Tag: Campaign 2014

Gingrich Lambasts GOP for Lack of Positive Messages

Buck Banks

The fact that we do not have positive themes and positive issues is going to cost us seats this fall because moderates and independents aren’t going to turn out. It’s an enormous mistake. … You have to sound like you’re more than anti-Obama, and you’re more than some … politician whose primary role in life is to raise money for your consultant to buy attack ads. It’s pathetic … and it’s turning people off.

— Newt Gingrich, who is not thrilled by the current state of the Republican party, Roll Call reports.

Rove: GOP Majority Still In Doubt

Buck Banks

The president’s job approval numbers are lousy, no Democrat in a competitive Senate race polls regularly above 50%, GOP enthusiasm is high, and independents are trending Republican. The midterm environment is terrible for Democrats — yet each passing day provides evidence as to why a GOP Senate majority is still in doubt.

— Karl Rove, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Giant Chickens Influencing 2014 Campaigns

Buck Banks

An unusually large number of campaigns this year have turned to chicken-suited men — and they’re mostly men — to distract opponents, steal press attention and, occasionally, make a point. … Behind the fowl play: Chickens make good copy, drawing attention to candidates who often are underfunded and looking for free media coverage.

— The Wall Street Journal.

GOP Senator’s Desperate Reboot Turns Out to Be Based on Votes He Took During Bush Administration

Jon Ponder

Raw Story:

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow pointed out on Tuesday that Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R-KS) campaign “reboot” is built on an apparent misrepresentation of his stance on a federal building that was supposed to be built in his state.

Roberts’ campaign debuted an ad on Tuesday portraying the longtime incumbent as a staunch opponent of President Barack Obama’s “failed policies.” Roberts, the ad claimed, led the push for the establishment of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility on the campus of Kansas State University.

But Maddow noted that the two headlines touting Roberts’ efforts dated back to 2007 and 2008.

“That was even before Barack Obama was elected president,” she said. “That was before this term for Kansas Senator Pat Roberts in the Senate.”

In fact, Roberts voted against a bill this past January that would have provided $404 million in funding for the project, which has now stalled.

Democratic PAC Spending More in Midterms

Buck Banks

$36 million

Amount the Senate Majority PAC, fueled by billionaires and labor unions, has has spent so far in the 2014 midterm contests, reports the Washington Post. “Together with an allied tax-exempt group, Patriot Majority, the … early, aggressive presence in pivotal Senate races spotlights how, four years after being dramatically outgunned in the outside money game, Democrats are now some of its most adept players.”

Women Politicians Busting Campaign Findraising Myths

Buck Banks

One of the most persistent myths in politics — that women shy away from campaigns because they don’t ‘have the stomach’ for fundraising — is taking a beating this election cycle as women have emerged as top money makers, both for their own campaigns and on behalf of other candidates and national campaign committees.

— Patricia Murphy, writing in the Daily Beast.