RNC Memo: Don't Run Away From Bush In 2006

Newsmax
Mar. 31, 2006

A top Republican pollster has a warning for GOP congressional candidates in 2006: distance yourself from President Bush at your own peril.

In a memo to RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, Jan van Lohuizen said the link between President Bush and Republicans in the House and Senate is too strong to break.

"The president,” he wrote, "is seen universally as the face of the Republican Party. We are now brand W. Republicans.”

As a result, he said, Republicans tread on dangerous ground when they criticize the White House.

"Attacking the president,” he continued, "is counter-productive for all Republicans, not just the candidates launching the attacks. If he drops, we all drop.”
The veteran pollster also argued that results in the 2006 mid-term elections would be driven primarily by voter turnout. He is concerned Republicans will not be able to rally as large a turnout as Democrats.

"Anything we do to depress turnout, by not running as a unified party for instance,” he said, "could very well lead to serious consequences in November.”

Van Lohuizen’s memo was published in full by Hotline On Call, the Internet blog for the National Journal.