"Democrats' game plan to hold the House: Divide and conquer"

[Clio the Leo]

Sneaky, sneaky. ;)

Democrats' game plan to hold the House: Divide and conquer

With just six days left until Election Day, a key component of the Democratic strategy to hold the House is becoming clear: In more than a dozen close races, Democrats are encouraging and advancing little-known, conservative third-party candidates in an attempt to fracture the Republican vote enough to eke out narrow victories.

Behind-the-scenes collaboration between local Democratic officials and tea party activists in a handful of isolated races has already been reported — just last week, in suburban Pennsylvania’s open 7th District, Democratic nominee Bryan Lentz finally admitted his campaign’s role in helping a tea party candidate get on the November ballot after months of avoiding the question.

But the divide-and-conquer strategy has become more widespread — and coordinated — through television ads, robocalls and mailers in recent weeks as races have tightened and it’s become more apparent that just a few percentage points could end up swinging the outcome in many races.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that Democrats or Republicans have tried to manipulate votes on the other side. Clearly the goal there is to get Republicans to vote for the tea party person to move numbers off Republicans,” said John Anzalone, an Alabama-based Democratic pollster. “I think that it’s going to work in some places. It’s a case by case" thing.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and two state Democratic parties have paid for mailers sent to GOP households in at least five contested House districts in Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Texas — mail pieces that highlight the staunchly conservative positions of long-shot candidates who barely register in public and private polls.

<snip>

The strategy of driving a wedge between the GOP establishment and grass-roots conservatives is reminiscent of one of the only bright spots of the 2010 election cycle for Democrats — a 2009 House special election upset win in upstate New York where the presence of a conservative third-party candidate ended up costing the GOP a historically Republican seat.

In Colorado’s Western Slope-based 3rd District, where Democratic Rep. John Salazar, one of Anzalone’s clients, is in a close race with GOP nominee Scott Tipton, a DCCC mailer features Libertarian Gregory Gilman on an American flag background and warns that Gilman’s “first act would be to drastically reduce the size of government.”

Like Stephens in Texas, according to the Federal Election Commission, Gilman has reported no financial activity this campaign.

<snip>

Democratic strategist David Plouffe, the architect of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, acknowledged the importance of third-party candidates in a briefing with reporters earlier this month and said it means many Democrats could win with as little as 47 percent of the vote, “which in this year is something we are happy about,” he said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44231.html

[bemildred]

1. If Politico is admitting we might hold the house, that's progress. nt

[Trajan]

2. Assholes ....

(If true ..)

I would rather Democrats had the GUTS to promote Democratic party philosophy ... You know ? .. Like FDR and Truman ....

Dems have been wishy washy for years .... If the only way they can 'win' is to use ruses like this, then let me off at the next stop ...

The GOP destroyed this country a mere 5 years ago ..... and now they are white knights coming to the defense of the realm ?

WHO THE FUCK let this happen ? ...

Where is a Democrat who knows how to play this 'politics game' ?

[Tippy]

3. K&R.........I feel good......how does that translate into votes

It doesn't but I know everyone is doing their part I feel it in my bones....

[Atman]

4. I did one of the mailers mentioned in this article.

It's kinda weird promoting the Tea Bagger, but it's a sound strategy for Democratic victory. And US winning is what's important.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Bryan Lentz did this in Pennsylvania for Sestak's seat.

[Imajika]

6. It's incredibly sleezy...

...and confirms to me that most of the howls and complaints that our side makes when the GOP does this stuff is nothing but crocodile tears. It would be one thing if just a local Democratic party or two was trying to pull this nonsense, but this article makes it sound like a full on national attempt. Republican Party and Tea Party activists have been complaining about this and for the longest time Democrats were denying (lying about) what they were up to. Now that it has become obvious, they admit it.

This sort of thing makes me distrust the Democratic Party almost as much as I do the Republican Party. The ends justify the means for both and it is very depressing that people think this is clever and legitimate.

[Atman]

7. It's called politics.

Keep in mind, these are flag-and-eagle-covered patriotic mailers. they appeal to a certain segment of the population to whom eagles and flags induce a visceral reaction in the first place. No one is being conned into supporting a candidate or set of beliefs they weren't already most likely to support. Mathmatically, if it splits the GOP vote and ensures a Democratic victory, I don't have a problem telling some tea bagger the same bullshit he's already listening to on Fox News.

[Imajika]

8. Oh stop it...

"Mathmatically, if it splits the GOP vote and ensures a Democratic victory, I don't have a problem telling some tea bagger the same bullshit he's already listening to on Fox News."

I'd bet you and almost everyone here would scream in indignation if we reversed that to read"

"Mathmatically, if it splits the Dem vote and ensures a Republican victory, I don't have a problem telling some crazy leftist the same bullshit he's already listening to on Sirius Radio Left."

I mean, seriously, people here were all wound up when they thought the GOP engineered the Greene fiasco in South Carolina - and in that case there was never even any evidence the Republicans were involved.

This is an "ends justify the means" political trick. You think it's okay because you believe in the correctness of your cause. When the right wingers do it, they also feel the same way. At the end of the day it's just dirty politics. It may be that this is just the way life works and we need to assume both sides will pull this sort of thing, but can we at least not feign outrage among friends when the other side does it - I mean, I think we all really know better.

It's like this girl that got stomped by nutty Paulbots. At this point I don't even think most people howling on her behalf even care about her much (if at all), it's all about putting Rand on the defensive in the hopes to change the dynamics of the race. It's just politics.

[Atman]

9. There is no "engineering" going on.

Just telling people what they already believe. And I see very little correlation to Alvin Greene. We're just promoting real candidates here, not hiring clueless buffoons and manufacturing candidates.

Quite frankly, it is the Democrats' continual inability to show some spine, some cunning, some semblence of fight, that keeps Republicans in the drivers seat.

[Ramulux]

10. I dont like it when the other side does it

so why would I like it when we do it? Its one thing if its a few candidates here and there its another thing if this is a national coordinated effort.

[backscatter712]

11. I'm sorry. The Democratic Party needs to be more ruthless.

If the GOP's going to use those tactics, then those tactics are fair game for us.

When we try to be "better than them", we fight with a hand tied behind our back, and we lose.

So yes, I'm sorry. The Democrats need to win this fight by any means necessary. Driving wedges in our opponents is a legitimate tactic, especially when Sharron Angle's ads make Willie Horton look like weak sauce.

We need our own Lee Atwater. We must win by any means necessary. Losing to the Tea Party means we could lose our country to fascism.

[Atman]

12. +1

Well said.