President Obama, whose political and communication skills were supposed to make him the “liberal Reagan,” has instead managed — somehow — to simultaneously and in equal measure piss off both his liberal base and swing voters, such that neither will be inclined to cut him any slack in the second half of his term. Liberals think he’s a total corporatist sellout and mush-head who has given up far too much in exchange for far too little; moderates have been largely persuaded by conservatives that he’s an uber-liberal who has driven the country off the rails in pursuit of his far-left agenda (a notion that actual far-leftists can only laugh at ruefully).
What’s the opposite of triangulation?
(Granted, moderates’ anger is driven in large measure by the terrible economy, but still. The White House’s shocking incompetence vis a vis messaging has basically ceded the argument to conservatives, and made things far worse with the center than they needed to be — though they were never going to be good.)
[Bumped. -ed.]
I am, thus far, quite unimpressed by Obama’s press conference. The Republicans wouldn’t budge because you can’t message worth shit!
Thinks they have better ideas, fine… Get out there with those ideas and fight for them. Jesus Christ man, learn to wield the power of the office you hold…
So what you are now saying is that you will negotiate with hostage takers? Jesus Christ man, you are going from bad to worse here…
You don’t think so, you are naive man!
The GOP and the Dems appear to have the opposite problem — the GOP needs to learn that the messenger matters as much as the message (i.e., a popular, rational Tea Party agenda will not save bad candidates like O’Donnell and Angle from themselves), whereas the Dems have to learn that the message matters as much as the messenger (i.e., even a popular pol like Obama can’t save a narrow, partisan agenda).
Well put. Immigration is a great example of where the GOP hurts themselves unnecessarily, while the same is true for taxes and spending for Democrats.
dcl #2 – part of his problem is that he is *occupying* the White House – as contrasted with holding and wielding the Authority of the Presidency …
(grin) And Obama *is* the “Progressive Reagan” …
Reagan exemplified the classic Conservative …
Obama *is* exemplifying the classic Progressive …
Oh, and Brendan – “moderates have been largely persuaded by conservatives that he’s an uber-liberal who has driven the country off the rails in pursuit of his far-left agenda “ – actually, moderates have been persuaded by Obama that “he’s an uber-liberal who has driven the country off the rails in pursuit of his far-left agenda “ – the Left is pissed off at him cuz he has done so in such a classic fashion, cuz the expected/predicted (by conservatives) results are unexpected for Progressives …
Well put. Immigration is a great example of where the GOP hurts themselves unnecessarily
If we can’t defend our borders, or protect the integrity of the rights of citizenship, we have no business pretending to be a sovereign nation.
gahrie, how does that run contrary to Joe Mama’s point that the messenger counts as much as the message? What good does it do if you spout that message, but to all the non-white voters, you come across as a cranky old white dude who reeks of discomfort of people who aren’t “like him”?
1) Supporting border enforcement and protecting citizenship is the right thing to do, regardless of the image it produces. Any harm produced from asserting these principles is worth it.
2) Would it be a good idea for someone like Rubio to take the lead on immigration issues? Sure. But how many Rubios, Wests, or Jindals do the Republicans need before they can shed the Cranky White Man image?
3) I simply refuse to allow the Left to label me or others on the Right as racists and fascists anymore.
Gahrie, I am sure the Native Americans whole heartedly agree with you.
gahrie:
1) The right policy may be worth the political harm, but that doesn’t mean the harm shouldn’t be mitigated.
2) I’m not sure, and I agree it’s ridiculous and grating to operate on the assumption that you need a Rubio or Jindal to talk about these kinds of issues, but what I think is more important than having a nonwhite guy or gal being the messenger is making sure that the crusty, bitter-sounding white guy is NOT the messenger. That’s a far simpler task and we fail drastically at that.
3) I don’t disagree, but perception does matter. What I am talking about here is, for instance, akin to the late ’90s when the Left was able to use caricature the GOP by making Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell the unofficial spokesholes for the Right. We need to push those kinds of characters as far away from the locus of decision-making as possible to avoid the taint.
dcl:
Exactly….you prove my point. Only I would prefer that we win this time.
Let me make it clear…I don’t really blame the illegal immigrants or even the Mexican government…they are simply acting in their best self-interest. I just want the US to start doing the same.
AML, I think the TSA should avoid the taint…
Sorry about that, just couldn’t resist the childish middle school joke…
AML, you also mention that you want to avoid having the left become a caricature… Well unfortunately the left is not so good at messaging at the moment, but if they were Sara and Glen would have you guys pretty much screwed… I miss Bill…
Wow, that was some bad grammar or a freudian slip, I’m not sure which. I was trying to say… having the left make a caricature of the right… Yikes, more coffee for me this morning…
Hey, does anyone know if they’re talking about the same thing over at World Spinner?
LOL!
I really need to ban that spambot…
Well played @ #17!
This seems to be largely Republican spin about Democrats being upset about not raising taxes at the end of the year. Who cares? A true strategist, like myself, in Obama’s position would have proposed an additional 8% tax cut across the board and let the Republicans choke on it.
Republicans claim to be so deficit conscious during election season, yet they propose to do nothing to lower the deficit when in office. This filibuster that would have raised taxes on EVERYONE by the Republicans, instead just added an additional $700 Billion to the deficit to keep the tax cuts in place. Again, if you’re not making $250k per year, it really doesn’t matter. And no small business is making $250k profit per year, either, btw.
For the all the morons/republicans that support the Bush Tax cuts, chew on this. The Bush tax cuts have been in effect for 8 or 9 years now. They have brought us to our countries worst economic position in 80 years. Now swallow.
They have brought us to our countries worst economic position in 80 years. Now swallow.
Actually it is Pres. Obama, Sen Reid and Speaker Pelosi who managed to do that…..
gahrie, BULL SHIT! Please try again, this time in a fact based world.
dcl #22 – in this fact-based world, from 2003 up until the change of Congress at the start of 2007, the annual Federal Deficit was gradually and steadily decreasing according to the CBO … the actual federal Budget annual Deficits went from the 2004 high to a 2007 low (as budgeted by the 2003-2006 Congresses respectively) … (from here …
When we are being honest, we should be calling them the Bush Tax Rates – which Obama/Pelosi/Reid wanted to change to tax those taxable entities earning over $250K with increased tax rates … a real smart move given the current economy, isn’t it, that would increase the taxes that successful small businesses would have to pay …
Of course, if those same Dems would actually *pay* their fair share of taxes, the deficit wouldn’t be quite as big, now, would it ?
)Sorry to go all fact-based on you, dcl, but you *did* ask for it !)
Alasdair, the facts are the leaders of last decade, Bush/republican congress/republican senate started 2 wars that cost and will continue to cost America $2 trillion dollars. The “Bush Tax Rates” cost America $5.6 trillion so far. So if neither of those things had happened under Republican rule, there wouldn’t actaully be a financial problem today.
You want to lump the bailouts and stimulus on Obama? Those expenses were necessary because the Republicans left the country in crisis. The stimulus would have never had to happen if the aforementioned decisions from Republicans never happened. Remember, Clinton left Americans with a surplus.
Small businesses were decimated with unjust hikes in workers comp and general insurance rates after 9/11. The rates small businesses were paying were more than double what they are now, and they survived. Any small business making over $200,000, is not a small business, and is quite equipped to handle a 2% increase in their taxes. This is a phony argument from the Right. Give me a list of “small” businesses showing a profit of $250,000 and I’ll show you a lie.
#24 – OY ! Even for you, your reply is davidkian …
1) So GWBush and His GOP Congress started the Iraq War, did they ?
That Cheney sure is powerful, able to go back in time to the early 1990s to persuade Saddam Hussein to invade Kuwait and start the Iraq War …
2) Clinton didn’t leave America with a surplus – all Clinton did was not prevent the then-GOP Congress from leaving the US with an annual surplus – there was stiff a deficit …
3) “The “Bush Tax Rates” cost America $5.6 trillion “ – actually, the Bush Tax Rates may have saved Americans $5.6 trillion – they didn’t cost America one red cent … Americans’ earnings don’t actually belong to the country of America – they belong to the individuals who earn them …
So – there are your three strikes … yer’out !
It shouldn’t surprise me, by now, when you continue to believe that Saddam Hussein publicly financing the families of terrorist homicide bombers outside Iraq was none of the business of the US, even when non-Iraqis (including US citizens) were killed by the homicide bombers … reasonable folk see that the removal of Saddam Hussein’s ability to do so is a Good Thing …
I would love to “lump” stimulus on Obama … sadly, we can only lump Porculus on him … what he (and Pelosi/Reid) forced through was “Jobs for the Boys”, not economic stimulus …(grin) … I will admit that Obama decreased unemployment in one specific area, however … there are fewer unemployed GOP Congressfolk, thanks to Obama … I hear that the Dems aren’t feeling quite so good about Obama, in that regard …
Not that anyone should care what Sandy Underpants has to say, but this one was just too good to pass up:
Except that it really does. How do I know? Because Obama said so:
So according to Obama himself, if the eeeevil Bush “tax cuts for the rich” (yawn) expire, then taxes for the AVERAGE family will go up $3K. Go f*cking figure…
Joe Mama, I think you’re joking, or just pretending to be ignorant on this one to make an argument. Obama and the Democrats were extending the tax cuts for EVERYONE who makes less than $250k. The Republicans, unanimously agreed to fillibuster/kill the bill and allow the tax cuts to expire for EVERYONE, unless the rich (250k+) were included. The only reason taxes for the middle class would have gone up is because the Republicans were throwing another typical temper tantrum/holding their breath till the adults give in. Obama compromised his beliefs, like usual, and agreed to extend the tax cuts for all, ultimately costing ALL of America $900 billion for the year in tax revenue that would have come from the richest 2% of Americans who enjoy the benefits of America in a way you could only dream about in your fantasies.
Alisdair, 1) I didn’t know it was a controversy that Bush started the Wars we’re fighting right now. Maybe to folks like you and Michael Steele who can’t remember past 3 months ago.
2) Clinton Balanced the budget and the federal deficit was being paid down when he left office. Bush got into office and gave $700 billion per year to the richest 1% of Americans, via tax cuts, and started 2 wars. This is not in dispute.
3) I know, nobody should pay taxes and everything you make belongs to you. Tell that story to Wesley Snipes. It takes money to fight wars. It takes money to run a country. These are chilling and shocking facts to folks like yourself who want everything for free. Always looking for a freebie from the government like the Fire Dept and Police Dept and Military and clean drinking water and roads and services are all just sent by god for your benefit. The ironic thing is that your tax burden would go down if people who have million/billion dollar disposable incomes were charged a fair amount for the freedoms and benefits they enjoy that you don’t. Trust me, the last 2% of Kobe Bryant’s disposable income, won’t be missed.
Sandy, I can see how quoting Obama could make one appear ignorant or unserious, but I’m not joking at all. Obama said what he said. If I misunderstood him or quoted him out of context, then please correct me. Until you do (your comment @ 27 does not), I’ll take it as a tacit admission by Obama and you that the Left’s mindless, knee-jerk caricature of the Bush tax cuts and being only “for the rich” is complete and utter bullshit.