"The GOP’s problem isn’t just the salesman. It’s what he’s selling."

[applegrove]

The GOP’s problem isn’t just the salesman. It’s what he’s selling.

By Greg Sargent at WP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-gops-problem-isnt-just-the-salesman-its-what-hes-selling/2012/09/28/31665a9a-0990-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_reddit

"SNIP...............................................

Sure, Romney is a bad candidate. But to ascribe his problems only to his failures as a salesman for himself obscures a key aspect of all this: For now, at least, Romney’s problem is also what he’s selling.

For months, Romney’s basic argument was this: Obama made things worse. If your economic life sucks, it’s Obama’s fault; that’s grounds enough to fire him and replace him with someone who gets how the economy really works. But voters are not accepting that argument. They don’t blame Obama as much as Bush for the sluggish recovery. What’s more, despite their disappointment with the status quo, they don’t think Obama made things worse; they believe we’re at least on track to recovery. The recent NYT/CBS poll found solid majorities in Ohio and Florida think the economy is either recovering or will recover if Obama's policies are given more time.

What about Romney’s policies? Here again, voters are not buying what he’s selling. For months, Romney led on the economy; he was enjoying the presumption of economic competence purely as an alternative vehicle for those disillusioned with Obama and the status quo. But when people started tuning in, and Romney began getting more specific about his own policies, and the public watched both conventions laying out each man’s respective vision, his advantage on the economy vanished entirely in a number of polls. Obama is even edging ahead in Florida and Ohio on who is more trusted on the economy. Clearly, not enough people believe Romney’s agenda of tax cuts and deregulation would engineer a faster recovery than is happening under Obama.

Meanwhile, tax cuts for the rich remain deeply unpopular — and Romney’s tax plan would cut taxes disproportionately on the rich. His running mate’s agenda for Medicare — which is central to the GOP’s blueprint for our fiscal future — has become a major liability in swing states. As Steve Kornacki notes, the public is currently rejecting the GOP ticket’s ideas — because the GOP failed to come up with a true post-Bush agenda that the American mainstream will actually accept.

.................................................SNIP"

[RKP5637]

1. Romney reminds me of a salesman trying to sell a lemon of a car. He knows it's

a lemon and so do the potential buyers.

[applegrove]

2. That is exactly what they are doing. They can't tell the truth about

why they want what they want because it isn't the best thing for the middle class.

[iemitsu]

3. it isn't the best thing for the middle class

or the poor, or women, or the elderly, or ethnic americans, or any other group that is not among the upper 1%.
it may, in fact, be the very worst thing for all americans.
they threaten our livelihoods, our environment, our security, and our futures.
the republican party has morphed into the minions of the anti-christ.

[applegrove]

4. Absolutely. It is not healthy for the rich GOP to be disconnected from the rest of the country too.

They would live sad and empty lives chasing only more money, fighting wars and scapegoating the rest of the country for every day to justify it in their own minds. It would be like living in ancient times for them. Come to think of it - they are already there in a hell of their own making. I hope they feel some pain in the way Romney loses and learn a thing or two about humanity because they lost. But the big people bankrolling the GOP? I doubt they'll learn a thing.

[iemitsu]

6. we will win this battle (i suspect/hope) but the war

between the 1% and the rest of us will not end.
the uber-rich are closer to their goal of destroying social security, medicare, the rest of the social safety net, and all government regulatory agencies than they have been since these programs were instituted.
it is their wet dream. they won't give up after losing this election (if they do, i hope, i hope). they have invested too much. and they don't know how long citizens united will allow them to purchase the government so brazenly.
for them, the world is best when workers are hungry, wages are low, and rents are high.
for nearly one-hundred years american workers made progress in our work situations, our education, our inclusiveness, etc.. all of that earned against the will of the rich and the government.
then we stopped progressing, convinced by ronald reagan that we had invested enough in our neighbors and communities, that we had already done enough to solve the problems associated with living in the world, and that it was party time and that everybody needed to take care of him or herself.
he turned the tide.
we no longer worked together for the common good but against each other for the few crumbs thrown our way.
since the 1940s the rich paid taxes and since the 30s had not flaunted their wealth. it was distasteful.
but for reagan to win he had to appeal to the racist wing of the democratic party (white southerners), who became republicans overnight to elect a man who could make them feel proud of their small-minded race-hatred and bigotry.
it is these folk (not all in the south any more) who have worked for the 1%. they have fed on the notion that "others" are sapping their life's blood, that their taxes support lazy people in luxury, and that other peoples freedoms are infringements on their own.
stoked by fox news, these know-nothings have not just stopped social and economic progress but have managed to roll back time for american economic, political, and social health.
we need to watch the state house elections because that is the back-up plan. what they can't accomplish at the federal level they will do state by state.
they will learn from this election alright but they won't apply the lessons, to their lives and behavior, the same way that you and i might. they will take the knowledge and use it to undermine us in the next pitched battle over what our country is like.

[RKP5637]

9. This state has been purchased by the Koch Brothers! They bought the government. n/t

[Cosmocat]

11. Agreed

It is truly disturbing to me that we are as close as we are to having these craven lunatic destroy the pact between our government and its people as we are this time.

We are only four years removed for the repubicans pretty much running the country into the ground, but they still, someone, manage to drive the debate and the debate is most often cast along the lines they draw.

MUCH needed health care reform got treated like the friggen Patriot Act should have been treated.

[iemitsu]

13. yep, the most discouraging part of this struggle

is that it is never ending. we have the numbers but the other side has all the resources and time.
imo, to win the war, we have to tackle the divisions among the 99% that have been fostered by the uber-class. if we could unite ourselves and work in unison, like the republicans elected to congress, we could banish the money from politics and take back our country.
so i try, really hard, to nurture kinship with those who i would rather ignore and leave out of my life.
i try to see the world from their perspective (which i find nearly impossible) and use their concerns and language (and my analytical model) to help them sort through the social, economic, and political realities that frustrate us all.
it takes time and patience and i can only hope that the few individuals, who i have worked with will help to educate the misinformed.
but it isn't just misinformation that we need to mobilize against.
cognitive dissonance, the tendency of people to remember and believe the first thing they heard about a topic (even if it is a lie that is later retracted), our historic anti-intellectualism, nationalism, xenophobia, information-overload, and other sociological and psychological dynamics are understood and skillfully used, against us, by those in control.
it is not difficult to sort through the crap and recognize what is going on in our society if one develops a generalist's ability to make sense of (what appears to be) the disparate information/evidence that bombards our daily lives.
i believe that this is the key to freeing ourselves from tyranny.
even the educated in america rarely can connect the dots. our skills are "specialized" or rather "compartmentalized' so we don't even attempt to understand our world as being inter-connected.
we need to read more about everything, develop new interests, learn something new everyday, foster new friendships, listen to others, and be open to change. rather than condemning or even tolerating others we need to embrace them.
and i need to be honest and admit that these are my aspirations not my reality. i try to live up to my own expectations but i work too hard and am too tired to get much more done than it takes to survive.
and i need to remember that we are all in the same boat.

[Cosmocat]

18. I have a LOT of friends

who are card carrying Rs.

GOOD people, flat good people, kind, generous, people that I like and respect.

But, they completely align with the republican party.

I have tried to understand it, but it is beyond me and I have long given up.

Most know my politics, but like me personally also, and see that I don't look down on or judge them.

It takes biting my tongue at times, but because I don't judge them and I don't fight every battle, when I say something they respect it.

I had hopes that after 06 and 08, that we could maybe engage in reasonable discussion on things and forge ahead in a more positive direction.

I am VERY disheartened that 10 occurred and that the Rs are even more radical and entrenched now than they were in the Bush years.

I became politically aware in the 90s, and part of why I became politically active in the 2000s was because how they and the media treated Bill Clinton - like Barrack Obama a darn good president, but they just made his life a living hell. It is going on 20 years now where AM radio and childish pinhead Rs in the House have just drug our country into the gutter, and with each year the "liberal media" has become more programmed by the right, and we have a batch of politicians like Paul Ryan who grew up thinking the bullshit they spew is reality.

It is FAR from over. They are mean, they have absolutely no personal responsibility, they believe they can say and do ANYTHING with no repurcussions, and they have been spewing their nonsense for so long they actually have come to believe it is the truth.

Our country, even despite current ecomomic doldrums, still has such a high standard of living that we are far to comfortable to take a critical look at what they say and do. Until people REALLY feel it, they will always have an edge.

[iemitsu]

20. every word of your testimony rings true

since it mirrors my experiences and frustrations.
you sound like a smart, decent and thoughtful character, a good friend.
biting one's tongue is often the better part of valor.
many on the right have gone off the deep end and the election climate threatened to work them into a frenzy but i don't actually see that happening to any great extent (with the exception of the overtly racist comments and tactics).
i think they were ready to engage in the battle of good (republican) vs evil (us) but lost their will when romney became the candidate. he just didn't excite them, he's hard to like, he's a liar, he's too rich, and his riches came from robbing workers. besides he's a mormon.
if defeating the muslim obama was the goal why replace him with a mormon romney?
then paul ryan was chosen to bring back the mojo (like there ever was any) and he turned out to be much less than the hype had suggested. mr wonk was really a pathological liar. he can impress them in janesville and the house of representatives where no one actually listens to him but on the national stage he is a flop. and though many pay no attention to whether or not politicians lie, sports fans do.
Ryan's lies about running and mt climbing caught the nations attention. people don't like others who lie about their sports prowess.
both romney and ryan look like spoiled rich boys, who consider the rest of us less than them.
maybe its just where i live but there are few visible signs here of any support for republicans or their ideas.
i have not been overtly pushing my RW friends in that direction. they know i told them so.
but i'm sure you're right in the long run. they are mean and the fight is not over.
thanks for your response. its good to know that people like you are around.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. Trying to sell the country off to the highest bidder (China)

selling off Medicare
VA
Medicaire
Social Security
etc.

[polichick]

7. Rmoney is selling snake oil and people have had enough of that.

[haroldheidler]

8. This Land Is Your Land

This Land Is Your Land
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

[RKP5637]

10. +++ 1000 +++

[lovemydog]

12. great song, especially the full lyrics

Welcome to DU. Have fun.

[freshwest]

19. +1

[annabanana]

14. They all really think that. It's the same mind-set

that has them convinced that we'll eat anything, wear anything, do anything if only it's "fixed in marketing".

Corporate belief in the unwavering stupidity of people. Sadly, they got this conviction in the crucible of the market place and there is some truth to it.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. It's always a marketing problem to the reshits

Trickle down has been tried and tried again, without success. But the reshits are still trying to repackage it.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

16. Romney's avoiding specifics like the plague

however everything that we HAVE heard suggests that he will be no different (and may even be worse) than George W. Bush. The GOP's basic message is: Life is hard/bad and only going to get worse and "you people" are going to need to stop expecting so much and learn to live with less and less. The problem (for them) is that life is getting better with President Obama and will continue to get better, particularly if the GOP stops obstructing everything in Congress that might help speed up the recovery. Plus, nobody is that interested in getting rid of Social Security, Medicare, etc.

[Wounded Bear]

17. I've been saying this for years....

It's not the messenger. It isn't a PR problem.

Republican policies suck. People are starting to realize that.