RNC sweepstakes

I bet you thought the battle for head of the RNC was just a contest to see who could come up with the most racist folk based novelty song. You'd be right, but it's also a contest to see that if they level timid criticisms and charges of "He deviated too much from Republican orthodoxy at the end there" that they can convince the American people (who are really paying close attention to the RNC chairmanship) that they aren't like Bush.

• "Most of us strongly supported the Bush administration through the entire two terms, but in the last few months, this bailout and the abandonment of capitalism really kind of sealed it,"
• "People in this country are more conservative than what has been shown," said Cathie Adams, an RNC member from Texas. "Republicans have lost because we were playing the me-too game of growing government."
• RNC members frequently criticize Bush's "compassionate conservatism," Blackwell has been the most explicit, likening Bush to former president Herbert Hoover for advocating policies that increased the size of government.
• "There are things President Bush did very well; there were things we wish he had done differently...but it's so easy to play Monday-morning quarterback," Smith said.

Yes, this clearly shows a finger on the pulse of the American people. The last two elections people just looked at the Republican party and said "These guys are just playing 'me too' at the game of growing government, I'll vote for Democrats." I do appreciate Blackwell's grasp of American history, though. Hoover and Bush are the same because they grew government? Hmmmm, close, but not quite hitting the heart of it. But I do think that Americans will be swayed by the message of "Sure Bush was great, he just went off the rails there at the end....AND ONLY THE END! Anyway, it's all monday morning QB bullshit that no one's interested in. Anyone want to hear about capital gains cuts?"

At least one person in the article seemed to get it: John Feehery, Dennis Hastert's former top adviser. "I think we're becoming a regional party, it seems like we only want to appeal to Southerners. We seem too far to the right, and I think we need to have a better understanding of principles that appeal to people in all 50 states." Of course he'll be ignored and drummed out of the party. Keep on keepin' on RNC, I don't think you've quite cracked your problems yet. Don't worry though, as Democrats have shown, you don't actually ever have to become a cohesive party with strong messages that's in touch with America to actually get back in charge. The downside is you don't have a charismatic black guy to hide those problems. C'est la vie.