Pelosi Worried

If you only take one thing away from this article in The Hill, it should be that Nancy Pelosi is very, very worried about the possibility of an anti-incumbent wave from the electorate come November, 2008.

Nearly one year after recapturing control of Congress, House Democratic leaders will embark on a publicity blitz starting in November to combat a dismal 25 percent approval rating.

Democratic leadership aides huddled with rank-and-file chiefs of staff, legislative directors and press secretaries on Monday to persuade them to do more to promote a positive message. Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster, and Mike McCurry, one of President Bill Clinton’s former press secretaries, also were on hand to press for a concerted effort.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent last week to lawmakers, the six senior House Democratic leaders noted that bipartisan majorities have passed lobbying and ethics reforms, an increase in the minimum wage, a massive increase in student aid, legislation to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations and other initiatives that President Bush has signed into law.

Democratic leaders want the rank and file to do more to publicize those details, because they are concerned that the public is unaware of those accomplishments and that it will become more difficult to hype their message as the presidential race further dominates the news.

Those leaders expect their members to hold more press conferences and town hall meetings, send out more franked mail and develop better online strategies. Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) is expected to keep tabs on which Democrats are doing their part to play up their record, leadership aides said.

Pelosi knows how badly Congress is polling at the moment and support for some Democratic politicians is tanking back home. If Harry Reid was running next year, he'd already be in deadly serious trouble. A special election in Massachusetts showed just how vulnerable the Democrats are to a strong challenge. So the Democrats will try this PR blitz, the Republicans will push just as hard to run against a do-nothing Congress. It is going to be a long year.

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  By mockinbrd, October 23, 2007 @ 4:05 pm

  Those democrats are too incompetent to play sucessfully in Congress and the Senate>
  They should go back home and wash cars and bus restaurant tables!

Other Links to this Post

1. PR Blitz Coming Up « The Van Der Galiën Gazette — October 23, 2007 @ 10:47 am

2. RealClearPolitics - Blog Coverage — October 23, 2007 @ 1:19 pm