Pale Rider
06-19-2007, 09:27 AM
Republican Candidates Begin Snubbing Bush
By: David Paul Kuhn and Jonathan Martin
Jun 18, 2007 05:52 PM EST
A president with dismal approval ratings and a bitter intraparty rupture over immigration are obvious problems for Republican politicians.
In recent days, however, the combination is emerging as something less obvious: an opportunity.
Recent polls have shown Bush's popularity -- which has long been in the tank with independents -- suffering significant erosion even among GOP base voters, largely due to a backlash over the president's stance on immigration.
The decline, according to some Republican strategists, has flashed a green light for lawmakers on Capitol Hill and presidential candidates to put distance between themselves and an unpopular president -- a politically essential maneuver for the 2008 general election that remained risky as long as Bush retained the sympathies of Republican stalwarts.
Now that those sympathies have somewhat cooled, the effects are visible: Republican House members upset about immigration policy have spoken of Bush in disparaging terms. And presidential contenders like Rudy Giuliani are striking change-the-course themes in their rhetoric, even while continuing to back Bush over the Iraq war.
The change, say GOP operatives, is the absence of fear about being perceived as something less than an ardent Bush backer. "What's the penalty now, Karl being mad at you?" Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio asked with a laugh, referring to Bush political adviser Karl Rove. "Who cares? Even his former chief strategist (Matthew Dowd) walked away from him and pissed all over him."
For candidates trying to woo right-leaning primary voters -- while also trying to show the broader electorate that they are not simply a rubber-stamp for Bush -- immigration has become a well-timed issue over which to break with an unpopular incumbent. "It presents the Republican presidential candidates with a helpful opportunity to separate themselves," said GOP consultant John Brabender. "It shows independence, that they're not in step with the current administration, and it plays toward conservative voters."
More... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4538.html
By: David Paul Kuhn and Jonathan Martin
Jun 18, 2007 05:52 PM EST
A president with dismal approval ratings and a bitter intraparty rupture over immigration are obvious problems for Republican politicians.
In recent days, however, the combination is emerging as something less obvious: an opportunity.
Recent polls have shown Bush's popularity -- which has long been in the tank with independents -- suffering significant erosion even among GOP base voters, largely due to a backlash over the president's stance on immigration.
The decline, according to some Republican strategists, has flashed a green light for lawmakers on Capitol Hill and presidential candidates to put distance between themselves and an unpopular president -- a politically essential maneuver for the 2008 general election that remained risky as long as Bush retained the sympathies of Republican stalwarts.
Now that those sympathies have somewhat cooled, the effects are visible: Republican House members upset about immigration policy have spoken of Bush in disparaging terms. And presidential contenders like Rudy Giuliani are striking change-the-course themes in their rhetoric, even while continuing to back Bush over the Iraq war.
The change, say GOP operatives, is the absence of fear about being perceived as something less than an ardent Bush backer. "What's the penalty now, Karl being mad at you?" Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio asked with a laugh, referring to Bush political adviser Karl Rove. "Who cares? Even his former chief strategist (Matthew Dowd) walked away from him and pissed all over him."
For candidates trying to woo right-leaning primary voters -- while also trying to show the broader electorate that they are not simply a rubber-stamp for Bush -- immigration has become a well-timed issue over which to break with an unpopular incumbent. "It presents the Republican presidential candidates with a helpful opportunity to separate themselves," said GOP consultant John Brabender. "It shows independence, that they're not in step with the current administration, and it plays toward conservative voters."
More... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4538.html