2008 Woodie Awards
GOP Approaches Elections with Differing Strategies
Brian O'Connor
Issue date: 11/8/06 Section: News
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Yesterday's elections came as a culmination of a strange, if not schizophrenic battle strategy for Republicans. Many of the forerunners that brought the party into power over 12 years ago found themselves in scandalous quagmires, and the souring of public opinion on the Iraq war also made this midterm election cycle into one that had the Democrats vying for control of the House of Representatives, and put the Republicans on the defensive.
From the Mark Foley scandal until Election Day, political analysts forecasted a rough road to Republican electoral success, and many pundits wrote off the chances of the party retaining control of congress altogether. Fifty congressional seats were up for grabs Tuesday, an unheard of figure as many of the seats are in districts redrawn by Republican lawmakers. The Democratic Party only needs fifteen more seats in Congress to build a majority, and only six seats in the Senate to control both houses.
As the Republican party reeled in October, a new strategy emerged. The "Stay the Course" motto was replaced by overtones of quiet pragmatism, and some Republicans tried to distance themselves from both the President and the Iraq war. Local congressional races in New Jersey and Connecticut had Republicans appealing to the electorate as reformers: Tom Kean, Jr., (R-NJ) fought a bitterly contested campaign with incumbent senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
Kean responded to allegations of Bush cronyism by asserting his independence from the party's stance on many issues. Throughout his campaign, Kean portrayed himself as an independent, calling for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation to a troop reduction in Iraq. Kean's strategy was similar to that of many Republicans vying for spots in swing states; separating themselves from Bush, the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal, and the Iraq insurgency.
"The fact that we're still trying to rally our base just days before the election and we're in a defensive mode rather than an offensive mode is problematic," said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican consultant in a story printed by the International Herald Tribune.
From the Mark Foley scandal until Election Day, political analysts forecasted a rough road to Republican electoral success, and many pundits wrote off the chances of the party retaining control of congress altogether. Fifty congressional seats were up for grabs Tuesday, an unheard of figure as many of the seats are in districts redrawn by Republican lawmakers. The Democratic Party only needs fifteen more seats in Congress to build a majority, and only six seats in the Senate to control both houses.
As the Republican party reeled in October, a new strategy emerged. The "Stay the Course" motto was replaced by overtones of quiet pragmatism, and some Republicans tried to distance themselves from both the President and the Iraq war. Local congressional races in New Jersey and Connecticut had Republicans appealing to the electorate as reformers: Tom Kean, Jr., (R-NJ) fought a bitterly contested campaign with incumbent senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
Kean responded to allegations of Bush cronyism by asserting his independence from the party's stance on many issues. Throughout his campaign, Kean portrayed himself as an independent, calling for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation to a troop reduction in Iraq. Kean's strategy was similar to that of many Republicans vying for spots in swing states; separating themselves from Bush, the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal, and the Iraq insurgency.
"The fact that we're still trying to rally our base just days before the election and we're in a defensive mode rather than an offensive mode is problematic," said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican consultant in a story printed by the International Herald Tribune.