Dems 2010 Strategy: Drive Wedge Between Tea Party & GOP
Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 5:24 AM
After getting trounced in Massachusetts, Democrats distributed a memo this week that details their plan for the 2010 elections. They hope to drive a wedge between tea party activists and the Republican Party.
The Politico reported:
Democrats are looking for someone to blame for their electoral woes — and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez is working hard to make sure it’s not him.
Showing that they’ve learned the lesson of Massachusetts, Menendez and his staff will distribute a memo Tuesday advising Democratic campaign managers to frame their opponents early — and to drive a wedge between moderate voters and tea-party-style conservatives.
“Given the pressure Republican candidates feel from the extreme right in their party, there is a critical — yet time-sensitive — opportunity for Democratic candidates,” the DSCC writes. “We have a finite window when Republicans candidates will feel susceptible to the extremists in their party. Given the urgent nature of this dynamic, we suggest an aggressive effort to get your opponents on the record.”
The memo urges Democratic candidates to force their opponents to answer a series of questions on health care, taxes and some of the favorite causes of the far right:
“Do you believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen? Do you think the 10th Amendment bars Congress from issuing regulations like minimum health care coverage standards? Do you think programs like Social Security and Medicare represent socialism and should never have been created in the first place? Do you think President Obama is a socialist? Do you think America should return to a gold standard?”
If a Republican candidate says no to any of the questions, the memo says Democrats should “make their primary opponent or conservative activists know it. This will cause them to take heat from their primary opponents and could likely provoke a flip-flop, as it already has several times with Mark Kirk in Illinois.”
ADVERTISEMENT
-
Featured Story:
Horrible… Obama Tells Foolish Supporters: I’m Not Over-Spending… “I’m Running to Pay Down Our Debt”
Published May 23, 2012 at 11:51 pm - 66 Comments
Michael commented:
Those are silly questions to ask a Republican candidate. The only questions that matter: Do you trust Obama and his party to protect our nation and its friends? Do you believe the huge growth in government over the past year will nurture growth and prosperity? Do you want government-run rationed healthcare instead of increased competition among insurers and lower premiums?
cedarhill commented:
They should answer as Forbes did during his campaign. “What an interesting question. Now, about the economy and jobs, what needs to be done is ….”
If they persist, turn the question back on them as to relevance regarding job creation and the economy and how Democrats have mishandled it so badly.
vikingTX commented:
The “Big Tent” is fiscal conservatism and smaller government.
Militant Conservative commented:
AMEN TX, conservatism works every time. Just man up and do it this time damnit! (Republicans).
Dems are toast cuz of we Tea party (constitutional) voters.
Texmom commented:
Oh, yeah, I have seen this in the media already. I think people like O’Reilly are falling right into this trap.
Opus #6 commented:
The Tea Party has a different strategy. Take over the GOP by getting real conservatives into office.
Peggy commented:
The feckless IL GOP is playing along by calling Patrick Hughes supporters “fringe.”
If you’re in IL, vote Patrick Hughes on Feb 2. Otherwise, if you are able, a contribution would help, too. [I work for no one; unemployed economist-housewife at this time.]
Thanks folks!
startupman commented:
What always gets Republican’s in trouble are the major social issues: abortion, gay rights, etc.
If Republicans can transcend these issues (i.e. resist the urge to appease the religious right) and stick to the mantra of (much) smaller government, strong defense/foreign policy and fiscal conservatism – then Republicans/conservatives will do great in the upcoming elections.
The key is individual liberty. You can’t be a promoter of the individual while attempting to maintain moral/governmental authority of individual decisions.
Auntie Em commented:
Conservative candidates are going to win regardless of what they do. The dims just don’t get it. They never will.
They can’t run a good, clean campaign on the issues, so they villify their opposition.
That’s not working out well for them anymore. They’ve pissed off the people, and that shows no sign of slowing.
M Malone commented:
In Illinois the local Democrats appear poised to nominate for the US Senate a guy who while working at his family bank helped two Chicago mobsters (customers of the family bank) rip off an 83 year-old grandmother’s home. I’m guessing that pinning the Democrat’s hopes of painting Mark Kirk as John Kerry isn’t a winning strategy – have they seen the circulation numbers of the local media (the real teabaggers)? Ellie Light will have to burn the midnight oil in Chicago this year.
Flyover Sam commented:
Pretty pathetic questions: It doesn’t matter what I think. 10th Amendment? Why don’t you tell me what it says instead of asking me what I think about it. Here’s a copy. Read it and we’ll both find out what it says.
What do I think about whether Barack is a socialist? Why the hell would you ask me, and not Barack himself? He’s in your party. Go to the source and find out if he’s a socialist. You might ask him if he’s a Fascist as well, and if he says no, ask him how his take-over of all these industries is any different than Italy’s fascism. Does he use a different definition that makes him not fascist? Really, asking some Republican Congressperson about if Barack sees himself as Fascist, Marxist, Communist, Progressivist, etc. is as foolish as asking me for Barack’s birth certificate. Do you fear the President to the point that you cannot ask him simple questions you’re asking of a lowly Congressperson or candidate?
Does social security represent socialism? As we’ve uncovered through the confusion on Barack’s own identity, it seems like definitions are difficult things and there’s probably some disagreement. Why don’t you tell me what socialism is and give me a good definition and explain how or how not social security meets that?
Nofreelunch commented:
Opus #6 is right. The Tea Party movement, 1st must rid the GOP of the self-serving, old boy network that leads it, and replace it with principled fiscal conservatives. The current RNC is like the DNC. Nothing but Power Seekers.
J commented:
I think there is a huge divide between the tea party group and the republicans we now have in charge. The tea party people could belong to any party but their fundamentals are closer to what the founding fathers had in mind for us. Small government, taxpayers keep their money, etc. The republicans we have now seem to me to be dem light.
pjean commented:
Ah, th Tea Party movement includes moderates who believe in fiscal responsibility and smaller government.
Still ain’t gettin’ it Dems.
howdareyouaskformyname commented:
It’s funny to me how the libertarians can’t seem to make any hay even in this environment. Their platform would seem to be tailor made to match the sentiment of the country but I think their foreign policy is disqualifying.
Betsy Ross commented:
Hey dems….remember to tell all your voters that Tea Party Repbulicans are knuckle-dragging, double-wide occupying, God-fearing, gun-toting rednecks…yeah that should work.
Pat the First commented:
Unfortunately, I think a wedge can form. It certainly needs to be watched. If that happens, B.O. won’t need to worry about being a one-term President. It will guarantee a 2nd term for B.O.
Flyover Sam commented:
A viable tea party platform the Republicans could accept would be as follows:
For the next term, I (as a candidate for Congress) recognize that the state of our nation’s security, economic and governmental condition is one where the exclusive attention must be paid to their remediation. Social issues, while important to many, must be set aside in this next term and a special Congress intent on reducing the size and expense of government and increasing the opportunity for growth, employment and economic vitality, combined with the attention to the security of this nation, must be prioritized.
During this special term, I agree that Congress should exclusively address these areas. Abortion, climate change, immigration and other divisive issues, while important to some, have been identified by the American people as non-priority issues. The state of our nation’s economy, security and out-of-control government is so significant that our exclusive attention to these issues this next term is mandatory.
…..
That’d be my recommendation. Set aside that which divides us and declare it off-limits. I’d go so far as to recommend a change in Congressional rules, requiring separate bills for separate issues so as to eliminate the bundling of pork and unrelated legislation within a budget or defense bill. Combine that with a line-item veto for the President and allow each sponsor, supporter and the President to be held individually accountable for their votes without ambiguity.
That’d be the Tea Party Charter. Thoughts?
Bill Mitchell commented:
You know the left has gone off the deep end when they consider beliefs in:
1) Individual freedom and responsibility,
2) State’s rights,
3) Smaller government,
4) Lower taxes,
5) Lower deficits and
6) Strong defense
… to be ‘EXTREME’ positions.
Nahanni commented:
They have bought into their own propaganda. The Corruptocrat/MSM propaganda meme is that the TEA party folks are just like their ACORN/SEIU paid flunkies and thugs. They can not believe that anyone (especially us “uneducated” bitter Klingons) can organize themselves into a political entity without the assistance of an Ivy League madrassa indoctrinated “community organizer” funded by radical leftist America hating billionaires like Soros and Heinz-Kerry. Apparently they never learned American History, only the revisionist history that is taught at the government indoctrination centers…errr…public schools and their university madrassas.
They also simply can not grasp the simple fact that we are not as stupid as they think we are and we see right through their shinola. That is not surprising-Obamao’s comments about “bitter Klingons” is exactly how the Corruptocrat/MSM elites see We The People.
2hotel9 commented:
Well, since the entire point of the TEA Party movement is to drive out all of the progressive scumbags from the Republican Party, and that includes driving progressives out of the government AND Democrat Party, also, exactly how is this goping to hurt TEA Party or America?
amanda commented:
They’re called RepubliCrats….
We are Patriots…we vote Constitution.
Brown’s win was a third party vote…
a party called ‘We the People’.
Hello….
we are not stupid,
easily manipulated,…
or captured by the slick & con….
We V O T E ! ! !
in the raging fkng snow-ice-sleet&rain
so BTFO!!
aprilnovember811 commented:
Don’t they understand the Tea Party movement is just regular, hardworking Americans? They are not some fringe group. It’s like saying the Revolutionary soldiers, who were just regular Joe’s were the fringe far right. I have an idea of how the GOP should respond:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDw7HiLxXmc
Robert commented:
This is just an attempt at trickery by the Dems. Rather than standing on issues, they want to play gotcha politics.
Let’s try this with Obama:
Do you think Iraq is a bad war? Yes.
Yet he has escalated in Afghanistan while failing to articulate a strategic vision.
Should we have open deliberations on C-Span? Yes.
Yet he has has done nothing but back-room deals.
Should we deal with lobbyists and corporations? No.
See previous explanation.
Should bills be presented to the public prior to passage? Yes.
Yet not a single one has been, nor even read by members of Congress.
Should we bail out crooked bankers and Wall Street people?
Yes, give them $Trillions of taxpayer money and I will have them as my advisors.
Now, they are the bad guys, let’s tax them and take their bonuses.
Should we tax health care benefits? No, but now…
Can citizens keep their current health care plans? Yes, but …
And on and on…
eaglewingz08 commented:
I think the democraps are confusing the TEA party movement with the Paulians. They are so tone deaf and brain dead that they can’t grasp that each of the questions asked are stupid and not related to the emphases of the movement. The first question is stupid because the issue was whether or not Obama was a ‘native born’ citizen not that he isn’t a US citizen at all. The second question is likewise idiotic because it is not primarily the tenth amendment that is the bar to the federal mandates and insurance providership, but the enumerated powers of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The X Amendment may buttress the constitutional argument, but health care is by and large not a function delegated to the federal government. The third question is meaningless as no one in mainstream political life would seek to revoke these programs. However the question could be turned around rather pointedly by showing that these programs are bankrupt and another indication that when the federal government attempts to run massive entitlement programs they always end up bankrupt and result in limiting choices and freedoms of individuals. As for the Obama = Socialist question, do the democraps really want to highlight Obama’s extreme radical leftwing agenda? The last question of the gold standard is not even on the table in 90 percent or more of the republican or 99 percent of the democrap parties. We don’t need the gold standard if we were to have a fiscally responsible government instead of the radical leftwing tax n spenders in the Obama Administration and Democrap Congress. Again, do the democraps really want to highlight their reckless fiscal policies?
No longer democrat commented:
If Republicans are the party of “no”, then Democrats are the party of “stupid”. I guess when you don’t have a leg to stand on, you think up nay crazy nonsense you can and the DNC is
What’s the matter DNC? Not proud of your porkulus bill to tout that in 2010? Or the healthcare bill you tried to ram down our throats? Or alot of your other corrupt payoffs you’ve rammed through. Yup, you can’t campaign on the issues or your “accomplishments” so you make it up as you go along.
I can not wait for the Democratic wipeout coming in 2010. So glad I am no longer a registered Dem
anon commented:
Wrong strategy. These can be beaten with elementary knowledge of Saul Alinsky.
Rob De Witt commented:
The memo urges Democratic candidates to force their opponents to answer a series of questions on health care, taxes and some of the favorite causes of the far right:
What Republicans and Conservatives in general absolutely have to do is learn what shrinks and cops and ER nurses call “active listening.” Listen to the tune, not the lyrics. Think of it like your 15-year-old starting up a conversation at the dinner table about your high-school girlfriends – in hopes of avoiding the discussion about his Algebra grade that came in the mail that day.
Republicans in particular and normal folks in general have been letting these idiots frame the debate for over 40 years now, and look how well that’s worked out. Absolutely every one of these “force your opponents to answer” tactics is just another version of “Have you stopped beating your wife?,” and is intended to hook the listener into changing the subject. Responding with “I’m not really a Nazi goat-molester, and I can prove it” just establishes to the audience that the topic is really your off-beat courting rituals, and you lose again. Dammit.
None of this is news, and any opponent of the Left better get with the program in a big quick. Alinsky got most of his tactics straight out of Machiavelli, and wasn’t even shy about it: the object is not to win debates with the brilliance of your argument, but to make your opponents talk about what you want by keeping them off-balance. Childish as Hell, but it’s characterized the entire national dialogue at least since Clinton.
Everybody oughta give another listen to Newt Gingrich’s speech at Restoration Weekend. Yeah, yeah, I know – “What about his dying wife, and Nancy Pelosi on the couch, and Scozzafava and that time he pissed off my cousin Fred’s barber!!???” I’m not talking about whether he has a chance in a general election or whether you think he’s a weasel, he demonstrably understands that you don’t win elections by playing the other guy’s game.
How hard is this?
Valerie commented:
Oh, this is all too easy.
“Do you believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen?”
–Right now, I don’t care. His policies are a disaster. Here’s what I would do differently …–
“Do you think the 10th Amendment bars Congress from issuing regulations like minimum health care coverage standards?”
–What matters to me is that the proposed plan to reform health care insurance is unworkable. We need health care insurance reform, and I prefer …… –
“Do you think programs like Social Security and Medicare represent socialism and should never have been created in the first place?”
–I think some of the presently proposed changes represent a socialistic turn, and I don’t like them because other countries have experience with them, and they don’t work. –
“Do you think President Obama is a socialist?”
–If he’s not a socialist, he certainly is a big government kinda guy. Unfortunately, his version of big government hasn’t been working out very well. I’d do it differently, and here’s some of the things I would do first.–
“Do you think America should return to a gold standard?”
–I just finished a speech talking about …. and ….. One thing at a time, please.–
chili palmer commented:
The GOP has and will continue to drive a wedge and needs no help from the dems or anyone. The GOP has campaigned for or allowed to grow the biggest crime in history, global warming and cap and trade. Why have they not made this fraud a banner issue which it is for any sane person? Because they are for it. The GOP is no different than the ranting equatorial dictators at Copenhagen in their goals for the US. All the money in the world is still behind this fraud. What we need are people of character, that is the issue.
starboardhelm commented:
Problem is, for Democrats, the Tea Partiers are the biggest tent evah. They include all thinking moderates and fiscal conservatives of both parties and most independents. They are hugely inclusive and tolerant of a wide range of personal views. The only reason some lean Republican is because Republican policies lean a little more Tea Party. The Neo-Socialist-Dems can try all they want to “drive a wedge” instead of developing worthwhile policies — it won’t bring any tea partiers over to their sorry loser side. Let them waste their time and energy. Never correct your enemies when you see them making a mistake.
Marsh commented:
Sounds like a pretty smart move to me. The Tea Party activists are trying to tear down the Republicans even more than the Democraps it seems. A divided American Right will gurantee that the neo-communist Left will stay in power for decades. That’s why we need to heed the old saying “Join or Die”. Getting 75% of what you want is better than getting 0%. The Tea Party have been pretty unfair to the Republican Party as well. The Republicans have stood firmly againt nationalized health care. They didn’t get a single Republican vote in the House and they only got a couple signals of support from liberal-esque Republicans in the Senate for Obamacare. Give credit where credit is due.