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Quote of the Day: Republicans Seek New Image But Can't Shake Old Faces

Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief, Feb 19th, 2010


Our political Quote of the Day comes from MSNBC’s First Read’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg who note that the GOP is trying to assume a new image with new faces but some of the old faces keep shoving themselves into the picture:

** Out with the new and in with the old? As Republicans and conservatives begin envisioning taking back control of Congress — and maybe even the White House in 2012 — there’s a reason why they’ve embraced Marco Rubio, Scott Brown, and the Tea Party movement: They have nothing to do with the GOP’s past. After all, they didn’t inherit a surplus and turn it into a trillion-dollar deficit; they didn’t make the case that Iraq had WMD; and they didn’t get blamed for their response to Hurricane Katrina. But a funny thing happened at the first day of CPAC yesterday. First, Dick Cheney made a surprise appearance, declaring that Obama will be a one-term president. And then Mitt Romney devoted part of his speech to defend George W. Bush’s legacy. “I am convinced that history will judge President Bush far more kindly,” he said.

This is already proving to be a sticking point with some of the original Tea Party movement members: there are some Republicans or some inclined to support Republicans who don’t want a GOPer in office who is like the kind of Republicans that have been in office over the past decade.

Another item from the First Read team puts into perspective a risk GOPers may have with the general electorate if praising Bush and Cheney becomes part of the battlecry in elections:

*** Miss me yet? [snip]

What do these two items taken together suggest? The Republican Presidential primaries will be more fascinating to watch then ever. GOPers will want to show that they’re not wedded to the Bush administration past, yet they can’t risk being too critical of it. And if they seem to effusive in their praise of Bush-Cheney that will leave an opening for the Democrats (as some reports suggest they are already exploring) to make any election about a return to Bush-Cheney versus keeping the 2008 change even if it wasn’t as much as Barack Obama and the Democrats had promised.

But here is the wild card: the economy. If it’s notably improving by the end of 2010 or 2012 it could blunt some of the Republican’s hopes. And if it’s the same as now or worse, Republicans can order a new teapot for a victory tea party in the Oval Office.

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Full article.

-- Edited by Sanders on Friday 19th of February 2010 11:42:56 AM