Jonathan Martin: Bashing George W. Bush still politically potent
[Jonathan Martin writes for Politico.]
Vice-President Joe Biden was standing by Jon Corzine's side when the New Jersey governor kicked off his re-election campaign last month, but it was hard to tell from Corzine's remarks that there was a new administration in Washington.
"America doesn't need to be Bushwhacked again," Corzine declared, jabbing his index finger and drawing loud cheers. "New Jersey cannot afford to be Bushwhacked again."
A week later and hundreds of miles to the south, Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds accepted the Democratic nomination for governor with a similar message.
"Tonight, Virginia, we move into the general election where there's a stark choice: of whether Virginia continues to move forward in the tradition of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine or whether we move backwards with the disastrous economic and social agenda of [GOP gubernatorial nominee] Bob McDonnell and George W. Bush."
It's been six months since President Bush left the White House and quietly decamped to Dallas, but you'd hardly know it from watching the two marquee elections of 2009. Bush-bashing, it seems, has not lost its political potency.
In the two races, both of which are being closely-watched as harbingers for the 2010 midterm election, Democrats are running campaigns using some of the same attacks that served many of their party counterparts well over the last two election cycles.
Both Corzine in New Jersey and Deeds in Virginia have sought to tie their GOP rivals to the still-unpopular former president and aides to the Democrats, along with other party strategists, remain convinced that the line of attack will remain effective so long as the economy continues to wheeze.
"We didn't get into the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression by accident," said Joe Abbey, Deeds' campaign manager. "A lot of voters rightfully place the blame on the economy on the Bush White House. Their memories aren't that short - and Virginia voters won't want to return to those policies under McDonnell."
But it's New Jersey, especially, where Democrats think that waving the bloody Bush shirt could produce dividends...
Read entire article at Politico
Vice-President Joe Biden was standing by Jon Corzine's side when the New Jersey governor kicked off his re-election campaign last month, but it was hard to tell from Corzine's remarks that there was a new administration in Washington.
"America doesn't need to be Bushwhacked again," Corzine declared, jabbing his index finger and drawing loud cheers. "New Jersey cannot afford to be Bushwhacked again."
A week later and hundreds of miles to the south, Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds accepted the Democratic nomination for governor with a similar message.
"Tonight, Virginia, we move into the general election where there's a stark choice: of whether Virginia continues to move forward in the tradition of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine or whether we move backwards with the disastrous economic and social agenda of [GOP gubernatorial nominee] Bob McDonnell and George W. Bush."
It's been six months since President Bush left the White House and quietly decamped to Dallas, but you'd hardly know it from watching the two marquee elections of 2009. Bush-bashing, it seems, has not lost its political potency.
In the two races, both of which are being closely-watched as harbingers for the 2010 midterm election, Democrats are running campaigns using some of the same attacks that served many of their party counterparts well over the last two election cycles.
Both Corzine in New Jersey and Deeds in Virginia have sought to tie their GOP rivals to the still-unpopular former president and aides to the Democrats, along with other party strategists, remain convinced that the line of attack will remain effective so long as the economy continues to wheeze.
"We didn't get into the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression by accident," said Joe Abbey, Deeds' campaign manager. "A lot of voters rightfully place the blame on the economy on the Bush White House. Their memories aren't that short - and Virginia voters won't want to return to those policies under McDonnell."
But it's New Jersey, especially, where Democrats think that waving the bloody Bush shirt could produce dividends...