Can you blame them for trying to keep the lid on things?
Apparently Sen. Lindsey Graham
thinks Senate Republicans need a 1994-style "Contract With America" to tell the country about all the great things the GOP will do if voters give them control of both chambers of Congress:
“I think it’s a strategic mistake for our party leadership not to come up with a document that has four or five action items,” Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the House class of 1994, said in an interview. “I’ve tried to allow those in leadership to do this. If they don’t move forward soon, there will be a rebellion among the rank and file.”
This seems like a terrible idea. Neither Democrats nor President Obama have the greatest favorable ratings in the world, but they're still better than the GOP's numbers. I have no idea why Graham thinks the GOP should work to remind voters of this fact, but I sure hope he gets his way. Unfortunately:
At a Friday press conference in Louisville, McConnell demurred when asked about a GOP agenda if the party takes the Senate.
“I’m not prepared to announce what the agenda is going to be in January,” he said. “We’re not measuring the drapes.”
And:
“Even if we have a good election, President Obama is still going to be president,” Sen. John Cornyn, the minority whip from Texas, said when asked if his party should unveil a Contract with America-style agenda this year. “I don’t think we should be in the business of overpromising.”
These guys realize that it's a lot easier to sell attacks on President Obama, especially in places like Kentucky, than it is to sell a GOP governing agenda. No matter what Lindsey Graham may say, they don't want the election to be about what things would be like if the GOP ran the show in Congress because that's not the kind of election they think they can win. And that means it'll be up to Democrats to talk about what's at stake if the GOP were to win.