G. Taylor - Linking Dems. to Pelosi could backfire for GOP

Republicans have repeatedly tried to take down vulnerable Democratic congressmen by linking them to Nancy Pelosi and her liberal politics. It didn’t work in 2006 or 2008.
And yet, Republicans believe 2010 will be the year Pelosi sinks some of her own members.

They’ve used the California Democrat against Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. in rural Maryland, because he voted with her to pass a climate bill reviled by much of the farm lobby. They’ve run ads featuring her against Blue Dog Democrats, like Rep. Zack Space in economically depressed Ohio, who voted for the Democratic budget last spring. And they think Pelosi will be an albatross for vulnerable lawmakers like Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat in a Republican-leaning district who supports Pelosi’s calls to include a public option in the health care plan.

“Pelosi will be used in appeals from Republican candidates in every district,” said David Wasserman, an editor of The Cook Political Report. “In districts where [President Barack] Obama is still above water, she could be the only figure that’s used.”

But conservative Democrats warn that using the general to kill the rank and file — particularly those who haven’t voted in lockstep with party leadership — won’t be easy.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do this for a while, and they have always done that from the day I got here,” said Rep. Gene Taylor, a conservative Democrat from Mississippi. “But if they are trying to link someone who is not linked with someone else, I actually think it backfires.”

And getting voters to turn their ballots into a referendum on the House Democratic leadership might be difficult, as serious issues such as the still-struggling economy, the war in Afghanistan and massive health care reform stay center stage.

NBC Chicago
9/28/9