Lost in Space's blog

The Upcoming GOP Narrative on Obama

2008-03-11T07:18:17-04:00

The last post I wrote on this site took us through the backdoor sliders that Rove and Atwater plunked on Democrats in the Republicans’ last successful bids. At first, I was going to examine how some of the previous backdoor sliders were being used today(The Dean Scream morphing into The Hillary Cackle, for example), but recent events have pushed that one to the far burner.

While it looks like the Rezko situation, which I first believed was going to be the Backdoor Slider that makes Obama freeze at the plate for Strike Three, and would give McCain the White House at that point, I’ve come to realize that Rezko will be the frontal assault – or the High-Inside Fastball that Rove and company will throw at him. McCain, thanks to the story in the NYTimes (and there was a specific reason why the Times had to be the ‘first’ to break the story – more on that in another post) about the “scandal” which seems to have disappeared off of the radar, gets his inoculation shot concerning the kid gloves treatment he’ll receive after the Democratic National Convention.

The Backdoor Slider will be Obama’s lack of any experience in a fight.

The best thing that happened for McCain last week was when he threw out the bait for Obama about Iraq and al-Queda. John McCain Fired the First Salvo, which Barack Obama, unfortunately answered in the worst possible way. From a progressive standpoint, Barack’s comments would seem like the appropriate response, but from a political standpoint, McCain threw a left jab and Obama responded by throwing an overhand right that missed everything. Here’s why:

First, even though the response attempted to throw the issue back by blaming McCain and tying the issue back to George Bush, John McCain still has full control of the issue, its context, and the narrative. Obama also made the mistake of saying this:

…while he is committed to withdrawing U.S. troops, he would “reserve the right” to act “if al-Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq.”

Which now gives McCain the flip-flip-flop on Obama for the next 4 commercials. Unfortunately, McCain has made clear a view – one that even Obama tacitly accepted with his response – in that al-Qaeda is in Iraq right now. Which means that it must be a situation that must be dealt with. And Obama chooses to deal with it…by pulling the troops out – and thus giving Iraq (and all of its resources) to “the enemy,” as well as a strategic base by which Iran will ally itself with, and threaten the rest of the Middle East. This, by extension, threatens the American economy even more than the currently precarious position it is in now.

Second, since it also clear that he never held a single hearing on the very committee that would (and could) have that kind of information (to have an effective counter-punch, so to speak), this gives McCain a second line of attack – Obama is all talk and no action. And since he gave another politically suicidal answer regarding why he never held any hearings (and, in fact, skipped a few from the Senate FRC) regarding the very issue he is running on, Obama’s anti-war credibility is now seriously in question in the eyes of those who are not part of Obama’s core supporters.

With the fear card now in play, Obama’s “pressing the wrong button” story, which got a little bit of play the first time around, is going to pushed as a sub-narrative in two ways: First, that Obama is a flip-flopper who can’t make up his mind and wants to have things two ways; and Second, the “Wrong Button” mess becomes a “Do You Want This Guy With His Hands on the Nuclear Button?” commercial.

Obama as a flip-flopper, a serial liar, and a man you do not want to trust with the nuclear button. And, make no mistake about the next words I say: This will mark the first time that the Republicans will have the advantage of running a War Veteran (and Torture Survivor) as a Hero of the American People. Obama’s personal history, which has not been examined in detail by the press, will probably include some “anti-Muslim” rhetoric in connection to the War on (Some) Terror; Obama’s relatively pampered upbringing compared to McCain’s valor in the face of the enemy; and Barack Obama’s flip-flops on the war and moral cowardice (I can guarantee that this meme will be pushed – hard) as opposed to McCain’s steadfastness and experience. Rove and Mehlman will push on these angles the day after Obama is announced the nominee.

As I state in my previous post, it doesn’t matter whether any of these items are the absolute truth; Republicans nor the SCLM

”> will not quibble over the small details if they get in the way of the narrative that is being pushed (like the Clintons “playing the race card” in SC when they did not). And, also understand that any responses to these charges using a “Progressive” or “Liberal” answer – or with snark that only answers the original charge and fails to change the discourse to one that is not controlled by Republicans – means the answer fails the first challenge, and is rejected by the media.

The GOP is not concerned with a blowout. They only need to keep the electoral college vote close enough that a state or two that they control is now in play for an Ohio/Florida fiasco. Since we have a GOP-controlled SCOTUS, any and all problems will end up there, and we get a repeat of Bush vs. Gore.

McCain becomes POTUS, and lots of omelets on Democratic plates to go around.

I hope I am absolutely wrong on all counts regarding this.

Some Thoughts About the Possible GOP Blindside in the GE (Part 1)

2008-02-27T13:54:22-05:00

[Note: I’ve decided to break this into 2 parts to make things much easier for me to deal with. Enjoy, or not]

Watching the SCLM

”> and FRWC start their opening salvos on Barack Obama this week - as well as the responses from his many supporters - made me remember a few things about some of the previous Presidential elections - and how there seemed to be a backdoor slider that made the Democrats (sans W. Clinton) freeze at Strike Three.

1988 - Bush vs. Dukakis.

When discussing this election, the one thing that most people talk about is Lee Atwater’s “Willie Horton” ad, which was racist (and for the most part, untrue, but when has the truth stopped the GOP before?) no matter which way you look at it. There were several variations of the ad, including the “revolving door of criminals” to make Dukakis look soft on crime. While this ad received alot of attention, that wasn’t the backdoor slider that doomed Dukakis.

That dubious distinction belonged to the “Michael Dukakis on a Tank” ad that Bush ran. If you ever get a chance to see this ad, it is the quintessential GOP spin ad - and it succeeded in making Governor Dukakis look like a total buffoon and helped to pin him as hopelessly lost on defense issues in the process.

The Tank ad was the one that Dukakis had no real answer for and was not really challenged in narrative in the MSM (because the Horton ad was the one getting the “Shock!RACISM” tag around the news). This was the one that Democrats in 1988 never saw coming.

2000 - Bush II vs. Gore

Karl Rove shows how much he learned from Lee Atwater (who died from a burst blood vessel in the brain, I think) in this campaign. The meme that Gore had to deal with was the whole “I invented the Internet” crap that the GOP kept pounding away with - even though Gore never said that. This turned into a meta-narrative of “Al Gore - serial liar, and a Geek wants so badly to be the Cool Jock…like George W. Bush is.” And when this was firmly in place, then came the “Alpha Male” stories, the “Earth Tones,” the “Unfunny, Boring, Wonky, Girly Man” hit pieces - but none of these were the backdoor slider.

That belongs to “George Bush: The President You Could Sit Next To at a Bar and Have Beer With” - even though this was so far from true (GOP and Truth divorced again).

Understand this - Regardless of the events of Florida on election night, the mere fact that George W. Bush was able to get as many popular and electoral votes as he did - as well as Gore being unable to carry his home state - speaks volumes within itself. Republicans do not care if they win by a million votes or simply by one. A win is a win - and a mandate to do what they want.

2004 - Bush II vs. Kerry

Every bad campaign deserves a repeat performance. This time around, there was no single backdoor slider. The Kerry campaign faced nothing but backdoor sliders. For that matter, Democrats either got the backdoor slider or beaned in the head with a fastball.

Dean, for example, was hit with a fastball - the infamous “Dean scream” which was neither a scream nor Howard Dean. (Truth is the first casualty, and with the GOP, forever an open wound). Dean’s campaign faltered with the endless “Dean scream” business - and John Kerry moved to the forefront.

But then the Bush team fired backdoor slider #1 - A well-timed raising of the Threat Level with a Color-Coded Terror Alert…just before the Democratic National Convention. This blunts any “positive” momentum Kerry would have had going into the GE.

Backdoor slider #2 - Kerry as a military opportunist and coward. Step one: Criticize his appearances before Congress as a Military Vet when he spoke against the Vietnam war. While he is on the defensive, begin “questioning” his medals. Then insinuate that his wounds were ’self-inflicted’ to gain medals he should not have earned. Photoshop a picture of Kerry with “Hanoi Jane” and circulate.

How does this backdoor slider work for Bush? It works to destroy Kerry’s credibility on military issues. When he apologized for his vote on AUMF, Bush and Cheney seized on that, and his apparent change-of-heart on Iraq war funding supplements (that $87 billion package) - and characterized it simply as “Being for the war before he was against it.”

Backdoor slider #2 was the one Kerry never saw coming. But, even when the attacks first started, Kerry never immediately responded.

Backdoor Slider #3 - Democrats as Rich, European-loving Girly Men…again. Edwards the “Breck Girl” and rich trial lawyer (and trial lawyers care nothing for regular folks except to take their hard-earned money through frivolous lawsuits being the unspoken insinuation) that spends hundreds of dollars on haircuts; Kerry the rich, out-of-touch military traitor that married Theresa Heinz for her money. Add a very stupid picture of John Kerry is a full body suit on his hands and knees, looking very much like a young infant - as well as one of Kerry bumbling with a football, and the message is complete.

And, like Florida in 2000, the horserace put Ohio (which was under GOP control) in play. And “Oops…it happened again.”

Variations of the backdoor sliders (also known as trapdoors) have been used throughout this primary season. The next post (assuming my ADD-riddled brain can focus that much) will look at some of the GOP’s classic tactics used thus far in this campaign.