Karl Rove on 2010

There are a lot of ifs in this plan, but Karl Rove has an Op-Ed in WSJ today laying out the first believable short-term GOP strategy. A revealing snippet:

One concern is the rise of state and local taxes. New York and California passed multibillion-dollar tax increases this year. Other states are considering significant tax hikes or have enacted tax increases in recent years. The many tax and fee increases enacted or under consideration is angering voters.

If that anger persists, it may give Republicans a leg up in the 38 gubernatorial elections over the next two years, as well as in key state legislative races that will determine which party redraws congressional and state legislative districts after the 2010 census. Expect voters to hear a lot about jobs being created in low-tax states in the coming years.

This will clearly be a tough sell, given the generational shift in politics (i.e. among people who don't remember Reagan and the Soviets). But the census gambit makes this strategy seem interesting, if far-fetched and desperate. Also interesting about that gambit is that it continues the tradition in politics (especially in GOP politics of late) of gaming the system. This may be an added liability in the context of the new pragmatic politics.