More meta wars, distracting my attention. Sad thing is, I knew it was coming the second "stop whining" was uttered, I told myself to not read the highly predictable reactions from the usual suspects on both sides - which, of course, was even louder whining - but ultimately found myself powerless to tear away from the ensuing food fight. It threw me right off my train of thought, jammed up my writing, and left me wanting to scream, "Don't make me turn this country around and go back! All of ya, quiet down back there!"
Geez. And I don't even have kids.
So, to the Obama administration: Whoever told you this would be a good strategy - it's not. See: The Food Fight. Every second spent on this is a second taken away from important issues. You are only feeding that which you claim you want to stop, your supporters are stuck having to defend your statements and that only serves to divide "the base", whoever the hell they are at this point. Even worse though, you run the risk of alienating the casual voter, who, let's say, is struggling with economic difficulties and has yet to see a light at the end of the tunnel and is frightened about that, or, maybe someone who wanted more from health care reform (by a 2-1 margin even) and may feel a bit disappointed about now. These folks might erroneously think your words were directed at them, and why take that chance when voter enthusiasm is a concern?
To the "Professional Left", both those that are incensed and those that take this stuff in stride: Consider this a going-away present for Rahm, because he is announcing his run for mayor Friday, according to the Sun Times. With that, we might see a change in attitude from the administration. That's the hope - because if this is the strategy of the Democratic Party and it continues, we will lose more than we gain.
Let's try this strategy instead: Show the voters the choice in front of them this November. This is one of the best ads running right now, brought to you by AFSCME.
Says it all, doesn't it? This realization might already be sinking in out there, as we can see the Generic Democrats gaining ground in the latest WSJ/NBC poll as "the base" starts to come home. The only reason for the 3-point difference between the two parties is the likely voters vs. registered voters split - with registered voters, the parties are tied. That means that Dems have to concentrate on the GOTV effort more than anything, and giving people something to vote for is the way to do it. The ad above does that, and it's something that I would dearly love to see more of from the party.
Yes, we still can - but only if we show up. Give people a reason, and they will.