« previous | TPM CAFÉ READER POSTS HOME | next »
Let's Stop Being Played by McCain/Palin. Declare Saturday, Sept. 13 McCain/Palin Blogging Blackout Day
Now I feel like a fool. Read this truly must-read post by Andrew Sullivan, wherein one of his readers makes the case that the Liberal Blogosphere has been duped by the McCain campaign.
How did Rove's proteges pull off this feat? How did he replace Thoughtful Liberal Bloggers with Pod People?
We have been focusing all our energy on replying to McCain's sleaze, Palin's lies, rebuting their arguments, defending ourselves, digging up dirt, we have totally turned the Liberal Blogosphere "McCain Central". We've forgotten Obama! We're not pushing Obama's message! We're reinforcing McCain's narratives! We're helping John Sidney McCain win!
It's not enough to "Drop SARAH PALIN like a BAD HABIT!!! WE are running the McCAIN/BUSH/ROVE playbook for them!!" only to start "digging up all the dirt we can find and verify on John Sidney McCain" -- despite O¿O's good intentions, that too is still giving up a focus on driving home Obama's Story, Why We Must Have Change, Why Only Obama/Biden Can Be Trusted to Deliver That Change, What Obama Is Doing and Why It Matters, and What Biden is Doing and Why It Matters.
Can we try a full day -- say, Saturday, Sept. 12 -- where nobody at the TPM Cafe blogs about McCain or Palin or feeds on any of their narratives and frames? Let's try turning the page.
I promise not to post anything to TPM Cafe tomorrow-- not even in the comments -- that will simply focus all of its attention on What McCain is Saying, What Palin is Saying, or Why They're Wrong. Just for a day, one day at a time.
Is anyone else up for this challenge?
And ... here's a clip from Sullivan's reader:
It also occurs to me that in a way McCain and Rove have actually simply taken over the liberal blogosphere in some way. They are being played.
Just a few examples---yesterday Obama gave a fantastic interview at the Service Forum. Did the liberal blogs even cover this? No.
He gave a great speech on the trail. Are his town halls even posted or excerpted? No.
The liberal bloggers have become McCain central. They make people click on his ads, make the world spin around him instead of focusing on our candidate and what he is trying to do. There is ZERO coverage of what Obama is actually doing every day talking tough on the issues. There is ZERO coverage of Biden (who is on the trail but the blogs don't seem to care or cover him unless he is doing what they think he should be doing. Sadly AFP did cover him this week and people seemed to be too busy saying he was not doing anything to include the link with his forceful comments against McCain. The one time the blogs linked to Biden---when the MSM tried to make a big deal out his answer to a question that made Hillary look bad and he defended her. That was it).
McCain and crew realized early this cycle that they did not have a visible internet presence. So what did they do? They took over the liberal presence, they are manipulating the leading liberal blogs , just as they manipulate the MSM. All to their own advantage. And the blogs have all fallen for this hook, line and sinker. Does no one realize this?
They are all being played.
And Obama, god bless him, he gets it. As does his team. while everyone whines he keeps at it every day with much much class and like a laser focused on the issues. The problem is not Obama, is that no one wants to follow his lead. Instead they are following McCain-Rove and they don't even know it.
Please recommend this post if you're willing to go a full day -- tomorrow -- without recycling McCain and Palin's talking points (except in the photographic negative version "But... But... But...")!
Comments (28)
Lovely post; thank you. Great idea.
September 12, 2008 9:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Amen to that. Rec'd. All I read on this site is McCain this and Palin that. Zilch about Obama or Biden!
September 12, 2008 9:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
By the way, the avatar above is from a screenshot of John McCain's interview on The View today. That's his reaction when he's asked point blank something like "Why are your ads lying about Obama?" His facial expression is PRICELESS.
September 12, 2008 9:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you can get John Nail to shut up for one day, you'll have won half the battle. He's pushing Palin stories on this site like free crack.
September 12, 2008 10:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least he appears to have dropped the aminocentesis stories (cross fingers). Perhaps finally saw the reality of attacking motherhood as not a resounding vote getter. Wasn't he also in on the Cindy McCain as drug addicted half-sister hating rich bitch train a few weeks back? (As if Obama doesn't have relative problemos....) The guy should start his own supermarket tabloid.
September 12, 2008 11:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is taught in some spiritual circles that 'the thought you do not support, you weaken.' Thus if we abstain from even mentioning them and stay with Barack Only stories, we strengthen his exposure both here. If this works out and many people take your advice, then we weaken the exposure they have, Granted, here is the choir, but even in the choir they can disappear, and hopefully the disappearance spread and pervades other areas of communications.
September 12, 2008 10:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sullivan is a Clinton hating fool.
September 12, 2008 10:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not sure what that has to do with the validity of the post. But thanks for your insight.
September 12, 2008 11:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
We can start posting diaries on what Obama is saying on the campaign trail. We can write post articles contrasting his positions with McCain'. We can write about why Joe Biden is more qualified than his counterpart. We can do that. Yes we can.
September 12, 2008 11:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good luck with getting the nutroots on board; I gave up when Ned Lamont lost with their wonderful help.
There's a whole lotta wannabe liberal versions of Karl Rove out there, think they can do it as part time job. Mostly generals in the activist blogosophere, too few troops.
It's not all hopeless. There's people here with the same sense, like Nate Biehl yesterday:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/09/democrats-are-embarrasing-1.php
and JTFaraday that I quote in that thread who brought up the Sullivan point the day before.
Nutroots always react defensively by saying--what's wrong with posting my opinion? Nothing, absolutely nothing. But that's not at all what a lot of them are doing, what they are doing is trying their hand at amateur political smearing, at affecting and manipulating and spreading rumors. Now that's one thing in the hands of someone running a campaign, but it's a real wild card done by a gazillion amateurs trying to "help." How can a candidate "stay on message" when he has no control over a bunch of folks who think they know him better than he knows himself and what should be done for him better than the professionals?
September 12, 2008 11:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've got an idea, let's don't. Let's don't take suggestions from the neocon Iraq-war promoter Sullivan and his fans. Let's don't buy into insane conspiracy theories that Karl Rove is behind my attempts to chronicle and expose every lie that John McCain says. Let's don't listen to someone who tells us to close our eyes, let our guard down, and pretend even for a split second that the McCain-Palin ticket, the worst one offered possibly in US history, does not even exist.
September 13, 2008 1:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not joining either. Just a way to try and stop the Tsunami of evidence against Lady mcReadiness-Not and her mcSham consort!
September 13, 2008 9:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not for a second taking my eye off the fight against Lady "mcReadiness-Not" and her consort McSham.
September 13, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
this is a suggestion born of desperation. I feel for the frustration. Better Obama learns to fight it directly: have an ad up with all of the Palin lies than pretend Palin doesn't exist.
September 13, 2008 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
this is a suggestion born of desperation. I understand the frustration from which it comes. But in my opinion we would be better off by far if Obama takes on Palin and her lies directly, trumpet them to the world again and again and link them to eight years of Bush lies. If you want to close your eyes and think it will go away, try it.
September 13, 2008 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
It will not be popular but I am of the philosophy that we need to transcend and include. We need both not either or.
Huffpost has researched that Sarah Palin herself hired the police chief that started charging rape victims for the rape kits. She was aware of the change. Knowing and understanding what Sarah Palin has really done is important.
But I do agree that we have not been elevating and putting he excellence of our candidates out there and I am all for that.
As I said, I am not up for an either or, but a transcend and include. I am fully on board to put forward more about Senator Obama and Senator Biden are doing and what we can look forward to with them in office. Hmmm... I really do wonder what america will look like with Obama and Biden in charge... there is certainly power in imagining that.
September 13, 2008 1:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
You've got my pledge, you won't hear a peep out of me.
September 13, 2008 1:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'd welcome a longer moratorium on posts about Palin, other than investigative reporting of new evidence against her. As much fun as it's been to see her tripped up and called out on just about everything she's said in the past few weeks, the focus on her has become a distraction.
September 13, 2008 1:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Joe,
AGREE!
The more we talk about Palin the more John McCain gets to duck the real issues.
Like I said HERE:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/09/drop-sarah-palin-like-a-bad-ha.php
We are running the McCain/Bush/Rove playbook and we really need to stop.
September 13, 2008 3:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's a great thought, but it's tough to convince people to quit being fascinated by bullshit. Just yesterday, a neighbor said, "What do you think of this whole Todd Palin thing?" I said, "What whole Todd Palin thing?" She said, "Apparently, Sarah was having an affair with Todd's business partner, and right around the time Todd found out, he and his partner had a big fight and broke up the business and blah, blah, blah, blah..." Democratic Underground--that's where she gets this garbage. There were explosive charges in the World Trade Center and Donald Rumsfeld ordered the missile strike that hit the Pentagon and Osama bin Laden is living in a secret bunker underneath the White House and evil monkeys from Mars are flying up peoples' butts and... It's just endless.
September 13, 2008 6:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
sounds like a democratic equivalent to Rush Limbaugh... we don't need that!
September 13, 2008 9:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
I personally think we tend to share the "Obama News" without ourselves via emailing links and use the boards to highlight the Lies... your point is valid and I need to look for links to add when I post on TMP... so in honor of this Post... here is a link Barack on the stump yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1VruSYu7c&eurl=http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog
Here you go...
"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not." James Gordon
September 13, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
I personally think we tend to share the "Obama News" without ourselves via emailing links and use the boards to highlight the Lies... your point is valid and I need to look for links to add when I post on TMP... so in honor of this Post... here is a link Barack on the stump yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1VruSYu7c&eurl=http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog
Here you go...
"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not." James Gordon
September 13, 2008 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
I personally think we tend to share the "Obama News" without ourselves via emailing links and use the boards to highlight the Lies... your point is valid and I need to look for links to add when I post on TMP... so in honor of this Post... here is a link Barack on the stump yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1VruSYu7c&eurl=http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog
Here you go...
"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not." James Gordon
September 13, 2008 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think Sullivan's analysis forgets one pretty crucial counterargument: the Obama campaign can afford to stay above it, as it were, only because someone else i.e. said bloggers are doing the tearing-down part. Not to mention that "all publicity is good publicity" is, shall we say, not accurate.
That said, Ripper posted about the effect of negativity yesterday, same topic I had posted about back in May.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/09/defend-your-joy.php
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/05/rebuilding-the-positivity.php
This insidious pod-people conspiracy is a bit far-fetched. OK, a lot. It is like Plan G from Alaska. I do think it would be fair to characterise McCain's efforts as a comprehensive push to cause voter apathy leading to turnout problems which favour McCain.
September 13, 2008 11:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah who??
September 13, 2008 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Biden got in the news this week when in Missouri he commanded "Stand up, Chuck" to a man in a wheelchair. Though the MSM didn't cover it too much, the video of the incident is a hit on YouTube.
Biden also got in the news when he admitted that Hillary would have been a better pick than him. That fueled the rumor mill that Biden is gonna be be forced to claim a false illness so Hillary can replace him -- Intrade shares that Biden will withdraw have been rising.
September 13, 2008 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
O dude! You're just caked up with clout.
LMAO!
September 13, 2008 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Post a Comment