Don’t hate me. I’m only the messenger of the bad news. With the economy as bad as it is, President Obama’s approval rating is over 40 percent. The comments of Bill Daley, the current White House Chief of Staff, are telling:
“Considering the debacle that he came in with, the tough choices he’s made and how there have been few, if any breaks, he says it himself all the time. [The President] doesn’t know why he’s as high as 44 percent.”
This is bad news for the GOP. Every bright sign in the economy is touted by the press as an Obama accomplishment. George Stephanopoulos is a perfect example. When the market jumped more than 300 points on Thursday, Boy George could not contain himself. He let out a sigh of relief as if to say, “This gets Obama off the hook for 2012.” When the market drops, bad economic numbers are released, and unemployment numbers don’t budge, the media make excuses for the president. “The hurricane contributed to the downturn. . . The Japanese earthquake has to be factored into the equation. . . It was Bush’s fault.”
The media are propping up the president and attacking every Republican they can. The attack on Marco Rubio is a perfect example. The Washington Post is attacking the junior senator from Florida for “misrepresenting” his family’s story. There was almost no vetting of Obama by the press, but Rubio is fair game. Liberals fear Rubio as a vice presidential candidate, so they must destroy him before he even considers the position. That’s the way liberals play the game. It’s only going to get worse.
Obama and Co. are blaming the Republican “Do Nothing” Congress. Like the “it’s Bush’s fault” refrain, they are adding it’s the fault of the Republican Congress. Most voters don’t know that the Senate is controlled by Democrats, and it was Democrats who scuttled the President’s “jobs bill.”
To show that he’s a rough and tumble leader ready to take on the obstructionists, Obama is issuing a series of unconstitutional Executive Orders. Did you hear the applause when he announced that he would restructure the college loan repayment program? He’ll do more of this to shore up his base of those who believe government should be the savior of the people.
The Republican presidential field does not inspire enough people. Paul and Cain have their loyal supporters but I don’t think it’s enough. Talk is in the air about a third-party run. Paul has not dismissed the idea. A third-party run on the Republican side would be a disaster. It’s about electoral votes, getting on the ballot of all 50 states, and a whole lot more that a third-party candidate has to think about. Ross Perot had millions of dollars behind his third-party bid. He didn’t get a single electoral vote.
Perry looked good on paper but he stumbled coming out of the gate, and I’m not sure he can recover. Romney is the pick of the establishment. It’s almost a fait accompli that he’ll be the nominee. He doesn’t generate any excitement among the conservative base of the Republican Party. He’s not as bad as Dole and McCain, but he’s close. He supported Roe v. Wade, the assault weapons ban, the Brady Bill, and believes in manmade global warming. Then there’s Obamacare that was modeled after RomneyCare which has proved to be a disaster for Massachusetts. I have to add Romney’s “Mormon problem.” Evangelicals have always been skittish about politics. Romney’s Mormon beliefs aren’t going to help.
Then there’s the Black vote. Obama will get more than 90 percent of it. The desperate economic news for Blacks will not move them to the Republicans. They will believe that Republicans, Wall Street, the big banks, and the rich are the problem. Obama has been trying to fight these Goliaths but the Republicans have removed the stones from his pouch and stolen his sling.
Talk about fixing the tax code does not help the Republicans since nearly 50 percent of Americans don’t pay any federal income tax. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan will mean that these non-tax payers will have to start paying taxes. They’re a sure vote for Obama in 2012. The same is true for a flat tax. Even the Fair Tax will have the non-taxpayers paying. Don’t get me wrong. The tax code needs to be changed.
Then there’s the weakness of the GOP leadership. They don’t know how to fight. They’re all about compromise. “Maybe if we play nice the Democrats and the media will like us.” Yeah, right. Mark Levin nails it:
“So if we have people at the head of the Republican party who are sabotaging the conservative agenda they need to be called out. And unfortunately I pointed out that the only way conservatives in the House are going to make progress is if there’s new Republican Leadership. John Boehner’s been around for over two decades; he’s not part of the conservative movement, he’s not part of the Tea Party movement. And even though he’s not part of those things he doesn’t respect them. He jawbones us.”
Republicans are slow learners.
The GOP is poor at rhetoric. Their explanations are long and complicated. Cain is good at getting to the point quickly. The rest of the GOP should take lessons. There’s more I could say, but I’m going out to dinner with friends. I hope they don’t want to talk about politics because I might spoil their dinner.
Please help to prove me wrong.
