GOP devlops strategy against Dem incumbants

Donald Lambro:

Republican strategists say the Democratic Congress' plunging job-approval rating gives them a fresh chance to make gains in next year's elections under a developing Republican strategy that is urging its candidates to run an insurgent, anti-incumbent campaign.

"We're working closely with our candidates as we head into next year to tell them don't be afraid to run against Republicans as a whole, run against Washington as a whole, talk about runaway spending, and pick and choose the issues on which to run against this Congress," a Republican party campaign official said.

The Republican election strategy shift comes on the heels of a Gallup survey showing that only 18 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, dealing the Democratic majority a major blow that has lifted Republican hopes of a comeback and raised questions in Democratic ranks about why so many Democrats and independents are giving them a failing grade and how to turn that around.

"The number that interests me most is the collapse of the independents, which dropped 13 points, from 30 percent last month to 17 percent this month. That's the swing vote. Those are the people who left the GOP in 2006. They did not embrace the Democrats. Their vote was a rejection of the Republicans," said Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster who helped the party take control of Congress in 1994.

"And now those independents are up for grabs. It took the Democrats eight months to do what it took the Republicans four years in terms of damage," he said.

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"We're heading into an anti-incumbent year. Those candidates who can best present themselves as an agent of change will succeed in this environment," a senior Republican official said.

Ken Spain, press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said "Democrats promised change. No change has been delivered, and now we are seeing the results of that. This has all the makings of an anti-incumbent environment that we believe will benefit Republican challengers next year."

Democratic campaign officials acknowledge that there is a deep frustration among their party's rank-and-file supporters over the failure of House and Senate Democratic leaders to force a troop-withdrawal timetable in the Iraq war and make progress on other pieces of the party's agenda.

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The change the Democrats claim was wanted, was not what they campaigned on in 2006. Democrats did not win their majority based on pulling the troops out of Iraq. In fact they ran away from Karl Rove's attacks that they wanted to cut and run. Then they got in office and claimed they were elected to cut and run. There attempt to withdraw from Iraq and secure defeat is based on a big lie and it is going to defeat them in 2008. There strategy is further complicated by the success of the surge and of our troops in Iraq which demonstrates that following their policy would have been a disaster for the country and a win for our enemies. That is not a record to run on in 2008.