The End of the Republican Brand

May/23/2008 16:23PM
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Remember Schlitz? It was a top selling beer brand. Giving Bud all it could handle. Then some top executives decided to tweak the quality and save some money. It didn’t get by the loyal customers. They switched in droves. Schlitz is gone.

Remember the Republican party? It’s going the way of Schlitz. They had a platform that Reagan used to fix all the damage Carter had done to this country. Smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation, stronger military, no air traffic strikes, tough talk with Russia backed up with action, states rights, reduced spending, balanced budgets, free trade, and everything people could associate with the brand. The conservative republican brand.

Along came George W. Bush. He tweaked the quality just like Schlitz. Made it taste just like Bud. Started a war that even the party loyal now know was a mistake. Spent like a rabid democrat. Grew the government. The Department of Homeland Security is now bigger than the FBI. Did nothing about energy independence. Oops, forgot ethanol, the dumbest idea known to man. Bush mandated more ethanol use.  Did nothing to protect the borders. Did nothing about health care, or social security, or any other big issue. Kept Rummy on until it cost him the majority in the congress then fired him the next day. If you can’t talk, you can’t sell anyone much of anything. Most of us feel like we can’t stand to watch him stutter and stammer through one more speech. Just leave now W.  The nation found out the rest of the world was right all along about this guy. Even the French who refused to jump into Iraq were smarter than we were. We are back to eating french fries again.

Now, no republican can get elected or reelected. The brand is dead. So the party runs a guy who tastes like Bud. An old unexciting guy up against a guy who speaks like we all hoped Bush would speak like after a few years in office. How do you get worse? Poor old George just couldn’t learn on the job. Might be a genetic deficiency. No, Jeb could talk.   

New brands are coming on the market. Bob Barr is like Sam Adams, a local beer that hopes to capture tastes that don’t like Bud. With Bud(Obama) and Bud Lite(McCain) running in November people may be ready for a new brand. You think the republican party can’t just go away you are wrong. Anything can go away. As an old brand marketer, I can tell you the republican party has crossed the line into turnaround management and McCain is not the answer. If he loses by the largest margin in U.S. history, which is very possible, and the takes half of the republicans running in November down with him, the brand is gone. It won’t come back.

I’m passing on the Bud Lite. I think the party is history unless someone like Newt jumps in and tries to save their bacon. If the party lets McCain run as Bud Lite, it’s over. And since on one seems to be able to dissuade the old boy from being a democrat wannabe, it’s over. Turn out the lights the party’s over.

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