Familiar GOP faces promise change in Washington

(AP) — If Republicans want the Senate back, they'll have to convince voters that candidates who have spent decades as Washington insiders can be agents of change.

Republicans trumpeted a recruiting coup Wednesday, persuading former GOP Sen. Dan Coats to seriously consider running for a return engagement representing Indiana. Coats would join more than a handful of GOP Senate recruits with long ties to Washington. Candidates in Delaware, Missouri, Ohio and Illinois boast resumes chock-full of years in Congress and service with past administrations.

If Republican Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts gave the party new energy, their Senate recruits are more like an attempt at renewable fuel. The circumstances of Brown's upset victory two weeks ago are hard to recreate on their own, but even more so when the GOP's pack of Senate hopefuls have such extensive ties to a city that's rapidly becoming anathema to much of America.

Still, it won't stop these GOP candidates from running against Washington, the way Barack Obama did successfully in 2008 in capturing the presidency.

"I have become increasingly alarmed and frustrated about the direction of our country and the failure by leaders in Washington to listen to those they were elected to represent," Coats said Wednesday in announcing that he was readying a challenge to Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh.

An outsider might fare well in the current political environment against a two-term incumbent like Bayh, who has angered many of his constituents by supporting Obama's agenda, including health care overhaul legislation.

But Coats could just as easily be labeled an insider.

After he wrapped up 10 years in the Senate in 1998, the conservative Republican took a prestigious diplomatic posting under then-President George W. Bush, serving as U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Then he cashed out — working as a lobbyist to a host of clients, including Credit Suisse and Bank of America. He served the latter during the highly unpopular federal bank bailout, when Bank of America took $25 billion in public money. The bank has since repaid the money.

"People right now are really disenchanted with the way things are done and bringing back familiar faces is not really the way to do it, or at least it hasn't been," said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University.

The GOP recruits present "a tactical problem," he said.

In Missouri, Rep. Roy Blunt is flying the GOP flag as Senate candidate — the same Roy Blunt who lost his spot as Republican whip when Democrats stormed back into power amid a populist revolt 2006. In Ohio, the standard-bearer is Rob Portman, who served as Bush's budget director and trade representative after more than a decade in the House.

In Illinois, Rep. Mark Kirk is a highly touted Republican recruit who wants to secure the ultimate prize — Obama's former Senate seat — but he can't exactly pitch outsider status after 10 years in the House. In Delaware, where Republicans like their chances of seizing the seat held by Vice President Joe Biden, their candidate is Mike Castle, a 17-year veteran of the House.

Republicans contend they can overcome any problems with appearances by boasting solid leadership credentials and what they believe is a more critical trait — they're not Democrats this year.

"Given the mood of voters today, it's best never to have never served in Washington, but if so, it's better than being a Democrat," said Mark McKinnon, a GOP strategist.

McKinnon said Obama won on a message of change, but voters still want change.

"The power of a change message has shifted to the decided advantage of Republicans running anywhere," he said.

Democrats, though, are poised to link the Republicans to Washington's failures. In Illinois, for example, Kirk's Democratic opponent, state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, has already begun to label Kirk a Washington insider.

"Voters are looking for change and they are not going to find it in the same, tired candidates of years past," said Deirdre Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "The current flock of old Republican candidates is full of old Washington ways."

Whichever is more important to voters — party affiliation or ability to portray yourself as an outsider — will go a long way to determining Republicans' success in 2010.

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On the Net:

National Republican Senatorial Committee — http://www.nrsc.org

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — http://www.dscc.org