How do you motivate a Republican whose Congressional seat is being threatened? Well, if you’re Incumbent Retention Czar Mike Rogers (MI-08), head of the NRCC’s “Patriot Program”, you give ’em a colonial soldier bobblehead.
I’m totally not kidding.
Rogers uses not just the stick, but also the carrot. Make that the bobblehead. He gives a Colonial soldier bobblehead doll to the “patriot of the week” who has worked hard to meet his or her goals.“It’s a huge success,” Rogers said. “I get members now going, ‘Hey, man, when am I getting my bobblehead?’ I love that thing.”
The Livingston County Press & Argus (or as I like to call them, “The Mike Rogers Press“) reports that Rep. Mike Rogers has been appointed to be the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s incumbent retention program called the “Patriot Program”. The Patriot Program is supported by a political action committee called “The Freedom Project”. (What is it with Republicans and their names???)
The project is modeled on the very successful “Frontline Program” created by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and currently chaired by DCCC Vice Chair for Incumbent Retention Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Chris Murphy.
Ryan Rudominor, speaking on behalf of the DCCC, said this about the Republican’s effort:
“There’s a reason why Republicans put their members on this endangered list. It’s in many ways because of the strong candidates that we’ve been able to run in key races around the country.”Democrats have had their own incumbent-retention program in place for a few election cycles, and Rudominor said the GOP version is like making a copy of a copy.
“The quality isn’t as good, and it’s a bad imitation of our very successful Frontline Program,” he said.
I got a chuckle when I saw who was at the top of the list:
Ayup, Ms. Looney Tunes herself, Michele Bachman.
Good to know you’re an endangered species, Ms. Bachman.
Here, have a bobblehead.
Heh, heh.
I’m just sayin’…
