Washblog

Look, I'm sure Patty Murray really cares about veterans. But it is no reductio ad Hitlerum to point out that a political appeal to sympathy for veterans is - potentially - one of the lowest, most insidious - and most effective - political tactics out there. In recent decades, a greater percentage of African-Americans have served our country than constitute our population but let's face it, the politics of veterans issues is not about appealing to African-American voters. It's about appealing to relatively conservative, male, nationalistic, white voters. I'm sure that Harvey Brooks of the United States Air Force is a great American who served us all with distinction. He's also black. If you're doing the politics of veterans' affairs, go ahead and do it. BTW, her other veterans' affairs slide features white men and three VA hospitals in conservative districts, so I'm not whislin' Dixie here.

Her #2 slide is about "Jobs" and, of course features reference to tax cuts more than any other item. It also makes deficit reduction central to the message. Huh? Where's President Obama? Where's a second stimulus? Where are the ravages of Wall Street and BP? What is the economic message here?

Okay, I was unfair about her education slide. Patty Murray is not for firing teachers, but Bill Gates is.  How does Patty Murray plan to stand with teachers in the face of the "Education Reform" (a/k/a "teacher-blaming and teacher-firing") maelstrom? Or does she? If she does, why does she? If she's on a side and it's the right side to be on, why hide it under a bunch of acronyms?

Finally, the Public Option? Really Senator Murray? You're swinging to the Right, remember? This little "Left Hook" is too cute by half. Aren't we a little past this "Public Option" talk by now? Isn't that horse already out of the barn, down the road and lying in a ditch somewhere? What the heck's the point of bringing up the Public Option, other than to antagonize the Republican voters your first slides were meant to appeal to?

Senator Murray, other than getting elected, what are you trying to accomplish? What's the thread here? What's the narrative?

Patty Murray and tennis shoes? Yeah, the Republicans have crapped all over that one.

Don't you have another, bigger, more-important narrative that you'd like to share with the voters?

What am I supposed to help you say?

"Dino Rossi is a weasel"? - Okay, I said it. Why haven't you?

"Clint Didier is a Tea Party nutcase?" Okay, I said that too.

Okay, now what?