The Stealth Election: How the Bush Campaign is Neutralizing Ideological Opposition

As the 2000 US presidential campaign unfolds, the Democratic Party's hopes of leveraging Dick Cheney's conservative record against the Bush campaign are being reduced to a mere whisper. The Bush campaign's emphasis on "compassionate conservatism" and "inclusive" photo ops has successfully masked the more contentious aspects of Cheney's voting record, particularly on issues like the Clean Water Act and cop-killer bullets. This tactic, informed by the Bush campaign's experience in marketing the Texas Rangers baseball franchise, has yielded significant dividends in distracting from ideological differences and focusing on superficially appealing imagery.

Key Takeaways:

• The Bush campaign's strategy of emphasizing "compassionate conservatism" and "inclusive" imagery has successfully neutralized the impact of Cheney's conservative record on key issues.
• The campaign's use of photo ops and controlled messaging has deflected attention from Cheney's voting record, including his opposition to regulating cop-killer bullets and the Clean Water Act.
• The Bush campaign has successfully exploited the lack of public engagement and interest in politics, as reflected in the declining number of Americans paying attention to the election.
• Al Gore's attack rhetoric and willingness to engage in "show business" are seen as counter-productive and may ultimately benefit the Bush campaign.
• The Republicans' approach to the convention is to present a "compassion pageant" with minimal conflict, relying on carefully managed photo ops to convey the image of inclusiveness.
• The pro-choice movement within the Republican Party is being co-opted, with leaders accepting a token acknowledgment of tolerance in exchange for avoiding confrontation.
• The Bush campaign's strategy involves suppressing discussion of contentious issues, such as abortion, and instead focusing on education and social issues that are less likely to provoke controversy.

Statistics:

• 43% of Americans polled this month stated that they would not watch the RNC convention, a significant increase from 23% in 1996.
• Only 23% of Americans are currently thinking "quite a lot" about the election, a decline from 1996 and 1992.
• The number of registered Republicans aware that the party's convention is looming is reportedly around 10%, according to Harvard's Vanishing Voter survey.
• Cheney's voting record is seen as "slightly more conservative" than that of Newt Gingrich.

Sources:

1\. [Washington Post, 2000 ("Dana Milbank's article about Governor Bush's experience as owner of the Texas Rangers.")](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/03/03/deep-in-the-heart-of-texas-and-texas-democrats/vlxf5rj2kecszododndsnhak4/)

2\. [Pew Research Center, 2000 ("Americans' Interest in Politics is at a Low Ebb.")](https://www.people-press.org/2000/08/08/americans-interest-in-politics-is-at-a-low-ebb/)

3\. [Harvard's Vanishing Voter survey](https://hks.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/vanishing-voter-survey-2000)

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