Dems Retain Governorships, As NJ, VA Voters Reject Rove-Inspired Spin

[JABBS]

It was a good night for Democrats, and a bad night for Karl Rove-inspired Republican spin.

In New Jersey, a blue state in recent years, Democrat Jon Corzine defeated Republican Doug Forrester.

While that victory was expected, the same could not be said for Virginia, where Democrat Tim Kaine defeated Republican Jerry Kilgore. Kaine, the Lieutenant Governor, replaces Democrat Mark Warner, who some see as a viable presidential candidate in 2008. (State rules prevented Warner, who had 70% approval ratings, from seeking another term.)

It's too soon to tell whether the results of the two races are a precursor for next year's mid-term elections, when Democrats face an uphill climb to regain control of either the House or Senate. But the results do hint that voters may be growing tired of the empty Karl Rove-style spin that helped George Bush defeat John Kerry last November.

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In New Jersey, Forrester ran television advertisements saying that Corzine, currently a U.S. Senator, had "voted to raise taxes 133 times." Factcheck.org called the advertisement "misleading."

But unlike last fall, when President Bush ran advertisements accusing John Kerry of casting 350 votes for "higher taxes," Corzine did something that Kerry did not: He fought back.

Rather than allow himself to be couched by the empty conservative talking point that he was a "tax and spend liberal," Corzine told voters that Forrester raised property taxes while serving as a mayor and councilman in West Windsor, N.J. A separate advertisement clarified that Forrester's so-called "independent" sources of information for his 133 votes for higher taxes claim -- the Weekly Standard magazine and the National Taxpayers Union -- were clearly conservative entities. He ran another advertisement, just days before the election, saying Forrester was using the "smear tactics" of President Bush and senior White House advisor Karl Rove, because he didn't have a positive record to run on.

Now that's fighting back.

Forrester's negative and misleading advertisements initially closed the gap between himself and the better-known Corzine. Forrester was also helped by a couple of gaffes by Corzine in a debate last weekend. But when the final votes are tallied, Corzine should win by a comfortable margin.

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In Virginia, the race between Kaine and Kilgore, the former state attorney general, was seen as neck-and-neck heading into the final days.

As President Bush's popularity ratings sunk to new lows, Kilgore knew enough to run on his own merit -- that is to run away from the Bush administration.

As the New York Times wrote yesterday: "Mr. Kilgore has not identified himself closely with Mr. Bush, even skipping the president's recent speech in Norfolk on terrorism."

Bush did make an appearance with Kilgore yesterday, in the heavily Republican Richmond area.

"If you want to keep your taxes low and your economy growing, there's only one person in the race that will do that and that's Jerry Kilgore," Bush spun in a rare joint appearance with Kilgore.

Kaine's advisers told the Times that they were encouraged by Bush's 11th-hour appearance with Kilgore, saying they thought it "could energize as many core Democrats as loyal Republicans."

Still, Kilgore wasn't completely immune from over-the-top negative advertising. In one ad, a grieving father criticized Kaine for voluntarily representing death row inmates in their appeals and said Kaine believed even Adolf Hitler was not a candidate for execution.

A Washington Post poll conducted last week found that two of three Virginia voters said the ads were "unfair," including nearly 75 percent of the self-described independents that both campaigns covet. Even 60 percent of those who favor the death penalty said the ads crossed the line.

Who created such an ad? Republican media consultant Scott Howell, a Rove protege who has worked for President Bush.

Kaine, like Corzine, fought back with facts.

"My faith teaches life is sacred," Kaine, a Catholic, said in a response advertisement. "That's why I personally oppose the death penalty. But I take my oath of office seriously. And I'll enforce the death penalty. As governor, I'll carry out death sentences handed down by Virginia juries, because that's the law."

And as in New Jersey, Virginia voters apparently sided with facts, and rejected Republican spin.

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Again, it's too soon to tell whether these two races -- in which Democrats held on to hotly contested governorships -- is any indicator for next November.

But in both cases, the empty conservative spin that worked for Bush in 2004 failed for Republican candidates in 2005. Why? Because voters heard a Democrat who quickly fought back with facts. That should be the lesson for 2006.

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This itme first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.