2008 Elections

Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 12:41 PDT

Boehner: "Why We Can Win"

The House Republican leader gives a presentation outlining the GOP's message for the upcoming election, and putting a happy face on its situation. Video

By Alex Koppelman

On Wednesday, Rep. John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, gave his members a presentation designed to teach them how they can retake the House from Democrats this fall.

In part, the presentation is a pep talk, clearly aimed at lifting Republicans' spirits, which are low because of current polling and their big losses in 2006.

It's also a preview of the messages the Republicans will be employing against Democratic congressional candidates this year. Few of them are surprising. For instance, according to Boehner, "without the strength of House Republicans and the President's veto pen," House Democrats would have surrendered to al-Qaida. Also, Boehner focuses on Barack Obama as an asset for Republicans, painting him as unacceptably liberal and out of touch with Americans, the same way the Republicans have painted all recent Democratic presidential candidates. In one slide, Boehner says, "By November, it will be clear that Obama's appeal is limited to arugula-eating college professors, hard-core liberal Democrats, and the residents of Nancy Pelosi's Congressional District." Boehner offers as evidence themes that are already being trotted out against most Democrats. And, of course, he recycles a silly claim made by the National Journal and calls Obama "the most liberal Senator in Washington." (Really? More liberal than Bernie Sanders, who's a socialist? More liberal than Russ Feingold? Come on.)

You can view the full slide show Boehner used below.