Sunday, September 17, 2006; B05
An election that becomes a referendum only on the president's popularity or the success or failure of the war is a sure loser for Republicans. Remember: It is not your job to defend the president! He's a big boy. He and Dick Cheney have more than sufficient White House staff to defend them. But don't be critical of him. Most Republican voters still support the president even if they disagree with the war. Getting the base out is all-important and may be the difference between winning and losing.
-- Edward J. Rollins, Republican strategist and Reagan campaign manager
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Republicans don't have to convince Cindy Sheehan that prevailing in Iraq is crucial to our national security, but they must and can persuade former hawks to support what has to be done in Iraq. President Bush's approval ratings are up following his own recent speeches on the war on terror and the ideological struggle we confront. Republican candidates should read them. Conservative voters face a choice in November and should be fearful of political leadership that diminishes the threat we face and lacks the resolve to confront it. Republican candidates should emphasize this. Fear is their friend.
-- Kate O'Beirne, Washington editor, National Review
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Be proud of the party and be proud of the contrasts. Elections are about choices, so we must draw clear differences and reveal the Democratic candidates for the rogue extremists they truly are. Does their position on Iraq blow around like a tumbleweed? Do they support higher gas taxes? Is this candidate a prosecutor who plea-bargains with illegal aliens? The fact that these candidates would be tangibly harmful to the daily lives of most Americans will matter more than Democrats putting your picture next to the president's and saying "Supports Bush 92 percent of the time."
-- Dan Hazelwood, Republican strategist
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Surprisingly, Bush's unpopularity can represent a strategic opportunity for House Republicans, especially conservatives. Here's why:
The administration has one large, unfinished domestic initiative left: Its big plan to legalize most illegal aliens, import millions of guest workers and increase total permanent immigration. The president believes strongly in more open immigration, and his plans are supported by most senators and by House Democrats. But they are strongly opposed by House Republicans -- and most American voters.
So here's a slogan for enforcement-first House Republicans: " Stop the Bush Amnesty Plan -- Vote GOP ."
-- David Frum, former Bush speechwriter
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Unfortunately for the GOP, the nation is suffering from party-in-power fatigue. Unless given compelling reasons not to, the electorate will be inclined to give the other side a chance to govern. The toughest to convince that Republicans deserve more time may be true conservatives, those who believe that their party must reflect the ideals of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. They worry that the Republican Senate has sold them out on immigration and that the party as a whole has "become what we defeated." We can still retain both houses come November, but we must first remind ourselves what we stand for.
-- Douglas MacKinnon, press secretary to former senator Robert J. Dole
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Republicans running from the president on critical issues is a problem. If you run and cower from topics such as Iraq, the benefits of tax cuts and personal accounts for Social Security, the Democrats and the left will define your position for you. When you articulate the difference between the president and Democrats on taxes, immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Social Security, the voters respond that they are not interested in a tax hike, understand that it is not wise to arbitrarily withdraw from Iraq and want someone to seriously engage in fixing our collapsing retirement system.
-- Richard K. Armey, former House majority leader
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Republican candidates should talk about the Democrats. The Democrats want to pull out of Iraq, shut down Guantanamo, open the nation's borders, abandon the Patriot Act and the NSA spying program and extend full constitutional protections to people like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. We got critical information from Mohammed that helped us prevent future terror attacks by subjecting him to mild coercive techniques during questioning -- and the Democrats want to impeach the president for authorizing that! If this nation returns to the Democratic national security policy known in military circles as "unconditional surrender," two years of the Democrats could get us all killed.
-- Ann Coulter, GOP pundit
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GOP candidates can't do much about the underlying problem: Republicans are in charge. It's hard to govern. Grievances accumulate, and you get no credit for successes. What's to be done?
The RNC can go on the air with a massive TV ad buy in October, introducing voters in key states and districts to the two Democratic congressional leaders -- the dour Harry Reid and the frenetic Nancy Pelosi. The message: When Harry Meets Nancy, and they're in charge, they'll raise your taxes and weaken our efforts in the war on terror. The Dems and media will respond, we'll have a taxes and terror debate -- and the Republicans might be okay.
-- William Kristol, editor, the Weekly Standard
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Congressional Republicans should use the remaining days of this session to put Democrats on record on key national security votes. These votes and previous actions will reveal a political abyss between the two parties over how to protect America in an era of grave threats. At the same time, Republicans should embrace the current economic prosperity, brought about by the Bush/Republican tax cuts with little Democratic support, and point out that a Democrat-controlled Congress will allow popular pro-growth tax cuts to expire.
-- Scott W. Reed, 1996 Dole presidential campaign manager
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The 212 Republican congressmen running for reelection won in these very districts in 2002, the year of Enron, when $7 trillion disappeared with the stock market drop and Iraq loomed. They won in 2004 when Bush limped across the finish line with 51 percent and Iraq was a boat anchor. No one was elected on Bush's coattails. Democrats who think they can win running against Bush and Iraq should remember GOP hopes in 1998. Iraq is Monica Lewinsky: tough on the president's poll numbers but not a reason to vote against your congressman.
-- Grover G. Norquist , president, Americans for Tax Reform
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Republicans should heed those who want the war on terror won without the abridgement of civil liberties. They should allow Korean War veteran John Warner, Vietnam POW John McCain and Gulf War military lawyer Lindsey Graham to speak for them, to show that they are not wholly taken by the imperial claims of an increasingly unpopular president.
-- David Boaz, executive vice president, Cato Institute
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If Republican candidates can demonstrate a lengthy record of accomplishment, they will survive the political wave. If voters see Republicans fighting for them, they'll win. If they see them fighting to keep their jobs, they won't. And if Republicans want to increase turnout, they need to be strong advocates for cutting wasteful Washington spending and against illegal immigration. Any weakness on either issue is political suicide.
-- Frank Luntz , GOP pollster
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Lead with solutions and ignore your critics. Let them fester in the corner mumbling about low approval ratings and ridiculing the president. It will underscore how bitter and disorganized they are without your saying it.
Preview life under the Democrats. Show a blank piece of paper and title it, "The Democratic Vision and Concrete Alternatives for a Better America."
Apologize to conservatives. Many in your own base are smarting over Iraq, federal spending and the lack of movement on immigration. Admit missteps and engage them, because if they stay home, it is trouble.
-- Kellyanne Conway, Republican pollster
