A Line of Attack the Obama Campaign Must Answer Forcefully

Tonight during the evening news the Republican National Committee ran an attack ad (multiple times) that featured menacing black-and-white images of Harry Reid, Charles Schumer, Patrick Leahy and other leading Democrats with the captions: "Ready to Tax" and "Ready to Spend." I was hoping the DNC or the Obama Campaign would answer this propaganda with an ad of its own, but I have yet to see one. Right-wing talk radio and Glen Beck (the "King of the Cretins") have been hammering the idea that if Barack Obama were to be elected president the Democrats would control the government and it would lead to higher taxes. Steve Moore, formerly of the Club for Growth, whose vision for America Charles Dickens described long ago, was mercilessly flogging this idea on the Glen Beck show just yesterday. Moore said that if Obama were elected the stock market would tank and there'd be capital flight.

This argument, unfortunately, might have legs because many "independent," "centrist," and "low information" voters believe: 1). Government can't do anything to help you with your health care, housing, or energy bills and anyone who thinks it can is naive; and 2). The only thing Government can do is raise your taxes. These false notions have been beaten into the brains of voters for the last 28 years. The McCain-Palin campaign is lying and misrepresenting Obama's economic plan, but their target audience pays little attention to things like truth, reason, or rationality; they vote their feelings or their "guts." By running with this Big Lie the McCain-Palin camp is hitting below the belt. But what would you expect from Karl Rove acolytes?

I was astounded to learn that more television viewers watched John McCain's acceptance speech than Barack Obama's. I hope this doesn't mean that Sarah Palin is going to succeed in energizing the right-wing Christian evangelicals and other flat-Earthers to get out and vote in 2008. She might be able to do for the election of 2008 what gay marriage did for the election of 2004.

The Sarah Palin phenomenon tends to neutralize the inroads (if any) Obama might have made with white evangelicals. The religious Right has already denounced Obama's Saddleback colloquy with Rick Warren as being not "pro-life" enough. The only thing these people seem to need to know is that Palin knowingly chose to give birth to a "special needs" baby. They will ignore the fact that as Governor of Alaska, Palin cut the budget for assistance to families with "special needs" children from about $8 million to $3 million. The DNC or a sympathetic 527 should immediately begin running television and radio ads pointing out Palin's hypocrisy on this issue. Palin needs to be hit hard and hit now. Hesitating to slam her with some well-produced attack ads would be like John Kerry failing to respond to the Swift Boaters.

Sarah Palin is this election's Grand Swift Boater -- the sooner the Obama camp recognizes this the better.

Joe Biden cannot allow the corporate media to kowtow him into going soft on Palin just because she has a pair of overactive ovaries. She is a liar and a fraud and a religious extremist, and the sooner the bark is stripped off her the better. Hillary Clinton, if she is forceful and diligent on the campaign trail, can be very effective in countering the Palin pander. Hillary might have to be just as bitterly sarcastic and caustic as Palin to counter her. I don't think she should hold back.

But I cannot help but think about how Phyllis Schlafly (an ally of Palin's) and women like her -- to almost everyone's surprise -- killed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the late 1970s. It would be foolish to underestimate the political power of anti-feminist women in this country. They're angry, vocal, motivated, armed with a Carrie Nation fanaticism, and they have a hell of a lot of money.

Comments

[Joseph A. Palermo - Huffpost Blogger]

I sure don't like seeing any polls that show McCain at 50 percent and Obama behind at 46 like the one CNN had over the weekend, calling it a convention bounce. The Ohio Fight for Life Christian evangelical right-wing anti-abortion group is back -- if it comes down to Ohio, with all the voter caging and voter suppression and the army of Christian soldiers arising out of the border area with West Virginie, well, we're not going to win, the US and the world will suffer the consequences -- Palin thinks god put her in the place she is in, scary, maybe god is going to tell her to launch nuclear missiles in the Middle East after McCain dies in office to bring the Second Coming -- I always thought that right-wing Christian, conservative, evangelical eschatology would be our doom.

[JdPStokie]

I'm watching the elections from the other side of the Pond as an English woman who believes choice of President of the US will obviously affect the whole world. My opinion regarding the amount of Dems tuning into to see McCain's acceptance speech -v- the amount of Republicans tuning into to hear what Obama had to say only serves to reinforce my view that the republicans LOVE being lied to and t hrive on being underinformed, while the Dems being the progressive party it is want to know what they're up against. Go figure!!

[unite4change]

I saw Obama on the campaign trail earlier this week tell people to watch McCain's speech.

[freedomthrutruth]

These misleading campaign ads tend to influence only severely information-deprived Americans. Unfortunately, there are likely tens of millions of them whose votes will have a big impact on the election outcome. As such, I'm much less concerned about the ad's content and message than about the critical thinking ability of millions of Americans. The ad itself is little more than propaganda that can be easily perceived by those who've been paying attention the last eight years and who thus understand that Republicans, with the help of some Democrats, have brought this country to near economic collapse, mainly by using the government to enrich themselves and their friends. With this knowledge, one is likely to see through these McCain ads and conclude that America has only one good choice in November: Obama. Having said all that, I believe if Obama wins, he'll have many debts to settle, so he'll be far from perfect, but much better than McCain.

[kayatarms]

Geez here we go again, every venue, what does Obama have to do or address, what Obama is not doing etc. give me a fuggin break! First off we just saw the worst hatefest of an RNC convention which is trying to run away with Obama's change mantle, change from what 8 years of their own party. John Bush talked about what else McPOW the lead in was a football game, I don't believe those numbers ..were there also 80,000 people there also? They paraded a rehearsed manufactured operative who is in VP training who can't talk to the media until groomed but is very experienced ..cough...manipulations abound. ..but what is the post about? Right Obama has to do something else, since the chickenshit media is scared to talk about McPOW or PTAlin! Also, there was NO BOUNCE with Ms PETA! Also, Obama did address ethnic cleansing in regards to the comment preceding mine. Maybe the next post will talk about the bashing of community organizers and what the patriotic repubots must do to feign they give a damn, instead of flags and flagpins made in China who will own us if they ever fool us in again!

[BarakOhYoMama]

It's hateful when the RNC say the Dems want to raise taxes, higher taxes = economic trouble, and Obama has little experience, but it's just fine when the DNC says Palins child is really her daughters, she's a bumb A** because she went to 6 colleges, she's brainless because she looks good, etc, etc, etc. The good ole Dem double standard is alive and well

[23000Days]

I really rhink that the viewership of the R convention had to do with open-minded D's watching. I doubt the R's watched Obama.

[BarakOhYoMama]

I'm sure that's it. You just keep saying that over and over and over.......

[spankies space]

I just don't know why the Obama folks are so quite. The Republicans are getting much more information out. We still need to get more info out on Palin. What's this that's floating on the internet that Sarah Palin called Obama a Sambo and referred to Hillary Clinton as a "b****" Where is the media? This is an issue that needs to be brought up if it is true. Where is Lucille?

[goldnchyl]

"The only thing these people seem to need to know is that Palin knowingly chose to give birth to a "special needs" baby. They will ignore the fact that as Governor of Alaska, Palin cut the budget for assistance to families with "special needs" children from about $8 million to $3 million"

I can't imagine someone who would ignore this fact would vote for Obama anyway.

[UrsaMajority]

I just saw that Greta van is being sent to Anchorage on Tuesday, and even Fox's (Wall Street) Journal Report is trying to "get to the bottom" of Palin's record. Palin's silence is leaving a vacuum that even the right wing media wants to fill. This site and DailyKos and AlaskaDigest.com are full of stories of her hypocricies. (But we have to be accurate; the "cut special needs funding by 62% story was inaccurate due to a confusing change in how that figure was reported). Let's help 'em fill the silence with the truth about her record.

Then we can go back and talk about her extremism.

[moveleft]

I don't think it's a bad thing that 500,000 more people tuned in to McCain's speech. The fact that people are interested and paying attention is a GOOD THING. Obama has been attracting unprecedented crowds on the road and tons of press attention. The fact that people are now paying attention has less to do with popularity and more to do with a natural curiosity about what McCain stands for. I think by calling him out boldly in his speech a week ago, Obama has given people another reason to re-examine exactly what McCain stands for. Anyone who watched his loooooooong speech and came away thinking McCain is actually going to be a champion of change and the middle class was already a fervent supporter of his in the first place. Ive talked to plenty of people who have tons of respect for his POW experience but wouldn't consider voting for him. That ultra-right loony toon Sarah Palin is his running mate only heightens his problems. By the way...when is she going to stop repeating her convention speech and start granting interviews?

[suec03]

It is easy to understand how the McCain speech could draw more viewers. The Democrats watched both speeches while many Republicans did not bother to watch Sen. Obama's speech. Just watching a speech doesn't mean you favor the candidate you are watching.

[annenorth]

Most all of the Republicans that are still speaking to me (lol) did not watch Obama's historical acceptance speech nor any of the DNC.
I asked them why and not one could give me an answer.
On the other hand, all of the Independents and Democrats that I know did watch the RNC so that they could hear for themselves the blatant lies and how hypocritical this party is for every corner.
McCain's speech was boring and he is not the leader he so claims to be; his 'Side-kick' speech was nasty, unappealing; She paraded her family around like it was a circus show.
It was disturbing to see a room cheer this woman on who said nothing intelligence; it was an Obama Roast at its highest.
No-way, no-how are they pulling the wool over anyone. People don't forget anything in politics and this women from Alaska does not have a political future in front of her despite what the Media (right-wing) is suggesting.
Her words will come back to haunt her out of national politics.
We want a woman in office that has class, intelligence, dignity and speaks from her heart not bullies from a prompter.
When all of the facts are brought to the surface about her deceptive and illegal ploys in Alaska, her career in politics will be so blemished that no 'Spin Doctor' will be able to fix her mess.
She is an insult to every women in political office.

[NTP]

What frustrates me most is that Obama and no one else references ethnic cleansing and the refugees leaving Iraq as a contributing factor to the reduction of violence in Iraq. There were other factors as well and I would conclude that violence would have been reduced even if additional troops were not sent into Iraq. We never hear of these other factors in our media, which causes me to wonder who's side the media is on; or are they just plain ignorant.

NTP

[Star2000dancer]

Wat happened to moveon.org? The should be all over this, but I've heard nothing yet.

[Invox]

The media is only interested in the ratings. They're like pigs at the trough with Palin so I suspect not much else will be looked into or reported.

[WordPusher]

We hear again and again that "American voters don't like negative campaigns." Then why do they vote for them?

Perhaps the people who say they don't like negative campaigns are the ones who are already in the bag for the Left, and would stay there no matter what kind of campaign the Democrats run. It seems to me that the ever-elusive "centrist swing voters," for all their protests, respond positively to negative campaigns.

The sad fact of political life in America is that going negative works. It is time for Obama/Biden to embrace a politics of personal destruction against McCain/Palin and show them no quarter -- because I guarantee that they will receive none from the Repuglicans. I can accept a President Obama with mud on his hands much easier than I can accept four more years of fascist-Repuglican rule.

[Kassandra]

The Dominionist Christians really don't care what happens to America or the planet. They are waiting and attempting to force "God's Hand" to bring back Christ and the world will be "made new' again for them and only them.
So, what do THEY care if Palin and McCain and Bush ruin this country and the environment? "God" only favors the rich in their world view so, they are taking steps to bring about Armageddon while enriching themselves. Nothing else matters to them. They are the real traitors to this country.

It's really a pretty neat scheme when you think about it. they can cite "divine will" and the "Left Behind" series of books and nothing and nobody can make a dent.