[marktwain]

I've said so for years, lol. But in all seriousness the Pubbies simply don't pay any attention to the tactics of the Left, to their detriment. Recall that Hillary's MA thesis was on the propaganda methods of Saul Alinsky and his "Rules for Radicals." That's been standard stuff on their side for years, and when they unleash it Pubbies -- especially Congressional Pubbies -- tend to react like deer caught in the headlights or Charley Brown attempting to kick Lucy's football. Liberal tactics are predictable -- and beatable -- and the perpetual cluelessness on our side fills me with despair.

Bernard, thank you for your kind comments earlier.

I think you have misdiagnosed our problem. I did the same for a number of years, until my understanding grew, and I saw more clearly what was happening.

It is not a lack of clever tacticians or people who know how to frame issues for conservatives that causes the symptom that you have noticed. Conservatives have better tacticians, and more people who know how to frame issues than the left has. They have to or they would never be elected. The selection pressure for conservative politicians demands it. Politicians live in a media universe. They are elected and unelected by what is said in the media, and the media, until recently, has been overwhelmingly hostile to conservatives. Conservatives have learned to survive in this hostile universe; that has made them excellent at framing issues and using tactics.

Liberals, on the other hand, have lived in a media universe that has been overwhelmingly friendly. If they make a gaffe, it has been overlooked. If they are involved in a scandal, it is far less likely to be investigated. They have not had to be extremely careful about what they say or do, because the MSM would cover for them, as long as they "grew" (became more liberal).

I am encouraged, however, by the growth of alternate media that has made conservative viewpoints visible to a percentage of the public. A decade ago, we would never have seen a Durbin apologize for a similar comment. CBS would never have been caught. The MSM continues to refuse to sell advertising to the NRA, and to spike speeches by Conservatives, but now we have the Internet, Fox news, and Talk Radio.

We are starting to employ some of the tactics of the left that we never could before, because they were forbidden to us by the MSM.

It is significant that this disgrace happened in the SCOTUS, one of the last bastions of liberal power.

We are in for a long fight. The liberals will not let go of decades of work weakening this country easily. But, the trends are in our favor. The fight is ours to win.

[Bernard Marx]

You're absolutely right -- and apparently you've missed my many previous posts on that exact topic. As a former member of the MSM I know all too well how the Left has enjoyed favored treatment for nearly the whole of the past half century.

While there have been some very focused Pubbie message-framers in the tradition of the late Lee Atwater, it's the weak-kneed daily responses of our Congress-critters that causes dismay. Not only do they capitulate almost daily on important legislation without much of a fight (today's example: restoration of the PBS budget cuts!) but they usually lie down without a fight when attacked. They're doing a little better in recent years but the fumbled response to Hillary's recent hate speech is typical.

One problem is that "our side" doesn't speak with a single voice like the Rats do. We have big and little "L" libertarians, neocons, paleocons, religious conservatives, non religious conservatives, country club conservatives, values conservatives, and people who think they're conservatives but really don't know what conservatism is. A good day on FR will provide a sampling of all the above and maybe other kinds.

Since conservatives don't congregate in mindless ideological swarms like the Rats, we tend to dilute our message and often have silly fights amongst our own. And, frankly, we're not nearly as mean-spirited as the Rats and do our best to act like ladies and gentlemen in public instead of smash-and-grab artists.