In an effort to deflect attention away from one of the most unpopular Presidents in American history,
GOP attack puppy Ken Mehlman today will claim that the Democrats lack an agenda and a slogan. Mehlman's speech will also cite "a list of achievements in the war on terror." It is expected to be a very, very short speech.
It's no surprise that the Republican party is obsessed with slogans. There's no doubt that the GOP is great at churning out catch-phrase and soundbites. For example, here are some Republican slogans:
- "The world changed on September the 11th."
- "We fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here."
- "Freedom is on the march."
- "Up or down vote, up or down vote, up or down vote (deep breath...) up or down vote, up or down vote, up or down vote."
I'll be the first to admit, the GOP is one lean, mean, marketing machine. But like the soft drink OK Soda that had spiffy packaging but tasted like liquified crap, beneath the marketing, the GOP is a party devoid of any substance. Besides stripping every American citizen of her rights, can anyone recite the Republican agenda? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
More below...
Let me give it a try. One of top
"issues" on the GOP's webpage is Social Security. After spending millions of dollars trying to sell an idea that was dead on arrival, I can understand why the GOP remains haunted by the ghost of propaganda past. But this is symbolic of the larger Republican "agenda"--the GOP offers nothing but flashy marketing campaigns filled with stale and tired "ideas" which have never been effectuated by Republican leadership. For example, the Republican "ideas" for
legal reform are the same ones they've been proposing since
1994, in their
Contract With America. On the national security front, the GOP advocates nothing more than "staying the course." It sure sounds defiant, but the idea is long-deflated by the reality on the ground. Year after year after year, Republicans have been advocating the
same failed policies, wrapped in new packaging in order to project the lie that the GOP is the "party of ideas." Yet as has been proven by this Republican President and his Congress, this is a party that starts--and stops--at slogans. It's the party of spin, not implementation. It's the party of over-the-top rhetoric, but one incapable of dealing with the simplest of realities. Simply put, the GOP ineffective when it comes to effectuating its boilerplate promises to the American people.
This is a party which believes saying a slogan loud enough and often enough is a substitute for actual performance once in office. Yet once elected, the slogans fade away as the real agenda of the GOP takes hold: cultivating, maintaining, and abusing power. So, Mr. Mehlman can continue his PR campaign of peddling empty slogans and attacking the Democrats for holding the GOP accountable to them. Instead of obsessing over superficial slogans, the Democratic Party is focused on restoring the rights of the American people and breathing life into the American dream, for those principles are more eternal than any fleeting slogan.