Here’s the biggest drawback to not having a recognized national party leader as your chief spokesperson– the fractious Republican front-runners with different constituencies and interests will bury the Republican party’s narrow ability to play this nomination the right way.  Already, conservative groups and leaders– including de facto spokesman Rush Limbaugh– have made their dislike for Judge Sotomayer clear. Here’s their problem– underestimate the extreme pride that the entire Hispanic community feels towards their first Supreme Court nominee and you will lose them for your natural lifetimes. “Caller after caller to a radio show popular in Central Florida’s booming Puerto Rican community gushed Tuesday over President Barack Obama’s decision to nominate one of their own to the nation’s highest court,” McClatchy’s Beth Reinhard and Lesley Clark report. “Even the Republicans.” (Quote courtesy of ABC’s The Note). This is not Clarence Thomas, who the political leaders of the black community saw not as one of their own but as an impostor.  If a bunch of older white Republican Senators take off after Sotomayer during the confirmation hearings, or make any... 

Of course, again it is definitely worth checking out.  this time, I take on the annual prom in DC known as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend– specifically the irony of Obama appearing before a crowd of Washington influencer peddlers and media elite– the two groups he is making irrelevant in his approach to governing.  Here’s the link.  Read More →

I am the guest blogger this week on PRWeek online.  Check out my take on the the Republicans and the 60-seat super-majority in the Senate.  I will be writing a couple of additional entries this week, so let me know if you have an suggested topics.  Read More →

My Qorvis colleague Karen Hanretty has some really good thoughts in Atlatic Magazine online on what presidential contenders looking at the 2012 elections need to do to position themselves as real candidates. As a Republican political strategist (she was head of communications for the NRCC through the end of the November elections, and has worked for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others), Karen is still fighting hard to rebuild her party.  Her comments are worth quoting at length: “Immediately embark on a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Tour — Take the next couple years to travel America and the world — not as a highly staged, useless “listening tour” but as a way to understand what everyday people are talking about in communities throughout America — with emphasis on the North East. And do this not just in America but in countries around the world. The U.S. will always be a world leader, and we need a Republican candidate who better understands and can speak to the frustrations, fears and hopes of other nations. “Put down Forbes, pick up Fast Company — It’s not enough for the next Republican Presidential candidate to have a Blackberry, a Facebook page and a Twitter... 

I don’t like to use my blog to boast about Qorvis, but being named the Public Affairs Agency of the year is the bread and butter of what Damage control 101 is often all about. Check it out here:  Read More →