Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The President and Political Parties--Campaign Advice
Discussion/Web assignment. Suppose you were advising a Democratic member of Congress running for reelection in a district that was held by the Republicans until the 2008 election. Last time she won the election by only a few percentage points. (I would note that this would be unusual in that most districts are drawn to be safe for incumbents – “gerrymandering” -- but some are close nearly all elections, and these are the ones that usually determine which party controls Congress.) What advice would you give this member of Congress on how they should cooperate with President Obama and his legislative agenda. Think about specific issues like health care reform, the auto bailout, the economic stimulus package and deficits, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
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Obviously you would have to reiterate the points that won you that seat in 2008. You would have to show how you made good on campaign promises and show that things are better now that a Democrat is in office. Further, i would suggest that "riding the Coat tails" of Obamas more popular stances would be your best bet. I've read that the economic stimulus package isn't popular among Republicans so backing that 100% could be risky in a district such as here. The key would be to appeal to the moderate Republicans without losing the vote of the more liberal Democrats. Backing the President's decision on the auto bailout would be a good move. As long as you stress the point of the bailout is to turn things around so that thousands of Americans don't lose their job. Also, going along with the President on working towards an exit strategy and getting our troops home would be a good idea. The wars are pretty unpopular so getting troops home would be a topic most voters will agree with. It would also be wise to be mindful of Obama's approval rating throughout the reelection. The higher his rating is, the more issues you should be agreeing with him on. Keeping these things in mind should make for a victory in the upcoming election. --Adam Wise
ReplyDeleteKemberly Merritt
ReplyDeleteJune 22, 2009
APLS 463
If I was chosen as an advisor for a Democratic member of congress running for reelection in a district that was held by the Republican until the 2008 election. I would first tell her to review what mistakes he or she made that caused her to win by a few points. That will increase her votes for the next election. The best to do is try appeal herself to both Democrats and Republicans; this will also increase her votes. I would also tell her to works with President Obama because there are many people that agree with what he is doing, but do not work too close to him, because there are many that do not agree with President Obama. She would need to work hard to get the health care reform; she needs to remind the people in her district of how the young child suffers from not having health care. I would also tell her to show how elderly people are not able to buy food because they are taking there money to buy their medicine or to pay for their doctor visits. She needs to use these issues to make the people really feel how bad we need the health care reform. I would tell her to express to the people, how bad it will hurt the United States as a whole if we do not help bail out the auto companies, but she needs to suggest that the CEO’s should sacrifice their pay and take a pay cut to keep the company running. This will allow the people in her District to know that she is not all about the money, she finding ways to stretch the money and not use all of it. The economic stimulus package is a way to keep the economy going until things such as jobs and business began to pick up again. Allow the people to know that the money will be replaced quickly as possible. I would also tell her to show the people that they could possibly lose their jobs if the stimulus is was not approved. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will eventually be over and we are terribly sorry for all the lives that were lost. Their lives were not lost for nothing, but were lost to protect the citizens of the United States of America. The war will soon be over I the United States will be at peace once again.
I would have to urge the candidate to consider the data of certain polls in the district. First examining how well President Obama did in the general election there. Then asking "Do the citizens here associate themselves as more conservative or more liberal"? President Obama was one of the more liberal Democratic candidates running for the nomination. If the president lost or won by only a few votes...AND... if the voters in this district will associate with a more conservative agenda perhaps the candidate's best bet is to be weary of how much support they throw President Obama's way. However, if the data shows that voters in this district are supporting the initiatives President Obama is putting forward than perhaps "riding the coat tails" isn't such a bad idea.
ReplyDelete-Heath Wheat
My first piece of advise to her would be to focus on the changes being made by the new administration and how things seem to be turning around since you have been in office. As far as this economic stimulus package, be very careful not to fully commit to it. Republicans are not happy with it at all mainly because it requires too much government take over or "buyouts" to be compatible with any Republican platform. Both parties agree that health care needs reform. However, no Republican will be on board for a plan that calls for business owners to provide for those who are making more than 33k a year. Not many Democrats like the idea of being taxed for that "free" health care either. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are easy subjects because at this point just about everyone believes we need to bring the troops home. Just remember not to waste time trying to reach too far right.
ReplyDeleteAdamson
First I would like to say that I agree with Kemberly. If I was advising a Democratic member of congress who was running for reelection in a district that was held by Republicans up until the 2008 elections, I would tell her to review her campaign and figure out where she went wrong and strengthen that area for this election. With Obama being new to the presidency and people still debating on wether to go with him or against him, I would take caution and go with him on some things but not on others. Listen to the public. What their likes and dislikes are. Try and go along with what both parties want. Being that the presidency is still in the beginings, they are going to be watching every little thing that he does. Be cautious with the health care reform. If we go with it, we will lose money, diagnostic resources, and benefits meaning people would not get the rightful amount of healthcare service that they deserve. Be also cautious with the economic stimulus package. In some ways it's good, by putting money back in schools and creating jobs but at the same time we are basically bailing out big businesses that made mistakes. You cant get out of debt by creating more debt. And with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we want our troops home but we also want peace and the end of the war on terroism. Just follow the flow of things, watch from the sidelines and really do research about the things that are happening in our country. Then step up and voice your stance in these happenings.
ReplyDeleteA good tip would be to dabble a bit in every category of President Obama's legislative agenda. Address all facets of it and be sure to keep your priorities in check. You can commit a great deal to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because most everyone agrees that we need to bring the troops home as soon as possible. The stimulus package is another story. Some back it one hundred percent, but others do not care for it at all, most notably many Republicans. Stress the importance of health care. Everyone notes that as a top priority, although many disagree on how to go about resolving this problem.
ReplyDeleteThe big key to all of this is to keep an eye on the polls. Take note of how much the district is or is not supporting President Obama. President Obama's approval rating tells the tale, and the more people support him, the more you should mirror your ideas to his very own. Many noted that "riding his coat tails" may not be a bad idea, and, under the circumstance that many are fully behind his agenda, this may not be a bad route to take.
- Michael Baltzegar
Adam – backing the GM/Chrysler bailouts depends on how many jobs in your district are related to those companies. Interestingly, I have seen surveys showing that feelings for those companies are highly related to geography. People in the middle of the continent like American autos, while those on the coasts dislike them!
ReplyDeleteKemberly and several others (like Ashlynn and Michael) were quite correct to break down the district into key groups and target parts of Obama’s plans to each of those groups. Of course I did not tell you how large each of these groups are in the district, but that would be the beginning of a good strategy! And all of you who spoke about walking a fine line, especially knowing that you cannot win with Democratic votes alone, were right on the mark! But all this creates much caution on the part of members of Congress whose votes Obama needs to be successful—you can see how tough a challenge he faces! You can also see the possibility of a downward spiral taking place—the more cautious MC’s are, the less will get passed, and the lower the approval ratings, and then the more cautious and so on down. That is why passing things early is so important and then choosing things that can keep the momentum going!
I would disagree with Corey Adamson’s point about Republicans being against requiring employers providing health insurance to those making over $33k a year—that would eliminate most of the Republican voters! I know of no companies who tie health care coverage to income. Doing so or taxing benefits over a certain amount will be most controversial. Interestingly, providing health insurance as an employment benefit is uniquely American—it dates back to the WWII era when wage controls prohibited raising wages, so companies gave health insurance as a way to indirectly increase compensation and get around the rules. Now we are kind of stuck with that, and people assume that this is the best way to go.
A quick note on the stimulus related bills. It is correct that people believe that they cannot get out of debt by spending money. But that is not true of the government in a recession situation. This is classic Keynesian economic theory. If government does not spend, then the economy slows down and even more debt is created. To the extent that government spends money when people are afraid to spend money the economy can be stimulated and then as people gain more confidence we can grow our way out of debt as taxes come in on increased spending and income related to that spending. The basic problem Obama faces is that we were already running a deficit because of the spending on the wars and because of the tax cuts that Bush put in place, so he had no surplus to work with when more spending was needed. So he, along with the majority of economists (with some notable dissent), have argued that while deficit spending creates great problems, it is still far less dangerous than cutting spending—we learned that in the Great Depression.
Bob B