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Palin and the Enthusiasm Gap

Submitted by Gary Andres on Sat, 09/20/2008 - 15:14
in

An enthusiasm gap has dogged the GOP this election cycle like nasty virus.  Measured by money, new registrants, the number of voters excited by the election – you name it – Republicans struggled. Stephen Hayes summed it up well back in July here and here.

But then came Sarah Palin. 

I wrote about how she helps with down ticket in a Washington Times piece.   She’s energized the party like a Caribou Coffee jolt of caffeine.  Down ticket congressional Republican candidates will realize the benefits from this new source of enthusiasm.

GOP campaign operatives tell me money is still a problem in some critical congressional races. But improvements in the generic ballot, the party’s image and a growing number of energized volunteers will save some vulnerable Republican candidates who were sure political road kill without the Alaska governor on the ticket.

Skeptical?  Don’t take my word for it.  Even the Washington Post  ran a front-page story about how Palin improves the congressional battleground by infusing the GOP with a new source of enthusiasm.  So now you know it HAS to be true!

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Raising Money & Grassroots

Submitted by IrishRep on Sat, 09/20/2008 - 15:56.

 

It may be fare to say that raising money when we are out of the majority is just how it goes.

But, I would put this thought out there.  If you have a candidate that is willing to campaign hard and is out meeting voters his/her staff can then be provided with the opportunities to turn them into volunteers.  I firmly believe that you can do more with less.  If you do not have the funding coming in then efforts must be focused on grassroots efforts that are cheaper and can make a huge difference.  If these efforts are pushed you can make your voter id calls and then turn around and push targeted messages out to people.  This is how you can make up the financial gap.

 

None of the above...

Submitted by Darvin Dowdy on Sun, 09/21/2008 - 00:36.

...all due respect.   The Palin pick certainly turned the race into something that is win-able for McCain.  I applauded along w/ so many other conservatives.  Yes,  a dramatic turn around, for sure.  McCain is still behind in the polls, though.  And let us remember 11/7/06?  Most of the polls that we scoffed at prior turned out to be right on the mark, if my memory serves me correctly.

The heavy lifting is still ahead of us.  And that is the task of convincing John McCain to approach, with humility, hat in hand the disaffected, estranged former GOP base and attempt to repair some of the damage that the GOP Hierarchy has done over the past 7 years.   The biggest mistake we could make is to believe that the mere appointment of Palin has, like  some salve or balm, healed all the festering wounds.    It has not.  And John McCain can't win without the support of these "walking wounded".  Or at least a sizeable portion/segment of them. 

This is no time for a bunch of sloppy rah!rah!rah! emotionalism.  As I stated in an earlier post on this site, McCain must form a bond w/Middle America.  Not Palin but McCain! - he is the one running for President!!  And there is darned little time for him to accomplish that.   DD