ConfirmThem

By Paul Zummo Posted in Uncategorized — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Roll Call (subscription required) has a story todayon the RNC's attempts to Daschle-ize Senator Reid, attempting to weaken his support at home and nationally.

Drawing on a blueprint used succesfully against former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), the RNC will send a 13-page research document today to roughly 1 million people - a group that includes journalists, donors, and grass-roots activists - detailing Reid's alleged obstructionism among other topics.

The document evidently will attack Reid for his obstructionism on judges, social security reform, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

As the article points out though, there are significant differences between Reid and Daschle. Reid is not up for re-election until 2010, his state is not nearly as red as Daschle's South Dakota, and Reid is slightly more conservative than the former Minority Leader. But clearly the Republicans would like to make an early start at chipping away at Reid's public image.

This is a smart move, I believe. Reid is trying to portray himself as a soft-spoken moderate willing to work with the administration. But it is also clear from comments that he has made, noted on this site and elsewhere, that he will pursue basically the same strategy as his predecessor. Republicans need to press the offensive to mitigate Reid's disingenuous public appeal to moderation.