The NY Times Spins And Misses
Today, Robin Toner of the NY Times does her best to spin a bad picture for the GOP this election. She starts out her piece with the story of a bitter 89-year old Democrat who vowed not to "die under" Bush's Administration. He's ready. He's really psyched for election day. He simply can't wait to dive in head-first. You can pick up his enthusiasm is so prevalent, I'd be surprised if he didn't have reservationsat the front of the line for his polling place.
And her piece does a good job of emphasizing the Democrats enthusiasm this time around. They are all ready and raring to go for election day (which, if I were John Kerry, I'd ask where they were in 2004). But Ms. Toner points out that where the Democrats seem to have the emotional edge in this election, the Republicans have the get-out-the-vote program to counter the emotions of their rival Democrats. She points to a recent Times/CBS poll (big surprise there) that shows only 33% of the GOP's base is ready to go for election day. Meanwhile, the Democrats are cruising with 44% of their base hyped to go. (For those that skipped basic math, that still leaves 23% that seem to have no opinion; a definitive swing in the elections if these people are considered "undecided" in the demographics.)
But I digress:
Democratic strategists consider this new intensity a critical advantage throughout the ups and downs of a campaign narrative driven at various times by war, national security scares, gas prices and, most recently, the scandal surrounding former Representative Mark Foley, Republican of Florida.
“There’s been a consistent pattern for the better part of a year that Democrats are pretty focused on what they’re voting for and what they’re voting against,” said Geoffrey Garin, a Democratic pollster, “while Republican voters are feeling ambivalent on both fronts.”
Can Mr. Garin be a little specific on what the Democrats are focused on because it doesn't seem like the party knows. Ask an average Democrat what their party is campaigning on this year, and aside from a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, they can't tell you. And Republican voters are a bit ambivalent. We're not happy with a lot of things the GOP has done. We've got a right to have our gripes, and blow off steam at our favorite beating posts in the party. But here's the key that Mr. Garin, Ms. Toner, and the rest of the democrats out there are missing.
We're not driven by our emotions. If I were the emotional sort, I'd stay home this year. (I can't speak for Marcie in this regard as the conversation really hasn't come up.)But I would. I'd punish the GOP for wasting four years with control of both Houses, having six years of control in the White House, and 12 years of control in the House with nothing but a load of headaches to show for it. Glenn Reynolds cited five specific things that voters might hold against the GOP:
1. The social conservatives handling of the Terri Schiavo mess.
2. The choosing of, and defense of, Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O'Connor; And the refusal to listen to the base's concerns about her.
3. The "bungling" of the Dubai port-security deal.
4. The farcical charade known as Immigration Reform and Enforcement.
5. The William Jefferson scandal, the fact he's still in the House, and Speaker Hastert's misplaced . defense of him.
In that list, he left of GOP spending. He forgot the Gang of 14 deal. He forgot the attempted undermining of the NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program. But as I pointed out yesterday, these are "single-issue" concerns. And while to do tend to gin up the base a tad when they occur, the base isn't stupid. They know what Democrat controlled Congress has on its agenda. They've made no secret of it. And as long as the issue of national security sits in the back of the minds of the GOP base, they'll never let the Democrats have power back.
They may tease them with a seat or two, but they're not going to allow these nutters to have control over the Congress. That's just about as dangerous as allowing them the White House. With Congress, they control and pass the laws in the nation, they approve spending, they declare or revoke those declarations.
I want to let that sink in for the base. Do they really want to sit at home and not vote? Do they really want to "punish" the GOP by voting Democrat? Do they want to give into their petty emotions, and cost this nation dearly by allowing the Democrats to win? That's what it comes down to this election. The Democrats have the emotion, yes, and let them ride that to election day. But the GOP is going to use hard, solid logic to make their decision at the polls, and that logic is backed up by the fact that the Democrats have spent three years attacking the president and our mission in Iraq 24/7. And their response to confronting our enemy is "redeployment" behind some ficticious battle line in another nation where we couldn't reinforce our allies in Iraq is our lives depended on it. And if you don't think our lives depend on the success of Iraq, think again.
A failure on either battlefield is a serious setback for the war's overall effort. In Iraq it would be disastrous. A defeat there means that Iran and Syria are going to send in as many terrorists as possible to transform that nation back into the h*llhole that Iraq used to be, only it will be much worse. It will be a terrorist haven under the control of shari'a law, and answerable only to Tehran. Afghanistan is sitting precariously close to such a brink right now, thanks to Pakistan caving into the tribal leaders in Waziristan. If we allow the Democrats to take over, you might as well kiss both efforts goodbye, and the lives lost thus far will be in vain.
Ms. Toner can paint the picture she chooses. And she seems to be saying that the emotion of the Democrats will ride them into power. But the silence from the GOP is positively deafening. It doesn't come so much from ambivalence. It comes from knowing that they can't retaliate at those in power this time around. To do so would jeopardize the war effort. The challengers had their chances in the primaries, and couldn't take down any incumbants. Now we have to support those chosen. We may not like them (Personally, I'm not fond of Mike DeWine because of his involvement in many RINO schemes in the Senate) but they need our support.
Dig deep, people. Dig down deep inside, and muster up the realization that a vote for the Democrats is a vote for vulnerability and failure. Our best chance is with the GOP (as if there were any serious question about that). Quit whining about the candidates, and get out and vote. This election is second in importance only to the 2008 election. It sets the stage for the remaining two years of President Bush's term, and pretty much guarantees the nation's security. They'll stay on target int he war while the Democrats will--with delightful glee--rip apart everything that we have achieved so far. You want to be a party to that? I sure as H*ll don't.
Publius II
Today, Robin Toner of the NY Times does her best to spin a bad picture for the GOP this election. She starts out her piece with the story of a bitter 89-year old Democrat who vowed not to "die under" Bush's Administration. He's ready. He's really psyched for election day. He simply can't wait to dive in head-first. You can pick up his enthusiasm is so prevalent, I'd be surprised if he didn't have reservationsat the front of the line for his polling place.
And her piece does a good job of emphasizing the Democrats enthusiasm this time around. They are all ready and raring to go for election day (which, if I were John Kerry, I'd ask where they were in 2004). But Ms. Toner points out that where the Democrats seem to have the emotional edge in this election, the Republicans have the get-out-the-vote program to counter the emotions of their rival Democrats. She points to a recent Times/CBS poll (big surprise there) that shows only 33% of the GOP's base is ready to go for election day. Meanwhile, the Democrats are cruising with 44% of their base hyped to go. (For those that skipped basic math, that still leaves 23% that seem to have no opinion; a definitive swing in the elections if these people are considered "undecided" in the demographics.)
But I digress:
Democratic strategists consider this new intensity a critical advantage throughout the ups and downs of a campaign narrative driven at various times by war, national security scares, gas prices and, most recently, the scandal surrounding former Representative Mark Foley, Republican of Florida.
“There’s been a consistent pattern for the better part of a year that Democrats are pretty focused on what they’re voting for and what they’re voting against,” said Geoffrey Garin, a Democratic pollster, “while Republican voters are feeling ambivalent on both fronts.”
Can Mr. Garin be a little specific on what the Democrats are focused on because it doesn't seem like the party knows. Ask an average Democrat what their party is campaigning on this year, and aside from a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, they can't tell you. And Republican voters are a bit ambivalent. We're not happy with a lot of things the GOP has done. We've got a right to have our gripes, and blow off steam at our favorite beating posts in the party. But here's the key that Mr. Garin, Ms. Toner, and the rest of the democrats out there are missing.
We're not driven by our emotions. If I were the emotional sort, I'd stay home this year. (I can't speak for Marcie in this regard as the conversation really hasn't come up.)But I would. I'd punish the GOP for wasting four years with control of both Houses, having six years of control in the White House, and 12 years of control in the House with nothing but a load of headaches to show for it. Glenn Reynolds cited five specific things that voters might hold against the GOP:
1. The social conservatives handling of the Terri Schiavo mess.
2. The choosing of, and defense of, Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O'Connor; And the refusal to listen to the base's concerns about her.
3. The "bungling" of the Dubai port-security deal.
4. The farcical charade known as Immigration Reform and Enforcement.
5. The William Jefferson scandal, the fact he's still in the House, and Speaker Hastert's misplaced . defense of him.
In that list, he left of GOP spending. He forgot the Gang of 14 deal. He forgot the attempted undermining of the NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program. But as I pointed out yesterday, these are "single-issue" concerns. And while to do tend to gin up the base a tad when they occur, the base isn't stupid. They know what Democrat controlled Congress has on its agenda. They've made no secret of it. And as long as the issue of national security sits in the back of the minds of the GOP base, they'll never let the Democrats have power back.
They may tease them with a seat or two, but they're not going to allow these nutters to have control over the Congress. That's just about as dangerous as allowing them the White House. With Congress, they control and pass the laws in the nation, they approve spending, they declare or revoke those declarations.
I want to let that sink in for the base. Do they really want to sit at home and not vote? Do they really want to "punish" the GOP by voting Democrat? Do they want to give into their petty emotions, and cost this nation dearly by allowing the Democrats to win? That's what it comes down to this election. The Democrats have the emotion, yes, and let them ride that to election day. But the GOP is going to use hard, solid logic to make their decision at the polls, and that logic is backed up by the fact that the Democrats have spent three years attacking the president and our mission in Iraq 24/7. And their response to confronting our enemy is "redeployment" behind some ficticious battle line in another nation where we couldn't reinforce our allies in Iraq is our lives depended on it. And if you don't think our lives depend on the success of Iraq, think again.
A failure on either battlefield is a serious setback for the war's overall effort. In Iraq it would be disastrous. A defeat there means that Iran and Syria are going to send in as many terrorists as possible to transform that nation back into the h*llhole that Iraq used to be, only it will be much worse. It will be a terrorist haven under the control of shari'a law, and answerable only to Tehran. Afghanistan is sitting precariously close to such a brink right now, thanks to Pakistan caving into the tribal leaders in Waziristan. If we allow the Democrats to take over, you might as well kiss both efforts goodbye, and the lives lost thus far will be in vain.
Ms. Toner can paint the picture she chooses. And she seems to be saying that the emotion of the Democrats will ride them into power. But the silence from the GOP is positively deafening. It doesn't come so much from ambivalence. It comes from knowing that they can't retaliate at those in power this time around. To do so would jeopardize the war effort. The challengers had their chances in the primaries, and couldn't take down any incumbants. Now we have to support those chosen. We may not like them (Personally, I'm not fond of Mike DeWine because of his involvement in many RINO schemes in the Senate) but they need our support.
Dig deep, people. Dig down deep inside, and muster up the realization that a vote for the Democrats is a vote for vulnerability and failure. Our best chance is with the GOP (as if there were any serious question about that). Quit whining about the candidates, and get out and vote. This election is second in importance only to the 2008 election. It sets the stage for the remaining two years of President Bush's term, and pretty much guarantees the nation's security. They'll stay on target int he war while the Democrats will--with delightful glee--rip apart everything that we have achieved so far. You want to be a party to that? I sure as H*ll don't.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 3:47 PM
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