CanadaNews’ Reporter Notes

Republicans are looking for a saviour. They need one bad. The leader of the GOP, President George W. Bush, isn’t doing much good. More and more republicans are not really looking at the current president at helping them campaigning – especially if they are in a heavily contested race. President Bush can be a negative charm.

Last week the republicans suffered a pretty bad hit. In the third-straight special election race, the GOP racked up another defeat in as many months. Last Wednesday they were defeated in Mississippi. This has caused some serious concern for many facing re-election in November.

Republican congressman and House Minority Leader John Boehner actually referred to this a “GOP wakeup call.”

He said, “We have to show Americans that we can fix the problems here in Washington and fix the problems that they deal with every day.”

Republicans I have spoken too say they are worried.

What has brought on this wake-up call was democrat Travis Childers soundly defeating republican Greg Davis in a Mississippi. The interesting thing about the special election is that the district hasn’t voted Democratic in more than 15 years. Another significant point is it’s the same district that George W. Bush defeated John Kerry by 25 points in 2004.

The GOP tried everything. They tired to link Childers to Barack Obama and Obama’s controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. They shot money to the district – about $2 million. They sent big-time conservative pundits there. They even sent Vice-President Dick Cheney in the final days. They were a little bit afraid to send President Bush. Nothing worked, and everything failed.

The GOP was also desperately trying to avoid a third special-election defeat this year in districts that have long been held by Republicans. In March, Democrat Bill Foster won House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s former Illinois seat, and two weeks ago Democrat Don Cazayoux won a Louisiana seat that hadn’t voted for a Democrat since the 1970’s.

In an interview with another reporter, DCCC (Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen said, “It is yet another rejection of the House Republican agenda, the Bush administration’s misguided policies and John McCain’s campaign for a third Bush term.”

Democrats control the House by a 236-199 majority. There are 26 GOP House members that are retiring at the end of their current terms. This is compared to eight democrats. Now think about that…26 republicans are leaving on their own, plus about 10 others who are either losing or projected to lose [if things don’t change] by November. There are several that are conservative-leaning.

Many political wonks believe that if you were to say a Republicans would lose a special election in Mississippi a couple years ago, they’d say you were crazy – or on drugs. They say now what we are seeing are the problems they are having recruiting candidates. A great example is in Arkansas. Republicans were unable to find a candidate to run against U.S. Senator Mark Pryor. This is going on all around the country.

Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen commented, “The result sends ‘a political thunderbolt across America’ and shows the Democrats can compete everywhere.”

The House Democratic campaign committee also has a fundraising advantage, with $44 million cash on hand as of March 31, compared with $7 million for Republicans.

So what will the GOP do? It’s hard to say exactly, but it’s a pretty good thinking to assume they are not going to take this lying down.

The Republican Party is expected to deploy the Obama strategy in several districts in the fall. They especially plan to hit some of the conservative-leaning areas where they are hurting the most. They are banking on these voters to be conservative enough to not vote for anyone in Obama’s party.

Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward-looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for. That’s something they’ve been lacking in for some time. The 2000 race and 2004 race were both oddly based. It was not their forward thinking that helped them; rather it was the democrats’ inability to work well together that sealed the deal.

One major area that is hurting the GOP is the president’s 69 percent disapproval rating. This unpopular president is overseeing a controversial war and cannot openly admit that the nation is in a recession.

The Grand Ol’ Party may not have that act together, but if Democrats don’t learn how to play friendly [and dot it fast] soon, it won’t matter.

As usual, I look forward to your comments and rants.