Jewish World Review May 24, 2006 / 26 Iyar, 5766

To win, stifle it!

By Pat Sajak


http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | I rarely give advice to politicians, and it may surprise you to learn they even more rarely seek advice from TV game show hosts. But here goes. Send Howard Dean on a six-month fact-finding tour of the Southern Hemisphere. Keep Nancy Pelosi from going anywhere near the Sunday morning talk shows. Forbid John Conyers ever to utter the "i" word. Invite Ted Kennedy to parties every night. Have Hillary Clinton stay at home and try out some new cookie recipes. In other words, Democrats, if you want a big win later this year, SHUT UP!


Conservative are angry with their President, and Rule Number One in politics is (or should be) hands off when the other side is eating its own. This rule applies to Democrats as well as Republicans, but neither side ever seems to figure it out; they can't resist piling on.


There is a reason the Democrats have had only two Presidents since 1968 and have managed to lose control of both houses of Congress in recent years. There is a reason they keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. And it's not fraud and it's not dirty politics and it's not stupid voters. It's the plain and simple fact that the majority of those who vote don't like them.


So now, when you have Republican politicians ready to stampede in electoral panic and the party's base threatening to stay home on Election Day, this is the very time not to remind them why they don't like you.

Donate to JWR


I know a lot of people are advising you to go public with a coherent plan for the future because, they say, you have to run for something and not just against it. WRONG! By reminding voters of where you stand on national security, taxes and social issues, you'll blow it again. The trick is to lay low and let them slug it out and snipe at each other and sow their own seeds of doubt. Do not — I repeat — do not remind voters of the alternative.


So book some nice, long cruises this summer. Go back home to your constituents and talk about highway beautification. Watch some reality TV. But most of all, be very, very quiet. I really think this can work.