The left is giving the GOP a sneak peek at Barbara Boxer’s campaign. The left’s narrative will be largely the same whether Boxer faces DeVore or Fiorina. (And contrary to GOP “strategic thinking”, Fiorina’s ovaries offer little defense to Boxer’s attack.) The GOP candidates’ only hope of success is to focus on the Democrats’ fiscal insanity – appeal to center-right fiscal conservatives. There, DeVore holds an advantage over Fiorina, who comes across as “product” – McFiorina 1.0, an artificial and scripted political mannequin.
The Courage Campaign’s radio ad offers a sneak peek at the Boxer campaign message. The campaign will (of course) include the standard fare:
- [Democrat candidate] will protect a woman’s right to choose.
- [Democrat candidate] will protect the environment.
However, the Courage Campaign (another front for government worker unions) offers a contemporary spin (here, targeting Meg Whitman):
- Sarah Palin – [GOP candidate] is like Palin, an extreme right winger (extremist)/out of touch ideologue.
- Global Warming – [GOP candidate] doesn’t care that global warming is threatening the planet [melting ice caps, polar bears] and wants to undo California’s bipartisan climate change law [appeal to need for safety] that Californians care about [appeal to needs for belonging, esteem, self-actualization].
As usual, the left has crafted a message that will appeal to many (uninformed and economically illiterate) Californians (who get their news from The Daily Show and are immune to logic and facts).
The GOP’s only hope for success is to paint Boxer (and other Democrats) as a threat to voters’ economic security [appeals to safety and basic human needs]. The challenge will be made more difficult by a state run media broadcasting left-wing propaganda. Nevertheless, California voters are not hopeless because there is a center that cares about fiscal sanity (unlike the Democrat party and GOP leadership) and understands the economic threat posed by relentless Democrat insanity (that is carelessly pushing the state into an abyss).
On this only patch of fertile ground, DeVore has an advantage over McFiorina. She has invited the Palin comparison with her public proclamation that she shares Palin’s values (McFiorina 2.0 with Palin “kung fu grip”, desperate copycat conservatism) – vaporizing any gender advantage she may have had in a general election. (News for the right-wing echo chamber: The media’s thorough hatchet job on Palin created a public image that is net negative, especially in California.) True, DeVore’s social conservative credentials (now joined by McFiorina 2.0) may be a drag in a general election. But, it is one that he might overcome by appealing to a center-right (correctly) concerned over fiscal insanity.
Bottom line – the GOP leadership has blown it with McFiorina. The (fiscal) conservative base has zero confidence in state and national GOP leadership. Given the choice (of lead, follow, or get-out-of-the way), McCain and the GOP establishment chose to lead with McFiorina (collosal fail). Now, it’s time for them to follow or get out of the way.
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