Health-Care Battle Helps GOP Climb Out of Morass
From The Washington Post:
When Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) left the Republican Party in April to become a Democrat, the situation for the Grand Old Party was so dismal that even one of Washington's most vocal Republican bashers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), declared that "our country needs a strong, diverse Republican Party."
But after looking as if they would drift into irrelevance, Republicans are showing signs of being energized. The party's grass-roots activists, at times moribund during last year's presidential campaign, have mobilized against President Obama's agenda, vastly outnumbering Democrats at some of this month's health-care town hall meetings.
After badly trailing the campaign of then-Sen. Barack Obama in raising money last year, the Republican National Committee has raised more than the Democratic National Committee this year, figures released last week show. Ahead of next year's elections, several potentially strong GOP candidates, including popular Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, have decided to run for seats in the Senate. In this year's gubernatorial races, polls show the GOP candidates ahead in both New Jersey and Virginia.
What has emerged in the last few months is a more confident GOP. Republicans, who earlier this year thought they could not block a Democratic health-care reform bill and should focus on simply stopping one of its more liberal components -- a government-run insurance option -- have set their sights on forcing the president to dramatically scale back his proposal.
"Republicans are digging out of a pretty big hole and we're not yet back to parity, but it's headed in the right direction," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a leading figure in the party who is considering a 2012 presidential run. "The mood of the grass roots has gone from one of discouragement and confusion in some cases after the last election cycle to one of concern about the direction of Obama to one of hope and optimism for a Republican comeback."
Strategists in both parties caution that increasing anxiety about Obama's agenda has not translated into enthusiasm for Republicans.
A few Republicans are declaring next year's elections will be like those in 1994, when a completely out-of-power GOP won back control of the House and Senate.
"I think the party has its greatest opportunity in the last 40 years," said Jim Greer, chairman of the Florida Republican Party.
Other Republicans are more cautious.
"We're still a long way away from the elections," said Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), the No. 2 House Republican. "I don't necessarily think that when you look at the governor's races in our state and others, it's a Republican wave or a Democrat wave. . . . It was a historic election, and the public was wrapped up in this notion of change, but now I think what people are beginning to see is that all change is not good change."
When Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) left the Republican Party in April to become a Democrat, the situation for the Grand Old Party was so dismal that even one of Washington's most vocal Republican bashers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), declared that "our country needs a strong, diverse Republican Party."
But after looking as if they would drift into irrelevance, Republicans are showing signs of being energized. The party's grass-roots activists, at times moribund during last year's presidential campaign, have mobilized against President Obama's agenda, vastly outnumbering Democrats at some of this month's health-care town hall meetings.
After badly trailing the campaign of then-Sen. Barack Obama in raising money last year, the Republican National Committee has raised more than the Democratic National Committee this year, figures released last week show. Ahead of next year's elections, several potentially strong GOP candidates, including popular Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, have decided to run for seats in the Senate. In this year's gubernatorial races, polls show the GOP candidates ahead in both New Jersey and Virginia.
What has emerged in the last few months is a more confident GOP. Republicans, who earlier this year thought they could not block a Democratic health-care reform bill and should focus on simply stopping one of its more liberal components -- a government-run insurance option -- have set their sights on forcing the president to dramatically scale back his proposal.
"Republicans are digging out of a pretty big hole and we're not yet back to parity, but it's headed in the right direction," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a leading figure in the party who is considering a 2012 presidential run. "The mood of the grass roots has gone from one of discouragement and confusion in some cases after the last election cycle to one of concern about the direction of Obama to one of hope and optimism for a Republican comeback."
Strategists in both parties caution that increasing anxiety about Obama's agenda has not translated into enthusiasm for Republicans.
A few Republicans are declaring next year's elections will be like those in 1994, when a completely out-of-power GOP won back control of the House and Senate.
"I think the party has its greatest opportunity in the last 40 years," said Jim Greer, chairman of the Florida Republican Party.
Other Republicans are more cautious.
"We're still a long way away from the elections," said Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), the No. 2 House Republican. "I don't necessarily think that when you look at the governor's races in our state and others, it's a Republican wave or a Democrat wave. . . . It was a historic election, and the public was wrapped up in this notion of change, but now I think what people are beginning to see is that all change is not good change."
posted by Sid Cottingham | 7:35 AM
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