Since voters turned the entire government over to Republicans, the only thing GOP lawmakers have managed to deliver is a big whopping legislative goose egg. And now that the special elections in GOP districts in Montana and Georgia a little too close for comfort, House Republicans are dusting off an old playbook in hopes of distracting voters from their flagging record. Politico writes:
Afraid of the ripple effect of President Donald Trump’s early scandals, the GOP is looking to motivate conservative voters by painting all Democratic candidates with Pelosi’s “San Francisco liberal values.” [...]
“I think we’ll see if it works. I believe it still works,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers of Ohio said of the GOP focus on Pelosi.
Pelosi remains a deeply unpopular figure among GOP voters. She has only a 14 percent favorability rating with Republicans, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday. And she doesn’t do much better with independents — just 20 percent of those voters view her favorably.
Yeah, well, the health care bill Republicans rammed through the House polls at 17 percent, and that was even before the CBO scored the new one.
Still the outcomes of the elections could have implications if Democrats don't pick up at least one of the seats, since they both represent exactly the type of districts Democrats will have to prevail in to flip the House in 2018.
Pelosi has appeared far more than any other national figure in Republican advertising in the two marquee special election races — even though Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders spent the past weekend in Montana campaigning for Quist, and Pelosi’s personal involvement has been minimal. The ads paint her as too liberal and too out-of-touch for the voters in the districts.[...]
Several rank-and-file Democrats said there have been quiet, small-group discussions recently about whether there should be a leadership shakeup ahead of the 2018 midterms, and, if so, when.
Still, it seems unlikely that House Democrats, long publicly resistant to the party change that many privately say is needed, would choose now to turn their caucus upside down.