September 14, 2004
Boil It Down
People need to boil the narrative down in Kerry's line of attack.One thing that helps is to imagine an even slimier Republican off to the right of Bush and Rove - what would they say to undermine Bush?
They would attack Bush's supposed strengths, not his perceived weaknesses. They would also preach fear in the same way that Bush and Rove do, except show that Bush is the guy we should be afraid of.
In response to "The world is safer without Saddam Hussein," say "America will be safer without George Bush."
For a Reagan/Carter moment, ("are you better off than you were four years ago?") ask, "How many people want to kill us? More people than four years ago, or less?" Argue that Bush's policies are increasing the number of people that want to kill us, and will continue to do so. Point out that it only takes one person to finally get through, in an age when one person can detonate something that can kill millions.
On the "vote for war" - point out that there was never a vote for war. There was only a vote for brinksmanship, something we successfully used in the Cold War, a game that our great Cold War leaders knew how to play. George Bush, however, is the one who saw fit to press the launch button. Thank God he wasn't a Cold War leader. But have you noticed how nuclear weapons are becoming more and more of a factor again? Are we sure we want this man to have his finger on the launch button for nuclear weapons?
On the 9/11 response. My Pet Goat and Air Force One showed that Bush didn't want to be president. When the going got tough, he tried to run away. He was probably hiding and quaking underneath a seat in the plane. What if there is another moment that requires a quick response? What if we need our leader to think on his feet? Are we sure we want this man in charge?
How else would an uber-Republican beat up on Bush and Rove, the sissy Republicans?
I’ve been banging my head on this for a while myself. I’ve been tracking a neocon screaming head for Media Matters. Every day I hear the jerk’s vicious diatribes and yet someone always calls in to say how wonderful he is. It got me wondering how the hell do you shake these people and turn them away from the Dark Side.
It sounds like you’re talking about political jiu-jitsu, turning the weight of the problem against itself. I’ve tried a more Socratic approach, but that takes a lot of work with a fanatic who has the talking point memo in his hot little hand.
"America will be safer without George Bush." Oh man, you can take that in so many directions. Terrorism, international politics, civil rights at home. The money we could’ve spent on law enforcement, customs inspections, and emergency services. A competent commander-in-chief that won’t choke in a crisis.
Bush’s policies increasing the risk of terrorism...I got a bad feeling that point is lost on neocons. They seem to think all the other countries in the world hate or envy us. They don’t remember the European sentiment on September 12 2001, "We Are All Americans," or that we squandered it by breaking with international treaties. And to make sure we'd lost any remaining scraps of respect around the world, we ran an incompetent battle plan. Real slick.
And you’re right about Kerry’s vote being one for brinksmanship. He voted for leverage, the threat of force against Saddam Hussein. He sure as hell didn’t vote for the war or the hamfisted attempts at it.
As far as 9/11 goes, was Bush in charge...or Richard Clarke? (Watch, here come the flames.)
Posted by: Joe Medina at September 14, 2004 03:53 PM