Democratic candidates adopt anti-Bush strategy
WASHINGTON -- Many Democratic candidates are planning to run against two Republicans in the next election — their GOP opponent and former president George W. Bush.
When former U.S. attorney Chris Christie, a Bush appointee, won the Republican nomination for governor of New Jersey last week, Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine welcomed him to the race by attacking his former boss.
"I'm not about to put my trust in the same people who gave us George W. Bush, Dick Cheney or John Ashcroft," Corzine said, throwing in Bush's vice president and first attorney general for good measure.
The Corzine-Christie contest is this November. Other Democratic candidates will likely bash Bush throughout the 2010 election season, predicts Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of a non-partisan political newsletter. "You'll hear Democrats say, President Obama is still trying to clean up the mess of the Bush years," he says.
Possible Democratic targets with Bush ties include:
• Former budget director Rob Portman of Ohio, who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat.
• Republican Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a key Bush ally in legislative battles, also running for the Senate.
• Former Republican congressman Rob Simmons, who is challenging Sen. Chris Dodd in Connecticut.
Simmons says he is not worried about being linked to Bush: "That's not only yesterday's news, that's history." Simmons contends that Bush-era deficits are projected to explode on Obama's watch. "People are worried about the future," he says.
Democratic pollster Celinda Lake says her candidates should make the Bush administration an issue because voters still blame it for economic and foreign policy problems. "When you say this member of Congress or that Republican wants to continue the failed Bush policies, that's very salient for people," she says.
Democratic Party spokesman Hari Sevugan says Bush's continued prominence reflects a "vacuum of leadership" in the Republican Party, one that is filled by Bush-era Cheney and talk show host Rush Limbaugh.
