For the third time this year, a Congressional district that was once a Republican bastion has fallen to a Democratic candidate.

Travis Childers won over Greg Davis in the race for the 1st congressional seat in Mississippi, 56-44 percent.

This follows a GOP defeat in Louisiana and in Illinois (the latter being the seat vacated by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert).

In all 3 campaigns, the national GOP has funneled money to pay for advertising to tie in the Democratic candidate to national Democrats, including Barack Obama & Nancy Pelosi.

Last week, well before the Mississippi race proved him right, another former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, warned the entire GOP that using those tactics would be a non-starter as a strategy in November:

“The Anti-Obama, Anti-Wright, and Anti-Clinton GOP Model Has Been Tested — And It Failed

The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail.

This model has already been tested with disastrous results.

In 2006, there were six incumbent Republican Senators who had plenty of money, the advantage of incumbency, and traditionally successful consultants.

But the voters in all six states had adopted a simple position: “Not you.” No matter what the GOP Senators attacked their opponents with, the voters shrugged off the attacks and returned to, “Not you.”

The danger for House and Senate Republicans in 2008 is that the voters will say, “Not the Republicans.”"

If you’re a Republican who’s rooting for GOP to win this year, then the link above to the rest of Gingrich’s memo should be required reading. If the House leadership ignored Gingrich’s advice last week, you can bet on the fact that they’re paying close attention to it now.

& this week, it looks like they have made some changes. Yesterday, the House GOP announced its new campaign slogan.

…ready? 

It’s “The Change You Deserve.”

Catchy, no? Gotta go with change in your slogan in this “change” election year.

One slight problem, though:

The slogan is already used by the above company. The product? An antidepressant drug.

I suppose if the shoe fits, right?

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