Frank Rich is absolutely spot on

[DainBramaged]

http://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/negative-campaigning-2012-6/



If you want the Pukes to win in November, take the higher ground. Go ahead, call out for civility while BILLIONS are spent bashing the President into one term.


Make their day.

[still_one]

1. Agreed, and the Democrats have been the worst advocates for themselves. It is pathetic. Nothing

has been learned from the Kerry experience, and the way things appear, nothing may have been learned from the Gore experience

[politicasista]

15. Yep. Bash one of the POTUS best allies

Guess some people will never forgive him for beating the favorites of 03 and 04.

Thankfully, Obama is very classy not to eat his own.

[still_one]

21. Not bashing, just stating the facts. It took weeks before Kerry responded to the swift boating.

Obama learned from that with the Wright experience and didn't wait but became very proactive

One should never let the other side frame the issues

[politicasista]

22. Nope. Some Kerry supporters back then posted the facts, but

the media brainwashed many people here and elsewhere to prove that the Senator did nothing. Plus, social network (Youtube, Facebook, Twitter) was a plus for Obama. They were not invented until after 2000/04.

Interesting that Obama gets praised for taking the high road, yet Kerry still gets hated on by his own party and liberals for doing almost the same.

It is also interesting that many of those Kerry people went to work for Obama's 08 campaign.

That speaks volumes that Obama would do that considering the whole "Kerry ran a _________ campaign" memes that floated around and how he/the campaign sucked.

Obama knows how to respect his fellow Dems aka surrogates. But IDK, guess that people will never forgive Kerry for beating ____ and the 04 aftermath.

Amazing, we all complain about the media, yet we buy into everything they fabricate, especially if it is a Dem we don't like.


As always, thank you for being a class act, Mr. President.

[dkf]

2. I am glad I am not in a swing state. What torture to be subjected to this for months.

[Iggy]

3. I Get It, However

This is the second post on Frank Rich this morning-- I'm a big admirer of Rich's
intellect/writing, but this isn't 2000 o 2004.

Rmoney's outright lies and factual errors are on nearly every important issue
can readily be dealt with by Obama-- without going hugely negative.

Obama has a serious vulnerability, as any incumbent would during bad economic
times-- the economy. Most voters don't give a crap about the culture war; as the
old saying goes: they vote their pocketbooks.

[DainBramaged]

4. Maybe I'll create a third post commenting on Frank Rich

The only serious vulnerability the President has is US not turning out in sufficient numbers to beat THEM in November,


period.

[Iggy]

6. Bit of an Over Simplification

but correct premise.

Obama has to have a huge voter turnout to ensure reelection. But we can already see that
is not going to happen. We already know he's not going to get the same youth support as
in 2008.

Looking at WI, Walker won the majority of so called independent voters. That's a problem for
Obama if the same happens in November.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

8. I agree with you but my question is WHERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS?!?!?

Where is the Democratic Party leadership. My governor, Martin O'Malley is the only one out there singing the president's praises. We don't see this on the Republican side. They're all out there hyping up Mitt Romney even though they can't stand him! They are everywhere! Where are the Democrats?!?!?!?

[Iggy]

23. Where are the Democrats?

You mention your governor.

I wonder how many here recall that for the 2010 gubernatorial elections, the Republican
Governors Assoc. put together a well funded plan to unseat TEN democratic governors in
key swing states. They succeeded in nine of those states, including Walker in WI (who
obviously is a nightmare), Snyder in Michigan, Kasich in Ohio, etc.

THAT is where the democrats are-- they aren't there any more to "sing the praises
of the president".

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

25. We have more Democrats than a few Democratic governors. You know what I mean,

so stop acting ignorant. Where are the Democrats in Congress? Where are the party leaders? Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Steve King? Other Democratic Party surrogates? Punidts and spokespeople? Consultants?

You know what the fuck I mean!

[Iggy]

26. Helloooooooooo?

In 2009-2010, the Repuglican Governors Assoc. put together a well funded
plan to unseat TEN democratic incumbent governors in key swing states. they
succeeded in nine states, including nightmare Walker in WI.

Helloooooooo? You suppose they did this to 1.) control any redistricting going
on in their states, 2.) as prep for the 2012 election, i.e. getting rid of Obama.

_What_ if any was the Dem plan in 2009-2010 to stop this from happening?
That is what is ignorant-- please get real here.

[JDPriestly]

18. Negative works. Sorry, but what do you prefer? A thriller or a documentary on

identifying butterflies?

People want, actually need is more accurate, drama and contrast. Paintings that are composed of gradual shades of the same color sell because they do not distract, not because they are exciting and engaging.

The Obama campaign needs to be exciting. Obama needs to frame Romney in the light that is most honest but also in a way that the voter will remember and understand.

As long as his ads are honest, negative is good.

Believe me, Romney will not hesitate to paint Obama in as negative a light as possible.

That's politics. And if a candidate does not have a thick skin, if he can't give as well as give, then he should not run.

[Iggy]

24. It Works for Who?

The phat advertising companies that make millions creating these inane ads
every election cycle? Where do I sign up for this gig?

BTW, going negative didn't work regarding the WI recall. Voters made up
their minds months before the recall vote. The hand wringing regarding
the super pac money is pointless in this case. The millions spent by the
repugs was wasted.

[Brickbat]

5. K&R

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

7. They also have set this entire thing up to make YOU blame President Obama!!

Become disillusioned and maybe...just maybe...decide not to vote, not to work hard, not to give money like you did in 2008. It's up to all of us not to fall for it!

We need to get out there and work because we better believe that the Teabaggers are in full force!!!

[pansypoo53219]

9. PURITY gets you nowhere. do we need another georgee?

we need at least 1 more supreme court judge to fucking kill the tilt.

[Ford_Prefect]

10. People will not vote for the candidate who appears weak and defensive. Carter was the proof of this.

No matter how big a fool Romney appears to be on any topic the right wing will drive its people to vote for him. They certainly did it for Shrub.

Truth matters in an election when it can be Heard and Verified. It is an unfortunate reality that we are dealing with perception as the primary medium of political choice. We cannot ignore the point that a president who does not appear to put his opponents in the corner will seem too weak to vote for to a significant number of potential voters. After all who wants to trust the guy who won't call out a bully?

Without doubt Democrats cannot afford to out-shout the Republican paid and built howling banshees. However there is too much at stake not to attack the other side where it is vulnerable. Obama needs to do this as one tactic among others, not only to defend himself but to deny cover to the opposition. He needs to do this not only to defend his presidency but other democrats as well.

The other side knows where it lives and cares nothing for facts or justice except on their own terms. It is part of determining where "we" live that attacking the other side would help define. The sense that "we" as voters belong in the fight comes not only from what our candidates and our party say we believe and will act on. We also need to hear the evils of the opposition made public in a way that makes clear how wrong they are, and hear it often.

[stupidicus]

11. civility has long been overrated

that's the way I've seen it since the early Bush years, when we all became troop haters and terrorist lovers.

It's analogous to taking the knife to a gunfight.

And while the enemy may not like you anymore for it, they'll sure experience an increase in respect...

Rightwingnuts have long been the functional equivalent rhetorically, of their ideological cousins the brownshirts. They'd gladly be using real clubs (like their cousins) instead of words alone if they could get away with it.

[DainBramaged]

14. "when we all became troop haters and terrorist lovers"

Really?



I go out of my way to thank EVERYONE I see in the military for their service, and nothing makes me sad about that fuck Bin Laden being dead.


The Reich wing propaganda machine put those hateful thoughts in the heads of the mouth breathers not those of us who know where the bathroom is.

[stupidicus]

16. yep

of course the brownshirts only had a receptive audience for such in their own rank ranks.

[patrice]

12. Democrats are too busy being PC, too afraid to "go there", can't figure out how to do that without

getting in the gutter, but Sometimes a bigots need to be told that they are bigots. Here are a few words Dems are afraid to use; I'm sure we can think of a few others:

Secessionist
Racist
Tory
Slave
Thieves
FOREIGN money in Super-PACs
Laundering bail-out money into Super-PACs
Religious genocide
. . .

[krispos42]

13. Civility after victory.

Unlike the 'pubes, which is civility after rapture.

[spanone]

17. k&r...

[yodermon]

19. ... all while Harold Ford sat on MTP yesterday and *again* criticized Obama for "attacking private

equity"

[kentuck]

20. The voters Obama is losing...

...are those that believe he is not fighting hard enough. Win or lose, they want a fighter. He can still win these voters back if he shows his fighting side in the next few months.