Just a couple of weeks ago, Rachel explained an annoying habit politicians and campaigns invariably pick up. She called it the "I'm rubber, you're glue; whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you" technique.
It's a basic idea we've all seen many times. A politician and his or her team identify their biggest weaknesses and then start accusing their rival of being guilty of that same thing.
Mitt Romney seems eager to perfect this technique.
Romney's most glaring policy problem is his abysmal jobs record -- he failed in Massachusetts and orchestrated mass layoffs at his vulture-capital firm -- so he accuses President Obama of failing to create jobs. Romney intends to end Medicare and replace it with a voucher scheme, so he accuses Obama of undermining Medicare. Romney favors European-style austerity and spent several years in France, so he accuses Obama of wanting to turn the U.S. into Europe.
But last night, Romney unveiled a new line. Here was his speech in Wisconsin, after winning the state's Republican primary:
Here's the quote that stood out for me:
"President Obama thinks he's doing a good job. No, I'm not kidding. He actually thinks he's doing a great job. An historically great job. According to the President, only Lincoln, FDR and Lyndon Johnson have accomplished more. And no, he didn't say that on Saturday Night Live.
"It's enough to make you think that years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of True Believers telling you what a great job you are doing, well, that might be enough to make you a little out of touch."
For now, let's put aside the fact that Romney is misquoting Obama, and instead focus on the real issue here: Romney thinks the president is "out of touch." Yes, he said this with a straight face.
This from the guy who needs an elevator for his cars. This from the guy who doesn't let his quarter-of-a-billion-dollar fortune stop him from joking about being "unemployed." This from the guy who finds stories about factory layoffs "humorous."
Romney boasts about his wife driving "a couple of Cadillacs," says he's "not concerned about the very poor," and says making over $374,000 in speaking fees in a year is "not very much" money. All of those examples followed Romney suggesting elective office is only for the rich, clumsily talking about his fondness for being able to fire people, demanding that talk of economic justice be limited to "quiet rooms," accusing those who care about income inequality of "envy," daring Rick Perry to accept a $10,000 bet, and suggesting that Americans should somehow feel sorry for poor banks.
But his new line is that Obama is "out of touch."
Why? Probably because he knows how vulnerable he is on this, so he's trying to muddy the waters. Maybe, the thinking goes, if voters can be convinced that both major party candidates are "out of touch," Romney won't suffer too much.
Given Romney's wealth and recent history, though, it's hard to imagine anyone finding this persuasive.
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Perhaps Mitt thinks being rubber is an improvement over seeming wooden.
What you don't understand is that Republicans have a mental filter: Anything their guy says = true/ Anything the other guy says = false.
You cannot apply reason to people to whom facts, evidence, and logic do not matter.
and...Faux Nooze is "Fair and Balanced"
Why all the other Nooze shows are lying .
I'm from Mass, and having a memory, it seems clear that mittens is the one who has surrounded himself adoring with yes men. Mitt doesn't believe he can do any wrong, including running up a massive deficit in MA, and going on to try and be on both sides of every issue.
This reads as even more bizarre when you consider the lambasting Obama has been getting from the left. Granted governing from the center-right, he probably expected as much..
Watching this last night, I found his words so offensive that it sickened me. That he garnered so much applause made me even sicker. Who the hell are these people and what rock do they live under?
Of course, the Hubbs and I both thought Mitt was speaking of Bush/Cheney who only ever watched Fox News and lived inside their All Is Right (Wing) With The World bubble.
If you noticed his audience it wasn't very diversified, neither was Santorams. They probably ran out the money they were using to pay the actors they used in their audiences. Also, if you notice the crowd standing behind the nominees they are not even paying attention to what is being said. I think they must have signs that say applaud. Or they're taking the que from Elizabeth. Why was Elizabeth wearing scarlet red? Could she be passive agressive?
Well, ain't that the pot calling the carrot black.
Yes, I said carrot.
Because Obama is NOTHING like Mitt Romney, and Romney thinks HE'S the one out of touch.
yes...one more time it was 'the other' argument...HE'S out of touch because he's not like US...white, cranky, entitled and RICH.
hahhaa! right on the nail!
This phenomenon let's call it, twitch and skate is very apparent to me. I wonder if Republican viewers are seeing it? I think they do see it, but they are ignoring it because they believe Rmoney has their back. Buffy needs a new horse or a new house. She is bored to tears of the 9 she has now. Guess what you can be strong and beautiful but, first Buffy needs to do something to improve her intellect and her dependence on a man. What makes the 1% so sure that Rmoney does have their back? He is on a path of destruction he is in cahoots now with Ryan on this one. He is destroying the Middle Class and the poor. If the 1% get in his way like the middle class and the poor are, he will start destroying them too. Greed and Egotism are diseases which if left untreated have the capacity to destroy nations. ie,....Remember the Holocaust.
I'm loving 'twitch and skate'...
OK we can put aside the MISQUOTE until FRIDAY when you can call it 'mendacity' or LIES as we on the West Coast call deliberate parsing of a another candidates remarks. YES...Romney AND his wife Ann are OUT OF TOUCH. The 'I'm so freakin' rich and I can buy ANYTHING, even an election' party has done nothing but try to disenfranchise voters, and suck up to the WEALTHY. 'We will do ANYTHING to ensure you get to keep more money guys, while we screw the middle class, women and the poor'. And the President is 'outta touch'...
Whose out of touch? Which one has a sense of humor, which one is taking care of the Worlds' enemies? Which one has been working for the last 3+ years? Which one takes the time to explain some of the dynamics that have created the mess that we're in? Which one was not born with a silver spoon in their mouth? Which one takes care of their pets and even includes them in the Christmas decor of their home. I think if I were to sit down and talk to President Obama he would listen and understand. On the other hand I think Romney would avoid me like the plague as he is doing with MSNBC. He did instruct me to look for free stuff, which I have had to do in order to survive. I think if I tried to sit down and talk to this guy, HE WOULDN'T.
YES...Romney AND his wife Ann are OUT OF TOUCH. The 'I'm so freakin' rich and I can buy ANYTHING
Then they have the gall to claim we "envy" them for their wealth. They are so consumed with Satanism they do not know what Satanism is. If Satan went to Romney and promised him great wealth if Romney would worship him Romney would say "too late". Romney sh!ts all over Jesus and the gospel, he does not even know what it is.
Romney is a Satanist, Santorum is the blasphemer who mocks God with moral elitism, who parades himself as without sin.
Mitt's supporters seem to believe they will not have to line up for "their turn in the barrel".
This is all as arcane, "inside baseball" nonsense, because nobody is paying the least bit of attention, and won't, until the week after Labor Day. During the annual Sprouting of the Yard Signs. That is when the majority of voters begin to pay attention, and perhaps -PERHAPS- got to the polls.
Well, that gives Meh the advantage because he knows MLB owners, right?
A big lie he keeps repeating is about government controlling our lives. The part of government that is big is transfer payments like social security, medicare, medicaid, and we have choice about how we spend those transfer payments. And actual discretionary spending, as Obama said in his speech, is the lowest since Eisenhower. A fuller argument is here: http://therepublicon.blogspot.com/2012/04/central-republicon-lie-about-big.html
Unfortunately some people were not listening to what he was saying because the color of his skin was interfering with them doing that. They just see his color and then they conveniently start to go deaf. The President acknowledges this but, he can't say anything because that is exactly what the GOP have been trying to force him to do. Guess what we can say it all we want!!!
A big lie he keeps repeating is about government controlling our lives.
Exactly. Republicans despise the rule of law because it stands between them and your wallet. Every Republican knows that any money not stolen by them and given to the rich is wasted. They call it "freedom", freedom to grab your cash. Of course "our" as in "government controlling our lives" refers to the rich and how the nasty government prevents their wholesale theft of public resources. Romney said so straight out- "corporations are people" as in We the People... The working class is nothing but a bunch of stooges who deserve to get fleeced.
May the enthusiasm grow! The divide is narrow& money will play a huge part as we all know. A sound beating is the only thing republicans will understand, especially in congress which is where all stops should be pulled to elect good candidates, Elizabeth Warren comes to mind. Thinking of a far right win should keep us involved by calling them on every lie.
No, the Republicans will not understand a beating. They will simply say that the Dems must have cheated. After all divine providence says the Pugs should win.
They will simply say that the Dems must have cheated.
They have it figured out. First, tell bald-faced lies. Then, when confronted with facts, just tell more lies. If they are called the liars they are simply appear offended and demand an apology.
When tax cuts for the rich cause debt, blame the Democrats of causing debt with spending. When confronted with the paradox between "small government" and intrusive moral legislation, call Democrats the "Party of Death" and bring up euthanasia. They pose as opposing voter fraud in order to limit Democrats' voting base while engaging in electoral fraud themselves.
The real problem with Republicans is they cannot take their lies back. They only become more and more extreme in their lying.
Sorry, they're not ready to learn from a beating. At this point in their (dare we call it that) evolution, they'll just interpret a beating as proof that they weren't pure enough.
they're not ready to learn from a beating
They know exactly what they are doing. Does anyone think Republicans actually believe tax cuts for the rich make jobs? That tax cuts increase revenue? That Social Security needs to be saved by giving it to the rich? That lazy-ass grandmothers are bankrupting the nation with Medicare handouts? That only trillions spent on the military prevents America from being overrun and defeated by imaginary enemies? That the President of the United States is a far left wing Marxist? And on and on.
What Republicans actually believe is they will win. Fascists believe their own lies. They believe they can "take the country back" from the unwashed rabble that seized power over two hundred years ago and reinstate their own traditional birthright and aristocratic privileges. Either Republicans choke on their lies and disappear or they will mount a coup and be crushed by force.
Conscious projection is a blatant rhetorical game played by the political right.
There are unconscious psychological projection, conscious projection, lies, and bullsh!t. In this case there are two- conscious and unconscious projection, and particularly conscious projection. Republicans deliberately take legitimate criticisms of their own policies and turn them back. Republican moral supremacists try to legislate their own morality then whine that "liberals" are telling everyone else what to do. Republican economic policy racks up debt, they blame "Obama's spending". They game the debt ceiling and blame Democrats for "uncertainty". They accuse political opponents of treason and Marxism when they themselves are America-hating fascists. They gather up all the crimes of Rupert Murdoch and blame them on George Soros. Republicans deliberately call crime "freedom" so they can fleece the public.
I believe every word the GOP say. It's when they put those words in sentences that I have a problem.
Speaking in "Erase-A-Sketch" terms "I'm rubber, you're glue", brings up the 1960's "Super-Ball" toy - rubber ball with a high coefficient of restitution, see the experiments, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Ball, it reminds me of Super-Pacs. Another toy Clackers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clackers, possibly the most dangerous toy outside of Lawn Darts, what they look like is for your imagination. If we combine super-balls and clackers we get a toy that suggest loss of control, dangerous but none the less act like Super-Pacs.
Pretty much sums up the Republican party as far as I can see. That and the fact that they've abandoned exaggeration and gone straight to lying. Liar, liar.... pants on fire...
I think Obama should claim that he's going to reform entitlements, so the GOP can say it's a bad idea.
This new Republican Party embraces the Ryan Plan. The Ryan Plan, if enacted, will lead to a two-class system in America; the rich and those that serve them. Romney is a perfect choice for these very rich manipulators. He has no core beliefs, none!
The Democratic Party should pound home a very simple message to combat the assault during the upcoming election campaign. Republican ads are funded by the very rich to accomplish one thing; to convince those they would make their servants that electing the candidates of the wealthy will be good for them. The wealthy can not win an election without the servant vote. Don't help them to diminish you!
Nobody seems to mention another classic use of this tactic. That's the "birther" argument, which started back when McCain was running. Remember where McCain was born? Panama!
That is what I dont get about democrats. Why on earth they are so stupid and do not use these lines of hypocrisy from right against them? Why when Trump brought this issue up nobody asked him about this? ... I am not mad at republicans; this is who they are. I am mad at democrats who are so naive in this game.
Remember where McCain was born? Panama!
Mitt's father George ran for President in 1968 and was born in Mexico.
Barry Goldwater was born in New Mexico while it was a territory, not part of the United States.
Yeah, I've been wondering about George Romney's run ever since a couple months ago when I heard about his being born in Mexico.
Rachel to be honest I thought Mitt was talking about himself as he has his own plane and as a Corporate Executive he has people bow to him. Even Ann knows her place and stays in it. We heard the 5 thousand dollar bet with Perry. In a way I feel bad for Mitt because he doesn't really like regular people and just has never had to deal with people who aren't wealthy. I remember when the guys had to sign up for the draft and Mitt's Daddy got him out of the country. Mitt might even have a problem with troops as Mitt said he would never allow his sons to join the military. Poor Ann is doing the best she can to lie for Mitt but she knows women will smile and vote for Barack. But to be fair to Mitt, men never dealt with women's personal mental problems, look boys didn't even say point back then. Men would say go to your mother when a girl had a personal problem. Mitt has no clue what women need and really doesn't care. Things have changed since 1947 and Mitt has caught up with the 1964 civil rights bill passed and it's ok to talk to black people. Now what Mitt doesn't want to admit is his Mexican relatives and his Mexican blood. Yes Barack takes pride in being black/white but Mitt is ashamed of being part Mexican because his elite friends will talk about him.
I remember when the guys had to sign up for the draft and Mitt's Daddy got him out of the country.
Maddow was discussing this very topic. Mitt got out of the war by spending four years in France as a Mormon missionary. This is funny because he is always attacking "European-style socialism" when European-style socialism saved his sorry ass.
Now what Mitt doesn't want to admit is his Mexican relatives and his Mexican blood.
Mitt is always hyping "marriage is between a man and a woman" yet comes from a family of devoted polygamists.
Right-wingers like to claim Obama is a Marxist because his mother was a Marxist (probably not true but only a fool cares) yet Santorum's family in Italy are communists.