Posted on 11/04/2009 9:55:55 PM PST by MadIsh32
Lessons from Virginia for the GOP By Ed Gillespie Thursday, November 5, 2009
After losing Virginia's governorship for the first time in eight years, some Democrats are trying to console themselves that Virginia is at its core a "red" state. This ignores not only that they won back-to-back governorships but also that Democrats defeated a sitting senator in 2006, took control of the state Senate in 2007 and won an open Republican Senate seat and three House seats in 2008 while carrying Virginia's electoral college votes for the first time since 1964.
Some in the White House are trying to deflect blame for the defeat by saying that Sen. Creigh Deeds lost because he didn't embrace the president and his policies. This ignores how much the Obama administration's support for cap-and-trade, organized labor's agenda, government-run health care and rampant spending hurt the Democratic nominee with independent voters.
And some Republicans are concluding that the Virginia governor's race was a referendum on President Obama and that we can make major gains in next year's midterms simply by running against him. This ignores the fact that while Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell benefited from voter concerns over Congress and the White House, he ran on a positive, detailed policy agenda.
There are lessons in the Virginia governor's race for both parties, but Republicans nationally would do well to take a few pages from McDonnell's playbook. Here are five:
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Funny, given that I’ve only been studying about elections for a few decades now. I was stating my position from my personal standpoint. I’ve been asked to run for office myself, but you see, when it comes to moi, I jackhammer an issue that is of paramount importance. I dislike and tolerate no bull$hit, one reason why I was DEEPLY offended by McCain’s campaign last year, his willfully ignoring one of the biggest problems in our country. It’s fine and dandy for the elites to ignore it, but I consider it a national security issue. In fact, I submit that pandering doesn’t work. If it had, McCain would have won in a landslide. A good chunk of our party’s problem is not confronting the issues and calling a spade a spade. We continue to ignore it at our own peril.
EXACTLY!!!
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