Alright, the jig is apparently up. Previous attempts to buffoonarize Rush Limbaugh were done with disingenuous (though hilarious)"compliments", "shock" and "outrage" from third parties, or "disappointment." Now, our own version of Karl Rove (minus the flop-sweat and general evilness) weighs in.
Mr. Plouffe:
The 2008 election sent many messages. At the top: Americans wanted to turn the page on the politics of division and partisan pettiness, and they wanted a government -- and country -- that would put the middle class first.
Watching the Republicans operate this past month, it would appear that they missed that unmistakable signal.
Instead, Rush Limbaugh has become their leader.
Notice how it pains Mr. Plouffe to say this. It is really heartbreaking. Really.
When Limbaugh reiterated the sentiment this weekend, hundreds of Republican conservatives cheered him on. But instead of rebuking the radio personality or charting their own course, Republican leaders in Washington are paralyzed with fear of crossing their leader. Less than 24 hours after committing the unforgivable sin of criticizing Limbaugh, RNC Chairman Michael Steele felt compelled to publicly apologize. He was not the first and will certainly not be the last.
Mr. Plouffe certainly knows how to twist the knife. Ouch. Thems seems like fighting words to me. Of course, the GOP will have to stop fighting with themselves first.
The source of Obama's advantage is critical: independent voters, who give the president high marks on his handling of the economy and his job overall.
Obama won these voters, who famously recoil from what they see as overly partisan and shortsighted politics, by eight points in 2008 -- a dramatic improvement for the Democrats from 2004, when George Bush and John Kerry tied.
There are other groups of voters worth watching. Among those with a history of voting in presidential elections, Obama and Sen. John McCain essentially ran even. Obama won first-time voters by a convincing 39 points -- owing largely to a combination of younger voters, Hispanic voters and disaffected voters.
The sentiment seems alive and well today. Seventy-three percent of all voters, The Post found, believe that the president is trying to cooperate with Republicans. Only 36 percent believe the same to be true of the GOP.
This is where it gets truly delicious. This is exactly the kind of thing that Rove would do, except he would use THE MATH, which appeared to consist of a magic eight ball towards the end of his career. Plouffe systematically lays out his case for why the GOP is on the path to utter Fail. Their minority outreach is pathetic; their youth outreach seems to consist of ridiculous "hip-hop" artists.
Now, I'm sure that Plouffe's op/ed will get "Boss" Limbaugh and the GOP up in a tizzy. So I'm preemptively calling for Mr. Plouffe to apologize. To that end, I would suggest using the handy new DCCC apology widget. Makes apologies a snap!
Update: CNN just reported on the apology website. Looks like the roll-out is planned for Wednesday morning on that score. Stay tuned!
Return of Update: A little front page action on Rush and GOP woes.