Cross-posted at To Move a Nation
President Obama has invited the Republicans over to the White House for a health care summit. This comes after a.) the president has rightfully been criticized for not keeping his promise regarding televising the health care proceedings, and b.) his laying down of the law on House Republicans at their retreat a few weeks ago.
Well, of course, Republicans will attend because they don't want to appear obstructionist. However, methinks that some conservative bloggers smell a trap. Of course, they will never admit it.
See Michelle Malkin's post today (no, not the one where she somehow encourages her readers to honor the memory of Rep. Murtha while at the same time taking pot-shots at him over his comments regarding the Haditha incident). I'm talking about the one where she gets hyped up over Obama's use of stagecraft (or "Kabuki theatre," as she calls it) and then uses that as an excuse for the Republicans not to attend the health care summit:
Republicans should feel zero obligation to participate in yet another White House health care dog-and-pony show:
Just say no.
If Obama really wants to learn about GOP health care reform plans, he can look them up online, where they have been for months.
...Obama has enough human stage props to feed his ego and advance his agenda.
Republicans should not be a party to it.
You see, Mrs. Malkin believes that Republicans should boycott the summit out of principle, because Republicans should never support the use of stagecraft. Oh wait...
NYT: Keepers of Bush Image Lift Stagecraft to New Heights [May 16, 2003]
Officials of past Democratic and Republican administrations marvel at how the White House does not seem to miss an opportunity to showcase Mr. Bush in dramatic and perfectly lighted settings. It is all by design: the White House has stocked its communications operation with people from network television who have expertise in lighting, camera angles and the importance of backdrops.
On Tuesday, at a speech promoting his economic plan in Indianapolis, White House aides went so far as to ask people in the crowd behind Mr. Bush to take off their ties, WISH-TV in Indianapolis reported, so they would look more like the ordinary folk the president said would benefit from his tax cut.
"They understand the visual as well as anybody ever has," said Michael K. Deaver, Ronald Reagan's chief image maker. "They watched what we did, they watched the mistakes of Bush I, they watched how Clinton kind of stumbled into it, and they've taken it to an art form."
But Michelle Malkin is right, dammit. I mean, come on. Obama's so over the top that he might as well appear on top of an aircraft carrier in a flight suit with an ironic, patriotic banner hanging in the background.... oh... wait... that's right. That's already been done. But I just can't seem to remember which party that president belonged to.
Anyway... Obama is just so egotistical, that he might as well just give a speech at Mount Rushmore and strategically sequester photographers in an area where they are practically forced to get a shot of his profile aligning with the stone visages of his predecessors. Oh wait...
Malkin has been screaming about "Kabuki theatre" for months, and criticized Obama town hall events as staged and filled with plants. Of course she never criticized Bush for his "carefully choreographed" rallies:
The Bush campaign carefully limited admission to such events, including "town hall" meetings where Bush answered questions from the audience. Tickets were required for all events, and they were limited to the party faithful. Priority was given to those who had actually worked for the campaign (whether it be volunteering at a phone bank or just putting up a Bush sign in their lawn), and at some rallies those admitted had to sign an affidavit that they supported the president in order to get in." [Pika and Maltese, pg 410, The Politics of the Presidency, 6th ed]
Maybe Mrs. Malkin should own up to the fact that she doesn't want the GOP to get laughed at again. We know that the president can hold his own in front of over a hundred Republicans on their own turf. Just imagine how ridiculous they could be made to look when they are guests at the White House.
They can complain about stagecraft all they want, but at the end of the day this comes down to the issue of ideas. The Republicans have a complete paucity of them. In fact, they only have one: do nothing. Oh sure, they talk about tort reform and tax credits, and buying insurance across state lines. However, we know that if they were in power they would enact none of those proposals because in reality, they prefer status quo. In a majority of instances, that is all that conservatism is. Defense of the status quo.
I wouldn't wait around for conservatives to acknowledge this.