In debt talks, GOP suffers from lack of lead messenger



Even the president seems confused about exactly who he’s bargaining with. | AP Photo

By JAKE SHERMAN | 7/14/11 4:38 AM EDT

Republicans think they have an easy message to sell to voters: Slash the size of government and stop tax increases.

But a sideshow has percolated on Capitol Hill: There are too many Republican messengers with too many messages — often undercutting one another — as the nation teeters on the brink of financial default.

It’s a problem for a party searching for a national figure who can go toe to toe politically with Barack Obama.

Instead of a towering figure like former House Speaker Tip O’Neill — who relished his battles with Ronald Reagan — congressional Republicans seem to have a chorus of spokesmen each day. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was elected as the No. 1 messenger, but he tends to keep negotiating details to himself. Majority Leader Eric Cantor is surging as a voice of the party and seems at times to be the party spokesman. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell suddenly emerged this week with a debt plan that outraged the right, muddled the party message but won the news cycle.

Even the president seems confused about exactly who he’s bargaining with on the GOP side — testily declaring to Cantor that negotiations with Boehner are meant to represent discussions with all Republicans. Obama has clearly targeted Cantor as his bitter enemy in negotiations, abruptly walking out of a critical meeting Wednesday evening after dressing down Cantor.

The Republican presidential field also hardly has a unified position on the debt ceiling.

That leaves Republicans without a dominant messenger — someone like Newt Gingrich or O’Neill — who can counter the bully pulpit of the president. Republicans simply have a gaggle of bullies.

“That’s always the difficulty of the minority,â€