Republican congressfolk have stayed unfailingly on message in the run-up to the 2012 election: They vote no on everything that might possibly enhance Barack Obama’s standing even if it means allowing the economy to continue to stagnate and keep millions of Americans to remain out of work. Meanwhile, the Democrats have pretty much flailed, the president’s famous leadership qualities often have been AWOL . . . and the economy continues to stagnate with millions of Americans remaining out of work.
That dynamic changed this week as the president and Democrats went on message. That message, which voters in swing states will hear endlessly in the coming year, was forcefully summarized in a statement that Obama released after Republicans voted against a tax cut for 160 million mostly middle-class Americans because the legislation included a tax hike for about 350,000 people with more than $1 million in annual taxable income:
“Tonight, Senate Republicans chose to raise taxes on nearly 160 million hardworking Americans because they refused to ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. They voted against a bill that would have not only extended the $1,000 tax cut for a typical family, but expanded that tax cut to put an extra $1,500 in their pockets next year, and given nearly six million small business owners new incentives to expand and hire. That is unacceptable. It makes absolutely no sense to raise taxes on the middle class at a time when so many are still trying to get back on their feet.
“Now is not the time to put the economy and the security of the middle class at risk. Now is the time to rebuild an economy where hard work and responsibility pay off, and everybody has a chance to succeed. Now is the time to put country before party and work together on behalf of the American people.”
To say that the eventual Republican presidential nominee and other members of the Just Say No coalition are vulnerable is an understatement. Whether on Capitol Hill or in the endless series of presidential debates, Republicans have openly derided the suffering middle class, accused the poor of being lazy bums, and lip locked with the 1 percenters who have been the target of Occupy Wall Street protesters.
In poll after poll, likely voters blame Republicans for the impasse in Washington and while Obama’s approval ratings have dropped through the year, they have begun to come back up in recent weeks despite the palpable anger of some voters as the economy continues to show signs of improvement, adding 120,000 jobs last week, which dropped the unemployment rate below 9 percent for the first time since Obama was elected.
Then there are the Republican presidential wannabes themselves. Like I said, Obama has had his problems, but for the most part he has been presidential, which is to say that he has led. Or tried to when the Republicans haven’t gotten in the way.
Contrast that with a GOP field that shamelessly lies, exaggerates and bloviates and on the whole shows an appalling lack of knowledge about economics, the world beyond America’s shores and even the Constitution. With the exception of Jon Huntsman, there is not a keen mind in the bunch, and that includes Mitt Romney, who while probably having the best chance of beating the president is constantly at war with his old self. Should the party’s right-wing base hold their nose and allow his nomination, Obama will have him for lunch during the debates. Should that base get its way and Newt Gingrich is the nominee, Obama will have him for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Pause for a moment and consider that given the parlous state of the economy, the 2012 election was supposed to be the Republicans to lose but the best they may be able to come up with is a a chameleon — a deeply corrupt former House speaker whose signal accomplishment was shutting down the government and is the ultimate political insider at a time when insiders were anathema to that base.
Meanwhile, a Pew Research Center analysis of several polls released this week found that support for the Tea Party is falling precipitously and it is dragging down the Republican Party.
Long story short, the tables have been turned and Republicans will be unable to masquerade as anything other than obstructionists disdainful of everyone other than the rich.