"Sink the ship to drown the captain" by John Stoehr at aljazeera

[applegrove]

Sink the ship to drown the captain

by John Stoehr at aljazeera

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/06/20126286564828786.html

"SNIP..........................

In the beginning, the notion of accusing the entire party of such thinking was marginal at best, but eventually it gained traction among respectable Democrats. The first time was in October when Senate Republicans filibustered Obama's modest $447m jobs bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said: "Republicans think that if the economy improves, it might help President Obama. So they root for the economy to fail and oppose every effort to improve it."

Then last week, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told Capitol Hill reporters: "There's no intention on behalf of the Republicans in the House of Representatives to try to help the president move this country forward. I quote Jesse Jackson, who I thought said it best, 'There are a lot people in Washington who want to drown the captain and are prepared to sink the ship in order to do so.'"

Meanwhile, four polls have emerged to suggest that the "economic sabotage" meme is gathering pace among voters. A November survey by Suffolk University found that nearly half of respondents in Florida, including robust numbers of Republicans and moderates, agreed with the following statement: "Republicans are intentionally stalling efforts to jump-start the economy to ensure that Barack Obama is not re-elected." Separate polls by the Washington Post and Daily Kos, a liberal blog, asked similar questions and got similar results, even among independents and Republicans. This month, a poll by Public Policy Polling showed again that respondents were evenly split, and that 41 per cent blamed Republicans for ham-stringing the president's efforts.

Drawing a wider line

If polls are to be believed, there is a slowly growing sense in the electorate that Obama would do the right thing if only Republicans would help. Perhaps this gave the president reason to push back against Democratic pollsters who expressed worry that blaming Republicans might sound like sour grapes. Instead, they want the president to leave the past behind and talk about the future with "maximal empathy" for the plight of ordinary Americans.

...................................SNIP"