[kj] ot - wouldn't put it past'em

fluw fluwdot at earthlink.net
Sat Nov 12 12:08:51 EST 2005


**whether enabling or organizing - yikes, if this proves to be true:

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=3811


GOP memo touts new terror attack as way to reverse party's decline
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue
Nov 10, 2005, 06:19
 

A confidential memo circulating among senior Republican leaders
suggests that a new attack by terrorists on U.S. soil could reverse
the sagging fortunes of President George W. Bush as well as the GOP
and "restore his image as a leader of the American people."

The closely-guarded memo lays out a list of scenarios to bring the
Republican party back from the political brink, including a
devastating attack by terrorists that could â?ovalidateâ?? the
Presidentâ?Ts war on terror and allow Bush to â?ounite the countryâ?? in
a â?otime of national shock and sorrow.â??

The memo says such a reversal in the President's fortunes could keep
the party from losing control of Congress in the 2006 midterm
elections.

GOP insiders who have seen the memo admit itâ?Ts a risky strategy and
point out that such scenarios are â?oblue sky thinkingâ?? that often
occurs in political planning sessions.

â?oThe Presidentâ?Ts popularity was at an all-time high following the
9/11 attacks,â?? admits one aide. â?oAmericans band together at a time
of crisis.â??

Other Republicans, however, worry that such a scenario carries high
risk, pointing out that an attack might suggest the President has
not done enough to protect the country.

â?oWe also have to face the fact that many Americans no longer trust
the President,â?? says a longtime GOP strategist. â?oThat makes it
harder for him to become a rallying point.â??

The memo outlines other scenarios, including:

--Capture of Osama bin Laden (or proof that he is dead);

--A drastic turnaround in the economy;

--A "successful resolution" of the Iraq war.

GOP memos no longer talk of â?ovictoryâ?? in Iraq but use the
term â?osuccessful resolution.â??

â?oA successful resolution would be us getting out intact and civil
war not breaking out until after the midterm elections,â?? says one
insider.

The memo circulates as Tuesdayâ?Ts disastrous election defeats have
left an already dysfunctional White House in chaos, West Wing
insiders say, with shouting matches commonplace and the blame game
escalating into open warfare.

â?oThis place is like a high-school football locker room after the
team lost the big game,â?? grumbles one Bush administration
aide. â?oEverybodyâ?Ts pissed and pointing the finger at blame at
everybody else.â??

Republican gubernatorial losses in Virginia and New Jersey deepened
rifts between the Bush administration and Republicans who find the
President radioactive. Arguments over whether or not the President
should make a last-minute appearance in Virginia to try and help the
sagging campaign fortunes of GOP candidate Jerry Kilgore raged until
the minute Bush arrived at the rally in Richmond Monday night.

â?oCooler heads tried to prevail,â?? one aide says. â?oMost knew an
appearance by the President would hurt Kilgore rather than help him
but (Karl) Rove rammed it through, convincing Bush that he had
enough popularity left to make a difference.â??

Bush didnâ?Tt have any popularity left. Overnight tracking polls
showed Kilgore dropped three percentage points after the Presidentâ?Ts
appearance and Democrat Tim Kaine won on Tuesday.

Conservative Pennsylvania Republican Senator Rick Santorum told
radio talk show host Don Imus Wednesday that he does not want the
President's help and will stay away from a Bush rally in his state
on Friday.

The losses in Virginia and New Jersey, coupled with a resounding
defeat of ballot initiatives backed by GOP governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger in California have set off alarm klaxons throughout
the demoralized Republican party.  Pollsters privately tell GOP
leaders that unless they stop the slide they could easily lose
control of the House in the 2006 midterm elections and may lose the
Senate as well.

â?oIn 30 years of sampling public opinion, Iâ?Tve never seen such a
freefall in public support,â?? admits one GOP pollster.

Democratic pollster Geoffrey Garin says the usual tricks tried by
Republicans no longer work.

"None of their old tricks worked," he says.

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) admits the GOP is a party mired in
its rural base in a country that's becoming less and less rural.

"You play to your rural base, you pay a price," he says. "Our issues
blew up in our face."

As Republican political strategists scramble to find a message â?" any
message â?" that will ring true with voters, GOP leaders in Congress
admit privately that control of their party by right-wing extremists
makes their recovery all but impossible.

â?oWeâ?Tve made our bed with these people,â?? admits an aide to House
Speaker Denny Hastert. â?oNow itâ?Ts the morning after and the hangover
hurts like hell.â??


© Copyright 2005 by Capitol Hill Blue
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