Bless Their Hearts
Republican millionaires have a damn tough life.
It’s getting harder and harder for them to buy an election. This year they have ended up spending millions of dollars against each other, much to my delight, and then they have to compete against Donald Trump’s free media.
If Donald Trump was trying to spoil the effect of SuperPAC money, he’s doing a damn good job of it.
“Paid ads can’t overwhelm earned media. It never could,” said one official with a super-PAC backing a Republican presidential candidate who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record. “All of that stuff is a much louder microphone than anything we have, but in a very real sense the campaign is just starting now.”
And there’s this to consider …
Trump’s dominance in free media has made the paid attacks against him almost meaningless. His rivals watched as a $1 million-blitz against him from Club for Growth did little-to-no damage.
So, if you were a millionaire trying to buy an election, you’ve got more problems than granny with one hoe and fifteen snakes.
You didn’t think about that, did ya? Thank God for sparing you that heartbreak of wealth.
This is me…smiling! Thanks for the reminder of all that wasted money on idiots who will never be president.
1Go ahead. Break my heart. I’m ready for it.
2Jeb(?) and PACs have spent over $50 million and he’s still polling single digits. All that name recognition and money isn’t worth a bupkis, when the name is Bush.
Here’s a thought, boys: go to your bought and paid for Congress to ask that they legislate a return of the Fairness Doctrine.
3What a waste of money………is there anyone who enjoys the ads on TV or the crap that comes to your mailbox???
4We could feed and clothe a whole lot of people with all that money and they might then be inclined to vote…….
Does having the face of a baboon’s backside and the ability to say the most outrageous and offensive things mean that you can be the front runner in the Republican race for the nomination?
5If Trump destroys the effects of Citizens United, I’ll send him a “Thank You” card. With terms and conditions on the back. In fine print.
6Ah and all those millions wasted on Scott Walker. Ha!
7We do owe Trump that. He totally obscured the rest of the R-Klan candidates and flushed so much of the Kock roaches’ money down the drain.
Even if our elections lasted a blessed month or two, I don’t suppose that billionaire money would be spent on anything good or useful. And I don’t suppose the loss on these fools causes them more than a momentary irritation as far as the cash flow goes.
In 2004 I gave Kerry’s campaign a lot of charity money that I would have given to environmental causes, because I thought that kicking W back to the ranch would be the best thing I could do for the environment. Yes, I do begrudge that loss, though we fought the good fight.
8Pay attention to how Bernie is running his campaign. He is not using much media either TV or Newspapers and focusing instead on FB and other internet communication. Notice his crowds? He’s attracting the younger folks who focus on that media. He doesn’t have a PAC which is also appealing. And with the damage the Donald is doing, you are watching how future campaigns will be run.
9Just like Howard Dean changed the way contributions are made on the internet, which changed all future campaigns, you are seeing the future now. Not bad for a couple of Vermont Hicks (Both born in NY I might add)
fran seyer has a plan I can endorse. It’s a twofer. Do some good with the money (her idea) and as an ancillary benefit give the snacilbupeR a collective heart attack (my idea), lest anyone arrive at the incorrect impression that fran endorses my idea.
Ladies, Howard Dean, John Kerry, Bernie Sanders; three men with more brain power in one of their toe nail clippings than any of the snacilbupeR chasing 2016.
10When the right end of the SCOTUS tried to assure the Tea-Party would get and keep the White House and both chambers [thereby ensuring a right wing SCOTUS for the foreseeable future] I don’t think this was what they had in mind.
Oops.
11If it was me, I’d have never blown all that money in an air war. I’d have used it to set up dummy organizations with high-falutin’ names (the GOP Carousel of Grist EXCELS at this type of false-frontage) and done a bunch of push polls:
“Hello, we’re calling from the Judean People’s Front: Despite his rhetoric, Donald Trump continues to do business with our enemies in the middle east, building Islamic hotels for rich Muslims. Would that make you more likely or less likely to vote for him?”
“Donald Trump has continually hired and promoted homosexuals in management for his companies, including the ones that went bankrupt. Would you feel more comfortable or less comfortable if he continues that practice as President.”
You get the idea, it doesn’t have to be true, or palatable, or even make sense. It just has to move him down the dial on “Shares our Values” among the hardcore GOP primary voters.
Then, robo-calls from just plain folks, especially local opinion leaders, or actors if you can’t find any, saying “I support Lindsay Graham because, unlike Donald Trump, he’s actually served in the armed forces.” Of course, you are not WITH the Graham campaign, but you don’t want your guy tagged with the robo calls, and Lindsay ain’t going nowhere.
Then lower expectations in those early states, and raise them enormously for Trump, so that even if he finishes first, his MoV would have to be astronomical to be seen as anything other than a failure.
Is all this illegal, unethical and just plain evil? To varying degrees, and depending on the state: Hell. YEAH!
But IOKIYAsnacilbupeR.
Can you imagine if those millions of dollars, instead of going to costly ads (especially out of Boston for NH) went instead to the ground war and a whisper campaign?
These guys even suck at being evil.
12daChipster, thanks for the explanation of the “Rove approach.” If you’re still in a teaching frame of mind, I’m still reeling at the “Swiftboat” strategy should you care to throw me a rope of learning. Then again, if Senator Sanders wins the Democratic nomination, no doubt there will be a redux of that strategy. Maybe I’ll “get it” on the reiteration.
“Sucker born every minute” seems to describe the average snacilbupeR voter, but dayum didn’t Charlie Brown finally catch on to Lucy?
13McCain lost South Carolina in 2000, because the push polls suggested he had a black child. No wonder The Donald keeps his deep tan well in the orange spectrum.
14It was Lee Atwater from whom Karl Rove learned his horrendous and effective methods. It was Lee Atwater who taught the Shrub. The Rs abandoned him when he had brain cancer and died at a young age. There is an epic picture of him in a wheelchair at an r event being ignored.
15@daChipster
I’m saving your comment so that when I move to become grand poobah of the world and benevolent dictator for life I can turn your comment into action items for my minions to execute. Thanks so much!
And remember the phrase of the day “I, for one, welcome our new overlord.”
16PKM: in its essence, Swiftboating, named for the astoturf group called Swiftboat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), is just a specific instance of an old stand-bye that I call the “Concerned College Chum.”
The CCC is someone from the candidate’s past who, unlike the ex-Mrs Trumps, is willing to talk about how in college he got so drunk he raped a snapping turtle which is why his frat name was Stumpy.
Is it true? Who cares! Just as long as a few people believe CCC, they will pass it on.
SBVT takes CCC up several notches by adding other chums, wrapping them in the flag and (and this is the truly diabolically clever part) projecting your own failings onto the target.
This inures you to counter-attack as “fair-minded” both-siderists will wish a plague on both your houses. At worst, you break even.
17OK, fade to the sad-eyed GOP candidate’s slideshow, cue the music on 3-2-1 “In the arms of the angels, fly away from here . . . “
18daChipster, seriously, thanks man! Following the ‘logic’ of the “Moral Majority” which was anything but moral is a twisted path. That whole projection thing they do combined with their “j’accuse” then we know they are doing it shtick of theirs…. followed by gerrymandering, voter disenfranchisement, electronic tampering, etc, etc, etc.
I dunno seems like a lot of work. More work than formulating sane policies. They must be desperate for the ‘end times’ and the rapture.
19daChipster, that is a perfectly diabolical plan. Thanks for the blueprint.
20I’m entertaining the idea that Trump is actually a trojan horse who gained entrance to the republican party and is now destroying it from within. What stumps me still at this point is whether he’s conscious of it or not!
21daChipster, your plan reminds me of a story LBJ told about a nice young man running for office who wasn’t getting anywhere. An old hand advised him that, every time he spoke to the voters, he should say that his opponent ****s hogs. “Oh my gosh– is that true?!” “Of course it’s not true, but if we can get him to deny it just once, we got him.”
22I can’t help but wonder what’s Granny going to do with more than one hoe, no matter how many snakes are in her yard?
23As the free market dictates, this is simply a case of supply and demand.
The supply of feasible Repub candidates is extremely small. The pocketbooks of WingNut zealots who want to own the government are extremely large.
24Re: Trump being a “Trojan Horse”, even so, he has inflicted the newly stupid on the country who, once their feeble little hate filled minds were persuaded to his pronouncements, would not change them again.
25I get the feeling that we are the (liberal) frogs in the almost boiling water:
Once upon a time, we progressives would’ve been howling at the waste of money that could’ve been used to do something socially constructive. Like (literally) building bridges or libraries or housing the homeless. The Right has succeeded in not only taking the money out of public policy, they’ve buried the desire under a steaming pile of FUD-based Rand-ism.
No matter what else happens, I view it as shameful that we as a society have come to view waste as a good thing ;-(.
26And that’s why the REAL oligarchs are busy buying up all the television and radio networks.
27This is why, if I was to become World dominator for a day, I would implement some campaign changes. The big one would be that all campaign funds raised would require 20 (or 30%) of the funds go to the government level the candidate is campaigning for. So a mayoral election would add funds into the city’s budget. This would also help offset those evil “special elections” that just suck funds.
So, if you want to contribute to a candidate, part of your funds will support the people/location. And I would make PACs and such pay straight up taxes. No more free ride to influence politics.
28While I basically don’t give a flying gohmert as to whom the snacilbupeR nominate, I do have great hopes said jerk be clobbered by either Sen Sanders or Sec/Sen Clinton.
From the daChipster tutorials and history, we know either Democratic candidate will be viciously attacked. The obvious lines of attack would be he for ‘socialism’ and she for “trustworthiness.” But if I know that, they know that without a doubt. So, what will be the blitz on either of them?
@daChipster: are you ready to assist the Democratic nominee when they call for your expertise?
29With every passing day, I chortle more at the thought of all the money the Kochs wasted on trying to buy the presidency for that numbskull Snotty Walker. Hope the other gazillionaires backing GOP losers are just as lucky with their choices. And isn’t it precious to hear the mainstream media bemoan the rise of Trump while they fall all over themselves giving him free 24/7 publicity. Keep on polishing those turds, snacilbupeR and minions, and I’ll keep sending my modest donations to the honorable Bernie Sanders.
30I think this cycle’s variant should be called “trojan bull in a China shop”.
31PKM – President Obama was my big run. I ran two counties for him in Ohio in ’08. Built my team so well that they gave us responsibility for the neighboring two counties, where the effort was flagging. One of my original counties showed a 19 point turnaround from ’04, the best in the state. Two of the other three were in the top 5. Of my top 3 lieutenants, all political neophytes, one ran for Congress, one started a non-profit and one married me.
Da future Candidate, da future Mrs and I all got tattoed with the Rising Obama “O” – he was my guy.
So unless they come calling with a speech-writer’s gig, I’ve had my run with Presidential politics. I think my time would be better spent choosing a deserving House race in my neighborhood and training up the next generation that way.
32daChipster, would love to see you apply your talents to the effort to return the House to sanity. But in 3-5 years, if you want to return to the ground game, Jane (my wife) plans to go forward with her political civic duty.
That gives me 3-5 years to learn how to manage the kid(s)* without having Jane on speed-dial and learn how to become a political asset, as in not a liability. Jane could make it in Dee Cee; me not so much, so she’s thinking about making me First Dude of NV.
*We currently have one, but are planning for two.
33Nevada? It would help if you were Polite Kool Mormon. But, yeah! Reach out! Let’s do this! Vegas is my wife’s preferred destination. In fact, it’s the only one for which she will willingly get on a plane. The only time I’ve been there, I came back a winner: married to her! But I’ve always wanted to visit the Ponderosa.
34daChipster, I’m not Polite Kool Mormon for sure, but Jane and I are cool with Harry Reid. That we know the difference between LDS, Jack Mormons and FLDS earns us extra points.
We can visit the Ponderosa. It’s about 2-3 hours south of us. We’re somewhat northwest of the last zip code in NV. We like our “Ponderosa” better. Just so you know and feel safe, the Sue Lowdens and Sharron Angles of our state are way easterly of here, except when they land their brooms in Carson City. But we can by-pass Carson on our way to Las Vegas.
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