Utah Republican Party

RNC Talking Points: Post-Election Talking Points

November 4, 2009

Top Line Messaging Points

·         Tuesday’s election made it official – Americans have soundly rejected the big-government, over-reaching policies of President Obama and Washington Democrats.

·         The election results are absolutely a referendum on President Obama and the Democrat Party.

·         The Democrats should have won these elections handily. Republicans won in Virginia, New Jersey, and came remarkably close in NY 23. President Obama carried all three in 2008, and the full force of the White House was behind these campaigns.

·         If Democrats can sell the idea that this was not a repudiation of the president’s policies, they could sell ice to Eskimos or Medicare cuts to Congress.

·         Republicans ran as conservative problem-solvers while the Democrats were sunk by the big-government policies they supported – a failed stimulus package, a trillion dollar government-run health care experiment, and a job-killing national energy tax.

·         Voters in both states overwhelmingly opposed the idea of bigger government, more spending and higher taxes.

·         It is a clear signal to Washington Democrats facing reelection in 2010 that they should support President Obama’s liberal agenda at their own risk.

·         A new Gallup poll out Tuesday shows that one year after election, Americans are significantly less confident in Obama’s ability to handle all major issues.

New Jersey Gubernatorial Race

·         The Democrats’ loss in New Jersey is an un-spinnable debacle.

·         The race between Jon Corzine and Chris Christie shouldn’t have even been competitive. The strong Democratic Party identification in New Jersey suggests that Jon Corzine should have easily won this election. 

·         The last time New Jersey elected a Republican governor was in 1997 and Obama carried New Jersey by 16 points in 2008.

·         A Republican victory in New Jersey is also significant because Corzine outspent Christie on television by $10 million, an astonishing amount in a state with two (New York City and Philadelphia) of the most expensive media markets in the country.

·         The economic policies that Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine has forced on New Jersey over the past 4 years has crippled the state’s economy and cost jobs for New Jersey families.

·         Exit polls showed in New Jersey that the economy was the greatest concern for voters.

·         President Obama’s failed economic policies are pushing the nation toward the same serious economic situation that New Jersey faces.

·         This race has been a reflection of the current national debate, and for Chris Christie to defeat incumbent Jon Corzine, it is a clear sign that voters in New Jersey clearly rejected the Obama-Corzine economic policies.

·         Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine’s record of higher taxes, more government intervention in the economy, and rising unemployment was the focus of this race.

·         Republican Chris Christie campaigned on lower taxes and smaller government.

Virginia Gubernatorial Race

·         Obama carried Virginia by 7 points in 2008. Republicans have lost the last two gubernatorial races and last two U.S. Senate races in Virginia.

·         When Creigh Deeds got the nomination, many observers, including Republicans, believed he would be the most difficult to beat in a general election – without question.

·         Democrats elected Creigh Deeds as their nominee because they believed he had the best shot to beat Bob McDonnell.  Deeds’ poll numbers were sunk by President Obama’s unpopular administration, out-of-touch policies and a bad political climate for Democrats. 

·         Virginia should be viewed as a true bellwether, a mini-national election and a definite referendum on President Obama. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said he “really believes” the state is a perfect bellwether.

·         Exit polls in Virginia showed that the economy is the single greatest concern for voters.

·         Bob McDonnell won this race because, like the national debate, this election focused on the economy, government-run health care, “cap and trade” climate change legislation and higher taxes to fund bigger government.

·         Bob McDonnell won because Virginia’s voters opposed Obama’s policies and because he was the conservative problem solver – offering common sense solutions instead of big-government, overreaching policies.

·         Democrat Creigh Deeds supports Obama’s liberal policies of higher taxes, card-check legislation and government-run health care. Realizing his candidacy was being sunk by Obama, Deeds distanced himself from President Obama and national Democrats in the final weeks of the campaign.

·         Tonight could be a historic peak for the Republican Party in the Commonwealth. Republicans won all three statewide elections for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General.

·         Republicans have only won the three statewide offices one time – 1997. And at that time we were still a minority in the House of Delegates.

·         The Republican margin in the House of Delegates grew by 7 seats. 

New York 23 Special Election

·         Doug Hoffman ran a hard-fought campaign in a highly unusual situation for Republicans. The fact that he came so close in this congressional district that statewide and national Democrats have carried is remarkable.

·         Combined, Hoffman and Scozzafava received more votes than Democrat Bill Owens. In and of itself, that is a clear rejection of Obama’s policies.

Push Back to NY-23 Democrat Spin

·         Democrats are spinning NY-23 as an “overwhelmingly Republican district.” It is not.  Obama carried New York 23 by 5 points in 2008. Gov. Elliot Spitzer, Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer ALL carried the district.

·         Rahm Emanuel knows this. That is why he cleverly plucked a Republican congressman out of this seat for an administration job so that Democrats could take it over.

·         For Hoffman to have come so close to winning, it is still a clear repudiation of the Obama/Pelosi agenda.  

Response to “Republicans and Conservatives are Divided”

·         Democrats and pundits are trying to make the false argument that the events in NY-23 show that the Republican Party is divided between Republicans and Conservatives. This is false.

·         Republicans are not divided. A majority of voters united behind the two Republican candidates.

·         New York 23 is a special election with special circumstances. The differences that were aired between the two Republican candidates is what would have played out had there been a traditional primary election.

·         The NY-23 special election does not suggest a divide in the party; it suggests an energizing of the grassroots and the Republican base. This is a good thing.

What does this say about Republicans and 2010?

·         Voters today demonstrated tremendous backlash to the Obama administration’s hard turn to the left.

·         Recent Gallup polling shows that more Americans call themselves conservatives than anything else. President Obama made this possible.

·         The Republican Party is a bottom-up party, and our grassroots supporters are clearly energized behind our conservative principles and candidates.

·         We are well positioned to show new strength as a Party this year. We will take that momentum into the 2010 mid-terms.

·         Republicans are finding their voice and recommitting to their core principles – less government, lower taxes, personal freedom and responsibility. 

·         Tuesday’s results made it official: The GOP grassroots base is back and motivated for the first time since November 2004. 

Response to Democrat spin that anything short of a GOP sweep is a failure:

·         This is a red herring argument, and a pathetic attempt at spin. The Democrats have majorities in the House, Senate, State Legislatures and Governorships in America.

·         Across the board, Democrat candidates underperformed in this election and that should worry Democrats. The fact that Washington Democrats are trying to spin losses and razor thin victories as success illustrates that they are totally oblivious to the level of concern and voter unrest that exists in the country.