Ok, that's a rather extreme case of playing Devil's Advocate I admit. Still, I am wondering if this could seriously backfire on the GOP.
While it's true that GOP leaders have warned not to overreach, there's some evidence already that this good advice is as usual falling on deaf ears.
We have Rand Paul making absurd claims that there's some 'secret document' that shows Obama was behind the IRS Tea Party issue-he ordered it. His "proof" is 'this is what someone told me.'
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rand-paul-claims-damning-irs-memo-exists?ref=fpa
We have lots of GOPers already on the record for that "I" word-impeachment.
http://blogs.rollcall.com/rothenblog/will-republicans-screw-up-again-some-are-already-overreaching/
Seems to me that there are two theories of the scandals.
One is that it helps the GOP and hurts the Dems. This is the obvious, conventional wisdom. Yet the other side of the coin is that history isn't kind to scandal mongering as a campaign weapon.
At a minimum it's a double edged sword-ie, it can be used against you as easy as your opponent if they gain even momentary control of it. There are a growing number of Democrats that think this may prove to be the case.
"Dems have taken a two-pronged approach to today’s scandals: Dem officials and candidates quickly denounce it when there is clearly merit there — as many of them did when the IRS news hit — then quickly pivot to denouncing Republicans for refusing to focus on jobs and other immediate voter concerns."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/20/dems-betting-heavily-on-gop-scandal-overreach-in-2014/
When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. I mean I'm certainly pretty frustrated that this nonsense has taken over the front page while the pain of the sequester, jobs, immigration reform, and gun control have been relegated to the back pages. Maybe most Americans feel the same way. That's what happened in 1998 and nothing makes me think that the GOP has learned anything at all since then. I mean history shows that scandal mongering doesn't necessarily help your chances but might actually be counterproductive as they certainly were in 1998.
Then we see that Obama's approval rating hasn't dropped at all but has held steady the last week.
http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/05/when-scandal-dust-clears-gop-is-still.html
Some more polling tonight looks good for the Dems-and quite bad for the GOP:
"A new CNN poll finds that the percentage who regard the GOP unfavorably has jumpedfive points since March, to 59 percent. And 58 percent say Obama is a strong leader."
While it's true that GOP leaders have warned not to overreach, there's some evidence already that this good advice is as usual falling on deaf ears.
We have Rand Paul making absurd claims that there's some 'secret document' that shows Obama was behind the IRS Tea Party issue-he ordered it. His "proof" is 'this is what someone told me.'
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rand-paul-claims-damning-irs-memo-exists?ref=fpa
We have lots of GOPers already on the record for that "I" word-impeachment.
http://blogs.rollcall.com/rothenblog/will-republicans-screw-up-again-some-are-already-overreaching/
Seems to me that there are two theories of the scandals.
One is that it helps the GOP and hurts the Dems. This is the obvious, conventional wisdom. Yet the other side of the coin is that history isn't kind to scandal mongering as a campaign weapon.
At a minimum it's a double edged sword-ie, it can be used against you as easy as your opponent if they gain even momentary control of it. There are a growing number of Democrats that think this may prove to be the case.
"Dems have taken a two-pronged approach to today’s scandals: Dem officials and candidates quickly denounce it when there is clearly merit there — as many of them did when the IRS news hit — then quickly pivot to denouncing Republicans for refusing to focus on jobs and other immediate voter concerns."
“If you’re worried about this affecting Democratic prospects in 2014 you have missed
the fundamental frustration that voters have with the Republican congress,” DCCC deputy executive director Jesse Ferguson said in an interview this afternoon. “Voters are tired of Congress not focusing on the things that are important to them — whether that’s strengthening the middle class, fixing the budget, reducing gun violence, or passing immigration reform.”
the fundamental frustration that voters have with the Republican congress,” DCCC deputy executive director Jesse Ferguson said in an interview this afternoon. “Voters are tired of Congress not focusing on the things that are important to them — whether that’s strengthening the middle class, fixing the budget, reducing gun violence, or passing immigration reform.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/20/dems-betting-heavily-on-gop-scandal-overreach-in-2014/
When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. I mean I'm certainly pretty frustrated that this nonsense has taken over the front page while the pain of the sequester, jobs, immigration reform, and gun control have been relegated to the back pages. Maybe most Americans feel the same way. That's what happened in 1998 and nothing makes me think that the GOP has learned anything at all since then. I mean history shows that scandal mongering doesn't necessarily help your chances but might actually be counterproductive as they certainly were in 1998.
Then we see that Obama's approval rating hasn't dropped at all but has held steady the last week.
http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/05/when-scandal-dust-clears-gop-is-still.html
Some more polling tonight looks good for the Dems-and quite bad for the GOP:
"A new CNN poll finds that the percentage who regard the GOP unfavorably has jumpedfive points since March, to 59 percent. And 58 percent say Obama is a strong leader."
"CNN’s polling director claims the new leadership finding suggests the public may be ”responding favorably to Obama’s stern reaction in recent days and hints that, far from catching blame for the latest controversies, Obama may actually be benefiting from them in some ways.” Also: 58 percent say Obama is “honest and trustworthy,” which also would seem to suggest the scandals are not having the effect the GOP hoped for."
* In a reference to CNN’s findings, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report Tweets:
Full results of latest CNN poll should make Republicans think about their behavior. GOP fav/unfav 35/59. Dem 52/43
" Of course, now that big majorities of Republicans are persuaded we’re looking at Watergate-level presidential wrongdoing, the scandal-mongering will have to continue at its current pitch."
In many ways this is a very nice narrative to work: the GOP doesn't care about jobs or the needs of the country but just their scandal games trying to harm the President for partisan gain. You could argue that this is an easier target than going issues against issues. In that case the Dems have the more popular issues and win; however, they now have their more popular issues against a GOP that isn't concerned with issues at all-other than using the IRS scandal as a new argument against ObamaCare.
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