Embattled GOP still confident of an '06 mandate

[papau]

Republicans gearing up to refocus on their agenda for 2006. And Carl Forti is quick to remind all just how tough the electoral map is for the opposition party.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20051206-104843-8493r.htm

Embattled GOP still confident of an '06 mandate
By Ralph Z. Hallow
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
December 7, 2005


Republicans on Capitol Hill looking ahead to the 2006 elections acknowledge they have liabilities: real and perceived scandals in their party, a war abroad that continues to incur U.S. casualties and a president whose poll numbers seem stuck somewhere south of not good. <snip>
But Republicans say their current problems aren't likely to cost the GOP its majorities in Congress, where next year's mid-term contests will be fought district by district, on local issues and personalities, rather than on the broad national themes on which the Democrats hope to make the election turn.
"Neither Iraq nor the scandals are a problem for 2006," says Carl Forti, chief spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). "I don't know of any member of Congress who has ever lost because of something another member did or did not allegedly do."
However, some House Republicans caution that their party's brand image may have gotten a bit fuzzy of late, with polls showing Democrats have replaced Republicans as holders of the public's trust on issues that once virtually belonged to the GOP.
"The reason Republicans are in the majority in Congress is because of our agenda," says Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Pitts. "As Republicans head into 2006, we need to return to our core principles -- fiscal responsibility, keeping taxes low and a strong defense at home and abroad." <snip>

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. their mandate

was nonexistant, and will completely disappear when the Dems win in '06. The only way they can win is with a mandate from Diebold.