Posted on 06/06/2008 12:00:18 PM PDT by StilettoRaksha
Halloween has come early this year: Republicans have forgotten how to run without scare tactics.
This year it’s Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s turn as the Democratic goblin, with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the witch on a broomstick. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the vampire slayer and ghostbuster who will save us from the creatures of the night.
These fear tactics didn’t work in the three special House elections this year, and they’re not going to work in November.
Are we supposed to be scared of Democrats as big spenders? The Bush administration and congressional Republicans topped Democratic spending on every front. Even excluding the “War on Terror,” Republicans have busted the budget.
The Democrats are going to raise our taxes? No doubt they will, but, because of the Republicans’ massive deficits, our children and grandchildren are going to be crushed by tax hikes or hyperinflation.
The Democrats are corrupt miscreants? Compared to the Bridge to Nowhere-planning, bribe-taking, page-trolling Republicans?
How about, as Bob Dole once put it, the threat of sending our youth off to “Democrat Wars”?
Never mind.
As it becomes more and more clear that the Republicans have nothing to run on, the campaign will get nastier and more personal, centered on Obama. As the real Halloween approaches, it will get worse and then continue until Election Day.
Fortunately for Obama, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has been hitting him with the Republican playbook for the past month or two, as she got more and more desperate. It didn’t work for her, and I don’t think it will work for Republicans.
To be sure, Obama has to define himself in positive tones before the Republicans succeed in defining him as a secret Muslim agent who’s going to sell us to terrorists. But he has by far the best campaign organization I’ve seen this year, and if, with much of the media in his pocket, they can’t get his message out, they deserve to lose.
Negative campaigning is not the culprit. The job in any campaign, Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, is to stress your positives and just as strongly stress your opponent’s negatives. We’ve had negative campaigning in America since Colonial days, and it works. That’s why it doesn’t go away despite the sermons from the “good government” crowd.
No, the culprit is not negative campaigning, but rather, campaigning without ideas that are arguably better than your opponent’s, and relying instead on bogeyman portrayals.
McCain has been the victim of bogeyman campaigning himself, and I know him to be an honorable man who doesn’t want to win that way. The problem is that McCain doesn’t have a coherent set of ideas with which he can simultaneously fire up the conservative base and attract independents. He’s a part-time liberal in conservative clothing. Conservatives aren’t fooled by that, and liberals aren’t going to vote for a part-time liberal when they have a very persuasive full-time liberal to vote for.
Republicans on the Hill have no message of what they are for, what their principles are or how they would govern. They can’t even agree to oppose big-government spending through earmarks.
“The lesser of two evils” is not a governing philosophy. Yet Republicans repeatedly try to seduce conservatives with it. That strategy didn’t work in 1948, 1960, 1974, 1976, 1992 or 2006 — and it won’t work in 2008.
Obama isn’t a goblin, nor Pelosi a witch, but the Republican majority of the ‘90s and 2000s is Humpty Dumpty, prostrate and shattered.
Someday, the GOP will rid itself of the leaders who brought the party to this point. Or maybe it won’t, and a new movement or a new party will rise up as the principal opposition to the liberal Democrats.
Until then, anti-Obama-ism will inexorably sweep across the land like those zombies in “Night of the Living Dead.” Now that’s scary.
An author and former magazine publisher, Viguerie is a longtime activist and fundraiser known for pioneering work in direct-to-citizens communications. He runs the website conservativehq.com .
Oh, wait. This is the GOP we are talking about here. They are as clueless and incompetent as the average Democrat voter. Never mind.
We're screwed - especially as McCain-Feingold shuts up we pesky proles within 60 days of the November Election.
The game is rigged.
Totally.
Against us.
“You’ve amassed 50 this week, most bashing McCain and “moderate” Republicans. ... your position is defeatist and boring.”
Yes, it is.
This article is about the need for positive and constructive messages. If you cant come up with positive and constructive messages of your own, the circular firing squad is pointless.
“We couldn’t have two worst choices if ten times as many people were allowed to vote in primaries without cross-over voting and all the rest of the games that have been played, all with the adoring eyes of a media that can’t report straight news.”
The key word in all your statement is MEDIA.
The MEDIA wanted McCain and the MEDIA wanted Obama (after they fell out of love with Hillary).
The MEDIA won the primary. Conservatives didnt have a clear unifying choice, so the media was able to manipulate us into a McCain victory.
Well, now the Media wants the GOP destroyed and the leftist Democrat Obama and Pelosi/Reid et al. winning.
Solution: ANNOY THE MEDIA. VOTE REPUBLICAN.
Nuff Said. There are Leaders, there are Followers/teamplayers, and there are Cranks. Cranks cant follow and cant lead. I know what Reagan was. What is Viguerie? Look in the mirror, which one are you?
“It’s too late to start drilling our own oil now. It will take years to even see a difference on the price.”
“It’s never too late but it’s nice to see some realism about how effective starting to drill right now will be. We do need the oil but it won’t be a magic pill. “
OTOH, if Clinton had not vetoed the Republican passage of ANWR drilling 10 years ago, we could be pumping 1 million barrels a day of ANWR oil right about now, which would be worth a cool $30 billion a year! And oil prices would be considerably lower if it were online. Drilling in ANWR will help us get over the oil crises of 2015-2025 that are sure to come as post peak oil gets more scarce..
No, this article is about how screwed up the GOP and McCain are; how the GOP remains in denial by running alongside a liberal making every attempt to be as socialist as his competition. It's vile and grotesque. Positives? I guess they're hidden in Bush's 25% approval ratings, because there aren't any positives with the RINO bunch in congress and there sure as hell isn't any with McCain.
The Dem plan: Tax, spend, give earmarks and pork to favored friends to fund re-election campaigns from their corrupt giveaways (take it away, trial lawyers!) where they run on class warfare and bashing and blaming Bush and Repubs for everything bad.
And if you think I’m kidding, now that Boxer’s bill was actually *read*, the ugly tax-and-regulate-and-skim-it-for-friends technique, used in the Farm Bill, Energy Bill and a few others, is now out in the open.
Rinse and repeat until the people get sick of it and kick them out and put the GOP back in.
http://no-bama.blogspot.com/ - co-bloggers wanted!
Viguerie is not speaking Truth. He is speaking Crankiness.
The truth is there are many wonderful, issue-oriented and reform oriented *conservatives* running for election and re-election in *many races* across the nation on the Republican ticket. US Senate seats, House races, and State-level races.
Just because John McCain is not one of them is no reason to bash the GOP whole-hog or throw in the towel.
Help them out!
If you want names in your state, I can name them. Tell me your state and we can work on what candidates are actually *already doing* what Viguerie proposes. Many are!!
Yes, both parties are beyond repair, and yes, Dr. Thomas Sowell would be a great candidate to head up the needed new reform effort.
But even if he chooses not to head up a new conservative party, Thomas Sowell could help conservatives at least get headed in a new direction. In order to do so he and other conservatives will have to give us new bearings.
Thomas Sowell and other conservatives will have to begin a serious discussion on our economic predicament and current breakdown.
We conservatives should begin with these questions:
WHAT is the Federal Reserve? What is its purpose?
WHO started it? Who benefits from it? Who supported its creation? Who supports it now?
HOW does it operate? How does it create money?
WHY can it create paper money from nothing? Why can they do this without even taking the time or expense to print the moeny they “create”? And why must the American taxpayer pay interest on the money the Fed “loans” the government. We have paid compound interest to the Fed ever since it was created in 1913. By now our taxpayers owe the Fed so much money it has become mathematically impossible for us to pay it off. This is why we are staggering under the greatest debt-load of any nation, or super-nation, in history.
WHEN did the Fed start? When will it finally bankrupt us, and not only our nation, but probably Western Civilization itself? When will we wake up and fight this?
An articulate, informed Thomas Sowell can, and probably would if asked, help conservatives get back on course and give us new bearing to do so.
We need positive change and to deal with the truth of our present and future trials.
We know the present political farce cannot address this. So we must do it ourselves.
The current situation seems to be meeting the needs of the oil companies quite well.
“People are, and will be, angry - very angry.”
We hammered Jimmy Carter hard over this type of economy. Every time we go to the pump or the market prices are up. The GOP ran the show completely between 2002 and 2006. Bush and his party have done little to offset the damage.
Blaming the Democrats and their idiot policies for this may be true and right, but it won’t cut it with anyone outside our orbit. If the situation were reversed with a Democrat president, we’d all be screaming for blood.
November will be a bloodbath.
Speaking of fat loud mouth pork:
http://forthardknox.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/congressman-jack-murtha-39976.jpg
http://steelturman.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/murtha_1.JPG
http://www.theodoresworld.net/pcfreezone/JihadJackMurtha.jpg
http://www.foxnews.com/images/262611/0_61_murtha_jack.jpg
That's because they're an entrenched, old, fat, happy and out of touch corporation.
You can call it "crankiness" if it pleases you, but most of us who actually follow politics closely and have been voting conservative and getting a defective product from the Republican party for a long time call what Viguerie says THE TRUTH.
If you are unhappy with a given GOP incumbent, you can certainly do what i’ve done and that is support a more conservative opponent. I gave money to Toomey to take on Specter even though I’m in Texas.
As for Rep Tim Murphy, saying he is as bad a Murtha is absurd:
Murphy
ACU rating was 67%, NARAL 0%, Eagle Forum 95% in 2007, NRA an A-, English First 100%, Family Research council 100%< Chamber of Commerce 93% in 2006, and National Taxpayers Union various from 50-75%.
Murtha
“In 2007 National Taxpayers Union gave Representative Murtha a grade of F.” earlier years 23%. Americans for tax reform 10-20%, they gave Murphy 90%. American Conservative Union 28 percent in 2006, only 8% in 2007.
he AFL-CIO 100 percent in 2007, English First 0% in 2006
NARAL 0-50%.
It’s fairly obvious - MURTHA IS A LOT MORE LIBERAL THAN MURPHY. Their votes DONT mirror each other, Murphy is more conservative.
And the claim that far-left Obama-supporting liberal Casey is to the right of Spectre are mindboggling too. Spectre ACU rating is only in the 40% range but that is far above Casey.
CASEY IS HORRIBLE:
http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=2541
- American Conservative Union 8 percent in 2007.
- Senator Casey supported the interests of the Americans for Prosperity 8 percent in 2007.
More on Tim Murphy:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=22974
“Congressman Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) has been a long-time champion of transforming health and healthcare in America. He has been a strong advocate of modernizing healthcare through information technology, and he has been a true leader on improving patient safety. And the recent scare of drug-resistant staph infection in hundreds of communities across the country shows that Congressman Murphy is a leader that more members of Congress should listen to.”
Newt says he deserve congratulations for a good idea bill on healthy hospitals. Sounds good to me, too.
Progressives and leftists hate him:
http://democracyforamerica.com/blog_posts/19850
http://progressivepatriots.com/house/MurphyPA18.html
“A score of 67 means that Representative Murphy has acted to support 67% of a slate of conservative, wrongheaded policies in the 110th Congress.”
The other awful thing Muphy did according to the progressives was that he didnt support abortion: “A bedrock principle of American progressivism is the right of the individual to self-determination. ... H.R. 1964 defends individual autonomy with the declaration that “It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman,” ... Tim Murphy has to date failed to support this bill through cosponsorship.”
What do you do about this?
First, calibrate yourself to reality. Claiming or thinking that far-left democrats like Casey and earmark pork-barrel partisan Dems like Murtha are no different than moderate Republicans is not ‘The Truth’.
Second, and I have said this repeatedly, SUPPORT CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES. Yes, there are several in your state of Pennsylvania.
The other Murphy, Patrick Murphy, won a close race in 2006 in Buck Co PA. He is a Liberal Democrat in a swing district. In 2007 National Taxpayers Union gave Representative Murphy a grade of F.n 2007 NARAL Pro-Choice America 100%, American Conservative Union 4 percent in 2007, Americans for Prosperity 0 percent in 2007. VERY LIBERAL!
Tom Manion is a good man who is a genuine conservative Republican you can get behind.
Instead of pissing and moaning about the defective Republicans, work to defeat the far more dangerous and far more defective leftwing Democrats - read more on this Murphy character, a tool of Pelosi and Obama supporter ...
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-04242008-1524024.html
Replace this clowns with good Republican candidates: Tom Manion for Congress!
http://votemanion.stream-data.com/splash.php
http://www.americanconservativedaily.com/2008/03/tom-manion/
You can look at all these key races and find a conservative candidate you want to ge tbehind and help him or her:
PA-3 English (R) Likely R Limited Risk Leans R
PA-4 Altmire (D) Leans D Leans D Leans D
PA-6 Gerlach (R) Likely R R Favored Leans R
PA-7 Sestak (D) Likely D Limited Risk Safe D
PA-8 Murphy (D) Likely D D Favored D Favored
PA-10 Carney (D) Leans D Pure Tossup Leans D
PA-11 Kanjorski (D) Likely D D Favored Safe D
PA-15 Dent (R) Safe R Limited Risk R Favored
PA-18 Murphy (R) Likely R R Favored R Favored
OR HELP A CONSERVAITVE IN COLORADO:
“# Colorado’s 4th congressional district: Conservative Marilyn Musgrave (R), known for her staunch opposition to gay marriage, won only after winning a plurality (46%) of the vote against Angie Paccione (D) and a strong Reform Party challenge from Eric Eidsness, who got 11% of the vote. That, along with her 51% showing in 2004 despite George W. Bush winning 58% of the vote in this eastern Colorado district that includes the Fort Collins area (CPVI=R+9), could make her vulnerable in 2008.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_elections,_2008
Scare or fear associated with this is entirely up to the reader...but the fact is, Obama is, as shown by his long term associations, the apex of the hate-America crowd. The Hill can call it whatever it wants, it will not change the fact of it.
“We hammered Jimmy Carter hard over this type of economy.”
No, we hammered Carter over an economy that was far worse for far longer. In 1980, the misery index was 25%. Inflation was double digits, and we had a real recession and unemployment over 10%. Today unemployment is in the 5% range and misery index is under 10%. We;’ve had respectable 3.5% growth in the time the GOP ran everything, the slowdown has happened since the Democrats took over Congress, but it is not a recession at this time.
“Blaming the Democrats and their idiot policies for this may be true and right, but it won’t cut it with anyone outside our orbit.”
The truth has to be spoken, because if we dont say it, nobody will, and the idea of voting in more anti-energy Democrats to ‘fix’ high energy prices is an absurdity.
“If the situation were reversed with a Democrat president, we’d all be screaming for blood.” If the Democrat was to blame. I dont recall to many of us blaming Clinton for the collapse of the internet bubble for example.
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