Steele Attacks Obama's 'Bitter' Gaffe, One Year Later
Michael Steele seems to be reaching into the mothballs for an attack line against Barack Obama -- he's dredging up Obama's gaffe from the Spring of 2008 about people in small towns being "bitter" at their economic fortunes.
The Washington Times reports that Steele has sent an RNC mailer attacking Obama for saying in Europe that U.S. foreign policy had shown "an absence of wisdom," then linking this back to how Obama "indicated disdain for small town and working Americans who 'cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them.'"
The problem here, as Greg Sargent points out, is that the "bitter" comments were almost exactly a year ago. Furthermore, I should also add that although Obama lost the Pennsylvania primary -- which probably would have happened even without the gaffe -- six months later he not only won the presidential election, but took Pennsylvania by a 55%-44% landslide against John McCain.
To put it simply: This dog don't hunt.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
This guy has a screw loose.
hard not to like him, really.
April 14, 2009 10:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
He so reminds me of the guy that did the "Humpty Hump" song. Adorable.
April 14, 2009 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's it! I'd been wondering who it is he reminds me of. . . keep it coming, baby!
April 14, 2009 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's because it doesn't have legs.
April 14, 2009 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well it worked so well for them in November ...
April 14, 2009 10:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
You bring up a better point than you know. The R's seem to have taken their eyes off their actual GOAL.
When the Dems were first learning (after how many years?) that they needed to respond to Republican attacks, the R's would say things like the "bitter" remark and they'd whip out Rev. Wright and they'd challenge Michelle's patriotism, etc... and the GOAL was to turn popular sentiment against the upstart.
Thing is, you can't do that anymore, with a guy who has positives in the 60's and climbing. But they keep trying.
It's almost as if Karl Rove is off working for someone else.
I can only surmise that each of these little Obama "mini-scandals" they're constantly attempting to promote (is it Tuesday? What's today's?) are not so much meant for public consumption, as they are to "work the refs"; to set the frame for each week's media coverage of Obama.
With our incomepetent and corrupt mainstream media, I could see where it would actually be effective, that, e.g., the MSM is blaring forth about "socialism", while the actual public thinks it's not a bad idea. This would explain why they're promoting these memes that are getting zero toehold with anyone but the hardcore right.
However, if they really are meant to sway general public opinion... these guys have lost the premise.
April 14, 2009 11:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, it's an open question if this is a brilliant gambit that is continuing to sway the spineless MSM, or the GOP is headscratchingly inept, attempting to create memes about "scandals" that don't convince anyone anymore. Sort of stuck in the 1990s, where that crap worked (but backfired in 1998).
Or perhaps a shotgun, try-anything tactic out of sheer desperation.
April 14, 2009 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
It seems to me that the GOP has given up on the mainstream and is concentrating on radicalizing their base and merging it with the Ron Paul and Alex Jones youth. Whether this is a long term strategy to set up a base for the next time an opportunity arises to win back popular support for the right or an buildup to armed revolt, only time will tell.
April 16, 2009 9:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the tea party crowd isn't bitter at all? They surely aren't clinging to their guns?
Reality can be so cruel for some.
April 14, 2009 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why is speaking the truth called a gaffe. What Obama says is absolutely true. When times get tough, people DO cling to guns and religion. When times are good, people don't give a rats ass about morality and they don't worry about shooting up those (the evil government) to take what little they have.
April 14, 2009 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
And if they were bitter a year ago, think of how they feel now.
April 14, 2009 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael Kinsley's famous quip about a gaffe is that it's when a politician inadvertently tells the truth. Whether it's a gaffe is generally decided by whether it's embarrassing, not whether it's true or false.
April 14, 2009 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why is this a gaffe? Why is telling the truth about rural, conservative folk a mistake or blunder?
April 14, 2009 10:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dunno, maybe Steele is, ah, bitter about the fact that both gun sales and church/church function attendance has gone up.
April 14, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Paraphrased Michael Steele:
"But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we have any idea what the hell we're talking about when there's not evidence of that in the words coming out of our mouths. You go into these small blogs on the internet, and like a lot of small blogs out there, the Republicans have been discredited for years and nothing's replaced them...And it's not surprising, then, they get hopeful, they cling to good coffee or science or antipathy to people who are racist or anti-capitalist sentiment or anti-drug raid sentiment as a way to point to the future."
April 14, 2009 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
People aren't bitter about the economy. Look at how packed the mall was that Mike went to.
In Mike's world, it's all happy, shiny people buying stuff.
April 14, 2009 11:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just wait until Steele hears about Obama's Pastor...
April 14, 2009 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do find it fun and funny that the GOP diehards/deadenders are literally clinging to their guns more than ever. Perhaps a little bit or something. I think some folks owe Mr. Obama an apology. Ha!
April 14, 2009 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's hope Obama next gaffe doesn't involve a line about bitter people "living off the grid, with stock piles of food, fuel and ammo", because everything he's said thus far has come true.
April 14, 2009 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steele is just celebrating the anniversary of the GOP's greatest moment.
April 14, 2009 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
And beyond the year-old gaffe, Steele also dredged up "blame America first," which is positively ancient (and when did it ever work?) But I guess he's doing a good job of continuing their strategy to appeal to their hard core base and no one else...
More Steele fun:
Right. Because the GOP method of making peace by bombing has been so effective.
BTW, the comments on the WashTimes story are pretty amusing -- they seem to be less knee-jerk than the commenters at Politico. There's a smattering of wingnut commenters, with the bulk divided between anti-GOP and pro-GOP but anti-Steele. Interesting.
April 14, 2009 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steele is an incompetent dolt. Steele continues to sell an awful product that no one wants to buy. This meme didn’t work last year and only a true moron would try to use it again. Keep preaching to the choir, you will go far.
April 14, 2009 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steele is simply showing the true problem with the Republican Party - The party lives in the past.
As a party, they never come up with anything new. It is always the same old stale talking points. And like a piece of bread that has become stale, the only thing that is left after a while is crumbs.
April 14, 2009 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think we all know who is "bitter" here.
And who could be more of an expert on small town white Americans than Mr. Steele? I think it's great that Steele and Limpbaugh are getting so much publicity when they make these unfounded, stupid comments.
April 15, 2009 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael 'Tom Shelby' Steele needs to wake up; the man doesn't (or does he!) realise he's been sent outside to clean Mr Haley's wagon. Latest since the tea-bag demonstrations he should understand what the protests were really about: it wasn't about taxes, it was about anger and contempt against a man for not resembling the other Presidents. Steele 'the pawn' needs a piece of Aunt Chloe's corn cake and a reminder of the speech given to Miss Ophelia by her nephew St.Claire, the maybe he'll become aware of his contribution in fomenting a cause that if not kept in check will end with the 'physical demise' of the opposing King.
April 17, 2009 6:54 AM | Reply | Permalink