A curious thing happened earlier this month. For over a year, Mitt Romney and his campaign team ignored just about every issue in order to remain focused solely on jobs and the economy, demonstrating real message discipline, and rejecting everything else as a "distraction."
There's a larger strategy beneath the racially-charged lie.
And then, the message changed. Jobs and the economy were out; welfare and contraception were in. Soon after, imaginary cuts to the Medicare trust fund were added to the GOP mix. As of last week, Romney even wants to talk about birth certificates.
The entire month of August has seen something no one expected: Romney has dropped the economy as his central focus. Did the Republican suddenly become undisciplined? On the contrary, Team Romney shifted gears because it felt a change in message was necessary.
The strategic shift in the campaign message that has been unfolding in recent weeks reflects a conclusion among Mr. Romney's advisers that disappointment with Mr. Obama's economic stewardship is not sufficient to propel Mr. Romney to victory on its own.
Republican strategists said that many middle-class voters had proved reluctant to give up entirely on Mr. Obama, and that they still needed to be convinced that Mr. Romney would look out for their interests.... Mr. Romney's chances hinge to a large degree on running up his advantage among white voters in swing states who show deep strains of opposition to Mr. Obama but do not yet trust Mr. Romney to look out for their interests, Republican strategists say.
The assumption has always been that in order for Romney to win, he'd have to exploit public frustration over the tepid recovery. But those assumptions are changing -- the economy is important, but it's not enough. The fact that the economy is slowly improving, coupled with Romney's controversial private-sector background and failures in Massachusetts, has pushed the GOP ticket to look elsewhere for messages that will drive the campaign.
That's harder than it might seem. Romney doesn't want to push immigration, because he's struggling enough with Latino voters. He can't attack on health care, because Romney created the blueprint for Obama's reform law. He can't push national security, because the president has too many successes and Romney has struggled badly to learn the basics.
And so, the culture war -- most notably racially-charged welfare attacks that resonate with some white voters -- started to look pretty good. It's almost certainly what led Romney to pander to racists with his birther joke on Friday, and why he connected welfare to the Democratic "base" yesterday.
Tom Edsall has a very detailed look along these lines today, explaining that Romney and his aides have carefully and deliberately adopted a strategy "designed to turn the presidential contest into a racially freighted resource competition pitting middle class white voters against the minority poor."
Changing demographics will make this tack impossible in the future, making 2012 the last gasp of divisive Republican tactics at their ugliest and most offensive. It's remarkable, but Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is coming down to this: lie to white people in the hopes that a tribal class/race resentment can propel him to the Oval Office.
It speaks to a profound weakness in Romney's core character, and his complete abandonment of even the slightest shred of integrity, but that doesn't mean it won't work.
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The desperation of Romney's campaign has him out on a limb. Unfortunately for the GOP, Mitt has a saw with him. There is just something about Mitt, that makes me not only wish for his defeat, but also his humiliation. Not very Christian I admit, but I am not a true believer.
human.
People who are entitled deserve to fall flat on their face. He deserves humiliation as a natural consequence of his dispicable behavior. I wish him to learn that lesson
perhaps something in writing leaked showing the race baiting is going on overtly from his campaign
that would be a perfect natural consequence
Is that something about Mitt because he is a good family man? or Because he gave all of his inheritance to his church? or because he was an Eagle scout?
Rachelle, in the first two paragraphs alone you use mis-leading with half truths to start your column. The only people that have tried to hide the dismal economy is NSNBC and the left. If you actually listen to media outlets that use facts, you will hear something about the economy everyday. Second you try to once again dismiss the removal of money from medicare by saying " imaginary cuts" You know this is not true. Even you own Larry from last word did a spot on the removal of funds form medicare, Then he dismissed the removal as insignificant because is was removed from the providers side.
This is defenatly not the new outlet that gives " The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth".
"imaginary cuts"
Are you an idiot or a drone?
the so called cuts you refer to are actually savings that are redirected to the Affordable care Act to help cover 30,000,000 people.
get you facts straight before you spew your tripe
So those are the qualities that make Romney a presidential material?
Wow!what a shame.
What happened to your English Teacher?
Provide evidence i.e links if not,you have no point.
How's that not true?closing loopholes and waste is savings from medicare beneficiaries perspective.
@chemdmd - surely you've been around long enough to understand that the posts to this blog are rarely written by Rachel Maddow? (Hint: you can find the name of each post's author right under the post's headline). You also misspell Rachel's name. Given that you don't even have the basics straight, what credibility does the rest of your post have? And on that note, you’ve misunderstood the conversation around Medicare funding:
Pres. Obama: $716 billion comes from stopping overpayments to insurance companies, reducing fraud and abuse, and negotiating lower payments to providers in exchange for the expectation that more people having access to healthcare through "Obamacare" will make up the difference. The $716 billion in savings is then plowed back into Medicare to firm up and provide more benefits for seniors.
Romney/Ryan: $716 billion comes from the same sources as above. It is then squirreled away in the name of “deficit reduction” read: high-end tax cuts. Medicare’s guarantee is then ended, and seniors are on their own with an inadequate voucher.
I hate to tell you guys this but everything you, the news media, and the candidates say will mean absolutely nothing once people start dishing out 4.00 a gallon for gas. As unfair as it may seem the public will be looking for someone to blame and pay for their suffering and it won't be Romney.
Even I believe the timing is a bit suspicious.
When all else fails, use the "Boogie Man Defense"!
African Americans are 14.1% of the U.S population.
Well, the "Boogie Man" has been used by the right for years now think: Willie Horton, and all of the other rancid rabid whistles that have been blown over the years!
Bottom line is that low information white people are feeling "victimized & marginalized" by what they perceive as gains by African Americans at their expense. What's really ironic is that there are more white people on "welfare" than African American, white men still make $1 compared to the 70 cents made by white women and the .66 cents earned by African American women and "minimum wage" paid to illegals - if they get paid at all (who are they going to complain to?)!
Let's face it people, because of racism, WE the PEOPLE have been divided by our fears and ignorance of what is really going on! It really is WE the 95% that have more in common because of our class than because of our color against the 1% that has gained enormously both monetarily and in power over US!
Robme has finally awakened to the fact that even his "business" experience hasn't made enough people trust him and flock to his candidacy - so the fall back position is fear of "the black man in office and black people in the aggregate" - getting over on white people! The really sad thing is that the corporate owned lame-stream librul media are not challenging Robme's positions or calling attention to his lies! Far from receiving a free pass because they are supposedly the 4th estate and therefore a check on government as a whole - these "journalists" are so busy trying to keep their jobs that they sell US all out by not doing their jobs - reporting the truth, and giving both sides of the issues a real debate!!
WE as a nation are so NOT post-racial!
When is the mainstream media going to point out the absolute falsehood of Romney's claims that Obama is gutting Welfare? Seriously - the memo and letter from HHS are out there for all to see, and it's a simple enough document for even Romney himself to read and understand.
On top of that, the Romney ad cites "Heritage Foundation 7.12.12" and later just displays "7.12.12" as if that is a citation in and of itself. Generally citations in political ads are from newspapers, government reports, and the opposing candidate's own speeches. Instead, Romney tries to pass off the extreme right-wing Heritage Foundation as a legitimate source of fact, and then goes on to just give a date as if giving a date alone proves the claim. Of course, if they actually cited the HHS memo and letter to the states' Governors, people would find out the inconvenient truth of the matter. I realize there's no truth in advertising law for political ads, but if the general public can't see the blatant lack of proof in this ad, then what Zora Renee says is absolutely true: America - too stupid for democracy.
Oh please, a memo from HHS declaring the prohibition on waivers isn't real, isn't legal. This is just another dictator move worthy of Castro or Chavez.
I especially liked the part where Willard signed the letter requesting the waiver.
Americans have heard questions raised about the right for years: questions about the legalities of GOP voter suppression, questions about chads and miscounts to favor the GOP in swing states, questions about redistricting to benefit Republicans, questions about the right's idealogical conflict with basic human rights, questions about the definition of "truth" on conservative talk shows and so-called news outlets, and the worst, questions about the real motivations the right hides behind piety and their God brand.
If anyone, left or right, chooses to cheat our democratic electoral system this much, on so many fronts, why would voters even consider putting the offenders candidate into the Oval Office? To overlook such a body of evidence that the Republicans have given voters, to cast a ballot to put another Republican into the White House is indeed stupidity, willfull selfish stupidity.
Shooter - once again you prove your inability to understand just what is actually going on. On July 12 there was no Executive Order, no declaration by Obama of changes to the Welfare program. There was a memo issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Here is the link:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/policy/im-ofa/2012/im201203/im201203.html
This is the exact document that Romney is trying to paint as Obama "gutting welfare." Please, read it and then prove to us that Romney was talking about something else. Until then, shut your piehole and actually learn something other than trolling methodology.
KJ, CR, IA, may I call you simply KJ?
You have forgotten that misfire's sole and self-declared purpose is to troll liberal blogs in order to sow dissent and division. The verb "understand" does not enter into it.
I understand how this strategy works among his base, which was not going to vote for Obama in large enough numbers anyway, but how does it work for independents? Could this strategy backfire when more reasonable people see it for what it is? At some point, give Chris Matthews credit, is the media going to start asking the tough questions? Will this show up in the debates? I'm just curious.
This whole year has been a failure for the GOP, in every way except fund raising... and there, they've only succeeded due to breaking the system. Sadly, we can't even hope that they'll learn from it; they'll just assume that they needed someone really insane at the head of the ticket, and 2016 will be even loonier.
Yes, that Scott Walker recall was a crushing.......oh wait.
To Eric! The people of WI decided that they didn't want to recall a governor for political reasons, rather than for malfeasance. But they returned the Senate to Democratic majority... so, there!
Bwaahahahahahahahhhhhaaa -whew, got to take a breath - hahahhhhhaaaa!!!!
Thanks Jim, I needed a Monday laugh.
The Koch brothers manipulated the election in Wisconsin. Busing in outsiders, covering the place with outside money, making sure that the Democratic challenger wasn't finalized until right before the election... if you think that election wasn't rigged as far as they could get away with, you're dumber than you sound.
You must not work in Wisconsin. Gutting collective bargaining rights is gutting US worker's power to negotiate living wages and decent benefits, thus saving employers money.
Are you a proponent of making a decent income or increasing corporate profit margins?
How come when the mandate of Union dues was eliminated, the Union membership dropped like a stone?
You mean Tax payers? You must not work in WI either, it was about PUBLIC Unions.
Right, they bused in voters? Isn't that "fraud", which the left says never happens? You can't have it both ways. Unions bused in tons of outsiders during their temper tantrum. I do think it's very cute that you bring up rigging a election and will kick and scream when voter ID laws are talked about. Sad.
I point out when actual fraud happens; considering that fraud that voter ID would stop doesn't happen (and has been admitted by GOP entities pushing the bills), your argument belies your lack of understanding of what the situation actually is. Sad, but expected from a troll.
I'm sorry Eric. Please, do let me know when the tax payers you are so concerned about get a drop in taxes because the right finally slashed enough budgets and stripped enough services and canned enough people.
...but you said they are busing in people from out of town? You can't even keep your rhetoric straight, and your left name calling skills are lacking too.
Yes, we need to live within our means. Tell BO and the Senate to pass a budget, or how about even putting one up for a vote? Well, except Barack's, his got zero votes.
It is just unfortunate for Mitt that Congress is in recess and unable to further depress the economy.
It's not so much the middle class whites - he's got those that he is going to get. It's going after the low-information working class whites. The ones who have always and traditionally been made to feel themselves in competition with blacks, going back to the way ol' Massa justified the slaveocracy of the South, which also kept down the poor whites due to economic competition they couldn't win, by telling them "hey, you get good treatment because you're white." Then it changed to "they'll take your job." All this plays on the fears of those whose only advantage in life to date was the accident of their birth. To convince them that voting against their own economic interests by voting Republican is to defend their "values" and their place.
The irony being that Mitt has contributed to thinning out the numbers of 'working class whites.'
I guess unleashing white sheets is about all Romney has left, but I am ashamed that any national politician would stoop to such stuff (I would use stronger language, but you get the point.)
There must be a whole lot more white men over 60 than I imagine, because I don't think he is going to get the votes from enough white men over 60 and non-college educated white men he is going to need to over come his horrible numbers among women, latinos and blacks.
There is also every possibility that he is going to lose a lot of seniors after Obama finishes taking on Romney's welfare plan.
This is called "whistling past the graveyard". Let all the peripheral issues get aired out now, and save the economy for later. It's still be there and ugly after this all blows over.
DUCK!
Except it won't be, because it isn't, except in the mind of people who keep moving the goalposts.
Wouldn't it help the President to run against the do-nothing Congress? And hammer home his plans for Jobs, Infrastructure Projects, Equality, and a Fair Tax on Wealh/Income? In my new Congressional District, Darrell Issa looks vulnerable! Replacing Issa with a Progressive could push Pres Obama to propose Truman-Eisenhower style works projects!
After redistricting, Issa and I got sucked into the same district. He won't engage in debates with opponents in the 49th District. That's undemocratic, and not what our nation was founded on. Help future Congressman Jerry Tetalman replace Darrell Issa.
Sign the online petition at the link below.
Thanks,
Fred C, Member of Drinking Liberally-Encinitas!
http://jerryforcongress2012.com/site/demand-that-issa-finally-participates-in-a-debate/
Friends, supporters, and anyone else who is outraged like us:
Rep. Darrell Issa appears to be continuing his own personal election tradition by once again refusing to debate his congressional opponent.
It�s been years since Issa had to publicly account to the voters of CA-49th district by answering questions on his legislative record and his failure to represent the interests of this district.
We at Jerry Tetalman for Congress 2012 are shocked that an elected official would behave this way and are demanding that Issa join Jerry in discussing the pressing issues in this election.
But we need your help to make this happen. Please follow the link below to sign a petition demanding that Representative Issa follow the will of the people and participate in a public debate with his Democratic opponent.
http://signon.org/sign/darrell-issa-stop-ducking
One of the speakers at the RNC convention regarding "We Built It " theme is a woman who owns First State Manufacturing, Sher Valenzuela, but a funny thing happened on her way to success:
First State Manufacturing got its feet on the ground with an initial $20,000 loan from the Small Business Administration.
In 2001, it obtained another $96,500 from the SBA when the company "was ready to grow again." It got another $65,800 disaster loan to deal with business fall-out from the Sept. 11 attacks.
FSM's 40 employees now work out of facility funded by a $1.8 million SBA 504 loan.
Since it began operations, FSM has received $15 million in federal contracts two-thirds of which were obtained non-competitively. In fiscal 2012 alone, the company has received more than half a million dollars in government contracts with the Air Force and defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin.
This speaker proves President Obama's point.
AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/hot-news-views/rnc-speakers-business-experience-blows-holes-partys-we-built-it-theme?
You all need to read Tom Edsall's article. The Rs newest tactics are working. They are picking up a number of new white voters. The Obama campaign has reason to be concerned.
Because they are worried, frustrated and the undertone of these Welfare Ads are adding fuel and inflaming the frustration to anger. With all this Cardinal Dolan is giving the blessing, because he supports the Republican party and that draws the white Catholic vote. What a shame the Catholic Church has now become supportive of race baiting, not the teachings of the God I was taught to love and believe in.
Nobody trusts the males in charge of the Catholic church. They all lie and cover each others asses. The nuns are the ones the republicans need to worry about.
Goes too with the anti Muslim, anti gay rights, persecution against Christians, etc. This effort by the GOP may be more coordinated with the fundie churches than most people realize. They may not be handing out leaflets telling people to vote for Romney but the message is being injected into the weekly sermons by partisan preachers.
Yes BUT...I take issue with you at the very beginning of this post...'For over a year, Mitt Romney and his campaign team ignored just about every issue in order to remain focused solely on jobs and the economy, demonstrating real message discipline, and rejecting everything else as a "distraction."' BS. The only 'message discipline' they had on the economy is to TELL everyone that were focused on it. A couple of times a 'plan' came up, was promptly scored and not well and then came the argument 'Well OBAMA never had a budget!' or 'NOBODY voted for Obama's budget'. They are NOT talking about the economy or jobs or anything related to GETTING jobs. NOW that people are finally calling them out, they are bringing out the white sheets. This morning? 'Obama just wants to give 'free stuff' to his BASE'...aren't they cute?
The fact is that playing the Wallace-Helms-Lott-Thurmond card is all they have left. It's actually an admission of failure. Romney has lost on his Bain background, lost on his political background, lost on everything else. Racial animosity and bigotry are all he has left in his quiver.
Let's hope he loses at the ballot box, cause Shooter and Eric and IrishPat aren't the only ones with a deathgrip on being "winners".
The campaign is no longer about the economy because Mitt cannot afford another nationwide rally of the 99%. I wonder how many swing voters were in those masses who occupied? How many races of peoples were represented? Do you really think they will swing their vote to Mitt? The hurricane warnings may have been the best thing that could happen for the RNC this summer. Of course, it looks like they will loose a lot of money on the big fandango.
I would love to see the Occu-criers return, and so would Mitt. I think they did absolutely nothing but made the left look like a bunch of cry babies, with a dash of rape, theft and violence thrown in. I'm sure BO would not want their return either.
You're accusing the "Occupy" folks of all being rapists? Wow, where did THAT little nugget come from?
The signs of Republican desperation are everywhere.
Well, the news, you should try it sometime. Granted not all were OWS protesters (some were). Now I did not say they were rapists, but in that environment, it was a "legitimate" concern.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sexual-assaults-occupy-wall-street-camps/story?id=14873014#.UDvN2aBRxBk
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/11/woman-raped-at-occupy-philadelphia/
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Woman-Raped-at-Occupy-New-Haven-Cops-142627056.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20122659-504083.html
Too many white people working along side minorities saw all of their jobs outsourced. Their anger will not be at their coworkers, but at management, who put profits ahead of people. The image of the Bain vulture is much more compelling than who is in line with them at the unemployment or food stamp office. The rich white guy is the one taking your job.
Gotta love it. In 2012 a former Govenor of a blue northern state intend to use the "southern strategy" to be elected President of the US of A. Amazing, and disgusting at the same time...
George, you would be SO proud of your son. Not.
Actually, Romney can do all of those things. He just has to lie, and lying is something Romney is always ready and willing to do. He sucks at lying, but fortunately for him the media is there to help him out by failing to call a spade a spade. So I'd be very leery of saying definitely what Romney can or can't do. After all, the previous 2012 orthodoxy was that the race would be all about the economy, and that Republicans were so over the culture war. That didn't even last to the start of convention season.
Depending on how effective the voter suppression and intimidation tactics are this year. If they do the job intended, then it'll be just rinse and repeat for the foreseeable future.
Since passage of the '64 Civil Rights Act, the GOP election strategy has been - if all else fails, go to the "lazy, welfare cheating, thinking they're entitled Black Folks" plan. And now with Obama in the White House, they added "this Black man isn't a real American" to the list. It's a disgrace how useful racism can be in this country.
It's this simple: having completely alienated the members of virtually every minority, Romney has to get 61% of the white vote to win--and that only if white turnout equals 74% of the total electorate, as it did in 2008. There is no other path to victory available to him.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/political-connections/the-new-math-of-presidential-elections-20120823
Just insisting over and over again that what the economy really needs is more of what almost killed it wasn't getting him there. The seemingly deliberate efforts to alienate women, make it harder. The only hope they saw of getting a share of the white vote they haven't gotten in decades is to try to stir up tribalism.
Just heard on MSNBC that Obama could get fewer votes than Romney, but win Ohio, and still win the Electoral College vote.
Except he's not Bush, and is on track to win by a large margin, both popular vote and electoral college.
In interviews the Republicans keep trying to assert that women are more interested in issues related to the economy and will therefore vote for Romney, but I think most women understand that the cost of voting Republican in any election is to give up sovereignty over their own bodies. Even though I am conservative on some issues abortion and reproductive rights are a deal breaker.
if obama sued mitt for slander for saying obama took away the seniors benefits, Mitt would have to pay, play retraction commercials, and be forced to tell the truth. please pass it on
This race has always been about race, just not as you might think of it. The direction that we have moved in is creating a new split. Your income will determine your race, class and whatever else. That is the unfortunate case. The more you can afford to pump the system, the fewer worries you have. As much as that has always been part of the equation, the rest is being erased and that is all that will be left.
We need to take a hold of our politicians, our public EMPLOYEES, and let them know that this wont fly. We need responsible governing. We need a balanced budget and reliable social safe-guards for all so that our society can grow in sustainable ways.
As of now, our tax and budget are unbelievably out of whack. Our best bet for quick and balanced recovery is the Bowles-Simpson Plan. It would eliminate unfair tax loopholes and minimize tax rises. (see http://bit.ly/jxKLyR)