Jonathan Martin tells tale of McCain camp denizens pointing to Yuval Levin's Weekly Standard piece encouraging McCain to run a conservative, reform-minded campaign. The tome was worth the read when it first came out and worth it even more so now.
The crux of Levin's point is that McCain needs to capitalize on his favorable reputation - with independents that is - and run an aggressive campaign with a heavy emphasis on reform. A) This is a logical and superior counter to Obama's opaque "change" message and B) it makes tremendous sense given where the country is at on key policy-related questions.
For many reasons that are understandably similar, that is exactly the plan Dino Rossi needs to follow. Mercifully, he began that process many moons ago, beginning to lay out serious, conservative-infused reforms to address the issues voters care about most. One can be sure there will be more of that in the coming months.
With the top of the national and state GOP tickets poised to run in such a manner, down-the-ballot Republicans would be wise to do likewise. It's the best hope for even the top tier candidates for Congress and the Legislature navigating this election season with an "R" next to their name come November.
And in Rossi's favor, he doesn't suffer the same oratory gap with his opponent that McCain suffers with his.
Posted by Eric Earling at June 03, 2008 10:12 PM | Email ThisHere is the first part of McCain's latest email message:
Each American faces a decision this election and the choice between my candidacy and Senator Obama's could not be more clear. This is a change election. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change; between going forward and going backward.
I think at the end of the day conservatives just want to be left alone. We don't want to eat a government approved breakfast (with the right amount of trans fats) after being taxed for taking the morning leak. Nor do we want to stand in line to ride the government approved bus which takes two hours for a one hour trip. We don't want the government sticking their hands in our pocket to pay for a hippie museum. We just want to be left alone.
When McCain starts to beat him on this "Change" and how that change will mean a strict regulation of individual lives, it sets up a startling contrast.
However, I fear that Rossi is still between being a fully Conservative Reformist and being a Republican version of 'Chris' Gregoire. That policy has shown to lead to defeat (Mike McGavick tried it and lost by double digits).
There is a real opportunity for a firebrand Republican to run against the whole kit-and-caboodle of 50 years of Democrat corruption and featherbedding.
However, "Bellevue Style" Republicans with $30,000 plate dinners and their hands in each others pockets just won't sell. The public will see them as "pre-corrupted"...as in they would simply eat all the pork for themselves versus the Democrats who at least let a few table scraps fall on the populace.
McCain, as is his predecessor, is a socialist war-monger posing as a something or another, I know not what.
I believe that we Republicans can best get Rossi elected by distancing ourselves from the disgrace that our national party has become.
Posted by: Small Government Steve on June 4, 2008 10:46 AMYou can't be a henhouse reformer when you are raising the foxes.
Posted by: correctnotright on June 4, 2008 08:02 PMOf course, we will have bases established in Iraq, which Bush did. These things will be more brought to light if the Town Hall meetings between him and the Dali-Bama occur.
Posted by: KS on June 4, 2008 09:27 PM