RGA Notebook: The Palin Chronicles
AUSTIN, Texas -- As noted yesterday, the RGA kicked off here Wednesday in the shadow of a blockbuster media tour by one of its former members -- former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. As she promotes her own tome and potentially sets up her future political move, the question was posed to victorious candidates in New Jersey and Virginia why the former vice presidential nominee was not on their list of surrogates this fall.
New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie first answered by saying he intentionally avoided bringing any national party leaders into the state in an effort to keep the focus on his own solutions specific to the state. But after it was pointed out that figures like Jeb Bush, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney made stops in the Garden State, Christie offered a new explanation.
"The people I asked to come into campaign for me were either someone like Mayor Giuliani, who I have known for the better part of a decade, or two governors who had faced the same kind of things and could talk about those issues in an intelligent way to show how Republican ideas had fixed those fiscal problems in those states," he said.
Virginia's Bob McDonnell said that he had initially reached out to Palin at an early stage in his run for governor seeking her involvement. But she "was in such incredible demand" and busy with work in Alaska that an early visit was not possible. By the time she resigned her post, McDonnell then claimed, "we had pretty much already arranged all of the folks that we had for the home stretch for fundraisers, including several current and former governors."
Focus On 2010, Barbour Warns
At a gathering that includes a number of leaders thought to be on the 2012 short list, presidential politics was an unavoidable matter of discussion among guests and the press corps gathered here. Gov. Tim Pawlenty led a public panel of governors and gubernatorial candidates focusing on "solutions" on health care, energy and efficient government. On the panel: Govs. Bobby Jindal and Rick Perry, who each face the voters again before 2012 but are on a number of darkhorse lists. Singled out in the audience by his colleagues several times was Gov. Mitch Daniels, who was praised for his budgetary "miracle" in Indiana.
Asked if he thought the party's 2012 standard bearer was on the stage tonight, another potential candidate -- RGA chairman Haley Barbour, emphasized the short term.
"Every Republican needs to have his or her eye on the 2010 elections. Those are the elections that matter," he said. "Those are the elections that are going to be critical about putting our foot on the break and stopping some of the bad things that are happening in this country. After the 2010 elections are over, then and only then do I think people ought to be thinking about who's going to run for president."
Jindal: Louisiana Wary of Health Reform
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana made an expansive critique of proposed health reform in Washington, while arguing that Republican opposition was more than just politics.
"I think that the danger for America is far, far greater than any perceived political advantage," he said. "What I worry about is the damage that could be caused by these bills would be structural, would be long lasting, would harm innovation, would harm our quality of care, and continue to exacerbate our deficits."
Governors in particular are concerned about a "massive cost shift" to states in new responsibilities for Medicaid, Jindal said, and he outlined some alternative reforms that would not rely on a new government option. That increased federal role is of particular concern to Louisiana, he said.
"The ones that have seen government at its best and its worst are very concerned by this idea of government getting between patients and their physicians," he said. It seemed to be reference to a clear failure by the government when the state needed it most: after Hurricane Katrina.
The Daggett Gambit
Recapping the 2009 races, RGA officials took particular pride in a key decision made in New Jersey late in the race. Independent Chris Daggett was a wild card throughout, and as his support grew to double-digit levels, the RGA launched a tough attack ad on broadcast television targeting the independent.
"A lot of people in the state accused us of raising his profile," said RGA executive director Nick Ayers. Even in the party, some feared that the move may have cost the party its chance to win by further raising the profile of a relatively unknown candidate. "We felt vindicated a day later when Christie's campaign also attacked Daggett."
Paul Lerner, a pollster used by the RGA in the Garden State, said the decision was based on a troubling trend they saw in Daggett's numbers. It wasn't the total, but the profile of his support -- early on, they saw him drawing votes from Gov. Jon Corzine by a 2-to-1 margin. By early October, though, Daggett was drawing equally from both candidates. So a strategic call was made, which Lerner said essentially recreated a primary among GOP voters between Christie and Daggett, that Christie clearly won.