And I think he may mean burnt — read this carefully:
The Anti-Obama, Anti-Wright, and Anti-Clinton GOP Model Has Been Tested — And It Failed The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail. This model has already been tested with disastrous results. In 2006, there were six incumbent Republican Senators who had plenty of money, the advantage of incumbency, and traditionally successful consultants. But the voters in all six states had adopted a simple position: “Not you.” No matter what the GOP Senators attacked their opponents with, the voters shrugged off the attacks and returned to, “Not you.” The danger for House and Senate Republicans in 2008 is that the voters will say, “Not the Republicans.”
This is from Human Events, where it seems that Newtie is trying to school his homeboys in the fact that Karl Rove-style politics that has been so good for them does not work if no one trusts you and you’ve nothing to sell. And the R brand itself seems to have become the new mortgage security — everyone who has them has serious trouble and you can barely give them away. But be sure to read to the end – for the Nine Acts of Change. For a guy who is widely credited to be one of the smartest thinkers and strategists of his party, this all looks very much like weak tea, doesn’t it? (And does this remind you of anything a little more local?)
None of it addresses any of the core issues that have Rs with rebuilding any trust that they can really govern. And most of it looks like pandering to me. Add to that the fact that the Rs are facing close to real electoral terror* – little money for Congressional races, a horrible recruiting cycle, a ticket leader who is embracing all of the worst of GWB and, of course, no “real course of real reform” for the country or even their party. The VRWC will certainly continue to put a happy face on all of it – as if just adding the word “bold” to whatever the sham of the day is will, distract the rest of us from seeing how utterly bankrupt whatever agenda they have left truly is.
*John Cole has the link to the Politco article, but do see the comments that thread for more hilarity.