Repackaging Junk Doesn't Sell

Several pundits on the right have written prescriptions for the current string of Republican losses in recent special elections. Those prescriptions are all about repackaging the Republican brand, coming up with new ideas and some version of Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. The problem with that is the party has systematically destroyed its brand through its actions. You can't market fiscal responsiblity when you've been profligate.

I imagine that similar meetings occurred at Ford in the late 1970s and early 1980s when they discovered that people no longer associated the Mustang with a sleek sports car. They had produced cars that were junk and had wrecked the Mustang brand. All the TV and print ads in the world could not convince the public that the Mustang was a cool sports car. It just wasn't.

A 1979 Mustang, no one's idea of a classic car. Image from Muscle Car Club.
That's where the Republicans are today. Their best bet is to fall in line behind John McCain and hope he wins the presidency, after which they need to hew closely to the true concepts of fiscal and personal responsibility. It's the only way they're going to be able to rebuild their brand.