Chickens coming home to roost for the GOP

No, this is not another blog post about Jeremiah Wrong, er Wright, but it's ironic how applicable his famous words are to the GOP. Lately, I've been listening to conservative talk show hosts point out the recent gaffes of Barack Obama, and how he makes more and more slip-ups the more he speaks without a teleprompter. They blame his inexperience and spin McCain's "maturity" as a distinct advantage in this area. Uh, guys...has anyone noticed that even as Obama makes one gaffe after another, his lead over McCain continues to rise? (15 points at last count) What will it take to get it through your thick heads that the people don't care!


Whether or not the public should care about these Freudian mis-steps is not even a worthwhile discussion...the obvious fact is, they don't! Why not? Well, we all know that it's human nature to believe that 'the grass is always greener on the other side', and the GOP hasn't taken care of the country's lawn at all...forget using fertilizer, they haven't even watered it. The public is fully convinced that this nation is in a horrible state of disarray (it's not), and they believe that it's Bush's fault (it's not). But regardless of whether or not you agree with my dissention from society's what-have-you-done-for-me-lately persuasion, you must agree that members of the GOP leadership have sat on their collective laurels when it comes to changing the general perception of either of these accepted "truths".


The strategy of McCain's campaign (and that of the rest of the GOP) has been nauseatingly defensive in nature. Currently, they seem to be focusing on two priorities [both ineffectively]: 1) call attention to Obama's daily gaffes, and 2) attempt to distance McCain from Bush. Neither will ever work. Why? Well, as far as the gaffes go, two things would need to happen: 1) the general media (not just Fox News and your occasional radio talk show host like Mike Church) would have to participate in exposing these not as mistakes, but as tenets of Obama's (and his wife's) true ideology: anti-america, anti-white, and anti-wealth for those who earned it; and 2) the American people would have to care. But neither will happen. We all know that the mass media is slanted in favor of the Left (Conservatives continue to whine that former Vice President Dan Quayle was killed in the media for a mere misspelling of "potatoe"). Duh! Deal with it...it has always been that way and it always will be. As for the general public's concern for Obama's mis-speaks, there obviously isn't any...if there were, there's a lot more ammunition against him than a few slips of the tongue. Even if the people don't agree with Obama, they definitely disagree with Bush, so Obama will become the de facto President.


The root of this problem for the GOP is that this race is longer than 6 months. The Party cannot expect to undermine the President for eight years (well, at least three) and then not have those chickens come home to roost on Election Day. Very few of our Republican leaders have 'stood by their man' as the media and the Democrats cast stones over the years. Quite the contrary. From the War to Katrina, Global Warming to the treatment of detainees and his foreign policy, McCain and the GOP have been front-and-center criticizing Bush, providing ammunition to the liberal media and weakening the spirit of the public to the point that Bush's approval rating is in the toilet. Too bad we haven't applied the "no child left behind" policy to our President.


I think I'm going to start referring to the GOP as the GWOP (Guys WithOut Pen-.., um genitals). Someone needs to tell them that hope is not a strategy (except for liberal presidential candidates)...they cannot stay on the defensive and hope the public's perception will change on its own. Instead of trying to discredit the "McSame" image, the Republicans would be better served by enhancing Bush's image and that of the rest of the country. How about contrasting the images of today's state of the Union versus the bleak future of this country if the Democratic policies are implemented? Can we talk about the elephant in the room for a change and go on the offensive for goodness sake? Maybe if the Party showed some cojones for once and got back to conservative principles without apologizing for them, it might not get its rear-end kicked in, and the babies of today might actually know what it's like to say the Pledge of Allegience when they get to school.


Unfortunately, McCain and his cronies will probably have to be losing by 25 points in the polls before they decide that what they're doing isn't working. By then, I fear it will be too late. God Bless America...we'll need it!