David Winston, a Republican pollster who advises GOP congressional leaders, suggested that the same dynamic is at play down the ballot.

“Any day that Democrats don’t have the issue be jobs and the economy is a day they’re doing better,” he said. “That’s probably a good day for all Democratic candidates.”

To read the full story, turn to washingtonpost.com.

Despite Democrats’ efforts to turn fundamentally economic and fiscal issues into cultural issue wedges, the election will not hinge on issues like free contraception or funding for Planned Parenthood.

The White House will go to the candidate who voters believe truly has a plan to create jobs and grow the economy.

Perhaps most striking was Winston’s messaging advice: It showed that GOP talking points over the past year have been largely useless. A recent poll that he presented in a slideshow indicated that when considering the 2012 election, 58 percent of the country thinks the phrase ““Where are the jobs?” is more important than what the size and role of government should be, which registers at 37 percent.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/

But what people often fail to recognize is that the state is itself the tool by which the haves keep the have-nots without. Removing their secret weapon would, in fact, level the playing field for all participants in a way no amount of government intervention ever could.

To read the full piece, turn to usnews.com

The debate performance didn’t help, Republican pollster David Winston said.
“It was a very difficult thing to watch,” he said. “Anything is possible but this is a really deep hole.”

To read more, turn to usatoday.com

“The electorate is following this election very closely and they are going to think through every piece of information that is put in front of them in the most thoughtful way they can,” he said. “This is an election where everyone is concerned about direction of the country

Read more: The Olympian

“He has a clear track record at this point and that’s what his job approval reflects. He can’t avoid his record but it’s not like people are not willing to listen him.”

Click to read the full article.

“What’s going to decide this election is jobs and the economy,” says David Winston, a Republican pollster and strategist. “The door is wide open for Republicans.”

To read the full article, turn to businessweek.com

“The challenge for the Republican presidential field is to stay on topic, to let the No. 1 issue be the No. 1 issue,” said David Winston, an adviser to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

To read more, go to therepublic.com

“Foreign affairs is important, but when placed against the scale of the problem with jobs and the economy, it’s dwarfed,” said David Winston, a Republican strategist. “It’s the equivalent of a house on fire: he’s fixing the window while the rest of the house is burning down.”

To read the full article, click to nytimes.com

“What he’s obviously trying to do is model himself on Harry Truman and the ‘do-nothing Congress,’ ” said David Winston, a Republican strategist. “The problem with that is that the unemployment rate in November of 1948 was 3.8 percent.”

To read the full article, access it at nytimes.com

“There’s a door open such that people are willing to look at him and his accomplishments,” says Republican pollster David Winston. “Voters want candidates who say what they’ll do and try to lay out solutions.”

To read the full article, turn to csmonitor.com

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“While people view what’s occurred as positive, it’s not enough to offset the concern about how he’s handling the No. 1 issue — jobs and the economy. And that’s what he’s being judged on,” said David Winston, a Republican pollster.

To read more, check it out at nytimes.com

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“What’s that compelling idea that says to the electorate: You should be president?” he explains. “I think that’s what [Gingrich] would like to be able to present; I think that’s what all the Republican candidates would ultimately like to present.”

To read the full article, access it at usnews.com

“I’m not sure I’ve seen any,” says Republican pollster David Winston. “There is this sense that since we haven’t gotten to a clear, decisive winner, then that means there must be dissatisfaction. But it could mean that people are still thinking it through.”

To read the full article, you can access it at campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com.

David Winston, a GOP political strategist, told The Fiscal Times on Tuesday afternoon before the speech: “[Christie] is a major figure. But his impact on the primary race at this point is unclear.”

To read the full article, turn to thefiscaltimes.com.

“I don’t think what happened to her is unusual,” said Winston, who is based in Washington, D.C. “But she clearly missed an opportunity in growing her support.”

To read the full article, turn to desmoinesregister.com

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“This was his ‘It’s not my fault’ speech,” said GOP strategist David Winston. “What he’s trying to do is take attention away from the fact that his job approval numbers have tanked.”

Read more at the Washington Examiner

“In terms of building a majority coalition within the Republican Party, he has quite a bit of work to do,” says David Winston, a Republican pollster. In addition, “his lead is based on some initial perceptions of him, things he has said that have intrigued people. But the Republican electorate has not gone through the vetting process with him yet.”

To read more, click to csmonitor.com

And anxious independent voters, in the words of Republican pollster David Winston, “aren’t looking for a conversation, they are looking for a plan.”

To read more, check out politico.com

“This weekend’s speech is going to be critical because he is going to go through his whole reasoning, and explain how he is going to be positioning himself in relation to the other candidates and how he feels he is going to win,” said Republican pollster David Winston.

To read the full article, turn to thehill.com

That’s why David Winston said he reminds Republicans that “just because people are unhappy with the president doesn’t mean they’re going to vote for somebody else. The Republican candidates have the challenge to come up with that compelling idea that shows people they’re ready to govern.”

To read the full article, turn to realclearpolitics.com

To read more about the GOP and the debt ceiling, turn to washingtonexaminer.com

“Given how far out we are from the conclusion, it’s unclear how the public would assign blame, and if an agreement isn’t reached, it will be negative for the entirety of Washington,’’ he said. “Republicans fundamentally believe that raising taxes would cause the economy to contract when we want it to expand.’’

To read the full article, turn to nationaljournal.com

“She clearly represents a segment of the party that is not enough, at least at this point, to get the nomination,” said David Winston. “Once she’s outside of Iowa, if she gets there, she needs a strategy to try and reach the majority of Republicans and some Independents. I haven’t seen that yet.”

To read the full article, turn to thefiscaltimes.com

“Are those folks right to be nervous about where the organization is right now? Sure,” said Winston, who has done work in Iowa. “For Bachmann, it’s: ‘What do we do to catch up?’ But I don’t think at this point anyone could say, ‘No, she can’t do that.’”

To read the full article, turn to desmoinesregister.com

And if he gets in the race, says GOP strategist David Winston, “His challenge will be to translate what he’s done in Texas to what he’ll do for the rest of the country.”

Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2011/06/17/rick-perry-and-the-vienna-convention/#ixzz1PZ2ucODE

“One of the reasons that no one has broken away from the pack is because no one has come up with a clear set of economic policies … at a time when people are unhappy with the president’s economic policies,” Winston said.

Read more at the Washington Examiner.

“The key for Newt is to focus on his policy ideas and solutions for problems facing the country, which is his strength,” said Republican pollster David Winston. “When the discussion about him is not about that, he does not do as well.”

To read the full article, turn to washingtonpost.com

“Gingrich needs to focus on his own plans for the country,” said GOP pollster David Winston, who has advised Gingrich over the years. “If he doesn’t make it about his policy, other things are going to intervene. That is going to be his challenge.”

To read the full article, turn to wapo.com

Winston says the difference between this effort to rein in Medicare and past Republican attempts to do the same is that more voters are aware of the nation’s dire debt situation and that more of them understand Medicare is going broke.

“Dealing with Medicare is how we’re going to make the government solvent so that we can get the economy back on track,” he said.

Read more: politico.com

What Gingrich has going for him is that presidential elections are about something beyond gauzy biographical ads and rehearsed debate one-liners. “We’re in the personality phase of the campaign,” says Republican pollster David Winston, who worked for Gingrich when he was House speaker. “But eventually it’s going to move from personality to policy. GOP voters are going to ask, ‘What are your solutions to fix the nation’s problems?’ And that is the moment that plays to Newt’s greatest strength.”

To read more, turn to tnr.com

The Republican challenge is “making sure this discussion is broader than simply Medicare,” said David Winston, a GOP strategist who advises House leadership.

To read the full article, check out chicagotribune.com

“There are certain things with individuals that if they have to cut back, they will cut back,’’ said David Winston, a Republican pollster in Washington and an adviser to Boehner. “Gasoline is not one of them. What are they supposed to do? Go half way to work?’’

To read the full article, turn to daytondailynews.com

Indeed, Obama faces broader questions about his foreign policy strategy. Debate will intensify this summer over his decision to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

“This is an important accomplishment,” said GOP pollster David Winston. “It sets up, ‘Where does he go from here?’ ”

Read the full article ontampabay.com

“When you’re questioning the legitimacy of a sitting president and you don’t have clear proof to back that up, that’s a pretty serious charge,” said GOP pollster David Winston, echoing the view of many top Republicans who long ago declared the birther issue an irrelevant distraction that could backfire with voters who don’t doubt the president’s citizenship.

“And then to suddenly say, ‘Oh, let’s forget about that. Let’s move on to other things’ — that’s not easy. The topics you raise say a lot about who you’re going to be as president.”

To read the full article, turn to washingtonpost.com

“Last time, you had a lot of people in for an extended period of time, and that didn’t really accrue any particular advantage,” said David Winston, a CBS News analyst and longtime Republican strategist.

To read the full article, turn to cbs.com

But, Winston said, Americans have largely viewed the debate over cutting the budget as typical ideological responses from both political parties.

“They are saying to both political parties, ‘go back to the drawing board,’ ” Winston said.

To read the full article, turn to statesmanjournal.com

Obama’s State of the Union idea of “out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building” the rest of the world is “interesting rhetoric,” says Republican pollster David Winston. “But a speech won’t be enough. It will have to be, ‘OK, what are you actually going to do…?’ Ultimately, he’s got a monthly report card: jobs. Either that changes or it doesn’t.”

To read more, turn to csmonitor.com

“This is a country that fundamentally believes that the success of this country is based on the private sector,” Winston says. “People see an imbalance that’s really dramatically changed in the last two years, where the public sector plays too large a role in terms of determining what the private sector can do and can’t do, given that that’s where the innovation comes from and how this country moves forward.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: GOP Strategist: Focus on Policies, Not Personalities

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Q: Why doesn’t Congress develop legislation that will move us to be energy independent? Developing jobs, keeping U.S. dollars at home would probably do more to make us fiscally sound faster and without uncertainty. It means continuing to develop alternate fuels but also being realistic about our fossil fuel needs for the next 20-30 years.
A: DAVID WINSTON :
Good question. Republicans were glad to hear that the President seemed to embrace an “all of the above” approach, which would work toward alternative energy while expanding resources here at home, both in terms of oil exploration and nuclear capacity. While his rhetoric was good, we will see what his actions produce. The most critical piece will be the impact on the economy.

To read the full list of questions along with David’s answers, turn to washingtonpost.com

But Winston emphasized that while independent voters may be in the political center, they aren’t in the “ideological center,” meaning that even under the best of circumstances they’ll be a difficult group for Obama to hang onto.

“Independents are a center-right group,” he said. “That’s why Republicans have been able to put together majorities and that’s the challenge to the president.”

Read more: politico.com

To access the interview, go to npr.org

A new election analysis by GOP pollster and adviser David Winston, head of the Winston Group, says that Boehner’s question beat out Obama’s “keys to the car” analogy by a mile. The reason: Voters wanted Washington to concentrate exclusively on jobs, not healthcare, the environment, or other problems Obama addressed.

To read the full article, access it at usnews.com

“Boehner’s just a very different guy in this regard,” Winston said. “He’s making it more about policy and issues rather than him and the new majority.”

To access the full article, turn to washingtonpost.com

one thing they wanted to remain focused on was growing the economy and creating jobs,” said Republican pollster David Winston. “All of a sudden, they heard from Washington a variety of other topics. . . . The public said, ‘Enough.’ “

To read the full article, turn to washingtonpost.com

“There was a lot of legislation, but the only issue people care about is jobs,” said Republican pollster David Winston.

To view the entire article, click to washingtonpost.com