Will Obama Stick It To The GOP?

[babylonsister]

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/03/will-obama-go-rovian.html#more

Will Obama Stick It To The GOP?

23 Mar 2010 03:49 pm


Saletan sees some signs:

His political advisers are hinting at a more aggressive strategy: portraying Republicans who oppose the legislation as opposing all of its benefits. In the Bush administration, this was standard practice.

Any Democrat who resisted any component of a bill was accused of opposing the bill's objective. If you complained about labor provisions of the bill to establish a federal department of homeland security, Republicans said you were against homeland security. If you objected to part of the "Patriot Act," they said you were unpatriotic. If you criticized Bush's execution of the Iraq war, they said you were undermining our troops.

Obama has avoided this scorched-earth style of politics. But his advisers seem ready to try it. "Let them tell a child with a pre-existing condition, 'We don't think you should be covered,' " David Axelrod said of Republicans last night...

This is the risk Republicans have taken by voting unanimously against health care reform. They've bet their whole party against it. If the public hates the program, they'll be rewarded at the polls. But if the public likes it, they're in trouble. And if the public fears it might be taken away, they could suffer a beating, as they did in 1996 when voters feared cuts in Medicare.

I don't think this is "Rovian" by the way. It's called contrast and compare. If the bill becomes more popular, what people will remember is that the GOP did all they could to kill it, and every tea-party meltdown will be in the minds of voters.

Obama's genius is not attacking his opposition head-first. It is patiently assisting its self-destruction. First Clinton; then McCain; then Palin; now the GOP as a whole.

[stray cat]

1. will Americans stick it to the dems, the GOP or the incumbents?

[DJ13]

6. Yes

[Jennicut]

2. Patiently waiting for self destruction....but we need to stay agressive.

[Windy]

3. I think this has played out exactly as Obama thought it would. He gave the repubs rope..

they have hung themselves. He tried as hard as he could, openly, and in front of the entire country, to work in a bipartisan fashion...they bucked him. Now its no holds barred. If they say that he doesn't want to work with them, he can point to the health care negotiations, etc....

He has given himself cover to go for the jugular!

[Cha]

5. He knows them too well..just like

we do.

[Cha]

4. The gops made their bed of straw,

lies, and attacks..and they don't care if child gets insurance or not. That's the ilk of our enemy.

[DrToast]

7. Republicans have been calling for a repeal! They would be taking those things away!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. What's "Bushian" about doing this?

The Republicans DID/DO oppose the entire HCR and what it repealed. They're focusing on the mandates as what they see as the easiest point to attack the entire legislation but there should be no mistaking the fact that they opposed the ENTIRE package and voted AGAINST the entire package and nearly all of them are now calling for its immediate repeal- not to mention that 13 Attorneys Generals are suing to stop it. They NEED to be held to be forced to face the public and tell them that they want to take away what has been given to them.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

9. That would be interesting - Generic Repuke Douche: "That's not true I don't

oppose this or that idea. As a matter of fact those are republican ideas."

Generic Reporter: - Then why did you vote against the bill?"

Generic Repuke Douche: "Ah well uhhh uhhh hmmmm......."

[Kablooie]

10. He had better. The GOP is doing everything in their power to destroy him.

They are putting more of their eggs into the same, kill the bill movement.

It should be called, "Freedom for Insurance Companies" movement.

They are fighting for the right of insurance companies to continue to destroy peoples lives for the sake of profit.