THE LEGACY OF LEE ATWATER IS ALIVE AND WELL

[Samantha]

I heard a discussion recently (on MSNBC, I believe) which reviewed the tactics of the late Lee Atwater. I had immediately thought when the lipstick/pig controversy arose, it smelled exactly like a Rove-inspired artificial controversy. This leads us to the subject of remembering Atwater, whose legacy appears to be alive and well and breathing political life into the campaign of John McCain.

When the subject of Lee Atwater came up (that is the late Lee Atwater, formerly the dirtiest man in politics) I was prompted to remember that Rove was a protege of his, and George W. Bush* learned his political maneuvering from Rove. McCain, in consulting with Rove on this campaign (and where's the "change" in those politics, I have to ask) has picked up the same techniques handled down from Atwater to Rove to Bush.

Atwater never won any elections on strategy. Instead he employed tactics. Those tactics were so controversial they diverted all commentary and conversation to the staged "event", thereby halting debate on substantive issues in its tracks. Sounds corny, and it is, but it works. That is exactly the maneuver Obama and Obama supporters need to spot the minute they erupt, and that is exactly the maneuver we need to stomp.

The last thing McCain wants to discuss are substantive issues, and the next-to-last thing he wants the American public to note, is that HE IS A REPUBLICAN. "Maverick" is not the name of a political party, but McCain wants you to believe that it is, and if he and Palin say it often enough, the American public will become brainwashed to think of them as that, as opposed to more of the Bush same.

I bite my lip as I say this, but McCain and Palin can put all the lipstick they want on their porker positions, but when the gloss smears off, we see just two Republicans standing their with their neoconservative cloaks disguising their inner cores. We must keep reminding the American people these two candidates represent what Barack Obama says they represent, an extension of the Bush* years hammered together by instruments from the dirty political Republican trick toolbox.

For what it is worth....

Sam

[spanone]

1. rove learned from the best (worst)

[Samantha]

2. Or one could say the best of the worst!

But do you spot any tactics recently that look like they are Atwater-like?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

3. The Southern Strategy revived!

That's why Obama CANNOT go negative. He must be forceful on the issues but he cannot make this personal. If he does, he scares white people. Why that is so hard to grapple with is astonishing to me.

[Samantha]

6. It is not hard to grapple with, it's hard to agree with

It is a debate. Here is the side I come down on. Race might be an issue in the South, but generally speaking Obama won't carry it anyway. Besides that, why should he cater to the racial prejudice of Southerners? I ask this question sincerely, please know most of my relatives live in Tennessee, and many are prejudiced. To heck with them and their vote. I am not willing to dumb down the debate to avoid offending their prejudiced attitudes. In the overall scheme of things, A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, black or white, man or woman, must be seen by THE COUNTRY OVERALL as strong enough to stand up to any controversy without artificial impediments holding him or her back.

My Eastern political thinking tells me Obama should present himself as a powerful Presidential candidate who has a strong enough backbone to face any difficult situation. Race is not the issue. Backbone is.

I know many will disagree with my thoughts on this, but I am okay with that, because it certainly is a healthy discussion for us to have. And I feel extremely comfortable starting it, with my very pale skin and my reddish hair, because I hail from a geographic neck of the woods where the "angry black man" is not a picture a Presidential candidate wants as a portrait. To hell with that thinking. Give me a man or a woman with a spine, and I don't care what color it is.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

12. I'm from the South and race is an issue *everywhere*

Either you're naive or not being honest with yourself.

[Samantha]

22. I am acutely aware of that since I heard it in play at my family

reunion. Wrong number. I am neither naive or dishonest. I have accepted the reality that many racists in the South cannot be redeemed and I am no longer willing to modify my political talk to make allowances for that. You can if you like, it is a personal choice.

Sam

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

26. It's NOT just in the South!

These polls show that clearly...


Whites lift McCain to slim lead over Obama in poll
By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 7 minutes ago
An overwhelming advantage in experience and lopsided support from working-class and suburban whites have lifted Republican John McCain to a slender lead over Barack Obama less than two months from Election Day, a poll on the presidential race said Friday.

The Arizona senator has a 13-percentage-point lead over his Democratic rival both with men and senior citizens, and a 23-point advantage among rural residents, according to the Associated Press-GfK Poll of likely voters. He's also doing better than Obama at consolidating support from party loyalists: 94 percent of Republicans back McCain, while 83 percent of Democrats prefer the Illinois senator.

Obama has good news, too. He's preferred two-to-one by those who say the nation's economy is in poor shape — a strong position on an issue many surveys say is the public's top worry. He also has an 18-point advantage among voters who look more to a candidate's values and views than experience, and his weak showing with whites is generally no worse than Democrat John Kerry did in his losing but close 2004 race against President Bush.

The poll is in line with others showing that in the days since both parties picked vice presidential candidates and held their conventions, Republicans have gained momentum and erased a modest lead Obama held most of the summer. McCain leads Obama among likely voters, 48 percent to 44 percent, according to the AP-GfK Poll.

"My heart sort of runs with McCain and my mind probably tends to run toward Obama," said David Scorup, 58, a county government official in Othello, Wash. "I think I resonate more with McCain."

The poll suggests that perceived inexperience is more of a problem at the top of the Democratic ticket than in the No. 2 spot for Republicans.

Eighty percent say McCain, with nearly three decades in Congress, has the right experience to be president. Just 46 percent say Obama, now in his fourth year in the Senate, is experienced enough.

Fully 47 percent say Obama lacks the proper experience — an even worse reading than the 36 percent who had the same criticism about McCain running mate Sarah Palin, serving her second year as Alaska governor after being a small-town mayor.

"This is his fourth year in the Senate, and two of those four years he spent campaigning for president," said Arthur Koch, 63, an undecided voter from Wallington, N.J. "I'm not too comfortable with that."

Underscoring how tight the race remains, several swing groups that traditionally help decide presidential races remain split between the two tickets. These include independents, married women and Catholics.

Seven in 10 said Palin made the right decision in becoming McCain's running mate, despite the demands of a family whose five children include a pregnant, unmarried teenage daughter and an infant with Down syndrome. Men were slightly likelier than women to back her choice, and even Obama supporters were split closely over whether she did the proper thing.

"She scares the bedoodles out of me," said Lisa Rolfe, 46, an Obama backer and pharmaceutical worker in Pembroke Pines, Fla. But as for Palin's choice, she said, "I know it's going to be very difficult, but I'm sure she weighed her decision. That's a very personal value."

McCain leads Obama by 55 percent to 37 percent among whites. That includes margins of 24 points with suburban whites and 26 points with whites who haven't finished college, plus similar advantages with white men and married whites.

The poll finds that despite Democratic attempts to tie McCain to the profoundly unpopular Bush, half say they believe the Arizonan would chart a different course — including a slight majority of independents, a pivotal bloc of voters. In addition, although slightly more call themselves Democrats than Republicans, conservatives have a huge 40 percent to 20 percent edge over liberals.

Ken Campbell, 49, a Republican and county sheriff in Lebanon, Ind., said of Obama: "Our lifestyles and beliefs are so radically different that there is no similarity whatsoever."

Obama leads 61 percent to 35 percent among voters under age 30. He has about a 5-to-1 edge with minorities and narrow advantages with college graduates and women, though he trails among white women 53 percent to 40 percent.

Asked if they prefer a presidential candidate with solid experience or one whose values and views they support, two-thirds picked the latter. While those preferring experience overwhelmingly back McCain, people opting for a contender's values say they'll back Obama over McCain, 56 percent to 38 percent.

"Obama seems to be more oriented toward getting people together," said Ron Long, 60, of Pella, Iowa, an Obama supporter.

Though Obama led among those who said values were more important than experience, respondents gave a 9-point edge to McCain as the candidate whose values and principles are similar to theirs. He had an 8-point edge over whom people agreed with on issues.

In another sign of recent GOP gains, people said they preferred a Democratic to a Republican-run Congress, 46 percent to 41 percent. Several surveys earlier this year gave Democrats a wider edge.

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Sept. 5-10 and involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,217 adults, including 812 considered likely voters. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points for the entire sample and 3.4 points for likely voters.

___

Associated Press Director of Surveys Trevor Tompson, AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and Associated Press writer Christine Simmons contributed to this report.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE — This poll is the first release from the new AP-GfK Poll. This polling partnership brings together The Associated Press and GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, a leading provider of public opinion research for more than 75 years. The polls are branded as the "AP-GfK Poll." The GfK Group, the world's fourth-largest market research company, headquartered in Germany, has been providing research for clients around the world since the 1930s.

___

On the Net:

AP-GfK Poll: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

[Samantha]

27. I am acutely aware of that as well

so I will assume you are posting this info for those that are not. I believe the main difference is in the South, many prejudiced people do not bother to try and hide their racist tendencies. In the East, that is not as true.

I was shocked when I attended my family reunion recently, as I stated above, and heard words uttered loudly that I thought no longer were used. My family is from Tennessee, I lived there a number of years, spent my summers there after my father relocated to the DC area, and I continue to make visits there from time to time.

I also lived in West Virginia for a period of 8 years, having moved their to "raise my child" as my former husband insisted he wanted her to have the kind of childhood he had experienced, growing up in a more rural area. To my horror and disbelief, the town to which I moved was totally segregated, and prejudice against African-Americans was alive and well and thriving in the small West Virginia town to which I had moved. Once my child became of college-age, I relocated to College Park, Maryland, where I now reside.

Finally relieved I had left the geographical areas behind in my life where prejudice was tolerated and openly practiced, can you imagine my shock and disgust upon learning that just one hour from here, I won't name the city but most people would recognize its name, is a thriving branch of the Klu-Klux-Klan. I didn't truly realize this organization was still in existence.

Racism is the elephant in the room most of us don't talk about during this election. I do because I think people who still hold prejudiced beliefs and act on them should be confronted and held accountable. I don't think the campaign for the Office of the President of the United States should revolve around this issue, nor the issue of gender, nor decided on those issues, but I do think the American people should have an open dialog about how the continuing attitudes of those who denigrate others because they simply are different tears at the fabric upon which this Country and its principles are grounded. It is an honest discussion to have.

So if your main point is simply to state that the prejudice of voters around this Country may make an impact on who is elected in November, you will get no argument here. Thank you for your response.

Sam

[MrScorpio]

4. Stand by for this October, on Halloween Eve...

I'm going to have the Second Annual Late Lee Atwater Award For Republican Evil


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2167994

Be there, or be square

[Samantha]

8. I don't know how I missed this, but I loved it

I immedately looked for Rove's name. I wanted to vote for him. I am debating the others, I guess I will choose Cheney, but for the first time in my life, I am conflicted on how to vote. Truly a slate too close to call as to the "winner."

Thanks for your response.

Sam

[MrScorpio]

10. We're going to have a new set of evil republicans this year

Be on the look out!

[Samantha]

14. Hey, I am always on the look out for evil Republicans

I am paranoid on the subject.:)

Sam

[GoesTo11]

5. Death bed contrition or no,

Lee Atwater is still burning in hell.

[Samantha]

9. what a dismal way to spend one's last moments on earth

apologizing to the people he had harmed in the political arena. I can think of much better ways to spend one's last moments here on earth, and I personally live my life planning on having no regrets to confess my last moments.

Sam

[mitchum]

21. It wasn't contrition; just cheap regret

[Samantha]

23. Could be - I thought he was afraid he would be held responsible

in his afterlife, and tried to make last minute amends. I guess we will never know. I am glad he is gone but sorry his legacy has been past down from politician to politician.

Thanks for your response.

Sam

[blm]

7. Actually Sam, Bush traveled around the south with Atwater AND Rove and was very much part of the

strategy of dirty tricks. The corporate media always downplayed and ignored GWBush's ACTUAL political roles over the years. As if being his father's son was all the resume they needed to mention.

Bush spent FAR more years as part of a dirty tricks strategy team than he did as Gov of Texas.

[Samantha]

13. I knew that and I am sorry that is not clearly reflected in my thread

I wrote this so hurriedly ...

I did try to make the point this was a hand-me-down strategy, appallingly disgusting dirty tricks, from Atwater to Rove to Bush and now to McCain. I had read a lot about how and from whom Bush* got his political education and I guess I inadvertently did not make that point clearly. Thanks for putting the spotlight on it, blm.

Good to hear from you.

Sam

[RagAss]

11. Burn in Hell !

[Samantha]

16. It is amazing that in 2008, his legacy lives on

and impacts our politics on a daily basis through his proteges. Simply burning in hell might be too good for him.

[RagAss]

24. I know... it's pains me to think that there may be no hell too !

[WinkyDink]

15. I was thinking of putting up a yard sign of the 2, with "You DO Know They're Republicans?"

[Samantha]

18. I hope you

and I think we all need to keep reinforcing that thought to the American public. Obviously, McCain and Palin want to obliterate that fact.

Thanks for your response.

Sam

[Hard Leftt]

17. Hit and Run

They created this phony "Obama called Palin a Pig" controversy the day before 9/11, before it could be explained in context.

Now if you try and explain it, they have "moved on".

End result more than half the country believes Obama called Palin a "pig". SICKENING

[Samantha]

19. I think that might have backfired

I think what you say was their intention. But Obama got in a quick retort, and the last word shot fired off was McCain saying Obama called her a pig. Ironically, it was McCain uttering those words that permanently imprinted on my brain that thought. She is a pig, but Obama didn't call her that. McCain reinforced it with his follow-up. Just my thoughts.

Thank you for your response.

Sam

[mitchum]

20. THat dying motherfucker did nothing to undo the damage he had done; he just...

expressed cheap regret.

[slackmaster]

25. Atwater did have an over-arcing strategy - One that worked well and has been abandoned by the GOP

It was called the Big Tent.

[Samantha]

28. A shameless, self-serving kick for the Saturday crowd

I am hoping to attack more posts on Lee Atwater's continuing influence in today's politics. There are many young people at this site who perhaps are unfamiliar with his legacy. Tell them what you know.

Sam