How Can the Republicans Win the White House in 2008?

[Siddhartha]

I have a two beer bet with a Republican I know, that the Republican will not win the White House in 2008.

How can the party of GWB win the WH next year? The election is 15 months away, what talking points would Mr Rove choose for the next Republican candidate to hammer on?



1. There is a terrorist attack on US soil.

2. Iraq is won* in the next six months? I am not sure how a win would be define in this situation.

3. Ride or stoke xenophobia of illegal aliens? By Willie Nortonizing illegal aliens. Stoking fears of aliens causing the decline in Western civilization?

4. Blame the Democrats for Iraq? "You said you would get us out of Iraq but you have done nothing!"

This is the list I can think of, what do you think?

 

[Bowfinger]

How? The same way they won in 2004: turning up their slime machine when the Dems nominate Hillary Clinton. Clinton is smart and well-qualified, but she is so polarizing and has so much baggage the Repubs are going to eat her alive. I'm really concerned the Dems are going to blow it ... yet again.

 

[Lemon law]

Very short answer. The Republicans cannot win with any of the candidates they are now running. But if a card carrying GOP moderate like Chuck Hagel runs, the Republicans have a chance. The democratic big three in Hillary, Edwards, and Obama all have their warts and are doing zit to solve any of the issues of the day. Perhaps excusable in Edwards, but not for Clinton or Obama who are MIA in the Senate.

Any GOP moderate who can deliver a coalition of a dozen or so fellow GOP moderates in the Senate can dictate the terms of legislation to solve current problems, chart the future course of the USA, and break the obstructionist log jam. Such a GOP leader also has to admit what everyone already knows. Namely the policies of the past six years have failed
and its time for the GOP to move back to its core values. Leaders lead and cream rises to the top. The winner in 08 is likely to be the person who does more than talk about our nations problems. And actions do speak louder than words. And this country wants action now and not over a year from now.

 

[StageLeft]

They can win because their populous is stupid. 1/3 of the nation still approves of Bush. I think that speaks volumes, doesn't it?

I'm really concerned the Dems are going to blow it ... yet again.

It's possible. I'd still put the safe money on a democratic win, but one shouldn't overestimate the ability of the democrats to put a reasonable person forth just as one shouldn't underestimate the overeaching stupidity of the voters and the "party loyalty" of some dumbass repubs to vote in Satan if he was the republican nominee.

Any GOP moderate

Sadly, none of the current contenders are moderate and I don't think republican supporters really care much about the GOP getting back to its core values. They want to simply beat the other team and also, just maybe, pretend that they were not wrong for electing Bush. If they can elect another repub it helps them feel better about the mess they elected in last time.

 

[will889]

The right wins by proxie by just making sure Hillary is the DNP front runner.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Here's how the Republicans could win it:

1. Have the Democrats make quasi-Marxist-Feminist Hillary the candidate.

2. Oppose illegal immigration, mass legal immigration, foreign outsourcing, and foreign work visas -- become the party for the nation's middle class.

3. Offer a plan for national health care.

4. Tone down the Christian religious BS; it scares away many voters.

 

[rpanic]

Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper

Here's how the Republicans could win it:

1. Have the Democrats make quasi-Marxist-Feminist Hillary the candidate.

2. Oppose illegal immigration, mass legal immigration, foreign outsourcing, and foreign work visas -- become the party for the nation's middle class.

3. Offer a plan for national health care.

4. Tone down the Christian religious BS; it scares away many voters.

True

All we can hope for is a decent Republican to run or some surprise independent (not likely). The Democratic Choices always suck, and there are too many people that will vote against women.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Bowfinger
How? The same way they won in 2004: turning up their slime machine when the Dems nominate Hillary Clinton. Clinton is smart and well-qualified, but she is so polarizing and has so much baggage the Repubs are going to eat her alive. I'm really concerned the Dems are going to blow it ... yet again.

W got reelected in 2004 because the dems put up two of the most liberal voting candidates they could find. You are right about the same thing happening with Hillary. As someone with a republican voting tendency I could vote for a middle of the road democrat. But if hillary were on the ticket it... fuggedaboutit.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: Bowfinger
How? The same way they won in 2004: turning up their slime machine when the Dems nominate Hillary Clinton. Clinton is smart and well-qualified, but she is so polarizing and has so much baggage the Repubs are going to eat her alive. I'm really concerned the Dems are going to blow it ... yet again.

You're right, but all else equal, she should still win...just not by as much as Obama would.

The Republicans need an extremely polished candidate and will have to run an airtight campaign to do it. Romney's good on both counts, but not there just yet.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: rpanic
there are too many people that will vote against women.

It is quite appaling to hear so many say "The Country isn't ready for a woman President".

But they can't say exactly why.

They would rather stay the Republican course of completely destroying the U.S. for the benefit of Corporations and Churches.

Very sad times.

 

[fskimospy]

Uhhhh rudder.... neither Kerry nor Edwards were particularly liberal. Edwards is running on a lot more liberal platform this time then he was then. I personally think that the Democrats didn't run a candidate who was liberal enough.

Regardless of that, the republican candidate will try to use fear on the electorate the same way Bush did in 2004. If they can generate enough fear and hatred in the population they will win.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Get a candidate who looks good, doesn't say much, and talks about the good old days returning. They'll win by a landslide. Don't think the Reps are out by any means. People outside the northeast loathe Hillary and many here do to. Consider this- How could Bush have possibly won the last election? Don't go off on FL. It shouldn't have been that close to matter. Bush should have been hammered. Forget swiftboats. It was because the Dems put forward an unelectable POS. I lived in MA for several years and I couldn't believe Kerry was the candidate. How does a three legged horse win a two horse race? Make sure the other horse has two legs.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Sadly, none of the current contenders are moderate and I don't think republican supporters really care much about the GOP getting back to its core values.

Both Romney and Giuliani are much more moderate than Republican voters would have allowed in the past two elections. Their moderateness is the only reason Fred Thompson is getting lots of attention

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: Siddhartha




1. There is a terrorist attack on US soil. That would actually be the final nail in the coffin. One of the few issues that seem to favor the GOP in many polls, is national security, you could scratch that off the list. "Fight 'em there, or fight 'em here" has been one of the rally cries for remaining in Iraq. Fight 'em there, and still have to fight 'em here? That won't go over well with voters, to say the least.

2. Iraq is won* in the next six months? I am not sure how a win would be define in this situation.and monkeys will fly out of your butt

3. Ride or stoke xenophobia of illegal aliens? By Willie Nortonizing illegal aliens. Stoking fears of aliens causing the decline in Western civilization?Risky issue to run on here in Fl. Bush got more than 60% of the Hispanic vote in '00 and more than 50% in '04. In a close race, typical here, Hispanic vote could decide who wins the state. How many are sympathetic to the immigration issue or against it? tricky stuff.

4. Blame the Democrats for Iraq? "You said you would get us out of Iraq but you have done nothing!"Too easy to remind the public who got us in to "another fine mess" to begin with, based on "faulty intelligence", and how badly the war has been mismanaged, and how costly it has been in lives and money, to this point.

This is the list I can think of, what do you think?

I think your list=Democrats win the WH.

I agree with Bowfinger, the GOP can stomp Hillary with much less effort than swiftboating Kerry required.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Sadly, none of the current contenders are moderate and I don't think republican supporters really care much about the GOP getting back to its core values.

Both Romney and Giuliani are much more moderate than Republican voters would have allowed in the past two elections. Their moderateness is the only reason Fred Thompson is getting lots of attention

Giuliani is Bush, Jr. who doesn't pander to the religious right.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Sadly, none of the current contenders are moderate and I don't think republican supporters really care much about the GOP getting back to its core values.

Both Romney and Giuliani are much more moderate than Republican voters would have allowed in the past two elections. Their moderateness is the only reason Fred Thompson is getting lots of attention

Giuliani is Bush, Jr. who doesn't pander to the religious right.

No, Giulani is Bush's foolishness and arrogance with Cheney's intelligence and low cunning combined with Gonzales ethics.

 

[nageov3t]

it's way too early, but just for some random speculation on how the republicans could win...

1. the democrats could shoot themselves in the foot (this is probably the most likely)
2. if the war in iraq was somehow not an issue in the 2008 campaign (very very very unlikely, but I guess it's in the realm of remote possibilities)
3. the dem's could easily loose california if that electoral reform legislation gets passed. that would be devastating to their presidential chances.

 

[rpanic]

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Sadly, none of the current contenders are moderate and I don't think republican supporters really care much about the GOP getting back to its core values.

Both Romney and Giuliani are much more moderate than Republican voters would have allowed in the past two elections. Their moderateness is the only reason Fred Thompson is getting lots of attention

Giuliani is Bush, Jr. who doesn't pander to the religious right.

Plus Giuliani I think is a much bigger fear monger. And I don?t know if it?s just me but he seems to just exude a sense of being an A-hole.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: rpanic

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Sadly, none of the current contenders are moderate and I don't think republican supporters really care much about the GOP getting back to its core values.

Both Romney and Giuliani are much more moderate than Republican voters would have allowed in the past two elections. Their moderateness is the only reason Fred Thompson is getting lots of attention

Giuliani is Bush, Jr. who doesn't pander to the religious right.

Plus Giuliani I think is a much bigger fear monger. And I don?t know if it?s just me but he seems to just exude a sense of being an A-hole.

If given a choice of being forced to choose between Bush Jr and Rudy I'd vote for Bush.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Hayabusa Rider

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Sadly, none of the current contenders are moderate and I don't think republican supporters really care much about the GOP getting back to its core values.

Both Romney and Giuliani are much more moderate than Republican voters would have allowed in the past two elections. Their moderateness is the only reason Fred Thompson is getting lots of attention

Giuliani is Bush, Jr. who doesn't pander to the religious right.

No, Giulani is Bush's foolishness and arrogance with Cheney's intelligence and low cunning combined with Gonzales ethics.

Yeah, I find him frightening actually. I think he'd go on the warpath the day he was sworn in and wreak havoc.

 

[ProfJohn]

First off it won?t be generic Republican vs. Democrat. It will be candidate vs. candidate. The polls show that when it is generic the Democrats win, but place names in there and it becomes a lot closer.

I think Iraq will be a lot smaller issue than it is now. The surge is making progress and Democrats are starting to admit that. Plus Hillary?s vision for the future of Iraq is not to far away from what most Republicans will be calling for. What if the anti-war folks sit it out because they don?t want to vote for someone who will continue the war? That would kill the Democrats chances.

Bush is not going to be on the ticket so running a campaign against Bush isn?t going to do them much good. Unless the goal is to charge up the base.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Bowfinger
How? The same way they won in 2004: turning up their slime machine when the Dems nominate Hillary Clinton. Clinton is smart and well-qualified, but she is so polarizing and has so much baggage the Repubs are going to eat her alive. I'm really concerned the Dems are going to blow it ... yet again.

Clinton is a democratic Bush, mark my words.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Originally posted by: eskimospy
Uhhhh rudder.... neither Kerry nor Edwards were particularly liberal. Edwards is running on a lot more liberal platform this time then he was then. I personally think that the Democrats didn't run a candidate who was liberal enough.

Regardless of that, the republican candidate will try to use fear on the electorate the same way Bush did in 2004. If they can generate enough fear and hatred in the population they will win.

Definitely - keep your eyes out for a "suspected terrorist attack" in the days or weeks leading up to the election. Security level red! Defcon 4! Vote republican!

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
First off it won?t be generic Republican vs. Democrat. It will be candidate vs. candidate. The polls show that when it is generic the Democrats win, but place names in there and it becomes a lot closer.

I think Iraq will be a lot smaller issue than it is now. The surge is making progress and Democrats are starting to admit that. Plus Hillary?s vision for the future of Iraq is not to far away from what most Republicans will be calling for. What if the anti-war folks sit it out because they don?t want to vote for someone who will continue the war? That would kill the Democrats chances.

Bush is not going to be on the ticket so running a campaign against Bush isn?t going to do them much good. Unless the goal is to charge up the base.

I agree with the first paragraph. It comes down to particulars. Iraq is a mixed bag. The surge is killing people, but it hasn't ended any of the violence. "Surges" always have some effect in these types of wars, but when fighting insurgencies, it has a poor record. You can do some reading about the Boer Wars and the like. I expect people will get used to the war and it will go on for some decades unless they impose a draft or Iraq collapses. "It doesn't affect me, so it isn't a problem" goes a long way in politics.

Lastly running a campaign against Bush is a given and it should be. I voted for Bush the first time because I thought he was as far away from Clinton as possible, and figured he was at best benign. I was wrong in many ways there. No matter, Bush will be the target, and both sides will go to some lengths to distance themselves from them. Of course that's tough for the Reps, but it will happen.

 

[JEDIYoda]

all they have to do is run against Hillary and anybody else on the democratic card.....

Anybody but Hillary and the republicans IMO will lose the white house!!