The Repuke 2006 Strategy.....by Fred Barnes.....deserves a "must read" [View All]

[AnnInLa]

Republican 2006 Strategy Will Be To Define Foes And "Change The Subject" (UPDATED)
by Joe Gandelman

Independent voters, those who believe elections are job performance reviews, and those who want to see the quality of political debate elevated in this country will not be heartened by a piece by Fred Barnes detailing how in the 2006 mid-term elections Republicans will try to avoid defending and explaining what they and George Bush have done the past few years.

How? By changing the subject — polarizing America in way that may earn the GOP a place in the Guinness Book of Records (just look under "Divisiveness"):

Politics is pretty simple. If the debate in an upcoming election puts your party at a disadvantage, it makes sense to try to change the debate. At the moment, the 2006 midterm election is framed as a referendum on the Bush administration and congressional Republicans, putting Republican candidates on the defensive. Party strategists, led by chairman Ken Mehlman, want to rejigger the debate so it's about a choice between candidates, putting Democratic candidates on the defensive as well. In short, they want it to be a choice election, not a referendum election.

snip

For 2006, the Republican National Committee, the White House, and most Senate and House Republicans are on board with the choice strategy. In fact, some members of Congress are already repeating a phrase first used by Bush in meetings with congressional allies. It's an assertion that Democrats would "raise your taxes and raise the white flag" in Iraq.

snip

Can you guess what else is coming up? P-o-l-a-r-i-z-a-t-i-on on social issues:

snip


House Republicans, for their part, intend to seek votes on measures such as the Bush-backed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a bill allowing more public expression of religion, another requiring parental consent for women under 18 to get an abortion, legislation to bar all federal courts except the Supreme Court from ruling on the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, a bill to outlaw human cloning, and another that would require doctors to consider fetal pain before performing an abortion.

(Please go and read the whole article, and click thru to the Fred Barnes-authored article:)

http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1142780783.shtml