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I'm not really sure that it can work at this stage, but I sat with veteran Congressman Tom Davis for lunch today and he suggested that the Republicans could use some help in the brand department. He brought it up with humor, but underneath the joke ("can you fix the Republican brand in the next two weeks?") was a serious issue: The Republicans are hurting.
In Washinton State Darcy Burner is having great success with her campaign. One of the reasons is that she is able to link her competitor directly to the Bush White House. Normally you'd think that this would be good news for her opponent, but with Bush not doing well in the polls for many reasons (international reputation, the war, the economy) being seen as a friend of the White House is doing no one any favors. Except
the Dems.
The Republicans have been masters of branding ever since Rove hit the scene. The "defense of marriage" initiative and Bush's "Cut and Run" and "Flip-Flopper" labels have been powerful brands that have moved people at the polls. While I'm not a fan of negative branding, I can understand the temptation to use it. Happy people aren't as motivated to act than those that are upset. Which would get you to react faster, someone offering to give you a massage or someone threatening to beat the crap out of you? But... back to Tom Davis... (Sorry Tom... that was a bad segue) He seems to be pretty good at branding himself. Being so close to DC you'd think that he and President Bush would be hanging out having a good ol' time and benefiting from the association. Nope. Best I can tell it looks like they haven't seen each other since July - and it doesn't look like it was a campaign event. Sometimes you say more about yourself by who you don't associate with than who you do. Darcy Burner has been doing a great job of using this to her own advantage - and apparently so has Davis. Tate Linden Principal Consultant Stokefire Consulting Group 703-778-9925 |
