OPINION:
Observers point out that one reason Hillary Clinton keeps winning all the early bird presidential polls is because Republican candidates have yet to define themselves for voters in the campaign marketplace.
So what the heck do voters want from the Grand Old Party?
“The observation I came away with was this. People want a fighter. They genuinely feel like the growth of government and centralization of power in Washington is a direct threat to their liberties,” Kurt Bardella, an adviser to Rep. Darrell Issa, tells the Watercooler.
He recently accompanied the California Republican on a two-day jaunt to New Hampshire where the outspoken lawmaker penned a guest op-ed for the Concord Monitor, spoke at two significant political events and fascinated the locals.
In the aftermath, press and pundits wondered if Mr. Issa should be added to the list of GOP hopefuls for 2016. He patiently explained - several times - that he wanted to “shape” the political discourse, not run himself.
Yeah, well. Mr. Bardella notes “The response that Congressman Issa received was both impactful and genuine.”
New Hampshire voters, with their coveted “first in the nation” status have some singular insight.
“They responded in a very strong way to the belief that the next President needs to make a commitment to unwind the growth of the Executive Branch and embrace a return to check-and-balance,” Mr. Bardella notes.
“Overwhelmingly, what Congressman Issa heard the most from folks in New Hampshire was this: keep it up,” he says.
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