SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2010
POLITICS THE NATION The Democrats’ greatest hits
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It was gold in 2006 and 2008, so candidates are trying again to put focus on Bush by Michael D. Shear
As they brace for difficult fall
elections, dispirited Democrats hoping to get back some of that 2008 magic are turning to the president for inspiration. President Bush, that is. Grainy images of the former president flashed across the screen in a recent ad by Sen. Pat- ty Murray (D-Wash.). Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) is attacking his GOP rival in a Senate race for his “advancement of the Bush agen- da.” Even President Obama has be- gun taking direct shots at his predecessor, something he had been careful to avoid in recent months. “They don’t have a single idea
that’s different from George Bush’s ideas — not one,” Obama said during speeches this week at fundraisers in Atlanta and Chica- go. In interviews, mailings and
television ads, Democratic candi- dates are again hauling out the specter of the former president to use as a foil. Nearly two years after he left office and virtually disappeared from public view, Bush — his image, his policies, his legacy — are being dragged back into the public arena. The strategy could backfire for Democrats, who risk appearing desperate by blaming Bush in- stead of taking responsibility. Former Bush strategist Karl Rove called it a “deadly street to go down” for Democratic candi- dates who have “no next act” to promote.
But Democratic strategists, from the White House down, say invoking the ex-president helps clarify their message: Republi- cans would return the country to a time of failed economic pol- icies. “God bless America that he’s back in the conversation,” said a senior Democratic official on Capitol Hill. “It’s a blessing from the heavens. If this becomes a referendum on George Bush, we are in a much better spot than anyone could imagine.” Bush left office as one of the most unpopular presidents in history. His approval rating sank to the mid-20s as he struggled to
SAUL LOEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES
President Obama had avoided direct shots at his predecessor. But not anymore. At fundraisers last week, Obama said of Republicans, “They don’t have a single idea that’s different from George Bush’s ideas.”
respond to the near-collapse of the economy. Democrats think reminding voters about why they disliked Bush will translate into a boost in support. There is even the hope circu-
lating among some Democratic strategists that Bush’s forthcom- ing memoir — due out days after the election — will leak to the press early, creating a flurry of Bush legacy stories in the run-up to the fall midterm elections. “The reality is that people as-
sociate the Bush era as an eco- nomic failure,” said New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “The question is, ‘Do we move for- ward, away from those economic policies?’ ”
Republicans say the Demo-
crats are attempting a rerun of their victories in 2006 and 2008 despite a very different political environment. And they predict that efforts to use Bush will fail for most of the Democrats this fall. “The thing the American peo-
ple want to hear is what are you for,” Rove said. Instead, Demo- crats are saying that “what we’ve got to do is reach back to a dis- torted view of what was.” Dana Perino, Bush’s last press
secretary, called it “so sad.” “I don’t think a lot of people
are sitting around thinking, ‘Gee, what would George Bush be do- ing?’ ” Perino said. “They don’t care. They have a house they can’t sell. They have a job they are worried about losing. All they hear is this whining and com- plaining and blaming.” Not surprising, Democrats
don’t agree with that assessment. Bush’s name appears promi- nently on the talking-point pock- et cards that House Speaker Nan- cy Pelosi handed out to her Dem- ocratic colleagues as they headed home to campaign. “Republicans are trying to
take us back to the same failed Bush economic policies that cost us 8million jobs,” reads one sug- gested line of attack. During a “Meet the Press” de- bate last month among the four
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Schwarzenegger backs gay marriages California Gov. Arnold Schwar-
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on Wednesday, Walker said he was ordering the state to cease enforcing the 22-month-old ban. But he agreed to suspend the or-
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lawmakers in charge of posi- tioning the parties for the fall campaigns, Bush’s name came up 30 times. And Democratic poll- sters are encouraging candidates to frequently mention the 2001 “Bush tax cuts” for the wealthy. “If Americans believe that there are two paths from which to choose: a clear Obama path or the Bush path, progressives will control the debate,” said a memo by analysts at the Third Way, a liberal think tank that briefed Democratic senators at their summertime retreat on Martha’s Vineyard last month. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who runs the GOP’s Senate campaign committee, called that an implic- it admission that Democrats are running away from the effects of their policies: 9.5 percent un- employment, growing deficits and an economy that is still struggling to recover. “They are desperately trying to
change the subject,” Cornyn said. “People should scoff at it for the joke that it really is.”
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der until he could review the briefs submitted Friday. The measure’s sponsors have
asked the judge to keep the ban in effect until their appeal is de- cided by higher courts. — Associated Press
7 more city workers got 6-figure salaries
The California city of Bell says
seven more city workers received high salaries, with two making more than $400,000 per year and three making more than $200,000. Interim City Manager Pedro Carrillo announced the salaries Friday and vowed reforms for the blue-collar Los Angeles suburb of about 37,000 residents. He says the city will begin a study to en- sure salaries are commensurate with experience. The seven employees were making more than the average for city managers in Los Angeles County. That’s in addition to three top officials who recently resigned, including former city
manager Robert Rizzo, who was paid about $800,000. — Associated Press
PENNSYLVANIA
2 bodies removed from plane wreck
A twin-engine plane slammed into a house in western Pennsyl- vania minutes after takeoff on Saturday, killing two men, nar- rowly missing a man sleeping on his couch with his dog and set- ting the residence on fire. The plane, on a certification flight, went through the house and came to rest in the garage in a rural area about 90 miles north- east of Pittsburgh, Westmoreland County spokesman Dan Stevens said. Steve Yanko and the dog es- caped from the house. “God was on his side, without a
doubt,” Stevens said. — Associated Press
Escapees linked to N.M. slay- ings: Investigators have found evidence linking two men who
BETTINA HANSEN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family members gather to mourn Bryan Cirigliano, one of the nine people who was slain in the Hartford Distributors shooting last Tuesday at West Meadow Cemetery in Newington.
escaped from a private Arizona prison and a woman who helped them to the killing of a couple last week in New Mexico, au- thorities said. Police declined to say whether they
were linked
believe the
three — Tracy Province, John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch — were responsible for the slayings but said they
through forensics. The bodies of Linda and Gary Haas, both 61, of Tecumseh, Okla., were found Wednesday in a charred camper on a remote ranch in Santa Rosa in eastern New Mexico.
Pipeline rupture less than 5 feet: A ruptured section of pipeline that spewed more than 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan had a lengthwise rip that likely is less than five feet long, officials said. The Environmental Protection Agency and pipeline company Enbridge said Saturday the sec- tion was removed a day earlier and will be shipped to a National Transportation Safety Board lab in Washington.
— From news services
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