Messaging on Impeachment

Moments ago, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats announced they will be launching an impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

To her credit, Nancy Pelosi had been avoiding doing this for exactly the reason we are posting this today: She, wisely, did not want to make her freshmen Democrats “lawmakers”, especially those who were elected in districts that Donald Trump won in 2016, to go on record against the president over impeachment.

The Democrats have a flimsy case against the president, and there is no real reason to do this inquiry, but Speaker Pelosi has lost control of her caucus, especially the radical Left agitators. So, the Speaker has capitulated and she is putting her majority at risk, for no real reason.

So, if you are a challenger to one of these freshmen incumbents, or if you are thinking of challenging one of them: Go!

Here’s a way to get started: When you start talking with your voters, your messaging needs to be concise, it does not even need to wander into defending the president on anything. Instead, the message needs to be about how YOU will help the voters in YOUR district. Try something like this:

Your representative in Congress has stopped working for you. They are more interested in following the radical Left down the road of a failed impeachment. We have record low unemployment right now. The economy is booming. There is room for growth, we can do more. Our current Representative is not responsible for any of the past success and certainly none of the future success.

If you live in a district that has been designated for the benefits of Opportunity Zones, you need to include that in your pitch.

Every second that XYZ Representative is working toward so-called impeachment, is a second that they are not working toward luring investment dollars into our community which will put more of us to work and revitalize some of our neighborhoods. Put me to work for you and I will be out there fighting for every opportunity that will benefit our community.

As always, let us know how we can help you. If you have a tentative plan or some copy you want us to review, we are happy to do that at no charge to you, just use our contact form.

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Paul Ryan Campaign Ad: Guaranteeing Medicare’s Promise

We have posted every one of Paul Ryan’s campaign ads here on this website. A few things are noticeably consistent about these ads: they are short (30 seconds), they are positive, they feature a business casual Ryan talking with constituents, the language is common sense, and most important, the messages are positive. Take a look at the latest ad:

Righting the Ship

Recent headlines like these, do not inspire me:

Obama backers show signs of disappointment

Obama Gets No Health Care Bounce

Democrats’ Long-Held Seats Face G.O.P. Threat

I myself file these headlines under the “I’ll believe it when I see it” banner. The main reason for this: Do we really trust the media to tell us the truth? Isn’t it possible the media is playing us, trying to trick us into believing our own desires?

Even if you want to buy into the headlines, this is no time to get over confident.

We can’t go into November with the mindset that “all signs point in our direction”. We must be different and we must be bold. We must campaign on our ideas and solutions. Just saying “vote for us, we’re not Obama”, does not build our movement in the long term. While we could squeak through an election cycle victorious, if we elect candidates to go and feed the perception of the “party of no”, we will still be on our heels headed into 2012.

A lot can happen between now and November. There are national holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day), Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and a long summer when people will stop paying attention as they go on vacations. If Obama starts to show signs of recovery, let’s make sure we have a campaign plan that shows we have our own ideas for the direction of our country and that we have candidates willing and able to implement those ideas once elected.

Recently, I saw someone post these comments on Twitter, I was glad to see I am not alone. This person has a lot to say, obviously limited by Twitter’s 140 characters per post:

“Ask yourself this question: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS DAVID AXELROD AND WHY IS HE SO QUIET? He’s prepping for 2012, AWAY from social media #tcot”

“So get your bums off the chairs, sofas and Starbucks chairs, meet your neighbors, your colleagues and tell them the truth about today #tcot”

“FB, tweeting and blogging can only go this far .. while the Left is out there, canvassing OUR neighborhoods, we’re all… HERE… #tcot”

“So if on November 3, 2010 you ask yourselves “What happened?”, just look in the mirror and return to tweeting the same question! #tcot”

“So remember, you’re here or on FB or WordPress or blogger.. Organizing for America is on OUR streets .. WAKE THE HECK UP! #tcot”

I think there is some truth to what this person was saying. Before we start patting each other on the back for what should or could be a great 2010 election, there is work to do.

If we squeak by and win in 2010 on the “we’re not Obama” message, what have we really gained in the future? Think back to the great year of 1994. That year was sandwiched in between 1992 and 1996, years Clinton was elected and re-elected.

I agree with the Twitter poster, the Left is not sitting back waiting to take our best shot to see if they can survive. While they may not be confident going into November, they are still doing the work they need to do. They also had a much better head start in organizing on the heels of 2008 where they collected untold numbers of email addresses and cell numbers for texting. Even if the Left loses in 2010, they are building for 2012.

Let’s work so we don’t peak in April, when the election is in November.

Fix Health Reform, Then Repeal It: The Batteplan For Republicans in 2010

Paul Ryan, one our sides idea machines, has a great op-ed in today’s state run NY Times, how the editors at the state run Times let this one slip by is beyond me.

“To be clear: it is not sufficient for those of us in the opposition to await a reversal of political fortune months or years from now before we advance action on health care reform. Costs will continue their ascent as the debt burden squeezes life out of our economy. We are unapologetic advocates for the repeal of this costly misstep. But Republicans must also make the case for a reform agenda to take its place, and get to work on that effort now.”

The Obama Regime, perennial campaigners, are hitting the streets trying to tell people that they really wanted this bill, before they were all against it. Polling numbers show that great majorities don’t want this plan, but that isn’t good enough for the White House Campaign Team. Our side must continue to advocate solid ideas, good alternatives and we must continue the conversation with America, in true Reagan style. Congressman Ryan makes that point in the next section.

“Washington already has no idea on how to pay for its current entitlement programs, as we find ourselves $76 trillion in the hole. Our country cannot afford to avoid a serious conversation on entitlement reform. By taking action now, we can make certain that our entitlement programs are kept whole for those in and near retirement, while devising sustainable health and retirement security for future generations.”

Paul Ryan then makes the following point:

“As the dust settles from this historic and fiscally calamitous week, we have to try to steer this country back in the right direction. The opposition must always speak with vigor and candor on the need for wholesale repeal and for real reform to fix what’s broken in health care.”

Again, the fight starts yesterday, but it’s not enough to just say “vote ’em out in November”, there is work to be done before then. We need candidates committed to our causes and principles. In states where filing for office has not yet begun, we still have time to shape our ballots there. But, in the meantime, let’s continue to be civil and let’s continue to make sure we’re talking with America and not at America.

Peter, Paul and Barry: A Contrast in Economic Policy Visions

Interesting column about Paul Ryan and the Republicans.

“Over the past week, the White House began trying something new: changing the subject from their own proposals to those of Congressional Republicans. This is a marked departure from the past several months, during which the White House alleged repeatedly – and wrongly – that Republicans were obstructing necessary legislation with no alternatives of their own. But now, the White House has decided it is time to acknowledge that Republicans have been offering ideas – and to attack them.”

Understandable, the democrats’ plans don’t do anything to promote freedom or prosperity, and rather than talk about their own horrible, constricting, unfounded policies, they’ve decided to attack those with real ideas.

“The contest between the Ryan and Orszag visions for Social Security is the fundamental contest between constraining our spending appetites and raising taxes to fuel persistently higher costs.”

Perfect quote. Code words for Conservative vs. Liberal. People vs. Bureaucracy. Freedom vs. Constraint.