Mar 04 2009
Conservatives Losing Ground With America
It’s clear why the administration and media are trying to hoist Rush Limbaugh as the figurehead for the GOP – it seems to be having a negative effect on America’s support for the GOP and conservatism:
Just 26 percent view the Republican Party positively, which is an all-time low for the party. That’s compared with 49 percent who have a favorable view of the Democratic Party.
In addition, a combined 56 percent say the previous Bush administration deserved “almost all” of the blame or a “major part” of the blame for the partisanship in Washington, and a combined 41 percent say the same of congressional Republicans.
By contrast, only 24 percent say that of congressional Democrats and just 11 percent say that of the Obama administration.
When you see a concerted effort out of DC between the Dems and the media you know it is a poll tested tactic to swing public opinion away from the right. And it must be working well. I agree that Rush can be the most elegant and concise communicator of general conservative principles.
But he is also a flame thrower who uses veiled insults against the opposition – which tends to backfire if you want people to admit they may have been mistaken about Obama and the Dems. If you don’t give people some face saving, instead of the mea culpa you get dug in heels and backlash.
Rush egomaniac schtick also doesn’t work well. While many know he is joking, to many he sounds like and arrogant donkey. Again, if you want people to have a change of heart, making them feel (even accidentally) inferior never works.
So after 6 weeks of disastrous economic news and crazy liberal policies the public still supports Obama by huge margins:
In the survey, 68 percent have a favorable opinion of the president, including 47 percent whose opinion is “very positive” — both all-time highs for Obama in the poll. Moreover, 67 percent say they feel more hopeful about his leadership and 60 percent approve of his job in the White House.
All the while Americans have increased their disdain for the right. Now, in anyone’s political score card that result, especially in this economic environment, scores an “F” for the current crop of conservative ‘leaders’ and spokes people. Conservatism needs a drastic restructuring if it is to be effective against the dems.
The Dems are at a high point, and they would have no reason to help the far right destroy the GOP except to use Rush as an excuse to bring back the “fairness” doctrine.
Ask any moderate around, and I can guarantee they WANT a coalition with conservatives. But a “coalition” dominated by conservatives is not what they want, and not what the Indies want. Believe it or not, it is the Independents that decide elections.
Does anyone here remember 1964? Many voters were turned off by Goldwater because Johnson successfully portrayed Barry as too right wing. Or 1972? McGovern was seen as too liberal. This is why the center is so vital. If voters see a candidate or party as too extreme, they are disgusted.
ivehadit & Stephen,
I’m truly amazed that you don’t understand why Obama and the Democrats are spot lighting Rush and that you think it is because they fear him. This is pretty basic stuff. The reason they are spot lighting him and calling him the head of the Republican party is obvious – it is because he is so unpopular. Look at the polling. If the public starts to associating the GOP with Rush, whom is viewed by a large majority of Americans as divisive and too far to the right, they will be more likely to view the GOP as divisive and too far to the right.
If you still don’t get it, ask yourself why conservatives have spot lighted Rev. Wright, Soros, Michael Moore, Moveon.org and tried to associate them with Obama and the Democratic party. Is it because they fear these individuals/groups? Do you get it now?
And one more thing. Stephens statement that “the tactics from the WH are scary” is truly an amazing statement. Earlier this week Obama released some of the secret Bush DOJ memos authorizing sweeping authority for the President after 9/11. These memos demonstrate that the Bush White House believed that (1) the Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizure did not apply in the United States as long as the president was combatting terrorism, (2) First Amendment speech and press rights may be overriden to wage the GWOT successfully, (3) the President had the unilateral authority to disregard domestic laws and international treaties that he decided impeded his ability to fight the GWOT; and (4) recognized the President’s power to seize anyone in the US or world, retain them as long as he wishes and torture them if he deems it necessary. After 8 years under this kind of authoritarian belief about the power of the executivbe branch and you are nervous about Obama’s public relations tactics against an entertainer? Wow.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/02/secret-bush-memos-release_n_171221.html
Well lookie here (from http://www.macsmind.com):
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Lies, Damn Lies and WSJ/NBC News Polls
03 Mar
Posted by MacRanger as Uncategorized
This is so unbelievable, it’s well unbelievable. The lastest WSJ/NBC News Poll finds all kinds of great support for THE ONE. That is until you read the internal sampling.
Strong Democrat ………………………………….. 23
Not very strong Democrat ……………………… 8
Independent/lean Democrat ………………….. 12
Strictly independent………………………………. 20
Independent/lean Republican………………… 10
Not very strong Republican …………………… 7
Strong Republican………………………………… 13
Other (VOL) ……………………………………….. 4
Not sure …………………………………………….. 3
So 23/12/20 on Democrat/Independent vs. 13/7/12 Republican. I knew the media is drinking the Obama Juice, but now they’re getting drunk on it. Little wonder no one trusts them and they are going bankrupt”
Con, btw, you will NEVER understand conservatism. Or the search for the truth, imho.
Not to mention, mixing apples and oranges, LOL.
Get off the Leftist sites. You won’t get the facts or the truth there, imho.
ivehadit,
If you actually took the time to go to the link I provided, you would have seen that it is not mere commentary from a liberal site – it provides actual copies of the 9 secret Bush memos Obama released earlier this week. Maybe you should educate yourself and actually read these memos so you can see for yourself. Everything I said about them is right there in the memos, in black-and-white. There is no way to deny or spin it anymore now that the official documents have been publically released.
And you are right, I did mix apples and oranges. Obama’s attempts to use the White House PR machine to undermine the GOP is nothing comparable to Bush’s assumption that he had the unilateral authority to suspend fundamental rights under the Constitution and essentially ignore any law he didn’t like.
Oh yes, we are trembling in fear of Rush Limbaugh. This is a man who:
– Called Chelsea Clinton, a 13 year old girl, the “White House dog”
– Made fun of Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson Disease symptoms
– Is an admitted drug abuser
– Has been divorced three times
– Was detained by custom officials for possessing Viagra with a prescription made out in someone else’s name
The man is a buffoon. He’s the punch line to his own joke.
You seem to have gotten it backwards: the *Republicans* are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They are, after all, the ones who keep running back to him and profusely apologizing when they dare utter anything even slightly critical of him.
Rush Limbaugh didn’t lose the last election. Nor was it Sarah Palin. It was “I want the left to like me” John McCain. The Magic Rino.
“it is because he is so unpopular. ”
He has the most popular show on the radio … period. He isn’t all THAT unpopular. But the idea is different. It is a very subtle psychological ploy and isn’t really designed to attack Rush himself. It is designed to be used against anyone who would disagree with Obama and they can then use the “Oh, you’re just like Rush Limbaugh” angle on them. So they will take anyone who criticizes Obama as being some kind of Rush lackey. It’s pretty juvenile, actually.
Lets say you never listen to Rush. Then lets say something goes on in politics and you have an opinion on the subject. If your opinion even slightly resembles something Limbaugh has said, you then get cast as a Limbaugh minion when you aren’t. They are using Limbaugh as a weapon against other people to keep them in line.
But this entire Obama administration so far has been very amateurish and juvenile in its actions. It is much like the Carter administration in many respects. They seem to believe that if they simply do things like promise Russia that we will leave Poland and the Czechs standing there with their pants down over missile defense, Russia will run straight into our arms and take care of the Iranian “problem” for him. Apparently they honestly believe that the rest of the world gives a pinch of owl scat about Obama’s policies and aren’t really all that in tune with their own self interest. That kind of thinking is the hallmark of a narcissist.
And now the relationship with Poland and the Czech Republic are damaged, Obama embarrassed the Brits, and the Russians just embarrassed him on the world stage. I am reminded of an interview when Sam Donaldson interviewed Jimmy Carter right after the Russians invaded Afghanistan and Carter lamented at how “deeply disappointed” he was with the Russians. That disappointment was the fruit of expectations fertilized with naivety.
Obumbler is likely to be this guy’s nickname if he keeps it up.
Crosspatch, here’s a Mata must read.
http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/03/04/wh-alinsky-tactics-on-conservatives-via-rush-to-backfire/
AJ:
Well the media is carrying Obama. That will not last forever if the economy does not improve.
Rush is not someone I really like all that much. I just don’t get into talk radio. But going after a private citizen like this seems to me to be beneath Obama. Of course he is hoping to do what Hillary did when she went on and on about the vast right wing conspiracy..they are trying to change the subject.
As for the msnbc poll, I have my doubts about it. WSJ today came out with a poll that had Obama’s numbers much lower than this. Not bad, but lower. And Rasmussen has Republican and Democrat party ID getting closer. In fact a few weeks ago I saw it at only 1 apart. So I think the polls have to be taken with a grain of salt. We will know better how people feel when there is an actual election.
tunkbob:
No, it was the people who refused to vote who helped Republicans lose the election. The people who decided to send a message. The people who sat home and pouted because their personal favorite did not get the nomination.
I saw this at Rasmussens:
During February, the number of Republicans in the nation grew by a full percentage point, but the Democrats continue to have a sizable advantage in terms of partisan identification.
Currently, 40.8% of Americans say they are Democrats and 33.6% say they are Republicans. A month ago, those figures were 40.9% and 32.8% respectively.
conman:
Oh yeah, the President that support states secrets for himself is releasing secret memos of the last President. The usual, don’t look at what I am doing…just trash the other guy.
This is a guy who is supporting rendition knowing full well what that means. This is a guy who supports FISA wiretapping after yammering about civil rights.
Yeah. sure. terror memos.
Also from the poll AJ cited:
But the poll also shows potential dangers for Obama and the Democrats. For instance, there’s a sizable gap between the president’s personal popularity and the popularity of his policies.
**********
According to the RCP average, the number of Americans who think the country is going in the right direction is still a lot lower than the number who think it is going in the wrong direction. In fact the msnbc poll puts the number much higher than the RCP average that is still down in the 30s.
The approval rating for the Democratic Congress is averaging 32.
**********
It does not seem to me that people are all that happy with anyone right now.
I took Conman’s (how appropriate is that self description) and read the memos on Huffington. It appears Conmon didn’t bother. What we have is a series of legal briefs that were issued shortly after 9/11. While Conman may not like the conclusions, they were all legally defensible. In fact, we can go into any court in the land and see lawyers disagreeing about the meaning of law and precedents.
The final document is from 2008 and reflects a different author retracting the use of the military domestically pursuing terrorists. But, outside of that one, it is difficult to find any opinion in these documents that are either still in effect or now authorized by Congress.
Now, Conman also pulls a little slight of hand by comparing Wright, Moore, and Soros with Limbaugh. In these cases, Wright was a direct and continuing influence on Obama and we can see that in Obama now. We have ended up with the Obama of the primaries and abandoned the Obama of the general. Michael Moore has been distorting everything he touches since he first told Al Quada they hit the wrong target. New York is a blue state. Soros has funded 527’s and MoveOn.org (which never did move on) and is directly responsible for the General Betraues ad. That is pure evil scum. Rush is a talk show host with what seems to be quite a loyal following. The evidence that the Democrats are afraid of him (and Santelli, and Cramer) is their new found enemies list. I find it interesting the Obama administration is emulating the Nixon administration, but without the grasp of foreign policy. I love the way Obama allowed Russia to embarrass him, is rolling back his claims on Iran, thinks Syria is some kind of key to the Middle East, and gives $900 million to Hamas. Those are certainly winning positions.
But, I grow weary of refuting Conman’s cons.
Rick
Good work, Rick.
And I can tell by the posts here from Guy and Con that they have NOT spent the past 5 years listening to Rush Limbaugh and consequently do not know of what they speak. But hey, nice tries, con and guy, LOL!
And a note to Carville: your tactics are really getting to be old hat….
Well Rush is more popular than Air America ever has been. Jealous, are we? By the way, is Airhead America still bankrupt?
I read somewhere that Fred Barnes was at a press luncheon and Obama was bragging. He said that not only did he like being president, he was very good at it.
Obama is so in love with himself Michelle is probably jealous.
Rick,
You have demonstrated that you can read, but apparently cannot comprehend much.
You say “they are all legally defensible”. Then why were they later revoked by Bush’s own Office of Legal Counsel? You admit yourself that “it is difficult to find any opinion in these documents that are either still in effect or now authorized by Congress. ” Did you ever ask yourself why? Perhaps it was because a real lawyer reviewed them and realized that Professor Yoo had no idea what he was talking about. Maybe you should read the legal opinions from Stephen Bradbury, the head of Bush’s Office of Legal Counsel, who recinded several of the memos between October of 2008 and January of 2009. Here is a hint – he used terms such as “unsound legal reasoning” quite a bit.
But let’s put the legalize issues aside for a moment. Are you actually comfortable with Obama having these same powers since the GWOT is still on-going? If you think they are legally sound than the should apply to whomever is President at the time. Remember – there are still terrorist out there, don’t you want Obama to have all of the power necessary to combat terrorism to protect us without being hand-cuffed by silly nuisances like Constitutional amendments, treaties, and laws? Don’t you find it suspicious at all that Bush revoked these memos just months before Obama took office – perhaps even Bush was scared to concede that much power to Obama?
As for your points about Rush, you obviously need to re-read my comment. I’m not trying to debate who is worse – Rush or Wright/Soros/Moore – so put it to rest. I was simply providing examples of liberal figures that the GOP and conservatives have focused on and hammered in the media all in an effort to undermine Obama and the Democrats. Trying to tie the opposing figure to a contraversial public figure is not an indication that you are afraid of that public figure nor is it unfair tactics. It’s been happening for decades, so quit your crying.
Conman:
Oh please. Nancy Pelosi’s one concern following 9/11 was that the Bush administration was not doing enough to stop another attack. And I do not mean enough outreach either.
As for unsound legal reasoning, it is not unusual for different people within an administration to have different opinions about legal matters. That is why there are so damn many lawyers. That is why not all 9 members of the Supreme Court all rule the same. Even men and women as skilled as they are see the law in different ways.
You just hate Bush and so you can not let it go. You hope to dredge up some old crap here to hang him with.