For Democrats, Politics Is Local Again

Party's Candidates for Re-Election Are Trying to Draw Voters' Attention Away From an Unpopular National Leadership

At The Wall Street Journal:

The Democratic-run Congress passed a health-care overhaul and is close to securing new rules for Wall Street. But in his re-election campaign back in southern New Mexico, Rep. Harry Teague is talking about new sidewalks and widening a freeway.


Across the country, Democrats defending House and Senate seats amid the stiffest anti-incumbent mood in two decades are trying to focus attention away from Washington—and toward local factors that might persuade voters to return their lawmaker to office.

.The effort is designed to prevent Republicans from turning the fall elections into a national referendum on President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress, whose popularity among swing voters has been in sharp decline over the last year. Instead, Democrats are trying to turn each race into a unique, one-on-one match-up between local candidates.

"This is going to be about local issues and local things," said Mr. Teague, a first-term lawmaker considered vulnerable in his conservative district.

The plan, as laid out by Democratic strategists, includes two big elements: renewed attention by candidates on hometown construction projects—often without mentioning the unpopular economic stimulus bill that provided the funding—and a ramped-up effort at national Democratic headquarters to find negative information about GOP candidates.

Read it all and then remember this when Baron Hill starts in on Todd Young.  But also remember that Baron Hill has voted for nearly every Obama/Pelosi/Reid initiative the past 2 years.  And then count up all of the TRILLIONS that have been added to the defecit as a result of those votes!!  Not to mention the thousands of FEDERAL employees that have been added to the non-existent budget while many of the rest of us remain unemployed.  Be sure to ask Congressman Hill about these things as he campaigns in the 9th District this summer and fall!! -SP