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The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan has a column that runs every Friday. This week, however, she has a 2,000-word piece that ran yesterday, apparently because the former Reagan speechwriter didn't think this could wait until the end of the week.
It's time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one. It's not big, it's not brave, it's not thoughtfully tackling great issues. It's always been too small for the moment.
On the "47 percent" line in particular, Noonan added, "This is not how big leaders talk, it's how shallow campaign operatives talk: They slice and dice the electorate like that, they see everything as determined by this interest or that. They're usually young enough and dumb enough that nobody holds it against them, but they don't know anything. They don't know much about America."
She went on to say Romney's strategy "isn't working," and parts of it are based on logic that's "slightly crazy."
I should note that the columnist and GOP pundit offers some odd advice to her preferred candidate, including urging Romney to "hold a hell of a rally in ... downtown Brooklyn." To be sure, I'm not a Republican strategist, but the suggestion does not strike me as wise.
But putting that aside, the larger takeaway here is that Peggy Noonan (like David Brooks) seems to have completely lost confidence in Romney -- not just as a candidate, but as a man who now seems manifestly unprepared to lead early next year.
What Noonan seems to want is some kind of do-over in late September. She calls for an "intervention," but her column reads more like a plea for a "reinvention" -- a better candidate with a better understanding of America, a better message, a better team, and a better strategy.
If this helps reflect the anxieties of the Republican establishment even a little, it's no wonder there's a whiff of irrational conservative dread in the air.
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If only one of the superPACs could buy him a tardis, he could go back in time & try again. There are still some things money can't buy.
Like a way out of a grandfather paradox.
she calling for a flip-flop on the ticket.
Mitt-Flip for Paul-Flop!
either way they are going to get to eat another sh!t sandwich.
What is a conservative? Because I sure don’t get it. Conservatives claim to be religious than do not even follow their religious faith. Conservatives claim to have family values than do everything possible to make it more difficult for families. Conservatives claim to be helpful to all people than only side with extreme rich people that will literally take everything you got and destroy the environment. Conservatives claim to love their neighbor than speak for hatred of others. Conservatives talk about being charitable than talk down the poor and needy like they are some worthless dogs. Conservatives talk about freedom of religion than deny everybody their own religious faith. If that is what it is to be a conservative, you can keep it and being a liberal is indeed far better than accepting that total falsehood. And by being liberal, I do indeed stand with God, Jesus, and the light.
"What is a conservative?"
its a myth
kind of like the mythical Unicorn.
Deb - you covered the hypocrisy of social conservstives there pretty well, but there are also fiscal conservatives. The GOP claims this mantle too, but it's hard to believe when you look at their history of spending and not paying for it (see "Bush tax cuts," "Iraq war," "Medicare Part D," and so on).
Many fiscal conservatives, however, are not GOP. Many are Independents or Democrats. I consider myself a fiscal conservative - in favor of balancing the budget and reducing the deficit and debt so as not to pass a heavy burden on to future generations. But I don't propose to do it on the backs of the middle class, poor, or elderly, like Mendacious Mitt and Lyin' Ryan want to.
See what Noonan is doing?
She sees a disaster coming and so what do you do. You get all the valuable things out of the way so they don't get annihilated in the process. So what is she moving out of the way?
She wants to make votes against Romney not to be votes against conservatism, but a votes against an incompetent.
So don't let them squirm out of it. Don't indulge in the easy hits on campaign blunders. Focus on the issues, and the Romney / Far Right positions. This needs to be a repudiation of GOP policies on:
The ball in in the President's court. The safe play is to simply win based not on substance, but based on appearances. This must be translated into a mandate, it must be a watershed year where the country had the transformational moment when the words of anger and division no longer carried the weight they did.
.
For all his careful calculation, Obama has taken huge risks before. The question is whether he will rise exploit to this historic opportunity, or let it slip through his fingers as he did when the Too big to fail institutions could have been broken up.
JohnMesserly: I think the divide in ideology is too big at the moment for risk.
We could hope to stop the fat cats blockage but only if their jobs were on the line. That they could get away with holding the country hostage last year in not raises the debt ceiling without an all out revolt, points to dysfunction. It's dysfunctional... an intervention is in order...lol
What is a conservative?
Think of them in terms of who is excluded by those "values." For instance, "Christian" means excluding Muslims, atheists, anyone who believes in reproductive freedom for women, etc.
If you go down your list with that in mind, it makes a lot more sense.
THE RISK OF THE “47%” ISSUE FOR DEMOCRATS
There is one very important way in which this “47%” video
coverage actually accomplishes a crucial GOP objective.
Recall that one year ago “Occupy Wall Street” popularized
the “99% vs. 1%” theme, and that “frame” has been fairly durable for most of
the time since. The GOP has been scared
to death of that frame, because it clearly placed them as the defender of the
1%....against everyone else. That framing
of the economic landscape blows away all of their efforts to use their various
“wedge” issues….because virtually everyone is part of that abused 99%.
This huge problem for them is why they started pushing this
“53% vs.47%” of federal income tax payers vs. non-payers frame earlier this
year. If they can succeed at that, it is
the ‘mother of all wedge issues’….re-dividing the “99%”
It doesn’t really matter if the “47%” argument falls apart
upon close inspection of the actual numbers…..it has successfully re-calibrated
the popular “frame” to one that is hugely more favorable to the GOP….especially
with low-information voters.
More importantly, the GOP knows that the electorate this
year is in no mood to feel “generous” to all the people in that 47% that
actually deserve to not be paying federal taxes. Moreover, that is a somewhat complicated intellectual argument to explain…rather than the GOP ‘bumper sticker’ message of “you’re paying taxes and they’re not”.
The GOP knows that people are angry, scared, feeling
insecure, and looking for someone to blame for their problems. Voila….the new ‘frame’ is the classic GOP trick to deflect blame downward to that 47%......rather than upward to that 1%.
Democrats and Progressives must make sure the ‘frame’ of the
1% screwing the 99% remains the dominant framing of economic issues for this
election.
P.S. The way to use
the 47% issue is through targeted communication channels to the sub-populations
that get screwed by the GOP frame….not by keeping this argument as the mass
media focus. For example, target seniors
with messaging about how the GOP lumping in retirees into that 47% scorned group is consistent with their plan
to turn Medicare into a “voucher” program……this is the GOP vision of a way to
force seniors to take that “personal responsibility” that Romney talks about.
LOL Pilot Shark !
It is pretty simple to renew thier campaign. All that Ryan and Romney need to do is :
Grow spines
Grow consciences
Grow integrity
Grow sincerity
Grow veracity
Hmmmmmm . . . so I guess that means they need to be people other than who they are !
Try telling the CEO of the company you work for, "SHUT UP!"
They picked the wrong guy. His arogance, megalomania ...cal it what you will, perfect people don't stand down. He's out of their control running a muck.
Like I said in an earlier post, IF Mitt was the man with the plan, he'd be shouting it from the roof tops drawing some positive light on his negative narrative.
His logic has slipped out many times as a calculating CEO who has no concern for what happens to people when he makes a decision that benefits himself and his investors.
He has made it abundantly clear that a having been a CEO is not a good qualification for the Presidency. I guess that is one thing we can thank him for.
Really, what have Willard and the Lyin' One said other than "we're not Obama"?
A far Right base-driven campaign that was baseless to begin with. Eastwood's empty chair encapsulates this foolish campaign perfectly....
He (Obama)'s not there...not where they've tried to pin him with all of their birther crap, distortions of his record, and flat out lies.
They truly reap what they've sown. Try fixing that, Peg.
@bob, George Romney was semi successful as CEO of a real company, with real products and customers. While Mitt has accumulated much more personal wealth than his dad, I don't see that he has any real world, practical experience as a manager. Lately, he doesn't look like he could sell air conditioners in Tuscon in a heat wave.
During the intervention they oughta perform an excorcism on Ryan as well. Now, we know the problem was drugs all along, it wasn't us they were the ones going crazy, it was the drugs.
LOL
calling Bobby (Brady) Jindal
Hey...Paul Ryan has AC/DC to Zeppelin on his ipod, doesn't he? It has to be drugs. Gretchen and her buddies at Fox and Friends will get to the bottom of this atrocity!!
Come to think of it Ryan lies about everything else so I'm sure the ipod thing is a total fabrication, too. What a relief!!
The funny thing about Nooner's suggestion is it's still all about optics. Romney's message is still one that a bunch of "new Americans" in Brooklyn would f***ing HATE. He alienated the NAACP when he speechified to them. Latino outreach tends to cause more problems than it cures. I don't think Ann has swayed many of the womenfolk to bat their eyes her husband's way.
The message is awful. The message is awful. The message is awful. No change in venue will disguise that fact. Taking his message of "screw the working man, the minority, the poor" directly to the working man, the minority and the poor is not a solution, it's another photo op for Mitt gasping for air like a landed carp.
I daresay it's the sort of suggestion a know-nothing young campaign operative might offer.
Have another drink, Peg. You need it.
I honestly can't believe she's paid good money to be this stupid.
Without her husband, Ann would be part of the 47%. The least she could do is stand up for women who fall in that category.
I hope Romney tries her suggestion - and if he does, I'm taking bets on the attendance. I'd put the over/under at 20, not counting Romney staffers and media.
I'll take "over" as long as I can count hecklers.
It's endlessly fascinating and irritating that the king-makers think it's simply a matter of packaging and artificial message-making as if the actual contents of the package and the real policies are of little consequence.
You simply can't polish a turd. Mitt Romney is a turd. It takes an insightful person roughly 10 minutes to see this. Our problem is we live in a country with an unnerving number of really, really stupid people.
I don't neccessarily think they are stupid as much as not having had to go through some of life's trials, like a lot of Americans have had to. They didn't have to walk through the fire,they are not refined enough. The depression didn't affect them, alot of them have profited from it. The recession hasn't affected them, they have no memory of it, and they are asking us to forget it also, there are certain events in life that we shouldn't forget lest we end up there again. We need to move forward, but, we should never forget.
I'm a Florida State fan and my son says that I would buy a dried dog turd if it had "Seminoles" written on it.
And, unfortunately, some people will buy anything if it has an "R" written on it. Look at the
trollsconservatives that come to this site. They're spinning so fast they're dizzy.That's why, although Romney's campaign should be over at this point, it will probably still be a close race.
VOTE!!
correct get out the Vote!!
we need to act like we need all 538 EV and at lease 15 million more votes then President Obama got over McCain!
thats should be our motivation!
You only have to know two things about Republicans and their Useful Idiots:
1) Republicans are on Team Republican. There is no Team America for Republicans . They are fanatical fans, loyalists, team players. And all their efforts are for Team Republican.
2) Republicans have one goal: to destroy the government. It doesn't matter if this is a disaster for the country and the majority of its citizens. It doesn't matter if it results in a banana republic.
Remember these things and everything Republicans do and say makes sense. Forget them and nothing they do and say makes sense.
Actually Angel, I'm talking about the Useful Idiots when I say there are an unnerving number of really, really stupid people. A lot of these people have had to endure a lot of life's trials. They're like the folks you see on the cable religious shows sucking up everything the transparently oleaginous preacher is vomiting out. But it's not only the Useful Idiots; there are a terribly significant number of morons amongst the rich, too. It is not a necessary condition, nor a sufficient one to have brains and intelligence to get or be rich.
I agree, isn't it ironic that the strongest, happiest people in America are the 47%..despite all that we've been through. We take it on the chin, we are a motley crew but, we should never be discounted.
ARRRRg matie you are correct.
smiling well it is pirate speak day.
Mitt won the nomination by buying the Angry White Vote-you know, the people who think the rest of the world is out to get them. Shiftless, lazy, no good______fill in the blank.
Going after that vote, he dug a hole so deep that now he can't get out. There will be no "reset".
Collective paranoia.
In the old rugged days of fiercely independent people, Mitt would have been tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail as a snake oil salesman. Perhaps he will share his plans for our future or are they written on golden plates only he can see and only he can translate with his magic stone.
And then came a bolt of lightning from above that delivered a blow and smashed it to pieces.
What is really depressing is that Romney has been called "smart" business guy whose job is to "turn" things around by many in the beltway.
Now would they say it out loud that Romney isn't smart and just like the other CEO's is at best an [average] intelligent guy in a comfortable sit with plenty of information not known by most and with plenty of money to buy and sell.
Romney can't even run a campaign for the presidency.If he is this incompetent,how Would this guy handle a nation of 310+ million souls,the biggest Economy in the world,the most powerful military in the world in this [unique] times in world history.
He was going to try and do it by ignoring half of them. And obliterating the rest of the World with his dirt bombs. All the while chanting his mantra, I am number 1.
THE RISK OF THE “47%” ISSUE FOR DEMOCRATS
There is one very important way in which this “47%” video
coverage actually accomplishes a crucial GOP objective.
Recall that one year ago “Occupy Wall Street” popularized
the “99% vs. 1%” theme, and that “frame” has been fairly durable for most of
the time since. The GOP has been scared
to death of that frame, because it clearly placed them as the defender of the
1%....against everyone else. That framing
of the economic landscape blows away all of their efforts to use their various
“wedge” issues….because virtually everyone is part of that abused 99%.
This huge problem for them is why they started pushing this
“53% vs.47%” of federal income tax payers vs. non-payers frame earlier this
year. If they can succeed at that, it is
the ‘mother of all wedge issues’….re-dividing the “99%”
It doesn’t really matter if the “47%” argument falls apart
upon close inspection of the actual numbers…..it has successfully re-calibrated
the popular “frame” to one that is hugely more favorable to the GOP….especially
with low-information voters.
More importantly, the GOP knows that the electorate this
year is in no mood to feel “generous” to all the people in that 47% that
actually deserve to not be paying federal taxes. Moreover, that is a somewhat complicated
intellectual argument to explain…rather than the GOP ‘bumper sticker’ message
of “you’re paying taxes and they’re not”.
The GOP knows that people are angry, scared, feeling
insecure, and looking for someone to blame for their problems. Voila….the new ‘frame’ is the classic GOP
trick to deflect blame downward to that 47%......rather than upward to that 1%.
Democrats and Progressives must make sure the ‘frame’ of the
1% screwing the 99% remains the dominant framing of economic issues for this
election.
P.S. The way to use
the 47% issue is through targeted communication channels to the sub-populations
that get screwed by the GOP frame….not by keeping this argument as the mass
media focus. For example, target seniors
with messaging about how the GOP lumping in retirees into that 47% scorned group is consistent with their plan
to turn Medicare into a “voucher” program……this is the GOP vision of a way to
force seniors to take that “personal responsibility” that Romney talks about.
Interventions work on people who may be unaware of the impact that their behavior has on themselves and others or who feel too helpless to change. It does not work on a sociopath who only cares about himself.
Can I ask a question as someone in the UK could the GOP replace Romney on the ballot paper for President. In the UK we have had Prime Officers replaced in office as the political party still has a majority in the House of Commons. I wonder would this be a possibility I am aware that there are probably dates by which a Presidential Candidate has to be on the ballot sheet, but is this an option. I ask as someone ignorant in this respect but I am sure Constitutional Lawyer would have an answer. This may be the nuclear option for the GOP is it available to them
here it would be called a write in vote
say someone wanted Ron Paul or Jill Stein (wasted vote) they just write their name in.
The republicans picked mitt romney in their primary , the majority of republicans voted for him to be their next president , they go to each state and have a vote , so it is a long process of about 7 months to get that done ...
The only way at this point would be for romney to step down , and have his running mate paul ryan step in andrew , but that would be a HOT MESS also LOL ...So the answer is basically NO , thank god ...
Even if there is a tragedy , god forbid , the republicans have no one who could step in and actually win
If Romney withdrew then the GOP could nominate someone else. It would not be a new convention, it can be done by the party leadership. It would not automatically be Paul Ryan--it could be anyone. Most likely it would be Ryan or someone who ran in the primary.
I heard that Ronald Mcdonald or Bozo the clown are between jobs.
That creepy king for Burger King is out of work....
The problem is not so much the campaign, but the policies of the Republican party. What Mitt and the campaign has learned is that no matter how hard you try you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
So could it happen?
only if that person should happen to get more write in votes.
i say no it can not happen,,,,but then again what has happen the last few times does make me wonder.
Andrew,
what you are asking is technically possible even though there are (I think) 6 states which don't allow "write ins" on a Federal election, but in a practical sense it is next to impossible.
Even if every would-be Republican voter decided that Romney was out, the idea that they would collectively chose ONLY ONE alternative candidate AND that this "new" candidate would win in "swing" states in which the President is currently leading by presenting essentially the same platform and ideas...well, you get the gist.
I'm sure Rove, Rush, and FOX "News" would love a crack at that, but I think Rush will be busy replenishing his stash of Oxi.
I said he wouldn't last another 10 days 4?days ago,,, so I think he can dig a deeper hole for his epitaph,, perhaps by saying something alludeing to inciteing violence,,.
I'm guessing he's weighed the pros and cons of haveing a crazy black person shoot and wound Annybelle for the women's sympathy vote,, but he'd luz a couple guun toters votes..
just a little over the top,,
The next question is , is he stupid enough to show up at the debates? I say yes he is !!!...But the gop establishment might just say NO FREAKIN WAY and cancel them any way LOL
Why not? Remember when McCain put his campaign "on hold"? Probably so Sarah could get a better look at Putin! Her with that disarming wink!!
It is shocking that someone as blinded as Noonan even sees what she described , talk about a crack in the gop foundation , you can bet the gop are dull enough to repackage all this again in 4 years and try and sell it
With proper governing the dems could destroy the gop for a long while the next few years , but their record would indicate they will sell out to the corporate stooges and blow it again , lets hope not
How about a round of ding dong the witch is dead folks? lol
Political competence would have already extincted the Republican party for two generations. But we had to endure Obama's idiotic, blind notion of bipartisanship. And so now we're fighting to save the entirety of the advancements of the 20th century.
I sure hope Democrats have learned their lesson. But I bet they haven't.
"If this helps reflect the anxieties of the Republican establishment even a little, it's no wonder there's a whiff of irrational conservative dread in the air."
You know better than this, Steve. Irrational dread is the conservatives' default state.
Lets all remember there is a difference between campaigning and actually running/leading. Just look at your "Most Dear Leader", constant campaigning to cover up the failures of the last 3.6 years. Americans want a leader not someone who golfs more than addressing the economy, has yet to have a full cabinet meeting, appoints a third rate lawyer as attny genrl, apologizes to the rest of the world every time some nut protests, hangs around hollywood types and rappers, and has chosen a bozo for VP, and 'robs peter to pay paul', and gives more 'rights' and hand outs to illegal immigrants than we can afford. Just look at the top 6 states in the deepest debt - all controlled by the democratic party.
hi mr limbaugh , don't you have an actual audience to go lie too?
If you think Mitt would be better then vote for him.
I personally cannot vote for a return to the extreme top down economics that took a surplus and destroyed it and deregulation that sent our economy into a tailspin. Stock market lost 700 points in one day. It went from over 14,000 to 7,000 losing half it's value. ( it is almost back to 14,000 now)It was only 3.6 years ago. The world credit was on the verge being totally frozen. We lost 750,000 jobs in one month. Lehman Brothers crashed. We were very close to a real depression, soup lines and all.
I am saying all this because it appears you forgot. If you think that is better than what Obama has done, Then vote Romney.
If I were runing Obama's campaign, I would be thinking of ditching the debates. Mitt does not need any help to do bad all by himself. Why get in the gutter?
But just imagine the foreign policy one -- the possibilities for Jon Stewart gold are endless.