General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIs the Romney team trying to provoke violence against Americans in the middle east and beyond?
No, that's not the name of the article. It is what Tomasky asks in it.
Mitt Romneys Last-Ditch Strategy: Inflame the Base
by Michael Tomasky Sep 16, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
They keep piling on. Youd think Mitt Romney and team would have stopped with the foreign-policy attacks if not because of the political costs, then at least because real, living Americans are now under very serious threat in a number of Middle Eastern cities. But no. Instead they keep at it, with Paul Ryan and old Blackjack Bennett pressing ever onward at the Values Voter Summit on Friday. Do they think theyre winning this? The longer they keep at this, the more theyre heading into dangerous territory indeed, because the only way they can win this argument is for something horrible to happen overseas, which will set them up to say we told you so.
I cant imagine what would make them think these attacks are helping them. Check that. I can. They came out of the conventions a couple more points behind than they were. Romney is, Id say, four points behind Obama now (excluding dear old Rasmussen). And its a little worse in the key swing states. The latest reliable poll, from NBC/Wall Street Journal by Marist, gives Obama a seven-point lead in Ohio, and five-point leads in Virginia and Florida. If Obama wins two of those states, its over. Heck, if he wins one of them, its most likely over, provided he holds on in the other swing states where he now holds small leads (Colorado, Iowa, etc.)
<snip>
So they need to run a base-centric election in the final push. Hope for bad jobs numbers for the next two months to bring in some of the undecideds, but basically, push every known button of the wingnut psyche and hope that, despite their tepid feelings about their candidate, theyll march to the polls like columns of ants to stop the Kenyan appeaser from destroying America.
That means they have to go all in on every frontclass warfare, culture, and foreign policy. The rapturous cheers Ryan and Bennett hear at events like Fridays seem to affirm to them that theyre on the right track. Im sure also that Richard Williamson, the Romney foreign-policy adviser who has been making various eye-popping statements in the media these past few days, is getting nice, rah-rah text messages from the usual suspects egging him ever onward.
<snip>
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/16/they-have-to-go-all-in-on-every-front-class-warfare-culture-and-foreign-policy.html
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)I'm starting to think those two things are related somehow.
The answer is yes, but maybe indirectly so. The religious right's vision of their apocalyptic countdown gets updated every now and then, but no matter what happens, any political event, in their view, moves us another minute closer to midnight.
Like the guy who goes whacko and gets all his guns taken away because he was freaked out over the idea someone was going to take all his guns away, these people's obsession with Armageddon inexorable drives them to do things which spawn events that fulfil their own execrable prophecies.
They need to understand that if someone dies of fright there is a monster under their bed, it is a testament to the pathology of their fear, and not proof that the monster is real.
cali
(114,904 posts)but I do think he's trying to 1) appeal to those who believe that tripe (the repuke base) and make the case that President Obama is weak on foreign policy and endangering the American people.
I hate him.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)There are some on the Christian right who, of course, have a problem with LDS.
Those who have reconciled on either the basis of:
1. It's better than a Muslim, or
2. They share certain temporal objectives.
...figure he's part of God's plan.
They decide their vote on two questions:
1. The candidate is the Antichrist, or
2. The candidate is more likely to fight on "our side" during Armaggedon.
Of course, if they have already decided that Obama is the Antichrist, then they must already be resigned to the fact he will be re-elected. Clearly, why would the Antichrist lose an election?
The only way they can confirm their belief, in fact, is for him to win re-election.
So..... they should vote for Obama!
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)cali
(114,904 posts)I honestly don't think mitt believes in anything. he's simply hollow and power hungry. I don't really believe he's devout.