The Narcissist-in-Chief surveys his realm.
Posted on 11/09/2012 6:04:21 AM PST by C. Edmund Wright
The story of the 2012 election is that voters still blame Republicans for systemic problems caused by liberalism, and yet they credit Obama for victories brought about by applied conservatism. Now how does this happen? The answer is both a short story and part of a longer festering narrative. Consider: during the Republican primary season, half of Mitt Romney's consultants told him to call Newt Gingrich the devil. The other half told him to merely to claim that the devil worshiped Gingrich. Then these same sorcerers all told Mitt to call Barack Obama "a nice guy." Well, gee, what could possibly go wrong with that plan?
For starters, we still have a country where over 50 percent of the voters think that George W. Bush is at fault for the economic mess and less than 40% think Obama is. Paul Ryan damned near admitted as much in his debate with Joe Biden.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I am a college professor. Look no further than public education.
Short term, the PR works. Short term.
Maybe 6 months, max. Then things begin to implode.
By mid-terms the GOP wins a significant number of seats.
What concerns me is all this negativism. We should be working to improve things. Obama cannot be re-elected. We need the economy to improve.
Stop talking about it failing.
The Socialists have a giant, active propaganda machine in the American media.
If you want to identify the enemy, it is first and foremost the media.
The average American will not go deeper than what they hear or don’t hear from the Socialist Media Machine.
The Narcissist-in-Chief surveys his realm.
Sadly, I must disagree.
Russia did their takeover by revolution (in other words, quickly) and it took decades, and determined foes (Reagan, Thatcher, Walesa, Pope John Paul II, and the US military) for it to implode.
Here in the US, the left has taken those same decades to BUILD a mammoth infrastructure (their tendrils are everwhere, and blooming heartily). And the list of determined foes is woefully short.
Rove finally admitted in 2009 that it was a mistake to sit around for eight years and allow every liberal argument against Bush to stand. Many of us were saying so back in 2001. That of course led right into John McCain's "reach across the aisle" campaign of 2008. With a golden opportunity at the time to demonstrate Democrat ties to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and bankrupt energy policies -- he instead told us that ANWR is gorgeous and that our problem was "unfettered capitalism." Now, four years later, shifting the blame to the rightful owners is going to be exponentially harder.
As if that was not enough, McCain assured us that we had "nothing to fear from an Obama presidency."
You can also add the media telling voters 24/7 that if they did not vote for Obama, they were racists. I’m sure that played a role a few times in the booth.
Well then we disagree for now.
With the proviso we start to actually go after targets:
The education establishment, the lawyers.
The media. Especially the media.
Thanks for your comments: but this piece is not talking about our outside obstacles - like the media - those are a given. This piece speaks to how we handle those obstacles, and playing nice and soft peddling the message is not the way to go.
“So let’s add up Romney-Ryan’s case against Obama: the economy is Bush’s fault. Obama is holding his own with job-creation. He also got Osama. GM is kicking butt. Everything with Sandy is fine and dandy.
“Damn. Obama’s a nice guy, and he has been so unlucky. He deserves a second chance. Bush, and by extension all conservatives, left him such a mess. Heck, even McCain, Romney, and Ryan say so. Can I vote for Obama now?”
You can’t timidly accept the oppositions premises and somehow expect to come out on top.
That's an argument to start a third party no matter the argument that such a path leads to sure defeat against the Rats. Alternatively, stop pulling the wagon and go Galt. Stop the motor of the world and aid the collapse against a possible future in some new world after the conflagration.
Another excellent piece, Mr. Wright. I love the “KKK” monkier, hope it sticks.
I agree, the democrat party and it’s media echo-chamber dictates the script, and for reasons unknown, the Republican candidates seem content to read their lines on cue and play their part in what obviously is the other side’s version of how things should be.
When, why, and how did this start? One point I think we can put our finger on is the “Saddam has WMDs” argument, Colin Powell et al, and the subsequent “Bush Lied” meme. Neither Bush nor the Republican Party did anything but lie down and take that nonsense, and maybe it was the tipping point, because they’ve gotten away with it ever since.
I might push back a bit on your claim that we can’t do anything about the educational system and the media. I’d maintain that we could, but we aren’t trying very hard. For example, we’re living in a visual/internet media world - yet were is the “Conservative Cable Channel”? If Bill Buckley were alive, I doubt he’d be limiting himself to writing books on dead trees. Talk radio is fine, but how many non-traditionalist, non-conservatives, and under age 40 listen to Rush or any of the others? And who could stand to listen to someone like Hannity, who seems to think that repeating the same words like a mantra to people who agree with him is somehow persuasive?
Education - today about 35 million kids are subject to public school indoctrination vs. about 4 million in private schools (grade 8 and under). That’s not a majority but it’s fairly significant, especially considering that private schools are 2-3 times more cost-efficient than unionized public schools. We could do more, I think.
But we don’t have a common view or strategy, much less a common and integrated approach to reversing the underlying problem that has led to the timidity you point out: ignorance of conservatism and the failures of liberalism, and the critical thinking skills needed to know the difference.
Thanks Bob - and to clarify, what I meant by not being able to change the media and educational establishments - is that we can’t do that within the confines of the messaging strategy of a campaign team. That’s the POV of this article....so you and I don’t really disagree at all...
The stock market is crashing and the Democrat media is blaming the extremist TEA Party Congressmen who are going to take us over the “fiscal cliff.” They will never admit that the cause is Obama’s re-electiion.
Anyone who didn’t get out of the market in October is a fool. Anyone could see this coming because re-electing a Marxist is no way to run a capitalist country.
Romney and Ryan are both really nice guys.
Real class.
However as a person who made his living selling heavy equipment for 56 years, I have been amazed at how little they understand about selling their ideas.
Either that or they had terrible advice from their “experts”.
As for mentioning the name of Karl Rove in any serious discussion of conservative values.....his name and face should be banned forever from any conservative strategy discussion..
It was Rove and the idea of compassionate conservatism that brought us the asinine compromises with the liberals, or as I prefer to call them, the Marxists; No child left behind, medicare drugs, no real border protection, ....and a dozen other capitulations to the Marxists in our midst.
Even today people still think the republican President Herbert Hoover caused the Great depression!
Things will implode. The left and 0bama will try to blame Republicans and Bush.
I don’t care whom their sheeperals blame, as long as they experience the consequences of their choices.
From Atlas Shrugged - you asked for it.
Speaking of Russia-— or the Soviet Union -— look back at their propaganda -— it shows people joyfully *working* -— working their butts off for the good of the State. Work, work, work.
One thing about their propaganda that was effective was the emphasis on the ‘dignity of the working man’ and productivty etc.
So different from this ‘socialist’ government at present, which simply says you get free stuff.
As lying and deceptive as Socialsts are, they surely must realize that the endless giving-away of Free Stuff has its limits. What then? Riots, of course.
I suppose they’re willing to rule over the debris, if debris is all they have left.
I agree with everything you said. And IMO, it was a failure of Romney, Ryan, and their consultants. Reagan’s consultants sometimes told him the same thing: but he and Lee Atwater were too smart to take their bullshit advice.
It’s “all of the above” failure.
When we all get out of survival mode,
some of these “targets” of which you speak
should become a bit more literal.
If they start a civil war, remember the MSM is the enemy too
Please do not include me, in any more of your posts.
Thank you.
You’re sure right about that - after all it was the esteemed Karl Rove who advised GWB not to refute the allegations I mentioned...and maybe that tells us something about the wisdom of having those who are alleged experts in campaign strategy later serving as Chief of Staff and other trusted policy advisory positions. As you say “what could possibly go wrong” with that scenario?
Yep, that was all part of the “new tone” strategy, and its first cousin “compassionate conservatism.” That’s been our teams official strategy since 2000 every cycle but one: 2010. Hmmm. I think I like 2010 best.
It’s not just the presidential candidates’ jobs to sell. They tried, really, but a great deal of the process in selling the idea of our nation having debt problems is going to be, and has to be, extra-political. In fact, if anything, it’s really a matter of charity work and reaching out at the private level to various individuals affected by poverty to help people build out of the poverty situation, in addition to encouraging others to try living the family life. It’s not as if any, and I mean any presidential candidates alone can sell this, they really, really, can’t. I guarantee you that if it ever is leaned upon such candidates, then it is already too late.
However, with the dollar on the path to further collapse in value, and only so much National Debt we can accumlate, including our interest on the national debt overtaking our Defense Budget, we will be facing the inevitable point where the welfare handouts will simply become borderline worthless, and plenty of people otherwise on the welfare dole will be needing serious help. I would call it Debtageddon.
Absolutely right...
Eventually the debts will ruin the liberal trump cards, the key here is to get the charities and education systems running overtime, because one way or another, the debt will be the backbreaker.
Politicians are going to go with the flow. Sure the House will act as a firewall, but a fire wall just protects you from the fire, it doesn’t put it out.
My eyes were open but Clintons second election and term sealed the deal. The media framed all the issues, made the rule of law a non issue by making Starr a vile, evil, dishonest sob when the opposite was true.
The media controls the masses and does it very efficiently.
I do not believe ANYTHING at all they say.
It will make you ill to your stomach if you are not careful.
Pretty soon there will be no MSM...It will just be the media...There will be no dissention. The 1st Amendment will be law in name only. Any argument to the media will be totally squelched and then silenced.
The ONLY news people will get is what the government wants them to get. The internet will be quietly censored and so will “dissadents”.
Welcome to the USSA (United Socialist States of America)
The news will be obtained from the American Times NY, the American Times LA, the American Times CHI, the American Times DET, etc....
Hitler was elected Chancellor in 1933. It took him only 6 years to get that economy humming and take his show on the road into the rest of Europe and then only another 2 years to involve the rest of the world.
Obama won't need to be re-elected.
And yes, I do understand the philosophical differences between these two psychopaths. But with 4 more years of Obama...no one can say with certainty what is coming.
Exactly.
But with what message? We've been playing defense, (no new taxes, e.g., is still a government-centric debate point)
It's a mindset that needs to be changed, and THEN the institutions with which to engender them.
Kind of like a corporate mission statement, or the Apostle's Creed, to abuse a metaphor.
Exactly.
But with what message? We've been playing defense, (no new taxes, e.g., is still a government-centric debate point)
It's a mindset that needs to be changed, and THEN the institutions with which to engender them.
Kind of like a corporate mission statement, or the Apostle's Creed, or the Constitution, say.
Used to be American's talked about freedom, self-determination, what it meant to be a real man or real woman, the list goes on.
Politics has swallowed up all discourse.
Don’t know how I posted the draft version, then the final. Oops.
The true story of the 2012 election is the failure of a free press to report news in an unbiased way.
The Obama Loving Media has successfully duped the majority of Americans for two presidential elections in a row.
In 2008, most of the press pretended to be non-judgemental while protecting and covering for Obama.
In 2012 the press openly took sides and actively campaigned for Obama.
The racists, career moochers and socialists now run the show.
There will be no peaceful road to return the nation to an ethical, moral nation of independent, self reliant citizens.
McCain, 2008 popular vote: 58,319,442
Romney, 2012 popular vote: 58,163,978
4 years of population growth and Romney didn’t draw what McCain did......
I apologize for intruding on your discussion. I mentioned race because the door started opening this year, and R&R largely ignored it. The left is so vulnerable in this area. There is an opportunity emerging in Black communities and churches throughout the country. Note CL Bryant’s work, as well as many other African-American Christian leaders. They are waking up to the danger of the far left and what socialist “solutions” have done to their families, and Planned Parenthood has done to their children. A passionate Conservative with the right vision for America could have made a difference.
BTW - Its a lot easier to sell something when you actually believe in it yourself. Did the father of Romneycare really plan on stopping Obamacare? I really wanted to believe it, but based on his political history, I had my doubts, and I know many others did as well.
There are reasons many people did not vote, or wasted their vote on a 3rd party, or voted for Obama, and they weren’t necessarily message or tone. I prayerfully voted for Romney, knowing that the GOP gave us another “its my turn” choice. Could R&R done better articulating their vision, attacking the narrative, and countering the false racism charge? Absolutely. I don’t know that it would have made a significant difference this year.
The GOP needs to stop searching for the magical election elixir and get busy finding a true Conservative choice. Leave the smoke and mirrors to the DNC. Give America a nominee at the top of the ticket that walks the walk, and talks the talk, or else we will be having this same discussion after Hillary is elected in 2016.
Even today people still think the republican President Herbert Hoover caused the Great depression!
Amazing, isn’t it?
I agree 100%.
Which is why I strongly oppose all attempts at failure.
We need to grow, expand and be strong once again.
And win.
That last point is the real clincher. But it demands American success.
We cannot fail ourselves into growth. We must win.
America must win.
“Obama cannot be re-elected.”
B. Hussein can’t be.
But Michelle certainly could be...
(and I ain’t kiddin’!)
Heck, why not run Valerie Jarrett? ;)
With the results of this last election, the 'Rat machine has proven their latest election stealing protocols to be the most effective ever tried. So...why not run Valerie Jarrett? Why not run anyone they damned well please? Losing any pesky election is no longer an issue for them.
Welcome To The Machine.
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