Jack & Jill Politics

From zizi:

by zizi2
WE NEED A MESSAGE MACHINE NOW!!!

Rather than the usual predictable circular firing squad that is in full tizzy right now, here’s my take on what is happening and why we MUST take the fight to the Repugs:

Republicans are running a PERVERSE version of the Obama campaign as it began in 2007 through 2008. Actually immediately after the Nov. 2008 elections, when the media and the blogger left were high-fiveing about the Repugs becoming a rump party, a few things stood out for me. After the 2008 election, the Repug leadership stated that they were going to study Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy. Jeff Sessions claimed that they were going to wage a relentless Al Qaeda style insurgency. They openly announced that they were going to harness white voter angst (check huffpo posts of February 2009). Frank Luntz opined that they had all the time been looking for a charismatic candidate like Obama but when he appeared on the scene, he turned out to be a Democrat.

So, they are running a cynical and perverted version of the Obama campaign and we haven’t woken up to it. Instead of fueling their movement with positive energy like we did, they are using fear and racist bigotry. They are fielding candidates that a visually appealing just like candidate Obama, but instead of actual brain power and uplifting charisma they are counting on sexpower and hate-filled adrenaline (Palin, Brown, Thune), just like the Murdoch media empire motto.

Also, all of the post election presentations David Plouffe has participated in, including his recent book have simply given the Repugs some campaign tactical gems that they have employed in Scott Brown’s stealth campaign. On top of it all they have an unchallenged message armada of 1000 radio stations, Fox News, think tank “analysts” who park permanently on Cspan and every MSM and print media outlet 24/7. Indeed what many thought was internal strife within the REpug party with the rise of the Teabaggers, was pure psy-ops strategy. They divided their ranks in order to simultaneously capture the hearts of the gullible/racist constituency using blatant racist venom and fearmongering, as well as Independents and old-style Republicans through subliminal appeals to their latent prejudices in order to shift the Overton window toward teabagger territory. This tactical sleight of hand meant no cost to the Repugs who with the “at arms-length” marionetting of teabaggers can have their cake and eat it too.

With the armada of media outlets they control and hard core message discipline, in addition to co-opting the angry left’s online bullhorn, it is no surprise that FACTS have become a pathetic casualty to the blatant Republican lying and revisionist history spewing (Giuliani, Perino, Matalin, Karen Hughes all telling lies about 9-11 and the shoe bomber without a single challenge from the MSM) that has become the order of the day.

The result? We have been driven out of the public square, and we have complied willy nilly out of disgust with the din of their noise-machine and ceded valuable media real estate. The message amplification that enabled us to win in 2008 is but a whisper now. Our refuge is now Olberman and Maddow, Rhandi Rhodes, Tom Joyner, Stephanie Miller, then throw in Jon Stewart and Colbert. That’s it. We did not challenge the traditional media and we did not fund OUR own mega media. The online advantage we had has quickly been overwhelmed by the Repug’s mastery of said medium ever since McCain’s campaign debacle. And the few mega online outlets we had have gone rogue (you know who they are) and become witting or unwitting allies of the rightwing.

Yeah, so a year in and no one trumpets the actual accomplishments of this administration; accomplishments that Bush et al would die for. Instead we have at best, crickets. Sure, the administration has made mistakes, but which administration has not? Which one has been perfect? The question is do we think this one is our ally or not? It makes me wonder whether the poutrage class would behave any differently even if President Obama got congress to enact everything on the angry left’s wishlist. Would the messaging be any different?

The president’s sermon at the Vermont Baptist church was very telling when he cited MLK Jr’s unwavering belief in claiming any and all victories large and small along the way in the pursuit of the ultimate prize. That is how the civil rights struggle was waged – planting strategic flags of triumph on all victories no matter what. Aside from the psychological boost that tangible and acknowledged victories bring, such claiming of WON territory also has the added effect of demoralizing the adversary. The rightwing knows this hence their glee at all the taunting they do to us.

So we need a message machine and we need it yesterday! The White House itself needs to ramp up it’s message machine. We are at war with the vilest cretins imaginable. We have to beat Roger Ailes and the entire wingnut cabal, else we all pay a hefty price for the ugly end result.

tell the truth and shame the devil.