Romney Test Driving Birtherism?

     First of all there's nothing at all "unfair" or in any way a reach in calling Romney a Birther at this point. He's done plenty of racial coding like in his deeply dishonest welfare attack.

     On Friday it was the most blatant he himself has been in playing the Birther card. Today Chris Matthews gave RNC Chairman a nice beatdown right on the Morning Joe show for all to see. I applaud him in the age of sanctimonious poseurs like Anderson Cooper and Jim Acosta-and CNN wonders why it's ratings are cratering-for really playing the part of a media watchdog like he's supposed to do.

    However, Rush Limbaugh made a comment about Romney's birth certificate slur on Friday, that Romney is "test driving" it to see what kind of mileage it gives him.

    Now it emerges that with all the talk of how Obama can't survive a slow economy the GOP actually realizes that this is not enough, and that going Birther is going to have to play a part in it.

    "In the flurry of other news, a major strategic decision from the Romney campaign has emerged in a series of reports over the weekend. In brief, the dismal economy won’t be enough to boot President Obama from office, the Romney camp has decided. Something more is going to be necessary. And the ‘more’ is going to be the ‘culture war’, specifically a new campaign angled on race and President Obama as an alien presence in American life. In other words, for the sprint to November 6th, get ready for Birtherpalooza with a hard-edged focus on race, President Obama as a foreign threat to American values and so much more."

     "We’ve been seeing some of this in the hard run — but relatively undiscussed — of demonstrably false welfare ads in swing states. Then there was that birther crack from Romney at the end of last week, which seemed like a candidate-driven ad lib rather than something planned by the campaign. But now I’m not so sure. I think it’s pretty clear it bubbled up from new strategic conversations within the campaign."

     "But it only really became clear in the story Romney advisors told the Times that appeared yesterday. There they noted that the economy simply didn’t seem bad enough to boot Obama from office or perhaps that even a really bad economy couldn’t accomplish it. So in the Times’ words Team Romney decided Romney “needs a more combative footing against President Obama in order to appeal to white, working-class voters” by “injecting volatile cultural themes into the race.”

     "Meanwhile, Tom Edsall chimes in with a more granular look at the numbers. Having failed to make any headway with non-white voters, the Romney campaign is doubling down on ads “designed to turn the presidential contest into a racially freighted resource competition pitting middle class white voters against the minority poor.”

     "Just how far will they go?"

     http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/08/in_the_flurry_of_other.php?ref=fpblg

     So Friday may just be an opening salvo in an increasingly desperate drive to smear the President specifically in the minds of "white, working-class voters."

     As appalling as this strategy is, I take some solace in the fact that behind the scenes they admit that the economy isn't so bad as to knock the President out of office and that even a really bad economy might not be enough.

     I've never thought this idea of a pure referendum on the "Obama recession" would work. For one thing it gives the President a kind of extreme superagency while taking away any responsibility for the rest of the government.

    I mean cmon, what about the Paul Ryan Congress? Actually that's something the Obama team should use-refer to the Paul Ryan Congress for the reason we're not further along in the recovery-after all, unlike the GOP lies, it has the virtue of being true. I mean people hate Congress-why would you elect it's titular leader?

    The fact is that if we had kept some stimulus on the table for the last 2 years, we would not have had the cut backs in state and local government and you'd see a better recovery or even be all the way back again.

    Then too, you have to be fair and look at the context. We may not be where we want to be-and I speak as a person who is unemployed yet again. However, compare us to either Continental Europe or Britain and we look much better.

    So as vile as this Birtherpalooza campaign is, it shows how desperate they actually are. What we need of course are more Christ Matthewses to call them on it. Still, his good example may inspire copy cats-you have to understand the psychology of the mainstream media. Most of them are timid followers. I'm not saying they lack talent or skills-far from it.

    And many of them have some integrity. But when the chips are down, not too many of them are willing to be the one to step out non the limb first. Now that Chris has done so, others are going to consider it. You need the first brave one-Chris, in this case.

    Next we need some who copy him.