Things to keep in mind when running for President as a Republican

Redstate ^ | 01/06/2014 | Martin A. Knight

[MAKnight]

NOTE: I started writing this in May. Dan wrote something along these lines in August. Read it. He put it down much better than I ever could.

Things to keep in mind when running for President as a Republican.

1. Somewhere between 93% to 98% of the people who would be covering the race on behalf of the nation’s largest national and regional news media outlets will be supporting your Democrat opponent – whoever she (or he) may be. This lopsided level of support for Democrats in the news media, especially within the Beltway has been consistent for nearly half a century. Make no mistake, the near universal desire to see the Democrat win will be a primary driver in the nature of the coverage they will provide to the American people of your campaign for office and it will most certainly not be to your benefit. This will remain so no matter how obsequiously “friendly”, “accessible” and “open” you are. Despite Mitt Romney’s campaign publicly announcing that he will not challenge the Press’ conduct as a way to contrast himself with Newt Gingrich, and eight long years of John McCain sucking up to journalists, the Fourth Estate remained resolutely hostile to their campaigns. In other words, choosing to forget or “highmindedly” treat this as a non-issue – as the majority of the Beltway based consultants you hire would advise you to (entirely for their own benefit) – exponentially increases the likelihood of your defeat.

2. To the extent possible, keep your own records of every encounter you have with the news media and the public where anyone can carry a camera – this means practically everywhere. Have your own video cameras and tape recorders at interviews, Q & A sessions, fundraisers, townhall events, etc. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of creative editing, whether the perpetrator be a single individual Democrat activist or network news division. Whatever the case, it should end up on YouTube.

3. Journalists, editorial boards of newspapers and other media outlets are neither sacrosanct nor shielded by any law, principle or ethical consideration from criticism. Quite apart from questioning the legitimacy and relevance of questions asked of you by supposed impartial reporters, be prepared to make a public issue of a news outlet or its reporters allying itself with the opposition. Your campaign should be prepared, in no uncertain terms, to call out individual reporters, columnists and news outlets for biased reporting, partisan hit pieces, misleading editorials, hypocrisy and double standards on-air, online, in print and broadcast, in any and all venues. This will shock and horrify many, and most likely cause a rash of fainting spells at the shocking breach of Beltway etiquette, including among a large number of Republicans. Note, however, that nothing will endear you more to the GOP’s activist grassroots. If the prospect of this inspires anything short of giddy anticipation, don’t run.

4. Engage media spokesmen and surrogates who know the difference between being friendly and making friends, and the necessary ability to convincingly portray the former, while having absolutely no interest in the latter. Hire disciplined, quick-thinking, combative, confrontational individuals who will not hesitate to call out false premises and falsehoods, forcefully correct the record on air, and put hosts and anchors on the spot with their own questions. They must be unafraid to call the integrity of individual reporters and news outlets into question (including the network they’re on and the person interviewing them – to his (or her) face) and loudly highlight any bias in a news outlet’s coverage. They must be willing to name names, criticize, mock and ridicule, bring up subjects hosts would rather not discuss, and refuse to allow a topic to be changed (i.e. “let’s move on …”) before they make their point. All the while keeping a smile on their faces. Again, this will cause a great deal of distress amongst Washington DC’s sophisticates. If the prospect of this also distresses you, don’t run.

5. Hire people who want you to win. This may sound obvious; but note that a large number of the staffers surrounding the McCain and Romney campaigns made it clear that they were more interested in maintaining their social standing in Washington’s cocktail circuit than winning the election. Hire people who would only dismiss a campaign tactic on the grounds of effectiveness, rather than nice-guy sophisticate concerns such as “elevating the discourse” or “fostering bipartisan cooperation” or because the New York Times has declared a topic out of bounds (e.g. Jeremiah Wright). In McCain’s case, quite a few campaign staffers were openly ambivalent about who they’d prefer to see win on Election Day. In fact, McCain pollster Mark McKinnon publicly announced that he would jump ship to avoid being in a campaign against Barack Obama, and he promptly did the moment Obama secured the nomination. At least McKinnon was honest – unfortunately, a much larger number of key people who shared his sentiments remained on the McCain campaign payroll.

6. No campaign spokesman or surrogate should discuss campaign strategy and tactics on national TV. Let’s call this the “Etch-A-Sketch” rule. This includes yourself. Do not discuss how you will approach or appeal to this or that demographic. An exception to this rule is if the aim is to misdirect either the media or the opposition. Remember that the word campaign was imported into the world of politics from the world of warfare – secrecy and deception are the first arts of war.

7. Do not underestimate the importance of traditional media. Notwithstanding the continued growth of new media, the overwhelming majority of the American people get their news on politics from the big name newspapers and wire services, and most especially the Big Three networks. As important as it is to remember that ABC, CBS and NBC are staffed from top to bottom with people who are implacably hostile to the GOP, it is even more important to remember that they still own the biggest microphones and individually reach up to five times more people than FOX News on any given night. What this means is that you must never “go dark” or attempt some sort of “boycott” of any of these networks (including PBS, CNN, MSNBC) – as Sharron Angle discovered, doing so is the equivalent of leaving a flank unprotected, it only avails them uncontested ground from which to continue inflicting damage on your campaign. In other words, you must remain constantly engaged, even if it means hiring and assigning specific spokesmen [see above] for each network to be constantly present with your message, and counter falsehoods about you and your campaign.

8. For a Republican, the most expeditious way past a supposedly campaigning-ending “controversy”, “scandal” or “gaffe” is through it. The fact is, by and large, campaign missteps (real or contrived) really only have as much power as you concede to them. Do not give into the “hunker down and wait for it to pass” i.e. fetal crouch instinct, neither should you do the equivalent of throwing your hands in the air and running around in a panic. First, the “hunker down” tactic effectively became obsolete with the advent of the 24 hour newscycle, and even more so with internet and YouTube. Secondly, for this tactic to work today, it requires the active cooperation of a Press Corps that would not give the story wall-to-wall coverage, that would dismiss it as a non-issue and then not bring it back up thereafter every time your name is mentioned. Simply put, you need to be a Democrat. The fastest way to get the Press Corps to drop a politically harmful subject, “gaffe” or otherwise, is essentially to; either neutralize it by questioning the entire premise or relevance of the issue, or consistently bringing up a related issue or position so that there is also collateral damage to the Democrat. e.g. if every time a reporter asks about abortion in the case of rape, you bring up Democrats’ opposition to parental notification laws even in the case of the pregnant 12 year old girl at the abortion clinic, or the fact that Democrats (and most journalists) believe that abortion should be legal right up to the due date, they would suddenly find other subjects of interest to ask you about.

9. Protect and defend your record and reputation – when attacked, defend yourself and return fire. Alan Simpson may have said it decades ago, but time hasn’t made it any less true; an allegation unchallenged is an allegation believed – no matter how outlandish and ridiculous an accusation, constant unchallenged repetition renders it credible. The fact of the matter is that while daintily turning your nose up in the air and saying “I will not dignify that with a response!” may impress the David Gergens, Brooks and Frums at the cocktails, it is nothing short of incandescent stupidity. One; it encourages your attackers to increase their fire and expand their target list – which will eventually include your family. Two; it depresses and discourages your supporters – as Republicans found out throughout the Bush ’43 Administration, nothing is more dispiriting than defending someone who refuses to make any effort on his own behalf. Three; as hard as it is to get the apolitical (i.e. most self-described “moderates” and “Independents”) to notice action, a policy depending on them noticing inaction is nothing short of unadulterated stupidity. Four; among those that do notice your silence, it is just as, perhaps even more likely, that they will conclude that your silence is a sign of guilt … and they will vote accordingly.

10. The media has four standard (yet powerfully effective) templates for covering Republicans running for office – he (or she) is either (1) “Stupid”, (2) “Out of Touch”, (3) “Evil” or (4) “Extreme” in a bid to alienate him/her from the electorate. Furthermore, these templates are not mutually exclusive; nothing prevents portraying a Republican as simultaneously “Stupid”, “Evil” and “Extreme.” Rather than “highmindedly” ignoring these efforts, as has been done for the past few decades, it is important for a campaign to actively work to undercut these templates – using photo ops, biography, testimonials by supporters, etc. These may elicit sniffs of derision from Washington’s sophisticates as they sip their lattes – but, as tactics, they work. As exit polls showed, Romney beat Obama on who was more trusted to address issues like the economy, healthcare, national security, etc. but Obama, based on his campaign’s efforts to portray Mitt Romney as “out-of-touch” (Romney’s academic record and business background made the “Stupid” template a hard sell), handily beat Romney on the question of who cares more about “people like me” … and he won.

11. Extensively use social media and networks to answer critics. Responding to a hit piece news story on CNN, a partisan “FactCheck”, or a standard issue (i.e. hypocritical, mendacious) New York Times editorial with a polite letter to the editor that they may or may not publish is outdated and completely ineffective. Even if a correction is published or broadcast, it would be buried in the back pages long after the damage has been done, unseen by the many who saw the large headlines throwing out the allegation in the first place. A refutation on your campaign blog (a must-have) can also be buried by newer posts. So, in addition to the letter to the editor, a blog post, a mockery laden line by line refutation (this was known as ‘fisking’ in the early days of the bogosphere) by a campaign staffer on YouTube and Vimeo, linked to on your facebook and Google+ pages should also be done. This doesn’t have to be limited to just the output of the news media’s numerous Democrat activists, your Democrat opponent’s speeches, record, policy proposals, can be subjected to the same treatment.

12. Social media (not to mention Adobe’s suite of media editing applications) also affords you a way to present your policy proposals in a more engaging way than a forty minute speech, hundred page white paper or scores of focus-grouped bullet points. These may be appreciated by genuine policy wonks (including those who want to use them to attack you) and Washington sophisticates who want to be seen as policy wonks, but they number less than 0.01% of Washington DC itself, much less the American people as a whole. Use your YouTube channel to present a series of videos i.e. “John Smith on Education”, “John Smith on Tax Reform”, “John Smith on Immigration”. Use cartoons and animations. Use history, facts, figures, graphs and charts. Use humor and plain (not Washington or wonk) language. Explain how things work (e.g. the economy – it’s shocking how many college students actually think “profit” is something that is front loaded in the business cycle), or how things went wrong (and do not hesitate to point fingers across the aisle), and show how your proposed policy can improve/fix it for the typical American individual or family, i.e. answer the “how does this benefit/help me?” question. Members of the electorate may not have the patience to download and read a ten page PDF document, but they will watch a five minute YouTube video. Remember that while it is always important to include a human story to emotionally connect to your target audience it is even more important to aim for intellectual buy-in. Cheap slogans and buzzphrases (e.g. “Get America working again”, “9-9-9″, etc.) have their uses, but do not use them in lieu of actual arguments. To quote Thatcher; “First you win the argument, then you win the vote.”

13. Don’t just give a speech – where you can, give a presentation. Another thing modern multimedia technology affords you is the ability to go beyond standing behind a podium and reading off a teleprompter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a number of screens behind you means you can say a lot more within the same period of time – you can make it a presentation. You can utilize images (i.e. charts, graphs, newspaper clippings etc.) and even video clips, illustrating exactly what you’re talking about. Al Gore’s propaganda masterpiece – An Inconvenient Truth – is an excellent example of how to do this.

14. Bring retail politics to the 21st Century – use modern telecommunications technology to extend the reach of your events. Big screens and modern multimedia communications technology today avail to you the ability to connect multiple places, making it so that your ticket mate could be in Colorado, the Governor or Gubernatorial candidate acting as a surrogate in Arizona, while you’re in New Mexico, and you can end up holding a rally and interacting and answering voters’ questions in three places at once.

15. Practice your speeches. Participate in the reviewing and editing, not only to give it as much of your voice as possible, but also to identify your applause lines and pause points. Minor though it may seem, one cannot emphasise enough the importance of simply getting the cadences right. After watching Obama, Clinton and Reagan deliver a speech, watching George W. Bush stumbling over his applause lines is almost physically painful. The way you deliver a speech can mean someone flipping through channels stops to listen to what you’re saying or flips on to Jon Stewart to tell him what you said.

16. Don’t preach to the choir. Target the bulk of your communications efforts toward convincing fence-sitters and the marginally informed, not just the true believers who are already convinced. “Because freedom.”, “Because Founding Fathers.” and “Because Constitution.” and yes, “Because God.” may be effective with the GOP’s conservative base, but they are not effective arguments for winning over new adherents. Restating first principles and the hows and whys and therefores has the advantage of not only winning over fence-sitters, but also (re)inspiring and convincing true believers that you’re not just mouthing platitudes. Think of it this way, a young man born on American soil to American citizens finally returns to America to settle after spending his childhood and growing up in Belize. He is bright and educated, but raised in a completely apolitical home and not particularly versed in economics, and now wants to know why he should join the GOP instead of the Democrats – how do you convince him to join the GOP and then vote for you?

17. Take any racially based attacks on you personally. It will happen, simply because it has proven so effective and Republicans are chronically unprepared for it. Simply put, your campaign should rain fire and brimstone down on anyone who insinuates, hints or outright calls you a racist in any medium or venue. This may cause fainting spells all over the Beltway, but make it very clear from the onset of your campaign that anyone who calls you a racist has no right to any respect or courtesy. Refusing to respond when called a racist, like refusing to respond to any other character assassination attack, does not imbue you with either dignity or credibility. In fact, failing to respond, as Republicans have chosen to do for the past few decades, has only given the Democrats the free space to further cement their grip on the election day loyalties of minority communities. Remember that no matter how outlandish and ridiculous an accusation, constant unchallenged repetition makes it believable. The consultants’ recommended approach; nervously smiling foot-shuffling milquetoast mumbles of protest followed by a rapid retreat, has not worked for the past 40 years – it is not about start anytime soon. Ignoring the consultants and responding with fire and brimstone, showing passion – real anger – may just do the opposite.

18. Your consultants would advise against this as a waste of time and resources, but ensure that you have regular (at least every two weeks) events in minority majority communities and neighborhoods throughout the course of your campaign. Ignore the consultants; one of the interesting things about the GOP’s political operative class is that they see no connection between the 40 year conventional wisdom that Republican candidates would be better served to completely concede urban and minority areas to the Democrats in order to increase turnout amongst whites, and the continued fall in the GOP’s level of support amongst African Americans and Hispanics. The above mentioned events need not cost much; they could range from a full neighborhood meeting to simply sitting in a living room with a single family to discuss the issues at hand. Again, your consultants would advise against it, but do not try to avoid any “third rail” issues, issues like crime, unwed parenthod, education, immigration, etc. and do not back down from an argument. Most importantly, make sure to explicitly tie liberal policies to these problems. And also make sure everything gets on YouTube. In addition, invest heavily in getting your message out on urban and ethnic media (even if hostile) – have a sit down with The Source magazine, run a townhall event at an HBCU, get interviewed on Univisión, attend a Diwali dinner, run ads on Hip-Hop stations, etc. Remember, just getting an extra 10% of minority votes can make the difference between victory or defeat, and given the single digit support Republicans now get, there’s really not much to lose trying a different approach.

19. Beware of inadvertently endorsing the ubiquitous claims of moral authority or claims to be the voices of this or that “community” by Left-Wing organisations. When they invariably turn around and endorse your opponent, and for added measure provide material support and credibility to the Democrats’ inevitable charges of “hate” and “war”, their charges would have the added weight of your vouching for their authenticity. A Republican accepting any invitation to speak at any gathering of the NAACP, a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee, is one such example of a self-sabotaging endorsement. Note that a Republican speaking in front of the NAACP has implicitly given his endorsement to their claim to speak for the African American community – thoroughly undermining any attempt to protest when they invariably declare him an enemy of the black community and a threat to minority civil rights. Rather than accept an NAACP invitation, or pretend to not have received it, a Republican Presidential candidate would be better served by responding with an open letter of rejection decrying the NAACP’s fall from an honorable non-partisan organisation fighting for equality of opportunity for all Americans it was in the 1960s to the thoroughly partisan dishonest organisation whose existence is based entirely on ensuring that the African American community remains on the bottom rung of the socio-economic ladder it is today.

20. Hire actual experts to run your campaign’s essential technological operations, do not outsource to jack of all trades campaign consultants. The Romney Campaign’s ORCA debacle (and the Obama Administration’s healthcare.gov travesty) has already convinced one and all of the stupidity of putting political operatives in charge of software development projects. Make no mistake – the public relations, marketing, branding, reputation/perception management operations of a campaign equally require the engagement of tested seasoned hands-on experts. Never forget; a political campaign is a marketing campaign – the product is you and your vision. Fact; no proper branding professional would have advised the Romney campaign to respond to months of attacks on his business record with highminded “day one, job one” ads telling voters what Mitt Romney would do as president – a branding professional would have known that your promises don’t matter a whit if the people you’re trying to convince think you’re a 20th/21st Century Robber Baron.

21. Ensure that you have a beautiful well-organized media heavy website with modules and components that allow your supporters to communicate (and collaborate) according to (at the very minimum) their geographical locations. A site visitor should be able to enter his ZIP code and be presented with a list of upcoming campaign/GOP activities, latest stories, videos and blogs sorted according to precinct, city, district/county and state. Campaign volunteers and supporters should have access to downloadable apps and online tools for laptops and handheld devices that allow swift sharing and organization – which will work wonders for you on Election Day.

[Yosemitest]

"Establishment Republicans" LOSE every time they're tried.
And the media loves for the GOP to lose.
That's why they support "Establishment Republicans" .
So take a good long look at where "Establishment Republicans" ALWAYS take us.

[Bullish]

I didn’t read this entire piece, but any Republican running for president would do well to closely study and emulate how Ronald Reagan handled his opposition by the leftist press. Using his quick wit and good common sense he handed them their asses on a plate and the people absolutely loved him for it.

[glorgau]

, but make it very clear from the onset of your campaign that anyone who calls you a racist has no right to any respect or courtesy.

Especially if his name is Al Sharpton.

[firebrand]

22. Forget all that nonsense and just focus on what is best for the American people. Speak the truth about this and you will be fine.

[Liz]

It certainly DOES help that the 2016 Republican candidate does not have the disadvantages of his Democrat opponent (snix). ....'specially a paper trail revealing lock-stepping Dimocrat party loyalty of the kind not seen since 1940's-era Europe....

Here's an Hudson Institute scholar's remarkable prophecy a year and a half before the USSC's decision that O/Care was a tax, and after Nov 2010 midterms, in which Democrats in Congress and in state legislatures suffered huge losses.....due to O/Care. In Commentary magazine, Tevi Troy wrote: "The Pyrrhic victory Democrats secured for themselves [when Obama signed ACA into law] may prove not to have been a victory at all but rather an ever-roiling, ongoing, and recurring act of political and ideological self-destruction."

===============================================

LOCK-STEPPING PARTY LOYALTY NOT SEEN SINCE 1940's ERA EUROPE Obama And The Dumbos marching in lockstep. The persistent Dumbocrat drumbeat ---- in obeisance to Obama ---- kept ringing reassuringly in our ears.

===================================================

As far back as 2008, at the presidential debate in Nashville, Democrat candidate Obama advanced his signature plan that was ultimately enacted (by an historic straight Democrat party-line vote) into the "Affordable Care Act :

OBAMA: "No. 1, let me just repeat, if you’ve got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it. All I’m going to do is help you to lower the premiums on it. You’ll still have choice of doctor.”

Repeated over and over ---- with the promise that every American would be saving $2500.00 on healthcare costs.

LOYAL DEMOCRATS CHIME IN all reading from the Lockstep Manual:

SEN. HARRY REID (D-Nev.): “In fact, one of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.8642, 8/3/09)

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN: “We believe — and we stand by this — if you like your current health insurance plan, you will be able to keep it, plain and simple, straightforward.” (Sen. Durbin, Congressional Record, S.6401, 6/10/09)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “If you like your insurance, you keep it.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Bill Mark-Up, 9/29/09)

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.): “Again, if you like what you have, you will be able to keep it. Let me say this again: If you like what you have, when our legislation is passed and signed by the President, you will be able to keep it.” (Sen. Murray, Congressional Record, S.6400, 6/10/09)

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-Mont.): “That is why one of the central promises of health care reform has been and is: If you like what you have, you can keep it. That is critically important. If a person has a plan, and he or she likes it, he or she can keep it.” (Sen. Baucus, Congressional Record, S.7676, 9/29/10)

SEN. TOM HARKIN (D-Iowa): “One of the things we put in the health care bill when we designed it was the protection for consumers to keep the plan they have if they like it; thus, the term ‘grandfathered plans.’ If you have a plan you like — existing policies — you can keep them. … we said, if you like a plan, you get to keep it, and you can grandfather it in.” (Sen. Harkin, Congressional Record, S.7675-6, 9/29/10)

THEN-REP. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.): “Under the bill, if you like the insurance you have now, you may keep it and it will improve.” (Rep. Baldwin, Press Release, 3/18/10)

SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-Alaska): “If you got a doctor now, you got a medical professional you want, you get to keep that. If you have an insurance program or a health care policy you want of ideas, make sure you keep it. That you can keep who you want.” (Sen. Begich, Townhall Event, 7/27/09)

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.): “We should begin with a basic principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it. If you have your doctor, and you like him or her, you should be able to keep them as well. We will not take that choice away from you.” (Sen. Bennet, Press Release, 6/11/09)

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D-Calif.): “So we Democrats want people to be able to keep the health care they have. And the answer to that is choice of plans. And in the exchange, we’re going to have lots of different plans, and people will be able to keep the health care coverage they need and they want.” (Sen. Boxer, Press Release, 2/8/11)

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-Ohio): “Our Democrat bill says if you have health insurance and you like it, you can keep it…”(Sen. Brown, Congressional Record, S.12612, 12/7/09)

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.): “For the people of Maryland, this bill will provide a rational way in which they can maintain their existing coverage…” (Sen. Cardin, Congressional Record, S.13798, 12/23/09)

SEN. BOB CASEY (D-Pa.): “I also believe this Democrat legislation and the bill we are going to send to President Obama this fall will also have secure choices. If you like what you have, you like the plan you have, you can keep it. It is not going to change.” (Sen. Casey, Congressional Record, S.8070, 7/24/09)

SEN. KAY HAGAN (D-N.C.): ‘People who have insurance they’re happy with can keep it’ “We need to support the private insurance industry so that people who have insurance they’re happy with can keep it while also providing a backstop option for people without access to affordable coverage.” (“Republicans Vent As Other Compromise Plans Get Aired,” National Journal’s Congress Daily, 6/18/09)

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-La.): “If you like the insurance that you have, you’ll be able to keep it.” (MSNBC’s Hardball, 12/16/09)

SEN. PAT LEAHY (D-Vt.): “[I]f you like the insurance you now have, keep the insurance you have.” (CNN’s “Newsroom,” 10/22/09)

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.): “If you like what you have, you get to keep it” “Menendez is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which is expected to release a bill later this week. He stressed that consumers who are satisfied with their plans won’t have to change. ‘If you like what you have, you get to keep it,’ he said.” (“Health Care Plan Would Help N.J., Menendez Says,” The Record, 6/19/09)

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-Oreg.): “[E]nsuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it” “The HELP Committee bill sets forward a historic Democrat plan that will, for the first time in American history, give every American access to affordable health coverage, reduce costs, and increase choice, while ensuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it.” (Sen. Merkley, Press Release, 7/15/09)

SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D-Md.): “It means that if you like the insurance you have now, you can keep it.” (Sen. Mikulski, Press Release, 12/24/09)

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-W.Va.): “I want people to know, the President’s promise that if you like the coverage you have today you can keep it is a pledge we intend to keep.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Hearing, 9/23/09)

SEN. JACK REED (D-R.I.): “If you like the insurance you have, you can choose to keep it.” (Sen. Reed, Town Hall Event, 6/25/09)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.): “‘If you have coverage you like, you can keep it,’ says Sen. Sanders.” (“Sick And Wrong,” Rolling Stone, 4/5/10)

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.): ‘if you have health coverage that you like, you get to keep it’ “My understanding … is that … if you have health coverage that you like you can keep it. As I said, you may have missed my remarks at the beginning of the call, but one of the things I that I said as a requirement that I have for supporting a Democrat bill is that if you have health coverage that you like you should be able to keep that. …under every scenario that I’ve seen, if you have health coverage that you like, you get to keep it.” (Sen. Shaheen, “Health Care Questions From Across New Hampshire,” Accessed 11/13/13)

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-Mich.): “As someone who has a large number of large employers in my state, one of the things I appreciate about the Democrat chairman’s remark is — is the grandfathering provisions, the fact that the people in my state, 60 percent of whom have insurance, are going to be able to keep it. And Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that. That’s a strong commitment. It’s clear in the bill … I appreciate the strong commitment on your part and the president to make sure that if you have your insurance you can keep it. That’s the bottom line for me.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Bill Mark-Up, 9/24/09)

SEN. JON TESTER (D-Mont.): “‘If you like your coverage, you’ll be able to keep it,’ Tester said, adding that if Medicare changes, it will only become stronger”. (“Tester In Baker To Discuss Health Care,” The Fallon County Times, 11/20/09)

SEN. TOM UDALL (D-N.Mex.): “Some worried reform would alter their current coverage. It won’t. If you like your current plan, you can keep it.” (“What I Learned: About Health Care Reform This Summer, By Your Lawmakers In Congress,” Albuquerque Journal, 9/8/09)

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.): “..it honors President Obama’s programs and the promise of all of the Presidential candidates that if you like the plan you have, you get to keep it. You are not forced out of anything.” (Sen. Whitehouse, Congressional Record, S.8668, 8/3/09)

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) the 60th vote on Obamacare: "people who are happy with their current plan, wouldn't need to change it."

FRANKEN YOUTUBE SOUND BITE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCZmAYYNz8Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCZmAYYNz8I

[Liz]

"Those Democrats leering over my shoulder owe me bigtime. This
healthcare bill insures we have a permanent Democratic majority."

" All except those Tea Party types, swallowed hook, line and sinker my promises that Americans could:
(1) keep their existing health plans,
(2) keep their own doctors that they like,
(3) keep their 25-year-olds on the family health plan,
(4) never be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition,
(5) sign up instantly on my tech-savvy government Web site,
(6) buy insurance only after becoming seriously ill."
(7) save $2,500 in annual premiums in the bargain....
(8) All without any new taxes."

"Them sonovagun Tea Partiers will rue the day they criticized my wonderful healthcare bill."

[Liz]

The Obama Administration’s healthcare.gov boondoggle illustrates the stupidity of putting political operatives and cronies in charge of software development projects.

Now is the time to get out those multiple Obama sound bites----when candidate Obama bragged he had a "high-tech campaign operation"...one that he swore raised hundreds of millions of dollars to get him elected.

Obama even bragged he was the "first" billion dollar candidate. How "odd" that later in the campaign he said he had to "borrow" money to continue.

Suck-up presstitues never bothered to look into these contradictions.

[JRandomFreeper]

Liberal Republicans are unelectable for President.

/johnny

[Paine in the Neck]

My list:

1. Do NOT agree to any debates which are controlled by the left-wing press. You are immediately playing defense if the debate ‘moderator’ is beholden to leftwing ideologies. Don’t play that game. Insist on a balance. Draw debate questioners from outside the main broadcast cohorts.

2. As in the article, ALWAYS keep your own record of ANY encounter with the press. Defend yourself immediately and vigourously when the media play editing games.

[onedoug]

Not as a Republican, but as a conservative.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Bring back American jobs.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

This is a very valid criticism.

Our candidates always get sold down the river at leftist media events.

We need to be (much) more assertive with what is fair, and what is right.

That said, we need to be right. Hire Americans.

[MrB]

We must not forget an ACTIVE anti-fraud campaign (yes, military implication is fully appropriate).

Conservative districts in any state should withhold their counts until the 120% voting precincts have given theirs.

[VRW Conspirator]

Excellent analysis. I would only add that every other statement for 2014 and 2016 should include something like, “ Obama lied to us about Obamacare”. This is to paint Obama (is that racist?) as the scoundrel he is and then to hang this millstone around any and all democrat candidates: Obama is a liar and democrat candidate, Mr. Smith, is just like Obama.

[Lakeshark]

This is a GREAT piece, any conservative candidate should read it and take it to heart. I remember one of the Breitbart editors giving advice to the Romny campaign early on: He said they had to develop a team that would get up every morning (4 AM) and study the Journolist meme of the day, pick it out, and then respond to it immediately with a forceful rebuttal the MSM would have to carry.

As we know, Romney DID NOT do that, rather hoped dissatisfaction with Bambi would carry the day. The GOP simply needs to understand how to change up their campaigns to be effective, unless they actually want to become a permanent minority.

[kevkrom]

Not as a Republican, but as a conservative.

Actually, the article is spot-on that even "moderate" (i.e., liberal) Republicans run into the same problems, simply because they are running against a Democrat.

Also, while the scale is a lot smaller, the same advice could apply, for the most part, to down-ticket races, such as Senate, House, and even state offices like Governor.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Refrain from advocating cutting the Veteran’s pensions.

[VRW Conspirator]

As we know, Romney DID NOT do that, rather hoped dissatisfaction with Bambi would carry the day.

In retrospect, Romney was the choice of the GOPe - that is obvious. He came in with several handicaps: Romneycare, his flip-flops and the old-white-guy perception. But the 2 things he really screwed up was 1) just like you say; he needed to be on the offensive, continuously, as the challenger (no more Mr. Nice Guy). 2) He screwed the Tea Parties over.

BTW, Obama is a proven liar.

[txhurl]

Excellent!