Saturday, November 19, 2005
Contemporary Democratic Party vs. Bill Clinton...
Interesting open discussion going on over at Josh Marshall's analyzing the politics of the GOP pushback on John Murtha and the inability of the opposition to respond in kind. Josh quotes one reader:
"I'll bet you a dollar that the Democratic response (if there is one) will be a) unorganized (from Biden through Dean), b) incoherent (or at least internally inconsistent), c) slow, d) measured, and e) cerebral. All the wrong things to do. What they need to do is show some blood and gore, use a couple of veterans, and ask the question -- is this worth it?"Now, which one of those "a-e" responses would one describe, say, Bill Clinton employing? Maybe "e", but only in a mild "added seasoning" way -- and none of the others. Take the word of one who was there during the '90s: That's one reason why Republicans hated him so much. He recognized that politics was a blood sport -- and he excelled at it. He took no prisoners. Ask Paul Tsongas, George H.W. Bush or Bob Dole.
It wasn't just charm or "third way" rhetoric that one him two elections, you know.
