Dem Strategy Works to Republican Advantage
By Michelle Oddis Posted in Breaking News — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Republican Leader Boehner's office put together these comment worthy SCHIP notes.
The Votes:
September 25 SCHIP Vote: 273-156
· 45 Republicans votes yes
· 151 Republicans voted no
· 5 Republicans did not vote
After 3 weeks and millions of dollars in political attack ads…
October 18, 2007 SCHIP Vote: 273-156
· 44 Republicans voted yes
· 154 Republicans voted no
· 2 Republicans did not vote
They suggest: "After delaying the SCHIP veto-override vote for more than two weeks and spending millions on disingenuous political attack ads to smear Republicans, Democrats secured…..ZERO additional Republican votes for their misguided bill.
If measured by these results, the political strategy employed by House Democratic leaders must be considered a complete and utter failure."
Keep up the good work Dems -- Your smear factory efforts only dig you deeper.
The democrats have played up the Republicans hate poor golden haired moppets angle again.
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
I agree with you entirely. I do know that Boehner’s office has been very active in pushing an SCHIP alternative. Republicans are the ones who created SCHIP – it’s the Dems that tinkered with it to turn it into what THEY wanted.
Heritage is doing some great work putting out SCHIP alternatives.
And now that I’ve looked at your blog I see that you have linked to the same Heritage piece.
Republicans have told me that delaying the veto override vote was the biggest charade they have seen this congress...My point was that this time I feel like the good guys prevailed. Their do it for the children antics really irritated me to no end.
Now I just have to work on blogging about the SCHIP alternatives as much as I complained about the smear factory.
however everyone must understand that the tactics were effective.
I really think there is an opportunity here, because the Democrats put together an awful bill and won the debate, so far, using nothing but emotionally heart wrenching tactics. None of them ever sold the bill on the merits. They sold the bill as if you are against it you are against the children.
Now, the Republicans must fire back and not only present their proposal but sell it and sell it hard, and fight hard to show the public the difference.
They have a huge opportunity. Health care has long been a Democratic issue, however if the frame the debate properly, they can steal it.
Think about it. The Dems bill was rejected on the merits by the American people. In my blog post on my blog, I showed the survey that showed that. They were more trusted because they framed the debate properly. Now, if the Reps can go on offense, they can show that the Dems bill covered illegals, trust fund babies, middle class Americans, adults.
They can contrast that with their own bill, which only re authorizes SCHIP and allows for tax credits for folks. They can contrast their own tax cutting plan with the Dems bloated government plan. That is a winning arguement but not if you and I are the ones making it. They need a media blitz to get their message out.
We are men of action, lies do not become us
but even in the White House in '08, Republicans are going to have to convince a lot of people that they have returned to their roots. So far, I don't think Congressional Republicans have gotten the message...... that potential Republican voters will again likely stay away in droves as long as they are convinced that the guys they are supporting are still touting Democratic Party core values (e.g. on spending, illegal immigration, trucking coming from Mexico, etc.). It's why, I believe, Democrats are trouncing Republicans in money raising. They're touting their core values...... We're NOT touting ours.
The SCHIP bill would be a great place to get out front on an issue that would clearly illustrate conservative/liberal value differences. They should be making tons of noise. It isn't enough just to vote the right way. I'm not seeing it so far.
Why can't the Republicans just say: "Americans are generous, and we love giving a helping hand to people who need it. But Americans are also smart, and we hate giving our hard-earned money to people who aren't in need."
And they have convinced us all that EVERYONE is in need. EVERYONE. And we don't have a Republican with an IQ that cracks 100 to rebut it.
We lack an articulate spokesperson with the necessary command of rhetoric to lace into each and every last one of them for endorsing this naked power grab by the kleptocracy.
The Democrats aren't winning on ideas, they're winning by default because the Republican leadership isn't showing up with any real semblance of fire, gravitas, or, ahem, testicular fortitude.
"I don't understand why the same newspaper commentators who bemoan the terrible education given to poor people are always so eager to have those poor people get out and vote." - P.J. O'Rourke
the Dems strategy was always to use SCHIP as a blunt political tool against the Reps and by holding off the vote they kept it at the front of the debate for two more weeks. The polls are clearly on their side, because the Reps have totally dropped the ball in debating and framing the issue. I think they now have an opportunity to grab the debate back but not if they continue to let the Dems have the bully pulpit on this thing. For the most part, the only thing the public knows about SCHIP is the poor boy, Graeme Frost, and Paul Simon's teary eyed plea, and that is because the Reps haven't gotten out in front and pushed back. They have a chance now. They need to go and sell their own counter proposal and start knocking off the myths the Dems have perpetuated. They must get out there and tell the public that their plan will re authorize SCHIP, but not bloat it, and that they will also offer tax credits.
They have to get out there and show the public the differences in the two plans. The Dems have demonized the Reps so much that the public thinks that if we don't go with the Dem's plan that poor kids won't get health insurance.
That is the fault of the Rep leadership for allowing itself to get demonized. Now that the veto has not been overridden, the Reps have to get all over the media with their counter proposal and draw differences, here is how I saw it
Proprietor Nation