Pelosi is a POWERFUL LEADER. Candidates must be PREPARED to counter attempts to smear by association

This isn't that hard. Democrats have to stop acting shocked !! when GOPers haul out decades of liberal demonizing and use it against them.

That sour-lemon-faced Karen Handel in GA was TOTALLY prepared to get smeared by association with Loser 45 Trump. She had to tailor her campaign to avoid his potentially toxic meddling.



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Republicans grapple with talking Trump on the trail
June 19, 2017

snip
About 230 miles away, Karen Handel—the Republican candidate in Georgia’s special election—stood next to trays of sweet-smelling barbecue and avoided even mentioning Trump’s name under a barrage of questions from reporters.

But the upscale Atlanta-area district, which Trump barely won last year despite its traditional Republican lean, is not enamored with the new president. Republicans familiar with polling there say Trump’s approval ratings are now underwater after suffering a slight drop since April.

Meanwhile, Handel has found herself walking a tightrope, willing to appear with Trump but also lobbing the occasional criticism at him, saying during a June debate with Ossoff that she would “recommend some Twitter policy changes.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article157021054.html#storylink=cpy

Karen Handel welcomes Donald Trump's support, but she doesn't want to talk about it
May 1, 2017

snip
Karen Handel is still trying to have it both ways in the wake of Donald Trump’s fundraiser for her. The Republican House candidate knows Trump dramatically underperformed in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, but she’s can’t afford to alienate his base. So when Neil Cavuto asked, she had her weaselly talking points ready:

“He’s the president of the United States, so to be able to have the President’s support is a good thing, especially in a very solid Republican district,” she said. “With that said, it’s the press and the Ossoff folks and the Democrats who want to make this about the president. This is about the people of the 6th District.”

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/1/1657872/-Karen-Handel-welcomes-Donald-Trump-s-support-but-she-doesn-t-want-to-talk-about-it

Karen Handel blasts Jon Ossoff as Pelosi clone while Trump rarely comes up
June 6, 2017

snip
Ironically, President Trump received scant mention during the one-hour faceoff, despite the facts that the race is viewed nationally as a proxy on his leadership and that the liberal grassroots have flooded Ossoff's campaign with millions of dollars to register their opposition to the administration. Ossoff never explicitly attempted to tie Handel to Trump, a move that his campaign aide said after the debate was by design.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/karen-handel-blasts-jon-ossoff-as-pelosi-clone-while-trump-rarely-comes-up/article/2625161