WaPo Columnist: Dems Need Attack Dog To Counter GOP Rhetoric

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Barack Obama is President, Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House, Harry Reid is Senate Majority Leader, Bill Clinton is doing the television circuit to revive his reputation, most journalists are still hopelessly in the tank for the current White House resident, and the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza is concerned that the Democrats don't have a voice to counter Republican talking points.

This is almost as silly as a New Yorker losing sleep over the Yankees not having enough money to field an allstar team next year.

Regardless of the apparent absurdity, such was Cillizza's point in a blog posting at WaPo's The Fix (h/t Jennifer Rubin):

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The national debate over President Obama's health care plan has exposed a weakness in the Democratic Party apparatus: it lacks a high profile surrogate to push back -- hard -- against the rhetorical arguments put forward by Republicans.

While people like Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin have scored points by hammering the Obama plan hard and repeatedly, there has not been that same sort of presence on the Democratic side. The dearth of attack dogs contributed to the White House losing the message war in September.

Obama, himself, hasn't been -- and shouldn't be -- the party's attack dog. He has fought back against some of the misinformation being disseminated on health care by taking a forceful tone but always staying within the bounds of being presidential.

But, no one else in the party seems interested in filling that space.

Wow. Poor, poor, President Obama. He's been on television more than any president in history, and gets almost exclusively fawning praise from his media minions.

But he doesn't have anyone to go after the GOP's message.

Boohoo!

All together now: aaaaaaaawwwwwww.

Of course, maybe more importantly, should a so-called journalist be asking for attack dogs? Isn't that quite a lapse in impartiality?

After all, Cillizza believes "The dearth of attack dogs contributed to the White House losing the message war in September."

Wasn't it actually an abundance of angry American voices that led to the White House losing the message war?

If that's the case, should a so-called journalist actually be advocating politicians shout down citizens all because he or she disagrees with what average Americans are saying at town hall meetings and Tea Parties?

Beyond which, as Rubin commented Tuesday, Cillizza conveniently ignored what prominent Democrats have been doing the past couple of months:

Obama attacks his opponents as silly, uninformed, and deceitful. The Democratic party’s congressional leaders call American citizens who disagree with them “un-American.” Democratic senators and congressmen on a daily basis accuse Republicans of favoring the status quo and lacking alternative ideas, both untrue assertions and both repeated ad nauseum. Nancy Pelosi speculates it’s only one step between town-hall criticism and shooting gays. Robert Gibbs uses the White House press room to vilify specific reporters and conservative talk-show hosts who dare disagree with the president. The entire Democratic party has become an attack dog. So what could the Post’s Chris Cillizza possibly mean?

Honestly, Jen, I don't know either. 

Maybe Cillizza was just trying to counter his colleague Richard Cohen's momentary lapse into reason.

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.


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Democrat's explanation

Did you ever notice that, whenever the Demoncats lose some argument or some legislation, or some election, they attribute it to not using the right words, or not explaining what they were advocating sufficiently.  I believe that they HAVE explained themselves fully and the electorate is not buying it.

 

Same thing here.  They see that they are losing so they have to  gang up on their opponents.

 

They are not listening.  After all, they are all so intelligent that they "know better" .  sarc off

If only they had....

some way of doing a prime time info-mercial without opposing view points or five network interviews in one day.

" if Republicans are able to stop Barack Obama on health care, 'it will be his Waterloo, it will break him....-Sen. Jim DeMint

They didn't Get Their............

I know what their problem is, they just didn't get their message out! Remember after the 2004 election and the explanation put out by the DNC [Dirty No-Good Communist!]? They blamed it all on pooor communication and lack of understanding by the voters. So what did they do? They ran as Conservatives and Moderates in 2006 and won! Only thing was, they were liberal and they proved it in 2007! Then along comes their token, Obama, and they propel him into the White House. They can't comtain their emotions and they finally show who they really are. The people get upset and Boo Hoo, they don't have an attack dog! Bull Sugar! They've got one and his name is Barack Hussein Obama! As long as his teleprompter works, he can give a great attack!

When the truth is against

When the truth is against you, there ain't an attack dog big enough to carry the bone. 

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

That's why they need to

That's why they need to attack.  They have no argument.

Old rule of lawyering: When facts are on your side, argue the facts.  When the law is on your side, argue the law.  When neither is on your side, pound the table.  That's what they do: they pound the table and try to have evidence thrown out.

True, but the adage goes,

True, but the adage goes, "If the law is on your side, pound the law.  If the facts are on your side, pound the facts.  If neither is on your side, pound the table."

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

If no table is

If no table is available, take a trip to the dog pound.

"Fighters are fun but bombers make policy"

In the same vein, they have

In the same vein, they have ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, the NYT, WaPo, LAT, PBS and who knows what else, but every time Rush Limbaugh opens his mouth they claim that he needs "balance."

 

Mom-B - personnally, I'm

Mom-B - personnally, I'm fed up having to repeat this very point.  The 24-hour news cycle was 10 years old before Limbaugh came around to provide any balance. 

You can add to your list the majority of print media and Fox News, though they strain to give information straight up and down.  I'll give them credit for putting on Hannity and Beck as commentators but that's really it.

Word to trolls - please control your stupidity and avoid bringing up BOR.  

gotta throw a caption here

Meet the recipient of Obamacare's Dental Plan.

-Jon

That dog won't hunt

(sorry, I couldn't resist).

How big of an attack dog do they need when Bamster has the MsM in his hip pocket?  One the size of a T-Rex?

Sheesh, talk about stupid.

Great. Put. Down. NS.

I hope he fails, too.

 

 

X

Maybe if they attacked their opponents children...Oh! they've done that?

How about making up stuff?...that too!

OK garnering all the MSM to assail charges while ignoring opponents facts?...Hmmm, its called NYTing!

Hey! How about a Liberal Talk Radio channell. Yeah, thats the ticket.

NS

Maybe this is more accurately representative of a Democrat 'attack dog'.

Wow

An amazing likeness of Barney Frank.

More charm than Barney,

More charm than Barney, though. 

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

Nah

Democrats don't have a point  to counter Republican talking voices.

Wow, more good news on this

Wow, more good news on this fine Tuesday!  

Since, according to Cillizza, politics is just a game, this article only serves to inspire and motivate Conservatives in America.  While I do not count myself amongst the GOP folks, it would appear their relentless truth-beatdown of Obama's policies is paying off.  Good for them, and good for America!

I did wonder, however, where SEIU fits into all this.  Are they not the liberals strong-arm thugs who intimidate and coerce?  Haven't they been doing their jobs?  Or is it simply that the common-folk American is realizing what a disaster this administration is and what they bring to the table is nothing short of Socialism with a shiny wrapper...

Also, where are the leftie bloggers and their grassroots efforts?  How quickly that all peetered-out after the election.  I suppose emotion can only take you so far before you burn out.  When fact and Constitutional reality is your fuel, you just never become weary.

http://www.pelicanmarsh68.blogspot.com

Citizen Commentators Unite!

Democrats

Always get tripped up by truth. If only they stuck to truth, no one would be able to attack.

Bet that never occurs to them.

If that is an example of an attack dog...

    ...I is, oh poo, can't think of something. Oh, I know, I is Noel's lap puppy. Oh wait, that is not a good image. Dang it.

  That is an example of too much inbreeding. Those horribly maloccluded teeth couldn't get a grip on a baloney sandwich.

  Also, a dog letting you hold him by the neck is submissive. Dat's a good widdow boy, now itn't it. Good boy.

Sincerely,

a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.

Liberals (or progressives) always want to attack thier critics

They really want to silence them but so far the pesky Constitution has been a thorn in their censorship side. But they keep trying. They can't debate the merrits of their argument because either their argument has no merrits or their plan is unconstitutional. So they attack and try to silence their critics by calling them names and claiming racism.

Throw 'da bums out!!!

no incumbent re-elected, with very few exceptions!

www.loyaltoliberty.com

The Irony Never Stops!

Did anyone else notice that this picture is of a greyhound, albeit with a terrible under bite, one of the most gentle and non-aggressive breeds in the canine realm?  It might be a picture of a whippet if the hand in the picture is that if a terribly vertically challenged individual, but the same comment would apply.

How do you top the comedy from these people?  There must be about a billion pictures of a snarling pit bull in the public domain and this is what they come up with.  How are we losing elections to these nuts?

The liberals never get it.

The liberals never get it. It's not a communication failure; it's that the American people do not want be put in chains! Everything they push has government control at the core. When they open their mouths, the sick aroma of rotting meat tumbles out, drenching every word in its charnal decay.  

-----
Random-jumbled-thoughts.blogspot.com

They already have media outlets who attack Conservatives

Burying Don Imus, Anatomy of a Scapegoat by Michael Awkward an African American Imus Fan.

You all have been reading where they are trying to blame the census
takers death in Clay Co.,Ky., on Fox News Pundits and Tea Party and
Town Hall Protesters. There strategy isn’t new Media Matters for
America was monitoring Imus for 2 years to get something they could
target him with to destroy his career. But that’s not exactly news, and
Glenn Beck a frequent guest on Imus in the Morning, is well aware of
what they will try and do to him.

Attack Dogs

We are all members of vast right wing conspircy, don'tcha know. So the Dems want us to believe. I think that they used that old dead fish back in the Clintoon days. That is when the other Dear Leader was caught with his hands in a pair of panties.

Hmm . . . Let's see . . .

Before the joint session of Congress and broadcast over national TV, President Obama call out opponents charges against health care reform as "lies, pure and simple."

Isn't that attacking his opponents? 

The fact is that the more the public becomes familiar with the so-called health care reform bill(s), the less they like them, and no matter how frequently makes public appeals to them, he can't articulate how much it will cost nor how he will possible make it work.  On top of that, the Senators and Representatives who, armed with nothing more than vague talking points, went home to angry town hall meetings and got their heads handed to them, exacerbateing the distrust rather than dispelled it. 

The WaPo is frustrated that the guy they hailed as a new kind of leader, has turned out to me no leader at all.  They didn't expect his Administration to lose so much steam so early.  Despite the MSM's praise of his communication skills, Obama hasn't been able to convince the majority of Americans that even he understands the bills beyond a handful of talking points.  Even his anecdotal evidence is false. 

 

 

It's bad when Robert Rubin

It's bad when Robert Rubin is calling BS.

What about their liberal

 
What about their liberal talk show hosts?  Keith Olbermann? Chris Matthews?  How about those activist reporters for CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, and ABC?  What about the bloggers and those youtubers?  

 Those in Hollywood work overtime to counter the right but they fail.  They just don't have one or two attack dogs.  They have several packs.

 Anyhow, what do you think Michael Moore's new documentary is all about.  He was sicced on the right.

Where is Al Franken?  Didn't ACORN help him steal an election so he could be their attack dog in the senate?  Isn't he the "witty" comedian? 

 

 

 

 

Only The Truth Has Real Teeth

Chris Cillizza's problem is not recognizing that the "attack dog" hasn't worked. That's because the attack dog is going after the truth; defending lies. It's all clear cut, no room for left wing pettifoggery. Night-night, attack dog.

The already have a Dolbermann..

Sigh!

Steele pounds Obama!

"Obama, himself, hasn't been -- and shouldn't be -- the party's attack dog."

He hasn't been what?  So, when he accused his opponents of "spreading lies" about health care reform, that was meant as a compliment?  No, it was meant as an attack.  Don't play us for fools.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court

I may be wrong but

That picture looks a little like Hillary after being awaken at 3 am by the secret service hauling Billy home.... Just sayin! 

"The bureaucracy is growing to meet the needs of the growing bureaucracy"

 

It's His Fault!

To point out the obvious, Presidents' attack dogs are generally their Vice-Presidents. The Bamster chose Joe Biden knowing full well his many shortcomings. Joe cannot be trusted anywhere near a hot mike, or to stay on the teleprompter, and that's a problem that the Bamster is 100% responsible for; not 'Bush's fault' in this case.

Yeah, cuz the Left doesn't HAVE any media presence...

Of course - the left and the Dems 'need' an attack dog - someone who can use the media and just stick it to the Right and to conservatives.

Because, ya know - they don't HAVE any media on their 'side' now.  NBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, NY Times, LA Times, Newsweek, USA Today, Time, Daily Kos, Huffington Post, Moveon.org...

None of these guys ever do anything to help Obama and the left, and they never do anything to slime, sleaze or insult Right wing media either.

The poor, poor Democrats and Liberals.  Isn't ANYONE on their side.....?

They already have a lot of

They already have a lot of dogs in the Democratic Party...and I ain't talking about the blue ones.

One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.

From the looks of that picture...

 Looks like Pelosi's gonna want a refund on that last Botox job she got. 

"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress."

-John Adams