Over the weekend the Washington Post ran a story about the debate among Republicans: “Some of the party’s most influential political consultants are quietly counseling their clients to stay on the offensive for the November midterm elections and steer clear of taking stands on substance that might give Democratic opponents material for a counterattack.” Like NR’s editors, I think these consultants are making a mistake (and plenty of other Republican consultants agree with us).
The Post story suggests that the division between the two sides can easily be bridged. Here’s Republican pollster John McLaughlin, whom the Post presents as one of the agenda skeptics: “They really still have to have a sharp contrast with the Democrats. They really need to drive that home before people will be willing to listen to what Republicans stand for.” The Post portrays House Republican leader John Boehner as a leading advocate of running with an agenda, but says that he wants to emulate Rahm Emanuel’s “formula” of having candidates “spend 80 percent of their time on the attack and 20 percent on the issues.”
This isn’t much of a split. Of course the election is mostly going to be a referendum on the ruling party, and of course Republicans should spend most of their time criticizing its record. But they do need something to talk about in that 20 percent of their time. Here are a few suggestions.