President Obama:
"We’ve got to stop blocking emergency relief for Americans who are out of work."
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'm not falling over myself erupting in joy at President Obama's latest address where he goes ever so softly on the offensive against the Epublicansray (wink wink) blocking extension of unemployment benefits. Call me old fashion, but when one goes on the offensive and calls out one's opponents, I have this silly belief that one should at the very least name their political party. Because, with all due respect Mr. President, "we" are not blocking emergency relief for Americans who are out of work. Republicans are.
Below the fold, let's take a look at President Obama's nameless attacks - that will be lost on the majority of Americans not attuned to politics as either party base is - and compare them to Rep. Grayson's attacks on the same issue.
So let's start with the one time in his whole address that President Obama actually uses the word "Republican" (emphasis mine):
And for a long time, there’s been a tradition –- under both Democratic and Republican Presidents –- to offer relief to the unemployed. That was certainly the case under my predecessor, when Republican senators voted several times to extend emergency unemployment benefits.
The only time in the whole speech - twice - the word "Republican" is used is is when it is tied to.... extending emergency unemployment benefits! Obama's defined the problem by highlighting that Republicans have solved this in the past! Aren't Republicans swell?
Why can't the Democrats pass the extension now? President Obama sharpens the attack on the nameless:
Over the past few weeks, a majority of senators have tried -– not once, not twice, but three times –- to extend emergency relief on a temporary basis. Each time, a partisan minority in the Senate has used parliamentary maneuvers to block a vote, denying millions of people who are out of work much-needed relief. These leaders in the Senate who are advancing a misguided notion that emergency relief somehow discourages people from looking for a job should talk to these folks.
Oh no's - a majority of senators tried, but a partisan minority bla bla bla... Are you kidding me? "Parliamentary maneuvers"? Hello, Wonkville? - your mayor is missing. "Leaders in the Senate"? Seriously? Isn't Harry Reid - a Democrat - a leader in the Senate?
Last I checked, Democrats proposed extending benefits and Republicans blocked passage. Is it really this hard to say? I guess not, if you're Rep. Alan Grayson. Look at how Grayson introduces the problem:
And that, my friends, is the America that the Republicans are trying to revive: the America of desperate straits and, for them, cheap labor. The America where people have nothing, hope for nothing, and are desperate to live to the next day. That is what the Republicans are trying to resurrect by blocking unemployment insurance day after day, week after week, and now month after month.
Grayson uses the word "Republican" directly linking it to the real problem - Republican obstruction. No average American can miss the connection. They may disagree, but there is no ambiguity, and there is certainly no linking of Republicans to passing this in the past.
Back to President Obama who let's us know what "we" have to do:
Now, tomorrow we will have another chance to offer them that relief, to do right by not just Jim and Leslie and Denise, but all the Americans who need a helping hand right now -- and I hope we seize it. It’s time to stop holding workers laid off in this recession hostage to Washington politics. It’s time to do what’s right -- not for the next election but for the middle class. We’ve got to stop blocking emergency relief for Americans who are out of work. We’ve got to extend unemployment insurance. We need to pass those tax cuts for small businesses and the lending for small businesses.
"We" have to do this? Um, last I checked, "we" - meaning Democrats - are doing this! Republicans are blocking this. Republicans have to do this, Democrats already are! Democrats are doing right by Jim and Leslie and Denise. Republicans are holding workers laid off in this recession hostage to Washington politics. Democrats are doing the right thing. Republicans are blocking emergency relief for Americans out of work. Democrats are extending unemployment insurance. Democrats are passing those tax cuts for small businesses.
Compare this to Grayson's linking of Republicans directly in a way average Americans can relate to:
I've got news for my Republican friends. Every single person who's going to receive unemployment insurance under this bill is unemployed. Every single one of them doesn't have a job. And that's why they need this money.
Grayson doesn't hide the fact that Republicans are denying benefits to people who desperately need the money because they're out of work behind wonk-words like "parliamentary maneuvers" or "leaders in the Senate". No, he links the problem to Republicans. No brand misidentification is possible.
So what do "we" have to do? Grayson tells us what Republicans are thinking ordinary people should do:
Now I know what the Republicans are thinking. They're thinking "Why don't they just sell some stock? If they're in really dire straits, maybe they can take some of their art collection and send it off to the auctioneer. And if they're in deep, deep trouble, maybe these unemployed can sell one of their yachts." That's what the Republicans are thinking right now.
Grayson: Republicans = out of touch. Why are Republicans wrong on this issue:
That's why we need this bill to pass. Because of the ninety-nine percent of America that deals with reality every day. The people who will lose their home if this bill doesn't pass. The people who will be living in their cars if this doesn't pass. That's why we need this to pass.
Republicans stand for something that will lead to Americans losing their homes. Still don't get it, average American? Let Mr. Grayson make it plain to you:
And I will say this to the Republicans who have blocked this bill now for months and kept foods out of the months of children. I will say to them now: May God have mercy on your souls.
Benefits = food for children. Republicans = denying benefits. Republicans = the one's responsible. Republicans = morally bankrupt. There is no doubt in Mr. Grayson's speech understanding where the root cause of the problem lies. Republicans.
Compare that to President Obama's summation:
Times are hard right now. We are moving in the right direction. I know it’s getting close to an election, but there are times where you put elections aside. This is one of those times. And that’s what I hope members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will do tomorrow.
What do average Americans have to do?
Obama: Put elections aside and both sides pass the benefits extension.
Grayson: Stop electing Republicans.
Where Obama chides both sides, Grayson lays the blame at the feet of those responsible: Republicans. Where Obama promotes the need for "both sides" to do this (seriously? Democrats aren't?) Grayson lays the blame where the blame is due: with the Republicans.
Now I understand President Obama can't be as strident as Rep. Grayson. But it's just not that hard to be clear in one's message as Rep. Grayson illustrates. If we want to get people to understand that this next election is a choice between moving forward or moving backward, we have to start to work on the brand identity of the Republican party. The primary way to do this is use the word "Republican" when attacking them, and tying this to direct consequences for average Americans. President Obama IMO is failing at this. Grayson is not.