Projection: will the GOP's Negativity Produce a Backlash?

[Splashdown]

depakid  (1000+ posts)      Sat Sep-06-08 08:19 PM
Original message
Will The GOP's Negativity Produce A Backlash?
 Advertisements [?]Edited on Sat Sep-06-08 08:27 PM by depakid
Glen Greenwald's take:

After a long week in Denver and another week in Minneapolis, I'm traveling home today and thus won't have much time to post, but I wanted to follow up on the discussion that ensued yesterday in response to my post arguing that, particularly in light of the brutal personal attacks on Obama at the Convention, Democrats ought to be far more aggressively critical of McCain and the GOP generally. Many people in comments and by e-mail argued that Americans dislike negativity and that Sarah Palin's speech, in particular, would backfire on the Republicans.

The first polling data is now available on this question and it's rather conclusive. First, from SurveyUSA, yesterday:

What grade do you give on the speech? An A, B, C, D, or an F?

A - 60

B - 11

C - 11

D - 9

F - 8

On the whole, is Sarah Palin an asset to John McCain? A liability to McCain? Or, do you not know enough to say?

Asset - 55

Liability - 24

Don't know enough - 19

Does McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate reflect well on McCain? Reflect poorly on McCain? Or do you not know enough to say?

Reflects well on McCain - 55

Reflects poorly - 30

Don't know enough - 14

If you were placing a bet today, would you bet that Barack Obama will be elected president? Or, John McCain will be elected president?

Obama - 45

McCain - 48

Don't know - 7

<snip>

None of this is to say that Palin can't be turned into a liability for the Republicans. She can be. And although I can only guess like everyone else, I've thought all year that Democrats would likely win the election and still think that.

But the idea that Americans instinctively recoil from negativity or that there will be some sort of backlash against Republicans generally and Palin specifically because of how "negative" their convention speeches were is pure fantasy. Cultural tribalism and personality attacks of those sort work, especially when they're not aggressively engaged.

Every four years, the GOP unleashes unrestrained personality attacks on Democrats and exploits cultural resentments. Every four years, Democrats tell themselves that such attacks don't work and are counter-productive. And every four years, that belief is disproven. These "character" issues end up mattering largely because Democrats, in election after election, allow wars over "character" to be waged in a largely one-sided fashion.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/06-3

 deutsey (1000+ posts)       Sat Sep-06-08 08:25 PM
Response to Original message
1. Each election, the Democrats gear up for a strenuous game of hockey
 The Republicans, on the other hand, gear up for vicious, deadly combat.
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 sfwriter  (846 posts)      Sat Sep-06-08 08:32 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. Yup, knives at the gunfight...
 
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 fiziwig  (1000+ posts)      Sat Sep-06-08 08:38 PM
Response to Original message
3. I am reminded of the Tibetan army
 armed with bows and arrows trying to hold back the Chinese army in 1949.

Still, the Democrats always line up with their bows and arrows and wait to be mowed down by the AK-47's wielded by the Republicans. Will our party ever stop being so stupid?
 
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 quantessd  (1000+ posts)      Sat Sep-06-08 08:42 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. At least Dems are showing some self esteem this campaign.
 There is marked improvement since 2004.

Link


 

[Chris]

Many people in comments and by e-mail argued that Americans dislike negativity and that Sarah Palin's speech, in particular, would backfire on the Republicans.

You mean to tell me the people who read and send e-mail to Glen Greenwald and Salon.com don't like Palin? 

I'm shocked.  No.  Really.  

[franksolich]

The fizzy primitive is just so stupid.

fiziwig  (1000+ posts)      Sat Sep-06-08 08:38 PM
Response to Original message

3. I am reminded of the Tibetan army armed with bows and arrows trying to hold back the Chinese army in 1949.

Still, the Democrats always line up with their bows and arrows and wait to be mowed down by the AK-47's wielded by the Republicans. Will our party ever stop being so stupid?

The fizzy primitive must be the only one who ever saw "the Tibetan army" "trying to hold back" "the Chinese army" "in 1949."

Never happened.

Damn, the primitives make things up.

[Baruch Menachem]

Loved this line:

Still, the Democrats always line up with their bows and arrows and wait to be mowed down by the AK-47's wielded by the Republicans. Will our party ever stop being so stupid?

Since when would a good republican use an AK47?  An M16, maybe.  An Uzi, most likely.   But an AK 47?

[Crazy Horse]

Loved this line:

Still, the Democrats always line up with their bows and arrows and wait to be mowed down by the AK-47's wielded by the Republicans. Will our party ever stop being so stupid?

Since when would a good republican use an AK47?  An M16, maybe.  An Uzi, most likely.   But an AK 47?

Finest stamped gun ever made.

[Uhhuh35]

Will our party ever stop being so stupid?

No.

[GOBUCKS]

These "character" issues end up mattering largely because Democrats, in election after election, allow wars over "character" to be waged in a largely one-sided fashion.

Unfortunately for democrats, any war over "character" will always be one-sided. The fundamental premises of their party include a disdain for American history, hatred of Christianity, and a mocking, condescending attitude toward anything associated with traditional American values. Anytime there is a war over "character", they find themselves without ammunition or cover.

[AllosaursRus]

After a long week in Denver and another week in Minneapolis, I'm traveling home today and thus won't have much time to post, but I wanted to follow up on the discussion that ensued yesterday in response to my post arguing that, particularly in light of the brutal personal attacks on Obama at the Convention, Democrats ought to be far more aggressively critical of McCain and the GOP generally. Many people in comments and by e-mail argued that Americans dislike negativity and that Sarah Palin's speech, in particular, would backfire on the Republicans

What the ****!!!!?
Anyone here except the PocketPoolPeyote have the time to take in order to travel to BOTH conventions???????????? I know I couldn't get close to takin' that amount of time off. Hell my clients would never forgive me, letting them cool their heels that long! Would've cost me a bundle! 

[md11hydmec]

Well, All, its pretty easy when they don't have a job and get a monthly check from us. 

[BlueStateSaint]

Loved this line:

Still, the Democrats always line up with their bows and arrows and wait to be mowed down by the AK-47's wielded by the Republicans. Will our party ever stop being so stupid?

Since when would a good republican use an AK47?  An M16, maybe.  An Uzi, most likely.   But an AK 47?

My guess is that the good ol' AR-15 family would most likely be used, but on semiauto only.  Wastes valuable ammo on three-shot burst mode.

[GOBUCKS]

Loved this line:

Still, the Democrats always line up with their bows and arrows and wait to be mowed down by the AK-47's wielded by the Republicans. Will our party ever stop being so stupid?

Since when would a good republican use an AK47?  An M16, maybe.  An Uzi, most likely.   But an AK 47?

My guess is that the good ol' AR-15 family would most likely be used, but on semiauto only.  Wastes valuable ammo on three-shot burst mode.

In DUmmyspeak, an AR-15 or M16 is an AK47. They would call my M1100 shotgun an AK47 if I epoxied a banana clip to the bottom of the receiver. DUmmies, the world's foremost experts on gun control, always betray by their language an almost perfect ignorance of anything associated with firearms.

DUmmies and democrats remind me of a clerk I had at a Bass Pro Shop a few years ago. I was looking for reloading components. The kid was puzzled when I said I needed 165-grain .308 cal. Nosler bullets. He kept pointing me to the ammunition shelves. After I explained further, a light came on in his head, and he said, "Oh, you mean the tips!"

[BlueStateSaint]

Loved this line:

Still, the Democrats always line up with their bows and arrows and wait to be mowed down by the AK-47's wielded by the Republicans. Will our party ever stop being so stupid?

Since when would a good republican use an AK47?  An M16, maybe.  An Uzi, most likely.   But an AK 47?

My guess is that the good ol' AR-15 family would most likely be used, but on semiauto only.  Wastes valuable ammo on three-shot burst mode.

In DUmmyspeak, an AR-15 or M16 is an AK47. They would call my M1100 shotgun an AK47 if I epoxied a banana clip to the bottom of the receiver.

Then the DUmb****s would be apoplectic about my Remington 742, which actually has 30-round banana clips made for it.  (I don't have any--it's just that I know of them being out there somewhere.)

[jukin]

Yes it will!!  An elevn point swing in favor of the Republicans.

[Airwolf]

That OP can't be serious? if anything negative is going to be said and done by the liberal left and already has. Barry the Bitch can't even handle a simple interview with Bill O'Reilly for GODs sake.

[Carl]

Yes it will!!  An elevn point swing in favor of the Republicans.

Yep,they were talking about the RNC giving Obama a bounce a couple of days ago.
Rasmussen has it a 46-46 tie,his are generally the most accurate.

[BlueStateSaint]

Yes it will!!  An elevn point swing in favor of the Republicans.

Yep,they were talking about the RNC giving Obama a bounce a couple of days ago.
Rasmussen has it a 46-46 tie,his are generally the most accurate.

Check out this article!

Poll: Convention lifts McCain over Obama
Updated 1h 54m ago | 


By Susan Page, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Republican National Convention has given John McCain and his party a significant boost, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken over the weekend shows, as running mate Sarah Palin helps close an "enthusiasm gap" that has dogged the GOP all year.

McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters, the Republican's biggest advantage since January and a turnaround from the USA TODAY poll taken just before the convention opened in St. Paul. Then, he lagged by 7 percentage points.


CONVENTION: GOP rejuvenated

The convention bounce has helped not only McCain but also attitudes toward Republican congressional candidates and the GOP in general.

"The Republicans had a very successful convention and, at least initially, the selection of Sarah Palin has made a big difference," says political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia. "He's in a far better position than his people imagined he would be in at this point."

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!  I think I might get a stapler thrown at me today! 

The rest of the article is at:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-07-poll_N.htm

[FlaGator]

Feel the backlash!

[AllosaursRus]

Yo hell with those little guns! I have a BAR at .380 cal. Wouldn't take much to make it FULL AUTO. 

[Chris_]

Shows how ready I am for a weekend.   

I figured this:

depakid  (1000+ posts)      Sat Sep-06-08 08:19 PM
Original message
Will The GOP's Negativity Produce A Backlash?
 Advertisements [?]Edited on Sat Sep-06-08 08:27 PM by depakid
Glen Greenwald's take:

After a long week in Denver and another week in Minneapolis, I'm traveling home today and thus won't have much time to post, but I wanted to follow up on the discussion that ensued yesterday in response to my post arguing that, particularly in light of the brutal personal attacks on Obama at the Convention, Democrats ought to be far more aggressively critical of McCain and the GOP generally. Many people in comments and by e-mail argued that Americans dislike negativity and that Sarah Palin's speech, in particular, would backfire on the Republicans.

The first polling data is now available on this question and it's rather conclusive. First, from SurveyUSA, yesterday:

What grade do you give on the speech? An A, B, C, D, or an F?

A - 60

B - 11

C - 11

D - 9

F - 8

On the whole, is Sarah Palin an asset to John McCain? A liability to McCain? Or, do you not know enough to say?

Asset - 55

Liability - 24

Don't know enough - 19

Does McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate reflect well on McCain? Reflect poorly on McCain? Or do you not know enough to say?

Reflects well on McCain - 55

Reflects poorly - 30

Don't know enough - 14

If you were placing a bet today, would you bet that Barack Obama will be elected president? Or, John McCain will be elected president?

Obama - 45

McCain - 48

Don't know - 7

was some DUmmy version of one of those scored quizzes you get in your e-mail.  You know, 5 points for every "A" you chose, 4 points for every "B", and at the end you add up all your points and the score is supposed to tell some deep dark secret about you.

So there I was, scoring myself 60 points for choosing "A" in response to the first question, 55 points for the second...

I need more coffee.