Pretty much everyone agrees that the party which succeeds in
the November elections will be the one who does the better job in turning out its
base the best. In energizing your base,
you also have to be careful not to energize the other guy’s base.
With what the Republicans’ performance in Congress since
their rise to the majority in 2010, one wonders what additional motivation, or provocation, Democrats would
need to turn out in droves on November 4, 2014.
But there has been a tried and true, albeit ultra-cynical, strategy
employed by Republican strategists long before Barack Obama won election in
2008, “Tear down your opponents strengths.”
A non-stop barrage of negativity over some accomplishment or
characteristic that should give your opponent an advantage.
The classic example was Karl Rove’s “Swiftboating”
of John Kerry. Republicans and proxy
PACs went on an advertising blitz to make John Kerry’s strong military record
actually a liability. Though Kerry faced
enemy fire on multiple occasions and was wounded more than once, the negative
ads about “what really happened” made people uneasy about Kerry. He was re-defined as exaggerator rather than
a hero. All of this redounded to the
benefit of George W. Bush, who had, ironically, compiled a dubious military
record of his own, remaining stateside in the Texas Air National Guard, and
going AWOL during the Vietnam war.
Karl Rove’s strategy worked.
In a close election, manufactured uneasiness about Kerry was just enough
to tilt the election to Bush in a few key states.
The same has happened to Obamacare.
Obama care serves a huge need in America and its popularity
will continue to grow, just as social security and medicare have. As this happens, Obamacare will become a
strong political asset that will put Republicans at further disadvantage. There are Republicans who understand this,
who did not support Obamacare and whose only option is to wage a propaganda war
against it.
The propaganda works.
For example, many Kentuckians who have benefited mightily from Obamacare
will still vote for Mitch McConnell, one
of the arch enemies of Obamacare. It is
a classic case of people voting against their own interests in favor of
politicians, like Mitch McConnell, who are simply using them to get elected so
they can pass out favors to their benefactors.
Something to think about on November 4, 2014.
