November 08, 2006

Absence of Communication with the Public Cost the GOP in This Election

Going through the blogosphere this morning, there's great analysis as to why the GOP lost in yesterday's elections. Some of the key points, with examples of those who discussed them:

• The "unforced errors"of Terry Schiavo affair, Harriet Miers, the Dubai Ports, Immigration, William Jefferson, and Foleygate. Prof. Glenn Reynolds presciently highlighted these in mid-October.
• A refusal by the voters to tolerate the losses in Iraq, as per Captain's Quarters.
• Lack of action by the GOP Congress, as per Hugh Hewitt.
  

I'll add another item to this list, which I haven't seen discussed much yet elsewhere: the absence of communication with the voters. Democrat leaders like Pelosi, Dean, Kennedy, Gore, the Clintons, etc., appeared almost daily in high-visibility mainstream media, hammering on the GOP with serious criticisms. But the GOP leadership was almost invisible. They did not hammer back, and they did not shout good news about the GOP from the rooftops.

The GOP had a good story to tell:

• The economy is booming.
• President Bush has increased funding for black colleges by a full 30 percent.
• Bush appointed more blacks to high-level positions in his cabinet than any previous president.
• After 9-11 Majority Americans truly believed there would be another attack on US soil very soon. Despite many thwarted attempts over 5 years, there hasn't been.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average has reached record highs.
• The $260 Billion budget deficit is 2% of our 13 trillion dollar economy. On average it has been 2.7% over the past 40 years. Now the national deficit is at a low 2% of GDP.
• Interest rates remain low.
• Gas prices have fallen.
• Inflation remains low.
• Unemployment remains low at 4.6%, which is lower than the average unemployment rate of the '70s, '80s, and '90s.
• This despite the fact that Bush inherited an economy that was going into a recession.
• Wages are going up.
• Energy prices are falling.
• "A stronger economy leads to the best college hiring market in years." USA Today, May 16, 2006.
• All this while weathering:
• • 9-11
  • 2 Wars
  • Hurricanes Katrina & Rita
  • Enron & Worldcom Scandals
    

The top GOP leaders should have been in the media every day, pounding home this message, and hammering on the Democrats the way the Democrats were hammering on them. When the GOP abandoned the public debate to the degree that it did - leaving it, to such an extent, up to Conservative bloggers and pundits to carry the GOP message to the public - it made yesterday's election results almost inevitable.