April 23, 2012--Rove's Genius
During the presidential election campaigns of 2000 and 2004, and the off-cycle ones between, Karl Rove preached the gospel of "It's-the-social-issues-stupid."
While the Democrats were saying "It's-the-economy-stupid," Rove was famous for getting individual states to place referenda on their ballots that focused on issues such as gay marriage.
For two reasons--he knew it would motivate the GOP base--folks would be so eager to vote against anything having to do with gayness that they would come out to vote and while rejecting gay marriage they would also vote for George W. Bush and other Republicans up and down the ticket.
And, second, he knew that if gullible conservatives got all focused on their fear of homosexuality and opposition to abortion they would not notice the economic policies GOP leaders and legislators were promulgating that were actually harmful to middle-class people--things such as tax loopholes and deductions for high earners.
As we know, this strategy worked--Bush was elected twice and so were a host of conservatives. This time, however, things may turn out to be different. Now GOP pundits want voters to concentrate on the economy, feeling it is Obama's and the Democrats' Achilles heal.
But there are so many social-issues initiatives on state and local ballots that Rove and his minions are worried that Independent voters will be so turned off by them that they will come out to vote them down and while at the polls vote for Obama and other Democrats.
In Tennessee there is voter concern about a state law that protects teachers who want to question evolutionary theory; Arizona moved to ban all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy; Mississippi passed a law that will close the only remaining place where a women can obtain an abortion; Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin (who may no longer be in office come November) signed a law allowing teachers to teach about abstinence rather than contraception; and then of course there is the trans-vaginal scan debate in Virginia.
I could go on.
The point, though, is that there are incendiary non-economic issues on the ballots and/or voted into law in numerous states around the country--including many swing states--and GOP strategists are worried that there will be a backlash against them and that their candidates, including Mitt Romney, will suffer.
Wouldn't that be ironic--Democrats benefitting from Karl Rove's political brainchild.
While the Democrats were saying "It's-the-economy-stupid," Rove was famous for getting individual states to place referenda on their ballots that focused on issues such as gay marriage.
For two reasons--he knew it would motivate the GOP base--folks would be so eager to vote against anything having to do with gayness that they would come out to vote and while rejecting gay marriage they would also vote for George W. Bush and other Republicans up and down the ticket.
And, second, he knew that if gullible conservatives got all focused on their fear of homosexuality and opposition to abortion they would not notice the economic policies GOP leaders and legislators were promulgating that were actually harmful to middle-class people--things such as tax loopholes and deductions for high earners.
As we know, this strategy worked--Bush was elected twice and so were a host of conservatives. This time, however, things may turn out to be different. Now GOP pundits want voters to concentrate on the economy, feeling it is Obama's and the Democrats' Achilles heal.
But there are so many social-issues initiatives on state and local ballots that Rove and his minions are worried that Independent voters will be so turned off by them that they will come out to vote them down and while at the polls vote for Obama and other Democrats.
In Tennessee there is voter concern about a state law that protects teachers who want to question evolutionary theory; Arizona moved to ban all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy; Mississippi passed a law that will close the only remaining place where a women can obtain an abortion; Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin (who may no longer be in office come November) signed a law allowing teachers to teach about abstinence rather than contraception; and then of course there is the trans-vaginal scan debate in Virginia.
I could go on.
The point, though, is that there are incendiary non-economic issues on the ballots and/or voted into law in numerous states around the country--including many swing states--and GOP strategists are worried that there will be a backlash against them and that their candidates, including Mitt Romney, will suffer.
Wouldn't that be ironic--Democrats benefitting from Karl Rove's political brainchild.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:30 AM
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