Lanny Davis, concern troll, looks ahead
This piece by Lanny Davis purports to give helpful advice to Republicans just in case they win the Senate (he doesn’t think they will, by the way—but you know, just in case).
It’s manipulative and duplicitous, but unconsciously funny as well. It’s for the latter reason that I’m highlighting it. Davis has turned himself into a concern troll. But the funny part is that his trolling is so transparent, and basically involves telling Republicans not to do what Democrats do when they win.
Only of course he doesn’t put it in those terms.
A sample of what I mean:
First, [Republicans] could misinterpret their victory as a mandate to implement a hard-right agenda…
The second mistake could be that the Republicans who now control both houses of Congress will be unable to resist the Tea Party base to roll back Democratic programs on an entirely partisan basis. If they do so, they will be ignoring all the current polling data showing voters opposing such partisan power plays. And they will own the results.
Is that not an excellent description of what happened to Democrats—to a lesser extent in the 2010 midterms, and to a greater extent (we hope) now? Furthermore, aren’t mistakes number one and number two sort of the same thing, stated differently?
Come to think of it, so is Davis’ mistake number three:
Third, once the GOP is the majority party in both houses of Congress, Republicans will find it more difficult to suppress three powerful ideological groups within the party whose positions on key issues are way out of touch with most voters’, according to national polls.
Near the close of his missive, Davis comes up with this whopper:
But unlike Republicans, [Democrats] prefer candidates who can civilly debate fact-based solutions and can effectuate bipartisan compromises to break the gridlock in Washington.
Of course, Davis’ column isn’t really meant for Republicans. No Republican would listen to him (at least, I certainly hope not). It’s meant to rally the Democratic troops to vote next Tuesday rather than giving up, to look on the bright side after what may turn out to be a defeat, and to congratulate them for their wonderful civility and reality-based point of view.
Audacious ! That guy is such a Putz !
As Neo puts it, the trick is to read it the right way.
Mr. Davis is indeed concerned that Republicans will pull the same shenanigans that Democrats have been pulling. And, although they probably won’t, for the most part, Mr. Davis is right to be concerned.
So you could read it as “genuine concern” for Republicans (hah!). Or you could read it as a call to arms for Democrats. Or you could read it as a wake-up call for Republicans — “Hey elephants, here’s what we’re afraid you’ll do. Stop rubbing your hands with glee, I’m serious here.”
Trash. Human shaped doll.
Hey Lanny,
What if the things Republicans do actually work, if the economy improves and we manage to get rid of some stupid regulations?
IMO advice from one’s adversary should always be met with seriousness and a critical eye. More often than not, such “advice” clearly telegraphs what is most feared by the opponent.
Now the question is if the Republicans win the senate how will they operate and accommodate the American public as they move forward w/out a veto proof majority?
I would think that the following premises would apply:
For instance, tackle the economy and jobs; pass bills to halt the war on coal (of course Obama would veto–wouldn’t that make the UMW want to get out the Dem vote?); reduce anti-economic regulations (EPA, Dept of Education); stand firm against confirming uber-liberal judges; listen carefully to some of the reasonable positions of libertarian-leaning party members to coalesce the broad, common-sense American base. The list goes on.
McConnell has the popular reputation of being a nimble parliamentarian. We’ll see. I hope the Senate and the House would eschew the typical Republican desire to “play nice” with the Dems and use all of the Dem legislative blunders as levers against them. Of course they’ll be criticized for doing so, but if they can get results (e..g., create jobs) those criticisms stand a good chance of falling on deaf ears.
T,
Also, if Pelosi and Reid are dethroned because of a bad outcome, some Dems may be a little more flexible.
Davis’ picture the illustration for the term “slimy” in the visual dictionary.
Expat,
Dems have a history of pronouncing themselves “more flexible” after elections (/sarc).
the shameless have no shame…
neither do psychopaths…
“But unlike Republicans, [Democrats] prefer candidates who can civilly debate fact-based solutions and can effectuate bipartisan compromises to break the gridlock in Washington. ”
Oh, reeealy, Lanny…….. ya’ mean like the Obamanation spouting “I won” and the passage of Obamacare with zero compromise (or discussion) with the Pubbies and zero Pubbie votes. Yassir……. them’s reealy civil debates and bipartisan compromises…….
Lanny always tries to project himself as the fair minded liberal whenever I hear him speak on talk radio. He is anything but. In reality Lanny is just a liberal cheerleader with manners. Trying to be inoffensive and failing miserably.
Bill Whittle I think has the right idea. The new Republican Congress (should that become a reality) must pass bills to revoke Obamacare, strengthen the border, approve the Keystone XL pipe line, etc. and then let the president veto them. Then the American people will know who owns what. I don’t trust McConnell and Boehner to actually do anything, but it is nice to dream.
“Lanny is just a liberal cheerleader with manners. Trying to be inoffensive . . . .”
Whooda thunk they even existed? Black swan!
Republicans should use the “Rules for Radicals” strategem against Democrats, relentlessly and with extreme prejudice.
Dear Parents,
While it is unlikely your will will overcome mine, should it do so, some helpful advice. If I borrow cookies, when you tell me not to do so, looking the other way is the obvious way to encourage your personal grace and my good will. If I tell you something that, perhaps, turns out to be untrue, take it as a challenge to your anger management, and something to keep you on your toes, not as an affront or an evil on my part. You will thank me for it. Should I strike, with or without cause, one of my siblings, think of it not as an attack within, and on, the family, but as an opportunity for you to be a blessed intermediary. It is a chance to be merciful to those who are weaker than you. We, all of use siblings, are equally weak, so treating us all equally regardless if one of us is stronger than the other and misuses that strength, is the only way to go. Unless I am attacked, of course. Oh, and remember my birthday, and that Christmas (only in a secular, gift-giving way, as I don’t want to go to church) is a time for engorging me and my desires of food, trinkets, and toys.
Even if Republicans win elected office, if they lack a viable full-spectrum Right activist social movement to enable their action, the elected officials will be limited in effectiveness.
“If they do so, they will be ignoring all the current polling data showing voters opposing such partisan power plays.”
Heh. Thought elections were the best kind of current polls – polls telling the elected representatives that the majority of voters are more on board with their agenda than their opponent’s. So go for it!
“So go for it!”
In the supposed words of Frederick the Great: “L’audace! L’audace! Toujours l’audace!”
I can’t think of a more appropriate time to follow this advice.
“L’audace! L’audace! Toujours l’audace!”
One man who really did understand the hope of audacity.
I think your last sentence is the key to the whole thing. As in I’d rather be right than president.
We will see no audacity on the part of McConnell or Boehner, sigh, but if the gop takes the senate audacity is called for. If we had Gowdy and Cruz as majority leaders it would be a different story. However, a gop senate will cause the messiah anguish and drive him to play golf everyday.
calling this person a concern troll is an insult to concern trolls…
I’m deeply moved by Lanny’s serious concern for us. The tolerance and general generosity of spirit shown by them throughout the Obama years is proof-positive, is it not? I hope that Mitch McConnell is planning the same ‘giving’ outreach that Feckless Harry Reid has relentlessly demonstrated towards republican legislation and additions-qualifications to Democrat Bills. Lanny’s precious lips are doing some serious suckage to Hillary Clinton’s vast posterior just as they were to her Billy’s Teets. ‘Nuff, as they say, said.
The preemptive softening by the Democrats of their presumed loss of the senate and drubbing in the 2014 election says something I’m not seeing in the numbers of the polls. Nate Silver identifies the lack of any true indications of “momentum.” (See link below)
So why the dispirited attitude by the Democrats and the assumptions of Republicans? The ground game and voter fraud of the Democrats means they will win contests within 1-2 percent seventy-five percent of the time.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/senate-update-the-momentum-mirage/
“And they [the victorious party, in this instance the Republican Party] will own the results.”
Wouldn’t that be novel! A party (or chief executive, for example) taking responsibility for legislation and its outcomes, both intended and unintended, actually owning the results.
The ONLY thing that’s going to provide instant momentum is on the ebola front.
It hits both emotional voters and thinking voters.
Whereas, Syria, Iraq, ISIS, — foreign policy & fiascos generally — are already baked in the cake.
If Kaci, God forbid, turns out to be infected with ebola, her direct connection to the CDC, its politics, and this president…
Nasty.
Lest we forget, Dr. Spencer thought he was entirely okay — until he found out he wasn’t.
That’s the problem with viral reproduction — its exponential.
Prior to the fever, ebola appears to the victim to be a non-problem. This entirely illusory feeling is triggered precisely because the body is not able to spot the pathogen. It’s because the pathogen is so deadly that it creeps up on you.
The contrast with bad fish food — in Redwood City, California — is stark. No-one could keep their diner down. Their bodies were rejecting the pathogen even from the stomach. Consequently, the survival rate is 100%.
Spanish flu famously took victims from perfect health to the grave in less than twelve-hours.
That timetable may be entirely illusory. It may be the case that Spanish flu was ramping away for many hours before the first sing of trouble. By the time you realize ANYTHING’S up — you’ve got but hours to live.
In that sense, ebola is actually not all that much slower than Spanish flu. Duncan showed us that from first fever to the grave may be as little as five, perhaps seven, days.
AFTER the fever is evident, ebola is well on its way. Treatment has to proceed at crisis speed… if any treatment is to hand.
From what I’ve read, America still has practically no medicine for ebola.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/nyregion/bellevue-workers-worn-out-from-treating-ebola-patient-face-stigma-outside-hospital.html
Further, everyone that has treated an ebola victim also has to endure a 21-day quarantine — if not 40 day quarantine.
But the capper is what happens to our critical care facilities. Ebola — even one case — shuts them down.
We need to STOP bringing ebola victims into regular hospitals. Such a practice ruins the hospital — triggering fatalities that way — while not conferring any specific benefit to the ebola victim.
It’s what’s blown up medical care in west Africa.
It no longer has ANY hospitals. They are ALL converted over to palliative wards for ebola victims. Anyone with a brain in their head shuns those hospitals.
Even without ebola, hospitals infect their patients with yet OTHER pathogens about 20% of the time. It’s just the way they roll. Now that this is realized, every hospital is changing their protocols towards one-time-only gloves, masks, syringes, you name it.
{
They have yet to fix their HVAC system. I believe that forced air HVAC is going to have to be eliminated from future hospital designs. I see a movement towards temperature controlled walls, floors, and insulated ceilings.
}
Bathrooms need to have UV emitters that flash the space after each use…. Etc.
The other vote shifter is any presidential visit.
Barry is a downer.
Even Black notables have noted that Barry’s intention to surge Latinos into America must mean the ruin of native Blacks.
Unlike Whites, Latinos have absolutely no compunction about sticking it to the Black man. Just as the Bloods and the Crips how that impulse has worked out.
One should expect to see all racial spoils — now going to Blacks — being re-vectored to needy Latinos. At the top of this list must be civil service employment… the number one source of middle class Black incomes.
Latinos just don’t believe in employing token Blacks. They’ve got too much poverty in their own ranks.
So, when Barry brings in millions of Latinos, he’s also bringing in a new race of civil servant.
Governor Moonbeam is already sucking up to them.
blert,
“Further, everyone that has treated an ebola victim also has to endure a 21-day quarantine – if not 40 day quarantine.” Something I am not seeing discussed is that, for those who survive, it is being recommended that they not have intercourse for 60, maybe up to 120 days. Lots of things are being ignored in the rush to equate a disease to a sin and sin as fiction.
Pure projection.
He’s worried that what goes around will come around. And, based on the way the Dems have run Congress, he should be. Let’s see if the Republicans will leave the Harry Reid’s nuclear option on filibusters in place.
What irks me is the setting of bad precedents, like say the “nuclear option”, for some dopey short term gain and then whining, blustering and scolding when the otherside follows suit. They actually fancy themselves as bold and clever.
I have heard that Mcconnell, if he became majority leader, said he would restore the fillibuster.
But that s questionable, why not keep it for a republican pres to use ?
Why Mitt Romney continues to have support for President:
1: He’s been vindicated, people are sorry for his past treatment, and they think, therefore, he can win.
2. He’d make a great President.
Except on immigration. Which if the candidate is not on the right side is suicide.
Gid you all see this on the Hays Initiative (Hat tip Instapundit)?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/08/romney-foreign-policy-team-is-schooling-2016-s-republicans.html
I find it encouraging that people are trying to educate potential candidates on foreign policy issues. Maybe it will prevent some of the flavor of the month disasters from the past. Republicans need to present themselves as thoughtful and knowledgeable even if there are different opinions. One thing that has really damaged Sarah Palin is a seeming lack of depth on issues even if her instincts are good. A party that has many well-informed speakers will present a vivid contrast to Obama and crew. They may be able to back Obama into the corner for the next 2 years.
Solving “political problems” will not, by definition, win the war. Wasn’t everyone talking about how the military wasn’t the solution for Iraq’s political problems?
Well the vice a versa is even more true.
Lanny’s precious lips are doing some serious suckage to Hillary Clinton’s vast posterior just as they were to her Billy’s Teets. ‘Nuff, as they say, said.
Should have thought about that awhile ago, on your own dime.
I consider this on a par with Michael Moore’s* “A Liberal’s Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives.” And I’m having a hard time finding a clause in that document that has not been violated, or was not based on a lie to begin with.
* Ostensibly ‘by Michael Moore.’ Actually, he stole someone else’s work, made a few changes, and sold it to the ‘LA Times.’ Nice work if you can get it…
Remember the last time Leftists raped America with their advice.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/14/271157/-A-Pledge-from-Michael-Moore
Never Forget the evil they do, when they get in your face.
I give up
after 30 years in my field, i make around 70k as a senior applications engineer
but if i didnt go to college and became a maintenance man, as ny post reports, i could be making 50,000 a year more.. (117,000)
is it any wonder i have no retirement, home, and my wife and i have to be barren.
please someone shoot me…
as my life is over and i am just waiting to die anyway
🙁
oh and to add icing on to it, i have been told that i can never get a raise or promotion for the rest of my life as i am not a protected class.
without help i cant even get my technology patented and to market…
🙁
i give up
If you lack the courage to fight your Leftist slave masters, Art, that’s your own fault. This nation and others have given you as much help as you need, but you just don’t use it.
Your boss, btw, is a Communist/Feminist overlord. Perhaps it’ll help to think in that fashion.
Art,
I know some people making $10 per hour with a 35 hour work week and they don’t seem as unhappy as you. You are obviously a very bright guy. Maybe you should turn some of your talents toward making your life better and finding some things you enjoy. You probably have talents you haven’t yet discovered and some of them may be fun.
expat,
You have hit upon the third alternative.
Some people see the glass as half-full. Others see it as half-empty. The third alternative, which very few people consider, is that the glass is just the wrong size (“You probably have talents you haven’t yet discovered . . . .”).
First, [Republicans] could misinterpret their victory as a mandate to implement a hard-right agenda…
Where our friend Lanny interprets “hard-right” to mean trying to balance the budget, I suppose. A number of wingnut-written articles over the year have documented the different ways that the New York Times reacts to November elections. In short: if the Democrats win, the Democrats have a mandate; if the Republicans win the Republicans do NOT have a mandate.
Gringo…
The metric is NOT whether the Federal budget is balanced…
It’s whether the Democrat plantation is being restricted/ curtailed/ stigmatized.
In this, we see an echo of the multi-generational fight to expand slavery vs abolition.
If you REALLY want to read something eerie: compare and parallel slavery rationalizations with the cradle to grave benefits ‘package’ that our Progressive ‘betters’ intend for all lessers.
They’ve Federalized the plantation: taking it coast to coast, south to north. It’s not for nothing that its advocates fully expect disparate impact: for Black dependants.
The unifying theme: control, control, control.
Art refuses to heed advice given to him to find another path, because he is stuck to his “pension” plan promised to him by his corruption medical union boss types.
How that is going to pan out while he rails against feminists on the internet, I have no idea. Probably not good. And that’s independent of whether you rely on Asbergers as a crutch and victim excuse making factory.
Democrats are the war and slavery party. It has always been the case, ever since the creation of that party in American life.
Here’s a funny story about the old days.
http://grimbeorn.blogspot.com/2014/10/2lt-grigsby-10th-indiana-cav.html