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You have been warned.

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Turn back now!  This is your last warning!

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First, a disclaimer.  I am not a politician.  I am not a political pundit.  I am not a pollster or a strategist.  This is purely my opinion.

Second, another disclaimer.  I am a liberal.  I am not conservative.  I am not Republican.  I just want to state what I think are the obvious things that they need to do, if they want to win.  I don’t think that they will do any of these, but if they did even half of them, Democrats could be in trouble.

Here goes.

Everytime a Republican opens their mouth to speak, the word “Economy” should be said.

It is no secret that the economy stinks.  Unemployment is at 10%.  Job losses are staying at a high level week over week.  While there are signs of a strengthening economic system (market upticks, companies reporting decent earnings numbers, etc), we are by no means out of the woods yet.  Economists do not agree at this point as to where we are in the recessionary cycle.  While there is hope–and some evidence to support–that the economy (in terms of job gains) could start to improve in late first quarter/early second quarter of 2010, it is at this point merely hope.  Republicans need to be beating the word economy into the heads of Americans.

Now, that said, it won’t work to beat on the stimulus, government spending, or the bailouts.  Where these conversations need to be centered are on real-life, understandable ideas to help resolve the issue.  Blaming past programs is not going to work.  There needs to be a connection with the average American (aka Joe the Plumber) that will help to give them actionable steps to fix the economy.

Don’t say the word “Terror”

Three reasons here.  First, getting Americans all scared about terror and terrorists is the real admission of defeat.  That is the fundamental goal of terrorism–to instill fear.   If we can keep the American people unafraid, then terrorism fails.

Second, terrorism is a TACTIC.  We are not at war with a tactic.  We are at war with a group of people aligned as Al Qeida.  The focus needs to be on the people–Al Qeida, not Islamists, but Al Qeida–not on the tactic.

Third, this notion that there were no attacks post-9/11 is false.  Anyone remember Richard Reid?  He was the guy who tried to ignite a bomb in his shoes in December of 2001.  You can’t beat on the current administration for “crotch-bomber”, and not beat on the previous administration for the “shoe-bomber’.  Americans have great memories, and they dislike hypocritical, political attacks.

Sideline Michael Steele

The guy is a ticking-time-bomb.  His talking makes the Republican Party as a whole look ignorant.  Sideline him.

Just say no to FoxNews

When they call and want to interview you, just say no.  While they claim they operate as opinion or news, the fact is their opinion is never too far from their news.  If you want the centrist Americans (who you need to have vote for you if you want to win) vote for you, then stay away from FoxNews.

Make Palin Irrelevant

Very similar to Michael Steele.  She has no business being on a national scene.  She is the butt of an overwhelming number of jokes.  That is not because she is conservative, rather it is because she is not real bright.  While she may be a fantastic individual, and her heart may be in the right place, she is not articulate enough to survive.  Additionally, the whole quitting the governership thing says she is not ready for prime-time.  She will cause problems for Republicans.  That said, the more closely she aligns herself with the Tea Bag crowd, the easier this should be to accomplish.

Unless you are Olympia Snowe or Joseph Cao, don’t talk about healthcare

This is not because Republicans are wrong and Democrats are right.  This is about creating good ideas.  The fact of the matter is, the Republicans choose to not participate through the healthcare debates.  They presented few (if any) real ideas towards reform.  Instead, they spent time focusing on defeating a bill.  Even Republicans agree that healthcare needs reformed, but instead of bringing ideas to help reform it, they fought it on principle.  Snowe and Cao worked to do something about it.  If you need to have a campaign stop focused on healthcare, then bring in one of these two.  Let them talk about healthcare, and you talk about the economy.

That’s all I have.  I warned you.  Please understand that this is not a “Republicans are wrong” post.  Rather it is a, “if I were centrist and on the fence, what would I want to hear Republicans say to get my vote.”

You were warned.

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