CBS/American Prospect- Potential GOP Candidates "Running from the Running"

[highplainsdem]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/06/opinion/main917658.shtml


Running From The Running
Oct. 6, 2005

(The American Prospect) This column was written by David Weigel.
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On Monday morning, West Virginia Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito dashed five years of Republican hopes and announced she would not run against Senator Robert Byrd. The formerly rock-solid Democratic state (52 percent for Michael Dukakis) gave George W. Bush a 13-point landslide last year, and Republicans had considered a Thune v. Daschle-style upset of the 87-year-old Byrd a top 2006 goal. In July, the National Republican Senatorial Committee charged in with the cycle's first negative ad — $53,000 of airtime for a TV spot attacking the senator. But it couldn't get Capito in the race.

Coming only four days after North Dakota Governor John Hoeven's decision not to challenge Senator Kent Conrad, Capito's bluff should wave a matador-sized red flag about Republican chances for 2006. In these crucial few months when candidates are entering races, raising funds, and recruiting staffs, Republican hopefuls are quietly keeping their hats out of the ring. While GOP leaders have located some strong candidates in open seats like Minnesota and Maryland, they can’t find strong candidates to challenge Democratic incumbents in red or swing states.

This is a marked change from the last two cycles, when Karl Rove used the power of the White House to cajole first-tier candidates into dozens of races. In 2002, the White House encouraged Saxby Chambliss (Georgia), Norm Coleman (Minnesota), Jim Talent (Missouri), and John Thune (South Dakota) to run against incumbent Democrats, even though Coleman and Thune had originally wanted to run for governor. In 2004, when southern Democratic retirements created open seats that favored the GOP, Rove greased the wheels for superior candidates like Mel Martinez (Florida) and Richard Burr (North Carolina).

<snip>

There's one obvious reason why Republican candidates aren't listening to the White House and the national party: For the first time, George W. Bush is an unpopular president. In Virginia, which is holding state elections next month, Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore has notably failed to call in the president to stump for him. One reason might be a Washington Post poll released in September that put Bush’s popularity at 47 percent in this state he'd easily won 10 months ago. Startlingly, 45 percent of the polled said that Bush's endorsement would make them "less likely" to vote for the Republican candidate, compared with 28 percent who’d be more likely.

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Two pages of good news for Dems. :)

[Skidmore]

1. Even with * being a lame duck, the R machine is

damaged now with Frist & Delay under their own little clouds. Rove's potential indictment is looming large so he has lost his charm too.