Recently, Republicans
boasted that they are planning to spend 90% of their $50 million advertisement on negative ads headed by dirty tricks expert
Terry Nelson. Terry Nelson has been implicated in both the
New Hampshire phone jamming case and was an
unindicted co-conspirator in Tom Delay's money laundering case. The fact that Republicans are going to base the 2006 campaign on negative ads is an amazing admission by Republicans and presents
an incredible opportunity for Democrats.
Republicans have spent much of the last 30 years trying to create a series of myths. Among those myths are the ideas that Republicans are the party of integrity and ideas. This $50 million negative ad blitz destroys both of these myths. It shows that Republicans feel that
they can't run on their record, and that they are willing to stoop to disgusting personal attacks coordinated by a sleazy political operative in order to retain power.
One thing all voters agree on is that they hate negative ads. Republicans are betting that they can separate their candidates from the attacks in voter's mind. This $50 million provides the tool to create a national narrative that links local GOP candidates to the national negative ad campaign.
We can highlight the immorality of these GOP attacks using stories like the GOP candidate that changed his party affiliation because he was disgusted by Republican attack ads against his opponents.
But most important, highlighting this negative ad blitz, undermines the effects of all Republican advertisements. Much as the Republicans always complain about the `liberal media' in order to `work the refs', publicizing this negative ad campaign will make voters question everything the Republican ads say.
Republicans think that if they attack Democrats "It will take one or two punches to fold them up like a cheap suit.". It is not enough to complain about the unfairness of negative attacks, According to Josh Marshall's bitch-slap theory of electoral politics Democrats have to come out swinging or they look weak. Local candidates can't allow themselves to be swiftboated, but the National Party can help them with this narrative, "Republicans have to stoop to cheap attacks to cover up their long record of miserable failure."
Here are some potential Talking Points:
1) "Republicans can't run on their record of failure, so they have to spend $50 million to attack their opponents"
2) "Republicans have no ideas, so they have to resort to spending $50 million disgusting personal attacks"
3) "By spending $50 million on sleazy attack ads, Republicans are making the partisanship and rancor in Washington even worse"
4) "Good people will avoid politics if they know that Republicans are going to spend $50 million to drag their name through the mud"
5) "Republicans are going to spend $50 million to dig through the trash of their opponents, to distract voters from their record of failure."
6) "Republicans have brought out their sleaziest political operatives to spend $50 million and make up dirt on Democrats."
7) "It's ironic that the most corrupt legislature in history is basing their reelection hopes on spending $50 million to attack their opposition."
8) "The two hallmarks of the current Republican legislature are corruption and a lack of accountability, so it is completely hypocritical for them to spend $50 million on attack ads."
9) "Republicans are desperate to retain their hold on power, so it is not surprising that they would spend $50 million to attack Democrats."