Barbour Co-founds Anti-Democratic Group
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Looking for a political comeback, leaders in the Republican Party yesterday launched a group to strategically oppose the Democratic agenda, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Republican strategist Ed Gillespie and pollster Whit Ayers will head the group, called Resurgent Republic, co-founded by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Rep. Bill Paxton (N.Y.), former Sen. George Allen (Va.) and Republican strategist Mary Matalin.
In what could be seen as an inspired bit of synchronicity, the group launched on the same day as Republican Sen. Arlen Spector--a 29-year veteran of Capitol Hill--announced his intention to leave the party, saying it has “moved to far to the right.” Spector’s defection puts the Democratic Party within striking distance of a filibuster-proof Senate majority, with only the still-disputed Minnesota seat standing in the way.
Resurgent Republic unabashedly models itself after the Democracy Corps, a Democratic organization founded by strategist James Carville (Matalin’s husband) and pollster Stan Greenberg in 1999, which is “dedicated to making the government of the United States more responsive to the American people,” according to the Democracy Corps Web site.
The new Republican group, which is “dedicated to shaping the debate over the proper roll of government,” will gauge “public opinion about policy proposals under consideration by the White House and Congress,” according to its Web site, and will perform a “steady stream of national polls and focus groups,” making its results publicly available.
“Resurgent Republic helps policy makers, think tanks, interest groups and others advocate for policies that are consistent with conservative principles, and to oppose policies that stifle job creation, weaken national security and undermine values that have made America a great country,” according to the site.
“Our nation is at an historical juncture and the actions we take today with regards to promoting free market principles will have an impact for a generation or more,” Gillespie told The Wall Street Journal. “Resurgent Republic will serve as a strategic resource for the general public, policy makers and Congressional leaders.”
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