Cuts, insults, burns, slams on Bush and the GOP

[gulliver]

Lets put together a list of rhetorical weapons that can be used against the GOP and Bush. Got any faves? Got any new ones? Help with the stone soup here. Don't hesitate to criticize entries, point out any dishonesty (we are not Republicans), potential for backfiring, or rank suckiness.

Slam: Culture of Corruption
Alliterative. Getting a little old, IMO. "Republican Corruption" might be more direct. Still not bad if used subtly.

Example: The Republicans sold us on their phony virtue, but what we got is this, you know, culture of corruption.

Example enthymeme (presume the truth of "Culture of Corruption" to make a double slam): If you are wondering why the GOP can't govern it's because their culture of corruption doesn't have a place for hard work and honesty. With them, everything boils down to who you know and when you last bribed them...

Slam: Chickenhawk
Classic, powerful, evergreen. The current GOP is vulnerable to it. Thanks to the Iraq war, the next round of "College Republican" leaders will be easy targets for it for decades to come.

Example: Dick Cheney is a filthy chickenhawk.

Example enthymeme: A bunch of chickenhawks like the GOP should never be trusted with national defense.

Slam: Chickenhawk in Chief
Plays on chickenhawk and on Dubya's precious penchant for self-adulation as a "Commander in Chief" (sic). Attacks administration's scary use of "Commander in Chief in time of war" as the basis for wrecking the Constitution.

Example enthymeme: Our brave Chickenhawk in Chief couldn't personally defend a chew toy from a chihuahua. He spent his war years in a bar.

Subtle Insult: George Bush Junior
This is an "accidentally" insulting way of referring to Dubya, similar to the GOP calling us the "Democrat Party." Sprinkle "George Bush Junior" heavily in all conversation about Dubya. Invites comparison of Junior with his daddy. Reminds everyone that Junior would be nothing if not for his name. While one probably can't get away with calling Junior simply "Junior" (at least not very often), calling him "George Bush Junior" is simply a (slightly erroneous and subtly insulting) way of referring to a president who, after all, is a Junior.

Example: There was a traffic jam before the football game because George Bush Junior was in town at a fundraiser.

Slam: Conservative Crookism
Intended to parallel "Compassionate Conservatism." Preserves alliteration. Slightly folksy and endearingly awkward.

Example: They said were getting compassionate conservatism, but we ended up with conservative crookism.

Slam: Neocrooks, neobumblers, neo-has-beens
Plays on the term neocon.

Slam: GOP Intellectuals
Leverages the poisoning of the term "intellectual" by the GOP. Neutralizes the term which is currently used against liberals.

Example: "GOP Intellectuals" sit in their ivory towers and play with the world like it was all just a big game.

[rodeodance]

1. "George Bush Junior"---how can we get the Dems to say this publicly?

[Maven]

2. "Culture of corruption" is just bland and lame.

What does that even mean to most people? "Culture of corruption." Sounds like the name of a gallery exhibition.

"Republican corruption" is indeed much better. See, this is where Dem leaders' pussyfooting tactics get them nowhere. They would never use that term because God forbid they should "offend" people who identify as Republican. But, hello! That's exactly the point. Your GOAL should be to deter people from identifying as such, just the way the Grand Old Phonies sullied the word "liberal" in the public discourse.