What is means is that it's one of the TWO choices on the ballot.
"Vote for me because I'm not the other guy" is a losing strategy, especially when you are the "in" party with a razor thin margin. It is the prevent-defense, and it failed miserably in 2006. The GOP lost many very close races in 2006, largely because many voters saw no choices or nearly identical choices on the ballot, and either stayed home, or the precious middle muddle pulled the lever for the other guy who promised them more this time. When you have major candidates who are for and against every issue that Republican voters care about, the label designation means nothing.
As a Party, are we for or against:
Abortion
Gun control laws
Border control
Nationalized health care
Tax reform
Increasing Borrowing
Increasing Spending
Amnesty/Immigration law reform
Aggressive WOT
Cutting troop levels
Adding troop levels
Going after terrorist supporting States
Negotiating with terrorist supporting States
Ignoring terrorist supporting States
Federalized education control
Social Security reform
Property rights protection
Fed funded scientific agendas, such as stem cells and climate
Judicial activism
Separation of powers
Protection of public display of religion
Free Trade
Reciprocal and/or protectionist tariffs
"War on drugs"
Homosexual marriage/unions
Affirmative action set-asides and quotas
Nuclear power
Coal power
Any other power that gets Fed $
The Republican Party and its office holders are all over the map on these and a host of other issues. WHAT DO THEY STAND FOR AND AGAINST UNEQUIVOCABLY? What defines the word "Republican"?