An Old Way Of Thinking

Add the new chairman of the Senate GOP caucus, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, to the list of Republican lawmakers who think that a 1994-style Contract With America method of political messaging is better than the slash-and-burn midterm 2006 election approach.

You see, Kyl has the job of message making, and he's out promoting this novel approach: Give voters a reason to vote for the GOP. It's part of the new PowerPoint presentation he's showing members and top staffers. The thrust is seen in the chart above.

The theme: Present positive solutions. The unstated challenge: How does the GOP make its message heard over the roar of the Democrats, now in the majority. Maybe that's why he hired longtime GOP communications pro Ron Bonjean (Rep. J. C. Watts, Sen. Trent Lott, Commerce Department, Speaker Dennis Hastert) to run the show as chief of staff of the caucus.

By Paul Bedard