With the Democrats suddenly becoming interested in “bipartisanship” after the game changing election of Scott Brown, the GOP is going to have to be wary of the upcoming televised meets with the POTUS. They need remeber that the Democrats had all last year to let them sit at the table, and they didn’t. They had all of 2009 to “reach across the aisle,” but they name-called and ridiculed them instead. These new calls for cooperation are nothing more than political necessity. A necessity that the Democrats will use in an attempt to manipulate both the GOP, and public opinion.
I come to this conclusion from several factors. One is that the Democrats will have a proposal in place in advance of the February 25th meeting. While that seems innocuous, it takes on a new meaning when it has been discussed that the Democrats are working on a way to use the reconciliation process to pass a bill in the event that the meetings do not achieve the desired result, which is GOP capitulation. I would take it to mean that they are already in the process of, or have completed, all the back-room deals needed to get their plans passed.
Another factor to consider is that Obama’s poll numbers are in the tank, and that the GOP is gaining on the Democrats in public opinion polling. Let’s face it, they had a year to pass something. The GOP was irrelevant, and could not have done a single thing to stop them. The Democrats called the GOP the “party of no” all last year, even though they weren’t involved in the process. As time ran out, they stopped themselves by refusing to compromise among themselves, and by making so many backroom deals, that their bills became near paradoxes. They are on the ropes, and they appear to be floundering (because they are). They need to do something drastic to regain the initiative, and take the momentum of the Conservatives.
The other factor is Obama himself. He is a community organizer. As we well know, community organizing relies on manipulation, lies, and outright intimidation in crafting public perception and policy. He is well versed in the Alinsky Method, as he taught others in its use. Community organizers are also persistent, and will attack an opponent again and again until their goal is achieved. The Democrats are in trouble and the GOP is ascendant. His agenda is in tatters, and he needs to get the negative attention off the Democrats, and, in particular, off HIM. It is reliable to say in any circumstance, that when the chips are down, people will usually do what they know, and are comfortable with. So, expect much more if the nastiness, some trickery, and more of the lies that we saw all through 2009. We are seeing some of that already. He speaks of toning down the rhetoric and being bipartisan, and then he goes on the road and attacks.
The Democrats claims of bipartisanship, translated, means “resistance is futile…do what we say, or we’ll do it anyway.”
So, this is what I think might happen. No matter the stance of the Democrats, they will attempt to control the agenda. They will enter the meeting with a bill that they are ready to pass through a convoluted process. They will try to set up the meeting in a way that is advantageous to them. Whether it is in terns of timing, format, or even room set-up and camera angles, they will create an environment that makes them look good, and their opponents look terrible. They will propose things that they know the GOP will never support. They will let the Republicans speak, but the table will be set against them. If the GOP balks, or disagrees, or even refuses to go, the Democrats will use their lapdogs in the MSM to tar them yet again. It will be the “party of no” and “obstructionist” again and again. The goal here is to browbeat the GOP into supporting some, if not all, of their plan. Then, back up that browbeating with the threat of passing their bill via a convoluted plan. The Democrats will attempt to create a situation in which the GOP is damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.
We’re going to have to keep one thing in mind; when the Democrats are saying “bipartisan,” they are, as usual, lying. They are attempting, rather poorly, to make the appearance of bipartisanship, but they are doing so from their pompous, elitist, mindset. They are still in the opinion that they are in complete control, and their agenda has primacy. They do this in complete ignorance, willful or otherwise, of the polls and recent elections.
Sounds pretty pessimistic, doesn’t it? But it really isn’t. Obama and his advisors still don’t completely understand that the media paradigm has changed. In the past, a plan like the one that I just described would have worked like a charm. When all the news media consisted of the three networks, newspapers, and controlled radio, the GOP would have never had a chance. The leftists in the media would parrot the same messages again and again, until the GOP caved.
Now, there is the Internet. Talk radio rules the dial. FOX News now has three times the audience of CNN and MSNBC combined. Obama, of all people, should know that the new media is the future. His campaign was the most media savvy in history. Strangely, the Democrats seem to be ignoring this. For the GOP, escaping the trap lies in using the new media. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the GOP needs to make themselves available to the media, and make them ignore or distort them. They need to hold press conferences, they have to offer interviews, and they have to get out and speak. Also, they have to realize that the MSM is against them, and will never change in that regard. No matter what they actually say, the MSM will selectively distort and ignore the actual message in order to support the left. To counter the MSM, they need their own, individual Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts, and they need to use them extensively. If they get their message out, the bloggers will cover it. Millions more will hear of it via FOX and talk radio. With the massive reach of the Internet, the people will hear the message and the MSM will be discredited. Not only will that help them communicate their ideas, it will help put more nails in the MSM’s coffin, which is always a good thing.
In a sense this allows the GOP to engage in a de-facto attack on the MSM. They set the MSM up to do their typical dirty deeds, and then bypass them, taking advantage of the modern social networking technology. The MSM gets exposed for what they are, and maybe they lose even more audience.
This counter to the MSM can also helps the GOP stick to their guns, and refuse to sign off on legislation that will hurt people. They can draw a line, and state that they will not support new taxes on individuals and job producers. They can get out there and state that taxes cost jobs. They can say that individual mandates are unconstitutional, and can openly challenge the Democrats to point out where that might be in the Constitution. They can discuss fraud, waste, and the overall ineffectiveness of government run health care. They can do all of these things, and people will hear them. They can bring up single payer, and the disasters that it can cause. They can do all of this, and more, because they will have a route to the people that the MSM, or the Democrats, cannot close off (at least for now-no wonder they want to control it.)
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You’re absolutely right, if the numbers for the Democrats weren’t so bad they wouldn’t need “bipartisanship.” But they are tanking, and for good reason, so they need to divert America’s attention onto something else.
“The Democrats are in trouble and the GOP is ascendant. His agenda is in tatters, and he needs to get the negative attention off the Democrats, and, in particular, off HIM. It is reliable to say in any circumstance, that when the chips are down, people will usually do what they know, and are comfortable with. So, expect much more if the nastiness, some trickery, and more of the lies that we saw all through 2009.”
The only thing transparent about the Democrats is their inability to run our Republic.
Very true. They seek to dictate, and that doesn’t work here. At least not yet.
Matt, the Dems are only interested in “bipartisanship” when they’re trying to get conservatives to compromise and bend. I can only think of Vader trying to lure Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side.
I think they can stay strong, stick to principal, and win. They just have to see it.
What the Democrats mean by the term “bipartisanship” is, just agree with us and vote for our proposal. There is no negotiating, they just want the Republicans to agree with them.
I agree that this is a trap, there really is no reason for the Republicans to go except the fact that they will really take a hit if they don’t look like they are even trying to negotiate. Like you said, damned if the do, damned if they don’t. I hope that the Republicans remain solid and don’t give in to the Democrats. If the Democrats decide to use reconcilliaten to pass a bill that nobody wants, so bi it. It will be the final nail in their coffin.
I also agree with your statement that the Republicans need to hold press conferences. During the Bush years it seemed as if the Democrats held press conferences every day about every meeting they had, the Republicans are not doing this and I think they should. They need to get in front of the cameras, be vocal, and explain their positions.
You are so right about getting the word out. The GOP punted on that during the government shutdown in the 90′s. They also punted on the infamous school lunch cuts (that weren’t really cuts). And Bush didn’t even try. They have to realize that if Sarah Palin can make national news with a single Facebook post, they can toast the Dems and the MSM in one plan.
The new media make possible things the left has always feared. I hope the Republicans have the guts to walk out. Being the party of no is a good thing in these conditions.
That’s why the left has been floating ideas on how to control content for so long now.
Great insights, Matt! Let me add two random thoughts that come to mind after reading your article:
1. El Presidente has had a Democratically controlled Congress in both houses for over a year and hasn’t been able to pass squat as relates to his major agenda items. So you are correct in saying that their innocuous calls for bipartisanship are only being done so for political expediency.
2. If I were a leader in the GOP, I would say that since they will be labeled as obstructionists no matter what they do, that it is time to live up to their name. Grow a pair, Repubs. Fight tooth and nail against Obama no matter what. Nothing rallies your base more than to see you standing up to the lions in the arena.
For example, when the Dems proposed the $787 Billion “Stimulus” package, they should have proposed a $787 Billion plan chock full of tax cuts and incentives for small businesses. They should have yelled from the hillsides and shouted over the din from the other side that they, too had a stimulus proposal. Go on every talk show that would have them! Twitter, tweet, facebook and myspace their propsal nearly to death!! Print flyers, take out ads in all the major newspapers. Spend a little of that GOP warchest and get the friggin’ message out that they had a better plan. I know the GOP has constantly brought up alternatives throughout 2009, but they did not get their message out there.
THAT would have rallied their base and the recent landmark elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts would have been landslides of even larger proportions.
Just my two cents.
That two cents is worth $200 my friend. The GOP needs to grow a pair and take the fight to the tubes and beyond.
Maybe some Democrats and Tea Party folks would like a return to the more libertarian 19th century Democrats who followed Jefferson and Madison instead of the modern Democrats who prefer Rousseau and Marx, as cited in The Changing Face of Democrats on Amazon and claysamerica.com.
Thanks for the comment, and the linky.
Another solid post Matt.
Yes it is a trap, but I believe it is just as much of a trap for the progressives as it is for the Republicans. What the progressives do not realize or are choosing to ignore is that there are a very large number of people that want this bill scrapped. And when I say large, we’re probably talking about 35 to 40 percent. There is a smaller group that wants both sides to reach an agreement on the current bill through a bipartisan method. These are your moderate Democrats and Independents. So the way I see it this isn’t about bipartisanship, it’s really about stopping the bleeding off of moderate Democrats and Independents. They know that the hard left (progressives) will complain, but they will stick with the plan.
The Democrats, because of the progressives, are losing votes in the center and this little get together is aimed at the center. If they can make the Republicans look bad, then they might save a few votes from the center. But like you said the paradigm has changed and the people are now watching with a more critical eye. The progressives are finding it hard to conceal their agenda and hid in the shadows. I believe that, just maybe the people have wised up enough see through this political game being play and just maybe it will end of blowing up in the progressives’ faces. We can only hope.
I think the GOP can play this to make it blow up in the Dem’s faces. They have to stick to their guns and communicate above all else.
Agree Matt!
Another solid post Matt.
Yes it is a trap, but I believe it is just as much of a trap for the progressives as it is for the Republicans. What the progressives do not realize or are choosing to ignore is that there are a very large number of people that want this bill scrapped. And when I say large, we’re probably talking about 35 to 40 percent. There is a smaller group that wants both sides to reach an agreement on the current bill through a bipartisan method. These are your moderate Democrats and Independents.
So the way I see it this isn’t about bipartisanship, it’s really about stopping the bleeding off of moderate Democrats and Independents. They know that the hard left (progressives) will complain, but they will stick with the plan. The Democrats, because of the progressives, are losing votes in the center and this little get together is aimed at the center. If they can make the Republicans look bad, then they might save a few votes from the center. But like you said the paradigm has changed and the people are now watching with a more critical eye. The progressives are finding it hard to conceal their agenda and hid in the shadows. I believe that, just maybe the people have wised up enough see through this political game being play and just maybe it will end of blowing up in the progressives’ faces. We can only hope.
Dems do not seek cooperation, they seek advantage. Republicans put forth a healthcare proposal but Dems killed in in May of 2009. Bill Clinton’s strategy of triangulation comes to mind as far as what Dems seek to do to Republicans.
Considering that there are former Clinotnistas working for the POTUS, it isn’t a surprise.
You’ve looked at the many angles of what is a complex game of chess with the outcome always in doubt. I agree with the many avenues of attack you present.
Naturally Obama would never have made the offer to meet, had he not expected to gain some advantage. It will be an interesting meeting to watch and the republican certainly need to be well prepared with a firm, solid plan of their own.
Indeed. If they go in without a plan, Obama will wipe the floor with them.
All this ‘meeting’ or ‘summit’ is designed to do is give Obama and the Democrats cover. It’s a win, win, in for the Dems:
1. Republicans refuse to attend—> Obama says “Let me be perfectly clear, I tried to get support and Republicans and they would not participate with me. Therefore, I am instructing congress to reconcile the two bills and reform health care as I promised.”
2. Republicans attend and offer their plan and Obama rejects it —> Obama says “Let me be perfectly clear, I tried to work with the Republicans and they would not co-operate with me. Therefore, I am instructing congress to reconcile the two bills and reform health care as I promised.”
3. Republicans attend and cave to Obama —> “Let me be perfectly clear, I am the true unifier that I said I was. Therefore, I am instructing congress to reconcile the two bills and reform health care as I promised.”
I would make a principled stand and avoid that summit like the plague. Nothing good will come from it.
I agree with the principled stand. But I actually think they should go and present a comprehensive plan that gives options to patients and doctors, but gives NO power to the government-no potential trojan horses. Then, MAKE the Dems go over them and ignore them, while at the same time, getting their message out. They can turn a set up win by the Dems into one of their own. The Dems are going to try to pass something anyway, so make them fall on their own swords to do it.
I think if I hear the word Bipartisanship out of a politicians mouth one more time, I’m going to puke!
Eh, just make a joke out of it. That’s how I do it. Every time I hear a Dem say that, I say,”LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR!” It helps a lot!