In a post below I asked what kind of strategy the GOP can run on in ’08 if they can’t pass the laugh test on foreign policy, healthcare, immigration or the economy. Of course there’s always the inchoate mass of angry islamofascist people, and I’m sure that they look forward to all kinds of funny photoshops of Hitlery, yet for a national platform that still feels a bit thin. Writing for one of his eighteen billion blogging gigs, Steve Benen pre-answered my question at John Amato’s site:
Tom Edsall’s report suggests Giuliani will appeal to white conservatives by emphasizing his conflicts with NYC’s African-American community. The idea, apparently, is to deflect attention from his positions on abortion, gays, guns, and immigration by pointing to race — the implicit message being: “How liberal can Giuliani be if he constantly fought with black people in New York?”
It takes a certain kind of genius to leverage Amadou Diallo into an electoral strategy.
Now let’s follow Benen back to his home turf.
The GOP’s House committee has $1.6 million in the bank, but is $4 million in debt. The polls look one-sided in the Dems’ favor. Yesterday’s election results offered very little good news. The party has struggled to stop retirements and recruit favored candidates. The Republican leadership has been so discouraged with the National Republican Congressional Committee that House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) threatened to fire its chief strategists, and NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) considered resigning.
And now, the comeback plan is off to a troubled start, because the party doesn’t know where it wants to go.
I guess the answer is that there is no answer. Republicans can’t repudiate their recent past since they never made a credible break with it, even when that decision ties them to policies that they can’t credibly defend. It’s a sticky wicket.
Think that you can help the Republicans out? Leave ideas in the comments. I will log original-sounding suggestions in an update.
Here is my entry on foreign policy: Harness the power of entrepreneurship! Following similar efforts that have produced quantum leaps in science and engineering, offer a $10 billion prize for the first person or consortium who successfully brings a stable democracy to Iraq or similar middle eastern country. Consecutive rounds will disqualify groups that get bogged down in open-ended quagmires.
Let’s hear your thoughts.