My best friend called me the other day, out of the blue, and said "Hannity is driving me nuts! I had to turn him off."
The Captain concluded with this thought: "if I, if the choir is starting to tune it out, then how is the rest of the country responding?"
Smart man, my best friend.
I had already addressed how I feel Republicans need to get better at talking to the public--they need a better message, they need to learn how to talk, and they need to find better places and ways to deliver the message.
But there also has to be some recognition on our side that the same old schtick has probably maxed out its usefulness. Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, etc . . . are all very talented and very good at what they do. But they have become predictable.
And that predictability makes it very easy to tune them out. And when nobody's listening, well . . .
It is no longer enough to point out the follies and foibles of the Left and of the "professional journalist" class, and then mock them. The effectiveness of that approach has run its course. What needs to happen on the part of the "mouthpieces," is that they have to get smarter about their approach. And that's not just the mouthpieces, but the whole apparatus of Republican/Conservative public relations.
So let me propose a few ideas.
#1--Never let the Left or the "professional journalists" define the debate. Become very comfortable using the phrase "I don't accept your premise."
At it's most absurd, this is typified by the question "When did you stop beating your wife?" Republicans are asked that question on a nearly daily basis by the media, and we always seem so danged bumfuzzled by it. And it's only going to get worse in the next "hundred days." "Well, Senator McConnell, isn't it true that your position, the Republican opposition to President Obama's $2 trillion stimulus, would leave millions of children without food to eat? And the correct answer is :
"I'm sorry, George, but I don't accept your premise, and here's the reality of the situation . . . "
#2--Speak candidly, speak honestly, stop policking. Why--WHY!!--has there not been a prominent Republican in front of a microphone in the last two weeks saying "Of course Israel has a right to defend itself, and given the current state of things in the Gaza strip, we would like to see Israel push forward agressively to end the threat to their existence. And, frankly, the sooner the Israelis succeed in their mission, the sooner we can start getting good humanitarian aid into the encampments."
I am so damn tired of people mincing their words and dancing the ridiculous dance of political correctness because they're afraid of offending something or somebody. Hell, it could be said that John McCain lost the election when he--HE--took Reverend Wright off the table. If you can't question somebody's judgment because you're afraid of the race issue, then you might as well never try to talk about judgment. And if you can't talk about judgment, then you can't counter your opponent's only qualification. Check Mate.
The public respects candor--try using some.
#3--Know when you've said enough. You simply cannot continue to repeat the same thing over and over again and expect that that's what's going to make the difference. You're in the minority for a reason--state your point and then have the humility to sit down.
It begins soon. Republicans had better be willing to enter the game in a whole different way or 'minority' could rapidly turn into "irrelevant." | |
