Democrats plan weeklong blitz in Iowa to counter GOP straw poll - "Extreme Aims"

Democrats plan weeklong blitz in Iowa to counter GOP straw poll
By Michael O'Brien - 08/08/11 05:00 AM ET

Democrats are hoping to bookend the rhetoric coming from this coming weekend's Iowa straw poll for Republican presidential candidates with their own series of events in the Hawkeye State labeling the White House hopefuls as extremists.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching a campaign this week meant as a counterweight to the Republicans stumping in Iowa; the Iowa Democratic Party is hosting a series of panels this week, too, meant to push back against attacks on the president.

And President Obama himself will visit Iowa on Monday as the first stop on his bus tour of the Midwest, a tour that's being billed as official White House business, but carries clearly political overtones.

It amounts to a concerted effort by Democrats to prevent the crop of Republican candidates from dominating the news cycle this week, and the attention of voters in a state that will be hotly contested in the general election. A Mason-Dixon poll earlier this month had Obama losing to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), the arguable frontrunner for Iowa's caucuses.

The DNC launched its weeklong blitz, "Extreme Aims: Wrong for Seniors. Wrong for the Middle Class," with a web video characterizing the different presidential candidates as extremists who would threaten to undo popular social programs.

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VIDEO at LINK: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/175817-democrats-plan-weeklong-blitz-in-iowa-to-counter-gop-straw-poll

Good grief, it's absurd that these two states should make such a difference for the whole country - truly absurd and idiotic.

That said, the message is a good one!

I'm not convinced that really matters. The fact is that they do matter, starting this weekend with the straw poll. Smart move by the DNC to aggressively highlight the nutjobbiness of this crop of Repuglicans. Proactive.

It is good there's a plan in place - but I think the whole primary schedule needs to be reworked. I'd rather see a single day of primaries.

:thumbsup: