DAMN THE POLLS! FULL STEAM AHEAD!!!
Posted on 08/23/2012 3:39:59 AM PDT by markomalley
Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault on Republicans next week during their convention.
Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault on Republicans next week during their convention.
Presidential candidates have traditionally kept a low profile during their opponent's nominating celebration, but Democrats are throwing those rules out the window in an attempt to spoil Mitt Romney’s coronation as the GOP nominee.
President Obama, Vice President Biden and leading congressional Democrats have all scheduled high-profile events next week to counter-program the Republican gathering in Tampa.
Even first lady Michelle Obama is in on the act, scheduling an appearance on the “David Letterman Show” smack in the middle of Romney's nominating bash.
Political historians say the high stakes of this year's elections — combined with the rise of today’s 24/7 media culture — has forced leaders on both sides of the aisle to get more aggressive.
"Traditionally, there was a kind of courtesy extended to the party having the convention — the [other] party would basically stay out of the public eye," said Ross Baker, political scientist at Rutgers University.
But that "gentleman's agreement," Baker said, has been largely abandoned as "a consequence of the polarization of American politics." He characterized the old tradition as a "quaint code of etiquette" destined to become a "remnant of the 20th century."
Julian E. Zelizer, a congressional expert at Princeton University, agreed that the change is coming in large part because of the modern media environment.
"In the current age saturating the media seems to be the strategy — get the message out as many times and in as many places as possible," Zelizer said in an email. "So this fits contemporary pattern where the convention is just one part of a bigger media blitz."
Democrats have made clear that they don't intend to fade into the background as the GOP's message machine cranks away in Tampa.
Obama announced this week that he's hitting the road next Tuesday for a two-day tour through the battleground states of Iowa, Colorado and Virginia. The first lady's sit-down with Letterman is scheduled to air Wednesday.
The most aggressive attack was left for Biden, who is heading behind enemy lines for campaign events in Tampa on Monday and Tuesday. Leading congressional Democrats, including Reps. James Clyburn (S.C.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), will be joining the vice president to help crash the party.
With the media glare certain to be intense, Democrats say they're approaching the GOP convention as an opportunity as much as a challenge.
"We'll have so many members of the press [here] from all across the country," Rep. Kathy Castor (D), who represents Tampa, said Tuesday by phone. "I'm going to have a very active schedule."
While both parties have customarily set up messaging war rooms in their opponent's convention city, Democratic operatives say they're taking that effort to another level this year.
"It's gonna be the strongest yet," a Democratic leadership aide said Wednesday.
The purpose of the Democratic blitz is clear: With Romney and the Republicans scrambling to defend Romney's tax history and undo the damage from Rep. Todd Akin's (R-Mo.) recent comments on rape and abortion, Obama and the Democrats don't want to give the GOP a week-long opening to shift the discussion back to jobs and the economy — Obama's chief vulnerability heading into November's elections.
The Republicans' convention messaging will be thrown off, Baker said, "If Joe Biden goes to Tampa and says, 'Where's Todd Akin?'"
Brad Woodhouse, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said the Democrats in Tampa would focus on "how the Republican Party Mitt Romney is being nominated to lead is outside the mainstream on issues of importance to Americans — particularly as it relates to women, Hispanics and African Americans."
Republicans, meanwhile, are also setting up a war room in Charlotte, N.C., to hobble any momentum the Democrats might gain when they stage their convention there in the first week of September.
GOP operatives have released very few details about that effort, however, and have given no indication they will counter Biden's Tampa visit by sending anyone as high profile — such as Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) — to campaign in North Carolina.
~ Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals
Here’s the thing. VP Joe shows up, and some older retired Senate Republican is around....and offers to share a beer with VP Joe. They sit for three hours....sipping six beers, and VP Joe comes out...a bit light on thinking, and accepts an offer to walk right into the Republican convention, and actually stands up to give a speech. I could see this happening.
The Dem convention follows the Republican’s and they shlould keep in mind that paybacks can be painful.
I guess the question is, then, will the words of an aspiring Republican Senate candidate provide enough evidence for voters to conclude the right is at war with women?
And will those words trump the actions of the President and his minions that make it obvious the left is at war with the individual?
You can depend on Obama and the dems media and political analyst sycophants to gin up some excuse for why they are throwing a long term courtesy out the window. Bottom line, he’s toast and they know it.
politics has been polarized for awhile. It is not polarization. It is Obama that came on the scene. His campaign just plays dirtier. They have continuously broken traditions and bended the rules. The top example was whether pulled out of the matching funds and spending limited in 2008 after agreeing to it. No regard for the rules or agreements. Not unlike how they run the country. Ignore law and tradition at all turns.
Biden, the pit poodle with a clown hat.
Crazy Joe just may have another major gaffe. The odds favor it. Once Plugs makes an ass of himself, (again), And that happens in front of all the media that will be at the convention. Now this being the GOP convention some of that media will be far less liberal than the LSM. They wouldn’t be so inclined to give Choo-Choo Ridin’ Biden a pass for his outbursts of political Tourette’s Syndrome.
Word would get out.
That would take the wind out of the whole shebang, and Ms. Wassermann-Schultz would have egg all over her hatchet face.
Think of how demoralizing that would be. Not only that, this is liable to self-destruct without the GOP even taking notice of it.
Hell, if Joe keeps it up he becomes something of an asset to our side.
Man, I’m stocking up on beer and popcorn for all of this next week. Between the wannabe scene-stealers from the Commiecrat Party, and the nihilistic occutards it should be quite entertaining.
The big scandals of the Obama administration are still in the toy box. The media won’t play with them. And won’t much let us describe them either. Attack, attack, attack. Republicans can play that game, but have no media microphone.
And then along comes our man, Trump.
CLASSLESS CHILDREN.
Right on the money.
Even the most jaundiced doofus on the nets is gonna phrase their questions around the points raised at each convention. Not talking about MSNBC here but the nets.
It'll be the first question posed to "Chains", and he'll swing and a miss. Next question won't matter.
§14-12.7. Wearing of masks, hoods, etc., on public ways. No person or persons at least 16 years of age shall, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person, face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, be or appear upon any lane, walkway, alley, street, road, highway or other public way in this State. (1953, c. 1193, s. 6; 1983, c. 175, ss. 1, 10; c. 720, s. 4.)
§14-12.8. Wearing of masks, hoods, etc., on public property. No person or persons shall in this State, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person, face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, or appear upon or within the public property of any municipality or county of the State, or of the State of North Carolina. (1953, c. 1193, s. 7.)
Here is an interesting article from NC. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/22/3471442/protesters-with-violent-past-plan.html#storylink=cpy
LET PALIN SPEAK!
Indeed. The tone deafness is deafening.
Whoops—I mean the tone-deafness of the Romney camp, not of the Palin supporters!
Moochelle on Letterman? I don’t know which one I should feel sorry for the most.
Not when they're fraudulently polling at '08 intensity, merely so as to save their downtickets races.
No I don't think I will stop thank you very much...or do you really think like Gallup that Carter was up 6% Oct. 24-27, 1980?
Wiki: "The Republicans gained a net of 12 seats from the Democrats, the largest swing since 1958, and gained control of the Senate, 53-46. Majority and minority leaders Robert Byrd and Howard Baker exchanged places. This marked the first time since 1954 that the Republican Party controlled one of the Houses of Congress. Without losing any seats, the Republicans took open seats in Alabama, Alaska, and Florida, and defeated nine incumbents: Herman Talmadge (D-GA), Frank Church (D-ID), Birch E. Bayh II (D-IN), John Culver (D-IA), John A. Durkin (D-NH), Robert Morgan (D-NC), 1972 presidential nominee George S. McGovern (D-SD), Warren Magnuson (D-WA), and Gaylord Nelson (D-WI). Notable new senators included future Vice-President J. Danforth Quayle (R-IN). Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-NY) defeated incumbent liberal Republican icon Jacob Javits in a primary, demonstrating the ascendancy of conservative Republicans."
The only poll that counts is the one on Election Day.
Romney & Ryan are not going to take anything for granted. They’re going to campaign as if they’re 10 points behind and 0bama is 20 points ahead (which may not be far off when accounting for ‘Rat vote fraud).
If anyone wants to look at polls, here is a polling question asked by the Gipper in 1980 “are you better off now than you were four years ago?”. America answered with a resounding “NO!” and they’re going to do it again.
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