John Cole has a post up. Obama is relatively inoffensive among the right wing for now. But, as soon as he’s put down the ice queen they hate so much, the venom has to go somewhere – and it will be directed at barack obama.
But anyone who doesn’t think that that’s all going to change instantaneously if Obama is the nominee hasn’t been watching how this faction operates over the last 20 years. Hatred is their fuel. Just look at the bottomless personal animus they managed to generate over an anemic, mundane, inoffensive figure like John Kerry. At their Convention, they waved signs with band-aids mocking his purple hearts while cheering on two combat-avoiders.
Yeah, I think God’s Own Party (GOP) will roast Obama alive. But you know what? 100,000 extra people crowded into those Iowa Gyms and homes and schools to vote Thursday. I think that says something about wanting a new politics. Maybe I am a hopeless romantic.. but one can hope.
The GOP will talk about his cocaine use, in a “Reefer Madness” sort of way with some coded racial undertones.
But I don’t think it will work. If Obama can continue to rally young people, they should drown out the GOP hate.
I’ve been fully in the GOP camp since moving to NW Indiana and don’t feel rage or anything of the sort toward anyone on the Democratic Party side. People are people for the most part.
Obama is fairly straight forward with what he believes, so I think that deflects a lot of criticism.
Hillary tries to play both sides — that causes a lot of the emotions that swirl around her. She is also the mirror image of the politics of personal destruction that she always decries. Obama’s people have felt the sting of her operatives’ failed whispering campaigns about his middle name, etc.
Obama has also inoculated himself from a lot of the baggage from the past by revealing it early in the election cycle. Plus, with more young people involved, we know that not everyone is perfect on either side. The older generation has shown us that with all of their antics.
Even though I won’t vote for Obama — I don’t see my views changing that much to support him — I still admire the guy for doing a good job so far in the campaign and for being a good representative of “flyover country” that people in New York and California always forget about until election time. (If he wins, it will probably be a good thing for NW Indiana since we are so close to Chicago and heavily “blue.”)
It’s too bad we can’t ignore the hate filled people on the left and right and work toward some sort of new politics of cooperation.
Of course, I don’t see that happening because the left- and right- wing jobs always attract an inordinate amount of attention because they are abnormal and attract attention.
MY GOD!
The [BLINK] tag still works?
I agree with much of what Chris says, except that I will be voting for Obama, even though it won’t matter by then.
Obama is hard to dislike. He’s like Bill Clinton without the sleaze.
Of course, being a Chicago Democrat, there is a *little* dirt out there. Mostly, it involves Obama not distancing himself from people that he well knows are corrupt. He’s a lot like Mayor Daley in that way.
I just wish we could get out of this Clinton/ Bush rut we’ve been in for 20+ years. The GOP did its part by refusing to let Jeb Bush run. Now it’s time for Democrats to do the same. Ditch Hillary and let Obama run.
I know! I wasn’t at all sure that it would work when it occurred to me to try it.
T says:
January 5th, 2008 at 12:16 -06006
The GOP will talk about his cocaine use, in a “Reefer Madness†sort of way with some coded racial undertones.
You mean it’ll be just as newsworthy as when the Democrats and the press went after GW’s drinking habits of the past?
Both sides spew hate, so don’t pretend you are on the high road, T.
ummm…both Bush and Cheney have criminal convictions for DUI
…with Obama it was a teenage “youthful indiscretion” — with W it was serious alcoholism until at least his 40th year…
I loathe Hillary but will vote for Obama if (ok ok ok, when) Ron Paul doesn’t make it. Hillary telling me she represents change is just simply unbelievable.
How in the F%*k would you know that Wilson?? Or anyone else for that matter. That is absurd. At least be honest enough to admit both sides throw hateful mud (which you just proved).
Ask Laura about George’s serious alcoholism. She told him to cut it out or she’d leave him. His serious “drunk” problem is rather well known and uncontroversial. He himself has talked about it…
Chris-you’re a Region Rat, huh? I’ve been one for the last six years. While their type of “blue” mentality has not rubbed off on me (I’m not big into unions, etc.) I can say that I am tired of what the GOP is doing right now.
I did vote primarily GOP in the local races up here because they are the minority party and the party of change in this area. And my town needed change big time!
I think Obama will be the least polarizing of the top candidates for the Democratic party-even given his middle name, ethcnicity, and admitted drug dabbling. My dream is that he will cause the GOP to stumble greatly (I mean I hope they loose big-time in all offices)-so that they will have to go back and reinvent themselves. Maybe then the fundagelicals will create their own splinter party. Or maybe us exiled moderates from both parties should create our own.
Wilson, you gotta quit readin’ the enquirer.
It’s almost laughable to see the left decrying hate and venom. Honestly, do you guys ever look in the mirror? This has always been true in politics: Both sides strongly denounce the policies of the other. Unfortunately, both sides get personal. To suggest that the GOP “hates,” while the Dems simply offer responsible criticism is wildly absurd.
Tim– you’re uninformed on this issue. The DUI’s are matters of public record, confirmed by the men themselves. The alcoholism is well documented in Bush’s book, and his public statements. Attacking us for supposed rumor-mongering is just strange. It would be like if we said Teddy’s ride with Mary Jo was just rumor.
Of course, Bush lied in his book about his Air Guard service. Maybe he lied about being a sloppy drunk (crashing his car on his father’s lawn and then threatening violence against his father, for instance), too.
Tim,
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdui1.html
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/cheney_doc.html
’nuff said…..