GOP legislative priority isn't to pass any legislation to help America, it's to drive down Democratic poll numbers

Well that's one way to focus like a laser beam on the economy. Not to focus on it at all. From the Plum Line:

GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, a key player in helping craft the Republican message, has offered an unusually blunt description of the Republican strategy right now.

McHenry’s description is buried in this new article from National Journal (sub. only):

“We will lose on legislation. But we will win the message war every day, and every week, until November 2010,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., an outspoken conservative who has participated on the GOP message teams. “Our goal is to bring down approval numbers for [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and for House Democrats. That will take repetition. This is a marathon, not a sprint.”

McHenry’s spokesperson, Brock McCleary, tells me his boss is standing by the quote.

I guess when you're guaranteed a government-paid salary of $170k or so a year - and get a raise just two months ago - you can afford to focus on more important things than the health of the nation.