Republicans tried running away from Bush. Then party ID started disappearing from their ads and web pages. There's nothing left but parlor tricks.
Their message of change could be a tough sell considering that their party is in charge and largely responsible for the status quo. Kennedy, who as a three-term congressman would seem to have an even tougher time embodying change, mostly talks about change in terms of getting rid of partisanship and obstruction in the Senate. But he shies away from directly criticizing his own party for the polarized environment.
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/081606.html Examples from individual races:
...Minnesota Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kennedy announced his “Plan to Bring the Right Kind of Change to Washington."
Iowa House candidate Jeff Lamberti called for “real change in Congress”
Nebraska Senate candidate Pete Ricketts decries Washington politicians’ “erosion of our values”Rickets in Nebraska:
“Conservative Change, Nebraska Values”Talent:
“Changing Washington for Missouri”Corker in TN wants
“fresh ideas, new strategies”. Stabenow's challenger's slogan is
“The Change We Need” and Dole, RSCC chair, threw right in with him, noting that voters “are looking for a change in direction.”
http://www.dewinkelvanjeanne.nl.nyud.net:8090/fotos/kl_03-0954.JPG