Republican strategy

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GOP Strategists Shifting Course on Abortion
GOP Strategists Shifting
Course on Abortion
the rundown

GOP Strategists Shifting Course on Abortion

Party's Senate campaign arm to advise candidates to avoid talk of a federal ban

(Newser) - It's been a significant week for the politics of abortion, with Democrats scoring wins on the issue in Tuesday's election , and GOP candidates laying out a range of differing positions in their Wednesday debate. Where do things go from here? A look at coverage:
  • Strategy shift: NBC News
...

Young GOPers: Party Is 'Racist,' 'Old-Fashioned'

Youths call Republicans 'closed-minded,' 'racist'

(Newser) - Earlier this year, an RNC report cited major concerns with public perception of the party. Now, a 95-page report by college Republicans based on youth surveys offers a similarly bleak portrait, citing a "dismal present situation." Those surveyed called the GOP "closed-minded, racist, rigid," and "...

Super PAC: We'll Hammer Obama With Jeremiah Wright

Plan to hit him where McCain pulled back

(Newser) - Top Republican strategists have devised a plan to "do exactly what John McCain would not let us do" and bombard the public with incendiary Jeremiah Wright soundbites just in time for the Democratic National Convention in September. The plan was commissioned by Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts, who would...

Dems Get Nasty; Karl Rove's Baaaack
 Dems Get Nasty; 
 Karl Rove's Baaaack 
STRATEGY 2010

Dems Get Nasty; Karl Rove's Baaaack

Twin NYT reports on both sides' strategy for the midterms

(Newser) - As Republicans eye the keys to both houses, Democrats are taking the gloves off: Candidates around the country are opening an earlier-than-ever round of attack ads assailing opponents as anything from a "dishonest used-car salesman" to a "predatory real estate speculator." Starting with five weeks to go...

Pelosi Plays Boogeywoman in Republican Ads

Beware her gigantic feet!

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi is going to beat your head in with a baseball bat. Or at least, that's what North Carolina Republican House candidate Harold Johnson says in one of his ads, adding, “If you're a small-business owner, you put your helmet on.” But hey, it could be worse....

GOP Gunning for Obama Health Nominee

Blocking appointment is one way to re-open health care debate

(Newser) - Republicans have their knives out for Donald Berwick, President Obama's nominee to run Medicare and Medicaid. Berwick, a pediatrician and Harvard prof who runs a nonprofit aimed at cutting hospital errors, as well as costs, is a fan of Britain's single-payer health National Health Service, they note; he once declared...

GOP Targets Suburbs for 2010
 GOP Targets Suburbs for 2010 

GOP Targets Suburbs for 2010

Hopes malaise over health care, national debt will help win them back

(Newser) - Republicans are convinced that the road to a takeover of the House is lined with white picket fences. Suburbia is the key to the 2010 elections, strategists from both parties tell the Wall Street Journal . An influx of minorities and the college educated—both groups that lean left—has shaded...

'Repeal, Replace, Reform' Should Be GOP's Rallying Cry

Dems' morale boost will be short-lived, predicts Karl Rove

(Newser) - The Democrats may be in good spirits now, but passing health care reform won't help them politically any more than the stimulus package helped them in New Jersey's 2009 gubernatorial elections, argues Karl Rove. The public remains mostly opposed to "ObamaCare," and Republicans can ride that sentiment to...

Why GOP Sees Hope for 2010
 Why GOP Sees Hope for 2010 
ANALYSIS

Why GOP Sees Hope for 2010

GOP could mount a comeback, if it plays smart

(Newser) - They got an electoral thumping in 2006 and did no better in 2008, but Republicans may be getting their groove back. The GOP is still polling at record lows, and the Ensign scandal won’t help the party buck its reputation for moral hypocrisy. Yet, Politico reports, the opposition is...

Sotomayor Proves Poor Lightning Rod for GOP

Nominee fight doesn't boost fundraising

(Newser) - After nearly a month in the public eye, Sonia Sotomayor isn’t proving nearly as controversial as Republicans had hoped, Politico reports. “She doesn’t have the punch out there in terms of fundraising and recruiting, at least so far," said Republican congressman John Thune. Things could change...

Republicans See Rising Debt as Obama's Soft Spot

(Newser) - Republicans think they’ve found one chink in President Obama’s armor: public fear over rising national debt. Some 51% of Americans disapprove of Obama’s efforts to control federal spending, according to a recent poll. In every other area, Obama enjoys positive ratings. “The president is still popular,...

GOP Ticket's Disagreements May Be His Idea ... Or Hers

Palin could be shoring up support for her political future

(Newser) - Sarah Palin has publicly disagreed with John McCain on several issues, from giving up in Michigan, to the gay marriage ban, to attacking Barack Obama’s connection to Rev. Wright. A VP hopeful’s job main job is to agree with the ticket, notes John Dickerson for Slate, so why...

GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing
GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing
ANALYSIS

GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing

Establishment party adopts anti-establishment stance

(Newser) - The Republican National Convention was so full of calls for change and vows to clean up Washington that it was almost easy to forget that the GOP has been in power for the last 8 years, writes Peter Baker in the New York Times. John McCain is seeking to distance...

GOP Playbook: Find Foe's Strength and Attack It
GOP Playbook: Find Foe's Strength and Attack It
OPINION

GOP Playbook: Find Foe's Strength and Attack It

(Newser) - Republican strategists are as adept as judo masters at turning opponents' strengths against them, Michael Kinsley writes in the Washington Post. With "genius, courage, creativity and utter ruthlessness," they managed to turn John Kerry's Vietnam service into a liability and Michael Dukakis' humble roots into elitism. Now, even...

GOP Finds Hope in Last-Ditch Fla. Candidate

Prisoner abuse scandal not impeding Congressional bid

(Newser) - South Florida Republicans are thrilled with Congressional candidate Allen West. They see the black Army veteran as a potential GOP standard bearer. There’s just one problem: In 2003, West was accused of abusing an Iraqi detainee and violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice. But some Republicans actually see...

'Sgt.' Schmidt Hones McCain's Pitch

Strategist hammers good about McCain, bad about Obama

(Newser) - Fiery Republican strategist Steve Schmidt argues that above all, a campaign needs something good to say about its own candidate, and something bad to say about the opponent. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how 'Sgt. Schmidt', newly given the reins to John McCain's campaign, is methodically and...

Key Mississippi Loss Rattles Republicans

Third loss the charm: Panicked GOP looks to rebrand before fall

(Newser) - This week's mauling of the GOP candidate in a special Mississippi election marked the third time this year that a "safe" Republican seat was lost to the Democrats, and GOP bigwigs are sweating about how that bodes for November, the New York Times reports. The party had banked that...

Bush, Too, Says Obama Lacks Experience

GOP starts attack on hopeful's 'thin record'; Obama strikes back

(Newser) - President George Bush reacted to Barack Obama's roll at the polls yesterday by blasting the Dem hopeful on Fox this morning. “I certainly don't know what he believes in,” Bush said. “The only foreign policy thing I remember he said was he's going to attack Pakistan and...

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