Dems 2010 Strategy Will Be to Blame Bush

For those of you who enjoyed the 2008 campaign get ready because the Democrats plan on doing it all over again. According to Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic party plans on retaining the change message for their 2010. Basically its vote for us, or its back to the bad old days of George Bush.

 “This time we will make the case that supporting a Republican is simply turning back the clock to Bush economic policies, the same policies that got us into this mess to begin with......will I think put themselves clearly in the position where they represent the status quo and that the Democrats, while we have the White House and both houses of Congress, remain the party of change and reform.”

It might be just some bravado, but according to CQ politics, the Dems say by blaming bush they don't have to worry about 2010 being a repeat of 1994:

Van Hollen waved off comparisons to the 1994 midterm elections, when insurgent Republicans channeled popular dissatisfaction with Democratic control to knock off 54 Democrats and win back the House. But Van Hollen argued that in 1994 — unlike now — the GOP presented itself as a viable alternative; Democrats were caught flat-footed; and President Bill Clinton’s support was sagging.

And while Van Hollen declined to predict how many seats Democrats will lose in November, he stated flatly they will maintain control of the chamber. “Our Republican colleagues are prematurely measuring the curtains in their new offices and prematurely popping the champagne bottles, because we’re going to make sure this is not 1994 all over again,” he said.

Van Hollen predicted jobs and the economy would dominate the political debate over the coming months. And he said the House Democratic agenda will pivot now to focus on getting people back to work. But he also said the party will go on offense, selling the sweeping health care bill signed into law last month — a victory he said has already reinvigorated a dispirited Democratic base.

“We’ve seen a big increase in enthusiasm among Democratic activist voters,” he said, pointing to a “huge jump” in small-dollar contributions in the wake of the bill’s passage. More broadly, Van Hollen said the party has already registered a softening of what had been steady, if narrow, public opposition to the measure. “It’s not that people are all of a sudden converts. But they’re much more open to the idea that this is going to be a positive change,” he said.

And Democrats plan to force Republicans to defend their votes against the health care bill and the subsequent calls by some in their ranks to repeal it. The party has been “monitoring very closely all the Republicans who have signed on for repeal,” he said, with the aim of highlighting the most popular new consumer protections that would be revoked if the law is rolled back. For Republicans who back a so-called repeal-and-replace strategy, Van Hollen said Democrats have a ready answer: “The problem with that argument is they had eight years under President Bush to do something.”

Among the practical impacts of the overhaul, Van Hollen said the Democratic win helped even the political score with Republicans, who have enjoyed a significant advantage over the majority in terms of the energy in their base. “It will be interesting to see whether they can try to keep alive — that’s clearly what they’re trying to do by this ‘repeal the bill’ effort — is to keep alive the energy that was there on the right against the bill and try to channel that somehow in these elections. And I’m not sure whether that’s going to be sustainable or not,” he said.

The Democrats may believe that the American People are that stupid, but I don't, if the Democrats really take that strategy 1994 will be a close race compared to 2010.