GOP: Resurrecting It, Electing Candidates

Please visit the sites of the following outstanding candidates: They need your support, and they absolutely deserve it.

http://johnmccain.com/ (John McCain for President)
http://peoplewithhart.com/ (Melissa Hart, Western PA, 4th CD)
http://katsforcongress.com/ (Marina Kats, Montgomery County, PA, 13th CD)
http://livingstonforcongress.com/ (Michael Livingston, Philadelphia, PA, 2d CD)
http://votemanion.com/ (Tom Manion, Bucks County, PA, 8th CD)
http://gilhooleyforcongress.com/ (Toni Gilhooley, Dauphin County, PA, 17th CD)

The column preceding this one deals with an important concept: a unified, national effort to win the presidency and as many seats as possible in the House and Senate. If you're reading this piece, you're already a part of the national effort. You can advance this cause by going to http://mccainnow.com and joining hundreds of others (soon, thousands) dedicated to resurrecting the GOP.

Please tell your friends, family, and supporters about this web site -- and send them the link. Thanks. For Republican candidates, the people listed above in the opening sentence of this piece are willing to help you to the best of their abilities, which are considerable. If you're a Republican candidate or campaign manager and want such assistance, e-mail me at: TalkTop65@aol.com.

On Marina Kats Against Allyson Schwartz in the 13th District (from Keystone Politics):

13th-Kats could surprise the experts

If you look at it, Marina Kats will be the first real legitimate opponent who could knock Schwartz off in the general election. And remember, this district was created to be able to won by a Republican back in 2002.Allsyson Schwartz faced a Melissa Brown in 2004 who had spent all her money in a brusing primary and having lots of negative publicity from the media for using the Section 8 issue in 2002.And then last time, well the guy with the two DUI’s riding an elephant, that wasn’t much.Kats has the succssful American Dream story, the outsider label which will help this cycle and don’t forget her Russian community connections which will be real big in Phila.Might be much more interesting than most people think it will at the moment.

http://www.keystonepolitics.com/blog/mr-stuart/13thkats-could-surprise-experts

Note: I continue to believe that Republican congressional candidates should seek out the backing of those who supported Mrs. Clinton in the primary. As the following comments from my national blog indicates, the much discussed Obama-Clinton ticket is unworkable:

The pundits last night didn't really "interpret" Mrs. Clinton's "concession speech" (more properly, her "non-concession speech"). Instead, they mainly had a befuddled look on their faces. Some wondered if she was not perhaps launching the first shot in her 2012 campaign for the presidency. (I suggested that the next presidential election -- the one after this year's -- might end up pitting Senator Clinton on the Democratic side against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for the Republicans. (In this scenario, President John McCain would have -- as we said in business -- "elected to take early retirement.")

Of course, the major question the Senator left is whether she wants (expects?) the vice presidential nod. CNN"s David Gergen suggested that Mrs. Clinton seemed to be indicating that she wanted Senator Obama to agree to some sort of "coalition" government -- or perhaps a co-presidency. On that point, what about a "troika," that would have three equal parts: Barack, Hillary, and -- of course -- Bill?


The problem with Hillary as a vice-presidential nominee is this: she has supplied the Republicans with all sorts of ammunition. Famously, she once said, "I have a lifetime of experience; Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience; Senator Obama has a speech [against the Iraq War] that he delivered in 2002." When Obama runs against McCain, he will hear those words used in ads -- again and again and again.

Mrs. Clinton's slogan in her campaign was "Ready on Day 1." She has implied that John McCain would also be ready to serve as President on Day 1. Of course, her words mean that Obama would NOT be ready. If she thought the Illinois Senator had the appropriate seasoning (and as Prince Hamlet said, "The readiness is all"), then her slogan would have made no sense.

Bill Clinton said on June 2 that the Obama campaign was "sliming" his wife. Again, if Hillary Clinton accepts (the proper word may be "seizes") the vice-presidential nod, Bill Clinton's words just might ring throughout the fall campaign. The former President indicated that Obama is relying on "surrogates" to hurl mud at his wife.


Are Hillary and Bill Clinton really ready to mend fences with Obama? Are they willing to say, in essence, "all is forgiven, Barack. We really didn't mean all those nasty things we said about you." Is this to be a ticket that contains a undertone of the following: "It's true that I said Barack wouldn't be ready on day 1; however, since he will have me with him (in the White House? perhaps the Lincoln Bedroom? the Oval Office couch?), he won't have to worry about not being quite ready for prime time."

And what would the presence of Mrs. Clinton on the ticket do to Obama's seminal message of change? In fact, the "Billary" triplex would be a continuing reminder of the ghosts of American politics past. Barack would learn that it's impossible to fire a vice-president (or a former President).For Senator McCain, campaigning against an Obama-Clinton team might not be the daunting task it appeared to be yesterday.

The Republican message -- one of them -- is going to highlight Obama's unsuitability for the highest office. And the main "spokesperson" for that position might not be John McCain, but rather Hillary Clinton -- with occasional assists from her husband.

Let the games begin!

YOU: McCain's Key to Victory

The most important thing you can do right now is click to join McCainNow, a key web site advocating the election of John McCain.

I am promoting the idea of a unified, national campaign, one supporting not only John McCain and his running mate, but also other Republican candidates for federal office. That would mean congressional candidates and their supporters would:

(1) strongly endorse John McCain for President;
(2) have links on their own web sites to http://johnmccain.com and also to http://mccainnow.com;

Taking steps -- and others -- might strike some candidates as almost revolutionary. However, it's really just common sense. In Pennsylvania (and other states), how well John McCain performs will determine largely how successful congressional candidates are. Only a tiny number of Obama supporters will back GOP candidates, so it's critical in a state like mine that McCain wins by large margins.

In my own district, the 4th CD, John McCain could win by as many as 50,000 votes. If he does so, he'd almost ensure the victory of former congresswoman Melissa Hart. (In 2006, she lost by 9,800 votes out of 254,000 cast. In this presdiential year, as many as 340,000 votes might be cast in the district. Melissa is a slight favorite.)

Melissa is working hard -- going door-to-door -- to bring out new voters. It's probable that 95%-plus of the Hart voters will also cast ballots for John McCain.) So, it's also true that "as goes Melissa Hart, so goes John McCain -- and vice versa.

The most important thing you can do to help John McCain is to join mccainnow.

Congressional Candidates: Link With McCain

Note: Tomorrow, I'll write about what a "unified national campaign" means -- and why it makes sense for John McCain and other GOP candidates for federal offices. The material below is the beginning of a sustained effort to wage unified, national campaigns against the Democrats -- from John McCain on down. Conventional wisdom and conventional practices won't be enough this year. Please join mccainnow today . . . and read on . . .

URGENT TO GOP CANDIDATES AND STAFFERS: I just received the following e-mail from Brad Marston, who heads the (huge and effective) "unofficial campaign" (the "ecampaign") for John McCain. He agrees completely on the concept of a single, unified, national campaign for Senator McCain and GOP congressional and senatorial candidates. Here's what Brad asks (in italics):

Thanks so much, Steve. The link to McCainNow.com is below, http://mccainnow.com. People can register by clicking on the link on the main page.

As far as the need to make this a combined, national campaign, I could not agree more. With your contacts with other campaigns I would offer the following:

1) Send me a 60 H x 180 W Campaign Graphic and the url of their campaign website. We will convert it into a graphic link.
2) Send me the url of their Slatecard donation page and we will add it to the McCain Now slate to hopefully give their fundraising some additional visibility.
3) If they aren't using Slatecard, urge them to sign up and then send me the URL.

Obviously I don't have any control over how the McCain Campaign or the RNC are going to run this campaign. However I do have some control over how e-McCain and our efforts are carried out. I am doing all that I can to see that at least the volunteer on line fforts are run in a unified manner. It is the key to any hope of victory.

Regards,

Brad

Brad Marston

Support John McCain Online
http://McCainnow.com
http://McCainVictory08.com
http://JohnMcCain2008.ning.com
http://JohnMcCain.com
http://www.GOP.com
http://McCainGoogleGroups.com

Brad Marston is reachable at: bmars90@comcast.net.
Slatecard is reachable at: Joe@slatecard.com or David@Slatecard.com.
I'm reachable at: TalkTop65@aol.com (If you need technical support with your web site or other online matters, contact either me or Rajan Vaish at: vaish.rajan@gmail.com) Let's go out and win these races.


Brad Marston, a leader in the McCain Campaign, sent out an e-mail today urging all Republican candidates to combine their efforts with those of our GOP presidential candidate. John McCain looks like a big winner in MOST congressional districts in the U.S. He should help carry many Republican candidates to victory. I sent the following message to Brad

I am forwarding your request to several congressional candidates in PA (and elsewhere), and I'll forward it later to hundreds of activists across the nation. The most important step people (including candidates) can take is to join http://mccainnow.com/. As John McCain goes, so will go the fate of many Republican candidates in PA.

The usual way of conducting a "down-ballot" campaign is for the candidate to run as if he or she was engaged in the nation's only race. That's an extremely bad idea this year, because McCain has a good chance of carrying all but about 4-5 counties in PA.

I'm also asking all McCain Supporters (and have had some success) to back congressional (and senatorial) candidates who are truly outstanding. In some vigorously contested PA congressional districts, John McCain will win by 50,000-plus votes, and the challenge is to make sure that MOST of those McCain votes go to other fine GOP candidates.

Right now, this effort is tough sledding, but in July and August this approach should pay dividends both for McCain and other candidates. "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately." (B. Franklin)

Kathy Morrison has started new blogs -- one focuses on local Republican races and the other on "battleground states." Both are worth supporting and can help top-flight congressional candidates. I've written columns on both sites and will do more.

It's critical that great GOP candidates raise enough money to get their messages across, and our constant refrain should be for people to contribute to the limits of their financial ability. Also, if the candidates can develop "small armies" of volunteers, they have great chances to pull off upsets. We do need to elect John McCain as President, but we also must make sure he has a Congress that supports his initiatives.

I fully expect John McCain to spend a lot of time in Pennsylvania. He should appear with congressional candidates, and they should all express their mutual support for one another.

God bless everyone receiving this message. Let's go out and win races where right now we're behind -- but not as far behind as some pundits think.