From Reuters, 6/15/06:
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-06-15T124806Z_01_N14373338_RTRIDST_0_LIFESTYLE-CONNECTICUT-COL.XML
Endangered Republicans play down party label
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
STAMFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) -
Republican Rep. Christopher Shays cites his differences with President
George W. Bush, produces a chart outlining his moderate voting record
and pledges his independence from party leaders in Congress.
His Connecticut colleague, Republican Rep. Rob Simmons, says working
with Democrats comes naturally in a district where voters favored
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry over Bush by 10 percentage
points in 2004.
For Shays, Simmons and other Republicans running for Congress in
Democratic-leaning or swing districts in November, playing down their
party label and playing up their independence has become a matter of
political survival in a year when "Bush" can be a dirty word.
"This would not be a close election if George Bush was popular. This
would not be a close election if there wasn't a war in Iraq," said
Shays, who is embroiled in a tight race with Democrat Dianne Farrell.
"The president isn't doing well, and that's hurting me," the 19-year
House veteran, who distances himself from Bush but enthusiastically
supports the Iraq war, told Reuters.
Simmons, who has faced a tough re-election fight every year since
entering Congress in 2000, emphasizes service to his constituents and
his ability to bring federal dollars and projects home to his eastern
Connecticut district.
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A whole lota Repug shakin' goin' on.
Harry
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