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Mississippi Mauling: The Republican Strategy for Congressional Self-Destruction
North Star Writers Group ^ | May 15, 2008 | Dan Calabrese

Posted on 05/15/2008 4:56:36 AM PDT by Invisigoth

I am not an expert on campaign strategy, but I know a losing game plan when I see one. The Republican Party’s strategy in a series of special House elections this year has been to tie Democratic candidates to Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

How’s that working? Three straight losses, all in congressional districts President Bush carried easily in 2004.

Some strategy.

John McCain may well win the presidential election, but at the congressional and grassroots level, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the GOP in a more severe state of disarray. The worst result yet has come from the northern Mississippi district that was voting to fill the seat of newly appointed Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, who had won handily in all seven of his own House races in the same district.

But Democrat Travis Childers took the seat, defeating Republican Greg Davis 54 percent to 46 percent. This follows similarly embarrassing losses in Louisiana and Illinois. The Republican strategy, if you can call it that, is to use the poor job performance rating of the Democratic Congress, as well as Obama’s more troublesome associations (Rev. Wright, William Ayers, flag pins, the “bitter” comment, etc.) to provide a rationale for GOP candidates.

(Excerpt) Read more at northstarwriters.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Mississippi
KEYWORDS: 110th; 7thcavalry; congress; cthulthu08; donquixote; elections; gregdavis; mississippi; ms2008; republicans; rinos; travischilders
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1 posted on 05/15/2008 4:56:37 AM PDT by Invisigoth
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To: Invisigoth

IMHO, would’nt matter. In my mind, I keep coming back to what happened to Tom Delay.....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1802383/posts

Washington is so jammed with parasites looking for a teat...that ANY organized opposition-IOW any Conservatives-will be run out of town . Period. This, folks, is a far BIGGER problem than just one with the Republican leadership.


2 posted on 05/15/2008 4:57:58 AM PDT by mo
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To: Invisigoth

And now I see that the House Republican leadership thinks that McCain will be their savior come this November due to the independent voters they think McCain will bring in.

They are clueless as to how p.owed the base is.


3 posted on 05/15/2008 5:01:02 AM PDT by happydogx2 (Let Freedom Reign!!)
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To: happydogx2

No, it’s a brilliant strategy.

Move left until you can run against Obama for being a conservative evangelical. /s


4 posted on 05/15/2008 5:04:23 AM PDT by A Balrog of Morgoth (QMC(SW) USN........ CG21 DD988 FFG34 PC6 ARS53)
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To: mo
I keep coming back to what happened to Tom Delay.....

Great point. Good people get elected, then find DC so full of the get-along/go-along mentality, they succumb to it. Not a good portent.

5 posted on 05/15/2008 5:05:33 AM PDT by Migraine (Diversity is great...(until it happens to YOU).)
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To: Invisigoth

I think we need to let people tie the democrats to their failures on their own.

We need to have a positive message of how we learned our lesson and are going to do right by the American people.

1994. We won by providing a positive vision for the future.

Meanwhile, the Democrats, because they already have the generic advantage since people are upset at Republicans, merely have to lie about the Republican candidate, and pretend they are the real conservatives.

That’s how they are winning these elections — by saying they are the common-sense conservatives in the race, while the Republican is just some evil right-wing hack.

They learned it from the 2006 George Allen race — they can throw almost any charge against Republicans, and it will stick. In the Davis race, they just told everybody he was a racist who wanted to honor the founder of the KKK.


6 posted on 05/15/2008 5:10:13 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: CharlesWayneCT

Republicans will have to “go away” for a while before being able to come back to saying the lesson has been learned.


7 posted on 05/15/2008 5:19:24 AM PDT by Diverdogz
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To: mo
The house RINOs brought it on themselves they threw the Republican tradition under the bus and became left-wing pig faced brothers of the Democrats.
8 posted on 05/15/2008 5:21:10 AM PDT by YOUGOTIT (The Greatest Threat to our Security is the Royal 100 Club)
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To: CharlesWayneCT
The DCCC and Childers also promised pork to just about anyone that had their hand out. In the Eastern portion of the district, most Democrat voters were salivating at the chance that Childers would bring government money to keep temporary funded programs going and more farmer government subsidies. That is what I heard from here most of all by the voters...and that Davis wouldn't help those of us in the Eastern section of the district.
9 posted on 05/15/2008 5:27:42 AM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: Invisigoth
The Republican Party’s strategy in a series of special House elections this year has been to tie Democratic candidates to Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

How’s that working? Three straight losses, all in congressional districts President Bush carried easily in 2004.

Won't work for Juan McCain against Obama either, come November.

Conservatives aren't falling for the ooooh-but-the-other-guy's-a-liberal scare tactics, any longer. That only works -- ONLY works! -- when the Republicans are smart enough (or desperate enough) to run a genuine conservative, in contrast.

JimRob said it best, several months back: "You kicked the conservatives to the curb and nominated your RINO, now all you gotta do is get him elected."

10 posted on 05/15/2008 5:28:38 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle (If McCain really CAN "win without conservatives," then why do you care if I vote for him or not?)
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To: Invisigoth

The Republocrats ran three rinos.....
The Demopublicans ran three conservative, anti-tax guys and if course they won.

RNC RINO’s coming home to roost.


11 posted on 05/15/2008 5:34:34 AM PDT by stockpirate (Purge the RNC and GOP of ALL SOCIALISTS . Starting with Juan McCain.)
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To: mo

I disagree, the problem is the low life Republocrats aka as RINO’s in the party.


12 posted on 05/15/2008 5:38:13 AM PDT by stockpirate (Purge the RNC and GOP of ALL SOCIALISTS . Starting with Juan McCain.)
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To: Invisigoth

House Republicans did not get the message, or got the wrong message in 2006. Now it appears they are starting to get the message (better late than never), but will it be the right message? I have my doubts.


13 posted on 05/15/2008 5:38:31 AM PDT by CharacterCounts (When you discover rats in your house, you only have two options - fumigate or tolerate.)
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To: stockpirate
Greg Davis is no RINO! People in N.J. have NO clue as to what goes on in Mississippi!

You’re just vomiting out what you have heard somewhere!

14 posted on 05/15/2008 5:39:49 AM PDT by Coldwater Creek
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To: Migraine

DeLay didn’t succumb to anything. The charges were/are baseless. It was just to get him to resign.


15 posted on 05/15/2008 5:42:06 AM PDT by stockpirate (Purge the RNC and GOP of ALL SOCIALISTS . Starting with Juan McCain.)
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To: Migraine

“..they succumb to it”

I’ll go ya one further...I expect a politician who does’nt learn to go along to get along will be “physically replaced” by someone who will.


16 posted on 05/15/2008 5:42:59 AM PDT by mo
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
Won't work for Juan McCain against Obama either, come November.

McCain will not win the election in November, but he may not lose it either. There is a strong possibility that Obama will beat himself. He postured himself as a uniter and a messiah. Once people discover he is neither the fall from grace will be massive. I think we have seen only the tip of the iceberg with Obama, and look forward to future revelations.

A likely scenario is a McCain win, with huge losses in the Senate and House.

17 posted on 05/15/2008 5:47:23 AM PDT by CharacterCounts (When you discover rats in your house, you only have two options - fumigate or tolerate.)
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To: stockpirate
The Republocrats ran three rinos..... The Demopublicans ran three conservative, anti-tax guys and if course they won.

How are Greg Davis or Woody Jenkins RINO's?

18 posted on 05/15/2008 5:49:13 AM PDT by NeoCaveman (El Conservo Tribe, tribal name "Avoids Fort Marcy Park" Watching the Rat Fight. typical white person)
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To: Invisigoth

IMO, Republicans are losing all over the place because when they were in charge, they stunk up the Congress so badly that the smell still lingers. Frankly, the ‘Pubbies fouled their own nest and wrecked the conservative name such that they may never recover.

Despite the fact that the Democrat-led Congress has been inept and useless (even worse than the ‘Pubbies), the memory of Republican budget-busting pork and pandering is impossible to overcome. And those ‘Pubbies still remaining in Congress have done nothing noteworthy to reverse the impression most Americans have of them or to try to regain their trust.

They deserve to have their heads handed to them, but America deserves better than what it will get as a result.


19 posted on 05/15/2008 5:49:45 AM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: Invisigoth
The loss in Miss. is more a testimony to the abject stupidity of the voters there then anything else. The “Democrat” won by running as a pro life and pro gun candidate. Since when are these Democrat beliefs? It amazes me that the morons there cannot see thru this nonsense.
20 posted on 05/15/2008 5:51:14 AM PDT by lexusppd
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