NYT: Obama Aides Weigh Bid to Tie the G.O.P. to the Tea Party (As Golden Opportunity Slips Away)

[Turborama]

By JACKIE CALMES and MICHAEL D. SHEAR

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s political advisers, looking for ways to help Democrats and alter the course of the midterm elections in the final weeks, are considering a range of ideas, including national advertisements, to cast the Republican Party as all but taken over by Tea Party extremists, people involved in the discussion said.

White House and Congressional Democratic strategists are trying to energize dispirited Democratic voters over the coming six weeks, in hopes of limiting the party’s losses and keeping control of the House and Senate. The strategists see openings to exploit after a string of Tea Party successes split Republicans in a number of states, culminating last week with developments that scrambled Senate races in Delaware and Alaska. “We need to get out the message that it’s now really dangerous to re-empower the Republican Party,” said one Democratic strategist who has spoken with White House advisers but requested anonymity to discuss private strategy talks.

Democrats are divided. The party’s House and Senate campaign committees are resistant, not wanting to do anything that smacks of nationalizing the midterm elections when high unemployment and the drop in Mr. Obama’s popularity have made the climate so hostile to Democrats. Endangered Congressional candidates want any available money to go to their localized campaigns.

Late Sunday night, White House advisers denied that a national ad campaign was being planned. “There’s been no discussion of such a thing at the White House” or the Democratic National Committee, said David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser.

Proponents say a national ad campaign, most likely on cable television, would complement those individual campaigns and give Democrats a chance to redefine the stakes. The Democratic strategist said voters did not now see much threat to them from a Republican takeover of Congress, even though some Tea Party-backed candidates and other Republicans have taken positions that many voters consider extreme, like shutting down the government to get their way, privatizing Social Security and Medicare and ending unemployment insurance.

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/us/politics/20dems.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&src=igw

Their madness over the past 2 years has provided the Administration with so much excellent ad material it's hard to fathom why there would be any dessent against this idea.

[theothersnippywshrub]

1. It's pretty late in the game to be looking for a strategy. n/t

[DontTreadOnMe]

2. Time to hit back!

..um wait... let's wait until the last week before the actual election.

This Admin doesn't know how to hit back.

[jaxx]

3. When the game keeps changing they need to stay on top of it.

It's never too late to slap the righties around.

[Buns_of_Fire]

4. "...voters [do] not now see much threat to them from a Republican takeover of Congress...

"...even though some Tea Party-backed candidates and other Republicans have taken positions that many voters consider extreme, like shutting down the government to get their way, privatizing Social Security and Medicare and ending unemployment insurance."

...but we're not gonna tell them, no sir, because Boner and TurtleBoy might say mean things about us.

And they're debating this while the clock keeps ticking towards November.

[ihavenobias]

5. Kick n/t

[lunatica]

6. If they're debating this it means they fear the teabaggers will win

And in their minds, if the teabaggers win they want to keep them mollified, because they know that will work.

:sarcasm:

[gkhouston]

7. I've been thinking about this snippet from "The West Wing" for weeks...

Toby (the communications director) is talking to Leo (the WH Chief of Staff):

"One victory in a year stinks in a life of an administration. But it's not the ones we lose that bother me, Leo. It's the ones we don't suit up for!"

[OhioChick]

8. Kick

:kick: