Republican Economic Saboteurs, Part 2 of ∞

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Mitch McConnell with bandana and Molotov cocktail

You don't understand! A wrecked economy is our only hope in 2012!!

 

I first wrote about this matter lat week in this post, but new things have happened since them.

This is going to be one of the big stories between now and Election Day a year from now — and you, Dear Reader, are getting in on the ground floor.

Daily Kos and SEIU contracted with PPP (a well-respected national polling firm) followed up on the Florida poll showing a broad majority of people believing that the Republicans are intentionally trying to sabotage the economy (on the theory that this will lead people to blame him and vote him out of office) with a poll of their own.

They posted a preview of their poll results today, at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/07/1033982/-Half-of-all-Americans-think-Republicans-are-purposefully-sabotaging-economy, with details to come tomorrow (if they can wait that long.)  Here goes:

“Latest dKos/SEIU poll by PPP: 50% think GOP intentionally stalling economy, incl 51% of Indies, & 15% of GOPers. Details Tuesday”

Wow.  And that’s before the meme reaches the public!  As Steve Benen of Washington Monthly pointed out, http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_11/the_growing_acceptance_of_the033320.php:

The New York Times editorial board had a piece today on the importance of unemployment benefits, and made an observation in passing that stood out for me.

“Tragically,” the editorial said, “the more entrenched the jobs shortage becomes, the more paralyzed Congress becomes, with Republicans committed to doing nothing in the hopes that the faltering economy will cost President Obama his job in 2012.”

The point was made in passing, but it’s nevertheless striking. As far as the editorial board of the nation’s most important newspaper is concerned, it’s simply accepted as fact that congressional Republicans want to hold back the economy, on purpose, to undermine the Obama presidency.

Republican supermodel Senator Mitch McConnell has appeared following his earlier pledge to do everything to get rid of Obama with the assurance that, of course, that means doing everything except this (note, new window):

Juxtaposing Mitch McConnell’s announcing plans for sabotage — and later denial of having done so

Indeed, let’s have that debate.  The biggest danger to Obama right now is that Americans don’t understand how completely the Republicans can gum up the system.  The success of the Republican plan depends on such things as ignorance of the filibuster and the Congressional role in initiating budgeting.  But this poll result shows that people already intuit that something is wrong.  In the year-long countdown to Election Day, which begins today, the task of Democrats will be to teach people basic civics.  The task of Republicans — to prevent it.


About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)