I am a huge fan of the idea of the Obama campaign closing with putting out an economic plan for the next four years. This is something I have been urging on them not only them but a number of other candidates in tough races for quite a while. I really believe that voters have a deep innate understanding that the economy came off the rails four years ago in a more serious way than usual, that it was due to some big structural problems that had been building for a long time, and that we needed some big, comprehensive ideas to revive the middle class and get the economy back on the right road. I think a great many Americans understand this deep in their bones, far better than the elites in DC who are in too much of a bubble, and are doing too well, to get it. Because of this, voters have been hungry for a serious plan, for big ideas on how to deal with what ails us.
So I am very glad that the plan is the central part of Obama's final message, and I think it is working: Obama remains ahead in the all-important swing states. I would have opted for a bigger and bolder plan if I were writing it, both for political and policy reasons, but having this plan be at the heart of the closing argument is a great thing. But there are two other pieces to the message that I think should be part of the entire Democratic party's end game message, and their progressive allies as well. These campaigns have a lot of ads running, and a lot of speeches being given, and there can be more than one element to the message.
The first is to bring the 47% video back to the table. That video came out shortly after the Democrats cleaned the clocks of the Republicans in terms of convention messaging. Voters had moved decisively toward Democrats, in races up and down the ticket, after hearing the two parties contrasting messages of "you're on your own" vs. "we're all in this together" -- and then the 47% video reinforced and hardened voters' rejection of Republican values. We had them on the run with a gap that was widening and solidifying. In the aftermath of the first debate, where Romney acted like he was a Democrat and the president failed to make a strong values argument, and worst of all failed to make the contrast between the ideas Romney discussed in the 47% video and Obama's "we're all in this together" values, the race returned to the deadlocked election it had been before the conventions. Worse, the Obama team and the many Democratic outside groups doing ads didn't go back to that values argument which the 47% video invoked, and voters stopped thinking about it. I hope that both the progressive groups doing ads and mail and calls in the final days of the campaign and the Obama campaign make the 47% part of the closing argument.
Here's the other thing I hope the president, vice president, and Democrats in general do in these closing days: remind voters that this is not just about Romney but about the entire philosophy and values of the Republican Party. One of the things that is absolutely clear in the polling reports I am reading is that the reason the president remains ahead in the swing states is that the brand of the entire Republican party, including Mitt Romney but not exclusively him for sure, is dragging them down. Congressional Republicans, whose intellectual leader is their VP nominee, is the most unpopular institution in American politics.
It's been interesting to me throughout the campaign that Obama has run pretty much exclusively against Romney and to a lesser extent Ryan, and have never chosen to run against the far more unpopular Republican Congress the way we did in the 1996 Clinton re-elect, and the way Harry Truman did in his 1948 campaign -- the last two Democrats to run for re-election with Republicans in control of the House. In our 1996 race, we made the decision early on to make the race not against Bob Dole but far more against Newt Gingrich -- we ran far more attack ads against Newt than we ever did against Dole.
There are some differences between this year and '96, of course. Boehner never made himself into the polarizing figure that Gingrich did early in '95, and Romney has had far more vulnerabilities (the appalling things he did at Bain Capital and the 47% video among them) to exploit than Dole, who was, well, dull. But I hope we close this campaign by reminding voters that the values of the 47% video and the Republican convention are not just Romney's values, but his party's values, and that putting them in charge of the country would be a disaster. It would also be a big boost to all these House and Senate Democrats running with Obama, which they need given the fire hose of nasty ads Karl Rove and his big money boys are spewing out. When George W. Bush ran for re-election in 2004, his campaign made it a point to run on an anti-Democratic party message because they wanted to sweep more Republicans in with them, and it worked. In the closing days of this campaign, Obama should be doing the same.
None of this contradicts promoting the president's plan. In fact, the contrast between Obama's pro-middle class, we're all in this together plan, and the values of a Republican party who believes that 47% of Americans are lazy welchers could not be a stronger end game message.
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47% Video. It just reminds people we are headed for Greece. You see when 51% receive more than they give, the economy falls. I assume this is obvious, but wouldn't be surprised if you did not understand.
If Obama promotes the plan, he loses. It is an impossible plan, intended only for the most insular of the democrat mindset.
I'm 52, and originally lost my job in the internet bubble of 2001. Since then I have been self employed, and evidently handled my house hold budget better than our House of Representatives handles Americas budget. There have been several years I did not make enough to pay federal taxes, but I had to pay $2,400.00 in property taxes. Good thing I planned ahead.
If you are worried about women, deficit reduction, and saving Medicare, voting for the Democratic candidate is the only intelligent option.
Not a word from the H Post about the Benghazi investigations. The death of 4 Americans through the criminal negligence of the administration in not providing help before and during the attack , the subsequent snafu of the Obama press corp and then a cover up for 7 or more days blaming a "film" when real time commucations indicated a planned and organized terrorist attack.
"The unholy war" was backed by most demos in Congress. They too believed the WMD (which by the way, Saddam did have about 500 of them in 2003)
Iraqi innocents continue to be killed with Obama. violence has increased since 2008. Over 1500 Americans killed during Obama's term in Afgha. 1000 more than with Bush.
A lot of the facts on Benghazi are in. You do not know because you are an information challenged lefty.
I feel good after my charity work of enlightening dumbos.
Second: Undecided Voters: I do not think at this time that there really are as many as the pollsters tell us there are. I guess is that by this time most of them have made up their minds. Although, I do know of some people who actually make up their minds when the get to the polling station!
I really think that those " undecided" just like ALL the attention they get from the pollsters and the media.
Because, as old as I am, not counting the silly forms that the campaign send out, you know the ones with the answers printed on them that are designed to get the answer the campaign wants, I have NEVER been sent or called by a major polling organization for anything! I bet that goes for mega millions more of you out there as well!
Lastly, I will say it, but the President can't, there is an irrationality beyond the usual flip/flopping we often see in politics in Mitt's continuous shape shifting that is truly disturbing. I think people should really take note that Mitt's own wife has expressed concerns about his mental state and the Salt Lake City Tribune does not endorse him because of his erratic behavior during this campaign.
Also, where I went to vote yesterday it was a consistent 3 hour wait, from 7 AM through 7 PM, and everyone had the same opinion: I know who I want to win, and I just want to get this over with and not hear one more "ad" or speech or get any more polling phone calls.
Note to Obama Campaign for Florida Voter Turnout: They do not have enough special machines for people eyesight issues. The paper ballot they send you says that they have machines for special needs. At my polling place, a woman waited in line for 2 hours and then found out that if she had to use the special needs machine she would have to wait an additional 3 hours because they only had one of those machines and it was very busy. I don't know what kind of machine was involved. She brought her completed absentee ballot but wanted to vote "in person." They said she could (1) mail it or (2) void it and come back another day. She chose to void the absentee ballot.
Florida reduced early voting days from 14 days in 2008 to just 8 days this year. Florida eliminated the last Sunday right before general election Tuesday, the Sunday that has been a Souls to the Polls African American tradition for a while now. And, also a general "go vote after Sunday church tradition"...not just for African Americans but for multitudes of churchgoers. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of people had 8 days to early vote when 4 years' ago they had 14 days. That is an enormous difference. The length of time waiting in line (2-5 hours, depending on where you go to vote) has dissuaded many seniors. They are asking for absentee ballots NOW, less than a week before the election day, because they heard about how long it takes to stand in line and they cannot do it physically. Hooray. The GOP wins. Seniors are giving up. They cannot handle those long lines. None of their votes will count, even if they send them in. There is no way they can receive those absentee ballots at this late date and mail them and have them received and counted, before a winner is announced in Florida. Even my own mother asked for an absentee ballot just yesterday, even though I offered to go to the polling place with her and be her placeholder in line, because she cannot stand in line for
In the 2008 primary, because the GOP decided to hold the primary earlier than the big RNC power-brokers wanted, only half of our delegates ended up being counted. In the 2008 general election when there were 14 days for early voting, the lines were still between 2-4 hours, because there were not that many polling places in any county for early voting. So, what did they do for the 2012 election? Expand opportunities? No. They reduced the early voting days from 14 days to 8 days and eliminated the Sunday immediately before Election Day. Hours are 7 AM to 7 PM. Overall, 3 weekend days for early voting (October 27 and 28, and November 3); the other 5 days were during the week, when most people cannot vote because they need to be at work. Yes, if you were in line when the clock rang 7 PM, you could stay there and vote. For many people, that would mean, in most cases, rushing to the polls after