Who the hell is Frank Luntz, you ask? OK, first, let me start with a terrible confession: yes, I was a Teenage werewolf...er, Republican. I know, it sounds like the title of a horror movie, but it's true. Growing up in Connecticut in the 1970s, the Republican Party was the sane, centrist party of people like Lowell Weicker, Gerald Ford, Jim Baker, and Nelson Rockefeller. The Democrats were, among other things, the Party of segregationists like George Wallace and Strom Thurmond, before they switched sides. In 1980, it all changed. The GOP was taken over by a bunch of knuckle-dragging, gay-bashing, supply-siding, race-baiting extremists of the Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell variety. Needless to say, I was outta there, casting my first-ever Presidential vote for John Anderson (I) in 1980.Anyway, getting back to Frank Luntz. When I was a Teenage Republican (TAR), Luntz was President of the Connecticut chapter. In that context, I met Luntz, even had a meeting at his parents' house once. After that, we both went to the University of Pennsylvania together, where Luntz kept busy, among other things, writing right-wing screeds at the school paper, the Daily Pennsyvlanian. We both then came to Washington, where I went to graduate school and Luntz went to work for Republicans as a pollster and operative. Most infamously, Luntz was one of the main brains behind the Contract on...er, with America, that (in)famous Republican document which helped propel Newt Gingrich and his merry band of right-wing nutjobs to power in 1994. Unfortunately, they've been there ever since, and Luntz has been right there with them.
Now, however, the relationship appears to have soured, and Luntz reportedly is thinking about switching sides. Recently, Luntz was "uninvited" to a Republican retreat, with one House GOP leadership aide quoted as saying, "we don't want Frank Luntz at our retreat. We're not sure what side he's on. We're not sure if he's on the side of the companies paying him, on the side of the GOP, or on the side of the Democrats." Now, Luntz apparently is being courted by Harry Reid and the Democrats. Fascinating. Could it be that Luntz has finally come to his Connecticut Yankee senses? Could it be that he's realized - as I did back in 1980 - how far right wing and off course the Republican Party has drifted? Could it be that Luntz has had a later-life conversion, just as Lee Atwater did on his deathbed?
If so, as much as I detest everything Luntz has done the past 25 years, I say: c'mon over to the Fighting Dems, Frank, the water is fine over here! Hey, if David Brock could realize he had been "Blinded by the Right," you can too! I'll tell you what, Frank, why don't we get together sometime and talk about it sometime. I mean, we actually have a lot in common, except for your politics since 1980. Among other things, we could catch up on Connecticut, Penn, and Virginia politics. We could talk about "Raising Kaine" and kicking ass for the true majority party in this country - the Democratic Party. And for people like James Webb, of course. Hell, I'll even treat you to dinner. Think about it Frank, 'cuz I'm serious! If you're interested, contact me at lowell@raisingkaine.com. I'm looking forward to it!