Ben Quayle’s Winning Campaign Strategy
Written by Noah Rothman on November 3, 2010, 2:57 PM
There will be many campaign strategies and tactics to review over the coming weeks. Tuesday night’s elections resulted in the validation or repudiation of many interesting campaign tactics. One GOP candidate’s win was far from a foregone conclusion. Ben Quayle’s victorious candidacy for Arizona’s 3rd congressional seat deserves immediate scrutiny.
The son of famous former Vice President, Dan Quayle, Ben Quayle never encountered the problem that most challenger’s face when running for House seat, low name recognition. That, of course, has the potential to work against you – high name recognition means surrendering self-definition, at least initially, to forces beyond a candidate’s control.
Running for the seat vacated by retiring Republican Rep. John Shadegg, Quayle sought to pick up a seat held by one of two Republicans since 1983. This ad was aimed at Arizona 3rds primary electorate. This primary field being packed and with the federal government’s prosecution of a law suit against Arizona over its tough anti-illegal immigration law, there was no shortage of attacks on the White House among Arizona’s Republican candidates.
Going after the unpopular President was not a difficult call to make, but he had to do it with finesse. Arizona’s 3rd is a nuanced district and outright bomb throwing in the primary against Democrats is likely to backfire in a general election. Appearing to be the consummate conservative firebrand is not necessarily a path to victory in Arizona. It is a recent development that The Grand Canyon State has become unfriendly to the Democratic party and it has more to do with recent developments on the immigration front. A politically expedient tactic today, it may not be as relevant in the next election cycle. Then the process of personal redefinition would begin again.
Quayle needed to do two things: 1) set himself apart from his famous father and set his own reputation and 2) define himself apart from his primary contenders. The way he set out to fulfill the second condition led some observers to determine that Quayle was pursuing a strategy in the primary that may succeed but doom him in the general election. He aired a now famous commercial in which a tough-talking Quayle calls Barack Obama “the worst president in history,” and that someone needs to go to Washington to “knock the hell out of the place.” Quayle won, but now he had to face a Democrat more than prepared to run against Quayle’s rhetorical overreach.
The Democrat in that race, John Hulburd, attacked Quayle as being more suited to life in a frat house than the U.S. House. A revelation that Quayle’s early-career affiliation with a racy gossip website forced him to apologize for the content in a number of posts, but that issue came and went and did not appear to have a lasting impact on his candidacy. Quale handled it well. Hulburd then challenged Quayle’s contention that Washington is bloated and he was just the kind of outsider that could fix it – his father after all was as inside as it gets. This, too, did not have sticking power. It turned out that 2010 was on Quayle’s side, and his characterization of President Obama as “the worst president in history” was not so far outside the realm of acceptable thought that Hulburd wanted to run against it.
The infamous “Worst President” ad aired over the summer and a Public Policy Polling survey of that district from October 18 showed Quayle slipping with 44 to Hulburd’s 46 percent. He was named one of the liberal Salon.com’s “terrifying ten.” Having made himself a target of the left, he took the risk of alienating himself with moderate voters. Quayle was sure that he could get the voters he lost back in new and reenergized conservative voters. In Arizona in 2010, that worked. In any other year it might not have; Anna Little employed a similar strategy in New Jersey’s 6th district and came up short on Election Day.
Again, there will be many post-mortems and this is just one. Quayle is an interesting upcoming figure and it will be fascinating to watch his career develop in the next Congress.
Noah Rothman is the online editor at C&E. Email him at mailto:nrothman@campaignsandelections.com
Here is a special message from Jesse.
Congressman Franks Strongly Urges President Obama to Confront Indian Government over Ongoing Policy of Visa Denial
November 6, 2010 – Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) gave the following statement today as President Obama begins his ten-day trip through Asia beginning with a visit for several days in India. Just last week, the Indian Embassy refused to grant visas to a member of Congressman Franks' staff as well as to another sitting Member of Congress, who were told that their visas had been placed on "indefinite hold." The Congressional delegation had sought entry to the country for the purpose of attending a ceremony commemorating the work of an organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating drug addicts, AIDS-infected orphans, and victims of sex trafficking.
"In recent weeks and months, the Indian Embassy and government have increasingly implemented a policy of denying visas to groups and government delegations, including a fellow Member of Congress and a member of my staff, who have sought to travel to the country for the purpose of advocating for human rights, particularly for the victims of the grotesque epidemic of sex trafficking. As a valued ally and a growing partner in trade, it is distressing that the Indian Embassy and government would openly thwart U.S. groups’ attempts to travel to the country to work together in addressing a growing problem and a common threat to the shared values of our two nations— sex trafficking as well as other fundamental human rights violations."
The recent denial is not the first instance of the Indian government denying entry to government delegations or human rights advocacy organizations. In June of 2009, the U.S. Commission on International Freedom was denied visas for its proposed visit to assess India's human rights situation and it was not offered alternative travel dates. Another private human rights advocacy organization was later also denied entry. Additionally, on November 1st, 2010, Professor Richard Shapiro, Chair and Associate Professor of the Department of Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, was denied entry indefinitely by the Immigration Authorities in New Delhi. Professor Shapiro's wife, Angana Chatterji, who is the Co-convener of the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir (IPTK) and also Professor of Anthropology at CIIS, has reportedly experienced repeated harassment in India for her work on human rights.
Taken collectively, these incidents show a concerning and growing disdain on the part of the Indian government for working with its key allies to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens and to address the growing problem of sex trafficking and other human rights violations within India’s borders.
"These actions on behalf of the government of India call into question the sincerity of its commitment to eliminating the scourge of human trafficking and its willingness to have its human rights conditions assessed." Franks stated. "It also makes India's call for the U.S. government to extend more visas to Indian citizens ironic in light of its own repeated denials to American citizens, U.S. government organizations, and Members of the United States Congress."
"Furthermore, should President Obama fail to address this critical issue during his extended stay in India while prioritizing issues relating to our international trade policies with India, he will fail his responsibility as President to speak forcefully in defense of human rights and forfeit a prime opportunity with a key ally to reaffirm the United States' unwavering commitment to the dignity of every human person.
"President Obama has himself stated that 'If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.' I strongly urge the President to live up to his own words and address the issue of these visa denials during his meetings with Indian state officials."
Congressman Franks is serving his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, Military Readiness Subcommittee, Committee on the Judiciary, Constitution Subcommittee, and is Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
Thank you!
Joyce and I want to thank you for your incredible support. As we prepare the mechanics for a transition, we will fight harder than ever for Arizona.
Most sincerely,
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Submit your resume and cover letter to the review committee.
To be added to David's calendar, please email the scheduler.
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"I cannot begin to thank all of you enough for your unwavering support for our campaign for limited government. Tuesday was a great victory for our side but we came up short in District 8. I look forward to the new House of Representatives promoting many of the issues for which we fought."
Volunteer Reception: Join us Tuesday, November 9th, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm for a thank you reception for volunteers and supporters at the campaign office, 698 E. Wetmore, Suite 440.
The AP has called the race for Giffords. If you would like to check the latest vote count, click on this link.
Signs: If you have any remaining small or medium yard signs, please drop them off at the campaign office at 698 E. Wetmore, Suite 440. If you can help with the large road signs, please contact Joe Boogaart at jd.boogaart@gmail.com or (520) 229-7719.
Thank you for your support.
