House Republicans have a fairly simple plan to reclaim the majority: Blame Nancy. The National Republican Congressional Committee launches its first national advertising blitz Thursday with a drive to tie freshmen Democrats to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The GOP's cash-strapped campaign arm will launch a mix of radio ads and automated phone calls targeting 18 freshman Democrats for allegedly marching in lockstep with the speaker, a California Democrat who is regularly depicted by Republicans as an out-of-touch liberal.
This modest campaign comes 17 months before the next election and signals the seats that Republicans are targeting in 2008. But it also marks an ambitious decision by the campaign committee to go after the speaker in an effort to unseat her most vulnerable members. Democrats employed a similar strategy to great effect over the past two years in branding former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) as the face of what Democrats relentlessly portrayed as the GOP's "Culture of Corruption." |