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The vaunted independent media Posted by David Postman at 10:11 AM Republicans are counting on their vaunted get-out-the-vote machine to help them overcome a hostile environment. Republicans are betting that the advantages traditionally enjoyed by GOP incumbents — their fundraising edge, their record of bringing home federal money for local projects, their high name recognition and the party's vaunted get-out-the-vote machinery — remain formidable and will tilt close races their way. Republicans are kicking off their much-vaunted "72-hour program," calling thousands of supporters from scores of phone banks, delivering absentee ballots and giving rides on Election Day. In the battleground state of Missouri, Republican incumbent Jim Talent needs a big boost from his party's vaunted turnout machine. In the meantime, the GOP candidates and committees have been able to rely on $46 million more than Democrats and its vaunted "72-hour program" to get out the vote, which outstripped Democrats' efforts in 2004. Solop said Hayworth, an incumbent in a majority Republican seat with the GOP's much-vaunted 72-hour program behind him, still enjoyed a slight advantage in a neck-and-neck race. This Republican phone bank is a key part of the Republican's vaunted Get Out To Vote machine. MARCUS MABRY, CHIEF OF CORRESPONDENTS, "NEWSWEEK": ... They have this vaunted, much-vaunted 72- hour program, in which we're going to see if, in 72 hours, they can motivate their voters, not only to get themselves to the poll, but to get other supporters to the polls as well. And Republicans began firing it up weeks ago, fully aware that for the vaunted Republican grassroots ground game to carry the day, conservatives must be motivated. But referring to the Republicans' vaunted get-out-the vote efforts, he warned against writing off the party's chances for holding control of Congress. Any Republican last stand this year will rely largely on the party's vaunted voter turnout effort, which most analysts say is usually worth one or two percentage points, and on turning the campaign spotlight away from the increasingly unpopular Iraq war. Meanwhile, the message on the stump yesterday from gubernatorial nominee J. Kenneth Blackwell and other Republicans, many trailing in the polls, was that there is still time to rev up the vaunted get-out-the-vote machine. As they struggle to hold onto Congress on Nov. 7 amid a wave of national discontent, Republicans are counting on their vaunted get-out-the-vote operation — which is built on such data mining. The vaunted ability of the Republican Party to get out the vote where it really matters is about to be tested. Much of the effort is being coordinated by the RNC under its vaunted 72-Hour Program for getting out the vote. It is also one where the GOP's vaunted 72-hour get-out-the-vote program has been very successful in the past. That would be the GOP's vaunted get-out-the-vote effort, credited with helping President Bush carry Ohio and win the White House in 2004. There is truth in that vaunted machine. What about the Republicans' vaunted ground game, their organizational skills? Bush taunted Democrats who believe they are sure to win the House and maybe the Senate next month, speaking with unusual detail about the power of the Republican Party's vaunted get-out-the-vote machine and the excitement among conservative voters. The RNC's vaunted 72-Hour GOTV program has been in the works for months, taking hundreds of steps to help endangered incumbents, said a GOP lawmaker familiar with the efforts. The challenge facing GOP leaders is getting that base off the bench and mobilizing the GOP's vaunted get-out-the-vote operations. "I'm waiting to see whether this vaunted Republican 72-Hour Program is really all it's cracked up to be," he said. While President Bush lost the Keystone State in 2004, the GOP's vaunted targeting and turnout operation still was hailed as a great success there. In an interview, Burns called the Abramoff allegations "an old issue" and said he's counting on the vaunted Republican Party turnout operation to help win him another term. JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: ... And I think this election is going to come down to whether or not that mood — and I do think it's prevalent — is going to be trumped by the vaunted 72-hour Republican get-out-the-vote operation and also whether or not a lot of grumpy and disaffected conservatives, whether they're social conservatives or spending conservatives, take a look at the prospect of a Democratic House and say, we're coming out and vote, even with our dissatisfaction. While acknowledging the difficult task they face this year, Republicans are still banking on the effectiveness of their vaunted ground game. The party will run its vaunted drive to turn out targeted voters, hoping to give McGavick an edge in a low turnout election, she said. The midterm campaign now heads into a final stretch that plays to a Republican strength: the party's much-vaunted ability to get its voters to the polls. Exactly three weeks from now, the much vaunted Republican grassroots organization faces the biggest test it's had in recent memory. Democrats say this year, the voter lists they're working from are a lot better and bigger, and they're hopeful that the Republicans' vaunted GOTV machine will not be good enough to survive the wave of anti-Republican feeling fueled by the war and the Foley scandal. Another point of contention among political reporters is the effectiveness of the vaunted Republican "get out the vote" apparatus. The way Kaine's campaign overcame the GOP's vaunted get-out-the-vote efforts in Virginia could be a model for future campaigns, Democratic party leaders said. Many of the 58,943 votes Bush gained were due to the GOP's vaunted "72-hour campaign," which was actually more like a 120-hour campaign in the days leading up to the election.
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