We have finally seen the inevitable failure of the Rovian strategy

[Ian_rd]

We have finally seen the inevitable failure of the Rovian strategy

The words "attack, attack, attack" have been uttered by many to describe the central tenet of Karl Rove's campaign strategy. He never plays defense, no matter what comes his way. If his candidate is attacked, he responds with a stronger attack. If his opponent has an edge on the issues, he never attempts to bolster his candidate's positions, but instead attacks his opponent with personal smears and dirty tricks. This strategy has worked with tremendous success in the past, but has finally met its inevitable fate.

If the game of politics can be equated with war, which it is by pretty much everybody, then a strategy built around "attack, attack, attack" can be equated with constantly moving the front line forward, never retreating or holding position. This "front line" of Rove's has been constantly moving forward for the past six years, and in the literal world means that the Republican Party's political rhetoric has gotten stronger and stronger to point of finally jumping the shark into the realm of mind-blowingly ludicrous.

A few years ago, Republican politicians would never have gone so far as to suggest that Democrats want the terrorists to win. Such allusions would have been considered highly offensive and way beyond the pale. But Karl Rove and his lieutenants kept moving their front line forward until we finally saw what would eventually rear its ugly ass: Republicans openly and with a straight face practically accusing the Democrats of working in concert with the terrorists to achieve their shared agenda of attacking American values. Orrin Hatch said the terrorists were laying low and hoping for a Democratic victory in order to strike, Donald Rumsfeld said that the terrorists in Iraq were increasing their violence in order to help the Democrats win elections, Dick Cheney equated the likely Democratic win to the terrorists successfully breaking the will of the American people, and every Republican from sea to shining sea clung desperately to their Rovian talking points designed to suggest that Democrats are cowards who want to surrender to Al Qaeda.

There is a depressingly large percentage of stupid, gullible voters in this country who will believe everything fed to them by Fox News and Clear Channel. Karl Rove knows this more than anybody. But his tactics unintentionally caused many of these otherwise stupid people to have moments of clarity. Can't you just picture it: The loyal Sean Hannity fan driving in his car and considering for a moment how ridiculous it is for someone to suggest that the majority of Americans who criticize the war rejoice at the deaths of U.S. soldiers and want nothing more than terrorists to come to the United States and kill innocent people. Maybe this moment of clarity opened up this guy's mind to different opinions, or maybe it simply caused him to skip the long lines on Election Day and go straight home.

The Democrats didn't so much win this election as allow the Republicans to lose. The Republican attack, attack, attack strategy finally became predictable for them, so they simply opened their ranks and allowed the Republican front line to march right on through and then jump over the cliff that always seems to be at the Democratic Party's feet.

Hopefully the Democrats will learn from this. They were smart enough not to defend themselves against the more ridiculous attacks by claiming that they do not in fact chuckle over their lattes whenever a U.S. soldier is killed by a terrorist. They did respond however, as they must no matter how baseless the charge – a lesson they should hold dear after the Great Swiftboating of 2004, but they were most effective when simply pointing out how insane the Republican political messages had become. With their latest national campaign ad, the Republican Party has become the widest distributor of Al Qaeda propaganda in the United States hoping to accomplish with it what the terrorists do: scare the shit out of as many people as possible with the goal of inhibiting rational thought and bending them to your will. But just like Americans stood up fearless against the terrorists after 9-11, yesterday we stood up fearless against the Republican Party's fear campaign and said, "Fuck you, I am not afraid."

Sun Tzu taught that you should never allow your enemy safe ground, hit him where he is most unprepared and appear where you are least expected. Thanks to Howard Dean and his insistence on a fifty-state strategy, we not only know this to be effective politics, but we also know that there are millions of voters everywhere who are begging for an alternative to this garbage and who would cast their vote accordingly if only someone would politely ask for it.

[The Magistrate]

1. An Excellent Analysis, Sir!