"Richard N. Bond, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee," recently stated: “Some days you’re rolling the barrel, and some days you’re rolling in the barrel. The fact is that right now, Republicans are rolling in the barrel.” The former chairman's observation was intended to provide some context to the recent hard times being faced by the GOP.Adam Nagourney has observed that: "The latest round of intramural debate came on Sunday when Dick Cheney,"
"the former vice president, assailed not only President Obama, but also Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, a Republican who endorsed Mr. Obama.
"Mr. Cheney said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program that he would prefer Rush Limbaugh,"
"the conservative radio commentator, to Mr. Powell, a member of the shrinking class of moderate Republicans, as spokesman for his party. Within hours, the Democratic National Committee had used video from that interview — along with other Sunday morning appearances by Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Senator John McCain of Arizona, last year’s Republican presidential nominee — to produce a mocking Web advertisement that sought to portray Republicans as negative, out-of-touch and mired in the past.
President Obama and his administration have successfully keep the GOP off balance with well coordinated attacks since last November's presidential election. At first, the Democrats pointed out the Republicans complete failure to come up with a plan; any plan, that was "forward-looking" to challenge the Democrat's agenda. Now the GOP is in a quandary regarding: "How to say it."
"A party that has over the years been the home of a series of optimistic figures in American politics — from Ronald Reagan"
"to Jack Kemp, who died last week, to (at times) George W. Bush — is increasingly coming across as downbeat or angry. And it is something that has Republicans increasingly worried."
Nagourney asks: "How important is this? Certainly, the Republican party’s first task obstacle is finding compelling leaders to make the case against the Democrats, as it builds itself back up for the elections of 2010 and 2012. And of course it has to hone an agenda that offers specific alternatives to Mr. Obama’s far-reaching shifts in economic, social and national security policy.
"Yet tone matters, Nagourney explains. Time and time again, Americans have responded to optimism, delivered even in — indeed, particularly in — the most dire times, and even when that sunny message cloaked an attack. In many ways, Reagan’s presidency was symbolized by one 1984 reelection advertisement, “It’s morning again in America,” just as Bill Clinton’s was by his choice of Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” as a musical reminder that he was “thinking about tomorrow.”
"Mike Murphy, a one-time senior adviser to Mr. McCain, argued that Mr. McCain’s hopes of winning the presidency were doomed when he lost the “Happy Warrior” stance that had defined his political persona for so long, and simply went on the attack last year. “Tone is important,” he said.P
“Ultimately, the message has to be about big things,” said Mr. Murphy. “But tone is how you wrap it.”
"The Republicans’ task would not be an easy one even in the best of times. In Mr. Obama,"
"they face a very popular president who, benefiting from big legislative majorities, has generally not needed to spend much time attacking Republicans himself, leaving that job to aides and surrogates. It is certainly not lost on Republicans that there has been a sharp uptick in the number of Americans who think the country is headed in the right direction — the best measure of optimism — since Mr. Obama has taken office.
"By contrast, the Republican Party in general — and leaders like Mr. Cheney in particular — are viewed unfavorably by a significant majority of Americans. That makes for a tough environment to break through and get a hearing. And it can become a spiral: going on the attack typically has the effect of making Americans sour on the attacker as well.
"Mr. Bond said that to return to power, Republicans have “to play error-free ball” and hope for what he described as the inevitable overreach by a party now so firmly in control of government. The real complication, he said, is coming up with “strong public alternatives” to make the case against Democratic policies, without appearing to be obstreperous or angry, or feeding the Democrats’ attempt to paint Republicans as “the party of ‘no.’
“They have to avoid being stigmatized as a bad bunch of people,” he said of the Republicans.
Nagourney explains: "The Democrats took obvious delight in the new round of attention paid to Mr. Cheney, Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Limbaugh, none of whom, it seems fair to say, are graduates of the Happy Warrior school of politics. Mr. Murphy said the influence of people like Mr. Limbaugh is overrated — “He doesn’t have that much power; he has the power to make a lot of noise” — and that over time, less-known leaders are going to develop the voice the party needs.
Nagourney uses Mike Murphy's observations to sum up: “We have a mix of the same old party dogma, but then you see new people popping up: Huntsman, Cantor, Jeb Bush,” said Mr. Murphy, referring to Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, and Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the Republican Whip, and Mr. Bush, the former governor of Florida. “You have to pick through all of that to hear the right ideas.”
But it is not only figures from the party’s past. For many Republicans, the party struck the wrong tone when Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina — who also is frequently mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2012 — refused a portion of the stimulus money authorized for his state as part of the economic recovery package.
"That high-profile act of defiance drew Mr. Sanford national attention, as well as sharp attack by many people in his own state, including Republicans. It was a reminder, if Republicans needed one, of the challenges the party faces in the months ahead.
“It’s definitely going to be a work in progress,” Mr. Bond said.
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