Republican Party Needs To Roll Forward Not Back

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy adviser for the 2008 McCain Presidential Campaign; Jim Pinkerton, senior adviser for the 2009 Huckabee Presidential Campaign, former domestic policy aide to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and contributor to Fox News; Reihan Salam, fellow at NAF and author of "Grand New Party: How Conservatives Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream"; and David Gray, director at the Workforce and Family Program at NAF met today to discuss how the Republican Party can move on from their 2008, Presidential, election defeat.

David Gray opened the debate by asking the panel how the Republican Party needed to reflect on their 2008 performance. There was mixed consensus amongst the panel as Douglas Holtz-Eakin focused on the economy as being the downfall for the Party in the election campaign.

Holtz-Eakin said, "Right after the convention we were leading in the polls and then the wall street breakdown occurred. Then people started to look backwards." He claimed that in the election the Republican's lost every age group except the 85 and over, every minority group, working woman and college students.

Jim Pinkerton also blamed the economy, stating he felt the "recovery plan was a bad move," adding that "on competence the Republican Party deserved to lose." Describing how he felt , he said the party should "move forward" from their defeat. Adding, "I would advise the Republicans to fight global warming and fight tax increases to the death." Pinkerton also claimed that national security would have to be an key issue for the Republicans.

Reihan Salam said that concentrating on global issues would hep the Republican Party progress. He said: "the Republicans need to think outside the box purely in carbon price."

Holtz-Eakin further said that the Republican defeat had led some conservatives to believe that a return to the "Reagan handbook" would help the party. "I think the party is at a significant moment and replaying the 1980's handbook would not be useful." Holtz-Eakin insists that the party should move forward instead if looking back. He said, "we need to be more appealing to a wider demographic. We need to have a message for urban areas. We have to restore the integrity."

Holtz-Eakin also blamed mixed messages among the electorate for creating a downturn in Republican support in the election. In order for the Republican party to move forward Holtz-Eakin suggested, "we need to be for education reform...we need to send the message that we are here for the kids of America." He concluded saying, "you have to have a role for government, you have to be proud if it and the Republicans need to define that role."

McCain campaign confident as they approach election

In a conference call today, McCain-Palin Campaign Manager Rick Davis said their campaign is "pretty jazzed up" as election day gets closer.

Davis stated that the narrowing polls between the candidates is evidence that "we fight back." He felt the world was "witnessing one of the greatest comebacks since John McCain won the primary."

Davis also noted that Gov. Palin (R-Alaska) has been generating a lot of excitement about their ticket. He added that the notion that she is hurting Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) "can't be further from the truth." He used the example that yesterday, Sen. Biden (D-Del.) had 800 people at his speech, while Palin had 20,000 people at hers.

Davis felt the polling in the last 10 days were the "best 10 days of polling since the convention." He was also encouraged by the fact that Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) is campaigning in states like Iowa, which were previously thought to be easy victories for him.

ACORN poses "immediate concern" for McCain campaign

Co-chairs of the McCain-Palin Honest and Open Election Committee John Danforth and Warren Rudman said that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) posed an immediate concern for those hoping to have a fair and uncontested election.

Danforth outlined the allegations facing ACORN, including evidence the organization registered the same person 73 times, sent in the names of the Dallas Cowboys, and tried to register a seven-year-old.

"We say our safeguards are working...but we don't know how many are slipping through the cracks."

The co-chairs were unable to say if they knew how many may have been wrongly disqualified or how many have been disqualified for human error.

Danforth and Rudman said the Committee is looking for a bipartisan solution and that they have sent a letter to Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee Chair asking for help in rooting out voting fraud by posting volunteers from each campaign in polling places in battleground states to help oversee the election. According to Danforth, this request has gone unanswered for over a month.

Humphrey Institute: What Are Americans Looking For?

Journalists, a self-proclaimed adult pollster, and a political consultant participated in a panel discussion about the American electorate, the top issues in this election, and the emergence of Gov. Sarah Palin (R - AK) at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday morning.

According to the United Nations Foundation and Public Opinion Strategies Americans, left, right, and swing, show consensus on the importance of three issues: America's dependence on foreign oil, terrorism, and the global economy.

Co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies Bill McInturff said all Americans want a "balance of toughness and diplomacy" as a presidential attribute. Editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report Charlie Cook both argued Palin's selection removed John McCain's advantage with the experience argument – especially regarding national security. McInturff spoke last and said, "I think the electorate is far from resolved about who is going to be president."