News

From The Washington Post:

Emboldened by Scott Brown's stunning win in Massachusetts, Republicans are convinced this is their year to climb out of the political abyss and capture congressional seats and governor's offices held by Democrats across the country.

The anti-establishment anger that propelled Brown to victory in Tuesday's special senatorial election is the clearest sign yet of a political climate that endangers Democrats who control Washington, but it is not the only indicator. The GOP swept gubernatorial races in November in Virginia and New Jersey, two states Barack Obama won in 2008. Obama's approval ratings have also fallen amid months of gridlock on Capitol Hill as congressional Democrats have struggled to pass health-care legislation.

GOP leaders immediately seized on this momentum, signing up volunteers, recruiting candidates and calling donors who gave money to Republicans in past campaign cycles but shunned the party once it lost power in 2008. On Capitol Hill, party leaders are drafting a policy agenda that Republicans can campaign on this year.

"Scott Brown's victory in the special election for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts shows our party can win anywhere in the country when we have a principled, conservative candidate," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele wrote in a fundraising e-mail.

The National Republican Congressional Committee put Brown's pollster, Neil Newhouse, on the phone with donors to talk strategy. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), tasked with recruiting House candidates, called several people considering running to tell them the time is now.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee highlighted polls showing GOP candidates leading Democrats in nearly a dozen races, including states Obama carried in 2008: Colorado, Delaware, Nevada and Pennsylvania. "If you can win in Massachusetts as a Republican, you can win anywhere," said Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), the committee chairman. "No incumbent is safe."

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Republican leaders and strategists must figure out how to direct voter frustration behind its candidates to realize the party's ambition of reclaiming power. "It's sort of like trying to surf on a tsunami," Cornyn said.

Republicans cautioned against viewing the GOP takeover of the Senate seat held for half a century by the late Edward M. Kennedy as evidence that the party's fortunes had permanently changed.

"The American people have fallen out of love with the current direction, but they haven't fallen in love with Republicans," said Rep. Adam H. Putnam (R-Fla.). "Last year was about picking up ourselves and dusting ourselves off. Now we need a direction and vision."

Although Republicans won congressional majorities in 1994 by campaigning on a common conservative theme -- the GOP led by Rep. Newt Gingrich (Ga.) promised voters a "Contract With America" -- party strategists think discontent with Democrats will be more influential than a common agenda.

Still, House Republican Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) recently hired a new chief of staff, Barry Jackson, an architect of the "Contract With America." Boehner also tapped McCarthy to produce a policy document for Republicans to campaign on this year.

"We will have a document, and we will guarantee people that there will be a vote on each issue in that document in the next Congress, if we're in the majority," Boehner said in an interview on Michael Medved's radio talk show.

Republicans signaled they would continue their strategy of opposing much of the Democratic agenda in lockstep. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said Brown's victory -- he campaigned against health-care reform and opposed the $787 billion stimulus -- shows the GOP should stick with its positions. "He won with traditional Republican positions," Kingston said. "He didn't run from any of that stuff."

But the challenge for Republicans to win back majorities in Congress remains daunting. The GOP needs to win 40 additional House seats and 10 Senate seats.

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Strategists warned there is no blueprint that can be lifted from Massachusetts and applied in other states. "Every campaign is different," said Ron Kaufman, a former RNC chairman. "You learn lessons from campaigns if you're smart, but you don't say, 'How can I copy this, put it in a cookie press and press it out across every state?' "