GOP Pollster: Our National Security Attacks On Obama Make Us Look “Irrelevant”
A high-profile and well-respected GOP pollster is strongly criticizing the new effort by the GOP Congressional leadership to revive the party’s national security attacks on Obama, saying the strategy risks making the party look “out of touch and irrelevant.”
“What are we, in a time machine?” the pollster, Tony Fabrizio, asked scornfully in an interview with me moments ago. “We just got clobbered in two successive elections and lost majorities in both Houses, and the leadership appears to keep on playing the same cards.”
Fabrizio’s public criticism reflects rising concern among some Republican Congressional staffers and other consultants about this strategy, though most won’t voice it publicly.
GOP Congressional leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner have embarked on an aggressive new effort to revive national security as an issue and paint Obama as weak on terror (again). Boehner recently released a video complete with 9/11 imagery that asks, “Do you feel safer”? McConnell has stepped up attacks on Obama for lacking a plan to relocate Guantanamo detainees.
“Most people are looking to DC to see how they’re going to solve the financial and banking crisis,” Fabrizio said. He noted that these attacks do not make people feel targeted by “an imminent threat,” adding that trafficking in them means “you risk looking out of touch and irrelevant.”
Fabrizio added that voters would watch these attacks and ask, “What the hell are these guys talking about?”
To my knowledge, the only other high-profile Republican to openly question this new strategy was MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, who earlier this week denounced it as “discordant” with the country’s mood. But expect more like this if this strategy continues.
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Update: DNC spokesperson Hari Sevugan emails over a response:
“It’s sort of pathetic that instead of offering any new ideas, John Boehner and the GOP have to keep going back to the Karl Rove playbook which the American people have so soundly rejected. My only question is where are the wolves.”
Post above edited slightly for accuracy.
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He noted that people do not feel terrorism or potential international crisesas “an iminent threat.”… What the hell are these guys talking about?
Especially when these verbal attacks are specifically about smiles, hand shakes, bows or letting people send money to Cuba.
See, where Boehner failed is he tested the video on a class of 2nd graders and the imagery frightened them so he just went with it.
anyone else think this is remarkably candid and brutal assessment by a member of boehner/mcconnell’s own party?
mike
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If by 2nd graders you mean the rest of the GOP leadership in the House and if by frightened you mean they peed their pants, I totally agree.
@Greg: The sane members of the party are getting desperate. OTOH, I expect Limbaugh to come out and set Fabrizio straight. I’m sure he’ll change his tune after feeling the wrath of the ditto heads.
Greg
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The problem is the GOP is now a place where either you are for or against them. I am thinking of coining a phrase that relates it to Bush because I think he started the whole thing after 9-11. After 9-11 any dissent, reasoned or otherwise, was treated as treason. Any time someone intimate the Bush was doing it wrong they got smashed by the full weight of the GOP. Now that those days are over the GOP is still adhering to the same principles. It appears at least that they don’t even consider any real criticism of what they do and instead go into attack mode. Even when its people who are in the party and trying to help. Just look at how marginalized David Frum, who is not a centrist at all, has become just because he dared say that the GOP needed to change it’s approach. I imagine that if this pollster gets much pub off of his statements he will get branded with a scarlet letter also.
““What are we, in a time machine?” Apparently most of your party is, Tony!
As DJShay said, “the SANE members of the GOP are getting desperate”. Unfortunately, it will do them no good as long as the extremists are running the party. With their constant drip of Obama criticisms, the Boehners, Limbaughs, Hannitys and Becks of our country will see to that. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe that’s a GOOD thing! The ideology of afore mentioned – among others – appear to be the very reason there is a shift toward sane thought beginning to emerge within the GOP.
ATTN: McConnell, Boehner, Limbaugh, Hannity, Back, et al:
KEEP IT UP! Some day you’ll all look back at your part in this and realize it was you, yourselves, that tore your party apart. For that, I applaud you all!
Greg asked – “anyone else think this is remarkably candid and brutal assessment by a member of boehner/mcconnell’s own party?”
Yeah, it is, isn’t it. Frum has been vocal for a while as well along with Bartlett and some others but there’s a level of disbelief and exasperation from Fabio at the political idiocy he’s witnessing that’s certainly notable.
We can expect this to increase, surely. Not everyone in that party is a doofus or some species of blinded ideologue. But as so many now are describable in that manner and as they do hold significant positions of power and high media profiles, I don’t see how anything can change for that party unless some fairly ugly warfare breaks out.
I truly feel sorry for all non-wingnut Republicans for the loss of their Party. I may be a Lib but I certainly would not want the nation to only have 1.5 viable political party’s. having such leads to nuts taking over on both sides.
These loons are doing to their party what the Weathermen did to the Democrats in 1968. It’s such fun to watch it this time. Pass the popcorn.
The true Repubs sold their souls to the religious zealots of their party for votes. And it worked for a while. Now that, that game has played out, all that is left is the religious zealots. They want a country (theocracy) that never existed and never will. Folks came here at the beginning to excape religious rule. But try and tell the GOP religious zealots that and they go nuts claiming this is a Christian nation. No, we are a nation that happens to be made up of the majority of people who happen to be Christian. That’s a big difference.
The irony, of course, is that Obama’s foreign policy approach is probably the most popular part of his agenda right now.
I know Rovian doctrine says you attack your opponent at their strongest point (with the most despicable lies you can dream up) but this is ridiculous.
The Republicans do not seem to understand that the majority of people have a big problem with everything they have come to represent. They have no ideas; all they have to offer is more of what has demonstrably failed and been rejected. Republicans represent wars we should not enter and cannot get out of, decisions made based upon religious and philosophical dogma rather than science, subjugating the life support system of our planet to the monetary demands of corporations and anti-intellectual appeals to the lowest common denominator rather than risking reasoned political debate. They have nothing to offer and nothing we want, and nothing they have to say about Obama is worth hearing.
Where’s this GOP of smaller government, freedom, individual achievement, bleh, bleh, bleh? (By the way, I think those are universal desires, not just rethuglican ones). Instead the GOP wants to monitor your email, your phone calls, torture you if they suspect comportment with the enemy, pry into your bedroom, your marriage plans, require you have unwanted babies, and make sure your kids pray in school and everyone salutes Moses’ tablets in front of courthouses. Oh, and not pay taxes while bitching about crumbling infrastructure, shrinking defense budgets and poor schools. Yeesh. I think most conservatives would enjoy their lives better if they lived in Iran. They could bask in a theocracy, which is what they want in the U.S.
hey GOP, remember it was under YOUR WATCH that the 9/11 attacks happened under. Don’t you ever f’ng forget it. This kinda **** just really pisses me off. Oh, and newsflash…GOP is becoming extinct because of things like this so I have to at least give some kind of thanks. Cya don’t wanna bya’
I feel slightly sorry for the moderates in the Republican party – but they should have spoken up a long time ago when there was more of them and the insanity really went off the deep end with Bush. So to some extent – it’s a bed they made, now they can sleep in it. Or they could switch parties!
And I couldn’t agree more – 9/11 happened on THEIR WATCH!!!!! They had the White House and Congress.
We all must remember that the current repubs mindset was there all the time. They hid it well behind their moderates. With only a few moderates left, it’s out there for all to see, glaring, and it’s UGLY!!
It is just mind boggling that the Repubes can talk about Obama increasing our vulnerability to a terrorist attack when 9/ll happened on their watch. If the Dems had been in power when this occurred they would have been denounced beyond belief. They would have been crucified. The Repubes have no shame. This type of talk from the Repubes is what I think is actually increasing our risk. They are suggesting that our president is weak and vulnerable and thus telling the world to come attack us because nobody is looking. It’s highly irresponsible. However, the Repubes simply do not really care about the consequences of their actions. They will stoop to any level of behavior to smear somebody. Boehner is a big gas bag and I can’t stand listending to him. He is utterly insincere and dishonest.
Can it really be true? Can Americans really have learned not to duck their heads in fear and obey the man whenever the GOP yells “Boo”?
I’m not so sure. If there’s another truly scarey event, I think the American public might just go running right back to their most unlikely heroes ever, the GOP. And they’ll be ready.
We’ve known before that the GOP was lousy at national security and could not manage money (see Nixon Era). We learned nothing from that.
Do you think anyone has really learned from the latest catastrophes?
This time Americans only turned away from the GOP when it was too late–and then only because their pocketbooks felt light. I worry, with history behind me, that they will run right back the next time they get scared–because no one knows how to use fear like a Republican.
making the party “look” out of touch and irrelevant? They are irrelevant!
They are irrevelant and should be sent back to their former jobs shoveling ****.
“My only question is where are the wolves.”
Waiting for the end run, letting the people foolish enough to weaken their positions do so.
** FLASH **
GOP suffering from WHINE FLU!!!
Boehner hannity mitch all look so evil dishonest and willing to stoop so low below human dignity no solutions so evil of ugly looking boehner to show that dirty video to 2nd graders GOP should die natural death the moderates either join Dems or form third party to destroy GOP foever -the party of the rich old ugly men like MITCH BOEHNER HANNITY BILL O REILLY FATSO RUSH LIMBAUGH
Jefferson, Madison and all the rest on our forefathers set up this piece of real-estate we call America with one single item that would hold all this together: The Constitution.
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Every office holder, civil servent, soldier and especially those elected to the highest offices of this land do not give their allegence to a flag, a country or any other “ideals” we may call America … They hold up their right hand and swear to uphold, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
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For some ungodly reason you Republicans have twisted and have excused your deeds and your actions to do just the opposite of what you swore to do against that sacred piece of parchment. So yes, simply yes, you my dear Republicans have become irrelevent.
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“To the extent that the Constitution and laws are read narrowly, as Jefferson wished, the Chief Executive will on occasion feel duty bound to assert monarchical notions of the prerogative that will permit him to exceed the law.” – Dick Cheney (Minority Report, Iran-Contra Committee)