Mehlman urges GOP candidates to be ‘W Brand Republicans’

March 29, 2006

The good news for Republicans in Washington these days is that they control everything. The bad news is they’re poised to lose a good chunk of that control in November and they’re not sure what to do about it. GOP pollster [tag]Jan van Lohuizen[/tag] wrote a memo for Republican National Committee Chairman [tag]Ken Mehlman[/tag] earlier this month with strong advice: run with, not from, Bush.

The memo, obtained by National Journal, insists that rank-and-file Republican voters remain loyal to [tag]Bush[/tag], so candidates that drive “a wedge between themselves and the President” undermine the party’s broader prospects. The [tag]van Lohuizen[/tag] memo also suggests there are real fears within the Republican establishment about depressed [tag]Republican turnout[/tag] running up against elevated turnout from angry Dems, which could be exacerbated by GOP candidates distancing themselves from the Bush White House.

“The President is seen universally as the face of the Republican Party. We are now [tag]brand W. Republicans[/tag]. […]

“President Bush drives our image and will do so until we have real national front-runners for the ’08 nomination. Attacking the President is counter productive for all Republicans, not just the candidates launching the attacks. If he drops, we all drop.”

The memo to Mehlman and the RNC is an implicit acknowledgement that Republicans are at least considering running away from Bush, otherwise the advice would be unnecessary. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the memo was leaked to National Journal by the RNC intentionally as a subtle shot across congressional Republicans’ bow. Mehlman expects nervous candidates to run away from Bush, so he’s pushing hard to see that it doesn’t happen.

I’m hardly a disinterested observer, but I don’t quite know what the midterm strategy is for the GOP right now. If they run as “[tag]W Brand Republicans[/tag],” they tie themselves to an unpopular president, whose national support is in freefall, and who’s even losing favor within the party’s base. Dems would love nothing more than to tie vulnerable incumbents to a president voters no longer like or trust. If they run away from the president and exert some independence, they run the risk of undercutting party morale, depressing turnout, and losing anyway.

Decisions, decisions…

Republican steer headed off to slaughter carrying the W brand on their hides. The cowboy from the Crawford ranchette is rounding up his herd.

  • Republicans’ s loyalty, from most important to least important (according to Ken Mehlman):

    1) To Bush
    2) To GOP
    3) To Country and the American People

  • Given that the personality profile of a GOP leader conforms to that of a sociopath, I don’t blame Mehlman for mistrusting his colleagues for thinking about pushing Bush under the subway train. After all, Mehlman knows his colleagues very well. But given that Bush has been so good as to not get in the way of their looting and corruption, I don’t think Mehlman has anything to worry. We’ve noted repeatedly here that when push came to shove, the GOP toed the party line.

    2Manchu,
    #3 on your list is actually a lot further down, say #1,824–right after, “loyalty to the scum building in my toilet.”

  • Mr. Fibble,
    I also forgot to put “House of Saud” over “GOP”

    I should have the full list done by this afternoon.

  • 2Manchu,

    I think you also forgot to put “God” on the list. Unless of course, you were just using the Repug substitute…”Bush”.

  • 2Manchu, what about Halliburton, ExxonMobil, etc.? Your #3 is WAY higher on the list than it should be…

  • The Republican Party made its bed with George W. Bush back in 2000, now they can lie down in it to their heart’s content. Or not. Who cares?

    Some things, like duty, honor and country used to take precedence over political loyalty. Hubert Humphrey even broke with LBJ over the Vietnam War, but “Dead-Eye Dick” Cheney puts party and himself above country by continuing to spin untruths about Iraq. Now all I see is a Republican Party that faints like a little girl at the prospect of even saying one small thing against a President who believes the rule of law does not apply to him. Small wonder Mehlman thinks he can tell them to get in line, heck, it’s what they’ve always, always done before. Why should that change?

  • Sorry, guys, I wrote that before my second mug of coffee, so my thinking wasn’t too clear

    Gridlock, on your second point, you are exactly right.

    Castor Troy, I also forgot Lockheed Martin (Lynn Cheney’s old job)

  • We should give them what they want.

    Lindsay W. Graham, John W. McCain, Bill W. Frist, Denny W. Hastert, Heather W. Wilson, Jeb W. Bush….

  • So if Dubya takes up yet another crackpot idea, and a Republican demurs from embracing it, then it’s an attack on the President? Man, I love these guys!

  • Jan Van Lohuizen is Bush’s secret pollster, one of the (previously) best kept secrets in Wa, DC. The idea that the Bush Admin doesn’t pay attention to polls is a half-truth; they just don’t pay attention to media polls about them. But they poll extensively and conduct focus groups about how to sell unpopular ideas and programs to the public by choosing terms and phrases that poll well. Look into it while you still can.

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