Daily Archives: October 2, 2011

2012 Election, Economy, Politics

Obama Campaign Borrows From Bush ’04 Playbook

Well there’s a losing strategy. It depends on the electorate forgetting Bill Clinton’s ’92 campaign. It went something like ‘it’s the economy stupid.’

If you stop to consider that the word ‘economy’ in that slogan can be swapped for other words like, socialism, Obamacare, government over-reaching, the Constitution, and a few others, you quickly realize that the campaign is faced with a special challenge. A challenge that the Obama campaign can not overcome between now and election day.

According to John Harwood at the Times, “The last time an incumbent president faced re-election, George W. Bush exploited social and national security issues to offset his economic vulnerabilities.”

So instead of the economy and jobs, the Obama campaign is going to run on attacking republicans on social issues and national security issues?

In battleground states, “Obama’s strategists intend to use abortion, gay rights, the environment and successes in the fight against Al Qaeda to counter economic attacks and drive a wedge between Republicans and swing voters.”

On those issues, Harwood says that the Democrats have shifted from defense to offense. I have to disagree with the Times that the Democrats have shifted “from defense to offense on those issues stems from evolving public attitudes, intensifying Republican conservatism . . .” Democrats have never shifted from offense. They live to ‘fight for              ‘. Just fill in the blank.

What is important to note is the shift in public attitudes that are more in tune with Republican conservatism than with this administration. Not a pretty picture for Obama’s re-election chances.

What it means is all that the Democrats have left to run on, or run with, is more class warfare, wealth envy, and the race card. All directed at Republicans. (about half the country) Not much about why he should be re-elected. It is more like, ‘they are worse than we are.’ Good luck with that one.

Link: Obama Campaign Borrows From Bush ’04 Playbook – NYTimes.com.

Economy, Organized Labor, Politics

Labor Movement And Wall Street Protesters

In case you had any doubt about the synergy between BIG LABOR and anarchists here and around the world, this should remove any doubt.

A large group of protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement attempt to cross and close the Brooklyn Bridge.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was in Minneapolis today for the ‘Next Up Young Workers Summit.’  This is the group of ‘young workers’ and activists and students that just announced their strong support of the Occupy Wall Street protesters:

The world in which we live isn’t working for the vast majority of people. The top 1 percent controls the economy, makes profits at the expense of working people, and dominates the political debate. Wall Street symbolizes this simple truth: a small group of people have the lives and livelihoods of working Americans in their hands.

Their perspective of just who works for who is instructive in just how counter-productive this labor movement is to America, and other countries with even less freedom. People work for the companies that have jobs to get done. The companies don’t work for the employees. They work for their customers. Like it or not, the ‘workers’ work for the same customer. That’s life in the real world.

Then there’s the global labor movement that Trumpka is talking about.

Richard Trumka . . .

“America needs a good dose of critical imagination right about now. We need ideas and energy. We need enthusiasm, optimism, that sense that everything is possible. . . . You are the future of this movement, and all of us—all of America’s working people—need and your critical imagination in a big way.”

I get the distinct impression that Trumka isn’t pushing for America’s economic success. Instead, he is pushing for labor union membership growth. And if it means tearing the country down first, like our President and Trumka prefer, then they will surely do it. Or rather, continue to do it. Be imaginative, critically imaginative, he says.

Politics

White House Fast and Furious Document Dump

You may have missed this in the news. That’s because it was one of those late Friday document dumps. They are not usually in the news over the weekend. And that’s the point. That’s the game.

What is special about this document dump is the subject. These were documents requested of The White House by a Congressional committee investigating the ATF machine gun debacle named “Fast and Furious.”

You’ll never guess. . .

The documents show extensive communications between then-ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix office Bill Newell – who led Fast and Furious – and then-White House National Security Staffer Kevin O’Reilly.

Link: New Fast and Furious docs released by White House

h/t Black & Right