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It's gotten so bad for House Republicans that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) is giving them advice on their tarnished brand.
During a meeting of the House Republican “theme team” last week, Emanuel stopped by briefly to address the group.
The unusual appearance of the partisan Democrat was triggered when Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) passed out fliers to GOP members on the House floor about the meeting.
“He said, ‘I’m going to come to this thing,’ ” Kingston said, noting that he and Emanuel have a good rapport. “And he showed up.”
Kingston said the Illinois Democrat was well-received by the group and even offered some advice: that President Bush and the GOP’s lack of an agenda would continue to haunt the party in November.
“Rahm was merely showing conservatives some compassion,” said Nick Papas, a spokesman for the Democratic Caucus chairman and the former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
While Emanuel’s visit to the GOP roundtable group was in jest, his message was serious — and Republicans know it.
GOP lawmakers were in a state of shock on Wednesday after suffering a devastating special-election loss in Mississippi. That loss, coupled with special-election losses in Illinois and Louisiana earlier this year, has House Republicans questioning their message, candidates and fundraising efforts.
They also are grappling with what changes, if any, to make to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
One such possibility deals with speculation that NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) will be replaced by former NRCC Chairman Tom Davis (Va.).
According to a copy of House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) talking points, one possible query, written under the heading “Possible Tough Questions,” reads, “Are the results in [Mississippi] another indication that 2008 is setting up to be a disastrous year for House Republicans?
“Our leadership team and our members just had one of the most candid and open meetings we’ve ever had,” read the talking points, presumably prepared before the meeting. “And we made this commitment: We’re getting up off the mat to fight, and we’re going to prove to the American people that we are the agents of change they expect their Washington leaders to be.”
The second question raised the possibility that Davis would replace Cole.
The answer provided was the same response to the question about whether 2008 will be a disastrous year for House Republicans.
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