GOP: We'll Hit Him Hard

[OzarkDem]

They say he is very vulnerable in his lack of experience and voting record. They not afraid to run against him at all.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton may be the Democrat who Republicans love to hate, but some Republican strategists say they have no fear of a match-up with her rival Barack Obama in November's presidential election.

But Republicans say the relentless Democratic nominating battle has given them new hope for November and exposed weaknesses in Obama that will play a central role in any general election campaign against the Illinois senator.

"I believe he has a glass jaw -- and he is going to get hit hard," said Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0345049120080403

[AX10]

1. Well, of course.

The right wing and the media have been pushing HRC down and elevating Obama the entire time.
The GOP wants to run against Obama.

[kmsarvis]

38. WELL,OF COURSE.........

REPUBLICANS ARE GOING TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT WHO THEY WANT TO RUN AGAINST....
THEY'RE HONEST PEOPLE.

[Tesha]

48. Yes, but they'll probably play the same "race" card that has failed so miserably for Hillary.

There is *JUST THE POSSIBILITY* that 1) America actually has
made some progress on race in the last 40 years (!) and 2) if
Republicans try to pull out the race card, people will, this
time, actually see it for what it is.



Tesha

[Thrill]

2. Its better to lack a voting record than to have a very long voting record

Thats why long term Senators don't win Presidential Elections

[BeatleBoot]

4. One could say that

Obama is a blank slate

[OzarkDem]

8. Not according to their analysis

And they are experts at this kind of thing.

from the linked article

"In order to bring out those new voters, you have to maintain the same level of excitement. If Obama gets tarnished, that excitement is going to wane" among those voters, Fabrizio said.

"What more are you going to tell the American people about Hillary Clinton? But most Americans didn't even know Barack Obama eight months ago, and there is so much more for them to know."


There isn't much new they can say about Clinton that everyone hasn't already heard, but there's a lot of stuff about Obama they plan to bring out, things Clinton hasn't used against him.

[Thrill]

20. I think it goes to Obama's whole argument

CHANGE. You don't want someone who is has been there for yrs.

Also longtime Senators don't win Presidential Elections because of their long voting records that can be distorted. In 20 yrs in the Senate, How many times has McCain voted against tax cuts for the middle class, voted against vet benefits, voted against min wage increases? This type of stuff is going to hurt McCain much more than Obama not having a long voting record.

[roseBudd]

37. "What more are you going to tell the American people about Hillary Clinton?"

Hillary's unfavorables are not going to change, people have made up their minds and are not seeking new information.

[tularetom]

3. That's what clinton said too

hell of a lot of good it did her.

[EffieBlack]

5. And they would give Hillary Clinton a free pass?

Please.

[OzarkDem]

12. They're saying Obama will be easier to defeat

Clinton has been pretty well flogged by everyone, including Obama. There isn't much they can use against her that everyone hasn't heard already, not that they won't.

[EffieBlack]

21. Bullshit. No one can predict who would be "easier" to defeat and anyone who claims they know

just doesn't know what they're talking about.

And if you think that the GOP won't go after Hillary hammer and tong, you are sadly mistaken. These are the same people who thought nothing of using John Kerry's biggest strength as a club to beat him virtually senseless. You can bet that they would take great glee in tying Hillary Clinton in knots - and the fact that some people have already heard some of the things against her would not stop them from using it again, not to mention the fact that plenty more new things have and will come up in the meantime.

Of all the arguments for or against a candidate, claiming that they have more or less that can be used against them by the GOP is among the worst, since ANY Democratic nominee will have the kitchen sink - and the stove, and the refrigerator, all of the pots and pans, and the cat litterbox thrown at them. That should NOT be the basis on which we pick a nominee.

[ginnyinWI]

52. ...And they are lying to us. Of course.

They have seen Obama's crowds and ability to raise money from small donations. They weren't expecting this and are going to have to scramble to cook something up. And all they've got to run against Obama is McCain, someone nobody, even Republicans, get excited about.

Don't believe them. They lie. Constantly.

[Recursion]

6. *shrug* fewer skeletons in that closet than our other candidate's

You go to the election with the candidate you have

[Hugabear]

7. Newsflash - it doesn't matter who our nominee is, the GOP is going to hit either one hard

Do you honestly think that if Hillary is the nominee, they'll pull any punches? You think the attacks you've seen here on DU are ruthless, wait until you're dealing with open freepers.

Of course, you could always hire this guy to make a new video asking people to stop attacking Hillary:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cDDEhLw1PVI

[Thrill]

10. It depends on how hard the Dems fight this time

In a way I'm interested to see how these new people who work for Obama will fight in a GE. With ads and such. Its going to be interesting to see a campaign without the Carville's, Bagela's, Shrums, etc......

[Kittycat]

19. The entire DEM party could do without Carville.

I have ALWAYS despised that man. He's a huge turnoff for indies and republicans that would consider crossing over, or warm up to the dems.

[enfield collector]

68. thanks, I'd forgotten how funny that was. I half expected it to be a

rick roll at first.

[ShaneGR]

9. Lets see them compete vs 3-1 money advantage.....

Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up 4-1.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

11. News flash: Republicans will smear ANY democratic candidate

Remember 2004? 2000? 1996? 1992? 1988? 1986? 1980? etc. etc. etc.

[jefferson_dem]

13. Well, no shit OzarkDem. We can count on you to be in the trenches with the rest of us...

combatting the Repuke Obama - smear machine.

Right?

[40ozDonkey]

14. If Hillary's the nom, the GOP won't even have to send out flyers.

There goes the fundraising edge, Iraq advantage, and independant vote.

[Pisces]

15. I guess he and Hillary have been having a pillow fight. He can take it and dish it

out when need be.

[walldude]

16. Yeah and they're going to give Hillary a free pass

:crazy:

[StrongBad]

17. Honestly, how did you want us to respond to this?

Would it go something like this?

Oh no! The GOP is going to try and smear Barack Obama! What horror! I know! We'll instead nominate Hillary Clinton! They surely won't try and do the same thing with her!

Something along those lines?

[DarienComp]

18. Got a chill up my spine; will somebody please hold my hand?

:evilgrin:

[DerekJ]

22. We have an example already.

"In order to bring out those new voters, you have to maintain the same level of excitement. If Obama gets tarnished, that excitement is going to wane" among those voters, Fabrizio said.

Well, 2 weeks. 2 full weeks of relentless hammering of Obama about Wright, and they are still talking about it.
What happened?!!

I will tell you.

He raised 40 million dollars in March (so much for losing his grass roots), he added 300K new donors, and he registered an impressive amount of democrats in PA (so much for not getting more voters).

His polling numbers didn't go under what your candidate is doing right now, and within a week he went to 52% of the vote, to keep it steady at 49%.

He is a steel jaw, not a glass jaw.

Ah, btw. We all know Hillary is a liar, and her sniper fire lie, still hurt her in the polls a lot.

Don't fall for that shit, that Hillary can't be swiftboated, people already don't like her, and are waiting for reasons to dump her.

[roseBudd]

40. I think Hillary is like Rudy, the more people see of her the less they like what they see

[Clintonista2]

23. Obama needs to drop out NOW

[Melynn]

24. They said that about Bill Clinton in '92

The Repugs thought they had the '92 election in the bag because in their view, Bill Clinton was a "draft dodger, pot smoking, womanizing liberal". Poppy Shrub thought no one would vote for such a person for President. We all know how that turned out.

[kevinmc]

25. Allen Keyes said the same thing .... worked great for him

he lost by a record number ... Go GOP.





Paid for by

[quakerboy]

26. of course they do

Was there ever any doubt they would "hit him hard"? He could be the verifiable second coming, literally traveling the country and healing the sick with a mere touch of his hands, and they would still "hit him hard".

Since when does one team say that the other side is invulnerable. Of course they look for potential weaknesses. We have seen how well exploiting those particular weaknesses has propelled Hillary to victory. They will do the same for McCain.

The right would say the same if Hillary were the front runner. Hell, if we lived in some wierdass alternate world where Kerry had gotten McCain as VP, won, and now McCain was front runner for the democratic nomination, they would still say the same thing.

in summary: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

[NanceGreggs]

27. Shouldn't this be posted in LBN?

I am sure the idea of the GOP going after Obama is news to everyone.

[Joe the Revelator]

28. NewsFlash: The GOP plans on attacking our Nominee

Quick! Send out a media blast!!!

[kentuck]

29. And he will counter with a left hook to that glass jaw...

And Mr Republican will stagger against the ropes, do a pirouette on wobbly knees, then fall with a heavy thud...right on his face. And the raucus crowd will break into thunderous applause..

[FrenchieCat]

30. And we will hit McCain Hard.......

and so?

[invictus]

31. McCain is probably mentally ill and has a long history of making enemies. Keating Five anyone? n/t

[futuro]

32. the GOP in '08 is not the same as in 2004

The GOP is bruised after losing badly in 2006. Things in Iraq and the economy are not looking rosey at all. The Republican Party can try all it wants, but won't achieve its goals.

[Forkboy]

33. They're going after either one....deal.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

34. Oh NOES!!111! Not Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio!!11!1!1

We're doooooomed! This is the end!!



:eyes:

[bevoette]

35. duh

[roseBudd]

36. In contrast to anxiety, enthusiasm tends to close voters' minds to new information. ...

"In contrast to anxiety, enthusiasm tends to close voters' minds to new information. It makes voters stand pat, as it were, rather than try to learn more about candidates. The lack of enthusiasm for the GOP pack may therefore explain why that race has been particularly fluid: unenthusiastic voters are still actively seeking more information about the candidates."

The electorate likes Obama, they did not like Gore or Kerry and they don't like Hillary, some for years, some only recently.

This article from Newsweek is well worth the read

When It’s Head Versus Heart, The Heart Wins

Science shows that when we are deciding which candidate to support, anxiety, enthusiasm and whom we identify with count more than reason or logic.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/107601/output/print

[ginnyinWI]

54. thanks for the article--I love this kind of stuff. nt

[roseBudd]

73. Being likeable protects Obama from RW smears, enthusiastic supporters won't listen

[ginnyinWI]

77. yeah--in other words

Once an Obama supporter, you stay that way. :)

[roseBudd]

78. I think many people believed Swift Boat Vets because Kerry comes across as aloof, Obama has a gift

[whatchamacallit]

39. Hit hard with McCain's Walker?

Give me a fucking break, brand republican is dead.

[mkultra]

41. they want hillary

she starts out with a 37% strong negative. This cannot be overcome without help from god/universe/earth/muhammad/jesus/void.

[ellacott]

42. Why are so many Dems wimps?

They will attack any Dem. nominee. Why are so many scared of them? I wish we would learn to fight back instead of cowering in fear of what the Republicans are going to do.

[kentuck]

43. You should add a couple of comments and post as a thread of its own...

A very good question. Why do we worry so much instead of fighting back?

[ellacott]

51. I'll take your advice, thanks

I went to bed after I posted this.

[bowens43]

44. LOL! You're getting more and more desperate.

YOu think the republicans wouldn't hit your queen just as hard if not harder. They over 20 years of shit against hillary sitting their warehouse waiting for the day that he gets to run for president. Why do you think that republicans have been propagating the myth of hillary being inevitable for the last several years? Hillary is a republican wet dream.

[bklyncowgirl]

45. They'll hit any Democrat hard--no news here.

As for the glass jaw I'm personally surprised that Obama survived the Pastor Wright brouhaha as well as he has. The Republicans would have preferred for this to come out in September or October. By the general election this will be old news. Yes it will excite the GOP base but most people aren't buying it.

[lefty from jersey]

69. Sorry to remind you

The nutty reverend story did not scare off the Democrats that vote in the primary. The nutty reverend story will not be as well received by the rest of America. Primary voters are idealistic and rabid. GE voters will be horrified that Obama sat in a church with his children at his side and listened to hate speech. Yes, it is hate speech as well as stupid and angry. Anyone that brought his family to listen to the crazy, bitter and self indulgent reverend is going to be held accountable

Obama either throws the preacher under the bus, and I mean UNDER THE BUS before the primary ends or he is finished. America has not tuned in to this yet, and when they hear Obama's preacher screaming and insulting their country he will be finished.

[JoFerret]

46. Shooting fish in a barrael

Obama has many many excellent attributes and he is a fine politician (an getting better thanks in part to Hillary)...

But he is very vulnerable in any GE. The GOP must be drooling.

[DemVet]

47. Go look at any GOP website....

...they think BHO is way more vulnerable than HRC.

[JoFerret]

71. They just eat up all that rah rah crap.

of false patriotism. It stinks but that is their m.o. and it will be played to the hilt.

[Orsino]

49. Let's invite Republicans to our convention...

...and let them pick the nominee.

:eyes:

[Alter Ego]

50. Bring it on, motherfuckers.

As Wild Billy Wharton said in "The Green Mile":

"Come on, fuckstick. No sneakin' up on me this time--we'll go man-to-man."

[GoldieAZ49]

53. we knowingly put up the weakest candidate that ever ran

against a repub candidate with broad bipartisan appeal that is an American hero.


Obama's glass jaw is already cracked, they won't have to hit hard, but don't expect them to hold back because of it.

Lets see, we have a community organizer with hope that wants change with a voting record that is weaker than mine is.

That is without Wright, Rezco, Jones and the earmarks that went to the Chicago Hospital that Michelle worked at, $1 million and she got a $200K raise.


No dem should be surprised.

[lefty from jersey]

56. Right on the head.

The rethugs will take Obama apart in the GE. He has no resume, and the negatives that his past will reveal will sink him faster than a swift-boat kick in the pants.

His supporters are putting qualities and aspirations on Obama because he is an empty slate as well as an empty suit. This will go down as a history lesson. "I believe therefore it is." Childish thinking

[OzarkDem]

61. Agree, Obama would be very vulnerable

Clinton hasn't brought up all the things Obama would get nailed with in the GE. They won't treat him nearly as nice as Hillary has.

And I don't think playing the "race card" will work as well either.

[GoldieAZ49]

64. LOL

They even mention racism or racist and the Wright videos will be replayed for month.

That 'card' has been overplayed, it is now the joker card in the deck.

[Avalux]

55. The GOP is full of shit. What else can they say when they are falling apart??

McCain has huge problems with his base and Obama will destroy him.

[rodeodance]

57. The GOP wants the weaker candidate to run against.--They know Hillary is strong.

[Bonobo]

58. Sounds like you're rooting for them.

[rodeodance]

60. Wrong. OP is a good Democrat.

[OzarkDem]

62. No, just a reality check

We have to be realistic about who we nominate.

[Bonobo]

65. But you cannot base that on empty rhetoric coming from GOP'ers, right?

[lefty from jersey]

63. I am rooting for a Dem win!

Stop, and take a close look at what the GOP is going to do to your candidate. He has to run in the GE and this country is nearly split 50-50 anyway. A huge scandal, and questions about the nutty preacher and angry wife will finish the dream of the south-side Chicago political machine. Did I mention his middle name is Hussien, the voters will be reminded every day starting the end of the primary.

WE need to dump these two flawed candidates, they are losers. If one of them could win they would have left the other in the dust months ago. We are on a road to losing a GE that should have been easy. Open your eyes and see the big picture!

[Bonobo]

66. Obama has brought in HUGE new numbers. Where does that fit in your equation?

Yes, 50/50 is what it was (although not really, I think voter fraud is the main issue).

But the point is, Obama is the one to change that equation and he is doing it by bringing in new blood!

How can you not see that?

[rodeodance]

59. REC

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

67. BREAKING NEWS: GOP AIN'T A BUNCH OF OLD SOFTIES!!!!

They'll make up anything they want about either candidate and sling the most daggers in the history of election politics at whoever the Democrat's nominate. Whoever. So let's not worry about who's more "vulnerable." When you're dealing with ethics-free hatchet men, everybody is "vulnerable."

[stillcool]

75. OMG! You've scared the bejusus..

out of me. Okay, okay,..I'll vote for McCain!!:scared: :scared:

[Butch350]

70. Good For You

Take pride in your candidate. Have A Blessed Day ;)

[Mooney]

72. Duh.

Of course they will. Who the fuck doesn't know this already?

[lynne]

74. Certainly you weren't expecting anything less, were you???

The current Hillary vs Obama match will seem like a cakewalk in comparison. It's guaranteed the GOP will fight tooth and nail.

[HughBeaumont]

76. Right, because Republicans have such an astounding 20 year record of positive attributes . . .

. . . to run with. Here's a little surface scratching of all that greatness the Republicans are known for:

* Worst terrorist attack on American soil, arguably with the Bewsh Administration's foreknowledge.
* Two failed wars that have cost 4000 American lives and over 700,000 Iraqi lives.
* Business allies with totalitarian nations and sheikdoms with human rights abuse records a mile long.
* S&L scandal (which McClown was part of).
* Substantial increases in the National Debt and trade deficit.
* A joke of a Gulf War, which we started and gave the green light to, contrary to popular belief.
* Iran/Contra.
* Funding Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden's terrorist organizations.
* The permanent installation of Supply Side Economics, a substantial disaster for anyone making less than $300,000 a year.
* The most dismal job creation records since the Great Depression.
* Intentional kneecapping of almost all social programs while increasing the Pentasewer's chunk to 51% of the Discretionary budget.
* Multiple Recessions.
* Gladhanding of the wealthy and the corporations they run at the expense of everything else.
* Socialism of loss, privatization of profits.
* Out-of-control corporate welfare.
* Weakest dollar value since the 70s.
* Lowest approval numbers for any sitting president.
* Two election scandals, mostly swept under the rug and brushed off as "sour grapes by loony left conspiracy theorists". :eyes:
* Bailouts of banks while giving the middle finger to Universal Health Care.
* Corporate Welfare at ridiculous levels.

REPUBLICANS.
Here's Hoping People NEVER Come to their Senses.
Otherwise, We'd Be In Deep Shit.

I mean, COME on. Exactly WHAT ammo do you have to hit with, dear GOP? All Barack has to say is "S & L. Remember that one? You and I will be paying for that the rest of our lives, and Cotton Hill over there was right in the THICK of it. Oh, and then there's that whole war thing, which we're still IN, as I recall. Oh yeah, and that second recession in this administration alone . . . pardon me, but you were saying something funny about me having a glass jaw??? Yeah."