William Rivers Pitt: Bring It On

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http://www.truth-out.org/bring-it-on61535

Bring It On
Wednesday 21 July 2010
by: William Rivers Pitt, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed



(Image: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Picture Taker 2, Dplanet:)


It is tempting to begin a sentence about today's Republican Party with the words, "Just when you thought they couldn't get any dumber," but then you realize you're talking about a group that actively thwarts benefits for the unemployed while pimping tax cuts for rich people, a group that champions a political base which by and large doesn't believe dinosaurs existed because they're not in the Bible but can't stand the thought of stem cell research making people whole again, who attack the ideas and policies of the majority with vehemence but absolutely refuse to offer any of their own, and you come to the realization that you can't begin a sentence with those words, because there really is no bottom to this particular barrel. This particular breed of dumb is a lot like the oil in the Gulf of Mexico; it broadens and spreads and grows by the day, and will continue to do so until someone finally goes in and cleans it up once and for all.

This week's barrage of dumb started early - on Saturday morning, in fact - and hit the ground running. The Washington Post reported that congressional Republicans and their advisors are attempting to devise a game plan for the remaining four months before the midterm elections. Their efforts thus far have been spent making the economy worse for as many people as possible - hence the filibustering of unemployment benefits - so as to stoke popular anger that they hope will sweep them back into power, so long as nobody notices they are the ones creating the misery they look to capitalize on, of course. The election plan? Simplicity itself:

Some of the party's most influential political consultants are quietly counseling their clients to stay on the offensive for the November midterm elections and steer clear of taking stands on substance that might give Democratic opponents material for a counterattack.

"The smart political approach would be to make the election about the Democrats," said Neil Newhouse of the powerhouse Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, which is advising more than 50 House and Senate candidates. "In terms of our individual campaigns, I don't think it does a great deal of good" to engage in a debate over the Republicans' own agenda.

It's not that Boehner (Ohio) is arguing for a cease-fire. The debate among Republicans comes down to this: The speaker-in-waiting, for all his love of political combat, thinks that voters will not trust GOP candidates if their attacks don't also provide at least some substance. The consultants argue that public anger, if properly stoked, alone can carry the party over the finish line. In their view, getting bogged down in the issues is a distraction and even a potential liability.

So instead of any sort of high-minded debate on the signal issues of the day - Afghanistan, Iraq, energy policy, the Gulf, the economy, the banks, the mortgage crisis, the environment - we will be subjected to four stupid months of name-calling, obstructionism and general nonsense, again. The American people have historically been suckers for this kind of game, but with everything going on these days, one has to wonder if four months of goop from the GOP might wind up backfiring tremendously with the populace.

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http://www.truth-out.org/bring-it-on61535