"Republicans for Obama" launches Tuesday
Even though the man is on vacation, the news from the Obama campaign keeps on coming.
It鈥檚 common for a campaign to announce the formation of a group from the opposing party banding together to support their candidate.
And it always makes for good press because it appears counter-intuitive. 鈥淗ow can people from the same party endorse the other candidate? Their own party鈥檚 candidate must be horrible!鈥�
That鈥檚 the game. Make it appear that one candidate is so awful that people who would normally pledge allegiance are jumping overboard.
It happens every campaign. Perhaps you remember four years ago. Or . Here鈥檚 a gem 鈥� still on the web and looking its age, an old site. And a campaign can always get press out of it 鈥� especially if there are prominent individuals involved.
It happened again this morning. And as over at Politico astutely points out, the timing isn鈥檛 so surprising either:
One of the challenges of the week for Chicago is finding a way to control the news cycle without the candidate. Today鈥檚 answer: 鈥淩epublicans for Obama.鈥�
Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, former Bush foreign policy advisor Rita Hauser, and former US Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island announced their support of Obama and the formation of 鈥淩epublicans for Obama.鈥�
The group, which according to one seems to already exist, announced they will launch a new website this week.
Why jump the party line?
Chafee, in the morning conference call announcing the group, said McCain just wasn鈥檛 the same old McCain anymore:
鈥淚 served with McCain and we were the only two Republicans to vote against the Bush tax cuts,鈥� said Chafee, referring to a Senate vote in 2001. 鈥淗e says now he would make them permanent. It鈥檚 a different John McCain.鈥�
But what about the point that Chafee isn鈥檛 a Republican anymore? He switched parties earlier this year to vote for Obama in his state鈥檚 presidential primary.
鈥淯ntil I voted for Sen. Obama, I had never voted for a Democrat so I think my Republican credentials are sincere,鈥� Chaffee said.
As for Leach, the former Congressman said it was time for a change.
鈥�Barack Obama鈥檚 platform is a call for change,鈥� said Leach. 鈥淏ut the change that he so gracefully articulating is more renewal than departure.鈥�
Over on the McCain team they sensed a different kind of irony. Campaign spokesperson Taylor Griffin emailed this response:
鈥淚t鈥檚 ironic that Barack Obama, who has the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate, would be reaching out to Republicans. His policies and his record, while they may be popular with liberals, are out of step with Republicans and with mainstream America.鈥�
