Notice that Republicans are still good at framing the debate....

[Wetzelbill]

And also notice how all the elite media loves what they have to say. During the stimulus fight they echoed all the RW's sentiments, had more Repubs on the Dems etc. And look how that turned out.

The GOP can still do their old public relations tricks, but nobody is buying. Obama actually became more popular at a time all the news shows were acting like he had lost control of everything. Then he passed the stimulus and that was that.

Now it's health care. Contrast what Rep. Zach Wamp said today about health care not being a right. He cried socialism, brought up the Hillarycare boogeywoman argument and even mentioned illegal immigrants using up resources by going to emergency rooms. Do you think anybody is going to buy that?

Well if you do, then go and check out clips and coverage of Obama's health care summit. It's like night and day. He's diligently working on getting something done while the other side hasn't even figured out how to get past their decades old Cold War rhetoric. The difference is stark.

Whatever the GOP is selling right now, nobody is buying. And it seems the more people hear it the more they don't like it.

I think much of it has to do with the fact that the GOP was always good at attacking from the outside and framing the debate against a false status quo. But then they got all the power they ever wanted and wrecked everything. They can't govern. They proved it. And now all they can say is no to other better ideas. That's all they have, an absolute failed ideology and a good public relations system.

The problem for them is that now all their good PR strategies only reminds everybody of all the things they did for the last 30 years that failed.

[EFerrari]

1. They do much better in sound bites.

The next one will be nationalizing the banks is socialism. And it will probably get frantic because people mainline freak out when it comes to their cash.

Democrats use too many words ("too many notes") still. But, I'm loving watching our beautiful president talk off the cuff and manage groups and set limits -- just like a grown up. We got lucky!

[Wetzelbill]

2. you mean we got lucky

in the sense that Obama is still good, but I would have been a better choice. Biden or Kurovski? Now that is a little tougher. :)

[Xipe Totec]

3. Sound bites - the brain farts of old farts n/t

Proof by example.

[EFerrari]

5. Maybe but what the public has learned to attend to.

We always seem to sort it out. There is a period of upheaval before the frontal lobes kick in, though. :)

[knowbody0]

4. no doubt I imagine this

but it appears to me that the msm anchors have more trouble spinning for their masters.

In a world of my design, there would be a grand announcement that our money god is dead and that truth rules from this day forward.

[Wetzelbill]

9. they try

The see things in a different way. Like when the stimulus debate was going on, they all acted abhorred because it wasn't "bipartisan." Well the media shills in DC have some silly notion of bipartisanship that they all hold so dear, but the rest of us could care less, we want good policy, we want people to do things. I don't care if politicians are punching each other out every other day, just as long as they pass good laws. The media spun it the whole time like Obama was failing because no Repubs wanted to vote for it, well guess what, in the end, the people got a bill that they basically wanted. Now they want health care, and I bet Obama gets it for them.

[spanone]

6. but the media is working hard to keep their 'sentiments' first and foremost

[Wetzelbill]

7. it's amazing isn't it

But people just ain't buyin' it. It's bizarre to watch.

[hfojvt]

8. I don't think we won with the stimulus

Obama got pretty much what he asked for, but he already made a bunch of concessions when he did the asking. In spite of that, he picked up almost no Republican votes and the stimulus got pared down and got AMT 'relief' added to it. We made concessions to Republicans, got a worse stimulus bill, and got almost nothing to show for it.

[Wetzelbill]

10. yes and no

He gave up what basically amounted to the middle class tax cuts that he promised. The bill's biggest problem was it wasn't big enough, but it was still solid. And he made up quite a bit of ground in that department by passing a big budget. That bill is easily the most progressive piece of legislation since LBJ's time, so I don't think it's valid to say we got nothing to show for it, we got plenty, we just could have gotten more.

[ihavenobias]

11. Yes and no Part II

I DO think the bill could have been solidly better WRT less tax cuts and more on infrastructure. Too many important concessions (remember the Maddow/Pete DeFazio clip?) on such a critical bill.