| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
04 Sep 2006 06:02:37 AM |
| Object: |
Republican Ads Show Distance From Their Great Leader and Their Party |
Ed Patru, a spokesman for the House Republican campaign committee,
shrugged off the latest ads.
"That's nothing new, that's just being a smart campaigner," said
Patru, who argued that the candidates were reinforcing the moderate
positions that have helped them win in swing districts.
Democrats naturally have a different view.
"What we're seeing is a number of candidates who embraced Bush in
previous elections are now treating him like a leper," said Phil
Singer, spokesman for the Senate Democratic campaign organization.
Shanto Iyengar, a campaign advertising expert at Stanford University,
said the 1974 midterm elections, in the immediate aftermath of
President Nixon's Watergate-driven resignation, were similar to
today's advertising atmosphere.
"In most congressional races the conventional wisdom is it's all
local," Iyengar said.
"But every now and then, it is possible to nationalize these races,
and I believe all the stars are in place for that in 2006."
New Mexico pollster Brian Sanderoff, who is closely watching the
re-election campaign of Rep. Heather Wilson, a moderate Republican,
said that as the president's approval ratings drop, "incumbents are
becoming even more clear in expressing their independence or distance
from the White House."
In Pennsylvania, Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, No. 3 in the GOP
Senate leadership, has stood with the president on scores of issues,
from abortion to same-sex marriage to taxes.
Trailing his Democratic challenger Bob Casey in the polls, Santorum
brags about breaking with the administration on Amtrak money.
"And the White House probably called me a lot of things when I fought
their efforts to cut Amtrak funding," Santorum says.
Another vulnerable Senate incumbent, Ohio Republican Mike DeWine, has
welcomed the president for two events that raised $2 million.
Yet his ads have touted his independence and ability to work with
Democrats.
From The Associated Press, 9/4/06:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_Campaign_Ads_GOP.html
Republican ads show distance from Bush
By DAVID HAMMER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON --
Republicans who were once cozy with President Bush are distancing
themselves from both the president and their party in campaign ads.
Consider Rep. Deborah Pryce, the fourth-ranking House Republican
struggling to hold onto her seat in an evenly split district in
central Ohio, near Columbus.
In 2004, her campaign Web site featured a banner of her and Bush
sitting together, smiling.
But in her latest television ad, Pryce is described as "independent."
The spot also highlights how she "stood up to her own party" and the
president to support increased federal funds for embryonic stem-cell
research.
As chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, Pryce rallies
colleagues to the party message.
With the election in about two months and Bush's approval ratings
still low - 33 percent in the most recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll
- Republicans involved in tight races are avoiding party labels and
playing down their ties to the president.
On issues from the Iraq war to Amtrak spending, GOP candidates are
trying to argue that they don't follow in lockstep.
Among some of the ads:
-In Pennsylvania, Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach tells voters: "When I
believe President Bush is right, I'm behind him. But when I think he's
wrong, I let him know that, too," Gerlach is in a close contest with
Democrat Lois Murphy, who nearly beat him in 2004.
-In Minnesota, where an open Senate seat is at stake, Republican Rep.
Mark Kennedy has an ad titled, "Crossing Party Lines," in which he
says: "I'm a Republican. On issues like taxes and spending, I vote
like it. But on other issues, I cross party lines." In 2002, in his
run for the House, a Kennedy ad showed him walking and shaking hands
with Bush at the White House. Today, he lists the issues on which he
has split from the president.
-In South Florida, heavily populated by retirees, Republican Rep. Clay
Shaw criticizes the president's stalled plans to change Social
Security and says in his ad, "I represent the state of Florida, not a
political party."
________________________________________________________
Whatever happened to all that Repug partisanship? Oh, I forgot. Time
to change the tune. It's election season.
Harry
.
|
|
| User: "Chuck Feney" |
|
| Title: Re: Republican Ads Show Distance From Their Great Leader and Their Party |
04 Sep 2006 06:57:46 AM |
|
|
Harry Hope <rivrvu@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Ed Patru, a spokesman for the House Republican campaign committee,
shrugged off the latest ads.
"That's nothing new, that's just being a smart campaigner," said
Patru, who argued that the candidates were reinforcing the moderate
positions that have helped them win in swing districts.
Democrats naturally have a different view.
"What we're seeing is a number of candidates who embraced Bush in
previous elections are now treating him like a leper," said Phil
Singer, spokesman for the Senate Democratic campaign organization.
Amazing how quickly a Republican can turn from being a rubber stamp
for Bush into a "moderate." Should they win, how long will it take
for them to return to rubber stamp status?
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
