Updated: 3:48 p.m. ET
In their victory lap after taking over the Senate on Tuesday, Republicans are poking some fun at Democrats for their candidates’ laborious efforts to distance themselves from President Barack Obama: Thanks a lot, guys!
National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director Rob Collins needled his opponents on Thursday, saying that Democrats had “sidelined their best messenger” by avoiding Obama.
“They were so focused on independents that they forgot they had a base,” Collins said in a session with reporters assessing the election, according to CNN. “They left their base behind. They became Republican-lite.”
GOP strategists said they were baffled that Democrats had focused on issues like abortion rather than making an argument about the economy — and using Obama as a surrogate to do so.
“If you are running … Mark Udall’s campaign, there is an argument to be made that unemployment was higher when he took office,” the NRSC’s Brad Dayspring said in the same session with Collins in Washington. “There is an argument that gas prices were higher when he took office. But they never made it. They stuck to a flawed strategy that talked about birth control and abortion through the election. That was something we never understood.”
Elsewhere, though, Collins seems to suggest Obama was still an asset (if you will) for Republicans.
At CQ Roll Call Election Impact Conference, Rob Collins said “Our best surrogate was President Obama”
— Abby Livingston (@RollCallAbby) November 6, 2014
“They were so focused on independents that they forgot they had a base,” Collins said in a session with reporters assessing the election, according to CNN. “They left their base behind. They became Republican-lite.”
He’s 100% correct. Embarrassed and ashamed yet, Dems? Are you going to wake the fuck up, grow a fucking spine and learn to stand for something now or do we get to watch you run around with your fingers int he air for the next 2 years throwing 2016 into the fucking trash as well? The whole mealy-mouthed, fence-sitting, amorphous pandering bullshit is pathetic and the myopic, tunnel-visioned card-playing with issues like abortion, contraception and immigration, to the exclusion of other issues that are clearly higher priority to the people whose votes you want, is inexcusable. Grow a pair and get a clue or fuck off.
be sure to read the steve israel piece in the nyt… he’s sooooo beaten up, the poor thing, but his colleagues are rallying around him that he did the best he could…
thankfully he’s removed himself from reappointment; but wants to remain in a leadership position. one would think displaying leadership would be a requirement.
but the one positive he saw was that now he has more time to finish up his novel.
(can someone explain to me how these ohsoputupon members of congress seem to produce highly ignored novels that are nonetheless published).
I hate to agree with them, but they’re right. Anytime a republican says you SHOULDN’T do something in a campaign, you should do the opposite.
I say no more money to the DNC until they bring back Howard Dean. I want someone competent in charge for a change.
They literally spent the whole run up to the election trying to convince people to vote for them who were never going to vote for them.