, all in the quest for power.
That the dems are doing everything possible to ensure that the economy is in the tank by November.
That Pres. Bush made the only reasonable choice in invading Iraq and the dems supported it and are now lying.
That the President's primary focus was and is protecting the US from further attacks of mass murder by islamonazis and has so far succeeded despite dem congressmen leaking classified information and shilling for the enemy, who would gladly saw their heads off.
Oh yeah, and we are winning the war thanks to the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Americans who have volunteered to put their lives on hold, to risk their very life and limb to protect the freedom of the Patriot and the democrat alike, all the while knowing that the party of the left despises them.
They might try that.
Why am I reading the NRCC audit in the Politico? Are we also too stupid to keep our internal memos internal?
It sounds like ap (david espo) got it first, politico acknowledges it in the piece.
You know, I noticed this about a local candidate running for rep. He’s a Republican, but speaks like he’s not part of the party, independent, but not an Independent. Not surprised, though, really not surprised.
The GOP’s not dead; it’s seriously wounded, but it won’t die.
The problem is that President Bush set the tone, with his pathological refusal to defend himself or his policies, and then the Republicans in Congress went crazy with spending and perceived corruption.
Yes, during this election cycle the Republican brand name is mud. That’s why even the staunchest of conservative candidates gained no traction whatsoever in the presidential primaries.
McCain is the only Republican who could possibly win this cycle, because he isn’t seen as one of the people who put us where we are today. His “maverickiness”—the very aspect of his character that conservatives hate—has made him viable. If he’s elected and does a good job, the Republican party will come roaring back.
The main problem for Republicans right now is President Bush. I voted for him in 2004, so it gives me no pleasure to say that he apparently suffers from a form of mental illness. His refusal to defend or explain himself is coming uncomfortably close to treason, in that it threatens our national security by allowing complete laughingstock losers like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barrack Obama to lie to the world and blatantly undermine all of the president’s policies without any repercussions.
In her official statement following the last war-funding supplemental, Pelosi said the Iraq war was based on a false premise, yet the White House had no response. President Bush has never once publicly taken issue with her. Instead, he smiles at her as if he’s in love.
“Bush lied” is the biggest, stupidest, most easily disproved piece of propaganda in the last century, yet now it’s accepted as fact by at least half the country, based on no evidence whatsoever.
This is a catastrophic, inexplicable failure on the part of President Bush. He had no right to personalize the attacks against him and “turn the other cheek” like a good Christian and Southern gentleman. As commander-in-chief, with troops in harm’s way, he had the duty to fight the charges that he lied and that we were losing the war, but he refused. He flat-out refused.
He failed in his duty, and that’s why the Republican name is mud right now.
The Republicans will come back, but the next Republican president must fight, fight, fight, fight, and fight some more, right from the beginning.
To “turn the other cheek” is irresponsible and self-aggrandizing. President Bush likes to feel sorry for himself, apparently. We need a president who understands that the presidency is bigger than himself, and it must be defended in the name of national security.
“Candidates have to have a positive alternative vis-à-vis their Democratic opponents.”
“Work to develop an issues matrix that is different than in years past and also shows a deep empathy towards the voters.”
Ha! Ha! What a bunch of sissy talk. "...develope an issues matrix ..." Blah Blah. Hey Republicans, why don't you all develope testicles instead?
Use the term conservative and drop the republican title.I have noticed this in Georgia and it seems to be working.Time for the new conservative party to be born.
Personally, as a Republican Party official (county level, I don't get too excited about getting up on a Saturday morning to pound the pavement seeking support for any candidate that denies his party affiliation.
In 1994 we had a Republican officeholder in my IN county who decided that she would pull that stunt and got pounded in the general election. She should have been a shoo in but instead pi@@@d off enough Republican voters that she lost badly.
Bingo!
Idiots.
It’s a shame that Republicans refuse to run on true conservatism.
It works every time its tried and it tends to be much more endearing to voters than fake efforts to identify with us on a personal level.
Of course, if Republicans actually listened to this advice, they wouldn’t be in a situation where they’re struggling to keep their positions, now would they?
And this advice is coming from - who, exactly?
The “country club” RINOs, thoroughly ashamed of the party designation, are now trying to spread this sense of shame even to those who have borne the label proudly in the past. It is as if the very existence of the party should be extinguished, and its history abolished. Even FDR could not accomplish that feat during the darkest days of the New Deal. Not everybody, you know, had converted to the “Progressive” branch of the Republican party back then. There were still principled conservatives (Robert Taft comes to mind) who wielded great influence. Most of the Communist-Socialist infiltration of the Republican party was confined to the “Progressives”, who turned out to be more attuned to the Soviet model, than even FDR himself.
This is not a new fight, by any means. It has proceeded, off and on, ever since the birth of the Republican party, as the successor to the defunct Whigs.
B S!
Democrat candidates lied to their districts about how they stood on the issues like they always do. I know the ones in Arkansas certainly did. They run more conservative when they are campaigning but once they get to DC everything changes. They think voters are idiots and obviously some of them are because they keep getting elected.
Blanche Lincoln is not about to campaign FOR abortion but check her voting record. The same with Marc Pryor and Mike Ross. They say one thing when they are home and vote the opposite much of the time.
I’m sleepy.
I thought it read “Party Brawl”.
You have what is becoming a national economic crisis over energy and food costs, Democrats in charge of Congress and openly displaying their bald faced liberalism/idiocy on a host of issues detrimental to the American public at large and the GOP’s election strategy is basically to stand in the outhouse and pray they don't get slaughtered at the polls.
How about developing a cohesive message both national AND local and taking the liberal moonbats in Congress on point by point and hammer away until November. If something like this was played right they could even drag McCain along kicking and screaming and closer to our side.
Wow. That looks ominous. The NRCC is advising against running as a pro-God, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-border, and pro-taxcut Republican. These are the "negative perception of the national GOP," as seen by independents and rats. They comprise about 65% of the voters.
Conservatives make up about 65% of the rest: the GOP voters. Some hard line conservatives do not even recognize the national GOP as pro-God, pro-life, pro-gun, pro-border, or pro-taxcut. Some conservatives have made it clear they are fed up with the GOP. Because they are staying home, the GOP must and will move left in order to capture enough independents(RINO/DINO) voters to regain power. When socialist Barry Osama or centrist McCain are elected President that will be proof positive, to both parties, that the American electorate is moving to the left.
I can't bear to think what freak of nature the rats will dig up, assemble from parts, and plant a lightning rod into in 2012 or 2016.
There were very few strong conservatives in the House and almost none in the Senate in 2004. After 2006 rats now occupy the seats of Denny Hastert, J D Hayworth, Rick Santorum, Tom DeLay, and John Hostettler. Those were some heavy duty conservatives. In 2008 the number of Republican seats up for grabs is larger then the rat seats in the Senate ( 23 to 12.) The GOP house members are stepping down 26 to 7 rats.
When conservatives only comprise 50% of the GOP, and are represented by an even smaller GOP minority in Congress, we will be faced with a choice.
And that will suck.
Did you see what this pantload in Oregon is doing? Gordon Smith (ACU rating of 48 in 2007) is running an ad touting his work with Senator Obama and his eagerness to “reach across the aisle to get things done”.
Wow, do I ever hope that p.o.s. gets purged.
Yeah Gordon Smith seems like the worst RINO of them all. I won’t feel bad if he doesn’t get re-elected, that’s for sure.
As for the rest, I guess it depends on how they distance themselves. If they distance themselves by going to the right of McCain, or if the voters in their district are Republicans who don’t like McCain so they don’t want to appear with him, then that’s OK. But if they distance themselves by moving left and trying to make like there’s no difference between them and Democrats then they don’t deserve to win and I don’t think they will either. Why would a voter choose a dishonest fake Democrat when they could choose an actual Democrat who at least is proud of his ideas. Run as an honest and proud conservative or let someone else do it. I don’t think a lot of people want to vote for a boot licker.
“...run essentially as independents, showing empathy for voters, emphasizing local issues and ignoring many traditional party campaign practices.”
Hi, I’m a eunuch, and I’ll do whatever the democrats tell me.
Campaign as if you are running for Mayor.
We vote on a persons record and never on their promises........an never ever ever forget the domestic enemies clause of your oath. It’s a legal option we hope is never played yet the socialist rats seem too ignore that possibility ! The apathy of today’s voter is too go in an mash R or D on the chad abuse machine and get back too waiting in line for their next handout. The right too vote means taking time for your own future living conditions, wealth and families security. Too many folks do a drive by at the voting booth as others do a drive by on liberty by not voting at all !
Woof !
Well said!
I can buy into that. Carry on...
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