WP: Elections Are Crux Of GOP's Strategy

[Pirate Smile]

Elections Are Crux Of GOP's Strategy
Bush Aides Look to Midterm Vote as Way to Reverse Slide

By Peter Baker and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, May 22, 2006; Page A01

Confronting the worst poll numbers seen in the West Wing since his father went down to defeat, President Bush and his team are focusing on the fall midterm elections as the best chance to salvage his presidency and are building a campaign strategy around tax cuts, immigration and national security.

Modern history offers no precedent of a president climbing from a hole as deep as the one Bush finds himself in, and White House strategists have concluded that no staff shake-up or other quick fix will alter their trajectory. In the sixth year of his tenure, they said, Bush cannot easily change the minds of voters whose impressions are fully formed.

And so short of some event outside their direct control -- such as a dramatic turnaround in Iraq or the capture of Osama bin Laden -- Bush advisers have turned to the election as the most important chance to rewrite the troubled narrative of his presidency and recover enough to govern his last two years, Republican strategists said. With that in mind, Bush last week called on the National Guard to help stop illegal immigrants, signed tax-cut legislation and headlined three party fundraisers.

If Republicans retain Congress in November, Bush advisers note, he could assert that for the third straight election, the party defied historical patterns and popular predictions. Bush, they said, could advance a fresh agenda in early 2007. But they acknowledge a House takeover by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would foreshadow a contentious final two years fending off congressional subpoenas and hostile legislation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101096.html

Campaigning - they can do. Governing - not so much. Therefore, we just need more campaigning.

[wakeme2008]

1. LOL go out and campaign with your House members *

IMHO that will cost them more votes that it will help them with.

[mortlefaucheur]

10. Hahahaha!

Bush*, the Typhoid Mary of the Repuke party! :bounce:

[annabanana]

2. Bush Aides Look to Midterm Vote

And they will go after that vote in every legal and illegal way in front of them...

[Supersedeas]

55. prepare yourselfs for phone jamming, polling problems and fraud

[bemildred]

3. That is one of the dumbest headlines I've ever seen. nt

[Bjorn Against]

59. Yeah I never would have thought of using elections as a strategy...

We keep hearing that the Republicans have a plan, now we find out what that plan is: they are going to run candidates in elections. Damn, I could have never predicted it. But lets just keep repeating the talking point that it is those who are opposed to Bush that have no ideas.

[Pirate Smile]

4. more

"Bush has turned his attention to the campaign. Six months before the election, he has made 36 fundraising appearances, more than at this point in 2002. He spoke at a party gala last week that broke off-year records for hard-money fundraising and later attended events in Virginia and Kentucky. Vice President Cheney has been even more active, making 62 fundraising appearances, including one in Nashville on Saturday, and he plans three more in California in the next couple of days.

With Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove reassigned from day-to-day policy management to concentrate on the fall campaign, the White House has begun setting an agenda. Bush focused on stopping illegal immigration with his National Guard plan announced in an Oval Office address last week, followed a few days later by a visit to the border. In between, he signed legislation extending $70 billion in tax cuts that he has made a signature issue on the campaign trail.

To address conservatives, who have been key to his election victories but have grown disenchanted with the administration, Bush and Senate Republicans are reviving their fight with Democrats over judicial nominations and last week voted out of committee a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to set up a floor vote next month.

-snip-
Perhaps the most important element of the emerging strategy will be to "move from a referendum to a choice," as Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman put it. Instead of a verdict on Bush, Republicans want to frame the election as a contest with Democrats, confident that voters unhappy with the president will find the opposition even more distasteful.

[orwell]

5. All according to plan...

...Set the bar low...check
...Keep telling everyone you expect to be creamed in the midterms...check
...Claim a "miracle mandate" if you hold on to both houses (which, given incumbency, is the most likely scenario)...check
...Engineer public defections to make the accomplishment seem all the more "heroic."...check
...Call in the Diebold and cozy connections with Con Sec's of State to "fix" the results...check

Another Bush Miracle Win! See, the polls and pundits and insiders were wrong again! The values voters have spoken. Bush is a supreme being ordained by the lord himself to save the world. He can wiretap. He can smite our enemies. He can walk on oil, er I mean water!...PRAISE THE LORD

And now back to your regularly scheduled crony capitalist rip off...already in progress...

[virgdem]

6. They only forgot one little word in that headline...

the first word should read: Fixing

[orwell]

7. LOL...n/t

[Beetwasher]

17. Create A Backstory About An Invisible Voter Bloc That Will Miraculously

Appear on election day, then Disappear the day after. In '04 it was the invisible evangelicals that appeared out of nowhere and voted in massive amounts, and yet, no one seemed to be able to identify them in exit polls. In '06 it will be the anti-impeachment bloc who are "frightened" about a Dem congress impeaching Chimpy and will miraculously turn out in massive numbers and then disappear into thin air.

[EFerrari]

18. Exactly. And someone should really point that out to the DLC

so they'll stop having ridiculous conferences on how to court the fictitious.

[AndyTiedye]

49. In '02 It Was "Angry White Men" (in Black Precincts) in Georgia

It is the job of the MSM to explain away the election theft.

[grytpype]

8. Hahahahaahahaaaaaaa!

[AndyTiedye]

9. Why Do They Always Defy Popular Predictions? BECAUSE THEY STEAL ELECTIONS

[Demeter]

11. Stealing Elections, Maybe

They don't have a leg to run on.

[station agent]

43. 51-49

Amazing how the only races since 2000 where exit polling was wrong were 51-49 or closer favoring the Republican. Hmm.

[truthisfreedom]

12. which is why we need to bring in the UN to monitor elections.

when they start talking like this, it's all about vote-rigging.

[TexasLawyer]

57. Yup-- This is all foreshadowing for the GOP "surpise"

come-from-behind win in November.

"Hey, our poll numbers were in the toilet, but look at how we strategized and campaigned! Look at how we motivated our base.

Oh, and the Democrats ran bad candidates. Oh, and our people don't answer exit polls honestly."

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Hmm waht flavor will the October surprise take?

Defrosting OBL? Bringing the troops home after declaring victory?

Hmm, inquiring minds want to know

[AndyTiedye]

45. Attacking Iran

:scared: :nuke::nuke::nuke:

[Pirate Smile]

14. kick

[Auntie Bush]

15. This means they will surly tamper with all those election machines.

Rove is plotting as I type on just how much alteration is needed without being too obvious and in which states..count on it! This man needs to be in jail now! The longer he's out...the more the election is in danger!

[sweetheart]

16. jeb

The core person who does the election fixing is jeb... nobody can
control a bush-dog, and he's in election fraud up to his neck.

[AndyTiedye]

46. And Blackwell in Ohio

"…as a Republican sweep in Ohio and Florida bucks the national trend and preserves
the Republican majority in both houses of Congress and gives Ohio and all-Republican
Congressional delegation for the first time ever, Ohio Governor-elect Ken Blackwell
rejected calls for a recount. In Florida, Sentator-Elect Katherine Harris…"

"…exit polling was shut down nationwide due to 'computer malfunctions'".

[sweetheart]

47. They talk

The repuklican party has systemic election corruption machinery
built in to throw at least 10 states their way, and this
secret network is entirely above the national security
apparattus, as their job is to protect the constitution, physically,
and as long as no foriegn enemy can get to the discoloured hemp,
then the USA is safe.

Its good the fundamentalism of protecting the slave constitution,
enslaved to the dogma that it is even remotely understood.

[Moderator]

19. K

[sabra]

20. Bush looks to (mid) elections to revive presidency

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060522/WIRE/205220323/1117/news

Bush looks to elections to revive presidency


Confronting the worst poll numbers seen in the West Wing since his father went down to defeat, President Bush and his team are focusing on the fall midterm elections as the best chance to salvage his presidency and are building a campaign strategy around tax cuts, immigration and national security.

Modern history offers no precedent of a president climbing from a hole as deep as the one Bush finds himself in, and White House strategists have concluded that no staff shake-up or other quick fix will alter their trajectory. In the sixth year of his tenure, they said, Bush cannot easily change the minds of voters whose impressions are fully formed.

And so short of some event outside their direct control - such as a dramatic turnaround in Iraq or the capture of Osama bin Laden - Bush advisers have turned to the election as the most promising chance to rewrite the troubled narrative of his presidency and recover enough to govern his last two years, Republican strategists said. With that in mind, Bush last week dispatched the National Guard to help stop illegal immigrants, signed tax-cut legislation and headlined three party fundraisers.

If Republicans retain Congress in November, Bush advisers note, he could assert that for the third straight election, the party defied historical patterns and popular predictions. Bush, they said, could advance a fresh agenda in early 2007. But they acknowledge a House takeover by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would foreshadow a contentious final two years fending off congressional subpoenas and hostile legislation.

[habitual]

21. this line says it all

"he could assert that for the third straight election, the party defied historical patterns and popular predictions."

do you think it will be a problem for them when the exit polls say some GOP runners should lose by over 30 points, but the outcome is a GOP victory.... i think eventually people will realize that something isn't right with the way they keep winning even though all indications are that they shouldn't be.... Fraud has a strange way of exposing itself sometimes...

[buff2]

26. I don't think it will make any difference

If it comes out that the GOPerverts "win" when they are way down in the polls,most people will accept it and go on,just like all the other times. The only ones who will be upset will be the liberal groups on-line,which will be like a lonely voice out in the wilderness.The GOPerverts will stoop to the lowest level to "win",so how in the world can we fight THAT? It's sad.

[Norquist Nemesis]

35. Except, IIRC, they have stopped using exit polls

I read somewhere after the 2004 election, they won't be using exit polls on election day anymore. Don't have time to google it at the moment... anyone else recall this?

[Javaman]

36. If they throw another election, I see people actively..

burning voting booths.

It will be on that day, that things in this country will go from worst to horrible. We've long passed bad.

I truly fear for this country if another election is snookered.

[shadowknows69]

44. That's why we need to stay in a huge lead in the polls

going into Nov the key house and senate contenders need to be 25+ ahead. then if they do steal them again there will be no "defying expectations" shit. And if there is it's time to go next level.

[AndyTiedye]

48. They Did EXACTLY THAT in Ohio Last Fall!! More Than 30 Points!!!

The initiatives that would have stripped Blackwell of his power to rig elections
were winning by better than 2-1 margins. They "lost" by 2-1 margins, according
to the official election results.

The media explained it away by saying that everybody changed their mind in the
voting booth. There weren't any exit polls.

[boobooday]

22. Game Over, Dubya

Good luck trying to convince people that your steaming turd of an administration is a Filet Mignon (excuse my vulgarity).

It's over, you pushed it too far, and awakened the sleeping giant, the American people, who still have dim memories of something called the Constitution.

[Triana]

23. KARMA...

...I hope it catches up with George W. Bush THIS election. I think it already has taken a chunk out of his ass. Now, it just needs to get the rest of him, too.

Bye George.

[Autonomy]

24. He's digging himself out of a hole with a shovel

No one is buying tax cuts with his record on spending, few believe him on national secuity anymore, and the immigration issue divides his base and doesn't earn him any undecideds (if this animal is not yet extinct). He's going to have to catch bin Laden to get any traction in the polls. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if they've been "sitting on" bin Laden all this time for just this purpose.

[gratuitous]

25. Now why would they be worried about subpoenas?

As we all know, people who've done nothing wrong have nothing to hide. Right?

[Auntie Bush]

27. Bush* still can't face reality!----- "Bush looks to elections to revive

presidency." He completely misjudged his ability to be a leader during war or any other time. He's still waiting anxiously for someone to find those WMD and all those roses. He even thinks the Iraqi Army is going to take over soon even though they are getting killed off or murdered faster than we can train them. What an ass! Now, that he's good at!

[mazzarro]

28. Win By Any and All Means Necessary

This means that Democrats better take note the election will be fixed in some ways if the repuke-licons are not checked. Any means - legal or illegal - will be what they will aim for this November! And Democratic pussy-footing around this issue of voting machines is something to be concerned about!

[AzDar]

30. 'Zactly! The fact that they are so laissez-faire about his poll numbers

sinking faster than the 'Titanic' is horribly reminiscent of Bush "campaigning" to pre-screened audiences already prepared to vote for him during the 2004 election.
What I didn't understand was that it was already a 'lock' for Bush, courtesy of Diebold...and really, what's changed since then?

[salin]

29. history lesson circa 1986:

Ronald Reagan, not yet embroiled (I think) in Iran Contra was loosing some of his luster. During the midterms it quickly became apparent that in the races where he became active, the candidates began to do more poorly - by the end of the election cycle he wasn't doing so many spots. Election night: The Senate turned over from Republican majority to Democratic Majority.

Campaigning may be the only thing that bush does (according to some) well - but he has never been the campaigner that Reagan was, and while Reagan and his policies were losing ground (popularity-wise) his popularity at the time far surpasses bushjr's at this point in time.

If this is what the GOP is hoping to pin their hopes to, then they are fools. If the congressional GOP let the WH use the campaigns as a way of bolstering the Administration, then they (the fools that they are) are likely not only to see more congressional losses - but are likely to see a serious decline of the overall GOP (not just bushco).

I say - go for it Rove, Jr and Cheney... take the whole darn party out the door when the door finally hits you on the way out.

[Bush_MUST_Go]

31. "chance to salvage his presidency" Stick a fork in it... you're done.

[AndyTiedye]

50. History Lesson From 2004

1. Steal Election
2. Claim you now have a Man Date to fuck us over totally.

[salin]

52. There has to be an expectation that a race is close

to be able to steal it without a huge backlash. The way the GOP are running their chances into the ground, it is very conceivable that many 'contested' seats - will not even be projected to be close when the election finally arrives. The real question for which it is hard to know if there is an answer - is if thefts were so obvious to most of the population, and so pervasive (in terms of numerous races) that fraud became as obvious as when a not so popular Mushareff won reelection with something like 98% percent of voters voting for him... would the public react? If it became so glaringly clear to even the most skeptical (per election fraud) - would people react? Bigger question - is how would they react?

[AndyTiedye]

53. Not In Ohio as of Last Fall

The reform initiatives (that would have stripped Blackwell of his election-rigging power)
were leading by over 30 points going into the election. They "lost" by 30 points!



I think that was a test of how much fraud they can get away with. Karl Rove's real
mission is coordinate the cover story of millions of fundies coming out of the woodwork
to vote Republican with the MSM, and make sure they all have their talking points to
explain away the next Republican upset, which will require fraud on an unprecedented scale.

[salin]

56. good, and sad point about the election reform initiatives in Ohio.

:-(

And yes the scale of fraud, given how the GOP are tanking themselves from all directions in rapid speed, would have to be GIANT. They are crazy and arrogant enough to think that they could pull such a thing off.

[DrZeeLit]

32. What? Presidency of La La Land? Fantasyland? Denialand? He's looped

through the beltway one too many times.

But... I hope he sits on his hopes and spins.
OR better yet. I hope he goes out of his way to actually CAMPAIGN for these fine GOP folks.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Let's see how many want to line up a photo op with ol' #29 and falling?

This could be fun.
As long as the Dems get some focus.

[VaYallaDawg]

34. Your last line says it all, ZeeLit.

I don't believe there's any way the Dems can hope to recapture any or all of the govt. branches simply by counting on the gross ineptitude of Bush and his co-conspirators. We have to have a positive, assertive message -- a brand, if you will -- that Americans can identify with.

We've already learned that the "anybody but Republicans" strategy just doesn't pay off.

[cliss]

33. My my, how the tables have turned.

Did they expect anything different? After what they did to the American people, did they really expect to continue?

At some point, the host decides to get rid of the tapeworm. And we're at that stage right now, reaching for a big dose of.....Droncit.

Get ready, GOP. You're about to be.....expelled.

[dmallind]

38. I still think we are a bit blasé here

Forgetting - just for the sake of argument trust me - any possible Diebold shenanigans, we have to remember a massive public ill-will towards Bush and his goons does not translate into a win. How many of the districts are competitive now. It's OK for a generic Dem to be preferred to a generic Rep 49-32 nationally but does that mean Hastert will lose his seat ? Hell no! Does that mean we'll pick up 49% of the seats in states like Utah and Wyoming? Not a chance. If we move our margin of victory in Dem seats from 5pts to 15pts we gain NOTHING. If we cut a Rep margin of victory from 15pts to 5 we gain NOTHING. Only when we flip a seat does it matter.

The Reps currently hold about 30 vulnerable seats and the Dems about 15. Some of those Rep vulnerables include some pretty wishful thinking IMO - malaise with Reps in general will not necessarily unseat prominent Reps.

So again assuming no cheating at all we have to take 16 net seats right? So we have to win 16 more of those 30 than we lose of our 15. It's early yet but I'm not willing to start even thinking a takeover is POSSIBLE let alone certain unless I see 10pt or more leads in a net 16 of those seats. Smaller leads are either not sure enough with the typical MOEs or too vulnerable to the Diebold effect.

Anybody think they can provide that kind of reassurance? Doubt it.

We have a chance - but it's only a chance and a slim one at that. Celebrations are at least 6 months too early and probably 6 decades if we blow this one by being overconfident.

[Zorra]

37. No one takes this fool seriously anymore. He's the joke of the world. nt

[The_Casual_Observer]

39. Who knows? The fundies could get fired up and reelect a bunch

of rw shits & nothing will change. I have no faith in the system anymore.

[AndyTiedye]

51. Most Fundies Are a Figment of a Diebold Voting Machine's Imagination

[KansDem]

41. You can "look" but you better not "touch"

In other words, Chimpie, you and Diebold keep your f**cking hands out of the tabulators!

[paparush]

40. STEALING Elections Are Crux Of GOP's Strategy

[Tiggeroshii]

42. Ya know

To me it's pretty much saying it. The GOP is saying that as much as they can without actually using the words. They know they can do it.

[frylock]

54. junior would need a catastrophic and catalyzing event to revive..

his approval ratings -- like a new 9-11.

[rocktivity]

58. Another 9/11 would prove that Bush is useless on national security.

Capturing bin Laden will not end Al Qaeda, and it certainly won't end what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Any economic gains are wiped out by the gargantuan deficit he's created. His immigration reform has been exposed to be nothing more than reinforcement of the status quo for his corporate backers. And Bush's lack of a response to Katrina shows that our government must have a tax revenue nest egg in the bank to cover emergencies.

But don't translate that into thinking I believe it's a bad strategy--it allows the Dem candidates to tar their Repub opponents with "the Bush brush" the way Jon Corzine did to become governor of New Jersey. So I say, go, Georgie, go! RAH RAH RAH!


rocknation