If Obama won't define the Republicans, we must. Republicans got Thumped in 2008. They looked to be gonzo for a generation. But here they are back in two years and stronger than ever. Republicans took 30 years to build the Regan edifice of tax cuts, globalization, and market deregulation. Then, all gone in a flash in Sep 2008 when Lehman Bros collapsed. After Obama's victory tour, did Republicans moan and despair? No. In less than a month, they set their strategy and have not varied since.
Sen McConnell and Rep Boehner adopted a single concept - NO. They sang as one voice and rolled out relentless message and voting discipline.
We have to recognize the skill and tenacity of their comeback. I am sure their reversal has surprised them more than us. Who knew that a brilliant Obama campaign would be followed by a Copperhead administration with Obama himself playing the part of the disastrously ineffective General George B. McClellan.
Of course, to a great extent, the Republicans purchased their good fortune. Hat tip to Citizens United. Now they expect to own the whole show by Nov 2012. As Andy Kroll observes in Tom Dispatch, the Republicans are messaging their (financial) base. "Fear not, wealthy Americans, your money is safe. The policies that made you rich aren't going anywhere."
The Republican formula is very simple. Employ any means to their ends. Build lie upon lie, always attack, relentlessly repeat simple memes: The Stimulus killed jobs, Tax cuts create jobs. Republicans have no conscience, they are utterly irresponsible, they laugh at fair play. They are selfish and shameless in their worship of and prostration before finance capital and corporate money.
This innate character is also their Achilles heel, the chink in their armor, their Samson's uncut locks. Republican hubris (one of the seven sins) has set in. They no longer hide the pea under a shell: Government Of, By, and For the richest two percent. The Republicans are the "Big Money" party and the "Money Talks" party and voters will come to resent it. The voters' great awakening is long past due and we can help it arrive.
My children both had a well defined sense of justice by the time they were three. They knew what was fair and expressed it loudly. This is innate and strong. We need to use the Republicans own actions to define them simply as the Party of the Unfair Rich. This is not hard because they are doing it themselves. They are :
The Party of Wall Street Bonuses.
The Party of $700 Billion deficits for tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans.
The Party of secret corporate money.
The Party of no unemployment insurance for you.
The Party of "Don't give a damn about you".
We have a simple meme. Every filibuster, every vote spotlights the Party of unfair wealth. Now it is us who need to sing from the same song; repeat it relentlessly; and enforce the message discipline.
So far, the Republicans have not paid a price for serving the naked self interest of corporate money and the very rich. But as the voters wake up, and they will, we will be writing our own come back saga. Every journey begins with the first step.