I'm so gob-smacked tonight, I can hardly write this. I'm so frustrated and angry. I shouldn't be surprised, yet somehow, I am.
I've come to realize that all our assurances to each other that Romney can't walk it back to the center, are not really what it's going to end up being about. Silly us.
It's going to be about Romney's lies. Which we have no reason to believe he won't continue to get away with, with impunity. It's going to be about being as slippery as a dead fish. And most important of all, it's going to be about the republican's atomic weapon---their ability to project upon us, just what they are guilty of. They do it with no shame, and they do it with no fear they'll be called on it.
Follow me bellow the squiggle, and again, please talk me down.
What set off my need to write a diary about this, RIGHT NOW, was watching a clip of Romney tonight, telling us how "Obama won't tell us what he really intends for us after the election." About how "Obama has hidden his agenda." About how he, Romney, would never do that.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?! This is the guy who said we wouldn't know what he'd do about the budget till we elected him. You see how easily he turns his own weakness into an attack? He simply takes the critique of himself and directs it at Obama, with no evidence, no examples, and no push back.
Here's another example. Today Mitt told the AIP, same folks Obama talked to yesterday, that Obama would "end medicare as we know it." Again, he simply takes the critique of his party's policies, and redirects it to the Democrats. Unlike Obama's speech, he offers no facts, no substance, no back up to his statement. Just platitude after platitude.
And, a week or so ago, I remember hearing Romney talk about the Democratic war on women, although frankly, I can't remember the context or place. But I do remember thinking, huh? And I do remember it as the first time I thought I'm all wrong to apply logic and reason to why I think Romney won't be able to overcome his primary.
But tonight, I realize, that Romney has NO INTENTION of backing off to the center. That would presume the need to be specific about HIS policies, and to commit himself to yet another path.
No sir. What Romney intends to do is to project every critique of himself unto the democrats and Obama. What Romney intends to do is what he has done throughout this primary. Which is to make his platform ONLY about how wrong the democrats have it, and here's what's new---to make every just criticism the Democrats have of him, about the Democrats.
We talk about the republican war on women, he talks about the Democratic war on women. We talk about how the GOP wants to end Medicare as we know it, he talks about how the Democrats want to end Medicare as we know it. We say, hey Romney, get specific, and he says, Obama is never specific and continues to hide his agenda.
Mitt Romney has NOTHING. But he does know how to project and turn it around a la Karl Rove. My point here is that we democrats have possibly underestimated just how craven this candidate can and will be.
We're expecting him to try to tack back to the center, and licking our lips at all our video clips than can prove him a liar. But what's beginning to occur to me, is that Romney isn't going to spend much time tacking back to the center---he's going to spend ALL HIS TIME simply projecting our critiques of him back at us. It's the Democrat's war on women, it's the Democrat's war on Medicare, it's the Democrat's war on transparency, etc, and puke.
When you think about it, it's his best bet. My word against theirs. No need for me to tack back to center, or clarify my own ideas. None at all. Because after all, I've already seen I can lie with impunity with no push back except for MSNBC, and hardy har har, who cares about them?
Mitt Romney WILL NOT tack back to center. He'll never get that specific. He is going to run a campaign that simply apes back at us, our critique of him He is going to embrace the power of projection with everything he has, because it's all he has.
And this is going to be a lot harder to run against than a guy who tries to tack back to the center. For all the fun of the clown car primary, that's over. And we fool ourselves if we don't get savvy, real fast, at how many ways there are to shake up the Etch a sketch and sound like something Americans can consider.
Yes. I felt severe chills tonight when I heard Mitt tell the AIP that Obama would end Medicare as we know it. And I felt severe chills when I heard Mitt say that it was Obama who would give no clue as to what he would do in his second term.
Someone, either talk me down, or join me in my fear, and our need to understand the general is not going to come down like we hoped it would. And that we better be prepared that sometimes we don't even know what our worse nightmare is.