Better Millstones Needed

Patrick O'Connor reports on the new GOP political strategy:

They’ll also begin to use “Pelosi-Reid-Obama” in the all-in-the-same-breath way that Democrats now use “Bush-McCain” — to make the parties’ popular candidates indistinguishable from their less beloved incumbents.

This was more or less Bill Kristol's column a couple of days ago. The trouble is that as best I can tell, Pelosi isn't nearly unpopular enough for this to work. Her approval ratings are always in the thirties and so are her disapproval ratings. She's not a wildly popular figure, but she rates quite a bit better than George W. Bush and meanwhile is pretty obscure and unknown by a large block of people.

Comments

The real problem with Kristol's column is that he certainly wasn't complaining when a Republican congress was rubber-stamping the Republican president's actions.

Posted by Chris | July 29, 2008 2:36 PM

Right, most people will hear "Pelosi--Reid--Obama" as "Who?--Hunh?--Obama".

Posted by DTM | July 29, 2008 2:37 PM

I think Republicans are banking on Pelosi's gender to cause Obama trouble via association. Never underestimate the level of misogyny in the electorate. Even many women hate women.

Posted by steve duncan | July 29, 2008 2:38 PM

And Reid is even more obscure. And it's been tried-- Wingers tried to demonize Pelosi in 2006. It didn't work then, it won't work now.

Posted by MattF | July 29, 2008 2:38 PM

Yup. The Republicans have pretty much run out of liberal boogeymen to associate with Obama now that Kennedy's health has turned into a broadly sympathetic figure and Hillary spent all spring arguing with Obama.

Posted by right | July 29, 2008 2:40 PM

So the Republican brand is polling at all-time lows, and the GOP plan is to nationalize the election?

These guys are GENIUSES.

Posted by Gabriel | July 29, 2008 2:42 PM

I remember the mantra of the 06 elections from the Republicans: do you really want Chuck Schumer and Charlie Rangel to run things? Lookie how well that worked out.

Posted by freddiemac | July 29, 2008 2:42 PM

Republicans would indeed be doing this nation a great service if they adopt the Pelosi-Reid-Obama strategy discussed.

Posted by voice of reason | July 29, 2008 2:46 PM

OT but is Mr. Yglesias going to comment on fucktard Robert Novaks' brain tumor? It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Might explain the recent traffic accident and his incoherence in an interview afterward.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072801277.html?sub=AR

Posted by SLC | July 29, 2008 2:49 PM

What if they just keep yelling "But NANCY PELOSI went to SYRIA!!! LOGAN ACT!!!"

Would that work?

Posted by El Cid | July 29, 2008 2:51 PM

The real message here is going to be, "Pelosi-(who's from San Francisco where they have all the queers)-Reid-Obama"

Posted by too many steves | July 29, 2008 3:01 PM

They tried Rev. Wright. They tried Bill Ayers. They tried Hamas. It must gall them to no end that none of this is sticking.

Now, while we're here, let's talk about McCain's association (i.e. they are major people in his campgain) with the likes of the economic disaster that is Phil Gramm, the continual Iraq failure that is Randy Scheunemann, and the disgraced CEO that is Carly Fiorina. And maybe we should trot out that photos of McCain with Falwell, Hagee, and Bush.

Posted by LFC | July 29, 2008 3:06 PM

Re El Cid

"What if they just keep yelling "But NANCY PELOSI went to SYRIA!!! LOGAN ACT!!!""

The response is that Rethuglican Congressman Frank Wolf went to Syria the week before Pelosi and Rethuglican Congressman Darrell Issa went to Syria a few days after Pelosi.

Posted by SLC | July 29, 2008 3:08 PM

I read Kristol's column as an early entry in the "Annoy the media, vote for McCain" category. Which made me think, it's awfully early to be COMPLETELY OUT OF IDEAS.

Posted by mark | July 29, 2008 3:13 PM

Sorry, I guess that's "Verärgern die Medien, Stimmen Sie für McCain".

Posted by mark | July 29, 2008 3:17 PM

I think McCain needs to take a page out of Harry Truman's book and run against the "do-nothing congress".

Posted by danceswithgoats | July 29, 2008 3:21 PM

What if they just keep yelling "But NANCY PELOSI went to SYRIA!!! LOGAN ACT!!!"

Would that work?

Posted by El Cid | July 29, 2008 2:51 PM

I remember that kerfuffle. Pelosi wore a hearscarf ZOMG!!1!!eleven!

Two solid weeks of a tightly choreographed, pre-planned media campaign about a "scandal" that they purposely set up for her to fall into, and the effect was to raise Nancy Pelosi's approval rating by 5-10 points in national polls.

That was awesome. That was when I knew that Bush and the GOP weren't coming back any time soon.

Republicans: She's undermining the President's foreign policy!

America: Yay!

Posted by joe from Lowell | July 29, 2008 3:30 PM

This is especially true as the third that approve and the third that disapprove of Pelosi have already picked sides in the presidential election. If the voter hasn't been paying enough attention to have an opinion on the presidential election, then he or she is much, much less likely to have an opinion on Reid.

Posted by Curtis | July 29, 2008 4:50 PM

Curtis, above, gets +1 Insightful from me.

Posted by NBarnes | July 29, 2008 4:54 PM

I thought the strategy in the LA and MS by-elections was to equate the Democratic candidate with Obama and Pelosi.

Why is Kristol advocating doing this again?

Posted by Shawn Pickrell | July 29, 2008 7:44 PM

Why is Kristol advocating doing this again?

What choice does he have? If you're a Republican, what better option is there? The Republicans are in deep s***, and they know it. The next step is everyone for him/herself (we're already starting to see that, with Senators begging off the convention), and after that throwing in the towel.

Posted by Dave | July 30, 2008 11:01 AM