Posted on 05/30/2008 8:34:54 AM PDT by shrinkermd
With Congress's approval rating at record lows, the time is ripe for a slam campaign. Barack Obama won't do it, since his Democratic colleagues are running the joint. But it's a huge opportunity for Mr. McCain, who could play Congress's failings off his promises for reform.
Mr. McCain could take encouragement from history. Harry Truman managed a 1948 victory by trashing the "Do Nothing Congress." Upstart Barry Goldwater in 1952 told Arizonans that Majority Leader Ernest McFarland represented the mess in Washington, and snatched the Democrat's seat. Tom Daschle followed McFarland, after being pilloried for turning the Senate into a dead zone.
Today's Congress is ripe for a shredding. The GOP kicked off an era of public disgust with its corruption and loss of principle, a reputation it has yet to shake. Democrats have, impressively, managed to alienate voters further with inaction and broken promises. Congress has come to represent the institutional malaise that so frustrates voters. That distaste explains this year's appetite for "change."
...Congress is the embodiment of that failure, and Mr. McCain could use it to draw distinctions. He could swivel the focus away from the Bush comparison, and toward Mr. Obama's kinship with today's all-talk Democratic Congress. He could tell voters that the party they feel is today failing them in the Capitol will also fail them in the White House.
As for bad-mouthing the GOP as part of this process, it isn't likely Mr. McCain would offend his conservative base. Most of it is already offended by Congress. His criticism of today's diminished GOP brand, and a promise to revive it, might even help him with the rank-and-file, and would certainly draw independents.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
How well Senator McCain could do this is problematical. Like Janis Joplin once said, "Courage is nothing left to lose.." If so, it is time to take the RAT Congress on as a bunch of talkers and taxers.
Running against Congress might be tough on the old horse-whisperer. He was a large part of the problem his entire hitch.
Yeah, he should, but that would violate the “new tone” policy. Only Democrats get to be partisan.
Sounds like a good strategy, for anyone but McCain. In the eyes of many, he’s as much to blame for the current mess as the democrats, even if he does ahave an R after his name.
He could if he weren’t part of it. Of course, since he’s in the minority, the Dems have a bigger problem in that regard.
Run against himself? I doubt it...
Agreed. Let’s face it-he hasn’t got much going for him as a republican,and nothing as a conservative,being the RINO that he is,so it would definitely be a move in the right direction. Being a little sharper (in manner and appearance) and more aggressive might give him a little nudge too.
Not really. McCain was scolding Congress in 2003 about exactly the same thing we now say lost the Republicans Congress in 2006.
November 30, 2003 .... McCain: Congress spending money 'like a drunken sailor'
Reform Congress? Ah, and where has John worked since 1982?
This is as bad an idea as allowing the Department of Education to devise new plans to get our kids educated, after failing to do so for the last thirty years.
The DOEs plan involves moral relativism, condoms and replacing our actual history with fairly tales about MLK and Rosa Parks.
John’s idea of reformation would include removing every Conservative as a starting point.
The important difference between Truman in 1948 and McCain in 2008 is that Truman did not moderate his views on domestic issues in order to “build a bipartisan” spirit with the GOP controlled Congress.
The biggest problem I see with this whole fantasy-fairy-tale of an article is that Juan McCain is anything but “change”. He is, pure & simple, a HUGE part of the problem & voting him in will just be more of the same old crap.
Secondly, Juan will NEVER fight against his democrat counterparts - remember he said he WILL appoint democrats to be on his cabinet? He is virtually one of them.
Well John had plenty of room to talk. He didn’t need government money. He was too busy spending George Soros’ money. The two of them have been involved in at least two efforts that I know of.
John can bloviate until he’s blue in the face, some of us know what the real John has been up to.
Seems to be a consensus that this has limited viability. I still think his best strategy is
“McCain: Not a commie racist.”
Wait...an architect of the Gang of 14 running against...himself???
“Sounds like a good strategy, for anyone but McCain. In the eyes of many, he’s as much to blame for the current mess as the democrats, even if he does ahave an R after his name.”
Mccain is part and parcel involved in the low ratings of Congress. If Romney was running it would be his ticket to the WH.
Running against Congress might be tough on the old horse-whisperer. He was a large part of the problem his entire hitch.
That's the problem in a nutshell.
For him to now run against Congress would be a massive flip-flop, even by his standards.
If Romney were running, I’d actually vote. McCain suckered Huckleberry into stayng long after his 15 minutes just to kill Romney’s chances.
McCain thinks Bush was nasty to him in SC in ‘00.
Bush don’t know nasty, McCain is the epitome of nasty.
Most people who have some awareness of who McCain is would be unlikely to fall for this one, besides it would be too easy for the Dems to nail him with the evidence of his years of problem creation, not problem solving.
With Congress’s approval rating at record lows, the time is ripe for a slam campaign. Barack Obama won’t do it, since his Democratic colleagues are running the joint. But it’s a huge opportunity for Mr. McCain, who could play Congress’s failings off his promises for reform.
What a terrible strategy this would be.
McCain IS and HAS been a member of Congress during this time of their low ratings
McCain was in fact behind the Shammesty Issue which was one of the main hits that Congress took in their low approval rating.
As to his reforms while in Congress, the main one was McCain Feingold which took away Americans rights in regards to Freedom of Speech
The only thing McCain has going for him in running for President is that he is not Obama. He had best stick with that
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