Obama Abandons Unrealism, Courts Center w/New Media Strategy (focus group #'s love SOTU Speech!!)
Source: Mediaite.com
There is no tomorrow for the president. An increasingly competitive Senate landscape with Republicans becoming openly bullish on races in nontraditional states like Oregon and Michigan is making the White House nervous. The prospect of Obama finishing his term with a Congress in full Republican control is all too real. Obama’s “scaled-down” agenda may not resonate with the press, but it does resonate with real voters. As flagged by the Democratic polling firm Democracy Corps, founded by respected Democratic campaign veterans James Carville and Stanley Greenberg, observed that focus group respondents reacted positively to the narrowly defined policy proposals Obama articulated on Tuesday night.
Before the speech, just 29 percent of the voters’ group said Obama “has good plans for the economy.” Afterward, 57 percent said the president has good economic plans. Before the speech, 44 percent said they believed Obama was “looking out for the middle class.” After the speech, that number was 64 percent.
While the media was unmoved by Obama’s State of the Union performance, items like wage “fairness,” job training, and a hike in the federal minimum wage struck the right chords with those persuadable voters. Those voters are not watching MSNBC.
The media was not impressed by Obama’s agenda last night, and the White House seems to have concluded that they may never be again. The aggressive, sweeping progressive agenda they would like Obama to communicate is simply beyond his constitutionally-constrained ability to deliver. Obama threaten to use his “pen” and “phone” to sidestep Congress, bluster which puts smiles on the faces of his base supporters who are increasingly disappointed with the unfulfilled promise of the Obama presidency.
Obama’s “none too ambitious” agenda is attainable, and articulating it in venues where swing voters are listening could mitigate the risks Democrats face heading into November. Obama may pay lip service to the unrealistic expectations of his remaining supporters in the media, but his actions show that the administration is taking a sober approach to the midterms. Politics, as they say, is the art of the achievable. Rescuing a floundering second term with modest achievements is a realistic goal. With that in mind, Obama is turning his back for now on the New York Times and heading straight to CNN.
Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/obamas-media-strategy-courts-conservatives-to-dismay-of-unrealistic-progressives/
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Fearless
(18,421 posts)More catering to the center.
Fracking for energy independence.
TPP to lower consumer costs.
Race to the Top to strip creativity and innovation out of children's education.
What the hell kind of message is "we're going to aim for more modest goals"??
big_dog
(4,144 posts)
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)Should we worry about them at all?
Fearless
(18,421 posts)Help EITHER group. They help the wealthy divide this country up between themselves and push the rest of us into the poor house.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)our society would not be in the economic inequity mess that we are in, if people understand that the interests of all wage earners, whether they are earning MW, or $200,000 per year, are more aligned with each other than they are with the investor class.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)in the 2014 cycle, so he can do more until his term expires ... which will give Democratic candidates a boost in 2016. And per the focus group ... it's working.
Fearless
(18,421 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)but that was before the age of media and dark money.
Fearless
(18,421 posts)The American people believe in liberal policies.
They want health care.
They want good education.
They want clean air and water.
They want Wall St. exes prosecuted
They want to overturn Citizens United.
The problem is that we've stopped trying.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)I would agree that Americans believe in liberal policies; but still a full 47+% VOTE against them ... Americans want healthcare; but 58% don't know what that would look like ... Americans want good education; but Wisconsin and Arizona proves that they do not want to pay for it ... Americans want clean air and water; but West Virginia proves we are willing to elect politicians that are will to ignore the regulation required to maintain it.
Now, the majority of Americans do not care about wall street executive being prosecuted, nor do they care about Citizens United. I think you think Americans think like/care about the things you care about.
Fearless
(18,421 posts)Simple to understand facts.
Tomorrow a Democrat needs to go on tv with a bill that grants Medicare to all Americans. The bill will simply state that. In one sentence.
"All Americans are now eligible to use the Medicare program to help them pay medical bills."
That's it.
Bring it to a vote.
Make it a huge public event.
And when Congress votes against it... publish the photos of every single person to vote against it.
Congress Critters desire more to be reelected than what they vote for. They will cling to power and fix the problems in this country. Or else they'll be quickly voted out.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)and have suggested that to be the strongest path to victory in 2014 (and beyond).
I would love for seating Democrats to draft 16 economic bills, covering everything from raising the national MW, extending U/C, re-establishing SNAP at previous levels, raising the top marginal rates, closing the carried forward tax treat of hedge funds, removing the SS cap, a national jobs program, etc. Then, calling press conferences every day to introduce them. Then, when they are not brought to a vote, call press conferences to ask why not?
This would give Democratic/progressive candidates something concrete to run on and something really difficult for republicans to defend against.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Fact is, about half don't vote at all.
Want to win elections? Go after a chunk of that half. We're never going to win by trying to peel off the mythical "moderate Republican" vote.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Did you miss the last election results?
Scuba
(53,475 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Our only major victory lately was 2008 when the president campaigned as a liberal. Then he moved into the WH, became a Repuke, and the losses resumed.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Republicans are anti-government and anti-regulation. The people are pro a higher minimum wage.
Obama challenged Republican employers to raise wages without government regulation.
Now the ball is thrown into the Republican court.
They either raise the wages of Americans including the worst paid Americans or they lose by pretty big margins in November.
Obama gave us a great issue to campaign on.
So, if you are really an active Democrat, get your charts and your pro-minimum-wage buttons out. This is going to sell in every state in the Union.
Thank you, Obama.
As a child, I played a lot of chess, and Obama just made the best move ever.
Republicans are now on the "What do we do next?" mode.
Barring some miracle on their side, Republicans will lose big in November.
This is the move that Americans are hungry for.
Literally.
big_dog
(4,144 posts)desperation thy name is Duck Dynstasy guy at the SOTU
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)And yet they completely control the agenda. "Checkmate" must have been redefined since I played the game.
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)that had Romney 8 pts ahead the week of the election! ?
Fearless
(18,421 posts)
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)Corporate media is paid and bought by your corporations and many voters who can think independently use other methods of learning factual news not bullshit news like CNN and Effed Up Fake News. Informative thinkers who are voters do watch night time MSNBC. CNN is full of shit.
He won the focus group election, they loved his speech. Gratz.
TheMathieu
(456 posts)It saved Clinton's 2nd term.
iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)and look what he left us (with the help of congressional republicans). a deregulated market ripe for exploitation.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)Republicans are in terrible shape going into the next election.
The idea that Obama has had a sweeping progressive agenda is laughable.
That is not to say that he hasn't done good things, he has, but there is very little that he has done that could be called sweepingly progressive.
This article is just another bit of political claptrap propping up the republicans.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)I wish we were in such "terrible shape"
blackspade
(10,056 posts)My take is that they will get their ass kicked this next election.
Even stalwart dickbags like McConnell are in trouble.
This is our party's election to lose.
We have so many angles of attack on the rethugs it's not even funny.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)Progressive?!! Depends on how far to the political Right you are. I'm sure Faux Nooz paints BHO as a flaming "lib'rul." 
loudsue
(14,087 posts)"The media was not impressed by Obama’s agenda last night, and the White House seems to have concluded that they may never be again. The aggressive, sweeping progressive agenda they would like Obama to communicate is simply beyond his constitutionally-constrained ability to deliver.
Whoever wrote this is part of the LYING, DECEPTIVE RIGHT WING MEDIA. No fuckin' body in the mainstream media truly WANTS Obama to move left. The media conglomerates are owned by 6 right wing companies. Don't try to play that "liberal media" bullshit on anyone who knows what is going on.
I'm so sick of the propaganda!!!!
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Let it be said that his political death was in fact a suicide. He abandoned those who supported him in 2008, despite many dire warnings.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)Washington just wants to shove GOP-lite down on us, and hope we don't talk!
