Doug Forrester, freed from the weight of running for public office (and it sounds like he's burning some bridges here) places the blame for his loss
squarely on the shoulders of George Bush:
Doug Forrester, in his first postelection interview, laid the blame for his loss in the governor's race last week directly at the feet of President Bush. He said the public's growing disaffection with Bush, especially after Hurricane Katrina, made it impossible for his campaign to overcome the built-in advantage Democrats have in a blue state like New Jersey.
I'm sure there's a wee bit of personal ass covering in Forrester's statement, but its good to hear a Republican saying things like this. Forrester had more good news for Democrats (and other anti-GOP types too).
Even so, Forrester believes the state Republican Party is as vulnerable as ever. Without any statewide elected officials, it's difficult to rally behind a leader.
He also said the county organizations are virtually powerless.
It's disheartening because, given the collapse in public opinion about Bush and the Republicans nationally, a state like New Jersey is ripe for almost complete domination by the Democrats, he said.
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Forrester, a major donor to the Bush re-election campaign, also credited Corzine for trying to link him to Bush. "It was not a foolish thing to pound that issue so hard," he said.
Strategery 2006: Hang Bush around the neck of every GOP candidate with one hand, offer a positive agenda for working class Americans with the other. Glad to hear that NJ's GOP is in a shambles too.
Forrester did say something in this interview I actually admire:
The general election might have been less of a physical test, but the negative tone made it far more emotionally taxing, he said.
He would have preferred a series of single-issue debates and one-on-one forums with the Democratic candidate, rather than spending millions trying to get his message across in 30-second TV ads.
"There's not much of a chance to have a serious discussion of the issues in a political campaign," Forrester lamented.
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"I believed in what I was doing. I still believe in it," Forrester said. "It's important that the message get out that New Jersey needs to be changed. As I said on election night, I genuinely wish Jon Corzine well. I care more about New Jersey being repaired than I care about the political party who repairs it."
That is a well done political statement; I hope he is sincere about that sentiment. Our country is badly in need of fixing. Our political discourse is poisonous and hopefully other GOP operatives will see that the ways of Rove have exhausted their usefulness. Forrester's loss should be proof of this.