[Speed Gibson,
Friday November 10, 2006 at 12:24am]
Push / Pull
I see lot of discussion about the "get out the vote" effort. Some say we (the GOP) didn't get the job done. Some say we did it to the point of being annoying. One pundit dryly observed that we got Republicans to the polls only to watch them vote Democrat.
Is that the strategy? Run some fuzzy feel good ads about yourself, a few hit pieces on your opponent, then just push people to the polls? We left out a step: giving the voters a reason to vote for us. We didn't do that this time, at least not for those unhappy about Iraq despite the many speeches by the President.
Yes, we got tax cuts and economic growth. But we also got Medicare Part D, earmarks, a Bridge to Nowhere, and sadly, billions wasted in Katrina relief.
Yes, we got two great justices on the Supreme Court. But we also got several more scuttled by the gang of 14 thanks to mavericks John McCain and Arlen Spector
Yes, we haven't been attacked, but we've had Abu Ghraib, the 9/11 commission, and amnesty for illegal immigrants.
For every one good thing, it seems we had several bad things happen, and an unfriendly press ready to emphasize the latter. And it all flows from drifting away from core principles (conservatism) and taking your base for granted, thinking they had nowhere else to go.
Our own Governor didn't help matters, either, especially when he told us we were the ones who didn't understand why he repeatedly left the reservation. Ironically, he was the sole survivor among the statewide offices thanks to Mike Hatch's late meltdown. Even his once forgotten prospects for VP were resurrected.
Honor your base, stay true to your conservative roots, and voters will respond without all those phone calls, especially if the Democrats overplay their hand.
Is that the strategy? Run some fuzzy feel good ads about yourself, a few hit pieces on your opponent, then just push people to the polls? We left out a step: giving the voters a reason to vote for us. We didn't do that this time, at least not for those unhappy about Iraq despite the many speeches by the President.
Yes, we got tax cuts and economic growth. But we also got Medicare Part D, earmarks, a Bridge to Nowhere, and sadly, billions wasted in Katrina relief.
Yes, we got two great justices on the Supreme Court. But we also got several more scuttled by the gang of 14 thanks to mavericks John McCain and Arlen Spector
Yes, we haven't been attacked, but we've had Abu Ghraib, the 9/11 commission, and amnesty for illegal immigrants.
For every one good thing, it seems we had several bad things happen, and an unfriendly press ready to emphasize the latter. And it all flows from drifting away from core principles (conservatism) and taking your base for granted, thinking they had nowhere else to go.
Our own Governor didn't help matters, either, especially when he told us we were the ones who didn't understand why he repeatedly left the reservation. Ironically, he was the sole survivor among the statewide offices thanks to Mike Hatch's late meltdown. Even his once forgotten prospects for VP were resurrected.
Honor your base, stay true to your conservative roots, and voters will respond without all those phone calls, especially if the Democrats overplay their hand.
The effort was not as solid as it may appear.