Comments on: The Pat Healy Of American Politics

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:00:23 +0000

Pete, I agree. If you are a Republican wanting to reform an entitlement program, you have to be articulately specific, much more so than the standard for Democrats (who will get the benefit of the doubt in claiming they are the saviors and Republicans the destroyers). You also have to go on offense and start creating a narrative about the other side. But, no, I’ve seen no desire on Romney’s part to do this kind of work, even though Ryan would be as perfect as the GOP has to do it. Even though the campaign seems to see something it wrong and even is trying to adjust message, it still seems to be only slight extensions. His national debt ads just don’t seem to resonate because the national debt is such an abstract thing. And I don’t want the economic circumstances to arise that would make it concrete. Medicare and other entitlement issues are more concrete right now.

By: Pete Spiliakos

Pete Spiliakos — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 23:02:32 +0000

Adam, that is a pretty good ad and Rubio was very good at talking middle-class entitlements during the debates in his Senate race. It still needs to be clearer that Obama has proposed cutting Medicare through centralized rationing and not waiting to phase it in for those under 55.

I think Romney would be much better off if he focused a lot more on promoting a Ryan-Wyden-style Medicare plan and attacking Obama’s combination of Medicare cuts + IPAD. But there seems to be no bottom to Romney’s self-destructive cynicism.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:17:48 +0000

Pete, on a possibly brighter note in all this 47% mess, have you seen the new ad on Medicare featuring Rubio?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LygZzV9MWk

Not a long, sustained argument but at least taking the issue on again. I don’t think it is too late to make this a forefront topic again and do well with it. But as you have noted, the Romney campaign has shown little sign of doing more than occasional mentions of the issue.

By: djf

djf — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:21:06 +0000

I agree with the point that Romney really just wants to BE president – not to accomplish anything in particular as president – but this is not a defect unique to him. It is true of the vast majority of politicians, for whom the advancement of principles or policies is a consideration strictly secondary to the cause of their personal elevation. This characteristic of politicians is less of a problem for the Left as a movement than it is for the Right as a movement, because the Left seems to have a strong institutional and opinion-shaping wind at its back that causes the large majority of Democratic politicans to understand the advancement of the Leftist agenda to serve their personal intersts in the advancement of their careers. Republican politicians (other than those from safe states and districts) feel it in their interests to mouth conservative platitudes to conservative audiences, but, beyond that, conservative principles and policies are seen – probably correctly – as dangers to one’s own career.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:05:23 +0000

As far as I can tell, the Romney campaign really is just plain pitiful. Here is a recent Romney ad featuring a mother holding her baby. Here is an ad that is visually very similar, but that was made by some random person online over a year ago, and is eleventy billion times more powerful. None of us deserve to have Obama as president any more, but Mitt doesn't deserve to win. Good grief.

By: Peter Lawler

Peter Lawler — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:37:01 +0000

Sadly very true.