GOP’s 2010 strategy revealed: Exploit donors and ‘fear’ of Obama

By Raw Story "What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate?" asks a Republican National Committee PowerPoint presentation.

Answer: "Save the country from trending toward Socialism!"

That -- along with a heavy dose of fear-mongering about President Barack Obama, sums up the Republican Party's strategy heading into the 2010 mid-term elections, according to documents obtained by Politico.

In a presentation delivered to donors and fundraisers in Florida on Feb. 18, RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart made it clear what the 2010 race was going to be about for the GOP: Creating a caricature of President Obama and the Democrats meant to help the Republicans recoup their losses from the last two election cycles.

One PowerPoint slide, entitled "Evil Empire," shows the famous (or infamous) sketch of Obama painted up to look like the Joker from The Dark Knight. Underneath are cartoons of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, with the title "Cruella DeVille and Scooby-Doo.

The whole presentation can be found here.

And Politico notes that the presentation displayed "an air of disdain for the party’s donors that is usually confined to the barroom conversations of political operatives."

The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”

Manipulating donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique to Republicans or to the RNC – Democrats raised millions off George W. Bush in similar terms – but rarely is it practiced in such cartoonish terms.

Politico says it obtained the PowerPoint presentation from "a Democrat who said a hard copy had been left in the hotel hosting the ... retreat."

Faced with financial shortfalls and general discontent with the leadership of RNC Chairman Michael Steele, the GOP has been experimenting with some novel fundraising ideas of late. One, which drew some sharp criticism, involved mailing out fundraising letters disguised as a US census form.