Posted on 10/06/2008 8:25:42 AM PDT by Brookhaven
I've seen a number of people say the Repblicans should pound the Democrats on the fact that the roots of this crisis are in the Community Reinvestment Act (a Democratic attempt to make life "fair" by forcing banks to make loans to people that were unqualified to pay them back--the now infamous "sub-prime" loans) and the fact that Democrats repeatedly blocked attempts to reform or increase oversight of Fannie and Freddie. It is good to point that out. It provides a counter balance to the Democrats yelling "it's Bush's fault" at the top of their lungs, but provide a counter balance is all it does.
Voters are convinced that BOTH parties are at fault. The issues at hand are so arcane and complicated that you won't convince them otherwise by the time election day comes around (heck, people will probably still be arguing about this 10 years from now.) Playing the blame game will not win the election for the Republicans.
The American public has certain pre-formed opinions about both parties (for good and for bad.) Stereotypes. They aren't always 100% true, but their usually is a grain of truth in them. The important thing is they are embedded in the public's mind, and no amount of advertising will change that stereotype. The Republicans can use one important party stereotype to their advantge: taxes.
Democrats raise taxes. Republicans cut taxes. The stereotype is so strong in fact, that many people also believe that Democrats never cut taxes and Republicans never raise taxes.
The Republicans have to convince the American public that raising taxes (in any way, shape, or form, but especially business and investment taxes) would doom the economy to a depression, and that the only way to avoid having this economy tip into a depression is to cut taxes (especially business and investment taxes.)
If a voter was convinced of that statement, how do you think they would vote? Democrat or Republican? Without a doubt Republican, because everyone knows Democrats raise taxes and Republicans cut taxes. It is just their nature.
This strategy has two great advantages for Republicans:
1. It happens to be true. Raising taxes will tip the economy into a depression, and tax cuts will help prevent it (that's why you aren't hearing anyone say raising taxes would help the problem.)
2. Voters don't have to be 100% convinced. It's a gut check question. They know there is a serious problem, they feel something has to be done, but they don't really know what. The do know that people are saying tax cuts would help, but NOBODY is saying tax increases would help (in fact they hear from some people that tax increases would hurt.)
Republicans can turn the economic problems to their advantage by focusing on taxes. Republicans should argue that we don't just need a middle class tax cut, we need a "save the economy" tax cut.
Bookmarked! I agree that raising taxes and erecting barriers to trade will make things worse. Witness Herbert Hoover.
The economy has to be framed by an issue voters understand.
They understand Dems raise taxes and Repubs lower taxes.
Obama has already mentioned he “might” put off his tax increases for a while until the economy stablizes.
Fannie and Freddie plus corruption by Democrats to allow both to engage in the fraud they did - triggered this meltdown.
Vote Obama - you will get more of the same.
Vote - McCain - I will clean the mess up and I will not sign ANY law until real reform is passed.
IMPORTANT:
McCain has to show Obama and his cronies caused this.
“I (McCain) will fix this mess caused BY Obama and his cronies. This will be my number #1 priority. We will clean up the mess and make sure it never happens again.”
“If you vote for Obama - you will be rewarding the people who caused this mess that I tried to stop.”
Why give advice to Republicans when they are determined to not listen to it? besides, they had their opportunity to turn this around into an advantage by standing with the American people against the bailout and making the Dems own their corruption. We all saw how long that line held...
They should understand this....As Ann Coulter said on Neil Cavuto’s show “Neil, which Party is the Party of Federalized social engineering?”
McCain should strangle BO with this statement tomorrow night. If tax increases are good for the economy, as BO advocates, then why delay them... BO should speed the tax increases up!
Election over.
But McCain is too intellectually lazy to go there. If he were to go there, BO won't be ready... we'll get a well-deserved uh,uh,uh moment.
shameless lunch bump
What about Barak’s anti human-rights voting record?
He has the distinction of being the only senator to vote FOR partial-birth abortion... and he’s the guy that kept the vote for a ban on human cloning from being unanimous. He also shot down the Born Alive Infant Act, which would affirm the rights of living “unwanted” babies, three times.
These are facts, and it begs us to question how much he values human life. The evidence shows that I might be justified in saying, “Very little, if at all.”
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