The coverage has been brutal. First, you have Newt Gingrich’s "My Plea to Republicans: It's Time for Real Change to Avoid Real Disaster" on HumanEvents.com. The former Speaker correctly points out that the "Republican brand has been so badly damaged" that merely attacking Obama or Clinton won’t cut it. Gingrich cites the latest New York Times/CBS Poll of Bush’s staggering 63% disapproval rating, noting that his job approval, now at 28%, has been below 40% job approval since December 2006, the longest such period for any U.S. President in the history of polling. A separate New York Times/CBS Poll shows that 81% of Americans believe the economy is on the wrong track.
Moreover, Washington Post polls shows that Republicans trail the Democrats on which party can handle an issue better "on every single topic." Americans now believe that Democrats are better able to handle the deficit (52% to 31%), taxes (48% to 40%) and even terrorism (44% to 37%).
Gingrich asserts: "This is a catastrophic collapse of trust in Republicans built up over three generations on the deficit, two generations on taxes, and two generations on national security." He also notes that the "current generic ballot for Congress according to the New York Times/CBS poll is 50 to 32 in favor of the Democrats. That is an 18-point margin, reminiscent of the depths of the Watergate disaster."
The former House Speaker also argues that the only reason why McCain’s numbers remain competitive, is by virtue of his "Maverick" image standing in stark contrast to the GOP brand. (Of course, it doesn’t help McCain when Politico.com’s Jonathan Martin reports that U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-ID) is a leading GOP Presidential contender for . . . 2012).
Couple this with the fact that the NRCC Chairman, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) warns House Republicans that, according to the Politico.com accounts, the "NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to ‘save them’ in November if they don’t raise enough money or run strong campaigns themselves."
An extraordinarily highly placed GOP insider warned me the RNC is "broke," inferring that the $31 million cash on hand is utterly meaningless. This attorney, who has full entry to "all the right people" said the RNC has no money to give anything to McCain. He inferred that the RNC may not have enough money to stage the Convention this Labor Day.
Another highly placed source cited evidence that traditional major GOP donors who have given generously in years past, are totally absent this year. And his assertions are confirmed by these very donors themselves, telling us they aren’t giving this year, they’ discouraged, they’re "tapped out." Republican State House candidates in my native Pennsylvania are running scared as no one is giving. Their piggy banks are empty.
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