Attacking Boehner: why it’s probably a futile effort
The White House and its willing handmaiden the NY Times have a new and unscintillating strategy: attack House Minority Leader John Boehner for being connected to lobbyists and special interest groups that “contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign.”
I’m going to make a bold prediction here: this will not gain traction with the American people, who have bigger things on their minds—such as what the President and the House Majority Leader have done (and failed to do) in the last year and a half, as well as who they and other influential Democrats might be connected to.
Most of America will yawn and say “Boehner who?” When was the last time a large number of people could be bothered to care about a Minority Leader, in the absence of some hugely egregious offense? Even if that person stands poised to become Majority Leader if his/her party gains control of the House?
And lobbyist connections? Pul-eeze. Democrats who live in glass houses are ill-advised to throw stones.
I’m sure it’s just like the piece they did on Nancy Pelosi four years ago.
At least when Boehner flies in a plane someone else picks up the tab. When Nancy hops aboard Aire Force One to avoid inconvenience, Americans everywhere pay the fare.
Dems and their Media Outlets are desperate. This will have no traction or effect. Heck, even even Republicans are not thrilled with Boehner, but relative to Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the destruction of America they are implementing he looks like George Washington.
Right or wrong, the single biggest factor this November will be the intention to remove the Dems from power just so that the incredible harm they are doing is stopped. That is about as far as people are thinking. They ARE NOT saying, ‘Okay, so the country is being destroyed before our eyes, but I may have to live with that because the NYT wrote a hit piece on Boehner’.
No! You put out the fire first, or the whole house burns down. You don’t let the fire burn because one of the firemen has a bad tan.
I realize that there is some Republican vitriol over the recent primary in Delaware, but by contrast, the Dems seem to be in a state of absolute apoplexy: The President attacks Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and now John Boehner; the Dem party doodles with logos (ugly and ACORN-like) while the economy flatlines; Harry Reid calls Coons of Delaware his “pet.”
This seems to evince more than just desparation. Have they all gone mad?
I don’t think Democrats know just how far their credibility has spiraled out of control. Ditto for media sources who pretend economic nirvana will magically fly out of a pig’s butt any day now.
Strange isn’t it that the N.Y.Times (the propaganda arm of the DNC) failed to mention this:
Lobbyists: Top Recipients 2010
1 Reid, Harry (D-NV) Senate $501,686
2 Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR) Senate $363,651
3 Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) Senate $337,013
4 Murray, Patty (D-WA) Senate $266,023
5 Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) Senate $258,771
6 Portman, Rob (R-OH) $249,599
7 Burr, Richard (R-NC) Senate $204,374
8 Specter, Arlen (D-PA) Senate $194,721
9 Blunt, Roy (R-MO) House $194,700
10 Crist, Charlie (I-FL) $178,683
11 Inouye, Daniel K (D-HI) Senate $167,807
12 Dorgan, Byron L (D-ND) Senate $166,427
13 Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) Senate $161,728
14 Meek, Kendrick B (D-FL) House $154,500
15 Thune, John (R-SD) Senate $150,176
16 Hoyer, Steny H (D-MD) House $142,378
17 Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) Senate $139,813
18 Dodd, Chris (D-CT) Senate $133,679
19 Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) Senate $126,700
20 Leahy, Patrick (D-VT) Senate $118,600
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2010&ind=K02
Stranger still that Boehner isn’t on the list.
Here is an interesting bit of information.
Congressman Nancy Pelosi 2009 – 2010
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=2010&cid=N00007360&type=I
I love OpenSecrets.org. Chock full of cudgels to destroy liberals’ arguments.
To this end, I’ve bookmarked the page detailing the campaign contributions of the financial industry. Pure gold.
Of all of the Republicans eligible for demonization why would the Dope’s team select Boehner? The only charge that will stick is that he gets a terrific tan. I’m sure that Boehner is as much mystified by the attention as anyone but, like Rush, he is in a position to profit from the attention. Should he become the next leader of the House I can’t imagine that he will forget what is being said now to demean him. Another brilliant ploy by the Dope and his team. My suggestion is that they continue the attack as apparently it is the only campaign strategy they have, except of course for the new Democrat logo (which gives up on hope).
Frankly I doubt this will have much of an effect at the polls. Obama has demonstrated his inadequacies so consistently over the last 20 months that one more inanity probably won’t make any difference. The 45% or so who still believe in him either hate the US or have real trouble getting and processing information.
The Onion had an article over a year ago describing how Obama invaded a home and murdered two people and the problems the media had spinning that news in his favor. I have a feeling that is what we are in for until November 2012.
Obama does appear to be floundering, like a drowning man screaming and waking his arms, a panic reaction. Yep he is the leader we have been waiting for.
He seems to like blaming people, first Bush, then Limbaugh, Hannity, Fox News, Netanyahu, the Supreme Court, assorted straw men that are making him spend money, Tea Partiers, now Boehner.
I knew he was narcissistic and naive, but I did not think he was paranoid. Poor man, everyone is out to get him.
About that new Democrat logo, check out this comments thread (courtesy of small dead animals):
http://www.democrats.org/news/blog/575
Comment of the day:
“Republicans may have gotten it [the economy] into the ditch, but the Democrats’ solution was to set it on fire and push it over a cliff. Then they peed on it.”
Also about the new Democrat logo: It’s practically an echo of the RightNetwork logo!
See here: http://rightnetwork.com/links/980191160
Textbook Saul Alinsky, thats what he knows:
“13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and ‘frozen.’…
“…any target can always say, ‘Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?’ When your ‘freeze the target,’ you disregard these [rational but distracting] arguments…. Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all the ‘others’ come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target…'”
This will work – at what the WH actually wants to do. They are desperately trying to take attention away from the Young Guns (Eric Cantor’s new group), especilly Paul Ryan, who have launched their site and released a book. As long as the WH can draw attention away to the GOP Old Guard, they can be reasonably certain the media won’t focus on, say, Paul Ryan’s Road Map.
Notice how the attention on Boehner faded somewhat once the media started asking Eric Cantor what he thought and what his plans were. That defeated the purpose, and they started refocusing on the Old Enemy, Sarah Palin.