Re: GOP/White House disowning McGrumpy & Winky Mooselini

What's going on here?

George Will, David Brooks, David Gergen, Ed Rollins, Kathleen Parker, David Frum, John Weaver, Christopher Buckley, Karl Rove, Stephen Foley, Tommy Thompson, Lincoln Chaffee, Fergus Cullen, Michelle Laxalt, Ray LaHood, Andrew Sullivan, Gov Milliken, etc.

All of these conservatives have openly criticized Mccain in the last week or two. Brooks said Palin represents a fatal cancer to the Party (anti-intellectualism). Meanwhile, William Kristol allegedly was behind the push for Palin in the first place, and yet he just called on Mccain to "fire his campaign" on Monday. For a Party whose signature is to circle the wagons and never to break ranks during elections, this is astounding.

They are "Monday Morning Quarterbacking" 3 weeks ahead of the game.

This is much more than "backlash" from the GOP towards Mccain & Palin's recent campaign behavior. As we know, many Republicans are campaigning with "independent" in their ads, not marketing themselves as Republican. In at least one case, a Republican has latched onto Obama saying to vote for both of them.

Something else is happening...

In the last few days, we've seen a couple cases of hints that the White House itself doesn't like Palin.

Kathleen Parker has not only been dissing the Sarah Palin pick, but she's been actively announcing that she's received EMAILS from White House officials saying they feel the same way. This isn't an accident. Watch her on http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=187637">Monday's Colbert Report joking about this. This isn't a lone soldier, folks. She's just putting a face on something bigger. Yesterday, Huffington noticed that Bush strategist Matthew Dowd was http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/14/bush-strategist-mccain-kn_n_134570.html">saying similar stuff. Do we believe in coincidences?

http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=187637
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/14/bush-strategist-mccain-kn_n_134570.html

The message is crystal clear.

Not only are moderates engaging in total mutiny and positioning themselves for post-election "i told you so" warfare with the social conservatives. It looks like party insiders are picking up a similar narrative: "McCain was forced to pick Palin without vetting her." Hang the scapegoats.

Tonight is the last debate.

Tomorrow will start the massive 2 week wave of endorsements and final positioning. If Mccain cannot mark out a path for success tonight, the RNC and GOP are going to start cutting their losses. The seeds are already being planted. Within a week, don't be surprised if Fox themselves are pushing stories about hanging Palin from a tree for being questionable and pushing how Mccain was irresponsible for not vetting her.

The GOP is much better served on Nov 5 by directing outrage at Mccain/Palin, than at the evil democrats & ACORN. If they are facing an undeniable backlash and landslide among the population, they have to save face. They have to begin putting their house in order for 2010 and 2012. One side will push for reinventing the GOP as a more moderate, anti-populist intellectual movement. Another side will simply say Mccain was incompetent and a bad conservative. Both sides will be served by turning on Mccain.

Rove wanted Romney, instead of Palin. Others wanted Lieberman, Tom Ridge or another moderate. They will all hang Palin.

Bet on it.

"You get energized by eating all that candy at night but then you feel sick the next day."

This is so funny I thought the Raygun rules was Repukes don't talk evil about Repukes. The rats are racing for the decks.

This just doesn't happen with the GOP during election time.

Power and success are that's held their coalition together. If Obama wins, for the first time there'll be nothing left to hold together the fraying Reagan coalition of religious-right social conservatives, neoconservatives, and wall-street economic conservatives. I look gleefully forward to their civil war.

http://political-zazen.blogspot.com/2008/10/re-gopwhite-house-disowning-mcgrumpy.html


Matthew Dowd, former Bush chief strategist, slams Mccain on his pick of Palin
Time Warner Summit, via Huffington, Oct 14

Kathleen Parker slams Mccain, says White House believes Palin was a mistake
The Indisputable Colbert Report (video), Oct 13

It's time for John Mccain to fire his campaign
William Kristol, Oct 13

Tommy Thompson & other Republicans speak out
New York Times, Oct 11

John Weaver, Mccain's former top strategist, slams the Mccain/Palin mob hatefest
Politico, Oct 10

Sorry Dad, I'm Voting for Obama
Christopher Buckley, Oct 10

Gov Milliken backs away from Mccain
Grand Rapids Press, Oct 10

Congressman LaHood criticizes Palin
WBBM Radion, Oct 10

Congressman Michell Laxalt criticizes the Republican hate machine
Larry King (video), Oct 10

Andrew Sullivan discusses the dangerous Palin rhetoric
The Atlantic, Oct 10

George Will slams Mccain Sancho Panza's campaign, again
Washington Post, Oct 9

Ed Rollins says it's over for Mccain, criticizes mobs
Anderson Cooper (youtube), Oct 9

David Gergen says Palin/Mccain rallies unhinged and could lead to violence
Anderson Cooper (youtube), Oct 9

Senator Chafee criticizes Mccain
The Grand Rapids Press, October 9

Parker says the Mccain/Palin campaign intentionally lies and incites hate
National Review, Oct 8

Palin represents a fatal cancer to the GOP
David Brooks (video), Oct 8

Mrs Chuck Hagel endorses Obama
Washington Post, Oct 7

Des Moines Register...
Mike Murphy, Time.com, Oct. 1, 2008

The Palin Problem
Kathleen Parker, Townhall.com, Sept. 26, 2008

McCain Loses His Head
George Will, Washington Post, Sept. 23, 2008

The Twelve Lies Of Sarah Palin
Andrew Sullivan, Sept. 23, 2008

Evangelical leader smacks McCain for lack of 'principle'
Cara Degette, The Colorado Independent, Sept. 22, 2008

McCain’s Political Style
Daniel Larison, The American Conservative, Sept. 19, 2008

Vaguer, Please
Radley Balko, TheAgitator.com, Sept. 18, 2008

McCain’s Moronic Critique of Cox
Stephen Bainbridge, Pundrity (Blog), Sept. 18, 2008

McCain's Scapegoat
Editors, Wall Street Journal, Sept. 19, 2008

America not quite at its best; The election has taken a nasty turn. This is mainly the Republicans’ fault
Editorial, The Economist, Sept. 18, 2008 Print Edition

GOP Congressman Ron Paul Explains Refusal to Endorse McCain
Ron Paul, MSNBC Appearance, Sept. 18, 2008

Sen. Hagel doubts Palin's ready
Joseph Morton. Omaha World-Herald, Sept. 18, 2008

Maybe that press embargo of Sarah Palin is a good idea
Daniel Drezner, DanielDrezner.com Sept.17, 2008

A Conservative for Obama; My party has slipped its moorings. It’s time for a true pragmatist to lead the country.
Wick Allison (Editor in Chief of D Magazine, D Magazine; former publisher of National Review), D Magazine, Sept. 2008

How John McCain Lost Me
Elizabeth Drew, Politico, Sept. 17, 2008

The Day I Was Denied Communion for Endorsing Obama
Douglas Kmiec, BeliefNet.com, Sept. 16, 2008

No one is above the truth, even Palin
Dan Fagan, Anchorage Daily News, Sept. 16

Why Experience Matters
David Brooks, New York Times, Sept. 15

Editorial: Palin too programmed, protected
Editorial Board, Dallas Morning News, September 15

Latest ABC Palin interview -- not mo' better
Rod Dreher, BeliefNet.com, September 13

Palin's Problem
Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, Sept. 5

The woman from nowhere: John McCain’s choice of running-mate raises serious questions about his judgment
The Editors, The Economist, Sept. 4

Impulse, Meet Experience
George Will, Washington Post, Sept. 3

Republicans Rush In
Richard Cohen, Washington Post, September 2

Palin
David From, National Review, August 29

Bring back the real McCain
Editors, The Economist, Aug. 28

Vietnam Vets Against McCain
Vietnam Veterans Against McCain, YouTube, Jan. 18

Don't tell me the didn't know what a dipwad he is.

the moderates want to reclaim their stake on the party.

and i think some of the hardliner conservatives want to defend their stake.

both will want to scapegoat mccain for picking palin.

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/89797/3/3/Early_Winter_for_Republicans




The whole article is a great read. I don't remember seeing a campaign post-mortem done 3 weeks before the election.

very nice catch. TY

"Republicans have been fighting this second American civil war for eleven election cycles now." It’s been a good run! But just as 19th-Century Republicans eventually ran out of Union generals from Ohio, so the modern Republican Party has bumped up against the statute of limitations on campaigns against hippies."



PS... im 100% sure he's had this mostly written for 1-2 weeks already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZK55rLFjT4

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/15/gergen-mccain-an-exercise_n_135073.html

Anderson Cooper asked Gergen what he would say to McCain about what the message should be going forward, in light of these results. Gergen replied, "Beats the hell out of me," adding later, "See if you can leave this with your honor in tact."

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/live-blogging-h.html

9.44 pm. McCain on Palin: completely delusional. "She understands that autism is on the rise?" By the way, she sure has ignited a lot of people. On that McCain is correct. Otherwise: this pick was insane.


9.34 pm. "I'm proud of the people who come to our rallies." Amazing. He's also angry and cranky. He seems as if he is in deep, deep denial. He also seems barely in control of his emotions. Obama seems almost preternaturally calm in the face of all this. Just as amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbjg9Hh17lI

best summary so far lol

huffington also directs us to this article on the 13th

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/conservatives-mccain-alienating-base-on-economy-2008-10-13.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/13/lashing-out-mccain-flack_n_134228.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrnmYe-xJio

hahahhaa

I'm really looking forward to this one.

Seeing so many states in play and almost unanimous pollster opinion on a potential landslide is comforting.

Combined with the fact that it's negative campaigning driving folks AWAY from Mccain, i feel confident.

..and I think if many in the GOP were to be brutally honest, they'd admit that Obama helps them by making Bobby Jindal's race/ethnicity a non-issue in '12.

i suspect some in the GOP recognized that she wasn't really the hype on the back cover, before mccain picked her.

if she had truly been all that mccain has claimed she is, she would have been the top pick by ALL the pundits and party insiders.

they obviously knew she was trouble beforehand.


i suspect the evaluation was that she had the potential of being a major force in 2012 or 2016 if she got through her local scandals and got more national policy experience in the coming years.

now... she's simply become the "representation of a cancer"

The Republicans may make a go of pitting Jeb Bush and Bobby Jindal against Obama and Biden in 2012.

sorry.

i know DU likes bogeymen sometimes, but it's just not gonna happen.

Personally, I hope the GOP self-destructs.

-Laelth

It might take a week for it to really show, but it's a done deal.

The character assassination has failed.
The Mccain policy platform has failed and he cannot even communicate the positive sides of his own plan.

Palin is a disaster.

And Mccain's defense of his negativity... his anger... is something the GOP will not want to get entangled with.

They are losing moderates... fragmenting the GOP coalition and going down in flames with Bush.

Mccain has failed to carve a new ground. They will want a scapegoat.

It'll make the bloodbath fight to get Howard Dean elected as the head of the DNC look like a little girls tea party.

see the large list posted above.

Who will Rush and Hannity and the rest of the hate radio types come out against? Do they side with the White Collar Criminal wing of the party or the libertarian wing (whom they've been mocking incessant vis a vis Ron Paul all these months) or do they align with the Dobsons and their followers who happen to be their biggest audience.

The more palatable National Review types might already be on the offensive, but the Jesus soldier wing are a golem that the rest of the party might not be able to handle.

Imagine the religious radicals discover the power of small donations like Dean/Obama discovered it these past few cycles.

They'll have enough money that they wont need the wall street types to fund the operation.


The GOP has a real monster on their hands, and I think those pulling the levers aren't ready to deal with it when that monster breaks out of its shackles.

It'll take the whole party down with it.

The party has allowed the religious right and culture warriors to define them for 12 years and it's falling apart.

They are getting stomped by an african-american liberal and cannot explain it on their traditional terms.

The party is a much more complicated mix of moderates, social conservative culture warriors, religious zealots, libertarians, fiscal conservatives, straight-up hate mongers, etc.

The GOTV work, the on the ground electioneering work.The grass roots work. I don't think that's a myth. That's not the guys in BMW's with house in the Hampton's doing the dirty work. Meanwhile the libertarians backed Ron Paul and they raised a lot of money but didn't have the numbers to sway the race much.

The religious right been used by the controlling interests of the party for a long time, only thrown an occasional bone. After this election works its way through and the "stabbed in the back" mythos is developed I think you'll see the religious bloc flex their muscle in the party.

The cracks started with the Schiavo stuff. The groundwork is laid.

i think they've been able to swing things in some key states, and there are strong populations in the bible belt... but there used to be more to the GOP than this stuff.

just look at 1980 and 1984 electoral maps.

likewise... there are some things Pew has documented that nobody seems to notice.

first of all, 25% of evangelicals historically vote democrat.

secondly, the evangelicals are increasingly disinterested in the wedge issues like abortion and gay rights.

SURPRISE.

most evangelicals want a broader agenda. they are going the rick warren route, rather than the old xian coalition cultural warfare route.

this is not being addressed by the GOP.

obama actually can be attractive to these folks... and there are plenty of moderate republicans AND democrats who can steal vast numbers of these evangelicals this election and in future ones.

There will be a lot of excuses offered up that attack Obama, the media bias, voting for obama "because he's black," etc.

I am not denying those excuses will be out there and that many people will grab onto them.


I'm talking more about the GOP pundits, leaders, etc... not the reactionary radio hosts... and such.