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Is running against the Speaker a good campaign strategy?

Is running against Pelosi a good strategy?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 73.3%
  • No

    Votes: 4 26.7%

  • Total voters
    15

the makeout hobo

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From what I've gathered, a crucial crux of the Republicans strategy to win back the house is to try to link Democratic candidates with Nancy Pelosi and essentially run against Pelosi. Excluding the candidate in Pelosi's district of course, do you think this strategy is a good idea for the Republicans?
 
From what I've gathered, a crucial crux of the Republicans strategy to win back the house is to try to link Democratic candidates with Nancy Pelosi and essentially run against Pelosi. Excluding the candidate in Pelosi's district of course, do you think this strategy is a good idea for the Republicans?

Yes. I think even most democrats don't much like her.
 
From what I've gathered, a crucial crux of the Republicans strategy to win back the house is to try to link Democratic candidates with Nancy Pelosi and essentially run against Pelosi. Excluding the candidate in Pelosi's district of course, do you think this strategy is a good idea for the Republicans?

Perhaps, but I don't think Republicans have much they can successfully run on.
 
Really?

I hadn't noticed, actually...

Personally, I would rather they run on the issues, and I’ll vote for em’ if they have better positions (from my perspective) than the opposition.

That said, I tend to disagree with the current Speaker on most things, so the two may be nearly identical.
 
Really?

I hadn't noticed, actually...

Personally, I would rather they run on the issues, and I’ll vote for em’ if they have better positions (from my perspective) than the opposition.

That said, I tend to disagree with the current Speaker on most things, so the two may be nearly identical.

I believe the question is what strategy should the Republicans use to capture some Senate and House seats back, so running on the issues probably won't work.
 
I believe the question is what strategy should the Republicans use to capture some Senate and House seats back, so running on the issues probably won't work.
Why not?

Are you saying that in your opinion their positions on the issues are unable to garner votes?
 
Why not?

Are you saying that in your opinion their positions on the issues are unable to garner votes?

I'm saying it definitely would not be the most effective. Since more people are Democratic than Republican in America more people would agree with Democratic views. I think running campaigns that discuss how bad the economy is and just in general how bad of shape America is in right now would gain some votes. Now I'm not a master strategist so I don't know the BEST strategy but I certainly think Republicans have more to run on that would help them gain seats than just the issues.
 
Nancy Pelosi will turn 70 next year, it is time someone younger stepped up to the plate.
 
I'm saying it definitely would not be the most effective. Since more people are Democratic than Republican in America more people would agree with Democratic views. I think running campaigns that discuss how bad the economy is and just in general how bad of shape America is in right now would gain some votes. Now I'm not a master strategist so I don't know the BEST strategy but I certainly think Republicans have more to run on that would help them gain seats than just the issues.
There's a few things wrong with your logic.

First, while more people may be registered democrats than registered republicans, party registration has little to do with individual views except in a very generalized way, and it doesn’t take into account independents and 3rd party members.

Secondly, I was speaking from a personal standpoint, stating how I would wish they did things.

And, I disagree – I think such a method WOULD be effective, if their positions on the issues match those of the majority.
 
The answer is "maybe."

Doing only that won't help you win. It didn't help whats-his-name in Pennsylvania for Murtha's old seat. The Democrat campaigned on local issues while the Republican campaigned against Pelosi and Obama and lost, in a conservative district.

The advantage of course is in stirring up the base, but in order to win, you need to get independents who may not hate Pelosi the way the hardcore right-wingers do.
 
while more people may be registered democrats than registered republicans, party registration has little to do with individual views except in a very generalized way, and it doesn’t take into account independents and 3rd party members.

I never said REGISTERED, I simply said there are more Democrats than Republican. (See Party affiliation polls: Partisan Trends - Rasmussen Reports, http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/Party-Affiliation.aspx, http://washingtonindependent.com/43513/poll-gop-party-affiliation-shrinking-nearly-across-the-board)

And, I disagree – I think such a method WOULD be effective, if their positions on the issues match those of the majority.

That's where we disagree, I believe more people agree with Democratic views than Republican ideas (my political views aside).
 
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Right, because who wants someone that old having that much power? Why, who does she think she is? Reagan?

Quite so, especially when one realizes that Reagon's wife ran to the family astrologer for an answer to any problem so as to permit an Alzhiemer suffering Reagon to be able to respond to whatever came up.
By and large between them they did a pretty fair job.
 
Personally, I don't think 70 is too old. Plenty of people 70 and older are in fine shape mentally and can handle the work.

Reagan had definite problems, especially in his second term, but that could have happened to someone younger too.

70, in and of itself, doesn't mean incapable.
 
I think it is a good idea to run again Pelosi. Not that many people really like her right now so why not try and go for it.
 
I'm pretty skeptical about that approach, because there's a pretty easy rebuttal: "I'm not Nancy Pelosi." This approach is especially unlikely to work against non-incumbent Democrats, most of whom have probably never even met Pelosi. I also doubt it will work in many districts with vulnerable incumbent Democrats. Those tend to be redder districts, and the Democratic representatives from those areas tend to be more conservative. I think the voters would see through it if a Republican accused a Blue Dog Democrat of representing Pelosi's interests.

The only place I think it could work would be conservative districts where the Democratic incumbent was considerably more liberal than his constituents. But even here, it's not Pelosi specifically that would be an effective albatross around the Democrat's neck...it would be his/her own ideology.

Ultimately, I think the Republicans will probably have a good election year. I question the confident boasts that they're going to regain Congress when the generic ballot currently shows only a 1-2 point advantage for the Republicans, but it's certainly possible. But regardless of how the election plays out, I don't think Pelosi's views will have much to do with it.
 
Attacking Speaker Pelosi is too inside baseball for this cycle because most people don't even know who she is. Personally I think the more one learns about this kindly grandmother, the most powerful woman in American history, a politician's politician, the most significant Speaker of the House in half a century or more, the more one has to admire her achievements and give her some credit for succeeding in what formerly was a men-only club. She's one tough cookie and she has brought order to the House at a time when the country really needed the House to function on all cylinders.

But, more important, local issues will decide this election and that gives Democrats some degree of hope even in the face of Republicans desperately trying to nationalize the election through their attacks of personal destruction. It won't work and this latest campaign is just one more disservice to the nation in the long list of disservices they have performed. I say Republicans have done more harm to this country in the past half century than Al Qaeda and bin Laden could ever have hoped to have inflicted. But why would they change now?
 
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I'm pretty skeptical about that approach, because there's a pretty easy rebuttal: "I'm not Nancy Pelosi." This approach is especially unlikely to work against non-incumbent Democrats, most of whom have probably never even met Pelosi. I also doubt it will work in many districts with vulnerable incumbent Democrats. Those tend to be redder districts, and the Democratic representatives from those areas tend to be more conservative. I think the voters would see through it if a Republican accused a Blue Dog Democrat of representing Pelosi's interests.

The only place I think it could work would be conservative districts where the Democratic incumbent was considerably more liberal than his constituents. But even here, it's not Pelosi specifically that would be an effective albatross around the Democrat's neck...it would be his/her own ideology.

Ultimately, I think the Republicans will probably have a good election year. I question the confident boasts that they're going to regain Congress when the generic ballot currently shows only a 1-2 point advantage for the Republicans, but it's certainly possible. But regardless of how the election plays out, I don't think Pelosi's views will have much to do with it.

What I think will be done is adds that show comparisons to Pelosi, who really does have unreal negative numbers. That type of add is done alot in election years, and is very effective. The last 2 election years, Bush was used in that manner, and it did work.
 
From what I've gathered, a crucial crux of the Republicans strategy to win back the house is to try to link Democratic candidates with Nancy Pelosi and essentially run against Pelosi. Excluding the candidate in Pelosi's district of course, do you think this strategy is a good idea for the Republicans?

She is, more or less, the equivalent of Dick Chaney in regards to how people see her.
I think it could work well.
 
What I think will be done is adds that show comparisons to Pelosi, who really does have unreal negative numbers. That type of add is done alot in election years, and is very effective. The last 2 election years, Bush was used in that manner, and it did work.

Yes, but Bush was the president whereas Pelosi is merely the speaker. I really don't think the average voter has a strong opinion about Nancy Pelosi at all. Even during the health care debate, when she exercised her immense power behind the scenes for all it was worth, she never really thrust herself into the spotlight.

As for her "unreal negative numbers"...they aren't terrible. Her disapprove numbers tend to be in the 40-50% range. And even that doesn't really measure the intensity of disapproval, which I would imagine is not particularly high. A lot of those disapproves are probably "Meh, she's an annoying bitch from San Francisco" rather than "I HATE EVERYTHING SHE STANDS FOR!" That makes it harder yet to campaign against her IMO.
 
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I would disagree she has not had her share of the spotlight(the polls you link, less than 10 % had not heard of her), and while her unfavorable is only in the 50 % range, her favorable is under 40 %. By contrast, Obama's unfavorable is down around 40, favorable around 50,and his poll numbers are considered bad.
 
I would disagree she has not had her share of the spotlight(the polls you link, less than 10 % had not heard of her), and while her unfavorable is only in the 50 % range, her favorable is under 40 %.

But if you're campaigning AGAINST her, her unfavorable ratings are what matter. A disapproval in the 40-50% range is hardly enough to mount an effective campaign against her in far-off districts where she isn't even on the ballot. And again, this doesn't measure the intensity of disapproval.

Redress said:
By contrast, Obama's unfavorable is down around 40, favorable around 50,and his poll numbers are considered bad.

Obama's numbers in the latest RCP average are 47% approval and 46% disapproval, making his disapproval about the same as Pelosi's. And I wouldn't say that those numbers are particularly bad. Nothing spectacular, but hardly in Bush territory.
 
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From what I've gathered, a crucial crux of the Republicans strategy to win back the house is to try to link Democratic candidates with Nancy Pelosi and essentially run against Pelosi. Excluding the candidate in Pelosi's district of course, do you think this strategy is a good idea for the Republicans?

I imagine it worked for democrats who ran ran against Bush, so obviously running against Pelosi would work and is a good stratagy.
 
Sure run on the issues but make Pelosi the face of negavity for those issues. The same way Obama campaigned on "Not Bush" - all things were blamed. Make the same issue here - run on issues but make her the bad guy and pound the hell out of her. Should be pretty easy I mean, it's not like she's a moderate nice-nice person here. She's an absolute **** and some well done television ads and Republican talking points should do it. Course it won't work in her district which is full of loons but it'll work to depose her from Speaker which is the goal.
 
From what I've gathered, a crucial crux of the Republicans strategy to win back the house is to try to link Democratic candidates with Nancy Pelosi and essentially run against Pelosi. Excluding the candidate in Pelosi's district of course, do you think this strategy is a good idea for the Republicans?

I think it could work, but it depends where and how.

I think just invoking the name could potentially help Republicans maintain districts they already have. But that's not what this seems to be focusing on asking about, but rather wanting to know about seats that are up for grabs that its being used for.

I think this strategy can work for House seats IF they tie it to issues and tie it to the notion that the House Democrats have been voting lock step with Nancy and thus while they may not actually BE Nancy Pelosi, they may as well be. Essentially attempt to use the 2006 strategy in regards to painting any Republican that voted for something Bush wanted as essentially being George Bush.

As such, this is going to work best if they do it when going up against incumbants. For example someone could take an encumbants voting record and highlight the major issues that they voted in favor of right along side Pelosi. They could show, instead of what we often see which is "how often they vote with democrats", a stat showing "How often they vote with Pelosi". If someone's trotting out a number that "On 95% of the issues, on things such as health care, cap and trade, trap, and bailouts, [representitive x] voted in line with Nancy Pelosi" its going to be hard to play out the "I'm not Nancy" game and I think could very easily resonate.

It will be harder to do with non-incumbants attempting to take Republican seats, or where a new person is going to be running, but still possibl by looking at their views on things and comparing it.

It also can help in regards to any politician that, for example, was saying they would vote against health care...or did...and then seemingly swapped their vote, allowing republicans to point at the Big Dog in the House as the person responsable and able to have such sway over the representitive that they could cause them to swing the vote over to her for the sake of power.

Could it be bumbled and handled poorly? Absolutely. But I do think its something that could have a strong possability of helping Republicans in toss up districts if done right.
 
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